Author's Notes: Hello everyone! It's been a while, huh? A couple of years at that. I've gotten into a new fandom and wanted to share my story with you guys. While the other fandom is lingering in the back of my mind, I thought I get back into writing and start a new story. I've become quite rusty since I haven't written anything in a while, but I hope I haven't lost my touch just yet. To all of my old followers, it's nice to see you again! To my future new followers, I can't wait to hear from you!

Without further ado, let's begin the story!

Disclaimer: I only own my characters in this story. The canon characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi.

"It's only after you've stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform." - Roy T. Bennett

Crystal glances at her watch and furrows her eyebrows. It's almost eight o'clock in the evening. There's no light in sight from the sky, except for the crescent moon. The only other light source she has are the street lamps that guide her back to her apartment. Bringing her arm down, she starts jogging and unfastens a couple of buttons from her purple blouse. Stretching her neck and breathing deeply, she adjusts her glasses and continues down the street. Her hand's resting on her brown bag that contains important documents.

Most, if not all, are from her students. Mid-term exams are already here at this time of year. The air's muggy and warm despite it being night time. It had rained earlier that morning, yet despite the welcoming feeling and smell of rain, it only made it even hotter with the scorching sun mixed in. Crystal can practically feel some of her hair sticking to her skin. The wind provides some comfort, but not enough to dry away the sweat.

Usually, she wouldn't jog in her professional outfit; a pair of gray slacks and black flats. Unfortunately, she didn't want to stay out longer than she needs to. That's when the villains are most active, that is if the news reported correctly. The fact that she can run into any of them didn't help her already anxious nerves.

An incident occurred about a month ago with two of her students. Luckily, All Might was there to blast away the sludge villain before anything else could have happened. After she heard the news, Crystal had asked about their well being when she came across the two of them separately in the hallway. She remembered the way Midoriya was red in the face when she asked about him, but he told her that he's okay and even seemed a bit better afterward.

Bakugou, on the other hand, seemed more agitated than usual, which was to be expected since he was the victim, and there were people around him being wary or talking about him. If looks could kill, Crystal might have died on the spot after she asked that question.

Crystal had only raised an eyebrow at him and wasn't at all fazed by his glare. She simply asked again how he was doing. Bakugou only 'tch'ed before telling (or rather shouted) that he was fine and quote on quote told her, "Why the hell wouldn't I be?!" Usually, some teachers would be appalled at hearing such language coming from a student. Luckily for Bakugou, Crystal's used to his foul language from last year and only shrugs if he does so. If he feels better about it, why prevent him from cursing? Once she heard a response from him, she only nodded at him with a small grin. Crystal had walked around him and told him that she's glad to hear he's well. Once behind him, she also said that she'll see him in class later before she headed off.

Ever since that day, she's become even more cautious of her surroundings, especially at night. While they're usually villain activities in Japan, Crystal has come to expect such a thing, until her students were attacked quite close to where she works. If the villains can attack around this area, then what's preventing her from becoming a victim herself? She usually didn't work late hours back at school. Today, there was something she needed to take care of, so she stayed behind. Crystal didn't expect it to be this late already, thus her goal to go straight home without incident becomes her main focus. While she's pretty good at dodging and defending herself to some extent, Crystal's no professional fighter.

Being Quirkless didn't help matters either.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she focuses on being aware of her surroundings and taking easy, steady breaths. She jogs past a couple of alleyways and begins her ascent to the top of a hill. While the alleyways are tempting to use to get closer to home, there's a higher risk of running into a villain in those small, tight spaces than out in the open. Taking the long way home is much safer. Besides, she's around buildings, even if most of the people in those buildings are getting ready for bed. If there's enough of a commotion, there's a chance they'll come out and take a look, right?

Crystal slowly releases some tension in her body after thinking more about it. She's not in an area alone. There are other people nearby if she needs assistance. Hopefully, she didn't need to resort to that method. She wouldn't forgive herself if they end up hurt because of their involvement. Swallowing, she tightens her grip on her bag and continues up toward the top, glancing down at her feet for a moment.

Something heavy splatters ahead of her, making the bottom of her feet vibrate from the sudden impact.

Crystal skids to a stop. Her heart begins to pound hard against her chest at the sudden change of atmosphere. She slowly raises her head to see what's ahead of her. The alarm's going off in her head to run, however, curiosity takes over despite her better judgment.

