In the week since the internship orientation, the truce made between Riarshi and his former critics had held strong. 

It was a cloudy and chilly December morning when the Clarke's, Hara, Adachi, and Leon all travelled to Westray to help Riarshi move out of his apartment. Once they finished their own move-ins, the six bodies piled into Mr. Clarke's minivan and sped off. Towering skyscrapers transitioned to trees and single floor ranches as they made their way out of the city and into the rural part of the country. 

Trees bare of leaves lined the winding roads of Westray as they looked out the windows of the car. Only Tabito, Tabbie, and Mr. Clarke had ventured out of the city on multiple occasions. Hara had only done so once - after the events of the Tryout. The change in scenery was nothing new to the Clarke's. Even Nico let out a nostalgic sigh as he watched the streets he often walked in the past fly by as he drove. 

Adachi and Leon, on the other hand, observed the run-down houses and storefronts with awe and astonishment in their eyes. 

Despite the general unfamiliarity of these parts, the group had an important job to do. Riarshi had helped them all in the past in a variety of different ways, even going so far as to save some of their lives. 

Tabbie remembered this especially as she blushed from just the mere thought of her hero. 

 This was just a small way to repay the favor. Now, it was their turn to help their commoner friend.

***

"Is this going?" Leon asked, pointing to a beaten box that sat in the corner of Riarshi's family room. Only a single slip of packing tape kept the already ripped lid shut.

"Yeah, that's my box of DVD's," answered Riarshi, placing his coffee maker into a box. "I haven't been watching them lately, but I definitely don't wanna give them away."

"DVD's?" Leon breathed in disbelief, glancing back the box. He looked at Riarshi with an arched eyebrow. "Why don't you just stream movies when you wanna watch 'em?"

Riarshi continued to box up an assortment of random mugs and glasses. "Don't have that kind of money, Leon."

Leon looked around the room. Small holes and dripping cracks littered the grayed walls and ceiling of Riarshi's small apartment. The apartment was rather clean, but there was obvious wear and tear on the rug and surrounding structures,  probably from before any of them were even born.

Leon's nose crinkled. It surprisingly didn't stink. He clearly didn't think much of the place, but he neglected to comment. He never imagined it could be this bad outside of the city. 

"No Helga today?" Riarshi asked.

"Nah," said Adachi as he lifted a smaller box of folded pants, "She's moving in right now herself."

"Oh... damn," said Riarshi. "Sorry I'm making you guys help me instead."

Leon shuffled toward the door with the box of DVD's in his arms. "Hey, she's only gotta move about five minutes away. You need the most help, by far."

"I'll take that, Riarshi!" said a small, squeaky voice to Riarshi's side.

Riarshi looked down and smiled. "Be careful, Tabbie," he strained, lowering the box into the young girl's outstretched arms. "These are my favorite mugs. If you break one I'll never marry you, okay?"

Tabbie's usually gleeful face morphed into one of utter seriousness and determination. "Yes, sir."

Nico Clarke - Tabbie and Tabito's father - came walking in through the front door just before Tabbie rushed out with the box of mugs held close to her body. He took a small step to the side to let his daughter pass through, then gazed around the apartment.

He noticed the love seat and couch hadn't been moved yet. "You're not taking this furniture, are you, Riarshi?" he asked in his calming voice. Compared to Tabito and Tabbie's non-stop energy, their father was much more laid back and tranquil.

Riarshi placed another box on the floor. "No, not at all. To be honest, I really don't have a lot of stuff to move into the dorms, maybe a couple boxes of clothes and little knick-knacks and that. I mostly just needed some help moving my furniture and appliances to a couple of my neighbor's apartments." He then gazed up at the ceiling, as if in thought. "Let's see, there's an elderly man below me who doesn't have a fridge, and there's a mom and her son who don't have a couch."

Riarshi glanced over to his chronically stained fridge and ripped couch. He wished he could provide better to these people, but this was all he had. "No use for them sitting here while I'm gone for six months," he sighed. "Might as well give them away."

Nico grinned. "Yeah, that's a great idea, Riarshi."

Tabito and Hara came stumbling out of Riarshi's room with a box full of clothes in each of their arms. Both lowered their respective loads to the floor and caught their breath. Hara had a sheepish look on her face as her eyes darted to each corner of the dreary apartment. The apartment was a significant change from her luxurious suite back in Spiritfield, and she was visibly uncomfortable.

Tabito, on the other hand, looked around with a big smile on his face.

Seeing the two of them, a light bulb lit over Riarshi's head. "Oh, hey, Tabito," he called from the kitchen. "You guys moved in already, right? Mind filling me in on how are the dorms set up exactly? I wanna know if I need to pack a few more things or give them away."

Tabito wiped the sweat collecting on his brow with the back of his hand. "Yeah, I got you. Well, first off it comes down to numbers. There were originally thirty people who passed the Tryout. But since they gave you the commissioner's recommendation, that made thirty-one. They brought in two more people to make it so there would be eleven squads of three, making it all even.

