August 28th.

It was on this day, twenty-seven years ago, that Yukimura Rei had married the love of her life. It was the day Todoroki Enji had slipped the diamond ring onto her slender finger and promised to play the part of the gentleman husband.

Or so she had thought.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind, Rei."

Rei looks up to see her therapist, Kiyoko, sitting across from her. Rei doesn't mean to lose focus. She's trying to pay attention to the session, but her therapist is right- she does have a lot on her mind.

"Shouto stopped by yesterday." Rei says, not wanting to reveal what's really holding her focus hostage. She can't bear to look at Kiyoko while she skips around the truth though, so she gazes down at her hands instead. She can vaguely see the ghost of a ring on her bare finger.

"Oh, really?" Kiyoko asks, and Rei knows she's not feigning interest. "How did that go?"

"Good. Very good, actually. UA just started a new dorming system this week. I think it will be really good for him."

"I think so too." Kiyoko agrees. "That's great to hear."

Kiyoko smiles at her and Rei gives a small smile back. Her eyes try to trail back down to her hands but Rei redirects them towards her bedside window that overlooks the hospital courtyard. It's empty for the most part but Rei catches sight of a young couple sitting on a bench, their two children chasing each other across the grass. She's too far away to see their faces, but she assumes they're smiling.

That could have been us.

"There's something else on your mind, though, isn't there? Something more troubling, perhaps?"

Rei often thinks her therapist is psychic, either that, or she's just really good at her job. Kiyoko isn't like any of her other therapists. When Rei was first admitted, the hospital staff had ignored her claims of Enji's abuse and labeled her as clinically insane- everyone except for Nakahara Kiyoko. She believed her, and not only that- she understood her.

Rei remembers first meeting Kiyoko. They hadn't been on a first name basis back then, and Rei didn't think they ever would be. She had assumed this Dr. Nakahara was like all the other therapists she had met, so she was surprised when the first words to come out of her mouth were, "I believe you."

Kiyoko had been in an abusive relationship before, so she isn't one to stay quiet when someone else might be in the same situation. Her story wasn't an exact replica- she had no children, her husband hadn't been a prominent figure in society, and she had been saved in the end by a pro hero- but it had been enough for Rei to feel a connection.

And that connection was strong enough to make her reveal the truth about what was happening behind the closed doors of the Todoroki estate.

Rei told Kiyoko about Enji's obsession with creating the ultimate quirk; the perfect balance between fire and ice. She told her how her quirk was the only thing about her that Enji took an interest in, how their sole reason for marriage was to procreate and produce a child with the quirk of his dreams. She told her about the abuse, his abuse of her and his abuse of her children. Rei told Kiyoko everything- except for one minor detail.

That she had once loved him.

The quirk marriage had been a lie. Rei had made it up because she had been too embarrassed to admit that she had fallen in love and willingly married a monster. She had carried around that secret for nearly a decade now, and every year around this time, it got heavier to carry. Rei knew she couldn't hide it from Kiyoko for much longer, not if she wanted to make a full recovery and heal her wounds.

But not just yet.

"Kiyoko," Rei said, her mind desperate to leave the memory of her husband behind. "may I ask what your quirk is?"

"Of course." Her therapist responded, closing her notepad and placing it on the table beside her. "My quirk is a little confusing, but I'll try to explain it as best as I can. It's called Quirk Sensor. Basically, I can sense when a quirk is being used. I can also sense when something is the result of a quirk and even when someone is under the influence of a quirk. For example, if you were to make some ice, I would be able to sense that the ice was made using a quirk rather than coming about naturally."

"You have a very fascinating quirk, Kiyoko." Rei said. "Can you trace the quirk back to the user?"

"Unfortunately, no. But it would be pretty cool if I could, maybe even make it a little more useful."

Rei freezes at the comment. She wants to tell Kiyoko that the usefulness of her quirk doesn't mean anything, that her value and worth as a person is not dependent on it. But then Kiyoko smiles and laughs, and Rei remembers that her therapist is not her husband. Not everyone is obsessed with the strength and power of quirks like Japan's Number One Hero.

A part of her still wants to believe that it isn't real, that Enji is the man he had made himself out to be, but her hope is diminishing everyday. She had given Enji so many chances, way more than he deserved.

Rei looks up at Kiyoko who's sitting patiently, waiting for her response. She takes a deep breath and pushes her fears to the back of her mind.

"There's something I've never told you."


Rei felt very grateful for the clock that hung on the wall across from her.

At the moment, it was the only thing keeping her sane and grounding her to reality. She knew exactly how much time had passed since she awoke to find herself bound to a chair in a darkened, dusty cellar with no windows, and a door that looked too heavy for Rei to open even if it turned out to be unlocked.

