To be honest, I don't give the files on the Experiments much thought after the night I read through them. I've been training storing things in my shadows, and so carry them with me if I ever run into them (they've only popped out like toast from a toaster three times), but I've not paid much thought to them other than that.

I've been focused on other things. On Wednesday, our intern group, accompanied by All Might and Aizawa, go to Sir Nighteye's funeral. The school and the other hero offices have decided it best for all our internships to be postponed for the time being.

Nighteye's office is taken over by Centipeder, while they wait for Mirio's return.

We still can't see Eri yet, and Aizawa is with her a lot. So for the time being, it's back to school as usual. At least we get to hear the adventures the others are having on their internships; Tokoyami's gone back to Hawks after his week there back in spring, and he's got loads of stories and Quirk has grown loads. It makes me worry that my own growth is slow in comparison, and that I am the inferior shadow hero.

'I want to talk to him and Dark Shadow.'

Not until we're both ready. Tsuyu is still really suspicious about us since Chisaki.

Otherwise, life has returned pretty much to normal. Currently, I'm wishing that I was paying attention to the integration of hyperbolic functions, and not doodling Bakugo in front. Now I have no clue what's going on, not that anyone else looks to either. Even Momo's stumped!

"It's not particularly elegant," Ectoplasm shakes his head, gesturing that the disgusting function he's written on the board, "but calculate the integral of the equation. Whoever has the answer, raise your hand."

There's silence, and eyes wander around the class as everyone looks to each other for the same reassurance of not knowing what to do. The ever-present muttering of Izuku Midoriya intensifies next to me as he stares into his work, face inches away from the pages, breaking into a sweat. He suddenly erupts out of his seat and shoots his hand into the air.

"Midoriya!"

"107/11!" he announces proudly.

"Wrong! Yaoyorozu!"

Bakugo snorts a laugh and Momo stands, hand raised.

"It's 107/28!"

It is?

"Correct! Let's go to the next page, then."

Let's not. Let's go home.

Kirishima throws his arm around me and Bakugo at lunch, making plans to go training later. We're not gonna go too overboard because the class has a timetabled training session tomorrow with Cementoss. Sero, Kaminari and Mina are putting in extra work for maths from today, so won't be joining us. Kiri also makes a passing comment on Aoyama's growing friendship with Midoriya, whose mere mention strikes rage from the Bakugo Beast.

Aoyama is someone I get on with, but never really talk to. I've picked up a few French phrases off him though (one night half the class sat in a circle in the common room while he taught us French swear words), and he did lend me his copy of the original French Les Misérables. He can just be a bit...odd.

'Says the girl who has voices in her head.'

Stop going on about it! That's all you're talking about at the moment.

Autumn has well and truly hit. Dark and cold evenings like this one are a common occurrence now, and we need to wrap up a bit in tracksuit hoodies and beanies. The boys' hair really condense under hats; you see how small their heads really are.

I'm wearing another item of clothing Yamada found for me: a black ski hoodie with a snood as part of the design, and there are sharp teeth printed on the snood so when I have it up, it looks like I've got sharp teeth. And underneath my gym clothes, instead of a white shirt, I've got an AC/DC t-shirt he also got me. An Aussie band from decades ago that never broke Japan, but I'm so glad Yamada introduced me to them. I've not had any complaints yet from Momo for playing Thunderstruck too loud. I know Kyoka approves though, and she's teaching me the bass for some of their songs.

Ground Gamma. The favourite of the training grounds amongst us. We get warmed up and ready to start. But there's a voice, still literally nagging away at me, and it's driving me insane. Bakugo stretches out his quadriceps, sitting in a low squat and pushing his knees out with his hands. Kirishima stretches out his shoulders, arms linked behind his back. They're talking about Ochako, Kiri saying how far her martial arts have come along since she started.

"Yeah, well, everyone's growing," Bakugo replies bluntly in his usual, aggressive manner. "If they didn't, they'd be kicked off the course."

"It's great to see everyone doing so well. Ashido's been incorporating her dance into her fighting too and is developing this really cool style. Have you seen it?"

"You came from the same junior high, right?"

"Yup!"

"Hey, guys?" I wave my hands at them, but keep them close to my body. The two boys look up and return to normal, standing poses, rather than having their limbs bent in weird positions. "Speaking of getting stronger, can I talk to you guys for a sec?"

'Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!'

Bakugo shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "Yeah, whatever."

I explain, dancing around the topic, talking about my animal-like fighting style and how I get carried away when I fight. How over the last couple of weeks I've grown considerably stronger and not from my training…

"Is this about…" Kirishima begins, looking to find the right words, "that 'entity' you talked about when…" And he trails off, but I know he's referring to the night of the D.C. meeting, a few days after the incident in the warehouse.

"Er, yeah, it is… Look, I trust you guys which is why I'm saying this, and I hope you trust me, but also I know you're both strong…"

"What you gettin' at, Scarface?"