She wishes she hadn't looked and took her own advice.

Her blood runs cold at the sight and her breath hitches. Something that resembles a body lies motionless in the middle of the street. Black bags cover the person from head to toe, so it's difficult to tell what gender is underneath. The smell of rotten flesh with a hint of perfume almost makes her gag, her hand slapping over her nose to prevent further access. Coughing since she can practically taste the smell, Crystal immediately looks around for a possible villain.

There's no one suspicious in her line of sight, but that didn't mean that there's not a possibility of someone dangerous nearby.

Her body goes tense and her heart continues to beat quickly in her chest. As she gazes around non-stop, she does her best to take a deep breath and takes her phone out of her pocket. Trembling, she taps the number for the police and presses the phone against her ear.

Crystal didn't dare approach the body. She moves near a lamp post and presses her back against it, her eyes still gazing around her surroundings. Crystal can feel her hair tie becoming loose. She presses the phone in between her ear and shoulder to tighten it.

Part of her wants to run to a nearby safe area where there are a lot of people. That way things can be done in an area where there's a chance of running into a Pro Hero. Unfortunately, there's another side of her that she can't easily shake off. What if the villain returns and collects the body, making it seem that it wasn't there in the first place? There's also the chance that the villain will follow her and hurt anyone that she comes into contact with. She's seen the body and where it came from.

Crystal didn't have more time to ponder on her choices before someone answers the phone.

"This is the Police Force, how can I assist you?" a monotone female voice responds, faint typing can be heard in the background.

Crystal takes a deep breath before speaking, albeit hesitantly, "Err... Good evening. I never did this before in Japan, but I would like to report a crime."

The young woman has to speak slow and steady, her eyes still on the corpse, and making sure she's using the correct terms to speak Japanese. Licking her lips, she goes back to looking around as the typing continues in the background.

"What crime, miss...?"

"Ah, my name is Bunker, Crystal. I was walking home from my job when I came across a body on the road." Crystal reveals, her hand clutching the phone to prevent her hand from trembling.

"Where are you right now, Bunker-san?" the woman's voice isn't as monotone as before, a sense of urgency in her tone. She can also pick up some voices in the background that seem to be moving from one direction to the next.

Crystal gives her the location of where she is. She glances over her shoulder every once in a while, paranoia filling her up. Crystal continues to answer the woman's questions, especially about giving her personal information. As she's giving out information, a burst of wind causes her to lift her arms to cover her face.

Something heavy lands above her. The sudden shift of weight causes the lamp post to creak loudly. Crystal's body tenses, the back of her hair standing on ends. Her eyes widen as she slowly gazes upward. The woman on the phone continues to inform her that she notified nearby Pro Heroes, seeming to be unaware of Crystal's predicament and to stay put until they arrive. Her voice continues to go against the palm of her hand, but Crystal's only half listening as her mouth goes dry when she makes eye contact with someone above.

The street lamp barely illuminates this person's face. Judging by how large their silhouette is and how far bent the lamp has become, Crystal can only assume that this person's strong and heavy enough to withstand whatever she throws at them. Something long and threatening dangles behind her, however, she didn't dare break eye contact with them. Rather, she's frozen in her spot. Crystal forces herself to breathe properly.

"You came at a wrong time. You shouldn't be here."

The low, monotonous voice causes Crystal to gape at the person above her. There are no words coming out of her mouth, but she furrows her eyebrows at them, or rather him from the sound of his voice.

What exactly did he mean by that?

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to further think on that question before he jumps and leaps toward her. Crystals yelps as she jumps backward, stumbling and falling on her bottom. She's still clutching the phone in her hand as the woman's frantically trying to gain her attention.

"Bunker-san! Is the villain in sight?!"

"Yes!" Crystal responds, her voice a higher pitch due to fear, but she backs up to avoid any other incoming attacks.

The man, now in a better light, stands from a crouch position until he's standing tall. A bead of sweat falls from her brow as she stares in stunned silence. The best description she can give is that this domineering man resembles a scorpion. With no shirt to cover his upper torso, she can clearly see the discoloring of his skin mixing in with the black, pincer-like hands that snap toward her direction. The light from the lamp post makes his white hair appear to glow. What captures her attention the most, however, are his all black, vacant eyes that seem to glint in her direction.

