1 Chapter 1 - Welcome To Musutafu: 1

The ringing of a corner store bell echoed out throughout the relatively empty building on a late Friday afternoon. The person who sat behind the counter was looking down at his phone, completely disinterested in the fact that someone had entered the store.

"Welcome to Q-Mart, have a good day," the man said, complete disinterest in his voice as he flipped through his phone, glancing up every now and then to see who had entered the store, only to see no one. His eyebrow raised, and he looked up from the phone and put it in his pocket.

His eyes scanned through the immediate area, finally seeing someone at the back of the store. The person in question had a rather uninteresting appearance, though their face was obscured because they were facing away from the cash register.

They had shoulder-length blond hair, and they were wearing a rather basic school uniform, that being a black blazer and a knee-high skirt with black stockings, which confirmed to the cashier that they were a girl.

The man huffed, waiting for the person to approach the counter. A few minutes would pass, and the person never came to the register. Confused and worried the store got robbed again, the cashier looked up, only to find that the girl hadn't moved from the back of the store. They stayed by the drink aisle, which was adjacent to the slushie machine and the chips aisle.

The cashier was confused about this behaviour. It was almost as if she didn't want to be noticed, which he could tell from her looking around every two to three seconds. A few minutes would pass, and she didn't move from that spot. It was as if she was seemingly trying to look inconspicuous.

The blond was eyeing up a monster energy drink, flipping it in her hand a couple of times until someone else entered the store, which had completely caught her attention, seeing as she stopped flipping the can.

The person who entered the store was a male and a rather large and intimidating one at that. They didn't seem that old, maybe around their early to late 20s.

The man in question had short black hair in a crew-cut style, and they were rather muscular. He wore a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath it and black leather pants. He had the starting of a beard and a mustache, but aside from that, he looked like a thug. He also had spikes protruding from his back, meaning that his Quirk probably had something to do with them.

"Where the hell did that bitch go!" The man spat, glancing over at the cashier, who had looked away immediately. Was he referring to the schoolgirl? If that was the case, was he her brother? Or maybe he was an assailant? The cashier didn't know, nor did he care. All he wanted was for the man to leave, but seeing as he looked twice as strong as the cashier did, he knew that he didn't have a chance at kicking the man out.

However, as The cashier began to look away, he noticed that the girl had disappeared from the back of the store and was now sneaking up behind the man. The cashier also now had a decent look at her face.

Her features were soft, with baby blue eyes and no real distinct features. She had a serious expression on her face, and she seemed completely focused on whatever it was she was doing.

Just as he finished looking away, he saw a glimpse of a pink arm begin to phase into existence behind the blond girl, as well as a pinkish-purple aura began to pour off of the girl, flowing around her as a fire would. The arm reached out and touched the man who had seemingly been looking for her, all the while, the man remained none the wiser.

The sight had caused the cashier to look back at the scene in sheer awe and confusion. The pink arm wore a strange black glove that went all the way up to its forearm, and it was fitted with golden studs, and on the front of the glove was a strange golden emblem of a strange-looking skull.

The arm was ghostly, almost like it was a blink, and you'll miss it kind of deal. And the moment the cashier blinked, it disappeared, but it left something behind. A large boil appeared in the center of the man's back. The man flinched, and just as he was about to turn around, the boil on his back began to shake.

The man made a face as if he was about to vomit, and then, out of nowhere, as the girl got behind the man and began to put her arms up to cover her face, the boil exploded rather violently, blowing a massive hole through the man, who spat up a large amount of blood as a result.

The cashier had to shield his eyes from the explosion, which knocked back the girl. Despite the size of the explosion, no collateral damage was caused. When the cashier looked back up, the girl had started getting up from the floor, brushing her skirt off with her hands.

However, that wasn't what caused the man to become even more confused than before. Sure, he had been a witness to a murder, which in itself is terrifying enough, but the strange part about it was the fact that the man's body seemingly disappeared. In its place was a rising stream of smoke from the spot where the body had once been.

Whatever kind of Quirk the girl had was one that could one-shot kill anyone and blow away all evidence that there was a murder in the first place, aside from maybe camera footage. That was what caused him to be confused and alarmed.

