Yui bit at the mutilated eraser staring down at the notebook filled with crossed out ideas and scribbles, the relative silence of the library casting a veil of protection from the growing rumors. The little prick probably decided to move forward ignoring the deadline Yui kicked the chair in front of her creating a clatter that gained her a few glares, but with her stormy mood she couldn't really find it in herself to care.

She could handle this, this had to do with her past, her mistakes, the little bubbles with who she could go to already had Nedzu and Aizawa crossed out. A little voice in the back of her head prodded her with thoughts of Tartarus and abandonment. Surely they wouldn't....but...then they'd have to protect her even if they didn't. No....No. Better to leave her dads and the staff out of it. The scritch of the pencil as she scribbled out a host of names, tickling her ear. "It's just some rich brat who wants me to cave." She muttered beneath her breath, but somehow looking at the glint of light on the pencil lead covering half the page in crosses and x's....she didn't feel any closer to an end.

“She’s a villain?”

“Yeah, I can see it, she’s so frigid. And did you see how she kicked that chair? I heard she's violent.”

“She threatened some class B students on their second day, how is she still here?”

“I can’t believe they let someone like that into U.A.”

Yui's eye twitched, They couldn't even leave off in the library? Yui gathered her supplies growling as she shouldered her way past, meeting amethyst eyes beating a fast retreat from the whispers. She outpaced the sounds but the suffocating weight in her chest followed, and the whispers circled in her head. Kami, what could she do about him? Her word against his. Sure, she’d have her family on her side, probably. Maybe Nedzu? But would he really care? Or would he consider it like a test? And Tomono had connections to the Commission and a respected family behind him. And with his Quirk, how many people could he influence to speak on his behalf? How long did his Quirk last? And with his Quirk, there wasn’t any physical proof for her to record and show. She’d checked.

Maybe if she just ignored him, maybe he’d just get bored, or maybe she should just be nicer to him? Would it be enough for her to just be another one of his followers? No, fuck that, she wasn’t going to give that asshole the satisfaction. Whatever he thought up, she could handle it. Still…maybe she should step back from her friends for a bit. It wouldn’t be good if she dragged them into her mess.

“Yui! Don’t you want to join us for lunch?”

The teen stiffened at the question, turning to see Hado, Togata and Amajiki waiting for her down the hall. She gave them what she hoped was a convincing smile, “Sorry guys...I’m going to head to the support department and work on something. I’ll see you guys for hero class though.” She didn’t wait for a response, hoping they wouldn’t noticed she’d been heading in the opposite direction of the lab. She’d been giving them similar excuses for a few days now.

Yui sat down in the alcove the window provided, she’d taken to hiding here for lunch: it’d seemed pretty secluded from the footage she’d observed, and no one had bothered her yet. She didn’t want her friends to get targeted if she sat with them; she didn’t want to have the teacher’s question her by eating in a classroom or with Nedzu. This was fine, she still saw her friends after school, she didn’t need to hang out with them at lunch. As long as her distance would make sure they weren’t dragged into her mess, she’d deal with it.

Yui tensed as water soaked her uniform and hair, her bento now swimming, at least the water was clean. She looked up at the group of second years holding an empty bucket.

“Oh sorry! We were just trying to clean up the grime on the windowsill.” One cackled down at her.

Yui felt her eye twitch before she took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she stood up, leaving them to their devices as she dumped her lunch in a nearby garbage can. It was just water, she could deal with this, it wasn’t a big deal. Like Granny said to Amajiki, she’d be dealing with worse as a hero, she could handle a little bullying.

Yui grit her teeth as she guarded her head against the onslaught of rubble that hit her like a wave, a few sharpened edges tearing through the gym uniform she wore. She wasn’t sure if Yamashi was that wary of her getting close that had his attack hitting her with more force than she was used to the usually stoic teen, or if the weasel had his claws sunk that deep in him that he was spurring on a more violent side.

She hated the days they sparred without gear, without the extra protection her suit provided she was left with more bruises and scrapes and cuts than usual. If it wasn’t for her family’s prying eyes she wouldn’t have cared. But now it was just another reason for the questions, the pressure in her throat just building as she kept having to reassure them she was fine. And she was! Compared to what she grew up with, this didn’t matter. It wasn’t anything to bother granny about.

Yui growled as she leapt away from the ground that had shifted beneath her, barely dodging the pillar that shot out to knock her out of bounds. Though she wasn’t quick enough to dodge the second, the blunt end slamming into her left side with a force that drove the air from her lung, a white hot pain that left her vision spotting before she reflectively grasped at the stone, the action the only thing stopping her from being flung out of the ring like a ragdoll.

