Uh so like, most of this was written on my phone so like,,, typos 

(((hahhahsdkl I'm sorry)))

Third person pov

Mic ended up taking Lillian to Aizawa's apartment, his smile far too wide and his eyes begging as Lillian hiccuped and sputtered about all the things she did wrong. Living after the moment was a hell of a lot different from living in it. While it had been fun, spectacular even, and probably one of the best nights of her life, it had still been stressful. There had been thousands of eyes on her for hours. She'd been streamed on live television, had used her actual, real, actual voice to sing (what the hell was she thinking?), and they'd all chanted her name on several occasions for no discernible reason. It had all been... preposterously overwhelming.

The only thing holding back her panic was the witnesses. If she'd broken on stage, crying, hyperventilating, it wouldn't be good. How could anyone have faith in a hero who couldn't put up a good front for the masses? She was glad it had happened, but it didn't change the fact that her own anxiety had been halted by the hulking wall that was labeled 'fear of social judgment'. Now that they were out of there, that damn had broken, leaving her to wind down and release all the pent up nervous energy she'd been accumulating throughout the night.

Aizawa didn't typically let Hizashi into his house. That didn't often stop the Blonde Voice Hero, but the boundary existing was what counted. Very few things would make him sway in that. Aizawa couldn't count the amount of times he'd slammed the door in his loud friend's face only for the guy to barge in anyway. He got kicked out most of the time, or was glared at until his shouting faded to a pouty mumble as he sulked out the front door. It happened at least three times a week, if not more, and most of the time it wasn't for any real reason. Even Mic didn't seem to know why he came over at times.

However, this time was different. Mic was desperate and had Aizawa's daughter with him. Aizawa's daughter, whom he hadn't really gotten to talk to about the whole parent-child thing yet. It was a bit weird and... foreign. Aizawa had no idea how to feel about it. He was happy, of course! Terrified in literally every way, but happy nonetheless. He loved Lillian. She was such a good kid, and he'd already been making plans to adopt her. Did he still need to do that, or would they grant him custody a different way?

"I knew this was going to happen." Aizawa ground out, putting a hand on Lillian's shoulder and leading her into the apartment. She wasn't so much crying anymore as she was hyperventilating and over thinking. The poor girl was working hard to level out her breaths, all while sputtering out apologies pertaining to them intruding and such of the like. He'd told her it was okay, telling her she was welcome here too. He bit back a comment about this being her home too now.

"I-I'm okay, I'm okay!" Lillian insisted as Mic loudly shuffled through Aizawa's cabinets, determined to make her some hot chocolate. "I'm just p-panicking, that's all!"

"Oh, we can tell." Mic's head popped out of the kitchen doorway. Aizawa punted one of the couch's throw pillows at him, suddenly glad Nemuri had forced him to buy them.

"It's alright, kid. That was a big deal. Jumping from a radio show to a live concert," Aizawa glared toward the kitchen, "is a huge leap. Mic should have warned you before doing something so irrational."

"I-It was fun." Lillian offered, taking a few deep breaths. Aizawa felt himself smile a small smile. This was nice. Not the her freaking out, but the her being here in general. Having her in the apartment made him feel warm. It had been a long time since he'd felt such a feeling, so maybe that's why it took him so long to figure out just what it was. He was feeling familial love. Of course he still felt it towards his parents, but they lived so far away now that he seldom ever saw them. He'd been living alone since starting at UA, his parents renting him a small, one-room apartment at that time.

Speaking of which, he should probably call them at some point. They'd always wanted grandchildren. He did suppose he should hold off until Lillian was better adjusted.

"I didn't know you could sing." Aizawa said suddenly, searching for a topic. He wanted to know more about Lillian. He didn't really want her to see him as a teacher, but that was a bit of an issue. He was her teacher first, before she ever had any inkling that they could ever be related at all. While Aizawa had long since begun to see her in more of a 'you're my daughter' light, he wasn't too sure on where she stood.

Lillian went red with embarrassment, sniffling and wiping at her still damp cheeks. "O-Oh, not really. I-I u-used to sing a lot. I-I didn't have friends g-growing up, I-I guess, so I practiced a lot. I... I guess I still sing a lot. W-With Neito and Hitoshi." Her nose scrunched up. "A-And Shoto, but he mostly dances."

A horrifyingly vivid memory of Todoroki doing a perfect back bend on his first time came to Lillian's mind, and she couldn't help but shiver. How could one person be so flexible? Even Izuku had been shocked, trying to come up with theories. He'd even tested to see if had something to do with being fit. Being fairly ripped himself, Izuku was the perfect candidate to give it a try. Only he couldn't do a back bend either. It was a mystery nobody knew how to solve. Shoto insisted he'd never done any gymnastics.

