An alley at three o'clock in the morning. Drops of crimson raining from above. A figure standing before her with gray-blue eyes, tears making them shine as he stared back at her. A deep scar, running down the center of his forehead. Bright red ribbon binding his wrists in front of him.

She felt her pulse quicken as the blood continued to rain down on them from above. It was a dream. It had to be a dream. Either that or the apocalypse. Akari tried to step back and found herself instead tumbling forward against the man. His skin felt hot to the touch and when she lowered her gaze to the ribbon, she found it snaking up his arms and binding them tightly to his torso.

A tingle ran through her body at the sight of him tied so neatly by her capture weapon and when she ran her fingertips along it, warmth rushed to her core. She saw the tears ease from the corners of his eyes as his mouth curled into a smile. His head went back, eyes closing as she dug her fingers beneath the ribbon on his left bicep and tugged. A low groan escaped him, making her pulse race and sending a wave of excitement through her. The expression on his face was one of ecstasy and she felt the ground lurch beneath her feet.

Akari snapped awake in her bed, sitting upright immediately and feeling a surge of panic. What was that? What happened?! Pushing her tangled crimson locks away from her face, she looked to the door. It was still closed, as she had left it the previous night.

After she had grabbed Jin to steady her fatigued body, the man had helped her to the couch and brought her a plate of food. He was being kind to her. Unreasonably kind, considering the fact that she was basically holding him captive. They had spoken a little after they ate, but she had excused herself to her room when she got tired. Of course, she told him not to leave the apartment. She even threatened to hunt him down if he disappeared on her.

"What am I going to do?! Damn it!" Akari pushed herself to get out of bed and went to the closet to find some clean clothes. Her fingertips were a little numb on her left hand, but she ignored it. This was fairly normal after using her quirk.

She located some jeans and a plain black tank top. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she pondered her options. Classes were off for the next two days so she had two days before she really had to go anywhere. As far as she knew, all of the lesson plans for after the sports festival were already prepared.

The door was opened with hesitation and brought forth the smell of food cooking. Her stomach growled in response and she felt guilt set in. This reminded her of when he had slept over before, when she forced him to walk her home. He had made food for her then as well, but back then, she had no idea how he felt.

Love? Love…but why? I'm about as lovable as a feral cat. I threaten people in my sleep, I get grouchy when I'm tired, and I can't cook or clean very well. I'm not even a very good hero; I'm not doing this for the same reason most heroes do it.

Akari saw him standing at the kitchen counter, his back to her as he filled bowls with something. Her gaze fell to the black and white mask sitting on her coffee table and frowned. When he wears that thing, he acts different. It's like he's…more confident? But he talks weird. He contradicts himself.

"Oh. Uh…good morning," he quietly greeted her, looking at Akari over his shoulder. He finished up what he was doing and turned to face her, his expression one of relief when he saw that she looked like she had recovered her strength. "I made breakfast. Wasn't sure what you like, but…"

She looked to the array of food behind him and the hero was unable to stop herself from smiling. An omelet with rice. Miso soup, from the instant soup packets she had horded what felt like an eternity ago when she moved in. It all looked and smelled irresistibly delicious. "Ah…thanks."

Jin's gaze shifted to the mask and he seemed to realize that she had been looking at it. "I'm sorry…about yesterday. I didn't mean to-"

"I basically kidnapped you," she bluntly stated.

He blinked in surprise. "What? Kidnapped?"

"What I did was inappropriate for a hero," she continued, attempting to sound more professional. "Regardless of what you did, it was inappropriate for me to force you to come here." As she spoke, she tried to keep a straight face and not focus on the food behind him.

Jin rubbed the back of his neck and half-shrugged. "I don't really mind."

She lost her battle of self-control and soon found herself sitting on the couch beside him as they ate, the news showing on the television. Akari enjoyed the food, but at the same time she was trying to figure out what to do now. I can't keep him here like a pet or something. I have to get him out before Hizashi or Shouta try to come over. But first I have to know that he won't kill again.

The man's expression was one of calm contentment as he ate beside her. He faced forward, but glanced over every so often. "Do you…have work today?"

"I have the day off." She finished eating around the same time that he did and was grateful when he offered to take her plate to the kitchen. When she moved to hand it over, her fingers brushed his and she felt the warmth of his skin against hers. It immediately conjured up images and sounds from her dream. Jolting away, she felt blood rush to her face.