"That being said," Tabito continued, "there's three wings of dorms. Ours is Wing A, and there's twelve people in it. We'll obviously show you the right direction once we get there. In terms of stuff you need, there's a kitchen there so you probably don't need a lot of stuff in that department."

"Don't forget, there's a boy's and girl's side of the Wing," added Hara. "We each have our own showers so you can bring all that stuff, too. They give us a lot to work with, so you don't need much, if I'm being honest."

Riarshi poked his head around the corner and nodded. "Thanks."

Tabito picked up his box again with a grunt.

"Come on, Hara, let's bring these down to my dad's car," he said.

"Don't tell me what to do."

Tabito stifled a laugh but kept on walking. He stopped for a moment upon noticing the furnature in the family room. "Say, Riarshi, I heard what you told me dad. That's cool and all, but are your parents okay with you just getting rid of furniture like this? My dad would murder me if I sold off one of his couches."

Riarshi instantly stopped what he was doing. He hadn't thought about the possibility of someone asking questions about his parents - about why he lived alone. He hadn't worked out an answer ahead of time.

The best he could do was: "I'm sure they'll be fine with it."

He wished that would drop the subject and everyone would get back to work, but it didn't.

Leon, Adachi, and Tabbie strolled into the apartment after dropping their boxes into Mr. Clarke's car. They had unfortunately heard the conversation.

"I kinda wondered that, too," said Leon with some bite in his words. "Why aren't they helping you today?"

Mr. Clarke's face went ghostly white. "Come on now, boys, get back to work. Less questions, more moving." He tried redirecting them with his hands.

"It's true, though," Hara interjected. "Come to think of it, you've never talked about your parents before, Riarshi."

"They're not here..."

"They on vacation? It's winter, though. They'll be cold!" said Tabbie, wrapping her arms around her body and mock shivering.

"No. It's just - They're... uh, they're dead."

Silence filled the apartment. Everyone blinked.

"Damn it all," Riarshi whispered under his breath. "Yeah they're dead, yeah," he repeated, eyes downcast to the floor. "They... uh, died when I was really young. I've... kinda lived alone all my life."

Riarshi knew the day would come where his friends would have to learn about some aspects of his past, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon. He just wished that fate could've allowed him to tell them under his own terms.

A box slammed against the floor, drawing Riarshi's attention.

Hara stood in the family room with her hands covering her mouth. Tears glimmered in her big, sapphire eyes. "Oh, my gods..." she whimpered. "Riarshi, I-I'm sorry... I didn't..."

Nico sighed and pinched the skin between his brows. He patted Tabbie gently on the head, whose eyelashes twinkled with unshed tears.

"Dude, Riarshi," Tabito breathed, "we... I had no idea..."

Leon and Adachi were left speechless, but the look in their eyes said enough.

Riarshi released a deep breath. "I know. It's okay." He pointed to the unmoved couch in the middle of his family room. "Please, everyone sit down. I have some things to tell you."

And Riarshi did.

Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Riarshi filled everyone in on the history of his parents. They were both Heroes, and were killed by a demon when he was only three years old. He claimed that this is where his desire to become a Hero stemmed from.

He told them about Khohn, and admitted that their old professor was his caretaker when he was younger. In response to curious looks, he stressed that he only just discovered this the night they thought they were being expelled. He, of course, left out every detail that could possibly reveal his demonic heritage. Despite finally finding the courage to enlighten everyone about parts of his unspoken past, he knew his heritage was one secret they could never discover.

Everyone in the room stared at the ground with heavy eyelids once he finished his speech. Riarshi knew the mood would change, but he had to set the record straight. They were his friends, and he didn't want to hide everything from them. There was no way he could ignore this issue and pretend it never happened. 

Tabito was the first to break the grim silence that hung around the apartment for quite some time.

"I'm sorry, Riarshi. I never would have pressed if I knew." He looked about the room. "I take it we all wouldn't have."

Everyone else nodded their heads.

A small grin cracked on Riarshi's face in spite of himself. "It's okay, guys. I just didn't want to tell anyone at first. It's not something you just bring up casually, y'know? I didn't want the pity. I'd already been looked down on enough in my life." Riarshi noticed Hara and Leon, who were still staring at the ground, shift themselves in their seats. "But it's all good now. Don't worry."

Mr. Clarke walked across the family room and placed a comforting hand on Riarshi's shoulder.

"It takes strength to admit your insecurities, Riarshi," he said softly. "And I would bet all my money that your parents would be proud of the person you've become."

Riarshi smiled brightly, and Mr. Clarke gave a swift pat onto this shoulder. That really meant a lot to him.

"Alright, everyone," said Mr. Clarke with a rare burst of spontaneous energy. "Let's get moving again. It's eleven o'clock and we still have to bring all of this up to his dorm."

Everyone nodded again, then stood up and returned to work.

The rest of the packing and loading of Mr. Clarke's car was done in silence.