NeonHorizon: Hey. So...Dabi, right? Next appearance is chapter 23. No worries. He just needs to appear at the right moment. All part of the plan. Chapter 22 will be intense, by the way. Also...I'm considering writing a holiday oneshot featuring Shigaraki and Hiyori. But I don't know...Hm. Something to consider, I guess. Enjoy~

"Where's Mori-sensei?" The question had been asked a few times already and now it was becoming clear that the whole class was aware of her absence.

"Mori went undercover again." The only explanation that Aizawa cared to offer them. He was unable to even tell them if she would be back. He knew that the League of Villains had gotten her so even her days left alive were uncertain.

The other teachers and the principal had been informed regarding the turn of events, but the consensus was that they do as Aizawa was; nothing. No heroes could try to rescue her without knowing her whereabouts. The best they could do was keep watch for her and try to pick up any information they could.

"She was supposed to be here to see us off! Bakugou was really looking forward to her speech today!" Kirishima spoke up above everyone else.

"No, I wasn't! Don't go around saying stupid stuff like-!"

"I'm not going to give you a pep talk like she would have. You're almost adults; you don't need encouragement for every little thing. Okay, now everyone come get your good luck charms. She made these for you, but since she's not here, I'll pass them out." Aizawa held up the cardboard box, giving it a slight shake. He had discovered the box the previous night and knew that she would have wanted him to make sure that the kids got the charms.

The students gathered around, claiming the little handmade charms with their names on them. Aizawa heard a few kids claim that their charms looked different from the others; like someone else had made them. He offered no explanation and simply saw them off.

She needs to make contact again. The man checked his phone as he sat at his desk, back in the school. He had expected her to try to send a message the previous night. He wanted some sort of explanation or, at the very least, a confirmation that she was still alive. The chair beside his was pulled out and occupied, making him shift his gaze to Yamada.

"Any word from Hiyori yet?"

"No."

"She's pretty tough! Don't worry about her so much! She probably knows what she's doing, right?"

Aizawa's eyes narrowed. "She doesn't even know her own age."

"You miss her~?"

"She's only been gone for twenty-four hours."

Yamada leaned back in his chair, grinning. "You miss her after just twenty-four hours? That's so sweet!"

Shift P.O.V

Hiyori stared at the ceiling, a frown twisting her lips. She heard the soft patter of feline paws on the floor as a cat walked into her bedroom. I'm still here. The girl sat up on her bed, long strands of white hair falling over her eyes. I'm still here. Still in the hideout. With him. With them. With these…tiny darlings. She stared down at the hairless cat sitting beside her bed, tilting her head as it did. Shouta would like this one. I should take pictures for him.

Getting out of bed was not what she wanted to do, but she knew she had no choice. She got up and pushed her door closed, not caring to let more cats in. She walked to her closet to find something to wear and settled on some tight fitting black pants, a white button-up shirt, and her black tie from her student costume. The problem came when she had to roll up her sleeves. "Ngh. Damn it…"

The bandage over her right forearm was dark and kind of sticky. Holding her wounded arm, she knew that something had to be done with it. Hiyori pulled her hair back and walked out to the bar, hoping to find something to clean her wound with. Instead, she found Kurogiri awaiting her. "H-hey."

"Yori, why are you holding your arm?"

"Um. Right, so, my arm. Do you have rubbing alcohol?" She held up her arm for him to see and hissed in pain when he gripped low on her wrist. "Careful!"

"This is infected."

"I-I know, okay? I need something to clean it. Do we have a first aid kit?"

"I need to replenish the supplies in it. I do have some leftover bandage from Tomura Shigaraki's wounds. Have a seat. I'll take care of this." He started to rummage behind the counter and paused, eyes narrowing. "Why are you dressed that way?"

She sat at the bar, slouching. "You know. Thought I'd try that "working professional" look. Aren't I the cutest-?"

"No." He poured a shot glass of dark amber liquid and slid it to her before setting a roll of bandage, a clean cloth, and a bottle of something clear between them on the countertop. "Drink the shot."

"It's morning," she muttered. The man seemed to be attempting a stern look, but it was hard to tell. Nonetheless, she swallowed the alcohol in one gulp and winced. Kurogiri pulled away her bandage, revealing the bloody wound beneath. Her skin was still regenerating from where she had been injured, the bite from the Nomu almost fully healed. It's just this patch of skin where Tomura's hand was, she realized. It's taking a long time to finish healing. Recovery Girl told me that she couldn't heal it without it healing a little on its own first.

"You were taken to a hospital after the USJ incident. Do you know the extent of the damage you took?"

Hiyori snapped out of her thoughts and frowned. "Yeah. I had two broken ribs, a broken ankle, a head wound, and this. My forearm was fractured, too, but they couldn't put it in a cast because of the wound. They put a splint on it for a while, but a hero fixed that part."

He bent her arm, watching her facial expression change to slight pain. "The bones have healed?" She nodded. "Do you regret what you did?" This was asked in a quieter tone.

"I…regret letting him down. I didn't know what we were doing so I panicked. You know how I feel about killing people."

"It's part of your job. If he wants you give someone a level three dose of venom, then it's your job to do so. You should never question his wants."

