A few months had passed since Kimika started attending school. During this time, her friendship with Izuku had only improved, and they spent time together almost every day, sometimes even sleeping over at each other's places. Their families had also strengthened their relationships, especially after that evening when a heavy topic was brought up. Now, almost every week, they gathered together in someone's apartment to talk about various subjects.

Kimika continued to train with her quirk and develop physically under her father's guidance, although she noticed he had started to stay at work late quite often. She knew he had done this before, but now it was happening almost every day. While she felt sad about it, it wasn't as severe since her mom was always nearby.

At school, after that day, the homeroom teacher had a talk with the parents regarding bullying, hinting that they should speak with their children about how unacceptable it was. Sae Fujiwara did this because she thought it was the easiest way to stop the bullying towards Izuku. At the time, she still believed she could earn Kimika's trust and thereby improve her reputation as a teacher. She also feared that if the situation continued, the principal wouldn't give her another chance.

And it actually worked: the kids stopped treating Izuku poorly, beginning to completely ignore him, as they didn't want their parents to yell at them again. But this lasted only a few days until Bakugo started bullying him again, calling him "quirkless," "trash," and similar names. Seeing this, the other kids resumed their verbal bullying with renewed vigor, as they were still angry that their parents had scolded them because of him.

Although the homeroom teacher tried to handle the situation by speaking directly with the kids about it, she ultimately realized that it was easier to ignore it as long as they acted within certain limits, and it could be considered just childish games.

The other kids sometimes attempted to strike up conversations or befriend Kimika because she had a rather unique quirk, and they were drawn to her like a magnet. She always said she was willing to be friends and talk with them if they apologized to Izuku, which they never did. As a result, Kimika and Izuku became almost outcasts in the class — Kimika was simply ignored by her classmates, while Izuku was verbally bullied by the other kids. Occasionally, these taunts also turned towards Kimika.

The reason for the bullying towards Kimika was that Bakugo, who was both feared and respected by everyone for his quirk, began to verbally torment her, insulting her and calling her various names. The other kids took this as a signal: "If he can do it, why can't I? What makes me worse than him?"

But Kimika and Izuku tried to ignore them, existing in their own atmosphere and enjoying each other's company. Moreover, the kids noticed that the two of them didn't share anything with their parents, which only emboldened them to act more freely.

And so the next day arrived, with Kimika walking to school with her mom as usual. Although she had memorized the route long ago, she still enjoyed walking with her mother, who loved it too.

"So, my little Kimika, are you ready for today at school?" Yukiko asked her daughter. This question was asked every day and had become a sort of daily pre-school ritual.

Hearing this standard yet eagerly awaited question, Kimika couldn't help but smile and happily replied, "Of course!"

Seeing her happy daughter, Yukiko couldn't help but smile back and gently pat her on the head. As they reached the school, she wished her good luck before she headed inside: "Have a great day at school!"

Afterward, the cheerful girl ran into the school, eager to discuss many topics with Izuku and learn something new, which she absolutely loved.

Upon entering the classroom, Kimika immediately heard familiar voices. She stopped, seeing Bakugo standing by Izuku's desk with his friends. Her heart sank, as she knew what this meant: he was there to bully him again. But that wasn't all; she noticed that Bakugo had Izuku's notebook in his hands, where he had been drawing heroes, their costumes, and analyzing their quirks.

"What are you doing, Deku?" he mockingly asked, flipping through the drawings in the recently snatched notebook. "Do you really think this junk is worth anything to anyone?" he said with a smug grin, while two of his friends started laughing as they looked through the notebook, which contained only unclear sketches of people, costumes, and a multitude of words.

"L-Let it go, Ka-Kacchan! It's mine!" Izuku nervously exclaimed, watching anxiously as his notebook passed from hand to hand.

"Don't be selfish, we're curious too!" Kacchan replied mockingly, a spark in his eyes as he continued to flip through the notes laid out before him. He smirked mischievously, not hiding his satisfaction. "Ah... I see why you're not sharing — it's just trash, after all."

Kimika, who had been watching the whole scene, could no longer stand by. She ran up to them, determined to snatch the notebook back. Appearing out of nowhere, she effortlessly tore the notebook from Bakugo's hands.

"This isn't yours, Bakugo!" she said firmly, holding the notebook tightly, feeling her heart race with adrenaline.

Bakugo stared at her in surprise, and his expression quickly shifted to one filled with anger.

"Have you lost your mind?" he shouted, trying to regain control of the situation. His voice turned sharp, and his eyes blazed with fury, glowing like red fire.