"Todoroki can dance?" Aizawa tried not to feel sour that Lillian hadn't had any friends as a kid. Of course that wasn't her fault, but she'd sounded awfully lonely as she said it. He couldn't help but think that things would have turned out differently had he raised her. Maybe her anxiety wouldn't be as bad and maybe she'd have more confidence in herself. On that note, he wouldn't change her for the world. The way she was now just so happened to be perfect. Imaging her any different could be wrong.

"He discovered YouTube." Mic joined in the conversation, a mug of steaming hot chocolate in his hand. He offered to to Lillian, who stuttered out a flustered thank you. 

"How does that explain anything?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow. Lillian and Mic both stared at him blankly.

"Mr. Aizawa..." Lillian trailed off. "What is YouTube to you?"

"Cat videos and how to fix the garbage disposal." He stated blankly. The pair stared at him a little longer.

"...I-I mean... n-not wrong..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lillian fell asleep on the couch, leaning up against her father with her legs draped over Mic's lap. The look on Aizawa's face promised murder if the Voice Hero dared to move, which resulted in them all simply falling asleep. Aizawa could fall asleep anywhere, and Mic had experience falling asleep in his chair at the studio, so it wasn't a big deal. Lillian moved less than either of them thought she would, staying in generally the same position. One thing that was rather noticeable was that she mumbled a lot in her sleep, and Aizawa woke up to some pretty odd things.

"The feminists are taking over" was a chart topper, along with "that's illegal", "It's free real estate", and a rather loud "there's a bee?!" that scared Mic half to death. He recognized most of the things he managed to catch with his impaired hearing as references to those 'memes' and 'vines' those who watched the radio show claimed them to be. He'd tried to google them but ended up with pictures of plants and photos of a very grumpy looking cat.

Aizawa let Lillian sleep as long as he could. His internal clock woke him up only an hour or two after she got there. With her muttering, which was just about the most adorable thing in the world, he didn't get much sleep anyway. He didn't really mind. He would probably spend a great deal of the day napping. Maybe throw an essay assignment at the kids, or partner them up and have them discuss their internships. Even better, he'd simply throw Shinso at them at let the teen act as a distraction. Unbeknownst to the purple-haired boy, he was joining 1-A today. Lillian didn't know either. Aizawa hoped it would make her happy.

Yeet had slithered out of the girl's sweater at some point. Mic had made a little nest with his jacket, leaning forward and setting it on the coffee table before letting the snake slip inside. Again, Aizawa was still iffy on the snake, but he wasn't going to make Lillian give up her pet. It didn't seem violent or anything. He'd read up on Ball Pythons, and apparently they were pretty lax snakes compared to a lot of other breeds. Not venomous either.

"Lillian, it's time to get up." Aizawa wasn't sure he'd ever spoken in such a soft tone, shaking the girl lightly. It earned him a small groan as she curled in on herself just a bit, using him as a pillow. Mic grinned widely at them, slowly reaching for his phone to start taking pictures. Aizawa's glare was half-hearted. If the blonde got any good ones, maybe he'd send Aizawa the copies-

"Lillian, come on." He urged her. She let out another groan.

"Neito, I don't care about your underwear." Lillian mumbled. Aizawa paused, looking up at meeting Mic's gaze. The man simply shrugged in response.

"Lillian, wake up." Aizawa urged again. "You'll be late for school at this rate."

That certainly got to her. The freckled girl shot up so fast she nearly tumbled backwards into Mic, blinking blearily. Her hair was just as messy as Aizawa's was, and her eyes looked a little irritated from all the crying she'd done. Groggily, she looked around. Aizawa stifled a snicker as she brought a hand up to rub at her eyes only to completely miss her face and have it flop down. She didn't even try again.

"Where...?" Lillian pulled the collar of her shirt out and stuck her face down in it, popping back up a second later with furrowed brows. The poor kid looked half asleep, and Aizawa wished he had his camera out. He used to be the same way when he was her age, Mic having to drag him from his apartment. There would be times Tensei, Nemuri, and Hizashi would all collectively have to work together.

"Yeet's over there." Mic still felt weird calling a snake that. "You're in your dad's apartment!"

Aizawa felt his heart rate increase a little, pride swelling. That's right. He was her dad. It was weird to think about, but he was honest to god her father. He was a bit late, but he couldn't do much about that now. The man shifted, watching Lillian process her English teacher's words with a furrowed brow and slightly down-turned lips. 

"My dad..." Lillian trailed off, gazing at Aizawa. Her eyes widened. "O-Oh, hello!" 

"Hey, kid." Aizawa grinned widely. "I'll go put on a pot of coffee."

