What is this? Two chapters within a reasonable timeframe? Since when I started doing these?

-.

Five Years Ago, October 24th, East China Sea, JCG Takodori-11, 2355.

The child found standing on the sinking wreckage of the once proud JDS Murakumo was the last of its passengers to be brough aboard the main rescue ship dispatched to the scene… The last living one, that is. People from the costal guard were still bringing in the bodies that surfaced on that unfortunate night.

At least the full moon helped the spotters. The costal guard already knew the rough amount of people missing, and the search operation would be continuing for days. Bodies of those not wearing life vests would take a while to bloat and show up.

Most of the survivors were unharmed, and there were only eight in urgent need of medical attention.

One of these eight was the young Hakuba. The medics could only guess what he had been put through, given that the boy was basically unresponsive. He either refused or simply couldn't talk, and it had taken someone dragging him by force to get him inside the medical bay.

Otherwise he would've kept waiting for someone to show up from the depths that continued to consume the Murakumo.

The first priority was extracting the massive shard of glass still lodged in the boy's leg. His first real response came when the paramedics realized that they couldn't stem the bleeding, the boy slowly used his Quirk to inject something on the wounded area, but then promptly retreated back to waiting.

About an hour later he fell unconscious due to blood loss and exhaustion.

Full examination revealed that he had a broken rib, a crack on his sternum and two hairline fractures, one on his cheekbone and one on his right tibia, near his ankle. His nasal bone was also fractured, but either he or someone else had forced the cartilage back into place already. Other minor wounds were plentiful, it was harder to find somewhere he wasn't cut, burnt or bruised than not. Hakuba had a total of twenty-six pieces of alien material removed from his back and shoulders, all small pieces of glass.

Every exam the medics put him through also revealed the copious amounts of adrenal boosters and painkillers within his system. It also came up that not all the blood on his clothes was his, especially the samples collected from his nails and from the natural weapons created by his Quirk factor.

The medics were just about done with registering everything when the radio called their attention.

It was an express order of the Ministry of Defense to hand over all evidence of what had happened to Hakuba. They would be taking care of the boy from that point forward, Minister Machibuse Hakame was already on a helicopter heading their way and would meet with both the medical team and the rescue team that had interacted with her grandson.

In many ways, that night wouldn't be the over for a while…

The sun was already high in the sky when Hakuba came back to his senses.

His entire body throbbed from pain, but he shot up from the bed in an instant.

Hakuba looked around, he was in a hospital room.

He just stood there, confounded by the situation. The last night was mostly a massive blur in his head. Was he in Busan? This clearly wasn't the Murakumo.

The feeling of something stinging the back of his mind was incessant.

He rummaged through the room; his legs still felt limp.

"This is not Busan…" Hakuba muttered to himself, his eyes now focused on the signs written in Japanese on the street outside his window.

"Hey, you are finally awake." a familiar voice came through as the door soon opened.

"Susumu-san… what's going on?" Hakuba turned around to meet the man that often accompanied his grandmother.

"To put it simply? A lot…" Tamani let out a heavy sigh as he sat down and reached for the remote of the television in the room. His usually upbeat and carefree tone clearly troubled.

Hakuba just watched the channels going by as the man searched for something.

"You woke up a little too late, but they should be reprising the announcement somewhere… you might want to sit down for it though." Tamani explained as he finally landed on a news bulletin that seemed to have begun not too long ago.

"Announcement?" Hakuba repeated.

"Hakame should be arriving soon. I'll be here until then… suppose that now I gotta deal with a ton of cleanup and two and a half of paperwork." Tamani tried to joke, but his acting was not holding up to it.

The screen transitioned to a recording of what looked like a press conference.

"I'm not very good at this, but I'll be here to help in any way I can… things sometimes don't go according to plan, but all that we can do now is to make the best of it." Tamani offered, his head hanging low as he leaned on his knees.

Hakuba was about to speak. Nothing was making sense to him… why was his grandmother hosting a press conference? Where were his parents?