She drove out the static that tried to fill her ears with a shake of her head, her breathing coming in pants that made her side feel like there was a needled rubberband that sunk deeper into her skin with every breath.

“Yui, are you okay? That looked like it hurt!” She stiffened at Hado’s question, eyes flashing to see Midnight turn to look away from Hayashi’s spar with Togata. She braced herself as she made herself let go, her boots connecting with the ground that sent a new wave of pain up her side. She gave a thumbs up to Midnight’s curious stare.

“Don’t worry, it just grazed me. I’m all good.” She gave what she hoped was a convincing grin as she turned back to her opponent. This is fine, I fought through having the guy with a shark-head mutation chomp through my side, a fracture is nothing. Just keep your cool, Yui, you just have to push him back over that line.

Before Midnight could call her off she was moving, pain going to the back of her mind as she guarded her eyes from another spray of rock, her body falling into that space that had her instinctually responding to the rumbles beneath her boots, dodging his attacks and getting in close enough to hear the teen’s intake of breath before she was breaking free from that spot in her head.

Her open palm caught his first punch, her other hand snapping out to grasp his shoulder in a grip she knew would leave his other arm numb as she quickly pushed him back, digging her boots into the dirt as he stumbled back and over the line. She quickly released him, stepping back as she straightened when Midnight’s voice rang out, “Yamazawa wins!”

See? She could handle herself, it was fine.

“Hey Livewire, can we talk?”

Yui bit back a sigh as she spun her chair around to look up at Yamada, the blonde standing in her doorway. “Sure, Pops, what’s up?”

He walked inside, before he knelt down beside her so they were closer to eye to eye. “Kiddo...what’s going on at school? You know you can tell us anything, right?”

The teen bit the inside of her cheek at the question, “Yeah, pops, it’s fine. Just...physical school is a lot to get used to. I never really had teachers before, I’ve just, you know, learned on my own. I guess I’m not adjusting as well as I thought I would...but I’ll get better.”

“Sho said something might have happened with one of your classmates, but the audio was out in the sewer cams, do you want to talk-”

“He was just trying to use his Quirk on me, you know, for the exercise. You know about Tomono’s Quirk, right? It’s...weird to fight against that feeling.” She quickly interrupted him, rubbing at her arm and trying to ignore the bruise there. “I seem to have a resistance and I think he tried to up his charm or something. It was distracting for both of us so it turned into more of a bantering match,”

Those soft chartreuse eyes searched hers, a crease crinkling his forehead, “Yui, we know something’s wrong, we can hel-”

“Sorry, Yamada, but there’s really nothing to talk about. I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about me.” Her voice dropped into a monotone, trying to ignore the spike of guilt in her chest when the man leaned back with hurt in his eyes.

“Okay kiddo...if you ever want to talk though, my door’s always open, alright?” He stood up, raising a hand as if he was going to ruffle her hair before he paused, letting his arm drop. “Supper should be done soon, if you’re hungry?”

“No thanks pops...I’m not really hungry, but thank you...” Her words soft as she glanced up at him through her bangs.

“Hey, no problem, Livewire. I’ll put leftovers in the fridge if you get hungry, just make sure you eat something when you can. You’re still growing, you know.” He gave her a smile before he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Yui couldn’t help but curl her legs up on the chair, hiding her face against the rough material of her jeans. You really did it now...Do you really think they’ll keep caring when they know how much trouble you are?

This was fine, she could handle it. She just had to prove that she was fine. She couldn’t let one slimy weasel blackmail her into complacency, right? She was stronger than this, she was smarter than this. She didn’t need to drag her family into this bullshit...she couldn’t be so much of a problem that they wouldn’t want her around.

It’s just your imagination, you’re just on edge, ignore it. Yui stiffened when a third year student passed too close to her, the look in his eyes making her skin crawl. He knows. Kami, how many of them know? They know I don’t belong, that I’m just a villain- She gripped the straps of her backpack tighter, the sharp pain that ran up her side when she purposely put pressure against it to ground herself from the spiral her thoughts tried to go down.

Still, her eyes kept track of anyone close to her, watching hands and eyes and trying to identify any body language that would warn her of an attack. A memory of certain hands playing in the back of her mind, dainty, crimson-manicured hands that could make the inside of her head erupt like fireworks if they so chose.

