[Shion Utsui]

終ノ空 [Now Playing: Soiree Des Au Revoires II] For whatever reason, Shion never felt comfortable in this corridor. It was small, enclosed, with only doors and lights on the wall with no windows. No way to see what was outside unless you had an appointment. He was lucky he had one, or perhaps not- since if he hadn't scheduled it, he wouldn't have to pass through this uncomfortable place to get there. Shion's voice over the phone lacked the good cheer he always seemed to carry himself with, sounding tired in comparison to the cautious, yet energetic voice Sadako would have heard when scheduling the first meeting. He sounded more like an adult that needed help this time. A hand touched the golden doorknob that was in reach, a feeling of warmth combined with the oily sensation of human skin bothering him. After recent events, it was no surprise that many students needed counseling. The door opened, revealing Shion to be covered in bandages on many parts of his body. Not really a look that others would consider fitting for someone who looked as fragile as he did, especially when the "selling point" he had been told of by teachers was cuteness and innocence. He waited to be asked in, quietly looking towards the table Sadako always sat at with eyes that lacked their usual brightness. A seat of refuge that now only served to fill the youth with discomfort. Sadako Gotoh

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Sadako Gotoh]

She wasn't blind to the changes that had happened around campus ever since the events of the Babel attacks and the Elementals raged through Tokyo. She saw it in general student motivation, and especially in how the students who came to her for meetings talked about how they fought through, or in most cases just did their best to survive these terrible times. Sadly, it was nothing new, she had seen and experienced the exact same thing when she was a hero student. It was reality at play, and reality had come crashing hard into these students' lives. Unfortunately, one of the students she talked to before all this happened, Shion Utsui, was no exception.

''Shion. Come in.'' She smiled warmly. It broke her heart to see him in such a state. She regretted that she couldn't have been there herself. As a hero, it was her duty to stand in the line of fire way before any students got close enough to grace it. She quickly dropped the smile, not to appear gloomy, but rather she didn't want to force a cheery atmosphere this time. Sometimes smiling and laughing was a good way to cope with the pain of it all, but sometimes talking and being listened to was arguably even more important. She gestured for him to have a seat, having already arranged for a broom for him next to his chair, assuming he might want to summon his little friend as usual.

''How are you feeling?'' She asked with genuine concern.

Shion Utsui

[Shion Utsui]

終ノ空 Shion approached the desk and took a seat. Surprisingly, he wasn't shambling zombie-style despite almost being bandaged enough to look like a mummy. He would have laughed at that thought, if all his joy wasn't spent denying the gravity of Tokyo's situation for the past week. "Sensei." The youth returned the greeting with a voice that could only be described as sluggish. Unmotivated. Slow. Toto was nowhere to be seen, and as if to make up for that- Shion's posture was lifeless as the alien's observed demeanor. His eye not covered by messy red hair, looked up once at her before lowering its gaze at the table that separated them both. Nearly a hundred civilians dead. Hundreds more missing. The most recent villain attack had once again destroyed vital parts of the cosmopolitan city, and these numbers weren't even counting the casualties and damage stemming from the Babel system. In a historical perspective, it wasn't a particularly large price to pay. Far more died in the 2050s, especially internationally. Was this the result of a world that had reached its peak after all the chaos from years ago? "I. . . I can't say it in words. All I know is that my hopes were too high, when I last saw you." He remembered how excited, how encouraged he felt when he left the office, feeling that he could take on anyone and anything. It really took a few falls to make the bird accept that it still could not fly. "I always heard that a hero's life was violent, but I had no idea what that meant until now." Orange light from the window besides them stretched across the wooden table's surface. It was getting quite late, all the students returning to their dormitories and custodians leaving to the parking lot to drive home. "Sadako-sensei. . . did you encourage me so much last time while you already knew that?" Sadako Gotoh

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Sadako Gotoh]

Right away something was different about him. She could tell from the usual lack of enthusiasm in his voice over the phone, but it was even more obvious as he opened the door. What Shion had seen, what he had experienced, it was something she had hoped he wouldn’t go through until his senior year. As much as she would have wanted to spare him all that trauma in the first place, the truth was that it was impossible.

She quietly poured him a cup of tea as he started talking. She didn’t say anything. What could she even say at a time like this? He had every right to be hurting, and no matter what he was going to need some time to be able to push past what he experienced.

“Yeah. I did.” She put the kettle down and gently pushed the cup of tea towards him. “I couldn’t predict that attacks of such scale would take place so soon, but the truth is just like you said. A hero’s life is violent.” All she could do was feel ashamed that she hadn’t been there, but today wasn’t about her feelings. It was about Shion and he was very clearly hurting.

