Author's note: Hey everyone, FireSlash here and welcome back to Healing Wounds. Man, I can't believe that this fic's going to be four years old (as of writing this chapter). This has been one hell of a journey. However, Hinata still has to deal with the Children of Hope and Enoshima before we can say this story's completed. Thanks to all of you who've shown support for this story and I hope you see this fic to its end :-).

Also, I know last chapter I said that this chapter was supposed to be the final one before the second act happens, but I want to deal with the Children of Hope before starting the second act, so yeah, this arc will be wrapping up either next chapter or the chapter after instead.

Anyways, I've said enough as it is. Let's get right to the story. Review and enjoy :-).

0000

The final days of the vacation came and left and Class 77 were now back at Hope's Peak, their exams being in a day.

However, Hinata wasn't worried. He was far more preoccupied with his newly formed relationship with Tsumiki. Even though they've only been together for a few days, Hinata's discovered some new information about the nurse. First off, she was extremely clingy, stemming from her desire to be accepted. Now that they were dating, she was even more so than before. The girl was always by his side and requesting to be held. Such acts are normal in a relationship, obviously, but she took it to a whole other level. When he decided to ask her as to why she always wished to be held, her response was this:

"I-I want to make sure this is real and I'm not dreaming…"

Adorable.

Sure, with his psychological abilities, he could have found her reasons out for himself, but to him, it was better to hear it from her mouth. With her murky background, he understood and accepted her reasoning and gave her the affection she craved. However, he made sure to lower the intensity when others were around. The last thing he wanted was to make others uncomfortable with their PDA.

He was hoping though that he could help her be able to stand on her two feet in the future, to be able to live her life without fear. The girl was an amazing person who had a bright future ahead of her, and he was going to make sure that she'd get there. Naturally, there will be a lot of hurdles in the way as a lifetime of trauma wasn't something that'll go away quickly, but he was willing to help her the best he could. She meant a lot to him, from being the first person he could call a true friend to now being his girlfriend.

Speaking of helping her, the boy was currently supervising her as she operated on a life-like dummy used to teach nurses and doctors about the human body.

"They want you to operate on a person?" Hinata asked her when they arrived at the school's clinic. Apparently Hope's Peak somehow scheduled the girl to perform some hip surgery on someone for her exam.

"Y-yeah…" Tsumiki responded as she began operating on the dummy. Hinata had to admit, he was impressed on how well she handled herself when it came to her talent. She was quite the professional, able to handle the stress of being a nurse despite the fact that normally enough stress would cause her to panic.

"That seems a bit excessive…" Seriously, was it really wise to have a high-schooler performing such a huge operation? Also, since when do nurses operate on people by themselves? Usually, it was a medical team that did so, not a single nurse.

"W-well, I-I'll be helping someone, so it's not too bad. This also isn't my first operation."

Hinata blinked, a new question forming in his mind. How did Tsumiki, a teenager, know how to perform an operation? He wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer to that…

Then again, that probably wasn't the weirdest thing he's heard as most of his classmates were far from normal. He could probably count on a single hand as to how many of them could still be classified as normal, which wasn't a list he could put himself on anymore. After all, he was technically an augmented human ever since he agreed to undergo the operation that gave him his abilities.

"If you say so." Pulling out a math textbook from his bag, Hinata began reading in preparation for his own exam. While confident in his ability to pass, it never hurt to study. He had already focused on his physical talents earlier and now was a good time to start working on his mental capabilities.

For the next hour, the two continued working, Hinata breezing through three different textbooks while his girlfriend continued fiddling around with the dummy.

"I-I'm done."

Closing his book, Hinata slid it back into his bag as he stood up to check on the dummy. Before, the (admittedly high-tech and possibly very expensive) dummy was modeled to appear as if it had advanced arthritis. Now, it was good as new. "Looks good."

The nurse smiled at the praise. "T-thanks. W-we can go now. U-um, could I sleep over at your place again?"

"Sure." The boy's parents were on a business trip, so her sleeping over wasn't a problem, not like it would be in the first place. While his parents have yet to meet the girl, the two going on their trip before Hinata came home from his vacation, he was confident that if his parents met Tsumiki, it still wouldn't be an issue, especially when they learn that her home life wasn't the best. Thankfully, she'll be able to apply for a dorm next semester.

0000

"Hey, is there anything you want to eat?"

"C-could you make some katsudon? I-if not, some ramen's fine."

"I should have the ingredients in the fridge. You can do whatever you want while I make this."

Arriving at the boy's home, Hinata decided to cook for his girlfriend, using this as an excuse to practice his culinary skills, something he could be tested on. Having observed Hanamura in action a few times, the boy was confident in his abilities to make something delicious. Whipping out everything he needed, he began getting to work.

*Click*

The sound of the TV turning on in the background let Hinata know that the nurse decided to spend some time watching TV.

Humming to himself, Hinata continued making the katsudon when something caught his eye. It was a fashion magazine, something which his mom tended to receive in the mail as she was subscribed to several clothing stores. On the cover was a picture of Junko Enoshima, a model around his age who was immensely popular ever since she hit the scene about two years ago, modeling some black coat.