His eyes wandered over to the blond, who had made eye contact with him, and his stomach immediately dropped. With a downright sociopathic, emotionless face, the girl made her way over to the cashier, and his eyes widened in fear.

"P-Please, don't kill me! I-I-" the man didn't finish his sentence when a can of monster energy hit the check-out area.

"How much?" The girl asked, interrupting the cashier. Her voice was soft, but it wasn't filled with much emotion, which was odd since she had just killed someone. It rang alarms in the cashier's head, but, regardless of that, he had a job to do, and if looks could kill, the stare that the girl was giving him would've murdered an entire school.

"U-Uh… 1000 yen!" The cashier spoke quickly, grabbing the can before scanning it and putting it in a bag. The girl put ten 100 yen coins on the counter and took the bag, giving him a second glance.

"Do me a favour, and keep quiet about that, okay?" The blond said, her tone colder than ice as the cashier swallowed back his fear and nodded. As the girl left the store, he let out a sigh of relief, the bell ringing as his head made contact with the check-out area as he cried in fear.

The blond-haired girl walked away from the store, checking behind her to make sure no one had seen her enter or leave the building. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, and to say that she had been scared witless was a complete understatement.

She was thankful she was able to keep up the "cool, calm, and collected" façade for as long as she did because if even a single second longer had passed, she would've broken out into a hyperventilating panic attack had that interaction lasted any longer.

The blond didn't like confrontation, hell, she was glad that the store clerk was just as scared as she was, and the fact that he didn't call the police, or even worse, a hero after she had killed that thug, made her day just that much better.

But that brought the question of: why did she kill the thug?

The answer to that question is rather simple. The man had tried to hit on her, to which she slapped him, and then the man had resorted to chasing her down to the store and kept shouting he was going to kill her. Needless to say that she felt that what she had done was justified.

This was Yoshihara Kira, and she was 15 years old. She lived in uptown Musutafu, right across the street from Aldera Junior High, where the single-room apartments were, and she was single. She was a third-year student at Aldera Junior High, and she gets home every day at 4:30 pm after some after-school studying. She usually went to bed at around 9 pm after doing her homework, and after a solid eight hours of sleep, she woke up in the morning refreshed and ready for another day. Yoshihara usually woke up without any fatigue or stress, and according to her doctor, she had no health issues.

All in all, Yoshihara lived a rather peaceful and quiet life, though it wasn't always like that. From the day she was born, she was met with hardship after hardship. At the age of seven, she lost her mother, who had disappeared one day. Prior to losing her mother, her father had died in a villain attack, leaving Yoshihara an orphan.

She ran away from the barren and empty home and was on the street for the remaining week. It was cold and scary for the younger Yoshihara, and by the time the end of the week rolled around, she began to starve.

The following week, Yoshihara was picked up by an orphanage in Musutafu. Had it not been for them, Yoshihara would've died from starvation and hypothermia. It was only after a few years had passed that the orphanage shut down due to health concerns.

When she was 12, she did some odd jobs for people, which often included some rather unsavoury things. However, she did what she had to do, and she got paid at the end of the day. She was able to scrounge up enough money to rent a one-bedroom apartment right across from the school she went to for 12,000 yen a month, which she made doing a few odd jobs around the city.

While her life wasn't the best, it was what she had to work with, and as far as she was concerned, she didn't really care. Even if some of the stuff she had to do to get money was humiliating for a girl her age, she didn't care. It wasn't ideal, but it was enough.

And besides, if someone decided to get… touchy… she could always give them a warning.

Yoshihara had what some might call a 'boyish' appearance. She had shoulder-length blond hair and a rather ordinary face, which didn't help with the 'boyish' appearance all that much. Yoshihara was flat-chested, which caused many girls at her school to bully her for her small bust size, which she never cared about in the first place, and she stood at an average height of 5'4.

Add onto the fact that she had a slightly muscular figure, and most people at her school tried not to start trouble with her. People didn't really want to fight her in a one-on-one no Quirks brawl, mostly because of her appearance alone, though some did try, either because they had sexist opinions about how 'women are weak' or were trying to impress their girlfriend/boyfriend.