Shion Utsui

[Shion Utsui]

終ノ空 "I see." Slender hands picked up the cup, gently holding it. Shion didn't feel like drinking the tea at all. The last thing he needed when he had just left the hospital was caffeine. In fact, the only thought in his head was if he had grown strong enough to withstand the pain of a burn if hypothetically, he picked up the kettle and poured its contents over his hand. No, what was he thinking. Losing a few fights doesn't immediately make you immune to pain. "Sadako-san, did you hear that Kisai-kun got scouted a few days ago by an agency? It must be a big deal to move up so quickly." He muttered his words, quietly musing over the good fortune for some that had resulted from the widespread destruction. The images of Claudio absolutely wrecking that giant thing was all over the internet- basically burned into the retinas of every civilian who lived close to the site of the incident. "But there was 4. . . no, 3 people there other than him who were fighting that thing. I didn't hear anything from them about an opportunity like that, have you?" There was one person Shion remembered over the others. One who would probably appreciate being left out of the picture. Her bombs- the feeling he had using them couldn't be replicated by anything offered by U.A. If he could, he'd like to learn to use military-grade material like that again. I mean, he's already proved himself to be able to handle an anti-tank grenade. Ah, how he wants them in his hands again. Shion caught his thoughts drifting away as a weird space was forming after his last sentence. He might not be all-there today, though he often wasn't elsewhere. "I don't understand why. Everyone else was contributing a lot too- I even had to blow up Toto and my backpack to destroy it's arm." Sadako Gotoh

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Sadako Gotoh]

The tension in the air was uncomfortable. She felt sorry for him, but there wasn't much she could do about the past. The damage had clearly already been done. Now all she could do was to try help him heal, help him push past the pain. ''Kisai-san? I heard about it, yeah.'' It was a pivot in the conversation she hadn't been expecting, but she didn't mind letting him dictate the topics they talked about. He was here to vent after all and the more openly he talked, the more he hopefully got to air all his frustrations.

''I haven't no.'' She still vividly remembered what it was like. She was painfully mediocre during her own student days, and constantly got passed up for other students who got agency offers before her. It wasn't fun. Eventually she just kind of grew numb to it and these days? Well, she was doing just fine for herself. ''What agencies look for can vary heavily from place to place. Some value strong combatants, some value the quieter, more tactical students. It depends on the roster of every agency. I don't know specifically which has taken an interest in Kisai-san, but I can only assume he had the qualifications they were looking for.'' She picked up her own cup, but didn't drink from it. ''Oftentimes it can feel like you might fall behind your peers, but it is worth remembering that we aren't racing each other. In this school, your fight is against yourself. Everyone starts at different points, everyone has different milestones, but everyone passes the finish line eventually.'' It was such an unsatisfying answer, but it was true. Not just of heroism, but all things in life.

''It's not always fair, but I assure you everyone's achievements haven't gone unnoticed.''

Shion Utsui

[Shion Utsui]

終ノ空 The single eye behind the bandages and red hair thinned its eyelids, the counselor now barely able to see the iris behind them. It was the same for Shion, Sadako's gentle face becoming a dim silhouette in his vision. "Oh. . . I hope that's true." He felt that while nothing she said was incorrect, the picture she was painting for him wasn't exactly complete. It was like the depiction of a green meadow, only that the sky above was a simple blank of canvas rather than any color. If anybody would look at the actual painting, they would all say "strange". "After everything that's happened, I feel more. . . confused than before. I see things every day, but I can't explain what my questions are." Shion looked down at the cup full of tea he was holding. Tea, like water could fit the shape of anything it was put inside. He aspired to be able to do the same thing, but his current state was a far cry from that ideal. He felt like he was being stuffed into a similar container, only with all his joins and parts being twisted and bent in the wrong way. "This place, this entire city. . . When I ask someone else, when I ask what they've seen- it's completely different from anything I have. It's like the world I'm in when I'm alone, and the world when I'm with someone I know is completely different." With his eye still barely open, his fixed words became more of disoriented rant, his voice losing a sense of gravity and emotion it had and assuming a monotone. A channel in his brain seemed to open, connecting directly to his mouth to try and explain these abstractions in human words. "Strangers I speak to. . . even ones I fought, give me a sense that there's something I'm missing every time I go outside and see Tokyo. The Tokyo I've been living in for the past year. . . it doesn't feel like there's any trace of it left, and I've been dreaming the whole time." Shion's eye widened, and his bodily joints appeared to become stiff. The gentle hands that were holding the teacup soon began gripping it as if it was for dear life. "Kowloon Bakery is gone after Babel. I'm not a delivery girl anymore, now I'm training to be a part of law enforcement. And Toto doesn't feel like a friend now- they scare me." The alien was nowhere to be found in the room, even though they were practically inseparable whenever Sadako would see them both in passing. "I wonder why. . . instead of handing out bread, I want to try holding grenades. . . weapons. Dangerous things like that." Crik A thin black line appeared near the top of the teacup held by Shion. Either his strength had changed, or this cup was fragile from the start. "Sadako-san, I'm still Shion. Right? Please call me Shion. Please don't call me anything else." Sadako Gotoh

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Sadako Gotoh]

She almost couldn't believe that the Shion she first talked to not too long ago was the same one that had come before her today. She heard of the horrors of the recent events and could only imagine what it must be like for a first year like him to go through so much. Still, as much as she felt for him she needed to remain professional too, she couldn't get caught up in her own feelings, she needed to remain in control of them.

