CW: blood, torture, manga spoilers

"I can't believe you're doing this. We're going to be fucking arrested." Tenko hissed as Touya drove through the gates of UA.

"Ha ha, we're in." Touya exclaimed. "We got through the gates."

"Of course you got in. I have an ID badge." Shouto rolled his eyes. "You really need to clean this car."

"I can't help it if Spinner chucks all of his rubbish back there." Dabi scowled. "We share the stupid thing"

"Just pull over here, I'll walk the rest of the way to the classroom. You're less likely to be spotted here."

"Oh brilliant. Less likely." Tenko scowled. "If I get sent to Tartarus, I'm telling everyone you cried during sex."

"I did not. I have no tear ducts." Dabi protested.

"All it takes is for one person to believe it Touya, that's how rumours start."

"I'm gonna tell everyone you can't wank in case you decay yourself."

"I fucking can."

"One pinky up, the posh wank." Dabi hissed.

"Katsuki can't, he might blow his cock off." Shouto said from the back seat. "Maybe that's why he's so angry."

"Is that why you wanted him in the League, so you can bond over your inability to masturbate?" Dabi said.

"You're going to be unable to masturbate when I decay everything from the waist down." Tenko spat.

"I'm gonna go get my costume. Enjoy your domestic." Shouto said, trying to open the door. "Seriously, child lock?"

"Sorry that's Toga's side." Dabi said. Shouto rolled his eyes, scooting over to the other side and opening it.

"I'll be back in a minute." Shouto stepped out of the car and immediately broke into a jog. He'd had Touya park not too far from the main building. Katsuki was the only one who regularly checked his costume out on the weekend. Everyone else could, and occasionally they did, to spar and practice in or take to the Support lab for some upgrades.

Shouto often didn't and as such, his costume was still in the classroom. Luckily U.A. was always open to those with passes and he was able to get into the empty school and into the classroom. He went straight up to where his case was stored, typing in the code to get it to release.

"What are you doing?" Shouto leapt out of his skin, whirling around to face Shinsou.

"Damn it Hitoshi." Shouto snapped.

"Innocent people don't jump like that." Hitoshi said.

"Bullshit. People jump when you sneak up on them." Shouto scowled.

"I didn't mean to sneak up on you." Hitoshi shrugged, moving around to sit on his usual desk. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my costume." Shouto said.

"Why?"

"Because I want it." Shouto said.

"You're not a very good liar." Hitoshi said, cocking his head to the side.

"Fuck off." Shouto scowled.

"Don't make me use my Quirk." Shouto sighed at Hitoshi's words.

"Do you remember Pulse?"

"The guy who's going after Katsuki?"

"Yeah. Well he's attacked Best Jeanist's agency and like killed people and kidnapped Best Jeanist. My brother has been tracking Pulse and now we're going to take the information he's found to Katsuki. I don't know what's going to happen, but I wanted my costume just in case."

Hitoshi jumped forwards, unlocking his own case.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you."

"Wait, no you're not. You can't." Shouto said. "It's dangerous."

"Shouto, either I'm coming with you or I'm telling Aizawa-sensei." Hitoshi said. Shouto groaned.

"Fine. But if you get killed it's on you."

"Fair enough." Hitoshi shrugged,

"Dabi and Shigaraki are my ride." Shouto said as they began to walk back through the corridor.

"Oh that brother." Hitoshi nodded.

"Well it wasn't going to be the med student." Shouto rolled his eyes.

The two of them made their way back to Touya's car, running across campus. When they got there, it was clear Touya and Tenko were still bickering. Shouto yanked the door open and he and Hitoshi climbed in.

"Who the fuck is this guy? You said you were getting your costume not a friend." Dabi scowled.

"Shinsou Hitoshi." Hitoshi introduced himself.

"He said he'd tell Aizawa-sensei if I didn't bring him." Shouto said, doing up his seatbelt. Tenko glanced back at him.

"Brilliant. Now another person is involved." He shook his head. "I'm not going to prison. I will kill myself before I got to prison."

"No one is going to prison." Dabi replied. "Let's go."


Amaya could hear screaming from downstairs. Pained shouts and cries of despair. It wasn't an unusual sound, not here. Someone was usually crying, whether it be one of the other children or Sir's "guests". But it was never Amaya, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't show weakness, not today, not ever. Especially not to someone as weak as Sir.

