I do not own My Hero Academia.

ii. long goodbye

Dear Diary,

The nightmares are back again. It's been a while since I've had them so I have to keep reminding myself that I'm safe once I wake up from them. This time I was trapped in some dark area, surrounded by all sorts of shadows and figures, and I could sense they wanted to kill me. I saw blood and heard screaming but I couldn't tell if it was my own or someone else's. Everything was so cold.

Miyumi has given me coping strategies, but I feel like the knowledge of not having her or anyone anymore is really making it way more difficult than it should be. I'm just terrified of what they relate to. Having precognition isn't a very fun ability when you start predicting all the bad stuff. But Miyumi has told me whenever I have these nightmares, I should focus on the good things. So I will.

It's been a week since my first day at Yūei, and things have kind of melded together like a blur. I still feel kind of awkward around my classmates, but that's just because I'm an awkward person. I find myself a lot more comfortable around Ojiro, and he hangs around Shoji, Tokoyami, and Sero, so I feel comfortable around them, too. Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida continue to be nice people, and while I can't really see myself being close friends with them, I appreciate the fact they exist.

That's it, really. I dunno. I don't talk much to anyone else other than those mentioned people. I wish I was better at this socializing thing, but I can barely hold a conversation without wanting to explode. Maybe it's something I can work on. I dunno. Self improvement isn't so easy when you don't have the support system nor the motivation. I'll try my best, I guess.

It's three am and I'm dying.

- Keiko

The training exercise Aizawa mentioned we would be doing was finally upon us, yet despite the buzzing excitement of my classmates around me, I felt sick to my stomach. Iida fervently blew a whistle while directing us to board the bus, but the noise he made, and all other sounds around me, were muffled. Like I was listening to everything through a closed door. I was looking for any sign of something going wrong. Maybe the tire would go flat halfway there, or the bus driver would suffer a heart attack, or one of us would somehow break a limb. Knowing something was going to go wrong but not knowing when or how was giving me the worst possible anxiety. It was like I was tilted too far back on a chair, waiting for my eventual fall.

"Sasaki-san?"

I perked up at the sound of the voice calling my name, quickly twisting around. My shoulders slumped in relief when I realized it was only Ojiro, offering me a lopsided smile as he retracted his hand.

"Everything alright?" he asked as he readjusted the belt of his gi, which functioned as his hero costume. "You look… on edge."

"I'm alright," I fibbed, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. "I think I'm just nervous."

"Oh, yeah, I get that," Ojiro chuckled. "It'll be fine, though, I think! Since we'll all be together, right?"

The corners of my lips lifted as I nodded. In terms of curbing my anxiety, it didn't do much, but it at least distracted me enough to think that the end of the world wasn't on the horizon.

Ojiro trailed behind me as we clambered onto the bus, and I was immediately met with the ecstatic chatter of my classmates. A few gazes landed on us out of instinct, though Uraraka's eyes lingered as she grinned and waved.

"Oh, Sasaki-chan! Over here!"

I stilled for just a second, unused to someone seeming so eager to be around me. I managed to relax and walk towards her, offering a short wave to her, as well as Midoriya, who was seated beside her.

"Uh, hey," I greeted.

"You should sit with us, Sasaki-chan!" Uraraka chirped, blinking graciously at me. "Oh! This is our first time seeing your hero costume, right? You look so cool!"

"Thanks, Uraraka."

Hero costumes, as the name implied, were outfits Pro Heroes wore while on the job. They primarily served to aid in furthering enhancing their Quirks or minimizing the negative repercussions with usage, but also functioned in establishing the type of hero someone was. Mine was a mulberry sleeveless bodysuit with a high collar and white accents. The stomach area was cut out in the shape of a rhombus, while white heels and elbow length gloves complemented the outfit. To top it off, a wine red knee length cloak with a hood covered most of my figure.

"You look mysterious," Sero said from behind, grinning widely.

"You look hot—" Mineta drooled. That final comment was what prompted me to look over my shoulder as I glared angrily at him. I figured that was enough to get my point across, judging by how he immediately shrank, trembling in fear.

"Your outfit is very high quality, Sasaki-san," Yaoyorozu remarked as she walked past me. "The stitching is impeccable!"

"Thanks," I said in an attempt to hide my shock at her own hero costume. I was aware that her Quirk required her to show as much skin as possible to maximize its effects, but I was still caught off guard by the lack of modesty. I awkwardly cleared my throat and bowed my head to her, but just as I turned on my heel to walk away, a force bumped into me that caused me to lurch forward.

