"Okay. Just one more thing, and then I'll let you get some rest."

Hoge carefully took her notebook in both hands and opened it to the page she was writing in before. She smiled in a complicated way and tilted her head as she turned the notebook around. Christopher froze in place when he read the only words on that page.

"Cain-san. Why don't you remember me?"

The clock on the wall broke the immediate silence with a faint tick-tock.

Christopher Cain trembled as he read those words. He’d fucked up. This woman, this stranger, had caught him. He didn’t know when. Maybe when he blushed at the mention of a ‘relationship,’ maybe she’d accidentally repeated a math question she’d asked in the past and he’d had to work out the answer again. It didn’t matter. Christopher’s mind raced. He wouldn’t just admit it! There had to be a way out of this! He was not going to trust his secret to a stranger!

Nyoro Hoge trembled. She maintained an immaculate poker face, but inside she was scared that she already knew why Cain had forgotten her. She was terrified her quirk, Wasuremono, might be the culprit. Wasuremono caused her ‘presence’ to diminish in the minds of others almost to the point of non-existence. It was an incredible quirk for a ninja! But… she’d always been scared to what extent her presence would diminish as her quirk developed. Would it ever get to the point that people would start forgetting her? No! That certainly wasn’t the case! That was a baseless anxiety that had no precedence! Just a foolish phobia! Look at Cain’s face! Clearly it was his own fault. Clearly there was something wrong with his brain! Clearly… clearly Wasuremono wasn’t getting worse. It was Cain’s fault! It had to be! But, why had he only forgotten her?

Tick-tock.

Christopher ground his teeth. Who the Hell was this woman?! First she barges into his room with a tsunami of questions. THEN she suddenly starts feigning an intimate relationship just to confirm he didn’t know her?! What kindof obsessive freak would do that to him?! Christopher wanted to run. He didn’t want to tell a stranger his secret. He looked at his arm. He couldn’t run. The IV tubes sticking into his arm squashed that brief hope. Christopher glared at the lines. He willed them to disappear. They stubbornly clung to existence. He was trapped. The only thing left to do was lie. Christopher took a deep breath. That was okay, he’d gotten to be a good liar. He looked a stranger in the eye--

Hoge’s mind raced. He couldn’t have honestly forgot she existed. That was unbelievable. They were rivals, classmates, fr-- Hoge’s stomach twisted into a knot. It was an old fear. The fear that her quirk would cause her to be forgotten. It was a stupid fear wasn’t it? Surely if Cain didn’t remember her he’d just say so right? No. No not necessarily. There was no telling what her quirk’s effect on memory may have. Maybe Cain felt like he should know her? Maybe her quirk caused him to think even revulsion at her false intimacy was more of a response than something that didn’t even exist deserved? Hoge kept her composure. She hid her fear. She could only assure herself that her quirk wasn’t at fault. She saw him blush right? Surely if he’d blush she wasn’t a non-existence in his mind! Surely her quirk wouldn’t have evolved to that extent! To the extent that her target would interpret every action as appropriate. Hoge shuddered. The thought clung to her like tar. Her stomach sank. She couldn’t know. She could only hope he’d confess fault! She looked her rival in the eye--

She was terrified.

He knew.

Tick-tock.

Hoge looked away. Too late. Christopher knew that look of terror. He knew it, because he saw it every morning in the mirror. It was the face of someone who was terrified of their quirk. But why? Christopher focused on Hoge. She was beginning to blur. Her presence diminished in his mind’s eye. It clicked. She was scared that not remembering her was due to her own quirk! There was an out! He didn’t have to tell a stranger his secret! All it would take was making another believe her greatest fear about her quirk had come true….

Hoge wanted to cry. HE COULDN’T HAVE KNOWN! He couldn’t have seen through her expression at a glance! But… that look on his face, that look of recognition. It was undeniable, he saw it. He saw the fear and now she was scared he’d be smart enough to figure out the why. If he knew her anxieties, if he really had seen through her with that glance, then there was no way he’d confirm a separate cause for his memory loss. He’d play into her fear. … Assuming it was just a fear. When he lied. When he said he didn’t know why he’d forgotten her, would there be any way to know he was lying?! Would she be able to trust that Chihiro would remember her whenever she came to the dojo? Would Inigo forget her? Hoge, moments ago desperate to hear an explanation, now wanted to flee. There were no tubes holding her back. She stood. He’d say he didn’t know why he’d forgotten her! He’d poison her with doubt! If he didn’t want to tell her, he’d lie! She turned to flee.

Christopher grabbed her arm. If she ran she’d go on believing it might be him. He just had to tell her it was her own fault. He just had to lie! He just had to let someone else live his nightmare!

Hoge ripped her arm from his grasp. She didn’t want to hear it. Whether truth or lie she didn’t want to think for even a moment it was her quirk at fault.

“It’s my quirk!” Christopher blurted.

“Liar!—” Hoge blinked. “Huh?”

Tick-tock.

“It… it’s my quirk.” Christopher repeated. He couldn’t lie. He couldn’t let her think that way, couldn’t let her live his nightmare.

Hoge sat down. Her heart raced. He’d just admitted it. Why? She studied his face. He was on the verge of a panic attack. He hadn’t wanted to tell her. That was clear. He’d known she thought it might be her fault somehow, even if he didn’t know the specifics. He could’ve lied and she’d have never known the truth. Why would he confess?

