I hated what I did with Shota Aizawa in this chapter cause he's love, but he can't be perfect, right? We've all made some shitty decisions and my stories are full of them since I want them to be as relatable as possible. I can't deviate from that now. There are mild spoilers involving Toga in this chapter if you only watch the anime and haven't caught up in the manga! Thanks for reading and if you get a chance to review, it really helps motivate me!

Disclaimer: I do not own MHA or any events that may show up here.


Her Peace

Wish I could erase my memories
So I could stop feeling so empty
I wish that shit wasn't so tempting
But it's hard to resist when there's plenty
Of things I could do to fuck me up
I want to let go, but I'm feeling so stuck

My body's shakin'
My head is achin'
It feels like my heart is breakin'
My body's shakin'
My head is achin'
I can't fix this mess I'm makin'

~Lyrics from Empty by Olivia O'Brien~


Himiko Toga blushed fiercely as she watched Ginsui roughly toss and turn as her fever worsened. She hadn't seen the woman since she was in elementary school. Ginsui was the only person that treated her like a human after her quirk had evolved.

Toga thought about that as she watched the sickening woman. Ginsui had argued passionately with her parents and the therapists. The Silver Sorceress did her best to explain that the little girl couldn't control herself, that her thirst for blood was an extension of the quirk manifesting within her. That if they were patient, she could help monitor the hungry sensations until Toga could master them herself.

No one had listened. No one wanted to take the time to care.

Himiko smiled toothily as she changed the old, dry cloth on Gini's forehead for a cold, wet one. She could return the compassion just this once.

Ginsui woke up nearly 24 hours after her arrival at the empty building. Her throat was sore, and her head throbbed

"...Himiko Toga?" Ginsui choked, thinking the teenaged girl was only a vision brought on by the fever.

"The one and only Gin-Gin! I'm not sure how you ended up here, but it's my hidey place. You really need to get to a hospital," Toga replied in baby-like manner.

"...What time is it?" Gini groaned as the migraine forced her eyes shut.

"It's around two p.m. Sunday."

"SUNDAY?!" Gini whined between her chattering teeth, "I really need to get home."

"What you really need to do is see a doctor, but I don't even think you can move."

"I wish I hadn't dropped my phone now..." Ginsui moaned as the steady current of pain whipped her head.

"Why don't you just hush now. I'll find someone that can help," Toga babied the ex-pro hero as she wrapped her tightly in a wool blanket.

Hero-Killer Stain glared down at the frail body.

"No, you cannot cut me," the man warned Toga for the tenth time.

"Aww, maybe next time, Mr. Stainy!"

"Listen, I'm only helping this pitiful soul because I've seen her stop and heal the mental wounds for us wretched people that society rejected. Keep that between us."

"Understood!" Toga saluted as the man snuck away.

"He's so dreamy," she drooled as she happily injected the medicine into a vein on Ginsui's right arm.


~Monday Morning~

"Do you think it worked?" Kaminari whispered in the back of the classroom to Kirishima.

"I overheard Mr. Aizawa talking about her with Mr. Yamada. Apparently, she's been 'AWOL' or whatever that means since Friday night," Kirishima replied.

"I bet it's code for 'sick'. Dude, I can't believe it worked! I thought for sure that she had caught onto me. You should have seen the way she watched me during the psyche evaluation. It's like she knew something was wrong..." Denki sighed.

"Tell me about it, man. Sneaking that sick serum into her breakfast was stressful, but it's for the best. I couldn't live with myself knowing she was in danger. I don't care how desperate my family gets, I can't let them trade Ms. Gini's life for his." *

"Yeah, I'm glad I could help. Wait, did you say you put the serum in her breakfast? I did too..." Denki gasped.

"Fuck...she could be really sick. Like, in the hospital sick."

"What should we do now?"

Kirishima frowned in thought. "If she isn't found by tomorrow, I'm going to come forward about my family."

"That sounds like a bad idea. Let's hope she's okay," Denki grumbled.

"Her being sick is better than what is supposed to happen to her today anyway. Let's not worry. We have to keep our heads straight."

Mr. Aizawa gathered the class and prepared them for the USJ. He wasn't even supposed to be chaperoning them today goddamnit. Ginsui was and he could have really used her help for this lesson. However, that was his least concern.

He didn't think he'd be able to laugh again after Friday night.

