"What're you waiting for? I don't have all night." Dabi took a step closer, still holding out his arms expectantly. Except that he was no longer smirking. The villain's expression was fading and in its place was a look of suspicion. "What? Don't tell me you're worried about her or something?"

Hawks had to make a decision and quickly, but it felt like he was being pulled in two different directions. Giving her to Dabi was technically the "right" thing to do, by the Commission's standards. It would be for the greater good so he could stay in good standing with Dabi and keep getting information on the League.

However, giving her to Dabi would be the same as hurting her himself. He knew exactly what Dabi would do to her and the idea of her being harmed, even a little, made his stomach clench. The hero lowered his head to look at the girl he held in his arms. Kaere was bruised, bleeding, and burned. She honestly looked half-dead already.

I just want to protect you. He heard Dabi's approaching footsteps and lifted his head. I want to save you, Kaere. But I don't know what I can do anymore. I let you down. Just look at what happened. If I leave with you…what are we going to do? The Commission won't be happy about me doing it. They'll say I wasted all that time I spent gaining Dabi's trust. They might even…

His wings tucked tighter against his back as he forced himself to try to keep a straight face. To not let the villain know just how worried he was. He knew what he had to do and he hated it. The idea made him sick to his stomach, but if he left with Kaere then he would have no choice but to fly away and never look back. Run away from everything, leave it all behind, all so he could save her. It would be selfish and they would never truly be safe if he did this.

"You're going to get her wounds treated, right?" Hawks let Dabi get closer and felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw the way the burned villain looked at Kaere.

Those sharp blue eyes were half-lidded and his mouth curved into a smirk. A hand reached down and the way he stroked his fingertips along her wounded cheek set Hawks on edge. "Yeah, I'll take really good care of her." Dabi licked his lips and gripped Kaere's face, his fingertips pressing into her cheeks harshly.

She was still unconscious. Still lying motionless in the hero's arms with blood running down the side of her face. Her wounds glistening like the lacerations all over Dabi's upper half. The burns appearing so raw, so painful.

Hawks felt like his heart was being ripped apart in his chest. He had to hand her over to Dabi; he had already determined that it was what needed to be done. He needed to sacrifice the girl that he loved for the sake of the greater good. Even if it hurt them both, even if he just wanted to take flight and fly far away with her, even if he wished they could disappear together and live a normal life. This was for the greater good, to protect more lives than just hers.

She has friends in the League. They'll protect her, he tried to reason with himself. Still, he kept a tight hold on the girl. I'll be able to see her again soon. I'm already proving myself by giving her to him. He moved closer to Dabi, pushing himself to finally let her go. Doing his best to ignore the hammering of his heart, the twisting in his stomach. I'm sorry, Kaere…

Before the girl's limp body could be handed over, a booming shout of "Naoru" echoed through the alley from behind Dabi. It made his wings shift out at his sides on reflex, his hold on Kaere tightening. In front of him, Dabi's eyes widened and his smirk spread into a grin as he half-turned.

"You! I told you before-!" Endeavor started, storming into the alley.

"Not saving her this time, old man." Dabi turned his back to Hawks, blood running down his arms from the wounds Kaere had given him. "You…really need to take care of her, huh? Does it make you feel better? Bet it makes you feel strong, right? Protecting this weak little-"

"Hawks, get Naoru out of here. I'm going to take care of this." The older hero gave him a stern look from beyond Dabi before letting his gaze briefly flit over the girl. It was subtle. Just the twitch of a muscle in his neck. Still, it was enough to let Hawks know that Endeavor had seen her condition and he was furious.

He was glad things took this turn. With Endeavor appearing on the scene, seeing the girl, and giving him that order, now he had no choice. Giving her to Dabi would raise Endeavor's suspicion and he knew that the Commission would want him to keep his connection with Dabi a secret. With a brief nod, he tightened his hold on Kaere and spread his wings.

"Really think you can keep her away from me? Kae's mine. I'm gonna get her back. You can't keep your guard up all the time," Dabi taunted, blue flames blazing to life in his hands. "The harder you try to keep her away, the worse you're gonna make it for her."

Holding the girl securely, he took to the air. Hawks forced himself to focus on just getting her to a hospital for treatment. He was concerned about what was going to happen between Dabi and Endeavor, but Kaere was in bad shape. Her breathing was even more ragged now and her body was starting to shake violently.

Shift P.O.V

The lights in the hospital room were bright. Kaere lifted her right hand to shield her eyes, her vision blurry without her glasses. She tried to remember everything that happened and as it all came flooding back to her, she felt tears rolling down her cheeks. The wound on the side of her face stung intensely and she had to grit her teeth to keep from whimpering.

Am I…safe now? Pushing herself up in the hospital bed, her eyes lowered to the IV needle in her arm and the tube connecting her to the bag hanging beside the bed. She managed to prop herself up with the pillow behind her and looked down at herself to take stock of her injuries.

It was bad. She knew it was bad and she was starting to tremble as she examined her body. The flesh carved from her cheek was painful, but the burns were what concerned her more. Dabi had not wanted to let her go. She had a burn on the back of her neck, her right calf and thigh, the left side of her ribs, and on her right forearm. All from him grabbing her with burning hands, determined to force her into submission so he could take her with him.

Some of her bones had broken during her fight to escape, but they seemed to have repaired themselves. Her quirk had prioritized healing what she needed to remain mobile rather than healing surface wounds. Even now, as she looked at her bandaged wounds, she could feel her quirk slowly healing the damage.