“I’m sorry.” Christopher whispered, his eyes averted. “In order to drop a quirk, I have to forget it. When I forget the quirk, I forget the person. It has nothing to do with your quirk.”

So, he really had figured it out? He knew that she was scared her quirk was causing his specific amnesia. From what? Her expression? Her eyes? That beggared belief… unless he’d seen that expression before. Maybe he saw it in the mirror. “… why are you telling me?” He didn’t have to. He could’ve watched her leave. He could’ve let her fall into paranoia. He could’ve kept his secret.

“I couldn’t….” Christopher stopped. He didn’t have the words.

‘He wouldn’t be the reason someone lived like he did.’ Hoge thought relieved. For a fleeting moment, she was glad the first person to really see her terror was such a kind fool. “… thank you.”

Christopher just nodded. The two sat there in silence for a time.

Hoge couldn’t hide her relief. Everything she’d ever feared hadn’t come to pass.

Christopher shuddered. Everything he’d ever feared had just come to pass. A stranger knew. He could only hope that she wasn’t actually a stranger. Maybe this was no different than telling Yui!

“What… what am I to you?” Christopher asked.

“My rival.”

“In what?”

“Academics of course.”

“… that doesn’t sound like me.”

“I believe your precise words to Inigo were ‘there’s no competition she’s just crazy.’”

‘Oh God this isn’t like telling Yui at all!’ Christopher realized. His stomach turned to stone.

Hoge continued. “But it is a fact I’m first in class, and you’re only decimal points behind my average. You’re behind mostly due to your reluctance to actually put in the time to compete. That you refuse to use your natural advantages to try to beat me is a source of friction between us.”

‘THAT sounds like me,’ Christopher thought. “That must be annoying.”

“Extraordinarily, but we’re off topic… why did you copy my quirk?”

“I needed it.” He answered without hesitation.

“The school said you were in an accident, but if that was true I can’t imagine you’d need my quirk. And then you made the conscious decision to drop it? It doesn’t make sense.”

“No.” Christopher shook his head. “Physical trauma can… force a drop. I wouldn’t drop something by choice unless I’d already recorded everything. As for how I got injured. I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Orders.” He lied. It wasn’t just his story to tell and she was still a stranger to him. It was a believable lie. Hoge seemed to accept it. Christopher sighed. He was a mess inside. He’d just trusted his most jealously guarded secret to a complete stranger. Had he just trusted a viper with the way to poison him? He had no way of knowing. Really he should’ve asked someone to confirm her identity before he divulged his secret. But… stupid dumb asshole that he was he hadn’t been able to stop himself. The moment he saw the same fear in her that he saw in the mirror, his course of action had been decided. He wouldn’t do that to someone else. Dumb asshole that he was.

“I don’t know if I can trust you.” Christopher admitted.

Hoge stiffened. She didn’t either.

“I don’t know you from Adam, but… please, don’t tell anyone.”

“… even Inigo?”

Christopher shook his head violently. “He doesn’t need to know.”

“Maybe not, but you should still tell him.”

“Why?”

“He’d want to know.”

Christopher eyes narrowed. “So he can pity me? Like you do now?”

Hoge averted her eyes.

Christopher rubbed his stomach. His hand past over a rough patch of skin where a scar had so recently developed. Where a dipshit teenager with bones for hands had run him through. “I don’t like to admit it. But I give a fuck what he thinks of me.”

“...”

“I’ve started to give a fuck about a lot of people.” Christopher confessed. “I almost left that authorized visitors list blank. I knew if I filled it out, people’d come here and gawk. I didn’t want them to see me… as the weak piece of shit I am, to be reminded that I’m the class baby. I didn’t want someone I love like a brother to see me like this.

“I don’t want him to think less of me. And I’ve already fucked that up. Inigo’s going to walk through those doors whenever he gets the fucking chance and I can only hope I’m out of bed by then.”

Christopher looked at Hoge. They met eyes again. “I’m not asking you to agree with keeping this a secret. But, at least understand why I’m asking you to.”

“I do…” Hoge sighed. She did. “I’ll keep it, but I do have a price.” She restrained a smile. She could use this opportunity to get him to stay serious about his studies. To mold him into a REAL RIVAL!

“Name it.”

Hoge opened her mouth and began to speak. Her words surprised her. “Talk to me about it.” What the fuck was she saying?! Her? Support someone emotionally? She was in no way qualified to-- “If you won’t let me tell Inigo… I can at least listen in his place.” You’re an idiot.

Christopher studied the stranger one last time. He didn’t know if he could trust her. From her own description calling them friends would’ve been a Hell of a stretch. But… he felt like she did understand where he was coming from. His desire to appear stronger than he was seemed to resonate with her. The fear of her own quirk that he’d seen so clearly in her eyes told him she’d at least feel bad about breaking confidence. All that… and she seemed to be close to Inigo. That meant she couldn’t be that bad. He didn’t know if he could trust her, but he hoped he could.

“Alright.”

---

Ryusei lay on his side, a pillow over his head. His eyes fixed on an ugly whitewashed wall. He’d heard the girl that was visiting Christopher start talking about being very quiet and decided it was the best time in the world to go deaf. He didn’t dare risk removing his pillow, not for the next hour and a half. Not until the vibrations through the floor told him the door had finally opened and closed.

Ryusei put the pillow under his head and shook his head in wonder.

Kids these days were certainly bold.