A/N: Here's the next chapter!

Real quick, though!

To everyone commenting that they don't like the Cover Art, or that its scary or bad: Y'all are lucky that I know my drawing can be shit, especially when it comes to people, lolz. What matters is that I like it!

I drew Hinako in as close to the Anime's character style as I could, using images of younger Inko and Shouto to try and give her a Midoriya AND Todoroki look.

I gave her a short, semi-mohawk with buzzed sides bc I thought it fit her character better than longer hair or Izuku-hair.

I gave her a bruise and split lip and a couple scars bc she's JUST LIKE IZUKU when it comes to jumping between people fighting, but with the gleeful confidence to back it up.

I fucked up while inking her outlines which is why her mouth looks gross, but I wanted to give her thinner lips bc all the girls are a lil too Waifu for me sometimes.

You can find a bigger (and clearer) picture of her on my Deviantart, where you're able to see that her Tie Clasp is a little Gang Orca wrapped around it, and she's got a bit of blood spatter on her left shoulder from either her busted lip or someone else's. I also gave her a couple piercings that I haven't decided will be canon or not yet, bc she's a punk ass music lover.

So, go ahead and diss my art, I don't really care, but at least give me constructive criticism instead of "Its just sooo bad!" bc I know I'll never be a FANTASTIC artist, but if I'm proud of something, then THAT'S what matters.

Also, I forgot to include this lil tidbit last chapter, but about the Swear Jar!

Inko and Hisashi are 1st time parents who want their too-pure-and-smart bbys to grow up to be the best, too-pure adults they can. But they are also adults. This means they swear. (Also Fuck all y'all with the Naïve/Too-Innocent Inko tropes, that chick may not be confrontational, but you can bet she sure as fuck chewed Mitsuki out a time or too over Bakugo's repeated asshole-ness. Why else would they ever be friends? BC Mitsuki doesn't strike me as someone who chills with wet-rags and her husband is just as non-confrontational as Inko.) And Hisashi is in America. Need I say more about the state of our pottymouths?

To prevent themselves from using it too much, however, they go Plus Ultra on their Swear Jar. 500 Yen is just about 5 USD (it's more like 536.08 or something but I digress). Hisashi contributes even while away, and sometimes Inko gets a letter within a letter with the words 'Swearing Fines' on it that usually is in the thousands.

The Swear Jar is money that, once full, get's put directing into the Twins bank accounts, split evenly between them. BC fuck yeah college funds amiright?

Anyways, once again this has gotten way too long, and I take the A/Ns out of the actual wordcount when I decide to close a chapter, so I hope you enjoy!

Solar Radiation

Chapter Two:

Impressions Both Great and Small

Being Quirkless, in my opinion, wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to Izu. He could have gotten a Quirk too dangerous to allow him to work outside of certain conditions, or one that came with dangerous health concerns, like mine! Or he could have gotten a weak Quirk that was incredibly bad for combat. There were countless things that could have happened that would have been so much worse than just being Quirkless.

But Izu's a four-year-old who'd just been told that his dream was impossible.

It took him a week to stop crying whenever he watched All Might videos, especially his favorite one of the Hero's Debut. Kaachan cried a lot too, and apologized a lot, even though Touchan said it wasn't anyone's fault and that you shouldn't apologize for things you didn't do. I just hugged them both a lot and threw myself into looking up training plans that were safe for children our age to do.

Izu threw himself, after that week, into studying Heroes in more depth than ever before. He dedicated himself to writing, watching videos of Hero fights over and over and noting everything he could about them.

"If I know how other peoples Quirks work, and how they can improve, than I can use that to help others!" He told me excitedly after I found him scribbling on scrap paper, before Kaachan got us both journals. The first Journal he was trying to fill was called Hero Analysis for the Future, VOL 1, and it was, of course, completely dedicated to all things All Might. Not that I could blame him, of course, when I was filling my own journal called Routines and Studies for Heroics, VOL 1. Not that those titles were written on the notebooks anywhere, only a number on the fronts and the first page or two filled with Hero drawings, but that was for safety reasons. No one expects little kids to have analysis journals and such, after all!

Touchan bought us both dozens of colored pens, pencils, and markers to work on them, and offered his own, old school journals called The Biologics of Quirks. Kaachan bought us a dozen composition journals to start, mine all blue and Izu's all black. Izu carried his HAF journal with him everywhere, muttering to himself as he scribbled and doodled in it, while I left my RSH journal at home. I usually wrote in my journals at night, so that I had something to distract myself with when I couldn't sleep, the faint glow of my skin acting as a light for me.

While I was using the journal to organize things for later, I realized Izu was using his to hide. Mostly from the other kids our age, but especially from Kacchan. The other boy had gotten his Quirk just after me, able to make explosions with his hands using his sweat. Izu had, of course, been ecstatic for the other boy and me both, before Doctor Tsubasa had given us the news. Kacchan hadn't really treated me different, a little more like I was someone to fight and less like we were friends, but that wasn't that different than usual, actually.

As soon as he found out that Izu was Quirkless, though? It wasn't very good.

"Stupid Deku!" The blond shouted as he and his two friends used their Quirks on Izu as he stood between them and a crying, hurt boy. We were at the park alone, our apartment building within direct eyesight. I'd slipped away to go to the bathroom and had been struggling to slide my leather gloves on my hands, which were damp from being washed. I looked up just in time to see them hurting my brother, and, just like at the doctors, I reacted.

