A few days had passed since his fight with Mirio. Since then, some students had begun working with heroes for work studies.
He had no interest in doing that. He spent his days attending classes as usual with the students who remained at U.A.
Bakugo and Todoroki were working on obtaining their licenses, and were not involved with class that much.
Sam spent his free time either training, or on free days, hanging out with Rumi.
She made it a habit to come to the school every week and spend time with him.
Many of the students had started to suspect that they were more than just friends.
Mina and Toru in particular had been constantly teasing him after seeing him go off with Mirko every week to hang out.
Sam didn't care, but Rumi was still worried about the public seeing it as her dating a minor.
She knew Sam was almost 19 years old, but he was still a high schooler.
Despite that, she couldn't deny her feelings for him and wanted to be with him. But for now, she wanted to keep their relationship personal.
Sam was okay with that. He had no desire to show off his hot girlfriend like other brats.
Right now, he was sitting on a bench within the school grounds and Rumi was sitting next to him.
It was a nice day, so they both decided to just spend some time talking.
"…And just like that, I kicked him so hard his eye popped out! It was so gross! I almost thought I killed the dude but luckily he was fine."
Rumi finished recounting a story to Sam who could only deadpan at the sheer brutality of his girlfriend.
"Wow…"
"I don't like your tone! Don't judge me! I didn't kill the guy! I checked. He was able to talk and move… he even had his eye popped back in. It's all good! You really think I'd kill him?"
Sam just gave her a look that said 'Yes.'
Rumi clicked her tongue.
Sam rolled his eyes at Rumi's silly behavior.
"So… any thoughts of doing a work-study under me?"
Rumi changed the topic.
Sam looked at her and saw she was looking at him with a longing look on her face.
He sighed and grabbed her hand.
She blushed at this but grasped his hand back.
"I can't… you know I can't. Those bastards could come for my head at any moment."
Sam rejected—looking down at their hands with some sadness.
"I know… I just… miss you…"
Rumi whispered—her face heating up as she turned her face away from him.
Sam heard that loud and clear and smirked.
He grabbed her chin and made her look at him.
He saw her red face—which only got redder due to their close proximity—and smiled.
He then brought his face to hers and connected his lips to hers.
Rumi closed her eyes and let herself enjoy this moment.
She put her hands around Sam's neck as he kissed her.
Sam also closed his eyes—feeling the same bliss as Rumi just from this loving kiss.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
They quickly separated from the kiss and slid away from each other—an automatic reaction to any possible observers.
It took only a moment to realize that it was just Rumi's cell phone.
She sighed—letting her guard down, yet feeling ticked off at having her alone time with Sam interrupted at such an intimate moment.
"You can pick that up."
"Sorry…"
She looked at it and her eyes widened slightly in surprise at who was calling.
"… Ryuko?"
"Who's Ryuko?"
Sam asked—seeing Rumi a bit surprised by the caller.
Rumi sighed.
"She's one of my oldest friends. We were in hero school together and stayed close friends. She's one of the few heroes I actually tolerate."
She showed Sam her cocky smile as she said the last part, making Sam smile seeing her trademark smirk.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Rumi finally accepted the call and brought her phone to her ear.
"What do you want Ryuko? I was busy with something!"
Rumi angrily complained—yet Sam detected no malice in her words.
Sam remained silent and looked up at the sky, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
Since his fight with Mirio, he was even more paranoid about the Pale Hand than ever before.
His sleep—already miserable enough—was starting to become worse as his nightmares became more vivid.
He enjoyed time alone with Rumi, because with her, he felt his mind ease. Even if only a little.
It didn't help that his classmates were being very odd with their behavior.
Sam recalled Izuku, Tsuyu, Uraraka and Kirishima being asked about their work studies and being very evasive about it.
Sam understood that some operations required secrecy, but when he looked at Izuku, he saw flashes of guilt in the boy's eyes.
He knew what a guilty look was, having seen it on his and Zola's faces after every mission in Africa.
Izuku was guilty about something, but that was rivaled by a deep concern for something.