I knew it was Bakugo without even having to look. No one was as churlish as he was, but even if anyone was, his presence had somehow left such a powerful imprint on my mental radar, it was impossible to not tell it was him.

"Watch where the fuck you're going, Carrot Top," he scowled. My lips tugged into an apparent frown as I rolled my eyes at the not-so-flattering sobriquet he decided to bestow upon me. I had reminded him time and time again Carrot Top was not only a stupid name, but an inaccurate one as well; I argued my hair was red, not orange. He scoffed and said he didn't give a shit. I had long since decided it wasn't worth investing energy into arguing with him, but that didn't make it any less annoying to deal with.

"You're the one who bumped into me," I retorted, furrowing my brows. Bakugo glanced over his shoulder, but before our already tense interaction could escalate, Aizawa stepped onto the bus and grumbled something under his breath.

"Hurry up and take your seats. We're leaving," he said, settling in the passenger seat at the front. I clicked my tongue and opted to sit toward the back, where there were less people.

"Man, this is so exciting!" Kirishima exclaimed, fists clenched eagerly. "An actual training exercise! That means we get to use our Quirks, right?"

"This is the first time we get to use our abilities in a professional manner," Yaoyorozu hummed, obviously eager despite the sophisticated front she was putting on.

"I wonder what it's going to be like…" Ojiro mused aloud as he crossed his arms.

"If it's rescue work, a lot of our Quirks are going to be super useful!" Hagakure squeaked. As I listened to the conversation I suddenly felt uneasy, unsure, like I was being watched. I quickly identified the knot forming in my stomach as nausea, but what immediately followed was fear. Pure, unbridled fear. Within moments the walls of the bus began collapsing in on me, and everything became darker, and everyone disappeared, and I—

I was alone.

"Sasaki!"

Wait…

With a sharp, desperate gasp of air, my head shot up, and I suddenly found myself surrounded by several of my classmates. I slowly scanned their faces, one by one, and then felt the concern radiating off of them. I was hunched over in my seat, trembling and dazed, but when a warm hand grabbed my own, I was relieved to know I was also alive.

"Is everything alright?" Uraraka asked, chocolate brown orbs blinking at me. "You suddenly started wheezing really hard!"

"We thought you were choking," Jiro groaned, shaking her head.

"Are you okay, Sasaki-san? Were you having an anxiety attack?" Yaoyorozu inquired. My heart leapt at the mention, but I gave her a firm no.

"N-No, I…" I slowly slipped my hand out of Uraraka's. "I'm sorry."

"If you need water—"

"I'm fine." I pursed my lips. "Really, I am. Thanks for your concern, though."

They didn't look entirely convinced, but decided to leave the situation alone. As everyone slowly trickled back to their seats, I noticed Aizawa shift his attention back to the front. With the last shreds of my mini episode leaving my body, I thought I could take a moment to close my eyes and clear my head, but the idea of being left anywhere in the dark made me too scared to try. Instead, I lifted my hood up and leaned my head against the window, hoping the scenery of trees, trees, and more trees would calm me down.

"Hey, Sasaki?"

I felt Ojiro's weight against the chair as he sat down beside me, tail tucked between our thighs. I swallowed— hard— and slowly turned to face him, moving my hood a bit so we could make proper eye contact.

"Yeah?" I returned. He opened his mouth before promptly closing it, as if carefully choosing what to say next.

"Nothing," he eventually said. "You just looked like you needed someone next to you."

I let a chuckle slip past my lips. Despite the knot and feeling of dread worsening the closer we got to the facility, Ojiro's presence was able to placate me enough to think and act coherently. Saying thank you felt like it was more than what I could do now, so I could only hope the smile I managed could convey my gratefulness. Ojiro never asked for much, and I think that's what I appreciated the most about him. Us just sitting here without any grand gesture or life changing words was probably what I needed most, and somehow, Ojiro knew that better than I did.

Is a 'thank you' enough?

In spite of myself, my lips curled upwards.

"Hey, Ojiro. Do you mind calling me Kei?"

"Welcome, class 1-A, to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!"

The name that bore an uncanny resemblance to the world famous amusement park in Osaka garnered a few snickers, but all it did for me was make me more anxious. An itch had flared to life underneath my skin, and despite my desperate attempts at clawing at it, nothing seemed to be able to alleviate it. No words, no positive thinking, no coping strategies.

Thirteen, a Pro Hero well known in the rescue scene, was our instructor for the day. They spoke with zest and passion, but their words were muffled and at times sounded broken, like a phone call with bad connection. I couldn't tell what they were saying, not like this, and by the time we reached inside I was looking for any and every sign of disaster. Frustration bubbled within me, and then the paranoia, because I knew something was going to happen— I just didn't know when.