Stop thinking about her, she can’t get to you! Yui bit down on the inside of her cheek until she tasted copper. She couldn’t freak out here, too many cameras, too many people that would only see her spiraling as weakness to exploit. She stiffened when the third year in front of her stopped, making her pull up short and go down the stairway to her right. Yui grit her teeth when footsteps only followed her, turning to press her back against the wall to face the three students who looked down at her.

“Can I help you?” her voice came out in a dry monotone.

“You’re the kid that people are talking about, right?” One asked, he didn’t really stand out beside eyes that almost seemed to glow a toxic green. “The villain that the teachers aren’t doing anything about?”

Yui kept her face blank, showing them a blank indifference in hopes that it would just get them to leave her alone. “You guys are really buying those rumors? Like U.A. would let in a villain. There’s so many security protocols in place, a villain wouldn’t be able to get with a hundred feet before getting captured. The schools full of some of the best Pros around, you know?”

Those eyes focused in on her, making that itchy feeling under her skin worse as she kept her body relaxed. He eventually grinned, “That’s good to know. I mean, could you imagine if a villain was really here? If I were them, I’d get out before anything happened. Like you said, it’d be pretty stupid of them to stay here with all the heroes around.”

Yui blinked when she looked closer at his eyes at the subtle threat, the neon green looked…were they glazed over? A quick look at the others and-yes! It was understated, something she only recognized at this close to them but her mind flashed back to previous instances, had her classmates eyes had that same glazed over film to them?

She jumped a bit when he took a step toward her, breaking free from her thoughts to give a slow nod, “Yeah, it’d be utterly stupid of them. It would only cause them pain, right?” She kept her voice light, giving an easy smile that they seemed put off by. “We should get to class, senpais. Lunch is almost over, I don’t want to be late.”

“Right…” The third year narrowed his eyes at her before he shook his head, rolling his eyes as the three went back up the steps.

If she could get evidence of student’s eyes glazing over, would it be enough? Could it finally give her the edge she needed? Could she link it to Tomono’s Quirk? She quickly walked down the stairs, turning the corner that would get her to class 1-A’s room when she almost walked right into Vlad King’s large form.

Yui stumbled to the side, keeping her head down and averting her gaze from the piercing eyes. She did not want to deal with her least favorite teacher when she might finally have a scrap of hope. “Sorry, sir.” She bowed her head before going off to her class, trying to ignore the heat of his glare on her back.

“For class today, we will be focusing on Quirkless combat. Naganuma and Togata, Todani and Amajiki, Shimizu and Haya, Hado and Tomono, Hayashi and Yamashi. Yamazawa, you’ll be paired up with me.” Aizawa called out, Yui almost groaned at the news. Of course he’d pair her against himself now, she didn’t even get the extra protection her suit gave her since they were all in gym uniforms. Okay, whatever, she could still spar. She’d trained with Miyu with broken bones, she could handle Aizawa with the bruises and fractures, right?

She rolled her shoulders, “No weapons?”

“No weapons. Just hand to hand.”

“So, the demon scarf isn’t going to come after me?” She tried to joke. He only raised an eyebrow and unwound his capture weapon, putting it on the ground.

“Are you ready?” He shifted into position, his posture loose yet she knew he was ready to pounce. Yui took a deep breath, her ribs groaning in protest as she bent her knees and let it out, giving a nod.

“Yes, sensei.”

At that he was coming at her, his hands a blur and it took all her concertation to weave past the jabs and kicks he sent her way. She grit her teeth as his hand grazed her ribs, sending jolts of pain up her side. A growl slipped past her lips as she caught his arm, nails digging into the flesh to try to keep him in close as her other arm went for his eyes, dropping back into her old methods. Aizawa caught her hand, bending it backward and turning his other arm to grip her wrist hard enough that her fingers spasmed.

“That was a dirty trick.”

“You know how I fight.” She ground out before she tried to stomp down on his toes, only for him to jerk her off balance, his foot sweeping her foot out from under her and sending her to the ground. She gasped as her back slammed into the ground, air knocked out of her so hard it took a few moments for her to remember how to pull it back in.

She tried not to curl in on herself, to not give away how her side sang with pain but Aizawa’s sharp gaze caught how her arms went to protect the area before she forced them to stop. “We’re done here.”

“Wh-what? I’m fine, I can keep going-“ She insisted, getting back on her feet.

“Yui.” She stiffened at her name, shocked he’d call her by it where the other students could hear. “You’re hurt. I’m not going to spar with you like this. Are your ribs fractured?” She jerked back from the hand that reached out.

