“GAH! What was that for!?”

“You had a hair sprouting between your eyebrows. That’s not very ladylike of you, is it?”

“That’s just an excuse and you know it!”

Even now, on the verge of his punishment, Yosuke and Chie found a way to argue. She sounded like she was enjoying whatever makeover Hell she was putting him through a little too much.

“There’s some leg hair showing in this outfit, too. Good thing I brought the wax.”

“Don’t you dare!”

Yukiko, meanwhile, sounded like she was the star of a PG-13 slasher film. She was a nice person and all, but there were times when that girl went downright sadistic. Kanji felt no shame in being afraid of her, at least a little bit.

“GYAAAAAH!”

...Okay, a lot a bit. He had never heard hair pull off like a velcro strip before, and he hoped to never hear it again.

At least he didn’t have to see it. Their classroom underwent another transformation to serve as their dressing room. It was a more relaxed transition this time, though. Curtains went up to preserve everyone’s shame as they underwent their makeovers, and each little station had a makeup desk with a mirror. Simple, but it got the job done.

Not that he knew how to use any of this shit. Which is where his own help came in.

“Tilt your chin up for me, okay?”

Seeing as he hadn’t pissed the girls off, they were a lot more gentle with him. Rise made as much of the process simple as she could. Kanji, in turn, did whatever she told him to. She was the expert here, not him. He felt a slight tug on his eyelashes as she used the mascara wand thing on them.

“There. How does that feel?”

She knew better than to ask how it looked, because they both knew the whole point was to look ridiculous. Kanji blinked a few times, getting a feel for the extra weight on his eyelids.

“Feels fine, I guess.” That was about the best answer he could come up with. How was it supposed to feel being dressed up like a doll? “Is this what you girls go through every day? Man, if dudes knew how tough looking pretty was, they wouldn’t be talking so much crap.”

“Aw, does that mean you think we look pretty?” Rise giggled while she worked on his other eye, much to his embarrassment.

“Wha? I mean, yeah, but...”

“That’s sweet of you to say.” She capped the mascara wand with a flourish, dipping into the pile of stuff for whatever step came next. “But you really shouldn’t be flirting with other ladies in front of you girlfriend~!”

“Would you please stop teasing him now?” Naoto squinted at his cheek, her focus broken. “It’s hard enough to use this foundation stuff when you’re not making his skin change color.”

Change color? Then that meant he was… Yeah, he felt the heat there. That was a blush. Shit, Rise would never let him hear the end of it.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. This big bad punk gets worked up so easily.”

Kanji’s eyes locked on the mirror in front of him in an attempt to force a cooldown. He could still see the punk looking back at him, but he wasn’t nearly as rough and tumble as usual. Every pass of Naoto’s brush took a bit more of the edge off his cheeks. He could still glare with the best of them, but the effect was confused when it was framed with big, black, luscious lashes. The lipstick Rise was coming in with promised to blend the signals even further.

“Give me a little pout now. You have to cover the insides of the lips to make it look all even while you’re talking.”

He stuck his lips out how she wanted, but the cold touch of the lipstick almost made him jump.

“Sorry, I should have warned you. It gives people a warm look, but this stuff can be cold in the tube.” She got him to sit still before she tried again. “You’re listening, too, right Naoto?”

“Huh? Me?” She stopped what she was doing to stare at Rise in surprise, but then she slumped a little as she recalled. “Oh, right. I have to go on stage later, too. I was trying to block that out for the moment.”

“Hey, is Naoto getting sad over there?” Chie’s question was followed by another round of waxing, with Yosuke’s scream echoing twice as hard. “Does that help?”

“It does for the moment, but I don’t think it will last into the afternoon.” Naoto was about to start again with a heavier heart before she jumped in to add, “No need to do that again for my sake. The effort is appreciated.”

“Okay.” Rip. “I’ll still do it for ourselves, though.”

“You’re a demon, Amagi! A demon!”

The lipstick pulled away, and after popping his lips together as instructed, Kanji had to throw in his two yen. He didn’t really have anything helpful to say, though, so maybe a joking offer would help?

“You think if I put a hole in the stage while I’m up, they’ll have to cancel your half of it? I could totally do that.”

 “Absolutely not!” Naoto was shocked by her own outburst, reeling her composure back in before elaborating. “While I know you could follow through on that idea, it would also be destruction of school property.
G
etting out of a pageant is
not
worth you potentially being expelled.”

It was flattering to hear her say it, but now they were back where they started, with Naoto working herself up into a lather and Kanji being powerless to help her in the moment.

As far as he was concerned, that meant he owed it to her to make sure his one good plan turned out right.

“It’ll be bad for today, but I swear, I’ll make sure no one in this building’s talking about it later. All eyes on me, damnit!”

 “That’s the spirit!” In the next station over, Yu was doing his own work. After all they’d been through together, it was easy to forget that one of the first things Yu did after Kanji joined up was go out in drag to make him feel better about his Shadow. Kanji guessed he was going to pull the same look as back then. “Remember, the crowd can feel it if you’re only going halfway. To make your act work, you have to
believe
 you belong on that stage.
Believe
 you’re the best looking girl up there, and no one will tell you otherwise.”

 “
Yes, Sensei!” Teddie’s presence in the room had almost gone forgotten. Whatever he was doing in his station, it was dead quiet.

Actually, come to think of it, the only thing he went in there with was the bear suit on his back. How was he doing any work without makeup?

 “I failed to follow your lead before, but I’ve learned so much since then. Today, Teddie will prove him… I mean,
her
self the prettiest girl in Inaba!”

 “Ooh, is that a challenge?” Rise got an evil glimmer in her eyes. Kanji was at once stoked and mortally terrified. “
It’s personal now, Kanji. You’re going to do us proud out there. Right?”

“R-right.” He couldn’t lose nerve now. Rise was on his side. If he couldn’t hold up under her scrutiny, what chance did he stand against a crowd of those shitbirds he called classmates?

“Ah, this dress still fits like a glove. My compliments to the seamster!”

“Wait, pull that back a step, Ted.” Wow, Yosuke was managing to say something that wasn’t a tormented cry for help. Chie and Yukiko must’ve been getting tired. “Did you get Kanji to make you a dress just for this stupid pageant?”

“I made both of ours.” Somehow, seeing himself in makeup made admitting to his sewing feel a lot less embarrassing. Like comparing a stick of dynamite to a primed torpedo. “No way in Hell I’m making two dresses in a day again, but I’m proud of my work.”

“And you didn’t make one for me? I look like a total creeper in this throw-together schoolgirl getup!”

“Are you insulting our work, Hanamura!?”

“No, not the wax! Not the wax!”

Served him right. He didn’t deserve to look pretty after getting all of them into this mess.

Yeah, pretty. Kanji looked pretty! He repeated that in his head over and over again until he started to believe it. If he believed it, so would everyone else. And that would mean drawing eyes away from Naoto. He looked up at her, and though anxiety ate at the corners of her expression, there was a new glimmer of hope, too.

 “
Senpai, we’re gonna crush this pageant, yeah?”

“Into pieces.”

“Itty-bitty pieces!”

“Speak for yourselves!”

-

“Ladies and gentlemen!” While he wasn’t the main act of the day, the announcer they picked for the pageant sure looked like a clown. Pink afro wig, big red bow tie, and a pair of sunglasses that looked like they were ripped out of a cheesy secret agent flick. He was still wearing the normal Yasogami uniform from the neck down, but it kind of added to the ridiculousness.

While he hyped up the crowd, the ‘lovely ladies’ of the day were lined up just offstage. It was hard to get a good look at each other in the unlit space. Even with the stage lights bouncing off of the pink curtains a few feet away, they could only see the vague outlines of anyone more than six inches away.

That was all they needed to see how Yosuke quaked in his heeled loafers. From his spot at the front of the line, he could spy a sliver of the crowd arrayed to laugh at his misery. It wasn’t a one-hundred percent attendance situation, but a sizable portion of the school was out there. Everyone would know what went down on that stage.

“Why do I have to be the first one to go?”

