Every breath she took inside the house felt like it was burning up her lungs, each step growing heavier and heavier as she pushed herself to keep going. It felt as if the smog began to envelop her, taking her mind back to that day, back to the day she died. Stumbling in her daze, it wasn't until Zenkai called out that she snapped out of it. She didn't shout back, but she sure as hell ran towards the voice.

If it was needed, Freja would break down more doors with her bat to get to any civilians that might be huddling and fighting for dear life. With each swing the metal grew hotter and she could feel it burning her hands. Still, she refused to let go. To her, the bat was like her quirk, it was the only way she could feel safe and trust herself to be strong. Without it she was nothing. ''This way miss, can you run?'' She finished helping a woman downstairs, pointing at exit. ''J-Just out there.. Run ahead I'll be right behind you.'' Another wave of relief washed over her, knowing more people made it out okay. It wasn't until she turned around and was about to head further into the house that her blood, somehow, ran completely cold. In the shadows of the fire there was a silhouette, dancing, freely, elegantly with the smoke itself. It was the villain that had killed Freja and Elias in the fire that day. The villain wasn't here now, but to Freja it felt as real as the smoke-filled air she breathed. The pain from the heating metal bat finally caught up to her as she dropped it, her hands horribly burnt as she stumbled backwards and began screaming, watching the smoke and fire in a primal, paralyzed horror she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Zenkai Hatake

Had Farrin not been able to sleep well? She couldn't help but notice, so even a genius like him had something that could keep him away at night. She wasn't going to pry, but it made her feel all the better about sharing this spot with him. It was wishful thinking, but maybe the nature and being away from the city could help him unwind the same way it had helped her. ''Right?''

''Not necessarily.'' She stepped over a protruding branch. ''I didn't come to Japan until recently, but even back home I mostly hung out in the city. It wasn't until someone taught me and showed me how relaxing going to the forest can be. That was back in Denmark, this place is something else, though. It's a great place to cool off.''

''Yeah.. It's actually a bit embarrassing, but I used to try to join a gang.. Y-Years ago! It was way before I ever came to Japan!'' She hastily added. She could count on one hand how many people from their school she had told that. ''Back then, my weapon of choice was always the bat soo...'' She turned her gaze downwards when she noticed something, felt something, a faint rumbling under their feet.

''Farr-'' Before the words could leave her mouth, a giant hand emerged from the ground, not through a crater, but almost as if it passed through the ground seamlessly, clutching Freja's entire body in its hand as she was squeezed and lifted off the ground, the hand growing into a whole arm and slowly, a giant man with an alligator head began emerging from the ground as if he had swam up through quicksand. ''It's you. You are the one.'' The villain grinned, holding Freja up to his eyeball before tossing her into a tree on the other side of the clearing. He was about to give pursuit when he stopped and looked down at Farrin. ''You. You are not the one. They didn't tell me there would be two.'' He stood unmoving for a beat, before lunging towards Farrin to try and wrap his giant hands around him too.

Farrin

Were Zen and her just magnets for trouble? It felt like no matter where they went together, as soon as they left campus to go explore Tokyo, or go on patrol, things would almost always go south around them immediately, or if not immediately, imminently. The raging inferno around her was reminding her of a certain incident, Freja's body moving not out of obligation or the need to save people, but out of sheer terror. ''I hear you!! I hear you!'' She called to someone behind a closed door as she tried to force it open with shoulder pushes. Unfortunately, she simply didn't have the frame or strength for it. Not the way that Elias might have.

She would have shed tears of frustration then and there if the unyielding fire hadn't been so dominating. Taking out her bat, she began to whack at the door, knowing she didn't have much time before the metal would heat up and become too hot to hold. ''Stand back! I'm getting you out of there!'' Her arms felt heavy with each hit, but eventually the door gave way as she created a hole big enough to stick her arm through. ''I got you, I'm here!'' She ran up to embrace and scoop up a child, before pivoting and sprinting back out towards the main door.

Emerging back outside was like climbing out of hell as the fresh air filled her lungs. She would let herself collapse then and there if Zenkai wasn't still fighting to save people. With dread and fear in her veins, she rushed back in against her will.

Zenkai Hatake

Hearing that Zenkai was fine was all the reassurance she needed, and it finally registered in her brain that they had won, letting go of the tensities in her shoulders as she collapsed onto her knees, still panting out of breath. ''What a relief. I'm not even sure how you survived one strike of that, are you secretly made of rubber?'' She teased, feeling even more at ease now that they could hear sirens approaching. ''Fun??'' She gave them a puzzled, before using her bat as a support to stand up again. ''Maybe that lightning really did fry your brain, or at least your ability to feel fear.'' She shrugged and shook her head.

''Well I could say the same to you.'' She smiled, before her face grew more serious as she looked away. ''A-Actually, Zen... I wanted to apologize for rushing ahead without you. That wasn't very hero-like of me..'' In her desperation to prove herself and being seen as useful, she had put both of their lives at risk. ''I regretted it immediately, but it just felt right in the moment. Sorry.''

