Rule #18: It is better to seek forgiveness than ask permission

It was dark by the time Kage and Toru returned to the model home following the community meeting, both women intent on finding more information about their unsub even with the limited information they held. "—This is the pile of suspects we need to weed out the eighteen from" Kage petted the large stack of files on the table before her whilst Toru was far more focused on the small pile situated to the right of it.

"What're these?" Toru asked flicking through the upper most one.

"Victim information—the families of the three women who were killed"

"Families?"

"Yeah, families are the hardest part about this job" Kage sighed as Toru's gaze turned to the evidence boards where the contrasting face of the happy woman in the family photo lay in juxtaposition to the broken body of the woman on the board. "Asai Izumo and Haruka, we talked to them this afternoon. Their mother was victim number three"

"They're never gonna have a mother around…?" Toru breathed, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"No" Kage affirmed sadly. "That was, uh, the mother's laptop and Mio—our tech—ran a remote data sweep of it. So we're gonna have to take it back to the house"

"Mmkay" Toru hummed, eyes tracing over the family picture that was saved as the desktop.

"Meeting over?" Chirped Abe, startling the two women who swung around at his sudden appearance. "Relax! It's just me. How'd the meeting go?"

"We missed you there" Kage replied, not quite answering his question. She clearly didn't like the guy and Toru couldn't blame her, there was something about him that just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Well, I thought it'd be a good time for a sweep, y'know? While everyone was busy—what're you girls looking for?"

"Whether or not any of the no-shows had mental issues" Toru replied, trying to shuffle back without him noticing. "Or triggers"

"Triggers? Issues? Well, those reports aren't gonna show that" Abe smiled sleazily. Toru felt like there was grease running down her spine.

"No?" Kage hummed.

"But…I can find out for you. Got all that information in the security office with the gate on the south end. I'll show you"

"I'll be back" Kage farewelled as she followed after the retreating security guard and doing her best not to roll her eyes at his rear.

Toru nodded her assent, though she didn't say anything. Instead her mind had drifted from the facts of the case to something a little closer to home and as her gaze jumped from laptop to abandoned house keys, a little idea started to form. It wouldn't take long to return the laptop—she could be there and back before the others even noticed, and even if she wasn't, the laptop had already been swept for data by the HBI's tech analyst. So it's not like there was any harm, right? Mind made up, she snatched both laptop and keys from the table.

Amongst the maze of cookie-cutter houses, it took Toru much longer than she would like to admit to find the right house. Thankfully however, it was dark and she was invisible so darting around police, detectives, agents and heroes was an easy enough task, particularly as they lay of the land was so large and different in the dark. Upon finally finding the correct house, Toru had to pause so she could take a deep breath and settle her nerves as best she could before knocking on the door.

"Hi" Toru breathed when the door was opened by none other than Asai Izumo with her younger sister, Haruka, stood at her shoulder. Izumo squinted her eyes against the darkness of the night, only just barely able to make out Toru who was illuminated by the porch light and clutching onto their mother's laptop. "Asai Izumo?"

"Er, g-go finish getting ready, Haru" Izumo murmured to her sister, shooing her off as she placed the large moving box down somewhere off to the side. "It's okay"

"My name if Prism, I'm with the HBI"

"There—there were agents here already" Izumo stammered, sparing a glance over her shoulder to see that Haruka had stopped on the stair landing and was watching the pair like a hawk through narrowed slits.

"I know" Toru replied, slightly put off by the young girl's reaction. "I brought your mother's computer back"

"Oh" Izumo squeaked, gently taking the offered device from the heroine. "Thank you"

"Yeah…Ma'am the HBI is going to find the person who hurt your mother, and when they do, you'll probably learnt that they have a family"

"I'm sorry?"

"A lot of craziness is gonna go on all at once and the family won't be able to tell you…they'll-they'll be afraid. They won't know how to approach you…but they'll be very sorry. They'll wish they could've done something to stop them, they'll wish things could be different. They would do anything for things to be different" By the time Toru was done with her little speech, she was unsure if she was still talking about the unsub or herself. "I just want to apologise for them"

"…Would—would you like to come in?" Izumo offered, her hands shaking lightly on the laptop she now held like china after sparing a second glance back at her sister.

"No, I should get back—"

"—It would just be for a minute! Haru—my sister—she's scared, and—and it might make her feel better knowing there's a hero here"

"…Okay, just for a minute" Toru agreed haltingly as she caught the eyes of the little girl on the stairs who was suddenly all smiles.

"This is a really pretty room" Toru complimented as she wandered after the blonde, dragged a nearby beanbag over to sit in and watched as Haruka moved about, packing away her possessions into a neon pink duffle bag.

"I don't wanna move again!" Haruka whined petulantly, turning to the invisible teen.

