The tight-lipped woman stared at the screen in front of her. It showed a map of the surrounding prefecture. There were red glowing points across the board. They each signified possible Crimson Eclipse hideout bases. However, it didn't help that there were more than twenty of them. It was going to be hard to pinpoint the exact location of the right one.

"I wasn't aware you had this much information regarding the Crimson Eclipse, Corvade. You didn't bother sharing it with the police?" Eraserhead muttered, peering over with tired eyes.

"Of course not. If I told the police, the search would be too obvious. They would abandon their base and go to a new one. It'll make the process more tedious."

"Withholding important info like that is selfish," the Rabbit Hero crudely remarked. "But again, I guess that's why you're not a hero."

"That's right. There are some things that I won't be able to do if I were licensed," Corvade smoothly replied. "We're not here to talk about me. Let's stay on topic. The information on their whereabouts isn't definite. These are presumed places me and my crew came up with. There are more than twenty points on this map, and not all of them are actual Crimson Eclipse bases, thus making our search even harder."

"However, some options are better than others. Mitsumu-san, Sir Nighteye-san, and I had narrowed the locations to cause fewer complications during this process," Blackjack added, walking over to the group of heroes. Trailing behind him was the cheery blonde and the spectacled hero.

"Yep! Lucky us, huh? 'Cuse me, Boss Corvade, " Mitsumu chirped.

The woman moved out of the way to give him access to the keyboard. Typing away at lightning speed, everyone watched as the glowing dots began to dwindle in numbers. At the end of it all, only three remained.

"Amazing..." Fatgum mumbled.

Indeed it was. Corvade wasn't expecting Blackjack and Mitsumu to work so diligently. Even she was a bit surprised by how fast they were able to narrow down the locations.

"We believe that the most likely place the hostage is being held is in Esuha City," Blackjack informed.

"It's set then. The gathered heroes will be split into three groups with the majority of the heroes heading to Esuha City. The rest will infiltrate the other locations," the head of the Police Force spoke. "We will initiate the rescue and infiltration in two days."

Corvade peered up at the three red dots that glowed on the map. She pondered if two days was even enough time to prepare, but she understood that time was running out. No one knew what Crimson Eclipse had in mind when kidnapping Onishi Rin a few days earlier. Most likely, they were going to use her as a hostage.

She thought back to that night when she encountered the young girl. As usual, Rin was in trouble. She would've been choked unconscious if she and Ryusaki haven't appeared in time. She still didn't understand why she had the urge to call that old man, but he proved himself capable of diffusing the situation. If he hadn't come, Kiyoshi wouldn't have given a squat about conversing with her and would've run off with the kids.

Corvade was there when she witnessed Rin blast him away. It was a powerful move that she was shocked Rin was able to use at that moment. Rin must've been building up the power to her quirk over time. She did have an irritating habit of getting into trouble, and those life-threatening moments assisted her in strengthening her quirk. Corvade saw it at the festival when she deflected that steel pipe.

It seemed like the young girl didn't know how powerful it was. Kiyoshi must've noticed the potential, and Corvade knew that he would do anything to steal her power.

»»—- —-««

I opened my eyes to a very bright light. Groggily sitting up, I blinked a few times to adjust. Once my eyes focused, I saw that I was in a small room. There were no windows. The walls and floors were made out of white tiles. A dark, heavy, steel door was in front of me. The wall beside me was glass. The bed was the only piece of furniture. Hanging over the bed was shining a fluorescent light.

My bare feet hit the cold floors when I stood up. I peered at myself in the mirror to see that I was wearing a light blue hospital gown. There was a white bandaid on my right arm. The skin around it was turning purple. I reached up and gently touched it with my fingers, and winced.

When did I get this? How did I even get here? All I remember was walking home from school.

"You're awake now," a deep voice suddenly spoke.

I turned around to see that no one was there. I scanned the room for an intercom of some sort but I found nothing. Whoever spoke to me must've sensed my confusion, because he said, "You won't be able to see me. I'm on the other side of the glass."

My eyes flickered back to the mirror in front. This must be like the windows they use in interrogation rooms. "Where...am I?" I asked.

"The exact location, I can't say. You're in a Crimson Eclipse base."