Nobody else noticed, but things like that can't escape Sam.
He planned on asking him what was wrong, seeing Izuku become more and more restless as the days passed, but decided not to.
It didn't make his paranoia any better. He started to think that the Pale Hand might be using his classmates to get at him.
This made him terribly concerned for the four students, as he knew they stood practically no chance against the brutal mercenaries.
"I told you, I don't wanna go on some dumb raid! Find someone else!"
He was snapped out of his thoughts by Rumi, arguing on the phone with her friend.
"I don't know who told you I was interested in some raid, but they are wrong. I do what I want and some raid against the Yakuza isn't on my itinerary."
Sam's attention was caught by that, for some reason he felt an odd sensation in his heart when he thought of the Yakuza.
"Rumi…"
Rumi put a finger to her mouth in a desperate shush.
"Ara? I see. You really did find a boyfriend. Sorry to interrupt."
Beep Beep Beep.
The phone immediately cut off as soon as Ryuko heard the voice on the other end.
Rumi gripped her phone so hard it nearly shattered from the force.
"You idiot! I told you I don't want-"
She was cut off seeing the uneasy look on Sam's face.
All anger was replaced with concern in a split second.
"Hey, you okay?"
She asked softly—grabbing his hand again.
"I'm fine… just had a strange feeling is all…"
Rumi didn't look convinced but dropped it.
"So, what did your friend want?"
"Some Yakuza group is starting to stir shit in the underworld now that All Might and All For One are gone, and Nighteye and some other heroes are getting ready to raid them. Ryuko apparently heard from the HPSC that I was interested in it, but I don't recall ever expressing my interest in some damn Yakuza raid."
Rumi scratched her head in confusion at the strange turn of events.
Sam's eyes widened as he recalled his classmate who was working under Nighteye for work studies.
He then recalled that Tsu and Ochako both interned under Ryukyu. That meant they were likely going to join this raid as well.
"Shit. I just remembered some of my classmates were interning with Ryukyu and one is interning with Nighteye. Seems like that was what they were up to."
Sam deduced—finally understanding what his classmates were quiet about.
"Huh. Well, it's probably handled. I wasn't interested in this group because I never heard of them before. This 'Shie Hassaikai' or whatever."
Rumi revealed to Sam.
Sam's eyes suddenly lost all signs of life as he felt his whole body tremble.
Rumi felt the trembling from their connected hands and saw the absolute terror he was feeling.
"Sam! What's wrong!"
"I-I d-don't k-know… I-I just st-started shaking when you s-said that."
Sam was shaking and stuttering as his unfocused eyes gazed into the sky.
"GAAH!!!!"
Sam suddenly felt as if his head was about to explode.
"Sam!!"
Rumi had a look of horror on her face as she saw her boyfriend clutching at his head in agony.
———
A small boy with brown hair was walking home from school. He had a bruise on his face and teary eyes.
Sniffle!
He was wearing a cheap school uniform that was covered in dirt and his knees had some cuts on them.
He kept walking through Musutafu, until he arrived at a residence complex.
The amount of people walking around diminished and only homeless and street hustlers were on the streets.
The boy didn't even mind them as he walked towards a small house.
Before he could open the door, it opened on its own revealing a beautiful brown haired woman.
Her features made it clear that she was not Japanese.
"Sammy!"
The woman yelled and ran to the boy and embraced him close.
"Anna! What's wrong?"
A man then appeared at the door.
He was a fairly handsome man with disheveled black hair and stubble on his face. He had a pair of cheap glasses on his face and was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
The woman, Anna, was wearing a shirt and jeans that showed her beautiful figure, despite being a mature woman.
"Hiro! Look! He is bruised and has cuts on his knees! Those little shits must have attacked him again!!"
Anna, who was still embracing her son, looked at her husband with eyes of pure anger.
Hiro gulped in fear at his wife's rage and approached both her and his son carefully.
"Honey, it's okay. We'll deal with that later. Let's clean Sam up first, okay?"
