"Sorr-" Kei cut himself off before he finished, remembering that Zahra didn't want him to apologize. "Right. Okay." A shaky laugh escaped him. Being pushed around was nothing new to the sophomore, what with his demeanour and all. It's just an unfortunate truth he's come to accept.

"Anyways, that makes sense. You need somethin' that you don't need to trigger yourself..." He shifted his toothpick in thought, brows furrowed as he wondered how to automate such a weapon. Then he gasped. "Your stomach aches." Kei was quick to pick up his journal, flipping to a new page before he began to write in it. "So this device- it could activate when you're experiencin' the reaction you get from your Quirk. Once it goes over a threshold that is, so it'll only trigger when someone's lyin' a lot to take advantage of you. It'll avoid the accidental ones.

"And since the lies can come from anywhere, the weapon has to be somethin' that doesn't need to be aimed." He turned the journal so Zahra could see his sketch, which amounted to a belt with sound waves coming off it. "An alarm is indiscriminate, and if it's loud enough it'll get people to stop talkin'. Does that work for you?"

Zahra Poetri

This was bad.

Outside a hero's patrol route? Bad. Pushed in an alley? Bad. Gang leader pulling out a knife? Bad. Gang leader placing the knife against his colleague's neck? Bad bad bad bad bad.

Kei didn't like the fight that ensued as a result of their insolence. Well, Farrin's insolence, but also his own since he did decide to lie but whatever, the odds were not in their favour. While the hero student had years of training behind him, the closest Kei had to that kind of experience was lesson absorption from the hero students he's created gear for. He had no formal training. The support department didn't focus on that. It was essentially a 1 vs. however many gang members there were which was wholly unfair. They needed some kind of edge.

So while Kei stayed by the wall and behind the hero-to-be as told, he also did what any sensible citizen would do in times of trouble.

He called 110.

"Uh, hello? Hi, yeah, we're surrounded by a lot of guys who I'm pretty sure wanna kill us?" His eyes went wide when the cannon was pointed his way, and he screamed as he jumped to the side, cannonball hitting the wall where he once stood. He wheezed. "Okay they really want us dead. Can you send someone here please? We were closin' in on Above & Beyond but they pushed us in an alley." A pause, then he let out a shaky laugh. "I mean sure, I can try to stay on the line but nO PROMISES--"

He cut off his words when he fell to the floor, his ankle caught in a chain. In an instant Kei was dragged towards one of the men, and he began to try kicking at the knot with his free foot. "Farrin, little help here!"

Farrin

Kei's brows rose at the oncoming question, so familiar like the others, until it the hero student referred to beverages. He let out a strained laugh, then sighed in an attempt to calm down because stop being stressed out over simple questions Kei you're becoming suspicious. "It's water only, so I'd dilute the shake if anythin'. Also it'd have to be mostly water, otherwise it'd be hard for me to target the source y'know?" Another partial truth, for he was underestimating his own ability this time. This is totally fine.

They even segued into Farrin's past experience, which he was thankful for. "Four years. Wow, you must be really dedicated to this huh?" Now that Kei could relate to. While he didn't stay with a specific agency for that long, he took up any opportunity he could to work in as many support companies as possible over the years, soaking up the knowledge imparted on him like a sponge. And look where he was now, into his second year in the most prestigious institution in Japan. He took some pride in that.

Unfortunately, such status didn't matter when they get surrounded by a bunch of thugs.

Oh god, now this wasn't good.

Kei's eyes were wide as he scanned the people around them, worried about the numbers they had on the duo. Another frantic laugh escaped him at the leader's demand. "Valuable? I got nothin' valuable!" A total and obvious lie, he was even holding his journal when he said that.

The grab on his arm caused him to yelp, and he tried to weigh his options because he sure wasn't trained enough to pull away without repercussions. He turned to Farrin. "So uh, people you work with, they don't happen to patrol here do they?"

Farrin

As the titan moved stuff around to block the entrance, Kei just stood aside, feeling kinda useless as he did. He wasn't strong enough to help barricade the opening. He didn't have connections he could call afterwards to investigate. Zenkai's grandfather was involved in the hero industry. Crazy.

Then again, he did drive a family to safety. That was something at least.

The mother of said family was explaining what she saw when Zenkai pulled the support student over to listen. It wasn't much, but just the little information she gave was already terrifying. Someone who could turn people into monsters? With just a touch? Was that actually possible?

Kei lifted one of his hands and looked down at it, eyes wide in realization. What if that thing he used his Quirk on all those years ago was one of them?