When you live on the streets for nearly 2 to 3 years of your life, you don't get by without being strong, and while she might not be a good fighter, when her "Quirk" was used, she never lost a single fight.

Overall, she was pretty healthy for a girl her age, especially compared to some of the other girls in her school. Though her diet wasn't exactly healthy, consisting of instant ramen, take-out, and sandwiches.

As Yoshihara made her way to her apartment building, which was around six stories tall, her stomach growled at her. She hadn't eaten since this morning because, like an idiot, she didn't have enough money to get lunch at school.

When the blond made it to her building, she wasted no time and put her apartment number into the number pad outside of the front door. When a click reverberated inside, the door unlocked, allowing her to enter the building.

She quickly made her way to the elevator and pressed the call button. She tapped her foot against the carpeted floor as she whistled, waiting for the elevator to get to the bottom floor.

"Come on, you stupid thing, hurry it up…" Yoshihara muttered, glancing up at the ceiling. The elevator usually took a while to get to the bottom floor, and it had a historic past of breaking down due to it being outdated.

The building had been there since the age before Quirks, so it was rather ancient. The person who owned the building never bothered to replace the thing, and while the building had undergone some earthquake safety changes, nothing else changed about the building outside of that.

"Ah, waiting for the elevator, I see…" a voice spoke out at the entrance of the building as Yoshihara glanced over to see who spoke to her. It was another resident of the building, and to be specific, it was her neighbour.

He was an old man, around 75 years old. He was short, around 4'8, and he was what some might call the doting grandfatherly type, despite not having grandkids of his own.

"Ah, good afternoon Sasaki-san," Yoshihara said, walking over to the older gentleman to help him through the door.

"Ah, thank you Kira-san, where would I be without you," the older man said as Yoshihara walked him over to the elevator. The man was Quirkless, and that was because of when he was born. Due to that small fact, he couldn't really do much on his own, so Yoshihara helped him out whenever she could.

"How was work, Sasaki-san?" Yoshihara asked as the elevator dinged. The older gentleman smiled, humming to himself as the elevator opened. The two walked inside the machine as the old man coughed into his elbow.

"Ah, yes… well, it was the same as usual," the old man replied, clearing his throat. "We had a couple of villains come in and try to rob the old store next door, but Endeavour just so happened to be in the area," Sasaki recalled as he continued to talk about how his day went.

Every day he would tell an interesting story from his time at work, then he would ramble about how stupid his ex-wife was before finally giving Yoshihara 100 yen for listening to his ramblings. Then, he would return to his home, and she would do the same.

"… And that is why I divorced her!" The older man shouted in his soft voice as the pair stood in front of his apartment. "Ah, anyway, thank you for keeping an old man company," the man said, handing the blond a 100 yen coin.

"It's always a pleasure, Sasaki-san. I know how it can be when you're always alone. Not being able to talk to many others starts to get to someone. I'm just glad I can help," the younger blond said, causing the older man to smile.

"Have a good day, Kira-san," Sasaki waved as he unlocked his apartment, walked inside, then closed the door behind him. Yoshihara let out a small sigh before opening up the door to her apartment.

Her apartment wasn't all that great. Then again, none of the apartments in this run-down building were. It was a small two-room apartment. There was a joint living room and kitchen, with a room off to the side that functioned as a bathroom. She had no bedroom, so she slept on a pull-out couch.

Some would call it a waste of money, but for Yoshihara, it was all she had. It was either that or the street, and she would rather not live on the street…

"Never again…" Yoshihara thought, closing the door behind her. Taking off her shoes, she walked to her fold-out couch and threw herself onto it. The blond didn't want to do anything, not after today. That, and she was ahead of the class in terms of schoolwork. She had no TV, so all she had for entertainment was her phone, so, with that in mind, she brought out her phone and loaded up HeroTube.

"All Might stops burning building from toppling over? Boring…. Hero Killer Stain's latest Kill? Lame, also sickening…. Random kid nearly kills himself to save a friend with heroes standing around doing nothing? Oh?" To say that the last video caught the blond's interest was an understatement. Tapping on the video and skipping a boring ad, the video began.