"I know. But I also know that your big sister is doing what she thinks is right"

"Are you going to kill us?" Haruka asked nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?" Toru's brows immediately furrowed such an odd question, particularly at the blasé way in which it was asked. She knew that some people with Quirks were oppose to those without, but never to such a degree as that—not even back home in Okutama!

"The person who hurt my mum? You know what it's like, don't you?"

"—Haruka!" Izumo returned with a mysteriously empty glass in her hands, despite having stated that she was going to get Toru some water.

"No! It's okay" Toru soothed the elder girl despite the weird vibe she was getting once again off the little girl.

"I'm sorry" Izumo apologised again as the three soon made their way down into the living room where several cardboard boxes were already packed and ready to go.

"It's not a problem, really"

"Here" The elder girl held out the empty glass for Toru to take as Haruka set her bag down on the couch in the living room.

"Uh, thanks?" Toru shuffled in place, making to head for the front door. "But, uh, I really should be getting back"

"C-can I ask you something?" Izumo stepped into Toru's path, blocking her from the doorway much to the heroine's chagrin. "How—how do you know what the killer's family is thinking? You—you said they'll want to apologise?"

"…They will" Toru chewed on her lower lip as she cursed herself for getting sidetracked by wayward memories and wagging tongues. But she made her bed and now she must lay in it. "They'll be…embarrassed and ashamed and really, really sorry"

"But how do you know that?" This time it was Haruka who had piped up, eyes glistening with a hunger that didn't belong in a twelve year old. "How do you know how the killer's family will feel?"

"…We studied it" Toru replied, lying through her teeth as Izumo gripped tight to the glass that Toru did not take. "Behaviours and the like—we've conducted interviews…"

"Of killers families?"

"Sometimes"

"Why would you do that?"

"Er…I really, should be going—"

"—But why won't you tell us, Ms Prism?" Haruka cocked her head in question. Something, which given any other situation would've been cute, but at this point was just plain terrifying. Bookended by the two sisters, Toru was unsure which would attack first or if they even would dare to, all that she knew was that being in this house had suddenly become rather suffocating and she wanted nothing more than to get out. "How do you know?"

BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!

Oh thank God! Toru silently praised as her phone went off, cutting through any further attempts at conversation and giving her a reason to step away from the pair for some barely-there privacy. "Prism" Toru greeted, eyes warily flickering about for an easy exit—or any kind of exit really.

"Prism, where are yer?" Snipe demanded, his tone serious.

"…Without a doubt, sir" Toru replied, well aware of her audience and forever thankful that they could not see her face.

"Where are y'all?"

"Yessir"

"Can y'all get outta there? "

"…"

"Prism?"

"I'm sorry sir" Toru apologised, moving away just as Haruka came up from behind and moved over to where Izumo remained frozen by the front door. For the life of her, Toru couldn't place just what was wrong with Asai Haruka, only that she had to get out. Now. "I, uh, I can't do that. Asai told me that her sister was frightened, and as soon as I can make her feel better, I'll come back"

"That was my boss, he's kinda a pain!" Toru joked lightheartedly, still trying to find an exit as she placed herself away from the two sisters, edging back until all three stood in a triangle of sorts.

"Hmpf" Haruka huffed a joyless laugh, "What did he want?"

"He's always checking up on me"

"Not if I shut you up!" She sang, flicking her small fists out into claws that crackled with previously unseen electricity and Toru was suddenly reminded of the burn marks she had noticed on the bodies decorating the evidence boards.

"HARU! NO!" Izumo cried, tears now running freely down her face. "NO MORE! PLEASE!"

"But first, I have to shut up sissy" And with that she pounced.

Moving more on muscle memory than anything else, Toru silently promised to buy Kage a thank-you gift as it was her newly honed reflexes with the whip-staff that flung out and caught the tween beneath the armpits, giving Toru a small window to jump in and quick the sparking girl away from her elder sister. Haruka didn't travel far, barely hitting the base of the stairs as Toru plucked the floating staff from the air and prepared herself to take on a girl much younger than she.

"HARU! PLEASE! STOP THIS!" Izumo pleaded with her younger sister as she helplessly watched her get flung back again, this time falling through and breaking the coffee table.

"Y'know from the moment we're born, all we're given are orders—" Haruka snarled as she picked herself off of the floor, mindless of the remnants still sticking to her as Izumo was hauled to her feet and placed behind Toru, who in turn had trained her weapon on the young girl.

"PLEASE! SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT SHE'S DOING!" This time Izumo turned to the heroine in front of her.

"Doesn't seem like that to me" Toru grunted in reply as she dove out of the way of an incoming bolt."Are you trying to tell me she didn't know what she was doing when she killed all those women?"