My heart began to beat as I stared into my reflection. I gulped. The man speaking continued. "You've been asleep for about four days now. We might've given you a bit too much of the drug."

"The green one?"

"Bingo," the man said with a hint of amusement. "You know your stuff. As expected of a girl who was present during the demonstration at Nighteye Agency."

"Who are you? Why am I here? What did you do to me?"

The man chuckled. "Slow down there. Take a little breather. I'll tell you everything," he said. "As I said, you're in a Crimson Eclipse base. Four days ago, my members tracked you down. They took you back here where we drew some of your blood for samples. But that isn't the reason why you're here... No, you're here to convince your daddy to come to get you."

So, I'm a hostage. But why is Crimson Eclipse so enthralled with Dad? I asked him. He let out a sigh. "Didn't we have this conversation? We need to have a one-on-one chat about something important."

Events of that night replayed in my head. My heart rate sped up, and I cautiously backed away. "It's you..." I spoke.

"Oh, good. You do remember me, kid," Kiyoshi remarked.

"What's so important that you need to talk to him about?"

"You wouldn't understand, kid. It's adult things," he said.

"No, I can," I spoke in vexation.

He chuckled again. "You're like Ryu, you know that? So is Hiro."

Hearing his name made my heart skip. My muscles tensed and something hot began to grow in my chest. My throat suddenly went dry, and I struggled to swallow. I tried my best not to show him my reaction, but I couldn't hold it in. I lost control of myself, and he took advantage of that.

"I love that expression on your face. It's much better than that boring expression you always wear. Hiro wore the same exact look you have on his face too."

"Be...before you murdered him?" I spoke. "Akira told the police everything... She said that she stalked him and kidnapped him. After he refused to join your cult, you murdered him."

"Murdered him? That's a bit cruel. I wouldn't do that. Well, not to someone that important," Kiyoshi said, sounding offended. "You must be mistaken. Yes, I sent Akira to track him down; Yes, we kidnapped him. However, I did not kill him."

"Th-then what? Did Akira kill him?"

"She didn't."

"What happened then? Why's he dead?" I demanded, with my face flushing red. "He's dead because of you!"

Tears pricked my eyes and I lowered them to the ground, biting my lip. For a moment, I stood there against the glass trying to hold back tears. I would think that I got rid of them only for my eyes to water again. I resorted to keeping my eyes shut to prevent any tears from slipping down.

"I did not kill him. Akira didn't kill him. None of Crimson Eclipse did," Kiyoshi spoke.

"Stop! J-Just...stop."

He let out a tired sigh as if my temper was an annoyance to him. "Dealing with kids is difficult. I don't even know why Ryu had one," he complained. "Listen, would you? I wasn't aware that Hiro was killed until last week. I'm a bit pissed that he was killed. That wasn't supposed to happen. We were just supposed to kidnap him and use him as a hostage, but others decided to interrupt us. I'll tell you who's responsible for it."

"Leave me alone..."

"Are you sure?" he said, his voice rising. "You really don't want to know how Hiro died? Who his killers are?"

No. Akira confessed. She said that Crimson Eclipse was responsible for his death. Though, she didn't specifically say that they killed him... What happened then? Maybe he was telling the truth. But he wasn't exactly trustworthy either. This is all so...

My thoughts were disembodied; all jumbled up. I wasn't sure what to think or feel. What if he was truthful? What if he's lying? Due to my hesitating silence, Kiyoshi was quick to jump back into the conversation.

"I'm sure you heard of them. They're the biggest threat to Hero Society, The League of Villains," he began. "It was essential that Crimson Eclipse affiliate ourselves with such a powerful group. Thanks to their aid, we were able to gather sufficient resources and powerful weapons. It wasn't all for free, of course. In exchange for their services, they required that we bring at least fifteen quirk-users to them at the end of each month. On the day of Hiro's kidnapping, some of their members came to visit. Seeing his refusal to join Crimson Eclipse and the power of his quirk, they decided to take him with them. We retaliated a bit but ultimately, I decided that it was best we let them do as they please. Unfortunately, they were vital to our goal."

"The purpose of his capture was to use him as a hostage and possibly have him join Crimson Eclipse. If didn't join, we were going to take his quirk. But trust me when I say this: I had no intention of ending Hiro's life when we brought him here."