“Age before beauty.” Kanji smirked with all the sadistic glee in his heart. He was fully intent on rubbing the salt in until the wound was red and raw. The catharsis of beating up shitheads who pissed him off, without any of the jail time or sore knuckles.

“An eloquent heiress of the noble Junes, she’s pure disappointment from the moment she opens her mouth!” Speaking of wounds, that sounded like their cue. Yosuke backed away from the edge as the guillotine prepared to drop. He found out quickly that he was stuck between the razor and a hard place. Specifically, Kanji.

“Oh no you don’t. Get out there and take your damn medicine.”

“Presenting Yosuke-chan of second-year Class Two!”

The introduction ended, and Kanji shoved Yosuke out to meet it. He scrambled to stay on his feet, but by the time he found his balance, he was caught like a deer in the spotlights. The sea of spectators stretched far in his eyes, and his heart dropped like a cold rock in his chest.

His outfit was a Frankenstein’s monster of women’s apparel. Knee socks stretched up out of heeled loafers, the closest thing to high-heels they could bully him into. A plaid skirt barely covered his hips. It did absolutely nothing to hide his shiny, freshly waxed thighs. If that was all someone saw, then maybe they could have mistaken him as an actual girl.

From the waist on up, though, his act was as transparent as it was ridiculous. The sweater vest was baggy in all the wrong ways on his thin, boyish figure, to a degree that not even the big red bow on his chest hid how little he filled it out. His makeup looked like it was applied via a pie to the face. It sat awkwardly on him, a slapdash layer of femininity that was as unnatural as a rubber Halloween mask. The pink spots on his cheeks couldn’t even hide how his skin went flushed at the unwanted attention.

In the third row from the stage, Chie was apparently having the time of her life. She laughed long and hard along with most of the crowd, pointing at the scarecrow she had created as it sat exposed in the field.

“Look at him go! He looks even better under those bright lights, don’t you think?”

“Oh yeah, he looks great!” Yukiko miraculously managed to get that much out while she choked on her own laughter. Her hyena-esque cackling was recognizable even with the room around her making as much of an uproar, but she couldn’t care less. For all that Yosuke’s perversion had put her through, this was sweet revenge. She was going to enjoy it down to the last bite.

“He looks like a newborn deer taking its first steps.” While she wasn’t joining in on the outright mirth around her, Rise was more than happy to chip into the teasing. Alongside that, though, she was getting a good look at the results of their torture session. “Wow, you two really worked the wax. I don’t see a hair on those puppies.”

“Yukiko did most of the planning for that. I just yanked where she told me to.”

“It takes a lot of practice to get hair removal just right.” The two were starting to wind down, though the occasional giggle kept bubbling out of Yukiko as hiccups. “It takes even more to make it not hurt too much. Although, I might have ‘forgotten’ that lesson for a minute.” Anyone who heard the screams that morning considered that she had not forgotten the lesson, instead inverting it to great effect.

“You all have taught me a valuable lesson of late.” Though Naoto was preemptively trying to disappear into her coat and hat, she watched Yosuke’s punishment with due diligence. “Vigilante justice has its place in cases like these.”

“The justice is only starting, you know.” Rise nudged her, shoulder-to-shoulder, and tilted her head towards the stage. “Just wait until they get to the questionnaire!”

“Now, Miss Yosuke.” The style of address chosen made his skin squirm, which the announcer took as a sign to keep going. “I must say, you really stand out in that little number. Tell me, do you dress like this often?”

“Hell no!” He all but snarled at the idiocy being aimed at him. In the corner of his eye, though, he saw Chie starting to glare at him. He was breaking character, and she made it clear how that would end up. Memories of searing pain directed him back to his humiliating character. “Uh, I mean… Like, no way! Hehe…” Forcing a high pitch made his throat itch, but at least it got Chie to stop psychically threatening him.

“Could have fooled me! It takes a lot of confidence to wear something that bold.” The announcer held his mic out to the crowd. Even without it, he could make his voice boom loud enough to fill the auditorium without losing its goofy edge. “This poor girl is feeling shy. Let’s hear some encouragement, people!”

By the executioner’s order, Yosuke found himself flooded with cheers and mocking catcalls, all underscored by yet more laughter. He heard a few of them talking among themselves, totally oblivious that their whispers weren’t quiet at all.

“Oh god, that’s so creepy!”

“I know! He looked so cool in that suit yesterday, I thought he could pull it off. I guess I was wrong.”

“You don’t think he spends all his Junes cash on a whole weird wardrobe like that, do you?”

Yep. It was official. This was the single worst day of Yosuke’s life. The girls wanted revenge, and their revenge was absolute. His body was still on stage, but his soul? That died long ago.

“We’re only just beginning, so strap in! Our next contestant is a runaway express train who’s Inaba born and bred, and can kill with both her fists and her looks.”

That could only be one person. Kanji rolled his shoulders, working out any tension left in his muscles. He had to make a big splash out there, even if it killed him.

“You got this! You da man, Kanji!”

“Thanks, Ted. All eyes on me.”

“Presenting Kanji-chan of the first-year Class Three!” The crowd was on the edge of their seat for this one. Everyone knew him as the punk who had narrowly skipped jail time, and now he was starring in a clown show like this. It was going to be one to remember.

Far be it from Kanji to disappoint them, then. He pounded a fist to his chest, then he strutted into the limelight. He glared out into the sea of people, and they stared back in shock. Maybe the thin layer of oil on his rippling muscles flashbanged them senseless. He shined like a bodybuilder up there.

Or maybe it was the dress and wig. He only had the time to throw something simple together for himself, and he remembered an old American actress he could use as an inspiration. The folds of his white dress billowed as he stomped to the lineup, and his long, golden locks shimmered as bright as his muscles. The pearl earrings were a small touch he borrowed from his Ma, which… Well, it wasn’t easy to ask for them, but she didn’t hit him with too many questions.

The crowd, meanwhile, was asking a million of them. Most of them stayed in their own heads, but plenty were blurted out.

“Is that really Tatsumi?”

“What am I looking at?”

“Did he finally snap?”

He had their attention all right. He just had to keep it, and burn the memory into their brains. He reached the velvet carpet, but before the announcer could shove that damn mic in his face, he showed that his voice could boom just as loud.

“Sup.”

He might not have snapped, but he certainly broke the tension in the crowd. They were losing themselves in a fit of laughter. Any sense of intimidation he had instilled in them over the years, be it intentional or otherwise, was suddenly flipped on its head.

“Oh god, that voice, that dress… None of it matches at all!”

“He’s a walking quilt!”

“Hey, give him some credit. His eyeliner is actually even.”

“Thank you!” Rise threw her arms up, not that anyone paid her mind as they pointed and laughed at the second drag queen. “I don’t care what anyone says. I think he looks nice.”

“I could actually see him fitting in with that sort of crowd.” Yukiko made the comment offhandedly, but when she glanced over to Chie, she was getting an odd look in return. “What? We sometimes get crossdressers passing through the inn. Not a lot, but I think his looks could genuinely fit in with them.”

“...If you say so.” Chie took another good look at Kanji, but she couldn’t help the chuckle rising in her. “I just think it’s funny with how he’s so focused on being ‘manly’ all the time. What do you think, Naoto?” A few second passed with no response. That wasn’t like the usually prompt detective, so the three looked over at her.

She was staring intently at the stage. Most of her face was hidden by the collar of her longcoat, but her eyes were locked in place. Chie reached across Rise and started snapping her fingers.

“Hey, Naoto! Are you there?”

“Huh?” She was flung abruptly back into awareness, and found herself the center of her group’s attention. It was like a pageant in microcosm, which only intensified the nervousness in her response. “Uh, yes. Of course.”

“It… wasn’t a yes or no question.”

“Oh? It… I-it wasn’t?”

Slowly, Rise’s trademark knowing grin bloomed into place. That scrutiny was enough to bring the red of Naoto’s cheeks creeping past the collar.

“Don’t worry about it.” She brought a hand up to pat Naoto’s back approvingly. “I think we have enough of an answer right here.”

“...I do not like the way you’re looking at me. What was the question?”

“Now, don’t rip me apart for asking.” Attention was yanked back to the announcer, who was the only person not somehow stunned by Kanji’s entrance. He was a professional, no matter what his general demeanor implied. “But what would you say is your, best feature?”