On the television, his grandmother took a moment before approaching the microphone and speaking.

"This is a dark moment for the Japanese Armed Forces and for the nation as a whole. In the late hours of the 24th of the month of October, the JDS Murakumo has met with an untimely fate while on a transport mission towards the city of Busan, South Korea. Details are still scarce, but our investigation points to a critical engine failure. The resulting explosion resulted in irreparable damage to the ship's structure, leading to a breach that ultimately sunk the vessel." Machibuse Hakame informed. Flashes from many different cameras and a slew of questions from those present came immediately after.

Hakuba froze. Images of what he had had been unconsciously repressing immediately flooded his mind.

"Of the one hundred and forty-six people aboard, forty-two escaped unharmed, seven suffered minor wounds and eight are hospitalized, three of which are still in critical condition. Of the remaining eighty-nine passengers we have sixty-six confirmed casualties and the remaining twenty-three are still missing. The search efforts are our topmost priority as of now." she continued. That had to be the first time Hakuba ever saw his grandmother struggling to maintain her protocol face.

The questions doubled in both amount and intensity.

By this point Hakuba was barely registering anything.

"For those of you that are unaware of the purpose of this mission, allow me to explain: Aboard the JDS Murakumo was the squadron number six of the Special Forces under my command. Their task was to ensure that a shipment containing evidence regarding the sudden spike in criminal activity centered around Naruhata this year, as well regarding the attack on the Tokyo Sky Egg, would reach both the South Korean and Chinese authorities for cross-examination. It is with great regret that I must inform that all members of Squad Six have been confirmed dead and that the cargo has been greatly damaged." Hakame explained, her hand clenching into a tight fist as he spoke those words.

She took a moment to breath and bowed deeply to the audience.

Hakuba just stared unblinkingly at the screen in front of him.

"It is with that same grief I shamefully resign from my position the country's head of defense. Both my son and his wife have been confirmed dead after the incident… their only child was also aboard the ship, and as of now he is still unconscious. I have served this country for over five decades now, and the weight of this failure falls entirely upon my shoulders. I will be withdrawing from public life, if at least momentarily, to ensure my grandson's well-being. That will be all." Hakame concluded, and soon the feed went back to the news report that was going over the statement.

Hakuba broke.

-.

Current day, October 24th, Tokyo, Juko News HQ, 1945.

"Are you sure about this? I'd be a lot more comfortable if you were to do this with someone I know."

Tamani's words were accompanied by a puff of smoke as he stood in front of the modest building alongside Aisawa and Machibuse. With a gesture from his hand he instructed his personnel to secure the area.

"U.A. did a thorough background check on every employee of this agency. And they were quick to respond to our request, so it is only rational we clear things up as fast as possible." Aisawa explained. He had managed to schedule a private interview during the flight back to Tokyo.

He and Machibuse were welcomed at the airport by a security force led by Tamani himself. The blue-haired man clearly wasn't taking any chances despite his demeanor.

"And besides, it would be a rather awkward situation for you if we had to speak with this "unnamed news person" you know, wouldn't it, Susumu-san?" Machibuse quirked an eyebrow as he asked the minister.

"She is still a good friend despite what happened in the past… and do you really have the time now to poke fun at my relationships?" Tamani responded with mild irritation in his voice.

"The old hag never liked her." Machibuse pointed out.

"Not much of a milestone there... We'd have a much easier time counting the people Hakame actually likes than not." Tamani sighed, now leaning against the side of the car that had brought them there and taking in another mouthful of smoke.

"We should get going." Aisawa interrupted, noticing how now the doors of the HQ were pulled open by a familiar face.

Tokuda Taneo would be the one conducting the interview.

"I assume you know what you can and cannot say." Tamani gave the teenager one last look.

Machibuse just nodded.

"You two can go ahead then, I will just finish smoking this one while I make a couple of calls. From what I gathered, whoever published those pictures didn't do much more than that, so the plan should hold up." the minister gestured for his two companions to proceed without him.