I stood there in silence to give myself time to sort out my thoughts. I was still hesitant to trust his words. He sensed that because he said, "I have proof. I can show you what played out that day. Open the door."

The sounds of a steel beam getting lifted up from the door were heard. It clattered onto the ground. Then, the heavy door creaked opened. A tall, pale, man wearing a maroon blazer with a white shirt underneath. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows to expose the tattoo of a bleeding viper and a crescent moon. Towering behind him was the Crescent Reaper. He wore his long, maroon coat with heavy dark boots. A white mask with a red crescent moon was over his face. A black hood covered his head. He looked eerie standing in the dark, as the outside was very dim compared to how bright it was in my room. A bad feeling formed in my stomach seeing them.

The two men stepped to the side to make room for me to pass. Kiyoshi beckoned me to come out. He promised that he wasn't going to lay a finger on me. With no other choice, I stepped out of my cell and into the darkness. He began to walk toward the elevator that was a couple of feet away. Pressing to go up, we stepped into the elevator. It took a moment to reach the ground floor, and we stepped into a bustling hallway. I noticed the elevator door that we went through disappeared into the wall. It was nearly indistinguishable.

The base looked almost identical to the one I accidentally raided months ago. The walls and the ground were the same muted, dark gray color. Long fluorescent fixtures ran across the ceiling and red lights were spaced out on the walls. The floor made a metallic clank when people walked. The place reminded me of an underground nuclear shelter.

The three of us strolled through the base that was littered with Crimson Eclipse members. It was weird; the way they acted made me almost forget that they were an evil organization trying to wipe out people. Some chatted with their co-workers on the side, some walked by drinking coffee, and others hurriedly sped down the hall to whatever duties they had to attend. I even saw a line of people waiting for the vending machine. Most of them greeted Kiyoshi but they didn't bother to acknowledge me or the Crescent Reaper. A few did give me disapproving glances, though.

Kiyoshi turned the corner and led us to a secluded corridor. The black steel doors surrounded me. It was dimmer in this place too. He suddenly halted to a stop and turned his heels to a door to the right. A red light scanned his face before opening the door. The door sealed shut behind me.

The inside of the room looked like an office, a dark one. Everything was black and gray with the occasional red trimming to add contrast. Up ahead was a dark gray desk with a bright red chair. A very expensive and elaborate monitor was resting on the desk. There was a tan woman sitting at the desk. She had curly, white hair that reached a bit pass her pointed ears. She was wearing a loose latex jacket with a black shirt underneath, a bandana, and a long skirt with heels.

"Boss. I wasn't expecting you to show up. I thought you were planning for your departure," the woman spoke as we walked up to her desk. The woman peered over to me with her topaz-colored eyes. They lingered there for a moment before glancing back to Kiyoshi. "Was there something that you needed?"

"Yes. Can you show our guest what happened the day Kurogiri appeared?"

She stood up from her seat. Coming to me, she pressed her fingers on my forehead. Her eyes began to glow. Shortly after, the office morphed into the room I was in except it was empty. There were two Crimson Eclipse members holding a weakened Hiro down onto the floor. Around Hiro's wrists and ankles were chains that he was trying to escape from. With his strong build, he probably could break out of them. As he continued to resist, the chains suddenly glowed bright red. Hiro let out a pained grunt as the steaming metal burned his bare skin. However, I found that no sound came out. Seeing him in that state made my stomach drop. It made me painfully sick. I wanted to reach out or say something but found that I wasn't in control. That's when I noticed that I grew taller and I was wearing a Crimson Eclipse uniform.

I must be looking at the event through that lady's perspective.

The room around me grew fuzzy and ringing resounded in my ears. As if someone changed the speed with a tv remote, everyone in the room began to move in hyperspeed. I saw Hiro getting punched by the members, along with Akira speaking to him. Kiyoshi even walked into the room to talk to Hiro too. Changing the speed back to normal, I saw that there were two new men in the room.

The first man caught my eye. He was thin and had grubby, light blue hair that looked like it hasn't been washed in days. He wore plain black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. What disturbed me about his appearance was the array of hands that were wrapped around his arms, shoulders, his face. They were gray and old; almost as if they were in the process of decomposition. The other man was slim as well. His body was made out of dark purple mist. He had glowing yellow eyes. Around his neck was a metal brace. He wore a dark suit and tie.