"I have no choice but to get rid of you. You've seen too much." his black, bug-like jaws move when he speaks.

Her attention turns to his tail as he swings it around behind him and flicks toward her direction. Crystal spreads her legs and it attacks the ground in front of her. She pales when the tail removes itself from the concrete. Some type of clear liquid falls from the tip of his tail and falls to the ground.

A chilling realization settles into her nerves. If she didn't move her ass right now, she's going to die.

With a resolve that burns her inner strength, she backs up and quickly stands, her legs wobbly, but she pushes herself to rush off in the opposite direction. Crystal informs the lady that she's running away. She assures her that there are Pro Heroes on the way and to keep avoiding the villain. Crystal huffs but didn't say anything to the obvious statement. While running, Crystal didn't look back since she didn't know how close the villain is nor did she want to find out. She hears something to the right of her and she looks up to see the villain running on the rooftops.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Crystal, while in a panic, starts shouting in English as she picks up the pace.

Before Crystal can move more towards the left, the villain uses his tail to start throwing roof tiles in her direction. One of them makes contact with her cellphone, which was close to her ear, and she cries out at the sharp pain that comes afterward. The cellphone flies out of her hand and onto the pavement. The screen breaks and the woman's voice disconnects upon impact.

Crystal is truly alone against this creature.

Holding her bleeding ear, Crystal stumbles forward and dashes off in whatever direction that's away from the villain. Her lungs burn along with her legs, but she wills herself to keep moving. Adrenaline pumps through her veins as she does her best to avoid any incoming roof tiles. Some hit her. Some miss. Crystal didn't stop moving. She notices a turn coming up, takes a deep breath and pushes herself further to reach it. Once she's close to the side road, she begins twisting her foot to make a sharp turn toward the other direction.

What she fails to realize, however, is that the enemy had stopped throwing tiles at her just moments ago. So when Crystal makes that turn, believing that she's one step away from him, she's unable to stop in time from colliding head-on into the villain. Crystal grunts at the impact as she flails backward. The man, Scorpion, only stands in front of her with a blank expression. She can only watch him with wide eyes as he swiftly wraps his tail around her waist. Without warning, he swings her harshly against the pavement.

Crystal can practically feel and hear her bones crack upon impact. She coughs out excess saliva and almost chokes at the sudden intake of air. The pain burns harshly throughout her body, but she's unable to scream out. Her lungs burn from running. It's taking everything she has to stay awake and not fall prey to the darkness, no matter how tempting it sounds.

She might not wake back up if she follows down that path.

Scorpion lifts her body, swings her against a nearby wall and pins her there. Squeezing her body further, Crystal gasps and struggles to breathe, feeling something trickling down the side of her head. Her hair comes loose from being swung around, feeling some strands resting against her face. Through her hazy sight, her glasses having fallen off some time ago, she watches as the man steps closer to her. Grunting, she narrows her eyes at him, refusing to back down despite the odds against her.

"I'm impressed that you still have enough energy to glare at me. Unfortunately, that won't be enough to save you." Scorpion tightens his grip on her, making her gasp out. He lowers his gaze to avoid any eye contact with her. "I'm sorry it has to be this way. I will make sure your death comes swiftly."

Thus, his tail coils around her some more until she can hardly breathe. Her pulse rises further and she can hear it pound in her ears. Tears are pouring from her eyes from fear and frustration. She claws at his tail as she tries to gain her voice back. Any sound to let the Pro Heroes know where she is. Her anxiety levels continue to skyrocket at the possibility of this being her end.

She won't be able to say goodbye to her loved ones. Her friends, her cat, and even her students... All of the memories she's shared with those she interacted with will only be a memory. She didn't want to leave them all this way. Not like this.

Why did it have to be her...?

A piece of paper floats down in front of her and lands on the Scorpion's tail. She lowers her gaze to look at the words. During her struggle against the villain, her bag must have escaped her grasp and the papers flew out. The one in front of her has a name of a student that's been struggling with English for some time. They've been working hard to grow better of understanding such a difficult language. With her guidance, their grades in her class have steadily gotten better.