Staring at the cover more, Hinata felt like something was wrong. Something about the girl's posture and eyes. Despite doing her best to appear cheerful, Hinata could see that there was a certain darkness surrounding Enoshima. What exactly it was, he didn't know.

"What the hell am I doing?" The boy mumbled to himself, realizing how weird it was for him to be staring intently at a magazine. Shrugging his shoulders, he went back to preparing Tsumiki's katsudon.

"Here you go," Hinata said, handing the girl the dish and a pair of chopsticks.

"Thanks."

Taking a seat next to her, the boy was surprised when she moved her seat to in-between his legs, allowing her to rest her head on his chest. He quickly got over it though as he remembered how much she enjoyed making physical contact with him. Hinata could already sense how calm she was just by this action alone.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a bit, mindlessly watching some TV, only for Hinata to notice the time.

"Hey, it's late. We should probably get some sleep."

Tsumiki hummed in agreement. "M'kay."

"I'm going to get changed. You know where the bathroom is."

Being the first to change, Hinata lied on his bed, waiting for Tsumiki to come before he turned off the lights. Yeah, they were going to share a bed. Initially, Hinata tried to get Tsumiki to sleep on the couch or take his bed while he slept on the couch, but like during the vacation, she was adamant on sleeping with him.

Eventually, she walked into the room and sat on the bed, prompting Hinata to stand up and turn off the lights. Laying down, the boy smiled at his girlfriend.

"Night Mikan."

Closing his eyes, the boy prepared to sleep, only to feel something warm press up against him as Tsumiki began to cuddle with him, moving his arms so they were wrapped around her.

"Good night Hajime."

0000

"The exams are tomorrow." The impostor told the real Mitarai as the boy continued to work on his passion project. "While I excel in impersonating people, I can only do so much. Do you have something I can show the examiners?"

"Yeah, I do." Digging through one of his drawers, the real Mitarai pulled out a DVD. "This is a project I worked on before coming to U.A, a thirteen episode shonen anime about a kid getting superpowers. I did it to practice my animating skills, but I think it's actually my best project yet, though it'll be nothing compared to my 'Hope Video'." The real Mitarai pulled out a packet. "This explains the plot and all the techniques I used, in case they ask you about it."

The imposter took the packet. "Thanks."

"No, thank you. Seriously, you've done so much for me. Is there any way I can repay you?"

"Like I said before, as long as you let me use your identity while you're a student here, that's all I need."

The real Mitarai frowned. "There's gotta be more… wait? You said you're homeless, right? Well, what about this… once my video comes out, I'll buy us a place so that you don't have to go back to the streets when I graduate."

"Would you really do that for me?" The imposter asked, shocked.

The other boy gave him a small nod. "Yeah. It's no problem."

"Well, if you're offering, then who am I to say no?"

0000

Well, today was the day. The day of the exams. Tsumiki and the rest of Class 77 were led by Yukizome to the auditorium, where their exams were to take place. As for Hinata, he was currently standing in front of the principal's office.

Taking a deep breath in, Hinata knocked on the door.

"Come in," the voice of Jin Kirigiri echoed from the inside. Doing what he was told, Hinata entered the room. "Ah, Hinata, what can I do for you?"

"Good morning Mr. Kirigiri, I'm here to take my exam."

"Ah, right, those are today." The man stood up. "Come, let's go to the biology lab. We'll begin your exam."

Hinata followed the man to the biology lab. Once they entered, the principal began to go over the exam. "Alright Hinata, the exam will be simple. We'll be doing a variety of exercises similar to the ones we did when the operation was completed to test your physical and mental capabilities. We'll begin once you're ready."

"I think I'm good," Hinata replied.

"Alright. Then let us begin."

Like Kirigiri said, the exams were simple, well, simple for Hinata. The first thing the man did was test his knowledge on a variety of subjects with several printed out tests. Once that was finished, the boy's physical abilities were next, him having to spar against several professional fighters. Finally, there were the more bizarre talents, such as his ability to cook or create chemical compounds by following some instructions. Due to his enhanced physical and mental capabilities, he ended up passing these tests with flying colors.

"Well, Hinata, it seems that you have properly displayed your abilities. As such, you passed."

"Thank you." Hinata released a large breath of air, happy to pass the exam and still be able to attend Hope's Peak.

"You're free to go."

Nodding, Hinata left the laboratory and made his way to his classroom, where the rest of his classmates were waiting for him. His classmates had agreed to celebrate once the exams were over and who was he to deny their invitation?

0000

Author's note 2: A bit of a short chapter, but think of this as another 'calm before the storm' chapter. Next one will be dealing with the Children of Hope, so yeah, it's going to be a big one. Also, neither Natsumi or Sato died, so Komaeda has no reason to try to get them canceled, which was really the only thing that happened during the exams.

Oh, and I plan to go over some of the grammar/spelling errors in the earlier chapters of this fic. The earlier chapters of this story were made when I was still getting my feet settled in writing and it shows XD.