The Warmth in my chest roared into Heat, making me glow fever-bright and, suddenly, I was lunging, so much faster than ever before, and my hands, my bare, tingling hands, were latching onto Kacchan's. The sick-sweet smell of his explosions making my nose itch even as the force of our hands locking slammed him away from both my brother and his friends.

"Don't you ever," I hissed furiously, glaring at him as, snarling, he kept trying to blow me away. "Don't you ever hurt my little brother!"

"Shut up and die already!" He shrieked back at me, Explosion getting stronger and louder, blasts rapid and continuous, but all it did was feed my own, making me brighter and brighter. Our palms were pressed together tightly, my Energy Absorption cancelling his Explosion. But it wouldn't last forever, both of our Quirks would hurt us.

"Neechan!" Izu shouted, stumbling towards us even as Kacchan's friends raced over as well.

"Stay back, Otouto!" I barked sharply. "I don't wanna hurt you on accident again, okay?"

"O-okay, Neechan," he stuttered, stopping uncertainly. I saw his expression from the corner of my eye and watched as his eyes widened before he turned around and ran back to the other kid who'd been hurt. I got distracted, however, when one of Kacchan's friends, the one with the hand Quirk, grabbed onto my bare arm, only to cry out and let me go, leaving behind a few slips of Warmth and taking red, painful-looking hands. Sweat was dripping down my face and Kacchan's as well, our muscles straining against each other, teeth bared, and eyes narrowed.

I could feel the Heat getting too high, my palms starting to hurt instead of just tingle, but Kacchan's hands were trembling, the only thing keeping his palms stuck to mine was my tightly curled fingers. Neither of us was going to quit, even if we were hurting ourselves, not in this. Kacchan would see it as him winning, which would make him feel like what he'd done to Izuku was okay, but it wasn't. Using your Quirk like that wasn't okay, it was illegal!

Hurting people with your Quirk just because you could, was something Villains did, not Heroes.

Luckily, we didn't have to decide who would win. Before our Quirks could reach the point of really hurting either of us, our Kaachan's appeared.

"Midoriya Hinako!" Kaachan said sharply, her Pull latching onto my ear and yanking me sternly away, even as Mitsuki-baa latched onto Kacchan's with her sharp fingers, snarling furiously.

"Katsuki, you little shit!" She snapped furiously as the boy yowled like a scalded cat and I forced my fingers to release his as I staggered towards Kaachan, a tearful, determined Izu hidden behind her, the faint burns and bruises on his face still clear. The Heat was still too high, though, and, grimacing, I pointed my hands at the ground and forced it out, hissing as my palms and fingers burned, the ground directly under them sizzling and sparking as my too-bright glowing began to quickly dim. Not too much, I reminded myself sternly. Touchan said never do too much.

I had to do it two more times, crying by the end of the final release because my hands hurt so badly. Kaachan waited until I was finished before using Pull to lead me by the ear back towards the apartment. Mitsuki-baa had already dragged Kacchan away, and his friends had run off when Hands-Boy got burnt. From the look on Kaachan's face, I don't think I should be worrying about the other kids.

~(LINE)~

Kacchan and I were both grounded, me for two weeks and him for three since he started it by bullying Izu. I'd also gotten nasty, blistering burns all over my hands and a little up my wrists, too, and Kacchan sprained both his wrists. Apparently, after Izu had helped the other hurt boy to his feet, my little brother had run straight home and told Kaachan and Mitsuki-baa, who were having tea. Of course, they'd spent a moment fussing over his own burns and bruises, before they'd caught our stand-off through the window and finally registered exactly what was going on.

Moodily curled up under my blanket, I chewed on my favorite red pen as I broodingly stared at my RSH. Gang Orca was sketched out roughly, arms crossed and glaring in disapproval. After a moment, I sighed guiltily and tiredly wrote in one of his catchphrases in a speech-bubble.

"When faced with the choice between detaining a Villain and rescuing a Civilian...

It is a Hero's duty to always choose the latter, even at the cost of the Villain escaping."

It was one of his more controversial quotes, but it was an ideal my Hero lived by. Gang Orca was the Number Ten Hero and could have been even higher on the list if Polls weren't biased. He had almost as high a Rescue Rate as Endeavor, with three times lower amounts of property damage, less than three percent instances of friendly fire, and a strict moral and ethical code that he lived by. He was fierce and smart and strong and brave...

But, because he looked scary, like a Villain, his popularity scores kept him firmly pinned down. He had even been voted as the Top Third Hero that looked like a Villain. Centipeder was first on that list, followed by Ectoplasm as second. The thing these Heroes had in common?

They didn't look like Heroes.

"The world is shallow and filled with hypocrites and liars," I muttered, yet another quote, although this one was from one of the forum's I followed online for my Gang Orca updates. The original poster, DisillusionedCynic, had only started posting in the last few months, and almost all their posts were rants on the shallow, greedy nature of most heroes and how they were dangerous, disgusting fakes. All Might, according to them, was one of the few True Heroes out there, although they acknowledged that Gang Orca was right up there as well after I sent them a link to the fan-page I'd made with the real numbers for him and everything.

The point was, that I'd been so distracted by Kacchan attacking Izu, that I hadn't even cared about the other hurt boy, not even after I'd gotten Kacchan away. I hadn't just separated them and then stayed between the bullies and their victims; I'd just focused on stopping Kacchan. A Hero couldn't afford to do that, though. Izuku hadn't done that. Once he saw I had Kacchan pinned, he'd immediately gotten the other boy away, and then gone to get adults, like we were supposed to do.