''Hm?'' She blinked her eyes, oh right, the getting drunk thing. Did she really have to spill her secret? Maybe Zenkai had forgotten and they could just go drinking instead without any secrets being spilled. ''How about next weekend? I got a test I need to study for as punishment for skipping quirk class.'' She said nonchalantly. What was even the point of attending a quirk class when you were quirkless? ''Right,'' she smirked, ''I forgot Japan is so strict about buying and drinking alcohol.'' She handwaved them not being old enough. ''You'll be fine, it's just alcohol, people way younger than you are drinking back in my home country... Wait, how old are you again?'' She put a hand up to her chin. She had figured her and Zenkai were the same age all along. ''Just to be safe, I suggest dorms. That way there's no chance of us getting in trouble with anyone. I'll just tell the girls to go somewhere so we have the place to ourselves. It's your first time getting drunk too, right? Generally it's safer to try that at home.'' She said confidently with her hands on her hips. She felt so responsible, planning a drinking night like this.

''..And then you'll have to tell me about your quirk.'' She gave them a gentle poke with the end of her bat. ''Mr. Mysterious.''

Zenkai Hatake

''You...'' She put a hand up to her forehead as it finally clicked. Read minds? The thought was enough to send a cold, dead chill down her spine. Wasn't that easily the most terrifying quirk in existence? Someone who could read your mind at the touch of a hand. How was that even possible? ...How did it feel for someone like Thea? It was probably useful power in the right situation, but no different from Freja's own cursed quirk depending on how you looked at it.

''She's alive?'' There was an odd sense of relief that washed over her when Thea said that. All this time, Elias had never known, Freja had never known. All this time, the surviving twin had felt like the loneliest asteroid drifting through a vast and empty darkness, but it turned out that they weren't alone at all. This revelation was one she was incredibly conflicted about. On one hand, Thea had helped her resolve something that had been nagging at her all this time. On the other, it was a huge invasion of privacy. ''Who the hell gets their shit together moments after having their mind read? I don't even know what you saw.''

Inevitably, even though she was pissed off at Thea she took her advice and took a deep breath. ''Yeah, my 'Curse', I figured that was what caused this to happen..'' It was a quirk she had only named retroactively as she only learned what it did after it had already triggered. ''Melding?'' The implications were terrifying. Was that why she didn't feel fully alive as Elias, nor Freja? Was that also why both of their personalities were at odds so often? She looked down at her hands, her face pale as she turned her palms upwards. Melding, what did it even mean? What was going to happen to her? ''I...'' She felt light-headed as she looked over at her bat, before pushing it down the steps. ''There's others?'' She looked over at Thea, only realizing that actually made a lot of sense. There were probably a few dozen quirks that involved the mind or having other personalities of some kind.

It was a lot to grapple with. In life, Elias had always hated himself, hated who he was and what he was becoming, too self-destructive for his own good. She still didn't fully understand how original Freja had felt in life. Not until she finished sifting through her memories as they came back to her, but it was clear to her now that she wasn't original Freja with trauma. She wasn't Elias, who she hated to be. She was someone new who was the result of some kind of quirk fusion. It was terrifying, but also exhilarating. She had no reason to believe Thea would be lying about these things and therefore did the only thing she could think of.

''Thank you.'' She brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face as she looked back up. ''Thank you for going through all that trouble to look into my mind.'' She was doing her best to hold back tears. How lame would it be to break down crying right here, during her first meeting with Thea? ''I'm not gonna hit you.'' Damn, a cigarette would actually be really nice right now.

''What's it like? Your quirk. I bet you hate overcomplicated minds.'' She smirked.

Thea

Freja offered Jun a small wave as she approached. She recognized her from seeing her around school, most notably the ultimate training class. Maybe tonight would be the first time they really spoke? As soon as she mentioned wanting to complain, Freja side-eyed Sumi before taking a loooong sip of her drink. A long sip that would have gone uninterrupted had Sebastian not called her 'the Frej' which caused her to audibly choke and cough on her drink. ''Is now the time to be making obscure references?'' She muttered as she regained her composure. Wait, he had gotten a few pro internships? Being Sebastian sure sounded like easy living...

''Oh, hey Zen.'' She waved back, ''Hey that's my hair!'' She whined, but it wasn't like she was genuinely upset. She doubted anything could ruin her mood tonight unless this was all a secret ploy to bully her. Even so, she seriously doubted that was the case even if she was a very paranoid person. Everyone at UAU had been nice to her so far, so she had no reason to think otherwise. Sure, some people bullied her right after the orientation, but Farrin was practically throwing hands with them in her name before they even met. ''Just tipsy! ~'' She held up an okay sign at Zenkai. ''It's gonna take way more to get a viking shitfaced.'' She grinned smugly as she took another sip. Out of everyone here, she was probably the most experienced drinker... Not that she was sure that was even something to take pride in.

"Any friend of Frejas is a friend of mine."

When Sumi said those words Freja couldn't help but smile behind her glass. In a way, it was an affirmation that she was succeeding at making friends.

Marlene Lovechild? Freja watched her deliver her gift to the host of the night, quietly sipping on her drink. First impressions were important and the first impression Freja got of her was that she was very polite. ''Hey Marlene, I'm Freja.'' She smiled and bowed her head slightly. ''Actually, I'll go get a rum and coke.'' She stood up, empty glass in hand as she also offered her smoke seat up for anyone else.

The crash landing was so loud and unexpected that it very nearly made her drop her glass.

Her first instinct was to run over to check on Shion too, immediately scanning them for any signs of bleeding. ''Where's the first aid kit?'' She looked up at Sumi, thank god she was still sober enough to act responsibly in this situation. ''I'll get you some water too.'' If they needed to lift Shion she would help support in any way she could.

Sumi Okita
Sebastian Sinclaire
junsuina
Marlene Lovechild
Zenkai Hatake
Shion Utsui