Kanji grinned. He knew just how to bounce off that one.

“My guts.” He leaned into the mic and flexed down. His presence was amplified by the surround sound speakers. “All of you are down there laughing, but you wouldn’t be so ballsy if you were up here in my heels. I can look pretty and kick your asses!”

Many of the boys looking on went quiet all of the sudden, but the girls were still laughing. Near the back, one of them nudged the guy next to her.

“Yeah, he’s right! How come you’re not that brave?”

“Uh, well…”

Off to the side of the room, one guy had a hand on his chin and a concentrated look on his face. Finally, Daisuke hummed affirmatively to himself.

“Never thought about it like that before. I guess there’s more than one way to be tough.”

From his place on stage, Kanji could see how he hit them all. No one expected to have the pageant’s joke thrown back in their face, eh? Strong start, and he had the whole show left to make it better.

Yosuke glared at him, his embarrassment all the more painful next to Kanji’s complete obliviousness to how humiliating this was. Did the girls plan for that, too? Because it felt like an intentional dig against him.

“You sure got over your Shadow, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Kanji dropped his voice to a pointed hiss, and the half of his face obscured from the crowd ticked up into a smirk. “What’s wrong, need a hug?”

Ah, it had been a long time since Yosuke felt that kind of chill run up his back. He could still remember those macho bastards from the bathhouse. He would never forget the way they ogled him, like a cut of prime meat they wanted nothing more than to pounce on and devour...

All thought stopped for him in that moment, and his mocking surroundings came into sharp focus as the clouds in his mind parted. Exposed, defenseless, used for someone else’s selfish amusement. In these stupid clothes, he was less than human to the crowd, letting them laugh at him without any guilt. They didn’t care how it hurt him. Not as long as they got their kicks out of it.

Was that how the girls felt when he pulled stunts like this?

“We have an energetic zest this year, ladies and gentlemen, and we’re only halfway through introductions!” The show went on without him, paddling off as he fought to stay afloat. The laughter bubbled down, and the announcer continued. “Our third contestant is a new face in town, but she’s already turning heads and taking hearts. She has the mildly bitter tang of the city, and she’s made more girls cry than there are stars in the sky.”

The girls watched that stage intently, letting the guys pick up the shattered remnants of their dignity in peace. They’d all heard about the next one within a day of his name winding up on the board. It had to be some jealous guy’s shot at ruining his biggest competition’s reputation, or so the rumor said. That didn’t stop them all from needing to see the city-slicker contend with this old Yasogami tradition.

“Presenting the transfer student that every girl wants and every guy wants to be, Yuri-chan of the second-year Class Two!”

The first click made the room stop dead. It was like the snap of a branch in the middle of the woods. The second click was as sharp as the first. With the third, the stalking tiger emerged from the trees.

Sharp, crimson lipstick drew the eye first. It was a slight line, just enough to underscore the tight, unimpressed frown. Her eyes shared in that pointed disinterest, sweeping over the crowd as if they were so many grains of sand. Her rigid, imperial posture only cemented her position over them.

Waves of silver followed, her hair swaying like a banner over her wooden sword. It was only a practice weapon, little better than a prop, and yet, the way she held it made it feel as dangerous as a real blade. She held it over her shoulder firm enough that it didn’t waver, but loose enough to convey that she felt no threat from those around her.

She felt no danger, because she was the danger.

“Damn...” Yosuke snapped out of his funk when she entered the lineup. Even with the infamously massive Kanji in the way, her presence towered over them. “He didn’t go nearly that far with the getup last time.” If he didn’t know for a fact that it was Yu under all that, he would’ve thought an empress had stormed the stage. Any hint of masculinity left in him was redirected and obscured in the act.

“Woo, you didn’t turn the charm down at all, did you?” Once more, their showman wasn’t fazed by the intensifying performances all around him, still standing up as the ringleader of this circus.

Actually, that made Yosuke think; where’d the laughing go? The crowd was still quiet, trapped in the tense moment of his entry. They were just, staring, blankly. It was as if their minds couldn’t process what emotion this called for. They didn’t expect anyone to actually pull off the crossdressing act.

Oh well, Yosuke thought. The dam would break when he spoke. His unmistakable, flat voice would remind everyone of who he really was, and the gap between what they knew about him and what they were seeing on stage would kick the comedy switch back on.

“So, you heartthrob, I’d say you’ve taken the stage like a natural. Did you sign yourself up, or did some loyal fan ask, nay, demand, for you to show off to the world?” He was pushing up the ham in his performance. He didn’t let the crowd’s lack of reaction affect him outwardly, but the announcer took it upon himself to break through their silence with his best effort yet.

The only immediate response was from Yuri, who sneered at the ridiculous question.

“I don’t take orders, I give them.”

Her speaking was a kick alright, but not the way Yosuke imagined. He was gobsmacked; that wasn’t Yu’s voice at all. He sounded exactly how he looked, like some empress! That wasn’t possible. It wasn’t physically possible. The last time he tried to sound different, he broke every window on the north wall of the school. How could he go from that, to actually sounding like a girl!?

Yuri let her gaze pass over him, briefly flicking across the confusion on his and Kanji’s faces. She didn’t speak to either of them, letting them fall from her attention like everyone else, but she tilted her head ever so slightly to the side. This let Kanji see an inch further down her neck. There was a necklace under the collar of her shirt, a metal band with a series of powered lights running across it. No one else could see it, so it wasn’t just a flashy accessory.

“Is that some kind of voice changer bullshit? That’s gotta be cheating!”

“That’s the part you’re focusing on?”

The crowd sank deeper into the fever dream. That was Yu, right? From where they were standing, he hadn’t just dressed up like a girl. He had completely flipped his sex.

“Holy...!” Rise sat straight up in attention. She was quick to pick apart all the little pieces that made the outfit work. His Adam’s apple was hidden. Most of his blatantly male figure was underneath the uniform and ankle-length skirt. The backs of his hands were shaved, and his nails were filed to a lethal point. The way he held his jaw shifted the angles of his face. His mouth was restrained to a smaller space. Every little sign that he was a guy had been accounted for and dealt with, either by smart clothing choices or careful maintenance of his movements.

She had seen some stunning work from teams of professionals before, but this one-person job could stack up to most of them.

Naoto woke up from the daze that captured her, studying Yu’s technique from afar as well. He had said it before, and he said it truthfully. He was quite skilled at creating and fitting into roles. Naoto was almost jealous.

“You would think his stature and build to be counterproductive to the act, but he has incorporated his natural presence into a vital part of his disguise. Using the truth to strengthen the lie. Clever, Narukami.”

“Not to mention hot.” While everyone around them was stewing in various states of confusion and discomfort, Rise had nothing holding her back from speaking her mind. She liked what she was seeing. “He was right about the confidence thing. He’s owning it up there.”

“Yo, Yukiko!” Chie found herself snapping again, this time to catch Yukiko’s attention. Unlike Naoto, whose distraction was crystal clear, it was difficult to tell exactly what train of thought she was being yanked out of by the sudden intrusion. Only Chie seemed to be able to read it at all. “You’re looking at him like you look at Lyn, so you know.”

“Oh, I was?” Yukiko was unaware of that detail, but rather than making her scuttle shamefully away from her daydream, the information redoubled her distraction. This time, no amount of snapping was rousing her. Chie surrendered with a groan.

“She’s gonna come out of that with some weird question, I just know it.”

“Ooh, someone bring the bonfire, because we have an ice queen.” Detached from the delirium of the crowd, the announcer went on, though the way he steamrolled ahead implied some hope that the next contestant would bring his show back to its old tracks. “Don’t you worry if the cold shoulder’s got you down, though. I hear contestant number four is warm to the core. In fact, she might be too sweet to bear.”

“Oh no.” Another flash of trauma crossed Yosuke’s face, this one reaching deep into his repressed psyche. “Tell me he didn’t write dumb puns for this thing. Please, spare me that!”

“In a never before seen twist, our last ‘beauty’ is unaffiliated, but when she heard her friends were having fun with us today, she couldn’t stay away. So let’s give a warm welcome to our cute, sexy little guest, calling herself the ‘Queen of the TV World,’ Teddie-chan!”