Anna calmed down at that and looked down at her precious son with eyes full of love.
She felt her heart ache seeing the tears falling from his eyes and the stains on her shirt.
She gently led him inside and had him sit on the couch.
She then got up and went to the bathroom while his father knelt in front of his son—looking at him with concern.
"They bullied you again, didn't they kiddo?"
Hiro asked.
Sam just nodded with a look of shame and sadness on his face.
"They are so mean, Daddy. I try to stay away from them, but they love hurting me! All because I don't have a quirk."
Sam clenched his tiny fists as more tears fell from his eyes.
His father's warm hand cupped his cheek and his fingers gently wiped the tears from them.
He was looking at his son with a loving smile.
"It's gonna be okay, kiddo. I'm proud you got through it. You don't have to worry. Tomorrow is your birthday. So we will do something special. You have something to look forward to."
His father revealed—trying to cheer his son up.
His son's teary face looked up at him and his tiny fists unclenched as he remembered his birthday.
Sam then gave his dad a smile as he remembered he wouldn't have school tomorrow and could spend the day with his parents.
"Yeah! Tomorrow I can spend the whole day with both Mommy and Daddy!"
Sam excitedly said—all traces of sadness suddenly gone.
"Here! I have the first-aid kit!"
Sam's mom returned with a first-aid kit and immediately got to work on his knees.
She cleaned the wounds, making Sam whimper at the pain for a moment, but his dad held his hand as she fixed him up.
When she finished, she put two All Might band-aids on his knees and smiled at her son.
"There, good as new!"
"Thanks Mommy!"
She gave her cute son a loving hug.
"You're so cute!"
She always doted on him and gushed about how cute he is.
"Honey…"
Hiro sweat-dropped seeing his wife acting so crazily around their son.
"I'm so excited that we can spend tomorrow together!"
"Me too sweetheart! Tomorrow we will go out, then we will come home and enjoy some cake and presents!"
His mother brought his face out of her chest, letting Sam breathe again, and looked down at him.
"Umm… Anna… I need to speak to you for a moment… hey sport, how about you go and take a bath and we'll make you some Mac and Cheese and chicken nuggets?"
Sam's eyes brightened when he heard that.
"Okay!"
He exclaimed as he ran to the bathroom, leaving his parents behind.
Sam started heating up the bath as he then went to his room to get his Pajamas ready.
His room was small, but he had some All Might posters and action figures displayed.
He had a toy chest with cheap toys, yet they were something the boy cherished. His bed had All Might covers and he had a plush rabbit on his bed that he slept with every night.
He picked out his All Might Jammies and got his towel and was about to take his bath.
"Honey, you know I'm having a hard time finding work."
"I know! But tomorrow is Sam's birthday! We always keep money aside for his birthday. We can't just not go out!"
Sam heard his parents arguing in the kitchen.
He hid behind the corner of the hallway and looked into the kitchen to see his parents sitting at the dining table.
His dad was looking exhausted as he stared at the large pile of bills on the table.
His mom looked very worried too.
Sam looked down in shame as he understood what was going on.
Sam was aware that his parents were both out of a job at the moment.
He knew they tried hard to find work every day, but for two quirkless adults, finding work was difficult.
Despite that, they always made sure he had a very happy birthday.
They gave him gifts and a yummy cake every year.
However, he knew they always exceeded their budget on his birthday and would have to make up for it.
But now, they were currently unemployed.
His mom used to be a waitress at an American diner in the city, but it was closed down.
His dad worked construction for some time until he was sacked due to him being replaced with mutant quirk users who were naturally stronger than him.
Because of that, they were currently at rock bottom financially.
Despite that, they were willing to exceed their expenses and give him a happy birthday.
Sam felt guilty.
He told them last year that they don't need to give him gifts and cake, and that he only wished to spend the day with them, but they always made sure he had presents to open.
His parents would do anything for him. And he loved them for that.
Still, it made his heart hurt seeing them struggle just for his birthday.
"I'm thinking… I'm thinking of taking a loan again."
