Amaya bit her lip as she anxiously watched the screen in front of her.

Bakugo and Izuku's exam had barely begun and while she couldn't hear them speak, she knew they were arguing.

Bakugo kept walking ahead of the green-haired boy and every time the freckled boy inched his way closer, his mouth moving a mile a minute, Bakugo would shove him off.

Until it seemed he reached his patience and socked Izuku right in the nose.

"What the hell Bakugo! You can't just punch people like that! Especially not your freaking partner! Ugh this kid has issues."

"No shit. I know I hate people, but he really hates broccoli boy."

"I don't care how angry or frustrated Bakugo is, there's no reason to be that violent."

"Ehh, I'd usually disagree but it's probably not ideal to sucker punch your partner."

Amaya groaned, placing her head in her hands in slight defeat.

These boys were going to be the death of her.

She looked back up just in time to see her friends get blasted away by wind pressure. Amaya gasped as she noticed how torn apart the street of the city looked from just a single punch. All Might had never looked more intimidating.

She watched through nervous eyes as All Might leapt into action, prompting Izuku to flee even though Bakugo stood his ground.

"Bakugo are you crazy! Fucking get out of there!"

"Do you seriously think that bozo's pride would let him just run away?"

Amaya growled to herself, her tail wrapping around her midsection as she watched Bakugo use some kind of stun grenade attack to blind All Might.

Amaya would've praised his technique had All Might not immediately stopped it by grabbing onto Bakugo's face. And rather than try and free himself of All Might's grip, Bakugo started rapidly forming explosions to counterattack.

"This idiot is suicidal. He doesn't care about dying."

"That or he's a stubborn ox who doesn't know when to stop."

Amaya felt her heart drop as Bakugo's attacks did nothing to All Might, on the contrary, All Might barely flinched, slamming Bakugo face-first into the ground. With one teen down, All Might didn't hesitate to attack Izuku who instinctively retreated.

Neither boys had communicated and so Izuku didn't notice Bakugo had gotten up behind him, and the two ended up slamming into each other.

Amaya winced at the impact, her claws itching to sink themselves into something, specifically All Might right now.

Bakugo seemed to recover quickly despite having been sent knocked down by a whole body and walked back towards All Might, ignoring Izuku's pleads.

Amaya had never wished more to hear what those two were saying and could only watch as Bakugo continued walking to his doom.

Without anyone noticing, All Might suddenly flew into the air before pinning Izuku down using a piece of a fence. Bakugo, too slow to react, was then sent flying by All Might's punch which made him vomit violently as he flew across the air.

"WHAT THE FUCK ALL MIGHT?!"

"Shit. Muscle man ain't holding back. He might actually kill him."

"Bakugo just threw up! That is not okay! This is supposed to be an exam! Not a fight for survival."

"This school is fucking crazy."

Amaya held in her whimper of worry as she watched Bakugo struggle to stand up and Izuku fight to escape the fence entrapping him.

All Might stood massive against Bakugo and as he rose, his hand ready to give Bakugo another blow, Amaya held her breath.

Izuku swiftly intervened by punching Bakugo away. Izuku then grabbed him before retreating into a back alleyway

"Damn Izuku is not happy either."

"That was one hell of a punch, didn't think that bean pole had it in him."

Amaya let herself breathe as she could no longer see her friends, just glad they had some time to recover.

Only a few moments passed before All Might passed an alleyway and suddenly Bakugo jumped out and distracted him with a small explosion. This gave Izuku an opening to get behind All Might and use one of Bakugo's grenadier bracers to blast All Might with a large explosion.

With All Might down, the two quickly fled the scene at top speed towards the escape gate using their quirks.

"Oh, thank god."

"Yeaaa I would not want to be in their shoes."

Amaya felt the heat behind her eyes go away momentarily as she watched her friends safely head towards the gate. Too bad All Might caught up to them and in an instant he quickly broke both of Bakugo's grenadier bracers. All Might then kneed Bakugo into a nearby building and grabbed onto Izuku. When Bakugo recovered and tried to rush All Might, the number one hero slammed Izuku into him, before pinning them both down.

"That's it. Number one hero or not he's going to feel these claws sink into his skin."

"Thank fuck we didn't have to fight him. He doesn't know how to hold back."

"Neither do you."

"Whatever, he's an adult."

Amaya wished she could laugh but watching Bakugo use his explosions at maximum output to blow All Might away hurt to see. She didn't know what he was feeling but she knew his muscles must've been tearing with how much he was using them.