At first, the crowd seized up when they heard another resounding click. But then, they realized the pattern they were coming in wasn’t that of a lurking predator. It was closer to the gallop of a baby lamb. Then, the little lamb skipped into view.

The laughter was quite decisively back, though it wasn’t quite as vehement and mocking as the first few bouts. With the way Teddie smiled and pranced under all their attention, it was more like they were laughing with her than at her. She was blowing kisses to them with both hands, drawing their eyes to her face without the aid of any makeup. Her wholly natural features were noticeably softer than those around her, complimenting the warm glow of her friendly demeanor.

Her clothes, too, rang of innocence. While her competition was dressed loud and proud, she sat comfortably in a more casual, baby blue dress with a white apron, the kind that someone her apparent age might have worn when that was the style. Her long, blonde hair flowed in tandem with its soft ribbons.

She skipped this way, then pranced that way, before coming to a stop at her proper spot in the line. From there, she crossed her hands on her chest and bent her knees, bringing her closer to eye-level with her adoring public.

“Give me your hearts!”

A second wave of humor came, softly lapping as a gentle tide. She relaxed in front of them as if the stage were her beach and soaked in the warm rays of the sun.

“Aw, he’s so cute!”

“This thing is usually a pack of dorks in dresses and thigh-high socks, but now we get two people who can pull it off?”

“Well, they’re both from out of town. That must have something to do with it.”

“If that’s how boys look in the city, I’ll stay here. Less chance of… you know...”

“I think their hearts are yours, you cutie-pie.” The announcer was demonstrably relieved to have his show back on track. In light of the lightened tone, he was more than happy to play along with the act. If it was, in fact, an act. “You must have come a long way to join us today. The trip wasn’t too frightening, I hope?”

“Not at all!” She clasped her hands together and gave the biggest, cheeriest smile. “I wasn’t scare because I knew there would be smiling faces waiting for me. You’re all as wonderful as I hoped!” Cheers went up in support, the audience, her audience, accepting her compliments in kind.

“Making the crowd feel special, works like a charm.” Rise nodded in admiration of the masterful tactic in use. “I think he learned that trick from me.”

“Is that what you call your schmoozing?” Chie couldn’t bring herself to be properly angry with Rise’s shenanigans anymore, but the way the former idol walked right on through the accusation reminded everyone that she was fully aware of her weasel-like tendencies.

“Don’t worry, anyone can learn how to do it. If you want, I could help you. It would make netting that special guy easier~!”

“Um...” Yukiko glanced around, making sure no one was listening before she continued. “It wouldn’t happen to help with finding a special girl, too, would it?”

Naoto fully expected Rise to pull out some lighthearted teasing at the request. That seemed to be her favorite mode of helping with her own relationship issues. Instead, Rise reached over and set a reassuring hand on Yukiko’s shoulder.

“Meet me after school. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

The weight lifted from Yukiko’s heart, freeing her to sigh in relief.

While this went on, the announcer made a quick trip off the side of the stage to retrieve a special prop. When he came back, there was a small, wooden ballot box nestled in the crook of his arm and a conspiratorial gleam in his sunglasses.

“Alright, now that our lovely ladies are all here, we can start the main event!” He held out his mic just in time to pick up on the cheer that rose from the audience. “As you know, you were all asked to fill out one ballot on your way in today. Each contestant will receive a question from the box.” He dipped his head just low enough to peer out from over his glasses, the sight of his exposed eyes cutting a thin line in the overjoyed performance. “Please note that any questions deemed too ‘risque’ have been removed. We wouldn’t want to hurt Teddie-chan’s innocent little ears, would we?”

A few unseen voices in the crowd began to boo at the revelation of censorship. As the stated excuse, Teddie couldn’t help but chime in.

“I’m sorry if I’ve made this less fun for anyone...” She wilted, and her bottom lip quivered. With everyone watching her, no one saw where the loud slaps across the room came from exactly, but the jeers stopped cold.

“Don’t you worry, there’s plenty of fun to be had!” The announcer’s eyes were hidden again, and the party was back in swing. He clipped the mic to the side of the box before reaching in. The crinkling of paper made Yosuke’s heart clench, because with the guy right next to him, he knew this was going to be a fastball aimed at his forehead.

“Yosuke-chan, what kind of date should a lucky fella take you on to win your heart?”

That was about as demeaning as he was expecting. He could feel Chie glaring at him again, threatening him with untold horrors if he chickened out.

But he found that he didn’t mind. Normally he would be angry or resentful of getting humiliated in front of everyone. His reputation would never recover. This time, though, he knew that it was exactly what he deserved. He swallowed his pride and prepared to take his medicine.

“Oh my, this is sudden. I couldn’t possibly choose on such short notice!” The airheaded words stung like hornets on his tongue, and that dumb voice still scratched his throat. The mocking laughter felt like the least of his concerns. “I guess if I had a boyfriend, I would want to have a nice picnic, then cuddle in the shade.”

He wanted to throw up. It was like someone else was wearing his skin, with him a passenger along for the ride. Was this how his Shadow felt, being totally ignored while the rest of him did whatever it wanted?

“Aw, isn’t that precious? Who doesn’t want a cuddler, gents?” His broiling disgust, both at the pageant and himself, was hidden from the announcer and the crowd as they kept on laughing. He could only hope that Kanji would hit the joke right back at them again. Tangential retaliation was the best he could ask for.

“Kanji-chan, are you ready!?”

He flexed, as if prepping for a punch.

“Lay it on me!”

The next ballot came out with a flourish. The announcer paused for a moment, then smiled wider as he read it aloud.

“Are there any hobbies you’d want to rope your boyfriend into doing with you?”

“That’s, kind of wholesome.” Rise could tell he was rewording the question on the fly. The date thing was slanted towards embarrassment, but hobbies were on much more even grounds. And doing it together? That was just sweet. She didn’t think there were any real romantics watching a show like this. “I wonder who wrote that one in?”

“Um...”

The pieces clicked before she looked to her side. Naoto was blushing again. And her hand was raised low enough so that only their group could see it.

“...Oh ho ho!”

There’s the teasing. Naoto was starting to feel weird without it.

“I didn’t think mine would actually get drawn...”

“Much less for Kanji, hmm?” She scooted closer to Naoto and leaned forward with rapt attention. “Let’s see if you get any ideas here.”

“Wait, I know!” The announcer started to flex, too, matching Kanji’s pose. His figure was notably less defined, but he found the spirit in himself anyway. “Weightlifting! Any man of yours is gonna be the toughest son of a gun around, am I right? A matching pair of powerhouses.”

“You’re close.” Kanji struck a new pose, a bicep curled up as his other arm pointed defiantly into the distance. “I’ll teach that bastard to knit!”

The audience chuckled with the announcer’s act, but Kanji’s return of fire kicked it up a few notches. There were now two clowns flexing their stuff like it was a bodybuilding pageant as they debated the fine art of bonding.

“Of course! You’ll make matching outfits together!”

“That’s right!” The two were suddenly in perfect sync, rotating through power postures that showed off every square inch of Kanji’s bulky figure. His thin, white dress could barely handle the unbridled machismo. “We’ll be more stylish than every other couple put together! And in Winter, we’re doing a pair of scarves!”

“Or even better.” The announcer pointed with all the power he had at Kanji, challenging his presence directly. “One big scarf to share!”

“Hell yeah!” Kanji returned the gesture in kind. No one but them had any clue what was going on between them, but they didn’t have to understand it to get caught up in the energy. “We’re gonna kick the cold’s ass together!”

“...Knitting, hmm?” Naoto quietly put a hand to her neck, imagining a nice, warm scarf wrapped around her and tying her to someone special. “...I like the sound of that.”

“You heard it here first, folks. We’ve got an aggressively affectionate artist that wants to keep you close.” Their host slid out of the burning aura he and Kanji shared and wheeled back into his normal style of address. “Now let’s see how the commanding queen of cold compares.”