Their bright smile when they showed her the graded paper flashes in her head. What will happen to them if she passes on? Will that happiness turn into anguish? That smile she worked hard to bring on their faces... Will that all be for nothing?

Her grip on his tail tightens. Crystal's frustration turns into desperation as she opens her mouth and bites down on his tail. She's going to lose this battle, but she'll be damned if she didn't go down without a fight. If he's going to take her life before the Pro Heroes get here, then she'll take something with her to make sure he regrets killing her off.

Scorpion shouts after her bold move. He swings his tail around to throw her off, but she bites down harder and uses all of her strength to hold on for dear life. Crystal has her eyes tightly shut and focuses on not puking. All of this swinging around has her dizzy and not having enough time to think of another plan.

Not that he'll give her a chance to.

After swinging around some more, he grunts and sharply flicks his tail. He manages to throw her off and fly against a wooden fence nearby. Panting, Scorpion brings his tail close to him to inspect the damages. His claws snap shut as his eyes narrow. A huge chunk of his tail is gone, white liquid pooling by his feet from the empty space, his tail twitching from the shocks of pain that he's currently enduring. He drops his tail and brings his attention to the woman across him. Scorpion makes his way toward the debris, bringing his injured tail close to his side.

He hears her coughing before faint laughter comes afterward as he approaches. Once he's in front of the damaged fence, he swings his arm to brush the smoke away and stares down at the woman in front of him. Below him lies a battered, bloody woman that's glaring defiantly at him. Her once clean outfit now has tears and blood smeared all over. She didn't bother brushing away some of the light strands of hair that's clinging to her face, some of the blood matted into her locks from her injured ear.

Scorpion brings his eyes to meet hers. Her body's trembling from the hardships she endured, but her eyes remain steady and sharp. Those pale eyes seem to become brighter with the moon's assistance from above, the hue of blue becoming more prominent from the shadows surrounding her face.

Twitching movements from her capture his attention. He brings his tail up to counter strike anything she throws at him. What he didn't expect, however, is the woman only to weakly smirk at him and shakily raise her hand to show him a chunk of his tail. Clear liquid oozes from the piece of meat to her hand and plops on the ground, some of it trailing down her arm. She didn't seem bothered by the liquid as her eyes are still set on him. Her smirk remains, though he notices visible twitching on her lips.

"An eye...for an eye."

Crystal didn't have time to react when she feels an impact on her abdomen. She coughs out some blood after the attack, an electrifying pain spreading through her body. That's when she finally screams in agony, the taste of metal strong in her mouth and the back of her throat.

Scorpion roughly pulls his tail out from her and swings his tail to be rid of the extra blood on his stinger. He didn't have time to make sure she's dead before something rushes at him from afar. Scorpion's eyes flash as he quickly spins his body and tail to create a whirlwind to push off a long scarf that surrounded him.

His eyes notice a couple of black figures nearby, one of them coming at him full force and controlling the scarf. With quick ease, he stops mid-spin and twists his body to dash off down the road. He wraps his tail around his abdomen to prevent any liquid from escaping and leading a trail.

Though, he has to shake off his pursuers first before he can think of an escape.

Back at the broken fence, Crystal lies on her back, her glazed eyes staring at the starry sky and the moon. She can feel the warmth beneath her, but her body's too weak to move and her mind's becoming hazy. Her throat has become sore from screaming and from coughing out blood. She didn't dare do anything more with her voice, in fear of choking on her own blood.

Crystal faintly hears footsteps before a figure comes to her view. She tries to tilt her head, however, her body isn't cooperating with her wishes. Crystal can make out blond hair and black clothing, but her visions fading quickly. The person lifts her upper body up and gently smacks her cheeks, bringing her slightly out of her dazed state. Blinking slowly, Crystal does her best to focus on the person's face and voice. She can't comprehend their speech, but she can pick up some words.

"...strong...! Stay with...!"

She coughs again, blood sputtering out and trailing down the side of her mouth. Her eyes become heavy once more. Whoever is holding her continues to smack her cheek, their gesture quick and frantic as their voice seems to become louder. Through her blurry vision, she picks up flashing red and another figure joining the person holding her. Crystal's eyelids close. She grunts when she feels a heavy pressure on her abdomen, but didn't fight it. Rather, she didn't have the energy to do so.