Four hours. She was sitting there, alone, for four long hours. Aside from the ticking of the clock and the creaking of the chair, the room was silent.

She never thought she would be in this position, but then again, nobody does. Rei had been walking the same route home from school every day for the past year and a half since she started high school and nothing out of the ordinary ever happened. So when a man she'd never seen before suddenly approached her, Rei didn't think much of it.

"Excuse me, miss," He said, shooting her a smile. "Is there a post office around here?"

"It's two blocks down that way." Rei answered, pointing in the direction she just came from. "It's a big white building. You can't miss it."

"Thank you very much."

The man walked past her and started heading towards the post office and Rei was about to continue on her own way when a strange feeling suddenly overcame her. She turned around to watch the man, her eyes fixated on his retreating form. Rei tried to turn back around but her eyes were stuck to this man, like some sort of magnetic attraction.

He wasn't very far yet. She could still catch up to him, but why would she want to do that? Rei tried again to look away but her eyes refused. Something about that man intrigued her and she wanted to know more. She needed to know more.

Rei took a hesitant step forward, her gaze still glued to the man up ahead. Did she really want to do this? Another step forward. Was she really going to just introduce herself to some random guy on the street? Two more steps forward. Why was she feeling this sudden desire for a stranger?

Rei was running now, panting as she tried to catch up to the man who out of nowhere just stole her heart.

"Hey, wait up!"

She didn't shout very loud but he still heard her. He stopped walking and turned around, a charming smile plastered on his face. A magnetic smile that Rei couldn't look away from, not even now as the image was still etched in her memory.

She didn't remember much after that, the events were kind of fuzzy but Rei assumed it had something to do with the man's quirk. Those feelings she was having weren't at all natural and she was almost certain that the man's quirk was responsible for it. He used it to lure her here, but she didn't know why.

What could he gain from kidnapping her anyway?

Her hands were starting to get numb from the rope wrapped around her wrists. She tried pulling them free, but that did nothing to loosen them.

Rei thought about trying to use her quirk. She remembered reading somewhere about how ice and cold temperatures could change the form or shape of certain materials but she wasn't very knowledgeable on the subject. She had no idea what kind of rope this was, nor did she know how ice would affect it. She wasn't entirely immune to her ice either, so using it without a way to warm herself up afterwards was a bad decision.

In conclusion, she had no way of escape.

Rei tried to suppress her tears until now, but she couldn't hold back anymore. They flowed freely down her face, her hands unable to wipe them away. The cellar was already cold when she first woke up and while it hadn't bothered her then, it was starting to bother her now.

The fact that nothing had happened yet was a good thing, but it also meant that Rei still didn't know what was going on. She didn't know her location, her captor, or what he was planning to do with her. That alone terrified her. It could be anything, ranging from ransom to murder. Rei shuddered at the thought, but she couldn't help but keep thinking about the possibility.

Was this the end?

It couldn't be. She didn't do anything yet, she didn't even finish high school! She wanted to get a job, maybe go to college, get a boyfriend, get married, raise a family. There was so much Rei still wanted to do!

This couldn't be the end, could it?


"It was Enji who saved me." Rei tells Kiyoko, the memory still clear in her mind. "He came barging in there in all his flames and glory. He told me he was a hero and that he was going to get me out of there."

Rei remembers her first impression of Enji- strong, powerful- he was her saviour. She had fallen in love at first sight, no doubt about it. She couldn't blame herself though, she had been saved by a handsome hero with an incredible quirk. She was bound to at least have a crush, right?

"He brought me to the hospital and then stayed with me until my parents were able to come." Rei says, smiling at the memory. "He was very kind. I was traumatized at the time, but he tried to make me feel better. His jokes were terrible, though. Yet, even though he was busy with school he still came to visit me everyday until I was released from the hospital."

Rei tries to hold back her tears as she thinks about how their relationship began. It's such a cliche story now that she thinks about it, but she loves it nonetheless. It had to have been real. There's no way Enji faked all that, and there's certainly no way Rei wouldn't have been able to see through it had it been otherwise.

"Do you believe it was real, Rei?" Kiyoko asks, once again reading her thoughts. "Was your boyfriend the same man you married?"

Rei shakes her head no.

Something changed, Rei knows that. Something tragic happened, and she doesn't know what.


Not many people get the chance to see themselves from everyone else's perspective. It's one of two things about his quirk that Ryuunosuke finds favorable, the other being the power to become practically anyone, even the Number One Hero himself.