I thought I was protecting him, like a Big Sister should, like a Hero should, but Izuku was the real Hero between us.

Sighing softly, wiggling my bandaged fingers with a grimace, I sat up and let my blanket pool around me like a fuzzy puddle of comfort. Across the room, in his own bed, Izuku snored softly, making little snuffling bunny noises occasionally. I smiled a little, turning to tuck my journal away on the little shelf above my bed, pen on top, and prepared to lay back down to try and sleep, when my eyes caught a faint light under the door. Pausing, I blinked at it, before quickly crawling out of bed, wrapping my blanket around me tightly to hide my own glow, flipping some over my head like a hoodie as I did so I wouldn't wake Izu when I passed his bed.

Carefully, I opened our bedroom door and crept down the hall towards the kitchen, the murmur of voices picking up as I went. I paused as I realized it was Kaachan talking, and Touchan as well, no doubt on the Video Screen. I hesitated to move forward, not wanting to eavesdrop but too curious now to re-settle without knowing. After another second, I tightened my blanket, tucking it tightly around my shoulders and over my head so that it covered more of my skin, and then I tiptoed closer.

"-Mitsuki says that I shouldn't be worried," Kaachan was saying; I sat down and curled up against the wall just beside the kitchen doorway, staying out of sight. "I just, I know Hinako and Izuku are smarter than your average four-year-old, but I'm just so worried about what they're learning. I thought I was paying enough attention, but, maybe, maybe letting them watch so many Hero fights wasn't a good idea..."

"If they didn't see them at home, they would have seen them on literally any TV or website or cell phone, Inko-Chan," Touchan told her gently. "There are always going to be Hero fights. The best we can do is raise our little ones to know right from wrong, despite the fact that social media twists that every day. What did Mitsuki say about Katsuki-kun's bullying?" Kaachan sighed, and I wrapped my arms around my knees.

"Apparently he doesn't think he did anything wrong, because, and I quote, 'Heroes are the strongest'. According to him, he was just showing Izuku who was stronger and is extremely angry that Hinako 'challenged' him." Kaachan sighed tiredly. "Mitsuki is exasperated, of course, and is going to sit him down for a stern talk at the end of his grounding, just to make sure he understands why he was grounded. Of course, she also told me that Hinako should take some kind of martial arts classes. She's thinking of signing Katsuki-kun up as well, if he actually listens to her and stops attacking other kids." She sighed fondly, and I chewed on my lip as I looked at my shimmering hands under the blanket.

"It could only help," Touchan said easily. "The Quirk Trauma Councilor suggested getting her more involved with her hands, since she's developed a minor phobia of touching people now, and you know that the Doctor said that she could learn to control the Absorption aspect of her Quirk with practice."

"I know," Kaachan agreed softly, and I heard a rustling noise, like a hand going through her hair. "I know that, Zashi, and I want my little girl to not be afraid to hold even my hand, but I just..."

"It's okay to be worried, my Mochi-Goddess," Touchan told her warmly. "It means you're doing something right, if you're worried about it. You're worries and feelings are valid, and the only person who can decide what you're feeling is you." I felt a smile tug my lips and Kaachan laughed softly; the deep love and fondness my parents held for each other never ceased to make my heart Warm and affectionate. I loved my family so much.

"Thank you, silly man," Kaachan told Touchan affectionately. "I guess I'm just worried about encouraging her to fight. I know... I know Izuku still has his heart set on being a Hero, and I know Hinako is dedicating to seeing him there and becoming one with him, but I just..."

"...Don't want her to feel like it's her only career option because of her Quirk, intelligence, and Family?" Touchan finished, voice wryly amused. "I understand completely."

"Oh, I know, I know," Kaachan chuckled softly. "And I know we're nothing like the Todoroki's, and I know that we're letting them decide on their own what they want. I just, I get the feeling that Hinako doesn't care about being a Hero, but she's going to do it anyways, if that makes sense?" I felt my breath catch; my eyes widen as I tightened my hold on my legs. "It's like she doesn't see that she doesn't have to be a Hero, that she could do anything else if she really wanted. It's like she's just fallen into this mindset where she doesn't particularly want to be a Hero, but it's what she's been offered so she might as well do her best, you know. And I don't want either of my babies to just, just settle on something," Kaachan's voice grew choked and teary, and my shoulders hunched. "I want them to be happy, Zashi, and, and I kn-know that, that helping Izuku and, and training and planning on being a Hero is something she enjoys, but I don't w-want her to just push through if she's unhappy just because she thinks she doesn't have a choice!" Kaachan's voice rose with her steadily quickening words, until a soothing sound from Touchan had her cutting herself off with a muffled sob.

My eyes burned and, under the blanket, my glow began to dim as something cold grew in my throat, something cold and sad and guilty but I didn't know why. The part of me that Knew things understood, and in a way I understood, that Kaachan was worried and that I hadn't done anything wrong but, for some reasons, my chest felt heavy and my shoulders wouldn't un-curl, and the deep, muscle-numbing cold was settled in the base of my throat and a hard rock of sadness was settling in my gut.

Vaguely, I heard Touchan reassuring Kaachan that they could talk to my Councilor about it. They continued talking, but it was... Muffled, weirdly. I just... I just felt tired and heavy, all of a sudden. And cold. But, but not cold-cold just...