After one last moment to build up courage, Machibuse took the first step.

It was on.

"Tokuda-san, my gratitude for your assistance." Machibuse bowed his head lightly as the reporter invited his guests inside.

"Please, you don't need to thank me for anything. People are accusing you of some pretty scathing things, so it's only fair that you get a chance to defend yourself. I'm happy to be able to provide that." Tokuda responded with a small smile.

"I noticed that your journal still hasn't published anything about the current situation, and I find it hard to believe that whoever is behind this would have skipped on someone who had insider access to U.A." Aisawa pointed out as he scanned the mostly empty lobby.

"Good journalists take their time to check everything. I can only assume that the big dogs of the industry got too worried about losing the headline to the competition and had to rush things. Intuition makes a big difference in these situations… if the allegations are false then everyone will be scrapping for an excuse by tomorrow morning and I honestly think that this is much worse than being a little late to a story." Tokuda explained, now guiding the two visitors to a more suitable location for an interview.

"So you do not believe the accusations?" Machibuse questioned.

"Photographic evidence is rather on the nose, I have to admit, but if the story that came along with the photos was true than you wouldn't have called asking for a chance to clear things up." the reporter responded with a small shrug.

He reached for the doorknob.

"And besides, traffic through my page has been exploding for almost an hour now and all I did was announce that I'd interviewing you live. I would have given up on the chance of that ever happening if I simply went with the flow." Tokuda added with a cheeky tone.

Machibuse and Aisawa just stared at the man as he held the door open for them.

Dealing with the media was always a delight.

The interview room wasn't much to write home about, just a pair of barrel chairs facing each other at an angle with a small desk in between. A bunch of photos were scattered there, and it wasn't hard to guess what was in those photos. A television was perched close to them, likely where the photos would be displayed as the interview went on.

Two cameras were just about done with being set up, and a boom mic was being lowered into position as everyone got in.

"We are scheduled to begin in five minutes, so please make yourself comfortable." Tokuda informed, taking a glance at his watch.

Soon enough everything was set and ready to go.

Minister Tamani had also finally entered the room.

The woman in charge of the Juko team gave the signal and the interview began.

"I imagine that all of you viewers are already aware of what took place a couple of hours ago. Well, I'm glad to bring some clarity to you all… My name is Tokuda Taneo, reporter of the Juko News team, and I have here with me U.A.'s very own Machibuse Hakuba. Also in the studio we have pro-hero Eraserhead, homeroom teacher of U.A.'s Class 1-A, as well as Tamani Susumu, head-director of the Tartarus maximum security prison and minister of defense. They will be providing contextual information if we dem necessary." Tokuda opened the interview, now gesturing towards his main guest.

Machibuse took a deep breath as one of the cameras focused on him.

"I suppose I should start by thanking you for the opportunity and the… four hundred and sixty-eight thousand views… for listening." the teen began speaking, quickly tensing up as he realized the sheer scale of what was happening. The number on display kept on rising. He hated the idea of doing this live interview, but something edited wouldn't be as convincing nor would it have the same alure to draw in the public.

"You don't seem to be very comfortable." Tokuda pointed out.

"The sensation of being observed by multiple people is not one I enjoy… honestly, I am quite a bit scared right now, but things would get a lot worse if I just hid myself into a corner." Machibuse admitted, now turning his eyes away from both the reporter and the cameras.

"I'd say you are right about that. Silence would just give people more space to attack you… so, we have a lot to discuss tonight; anything you would prefer to go over first, or you'd rather having me taking the lead here? I'm already getting a lot of questions from my subscribers, old and new, here, so we could go over those as well as we talk." the reporter offered in a reassuring tone.

"You are the expert here. Honestly, I hope this is the last time I have to address the public like this. I much prefer Edgeshot's approach…" Machibuse sighed nervously.

