What was harder than any UAU test? Tougher than any villain you could face while patrolling the streets of Tokyo? If you answered something like tungsten you would be wrong. The answer was scaring Iphi. Not in one of those cheap prank kind of ways either, you know the ones. Jump scares, or other harmful practical pranks. Sadako always hated those. What she didn’t hate was horror movies, something she had shared with Iphi on their first Halloween together in uni. To her shock, Iphi was completely unphased at all that the horror movies had to offer. Even though Sadako was a fan of horror she still got spooked, but Iphi was just next level!

Until now.

Because this year that was all going to change, this year Sadako had gotten her hands on a new horror flick and while it wasn’t spooky season quite yet, it was an excuse to hang out with Iphi and not talk about work for once. These days that was part of the reason why she held onto their little tradition. Hearing a knock on her door, Sadako beamed. “Coming! ~” she wasn’t nearly as serious as Iphi, but she always felt obligated to be a certain degree of professional at work that she wasn’t at home.

Opening the door for Iphi, Sadako’s apartment was decorated with fake Halloween cobwebs near the ceiling and cute paper cut out chibi ghosts haunting her apartment. Of course the lights were turned off too, in favor of lighting the place up with living candles. Some people might think the scaring happens when the movie starts playing, but a veteran like Sadako knew the tension started long before. “Welcome, Iphi! Come in come in!” She grinned, having put in a fake set of plastic vampire teeth, complete with a black cape too. “How was your trip? Oooh! Just put your things on the counter here.” She was already finding bowls to put the snacks in.

Iphigenia Pavlina

Sadako was observant, attentively listening and above all, patient as Shion spoke. Sometimes it was hard to get students to speak. Some had put up barriers to protect their emotions, either by clamming up or trying to change the subject constantly, but not him. Not Shion. He was surprisingly willing to share, which thankfully made helping him a lot easier. She noted his body language, smiling, had a seemingly healthy relationship with his quirk too. It wasn’t every day she saw someone who could become friends with their quirk like he had.

“Indeed, a lot of people past and present have been in a situation that feels similar to how you might be feeling. That doesn’t mean it isn’t uncomfortable, or a little scary. However, some can find comfort in that fact, that despite how big the world is we are never alone with our problems.” She smiled.

As he continued she wrote ‘quiet’ on the whiteboard to denote the lack of people back home. “Brown and wood-ish, would you say that makes you feel cozy?” She also wrote wood and brown. Then under school she wrote down the opposites, because of the people it’s a louder place, lots of academic, almost clinically white colors and of course much more rock and a lack of wooden structures. “When do you find it gets quiet here?”

Shion Utsui

Almost immediately, Sadako could feel something yank at her tie, forcing her to her knees. Was it the White Queen? It couldn't be, earlier when she used her quirk there was a pale light and here? There was no light to be seen. In a moment like this, facing a formidable villain, Sadako had no reason to believe that Amano Ito had somehow gotten up onto this rooftop with them. ''I'm flattered you know my name.'' It wasn't until Ishtar started approaching her that she got a glimpse of the pale light up close. The temperature in the air shifted and Sadako became short of breath in a matter of seconds, sweating bullets just from staring the villain down. Yeah, this White Queen was bad news all right.

She was right.

Iphi would never have made a mistake like this, but what choice did Sadako have? Let a dangerous villain go so that she could use her powers freely against civilians? Even if it meant certain death, she would rather face her right here and now. She lowered her head momentarily, straining to close her eyes but no matter what all she could see was the eerie pale light. She needed to calm down if she wanted to stand a chance here. All the students... Well, if she did die here surely they would just replace her. She found comfort in the fact that this wasn't a public fight. The fact that all of this was being broadcast was completely unknown to Sadako.

Managing a weak smile, she finally turned her head to look up at Ishtar with a hint of defiance. ''You think I came here just to die? You disappoint me, White Queen.'' Another powerful gust of wind, that was her cue. With the drone now hurtling towards Ishtar thanks to Sora's wind, Sadako quickly conjured up a chain and tried to wrap it around Ishtar's ankle, hoping to trip her up or make it harder to avoid the incoming drone. Thankfully Sora's entrance didn't blow her away, and what an entrance too. Her assessment that other heroes had been in the area was fortunately correct. She already knew she wouldn't last two minutes against Ishtar alone. However, with Sora here? He was a talented young man and while she didn't know much about him yet, she did know he was already starting to make waves in Japan. Sadako didn't say a word either. She only looked at Sora for a moment, knowing they would have to team up here and now to face Ishtar.

Sonya Chernovna
Amano Ito
Sora Nakoma

Over the chaos that was rapidly unfolding, Sadako swore she could hear someone laugh. Not that she could see anyone having a good time, perhaps it was fate itself? Laughing at her being too weak to take this guy down with one attack. She kept looking towards the poor girl. If she couldn't subdue the playboy easily, at the very least she needed to get her out of harm's way. Before she could hatch her plan to help the poor girl escape however, she felt something wet in her ear that made her flinch and jolt. Was it an attack? She didn't feel any pain, but it was wet and uncomfortable.