The video started with the guy recording what seemed to be a villain with a mutant quirk suffocating a blond-haired boy, who was, of all things, inside of the villain. The person was commentating overtop the video, shouting about how the heroes weren't doing anything, until finally, a green-haired boy ran out of the crowd, threw a back-pack at the villain's face, then began clawing at the villain to try and free his friend, all without using a Quirk. The video abruptly ended after All Might came out of nowhere and punched the villain away after the green-haired kid submerged into the villain.

"Hmm… that kid's got some guts to do something so stupid…." Yoshihara murmured, replaying the video again. While she verbally dismissed it, curiosity had overcome her, the green-haired boy had intrigued her, and she wanted to find out what he looked like.

The camera wasn't that great in terms of quality, but after replaying the video a couple of times, Yoshihara was able to get a few details about the boy, blurry as they may be.

1 – The boy was wearing a school uniform, and it looked similar to her school uniform, meaning he either went to a similar school to Aldera Junior High or he did go to the aforementioned school

2 – the boy had a very distinct hairstyle, so it wasn't like he didn't stand out in a crowd.

3 – The boy either had a Quirk and refused to use it, or he didn't have a Quirk, which gave the kid more bonus points in her books.

And that was pretty much it. That was all Yoshihara had to go on to find this mystery boy.

When she finished analyzing the video, she looked at the time. It was around 5:35 pm, meaning that she had rewatched the video for at least an hour straight. "Great, well, I better get something to eat, then since I got nothing else better to do, maybe I'll head over to that one place someone recommended to me," Yoshihara said, fidgeting in place for a second before standing up and going into the small kitchen she had.

In the small, pint-sized kitchen, there was a mini-fridge, a stove, a sink, and two cupboards for any dishes. Aside from that, all she had for cooking things was one pot, one pan, and a microwave. Again, it wasn't much, but it was what she used to live, and as far as she was concerned, that was all she needed. However, it wouldn't have killed the person who built the place to add some more legroom.

Opening up the fridge, she had a leftover sandwich she made last night. It would be enough to satisfy her for at least a few hours. She grabbed the sandwich, a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, to be precise, and quickly ate it. She didn't have much time before that place closed, so she had to pick up the pace.

Slamming the fridge shut, she ran over to a closet and quickly began to strip down out of her school uniform, throwing it on her fold-out couch. Without anything to cover her body, aside from her undergarments that was, it was open for the whole world to see, or at least, for her apartment to see.

She had some defining musculature on her arms and legs, as well as the starting of a six-pack. She had some slightly defined shoulder muscles, while the rest looked rather normal compared to most other people.

She remembered the first time the girls in the school's changing room saw her appearance. Some of them actually asked her where she worked out. Of course, this was before all the teasing and bullying began, so she told them that she had started working out at Gunhead's Workout Palace, which was just on the edge of Musutafu.

She fished around in her closet for something to wear, that being a white pinstripe suit with green lines going across it diagonally. Underneath the top of the suit was a pink shirt, accompanied by a black tie, decorated with strange humanoid cat-like skulls with golden zig-zag crossings and black slip-on shoes.

Overall, it was a rather simple yet also fashionable get-up. Yoshihara didn't mind it, it was snug, and comfortable, and the fabric felt great against her skin. Though she didn't wear it to look fashionable, she wore it because she liked the design and the colour.

Fixing the colour and adjusting the pants, she grabbed the brown leather belt that helped her keep the pants up, slipped it through the slots, then buckled the belt up back around at the center of her waist. On the belt was a pouch, and in that pouch was a serrated blade, in case she couldn't use her "Quirk."

Brushing her suit off with her hands, she straightened out her posture, fixed her tie, then headed for the door.

Leaving her apartment, then closing the door behind her, she headed for the elevator. When she pressed the button, the doors opened up, and she walked inside. Selecting the ground floor, the elevator doors closed, then after a minute, the doors opened again, bringing her to the ground floor.

Running out of the building as fast as she could, she ran to the bus stop. She knew full well that she had maybe an hour before that place closed, and she didn't want to miss it. When she made it to the bus stop, the bus had just begun to pull up.

