Think! Think, oh God, think! Think of something! Thinkthinkthinkthink!

He's gonna die.

Don't think that! That's not what he meant at all!

The cold steel blade dug into Izuku's skin, making his breaths come out as weak gasps, grasping for thin wisps of air. His head was light, and the world spun slightly, thrown into motion by the girl who tackled him. Was he getting enough air? He couldn't be getting enough air. Definitely not. Toga's sharp nails clamped onto his bony shoulder, a sprung bear trap, and despite being light as a feather, her weight was crushing his chest, each shaky, labored breath more desperate than the last.

He was an idiot! Why hadn't he seen this coming? Everything about her screamed of insanity. Her canines seemed so much longer than before, so much sharper, those of a predator. And her eyes, oh God, her eyes. They were absolutely glowing, toxic yellow lit up with giddy joy and… Lust? He was dead. He was stupid, and he was dead. His breath caught on a whimper, and he felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Someone… anyone… please save me…"

Become a hero? What had he been thinking? That had been stupid! Everyone had told him it was impossible, and he should've listened! She had just been luring him in, just setting a trap! Her words had been music to his ears, but only because she was the pied piper. She told him what he had wanted to hear, and… And he fell for it.

He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, block out the images forcing their way into his head. The blush. The smile. The pure excitement pouring out of her. He didn't want to see that. But he couldn't force his bloodshot eyes shut.

He felt the blade against his throat loosen, ever so slightly. Enough for him to dare to breath. Should he fight? This might be his chance! But, would he win? No, definitely not. But-

Her nails dug even further into his shoulder, cutting off his thoughts with a gasp. She shifted her weight, leaning down right next to his ear. He could feel her breath, hot in the brisk spring air. He could feel her anticipation, the way it seemed she was just waiting for something.

"No one will save you." Her voice was low, carrying a smile but undoubtedly… angry, That was the only word he could think of to describe the sweet poison that dripped off of her words. "Do you really think heroes can save everyone? They won't save you… So now, you're mine."

Oh God.

Oh God.

Oh God

He's dead.

She's going to cut his throat open, and no one's going to save him.

Izuku's breath hitched, and he held back the tears forming in his eyes. Mom, he wanted to apoligize for being so stupid. Or finish his hero journal. Or watch another episode of that stupid show where that guy with one horn just complained about heroes while everyone else laughed along. Or-

-Or at least try.

He… he just needed to get out. Get out alive, and call the police. They'd send a hero, or an officer, or, or someone. So, that meant he needed to get his phone, and call the police, and somehow avoid getting stabbed long enough for someone to arrive. So he had to-

Izuku shrieked, pain and shock setting his nerves on fire as the blade dug into his skin, just deep enough to draw blood. Toga licked her lips, and dragged her tongue across the fresh cut, lapping up the blood that seeped from his neck. She raised herself up a bit, her toxic yellow eyes watching him with lovesick joy.

"You're so cute when you mutter, you know that? It makes my heart go flutter, like a butterfly!" She shivered in pleasure, and Izuku's terror descended into abject horror. He wasn't just going to be killed… He was going to be eaten.

"But no matter how cute your muttering is, thoughts like that just won't do!" She stole a bit more blood from his veins, before coming back up for air, her teeth were stained red. She giggled, a terrifyingly cheerful sound that seemed to clash with the deep seated anger in her eyes. "After all, a hero can't save you. They wouldn't come in time!"

Of course a hero could save him. Of course they'd come in time. That was their job. That was their purpose. They always saved those in need.

"Heroes can't save those who need it the most! They don't save them!" Toga spat it out, sorching acid spilling out of her wolfish smile.

That can't be true!

But...

But they never were for him, were there? Other than with the slime villain, had a hero ever helped him? Not when Kacchan had beat him up. Not when the other students laughed at him. Not even when he was about to throw himself off a building.

Toga's grin, feral and hungry, fell slightly, and her eyes flickered with a distinct pain. "They've never saved you before, have they?"