“They’re fine, just bruised, D- sensei.” She grit her teeth, she couldn’t call him ‘dad’ here. “I…I kinda slipped up in the gym last night and dropped the bar on my chest.”

He frowned harder, hopefully the lie was convincing, she had been in the gym at home. “Why didn’t you say something? I told you not to use the weight bench without one of us to spot you. Go see Recovery Girl. You could have really fractured or broken something.”

“I know, I didn’t want to bother you though. And it’s fine, sensei. I know what broken ribs feel like, they’re just bruised. I don’t want her to waste her Quirk on me.” She rubbed the back of her neck. Granny would report her injuries back to them, and they’d know it wasn’t a gym accident. They couldn’t know how much trouble she was… “What about Shimizu? It’d be great practice for her Quirk, right?”

He stared at her for a moment, his black gaze piercing and waiting for her to squirm. She only gave him a bashful smile as she waited, finally he sighed. “Fine. Don’t use the weight bench without a spotter. You’re never a bother.” He walked off to get the pink haired girl.

Yui felt her smile drop, eyes pricking with tears at such a simple phrase. He’s just saying that because he doesn’t know…you can’t let him know. The cruel voice whispered in her head, she couldn’t tell if it was her own voice or Miyu’s, it always shifted. But it was right, she could handle this. It was just pain, she was used to pain. It was fine.

“Yui…you’re not joining us for training again?” Hado’s pale blue eyes blinked up at her, a pout on her mouth. Yui felt something in her gut twist, this was the third time she’d be missing the Quirk training, she’d already missed the study group last Wednesday.

“I’m sorry guys…I have this project with Nedzu.” She forced a smile, gripping her backpack strap tighter. She hated this, lying…but she’d seen the looks other students gave her friends when she was around. Checking the surveillance cameras reassured her they left her friends alone, so this was best, right? She just had to distance herself so they wouldn’t be involved, it was fine.

“We can help you!” Hado quickly offered, her hand catching her sleeve as she stepped closer, blue eyes sparkling.

“Yeah! It’ll be more fun with us helping you, Yui!” Togata grinned, “We can help you look up stuff or organize notes or you can just speak and we’ll write it all down.”

“W-We can make snacks for you…y-you’ll study better with brain food.” Amajiki stuttered out, biting down on his lip as he glanced up at her through his bangs.

Yui bit the inside of her cheek, “I’m sorry guys…it’s a private project. I can’t involve anyone.” She definitely couldn’t involve her friends in digging up dirt on Endeavor. But they made it really hard to say no to.

“Okay…I hope we can train next week. You should bring your little brother along again, his notes were so helpful!” Togata smiled wide.

“Yeah! And he’s so cute! He’s like a bunny.” Hado giggled, rocking on her heels.

Yui smiled softly, “Okay, I’ll ask him if he can come.” As they said their goodbyes, she pushed down the heavy feeling in her chest. This was fine…

“Yui-nee? Are you okay?”

The weight in her chest only got heavier when she looked up at Izuku hovering in her doorway, gnawing at his bottom lip.

“Hey Izu. Yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?” The words burned on her tongue, lying to her friends, to Aizawa and Yamada and Nedzu was one thing…lying to Izuku made her want to throw up. But she knew anything she said would go right to their parents. She knew Izuku meant the best, even she knew how stupid and stubborn she was being by not going to them for help.

You’re such a hypocrite.

“You’ve been pretty quiet lately…and you come home with bruises…you haven’t eaten dinner with us in a couple days. What’s wrong?” He clenched his hands and took a few steps into her room, she could only imagine how much he had to push himself to do this.

“Green bean, the bruises are from training. We can get hit pretty hard in the hero course. I kicked Naganuma in the face yesterday and broke his nose. Blood everywhere. Luckily Shimizu was there to heal him.” She smiled softly, keeping her voice gentle.

“Then why doesn’t she heal you?”

“They’re just bruises, Izu.” She chuckled softly, “You know I’ve dealt with worse. I got Granny’s ointment too. I’d rather she used her Quirk on the other’s injuries. Anyway, how’s the comm system you’ve been working on? The blueprints aren’t too complicated, are they? I can help you with it.”

He frowned a bit at her misdirection, “Yui-nee…you can come to me for help…you know that right?”

She blinked, “Of course, Izu. If I couldn’t handle something, I’d come to you.”

She wasn’t lying…she wasn’t. She could handle this, it was fine. She was fine…