I found myself shuffling silently back to our room, sliding through the door and climbing into my bed. I curled there, bundled in my blanket, back to the room and the window. I just felt heavy...

When Kaachan came to get us up hours later, I couldn't find it in myself to hop out of bed with my usual happiness. Usually, I couldn't wait for the excuse to stop laying down, since the sun didn't shine on my bed until a little after noon. But I was just so cold and heavy...

Kaachan checked my temperature, but I wasn't hotter or colder than normal, despite how I felt. She called Touchan, bundled me and Izuku into the car, and drove to the doctor's office. Doctor Misako, our new doctor after we stopped going to see Tsubasa, was a nice woman with blue, braided hair and dark tan skin with shimmery gold spots, like a Leopard. Her Quirk was call Inconspicuous, which let her shift her markings and camouflage poorly when she was in a crowd. It didn't hide her, but it made her seem less interesting and uninteresting. She tended to use it to sneak up on her co-workers to make her patients giggle.

She took my temperature, and checked my eyes and ears, and even my blood pressure. But I wasn't sick. I wasn't hurt or sick, and I hadn't used my Quirk, so I wasn't low on energy. I was just...

Not okay.

"My chest feels heavy," I told Doctor Misako slowly, tongue heavy and voice unusually quiet. "I feel heavy and cold and sad but not sad? I don't know..." I sighed lowly and heavily, and slumped quietly against Izu's side, my Otouto worriedly patting my back and holding my bandaged hands in his. A small frown crossed Doctor Misako's face, before she handed the two of us suckers and gestured Kaachan out of the room to murmur to her quietly.

"Are you okay, Neechan?" Izu asked my quietly, tearfully; I forced the corners of my mouth to lift, but I couldn't smile, not fully.

"I'm going to be," I told him softly, squeezing his hands. "I'm just... Heavy. But I'll get better, okay? Don't worry, Otouto." Kaachan came back in and tried to smile at us before once again bundling us both into the car. She held my gloved hand extra tight, and she cried at the stop light,

I still felt Cold.

~(LINE)~

"Depression?" Kaachan asked my Councilor, Chichi-san. The other woman nodded serious across from us as I slumped in the chair, too cold and heavy to bounce around like I usually did. I usually loved visiting Chichi-san, who's Quirk was called Teddy Bear, a Mutant-type Quirk that literally made her look like a large pink and white teddy bear. She was even as soft and huggable as a toy bead, but warm with a heartbeat.

"At this point, it's looking that way," Chichi-san told Kaachan, her big green eyes gentle as she wiggled her dark green nose. "At first, I thought it could be a form of Bipolar Disorder, and it may in fact develop into that as she ages and her bodies hormones change, but, considering the symptoms she's having, the length of time this has gone on, and her reactions to certain stimuli-Or lack of reactions, it's looking more and more like genuine depression."

"But, but she's four?" Kaachan managed, distressed, as she held my gloved hand even though it remained limp. Chichi-san shook her head gently, her large, round ears twitching a little as she did, the pretty red bow she was wearing around one fluttering a little with the movement.

"Studies have shown that depression and bipolar disorder are appearing in children younger than ten with increasing frequency over the last decade," my Councilor informed Kaachan sadly. "The pressure placed on little ones based solely on Quirks and their applications has also increased exponentially in that time, which may be a leading cause. I'm sure you've already started to see the signs of Quirk Discrimination towards Izu-Chan and Hina-Chan both, am I correct?" Kaachan flinched a little, hand tightening on mine, and I sighed quietly and squeezed it.

It had been four days since the Cold had first settled in. I missed being Warm, but even the brightest, clearest noon-time sunshine couldn't warm me up. It left me listless and hopeless and just... Tired. So, so very tired...

"What caused it, though?" Kaachan asked Chichi-san desperately. "I, I know I have anxiety issues, and Izuku is starting to show those as well as Hizashi's ADHD, but we've managed to curtail any bad habits by using our own childhood problems. Hinako hasn't shown any signs of my anxiety, and she has only shown signs of ADHD when her Quirk is overcharged. What signs did we miss?" Kaachan sniffled and Chichi-san obligingly handed over a box of tissues, which Kaachan set firmly in her lap.

"Depression in children can be notoriously difficult to spot," my Councilor explained gently. "Most of the warning signs in particularly young children go untreated because they're attributed to the usual growing pains of hormones and natural developments. Has she been quick to anger or cry, lately? Before the, ah, the 'Cold' set in?" She asked gently, using the term I'd begun coining for the state I seemed to be stuck in. Kaachan hesitated.

"She's, she's been more protective of Izuku," she managed, wringing the damp tissue in her hand and rubbing a circle on my hand with her thumb. "She yelled at Doctor Tsubasa, that day we were told about, about Izuku's Quirklessness, and, and last week, she got in a fight with her friend who was bullying Izuku and the two of them burned each other's hands. She was, she was moody after that, sulky and defiant and angry, but we just thought it was because we grounded her for two weeks..." Chichi-san nodded calmly.

"Bouts of anger or churlishness and bad behavior in children that are usually well-behaved are some of the most-often ignored signs of Bipolar and Depression both," she told Kaachan. "But they are also signs' of hormones changing, so there's no guarantee that they were warning signs at all. The human brain is a complicated mess, to be frank," she told us with a gentle smile. "There are many different factors that can cause things like this. In your case, Hinako-Chan," she said, focusing her bright green eyes on me as I blinked tiredly at her, "it may in fact be a result of your Quirk no one was expecting."