Ginsui was clearly unwell and now she was missing. Had she not come home because of him?

If he were the issue, then she would have turned up at her uncle's. She didn't even show up for her meeting with Sir Nighteye. That was what troubled him the most. The public had been kept out of the loop, but the Hero agencies had received updated profiles to be on the lookout for the Silver Sorceress just in case she had gotten into trouble...again.

Most men would have been relieved for the break. Ginsui wasn't exactly the easiest girlfriend. It wasn't her fault. Despite her drama-filled quirk, she was all he ever wanted. He enjoyed taking care of her.

He wanted to be needed. It gave him a sense of purpose whenever she sought him out for comfort. It stroked his ego knowing that he alone was the only person she could use to keep herself sane. Only he could erase the pain—unless a villain had given her another option.

Ginsui hadn't used him in over 24 hours. He was never one to be anxious, but this set him on edge. He was grouchier than ever before. The students and teachers alike were picking up on it. It didn't help that his class was being extra obnoxious due to the last minute changes.

Was she okay? Had she gotten hurt? Or worse, had she hurt herself to numb her mental anguish? Her father had. Her mother had. Was she okay?

He didn't think he would be able to laugh again.

Especially not after he made the worst decision of his entire thirty-year life. He still wasn't 100% sure what set him off. Was it GiGi's sudden urgency to get away from him that pissed him off to go and do that? Was it Ms. Joke's quirk? Did she set him up to fall for (and into) her?

Was it the fact that Ginsui went out with another man? One that was clearly broken on top of that. The younger man was small for her taste and yet she seemed enamored by the way his eyes ate her up. Aizawa told himself over and over that he wasn't jealous. But, was that the reason he did something that bad?

Whatever his reasoning was, he took out all his frustrations in Emi's bed. He thought that the woman was overbearing before. Would she use this against him? He would have to lay in the bed he made.

How was he going to confront the greatest person in his life? She was so strong. Would this be what broke her?

It was a mistake. Did he even have tell her? He could always pretend nothing ever happened. It wouldn't be hard to pick up the fallen pieces once she was home and safe in his arms. She didn't need to know that he was imperfect. Would Emi let him get away with that?

He didn't think he would be able to laugh again.

Brutal realization of his actions began to suffocate him. He needed a distraction. Maybe the USJ wouldn't be so bad after all.

Ginsui found herself alone again. Now that she was no longer sick, she could focus on getting in touch with her friends and family. Her first stop was to get a new phone. Fortunately, she had a few numbers memorized.

"Hey, Emi. I'm so sorry if I caused any stress. I'm okay. I got stuck somewhere weird because, as it turns out, I was sick. You know, like everyone said. Anyway, call me back when you get the chance. Bye, cuz." Ginsui was relieved the call went to voicemail. She wasn't ready to deal with her best friend's loudness yet.

ZaZa was next. "I...I don't know what to really say other than I'm sorry. You were right. I should have let you drag my dumbass home. I was pretty fucking sick and as far as I know, I'm better now. I hope to see you soon. Bye-Bye, my sugar stick," she sighed after leaving another voicemail.

The last number she had buried in her brain was Midnight's.

"GIRL WHAT THE HELL?! Do you have any idea how worried everyone's been? Aizawa strangled two students today!"

"Oh...well... it's hard to explain. Can we meet for lunch? I need a normal person to talk to right away."

"Normal? Honey, if you think I'm normal then you went through some really crazy shit over the weekend. Want to meet at the café that's near the school?"

"Please!"

Later, Midnight met up with Ginsui and began to ask questions before the sunset-eyed beauty could explain what went down.

"So, how do you feel about Emi and Shota?"

"What do you mean?"

"Weren't you avoiding him after all the attention he gave your cousin?"

"I know I felt crappy when I saw them together, but I think I overreacted. It's okay for him to be happy without me standing beside him all the time. Besides, I wasn't avoiding him. I was sick and stranded in some random place that's apparently a safe space for rejects."

"Oh...umm... I'll need you to elaborate on that later, but for now let's talk about your love life. I don't think you were overreacting."

Ginsui's eyes widened as one of her biggest fears neared reality.

"What do you mean?"

"Hizashi's been heartbroken since that night. According to him, Aizawa stayed over at Emi's," Midnight explained as she twitched her eyebrows in suggestion.

"You're teasing me."