"What's wrong?" He saw her face turning red and she was suddenly unable to meet his gaze. "Akari?"

"I-it doesn't matter. I'm going out for a while. Don't leave the apartment."

"Uh…okay?" Jin was obviously confused, but not about to question to her.

Akari grabbed a jacket and some shoes before setting off. She had no idea where she was going or what she would do, but she had to put some distance between herself and Jin so she could think clearly. What am I going to do?! Why did I have that dream? His skin was really warm! Damn it! Focus! She pushed some stray locks of hair away from her face and bit her lip. Am I…losing my mind?

"What are you doing?"

She jolted, nearly tripping over her feet and face-planting onto the sidewalk. A hand darted out to grab her wrist and Akari spun to find Aizawa holding her arm. "Sh-Shouta?! Your bandages-!"

"I said I was getting them off after the sports festival." He narrowed his eyes and leaned down, peering into her pale face. "You used your quirk yesterday."

"Nn. Yeah, well, it's part of my job, right? You use your quirk for work, too." Akari released a nervous laugh and her gaze fell upon his face. Her eyes were fixed upon the deep, kind of jagged, scar beneath his right eye. "Shouta…?"

"Where were you going?"

She chewed the inside of her cheek as she tried to form some sort of excuse. "Ah…well…I don't know. I just had this itchy feeling like I needed to get out and do something. I mean, I turned in kind of early and I feel pretty rested so…" A smirk tugged at her lips as something occurred to her. "So what brings you to my neighborhood, Shouta?"

His lips twisted into a frown and he rubbed at the back of his neck. "What are you trying to say?" he muttered.

"You wanted to see me~?"

"Don't tease me," the man warned.

"Why? What's going to happen?" The red-haired hero half-grinned up at him now and put a hand on her hip, challenging him. Her worries began to fade away when she saw his face and when she saw the grumpy sort of expression he made, she felt a surge of excitement.

Aizawa gripped her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, still frowning. His free hand went beneath her chin, a thumb stroking along her lower lip. "What do you think I'll do to you if you keep pushing me?" His words came out in a tantalizing growl that made Akari's knees weak.

A lump formed in her throat when he got so close to her and now she struggled to swallow her nervousness. I just wanted to tease him a little; I didn't think that he'd turn it around on me like this. The man's thumb left her lip and was replaced by his lips, pressing hard against hers as he held her in place.

Akari's arms lifted, wrapping around his neck and threading her fingers into his dark hair. The female hero felt his hips buck into hers and let his mouth muffle the moan that tried to leave her. I missed this! I missed this so much! She fought the urge to grind against him and reluctantly broke the kiss.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she smirked. "You're up pretty early, Shouta. You really couldn't wait to see me?"

"That's it." He grabbed her wrist and began stalking toward her building, down the street. "Let me show you why you shouldn't tease me."

"Ah! W-wait a second! We can't go there!" she protested. Her mind raced, trying to come up with a quick excuse and came up with a really terrible one. "There's a roach infestation and they've got exterminators working on it!"

Aizawa stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at her with a raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"I mean, between that and the mess from my food poisoning yesterday, it's pretty horrible! I don't want anyone to see it!"

He released a frustrated sigh and let go of her wrist. "Clean your kitchen more often!"

"I will! Sorry!"

Pushing his hair away from his face, he scowled and looked from her building back to her. Akari was now fidgeting with her ponytail. "Fine. We'll go to his place."

"Wait, what? No way! You're not saying-!"

"He's got a guest room."

Is he seriously suggesting that we do something like that in Hizashi's apartment?! Akari followed him down the sidewalk, hesitant yet interested. The odds of Yamada being home were kind of slim; he tended to schedule a ton of things during his free time.

She cast a glance toward her apartment building, biting her lower lip. That was close. Way, way too close. How would Shouta react if he saw Jin in my apartment? He'd be so pissed off.

"Hurry up. I want to do this and get a nap when we're done."

"I'm coming." Akari jogged to catch up to him, grabbing his hand and flashing the man a half-grin when he gave her a frustrated frown.

Goose bumps rose on her skin as she became vaguely aware of someone watching her. The hero looked over her shoulder again, toward her building. None of her curtains were open. Satisfied that it was not Jin, she faced forward again. The man in the black hooded sweatshirt, walking among the people on the sidewalk behind her, began to smile.