I couldn't tell with that morbid hand plastered on his face, but I think the one with the uncanny appearance said something. Kiyoshi, Akira, and the lady peered at him. Kiyoshi in particular gave the guy with hands a dirty look. There was a shadow cast on his pale face, and his fist was curled into a tight ball.

Kiyoshi began speaking, expectedly, with no sound. Akira added a few words, and the two men replied back. Whatever they said didn't sit well with Kiyoshi because the bitter expression on his face grew. He began to protest with whatever the two men were suggesting. Hiro tried to voice his opinion on the matter but he was shut up by the flaming chains. Akira got fed up with the discussion and attempted to blast the blue-haired man with a lightning bolt. The mist man made a small vortex appear that the bolt went surging into. Another vortex appeared behind his partner, and he backed into it. In an instant, another vortex popped beside her. The blue-haired guy placed his hand on her neck. I expected her to fight back but she didn't. Everyone in the room stopped, and they didn't move an inch.

Kiyoshi ordered the two Crimson grunts to let go of Hiro. The disgruntled man let go of Akira's neck and walked over to Hiro. Placing his hand on his arm, I watched in horror was Hiro's arm turned to ashes. Even without sound, I could practically feel Hiro's pain in his voice. The man made of mist summoned a dark hole behind him and his partner. His partner left the scene. Meanwhile, the mist man sauntered over to Hiro and dragged him into the dark hole. Even amidst the pain, Hiro was trying to fight back, but it was futile. The vortex closed behind them.

Within seconds, I was back inside the office. The lady's eyes stopped glowing, and she removed her fingers from my forehead. She stepped away.

"Thank you, Lens," Kiyoshi spoke. The woman gave him a small bow. Kiyoshi made his way out of the room, and I followed with the Crescent Reaper trailing me.

We made our way back to my cell room. Once arriving, Kiyoshi spoke. "I was telling the truth. We didn't kill your brother. It was the League of Villains. You saw, didn't you? The man who destroyed your brother's arm. What he did to Hiro at that moment must've been painful. Who knows what they did when they took him. He must've suffered before he died. If it weren't for Shigaraki Tomura, your brother would still be alive."

Like pouring water on a toaster, my brain was fried and overloaded that caused me to break. My stomach churned, and my body temperature rose. My hands began to slightly tremble as I gripped the sides of my gown. I tried to speak but when I opened my mouth, a flurry of incomprehensible words rolled out.

I flickered my wide eyes at him. Seeing my distaste, he said, "I understand how you feel. I've gone through the exact thing. When the leader of Venom's Bane perished, I was furious. All I wanted to do is wrap my hands around her neck and watch the life drain out of her eyes. I wanted revenge, but I knew that being hasty wasn't going to help." His ghostly gaze peered down at me. "I know what you're thinking. You want to avenge Hiro."

Chills ran up my back recalling the scene that had played moments ago. Hiro's arm was completely demolished in a second. It hurt seeing how hard he tried to fight back knowing that he was meeting his impending death. I wish she didn't show me that. Seeing Hiro in his last moments made me feel sick. But I also felt anger fueling. Shigaraki was ruthless for using his quirk on Hiro like that and dragging him away. He murdered him.

"Why don't you join Crimson Eclipse? We could use someone with that kind of power of yours."

"Power? I have no power..." I quietly spoke.

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow at me. He let out a small chuckle. "Did you forget what you did to me that night? You blasted me away from that kid. If that doesn't speak power, then what does?"

But without him, I am nothing.

"Let's make a deal. If you join Crimson Eclipse, I promise that I'll help you avenge your brother."

I couldn't believe myself, but hearing those words piqued my interest. Kiyoshi could tell it did because he continued. "You and I are in similar situations. In order to achieve my goal, I need to get rid of Shigaraki Tomura. If you abandon everything and come with me, I'll help you and you'll help me. We'll both benefit from each other."

He leaned down to my ear. "I know you feel constricted. Weak. Powerless. Unable to control your life. I assure you, if you come with me, I'll give you meaning. You'll feel freer than you ever been in your entire life. I'll make you strong. I'll give you power."