Tears flooded her eyes as Bakugo grabbed Izuku and sent him flying towards the escape gate.

"Seriously you're crying over this you wimp."

"Shut up Yajū! They're my friends and I hate seeing them in so much pain."

"Damn this is just a practice fight, you're going to be a mess when they're actually fighting."

"Be quiet!"

Ignoring the judgmental thoughts, Amaya rubbed the tears out of her eyes before focusing back on the fight in front of her.

Unfortunately, she was stuck watching as All Might countered with an awful knee that looked like he almost broke Izuku's back.

Bakugo, still being able to move somehow, flew towards All Might, blasting away with super powerful explosions again.

Amaya didn't know what to focus on, Bakugo breaking himself against All Might, or Izuku slowly moving towards the gate, his body wobbling.

All Might rushed to hit Izuku again but Bakugo seemed to know that and looked ready to attack when All Might smashed him to the ground with his hand on Bakugo's face.

Tensing Amaya dug her claws into her arms as she watched Bakugo bite down on All Might's hand, seemingly refusing to accept defeat.

"Bakugo…"

"This is why blondie is hot. He's fucking crazy, but he never goes down without a fight."

Amaya didn't even have the capability to blush, more worried about Bakugo than ever before.

In her worry she didn't notice that Izuku never left for the gate, instead he ran back and hit All Might with a smash. Quickly grabbing his partner, Izuku makes for the escape gate with an unconscious Bakugo.

"Of course, Izuku came back. He'd never leave anyone behind."

Amaya clutched onto Ochaco as the two boys passed the gate, nearly collapsing in relief.

"If I could I'd definitely kill All Might," Amaya mumbled, shocking Ochaco.

"A-Amaya-chan!"

"What? That jerk just went freaking plus ultra on their asses. I'm pissed," Amaya explained, her trail thwarting around in her rage.

"Looks like I got my work ahead of me," Recovery Girl sighed as she began walking back to the nurses office.

"Umm is it okay if I wait for them outside?" Amaya asked as she raced to catch up with the old lady.

Had it been anyone else, Recovery Girl would've sent them home but seeing as the petite cat-girl in front of her was Aizawa's kid, she didn't see the harm.

"Suit yourself girly, but I doubt they'll be able to talk. And you'll have to wait until I'm done, got it?"

Amaya nodded, not caring how long she had to wait. She just had to see them be okay for herself.

Amaya didn't know how long she had been sitting outside the nurses office, but it didn't matter once All Might came out to inform her that he was leaving, and the boys were both asleep.

"Young Hitachi, it is very noble of you to want to wait for your friends, but it might be best if you leave them alone to rest," All Might advised, his voice clearly tired despite his smile.

Amaya could only glare at the floor, keeping her head down as she punched the wall near his arm with enough force her knuckles began bleeding, something loudly snapping.

"Y-Young Hitachi! W-what are you doing?" All Might hurriedly asked, crouching down in his panic to get a better look at Amaya's crushed hand.

Amaya barely flinched, not registering the pain, too enraged to recognize anything besides her smoldering anger threatening to eat her up.

"All Might, I know you are a professional and obviously needed to teach those boys a lesson…" Amaya trailed off, voice quiet, her gold eyes slitted, and raised to meet shining blue, "but if you ever hurt my friends like you did today, I'll personally make sure to do everything in my power to bring you to your knees," Amaya hissed.

All Might could only hold his breath as slight fear entered his system. How such a small girl could make his heart stop he wouldn't question, he could only nod in response.

Amaya plastered on a fake smile, her face still expressing danger as she opened the nurse's door.

"Glad we could come to an understanding. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I broke my hand."

As Amaya closed the door she sighed, cradling her damaged hand to her chest.

"Oh, little miss, what did you do?" Recovery Girl's nurturing voice reprimanded as she sat Amaya near the unconscious boys.

Amaya sheepishly smiled, looking at her friends, feeling her chest finally settle.

Recovery Girl followed her line of vision and laughed lightly.

"You know from what I've seen, you'd do anything for those you care about," Recovery Girl mentioned, Amaya's face heating up at the honest fact.

"They're my friends," Amaya simply responded, staring down at the two idiots in front of her fondly.

Recovery Girl didn't say much more than that, and just kissed Amaya better and left her to have a moment alone with the boys.

Amaya sighed as she stood near Izuku, who was on his stomach, snoring peacefully.

Gently ruffling his fluffy green hair, she gave him the faintest kiss on the head. She smiled faintly at her sweet friend, ignoring her blushing cheeks and her inner voice freaking out from the kiss.

