"Sorry 9!" Raleigh shouted, lowering his stance into that of a brawler, "But this isn't going to be fun!"

Genesis 9, still under the control of a RABIT chasing Yaoyorozu, was unfazed by the threat and charged forwards. With one arm still hanging limp, they should've been an easy takedown, but Yaoyorozu's body, running only on instinct, wasn't one to go down so easily.

Gipsy Alpha threw their punches. The left hook went straight into the side of their Conn-Pod, rocketing their head back as Gispy's right jab was caught by 9's left hand. Suddenly, the nanomachines flooded off the Jaeger, covering Gipsy's hand and locking them together just as the white Jaeger's head came rushing back, headbutting their opponent. Because neither Izuku, nor Yaoyorozu were technically piloting Genesis 9, any blows to their Conn-Pod would do nothing to stumble them. The same couldn't be said for Raleigh or Mako.

Their harnesses caught them, but the intense shaking of the Conn-Pod threw them off, just long enough for Genesis to ram their body up against Gipsy's and tackle them into the water.

"Warning, multiple hull breaches. Jaeger hydraulic system now operating at seventy-percent."

Raleigh and Mako got their bearings once more and looked up from their position on the ocean floor. Their free hand pressed against 9's chest, pushing as hard as they could to get the Jaeger off them. Unfortunately, this only caused the hull breaches in Gipsy to open further. Genesis's nanobots had formed massive spikes on the Jaeger's torso before they tackled Gipsy, piercing the mech in dozens of places. Once inside, the spikes expanded outwards, forming hooks to anchor themselves.

"Warning, water has breached the torso of Gipsy Alpha. Immediate ejection recommended."

"Dammit!" Raleigh roared, "Genesis 9! Snap outta it!" If they ejected now and Genesis 9 continued on under the control of Yaoyorozu, it could walk right into a nearby populated city and wreak havoc. Nemesis had taken out all their other Jaegers and pilots, so it was up to Gipsy to stop them here, or up to Izuku to wake his partner.

Izuku continued to run through the labyrinth of hallways and rooms, his breathing becoming more labored by the second. He might have been running in a memory only, but his body was still moving in real life, working to move Genesis 9 as they attacked their commanders. "We are so sacked!" Izuku thought to himself as he ended up in the third foyer of the house. "Is the Drift distorting the memories? No way her house was this big!"

"HEEEELP!" A sudden shriek shook him out of his thoughts. It sounded like it came from the second floor and it sent Izuku charging up the stairs, his Drivesuit boots slamming down on the marble.

"YAOYOROZU!"

"HELP!"

Izuku bolted left, noticing that she still wasn't responding to him, just the memory. "How did I not see this memory when we were Drifting?!" Then, his gaze caught sight of a pool out the window and he realized he had seen this memory before. In the Drift, you were normally exposed to every single memory of your partners, but that didn't mean you could process it all. A lifetime of existence flashing by in milliseconds doesn't give a lot of time to contemplate everything you see.

Finally, Izuku reached a caved-in door. Charging through, he couldn't help but marvel at the spaciousness of the room, whilst simultaneously looking on in horror as the big burly man in black, almost militaristic or tactical, clothing stalked over to a child version of Yaoyorozu, no older than eight. Blood was spilling from her chest where a long cut opened her skin. It nearly sent Izuku into a panic before he realized that this was just a memory, she survived this encounter. However, that didn't stop him from taking action.

Izuku was at least a head shorter than this man, but wearing the bulky and metal Drivesuit, he would hit harder. Lowering his shoulder, Izuku charged forwards, intending to drive as much mass as possible into the man's spine. Unfortunately, while Izuku could interact with the environment, it seemed like it didn't want him to interfere with the events taking place.

Almost like the man was a ghost, Izuku flew straight through his chest, landing just at Yaoyorozu's feet. Knowing that dealing with the memory by force was no longer an option, Izuku got in young Yaoyorozu's face. "Yaoyorozu! Wake up! This isn't real!"

But to Yaoyorozu, it was real, after all, she had already experienced it once before. She looked right through her Drift partner, eyes widening in horror and filling with tears as the man stalked closer, holding a long combat knife.

"Come on kiddie… I won't kill you, after all, you'd be a great hostage," He smiled sadistically, "I may hurt ya, but I won't kill ya."

Izuku's mind filled with rage, but there was nothing he could do to this man. He was a figment of a ten-year passed memory. "You're not in danger here! But you are in danger out there! And so is Gipsy! If you don't snap out of it, we're going to kill them!"

The man's knife flashed forwards, passing through Izuku and opening another wound on Yaoyorozu's arm. The thought, "So that's why she always wears long sleeves," Dashed through Izuku's mind as he desperately looked around, trying to figure out anyway to interrupt the memory, but it was useless.

"Excuse me, sir." A similarly burly man was suddenly behind the intruder, driving his fist into the man's jaw and dead-legging him.

The intruder collapsed to one knee, and in response, pulled out a handgun, aiming at Yaoyorozu. Her protector did not like this. He lurched forwards, wrenching the man's hand upwards and twisting it to dislodge the firearm. But while both of the savior's hands were occupied with the man's one arm, the man still held a knife in his other arm and jabbed out, slicing open the guard's side. The guard reached for his own firearm instinctually, finding the empty holster and remembering that he accidentally left it behind in his rush. So instead, he pulled out his own knife, facing off with the criminal.

"I've called the police. Give up now and I won't have to kill you." The man in black only responded by adjusting the grip on his knife and lunging forwards.

With the animosity of the room focused away from Yaoyorozu, Izuku tried one last time to get through to her. He waved his hands through her body and shouted her name, but it was still futile. Then, he remembered the last thing she'd asked before she went out of alignment. "Is it over?"

"Yes, it's over. We won."