Lillian dragged herself to the bathroom and showered. Aizawa had a spare uniform in her size and refused to say why, but Mic was grinning so widely that Lillian assumed he probably knew. Yeet was indeed safe in Mic's jacket, seeming content and warm. Lillian would try feeding him today. He was probably exhausted and stressed from all this being out. Though he really didn't act like he minded. He seemed to enjoy attention, and she was glad. She greatly liked holding him. It was more of a comfort than she really realized.

Mic and Aizawa tried to stop her, they really did. But it was too late. She emptied two of the flavorless energy shots into her coffee while texting with the other hand, as though she'd done this before. Before either of the two men could dive for the drink, she was already chugging it, eyes scanning her phone. They could only watch in mute horror as she downed the coffee at a speed that put Aizawa to shame, seeming to get more and more alert by the second as the liquid scalded down her throat.

If she noticed them staring, she didn't comment. Aizawa caught a glimpse of her phone a few times without really meaning to. There was a group chat she was in called 'Meme Review' that had "Hell but icy", which he assumed as Todoroki, "Mind Palace", probably Shinso, and a very exuberant "Copy Machine" that could only really be Monoma. Lillian seemed relieved that the boy was more like his old self, even if Hitoshi had privately texted her something about him not sleeping at all and still being off. Lillian would have to see for herself.

When Mic asked who she was texting at some point, she'd answered with "Planning My Murder 2k19" which was mildly concerning. Based on Mic's soured expression, he knew exactly who that was. Aizawa wasn't about to ask. If it upset Mic, he didn't want to know, because that probably meant he'd either absolutely love it or hate it even more than the blonde. He wasn't risking either.

Mic took his own car while Aizawa took his own, happy that Lillian had chosen to drive in with him. Mic was going to swing back by the studio anyway, so it worked out. The freckled girl seemed nervous to ride in his car, but relaxed a bit when Aizawa turned on the radio. It was tuned to a hero-oriented news station for pros looking to stay on top of things. Most of the time it was pretty small stuff, but it was better than poppy tunes. It was too early for that.

"Reports say that the body that vanished from the small morgue just days ago still hasn't been found, or identified." The reporter said. Lillian tilted her head slightly. "Witnesses say it was the body of a teenage boy, 5'7", blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pretty nasty wound on his abdomen. He was estimated to be around 140 lbs. He unfortunately passed before-"

Lillian stopped listening, staring at her hands. She rolled the information around in her head for a moment as the reporter talked more. The girl couldn't help but think of Neito. But that wasn't right, because Neito was just fine, right? But Hitoshi had mentioned him acting weird, and not sleeping... she knew she was thinking too far into this. Neito was totally fine! Hitoshi was with him, and she was finally going to see him again.

Neito and Hitoshi were already at the school, along with Shoto. Hawks had literally come and dropped him out of the sky, but Shoto had landed expertly. He'd let Neito hug him, awkwardly stiff as usual, but it was enough for the blonde. It felt amazing to be back at school. Back in his uniform, and back here, with his friends. It was like nothing had changed. Maybe he could just pretend it didn't happen, just for a while.

He was wearing a scarf today. He couldn't really layer up much, but he was too freezing not to at least do that much. Not to mention he'd looked in the mirror today to see a scar he hadn't really realized was there. It was totally and completely healed over, circling his entire neck in a perfect ring. He had no idea where it had come from, but the wound looked as though it had been deep. Only Neito had no recollection of ever getting such an injury. One that bad should have killed him. With the way his body was right now... he was starting to think maybe it had.

He'd called Jay three times this morning, only for it to go straight to voicemail. Neito tried not to think about what that could mean, instead tucking his new phone away. Jay had weird hours, so there was a good chance he simply wasn't up yet. The blonde tried to get himself to relax. He was still tense and jumpy, his jittery nature feeling painfully unlike him. But he was also feeling more like himself. It was a relief, how easy it was to act like he did before. Whatever he'd gone through hadn't changed who he was at his core, and that was a relief.

"I'm literally not paid enough." Neito noted as they stood there, waiting for Lillian. He was excited to see her again. He was sure that his heart would be picking up its pace were it beating from the sheer excitement he felt. The blue-eyed teen was a bit nervous to go back into UA and into class. He knew well and good that he needed to tell someone what was going on with him. Maybe his homeroom teacher, Vlad King, not to be confused with Vlad the Nomu, or even Recovery Girl.

"Paid for what?" Shoto blinked, and Hitoshi sighed heavily. He'd heard this all good.

"Looking this good, of course." Neito scoffed, flipping his hair a bit. At least it still had its silky sheen. His skin was doing a bit better, but still looked more pale than not. "Have you seen my skin-care routine? God should be reimbursing me-"

"Neito!" A voice shrieked before a body was barreling into him. He caught Lillian on reflex, pain shooting through him momentarily before it was quickly overcome with euphoria. Mic and Mr. Aizawa approached at a most slower pace, looking vastly amused as Lillian bounced in place, arms still around her blonde friend. Neito grinned widely down at her.