"Thank you for being you and not leaving that moron behind," she whispered.

Speaking of morons, she moved to Bakugo's side, watching for the first time ever a serene look on Bakugo's usually scowling face. He seemed so undisturbed, vulnerable, and Amaya couldn't help but coo. Pushing back some of his hair away from his face she stiffened at hearing his sleepy moan.

Amaya stood still worried she awoken him when his red eyes lazily blinked.

In his haze Bakugo blearily looked at Amaya, a hint of a smile drawing on his face.

"Princess, you're here," he dazedly mumbled, eyes closing again.

Amaya's face pinkened at his words, knowing Bakugo was too out of it to think coherently.

"I-idiot. Of course, I'm here. I still care about you even if you are a jerk," she mumbled, knowing he couldn't register her words properly.

Bakugo grumbled again, shifting slightly in place.

"Mmsorry about before…. Donnn wanna lose…" Amaya could barely make out his muffled words, but she giggled quietly to herself. Of course, Bakugo didn't want to lose, she already knew that.

"I know Bakugo, and I guess I can forgive you for now," she quietly stated, smiling at his peaceful space. "For now, just rest, we can talk about this more when you're better," she softly stated, giving his hand a squeeze as she left the room.

Bakugo wasn't completely forgiven but Amaya knew that for someone as prideful as he was, admitting his mistakes was hard. She could appreciate the effort. Plus staying mad at someone that had always treated her as a person made her feel crummy.

She wanted to forgive Bakugo, and she knew that even if she had missed this sleepy interaction he would've talked to her tomorrow. He never did get to finish his conversation before.

Feeling much better about everything, she happily walked home.

The next day everything seemed normal as Amaya entered the classroom. As she went to sit down a familiar presence besides her made her wait.

"Let's talk before lunch," is all Bakugo said before he sat down at his own desk. Amaya smiled at his gruff demeanor, glad to see that things were slowly working out and that he seemed fine.

Amaya looked up to the side, hearing her classmates whine about yesterday's events. She tried to sympathize with her other classmates who were grumbling about their failures, and she had trouble not laughing. Kaminari in particular was very upset and started crying as the others tried to console him.

Amaya could only thank the heavens once Aizawa entered. As everyone settled down, her guardian began explaining that everyone was allowed to attend the summer training camp despite the few students who didn't pass the practical. Apparently, everyone had passed the written exam and Aizawa even admitted to having exaggerated everything about the practical exam to make the students nervous. Because of course he would fuck up his students like that.

"Freaking sadist."

Thankfully after that discovery everything proceeded as usual and before Amaya knew it, it was time for lunch.

Or in her case time to speak with Bakugo.

She made way over to his desk waiting for him to pick up his things.

"Amaya-chan? Are you coming?" Ochaco asked, looking confused at the current scene.

Amaya smiled gently. "Yes, I'll be there soon. I just have to talk to Bakugo about something. Don't wait up, thank you!"

Bakugo rolled his eyes, keeping his growl in as he led the cat-girl to a private corner.

"Round face thinks I'm going to eat you," he began causing Amaya to snort.

"I think she's just overprotective," Amaya tried reasoning, trying not to laugh at Bakugo's offended face.

"What the hell for, I won't do shit. You can defend yourself fine even if anyone did," he unknowingly complimented, making Amaya warm up at the unexpected praise.

"Thank you... So, there was something you wanted to say?" Amaya started, trying to get right to the point.

Bakugo huffed, sticking his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the wall.

"Yea relax pipsqueak, I was getting there," he grumbled.

"If only you knew what you called me yesterday."

Amaya tried to keep the smile off her face as she remembered that.

"I was a fucking dick to you, and it was uncalled for. Even Shitty Hair kept telling me I was being more pissy than usual," Bakugo admitted, face slightly red as he confessed.

Amaya nodded, fiddling with her fingers as she stared up at his vermillion eyes.

"Pretty..." she muttered, not realizing she had said that out loud.

Instantly Bakugo felt his face heat up more and he shoved the small girl's cute face away in his embarrassment.

"What the fuck short-stack? I'm trying to apologize," he bit out, yet his words held no malice.

Amaya's own eyes widened, face red as she looked the other way.

"S-sorry…. you're forgiven by the way. Just don't expect me to forgive you if you ever pull this kind of shit again," Amaya threatened, voice coming out slightly weak.