She had been rather lucky this time, which was a good thing. The bus doors opened, and with the few hundred yen coins she had, she had enough for the bus fare. Putting the coins into the machine, she received her ticket, then headed for the back of the bus.

She needed to get to Anakin Street before the clock hit 6:30. That place had a strict closing time, and if someone were even ten seconds late, then they would turn them away.

But what exactly was that place? Well, it was simple. It was the way that she made most of her money. When the building closed for the common people, those who were registered members of the building would get their time to shine. But what exactly was that place for?

It was a strip club.

Now, don't get Yoshihara confused. She wasn't a dancer. The blond didn't have the confidence for it. Instead, she was one of the backroom hookups. What that boiled down to was if someone wanted to, they could pay a certain amount of money to do whatever they wanted to the person in question, so long as it didn't go over the pay grade, then again, they could pay for it afterward, but that was if the performer was up for it.

In short: Someone pays an upfront fee for some sexual favour, the favour is done, and then the person gets paid. If they paid extra, they got a special treat.

Even if it was a rather dirty place to work, it made her a lot of money, and it made it quick. She also gathered quite a reputation there. In one day, she made 30,000 yen, and while she felt extremely sick after the day ended, it gave her enough money to afford her next semester's equipment for the school year.

The legal working age there was 15 and older, at least for the private member showings, and considering they were anything BUT legal, they were a sicko's wet dream. Sure, she felt disgusted with herself, but she had no real choice in the matter.

Well, that was a lie. However, her whole life revolved around this type of stuff ever since the orphanage went under. She had to do anything to make money.

When she was younger, she was surrounded by that lifestyle. Her mother was a stripper and a hooker, at least when her father died. To say she had been influenced by it was an understatement. That didn't mean she liked it, but she found it to be the easiest thing to do for money.

She tried working a regular job, that being in retail when she started the school year, but she found it to be far too boring. Plus, the pay was significantly worse than what she made as a backroom hookup.

When her stop came up, she got off the bus and ran down the street and to the building. The bouncer greeted her and let her in. The guy's name was Otoshi, and he had been working here ever since she started as a backroom hookup.

He was a nice guy, and he always treated her with kindness. He knew her situation more than anyone else there, aside from the owner, and while he didn't approve of her choice, he still stopped by whenever her shift was done to make sure she was okay.

He was around 6'3, was extremely muscular, and acted as a father figure to her. He would stop by every so often at her apartment and help her out with her school work, and sometimes, he would come by with his girlfriend, Sayaka, who was equally as nice as he was.

"You're just in time, Kira, before you go in, though, the boss want's to talk to ya, okay?" Otoshi stated as Kira nodded.

Getting inside the building, all of the common folk were kicked out by the owner, who was on stage with a microphone in his right hand.

He was a tall and lean person, with the starting of a beard. He had short brown hair, and hazel eyes, and he wore a blue and white striped shirt with black overalls. The man had always gone with old-timey clothing, saying that he preferred it to the new stuff.

The man's name was Akira Tomodachi, and he had owned this building for the last 20 years. Most people who ran these places were seedy, perverted people who had no morals whatsoever. Akira, on the other hand, was one of the kindest people in the business. Everyone, including the dancers, liked him.

He never raised a hand to anyone unless it was to protect someone, nor did he scream or yell at any of his employees. It was why everyone liked him. He respected you, and naturally, you would respect him.

When Akira and Yoshihara's eyes met, the brunette nodded to her and gestured to head to his office. She was confused, but she went with it. Most people never went into his office for a good reason. The last person who went to his office was either fired or did poorly for the special guests.

Had she been doing badly? Or was this another one of his talks with her? if it was the latter, she was going to be a tad bit annoyed.

Every so often, Akira would try and talk Yoshihara out of a job, saying that while he commemorated the effort she put in, then turn around and say that it was bad for her mental health to be, basically, used as an object by the people who came in every day to see her.

But the thing about that was that she didn't care. Sure, it was unhealthy. She knew that God did she know that, but it made her a lot of money and made her a lot of money fast.