And then the lights shattered.

The chorus of gasps that came from my classmates was my body's cue to give in to all of the negative emotions. Within half a second, maybe less, I was on the floor, clutching for something to hold, something to keep me grounded. My fingers ended up grasping a hand as another pressed against my back, and I squeezed my eyes shut, hard, hoping this was all some sort of terrible dream. But I knew it wasn't, it couldn't be, because the nightmares had already come and passed and this was exactly what they were warning me about.

"Kei?" I heard Ojiro ask. "What's wrong?"

"Something—" Whoever's hand I was holding, I squeezed it tighter. "Something's happening."

"What're you talking about?" Kaminari questioned.

"This is exactly what I predicted—"

"Predicted?" Kirishima parroted.

"We need to get out of here." I shifted my gaze to my left and realized it was Todoroki I was clinging onto. His hand being cold was the last thing I noticed. "We need to—"

"Look! The fountain!" Ashido shouted. We all turned to face it. In the center of the plaza, the fountain sputtered ominously, quick bursts of water spitting out of it before stopping entirely. My stomach dropped immediately after that and my heart followed. My entire body felt cold, as though I had been transported to space and was left alone on the moon. The goosebumps running across my skin was the first sign, and then the swirl of black fog suddenly manifested out of nowhere came.

As the fog expanded, a hand poked through— then another, and then a head, and then entire bodies. In mere seconds my radar went on high alert as dozens— no, hundreds of signatures appeared, flickering to life like a candle's flame. The most terrifying part wasn't the fact I had never sensed such darkness before, but the fact it was right here in front of us, just a few hundred feet away. What terrified me was how real it was.

A shadow traveled over us and Aizawa was suddenly in a defensive position, golden goggles fastened over his eyes while the bandages swathed around his neck were positioned between his fingers.

"Kaminari," he said. "Try and see if you can get in contact with the school. Shoji, Jiro, I need you to figure out what these guys are here for."

"Why are villains here?" Uraraka gasped, trembling fearfully.

"It seems like…" Jiro started, earphone jacks buried in the ground.

"They want All Might," Shoji finished, one of his transformed ears shifting ever so slightly.

"All Might?" Midoriya stilled. "But why?"

"... They want to kill him."

"Kill him? That's…!" Hagakure squealed before promptly quieting down. I began to think that she had the same idea we all had: All Might, for as powerful as he was, was still human. They wouldn't waste their time pulling such an elaborate trap if they didn't have anything to harm him.

"Sensei, I can't get any signal!" Kaminari informed. "Something's jamming it!"

"Someone's interfering with the signal, huh?" Aizawa hissed. "Thirteen, I'm going to hold off these guys the best I can. Take the students and run."

"But what about you, Sensei?" Jiro asked with furrowed brows. "You can't hold them all off by yourself, can you?"

Aizawa didn't hesitate. "It doesn't matter what I can or can't do. Right now, we're in a time of crisis. Now go!"

He didn't give us time to say anything else. Aizawa leapt off the platform and into the fray, immediately engaging the small mob of villains that had gathered at the center. It felt almost like a hopeless situation, watching one man fight alone just to spare us a bit of time, but…

"Class Representative!" Thirteen called. "Please run to the main campus and inform everyone there of what is happening!"

Iida stilled at the request, though it wasn't that so much as it was a demand. His eyes widened as if the very notion of him even attempting to run that far was ridiculous. He was dubious and undoubtedly scared of the situation we had found ourselves in, but…

But.

We were still heroes in training, young ones, yes, but that didn't change what our end goal was. I was well aware of the horrors that lied beyond the comfort of our white walled homes and starry-eyed bubbles, and because of that, I realized that being terrified would do nothing in making the situation better. This is what we had caught ourselves in; this is what we had to do to survive it.

"I-I can't!" Iida stammered. "To leave all of you alone would be—"

"Iida." I whirled around on my heel to face him. "This isn't something you can do. This is something you have to do. With the signal blocked and no way to contact the campus, there's no other choice we have. So go! We'll be fine here!"

"Sasaki is right!" Kirishima grinned, punching his fists together.

"We're counting on you, Iida!" Uraraka cheered, offering him a reassuring smile.

Sero nodded and gave a thumbs up. "We got your back, Emergency Exit Iida!"