Just before he went down that spiral though he was tugged again, this time away from the scene. Because right, they no longer needed to stay. The reason they came all this way in the first place was to grab some things for their room. A shaky laugh escaped him at the reminder the person responsible for their ordeal was gone with the wind. "Yeah, here's hopin'. I just wanted mug warmers."

When they reached their things and Zenkai picked up the entire bin of Blahajs - yep, definitely some kind of super strength - one of them fell and hit Kei on the head, prompting him to catch it. He held the stuffed animal in both hands and just... stared at it for some time. To think they got out and got a bunch of plushie sharks to boot too. Wild.

He eventually looked up at the titan with an attempt at a smile. "Okay." Tucking the shark under his arm, Kei dug into his pockets for some reusable bags and stuffed them with all the items in their cart, before putting his Blahaj on top with its head peeking out. Satisfied, he carried the bags and joined Zenkai on their long trek home, slightly at ease now that whatever happened was up to the professionals to take care of.

Right? Right.

Zenkai Hatake

"Oh I know," Kei replied immediately, his air of niceness slipping just a bit. "But you wanted to explain right? So I'm listening." He couldn't possibly think of how she could clarify what she did without outright saying I wanted to mess with you. He didn't want to sit there as she talked about how making fun of someone was a great past time of hers, or that she got a kick out of embarrassing others. He got enough of that in high school.

Then the actual explanation came in. And even now, while it was just the two of them, she still thought he lied. Kei's expression soured. "I didn't lie." He was more adamant about it now than during the orientation. In his mind he already said what he meant back then, he was not going to do it again.

There was another thing too though. He glossed over the apology - weak as it was when the words didn't match the face, she didn't mean it after all - to focus on something that perplexed him. "You... got a stomachache because you thought I lied?" The confusion was set in his face again. He was having a hard time connecting someone's morality to an illness.

Zahra Poetri

Kei's expression couldn't help but morph into confusion.

The way she was speaking struck him as odd. While the words were correct, they were very formal and not what he was used to hearing from someone around his age. It especially contrasted the way she acted, making lax movements when one would expect a person to stand as straight as a rod when talking that way.

The thing that was weirder to him though was she was struggling. Like she was forcing herself to speak in the way she was now, when she talked just fine in the orientation. She said she was apologizing, but was speaking unnaturally her way of making amends?

He sighed and raised a hand. "Hey Zahra, you don't need to talk like that to me okay? Whatever tone you used back at the orientation, you can use it here." He could only hope she could understand the accusations did not count as a tone. Kei crossed his arms. "What are you sorry for?"

Zahra Poetri

Orientation Day was a harrowing experience.

Kei didn't think it could possibly be worse than last year's, what with the head of the department threatening expulsion even back then if they so much as slip in their learning and work ethic. The panic he felt after that was immense, and in several points in his academic journey he considered saving the professor the trouble and dropping out himself. It was only thanks to encouraging words from his partner and peers that he pushed on and survived a year in the university.

But then came the new challenge of having his credibility be questioned in front of the entire support department. Through his own words, twisted by a stranger for reasons he still couldn't fathom to this day. At least he was a nobody when he was a freshman, but as a sophomore? Naming himself just before the accusations came in?

He might've locked himself in his room as soon as he was done with the tours. And promptly got dragged out of it a day later because skipping class still risked expulsion.

A week had passed since then, and the panic mostly died down between the 'you did good Kei's and 'she didn't know what she was talking about's his classmates said. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be here if it weren't for how supportive everyone was.

Having projects also helped. They always did a good job at taking his mind off anxiety-inducing things.

Kei was finishing up one now, tucked in a workshop as he put the final screws into a small band. It was literally just a grappling hook contained in a watch, but he was fond of utility and he didn't mind taking on something simple once in a while. Satisfied with the finished product, he was cleaning up his space when there was a knock on the door. He turned to see someone he recognized immediately.

The girl who accused him of lying during orientation.

Now he had a few choices here. He could pretend he didn't hear what she said and leave, but that would be insanely rude especially when he didn't feign being deaf last time they talked. He could tell her no, she'd spoken to him enough thanks and end the conversation there, but then the guilt would set in even if he deserved to stand up for himself.

In the end though, she was still just a freshman. Who used honorifics. He had some authority. He should at least try to act professional.

Here's hoping she's not here to corner me came the less professional thought.

Kei tried to ignore it with a smile, strained as it was but it was as an attempt at least. "Hi. We've talked though I never picked up your name, sorry." Pen in his hand as he was caught mid-cleaning, he twirled it to let out some pent up energy. "But sure. What do you need?"

Zahra Poetri