She kicked the door to her room hard, letting out a wordless shout. She might not cry, but screaming and shouting was her speciality. Her mother was fed up with it, calling her a feral banshee. Her father would smack her on the back of the head to get her to shut up. She never did.

"Let me out." Amaya kicked the door again. "Let me out." She banged against the door with her tiny fists. She was hungry and thirsty. Sir had caved on day three, allowing her a bowl of water that she had to lap at like a dog and a stale crust of bread, but it wasn't enough.

Suddenly the door was yanked open and in walked Sir's lacky. She was a tall, long legged woman. She was willowy, with thin spindly arms. Her Quirk was Serval and her face was covered in yellowish tan fur with black accents and spots. Her arms were covered in the same fur down to her hands, which looked more like paws with elongated fingers. Sharp claw like nails had been painted red and her teeth were bared in an almost semi-permeant grimace of aggression.

"What do you want?" She came in hissing, her tail lashing from side to side, her pointed ears flat against her head.

"I'm hungry, I'm thirsty and I want to get out of here." Amaya clenched her fists together at her sides.

"Aw does the little kitten miss her Mommy?" Nyoko mocked.

"I don't care about my Mom, she sure as hell doesn't care about me. I want food and water, and to get out of this room. It smells funny." Nyoko's tail flicked behind her.

"I'll get you some water." Nyoko said, turning and stalking out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"No." Amaya yelled, leaping after Nyoko, slamming herself into the door. She screeched, kicking it again. "You'll regret this. I'll get out and make you pay for locking me up in here. I'll make you pay."

Amaya might only be seven, but she'd been in plenty of fights. The girls at school had teased her almost constantly, and she wasn't a pushover. She'd punched and kicked, pulled hair and scratched at skin. She was perfectly capable of standing up for herself.

She took a deep breath. She was done with waiting. The next person to come in was going to taste her fury.


"You did what?" Flashback exclaimed, pacing back and forth in front of the offices. Spectre and Transcript had arrived shortly after Sleuth had and now, they all stood outside as the clean-up crew worked inside. Before they had left the building they had changed into their costumes and Katsuki was thankful for the thick fabric and warm gloves.

"I have connections inside the League of Villains, Dabi has an address for Pulse. He's coming here to deliver it." Katsuki said.

"Katsuki what the hell?" Transcript said. "You've been in contact with one of the most wanted villain in the country?"

"It's not like I really had a choice. You saw the amount of times he came after me. It was all linked to Pulse." Katsuki snapped. "Who do you think warned me about the plot to kill my parents? Who do you think gave us Pulse's name?"

"We have a name?" Spectre asked.

"Ahh that makes more sense." The group turned to see Hawks coming in to land.

"What?" Flashback said.

"I looked around Tsunagu's bedroom and found this file." Hawks said as he walked towards the group. He held out the file to Flashback. "Kaneko Fudo."

"Was he doing more research?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah, apparently our boy Pulse was a little fucked in the head." Hawks said.

"No shit." Sleuth rolled her eyes.

"Well, Tsunagu was talking to his therapist, Pulse's, not his own. And apparently Kaneko was suffering from extreme paranoia before he started kidnapping kids. He believed that both heroes and villains were out to get him, and he grew obsessed with the idea that free Quirk use to protect him." Hawks said.

"He was diagnosed with Paranoid Personality Disorder and he'd been in therapy for years, apparently his mother forced him into it." Hawks said. "According to his work report he was on the cusp of being fired before his company went out of business."

"How come?" Transcript asked,

"He worked at a call centre, he was constantly talking with people and he kept thinking these customers were after him. He had countless arguments with people and on several occasions, he tracked people down and stalked them." Hawks said. "There are a couple of police reports and restraining orders against him."

"Why the fuck wasn't he fired?" Katsuki asked.

"His father was high up in the company. But when he died they started trying to get rid of him." Hawks said.

"Okay, but how did he go from stalking people to kidnapping kids?" Transcript asked.

"Something snapped." Hawks shrugged. "His therapist hasn't seen him since he started. He just stopped turning up to sessions, but she seems to believe that he has acted on his desire to create a group of people he can trust explicitly. He apparently believes that children can be moulded to be trustworthy."

"Fucking bastard." Flashback shook his head.