"Oh don't be like that!" Tokuda chuckled, now picking up a few papers with the topics he had lined up.

"Still, I think it would be better if I began by setting one rule: I am a graduate of a military institution, and the country's safety has been the priority of my family for generations now. I am sworn to act with that interest in mind… I do know classified information that is regarded as vital by the Japanese government, especially regarding the Murakumo incident five years ago, that I am not allowed or intend to answer in detail. This intel is considered to be a strategic secret, and I will not put my own safety above the country's. I hope you all understand." Machibuse explained, his tone still tangibly tense.

"Then I suppose we should start there. What can you tell us about that night five years ago? Accounts from survivors are not exactly plentiful, I imagine by the same reason you just stated." Tokuda inquired, a few of the photos of the JDS Murakumo, both before the incident and after, now showing on the screen by his side.

"I remember watching my grandmother talking over the incident on a press conference that took place on the day after. I assume that people have dug that up in light of what happened today and I honestly believe that statement is a good way to sum up everything. Still, someone once told me that only those who are there when such a thing takes place can properly understand everything, so I can try providing the audience with my perspective… There were two different explosions inside the JDS Murakumo, within just a few minutes of one another, and that pushed the ship's structural integrity to the point of critical failure, causing the ship to sink rapidly." Machibuse began, but the reporter rose his hand up.

"On that press conference Machibuse Hakame stated that there was a critical engine failure behind the explosion, so we can assume one of the blasts took place in the engine room. What about the other?" Tokuda interjected.

"The other explosion was indeed outside the engine room. It happened in one of the control rooms of the ship, but I cannot say much more than that. Vessels similar to the JDS Murakumo are still in use, not only here in Japan but also in foreign countries, and what happened in there showed a structural weakness to the ship." Machibuse explained, keeping the truth hidden as much as possible. Technically the ship's bridge was still qualified as a "control room".

The sound of another microphone cause both to turn around.

Minister Tamani had picked up.

"Right, I suppose I should give that contextualization… Hakuba is likely not even aware of this, but I should take the chance to soothe the concerns of the viewers about the state of those ships. The JDS Murakumo has two sister ships still in activity inside our navy: the JDSs Minegumo and Natsugumo. Those two were temporarily removed from activity following the Murakumo incident. I'll not bore you all with the technical details, but we have indeed identified the same structural weak point when investigating those two. One of the main set of controls of these ships had to be sub-divided further to avoid a similar situation. Now if for some reason this control room becomes compromised in a similar fashion we have redundancies put in place to keep things under control." Tamani explained, going along with the whole "control room" thing.

"Thank you, Minister. Any chances the more engineering-inclined people in the audience get to have a look at those?" Tokuda joked.

"I don't see any harm in it, at least not regarding the original design. People involved in engineering military ships are rightfully reserved about details, but I can try to get an approval for that." Tamani went along.

There was a small pause as the reporter took a moment to look at a few questions from the audience that had been lined up.

"One of our viewers pointed something… why isn't Machibuse Hakame present here with us?" Tokuda now asked.

Hakuba had to resist the instinct to clench his hand right now.

Tamani had his mouth shut and arms crossed in a X in front of his chest.

The boy took a deep breath, his mask of an expression cracking slightly.

"Machibuse Hakame is in a coma since the first the day of the month. She was critically wounded during the operation that captured Kurogiri of the League of Villains. Her condition is… stable enough." Machibuse told, ignoring the advice from the man now currently facepalming a few feet away from him.

Tokuda clearly wasn't expecting that turn of events.

"Those of you who did any amount of research on my grandmother already know she acted as the pro-hero Conquest for a few years when she was younger, and only assumed that mantle afterwards very sporadically. Given the nature of her Quirk and how destructive it can be, she was required to obtain a hero license prior to joining the military for good. Because of that, she is not exactly fond of her hero career, but the old hag was never one to shy away from duty. And that comes with risks." Machibuse continued, feeling a weight being lifted from his shoulders as he let that out.