Iida stared at us with slightly parted lips and quivering fists, but his resolve had steeled and his eyes flared to life with a newfound determination. It was his duty as class representative to protect us, and now, he would be doing just that. He gave a firm nod and that's when Thirteen took the opportunity to lead us to the exit. We wasted no time in hurrying ahead, but a flicker in my sense led me to stop in my tracks and yell for everyone to do the same.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

"What the fuck?" Bakugo hissed. Coming to a pause, the mist emerged before us, bright yellow eyes piercing like shards of glass through us. The chill enveloped my body again, though this time it was less from the fear and more from what I sensed: pure darkness that not even my nightmares exposed me to.

"Who are you?!" Mina shouted.

"We are the League of Villains," the mist answered, amorphous body dancing like a growing flame. "We are here for one goal only: to make sure the Symbol of Peace himself takes his final breath."

My throat tightened at the sheer confidence present in his voice. It was a declaration that bordered too closely to a promise for my comfort. All Might wasn't here for whatever reason, and if Iida would be able to escape the facility and make it back to campus, the villains wouldn't wait around for him. If they weren't able to achieve what they came here for, they'd have to settle for the next best thing.

Us.

"I believe I've kept you here long enough," the mist spoke, beginning to spread. "This is where you all scatter!"

"Everyone, get down!" Thirteen alerted. The caps on their gloves uncapped and as soon as we ducked, a powerful wind began to absorb everything in its path. A strangled breath came from the mist as wisps of black were consumed by Thirteen's Quirk, but my sense flickered again, and for a moment, it felt like the world stopped spinning.

The fog manifested behind our teacher, causing his own Quirk to slowly destroy him. My fingers itched to do something, to stop sitting so idly and move, but a warm breeze blew past me before I could think about what to do.

"Motherfucker!" Bakugo hollered, sending a powerful blast in the mist's direction. It was enough to get the warp gate to close, and for Ashido and Uraraka to rush to Thirteen's side as they closed the caps before abruptly collapsing to the ground. The back of their suit was torn and tattered, almost completely destroyed by the warp gate's use, but they were alive, and that's all that I cared about.

"Go!" Thirteen rasped weakly. "Go now, Class Representative!"

Iida didn't spend another second waiting. He dashed to the entrance at breakneck speed. As the mist attempted to create another warp gate underneath his feet, I held out my hand and sent a blast of psychic energy towards the villain, creating a large hole within him that promptly sealed the premature egress.

"You foolish children!" the villain roared. Like a mighty thunderstorm, black clouds surrounded us, quickly engulfing us and everything around us. I could sense my classmates closest to the edge of the dome and, in a last ditch effort, held out my arms and used my Telekinesis to shove all of them out of the danger zone. The rest of us were left vulnerable. I began to regret not moving faster, not doing more to get everyone else to safety. The overwhelming darkness and gelidity left me reeling, desperate to grasp onto something warm, and then:

Nothingness.

Before I even opened my eyes, my mind was aware I was falling, and thus I subconsciously used my power to keep me afloat. It was the first time I felt safe since I woke up this morning, but my eyes shot open the moment I heard a scream.

I twirled around in time to see heads of red and blond both quickly advancing at an alarming rate towards the ground. I wasn't sure if Kirishima would be able to survive the fall even with his hardening, and Bakugo wouldn't be able to use his blasts in time to carry him to safety. Without hesitation I held out my hands and felt a slight pressure on my mind as I gripped onto them, slowing their descent so they wouldn't suffer whiplash.

The three of us remained suspended in the air while I took a moment to make sense of everything. I lifted them towards me before taking us to an opening in the wall of a building we were dropped beside. Once we landed, both Kirishima and Bakugo collapsed to their knees. As I let them recuperate, I took a few steps forward to look around.

We were transported to the ruins zone, an area that looked like it was ripped straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie. The buildings were designed to be destroyed and in bad shape, holes littering the ceiling and floors, debris and slabs of concrete scattered everywhere. The building itself was foundationally weak, which meant we had to be especially careful with how we traversed.

"You can fly, Sasaki?" Kirishima breathed out. I turned around to face him, a small smile coming to my face in amusement at the sheer bewilderment spread across his features.

"If you want to call it that," I answered, dusting off my cloak before letting it fall around me. "I essentially surrounded myself in psychic energy that pushes against gravity."

"That's amazing!" he continued, finally getting to his feet. "And you saved our lives! Seriously, Sasaki, I owe ya one!"

I chuckled and waved him off. "It wasn't a favor."

Bakugo was on his feet before long as well, brushing his hands over his pants and then crossing his arms across his chest. He did nothing aside from glare at me, but I was far too busy focusing on my sense to pay him any mind. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, waiting for my mind to correct itself. It would put me at far more ease to know where everyone was and if they were okay.