Despite the situation she's in, Crystal feels at peace and the temptation to go to sleep is becoming harder to resist. Her rescuers' voices have become background noises that seem to be fading quickly. With whatever strength she has left, she can feel her lips weakly curling upward and her mouth moving.

"Thank...you..."

After those words are spoken, Crystal falls into darkness, unknowing of her predicament that will soon come after.

A bright glare from a light source brings Crystal out of the darkness. Groaning, she throws her arm over her eyes and frowns. Crystal brings her hand down to grab a handful of blankets, but all she feels is air. Pausing mid-reach, she uncovers her eyes and squints from the sun's light. Turning her head to avoid being blind, her eyes catches sight of multiple buildings.

At least their rooftops.

Blinking several times, her once groggy mind sharpens in alert at the unexpected change of scenery. Swallowing, she goes to sit up, though with some difficulty since there's nothing solid beneath her. After flailing her arms to sit upward, Crystal's eyes slowly widen and her mouth drops, a disbelief sound coming from the back of her throat.

The scenery is nothing new since she's used to the buildings and the people walking by on this particular street. What's alarming to her, however, is the fact that she's floating above them and no ones paying any attention to her. Either that or they're not questioning why there's a random woman sleeping in mid-air. Though if that's the case, then a Pro Hero would have been here by now to wake her up.

So, what's the deal? Can no one truly see her? Is she...?

Memories of her attack has her freeze in place and clench her stomach. After focusing on her body, she can feel dull pain on her abdomen and on her ear. Lifting her shirt up, Crystal glances down and finds nothing on her bare skin. Same goes for her ear when she touches it. She also notices there's no blood on her clothes. There's no taste of metal in her mouth.

It's as if the attack last night had never occurred.

She furrows her eyebrows and bites the inside of her cheek, dropping her shirt afterward. Her mind's racing through different possibilities of why there are no wounds on her. From what she can see, she appears to be normal and not some mangled, chewed up doll that was spat out and left to die. Even if her appearance seems to be okay, Crystal didn't feel fine.

Memories of last night are surprisingly clear in her mind. At least up until the end when her vision started to fade. Crystal couldn't recognize her heroes faces, but she can recall the villain's voice, his appearance and the way his stinger pierced her abdomen. Despite remembering those moments, she feels unusually calm. Her heart's not pounding against her chest. No cold sweat forming on her skin. Her body's not trembling from fear and anxiety. The only things she can feel are the aches on her abdomen and ear, yet those feelings seem to be fading the more she's awake.

Her facial expression relaxes as she gazes around her surroundings. It shouldn't be normal to feel eerily at peace, yet here she is, floating in the middle of a busy street with people walking below her. These calm feelings are something she can appreciate at this moment, especially if it keeps her collected enough to figure out her next step.

Still creepy though.

Chuckling after that last thought, she observes the people below her for a bit longer before she attempts to move. Grumbling, she flails her arms and legs to lean more towards the ground. Once her body's tilting towards the ground, Crystal attempts to float down.

If someone were to see her now, then they would more than likely laugh at her attempts at floating and compare her to a floppy fish.

Crystal's cheeks puff up and she blows through her closed lips after failing to gain any grounds. Huffing, she starts kicking her legs and notices she's slowly making progress. Not able to help herself, Crystal grins and giggles excitedly at her success at finally doing something right, even if she feels silly. As she 'swims' toward the ground, Crystal's humming a tune that's from a fish movie she watched a couple of years ago with the kids.

It seems to fit with her current predicament.

After struggling for a while, she finally makes contact with the ground. Flailing to stand upright, her feet touch the ground and her head begins to turn to different directions.

No one's paying any attention to her despite landing in the middle of the sea of people. Swallowing thickly, she reaches out to grab someone's attention. Crystal goes for a nearby business woman that's chatting busily on her cellphone.

Her hand passes right through her.

Crystal's eyes widen at her lack of reaction. She soon passes right through her, walking behind her without missing a beat with her conversation on the phone. Crystal stays frozen in place as her mind whirls back to that one possibility she thought of earlier.

She's dead. Crystal's now a ghost and no one can see her. She didn't want to believe it, especially since she felt the dull pain earlier. Did ghosts still feel this way...? Weren't they suppose to feel completely numb...? Lonely and upset about their deaths... No one to talk to. Her nightmare has become a reality.