"We here at Juko News wish her a hasty recovery." Tokuda nodded in respect.

Silence prevailed for a moment.

The tough questions were still to come.

"Still, now that you brought them up, it was never made clear to the public why exactly the League of Villains targeted you specifically during their raid at U.A.'s summer camp earlier this year. What can you tell us?" Tokuda took the lead once more.

"There were a number of reasons for that. Shigaraki Tomura wanted me as part of his group not only as a fighter, but as a medic as well. He admitted to me that the League of Villains lacked a "support player" to tend to their wounded. Having me switching sides would also discredit both U.A. and the government a great deal. And I can only guess what All For One needed me for; my Quirk is rather finicky and because of that he did not manage to force me to synthesize whatever it was he needed. I would have liked to be able to say more than this, but I was being forced in and out of consciousness back then, so my memories of the time I was held captive are very much compromised." Machibuse responded, each word measured carefully. If Tamani was right, then this would lead the interview down just the right path…

"And what about the allegations regarding you killing sixteen people during the Murakumo incident? From what was made public of your testimony after the rescue at Kamino, you stated that Shigaraki attempted to blackmail you in some way." Tokuda pressed with the questioning.

Hook, line and sinker.

"Wait, what?" Machibuse responded dumbfounded. He had rehearsed this response in his mind for nearly an hour on the way to this interview.

"The letter that was sent to the media containing all these photos we have here states that the tattoo on your arm is a death count. That you are a trained assassin." Tokuda repeated, now mildly confused.

"…You are aware that this story about my tattoo is a theory that was posted on the Edgeshot forums a few days after Kamino, right? You know, the Edgeshot forums, that place on the internet where people say that Kamihara-san is my father and that I am actually Toga Himiko disguised and hidden inside U.A." Machibuse asked back, his tone that of someone stating something obvious.

"What?" Tokuda leaned closer as he asked that, his face pure disbelief.

The chat on the sidebar of the livestream absolutely exploded.

"That website is a rather wild place. The Toga Himiko theory makes so little sense I find it amusing. She needs to ingest someone's blood in order to transform, and because of how my Quirk works I have a massive amount of diluted chemicals just floating on my bloodstream… mosquitoes tend to just drop dead after feeding on me, and I'm certain that she would be stuck in the bathroom for a while if she happened to ingest my blood… Shit! I finally got why she called me "Stinky-blood" when we met at the Shie Hassaikai hideout!" Machibuse's protocol speech failed him there, it was mostly intentional, but the realization that he likely had caused a villain to sprint towards the toilet had really happened just now.

The entirety of the Juko News crew was at a loss as they watched the boy being interviewed hastily bowing and apologizing for breaking some sort of protocol.

"I assume that whoever sent this package to incriminate me did not provide much evidence beyond the photos… to be frank, I was out visiting my grandmother on the hospital and my parents at the cemetery, so I am not entirely up to speed on everything that was said about me. Can someone please check if the accusation is the same of the theory on the Edgeshot forums?" Machibuse scratched the back of his head.

The main microphone could barely pick up on Tamani laughing in the background. They had struck gold right there.

Aisawa just rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. Deep inside he was pretty amused by how well that had worked, but he had no need to pick on the media for that mistake: He knew this was a setup put in place months ago.

"I suppose that there is no one other than myself to blame for those theories about me . I only check up on the forums every so often, and whenever I respond to something I tend to be rather, umm… vague when commenting on whatever the fans come up with. So I may have instigated people there more than I should just for my own entertainment." Machibuse admitted nervously as he watched someone from the crew handing a cellphone for Tokuda to read.

"Well, that just happened… good thing we haven't published anything about you, right? I can only imagine what is happening at other news networks now." Tokuda tried to laugh it off.

He took a short breath to get back into the game.

"The photos are all true however, aren't they?" the reporter asked.