"What're you doing?" Kirishima asked.

"Searching," I answered, furrowing my brows slightly. Slowly, one by one, hundreds of signatures came to life on my radar. "We aren't alone."

"How the fuck do you know that?"

"It's part of my Quirk," I answered, cracking open an eye to look at Bakugo. "I'm able to sense where everyone is within a one mile range."

"What the fuck…?"

"There are villains here, but our classmates are okay, for the most part. Most are scattered. Ashido, Uraraka, Shoji, Sato, and Thirteen are still at the entrance. Thirteen is injured, but still okay. Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Jiro are at the mountain zone. Tokoyami, Ojiro, Hagakure, and Koda are at the conflagration zone. Asui, Mineta, and Midoriya are at the shipwreck zone. Todoroki and Aoyama are at the landslide zone." I creased my brows together as I searched for Iida. He was running even faster than before, but in seconds he was gone, as if he never existed at all. "Shit. Iida left my range, but he's okay, too."

"So everyone's alright!" Kirishima's sunny grin quickly melted into an uncharacteristic frown. "You mentioned villains, huh?"

"Yeah. They're here, and they're coming for us— fast."

Bakugo scowled. "Then we'll just fucking kill those bastards."

"Wait. Keep in mind where we are. This building's foundation is falling apart. If we aren't careful, we can easily send it collapsing," I reminded, keeping my gaze hardened.

"Then you'll just fuckin' fly us out of here!"

I rolled my eyes. "You're lucky to have me."

I made my way back to the hole we entered from. I could have landed us at the base of the building, but it would have been risky considering the mob of villains roaming around. I clicked my tongue and turned back to my two classmates.

"We have to be careful. There are plenty of villains on the lower levels, as well," I said, walking forward. "Let's go."

"Who the fuck died and made you the boss of me?" Bakugo scoffed, pushing past me to make his way ahead. For the second time, I rolled my eyes.

"Are you serious? You're throwing a fit because I'm walking ahead of you?"

"I'm not throwing a fucking 'fit', so don't talk to me like I'm a fucking toddler," Bakugo scowled, aiming his glowing palm toward me.

"You're fucking acting like it."

"I'll kill you!"

"Guys!" Kirishima interjected, quickly stepped in between us before the admittedly shitty situation could escalate further. I opened my mouth to say something, only to close it. I instead let a frown convey what my words couldn't.

"Fine," I said, my eyes flickering to the hallway before us. "There are three villains coming around the right hall and five on the left." I gestured lamely towards Bakugo. "Take care of them."

"Quit fucking telling me what to do!" Bakugo yelled as he blasted himself through the hallway, using his explosions to propel him in midair. Within moments, a series of bright lights and ill-prepared screams echoed within the hallway, followed by a cloud of smoke Bakugo exited from before launching to the other side.

One could easily assume these villains were nothing more than common street thugs snatched up from some abandoned alleyway because they were the most readily available, but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't dangerous. Bakugo knocked them out so quickly and efficiently, it almost made me forget that this was a very real crisis we were in and not just another expected training exercise. It made me painfully aware of something I didn't quite care to admit until it became glaringly obvious: Bakugo Katsuki is a genius.

Combat was obviously his strong suit, but his attacks were much more than senseless blasts. They were calculated, deliberate, carefully thought out and well executed, as if he had a map of how everything was going to play out. He expertly controlled the momentum of the fight and didn't let an opportunity slip by for the opponent to gain the upper hand, all while keeping that pragmatic, stoic look in his eyes. I dared to say I both admired and hated it.

"Who's next?!" he yelled, sending a pair of villains flying into a nearby wall.

"Two hundred feet, on your right. Four of them are blocking the staircase. There are sixteen more on the next floor," I said. With a flick of my wrist I easily disposed of two more, while Kirishima dodged a punch and delivered one of his own to one of the miscreants.

"How many of these guys are there?!" my red haired classmate asked with a huff.

"In the entire area? Three hundred and forty six," I answered. I stepped to the side just as a blade appeared beside my head. I looked over my shoulder at the degenerate who attempted to sneak attack me, and threw him to the ground.

"Man, you're really amazing, Sasaki!" Kirishima praised. In front of us, Bakugo scowled.

"More like fuckin' annoying."