Did the girl throw that water attack at her again? Maybe she really was in the middle of fighting back against the playboy? Sadako could have believed it if her body language didn't betray her actions. No, there was something else going on here. Not that she had the time to stand around and figure it all out. Letting go of her chains on the playboy, she quickly launched another pair against the girl, wrapping them around her as she forcibly yanked her out of the way, embracing her in a hug as she spun around and put herself between the playboy's incoming fire and the civilian girl. It was the best she could do to ensure she didn't get burnt to a crisp, even if it was at the risk of her own life. ''Take cover!''

Amano Ito

Maybe it was just in her mind, but Sadako could have sworn her work days were becoming longer and longer. Whether it was at Ouros or in her office in UAU, there was always something to do, never a dull moment. Sometimes she only had a few minutes to eat her lunch before her next counseling session. Not that she minded, well, the fact that she was so busy just meant that she was also needed. All those UA students, lost or in need of guidance like she had been once. She was glad she was here to make a difference. Even so, she wouldn't mind having to work just a little bit less. The only thing that made it worthwhile aside from the feeling of self-fulfillment the job gave her, was her friends. Namely Iphigenia and Felix. If Sadako didn't have them, she would have gone crazy long ago.

No, maybe she had already gone a little crazy. She smiled as she buried her face in her hand and put her pen down. She couldn't stop thinking of Felix. It didn't matter the time, or the occasion. She always found herself thinking about the silliest little things. What was Felix doing right now? Was he enjoying a healthy lunch or did he get cheap takeout like her? How did he look in the mornings before he headed out for work? Still as dreamy as back then? Trick question, of course he did. She had never gotten over him. Over how she could have left him in America. She couldn't count how many times she had wished she had stayed. To even be able to see him all these years later and work with him and get along with him, it was more than she deserved. He was too kind for someone like her.

Still, she found herself being hopelessly lovestruck, thinking about him 24/7 like she was a teenager having her first crush. It was embarrassing, but her heart was the warmest it had felt in years, and she had to admit, she liked that feeling.

Clocking out for the day, Sadako slipped her bag over her shoulder and locked up the office as she walked towards the UA parking lot. She was going to Felix's day today to learn to cook some Italian food. Something she had looked forward to all day. As she walked out the gate, she sent Felix another quick test to let him know she was done for the day. She didn't care if she had to wait ten minutes or an hour, either way she would hang out in the parking lot until he showed up.

Felix

Shion Utsui indeed. What a colorful and charming student. She had only heard good things up until now, that Shion was a good influence to those around him and a happy student, or so it seemed. Something must have compelled him to come to her session today. When he introduced the lovely little broom... creature? Sadako couldn't help but smile. ''How cute. They're very polite. Hi Toto.'' She turned to get the tea ready, hoping her worksheet might give her a couple of minutes to do so. ''Oh my, those are fast answers.'' She chuckled as she looked over her shoulder. ''Is it right to assume Toto here is part of your quirk?'' She smiled once again as she placed the tea as requested in front of Shion. ''Careful, it's still hot.''

''Thank you.'' She took the sheet and gave it a lookover. Interesting, school seemed to be the biggest issue Shion had according to himself. She looked up and let out a light chuckle at his joke. ''I sure hope not! I mentioned it simply so you wouldn't be scared to share anything with me. I see that you scored school lower than the rest of the questions. How is school for you and Toto?'' There could be many reasons in Sadako's experience. What made Shion an interesting case was that his happiness was scored higher, could it be that he came from a smaller environment and was simply getting used to the school? She had her pen ready to take any relevant notes from what he might say, and depending on how he answered she was going to bring out other tools to help with their conversation.

Shion Utsui

''How cute. ~'' She cooed upon seeing the cup with the cat ears. ''Certainly. I was one of them once many years ago.'' She said as if she was ancient already when she was only 28. Still, compared to some of the students she talked to every day, it felt like there was a lifetime of development and experience between them. She smiled as she accepted a mug from Hebiru, wrapping both of her hands around it. ''Yes, perhaps.'' She took a sip from her cup. ''While I cannot show the data due to the confidentiality I share with the students, I do monitor their behavior on a session to session basis. Normally, this is to help them on their way and to show them how much they have actually improved since they started working on themselves.'' She took another sip, leaning back against the wall.

''However, in the event that I suspect something is wrong, such as with Airi, the data will also tip me off. While I cannot show you the documents in question, due to the potential severity of the situation I can share my findings and my thoughts with you.'' She let out a small sigh, but her upbeat smile persisted either way. ''The thing is, Airi showed a rapid decline between our two last counseling sessions. While it isn't unthinkable that a student can reach a conclusion like that on her own, Airi's behavior was completely out of character.'' She walked over to have a seat, quietly sipping on her coffee as Hebiru had been tasked with the hard work of looking through the papers.

Putting her cup down, she would begin taking some swift notes in her notebook as Hebiru brought up potential leads, like inquiring about Airi's family. ''Is that so?'' She wrote the assistant's name down too. ''That's a rather unique quirk in this day and age when everyone is so obsessed with powers that are a lot more flashy.'' She smiled. ''Shokuhou Shirei, I assume she's also in the department of heroes? I think it's worth asking her if she has noticed any changes in Airi lately.''

Yanai Hebiru