"And he wants them to use their Quirks freely to protect him?" Katsuki mused.

"Possibly." Hawks nodded. "Tsunagu couldn't find out much more. It says that he was injured in Kamino."

"Yeah, we were in the same hospital." Katsuki said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Severe head trauma, fractured skull that was healed with a doctor's Quirk. He left the hospital without telling anyone, so no one knows the extent of the injury on his brain." Hawks said.

"So we're dealing a paranoid fucker with a head injury." Sleuth sighed.

"Dabi has his location." Katsuki said.

"How?" Flashback asked.

"Dabi's coming?" Hawks asked, his wings fluffing up.

"Yes." Katsuki said at the exact same time Flashback said.

"No."

"I'm confused."

"It doesn't take much does it, Songbird." A voice called from behind the group. They spun around to see Dabi, Shigaraki, Shouto and Hitoshi.

"Copper." Hawks' smile was the widest Katsuki had ever seen, and despite the sombre and aggressive mood the two former friend's reunion was sweet. Hawks leapt at Dabi, embracing him in a tight hug. Dabi had the air squeezed out of him but he returned the hug, stroking down Hawks' wing. "I can't believe you're alive."

"I can't believe you're still such a cry baby." Dabi teased.

"Am I missing something?" Sleuth asked.

"They're childhood friends separated by the Commission." Katsuki said.

"Ohh. Fuck the Commission."

"Yeah, fuck the Commission." Dabi echoed. "Look, I received similar training to Hawks, except I was told to be a villain, not a hero. I don't care about politics and grudges or whatever, except with Endeavour. Right now, I want to find my friend and put that kid hurting bastard away."

"Preach." Sleuth said, Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"What about him." Flashback gestured to Shigaraki, who was glaring at Hawks.

"He's helping too. None of us like people who hurt little kids." Dabi said.

"A strange sentiment coming from someone who attacked a school."

"Aizawa-sensei." Katsuki said, staring at his teacher. "When did… Why—"

"Edgeshot was worried about Jeanist. He put in the chat that the police were here, and your tracker said you were here. I thought I'd check it out. I didn't expect to see you two here." Aizawa glanced at Shouto and Hitoshi.

"Eraserhead." Shigaraki nodded. "Sorry about your elbow."

"You don't get to be sorry about my elbow." Aizawa snapped. "I'll deal with you later. For now someone tell me what's going on."

"What just happened?" Shigaraki whispered to Dabi as Flashback caught Aizawa up to speed.

"Parenting." Hitoshi said. "Shigaraki, meet Dadzawa."

"An actual decent father figure." Shouto added.

"I didn't think those existed." Shigaraki said.

"Dabi." Aizawa said, turning around. "You know Pulse's location?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I knew a villain who worked with him, Inkling. Small time petty thief, runs a tattoo parlour, makes awesome art that can move thanks to his Quirk. But anyway, we had Toga, in disguise of course, ask about Pulse, pretending to be interested in working for him. He told her their address. He's not exactly smart." Dabi said. "We checked it out, it seems legit. We'd deal with it ourselves, but we're trying to turn over a new leaf."

"I'm sure you are." Aizawa rolled his eyes. "If you're leading us into a trap—"

"It might be a trap, but not one we've set up." Dabi replied. "We have someone who's been kidnapped too. We just want Giran back."

"We have nothing to gain over leading you into a trap." Shigaraki said. "Who's going to care if a bird, an underground hero and a bunch of sidekicks get killed? It's not like it would do us any favours."

"It's nice to know you won't kill us because we're not worth the effort." Sleuth rolled her eyes. Shigaraki shrugged, leaning again Dabi's shoulder. Dabi wrapped his arm around Shigaraki's shoulder. Aizawa glanced at them, frowning before shaking his head.

"How are we doing this then?" he said.

"We're going to the fucking address and we're going to rescue them." Katsuki said,

"Bakugou, you can't come, it's too dangerous." Aizawa said.

"Excuse me, Eraserhead, but Bakugou is a sidekick at Genius. I understand you're his teacher, but he's technically at work right now and in Jeanist's absence, I am in charge of the Agency. Bakugou is coming."

"We're coming too." Dabi said, pulling Shigaraki close.

"Fine." Aizawa said. "Todoroki, Shinsou, you two are under my care—"

"Sensei please don't stop us. We're here now, you can't send us back." Hitoshi said. Aizawa sighed.