"Zero."

Bakugo recognises the name from when I shouted at Aizawa just before class, also soon after the D.C. meeting (that was not a good day), but just thought it was some League villain. I try to explain without sounding like a complete maniac, that there's always been a voice, condoning violence. And then with Hana, she physically came out—

"Hold on," Bakugo narrows his eyes, trying to piece together my words into a way that makes sense to him. "Like, I'm pretty angry a lot, you are too. You can just see it more with you when you fight… But this...thing actually came out of you?!"

Kirishima doesn't have any words, and is just listening. But he does look a little baffled.

'Show them, show them!'

Shut up, Gollum. "Look, I know it's a lot to take in. This is gonna be weird, but are you ready for me to...show you what I mean? It might make more sense."

Both boys look at me. I was expecting maybe some fear or apprehension, but instead it's just 100% 'what the fuck'. "Sure…" they both nod, not sounding very convincing.

Fine then, Zero, but promise me you'll play nice.

~¥.¥~

"Hello, boys!" I clap my hands together, a grin spread wide across my face. This is so exciting! Finally getting to meet Kurono's friends, oh, what a day! The next stage of our relationship!

They both take a couple of steps back, maybe a little bit of fear starting to creep in their confused, little minds. You can almost hear the cogs turning. I take a seat on one of the metal pipes and cross one leg over the other.

"So, hi, my name's Zero," a smile cheerily, giving a wave. "I'm Kurono's alter ego who's manifested her Quirk! I'm generally the reason Kurono goes all savage, y'know, haha! Although I can't take credit for all of that, she's still got a wild streak too… Nice to meet you!"

They both stand there, unmoving apart from the occasional twitching of an eye. The look of 'what the fuck' is still written all over their faces, though dear Kirishima seems to be closer to losing his nerve.

"Hi…" Bakugo says bluntly, and I hop off my perch to run over to him, a smile still beaming across my face.

"I've been looking so forward to meeting you! Kurono doesn't let me out a lot — I've kinda got a habit of trying to kill people — oh, but only those I don't like though! Don't plan on killing you yet!"

I laugh, but it trails off into silence as they still both stare at me. My chest sinks somewhat and my smile fades, coming to the realisation that Kurono's cruel words were true. They don't like me.

'No, I was just being a bitch. You're just coming on a bit...strong. Try to ease up a bit.'

I smile again, but not as wide as before, but I'm not used to having just a 'friendly' smile either so it twitches as I try to force it into place. Eventually, I just sigh and give up.

"Look, my social skills aren't great, okay? The only time I come out is to tear someone apart. I don't have a lot of experience with 'positive interactions'."

I stare at them, and they stare back at me. The metal of Ground Gamma creaks and clangs as it contracts in the cold air, echoing through the pipes and buildings.

Kirishima's unsure and almost fearful expression suddenly changes. He smiles brightly and sticks out his hand. "Nice to meetcha! I'm Eijiro Kirishima! I like to think of myself as one of Kurono's best bros."

Once again, I start grinning stupidly and run up to shake his hand. Just like Aizawa taught, right?

'Maybe a little less vigorously.'

"Yes, yes! I know, Kurono likes you a lot, you're a good guy! Good man, real man, living up to your aspiration well."

I turn to Bakugo, who's also holding out his hand, his expression now having returned to his cold, hard stare. "Katsuki Bakugo. Your eyes are weird."

"They are indeed! Tokyo Ghoul vibes, huh?" I shake his hand. "Kurono won't ever tell you this, but she's glad you're around because then she's not the only overly violent person and your anger makes her feel better about herself. And justifies me to some extent."

'What?! Why would you say that?!'

I'm complimenting him!

'That's not a compliment! And don't go shouting out all my private opinions on people!'

Bakugo looks vaguely concerned, so I just keep talking. "You're a real inspiration to her fighting style too. You've got a certain tenacity in fights I think we both share," and I lean in a little closer. "I think we're on a similar level, you and I."

"Huh," is all he manages to say.

I sit back on my perch and answer any questions. It starts off with none, but sure enough begins to escalate. Do Kurono and I share our thoughts? Yes. What's it like for me when she's in control? Watching T.V. What's my favourite drink?

"I would say blood, but you can only have about a cup of that before it gets sickly. Like chocolate syrup, or honey, you get me. Fizzy mango juice, however, fwah, love it, can't get enough of the stuff."

And then I start asking questions to the boys. How does Bakugo make his turns so sharp? How does Kirishima harden his jaws and teeth? I'll admit, I took a bit of inspiration from him there, and ask how I can make mine stronger.

"Er...make sure your gums are protected too, I guess?" He mumbles while I open my mouth, the shadows solidified around it into a wicked, toothy mask.

Bakugo folds his arms. "Does Icyhot know about, y'know, you?"