"They are, and releasing this one specifically was what the League of Villains did when I talked about being blackmailed… but can we get back to that later? I suppose it would be quicker if I explained about the tattoo now that you brought it up." Machibuse suggested, now picking up the photo of him entering the Tartarus maximum security prison.

"By all means." Tokuda gestured for him to proceed.

"That night five years ago. It is something I know will chase me around until I die. I am the Child in Wreckage and nothing can change that; this is something I am just now trying to learn and live with instead of just running from the reality… Eighty-seven people died that night, and these sixteen are indeed some of those people. I have seen a lot of death that night, but these sixteen are the ones that I know I will never be able to leave behind: a piece of me died with each of them. Mother taught me that death walks always by our side; having these sixteen on my shoulder serves to remind me of that." Machibuse told, a tangible sadness in his strict tone as he glanced towards his tattooed arm.

"Earlier during this interview you said something about how only the people who live through an event can properly understand it. I suppose we all can relate to that feeling to some degree, we all have our struggles in life, but unfortunately yours happened to be something on a rather massive scale. It is good to see that you are at least trying to find peace with yourself." Tokuda offered, giving the boy in front of him the same sincere look he had months ago when they first met.

Both took one last look at the desk that stood between them.

"All that is left was to address the situation on the photo: Stain. The Hero Killer. What is your connection to him?" the reporter inquired once more.

"Akaguro Chizome is an old friend of the family in a way. He and my mother fought in the past, and that confrontation was something he keeps fresh in his mind. When we met during the Hosu Incident he was quick to point out that we were not completely strangers to each other. Because of that, I was pulled into his interrogation process. I have visited him in prison many times already, since I am one of the very few people he is willing to speak to. He even sided with the police when push came to a shove after my abduction during this summer, providing intel about the League of Villains as to assist in the investigation." Machibuse explained.

"Any reason as to why Stain went from stabbing you to cooperating with the police to ensure your safety?" Tokuda pointed out the discrepancy.

"It is all for the Revival of Heroics." Machibuse took a deep breath and prepared. This was something he wouldn't be able to hide.

"His ideology. What it has to do with you?" Tokuda pushed.

"I swore to him that I would follow it in exchange for ensuring that he would cooperate with the police's investigation on the League of Villains." Machibuse didn't hesitate to respond.

Silence in the studio.

"I never had much of an ideology when I first joined U.A… honestly, I never wanted to be a hero, but I had promised that I would be one. Well, now I have promised that to two people. Perhaps it is because I was groomed to be a soldier, perhaps it is because of how many people I lost at an early age, but protecting people is something important to me. So trying to be a hero just to follow that basic instinct is something natural to me. I have no desire to be the number one hero, I just want to be a true hero, someone who would have made a difference back five years ago." Machibuse continued, for the first time during that interview he was being one hundred per cent honest. No half-truths, no tricks, no lies.

"You are trying to defend a pretty tough case." Tokuda quirked an eyebrow, already expecting more to that logic.

"I understand very well that Akaguro Chizome is a serial killer, that he is a villain beyond redemption. And he understands that too… I have a friend that has suffered too much because of what Stain did. I know that I will never be able to look the former Ingenium, someone who was there for me during my parent's funerals, in the eye. I know that because of this path I have chosen there will be a million people more judging my every action as if I was the Hero Killer… but it is for them that I do it. I have decided to be a true hero in the eyes of Akaguro Chizome not to champion his cause or to dissuade people to become heroes as to find a better future for themselves. It is not up to me to say what is wrong in society and force change myself." Machibuse finally spoke his resolve, something he had been building since that day when he promised Momo he wouldn't give on becoming a hero.

The livestream chat was cascading with messages so fast it was impossible to read more than a word.

Hakuba felt as if the entire world had eyes on him now, but for once he did not feel afraid.

"I have decided to become a "true hero" so that society never has to see another Hero Killer."

-.

October 25th, U.A. Highschool Heights Alliance, 1-A, 0000.

Hakuba was mentally exhausted.