"You both follow my orders exactly. If I tell you to get out, you go. You don't question me. Got it?"

"Yes Sensei." The two boys said together.

"Alright." Aizawa said, turning back to Hawks, the sidekicks and the villains. "Let's go."


Tsunagu gasped awake as water was poured over his head. His front was soaked, and for a second he wondered how much water had been poured on him, but when he saw Pulse take a step back with a water bottle, he thought maybe that he'd wet himself.

Then he looked down. His white tank top was stained red, his denim pants dark with blood. He whined at the sight. He swallowed thickly, his throat dry and painful, but pain wasn't exactly new, nor was his throat the most painful thing he was going through.

"Good, you're awake." Pulse said. Tsunagu groaned. "I want to know what else you've been saying about me."

"I haven't said anything about you." Tsunagu mumbled. He was dizzy and the room was spinning. He just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Liar." Pulse snapped, punching him right in his stab wound. Tsunagu yelled out in pain, the breath being forced from his damaged lungs. "You've been poisoning Katsuki against me. Telling him I'm evil, that I'm wrong, that I'm weak."

"I just… I just told him to stay away… that you're a villain." Pulse smacked Tsunagu across the face. Tsunagu yelped, biting down on his tongue. Blood filled his mouth, making Tsunagu choke on the metallic tang. He spat onto the floor, trying to get the liquid out of his mouth, a string of blood-filled saliva hanging from his mouth. Pulse grabbed his hair, yanking Tsunagu's head back.

"You said more than that. I know you did." Pulse was nose to nose with Tsunagu, his breath hot on the hero's sweat sheened face.

"I didn't."

"You said I was harmless, didn't you? That I wouldn't hurt anyone. Well I proved you wrong didn't I?"

Tsunagu didn't know it was possible for his heart to sink any lower, but it did. Despair swallowed him whole and grief clawed at him. Needles and Thimble had died because of him. Because of something he'd said.

"That's right." Pulse hissed, licking the shell of Tsunagu's ear as realisation dawned on his face. The hero flinched away from the touch, Pulse laughed. "I killed your friends because of you."

"Why?" Tsunagu choked. "Why not kill me?"

"I will. I just wanted you to suffer." Pulse shrugged. "I hadn't planned to. I only wanted you. But they stayed late, and I needed you. They were a threat to me."

"A threat to you? Teruo was Quirkless." Tsunagu cried. "Quirkless! He would have just stepped aside. Neither he nor Raiden would have fought you. I would have gone with you." Tears ran down his face and his breath hiccupped in his chest. He strained against his cuffs, trying to reach out to Pulse, as futile as it was.

"That's a shame." Pulse said. "But we already established that they were wastes."

"You're heartless." Tsunagu spat.

"You seem to have forgotten, I didn't only kill your friends. I took 27 children from their homes, I'm sure I did them a favour. Their parents obviously weren't good enough, or I wouldn't have been able to get them."

"You're a villain. You took them. It's not the parent's fault."

"Isn't it?" Pulse asked.

"I watched them, children went to bed hungry, covered in bruises. Some of them don't know any better, they see pinches and punches as signs of affection, they don't know anything different." Pulse snarled.

"That doesn't mean you can take them." Tsunagu choked out.

"Yes it does. They're mine now."

"The heroes will come and take them." Tsunagu shook his head.

"You're a hero, look what I've done to you. I can do it to them too." Pulse said. "I will kill all of them, and I'll take my children and my Katsuki, and I will rule over Japan. I'll make it so everyone can use their Quirks no matter what."

"Katsuki is mine." Tsunagu growled through gritted teeth. "He will find you and he will tear you apart."

"You're going to die here, Hakamata Tsunagu. You're never going to see him again."


Fallacy sat in the waiting room of the hospital. Blood still stained her hands, but she didn't dare go to the bathroom and wash them off, lest there be any news about Raiden. The young man didn't really have any family. His mother had died when he was young, and his father hadn't spoken to him in years.

Raiden didn't seem to let it bother him. He was a happy go lucky guy, an excitable and overenthusiastic man. Almost childish. People often assumed he was younger than he was. People were always surprised to find out he was 28. He was full of youthful exuberance. Or at least he had been.