Bakugo chuckled quietly, seeming to have gained his confidence again as he tugged her face up.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to lose this time," he said, his words only confusing Amaya.

"What?"

"Umm sure. Right. Well, I should go before Ochaco blows a fuse," Amaya mumbled, throat suddenly dry.

Bakugo merely let go, enjoying himself as the teen shyly walked away.

He meant it. He wasn't going to lose his cool like that again and he would make himself be all that Hitachi noticed.

Amaya felt so much better after having that conversation, thoroughly enjoying the rest of her day. As her class ended the students began speaking about the materials they needed to buy before the summer trip. Amaya watched in amusement as Kirishima tried to convince Bakugo to go shopping along with the class, only for Bakugo to shoot the idea down.

She wondered once again why Bakugo had gone out of his way to shop with her when he adamantly hated the mere idea of it, proving that point when he shot down Kirishima's attempts again.

Bakugo was just weird, there was no other explanation.

"Todoroki-kun, will you come too?" Izuku kindly asked, taking Amaya's attention off the explosive blond.

"I go visit my mom on our days off," Shōto admitted.

Amaya smiled at that. She didn't know the full story with Shōto and his family but the kind smile on his face made her believe everything was fine.

"What about you Amaya-chan? Will you come?" Izuku asked her, looking like an excited puppy.

Amaya bit her lip to keep the smile off her face.

"Maybe. I don't see why not if no one else is uncomfortable," she spoke.

"Uncomfortable? No way! I totally want to see how you are outside the classroom Amaya-chan !" Ashido exclaimed as she looked towards Amaya.

"Yea! This will be the first time you hang out with all of us!" Kirishima added, looking excited.

Amaya blushed at all the sudden attention, liking the warm feeling enveloping her.

"I bet you dress real sexy too," the disgusting purple perv added.

Amaya hissed at him, claws out, laughing when he cried and ran away.

Subtly looking up back at Aizawa, she felt overjoyed to see his own quiet nod of approval.

"Well, if there's no issue then I can't wait!"

The weekend couldn't come soon enough and as Amaya waited at the train station in her white oversized turtleneck and lavender slacks, she shyly waited for someone she knew.

"A-Amaya?" She heard a shocked voice stumble out.

Turning she noticed a red-looking Kirishima staring at her.

"Oh, hi Kirishima," Amaya quietly greeted, unsure how to act with the red-headed boy. She never really conversed with him before.

"Your outfit is really nice," he stuttered out.

Amaya blushed lightly, smiling sweetly at him.

"Oh, thank you, that's nice of you to say," Amaya mumbled, pleased with her outfit choice.

She'd have to thank Bakugo again for his surprisingly good outfit choices.

"Amaya-chan! You look so cute!" Ochaco happily shouted, running out of nowhere and hugging Amaya's arm.

Surprised, Amaya nodded meekly but her smile was starting to grow. She felt good in her outfit and the turtle neck helped cover her collar.

Soon her other classmates began to gather around, and Amaya couldn't keep the smile off her face as they all complimented her wardrobe.

Even Yaoyorozu did, blushing as she mumbled the words out.

Amaya particularly took amusement in watching Izuku sputter out compliments towards her.

Once everyone was settled, they headed towards the Kiyashi Ward shopping mall. As they arrived Amaya stared at everything with wide gold eyes. Her senses were overloaded but she was fine with it in this case.

It seemed endless, people everywhere, stores with literally everything. As they walked further into the mall Amaya giggled as she heard Izuku in a mumble storm next to her.

Amaya had not been to a mall in years; most of her life had been trapped inside some kind of building. Whether it was the mahogany walls of her old home, the white walls of her prison cell, or that dusty beige closet of a room she was kept in, Amaya never imagined being able to go out to someplace as populated as this.

While part of her was terrified of the sheer amount of people around, a larger part was squealing. She was at the mall with her friends and classmates!

Little 13 year old Amaya would've never believed such a sight would've been real.

"Hitachi you will be allowed to enter public education seeing as you've not made a fuss during your probation. The sufficient lack of evidence proving you had any ties to your parents plans is the major reason as to why we are allowing this to occur," a tall man in a fancy suit coldly stated.

He stared at Amaya as if she was inhuman and while she wished she could've shown him just how feral she could really be, she saw no point. She'd been shocked too many times already over stupid little things like wanting to go outside and wanting to speak to her parents.

Any sign of resistance was instantly met with punishment and Amaya was simply too tired and weak to keep fighting.