"What do you mean?" Kaachan asked anxiously.

"Well, I've noticed, and Doctor Misako has confirmed, that Hinako-Chan's Quirk is what affects her body's physical state the most. Higher temperature, higher energy, lower food intake and sleep cycles, higher dangers to her health. The fact that her Quirk keeps her in a hyper-aware state as her base state would undoubtably cause a higher chance of something happening with her brain chemistry. As strong and resilient to most things were humans are, the brain is an organ. If you overwork it, it will find ways to force you to allow it to rest and recharge. This, I believe, is what's happening to Hinako-Chan."

"So, she's just... Recharging?" Kaachan asked; Chichi-san nodded firmly.

"Her brain has been in overdrive for a few months, now. It's built up a few vacation days, as it were," she teased gently; I couldn't help but let out a little huff of amusement, earning a bright, relieved (and teary) smile from Kaachan and a wink from Chichi-san. "She's already improved drastically from that first day, where she was trying to adapt to suddenly being unable to use the energy she was used to. I have no doubt that she'll come out of this fugue-state naturally, which is excellent, because it means that her treatment options are far less dangerous than they could have been."

"Dangerous?!" Kaachan blurted, straightening suddenly; Chichi-san nodded calmly.

"You have to understand," my Councilor said, "that most antidepressants are dangerous for adults, let alone children under ten. The symptoms can fluctuate wildly, from mood swings to manic or depressive episodes, to even suicidal thoughts." Kaachan gasped, her hand latching more firmly onto mine. "Most doctors refuse to prescribe anything for children under eight, and even then, it tends to be Prozac, which is usually much gentler than normal antidepressants. As it is, until she's eight or older, I don't feel comfortable giving her such strong medications."

"Oh," Kaachan managed, torn between horror and relief, and Chichi-san laced her stumpy, stuffed fingers together in front of her seriously.

"The most important thing to remember, Inko-san, is that Depression is treatable. It is a serious illness, not a phase or a short-term issue. Its symptoms can be controlled and even prevented, but it isn't something that goes away, especially not without proper treatment or care," she stated gently but firmly. "There are also several things you should be on the look-out for, and certain things you, and your husband, can do to help Hinako-Chan take care of herself."

"What can I do?" Kaachan asked, straightening once more, something bright and determined on her face and, suddenly, I found myself smiling faintly, because with her small frown and sharp eyes, I could see Izu's face. I could see my face.

"There are a few warning signs you'll definitely have to keep an eye out for," Chichi-san told her, opening a drawer and pulling out a pamphlet before handing it to Kaachan. "If Hinako-Chan starts talking about suicide, or starts showing more interest in death or dying, that's the biggest and most obvious sign. Other, more subtle, signs are isolationist behaviors, disinterest in her usual hobbies, excessive sleeping, lack of appetite. These are signs that her depression is heading in a dangerous direction." Kaachan nodded sharply, already glancing through the pamphlet, eyes darting over the information there.

"Another thing you'll have to do is keep her from these behaviors by actively involving her. This means including her in social activities despite her Cold days. However," she added, voice firm, "this doesn't mean you should pressure her or overwhelm her. If this is her bodies way of recuperating from Overcharging, excessive activity in this state could extend the length of time it lasts or worsen the symptoms. A few examples of what you can do, is just ask her occasionally if she'd like to be by herself or if she wouldn't mind sitting with you. Even if she just curls up on the couch with you without speaking or interacting, it's better than just curling on her bed. This doesn't mean you should constantly as how she feels, which is hypocritical coming from a therapy councilor, I know," she smiled, and Kaachan smiled shakily back.

"Despite the fact that Hinako-Chan can't control the mental state that she's in now, she can articulate what she's feeling. A constant reminder that she's ill will only worsen her state, either making her frustrated enough to turn lethargy into anger or worsening her feelings of helplessness and guilt. She knows you love her, and she knows you can help her, now. She may need a reminder, but unless she deliberately avoids you or starts displaying those warning signs, I told you about, just being there and assisting when you can will help."

"Thank you, Doctor Chichi," Kaachan told her earnestly; my Councilor smiled and stood, Kaachan getting to her feet as well.

"It's not a problem, Inko-san," she replied kindly. "Hinako-Chan is a sweetheart, and it's always upsetting to see children in this state, let alone your own children. I'm always happy to help." I managed to make it to my feet, slowly and laboriously, muscles feeling like they were made of lead. But, after four days, I'd gotten used to forcing myself to move. We bid Chichi-san goodbye; my hand clasped once more in Kaachan's as we went. Izu was at school today, so he wouldn't be home for a while yet. Once we got home, instead of just curling up in my bed like I wanted to, I forced myself to curl up in the couch with an animal documentary playing quietly as Kaachan puttered around the kitchen.

I was still Cold. Still Heavy and Cold and so, so sad... But I knew now that I wasn't going to stay like this. I was sick, I was depressed, but I could be treated. I could get better. It wouldn't go away, especially if Chichi-san was right and it was connected to my Quirk, but... But.

I didn't feel as hopeless as I did this morning.

And that...

That was good.

~(LINE)~

We were at the park again a few days later, even though I was still technically grounded. But Kaachan had to do paperwork, and Izu didn't want to leave me behind, and besides, it was sunny out, and Warm. I sat on the bench and offered a small smile to Izu when he peered worriedly at me. After a moment, he gave me a shaky smile and darted off to play on the playground set. I sat there, curled up and vaguely disconnected from the world around me, for I don't know how long, until I suddenly found someone sitting down on the opposite end of my bench.