Kameko couldn't get the image of Raiden on the floor out of her mind. When they had walked into Genius that morning she had sensed Thimble was alive thanks to her Quirk, but she wasn't sure at first. She had thought it was wishful thinking, that her Quirk was just alerting her to her desires. That was until she'd felt his weak pulse.

She had let out a sigh of relief and had demanded a shell-shocked Bakugou ring an ambulance. She felt sorry for the teen. Today should have been his day. Getting his License had been something all of them had been looking forward to for so long. But that had been robbed from him. Fallacy had never seen Bakugou as excited as he was seconds before they discovered the scene.

The kid was traumatised enough, he didn't need this. Fallacy sighed, staring at the white titled floor as her leg bounced up and down.

"Fallacy?" the sidekick looked up at her name to see Buttons and Zipper coming up to her. She got to her feet, embracing her two co-workers in a hug, careful of her hands, despite the fact the blood was most likely dry.

"How is he?" Buttons asked.

"No word yet." Fallacy said. "How's Mimi?"

"Distraught." Buttons said. "She wanted to be alone. She's worried about Tsunagu a well. They've been friends for years after all."

"Did she… Did she tell the kids?"

"Yeah." Buttons sighed. "The youngest really didn't understand. Poor thing. I've told Mimi if she needs anything all she has to do is ask."

"Of course." Fallacy nodded.

"Any word on Tsunagu?" Zipper asked.

"Junichi hasn't said anything." Fallacy said, sitting down. "I'm sure he's busy though."

"I can't believe Teruo is gone." Zipper said, taking a seat next to Fallacy.

"It was quick." Fallacy said. "He… His throat was slit. He would have been dead before he hit the floor."

"I don't know whether that's comforting or not." Zipper said.

"Neither do I."


Eijirou was sat on the sofa in the common room, with the rest of the Bakusquad, minus Katsuki of course. They were watching shitty Sunday morning TV, eating unhealthy snacks and generally pissing about. Denki played on his Switch and Eijirou had his sketch book out, sketching Hoshi who was asleep on his lap. He had so many drawings of her at this point. Whilst Katsuki was away or at his remedial classes Eijirou would work on his art.

He had sketch after sketch of the cat, water colours, acrylics, oils, and one very messy charcoal drawing. He hoped to give them to Katsuki for Christmas. He'd been working on it for months, creating a sort of timeline as the cat got older and therefore bigger

"Have any of you guys seen Shinsou or Shouto?" Midoriya asked as he came down the stairs. "Neither of them are answering their door."

"I think Shouto went out to hang out with his brother." Eijirou said. "I don't know about Shinsou."

"Yeah, he might be asleep though. You know Hitoshi, he doesn't exactly stick to a normal sleep schedule." Denki added.

"True." Midoriya said, frowning.

"You okay?" Eijirou asked, moving his feet so Midoriya could sit on the sofa.

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to them about something." Midoriya shook his head. "It's nothing important." He sat down on the sofa, glancing over to Eijirou's drawing.

"That's so good." He said with a smiled.

"Thanks." Eijirou said. "I wanted to do something nice for Katsuki for Christmas. He keeps saying he doesn't want anything, but I know he's going to spoil me."

"He'll love your drawings of Hoshi." Izuku said, reaching out to pet the sleeping cat, who trilled at the touch.

"I hope so. Because otherwise I don't know what to give him."

"You could always wrap yourself up." Mina winked. Eijirou snorted.

"I'm not a present." He shook his head. "But he always says that my art is good, so I think he'll like this.

"It looks like a photo." Izuku said. Eijirou smiled.

"Guys." The concern in Kyouka's voice made Eijirou jump, he looked up to see the girl staring at the TV, turning it up. The News was on. Eijirou put down his pencil as his heart leapt in his chest.

"Breaking News." The newscaster said. "Only days after announcing his return to Hero work, Number Two Hero, Best Jeanist, has been kidnapped. Sidekicks arriving this morning discovered the two bodies of their co-workers and found that the pro hero was missing."

"Oh my god." Mina gasped. Eijirou felt sick.

"Katsuki…" Eijirou said as the TV showed footage of outside Genius. Katsuki was stood with the other sidekicks, Eijirou recognised Flashback walking back and forth as the others stood grouped together. Katsuki was pale and Eijirou could tell his boyfriend had been crying by the slight pink flush to his nose.