"See, I told you he was fine." Hitoshi grumbled, but he was smiling too. Shoto had a small grin on his face as he took some photos for Mihoko. She was always urging him to capture any moments that could be deemed heartwarming, and who was he not to deliver? He was quite sure his own mother enjoyed seeing them as well. Ever since getting her new phone, she'd had a lot of fun learning about the newer workings of it. The last phone she'd owned had been a flip phone, after all.

"Lillian!" Neito crooned. "You're alive!"

"I'm alive?! You were MIA for almost a whole week! We were worried sick!" Lillian was definitely hyped up on coffee, or something of that sort. The bags under her eyes contrasted far too much against her abundance of energy. "Where were you? What happened?"

"̴͙̋͐͌̇͑̚ͅY̸͙͎͉̾͗̎̽̿ò̵͉̤͈͕̪ụ̸̢̨̦̈́͌̕͜ͅ ̴̦̝̤̱͔̻̐͂͐̓̓ḑ̶̰̪͍̗͇̠͛ơ̸̜͉̠̘̈͋͂͑̆n̵̛̰͉̬͓̈̈́̀̉͆'̴̲͎͔̹̉̊t̶͕͖̎ ̵͍͈̝̈̅ẃ̸͔͈̲̐͜͝ā̸̡̻͕̀̌ń̶̠̮̟͙̩̲͜ț̵̽͗̕͠ ̶͕̞̳͋̈́͂̀ṫ̸̛̯̖̺̦o̸̦͆̂́͑̏̎̎ ̴͎͉̞͍̈͂̌̽̆͝r̴͎̮͙̖̈́͆̂͐͒̈̕e̴͖͓͈͍̜̗͛͊̏̕m̷̳̹͇̙͋̓̎́͝e̴̢̮͕̻͈̞͙͊̏̈͒̍̃̉m̵̮̮̭̩͐͌̎b̴̧̻̹͕͓̫̃̀e̷̟͌r̷̥̺̬̱̐̅̓͛.̶̛̩̺̲̰̠̳͜"̵͆͆̽́̇͆͜

Neito's smile twitched minimally, enough for Lillian and Hitoshi both to notice. It was gone as soon as it came, washed away by the light in Neito's eyes. He took a deep breath, body sagging slightly. Lillian's gaze flickered to Hitoshi, and he gave a small nod, as if to say 'this is exactly what I was talking about.' Something was wrong. Whatever it was, Neito didn't seem particularly ready to talk about it. That was okay. He didn't have to if he didn't want to. They just hoped he was safe, healthy, and would be able to trust them with it one day.

"I'm not really sure what the happened to my phone, to be honest." He admitted, grinning. "I've got a way cooler one now though. Also, we need to discuss your Instagram and Twitter. Hitoshi and I have started some tweet drafts for you on your behalf, and proofed them to be released to the public. Your Instagram already has 500,000 followers even though there are no posts yet, so-"

"Wait, what?" Lillian sputtered. Aizawa cleared his throat.

"Class is about to start." He noted. The teens all look startled, turning to their phones to confirmation. Class was indeed only a few minutes away from starting. "Shinso, stay back. I need to talk to you."

The purple-haired teen looked a bit uneasy, accepting a hug from Lillian and a brief clap on the shoulder from Neito. Mic winked at the teen in a rather cryptic was as he passed, which set off far more alarms in Hitoshi's head than necessary. He wasn't sure why he felt so put off by this whole thing. Mr. Aizawa just wanted to talk, that's all. He'd been to the man's apartment, helped him design a room for Lillian, and had trained with him for about an entire month. Albeit, that training had been so hellish he was pretty sure his conscious was mentally blocking most of it from his memory to try and avoid trauma, but that was besides the point.

Lillian walked alongside Shoto and Neito, stopping at 1-B to give Neito one last excited hug before promising they'd get updated on all the latest Lillian memes as soon as lunch rolled around. Neito excitedly admitted he'd already saved two hundred, to which she'd responded by showing him one made about him at the sports festival, referring to him as a king. Neito's apparently cold, dead heart felt much warmer at that.

She and Shoto continued on to 1-A, neither really thinking much about it. It didn't really occur to Lillian or click in her head that if the entire world had seen her throw down at that concert, her classmates probably had too. Jiro was a dedicated Present Mic fan, so that was one person that without a doubt knew. The fact that it had been broadcast live and was literally all over the news didn't help her case. Quietly chatting with her Half-and-Half friend, they stepped into the room with far less hesitation than they probably should have held. Everyone fell silent.