Kimika stood her ground, trying to remain calm in the face of his aggression.

"This isn't yours!" she stubbornly repeated, squeezing the notebook in her hands. "Izuku worked hard on his hero analyses, and you have no right to belittle his efforts!"

"HAHAHAHA! So these are hero analyses... I thought they were just scribbles! You know... you think too highly of yourself. Just because your quirk is different from everyone else's doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!" he said, tiny explosions starting to appear in his hands. The expression on his face grew increasingly filled with rage.

After his words, Bakugo could no longer contain his rage and lunged at Kimika, forcefully trying to snatch the notebook from her hands. His friends, noticing this, immediately grabbed her wrists, squeezing them to weaken her grip and pulling wrists toward themselves. Despite all her efforts, Kimika felt her hold loosening. She tried to hold on, knowing how precious these notes were to her friend.

Soon, a sharp ripping sound echoed — the notebook tore in half. Bakugo quickly snatched both halves from her hands while she was still in shock. Wasting no time, he detonated both pieces of the ripped notebook in his hands, turning them into charred scraps of paper.

Satisfied with himself, he gave a sinister smile and turned to Kimika:

"Oh, sorry," Bakugo drawled sarcastically, looking at Kimika with a predatory grin. "Do you seriously think these scribbles you call 'hero analyses' are worth anything? Ha! It's just trash!" His smile became even more brazen, and he laughed with glee.

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With his friends, he left them, leaving Izuku and Kimika alone with their thoughts and fears.

When Kimika finally realized what had happened, a wave of rage engulfed her with renewed strength. She had endured all their humiliations only because Izuku had asked her not to tell anyone, as he didn't want their parents, especially his mom, to worry. But when they destroyed his hard work, it became the last straw for her.

Seeing the change in her expression, Izuku quickly approached her, trying to soothe her:

"It's okay, Kimika, don't worry! I can recreate those notes. I'll even make them better, I promise!"

However, she could no longer contain her anger and, with pain in her voice, said:

"And what? So they can destroy them again?"

Izuku, with his usual softness and a voice slightly muted like his mother's—who always avoided conflict — said:

"Just... don't fight it, Kimika. It's not... that important to argue over. And... please don't tell anyone about this; they won't change anyway." Izuku spoke with quiet resignation, reflecting his desire to avoid unnecessary problems, just like his mother always did.

One single reason flashed through his mind: 'If Mom finds out, she'll start worrying about me again...' He couldn't allow her to be upset and cry even more over his minor problems at school, and that thought wouldn't leave him.

Kimika, hearing his words, couldn't contain her anger and clenched her fists. She remembered telling her parents about the bullying, which led them to inform Izuku's mother. Her visit to the homeroom teacher helped for a short time, and when the taunts returned, she planned to approach her parents again. But Izuku simply told her, 'It's just words, don't worry, nothing worse will happen.' And since he was her best and only friend, she agreed, even when they started teasing her as well. She didn't tell her parents because of Izuku's words that they wouldn't do anything worse, and that it was just trivial stuff that might make her parents worry too much — and because real heroes, like the two of them wanted to be, had to endure such little things to become stronger.

But now, when his notebook was taken away, he just stood by and watched while she tried to help. Even when they lunged at her to grab the notebook, he remained on the sidelines and, in the end, asked her again not to do anything and not to tell anyone. She valued Izuku, loved playing with him and listening to his stories — even his mumbling during hero analyses, during which he forgot everything in the world, even her — but his weakness, softness, and unwillingness to confront began to irritate her. Why should she endure all this just to keep his mother calm while she was in incredible pain from every mocking comment directed at her?

Kimika's anger grew. If this continued, what would happen next time? 'They started with words, then destroyed his notebook — what's next?' She felt that Izuku cared more about his mom, who might start worrying about him, completely forgetting what was happening to her, his only friend, who, unlike him, was trying to stand up for herself and for him.

If they dared to destroy his notebook, then they might soon start doing similar things to her, just like they had with the taunts. Over time, they could begin to do even worse things. And then what?

Did he want her to ignore all of that again?

"You..." Kimika muttered, letting out a heavy sigh, and, overwhelmed with anger, sat down at her desk, trying to cope with the wave of emotions.

Izuku, watching her, hoped she would do as she always did: not tell her parents. Images of his crying mother — the most important person in his life — flooded his mind. He couldn't allow himself to see her in that state again because of his minor problems at school. He also felt uneasy knowing that Kimika was being laughed at simply for being friends with him, "quirkless." But he hoped she would continue to ignore those taunts and that their friendship would remain the same as always.