I scoff, and disperse the shadows. "Pfft, no. As if I want to be involved in the drama the lovebirds already have."

"Not your boyfriend then, huh?"

"That boring drip with daddy issues? Honey, no, he's far too vacant of personality for me to bother with him."

"Wow," Kirishima comments, looking a little concerned. "Harsh."

"True though," I shrug. It's not my fault Kurono rushed into that relationship, excited by the idea of 'love' and 'boys' after Aizawa kept her cooped up. Surprised it's lasted this long, to be honest. "I'd consider either of you though, you're fun."

They both go red and stumble for words.

"Haha! Look at you! So adorable — I'm kidding, don't get too excited."

"YOU JUST CALL ME ADORABLE?!"

"Yeah, with your spiky hair and your shouting," I coo. "You're like an angry pomeranian."

His temper builds, and both Kirishima and I laugh at him because of it.

Eventually I clap by hands together and jump up excitedly into air. "Come on then! Let's fight, I want to see how strong you guys really are. I feel I won't need to hold back on you guys, y'know."

'Don't get too carried away…'

I won't! Jeez, stop being a worrying old lady and just chill out already.

So our spar begins, and it's great fun! I can beat the shit out of Kirishima and it's like hitting a wall, and then he'll hit back and it will actually hurt! And then Bakugo only gets more into it every time I land a hit. He's not even phased by my claws! The explosions are hot and scorch my skin as they send me flying back. This is so much fun!

Bakugo also teaches me how to make sharper turns when I'm Rifting too. Demonstrating by jumping into the air over me, then projecting himself in the opposite direction with an explosion, I learn to use my own shadows in a similar way to change direction quicker. When I first try it, my body jolts with the sudden force and it takes me by surprise. Not perfect, but better.

By the time we finish the session, I'm panting and my muscles are burning. This is so new! I love it, this is so much fun. Bakugo is bleeding a bit, but seems unbothered, and Kirishima and I are comparing how similar our claws are.

"Not bad," Bakugo comments causally. "Not bad at all."

'That's enough fun for one day.'

But I don't want to go back! I'm happy right here, and I'm not doing anything wrong!

'You've introduced yourself to them. You got what you wanted.'

No, I want to stay. I like hanging out with these guys.

'Fine… You can have control until we get back to the dorms, or if someone else comes along.'

"Hey, Kuro—er, Zero," I look up to see Kirishima handing me a bottle of water. "My Quirk, it's not anything fancy like you or Bakubro's, so I've gotta really push myself. And you did that, yo! Just wanna say thanks."

I take the water bottle and grin at him. It's either neutral or complete, all-out grin, no in between. "You're welcome!" And I return the compliment. I feel they've both pushed me too; it's the first time I've had a fight and I've not felt...angry.

I had fun, which is new.

~¥.¥~

Hello everyone, I'm back from my year hiatus. I know last chapter I'd come back from another hiatus, and so I'm back again.

I want everyone reading to know that I still love SiL, but have just had a bit of trouble finding the motivation to write it this past year. I've tried to come back to it a couple of times but lost where I was going (as I was writing my own stuff to weave in rather than canon). I don't know how often I will keep posting, but until I say that I am no longer writing SiL I will always come back to it.

This past year/18 months has had a lot in store for me emotionally. With my grandad passing away at the start of last year, First Year Uni exams, my first big rescue at work as a lifeguard, heartbreak, Second Year Uni, interviews, heartbreak again, Christmas :D, spiralling mental health where I wasn't leaving the house or eating, redemption arc where I build myself back up, more exams, learning to drive, sporting competitions, opening my heart once more, Coronavirus, being disowned by my dad's side of the family, exams again, preparation to moving 5 hours away for my industrial placement next year, FIN.

So yeah, my life has been like a few chapters of this extensively long fanfic. My workload has been a lot, as well as university work I'm also doing drawings for various zines and working on my own book idea. I am overworked, I am tired, and I apologise for leaving it over a bloody year to update.

In regards to SiL, there are some things I would like to cover. Firstly, I am not overly pleased with the quality of these next few chapters but hope they improve later on. Secondly, I am aware of the massive plothole the manga has put me in regarding Kurogiri, and in the upcoming chapters I will do my best to amend what his happening in regards to him, the doctor and the Experiments to make it work with the manga. Thirdly, as you may have guessed from notes in this chapter, I will be ending the Shoto-Kurono relationship in later chapters. I actually decided on this before my hiatus as I don't enjoy writing the relationship or think they are very well matched. I know some of you like this however when I write romance for Kurono I want to do it well and in a way I enjoy. In addition I think she's got enough going on in her life without it.

To conclude, I am back. I don't know when the next chapter(s) may be up, as I may upload a few in bulk. Thank you once again for reading, I hope everyone is keeping well during all the shit that is going on in the world, thank you.