Passing by a few of the dancers and into the office, she was greeted with the familiar wooden desk that she knew all too well. The wood was extremely well polished compared to most other things in the building. On the walls were pictures of the previous owners, in other words, his descendants, ending with a self-portrait of him.

Directly behind the desk was a photo rack of the 'employees of the year,' and up there with some of the best dancers, Yoshihara was on the lower row of the "employee of the year" lineup. If she had to say anything, she'd say that she didn't mind it.

Sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk, she waited for the man to show himself. She could hear Akira give out a prep talk, then after a few seconds of hearing footsteps running around for people to get into place, the door to the office opened, and Akira walked in.

"I see Otoshi told you to meet in here," the brown-haired man said as Yoshihara nodded, putting an arm around the back of her chair.

"If this is what I think it is, I'm leaving. I don't have time for this, and you already know my answer," Yoshihara said as Akira frowned. The man walked around to his desk, grabbed Yoshihara's picture from the 'employee of the year' wall, then sat down.

"You know… it pained me to put your picture up there," he started, placing it in front of her. "Don't get me wrong… you drive business up through the roof. I don't know what it is you do back there, but EVERYONE loves you," Akira paused, letting out a large sigh before crossing his arms. "I just… I don't want to see you waste your life being, for the lack of a better word, a whore," Akira finished as Yoshihara huffed.

"And how many times have you told me that? Look, we've been here so many times, and you already know my answer. It's not like I ENJOY what I'm doing. I don't like the feeling of someone's cock in my mouth, but I do it because it makes me money, far too much than I want to admit," Yoshihara spat as Akira crossed his arms, staring at the blond.

"And that is precisely why I don't want you here. You hate it here, so why keep coming back? I get the pay is good, on top of commission, but you're barely legal, to begin with. Maybe that's why so many people come to see you, and if that's the case, maybe you should find a different career path," Akira said, leaning back in his chair before turning around and putting the picture up on the wall.

"Well, what do you suggest? 'Cause I need money, and I need a lot of money, that dingy apartment isn't going to pay for itself," Yoshihara said, standing up from the chair and heading for the door. "When you got a bright idea for me, then call me back, but until then, I'll talk to you later," Yoshihara said, grabbing the door handle before Akira teleported in front of her.

Akira's Quirk was teleportation. So long as he looked in that direction, and so long as it wasn't more than 5 meters away from him, he could teleport to that location.

"Sit down. We aren't done here yet," Akira spoke, his voice cold. Yoshihara rolled her eyes as she walked back to her chair before sitting back down. "Thank you,"

Akira walked back to his chair before bringing out a picture of someone. They looked young, maybe in their early thirties. They had long black hair and purplish-black eyes, and a radiant smile. "This is my sister-in-law. I married her older sister three years ago. Tell me, does she look familiar to you?" Akira asked as Yoshihara raised an eyebrow.

"Nope, who is it?" Yoshihara asked as Akira smirked.

"I'm sure you've heard of the pro-hero Midnight, right?" Akira asked as Yoshihara raised an eyebrow. The blond had no idea what relevance Midnight had to the conversation. Sure, she had heard of the R-Rated hero, but who hasn't?

"Yeah, but I fail to see why she's important right now?" Yoshihara questioned, folding her arms across her chest as the door opened, causing the blond to turn around, only to go wide-eyed.

"Now, I could say that was rude of you, but then again, it was rude for me to be late in the first place," a sultry-sounding voice spoke out into the room as a tall, busty woman walked into the room. Her long black hair flowed down her back, and her voluptuous body would give even the most hardened people a nosebleed.

She was wearing a long, unbuttoned, brown trenchcoat, while underneath, she wore a baggy white shirt and tight, form-fitting pants with stiletto heels.

It was, in fact, the pro-hero Midnight, standing in the office of Akira Tomodachi.

"Holy smokes…" Yoshihara muttered as the older woman smirked.

"So, this is the girl I hear you talk so fondly about, Tomodachi-Kun?" Midnight said, her voice teasing in tone as Akira rolled his eyes.

"Don't say it like that, Nemuri. You're making it seem like I drool about her," Akira drawled as Nemuri took her coat off before throwing it on the coat hanger on the back of the door.