I'm…a patchwork of scars. Almost like him. Kaere let her head rest back against the bed and the tears continued to fall. What am I going to do? I can't…stay with Endeavor-san's family anymore. I put Natsuo-kun in danger! What if Dabi hurt him today? I can't…risk someone getting hurt because of me!

There was a quiet knock at the door before it opened carefully. "Naoru-chan, are you awake?" Fuyumi's voice made the girl quickly wipe at her tears. The pale-haired girl stepped into the room, frowning the second she saw how Kaere looked. "How do you feel? Do you need anything?"

"Y-you shouldn't be here," Kaere argued. She lowered her head, fidgeting with her prosthetic hand and scratching at Dabi's blood that had dried on the fingers. "It's dangerous. Fuyumi-san, please-"

"Is she awake?" Natsuo's blurry figure appeared in the doorway and it was difficult to see his expression clearly, but she could swear she saw him look relieved. "Naoru?"

The tears multiplied and she curled into a ball on the bed, pulling her legs against her chest and ignoring the pain. "I'm sorry! I-I put you in danger earlier! You shouldn't be here! Neither of you should be near me so just go! Please!"

There was silence and then the shuffling of footsteps. A quiet crinkling of paper wrapping could be heard as something was set on the bed next to her. "I got these," Natsuo mumbled. "I didn't know if you were going to be okay so I thought…"

"It's okay. Naoru-chan, it's going to be okay." Fuyumi approached the other side of the bed and patted her shoulder, but looked across to Natsuo. "Let's just give her some space for now. We can come back after she's had some time to herself." She ushered her brother toward the door, but glanced back at Kaere. "Naoru-chan, don't be afraid to ask if you need something, alright?"

She was left alone in the room again. Alone with her thoughts and memories. Alone to worry about what happened after she had lost consciousness. She had heard Dabi's voice when she was being held by Hawks, but she passed out before she could tell what Hawks was doing.

Kaere's gaze slid to the side of the bed that Natsuo had been at and blood rushed to her face. Even with her glasses off, the bouquet was beautiful. A collection of purple and blue flowers wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. No one had ever given her flowers before in her life and now she felt bad about yelling at the siblings to leave.

I just…I don't want them to get hurt. I don't want Endeavor-san or Hawks to get hurt. I wish I could just…disappear. If this life ended, would I be lucky and live better in the next one? Is that what would be best? If I died, Dabi couldn't use me anymore. And Hawks…wouldn't have to worry. I wouldn't be putting anyone in danger if I died.

She lifted the flowers and held them against her chest, closing her eyes. Kaere was still getting used to the idea of people worrying about her. If I died…then they would be sad, wouldn't they? And if I die, then I can't help anyone. As long as I'm still alive, there's a chance I can save people. Right?

The girl again wondered if Hawks was alright. The last time she saw him, he was holding her in his arms in the alley. Facing Dabi, who was telling him to hand her over. Everything after that was a blank until she woke up.

The door opened without a knock and Kaere lowered her head to try to hide her tears. "Um…I-I'm sorry. I keep causing so many problems…" She went silent as she heard heavy footsteps cross the room to the window. The curtains were pulled closed and then the footsteps moved closer to the side of the bed.

"Your hand, Naoru."

"R-right. I'm sorry." Kaere lifted her head and held out her right hand, sparing Endeavor just a brief glance. I don't deserve this prosthetic. I…knew that. But now I used it to hurt someone. That isn't what a medic should do. He's going to take it back and…I understand.

A large hand gripped the base of the prosthetic and turned her hand. Critical eyes examined the blood dried on her fingers before he looked at the girl. "Is this your blood?"

"No. I…I'm sorry, Endeavor-san. I had to use the scalpel function to defend myself and…I got his blood on my hand. I'm sorry. I-I know I don't deserve this so if you want to take it back…" Kaere was surprised when he released her hand.

"When I saw the wounds on that villain, I assumed they were from that boy's feathers." The hero's hand awkwardly rested on the top of her head and he gave her a blurry look of approval. "You did well, Naoru."

"Where's Hawks? Is he alright?"

He was silent for a moment as he drew his hand away, looking at it briefly as if he wondered if he had patted her on the head correctly. "He left after I got here. He hasn't tried to make contact since then."

She felt a tightening in her chest as she held the flowers closer. "Did he…look alright? I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I…I put Natsuo-kun in danger, too. And I…caused problems for you."

"You made a mistake. You shouldn't have left the house so late, knowing that someone was looking for you. That was stupid." The hand rested on her head again and this time, he made an awkward attempt at ruffling her dark brown hair. "But you did well to protect yourself."

Fresh tears rose to her eyes and she looked down. "Th-thank you."

"Where did those flowers come from?"

"Nh. Um…Natsuo-kun brought them." She felt his hand lift and she glanced over to see his expression softening from the harsh frown he wore before.

"I see." Endeavor nodded, more to himself than to her, and stood. "I'm going to speak with the nurses. The villain who did this to you is still out there. I'm not going to go into detail, but you're not in the clear yet. Tonight. If they don't release you, then I'll stay and keep watch over the room."

Kaere was not given the chance to argue as he left. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked at the purple and blue flowers. I don't deserve this. I hurt people. Dabi was right when he called me a monster. The girl reached around on the bedside table until she found her glasses sitting there, neatly folded and cleaned.

She slipped them onto her face and set the flowers aside. Searching the table for her phone. It was sitting perched on top of her neatly folded clothes, which had been changed out for hospital clothes. Kaere checked her messages, heart pounding and hoping for something from Hawks, but there were no new messages or missed calls. What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he's mad at me for causing so many problems?