Seiko was working hurriedly in one of Hope's Peak Academy's laboratories after school, hoping to perfect her work as much as possible. Practical exams were coming up again with the end of another semester, and she was running herself ragged trying to prepare for every contingency. There was only so much she could do within a single day, but she preferred fussing over her work to ruminating about what had happened during the last bout of practical exams.

To put it succinctly, it was a disaster. Something made to be helpful just ended up causing her to humiliatingly fatten up over the course of about a week. She was hardly any thinner these days than she was at her peak, as exercise had been trouble for her even when she was rail-thin. Now more than double her previous weight, she was constantly shifting on her feet to take the pressure off her ankles and trying to ignore how hungry she was.

It occurred to her that she was ruminating again, but she heard a knock at the door, a thankful distraction from her own thoughts. "Come in," she called to the entrance, leaning back against the lab counter and straightening her mask.