Lillian's mouth snapped shut as they all stared at her, most with wide, round eyes as though they couldn't believe she was real. Shoto looked rather bored as he stood there next to her, arms hanging stationary by his sides. Lillian blinked, cheeks coloring as her over-caffeinated mind kicked into overdrive trying to figure out just what was going on. It took her way, way too long to realize and put two and two together. She wanted to kick herself as soon as it hit her.

"O-Oh!" The freckled girl sputtered. She was so fucked! This was the end for her. Bon voyage, life. She'd save her friends a seat in hell, she supposed. Really, Lillian should have seen this coming. Why hadn't she planned more? She didn't even have a plan A! Who didn't go into a situation like this without at least a plan A?! Oh god, they were all staring. Did they hate her now? Oh my god, they did-

"See!" Kaminari looked disheveled as he stood up from his seat, thrusting a finger at the girl. "I told you! I told you all!"

Lillian fidgeted in place. All was silent. 

"U-Uh..." She glanced at Shoto. The boy shrugged.

For some reason, that of all things was what spurred the class into action. They absolutely shrieked. Mina and Sero were both in a mild state of shock. They'd been totally fooled. Duped, as some might say. They'd really believed poor Kaminari was losing his marbles, when in fact Lillian was indeed having his house surrounded in Cranberry Sprite and somehow managing to get photos of Chungus under his pillow for him to find when he woke up. She'd been merciless, and they'd been blind to it.

"You're totally famous!" Ochako all but wailed, throwing her arms around the girl as Shoto dragged her to her desk and dropped her there. Lillian was half-catatonic at this point. With the amount of people hounding her, how could she not be? She'd had some sort of weird mental breakdown just hours ago in Mr. Aizawa's apartment, and then downed far more energy shots then was typically okay for someone of her size and weight. 

"I can't believe you fooled us! You've been messing with Kaminari this entire time, and you didn't even let me help." Mina complained loudly, unperturbed by the freckled girls deception. Lillian was glad nobody seemed to hate her. However, she was pretty sure she'd prefer that to the alternative. People were now citing articles about her, talking about the news, things like that. It made her feel... weird. Just one week, and everything had shifted. Their perception of her had changed entirely. 

Shoto and Izuku chatted about their internships quietly next to her, which was sort of nice compared to people laughing over things she'd said and freaking out. She sort of understood. She projected herself as shy and timid. She was shy and timid-- that hadn't changed at all. Lillian just so happened to have another side to her that not many people knew about before this last week. 

Lillian's rise to fame wasn't really what anyone had expected. Internships were learning experiences where you got to experience the life of a pro. It was pretty rare for first years to experience a real 'debut'. This had been more of a test run, for them to test the waters and get a good glimpse from the inside looking out. They weren't cataclysmic or anything of that sort. They were just... internships. You went, were taught by a pro, and came back armed with the experience. 

That's why Lillian had been such a shocker. The girl was the quietest in class, with little confidence and a soft voice. It was hard to coax conversation out of her most of the time. Since the Sports Festival, she'd begun to talk more with Shoto and Izuku. Izuku was anxious like her, and shy. Nobody was sure about Todoroki, or where that relationship came from. They could only assume it was the cavalry battle. And maybe something to do with his father?

Lillian had blown up. Kaminari had been trying to tell them since nearly the beginning of the school year, and they'd all brushed him off, along with the signs. Lillian was a closet memester, and she'd left a huge impact on society. She'd brought Endeavor down to Number Three, Todoroki had helped bring Hawks up to Two, earning him quite a bit of fame, and Lillian now had a huge fan following. It was astonishing.

"Guys, stop crowding her." Uraraka urged, waving her hands about. "I know she did that concert thing, but it was probably super overwhelming! It's not like she was faking her anxiety!"

This seemed to subdue the crowd somewhat, and the class marginally calmed. Bakugo continued to shoot glances back at her. Of course he wanted to go say something, maybe hello, or hey, or hi. Something like that. But there were too many of those damn extras hanging around, and it felt far too awkward. She looked ready to cry though. He'd feel pretty damn shitty if she did. He settled for shooting her a text instead.

"Hey, Lillian." Mina grinned. "Road work ahead?"

Lillian's expression shifted, and she blurted out, "Gee, I sure hope it does," before she could stop herself. Her face immediately colored as the surrounding people broke out into laughter and excited chatter about 'seeing it firsthand' or something like that. It made her uneasy, but Shoto's glares weren't staving them off. She got their excitement! If it were anyone else, she'd be excited as well! She just sort of wished she could, you know, die at this very moment and stop this misery-

"Quiet down." Aizawa barked, peering at his frozen daughter and the people lingering about her desk. Her mouth was clamped shut, and she was pale. So much for that. At least the students surrounding her looked a bit guilty about the effect they were having on her. "Take your seats. I have an announcement to make."