Her eyes widened and she seemed to look at him for the first time. But almost immediately, her gaze chased elsewhere, landing on the two men, both collapsed on the floor. The man in black was still on his knees, but he was bleeding like crazy. Dozens of cuts were placed expertly all over his body, plenty of them severing arteries. It was a miracle the man was still breathing, but soon, he collapsed to the floor too, skin pale, and eyes dead. Only then did young Yaoyorozu have the courage to crawl over to the guard. He only had one wound, a single slash mark… on the back of his neck. His eyes were still moving and a smile gently graced his lips as he realized the intruder was dead and that Yaoyorozu was not.

"It's okay… Yaoyorozu," He whispered, barely able to talk, "It's over now." Police sirens filled the air and began mixing together, reminding Izuku of the same warning signals that Genesis 9 was being bombarded with. Apparently, it reminded Yaoyorozu as well. The combination of the sound and the end of the memory finally did it and the two pilots found themselves back in the Conn-Pod of Genesis.

They were on their knees, both their arms ripped off and dozens of metal craters in their chassis. Gipsy stood above them, it's hull similarly messed up, but its body mostly intact. "We're rusty… but not that rusty."

Yaoyorozu disengaged from her Drift platform, knees weakly giving out as she fell forwards, caught at the last second by Izuku, her faceplate inches from the floor. He spun her around and rested her on his lap, removing her helmet and allowing her silky black hair to spill out behind her. Izuku yanked off one of his gloves and pressed his fingers against her neck, he wasn't sure of the adverse effects of a Drift like the one he had just experienced, he had to be sure.

"Genesis 9, this is Gipsy Alpha, are you both okay?"

Izuku reached up to the center console, "Midoriya here, I'm fine, Yaoyorozu is unconscious!"

"Copy that. Tendo's directing a lift team out to you, they'll get you out of there."

"Thank you, sir! And… sorry…"

"For now, just worry about getting back to base safely, then we'll talk." Gipsy remained standing there until the helicopters landed on 9's roof, opening the hatch on the head and using a harness to lift out the unconscious pilot. Izuku climbed up after her and boarded the helicopter. Watching through the window as Gipsy followed behind them, leaving the lift teams to pick up what was left of Genesis 9.

"Just like the old days," Raleigh joked, a bittersweet smile on his face as he radioed back to LOCCENT.

"The old days sucked," Tendo responded.

Yaoyorozu awoke slowly, her eyes fluttering as her mind worked its way back to reality. Then, once she realized she was in a hospital gown, she shot up, grasping at her stomach and arm. Her breathing sped up and she began panicking, but then…

"Woah… it's okay. You're safe." Izuku's hands cupped her cheeks, turning her face towards him. "We're back in the Shatterdome."

"My… My arm… w-why isn't it bandaged… and my…" She trailed off, her fingers finally meeting the rough texture of skin where her scar was.

"It was the Drift. We got shook out of alignment."

"I shook out of alignment," Yaoyorozu thought to herself, then, remembering what they had done to Gipsy, she said it out loud. "I shook out of alignment."

Izuku gave a shake of his head, "We don't know that. We were both exhausted and in pain, either of us, or both of us could've been responsible."

"No," Yaoyorozu said, her voice firm, "I did it. If they ask us what happened, it was my fault."

Izuku's eyes narrowed in concern, "I doubt I'm gonna find a better pilot to jockey with. They either sack both of us, or neither of us."

"You don't know that, you could try pairing with-"

"Yaoyorozu, I don't think I can," He smiled somewhat awkwardly, "I've… been in your head and felt what Drifting with you is like… I don't think I wanna find someone else."

Yaoyorozu turned bright red at such a heartfelt declaration. One that almost sounded like a confession.

"I wouldn't worry about finding another pilot," Raleigh said, having silently entered the medical bay behind Mako.

Izuku immediately hopped up and snapped to attention. Yaoyorozu attempted to stand and do the same, but Mako pointed to her, "You. Stay."

"For your actions taken against the Pan Pacific Defense Corp while inside Genesis 9 and for the damage you caused, you will be suspended from all Jaeger activity until further notice. You will not be let near a Jaeger again until we are certain that you can Drift without another incident like that… Now, at ease." Raleigh smiled, "Good job."

"S-Sir?" Yaoyorozu looked up with confusion.

"You killed your first Kaiju, and even did so with a worthless arm, that's cause for celebration." He clapped Izuku on the shoulder, "You even managed to give us a good fight. The circumstances were…"

"Pretty awful," Mako said bluntly, "But you've shown your compatibility with each other and Genesis 9. Because of this, we're going to train you harder than the rest, we're going to push you until the slip-up that happened today never happens again."

"You'll no longer be under the instruction of Herc or Akari. You'll be training with us directly."

"R-Really?! When do we start?!" Izuku asked, his smile beaming.

"When you and your partner are a bit rested up, we'll get right to it."

A few hours later and Yaoyorozu was well enough to walk back to their quarters. Her and Izuku were both limping. They'd gotten pretty beaten up without even realizing it. When they got to the bulkhead-like door, they both heard shouting from inside. Without a doubt it was Bakugo. That wouldn't surprise them at all.

What did surprise them however, were the six new cadets filling the bunk room. They were all ignoring Bakugo's shouts as he called them extras and worthless competition. All the while, Iida attempted to calm the teen.

A girl with ginger hair was the first to notice Izuku and Yaoyorozu enter the room. She gave a kindly smile to them both. "Looks like the Heroes are finally here," She joked as she strolled over and stuck her hand out, "My name's Itsuka Kendo… and we're your new competition."

Thanks for reading! I know it's been like several months, but I finally just needed a break from Shadow Monarch Hero: Deku and wanted to come back to a shorter and smaller story. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!