His heart tightened, and he bit his lip, his breaths far to fast, and far too shallow. Toga was crazy, and terrifying, and so many other things, but… but she was right. Heroes couldn't save everyone. They could fail. They had failed. He saw it on the news, the robbers that got away. The murders that weren't stopped. And now, he was going to die like a textbook murder mystery, stabbed to death in a back alley, not a single hero there to save him.

No one had been there for him.

No one ever had.

No friends.

No heroes.

Not even Mom.

No one was going to save him, because he had long since been abandoned. He wasn't special, he wasn't loved, he wasn't cared about. He didn't have a quirk, he didn't have a talent. He was a Deku. And he felt…

He felt angry. He clenched his jaw, his fear and anger and terror and self-loathing all mixing together into some sort of nauseous, toxic mess. He wanted to cry. To scream. To punch and kick. To let it all go, to break everything he had ever touched, and then throw himself off a building, because a bloody stain on the pavement was all that he was good for.

Izuku squeezed his fists until his knuckles went white, and he shivered with anger. Blood seeped out of his neck, hot and sticky on his skin, and his mouth was an arroyo, the riverbed having become dry and cracked.

No one would save him. No one ever had.

So he had to save himself.

How? How should he? Goals, goals! A plan was the first thing he needed, and a plan needs objectives.

Izuku needed to remove the knife, both from his neck and from her hands. That should get him enough space to run. He was definitely not as athletic as her, so he had to free himself in a single explosive movement. Could he outrun her? What if he couldn't? What woul-

She traced the knife up and down his neck, giggling gleefully. His breath caught, but he forced himself to calm down, enough to think at least.

No time for 'what ifs!' He had to move! He'd deal with whether he could run fast enough later! His stomach was a knot of steel chains, but he couldn't hesitate.

He clenched his jaw, and tensed his muscles, preparing to use every drop of strength in his body at once-

Only for Toga to stand up and leap away, a satisfied grin on her face as she put several paces' space between them.

"You're doing great, Izu-kun!" Toga's eyes shined, her knife gracefully twirling in her hand as she danced back and forth. "You learn so fast!"

He scrambled to his feet, heart racing, and his hands shaking as they held closed the cut on his neck. Why did she look so happy? Why wasn't she attacking him? He stumbled back, every nerve in his body screaming at him.

Run.

Run, run, run run run.

Run while he has a chance.

Run while he's alive.

Toga was dangerous. He could see it in her eyes, oh so clearly now. How did he not see it before? He needed to run, to get the hell away.

But he couldn't. His feet were lead, his muscles taut violin strings. Too taut, ready to snap. Every part of him wanted to run, but none of them were brave enough to make the first move.

And so he stood there, frozen in quivering terror, as she approached. As she meandered in his direction, never walking directly towards him, but getting ever-closer. Izuku could see blood on her lips. His blood. His brain felt broken. All the pieces, all of the gears and levers, they were there, but they were spinning in different directions, grinding against each other but unable to start the engine.

Why wasn't he running?

She took a step closer, now within arm's reach.

Why wasn't he trying to escape?

The silence of the back alley was all encompassing, every drop of sound swallowed up by his raging panic. Amongst the chaos, the only sound in the world was his wild heartbeat, throbbing in his ears.

That, and the footsteps of a certain yellow-eyed girl.

She reached up, gingerly caressing his cheek with her long, pink nails. Her smile was small and gentle, but caged a tsunami of raw energy. She was practically buzzing, restraining herself. Why? Why was she restraining her self? What was she doing? And why was he letting her?

"You neck is so cute." She lifted his chin, a hot blush spreading across her cheeks as she took a moment to admire her work, a painter admiring the color of their brushstrokes. "And it smells nice, too."

He swallowed, shivering, and her feline eyes traveled upwards, making eye contact. Holding eye contact.

Izuku wanted to discard all of his stomach's innards, staining the alleyway a pukish-shade of yellow-green.

He saw the glint of a blade in her hand, and knew he had lost his chance to run.

He tried, and he failed. He was a coward, afraid of the what-if's, afraid to make a move.

No one could save him, not even himself.

He held his breath, and pinched his eyes shut, waiting for her tear open his soft belly.