''What did you see?'' Her voice remained soft, more inquisitive than prodding was what she was going for. She got the sense that she needed to take a calm and patient approach with him. He had seen horrors that made him question everything, he was probably in a sensitive state so it was best for her to take her time and let him leave when he wanted to. ''What do the strangers say? What do you think you're missing?'' She would take notes occasionally as he talked, listening attentively even through his rant.

''Toto scares you?'' She side-eyed the broom she had put in the room. Just what had happened to Shion? Toto, who was perhaps once his closest friend had become an entity he feared. A fear of his own quirk? Shion wouldn't be the first one, but usually people didn't go from liking their quirks as much as he did to downright fearing them so fast. Him mentioning he wanted to hold weapons was a bit alarming, but she couldn't jump to conclusions.

Her gaze shifted down to his teacup as a small black line appeared, the tiniest of cracks.

''Shion Utsui.'' She put her note and pen away and reached out a hand, if he wanted to, he could take it, but she wasn't going to force him either. ''You're still you. No matter what you see, or go through, you will always be Shion and no one can take that from you.'' She tried a reassuring smile, not to expect one in return from him, but to try and ease some of the tension he might be feeling. ''You're a bright student with a heart of gold. You're affected by what you've experienced, and that's one of your strengths. You'll succeed in life because you ruminate on these things. Because you take it to heart. It's tough, it feels awful, but you do it anyway, right? That's a strength. It may not feel like it in the moment, but I want you to remember this, Shion, fear is but a precursor to valor.''

Shion Utsui

[Shion Utsui]

終ノ空 This sentence, if it's believed, can reveal the oddity of the sky staying a single color forever. "I feel like. . . I dug deep, deep, deep into the ground and found something." At the bottom of the hole, there was no treasure, but a rabbit hole that extends as far as the eye can see. Rather than "exploring" it intentionally, Shion had fallen in like one of many Alice's before him. "Tokyo's shadow is. . . huge. I never realized it until now. And people who live in that shadow number in the thousands." Of course, the wonderful everyday that was his period of recovery with Ms. Li, his former employer, would appear to be nothing but a good dream if Shion's current predicament was him being awake. "There are people who do bad things, but they do it for a reason. I learned that from the criminals I tried to stop." The culprits were obviously the two masked men, and a boy who he had never seen before, yet had the same power as him. "In one of those incidents, Toto. . . tried to absorb me. If it wasn't for that murderer-man destroying them, I don't know if I'd still be here right now." Escaping a fate of being in pieces, the teacup was placed softly on the desk separating the two.  Shion appeared calmer now, but judging by how long he was able to hide this instability, there was no telling if he'd relapse and destroy that teacup once and for all. "Toto doesn't ever eat or drink, but when I checked on his body after that. . . there was a mouth. It's probably what they were using at that time." He thought he was prepared for death, long before he joined U.A., but that was clearly false from his newfound fear of being in danger while unconscious.  If he couldn't trust what amounted to an extension of himself, that brought into question if anyone had done things to him in the various times he was out cold from fighting crime. "And, just a few days ago-" Sadako's words interrupted his train of thought, and his train of speech as well. It was what he needed most, and the counselor appeared to freely give it to anybody who was in need. If she can act like she really understands how I feel, she has to be strong in that way as well. ". . ." He smiled, for real this time. "Thank you." Her skin would meet a surface just as soft as Shion took her hand. "I've found out that I'm no tough cookie from those fights. . . but I'm still no match for your good words, Sadako-san." Now, was safe. This room, was safe. Knowing that, the youth still had his recollection of terrors that he had endured. Though they wouldn't go away, a simple hand being reached out could work as a counterbalance. Sadako Gotoh

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Sadako Gotoh]

She let him speak and listened attentively.

It was probably what he needed right now. To vent and get all these horrible things he had experienced off his chest so he could hope to move forward. As long as he continued to work towards becoming a hero she could support him this way, but she wouldn't blame him or any other students who had gone through all that for dropping out after going through hell. ''Yeah. That's true, everyone has their reasons, even vigilantes, even villains.'' It sounded like he had got in a lot of fights, perhaps more than just fighting the elemental golems? Or had all this happened in the same encounter? It wasn't unthinkable that villains or vigilantes had gotten involved with the Rumbling Golem. If anything, they had been able to confirm villains were present for the other ones.

''Absorb you? Do you think your own quirk was trying to hurt you?'' She scribbled down a few notes. Beyond anything else Shion had mentioned, this was the most disturbing development. Had his quirk always had the capacity to hurt him, or had it evolved to hurt him? There were plenty of quirks that inflicted harm on their wielders, but she hadn't heard of a case where one evolved into doing it later in life. Either way, this was something she couldn't just ignore. She might need to call in another expert.

''Nonsense.'' Her voice was soft and comforting. ''You made it through all that and still came back to school, and came into my office to open up about it. If that doesn't make you a tough cookie, I don't know what does.'' She eyed the broom she had placed in the room for Shion. She was definitely going to get rid of it and not bring it back if he came in for more meetings. ''About Toto... I think it is best that we get in touch with Iphigenia Pavlina-sensei. She's our resident expert on quirks and quirk development and I think she could help you. If you want me to I can put in a good word for you.''

Shion Utsui