She nodded again, biting the inside of her cheek. Footsteps came toward the door and she fought hard to not tense up. "Kurogiri-san, I thought of him every day. I worried about him every day and I could only think about what I would say to him when I saw him again. And all I want is forgiveness. I want to be more included though. I need to know what our plans are so we won't have a repeat of the USJ incident."

The footsteps approached and the seat beside her was occupied. Hiyori pushed up her glasses, to the top of her head, and she watched Kurogiri unscrew the top of the bottle of clear liquid. "I-is that…going to hurt?"

"This is going to hurt immensely," he confirmed.

"Wait. Just. Um. One second, okay?" She glanced over at the young man beside her and felt heat rush to her cheeks. A reaction from the alcohol consumption and the way he was staring. "Tomura, can I…h-hold your hand…while he cleans my wound? It's going to hurt and I'm kind of scared and-"

He set his hand in front of her, palm up and one finger extended away from the others. "You need my support." There was satisfaction in his voice and it was clear that he was happy when she gripped his hand. This pleasure only grew when she extended her arm more toward Kurogiri, but turned to bury her face in Shigaraki's shoulder.

Searing pain ran along her forearm as the shadowy man doused it in alcohol. The aroma burned her throat and lungs as it filled the air and she bit her cheek hard, trying not to scream. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes and when he started to wipe at the wound, she muffled a cry against Shigaraki. The hand gripping hers tightened a little, but he kept one finger away to keep from disintegrating her flesh.

"What happened to your arm, Yori?"

She tensed now and almost wanted to scream. Not from the pain in her arm. Not from the overpowering smell of alcohol invading her nose. Is he seriously asking why my arm is messed up?! Okay, no. I need to calm down. I have a part to play. Right? I need to think about this. The burning sensation dulled to an ache and she opened her eyes, peering over at Kurogiri from the corner of her eye.

"I'm going to wrap it now. I wiped away the remaining dead flesh."

"…thank you…" Hiyori lifted her gaze to Shigaraki and saw those intense red eyes staring down at her. "The Nomu caused this," she quietly answered. "When it bit me, it's teeth got into my skin and caused an infection. The skin is growing back though." She tried to sound cheerful, but it was difficult.

His eyes widened as he focused on the wound and reached over with his free hand, a fingertip hovering over her skin. "I did this."

"I'm sure that it was an accident," Kurogiri started.

It isn't like this is the first time you've done this. The girl had scars from past incidents where he had intentionally injured her, back when they first became acquainted. This pain was nothing new to Hiyori; it had just been a while since the last time. What was new was this remorse that he was showing. She could not recall the last time he seemed to genuinely regret causing her injury. Seeing the look on his face and hearing the tone of his voice, she felt a tightness in her chest. "Tomura, it's okay. It's healing, see?"

"I did this to you. I remember now. When I wanted you to kill Eraserhead, I grabbed your arm." He stared down at his own hand for a long moment as Kurogiri started to wrap Hiyori's wound.

Sitting quietly beside him, she struggled to decide what to do or say. Is he really that upset about it? I'm glad I didn't mention everything that the Nomu did to me. Hiyori glanced toward Kurogiri as the man put away the supplies. He offered no help whatsoever. The girl hesitantly reached over and placed a hand on Shigaraki's shoulder. When he looked in her direction, she offered a small smile. "I'm alright."

"I ruined your arm…"

"I'm alright. See? I can still move it and all of my fingers. I'm fine! I'll just have a scar, but that's okay! Scars are kind of cool, right?"

He nodded once. "They're cool..."

"How about you, Tomura? Are you alright? Are your bullet wounds healed? Did you want me to take a look at them for you?" The pale-haired girl tensed for a second when she found him leaning his head against her shoulder, but soon wrapped her arms loosely around him. "It's going to be okay." Arms went around her, pulling her tight against him as he leaned further toward her. "Tomura?"

"I'm so mad right now that I don't even know what to say. Your arm is all messed up and you're still asking me how I am. Like it doesn't even hurt you. How about you ask me to take care of you? I can take care of my own princess. Why would you ask Kurogiri for help? He doesn't even like you." He sighed in frustration and buried his face in the side of her neck. "He didn't even want you to come back. I'm the only one that couldn't keep going without you. You're my support. I need you. I can be your support now. So stop relying on him for everything."

Hiyori was just as confused by his words as she was by his actions when he suddenly got up and left the room. A can of coffee was set in front of her and she looked to Kurogiri. He was nonchalantly wiping a glass now. "Do you dislike me?" was all she could manage to ask.

"No. I once thought that you were unnecessary. I learned that you are needed though. In your absence, he shut down. We can't have that happen again. Do you understand? If you disappear again-"

"Right, right. We can't let him get that way again." She was still bothered by everything that Shigaraki had said to her just before he left. Does he really want me to ask him for help with stuff? I feel like he would get irritated. That sounded weird, coming from him. Hiyori sighed and opened the can of coffee, her thoughts shifting to what needed to be done.

Need to get a new phone so I can contact Shouta. And the kids started their workplace training stuff today. I hope he found those charms. I didn't get to finish making all of them though. She sipped her drink and glanced toward the door. Red eyes were watching from the slightly open doorway so she tilted her head. "Tomura? Can you help me feed the cats?"