Yuri observed him with a distant, yet sharp glare as he dove into his box of questions. One could see the hourglass flowing in her eyes. Her patience dwindled with every fallen grain wasted. At last, he pulled out a paper and began to read, unperturbed by her silent menace.

“Yuri-chan, what would a guy have to do for you to...” His voice trailed off as his mind caught up with his mouth, making him stop the thought before it could escape. Those in the front row were caught off guard, and the feeling spread as he looked over the room with intense disappointment seething under his glasses. “It seems our screening process missed one. I remind you that explicit content is not condoned by the school. I won’t say a question like this popped if you won’t, so let’s find a more appropriate question and...”

He jumped as he felt the ballot being torn from his grasp. Yuri acted too quick to stop, and the way her dispersed disdain focused to a razor point said that she wouldn’t have been impeded anyway. It was a wonder her attention didn’t burn a hole through the paper.

“What would I have to do to ‘hit that.’” She let the question sit for the span of a single weighted heartbeat before she crushed the ballot in her hand.

Her gaze bore deep into the audience, so frigid that its touch seared. Suddenly, towards the center of the room, she noticed that people were looking at a particular male student. His panicking at their scrutiny intensified with every sign pointing his way. It was too late to divert their attention. The shark had already smelled his blood in the water.

“Listen well.” The student could practically feel the point of her sword as she thrust it towards him. He was pinned in place from yards away, her undivided attention freezing the blood in his veins. “If by some astronomical act of mercy I were to allow you within twenty paces of me, you would not be the one hitting.”

If she was at all unclear, her driving her sword to the ground with a resounding thwack made her meaning unmistakable. At once, the thoroughly berated student’s skin went as pink as cherry blossoms, and all those who had singled him out began to aim their renewed laughter at him. With the graceless plebeian put in his place, Yuri allowed herself the pleasure of expressing her distaste for him in particular.

“The insolence it takes to ask such a thing is beyond belief.” She turned her attention to the announcer, who had backed away from her in reasonable caution. “You may continue.”

“O-of course.” He straightened his bow, tapped his mic, and thanked his lucky stars as he reassembled his shattered act into a presentable state. “I hope that keeps inappropriate questions off of my stage from now on. A million thanks, Yuri-sama.” He passed her with only the deepest bow, swinging up from it with a smile as he neared the last contestant. “Let’s cross our fingers and hope we only find the best question for you, Teddie-chan.”

“I’m sure we will!” Teddie set about defrosting the stage as soon as the mic was hers. She rocked back and forth on her feet, radiating her sweetest feelings while she waited. The announcer braved his box once more. This time, he was careful to read the question to himself before reading it out loud. The relief he felt was palpable, and his energy was back in full swing.

“Do you like your guys tall or short?” He was outwardly all pep and cheer, but the speed with which he clapped that box closed broke records. He wasn’t letting his renewed faith get assassinated so soon.

“I can’t possibly make that choice. I would love them either way.” A hand went over her heart, and she closed her eyes as she drifted off to dreams of love. “If they were taller than me, I could ride on their shoulders. And if I was taller than them, they could ride on mine. Their height won’t make me close my heart.”

“Aw, you’re just the most precious thing. But, what if you two were the same height?”

Teddie opened one eye and pointed up knowingly.

“Then we could kiss whenever we wanted!”

“Ooh, three for three! There’s no souring your good mood, Teddie-chan.”

With all four contestants behind him, the announcer turned to the crowd for the grand finale.

“You’ve seen today’s beauties, and they told you everything you wanted to know, whether you should have asked them or not. Now, it’s time to vote!” Across the room, assistants passed about a new set of ballots, and one towards the back went around with a second box to collect. “Which one of our undaunted ladies captured your heart? We’ve never had such a wide selection before, so make your voices heard!”

While the votes were collected and tallied, Kanji shuffled towards Yu with a satisfied smile.

“I think we did our job well. Right, Senpai?”

With the crowd distracted, Yu let his domineering facade fade. He nodded in agreement and turned a dial on the side of his necklace.

“Perfectly.” He coughed into his hand with a slight grimace, his voice halfway between Yu and Yuri. More of himself came back as his vocal chords loosened. “This thing hurts my throat more than I remember.”

“Then you shouldn’t have cheated like that.” Kanji nudged him, pulling a somewhat hoarse laugh out of his Senpai. “Where the Hell did you even get something like that? Movie bullshit if I’ve ever seen it.”

“I made it myself a few years ago.”

“Of course you did...”

“Did you see me, Sensei? How was I?” Teddie shanghaied the chat at the first opportunity, pulling on Yu’s arm with the excitability of a middle-schooler. Strangely, he didn’t stop talking in his higher, girly voice. Yu happily patted the top of his head.

“You’ve learned a lot since the first time you tried cross dressing. Hold onto that quick learning, it’s one of the most valuable skills out there.”

Ted’s eyes were wide and sparkled like stars. He jumped back far enough to curtsy properly.

“Thank you, Sensei.”

With the new angle, Kanji noticed something he didn’t before. Teddie’s face was a different shape than usual. It wasn’t in the same way as Yu, who was holding his jaw and mouth carefully for the effect. No, Ted’s cheekbones were set different, making them look softer.

“Wait a minute...” He wasn’t used to the feeling of ideas coming to him yet. But when it was a topic he cared about, his mind was quick to put the pieces together. They all clicked when he saw that Ted’s skin had a light, sparkly sheen to it. Just like at the concert. “You changed your body for this!”

“Hmm, maybe~!” Teddie rose from his curtsy with a coy hand over his mouth. In that position, Kanji could see that his fingers were different, too, with the pointer being longer than the ring. “A girl never tells her secrets.”

“And the votes are in!”

The three of them jumped back into place, and Yu subtly flicked his necklace back on.

“This tally was as hot as our competitors, with every one of these girls scooping up fans hand-over-fist.” The announcer was holding a sheet of paper, the key to deciding who the best girl was. Teddie and Kanji watched him with equal tension and anticipation, though Yuri spared only a sideways glimpse. “While all of our stars shined bright, sadly, one of them found out that old tricks could only go so far.” It was with a faux-heavy heart that he turned to Yosuke.

No one had been paying much attention to him since he finished his question, but in that short frame of time, Yosuke had started to wither. His shoulders slumped. His hands tunneled haphazardly into his sweater vest to make pockets. He stared at the thin line separating the stage from the stands, paying little mind to either side.

“You could have taken center stage any other year, but we just had too many knockouts playing by their own rules. Good work, Yosuke-chan, we were happy to have you.”

“Yeah. Real shame.” His words barely reached the mic. What few people could hear him were disturbed by the hollowed husk of a voice. The announcer was quick to move on.

“As for you three, the order came down to a handful of votes. Our third place winner was...” Somewhere offstage, a drummer ramped up to the big reveal. The sharp snap of a snare drum signaled the drop. “The beautiful brute, Kanji-chan!”

Kanji visibly mulled over the announcement, but he settled on a quirked grin.

“Third place behind a couple of cheaters. Not bad.”

“The taker of second place...” He pulled away from the mic, giving his side thought a quieter delivery. “...And earner of my personal thanks...” The drums revved up again, this time capping with a cymbal snap. “...The no-nonsense noble, Yuri-sama!”

If she was at all upset by being stuck with silver, she only expressed it in a twitch of her nose.

“It’s a wonder anyone in this mire could appreciate a woman like me.”

“Ah!” The simple math swept through Teddie’s mind, seeing everyone to her right whittled off of the running. She was bouncing in her shoes, the folds of her dress fluttering like butterfly wings. “Does that mean…!?”

“Indeed it does!” The announcer slid to her side and made a sweeping gesture over the pumped-up princess. “The winner of this year’s ‘Miss’ Yasogami Pageant is none other than the Queen of the TV World, Teddie-chan!” A deafening gong echoed from backstage, but all it did to Teddie was send her hair swaying in its ring.

“Yay! Yay! Teddie is the prettiest girl!”

“Congratulations to our special guest. You asked for our hearts, and you got them! And! You have earned a position alongside our judges during this afternoon’s beauty pageant.”

“I… Suppose that means it’s time.” Naoto’s heart quivered in terror. She’d been given a day to ready herself, but she was no more prepared than the moment the news broke to her. The shaking in her voice came across clearly to Rise, who set a hand calmly over hers.

