Months passed. Then a whole year. Neito had been living in this new land for a long time now. Everything he had worked so hard for during this time was finally paying off.
"Star, you got all that?"
Neito, wearing an expensive suit, turned to Star—the top hero in this land and his mentor for the past year.
Star, who clearly wasn't in the mood for small talk, scowled and crossed her arms.
"Did I get all that? Who cares about that?! You didn't even tell me you were leaving!"
She glared at him, eyes full of hurt and anger.
"I heard it from that vampire girl! That little brat told me before _you_ did! You owe me an explanation, Neito!"
Neito winced. Star was always like this when something hit her feelings too hard.
This is exactly why I didn't say anything, he thought with a sigh. She gets way too emotional sometimes.
Over the past year, Neito and Star had built a strong bond. Star had become like the older sister Neito never had. But her constant worrying could get exhausting. Especially for someone like Neito, who had already lived a life before this one. Being watched over all the time felt suffocating.
"Relax," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "You knew I had to go home eventually. I just… forgot to tell you I was leaving."
Star didn't buy it. She gave him a light knock on the head with her knuckle.
"You're lying," she said firmly. "And I knew you would, so I set a lie-detecting order on you!"
"Crap," Neito muttered.
He had forgotten all about that. They'd been getting along so well lately, it completely slipped his mind that Star liked setting sneaky rules with her quirk to catch people off guard.
"Of course you'd try something like that," he grumbled. "Where's the trust?"
Star's face softened a little, but she didn't back down.
"You still lied. Now tell me why. Why didn't you just say you were going to leave?"
Neito could've used his brainwashing quirk to dodge this whole thing. But he didn't. He didn't feel the need to. With a shrug, he leaned back in his swivel chair.
"I didn't want to worry you," he said honestly. "You're a pro hero. Distractions in your line of work can get you killed."
Star paused. Her eyes went wide for a second, then she looked down.
"…Thanks," she whispered.
They both sat quietly after that, lost in their own thoughts. Neither said it out loud, but both were thinking the same thing:
*I'm going to miss you.*
After a long silence, Star finally asked, "So… when are you leaving?"
Neito looked at the clock, then back at her.
"Maybe this evening. I was waiting for you to sign my internship certificate first. Thirteen and Toga already left earlier. I stayed behind to finish things with you."
Star leaned back and sighed. She watched him for a moment.
"Why are you going back?" she asked. "Do you really need to go to U.A. Japan?"
She frowned deeply.
"You've already fought real villains. You've been trained by me, the top hero. You even have All Might's quirk! Why go back to school? Why not just stay and keep studying with me?"
Neito sighed.
"It's not that simple," he said. "I'm Nezu's student. I just turned sixteen. I'm contractually required to study under him."
He gave a small laugh and waved his hand like it didn't matter.
"Also, Nezu paid for everything, including my stay here. If I don't go to U.A., I'd be breaking the contract. And then I'd probably have to become a villain to pay off the debt."
Star didn't find that joke funny. She frowned harder. She didn't like when Neito joked about becoming a villain. To her, he reminded her of All Might—someone strong, kind, and full of hope. That's the version of him she wanted to believe in.
But Star had spent a year with him. She understood him better than most. Neito was many things at once—a bit heroic, a bit selfish, and very complicated.
So, she didn't argue.
Neito continued, "Besides, Hero Aizawa is the teacher there, right? He loves expelling students who skip class. I don't think he'll let me off easy."
Star gave a small, sad smile. Deep down, she wished Neito wanted to be a hero just because it made him happy—not because of some contract.
"…Do what you want," she said softly. "Just be safe. Okay?"
Neito nodded with a warm smile. He was about to ask her to sign his certificate when suddenly, his phone rang.
Ring...
"Toga?" he answered. "What's going on?"
Even through the speaker, Neito could feel the obsessive energy that only Toga gave off.
"It's that thing!" she cried. "The thing that went woosh, then woop!"
Neito sweatdropped.
"Try using real words, Toga."
She gasped dramatically.
"Eeeeh?! I thought our hearts were connected! Forever and ever!"
He could almost picture her creepy smile—but after a year, he was totally immune to it.
"That's not how phones work. Speak clearly."
Her tone changed right away. She got serious.
"Neito-kun… I found the slime villain. And I found All Might too."
Neito's eyes narrowed.
"I couldn't catch the slime guy, but that's not the point," Toga said quickly. "Something amazing happened. A quirkless boy tried to save his friend from the slime villain. He almost died doing it. But then—All Might saved both of them."
She giggled like a fangirl.
"But here's the crazy part: All Might looked suspicious after. So I followed him. And guess what I found out?"
"He's hurt. Really hurt. He's looking for someone to pass his quirk to! And because of that quirkless boy's courage… All Might decided to give him his quirk!"
Her voice dropped low, filled with something darker.
"We could take the quirk. Want me to kill the quirkless guy? It's not too late."
Neito stayed quiet for a long moment. Then finally spoke.
"No. Let him have it. With All Might's quirk, every villain will focus on him. He'll be the perfect distraction."
"…And stay right where you are. I'm changing my plans. I'm coming to you."
He stood, grabbed his coat, and fixed his tie.
"Star, I need to teleport now. Can you help?"
Star had heard him talking but didn't know what it was about. Still, she gave a small smile and nodded.
"Sure. You better call me later, though."
"Promise," he said. "Thank you, Star."
Swish.
And just like that, Neito vanished. Star sat back in her chair, out of breath from the long-distance teleport. It drained her—but she smiled anyway.
Then her smile suddenly dropped.
"…Oops. I forgot to sign his internship certificate."