The interview went on for about an hour after his big declaration, mostly going over questions from the audience which, as per agreement with the Juko News team, would be an exclusive for their next publication.

That was followed by an insane amount of back and forth inside the Ministry of Defense as they tried to figure out who was behind those leaks. Logic dictated that it had to be the work of the League of Villains, but that left how they managed to obtain their information to begin with.

Unfortunately that also meant that Hakuba lost his free access to Tartarus, the entire place now would be on full alert given how apparently someone managed to spy on the institution, and likely had been doing so for a long time already.

Hakuba's head was pounding, but he still had two small errands to complete as he entered the dorms.

The place was quiet, Aisawa likely told people to get to bed early to avoid more noise.

First Machibuse made his way up to his room, he had been carrying that shamisen for a really long time now.

Then he made his way down to the second floor and knocked on one of the doors.

He knew that one specific door was never locked, but still he waited.

Soon enough a half-asleep Midoriya showed up.

Took the green-head a moment to fully realize who was standing in front of him.

"Seems like you saved me again, next Symbol of Peace. Now you just need to think about a way for me to repay you." Machibuse bumped on Midoriya's chest lightly with his fist, discarding any semblance of the usual protocol.

Midoriya opened his mouth to speak but found himself only smiling as Machibuse told him to go back to sleep and turned to leave. To think that the forum idea would have been so important after so long.

"Do your best on the festival, Eri-chan will be counting on you." Midoriya spoke as he watched Machibuse walking down the corridor.

Machibuse turned around and nodded. It was a simple enough request after what happened today. He wouldn't enjoy the experience, but now more than ever he had to stand strong against his fear.

Now there was only one thing left to do.

Hakuba made it to the courtyard.

Calmly he picked up his cellphone and typed in a message. In an instant the last door on the fifth floor opened and Momo almost jumped out of it.

She said she would be waiting for him to come back.

Their eyes locked and with a simple nod he invited her to join him in the grass.

Momo didn't understood why he was down there, but she was not going to bother with that answer right now.

In less than two minutes she was pushing the door open.

And she was welcomed by something very unexpected.

Music.

Tra le mie braccia fragili

Stringo il vuoto che sa di te

Respiro le tue parole che

Vivono in una melodia

"A while ago you asked me to teach you some Okinawan… so in exchange I will need to ask you for some Italian lessons." Hakuba shrugged, now placing his cellphone down into the grass. He had only a slight idea of what those lyrics meant, but he knew it was something important. It was a very nostalgic melody that his parents danced to every so often.

E dolcemente sognerò

"What is this?" Momo managed to ask, completely at a loss as Hakuba offered his hand to her.

"I owe you a dance, don't I? This one brings me memories." Hakuba pulled her close.

I luminosi tramonti riflessi nei

Tuoi occhi languidi e grandi

Le mie perle d'amore

"On the courtyard, in the middle of the night, without any warning and after that interview? What am I supposed to do with you?" Momo relaxed on his embrace, now throwing an arm around his neck as they began waltzing.

In uno sguardo tu

Sai donare un sorriso al mio volto che

Ora ti cerca tra lacrime

Che hanno formato l'oceano

Nel quale sempre ritornerai da me

"Sorry for making you worry."Hakuba offered as he led her around, his arm now resting loosely around her waist.

La pallida luna m'illumina

Mentre il vento mi parla di te

La danza del mare ti porterà

Sulle rive ela realtà

"Thank you for coming back…" Momo responded, all the worries that she had been holding onto since he left earlier that day now completely disappearing.

E finalmente ti rivedrò

"I love you." Hakuba whispered as he closed his eyes. He wasn't alone, and that meant everything.

Qui tra le ombre dei sogni miei, mentre tu

Sussurri piano al mio orecchio

Perle d'amore

"I love you too." Momo whispered back, it was a brief respite from everything, and she intended on making the most out of it.

In uno sguardo tu

Sai donare un sorriso al mio volto che

Ora ti cerca e le lacrime

hanno formato un oceano

Nel quale sempre ritornerai da me

-.