"Kacchan." Izuku said.

"Little is known about what has happened. No official comment has been released by the sidekicks. All of our information has come from independent sources. One worker has been confirmed dead, but the other has been rushed to hospital for treatment.

Sidekicks have left the location along with the Pro Heroes Hawks and Eraserhead alongside several other unknown people. Two of them believed to be UA students, Todoroki Shouto and Shinsou Hitoshi.

We will keep you updated.

"Shouto and Hitoshi are there?" Izuku exclaimed in shock.

"Oh Gods, it's like the Raid all over again." Denki said.

"But… Katsuki… He can't…"

"Look we don't know what's happened. They could have just gone to another agency office or something." Hanta said.

"Why would Aizawa be there?" Eijirou said. "Shouto, Hitoshi? How did they even get there?"

"Aizawa will keep them safe." Midoriya said. "He wouldn't let them get hurt."

"They'll be fine." Mina nodded. "Shouto and Katsuki are the most competent in the class, and Shinsou has been keeping up with them in training."

"Yeah, they're good fighters and they're smart. They should be able to get through whatever this is." Kyouka said. Hoshi sat up, growling in the back of her throat. Eijirou reached out, petting her as worry built up in his chest.

Katsuki was strong, Eijirou didn't need his friends to tell him that. But he couldn't help but panic. Anything could happen out in the field, and he knew this had to be down to Pulse. Eijirou knew Katsuki had a tendency to panic or even freeze when he was involved.

Eijirou sent up a silent prayer to whatever god may be listening that his boyfriend would come home safe.


Gang Orca had joined them on the journey, he too came to check on his old friend and was shocked to hear what had happened. Teruo had been his friend too, and he was clearly saddened at his death. It was the first time Katsuki had seen Orca actually angry. Unlike his played persona during the Provisional License Exam and the Remedial classes he wasn't loud and hostile. His anger was calm, collected, silently seething. For once, Katsuki did fear him.

After a few last minute preparations, the gathered heroes and two villains got into separate cars, Aizawa squashing himself in the back of Dabi's car, refusing to leave Shouto and Hitoshi alone with the villains. Katsuki kind of wanted a glimpse into what that would be like.

Katsuki himself re-joined Flashback and Fallacy in their car, Transcript and Spectre joining. Hawks choosing to fly ahead and scope out the area. Katsuki was ridiculously nervous, butterflies fluttered in his stomach, his palms were sweaty inside if his gloves, which he supposed was a good thing if he was going to fight.

Flashback had gotten earpieces for all of them and had given them out before they had left. Now it sat uncomfortably in his ear, ready to be turned on when they arrived. Katsuki was squished between Spectre and Transcript in the middle seat, which was uncomfortable, but he could cope.

His mind couldn't help but drift to the thought that they were too late. What if Pulse had already killed Tsunagu? He clearly had no qualms about killing. Logic told him Tsunagu would still be alive, Pulse wouldn't have gone to all of this trouble to kill him straight away. He wanted him for something.

Katsuki knew deep down that Tsunagu was bait, that Pulse was trying to lure him to him. But Katsuki had no choice but to go. Tsunagu would come for him. And Katsuki had a License now, he had a duty to get involved, it was all his fault.

Flashback stopped the car a little way from the warehouse Dabi had given them the address for. Hawks was waiting for them and Dabi pulled his own car in behind them. The warehouse was in a business district, flanked by other warehouses.

Pulse's building was small compared to the others, but it was large enough. The windows were all blacked out and there was one small blue door at the front. The building itself looked quiet, possibly even uninhabited but Hawks confirmed that he had seen people go in and he believed he heard children inside.

The group gathered together trying to plan what to do. Tenko stared at the building, it was as nondescript as any base the League of Villains had ever had. It was strange, he thought, to be on the opposite side of a hero raid. To stand side by side with a hero he himself had tried to kill.

His heart ached as Eraserhead reminded everyone that the missing children were their priority. That at the end of the day, Best Jeanist had training to survive situations like this. The children were the most important thing.

Tenko couldn't help but think, where were you when I needed a hero? His mind wondered how different his life would have been if Eraserhead had found him instead of Sensei. He knew the hero had taken in that girl Overhaul had been keeping. Would he have taken in Tenko? How different would his life had been with someone who would have cared? It was silly really, Eraserhead had to be around 10 years older than Tenko, he would have only been a child himself when Tenko needed someone, but still, it was a thought.