"You know how it is, Tomodachi-Kun, I love teasing you, and you love pointing out how my latest scandal can 'end my career,' only for it to be turned around a second later," Nemuri pointed out before sitting adjacent to Yoshihara.

The blond tensed up. This was a pro-hero, just casually walking into the room the owner of a strip club and not batting an eye at the fact a child was in the room. Perhaps the hero didn't care or was concealing her true feelings. Kira didn't know, but she was curious.

The heroine in question turned to face the blond, a concerned look on her face. "Kira-chan, right?" the woman asked, making the blond look away.

"Yeah… uh…" Yoshihara cleared her throat. "This is… uh… really awkward…."

"Yes, it is," Nemuri said, folding her arms. "Now, I've heard about you from some of the people at the bar me and my friends and hang out at. Do you want to know some of the stuff I hear coming from those sickos?" Nemuri asked as Yoshihara looked away.

"No… but I doubt you're gonna listen to me," Yoshihara said as Nemuri blew hot air out of her nose.

"Well, no, if you don't want to hear it, that's fine. But it isn't… pleasant to hear. Akira tells me you bring in a lot of money to this place, and while he's glad that you've revived the business, he's concerned for your health. I overheard what you said, and while I'm not a slut-shamer, hell, that'd make me a goddamn hypocrite, you shouldn't be doing this, not at all," Nemuri stated.

"Yeah, well, It's not like I have much of a choice financially," Yoshihara spat back, her cheeks dusted pink with irritation. She was getting emotional… she couldn't get emotional in front of a pro hero. It would be embarrassing. Taking in a deep breath, the blond spoke again, this time with a shakier voice.

"I don't like doing this. I hate this job. I can't hold down a regular job 'cause it doesn't pay me enough to afford that shitty little apartment, the electricity bill, and my groceries for the week!" Yoshihara said, water bubbling in her eyes, her arms wrapped tightly around her own body as the blond choked back a sob.

"I want to have a normal job, believe me, I really do… but with everything that's going on… how my life has been going… I can't," Yoshihara muttered, trying to keep the tears from falling. Nemuri stared at the blond, glancing back over at Akira, who shrugged.

For all of Akira's credit, he didn't know how to handle this. He had seen Yoshihara break down multiple times, and hell, he even calmed her down and helped out time from time. But this was the first time when she openly admitted to the stuff that he had been saying.

"Kiddo, hey, listen. You don't have to work here if you want to. I…" Akira stopped as Nemuri looked at him with the same knowing look a few of his bouncers would give him. It was a look that said: "Stop, let me handle this."

Getting up from her seat, Nemuri stood in front of Yoshihara before kneeling to the blond. Nemuri snapped her fingers in front of her, which caught her attention. Her eyes were slightly red from the crying, and her cheeks had gone red with a mixture of embarrassment, annoyance, and anger.

"Look, kid, I… I get where you're coming from. I was in the same spot as you are right now when I was younger," The hero started, shifting around uncomfortably for a second before continuing. "However, unlike you, I didn't have someone to turn to. I remained a sex worker for the entirety of my junior high years until I met the friends that I have now, including Akira," Nemuri paused, taking a deep breath as Yoshihara wiped at her eyes before the pro hero continued.

"Akira has repeatedly told you that you don't have to continue this job if you don't want to. He knows that you're suffering, and I can't blame him for asking me to come here; even though I ruined my plans tonight with my friends, it's my job as a hero to get people out of shitty situations," The pro hero said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh yeah," Yoshihara said, clearing her throat, a stern look in her eyes, "what exactly can you do about it?" Her voice was sharp, annoyed, and also irritated. She didn't want to be told to get a normal job, and everyone who told her didn't know the struggles she went through when it came to that crappy, bargain-bin apartment.

"Well… first of all, I want you to calm down. It's hard to think rationally when you're all emotional like that," Nemuri started, looking at Yoshihara with a gleam in her eye. The younger blond took a few deep breaths, one every two or three seconds, as she wiped the pouring tears from her face.

