Kasumi just recently got released from the hospital. Currently, she's sitting in her favorite ramen shop, eating ramen with a rather depressing aura around her. She hasn't been taking the news of the amount of deaths she caused well. Her parents were at work, so she decided to go out by herself. UA gave her a few weeks off to recover mentally, specially recommended by All Might and Thirteen.

Speaking of Thirteen, she had visited Kasumi a few days after her parents and coddled her a bit. She couldn't stay for long though, because some villain decided to crash in the ceiling of a mall, so her quirk was needed.

Kasumi gets her favorite ramen, spicy teriyaki. Not an actual menu item, but one she mixes herself. She eats it and notices it tastes a little more bland than usual. She finishes her bowl unceremoniously and continues on her outing.

She walks into a park and sits down. She closes her eyes and just starts thinking,

'Why am I even doing this? I could be a rescue hero and save more people than fighting villains, what is it that makes me wish to be a hero? Fame? I don't care about that. Money? My family is rich, so that's not it. Helping somebody? Maybe I should just be a rescue hero. Dad would support it.'

In the meantime,

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Jasmine watched on with tears in her eyes as she saw her daughter's struggles. She can hear all of her thoughts, and even feels some of her emotions.

"YOU SAID SHE WOULD BE HAPPY!"

She screams out into the darkness surrounding her.

"YOU PROMISED US!"

She crawls into a ball and hugs her knees as she cries out harder.

"SHE'S BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH!"

A figure appears behind her, in the form of her daughter at 5 years old. HER daughter. Not Kasumi.

"You bastard. Are you here to toy with me? Is this how gods get their entertainment?"

The figure shakes its head.

"I'm afraid I cannot control my form around humans. I appear as whatever you will feel most comfortable about, as my true form would drive you to madness."

The figure disappears and reappears next to the portal showing Kasumi.

"I did promise you that she will live a happy life, and so she shall. However, what is a happy life, without it's bad times? One must experience despair to know happiness. Happiness without despair, is an empty emotion. You never know you're living in good times until those times are over."

The figure then appears beside her and puts its hand on her shoulder, sending warmth through her body.

"And for the record, us gods do not feel boredom. Because of our immortality, we naturally feel no boredom. Nor love. We have no need to reproduce. We sometimes sit in silence for eons at a time, till a prayer reaches our ears. Though, it does make me wonder, a bored god would be a truly terrifying thing."

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Kasumi stands up and sighs harshly,

"Well. Guess that's my future."

Kasumi leaves the park and walks on the sidewalk. She takes in the scenery, several fledgeling heroes walking around with smiles on their faces, having yet to seriously injure someone else. Veterans who, with their proper acting, keep on smile no matter how bad the situation is. After all, if the heroes aren't smiling, who would?

She walks to a crowded intersection and starts hearing police sirens.

"Hm?"

She looks around her and sees that she's walked away from where most of the heroes are.

"Lucky day, bad guys."

The light in front of her prompts her to walk across.

*SCREEEEEECH!*

A car comes around the corner, its tires wailing out in pain. Police trail behind it, with their tires wailing just as loud. The man driving the car sees the people walking through the intersection and turns, driving straight towards the intersection. People run to get out of the way, earning a laugh from the balding man in the car. One of the people knocks over a little boy by accident, but doesn't help him back up. The man realizes this, but keeps driving.

Kasumi looks over and sees the boy trying to get up as the car comes speeding towards him. Kasumi's body seems to move on its own as she rushes forward towards the boy. She gets in front of him, but doesn't have enough time to move him. The silver color in her arms moves partially to her legs, with just a little bit remaining on her hands. She braces herself and calls out the mystic hands, covering her hands and legs in the energy.

The car slams into her, pushing her back several feet. Her legs and arms scream out in pain and she grits her teeth and starts yelling out to pump herself up. The car is slowed down just enough for the boy to move out of the way, while it drags Kasumi several feet backwards. Her legs dig into the asphalt and rip through it. The car buckles as it comes to a stop, its front bumper looking like an accordion. The villain driving the car gets out and starts running away, but Kasumi just sends out a hand of energy and catches him by the ankle.

The police catch up and cuff the man, before chastising Kasumi for engaging the villain without a license. But, because she did it to save someone else, she wouldn't be in trouble. Kasumi is released by the police, and starts walking away.

"HEY!"

A cheerful voice calls out from behind her. Kasumi turns around and sees the little boy she saved, as well as a woman holding his hand. The woman walks up to Kasumi and bows deeply with tears in her eyes,

"Thank you so much for saving him! My heart dropped when he slipped from my hand! Thank you so much!"

The boy smiles widely at Kasumi and says,

"Thank you for saving me Ms. Hero!"

Kasumi feels warmth invade her body as the boy calls her that. Her chest tightens, and tears threaten to invade her cheeks. She fights back the urge to cry, wiping her eyes, and looks at the boy with a wide smile,

"No need to thank me! It's what heroes do!"

The boy's eyes light up and he reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a green apple lollipop and hands it to Kasumi.

Kasumi looks at the sucker and smiles. She ruffles the kids hair and continues on her way,

'Maybe that's why I want to be a hero. To protect those smiles.'

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