"Why would I joke about something like that?"

"Shit."

"Look, I think you should storm into the school and back-hand him. Warm that pimp hand up and smack the fuck out of him. How he reacts will reveal what happened. If he sighs and wraps you up in his scarf like he does when he's annoyed at you, then we know nothing went down. If he takes the smack like a man and looks like he's about to cry, then well, you know he's a cheating son of a bitch."

"I...I don't even know what to say. It sounds like a plausible idea but the last time I trusted you, I became a stripper for a day."

"I think it's a brilliant idea. I also think this thorn in your unnaturally tame relationship is good for you. How can you possibly know that he's your forever person if you've never given anyone else a chance? Maybe he realized that too."

"If that's true, then he shouldn't have proposed. He should have just let me go. I literally gave him that option not that long ago."

"Men are stupid."

"I hate it when you say sensible things," Gini sighed.

She couldn't even be mad. She wasn't entirely sure he had even done anything wrong, so all this hype could be for nothing. The shock was keeping her cool. They're meal continued in iffy silence until a tornado of fear hit her lungs.

"Hey, is there something major going on at the school today?"

"Media got in earlier somehow. But, that's all been settled now. I know the 1A kids went to the USJ for special training. Weren't you supposed to be there for that?"

"I completely forgot about it actually! But still, those don't usually get too bad. It seems like a bunch of people near that area are wigging out though. Have you gotten any calls?"

Midnight frowned. Ginsui's ESP wasn't something to disregard.

"Oh...I'm not getting any service. Do you have any?"

"I don't have my school phone on me, but this new one I bought is working fine. I think we should go."

Midnight nodded and waved for the waiter.


"Where are they? I don't see All Might or the Silver Sorceress," Shigaraki verbally mused.

He didn't know why All for One wanted the girl so badly, but it was very disappointing that she wasn't present. Oh well. He'd have fun while he was here.

Aizawa was grateful for the villain invasion. He needed something to rage against. He would be happier if the students weren't in harm's way, but he trusted in their survival. They didn't get into UA for lack of talent.

The fighting was going smoothly considering the building was full of low-level ranking thugs. That was, until an unnatural creature snatched him by his head and began smashing his head in. Stopping the attack on Tsuyu was the last thing he remembered before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Ginsui felt worthless. She could have easily stopped the fighting before it even began had she been at work like she was supposed to be. Those poor babies. All of them having to deal with real-life baddies before they even had proper training. What kind of teacher was she?

Her eyes were glowing with the color of confusion as the other teachers defeated the scared villains that remained. Where was Shota? Her self-depreciation deepened once she found him being guarded by a few of the 1A kids. She was a fucking joke.

"Ms. Gini! You're okay!" Kirishima smiled as he approached her, "I was worried when you didn't show up..."

That was it, that feeling of deceit she caught from him the day of his psyche evaluation. Did he have something to do with her strange weekend? She smiled before leaving with the ambulance that carried Aizawa to the school's hospital wing.

She burrowed her face into his side to muffle her tears. She had been debriefed about the attack. Apparently, she along with All Might were the prime targets. Shota was hurt because of her avoidance with All for One. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she allowed this to happen again. Her being at the school was a huge endangerment.

She didn't even care about the rumor of him and her cousin anymore. If it was true, then she accepted responsibility. She pushed him to that point and now he was gravely hurt.

"Do you remember when we met?" Ginsui began, knowing Aizawa could hear her but wouldn't be able to interrupt.

"That day, I was intercepted by a villain named All for One. He's been after my abilities since my father died. I've been dodging him ever since. The last time I came across him, All Might was nearly killed. Now, his follower nearly killed you and could have annihilated your entire class."

She paused to brush his thick hair off his wrapped face. What she needed to say next was almost too painful for her.

"Shota, I'm going after him. I'd rather see you live than watch all I care for die because I was only caring for my own skin. I don't know if I'll see you again, so this...this is my goodbye. I know I've never said this out loud before, but I can't hold it in any longer. I love you, ZaZa."

And with that, she was gone.


A/N There are some theories that Kirishima was the traitor. One of the reasons supporting this is about the giant hero living in the woods that looks similar to Kirishima when he's in his Red Riot form. For my plot's sake, they're related. In my head, Kiribaby sided with the bad guys until Bakugo's kidnapping where he officially switched over after that. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.