Why did her struggles end up in vain? Why did this have to be her reality? What's going to happen to those close to her? Her students?

How can she possibly accept this?

Her feelings remain neutral as her mind goes through questions that go unanswered. She wants to cry until she can't anymore, yet her body refuses to do so. Her eyes remain dry even if the urge continues to linger. Crystal clenches her hands. She raises her head and looks up at the sky as people continue to phase through her without hesitation. Taking a deep breath, she opens her mouth and screams. She pours all of her soul into it until she can't feel that sensation in her body.

Even now, no one pays any attention to her, the scream seeming to echo in the busy streets. She truly feels alone in this world.

Several minutes pass before she stops and breathes deeply through her nose. An empty, dull feeling hovers over her, yet she didn't have the urge to cry anymore. She's not sure of when it will be back, but it's something she didn't have to think about right now. Shaking her head, she turns until she's walking down a random path. Even if she can pass through them, Crystal still feels the need to dodge any incoming citizen coming towards her. Sighing, Crystal adjusts her glasses back in place and pushes them upward with her finger. She tilts her head up and looks around once more.

Crystal didn't know how long she has and she didn't want to lose whatever chance she has left. If she's going to pass on without being able to say anything, then she's going to help those that she cares for through action. However, a question comes to light at the back of her mind. How is she going to do that? No one can touch her and she can't touch anyone. The fact that she's not falling through the floor is a good sign. That would be quite terrifying if she were to fall without being able to grab onto anything.

Since she's able to walk on solid ground, where should she head to first?

Crystal stops walking for a moment and glances down a familiar street. Her apartment is just down that road. Perhaps her sister is there. She lowers her gaze at the thought of her sibling. Does she know what's going on? It's morning right now, so there's no way she couldn't know of her situation. How is she feeling right now...?

Biting her lip, she turns and heads down that road. If her sister is at their apartment, then that'll be her first destination. Taking a deep breath, she raises her head, shakes it and continues at an easy pace. At the rate she's going, she'll be there within twenty minutes or so.

She mentally prays that there isn't too much of a commotion in front of their apartment.

Aizawa's eyebrow twitches in annoyance. He's currently in an alleyway observing the situation from afar. There's a swarm of irrational media nearby that are currently being pushed back by the police, their voices loud even from where he's at. Their unending reporting and questioning just make him more exhausted than usual. All of this because of the incident last night and among other things. The other things include a possible connection of past several crimes that had turned cold without any further leads. It's understandable that the police would be in full force during this time, however, Aizawa didn't know any more information on that case. Rather, his focus is on the present situation.

Currently, the police are in front of an apartment complex. Standing near the apartments is Present Mic, his blond hair bouncing slightly with his movements. Aizawa watches as he's talking to someone on the phone. Due to their distance, however, he can't hear the conversation taking place, but he knows who he's speaking to. Mic had told him earlier before they split up.

She claims to be the sister of the woman that's in critical care. Her name, after Aizawa thinks about it for a moment, was Mai Akemi.

Both of their last names didn't match and they don't have any features that made them relatable, however, she explained earlier that they're stepsisters through their mother. Thus, the reason for the call is for someone to come to this particular apartment with a key. She didn't want to leave her sister's side, so she's sending a close friend over with the key to help them and the police out.

Aizawa feels his phone vibrating in his black pants. He shoves a hand in his pocket, brings his phone out, and glances at the contact info. Mic's real name, Hizashi Yamada, appears on the front. Without hesitation, he presses the green answer button and presses the phone against his ear.

"How did it go?" Aizawa asks, his eyes glancing around his surroundings. Making sure things are clear, he leans further against the brick wall behind him.

"She said that he'll be here soon. About twenty minutes or so." Hizashi explains, his voice seemed louder than usual. More than likely the reporters' fault for being noisy.

"Hmm. Learn anything else?" Aizawa mutters. He pushes the phone in between his ear and shoulder as he takes out some eye drops. With practiced ease, he opens the cap, tilts his head while using his one hand to cradle the phone, and plops the liquid onto his eyes.

"Not much. Her sister's still in critical care, but the doctor's think she'll pull through. She said that her sister's always been resilient, so there's hope on their side. Now we just gotta catch the guy." Mic tells him, though his voice seems to lower in the end, bitterness in his tone.