Ryuunosuke ponders over this fact as he looks down at his unconscious body laying on the bed, hooked up to numerous machines working to keep it alive. He doesn't come here often- he doesn't like seeing himself looking so frail and vulnerable. Ryuunosuke is content with turning a blind eye to his useless body, so long as he's able to possess one that is more powerful.

But his presence here today is necessary, unfortunately. Much to his discontent, Ryuunosuke will need to temporarily return to his body tomorrow before possessing Shouto. It's an annoying technicality with his quirk, for he cannot simply hop from one body to another.

"Parrot!"

The door to the storage room slams open quickly and the short man in question comes stumbling out, mumbling apologies for his absence. Ryuunosuke frowns at the sight of the blue haired man. Even though Parrot has been a member of the BtB long before he has, the older man is utterly useless. His quirk simply allows him to force people to say whatever he wants, but his victim must be standing within three feet from him. Manipulative, but utterly useless.

"I've been in here almost five minutes." Ryuunosuke says, his glare fixed on Parrot. "Where were you this whole time? My body can't be neglected like that."

"I apologize, Body Snatcher." The blue haired man says, his eyes looking everywhere but Ryuunosuke as he fumbles with the buttons on the machinery. "It won't happen again. I promise!"

You've made that promise three times now just in the last month.

It's amazing that Parrot hasn't managed to kill him yet. The man is incompetent and in Ryuunosuke's opinion, not the most loyal either. If anyone in the alliance were to betray them, Ryuunosuke has no doubt it would be Parrot. He'll have to talk to the Puppeteer about what they could do with him.

"Who's on duty tomorrow?" Ryuunosuke asks, praying it's not Parrot.

"Ah, let me see, I believe it's Matsuda."

Thank god. Ryuunosuke hates Matsuda with a passion- he's got a ridiculously charming smile, which he knows is because of his quirk but ridiculous nonetheless, and his presence and personality are just so over the top that it gives Ryuunosuke a headache just thinking about him. However, as irritating as he may be, Matsuda is a competent and loyal member of the BtB and Ryuunosuke knows he can trust him to take care of his body tomorrow.

"When he comes in, tell him we're bringing in Shouto tomorrow and that he should prepare my body for the transfer."

"Yes, of course!"

Ryuunosuke takes one last look at his body before leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind him. As ecstatic as he is about finally being able to possess Shouto, the thought of returning to his pitiful body, even for just a short time, is disappointing. He just hopes the process goes smoothly and with no interruptions.

Were you always evil? I refuse to believe that a true hero could ever turn into someone so deranged like you.

Ryuunosuke groans as Enji starts to talk to him. "I'm really not in the mood to talk right now."

Good because I'm not in the mood to hear you speak, so just listen. Were you always like this? I can't believe that we were once really friends. You had to be acting. Was this your plan all along? Did you purposely befriend me and go to UA for those three years just so you could possess me afterwards? That seems a little bit much, don't you think.

Ryuunosuke lets Enji ramble. His theory is wrong, Ryuunosuke actually did start out on the hero path out of the goodness of his heart but he doesn't want to give Enji the satisfaction of knowing that. So he remains silent and lets him continue with his conspiracy theories.

So who was it? Who was able to convince you to join the other side, to become a villain? That's not something that happens overnight, Ryuunosuke. Heroes don't just suddenly shift their views so drastically. Something must have happened. Someone did something.

Who messed you up so bad that you felt it was justified to ruin me and my family?

You, Enji, it was all you.


Ryuunosuke watched as Enji left the UA campus after school let out. He was going in the opposite direction of his house, yet again. He had been doing that for the past week.

Normally, Ryuunosuke wouldn't care what Enji did after school, but he had an idea of where he was going and that idea didn't sit well with him.

A week had passed since he and Enji raided a villain hideout where a kidnapped girl was being kept. Enji was able to fight off the villains and rescue the girl, but the only reason they even knew the hideout's location was because of Ryuunosuke.

The pro hero he was interning with had assigned him to investigate and he was able to use his quirk to possess one of the villain organization's lower ranked members. After finding out the location, he told Enji and they were able to make a plan to save the girl.

Ryuunosuke wasn't there for the raid. His quirk was good for gaining intel but when it came to fighting, he was useless. That's why he needed Enji. His fire quirk was all power, perfect for fending off the villains.

Unfortunately, it was also perfect for getting people to like you.

When Ryuunosuke arrived at the hospital to see how the girl was doing, he found Enji already there chatting away with her like they had been friends forever. The girl, Yukimura Rei, was a high school second-year, same as them. She had the most beautiful white hair and her grey eyes seemed to sparkle.

Ryuunosuke was in love the second he laid eyes on her.