People greeted Mr. Aizawa happily as they took their seats, though the teacher's eyes always strayed back towards Lillian. She looked wrung out already, even with the copious amounts of caffeine she'd taken in. He grimaced to himself. She sort of brought this upon herself, though that fault mostly fell upon Mic. The radio show thing had been his idea, as had the concert. There were other ways for Lillian to gain confidence. One's that didn't emotionally stunt her to the point that she was sitting paralyzed in the back of the room.

He let his eyes sweep the rest of the class. They looked well, some more worn-down than others. Others looked more excited and ready to tackle the day. Aizawa hoped they wouldn't have any issues on the first day, especially considering what was about to happen. The adrenaline rush they were probably coming down from pertaining to their return from their internships was bad enough without this, not to mention Lillian had riled them up just by existing.

"Good." Aizawa said, waving in Shinso. He stumbled forward, looking pale and confused. "This is your new classmates, Hitoshi Shinso. He's joining the hero course just like the rest of you, so be nice."

"Wait, I'm what?" Hitoshi sputtered weakly. Lillian was already out of her seat, hands in the air.

"Yes!" She all but screamed. Shoto took a look at her and also got to his feet, putting his hands in the air. His drab expression did absolutely nothing to convey joy, but his eyes were shining, and for Shinso, that was more than enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsukauchi was exhausted. A corpse was missing, Jay was dead along with most of his sidekicks and staff, his husband was missing with clear signs of struggle in the apartment, though he was definitely their first suspect, and they were still waiting to hear back on Neito Monoma's status. Of course Tsukauchi hadn't known at the time, but now the boy looking pale as he stumbled into the house made a certain amount of sense. Just what all had the blonde seen? What did he know?

His phone blared for what felt like the millionth time that day. He pushed down the urge to simply let it go to voicemail, dragging it from its place and bringing it up to his ear. "Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa speaking," He managed to wheeze out, no doubt sounding as though he were on his death bed. He wasn't sure the last time he'd had more than three hours of sleep at a time, and he was running low on coffee.

"Hello, Detective." A woman's meek tone rang in his ear, and he immediately felt more awake.

"Rei-san!" He exclaimed. Using her first name felt too familiar, but she had insisted she prefer it. "How can I help you?"

"I... I-I thought about what you said." Rei said. The receiver crackled for a moment as she took a deep breath. "I'd... I'd like to come in and give a formal statement."

Tsukauchi held his breath as Rei continued.

"I'd like to open a case against my husband."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Monoma-kun, do you know why you've been called here today?" Nezu asked. Neito glanced about the office nervously. Vlad King had entered the room only to usher him right out, keeping a firm hand on his shoulder the whole way down to the principal's office. Inside was Thirteen, Recovery Girl, and Hound Dog, alongside the mammalian instructor of the school. Vlad King had rather ominously closed and locked the door behind him before exchanging a scarily cryptic nod with the rest of the present staff.

"Uh... no, I can't say I do." Neito tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat. What did they know? Did they know he was dead? Maybe they knew what had happened. He still had no idea what had gone on, or the events leading up to the exact moment he woke up in that morgue. He didn't even remember arriving at the hospital. Had he gone in himself, or had they brought him there? They'd certainly gotten to work on his autopsy. It was a bit of a miracle they hadn't tracked him down yet.

"You interned with Jay, the Songbird Hero, correct?" Nezu cocked his head. They'd called Monoma's parents only to find out that the blonde hadn't been living there for a while now. Neito's listed number never went through, a beeping message telling them the phone was either destroyed or had been turned off. They'd all been concerned, but after talking to the detective on the case, Tsukauchi Naomasa, it had come to their attention that Neito was safe and at Hitoshi Shinso's house. They'd all decided it best to wait and see if he came to school.

"Y-Yeah, that's right." Neito agreed uneasily. Vlad King tried to give a reassuring smile. It didn't help.

"Did you go home early, dear." Recovery Girl asked, earning a small nod from the nervous blonde who seemed to be getting progressively antsier. It was clear to everyone in the room that he was paler than usual, and more agitated than usual. "Is there a reason why?"

Neito jolted as though he'd been slapped, mind flashing back to the morgue he'd woken up in. His autopsy scar pulsed with pain that made him grit his teeth, and a white, flaming cold shot through his entire body and caused a shiver to wrack through him. It didn't go unnoticed by the teachers as Neito scrambled to keep a hold of his bearings. He was doing fine. Everything was fine, okay, and it would all be... it would just all be fine! It would be okay!

"I wasn't feeling well." He said. Not a lie, but not the full truth. Nezu eyed him carefully.

"Monoma-kun, have you checked the news as of late?" Nezu asked. Neito frowned, brows furrowing.