Staying locked up in prison or wherever she was for at least two years—she didn't know how long it was anymore really, the days bled together—broke down her spirit. Besides, this man, however heartless he seemed, was giving her a chance to go back to a normal life.

A life she never even got to experience as a child with her brother. She'd be able to go to school with other kids instead of being homeschooled! And maybe, just maybe she could make a friend or at least talk to somebody.

"Though, we must still be cautious and so you shall be living under the management of one of our government trainees," he explained, opening Amaya's cell to let in a short middle aged woman in. She didn't smile, in fact she sneered at the sight of Amaya, causing the young teen to flinch out of experience.

"Her name is Ms. Reí, and you shall treat her with respect. She will be in charge of you and if she believes you are a threat in any way, she will be allowed to shock you and will contact us right away, so don't try anything funny," the man threatened.

Amaya nodded, feeling her stomach clench, the man's words were anything but comforting however Amaya hoped that if she stayed optimistic it would all work out.

"Amaya-chan, Amaya-chan, Amaya-chan!" Izuku worriedly called out, gently shaking the smaller girl's shoulders.

Amaya jolted, turning her head up to stare into concerned verdant eyes. Amaya noticed that it was only them two now. Ignoring her flashback, she asked her freckled friend about the rest of the class.

Izuku hesitated answering, finally deciding to let go on wanting to ask Amaya if she was alright considering the trance-like state, and instead answered her question.

"Oh, um everyone paired off to go buy what they needed. Uraraka-chan was with us a few seconds ago but she left screaming saying something about needing bug spray," Izuku relayed, watching the cat-girl carefully. He was still unconvinced she was fine but didn't want to push it.

Amaya nodded, shaking her head away from thinking about the past.

"Cool. Well, what did you want to get Izuku? I'll join you. I'm a little scared to be on my own in such a crowded area and I enjoy your company," Amaya admitted missing the bright blush that spread on the male teen's face.

Perhaps if her senses weren't being overstimulated, she would've noticed the person inching closer to them.

One second Amaya was standing next to Izuku, the next she felt someone shove themselves in between her and Izuku, the strangers arms over both of their shoulders. Or at least that was the attempt as Amaya was shorter and so the stranger's arm had wrapped itself onto the top of her head, smushing her against the stranger's hard chest.

"What the fuck?!"

"Who is this?!"

Amaya tried to move back but the arm painfully tightened its hold, and her voice was muffled by the stranger's black hoodie.

"Ah you guys are from U.A. right? So cool. I saw you at the sports festival!" The stranger gushed, causing Izuku to awkwardly laugh as he faced away, trying to look over at Amaya's face. She was hidden from his view.

Amaya stopped moving and instead brought her own arm up to wrap it around the stranger as if she were hugging them.

Said stranger stuttered in his next sentence as he tried to ask Izuku if he was the one that had broken all his bones.

"Weren't you also the o-ones to run into the Hero Killer?" the stranger groaned out as he felt Amaya's sharp claws digging into his stomach.

Amaya scratched downwards and the stranger reacted by gripping her hair so tight tears gathered in her eyes.

"Heh, little bitch," the stranger mumbled causing both teens to freeze.

Amaya couldn't move as she finally noticed the voice speaking to Izuku sounded familiar. Terrifyingly familiar.

The grip on her hair didn't falter as she was pulled away from the man's hoodie, the tight grip forcing her to stare into insane scarlet eyes.

"Hello little bitch, remember me? I suggest you take your claws out of me before I kill your little friend over here," Shigaraki growled out, four of his fingers down on Izuku's neck. Izuku tried to act brave but Amaya knew he was scared, his trembling eyes giving it away. She couldn't blame him, one more finger down and he'd be dust.

Immediately Amaya dropped her hand, trying not to flinch at the psychopath's satisfied gaze on her.

"Hmm what a good girl, I knew you would listen. Now don't look at me like that Hitachi. You and I are merely good friends," he commented, suddenly loosening his grip on Amaya.

Shigaraki smiled, sticking his nose into Amaya's hair, breathing her in. Amaya stiffened, biting her lip so hard blood peaked out.

Cold fingertips lightly trailed down cheek, Shigaraki moving his head to nuzzle their cheeks together.

"Maybe even lovers, what do you think?" Shigaraki darkly chuckled, staring Amaya down with his crazed grin.

Amaya had to hold in her gag at Shigaraki's words, forcing herself to relax as he clutched onto her hair again.

Izuku moved to help Amaya but the pressure on his neck reminded him that Shigaraki was in control. The only way to make sure Amaya stayed safe was to listen to what the monster had to say.