He didn't get to look long though. She was way out of his league and besides, Enji already stole any chance Ryuunosuke would've had with her. He didn't bother going inside to introduce himself, the one who had made her whole rescue possible. It wouldn't matter anyway. She didn't see any of that. All she saw were bright red flames and an angel in disguise. Ryuunosuke couldn't compete with that.

Enji had won the battle before it had even begun.

Ryuunosuke knew Enji was visiting her at the hospital everyday. It just wasn't fair. Enji had so much already- a powerful quirk, good looks, intelligence, a prominent family, a likable personality- did he really have to have everything?

Couldn't he let Ryuunosuke have this one thing? Was that really too much to ask?

He wasn't jealous. Yamazaki Ryuunosuke was not jealous of Todoroki Enji. It was a matter of justice. It wasn't fair for only a few people to have it all. Only a small percentage of heroes make it big. That was wrong and Ryuunosuke was going to change that.


Shouta yawns as he watches the BtB hideout, or what he presumes to be their hideout. It's two in the morning and despite how tired he is, he knows he needs to stay awake. This is only the second breakthrough since the arrest of Mimura Tetsuya. He needs to stay alert.

After Mimura was arrested, the police had asked Shouta for his assistance in the investigation. Based on the little information they had on the Born-to-Be Villains' Alliance, their members possessed a range of manipulative quirks and Shouta's eraser quirk would come in handy if he were to come face to face with any of them.

He had been tasked with watching a man named Nakajima Kyosuke who is suspected by the police to be a BtB member. His registered quirk fits the profile- a quirk that allows him to force people to say anything he pleases. A rather harmless quirk and if Shouta were to encounter him in a fight, he most likely would not need to erase it.

Shouta had followed Nakajima here to this abandoned factory in the countryside three hours north of Musutafu. He had been inside for the past eight hours and Shouta had been keeping watch ever since. Aside from Nakajima entering the building, nothing else had happened and the uneventful night was putting Shouta to sleep.

He tries to keep himself awake. He should have brought some paperwork with him, he still has a mountain of his students' homework to grade. Speaking of students, All Might had pulled him aside earlier that day after he had dismissed his class. He had wanted to talk to him about Todoroki. He was concerned about his hesitancy to use his left side. Shouta had told him not to worry about it.

But now Shouta found himself worrying about it.

He had noticed it from day one- it was hard not to with Todoroki encasing his whole left side in ice. Shouta wanted to ask him about it but he never got the chance. Even after the Sports Festival, when Todoroki suddenly used his fire, he was still cautious whenever he used it. Shouta would even go as far to say that he was afraid of it.

Maybe All Might is on to something. He should probably add looking into that to his infinite to-do list.

It's nearing two-thirty in the morning when Shouta catches sight of Nakajima exiting the building. Shouta watches as he gets into his car and starts to head back in the direction he came. He debates whether he should follow him further but after a quick glance at his watch, Shouta gives in to the desire to go home and hopefully catch an hour of sleep before returning to UA.


So the long night of research Dabi had anticipated turned out to be just a few hours. Finding information on villains and the crime world is a whole lot easier when you're a villain yourself, and a pretty prominent one too. Dabi had little trouble using his criminal connections to find people who have the information he had been looking for.

It's why he's now here, camped outside the alleged home of Nakajima Kyosuke, or Parrot, who's said to be the weakest member among the BtB. His quirk allows him to make people say whatever he wants so long as they're not too far away.

In other words- not a threat to Dabi.

He's been watching the house for two hours now. According to his information, Parrot would be gone until early morning and it was now nearing dawn. Dabi's plan is to ambush him but doing it in broad daylight is a bit risky. If he doesn't show up soon, Dabi might have to pursue Plan B which would be problematic because at the moment, there is no Plan B.

Out of all the members he found information on, Parrot's quirk is the only one Dabi can easily withstand. Everyone else seems to have highly manipulative quirks which would render Dabi's fire useless if he doesn't have full control over himself. Parrot is Dabi's only chance to get the rest of the information he needs to free his father and save his brother. And not only that, but Dabi is one hundred percent certain that there is a traitor amongst the members of the BtB. The creator of the toHellwithHeroes blog, while mostly false in Dabi's opinion, did not come up with that theory about Endeavor and Body Snatcher on his own. The information was either leaked through someone in the BtB, or the author is a full-fledged member himself.

And maybe Parrot will be able to shed some light on it.

It's not until a half hour later when a car pulls up and a short man with blue hair steps out. The description fits the one Dabi was given so he quietly emerges from his hiding place and approaches the man from behind. As Parrot turns down the walkway to the house, Dabi throws a blast a fire directly in his path.

