My Hero Academia: Stone Cold.

Goodnight.

After the group had finished their desserts, they walked back to UA. Jiro and Mina chattered away, talking about what they wanted to do the next day while Kirishima and Ari walked in awkward silence. Ejiro felt a bit rejected by her little actions, he couldn't deny it, it did make him feel some sort of way. Ari on the other hand knew he noticed her body language and she felt terrible for making him feel weird. She had to keep reminding herself that not all men were the same. Ari let out a frustrated sigh, mentally cursing at herself for ruining his mood. When the four of them walked through the doors, everyone else had gone to bed. Jiro and Ashido left for their rooms, oblivious to leaving the two alone for a minute.

Kirishima stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to find a way to say Goodnight that would get the most positive reaction from her, "...Did you enjoy tonight?" He asked.

Ari looked at him wide eyed, surprised he would say anything at all, "Yeah, I did. I'm glad I came out with you all." She gave him a faint smile.

"I'm happy that you enjoyed yourself." He mirrored her grin.

"Goodnight, Ejiro." She went to leave but Kirishima wasn't ready yet to depart from her.

"Ari?" He got her attention, she turned to look at him. "I just wanted to say that you can trust me." He told her bluntly until he realized what he had said. Trust him? What was he saying? 

"I mean, you can trust me, Jiro and Mina. We are here for you whenever you need us."

She looked as if she were processing his response, trust? What a terrifying yet gallant word to say to someone. Trust. She didn't trust anyone, it was hard to gain that. "I appreciate that, thank you." She finally replied.

He was satisfied with her answer and gave her a friendly wave, "Goodnight, Ari."

With that, they both left each other for their own rooms. She had to admit, she had fun even if it was with a boy she just met. She just couldn't get past it, but why? Her inner thoughts exhausted her and she couldn't help but lay in bed, yes she probably smelled of sweat from the brief walk up the cliff but her legs couldn't carry her any farther. Her phone lit up, it was her father calling.

"Hello." She answered groggily.

"Hey there, sweetie. How was your first day?" He asked her. She rolled over in her bed to lay on her other side,  "It was good. I made some friends already."

"That's amazing, Arinna" He replied with a smile in his voice. She smiled back, knowing already that he felt proud of her.

"Who are your friends? What are their names?"

"Mina, Jiro and Ejiro."

"Ejiro? Is that a boys name?" He asked her. A silence between them made her a little uncertain of how he would take the news.

"Yeah, he's a boy."

"Ari, this is the best news yet. Do you realize how monumental that is for your recovery?"

Ari didn't want to hear anymore about her situation, even if it was positive, it brought her back to those memories. "Yeah, I know." She rolled her eyes, shrugging off the praise, that dark shadow of shame always followed.

Raiotto noticed the tone in her voice and pulled back his encouragement, he was so proud of her, alas her wounds were still raw. "I'm sorry, Arinna."

"No, don't be sorry. You're only doing what the doctor told you to do when I make progress...I'm just still not used to it." She sucked in her lips to suppress a whimper.

"He also said that it was okay to let yourself feel what you need to feel." He advised.

"I'm tired of crying about it Dad. If my quirk would've worked at the time, I-"

"This is not your fault." He interrupted sternly. "I will not let you blame yourself for what happened."

Ari's tears flooded her eyes and trickled down her cheeks, "Why didn't it work?" She cried. "Why didn't it work? I knew how to control it. Out of all the times it worked, why didn't it work that time?"

"Sweetie, you were scared. I've told you about this."

Crimson Riot had felt scared before many times in his career. He even had times when his quirk wouldn't work while he was afraid. Turns out, he wasn't the only one that experienced this phenomenon. Many heroes have experienced a brief loss of their powers under immense fear. Ari, unfortunately fell victim to this insane coincidence during the worst time in her life.

"Dad, I'm a lioness. A powerful cat that is able to rip people apart at the throat with my teeth...but I wasn't when it happened." She gasped. "What does that make me?"

"Human, baby. It makes you human." He replied to her calmly. "You are a Lioness, and a lioness keeps fighting. You Arinna Rae are a fighter."

"I feel like a coward."

"No, sweetie. You are far from it." He told her. "You can do this, you can trust men again. I know that's what you desire, to let people in again."

"I love you." She cried out.

"I love you too. I love you so much. Get some sleep, if you need me Just call me." His voice was full of endearment for his daughter, she loved the sound of his voice. It was like calming music to her ears to hear him on the other end of the phone. She missed him already, why couldn't she take him with her? Life in UA would've been easier.

"Sweet dreams, Ari."

"Night, Dad." She reluctantly hung up the phone, unwillingly crying herself to sleep. She chose this and she was going to succeed in being friends with everyone in 1-A. As much as her experiences pained her, something deep within her refused to stay a victim. She was a survivor.