I ignored Bakugo's comment and instead gave Kirishima a smile as thanks. Keeping my sense on high alert, I lifted myself off the ground and flew ahead, blasting away any villains who tried to attack. As I landed on the next floor, I looked over my shoulder to see Kirishima and a begrudged Bakugo trailing behind, relatively unharmed and more than ready to fight. I took a moment to reflect on the movements flickering about, smiling because Ojiro was one of them, making his way to the main plaza with the others he was grouped with, most likely to help Aizawa. It made me feel silly for being so terrified earlier, for genuinely letting myself think that we wouldn't make it out of this. If I didn't have faith in myself, I at least could have had some in my classmates, the people I was fighting alongside with— even if Bakugo was amongst them.

The aforementioned blond was already blasting his way past droves of villains before I even told him where they were and how many to expect, but I suppose with a Quirk like his, it wouldn't have mattered. Kirishima offered me a nervous, almost apologetic grin, and I would have returned one of my own if I wasn't suddenly hit with an overwhelming feeling of dread.

It came so quickly, so suddenly, I was left with no time to prepare. I was on my knees again, gasping for air as if all of it had been sucked out of the world. My senses were dull and dampened, completely overwhelmed by what I could only describe as darkness— no, as pure evil. A pair of hands clutched my shoulders and it was only due to his proximity that I could tell it was Kirishima, but his voice didn't reach me— it couldn't.

I could feel its lack of humanity. It had no thoughts and no emotions, but it knew it had a purpose. To kill. It was the first time I had sensed such a monster. It made frostbite develop in my bones, undoing me by the very seams, and then it suddenly disappeared before reappearing just as quickly.

"W-We have to go," I managed to sputter out, desperately stumbling down the stairs and tottering to the closest wall. There was no time for explanations, not when the world felt like it was on the brink of collapse. I blew out a hole in the wall and staggered forward.

But then it struck.

The scream left my throat before I could even think to stop it. It was a sound I didn't even know I could produce, straining my vocal cords until they stung. My mouth burned with acid, threatening to spill over, but I managed to hold back the urge to vomit. I was having an out of body experience; the hands I was staring out didn't look quite real; the legs I attempted to stand on were liable to turn into dust at any moment; I finally heard Kirishima calling my name, asking what was wrong, but no words came. The lead settling in my stomach alerted me to the one thing that up until now, I had no idea I was capable of sensing: death. Someone had died. Someone was killed, mercilessly, in cold blood, and with the tears stinging my eyes I was horrified to admit I knew exactly who.

"Sasaki? What's wrong? What did you feel?" Kirishima calmly asked. I acknowledged his attempt to subdue the anxiety, but this time, there was no going around it. It had entirely consumed me, and I was shaking, and trembling, and unable to think clearly.

"S-She…" My throat tightened painfully. "She's gone, it— it happened so quickly, and—"

"Who?" Kirishima's eyes went wide and even Bakugo looked a bit fazed.

"H-Hagakure…"

Their shoulders dropped as the reality slowly began to set in for them, too. It was happening. It had happened.

Hagakure Toru was dead. And there was nothing we could have done about it.

"Holy fuck."

When we finally landed in the main plaza and everything was shown to us in full detail, it became a matter of who could hold down their lunch. Kirishima lost in seconds.

He doubled over and hurled, the sounds of him gagging making it all the more difficult for me to bite back the bile threatening to shoot up to my throat, but for the sake of my own sanity, I had to.

No one would have thought that her Quirk would deactivate upon death, but it did, and because of that, we were all forced to witness the lifeless body of a girl barely older than the rest of us. Her dark hair was sprawled out all around her, limbs broken in ways I didn't even know they could break. Her hero costume, a simple white bodysuit, was now stained red as she laid in a pool of her own blood. I placed a hand on Kirishima's back as he struggled to rise to his full height. The others were there, trembling in stunned horror, while Aizawa crouched protectively in front of them. And that monster— that thing with no humanity— stood over her body, beady eyes staring at her corpse like some sort of curious child.

From behind it, a man with pale blue hair appeared, several hands clasping his body. The largest one was the one that was attached to his face, and from underneath it, I saw his teeth.

He was smiling.

"H… Hagakure…" Ojiro choked out. He was shaking violently, on the brink of collapse, and I jolted forward to catch him before he did. Tokoyami and Koda were similarly disturbed, mouths agape and eyes the size of dinner plates.

"All of you, stay back," Aizawa warned. His head was bleeding, blood trickling down his forehead and face, but aside from that he looked fine. "This thing is—"

"The ultimate weapon," the blue haired man interrupted, maintaining that infuriating smile. "He's the perfect bio-sandbag."

Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.

"We'll use him to kill All Might."

