After the interaction, Gang Orca and I had left to go back to the house. A thoughtful glimmer glazed over my eyes as I stared out the window of the cab, replaying the events that had happened today. My mentor noticed my unusually dull expression and placed a hand on my shoulder wordlessly. I smiled a bit, appreciating the gesture, and continued to contemplate what I'd witnessed.

During the trial of events, there were displays of character I'd never seen before in my classmates. Bakugo was surprisingly docile in nature towards the kids, and Todoroki even started to smile. They've made all these advances in such short periods of time, and have gained the ability to collaborate, setting aside their different views to work together for the end goal.

Maybe I should learn from them.

With a sigh, I tried to relax, shifting in my seat. My mentor's grip on my shoulder tightened slightly, caring eyes looking at my squirming figure. It helped a bit, knowing that he was there to provide support when needed.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently, doing his best to not push the matter too hard. My teeth tugged at my bottom lip, eyebrows furrowing as I thought of a viable response. Blinking a couple of times, I turned to him, the edges of my mouth curling upwards. However, the smile never reached my eyes as I regarded the pro hero — I could tell that he noticed.

"Can we talk about it later?" I spoke quietly, my voice almost drowned out by the sound of the cab's engine. The pro hero nodded understandingly, keeping his hand perched on my shoulder as I continued to look out of the window in complete silence.

Having mixed feelings about the proceedings of the day, I kept to myself and pondered about when I was actually going to tell him. Hopefully, I would soon be comfortable enough to confide in my mentor -- but that time wasn't now.

__

Another day had passed, and I was back at the agency for some real hero work. Patrol squadrons were planning on checking out the vast city, and fortunately, Gang Orca assigned me to an old group I got along well with, since my performance was "exponentially better" with familiars. My old friends welcomed me back with a few hugs before heading out on the pro hero's cue.

The patrol route wove through the inner workings of a city, jutted straight through a park, and looped around buildings that housed stores selling all sorts of things. My nose picked up the scent of freshly baked melonpan and I started salivating. Promising myself that I'd get one bun before the bakery closed, I kept my focus on the task at hand, saving the thought for later.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I nearly tripped on a crack in the sidewalk. Stumbling awkwardly, I tried to regain my natural posture with grace, but ended up looking like a deformed ostrich. Some of my groupmates laughed and helped me steady myself, to which I appreciated. They lent me a hand and pulled me up by the arm, giving me a few pats on the back for good measure.

"Be careful, Kyoto's a pretty punk place," they joked, "You're probably just unaccustomed to the atmosphere." I smiled at the teasing and chuckled lightly, striking up some conversation about their "wack" metropolis. My eyes wandered as my friends explained where certain landmarks were, and what to be careful of.

Realizing that I never truly admired the way that their city was so different from Musutafu, I decided to be extra keen and observe how its inner workings functioned. It was interesting, seeing the buildings and people from a new perspective. I felt so small gazing up at the seemingly endless sky, crowded with the sight of towering skyscrapers. The bustling crowds filled the city with the sound of chatter and footsteps as both adults and students alike meandered around the city.

It didn't take long before we reached the final mile of our patrol. The group rounded the park for the home stretch, still continuing to harbor some comments about the area.

I looked around, eyeing some of the smaller children with their parents playing around near the grove of trees just up ahead, when I heard scattered applause. My head perked up and I turned towards the noise, curious.

Was there something going on?

When I peered at the spectacle, my heart dropped. There was a small opening in the crowd, just big enough to see through, that guided my eyes towards the figure in the middle. The same magician that I met on the train stood there, pulling colorful ribbons out of his sleeve and giving small bundles of flowers to the kids in front of him. What was he doing here?

I froze when his gaze landed on me and his mouth upturned into a wide grin.

"Oh, you're here!" The pedestrians that were a part of the magic man's crowd whirled around to get a good look at the person whom he called out. With a flourish, the man in the beige coat twirled around and produced a single rose, which he handed to me. Another round of applause erupted from the toddlers as they squealed in delight. The magician winked and bowed politely to them with the spirit of a true entertainer.

By now, my group members had noticed the stranger interacting with me and decided to butt in, forming somewhat of a defensive wall in front of me. Mentally thanking them, I took this as an opportunity to calm down and recover from the scare that the performer gave me.

"Sorry, we're on patrol duty right now, so there's no time to waste. (L/N) can catch up with you later." The brown-eyed magician laughed heartily and tucked away the ribbons in his coat, nodding in understanding. Somehow, the way he seemed to smile made me feel uneasy.

"Of course, you heroes are always super busy. It was my fault for intruding, sorry about that!" I could've sworn there was a glint of malice laced deep within his almond irises, but I probably imagined it. One of my teammates wrapped an arm around my shoulders and hurried to lead me away from the threat that was the magician.

The group tread along the rest of our route in silence as the joyous laughter of children echoed behind me.