But instead, he felt her cool forehead against his. He heard the knife click shut, and felt her hand push his aside, pressing closed the cut on his neck. Their breath intermingled, and she cupped his cheek, as though to comfort him. He was shaking from adrenaline, but her steady hands stilled him.

And he leaned into it, his limbs practically giving out under him.

"Shshshsh… It's ok…"

The air smelled of trash and oil, so thick and pundgent he could nearly taste it. Cars honked in the distance, and he could faintly hear the voices of passersby. But none of that registered to him. They were all pointless details. His mind, drowning in a flood of emotions that shattered any form of logical consistency, could only focus on the way he and his near-murderer gently swayed back and forth, the world having reached an odd, unnatural equilibrium.

Everything hurt. That was the only thing he could feel clearly. Fear, anger, disappointment, self-loathing, and… and relief? Was Toga comforting him? His mind slammed against the walls of its cage, saying it wasn't right, saying that this person couldn't be trusted. That he had to push her away, run, get help, but…

He didn't care anymore. His body wasn't listening. His heart didn't care about logic. The only thing it cared about was that… after so long, someone was comforting him. He knew it wasn't right, but it felt right. Or, at least, it felt good.

She ran a hand through his tangled green hair, her fingers gently brushing the knotted mess. If Izuku was going to be honest with himself… It was soothing. Comforting. He was always too tense, but suddenly, everything felt loose and relaxed.

"Congratulations, Izu-kun," She spoke softly, more than an excited whisper, but less than her normal, cheerful shouting. "You just learned the most important lesson any hero can know."

"H-huh?" Izuku furrowed his eyebrows, a frowned slightly, his mind still hazy. He learned a lesson? Was this… was this his training?

"Yep!" She smiled, her teeth now suspiciously lacking in blood. "Lesson numero uno! You can't expect anyone else to swoop in and save you, because that's your job."

Izuku just stared at her, his eyes wide in shock. He temporarily forgot how to breath, and had to consciously remind himself to. Was that all an act? Was he never in actual danger? But if this was just training, why did she stab him? And what was with her drinking his blood? It didn't make any…

Well, it actually did make sense. Twisted, terrifying sense. The sort of logic that felt wrong to understand. But he understood it, and and the realization wouldn't leave his brain.

Lift as many weights as he could, run as many miles as he wanted, that wouldn't make him a hero. Being a hero was just as much about mentality as it was physical strength; he had seen heroes with amazing abilities get outdone by weaker, but more mentally apt, heroes. And what Toga was saying was…

"... I have to change my mentality?" His voice was unsteady, and crackly, like an old gramaphone.

"Mm-hm." Toga hummed, basking in the physical contact. Izuku could see the pure, unadulterated pleasure seeping out of her. She drew her hand away, licking her fingers clean of blood, before moving even closer to him."You don't like fighting, Izu! I can see it in how you walk, and how you talk. You're adorable, like a scared little puppy!" She petted him, as though just to emphasize the point. After a moment, though, her smile fell, and just the smallest amount of bitter anger leaked into her tone. "But puppies can't save people. Puppies are the people who need saved. So you need to become a wolf!"

"I didn't actually fight you at all, though..." He bit back his tongue, uncertain of the words coming out of his mouth.

"No, but you did decide to fight! I could see you were going to!" Her tone, so happy and encouraging, seemed to fly in the face of the boy who had just had his neck almost slit open in a back alley. "And have you ever really tried to fight?"

Izuku opened his mouth, to say he still failed, or that he had fought before, but… he hadn't. Not really. He had never stood up to Kacchan. He just clamped his mouth shut and beared it. Hid the bruises and burns, nothing more. And when All Might had told him he couldn't be a hero, he didn't fight back. He didn't try. He just hid in his bottle, and drowned in his self pity.

But here Toga was, telling him to fight.

Izuku stood back, regaining his balance, but Toga stepped forward, unwilling to be separated from him. Not… not that he really minded. Despite everything, a small blush came to his face. And she had just been trying to teach him something, so… what she did was ok, right? He raise a hand to the cut, and found it was already clotted. It was still sticky, and uncomfortable, but it wasn't serious. Not dangerous, at least.