Calmdowncalmdowncalmdowncalmdowncalmdo—

"Just like your little friend there!"

"DIE!"

An explosion erupted in my ears before I had a chance to move. One second, Bakugo was in the air, and the next, a massive explosion rang out, creating a cloud of dust that rose high into the air. I heard the creature warble and then screech, but when the debris settled, it was to my great shock that the monster seemed perfectly fine, uninjured. Bakugo had a fist placed directly in its abdomen, yet it hardly flinched.

Instead it moved— faster than Bakugo could— and it grabbed his arm. All it had to do was tighten its grasp, and a blood-curdling snap reverberated in our ears, almost drowned out by Bakugo's harrowing screams. The fear completely engulfed the anger, but as Aizawa rushed towards the blue haired man, the need to do something prevailed above everything else.

I had to do something.

Laying Ojiro down, I held out my arms and felt my mental grasp on the creature. I clenched my fists and another snap echoed through the air. It was enough for Bakugo to pull himself away, and I used my Telekinesis to pull him back toward us. Aizawa launched himself at the blue haired man, shooting his capture weapon, but the villain simply grasped the material, and it began to crumble within seconds.

His Quirk.

The villain tugged on it and with a startled grunt Aizawa went flying towards him. Bony fingers reached outwards and that's when I knew in seconds we would have to bear witness to another death, but I couldn't let that happen, not now and not ever. Despite the rapidly increasing pressure in the back of my head I pushed my arms outward, unleashing a blast of energy that quite literally blew both the monster and the villain away.

Aizawa landed safely— he was fine, yes, he was alive, and that's what I cared most about. But—

Bakugo was seriously injured, and the others were still stuck in their positions, unable to move. No one knew how to react to the sight of Hagakure's body. We stood in the silence death provided, and it wasn't until Aizawa asked if I could take her body somewhere else for the time being that the dams break.

Ojiro crawled to her and wept.

Koda and then Kirishima followed, and Bakugo, clutching his shoulder, lowered his head. I didn't know what to do, but because I could no longer bear to look at the aftermath of our inability to protect her, I lifted her body and placed it farther away from us, near the water. I tried to ignore the way the blood dripped from her pale fingertips, or the fact she hung limp like some sort of ragdoll, but as soon as I set her down, I hunched over and hurled.

My abdomen contracted painfully while tears pricked my eyes and then streamed down my cheeks. How could I describe this feeling— this cold emptiness? Was it grief? A sadness even deeper and more absolute than the one I was so accustomed to? I didn't know, and truthfully, I didn't want to know. I dragged a hand across my dry lips and trudged back to the group.

"Let's get out of here," I mumbled softly. Kirishima kept Bakugo steady. A part of me was surprised the blond didn't retaliate, but he looked uncharacteristically downtrodden, like he hardly had enough energy to even seem angry. In his eyes he had attempted an attack and not only failed, but got himself injured in the process. On top of that, his classmate was dead.

I couldn't blame him.

I rushed over to Ojiro and crouched beside him, while Aizawa began to usher the others away. Tears were still streaming down his face, body twitching every so often, and then he looked at me, and I could feel my heart shatter into a thousand tiny pieces.

"What… what are we going to tell the others, Kei?"

I gave his shoulder a tight squeeze.

"I'm not sure."

I had half a mind to give him a hug, or at the very least try to do a better job at comforting him, but a voice in the back of my head told me to give him his space. So I did. I slowly trailed behind him, hoping for this day to end right then and there, but—

My sense flared to life again, and I whirled around on my heel in time to see something torpedo through the air. No, no, no.

"Move!" I yelled. Tokoyami grabbed Koda and dashed away. I telekinetically grabbed Ojiro and we flew ahead. Aizawa, Kirishima, and Bakugo weren't far behind.

The creature landed with a massive crater. The sheer strength of its legs broke apart and upturned the concrete in its immediate area. My stomach knotted and my heart dropped, terrified and knowing how severely outclassed we were.

"Annoying…" that grating voice rasped. My mouth suddenly became dry at the sight of the blue haired man appearing from beside the creature.

"How?!" Ojiro shouted.

"You pesky brats… are annoying…" the villain muttered, scratching at his neck. The sound made my skin crawl. "Nomu… kill them all."

Aizawa readied himself, and so did I. I had known these people for only a few days at best, but if meant protecting them, I would do it. Ojiro was one of the closest people to me. Kirishima never faltered in showing me his smile. Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida constantly gave gracious offers of friendship, and even I could admit I could learn a thing or two from Bakugo. They were people that were starting to mean something to me, my classmates, and if I was selfish enough to call them so, my friends. I had never made many sacrifices growing up, and yet here I was now, ready to risk it all.