"Tenko, Sweetheart." Tenko flinched at the soft voice, looking around for its source. He glanced over the woman of the group, Sleuth. But she was paying attention to Eraserhead. Touya looked up at him, taking his hand and squeezing it, mouthing "Are you okay?" Tenko nodded, looking back at the building.

"Tenko, close your eyes." Tenko didn't hesitate, his eyes fluttered shut and he was surrounded in black. A woman stood before him, one he immediately recognised.

"Mama?" He said, he felt like a child again.

"Hi Baby." Shimura Nao greeted her son. Tenko whimpered.

"Mama, I'm sorry I didn't mean—"

"Hush sweetheart." Nao said. "I'm not here to talk about that. You need to pay attention and look harder."

"Harder?" Tenko asked. "I don't understand."

"You've been given a gift, Baby. That doctor gave you a gift, and you chose to follow us, not that man, your Sensei. You chose your family to be your guide, and that's what we'll be."

"My guide? Mama, I don't know what you're on about."

"You will, Baby, in time. For now, you need to clear your mind and look harder. If you focus on the building, you'll be able to see more than anyone else." Nao stepped forwards, closing the distance between them, placing a hand on Tenko's jaw. He leant into the touch.

"You're a smart boy, you'll figure it out." She kissed his forehead. "I love you Tenko."

"I love you too, Mama." Tenko whispered. "I miss you." He voiced thoughts he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge for years.

"I'm always with you." Nao said softly. "Now pay attention. You've got children to save, you always wanted to be a hero."

Tenko jolted back to awareness. Everyone was staring at him. He scowled, rubbing his eyes, letting go of Dabi's hand.

"Are we boring you?" Eraserhead asked. Tenko shook his head, taking a step back.

"Are you okay?" Dabi asked.

"Just give me a second." Tenko said, still rubbing his eyes, what the hell just happened?

"Don't worry, we've got all day." Eraserhead snapped, sarcasm biting through his tone.

"Fuck off, alright." Tenko snapped. He took a took a deep breath, turning to face to building.

"Whatever." Eraserhead said, shaking his head. "How many floors is it, Hawks?"

"Two, there's possibly a basement." Hawks said.

Tenko tried to tune them out, closing his eyes before opening then and staring at the warehouse. For a second, he felt like an idiot. Maybe he was going insane. Maybe the doctor had killed him and this was all his weird own hellscape.

But then the building began to glow yellow. Suddenly, he was aware of every single person around him. Pain exploded behind his eyeballs and he whimpered as his senses were overstimulated. Dabi's hand was suddenly on his back, rubbing up and down in a soothing motion.

"Just go without us." Dabi said behind him. "He's just had surgery, this is obviously a side effect or something."

"That's okay." Hawks replied, his voice soothing and understanding.

"We can assume he keeps the kids together, right?" Flashback asked.

"Most likely." Eraserhead said.

"No. One is on her own, she's separated from the rest." Tenko said.

"How do you know?" Hawks asked.

"I can see her." Tenko replied. "Morita Amaya, seven years old. She's dehydrated and hungry, a little bruised but otherwise okay."

"What? You can't possibly see that?" Transcript replied.

"I can." Tenko shrugged. "Hakamata needs you to hurry. He's losing a lot of blood."

"What?" Katsuki asked.

"You can't know that, you're just fear mongering." Flashback snapped.

"He's 36, 6'3". Blood type AB. He's suffering from a concussion, bruising and multiple stab wounds." Tenko said. "By all means, don't believe me. But if we don't go in soon, he's going to die."

"All for One gave you Ragdoll's Quirk." Eraserhead said and Tenko made a noise in the back of his throat.

"I don't know what the Doctor did to me. He said it would help stabilise my Quirk. It was acting up." Tenko said. "He could have done something to me. I don't know." He shook his head. "All I know is that I can see people in there. 27 children are upstairs. There are 20 small time villains split between the floors. Hakamata, Giran and Pulse are down in the basement. Giran and Hakamata are the only ones who are really injured. I think we should get an ambulance here before we go in. They are barely holding on."

"That's it." Katsuki said. "We're going in. Dabi, Shigaraki, are you in or not?"

"We are." Tenko replied.

"Then let's get on with it."