Aizawa sighs as he shoves the bottle away. "Yeah."

There's a moment of silence between the two heroes, the media's voice still loud in the background. He hears movement from the other side.

"Hey, Eraser."

"Hmm?"

"You get any sleep last night?" Hizashi asks. Aizawa notices his gaze looking over at the crowd and occasionally glancing in his direction, though he didn't keep his gaze on the same spot for long.

"... Barely." Aizawa admits, after hesitating for a moment. He tilts his head to the side to relieve the tension in his neck.

"Last night was rough," Hizashi says. Aizawa can practically hear the frown on him and the lack of cheerfulness due to the truth in his words.

Aizawa pushes some of his dark, curly hair out of his face and he grunts. Hizashi didn't say anything to his response, but he didn't have to. The two of them share the same regretful feelings. Both of them are facing their guilty consciences of not being there in time to prevent injuries to not one civilian, but two of them. One of them already dead and the other woman in serious condition, Crystal Bunker. Despite the multiple healers at the hospital, they're able to close the wound, but the villain's toxins are preventing further healing, thus she's being monitored closely. The fact that there's a chance she'll recover from this nightmare is a small relief. Unfortunately, it didn't relieve the inner turmoil both of them are currently facing.

Shifting the phone to his other ear, he returns his gaze to the wild media, their effort fruitless in demanding answers from the police. Aizawa scans the crowd before leaning back once more. As he turns his head, his eyes catch sight of someone making their way toward the crowd. Aizawa pauses mid-turn at the familiar citizen. He leans closer, blinks a couple of times and even rubs his eyes to make sure what he's seeing isn't an illusion. Once he's sure that he hasn't gone crazy, he clenches his phone as his eyes widen in disbelief.

The woman shares the same clothes and stature as the one lying in a hospital bed that's still unconscious. Their hairstyles are the same, except that this woman's hair is as white as a cloud. She seems to be moving with a purpose, her gaze forward and not paying him any mind of his staring. What unnerves him the most is that he can't see a shadow behind her. No one's paying any attention to her as she moves onward. Aizawa seems to snap out of it as he pushes the phone closer to his ear.

"Hey, Mic. Didn't you just say that her sister's still in critical care?" Aizawa asks, his voice hard and firm.

"Yeah? What's up? Is something-"

"I gotta go."

Aizawa hangs up before his friend can protest. Shoving the device into his pocket, he tugs on his scarf and peers around the wall, observing the woman. He adjusts his yellow goggles to place over his eyes. There's a possibility that this could be the enemy's sick way of showing off their quirk. He didn't have time to further think of how no one can see her. Aizawa needs to act quickly before anything happens.

Before she takes another step toward the media, Aizawa dashes out and activates his Quirk. Whatever trick she's using, it won't work now since he erased her quirk. He whips his scarf forward to wrap and capture the woman before she tries anything funny.

Seeming to hear him coming, she stops walking as the scarf floats around her. She tilts her head upward as he swiftly pulls the scarf downward.

All that he's able to capture, however, is thin air.

His capture weapon easily phases through the woman, even after activating his Quirk. Aizawa picks up the pace as he reaches out to her. The woman takes this moment to spin around to face him head-on. He almost trips over his feet at the appearance of her eyes when they make contact.

The woman's eyes look blank. No warmth or emotion swirling around those pale eyes of hers. In his line of work, he has seen death many times before and her eyes match the description of someone that had passed on. A chilling thought of an idea of what he could be facing appears in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to confront it. The idea's ridiculous and not logical.

There has to be a reason for this to be happening, even if his hand easily phases through her.

Crystal stumbles backward and holds her hands up, eyes wide in his direction. The man's black hairs floating along with his scarf, the yellow goggles making him appear more threatening. Since the media's attention are on the apartment complex, they didn't pay any attention to what's going on nearby.

This man... The fact that he tried to grab her only means one thing.

"You can see me...?"

To be continued...

That's all folks! I'll see you all on the 15th! Also, if you see this story on AO3, it's because I also have it posted on there under the username, SilverHeart1821. This story shouldn't be anywhere else but this one and on the AO3 site. No one has permission to post this story elsewhere. You may link it back if you want to, but that's it. Thank you for understanding.