"Hey there, kiddo," the man said, voice quiet and calm. I eyed him from the corner of my eye as alertly as I could, even with Heaviness dragging me down and Cold in my chest. He was a stranger who approached a little girl all by herself. He was gangly and long-limbed, with long blond hair pinned back in a messy half-bun. He had a tiny mustache and dark blue glasses and red eyes. He was dressed in well-worn pale jeans and a black jean jacket and a loose pink shirt. He was smiling a little as he watched the other kids play, but...

But it was like the smile I'd been using, since the Cold came.

"...Hi," I managed dully; he slumped a little as he leaned back, allowing the bench to hold his whole weight, and tilted his head back a bit so his half-bun supported his head.

"Not in the mood to play, huh?" he asked me; I twitched a shoulder with effort.

"My Councilor says its important that I feel involved in social activities even if I'm temporarily unable to enjoy them," I told him tiredly. "My Otouto wanted to run around outside, and its sunny out which he knows helps me re-charge my Quirk, so he's trying to be helpful. I wasn't gonna tell him no." The man seemed to still strangely, glasses glinting in the sunlight as he tilted his head just enough to eye me from the corners.

"Councilor, huh," he murmured; I nodded slightly.

"I've got Depression," I told him solemnly. "And my Councilor says it could be related to my Quirk, because otherwise I'm generally cheerful and bouncy, but for the last week and half, I've just been... Cold, and Heavy, and sad." I sighed lowly, closing my eyes briefly before forcing them open. The man stayed silent, something quietly considering on his face.

"Do you like music?" he asked me suddenly after almost ten minutes of silence; I blinked and lolled my head over to peer at him.

"What?" I asked him; he hummed.

"Do you like music?" He asked again, simply; I hesitated, then nodded, frowning a little in confusion. "Good. There's this Pro Hero, relatively new and not as popular because of it, but he's got his own radio show now. He plays non-stop music on Fridays, with only brief breaks where he greets everyone and takes a few requests, but he'll play pretty much everything. His name's Present Mic and it's the Put Your Hands Up Radio." The man turned his head, smiling faintly at me as I stared at him. "You're probably wondering why I asked, though, am I right, kiddo?" Carefully, I nodded, forcing myself to sit up so I could stare at him better. The man shifted, crossing his legs so that his right ankle sat on his left knee, and crossed his arms loosely as he stared back at me.

"I asked you if you liked music, because it was the first thing I could think of that might help you with those dark, aching feelings in your chest," he told me quietly. "You can't help that you're sad and tired and heavy, you can't just decide not to be anymore despite how much you want to feel better. And, no matter how hard you try, or your family tries, nothing feels like it's going to change how you feel, either. Even knowing you won't feel like this forever doesn't really help. It just makes you feel a little less hopeless than before." My breath hitched as I stared at him, his smile now wry instead of just gentle. "Believe me, kiddo, when I say I understand. I get it, I really, do. You feel like your chest is full of lead and it takes so much effort to even sit up, but the world says you gotta get on your feet and keep walking anyways, and the they all wonder why you're sad or slow or hopeless and get mad when you don't know. And even the people closest to you, who try their hardest to make you feel better, don't get that they can't. And the more they try, the worse you feel, because you want to feel better but you can't, and you feel worse because you know they're trying but its not helping and, before you know it, you start looking at places with long drops with more and more consideration..." he trailed off with a shudder, pausing to close his eyes with a grimace and breath, lifting a hand to dig his fingers through the loose hairs at the base of his half-bun, fingers trembling.

"...Sorry, kiddo," he muttered, sounding wry and exhausted, a half-smile on his face. "That got heavy quick, heh... But I was trying to explain about why I asked about the music." He tilted his head back with a faint smile still in place. "See, my best friend once told me that, for all the sadness and darkness and hopelessness in the world, everyone has something they can enjoy no matter how they're feeling. He loves cats, for example. Petting cats, watching cat videos, seeing pictures of cats. Point is, he told me that if I could find that little something, that distracting, good thing, then no matter how heavy or sad I get, I can always find that little bit of light. You know?" I stared at the man, eyes wide, and he offered me a small grin, holding out his hand.

"My name's Yamada Hizashi, kiddo," he told me.

"Midoriya Hinako," I replied immediately, without thought, eyes still wide even as I carefully reached forward to shake his hand.

"Well, Hinako-Chan," he said quietly. "It was nice to meet you. I have to go now, but I just wanted to let you know: finding something to love, always chases away the cold." Smiling, he got to his feet and started to leave. "Remember!" He called over his shoulder. "Every Friday on Put Your Hands Up! See you around!" I watched him walk away, bewildered and relieved and still so heavy.

I didn't tell Kaachan or Izu about Yamada-san when we got home later that day. Izu had been distracted playing Heroes and Villains with some other kids and Kaachan hadn't seen the blond man during her frequent window-checks, and I didn't feel like he'd done anything shady to report. In fact, he'd been comforting, and, as guilty as it made me feel, I felt relieved to have something that was a secret, just for me, if even only a little bit. I adore my family, I love Kaachan and Izu and Touchan, and I know that, no matter what, they'll always support me as best as they could...

That didn't mean I didn't get tired of being coddled or surrounded, though. And I wasn't even sure if it was the Depression talking or the Knowing part of me talking or if it was just me. Still, it was nice, having something none of them knew about.