"Not really. Why, sir?" He kept his voice as level as he could, thoughts whipping within him like a raging storm. His emotions pulsated so strongly he nearly mistook them as a pulse. Those hopes were quickly dashed, and it left him feeling emptier than before. Things just weren't right without his heartbeat. It left him feeling as though there was something missing. There was something missing, without it there. It made him feel wrong. So wrong, that he couldn't remember a time when things were right.

"Monoma..." Vlad King trailed off, voice full of sympathy and pity that made Neito's hackles raise. that same, aching pain he'd felt as he laid in his bunk bed right after getting back home returned, washing through him. It thumped at him, causing nausea to swell in his stomach like a typhoon. He swallowed it back.

"Jay, along with a majority of his sidekicks and staff, were found dead just days ago in Jay's agency." Nezu met Neito's eyes as the teen froze. "There were no bodies. Only heads, I'm afraid."

"Nezu." Recovery Girl and Hound Dog both snapped, but it was too late. It had already been said.

Neito felt his entire world slow. A memory itched at him, clawing its way to the forefront of his mind as he stumbled back and landed heavy against the wall. His breathing sped up, eyes wide and unfocused. A pitiful "wh-what?" escaped him on reflex, but nobody responded as Neito shook. Why wasn't he more surprised? In denial? Neito didn't understand why he wasn't in denial. This couldn't be true? Was he really about to accept this?

Something stung at his throat, and he let out a shriek, hands flying up to grasp at the scarf lying around his neck. He heard someone call his name as he sunk to the floor, his breath caught in his throat as he panted. There was something he was seeing, but he also wasn't seeing it. There was something he was hearing, but he couldn't quite make out what it was. It all washed past his eyes and ears, there but distorted and just out of reach. 

At least... until it wasn't.

An image of Jay smiling came to mind. It made sense, because Jay always smiled. But this one was different. It was hurt, and bloody, and his eyes looked so, so pained. Like they reflected the hurt Neito was feeling right now, racing through his body as his chest heaved. He could hear his name being called, and let out another shriek when a hand touched his shoulder. But why did he scream? He didn't understand. He didn't understand, because people had touched his shoulder before, and it was okay. Why did it hurt so bad? Why was it so cold

"Neito, it's going to be okay." Jay's voice echoed. It echoed and echoed and echoed and echoed. It was nowhere, but everywhere. But Jay was dead. Nezu had said so. His head had been chopped off, and the scar around Neito's throat burned. Jay's voice continued, echoing, echoing, always echoing. "Just... don't look."

But he did. He kicked and screamed and he looked. And he saw Jay smile and cry just before his head hit the ground. And Neito watched in terror as it rolled and rolled and rolled. Everything hurt. It all hurt, and he didn't understand. The head hit his feet, blood pooling from the neck. Jay's eyes were so dull. Without the light they usually held in them, they looked foreign. Out of place. Neito choked out another sob.

And then his own head rolled, before he could blink. And he screamed, but how was that possible? Because his head and his body were no longer attached, but he could feel it all, and he was still screaming. And his body was painfully cold, and his neck burned white hot. He heard cheers and hoots as though this were a good thing. Blood and air choked through his mouth, bubbling, oozing, dribbling past his lips.

"It worked!" Someone had exclaimed joyfully. It was a voice he didn't recognize! "Try to put it back on!"

So they did. His head was lifted and placed back on his neck. He screamed more and more as his skin stitched itself back together. But how was that possible? He didn't quite understand. He would never understand. It just hurt, and he was cold. He didn't like this. He didn't want to relive this. He just wanted to be safe. He wanted to be Neito Monoma, himself, okay, with friends, alright, safe. He just wanted to be himself. That's all. He didn't want-

"Neito!" Vlad King's voice brought him back in a sudden snap, and he inhaled sharply and deeply, hands still clutching at his scarf. "It's okay! The police are working to find out what happened!"

Recovery Girl looked ready to jump in, as did Hound Dog as Neito began to shake harder and cry more. Nezu had jumped down from his seat, concern shining in his beady eyes as he peered down at the boy curled up against the wall. Neito took some ragged breaths, blue eyes darting every which way. He hated this. He wanted his heart beat back. He wanted it back. He just wanted to be alive and warm, because it all hurt and was so, so cold. So empty, so desolate.

"Dear, what's wrong? Tell us what's wrong so we can help you." Recovery Girl urged softly. Panic attacks weren't uncommon, but to this degree... and from someone who had never ever demonstrated so drastically before...

"I-I-I can't f-feel it." Neito sobbed out, his voice distant and full of hiccups. He weakly clawed at his scarf, looking up at his homeroom teacher with eyes so full of pain and despair it made Vlad King and everyone else freeze. Neito had been fine when he left. Perfectly happy and excited. Sociable, chatty, not at all damaged like this. What had happened to him? "It hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts."

