After changing out of their hero costumes and into their school uniform, they returned to the center of the arena, where the results were posted. Aiko's eyes trailed the entire list. "Gessei... Gessei..." Aiko muttered before gasping, her eyes and mouth wide.

"Wait, what's wrong?" Mina asked.

Aiko turned toward Mina, smiled and exclaimed, "I PASSED!"

Mina squealed and hugged Aiko, jumping up and down. "Let's look for yours," Aiko said, turning back to the list to quickly find Mina's.

Aiko then spent the next few minutes trying to find her other friends, but she wasn't able to find Bakugo or Todoroki's names. Aiko turned toward them and saw both of their expressions, both of which being a bit foul. Aiko smiled and approached Bakugo, "Hey, it's ok. I mean, there are always other chances to get the license."

Bakugo growled and said, "Don't give me that pity crap."

Aiko's smile fell, "I know it sucks but-"

Bakugo snapped, "Don't even start! You and Deku both look down on me, keeping your secrets and acting like you're better than me!"

Aiko stepped back slightly, but Bakugo stepped forward. "This whole time you've probably been laughing behind my back! Right?!"

Tears formed in Aiko's eyes as she whispered, "No..."

Bakugo looked at her with a growl before turning and walking away, leaving Aiko and the people around them in silence. She looked up and saw Midoriya staring at her with an apologetic look, but she couldn't bring herself to even think about that at the moment. Aiko wiped her tears and turned around to see Todoroki, and if looks could kill, Bakugo would be six feet under. Aiko looked up at him for a moment, but opted not to say anything and simply walked away, her eyes glued to the floor. 

.

.

.

After they left the arena, Haru came bounding toward Aiko, who was just staring at her new license with a distant expression. Haru worriedly looked around and saw that Bakugo was in an even more foul mood than normal. Haru quirked a brow, but then looked at Midoriya, whose face was also down, despite having a hero license in his hands. 'What the hell is happening?' Haru thought to himself, sitting silently beside Aiko the entire ride back to the dorms. 

Once back, Aiko almost instantly went to her room. Knowing that her best friend now hated her for knowing Midoriya's secret was tearing her apart. Haru followed quietly, not wanting to bother his best friend. Aiko lay in her bed in a t-shirt and pajama pants, wrapped in a blanket burrito as she binge-watched a show on her laptop. As it grew later, Haru sighed, "Aiko. You need to eat."

Aiko didn't reply. Haru sighed and figured that he would ask one of the girls to make Aiko some food, and as he traversed through the dorms to see if anyone was awake, he caught sight of Midoriya and Bakugo walking out of the dorms. Based on the look on Midoriya's face, it wasn't good. Haru's intuition screamed to get Aizawa, but instead he ran back up to Aiko's room. "Aiko! Bakugo and Midoriya are leaving the dorms and I have a really bad feeling that something bad is going to happen!" he exclaimed.

Aiko sat up with wide eyes, quickly undoing the blanket burrito around her and leaping out of the bed, Aiko clumsily running without her brace, since she was in her pajamas, until she and Haru made it to the front door of the dorms to see Aizawa and All Might. Both teachers turned around to see Aiko, Aizawa frowning. "What are you doing out of bed? It's past curfew."

"Haru told me he saw Midoriya and Bakugo leaving the dorms, and that it didn't seem good," Aiko explained.

Aizawa groaned, but All Might stepped up. "Young Gessei is close with Young Bakugo, perhaps she could assist me in calming him down and taking him back here," All Might argued.

Aiko's shoulders fell, knowing that what All Might said isn't exactly true anymore. Aizawa sighed, "You know what? Fine. Do something like this again though, and you're under house arrest young lady."

Aiko nodded and followed All Might out of the dorms and to Ground Beta. "Congratulations on earning your provisional license by the way, Young Gessei," All Might said with a smile.

Aiko sighed, "Thanks..."

All Might quirked a brow; before this, she was ecstatic to get her license. "Is something on your mind?" All Might asked.

Aiko sighed again, looking down. "Bakugo yelled at me... not in the normal way, but in a way that seemed like he didn't want to speak to me ever again..."

All Might stayed silent as they approached Ground Beta as Midoriya and Bakugo fought. Aiko watched sadly as Bakugo began to yell, "Alright then, chosen one! I'm not going to lose to you!"