"She—she—"

"—Smile, open up, spread your legs, speak softer, scream louder, be quiet, be confident, be interesting, don't be so difficult, be strong, don't fight back, be an angel, be a whore, be a princess, be anything you want to be—even the Number One Hero of the entire world" Haruka continued to monologue as she crept ever closer, mindless of the glass piercing at her sock-clad feet. "Just kidding"

"Shit!" Toru hissed the curse as she sent her staff flying towards Izumo after Haruka had tried to attack her again. It seemed that even with a hero there, primed and ready, the tween was far more interested in her terrified sister—likely because she knew she could boss her around. With her whip-staff now holding Izumo up from beneath her shoulders, Toru was able to engage Haruka whilst still keeping the elder girl out from the fight.

Hero and psychopath fell into a tangle of limbs, of fists flying, hair pulling, lightning crackling and staff swinging. It was almost like a dance, one would parry while the other countered and vice versa; one would gain the upperhand for a moment before the other took it from them. Eventually, the pair made their way out of the front hallway and over to the kitchen where Haruka somehow managed to smash Toru's head into the kitchen counter and hold it there. Well, that somehow, may have had something to do with the several volts of electricity currently coursing through her veins.

"…And then I realised" Haruka continued her speech as if she had not just tried to attack and kill her own flesh and blood. "I should never have to kneel—"

"—To your mother?" Toru's comment was muffled when she was pressed further into the counter, despite her struggles. She knew that she could take on this small child—throw her off easily, but she just wanted the girl incapacitated, not dead.

"—To anyone. Ever. Again. It's time I remind the world who I am!"

"By killing people? You're like nine!"

"I'm twelve!" Another volt surged through the heroine, making her spasm in the civilians' grip. "And besides, history only remembers the winners—!"

SMASH!

"Eurgh!" Haruka cried as she suddenly fell away, clutching onto her head from where Izumo had smashed a small potted plant against her. Taking the advantage for what it was, Toru tried her best to ignore the reoccurring twitches spasming throughout her body before she summoned her staff. Spinning on her heel, Toru shot a bolt of ultraviolet light towards the tween (not enough to kill her, just enough for a sunburn from hell), which knocked her across the kitchen and out through the door to where the HBI stood waiting outside with guns drawn on the lawn beyond.

"Sorry 'bout…your door" Toru panted as wooden chips rained down and framed Haruka's arrest on the lawn beyond.

The trip home was an awkward one with Toru feeling like she was perpetually stuck sitting outside the principal's office, awaiting punishment. Hands twisted the whip around and through her fingers just to give her some kind of distraction (however pitiful), but it wasn't really working. Eventually, the two up the front had deem it okay to bring up her disciplinary after sending silent looks back and forth between each other and the backseat where she nervously sat to the left and Rin had fallen asleep to the right, drool dripping down his chin.

Snipe pulled the car over into a picnic stop of some lay-by, parking the vehicle in next to some oversized camper van before he and Alpha (after sparing another glance towards each other) turned to face her like two disapproving parents. Toru shrank further beneath their gazes as mumbled something about potatoes as he shifted in his sleep, head falling into an awkward position from where it lay upon his hand.

"Y'all were not s'posed to go off on yer own" Snipe began, keeping his voice soft so as not to wake the sleeping man beside her.

"…I know" Toru replied, wishing that the car seat would just swallow her whole.

"You could've been killed"

"I know that too"

"Why Prism?" Alpha interjected, "You're smarter than that"

"…I never got to apologise to any of the people my teacher hurt in trying to protect and teach us" Toru replied, diverting her gaze from the pair as she bowed her head and fiddled with her fingers. "I—I just thought that if I could apologise to someone that had been hurt like that…"

"I'm sorry, but that's not good enough" Snipe refuted.

"…Yessir"

"By making that choice, yer put everyone at risk. When y'all are in the field, we are responsible to and for each other. We are a team"

"…I won't do it again"

"No, y'all won't" Snipe agreed before stepping out of the car for some fresh air and to settle himself before they took off again. Guilt roiled within Toru, warring with the sorrow and shame embedded in her heart. How could her first mission with the HBI go so terribly wrong?

"What else is on your mind?" Alpha prodded as he set down the cigar he'd been chewing on which smelt strongly of catnip.

"…We didn't want to kill him" Toru replied, her voice barely above a whisper as tears gathered in her eyes.

"Hm?"

"Everyone says that Koro-sensei was a villain, that he was bad and horrible and he did all these things…! But he wasn't, not to us—he loved us and—and we loved him. And—and they made us kill him…he was hurting and they made us kill him. Why—hic—why would they do that? Why would they t-turn children into killers?" The tears were flowing freely now as she lifted her head to face Alpha, uncaring if she had woken Rin. "We—hic—wedidn't ask for this! Why—hic—would they d-do this to us?"

"Because" Rin replied, his voice still hoarse with sleep as he rubbed at tired eyes and winced at his (very likely) sore neck. "Children are the best scapegoats"