Parrot jumps back and turns to look at Dabi, not bothering to mask his panic.

"Nakajima Kyosuke?"

The blue haired man glances around before answering, probably looking for more attackers. After seeing an empty street, Parrot turns back to look at Dabi, eyes widening when he suddenly recognizes who he is.

"Y-You're Dabi, from the League of Villains!" He says, putting his hands up in surrender. "Please, don't kill me. I'll do whatever you want! Please!"

Dabi increases his flames and lets them circle around the BtB member, fully enclosing him in a blue ring of fire. Parrot's panic rises, but he continues to stand still. Dabi appreciates his cooperation so far.

"I need information." Dabi says, hiding the eagerness in his voice. "Let's say, hypothetically, I were to free Endeavor from Body Snatcher's possession quirk. Tell me how to do that, and maybe I'll let you live."

And that's all it took for Parrot to spill everything. Body Snatcher's grand plan is set to commence this afternoon with Body Snatcher bringing Shouto to the BtB's headquarters under the guise of some sort of work study. Parrot had also told him the location of the hideout which is about three hours north of Musutafu. Once Body Snatcher arrives with Shouto, the Puppeteer, who Dabi had already met, will use his quirk to paralyze Shouto and tie him up with quirk-suppressant handcuffs. Once Shouto's quirk is repressed, Body Snatcher, as Endeavor, will be tied up in a similar fashion and Body Snatcher will then return to his own body before possessing Shouto. His quirks demands at least thirty minutes in his own body in between possessions. During this transition, the BtB will kill Endeavor. Parrot then went on to fully describe all the members and their quirks and how to infiltrate the hideout.

"It's a good thing I did this now." Dabi muses to himself after Parrot finishes. "If I waited even one more day, I would have lost my chance."

"So, am I free now? I swear, I told you everything there is to know. Trust me, I hate Body Snatcher just as much as you do."

Dabi stops his musing and looks at Parrot. You hate Body Snatcher?

"Does the name toHellwithHeroes ring a bell?"

"That's me." Parrot says after some hesitation. "What about it?"

Dabi grins to himself. "Nothing. Just curious."

"So, about the deal we had..."

"Deal?" Dabi repeats as he increases the temperature of his flames. "You've been in the underworld for a long time now, Kyosuke. Surely you know how we villains operate and let me assure you, deals don't mean anything."

Dabi doesn't wait for the begging and the screams would just alert people of his presence, so he decides to bypass all that and turn his flames so hot that Parrot burns almost instantaneously until he's nothing but a mere pile of ashes. He only has a few hours now to finalize his plan and make his next move.

Things are getting real now.


Nakahara Kiyoko walks into her office after finishing her last session for the day. It's late and she should really be getting home, but she still has some more paperwork to fill out. It should only take another hour or so.

Of course, it only takes fifteen minutes for her phone to ring.

"Hello? Dr. Nakahara's office."

"Dr. Nakahara, this Todoroki Enji. I would like to meet with you tomorrow. I want to know how my wife is doing."

Rei's husband is calling her? Kiyoko had never spoken to the man before, why now? And after her most recent conversation with Rei of all things.

"Of course, Todoroki-san, though you must understand that this is all very last minute."

"I'm aware and I apologize, however, I am the Number One Hero. My schedule isn't very flexible."

A little arrogant there. If he's the Number One Hero, he should at least know how to be polite.

"Yes, I understand. I can try to fit you in tomorrow morning if that's alright?"

"That's fine."

"Great, I'll see you then."

What does he even want to know and why does he have to meet with her so soon? Rei isn't leaving anytime soon and her condition probably won't change so drastically within the next couple of weeks. Whatever he needs to talk about, Kiyoko is sure it can wait a week or two. Unless he's planning on leaving for a while which Kiyoko finds highly unlikely. He's the Number One Hero after all, he's kind of obligated to be around.

Whatever the case, this meeting is not something Kiyoko is looking forward to.


Hello! I'm alive! Many apologies for the delay but I hope this extra long chapter makes up for it!

So we are at the climax which means...the rescue! It will be playing out over the course of the next few chapters so hang in there!

Also, I just want to thank everyone who is reading this for all your support. I really appreciate all the reviews/fav/follows. They're very motivating so keep it up!

P.S. If you're going to comment on the pace of this fic and how you think it's going too slow, DON'T! I am aware of the slow pace, it was intended to be like that. And the summary is written the way it was for a reason. This story is written in a way that uses a lot of dramatic irony, tension, and suspense. If you don't like that, well, I'm not forcing you to read it. So, please, don't critique on that because it was intentional. Thank you.

Have a great weekend!