Bakugo blasted toward Midoriya, Midoriya trying to dodge, but eventually hitting Bakugo back, slapping away Midoriya's hand when he tried to help him up. "We both looked up to him! Was I not enough?! Why did he choose a quirkless nobody?! You got so much better, while I ended All Might!" he cried.

Aiko's heart cracked for not realizing that he was holding this much pain. "If I'd have been stronger, if I hadn't been kidnapped by villains... then it wouldn't have happened. I can't get it out of my head, like it's constantly playing on loop! So what the hell am I supposed to do?!" Bakugo screamed, "You even told stupid Ghost Face... has she been laughing about me with you this entire time?!"

Aiko's expression fell, Haru and All Might glancing at the girl. Midoriya then challenged Bakugo to fight, and the two sparred intensely over the next few minutes, until the two ended up in the air, Bakugo blasting them to the ground and ending up on top. Aiko had enough. "Stop!" she exclaimed, running out with a slight limp. 

Midoriya and Bakugo turned toward her, Midoriya's expression softening as Bakugo growled. "How long have you been out here?" Bakugo snarled.

"Long enough..." Aiko whispered as All Might left the shadows, "Bakugo... I never once laughed at you."

Bakugo tensed, sending the girl a glare. "And it's not that he and All Might trusted me more than you. I found out on my own because of my quirk," Aiko explained as calmly as she could.

Bakugo 'tsked' and turned away. All Might started speaking, but Aiko's eyes only trained on Bakugo, pain in her eyes. After All Might stopped speaking, Bakugo turned toward Aiko and asked, "How did your quirk make you find out?"

Aiko gulped, "I can see the spirits of the previous users, and the original one talked to me one day..."

Bakugo looked down with a slight nod. Aiko's heart couldn't take it anymore, and she ran forward wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "I didn't tell you because that spirit along with both All Might and Midoriya told me the risks of knowing the secret. I didn't want to put you in danger," Aiko continued, "But I'm sorry for making you feel like I was laughing at you! I really wasn't! And I'm sorry for not realizing that you blamed yourself for All Might's retirement! As your friend, I should be there for you when you're hurting, but I wasn't!"

The tears were uncontrollable now, sobs getting stuck in Aiko's throat. Unbeknownst to Aiko, Bakugo's expression softened for a moment, which was quickly replaced with his normal expression when he remembered the presence of All Might and Midoriya. "Whatever, Ghost Face. Stop your crying, you look like a baby," he stated, wrapping a single arm around her on the side that Midoriya and All Might couldn't see, however it was seen by Haru who started to coo. 

Aiko looked up and saw that his eyes weren't filled with hatred anymore, relief flooding her body. She nodded and backed away from the hug, wiping her tears away as All Might continued to explain OFA. Aiko's stomach started to audibly rumble, which all of the boys noticed, turning to face her. "Um, Gessei, did you eat dinner?" Midoriya asked.

Aiko nervously laughed, "Um.... no?"

Bakugo growled and grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward the dorms. "You idiot!" he exclaimed. 

All Might smiled at the interaction, following behind with Midoriya and Haru. After reaching the dorms, however, Aizawa wrapped Midoriya and Bakugo in his capture scarf, growling about punishments, sentencing both boys to house arrest for varying amounts of days. Aiko smiled, knowing that this was a much lighter punishment than what they normally would have gotten. Then, Bakugo dragged Aiko into the kitchen and forced her to sit at the counter. Aizawa quirked a brow. "What's going on?" he asked, "They should be going to bed."

"K-Kacchan is upset that Gessei didn't get dinner..." Midoriya stated.

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

After a few minutes, Bakugo finished making the food and forcibly placed the plate in front of Aiko, who quickly started eating. Bakugo grumbled and got a glass of water, sitting on the countertop, unknowingly sitting right beside Haru. "So why didn't you eat, dumbass?" he asked.

Aiko looked down in shame. Haru rolled his eyes and whispered into Bakugo's ear, "Because of you, dumbass."

Bakugo growled, "I didn't ask your opinion," before turning to Aiko, "You shouldn't stop eating whenever I get pissed at you, stupid Ghost Face. I won't be able to prove I'm better than you if you aren't at your best."

Aiko smiled slightly, "Thanks, Blasty..."