Come Friday, I was still Cold. But, for the first time in two weeks, I forced myself into the kitchen to ask Kaachan to find the radio station.

"Someone at the park mentioned it," I told her as she immediately fiddled with the radio, so happy that I was making a request instead of just accepting what she handed me. "It's run by a new Pro Hero, and he plays nothing but music today." Kaachan beamed at me even as Izu perked up, and we quickly had the radio set up in the living room while Izu and I did our homework. He finished his in an hour. After three, I was barely halfway through mine, struggling to keep working on things that the Cold said were pointless but were easy enough to still fill in.

In that time, I found out that Put Your Hands Up played everything. It stuck with mostly Japanese songs, but also threw in some English, a couple of French, a Spanish song, and even something that the computer said was Indonesian. It didn't seem to matter what year the song came out, either, even playing an old song from before Quirks came about. It was... Actually pretty fun, listening to all the strange and random songs, humming along with the ones I knew, pausing to focus on the ones I didn't, and it was so relieving, being able to actually fully focus on something. I missed being able to focus...

For the first time in three hours, instead of a song coming on, the Hero actually spoke, breaking through my struggling homework and music-focus, and making me look up at the radio quietly.

"HEY THERE, LITTLE LISTENERS!" Present Mic shouted out happily, the sudden loudness making Izu jump and Kaachan squeak, the two of them laughing sheepishly afterwards, making my mouth twitch up in a small smile. "I'm your host, Present Mic! And are you ready to start throwing down some sick beats?! Gimme a YEAH!" He bellowed; my small smile grew a little.

"Yeah," I said quietly, setting my pencil down.

"Awesome, Little Listeners! Before we start answering your calls, I have a crazy special message for a special little listener in Musutafu!" Present Mic declared, his boundless-seeming happiness mellowing, warming into something affectionate. "If you're listening, Midoriya Hinako, Hizashi wants you to remember what he said!" My breath caught, eyes going wide as I stared, hands still on the table.

"He said your name, Neechan!" Izu squeaked as Kaachan poked her head through the kitchen doorway, eyebrows raised.

"Love will always beat the Cold!" Present Mic said clearly, earnestly, and I stared at the Radio, my hands slowly lifting to fold over my heart. "And no matter how Heavy life gets, friends are always there to help carry the burden, even if it doesn't seem to help. So, remember, my new Little Listener! We're always there when you need us!" Everything was blurry, I realized after a moment, as Present Mic continued, taking a call and beginning to play some sort of techno-rap. After a second, I realized my vision was all wonky because I was crying.

Despite the Cold, I hadn't actually cried since the first night it set in, two weeks ago now.

It felt...

It felt like something had let go. Like, something that was stuck had finally managed to get free, and, before I knew it, I was bawling into my hands, Kaachan and Izu immediately there, wrapping me up in their arms and comforting me and, and!

I was Warm again.

I let out a choked laugh, so utterly relieved, and my glow roared to life, shining through my eyelids and making Kaachan and Izu both start crying and laughing too as I made this gross snorting sound. We must have looked so silly, sitting there and crying and laughing and me, glowing like a nightlight between them. It took almost ten minutes to stop, and, when we did, I asked Kaachan if I could call in a song.

I waited on hold while I searched for the perfect song on my Musicfly app, trying to find one that felt right, and grinned when I found it, my cheeks hurting from it after so long, just in time for my call to get picked up.

"Hey there, Little Listener, you're on the air!" Present Mic greeted happily.

"Hi there, Present Mic," I greeted, blinking as I heard my voice come out of the radio, making Izu squeak and bounce excitedly as Kaachan grinned over at me happily. "This is Midoriya Hinako from Musutafu. And I'd like Hizashi-san to know that I heard him, loud and clear."

"That's AWESOME, Little Listener!" Present Mic cheered. "I'm stoked that you tuned in in time to hear it! He's gotta be OVER THE MOON!" he laughed loudly; and I giggled quietly with him, feeling almost floaty now that the Heaviness was gone, my chest light and Warm again. "Do you have a song request, little buddy?!"

"I do!" I agreed happily. "Could you play Thank You by Dido for him, from me? I'd appreciate it!"

"No problem, Little Listener! Always happy to help out! Keep on being awesome, okay?"

"You too!" I chirped and hung up the phone with a giggle.

"Let's get going, Little Listeners! Can I get a YEAH!?"

"YEAH!" Izu and I both shouted, laughing now as my requested song started. Kaachan had the computer on so she could read the lyrics, since her English wasn't as good as ours was getting, and she swayed with the music as Izu and I stumbled across the lyrics, trying to sing along.

I was happy.

And it felt so very good.

~(LINE)~

Hizashi hadn't stopped beaming since the call came in. Even hours later as he trudged through the apartment door and almost tripped over Shouta's brown tabby cat, Potato, who, like his namesake, had the habit of just lying around uselessly. He didn't even get upset, which wasn't unusual but, after a full Friday at the Radio Station, Hizashi knew he sometimes got grumpy, but he was too damn happy to be grumpy.

Hearing that little voice, so much livelier and brighter than it had been early that week, had boosted his spirits and warmed his heart right up. He had helped her, this tiny girl who didn't know he was a Hero, who was already struggling with something that Hizashi had been dealing with since he was fourteen. She didn't know him from Adam, but his words reached her, they helped her, and they made enough of an impact that she'd reciprocated. And that? That was one of the reasons he was a Hero, that knowledge that everything wasn't just for show, but actually, really important to people out there.