"Good, now, I usually don't do this, but seeing as you're in a tricky situation, I want to give you an offer. That is, of course, if you're willing to listen?" Nemuri asked as Yoshihara nodded, which caused the ravenette to smile. "When I was younger, I was approached by a hero that is, unfortunately, deceased, but they said this to me when they approached me, so I'm going to say the same thing," the woman said, standing up, reaching out to Yoshihara.

"I see potential in you. While I don't know who you are, as a hero, I cannot allow you to continue living like this. So let me offer you a way to turn your life around so that you can forgo all of this pain you're holding on to. I have a few connections with a couple of powerful people in this world, and with those, not only will your life become better than what it is now, I can guarantee, it will never be the same ever again! Yoshihara Kira, allow me, Midnight, to bring you a better life. Become a hero, join U.A. Academy, and if you don't like the apartment you currently live in, there's a spare room in my apartment sweet if you want a better place to live," Midnight said, a smile on her face, one of honesty and truth.

Yoshihara had no idea what to think about what Nemuri had said. All she could do was stare in silence for a few seconds. Her face suddenly became calculating, trying to scope out any ulterior motives as a voice in the back of her mind told her not to trust her. However, a far louder part of her mind screamed at her telling her to trust Midnight.

Reluctantly, Yoshihara reached out her hand, and as it was seconds from taking Midnights, she stopped, looking over to Akira, who had his arms crossed. While his facial expression held no emotion, his eyes told a completely different story.

It was like they were egging her on, telling her to take the woman's hand. Finally, she took Midnight's hand and stood up, the height difference being plain as day, with Yoshihara's 5'4 barely making any ground to Midnight's 5'9.

Nemuri nodded, gripping her hand as a soft smile appeared on her face. "You made the right choice, Kira Yoshihara," the woman said, turning to look at Akira. "It's getting late, Tomodachi-Kun. I'll take Yoshihara back home with me if you don't mind, that is," Nemuri said as Akira unfolded his arms, his face remaining neutral for a few more seconds before softening.

"Well, personally, I don't care. But as her employer, it's annoying since a lot of people booked Yoshihara for the night. But, my morality refuses to let that continue, so I'll repay those who paid for her service. However, I'll also e-transfer Yoshihara the money she would've made today, as well as e-transfer her paycheque she would've got for the rest of the month," Akira said as Nemuri nodded, turning to Yoshihara.

"Well, are you ready to go?" the ravenette asked as Yoshihara quietly nodded. Akira teleported over to the door and opened it.

"If anyone asks why you're leaving, especially the clients, I'll just say that you asked to quit, which in reality is the truth. Although I'm sure, Otoshi and I will stop by to make sure you're doing okay," Akira explained as Yoshihara nodded. Nemuri grabbed her coat and put it back on before the two girls bowed, the ravenette putting her right hand on Yoshihara's left shoulder before moving her closer to her body, causing the blond to blush slightly.

The two girls left the office as Akira closed the door. As soon as they got out, they were assaulted by loud noise and people talking, glasses clashing, and the sound of erotic music playing around the building.

The sound of "Mr. Boombastic" playing on the speakers and the sound of people humming and ahhing at the dancers caused Yoshihara to shrink. Eyes were on the two, and to add to the blond's embarrassment, a few whispers and murmurs coming from a few of the patrons caused her to shrink further. All Nemuri had to do was smile at her for Yoshihara to straighten herself out.

Otoshi opened the door for the two before bowing. "You made the right choice Kira-san, and Midnight, thank you for taking her. Have a good evening, you two," Otoshi said as Nemuri smiled.

"Thank you, Otoshi-Kun. Have a good evening as well. Don't overwork yourself," Nemuri said as the man chuckled. The ravenette took her car keys out of her pocket as the horn of a black Honda Civic echoed out into the empty street. Two entered the car, and, not a minute later, they drove away.

The car ride was silent. Not a single word was spoken as the soft sound of the radio played in the car. The only thing Yoshihara could think of was how crazy her day had been so far. She had been given a once-in-a-lifetime chance by Midnight, who promised to change her life, to become a hero and go to U.A. Academy.

What she didn't know, however, was just how much her life would change, the people she would meet, and the friends she would make. All she knew was one thing… she would leave a rather explosive mark on the school.