“I’ll help you get ready for it, if you want?”

“I could use all the help I can get.”

“That concludes this pageant. Give it up for our brave contestants who made this all possible!” The announcer’s call brought out a blend of cheer and mirth from the crowd, and while most of the contestants were happy to accept, whether they admitted it outwardly or not, Yosuke took that as his chance to leave.

“Finally.” He wasn’t even off stage before he tore out the scrunchy holding up his hair. Ted felt goosebumps prickling his neck, and he bowed to the cheering public before giving chase.

“Wait for me!”

“Uh, Senpai. That looked a lot worse than just getting embarrassed, didn’t it?”

Yu watched his partner storm off into the unlit backstage, but somehow, the creases on his face looked bleaker. He didn’t like the hollow gloom haunting those eyes.

They reminded him too much of when he looked in the mirror.


Lexa:
 And you accused me of cheating!

         I would never have accepted if I knew you weren’t going to play fair

Her eyes roll at the message, she had been waiting for something along those lines to come since yesterday. Clarke’s actually surprised it took Lexa that long to break.

Clarke
: I’m not cheating, i’m playing the game!

She continues getting her stuff together as she waits for a response. As much as she knows she needed to stay home the past two days, Clarke doesn’t want to get too far behind. The more work that piles up, the more overwhelmed and less motivated she gets. So, she decided to go in after lunch to collect her work and attend the remaining classes.

Lexa
: half of your words aren’t real! Chimnal? Planch? Rowth? Tav?

Clarke
: they were accepted weren’t they??

Lexa
: only because this game has ludicrous principle

Clarke
: don’t be salty just because you lost

Lexa
: I wouldn’t have lost if you played fairly

She’s never seen it before and honestly it’s probably not happening, but Clarke can imagine a pout on Lexa’s face and she lives to see that in reality one day. Lexa’s lips just seem like they would form the perfect pout.

Clarke
: all of my words are valid in the game… all is fair in words with friends

Lexa
: No, I don’t accept that.

Clarke
: and yet you keep playing… :D

Lexa
: I can stop

Clarke
: NO!

            I’ll play real words

Lexa
: as happy as I am that you admit that, the game accepts it. I’ll just have to stop going easy on you. Your fake words won’t stand a chance.

Clarke smiles at that, Lexa has definitely become more playful, at least competitively, with her lately and she hopes the brunette continues to feel more comfortable around her.

Clarke
: Oh I’d like to see you try!

           On another completely unrelated note, are you free after school?

Lexa
: today?

She rolls her eyes, when else.

Clarke
: yes today

Lexa
: yes

        Why?

Clarke
: I’m coming in for a half day because I don’t want to miss anymore and was hoping we could go over my midterm review again

          I’m not contagious

          My moms a doctor, she would know

She probably didn’t need to add that, but doesn’t want Lexa to be grossed out or worried about catching anything. Clarke looks at the time and quickly fills her water bottle, slides it into her bag along with a pack of tissues and a few cough drops and then puts her coat on.

Lexa
: We can do that, 3 at the library?

Clarke
: Actually...do you think maybe we could study at my house? It’s just more comfortable

            Unless you’re not comfortable with that, then the library’s fine

Lexa
: That’s fine

         Going to your house that is

Clarke
: Awesome, thank you! I just have to tell the qb team I won’t be there and then I can drive us

Lexa
: okay, I’ll wait by the east entrance

Clarke
: see you then!

------

Clarke may have thought her energy was back, but there’s a big difference between walking from the couch to her room or the bathroom and walking around a school, that seems to have expanded in her absence, with a heavy backpack. By the time she’s talked to all of her teachers and sat through the remaining three classes, she’s seriously questioning her decision making abilities and everything is starting to look like a bed.

Only one thing stands between her and her cozy blanket, the staircase leading up to the class room where quizbowl meets. Okay so maybe it’s two things since once she makes it up, she’ll still have to go talk to them before she can go. Technically it could be considered three things since after that she still has studying with Lexa, but Clarke is pretty sure Lexa won’t mind if she makes herself comfortable or at least Clarke isn’t going to let it stop her.

With her remaining energy store, Clarke climbs the steps, only becoming slightly winded at the top, and walks toward room 203. Certainly not expecting the greeting she receives when she enters.

“What are you doing here?” There has to be some sort of candid camera on her, because this can’t be happening. Clarke doesn’t spare Raven a glance, instead walking toward Patrick, the team leader.

He speaks up when the question hangs over them. “She’s part of the team now.”

“Youve got to be kidding me. You let her join?”

“She’s proved to be a great asset so far.” He says, unclear as to why there’s an issue.

“Whatever just don’t put us in one on ones together.” Raven huffs, taking her seat at the table.

“Don’t worry you’ll have time to get over yourself,” She says flatly to Raven before turning to the rest of the group “I’m only here to let you know I can’t stay today, I have a lot of make up work to do and I’m still not 100%. I’ll be here next week though.”

“Monty told us you were sick as well, we figured you wouldn’t be here either” Patrick shrugs “you can take a copy of today’s quiz cards if you want.” He moves to the table to pick up a packet of paper and brings it over to her.

“Thanks, I’ll look it over.” She says awkwardly, the tension in the room more than obvious.

“Sure thing, feel better.”

“Thanks.” She offers him an apologetic smile and quickly makes her leave.

Any remaining tension she had dissipated as soon as she saw Lexa sitting on the bench by the doors with a book held up in front of her face. She shakes her head slightly to fight off a smile.

“Lexa,” she greets catching the girls attention.

“Clarke, hi,” Lexa stands, tucking her book away. “Are you feeling better?”

“Not as good as this morning, but definitely overall. Ready to go?” She asks.

“Yes, though if you’re not up to it anymore that’s fine.” Lexa says as they start walking through the parking lot.

“I wish it was that easy, but I kind of told Mr Jones I could take the midterm on Friday.”

“He didn’t offer for you to take it Monday?” Lexa says in surprise.

“Oh, no, he did.”

“Then why…?”

“Because I like to torture myself,” she laughs “No, because I knew I would think that would give me more time to study, but then I wouldn’t actually end up using it and I would know less than I do now.” She explains and unlocks her car as they approach.

“I guess you know what works best for you.” Lexa says as they fit her bike in the back.

****

She’s been in Clarke’s car before, somehow multiple times, and yet it feels different. More awkward. Though apparently it’s just her feeling that because Clarke doesn’t seem fazed as she hums along to the radio, tapping the wheel, while waiting for the light to change.

“Anything interesting happening in your classes?” Clarke asks and Lexa, well she doesn’t panic because that’s not something she does, but she does cycle through everything she’s been doing in the past couple of weeks to figure out what to say. She finds a lot of it interesting, but that doesn’t mean that other people do, that Clarke will.

“Well, in AP environmental we started working on our final project and part of mine covers ergot, which they now believe is what caused the hysteria that lead to the Salem witch trials.” She says confident in her choice because who doesn’t like talking about that bizarre point in history?

“I’m sorry what? What the heck is ergot?”

“It’s a fungal disease that contaminates grains.” She says and starts to second guess her topic, because who really wants to talk about fungi?

“And that caused people to think their neighbors were practicing witch craft?” Clarke spares her a quick glance as if to check if she were joking.

“Yes, it’s a hallucinogenic, so basically people were high and accusing each other of spell casting.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Well, a lot of it is speculation, but the descriptions match what is now know to be side effects of eating ergot contaminated grain products.”

“That’s insane.” Clarke says after a few moments. “That’s

insane.”

she says again and Lexa gives herself a mental pat on the back. “So how does that relate to your project?”

“Oh, well, my main focus is on conditions ideal for the spread of dormant or not as prominent parasitic fungi and disease especially related to future outputs from changing climate.” Lexa says trying to underplay her enthusiasm over her choice of study.

“Well, we’re all doomed if that comes back. Though maybe it’ll mellow everyone out this time.” Clarke jokes, pulling the car into the driveway. “That’s an interesting study, but I feel like it could be really depressing.”