He backed away and waited for my answer. I stood there in silence trying to sort out the mess of emotions I was feeling. I was so angry that I was shaking. I was on the verge of exploding and letting everything go. I was tired of feeling trapped. I was tired of feeling weak. I was tired of being powerless. I didn't want to be a victim anymore.

"You don't have to answer right now. This is probably the biggest choice you'll ever make in your life," Kiyoshi spoke. He turned around and walked out of the room. The Crescent Reaper stood for a moment as if he was inspecting my face before following his leader. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind them leaving me alone with my heavy thoughts.

»»—- —-««

Corvade stared at the buffet that rested at the bottom of the hill. It was family-owned. The building had an old and traditional feel to it as the building looked like it was pulled out of the Edo period. The front door was a simple sliding door with red lanterns were hanging by the entrance. A few cars were parked in the street.

The operation was beginning today. She didn't think it was possible, but the authorities were able to make a solid plan in two days. She figured that was one of the advantages of working in large groups; more work could be done more quickly.

As commanded by the Head of the Police Force, the heroes were split into three groups with the majority of them focused on the location in Esuha, which happened to be the place Corvade as at. Blackbird was included in the split: Blackjack and Static went to Fukuoka, Mitsumu and Masterbaiter went to Hosu City. Strawberry Shades and Furutani stayed with her in Esuha.

"This is the place where Rin-chan is at," the strawberry hero whispered. He curled his fist into a ball in frustration. "Don't worry, we're coming for you!"

His gloomy companion let out a heavy sigh. She commented that their efforts may be futile because Rin might not even be at this location. Even so, the strawberry hero continued to keep a positive demeanor. He assured that he knew that Rin was here.

The rescue was about to begin in a few minutes. The authorities were conducting their final preparations. As Corvade waited, she thought back to the conversation she had last week.

"You said you were going to tell me everything!" Ryusaki said over the phone.

"I got caught up in some business. Ever since your son disappeared, I've been trying to figure out what happened to him, so could you refrain from speaking to me like that? You're not the only one who's pissed over this."

He fell silent. Then in a quiet voice, he said, "...I know already."

"I won't be able to tell you," she spoke. "There's no time."

"No, I don't care. You better-"

"I told you, there's no time!" she snapped. "I need to figure out Crimson Eclipse's next move. They killed your son, and who knows what they will do to the rest of your family? Besides, if I tell you this, they'll definitely try to kill you too."

"Just... Damn it... I need to know," he said in frustration. "Not just for my sake, but for Rin..."

Corvade let out a tired sigh. She hated hearing the desperation in his voice. He always had a way of making her feel bad.

In the end, she told him everything that she dug up: about Crimson Eclipse, their leader, the presumed bases, and why they kidnapped Hiro.

"I see... Alright. I..."

"You... You do know that Kiyoshi is responsible for this, correct? He's been trying to find ways to force you to join him for months."

"That bastard!" Ryusaki cursed. "When I get my hands on him, I'll... I-I apologize... But all that just to please the old man? He needs to let it go..."

"He's always been stubborn. In a way, he's just like you," Corvade remarked. But again, she was stubborn too. Kiyoshi was practically a brother to them, so of course, her mannerism got influenced by him.

"I see..." he bitterly replied.

"I have to leave," she informed. She prepared to hang up when he spoke.

"Th-thank you, Asuka..."

If there's another thing she hated about him, it was hearing him when he was vulnerable. It made a pit form inside her stomach. It made her feel a bit guilty that she wasn't able to allay his worries right away. She would never admit it out loud, but she really did care for him and his family.

"Corvade," a gruff voice spoke.

She turned to see a pale man with scraggly black hair. He was wearing a long scarf around his neck.

"Are you ready? We're about to begin," Eraserhead informed.

Corvade gave him a silent nod. He walked away from her to go speak to one of the policemen.

"Together, we can track down her offspring and finally take revenge. All you have to do is abandon everything and come with me."

That annoying man. He still can't let it go, can he? He's always had a problem with getting too attached to people. He's just as stubborn as his friend, so there was no way he was changing his mind. She wasn't able to save Hiro, but she still had a chance of saving Rin. She couldn't afford to lose any more family.