October 25th, Tokyo, Minato, Tamani Residence, 2130.

They finally made it.

"Now now, someone lives well!" Tsuchikawa Ryuko, the Pixie-Bob of the Wild Wild Pussycats couldn't deny she was impressed. The alcohol wasn't doing her any favors either.

Tamani's apartment was a massive flat on the most expensive ward of Tokyo. Dark wood floorboards contrasting against the white ceiling and complementing the amber colored walls doted by modern paintings and flower vases. Over the expansive kitchen counter she could see a large rack filled with bottles of different colors and shapes.

But what first caught her eye was the view from the veranda. She could see Tokyo Bay from side to side. It was breathtaking.

"With the load of work people keep pushin' on me, I'd say it is only fair… but thank you, nonetheless." the light-headed minister responded with a chuckle as he made his way towards the cupboard. The two of them had been drinking for a while now as they finally managed to get their date to happen.

"I was expecting you to cancel after all that happened yesterday, not that I'm gonna complain about it." Ryuko admitted as she continued to poke around the living room.

"After all that'mess I reeeally needed to do something like this… can't even look at the paperwork anymore. That'stuff looked like it was goin' to eat me up…" Susumu shuddered as he picked up a bottle from the rack.

The distinctive pop from the bottle of champagne didn't even startled Ryuko, she was too busy giggling at how much her beau's accent changed with the alcohol as she began studying the photos on one of the shelves.

There were quite a few photos. There was one of him on an office with the previous minister of defense, one of him with a bunch of people lined up in the Tartarus uniform, one of him in what looked like fencing attire…

"Look at you, mister swordsman!" Ryuko shouted, noticing the cavalry saber that looked more like a trophy than an actual weapon.

"Well, I ain't your run-of-da-mill pencil pusher… Ima highly qualified pencil pusher!" Susumu shouted back as he made his way out of the kitchen with a glass of champagne in each hand.

"You have a lot of photos, don't you?" Ryuko pointed out as she continued to look around.

"My ma's Quirk made'er invisible to cameras, and she didn't know how to turn it off… so I got'old a million times to save those memories." Susumu explained, now handing the glass to the women in front of him.

She took a sip.

Okay, that was good.

Ryuko squinted her eyes as a familiar pair of red wings caught her attention.

"Is that Hawks!? He's so small!" she couldn't believe her eyes. It was a picture of Tamani with a small Hawks sitting on his shoulders. The winged hero couldn't be older than twelve on that photo.

"I've known Bird-Brain since he'as a toddler." Susumu looked at that picture with a smile.

"Stop talking as if you were that much older than I am!" Ryuko punched his arm lightly.

"Butterin' me up, are ya?" Susumu quirked an eyebrow before taking a swig of his drink.

"Got something against that?" Ryuko asked as she stepped in a little closer, now pressing her back against his chest before looking up.

"Negative, ma'am." Susumu shrugged nonchalantly.

Ryuko took one larger gulp of her champagne, her eyes stopping for a moment at another photo. It was one of a younger Tamani, around his late twenties, and a group of people she could only assume were very close friends celebrating what looked like the birthday of a young boy with pale white hair. It was a rather peculiar looking group: A woman with blue skin and black eyes, one middle-aged gentleman with a rather sharp nose an even sharper widow's peak, a man in glasses she was pretty sure was a politician and a lanky looking man with his eyes covered by a neatly cut fringe.

She couldn't help but notice how her date had his arm wrapped around that woman's waist.

Well, whoever that woman was, it was her loss now.

…

..

.

AN: So with that crisis averted we can all start looking forward the next one, no? Let's get the theorycrafting hats out once again.

The song used for this chapter is Ilaria Graziano's Pearls. If it sounds familiar to any of you, it comes from the Cowboy Bebop OST. I suggest you guys look up the lyrics.

Until next time, U.A.'s Culture Festival coming up next!