“Perhaps, but it will also tell me what regions to avoid.” She says, stepping out of the car and following Clarke inside.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” Clarke asks

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Okay, should we get started then?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”  Lexa nods.

“Alright, let’s go up to my room.” Clarke says and turns down the hall. It takes Lexa a moment to follow her though, she had been expecting to work at the table again, not Clarke's bedroom. It makes sense, Clarke didn’t want to work at the library because of comfort and that would have been a table, so of course she wouldn’t want to work at just a different table at home.

She shakes her head and makes her way towards Clarke’s room. A thought crosses her mind briefly, that if Clarke actually

did

draw her, the drawings would likely be kept in her room and if they were, maybe they would be somewhere that Lexa could just stumble across. Accidentally knock something off the desk, place her folders on top and pick them up all together, offer to put Clarke’s things away- okay she’s getting away from herself and that was definitely more than a brief thought.

Clarke is already sitting on her bed, leaning against the wall, wrapped in a blanket when Lexa walks in. Way more than brief thoughts.

“Are you sure you’re up for studying?” She checks again.

“Yeah, just wanted to get cozy, hope that’s okay.”

It’s more than okay, at the moment only Clarke's face is visible and her cheeks are still slightly flushed from her fever. If Lexa was one for sappy thoughts she’d swear the redness makes Clarke's eyes bluer and more captivating, but she’s not and she’s good at ignoring the little flutter she feels at the other girls cute nature.

“Whatever you need.” She says instead.

Lexa’s surprised by how focused Clarke stays throughout the entire time they review. Usually she has a timer going in her head for the next groan or insistence in taking a break or the ‘I’m never going to be able to remember everything’. Not one of those happen, just a few sniffles or coughs here and there which should absolutely not be considered adorable and yet, Lexa finds herself endeared by them. By the time they call it quits, Clarke's eyes are looking slightly more droopy than before and her body is a bit more hunched in her blanket.

“Have a game of scrabble in you?” Clarke asks.

“I don’t think you do. It looks like you’re slowly melting into your bed.”

“Yea, feels like it too. I’ve probably kept you too long any way, you must have other things to do.”

Lexa shakes her head “Not really, I do my home work in free period and everything else isn’t due for a couple weeks.” She slowly packs up her things, not wanting to leave yet and Clarke did make it seem like she didn’t want that either, but she doesn’t want to impose.

“Do you maybe want to stay a bit then? Watch a show or something.”

“Yeah that would be nice.”

And that’s how she finds herself no more than ten minutes later trying not to move as Clarke’s head rests on her shoulder after she fell asleep to Person of Interest. She definitely is not enjoying this and she

definitely

didn’t act like a creep and smell Clarke's hair, it just happened to be under her nose when she shifted her head slightly. The sketch book will have to wait for another time, but Lexa supposes she can settle for this instead.


Despite the number of times Denki and All Might had met, he still couldn’t believe that this was his life. When starting at Yuuei, his grandmother had asked him what he wanted to have accomplished by the time he graduated. His answers had been pretty straightforward and expected at the time. Make some friends in his class that would last beyond high school (goal accomplished already). Prepare to be the best pro hero that he could be. Pass all of his classes. Simple. Achievable.

	All Might had thrown everything in his life off course with a single conversation, and while Denki couldn’t say that he wasn’t glad that the Symbol of Peace seemed to think so highly of him, the thought of what it all meant still left him reeling whenever he remembered it. All Might wanted to help him. All Might, the number one hero, looked at Kaminari Denki and saw potential. A successor to his legacy. It was huge in a way that Denki couldn’t even begin to comprehend, because it no matter how he looked at it, it just didn’t make sense.

	Denki knew he had potential. He had worked hard to get into Yuuei, and he wasn’t going to downplay that. But this? This was something else entirely. This was All Might, of all people. Did Denki really deserve this? Weren’t there other people who would be better suited for what All Might needed? People who had their own quirks under control, who were more skilled, more naturally talented than he could ever hope to be? His mind flashed for a second to the other members of his class, but he shoved it aside. It was no use thinking about which of them would be a better choice. He could hear what Izuku and Mei would say to that particular line of thought.

	Potential is a tricky thing though. He heard the word enough when he was growing up. Little Kaminari had the potential to be a great hero with a quirk like his! Strong and flashy, just the type of ability that stands out amongst the hundreds of pro heroes. If only he knew how to use it. If only he didn’t stand in his own way with his lack of control. If only he didn’t become the butt of the joke every time he pushed himself too far. Sure, things had gotten better. Being at Yuuei had helped him to gain more control over his quirk, and Izuku and Aizawa both seemed to think that it would only improve with time. But did he deserve this opportunity?

	A quiet voice asked another equally important question: Did he want this responsibility? The power, the legacy, the pressure that came with it? His grandmother had wanted him to be sure before he accepted. Denki knew that if he told All Might he had changed his mind that the man wouldn’t make him feel guilty for it. No matter his doubts though, Denki knew that he wanted to be worthy of the trust that was being placed in him. He wanted to be worthy of being chosen by All Might, and that was why he was at the school on his day off of classes, standing awkwardly in the middle of the gym All Might had reserved for them.

	“Kaminari, my boy,” All Might said, interrupting Denki’s train of thought. “Thank you for meeting with me on your day off.”

	“Of course!” Denki replied brightly. How was he supposed to say no to a request from All Might, after all? If All Might wanted to meet with him every day, Denki wasn’t about to say no.

	“There is much that we still need to discuss concerning One for All,” All Might said, settling back into the chair that he had set up in the front of the gym, “but first, have you spoken to young Midoriya yet?”

	Denki nodded, legs folding under him as he sat on the floor in front of the hero. “I spoke to him about it this week. Thank you for letting me tell him. I know this is all supposed to be secret, even if he does already know about most of it.”

	He can’t imagine what it must have been like for Izuku to keep this secret to himself for months. Not to mention the strength that it must have taken for Izuku to turn down All Might’s offer. They’ve talked about Izuku’s training enough for Denki to know that before meeting Aizawa in person, his friend had idolized All Might. To have his former idol offer him his legacy and for Izuku to turn it down…Denki had never been more proud of someone, even if they hadn’t met yet when it happened. His grandmother had certainly decided who her knew favorite was when she heard the full story of Izuku’s encounter with All Might.

	“I take it your concern was unfounded then?” All Might said with a smile.

	“He was so excited!” Denki blurted out. That was another thing about the entire situation that just didn’t feel real to him. He didn’t think that Izuku would be mad exactly. He had turned down All Might’s quirk for a reason. An amazing reason. But there was a difference between not wanting it himself and seeing it be offered to someone who was, hopefully, his best friend. Denki had told Izuku that they were friends before the USJ attack, and he had meant it. Izuku and Mei were already the best friends he had ever had. Instead of laughing at him as he struggled, they had both tried to help him. They were so good, and Denki didn’t want to do anything that could shake their friendship so early on. Stupid, he knew, but his anxiety and the words of his old classmates kept rearing their ugly heads.

	All that worrying had been for nothing though. Izuku had truly been ecstatic for him, immediately going on about how One for All might affect his quirk, and how he was glad that All Might had found a worthy successor. Izuku hadn’t even hesitated to say that he thought Denki was worthy, and the warmth that spread through him at Izuku’s approval had quieted his own doubts for a long time afterwards. Mei had been less interested in the details of the quirk than she was in designing devices to help All Might’s injury, and that had been its own kind of comfort as well.

	Still smiling at him, All Might said. “Yes. I thought he would be. That’s a good friend you have there. Now, on to a more serious note. There are a few more things that you should know about both One for All and its history before we move forward with your training.”

	It was strange how quickly that trademark smile slipped from All Might’s features, but as he continued to speak Denki understood why. On that day, he heard the story of All for One. On that day, the tides of fate began to change.

“Are you sure you’re supposed to be doing this?” Izuku stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the warehouse. He hadn’t been to this particular spot since a few months after he first started training with Aizawa, but he needed somewhere familiar and safe that wasn’t the school campus for his training.

Aizawa gave him a flat look through the screen, bandages still wrapped tightly around his head. “I haven’t left my apartment. Hizashi will be here in half an hour. I think I can observe your training in the comfort of my home without sending myself back to the hospital.”