It made every nasty media rumor worth it, made all the complaints about how 'annoying' he was worth it. These little things that Hizashi did that mattered to others. If Hizashi, a nobody, can be some little kid's Hero, for even a single day, then Present Mic had the chance to affect thousands.

And that? That was inspiring as hell for him.

"Quiet down," Shouta grouched from the kitchen, already buried in the depths of his purple sleeping bag, cradling a little carton of apple juice in his hand, the table top cluttered with a mix of empty boxes and full ones, as well as a half-empty bag of animal crackers.

"I didn't even say anything!" Hizashi squawked indignantly, grin widening as he pranced over to his best friend and roommate.

"You didn't have to," Shouta grumbled. "I could hear your awakeness from over here and it's disgusting. Stop it." Hizashi couldn't help but laugh at his friend, falling into the chair across from him gracelessly and snatching the closest carton of grape juice, affection warming his heart as he noted that it was one of three that were set farthest from his friend, pointedly. After all, Shouta hated grape juice.

"Shut up," his friend growled, scowling at him tiredly as Pudding the tuxedo clawed her way up his friends sleeping bag to sprawl across his shoulders with a yawn, curling there like a living scarf.

"Didn't say a word!" Hizashi sing-songed, cheerfully taking a slurp of his juice. Shouta just grunted at him, and the two sat in silence for a while, drinking juice and sharing animal crackers in the dark, because they were twenty-two and adults. Only the four cats were there to judge them, although Soba and Ramen the Siamese siblings were distracted wrestling on the living room sofa. And Potato was now sprawled in the middle of the bathroom doorway.

"...So," Shouta muttered, breaking the silence and casting a totally judgmental stare at Hizashi as the blond made a little lion cookie fight a giraffe for the right to be eaten first (sound effects included). "Met someone in Musutafu, huh?" Hizashi blinked, then grinned brightly at his friend, who's judgmental stare immediately turned into a disgruntled glower that he totally learned from his pets.

"Yep!" Hizashi told him cheerfully. "Cute little kid, like, really little, but going through some serious adult things," he quieted down subconsciously as he spoke, which was more of a tell than anything else he did, about how serious it was. Usually, when Hizashi got interested or focused on something, his volume control subconsciously went to LOUD, but sometimes, rarely, it went down, and that was usually when it concerned topics he wasn't usually comfortable discussing with anyone but Shouta. And, indeed, his friend straightened up, his bony shoulders poking through his sleeping bag and making Pudding meow in complaint before hopping down and sauntering away in annoyance.

"How serious?" Shouta asked warily; Hizashi sighed a little bit.

"Serious as in diagnosed with depression hard enough that I felt the need to warn her about long walks off short ledges," he told his friend tiredly, heart hurting at the reminder of that too small girl with her too dark emotions. "And, shit Shouta, she couldn't have been more than five, maybe a small six?" Shouta frowned, arms crossing, fingers tapping against the muscle showing at the end of his shirtsleeves. (and Hizashi wasn't going to ever get over the fact that his friends favored style outside of his Hero costumes blacks and 'Mysterious' vide were shirts that said shit like 'Drama Queen' and pants with the bejeweled word 'Juicy' on the ass.)

"Trouble at home?" his friend asked, pointedly neutral, and Hizashi shook his head a bit.

"Not from what I could tell. Kid said that her Councilor thought it was connected to her Quirk, some kind of response to having too much energy stored or something. Said the sun helped her Quirk, so I assume its some sort of photosynthesis or heat-based Quirk, which makes sense, considering she said her depression left her Cold and Heavy... But, damn it, Shouta," he sighed, reaching up to tug his hair tie until his messy bun came tumbling down. "Seeing a little kid like that, looking like I did during those Bad Days as a teenager, and not even ten yet..." Shouta grimaced, because he had been there, had seen the kind of dark places Hizashi had been in, had talking him down from a ledge more than once before they'd graduated, and patched him up a time or two as well.

"Well," his friend grumbled, tugging his sleeping bag back up to his shoulders. "Something you did got through, at least. She'll probably remember you for a long time, if you made enough of an impact to pull her out of her slump." Immediately, Hizashi felt his smile return, a warm, honest affection in his heart as he beamed at his best friend.

"Yeah," he breathed, beaming as Shouta scowled at him in affront, squinting at him like an angry, half-asleep cat. "I guess she will, huh?" Shouta huffed and threw a hippo-shaped cookie at him as Hizashi grinned, pin-point accuracy nailing the blond right between the eyes, making him sputter and flail as he reared back.

Immediately after, the two were engaged in a bizarre food fight involving empty juice boxes, animal crackers, and dodging cats as the four felines came to investigate. Hizashi, of course, lost, but he was still laughing in the end, and even Shouta was smiling from his sprawled place on the floor, his fur children climbing all over him.

Yeah, Hizashi thought as he giggled hysterically into the carpet. Today was a good day.

An awesome day.

A/N: Have a super long chapter to make up for the super long beginning A/N. Also, I read and studied about the signs of depression in young children and all of Hinako's reactions and feelings are based off those. Everyone feels depression and bipolar differently, they have different triggers and lengths of time they're affected. But it's important to remember that it IS an ILLNESS and CAN be TREATED. But all the advice Chichi-san gave Inko, and that Hizashi told Hinako? All that is valid, from my POV as someone whose mother is Bipolar and who suffers from panic attacks and occasional depression. Please keep it in mind.

Take care of yourselves!

R&R