"What hurts, Monoma-kun?" Nezu asked softly, and Neito choked out another sob, face twisting as he began to squirm. His hands dug under his scarf, pressing around his neck. He expected to feel blood, but no, his head was still attached to his body. It was still there. How was it still there? He didn't understand. He never understood. Nothing made sense. 

"Everything." Neito choked out, shaking so violently they were surprised he was still functioning at all. "I-It all... th-they took it a-away. I want it back. I-I want it b-back, please, i-it feel s-so wrong, a-and so cold."

"What's gone, Monoma?" Vlad King asked softly, crouching down. Neito choked out another sob, shakily tugging at his scarf desperately. Hesitantly, his homeroom teacher reached forward and lightly gripped the edge, pulling. They all watched it snake away from around him, dropping into Neito's lap and revealing a pale yet prominent scar that most definitely wasn't there before.

Even Nezu's breath hitched in his throat.

"I-I want i-it back." He begged them helplessly, his scars burning. "I-I want back my h-heartbeat."

"̴͙̋͐͌̇͑̚ͅY̸͙͎͉̾͗̎̽̿ò̵͉̤͈͕̪ụ̸̢̨̦̈́͌̕͜ͅ ̴̦̝̤̱͔̻̐͂͐̓̓ḑ̶̰̪͍̗͇̠͛ơ̸̜͉̠̘̈͋͂͑̆n̵̛̰͉̬͓̈̈́̀̉͆'̴̲͎͔̹̉̊t̶͕͖̎ ̵͍͈̝̈̅ẃ̸͔͈̲̐͜͝ā̸̡̻͕̀̌ń̶̠̮̟͙̩̲͜ț̵̽͗̕͠ ̶͕̞̳͋̈́͂̀ṫ̸̛̯̖̺̦o̸̦͆̂́͑̏̎̎ ̴͎͉̞͍̈͂̌̽̆͝r̴͎̮͙̖̈́͆̂͐͒̈̕e̴͖͓͈͍̜̗͛͊̏̕m̷̳̹͇̙͋̓̎́͝e̴̢̮͕̻͈̞͙͊̏̈͒̍̃̉m̵̮̮̭̩͐͌̎b̴̧̻̹͕͓̫̃̀e̷̟͌r̷̥̺̬̱̐̅̓͛.̶̛̩̺̲̰̠̳͜"̵͆͆̽́̇͆͜

"Y-Your what?" Recovery Girl stuttered, eyes wide and round.

"My heartbeat!" He all but screamed, eyes wide as he jolted forward, clutching his chest. He looked near hysterics again, but it melted away fast into something far more desperate and broken. It was all flooding free, but he just wanted to be okay. Was that too much to ask? He just wanted to be okay. He wanted to be Neito Monoma, who was okay, and had friends, and was alive. "I-It's gone! A-And it hurts, a-and I'm cold, and-"

He stopped, staring at his hands.

𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔, "𝑶𝒇𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔!"

"...Neito?" Vlad King asked softly as the blonde just... stopped. Nezu and Recovery Girl both shared a glance, and Hound Dog observed with keen silence. Neito wasn't in a good state of mind at all. Something was horrible wrong. Just what that something was something he didn't really want to think about. The truth was looming right before them, and they didn't want to see it.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆.

"Th...They killed me." Neito seemed in shock, staring at his hands with wide eyes. "They... Th-They... They..."

"They what?" Nezu asked sharply. 

"You're right here, Monoma. You aren't dead." Recovery Girl's voice was soft. Neito looked at her, blinking owlishly as though he hadn't realized she was there, and was just now becoming aware of his surroundings. As though whatever it was he was in was fading off, leaving him unsure and clueless. Vlad King frowned.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.

"I was there. I-I... Jay told me n-not to l-look..." Neito blinked rapidly, and Vlad King felt himself go rigid at the implications. "Hi... His head just... i-it dropped, and i-it thumped, and then it... it... rolled."

"Monoma..." Hound Dog trailed off, horrified. Nezu watched him, calculating, cool, concerned. Recovery Girl looked near a heart attack, but that was understandable. Neito's mind whirled, his newly gained memories only a fraction of a bigger tale he was a part of. He was at the center of something, and even he wasn't sure what. Pain blazed across his body, and his skin was frigid, so how was he here?

"Neito, what happened to you? What did they do?" Vlad King asked, eyes wide with horror. What had his student gone through? They'd let him go out on an internship, and something had happened to him. He'd seen something-- been through something-- horrifying. Something no one should have to witness, certainly not a teenager.

Neito's hand absentmindedly came up to brush the thick scar around his neck, and everyone's hearts dropped with dread.

𝑬𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓. 𝑶𝒃𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔.

"I'm not alive." Neito said, his voice a cracked, shaky whisper. He peered at them with wide, tear-filled eyes as the weighty realization settled heavy on his shoulders, finally clear and without question. "Not anymore."