The pressure in my head began to rise and the Nomu jumped, fist reared back and eyes locked on us, but just before I released it all, something towered before us, stopping the attack before it even happened. The figure was imposing and powerful, and perhaps the only thing that could've saved us now. I bit back tears, but the urge to cry was there.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, looking back at us over his shoulder. "You kids alright?"

"Always have to make a grand entrance, don't you, All Might?" Aizawa scoffed, a smirk on his voice despite the bitterness in his tone. While All Might laughed, the blue haired man sighed.

"Guess it isn't 'game over' yet."

"Go!" Aizawa shouted. The word hardly registered in my mind, but my body moved regardless, away and away and away from the scene. The desperation quickly replaced the adrenaline in my veins, forcing my mind into overdrive, struggling to process the myriad of emotions swirling in my stomach. Aizawa was behind us the whole time as we ran, knowing fully he wouldn't be able to take that thing on, not unless he wanted to die. My head felt empty and full at the same time, like it was stuffed with cotton. My sense was muddled, barely able to perceive the various signatures around me, and then a hurricane came.

It would have blown us all away if Tokoyami didn't use his Dark Shadow as a buffer against the wind, but even it was struggling to hold its ground against the massive gale that threatened to topple us. Holding one arm in front of my face, I held my other one out. A slight distortion in the air in front of Dark Shadow appeared, a telekinetic shield to act as a further means of defense. Kirishima hardened his fist and punched it in the ground in front of Bakugo. Ojiro wrapped his tail around Koda's waist and they both ducked behind Tokoyami. Aizawa was unwavering, and I could feel myself slowly begin to fall apart.

All Might and the Nomu exchanged hits and punches at speeds imperceptible. It became an all out war between them, whirlwinds blowing with each attack, a mighty roar erupting from All Might's throat. I began to think that this was it, this was the end of the world as we knew it, but I also knew to wish for everything to stop would be a direct insult to those around me. Because unlike me, they all had dreams and hopes and aspirations, things they wanted to fight for, things they were willing to go through situations like this for. A part of me was envious that everyone else was able to feel so passionately about something, but when I thought about my classmates— their smiling faces, their wishes, the fact they even called me by my name— I thought that like them, I could find something worth fighting for, too.

"Hey, villain! Have you ever heard these words?!"

I closed my eyes.

"Plus Ultra!"

I wanted, more than anything, to say that we had won.

I wanted to say that we defeated the villains and made it out of the entire ordeal unharmed, but I couldn't, because not all of us were unharmed, and not all of us had survived.

The heroes and Iida arrived just as All Might literally blew the massive creature through the roof. Bakugo was rushed to the school for treatment from Recovery Girl, as was Midoriya, who had apparently injured himself during his run-in with villains. It was reported that 272 villains were arrested; the rest managed to slip away due to the warp gate user.

The moment we saw Hagakure get carried away on a gurney in a black bag, the truth about this way of life settled in. Jiro, Uraraka, and Ashido broke down crying. Solemn expressions were carried by the entire class, and the teachers began discussing how they were going to address this.

I was numb. It felt odd to mourn, as if I didn't deserve to because I didn't know her as well as some of the others did. Did that make me some kind of fraud? Was it right of me to grieve?

They were questions I didn't want to think about. I just wanted to go home.

I felt his presence before anything else. He came discreetly, without a second thought, or even a first one at that. Dark blue eyes far too similar to my own pierced me like a blade, harsh and borderline threatening, promising bitter truths and raging thunderstorms.

"Keiko," he greeted. Bitterly, my lips lifted, because with him he brought the ocean, and I—-

"Hi, Dad."

"Let's go home."

I was drowning.

a/n

phewwwww this was intense but i actually really liked writing it LOL which is. fuckin morbid. i wrote like the entire latter half in a single setting bc i just got so involved in it and yeah! so full disclosure this story will deviate from canon at some points which i totally forgot to mention last chapter! i don't plan for things to go off the rails completely but certain events will be changed and stuff, such as this. i know killing off a character is a bold move but i decided to do it because i felt like an event as big as usj didn't have enough stakes and just kind of felt like a cop out, in a way, so i wanted to change that because i want the characters in this story to be aware of how heroism isn't all glitz and glamour! so yeah!

that's it for now uhhh sorry kei is a little op LMAO but i promise there's a reason for that please bear with me

thank you for your faves and follows and please don't hesitate to drop a review! thank you!