There was no harm done, and if a few cuts was all it took for him to become a hero, should he really complain?

"But, what else are you going to teach me?" Izuku watched her nervously, a shrew that was still not entirely comfortable with the cat lingering outside its den.

"Hm?" Toga seemed to snap out of a trance, looking at him inquisitively. "How to be a hero, duh."

"B-but…" Izuku's tongue stumbled for a moment, his mind attempting to shift gears. Training schedule. Caloric intake. Jogging schedule. Strength training. He had thought about it all this morning. "I mean, how? I only have ten months, so I'll have to train daily. But even with with that, I won't be able to become as physically strong as the other applicants, let alone stronger. And unlike them, I don't have the advantage of the quirk, so-"

Toga giggled, and Izuku's voice shrunk, dissolving into a mess of incomprehensible mumbling. She let go of him, stepping back deeper into the dark alleyway. "That isn't an issue!"

"What do you mean? Due to my lack of quirk, I have to make up for it, and strength and endurance training seems the most reasonable, so…" Izuku brought a hand to his chin, his legs following Toga as his mind became distracted with various ideas, an engineer drafting potential machines in his sketchbook.

"Boys are so silly, always comparing their muscles. You don't need to be the strongest, because big muscles can only do so much. And besides," Toga stuck her tongue out at Izuku, feigning disgust. "Beefy muscles aren't cute at all. Soft, fragile boys are so much cuter!"

The two plodded through the alley, Toga watching with acute interest as Izuku's mind considered the possibilities. He could feel her sharp eyes wandering over him, but attempted to ignore it, and instead focus on his training. The blush on his face was evidence that he failed at the task.

What traits other than strength or endurance could he use? From what he knew about U.A., the entrance exam had two stages, a written and a practical test, but he had no idea what either contained. The practical test was more than likely to test combat and quirk ability; it just made sense. How, though? That was the question. The insurmountable fact of the matter was that, no matter what he did, there was bound to be a dozen others with quirks that made them inherently stronger than him. He grimaced, only pausing when it suddenly got much brighter. He glanced up, suddenly realizing he had simply followed Toga out of the other side of the alley. There was the entrance to a garage, carved into a building and boxed in on all sided by alleys and brick walls, with crumpled up garbage scattered around and piles of abandoned, rusted junk piled in the corners. A few larger machines lined the walls, along with a rusted out metal desk, its paint all long since flaked away, and a hydraulic lift that stretched from the floor to the ceiling.

"What... is this place?" Izuku's eyes wandered, scanning the garbage and abandoned junk as though clues might simply reveal themselves.

"A car shop, I think." Toga jumped up, playfulling hanging from the broken hydraulic lift like a baby monkey. "No one was here when I got here, though. So it's home now!"

"You live here?" Izuku joined Toga in the garage itself, and caught sight of a few cans of rancid oil. He covered his mouth with his hand, as though that could block out the sticky smell.

"Mm-hm!" Still hanging from the lift, she pointed her toes at a sparkly purple backpack leaning against the desk. She pouted, and pinched her nose. "At least for now. This place is really smelly."

No wonder, it had to have been abandoned for years! It looked like it was supposed to be a villain's lair, and everything about it made Izuku's skin crawl. He couldn't stop shooting glances towards the shadows, the mix of nervousness and leftover adrenaline making him twitchy.

"So, so," Toga carelessly dropped from the lift, and closed the distance between them, smiling as though it was finally her turn in a board game. "Have you figured out what you need to train? You were thinking really hard!"

"Huh?" Izuku reorganized his thoughts, dragging his attention away from how much of a health hazard living within arm's length of used car oil was. What did he need to train? If it wasn't his strength and endurance….

He cast his eyes downward, a soft scowl on his face. He had always prided himself on his knowledge of heroes, his ability to memorized strategies and statistics, but now... It was all so useless. "Um…. No."

Toga giggled, hiding her sharp canines behind her hand. "You think a lot, but you're stuck thinking about it from the perspective of a hero."

The boy cocked his head, watching her with uncertain eyes. "But, if I want to become a hero, I need to follow their example, right?" Izuku watched the girl from the corner of his eye, dancing around him but never coming within an arm's length. "I want to become one, and the pros are the best examples."