His dad said to his wife—hesitant about his decision.
"No! How much do we owe those sharks already?!? Who would lend us money when we have so much debt?!?"
Anna yelled at her husband.
"I… I heard of someone."
Hiro stuttered out.
He was against resorting to this, but he needed a loan.
"Who?"
His wife narrowed her eyes at him—skeptical about these lenders that caught his attention.
Hiro sighed and removed his glasses before pinching the bridge of his nose.
"… I heard that… the boss of the Yakuza was a fair and just man…"
The moment those words exited Hiro's mouth, Anna shot up from her chair.
"Are you crazy?!? You want to take a loan from the Yakuza?!?"
"Shh!!!"
Hiro shushed his wife after she yelled loudly, making them both look to the corner, only to see nobody there.
Before they could see Sam, he hid in the bathroom, but kept listening.
"I don't want to do this, but we need enough to keep the lights on, buy food, and give Sam some kind of birthday. The boss is supposedly someone understanding… I'm sure he will come through."
Hiro calmly explained to his wife.
Anna sighed in worry and exhaustion.
"…fine. After we make Sam some dinner, we go and ask for a loan… I don't like this, Hiro, but I trust you."
Anna gently said—placing her trust in her husband.
Hiro's eyes watered as his wife put her hand in his.
She was always giving up everything for him.
She was someone who studied abroad in Japan from the United States.
She was only supposed to stay in Japan for a few years, but after meeting, she completed her bachelor's degree in Japan.
After that, she ended up pregnant and settled down in Japan and moved in with Hiro.
She had parents overseas, but they rarely talked much.
They weren't fond of Hiro, so they rarely talked.
Sam knew his parents loved each other and could only watch with fondness at his parents.
"Then it's decided. We'll go and beg the boss of the Shie Hassaikai to loan us some money. I'm sure he'll understand."
Shie Hassaikai?
Sam could only assume they were the Yakuza they spoke of.
As much as he wanted to stop his parents from fretting over him so much, he didn't want to hurt their feelings.
Whenever he tried to tell them he didn't need anything for his birthday, his parents always looked sad and guilty about their financial situation.
They felt they needed to give their son a good birthday at the least.
With that thought in mind, Sam closed the bathroom door and decided to hop in the bath.
Unaware of the tragedy bound to happen soon.
———
GASP!
Sam was clutching his head.
"Sam! Talk to me!"
He vaguely felt someone holding onto him as he writhed in pain.
Then, the pain just stopped as the memories stopped.
He took a few deep breaths, ignoring Rumi to just process what he witnessed.
After taking a few deep breaths, which Rumi allowed him to do and remained idle while he did so, he looked at her.
Her eyes widened when she saw his face.
He had tears streaming from his bloodshot eyes.
He was gritting his teeth from confusion.
"Sorry… I'm fine now…"
"Bullshit! What the fuck was that, Sam! And don't lie to me!"
Rumi yelled as she stood up and glared at Sam as he sat on the bench.
Sam shakily sighed.
"I remembered… that's all."
Rumi's eyes widened.
"What? Seriously?"
She was shocked when she heard that, and understood what happened.
Sam nodded.
"That's not important, however."
Sam stood up as his eyes suddenly hardened as he locked eyes with her.
She involuntarily stepped back by the pure pressure his gaze gave off.
"You said… the name of this group was… Shie Hassaikai… right?"
"Yeah…"
"Rumi… tell Ryuko… that you will be going on that raid… and send Aizawa a work-study recommendation for me… I'll be going with you."
Sam kept his gaze steady with Rumi, who was concerned about Sam.
She didn't know what was going on, but the sheer pressure his gaze put on her made it hard to refuse.
She could tell he wouldn't back down no matter what.
She sighed.
"Fine. I don't know what's wrong, but I'll trust you."
She decided to trust Sam.
She turned around and pulled out her phone.
She didn't understand what Sam had remembered.
But she understood the look in his eyes.
The Shie Hassaikai had the answers Sam had been looking for, and he'd go through hell to get them.