Eventually, the lesson with their homeroom teacher began. She greeted the students with her usual warm smile, radiating kindness and a genuine spirit that never left her face. Kimika always saw her as the only person, besides herself, who truly cared about Izuku, and that gave her hope.

Gathering all her strength, she raised her hand, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to show Izuku that it was better to speak up than to hide everything.

"Yes, Kimika?" the teacher asked, her gaze radiating kindness and interest.

"I'm sorry, I would like to say that..." Kimika began, gathering her thoughts. She took a deep breath and continued, "They're teasing Izuku and me again! And... and... Bakugo even blew up Izuku's notebook with his quirk!"

Sae Fujiwara let out a heavy sigh upon hearing this. She had hoped that after the conversation with the class, everything would come to an end, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. She no longer felt inclined to help Kimika, especially the quirkless Izuku. While Kimika's quirk was quite unique and powerful, Sae had recently learned more about time-related quirks. She discovered that there were incredibly few well-known quirks associated with time, and most of them were remarkably weak. Almost no heroes had gained fame for a time-related quirk.

The weakness of her quirk was further underscored by the fact that her mother had a similar ability — both could alter the speed of objects and people. Sae began to doubt whether her quirk was truly related to time and suspected that the doctor who examined her had mistakenly classified it as a time quirk.

These thoughts led her to feel even less inclined to defend either of them. It made no sense: she wouldn't gain anything from it, no reputation, nothing at all, except losing a lot of time and nerves protecting these two. She couldn't help but ask herself, 'Why isn't she like Izuku? He just endures everything and stays quiet.' However, gathering her thoughts, she decided not to reveal her feelings. With a kind and sincere face that served only as a mask, she said:

"Kimika, are you sure it's not just a game? Maybe you just misunderstood its nature?" Sae asked, hoping to ultimately ignore the whole situation.

"I'm sure!" Kimika replied firmly, her voice trembling with emotion. She turned to Izuku, trying to find confirmation in his eyes.

Izuku, who was incredibly anxious and shaking, realized that his friend had finally spoken up. He was completely engulfed in fear, and images of his worried, crying mother began to fill his mind as he imagined her finding out that this had all continued. He couldn't bring himself to watch her cry and apologize for not helping him sooner.

"N-n-no, it was... just a game..." he stammered, swallowing hard. Izuku realized that by saying this, he might lose a friend, but for some reason, he couldn't find the strength to say other words to support Kimika when she was trying to help him.

Kimika couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wanted to help them both, but it seemed that Izuku didn't want that. She didn't understand why he liked being insulted and mocked; why he wasn't angry about his notebook being destroyed, and now he was just defending his tormentors. It felt as if she had been stabbed in the back by the very person she wanted to help, her only friend.

"What? But… but that's not true! He's lying!" Kimika exclaimed, her voice cracking with anger and disappointment. She looked at Izuku with tear-filled eyes, unable to believe her ears. Her heart raced faster.

Sae also couldn't believe what she had heard, but inside her, a sense of joy ignited. Now Kimika had to understand that Izuku didn't want to be protected. If she realized this, she would simply stop doing it, and the bullying directed at her would likely end since it had only begun because of her defense.

Especially after feeling as if she had been stabbed in the back by the very person she had worked so hard to protect, Kimika might change her attitude. She probably wouldn't even tell her parents, knowing that Izuku didn't want that. And Izuku, in turn, wouldn't tell anyone how he had been dealing with it until now.

"But he himself says it's not true and that it's just a game," Sae said, trying to sound convincing.

"Kimika, maybe you really didn't understand that it was just a childish game."

Kimika felt as if she had been struck by a blow to her very heart. Everyone in the class disliked her for being friends with and defending Izuku against their taunts. Because of this, they began to mock her too, but now she had received a blow from him as well. Even the teacher, whom she trusted and thought could help her like she always had, simply didn't believe her words. She wouldn't have believed her own words either upon hearing that the one she was defending said it wasn't true. She realized that in this class, there was no one who could support her, help her, or protect her.

She wanted to reveal her biggest secret, the one her mother had asked her to keep even from Izuku — that she couldn't lie. But most likely, the teacher still wouldn't believe her and would say again that she just didn't understand the game and therefore thought it was true.

"I'm sorry..." she managed to say, sitting down in her seat, feeling despair rising in her heart with each passing minute.

Her mother's words echoed in her head: "Have a good day at school!" Kimika bitterly realized that this day couldn't possibly be good. She felt hopelessness building inside her and thought, 'This day is the worst of all.'