River dusted off her skirt as she stepped out into the throng of waiting students. Out of the 100 of them that there were, several were looking like they already knew their results.

Even though River knew, consciously, she'd behaved like a professional, there was still a part of her that didn't wonder if she might be failed for being too rough, for being- well, for being her. Never the less, when she looked up at the board, she found her name there.

And, even more of a surprise, she found Shouto's.

But not Inasa's.

Which raised a lot of questions. River took her form from the man who was handing them out and looked over her score.

Remained calm, came up with a plan, used quirk effectively and prioritized safety of civillians… Hesitated midway through.

When had she hesitated? She hadn't- Oh. She had had to gather herself. That could have been bad, if someone was hurt worse because she stopped moving and acting.

"Holy shit!" Mina cried from over her shoulder. "That's insane!"

River snatched her paper against her chest, hiding it against her boobs.

"Don't do that!" she shouted, elbowing her friend lightly.

"You got-" River clapped a hand over her mouth, keeping her from finishing the sentence.

"Shh!" she hissed, shooting a sharp look over at Katsuki, who was trying to rip Kirishima's paper out of his hands. He was the only one of them that hadn't passed.

Mina licked her hand, and River snatched it away, wiping it on her skirt.

"Bitch that's gross!"

"You had to know I was gonna do that."

"Whatever. Just start thinking of a way to cheer up Bakugou so he doesn't kill us all in our sleep."

"You know statistically-"

"Nope!" Mina put her finger to River's lips. "Don't wanna hear it. Just get ready to cheer him up. "

River narrowed her eyes at her, but didn't fight it. Mina finally let her go.

"Fine, I'll think of something," she waved her hands in front of herself to placate her friend. "But first I'm gonna go chat up that Shiketsu girl, and Shindo too. Be back soon."

Mina didn't try to stop her from trotting off, after the tall Camie. She needed to catch her now, before it was too late. She hadn't said it when she should have, when the chance was right there and easy. But now she had to make due.

"Hey!" River jogged up behind her, catching her arm. She slipped a small piece of paper into her sleeve, watching Camie's eyes widen minutely. She squeezed her arm, smiling up at her. It was hard to see, most people would have no clue, but she could see the light in her eyes. Recognition and a tiny spark of darkness in the back. One that River was familiar with.

"That was some trick you pulled on Midoriya. Very cool. We should hang out sometime," she said swiftly. Before they could attract too much attention. She didn't' want either of them getting into trouble just yet. She needed this message to get to the LoV, and right now she couldn't go to them herself. This would have to be enough.

"Oh, you think so?" Camie's smile was stretched. Her eyes darted around them, but they were alone.

"Yeah. Gimme a call, okay?" she didn't give Camie, or Toga, as it was, a chance to really respond before she spun on her heels and jogged off with a wave. She left her there, making short work. The note should be enough to at least get her attention. And the tracker from Yaomomo that she had slipped in her pocket would be helpful as well. She had other places she needed to go now.

Once her business with Camie was over she went after Shindo, who was waiting for her near the doorway, as she had expected. She took his arm and tugged him along. The facility was full of rooms for changing, getting ready, and most of them were already emptied out from the groups that had failed earlier. It was one of these that River tugged him into. Shindo shut the door behind them.

"So," he said, his false smile fading into a true neutral expression. "You said you knew something about my heart?"

"Yes," River sat on a table and crossed her legs, looking up at him. Shindo planted his hands on the table, leaning over her. She had missed him. He was easy to be around. And he was kinda hot, too.

"So I went on… well vacation aint the right word, but whatever. Either way I went back to the US. And this is gonna sound really weird, but I swear its true."

She stumbled over where where she wanted to start. How much she really wated him to know.

"I was having an existencial crisis," she said finally. "So I went back to where I came from. And I met some very interesting people. They understood where my quirk came from, and how it worked. And more than that… they know what you are, too."

" 'what' I am," he repeated, watching her. His eyes were dark. So dark, she knew their depths. He could be a dangerous person, but instead he was fighting for something else. He was fighting so no one needed to know the pain his heart.

River didn't think she had ever admired someone more.

"What you are," she repeated. "There's not just humans in the world. Quirks aren't the only way people do pretanatural things. "

"So what, you're saying I'm a vampire? Or a Demon?" he didn't bother trying to look amused for her. She didn't blame him. She'd just call him out on his lying again, probably.

"Not quit. One of the people I spoke to," Death himself, in fact, "I mentioned what you told me. About not feeling anything besides anger and sadness and such. That's not sociopathic. It's not that you don't empathize with others, or that you can't understand other people or society. You want to protect people. You want to make sure that they don't hurt, even if you get injured in the process."

"I can't tell if you're praising me or not," Shindo told her blandly. River flicked his forehead.

"I'm saying I admire you. Let me finish my dramatic speech already."

He cracked a smile at her, but it did not touch his onyx eyes. River still returned it.

"He told me that you're something called a 'Dead Face'."

Shindo sat a little straighter. His mouth thinned into a line, but he didn't interrupt.

"The way he described it, a Dead Face is the remnants of a bunch of people who died. They're last feelings that they expriienced, all wrapped up into one space. Sometimes they can take a human form, or posses a body that's passed on… Shindo, where are you from?"

Shindo didn't respond right away. He was watching her, those fathomless eyes intense. She didn't know if he hated her for saying all of this or not.

"Shikkotsu. It was a train station that got hit with an earthquake. I wandered out of the station and a pro found me a block away. I don't remember a life before that, and I didn't have any identification. They took me to the hospital and tried to find family, but it was like I didn't exist before that day. I had to pick my own name."

"You name… 'truth' and 'shake'?"

"The earth quake, and the truth I couldn't remember. And now you found it."

There was something new in his eyes. River's breath caught when he leaned forwards and hugged her, strong arms threatening to crush her.

"Yo?" she hugged him back, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Thank you. For telling me this, and giving me some answers."

River softened. She hugged him tighter. "Of course. You're my friend, you know?"

"You know I can't feel real affection for you…"

"I'm gonna call bullshit on that," River nudged him backwards so she could see his face. He looked more relaxed somehow. "When you plit up the ground, I should have been able to keep my classmates in little safety boxes, but you're quirk broke my barriers. That only happens if the person trying to break them cares about me, and I care about them. So you can care about people," she tapped his chest, above his heart. "And you do. Or else you wouldn't be trying to protect people. "

Yo hovered close to her. It was like a weight had lifted, and River was so glad she had been the one to help.

"Are you going to spend your work study as Wizardry?" Shindo asked, finally giving her some space. River shook her head.

"I don't think that they'll let me. They're going to be more stern with who they let us do work studies this year, after everything that's happened."

"If you do," he offered her his hand. She took it gladly and stood.

"It'll be nice to see you again. Maybe with a few less serial killers this time," she joked.

Shindo didn't laugh, but a small glimmer found its way into his dead eyes. That was more than enough.