A cat, Leo from what Izuku could see, crossed in front of the screen blocking Aizawa from view for a second. It gave him just enough time to clear his own expression, mimicking Aizawa’s tone as he said, “Too soon.”

“Izuku. I promise I’m okay. The hospital cleared me for light movement. This is no movement.”

“But your eyes-”

“The screen isn’t going to do anything. I made sure to ask. I’ll just get you started, and then I’ll turn off the video part of the call. Will that make you feel better?” Aizawa’s tone was gentle, but it still made Izuku feel guilty.

“I’m sorry.” Izuku fidgets where he’s standing for a second before making a conscious effort to stop. He’s not sorry, actually. He’s still worried for Aizawa, and he doesn’t want to see his mentor pushing himself for Izuku’s sake. Not when he technically doesn’t need his help today.

“No. You’re not,” Aizawa replies, but there’s a smile to his voice now. Izuku can’t help smiling back.

“You caught me.”

If Izuku could have seen it, Aizawa probably would have been rolling his eyes. Instead, he adjusted another cat out of the way of the camera before sitting up straight. “You needed my help with something?”

“I can do it on my own,” Izuku responded. Even with the video set up, Aizawa still probably couldn’t see him clearly through his bandages, but that didn’t stop Izuku from shifting uneasily on his feet at the question. “I’m just going through some stances. Getting back into the feel of things.”

Aizawa hummed thoughtfully.

“Really. I don’t want you to push yourself. I’m at the warehouse, so it’s safe. I’m not planning on staying long. It’s just that we don’t have long until the Sports Festival, and I don’t want to fall behind.” The words sound rushed and exactly like the excuse they are. He should have expected Aizawa to see through them in an instant. He knows him far too well.

“It’s your rods, isn’t it?”

	Izuku’s hands hovered over where they connected to his belt, but he didn’t touch them. He didn’t say anything either. It wasn’t as though Aizawa needed the verbal confirmation anyway. In just a few words, he had already seen to the root of Izuku’s problem. He shouldn’t have bothered him with this, not when he was recovering, but Izuku didn’t think that he would have been able to put his feelings into words. Not even to Hizashi or All Might, both of whom he knows would have been willing to help him too, if only he had asked them.

	“I may not have seen the video of the attack yet,” Aizawa said softly, “but Hizashi filled me in on what happened. I wish that you have never been put in that situation to begin with, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to stop it.”

	“It wasn’t your fault!” Izuku protested.

	“It wasn’t,” Aizawa agreed. “It is still my responsibility to look after my students. To look after you especially, problem child. What you all went through… You shouldn’t be facing actual villains for a while yet. I don’t want you to feel bad about this. You’re having a completely normal reaction to what happened.”

	“I know,” Izuku said, and because he knew that Izuku would doubt that said again, “I know that this is a normal reaction. I read up on it and everything. It’s just…Every time I think about using them, I think about that moment. Explosions don’t bother me, not when I grew up with Kacchan, but I just keep thinking about how it could have been worse. If Kaminari had been injured again or…” He trails off unsure how to finish the thought. He just knows that every time he tries to pick up his weapons that moment flashes back, and he can’t do it. It’s a stupid mental block that he doesn’t have time for.

	“You have to be able to trust in your weapons, and in that moment it failed you,” Aizawa said, his voice still gentle. “That’s no one’s fault. If anything, I should have been more stringent with the safety features of your gear. Hatsume’s mother has checked over your new gear herself. As for everything else…you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”

	“I have to be!” Izuku burst out, frustrated that he could already feel the tears coming on. It wouldn’t be the first time that Aizawa had seen him cry, but Izuku wished that his go to reaction to being frustrated wasn’t tears. “The Sports Festival is in two weeks! I should be pushing myself even harder, not struggling just to hold my weapons without having a panic attack! You know what people will be saying about me. They’re going to be looking for any reason that I shouldn’t be allowed to continue in the hero course, and I don’t want to hand them one on a silver platter. I’ve gotten good at this over the years! If I have to start from scratch with something else-”

	“Then we will figure it out together,” Aizawa interrupted, “but I don’t think that will be the case.”

	Izuku tried to get his breathing back under control. “I’ve worked so hard on this. I don’t want all of that to have been for nothing. If I panic every time I get injured by a villain, then how am I supposed to do my internship? Work studies? It’s so stupid.”

	“This was an extreme circumstance, Izuku, and you have to remember that you are still a student. You are still learning, and as I said before, this was something you should not have been exposed to for a long time. It will all be okay. I promise you. In the meantime, there are ways that I can help you help you through this. You aren’t the first person to go through this. Are you ready to work?”

	Wiping his eyes, Izuku smiled at Aizawa through the screen. “Yes, sir!”

Shinsou Hitoshi had work to do, if he could ever get a moment of peace and quiet. If he was honest with himself, he could acknowledge that it wasn’t entirely his classmates fault that he was in this situation. His conversation with Present Mic had been a little louder than he had been anticipating, and by the time he realized his mistake too many people had heard the teacher’s booming voice giving him both permission and instructions to come by his office later for more information.

	Asking hadn’t been a test for himself, but somehow Shinsou still felt like he had failed. It wasn’t the greatest feeling to start off with. He pushed past it though. Shoved the feeling aside and ignored the whispers of his classmates that followed him through the halls now. The whispers themselves weren’t new, even if the content of the gossip was. He was used to it after all the years, and he refused to let it get to him now. Not when he had an actual chance of making his dreams come true.

	Coming to Yuuei had been an eye-opening experience for him. In more ways than he could have anticipated. He knew the entrance exam for the hero course was suited for more physical quirks, but he had tried it anyway. It had been hard for him to admit to himself after the fact that he hadn’t gone into it expected to do well. He hadn’t gone into the exam expecting to pass. He refused to stand in his own way a second time. That was the first thing he had realized upon starting school. He hadn’t done enough to prepare himself, and he was paying for that mistake by starting out in the Gen Ed course. Shinsou had felt discouraged by that, but he hadn’t given up. There was still a chance, he told himself.

	Then school started, and he learned two things very quickly that actually gave him hope. The first was that a student in the hero course had been expelled. That probably should have been intimidating more than anything. It showed just how high the standards for their students were, after all, and the consequences for not meeting those expectations. It also meant that there was an open spot ripe for the taking. Shinsou didn’t let himself hesitate this time. That open spot in class 1-A would be his. There was no other option. It was just a matter of waiting for the right opportunity.

	The second thing to happen was that he learned about the existence of Midoriya Izuku. At first, Shinsou hadn’t believed the rumors. It seemed hard to believe given what he had experienced during the entrance exam, but after some investigating on his own, he learned that there was some truth to the rumors. Midoriya Izuku of class 1-A was both quirkless and a recommendation student. What he had done to get in on recommendations and who his sponsor was had been too conflicting to put any real trust in the information, but those two facts he had been able to confirm at least. Apparently, he excelled at hand to hand combat and had a host of support weapons, if the rumors were to be believed.

	Shinsou was impressed, but he also felt like an idiot. He had spent so much time thinking about how unfair the exam was, how much of a disadvantage he would be in. He thought the only way through to the hero course would be through the use of his quirk, but obviously that wouldn’t work when his opponents were giant robots. Hand to hand combat. How could he have missed that? If he had thought of it himself, trained earlier, could he have somehow passed the exam? Recommendations take connections. That route would never have worked for him, but if only he had thought things through a little better instead of getting hung up on what he couldn’t do… He had still been planning to rely on his quirk as much as possible during the Sports Festival but in light of everything he had learned that seemed like a mistake he couldn’t afford to make.

	So, he had asked Present Mic if Gen Ed students could have access to the additional gyms on campus that were usually only used by hero course students. And Present Mic had said yes. He hadn’t asked Shinsou what he wanted access for, and Shinsou hadn’t volunteered the information, but it shouldn’t have been hard for anyone to figure out. His classmates knew that he had failed the entrance exam. Could probably guess that he hadn’t given up. The whispers and looks followed him, but that was fine. Let them talk. Shinsou had work to do, and he didn’t intend to be there long enough for it to bother him anyway.