Toga's mischievous smile fell, and she slowed, balancing on her heels. "Then you'll never become a hero." She said it simply, as though the connection was obvious.

They simply watched each other for a moment, the air heavy. The best way to learn to be a hero was from heroes, wasn't it? It just made the most sense. Who else was he supposed to learn from? The puzzle pieces just didn't fit together, no matter what angle he tried to put them in at. Toga's gaze hid the answers; she knew the solution. But from the way her feline eyes hovered over him, Izuku could tell she wanted him to figure it out. The yellow eyes carried an unspoken challenge, daring him to discover it without her help.

She shrugged, brushing him off, and plopped down next to her bag, pulling out a small, well worn manga. "Well, there's your training! Let's hang out tomorrow, Izu-kun!"

Izuku opened his mouth to speak, to ask for a hint, or how this was training, or… or something. But he closed his mouth, seeing that questions wouldn't help. Her smile, thin and teasing, told him that much. She wasn't to tell him anything until he figured it out himself. In a way, he was thankful that she wasn't telling him. This was a test, his first step to becoming a hero.

And he wanted to pass it on his own.

"Y-yeah, see you tomorrow, I guess…" He waved weakly, quiet but with an undeniable steel in his eyes. The gears in his head were already twisting, trying to realign and solve the question. He had a goal now, even if was just a single question to solve. Toga cheerfully waved back, before pointing at her own neck, licking her lips.

"Make sure to clean up before you go home, Izu-kuuun!"

Clean up? What did she mean-?

He raised a hand to his neck, and it came back red and sticky. Oh.

Oh yeah.

The girl in the 7/11 had given him quite the shocked look when he bashfully asked if he could use the sink.

)ooOoo(

Investigative Notes, not to be used in a court of law - Recorded 27/4

Suspect: appeared to be female. Possibly quite young. Vision confirms weapon was a knife; type unclear.

Circumstances not entirely clear; from suspect's wording it appears the victim was lured into a trap.

Suspect reference a female friend whom she had also attacked in a similar manner; search records for homicide cases committed by a female in the Osaka area. Precedence given to cases involving a knife as the suspect's weapon and noted consumption of blood in the repor-

"Here ya go." The Augur's pen jerked to a stop, his concentration shattered by his rather loud companion setting a mug of coffee on his wooden desk. He glared at her, hunched over his notepad, but she only cooly smiled back. "You know, it's getting late."

He quirked an eyebrow, and glanced up at the clock. 8:43. "And yet you give me a coffee?"

"Hm." Tsuruko grunted in surprise, leaned on his desk as she raised her own coffee to her lips.

"What?" The Augur leaned his head back, and opened his throat, throwing the bitter drink past his lip like a college student might take shots. He hadn't partied like that in years, but it was a useful skill for downing caffeine.

"Nothin'." Tsuruko set her mug down, and began sifting through a manila folder. "I was just expecting you to say something like 'I work better at night, less people to deal with,' or 'shouldn't you already be gone?'" She dropped her voice, attempting, and failing, to imitate her boss's gravelly, bored voice. Instead, it came out sounding like a child trying to seem far older than they actually were.

The Augur made a sound halfway between a grunt and a chuckle. "Do you want me to shoo you off? I still can, and you're rather annoying." His voice was dry and impersonal as ever, but a smile played at the edges of his lips.

She laughed tiredly. "Nah, I'm good. Today's already been too long to deal with another lecture.

"Oh? What happened to little miss 'ball of energy?'" He pushed his notepad aside, looking over various reports across his desk. The entire goddamn Amazon must've been cut down to make all this paperwork, but there still wasn't enough information for any leads other than the info he saw in his vision. Not that it could be used in court, either way.

"Went to go pick up our stuff from forensics."

The Augur took a deep breath, and sighed, already knowing what she meant. "Iwatani?"

"Yep."

"What was it this time?"

Tsuruko groaned, though the Augur had the self control to maintain his silence. "'Why are you even here? You guys are wasting my time. Just get a hero on they case, they'll actually be able to solve it." She spoke in an annoying, nasally voice, and the Augur had to admit it was rather accurate. Tsuruko could probably imitate Iwatani well enough to trick the man's co-workers.

"Did you at least get anything useful out of him?" He glanced at the manila folder in Tsuruko's hands.

"After the obligatory lecture on how useless our profession is? Yeah." She plucked a few sheets out of the folder, and passed them to her partner. "Here's the important stuff. That guy would've been fired ages ago if it wasn't for the fact that he can actually do his job."

"That's debatable." The Augur scowled, taking the sheets. He had to twist Iwatani's arm every time he wanted something done. The only reason they worked with him was that practically no one went into police forensics anymore. They all went to the hero agencies, not that the Augur could blame them; the pay here was abysmal.

"Either way, it's more information than we had before." She slapped the folder shut, and dropped it on the desk. "The victim's wallet was missing, but all of his official ID had been returned to the body, alongside a few membership cards. No bus pass or money, though."

"Fingerprints?"

"There were some on the ID that didn't match those of the body; they didn't match anything on record, though."

"So this person hasn't been arrested before." The Augur clicked his tongue, irritated. There was another lead, off the table.

"Oh, and about known criminals with Renfield's," Tsuruko groaned, pushing herself up. "We collected a list of all known diagnosed cases currently living in Japan."

"And?" The Augur looked up at her, hoping to finally get some good news.

"There's not a lot of 'em." Tsuruko scratched her jaw, looking at the wall clock as she tried to recall the details. "Only a little over a dozen. Most of them are men. There is a case of a woman from the Osaka Metro, but she's still locked up in Nagoya National Prison. Most of them are in prison, actually, though there are two undergoing rehab. One in Aomori City, another in Tokyo."

The Augur sighed, slouching back in his chair. Of course. He could already tell that he was going to have a lot more pointlessly late nights on this case.

Tsuruko glanced at him, and smirked. "I know that look."

"Really?" He didn't particularly like showing others how he felt, but this time, he let his irritation leak into his tone. "And what 'look' is this?"

"The sort that says you need to get a few good, cold beers." She clapped him on the back, and jerked her head towards the door, a relaxed grin on her face. More specifically, the type of relaxed grin that screamed of being far too tired to care anymore.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head, but lifted himself out of his chair anyway. It's not like he'd get anything more done tonight; he'd just sit in the empty office, looking over the same old reports for a few hours. "Fine, just this once. But it's your job to remind me to turn in my investigative notes tomorrow.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." She brushed him off. "Let's go, before you change your mind."

"Don't tempt me. And for the record, I drink whiskey, not beer. Beer just tastes like alcoholic oatmeal."

"Man, what would I ever do without your pedigree and expertise, oh-wise-one?"

"Can it, kid."

A/N: G'evenin', all. So, Izuku has his first scar, and the Augur decided to relieve some stress in a bar instead of the gym for once; how was the chapter? Call me a crowd pleaser, but I feel hearing your thoughts only makes this better. Not to mention, I personally love listening to your predictions. They're not always correct, but they are interesting. Next chapter is already on the way, so I'll get it out as soon as I reasonably can! Please feel free to review!

With only the worst of intentions,

Imp the Nefarious

Childish Guestino: Did this count as "dragging it on for a bit?" She only maimed him a little after all. And, on the matter of Himiko's backstory… you think I'm just going to have her say it? HA! No, I'm gonna make you guys suffer first. Himiko is actually the hardest for me to write, though, since her logic is so different from all the other characters. It's tough, so I just hope her dialogue and monologue all come out right.

Nonyaarb: Indeed I am. Is that a bad thing? I do worry about my pacing at times. But, more than anything, I want to make sure what he does makes sense, without breaking his characterization. And considering what I have planned for him… It'll take a bit.

Swertyuiop: A hell of a ride indeed; As you saw from this chapter, and the coming ones, he's not going to go unscathed. And honestly, I'm not sure how good Toga's lovin' is gonna be. He ain't gonna be jumping off a building any time soon, but he is going to be spending a significant amount of time with Little Ms. Hematophage.