"Good. Now why don't we all sit down and try not to make a scene okay? Let's all just calm down and take some deep breaths. We're all good friends here, right Izuku Midoriya and Amaya Hitachi?" Shigaraki exclaimed, his smile sending horrible chills up both teens' backs.

Neither Amaya nor Izuku moved, their feet frozen to the floor.

Shigaraki thankfully did keep one finger up so Amaya knew her friend was fine for now, as was her hair though she could really care less about that right now.

Amaya tried to keep her eyes down, not knowing what Shigaraki was planning. While she desperately wanted to gather everyone's attention, she couldn't risk Izuku's life for that.

"Tch, c'mon now you too. Don't you know how simple it would be to kill you both? The second I let all five of my fingers touch you, you'd be dust in less than a minute," Shigaraki happily reminded them, as if he couldn't feel their shaking.

"I-if you do that in a place with this many people, a hero will come and catch you in no time," Izuku warned, his words shaky but nonetheless true.

"I'm sure," Shigaraki agreed, yet the bastard sounded unbothered by that fact, simply continuing, "but look at these guys, even though anyone could wield their quirk at any time, how can they smile and gather like that? When it comes down to it, laws and rules assume that individuals have morals. They're convinced that there's no way anyone would break their precious rules. Before I'm caught, I could crumble twenty—no thirty—people…"

Amaya growled, moving her hands to grip onto Shigaraki's wrists tightly.

"Well then why don't we just sit down, that'll make you happy, right Shigaraki?" Amaya offered, hoping to diffuse this lunatic, refusing to stare into those manic red eyes.

Shigaraki hummed for a bit, making both teens tense. He suddenly let go of Amaya's hair to grip her chin, forcing her to meet his enraged gaze.

"Look at me when you're talking to me, we're lovers," he hissed, eyes dropping to focus on the bit of blood on Amaya's lip.

Licking his lips, he moved his fingers from her chin to swipe at the bruised lip before placing the drop of blood on his tongue.

Amaya paled, shaking slightly when he moaned, staring at her with dazed eyes.

"You taste so sweet," he mumbled, his red eyes staring at her lips again. Amaya forced herself to remain impassive. She couldn't show him she was scared.

Really fucking scared.

Sighing, Shigaraki let his gaze fall, grabbing Amaya's hair once again. He loved how soft her waves felt in his hands.

"Hmmm what an obedient little bitch. You're right, standing and holding you two like this is getting annoying. Let's sit down by that fountain and talk," Shigaraki motioned, dragging the teens with him.

Now sitting near the mall fountain, Shigaraki's grip on the teens merely tightened. Amaya stifled her whimpers, not wanting to give the bastard the satisfaction of hearing her in pain.

"I hate everything," Shigaraki started, and Amaya had to force herself not to react, "but what pisses me off the most right now is the Hero Killer."

"Of course, this douche hates everything, look at him, fucking crusty emo."

"Not the fucking time Yajū, didn't you hear? It seems like Stain wasn't actually involved with the league like we thought."

"Wait so Stain wasn't with you guys?" Izuku asked, just as surprised as Amaya at the new information.

Shigaraki scoffed and he yanked on Amaya's hair in irritation, Amaya hissing in response.

Shigaraki merely smiled at her noise before turning to answer Izuku's question.

"I didn't acknowledge it but that's what the media saw and ran with. And that's the problem, almost everyone is looking at the Hero Killer… the attack on the USJ and the Nomus I released on Hosu City… everything was upstaged by him. No one is looking at me," Shigaraki sighed, sounding baffled.

"Why is that?" Shigaraki asked, focusing all his attention on only Izuku.

Amaya wanted to say that maybe it's because Shigaraki was acting like a fucking child, but she knew now was not the time. The painful grip on her hair reminded her to watch her mouth.

"No matter how much he boasts, in the end he just destroyed what he didn't like right? What do you think the difference is between me and him Midoriya?"

Amaya barely opened her mouth but as soon as she did, Shigaraki shoved her head into his shoulders. From an outsider's perspective it looked like Amaya was upset and cuddling on Shigaraki for comfort. Amaya resisted her reactions and tried to stay still so he'd let her go as Izuku tried to give him an answer.

"I can't understand or agree with who you are. For the Hero Killer I don't agree with him, but I can understand him. Because for me and the hero killer, it all started…. with All Might. At the very least Stain wasn't destroying everything just because he wanted to. He didn't just abandon it in vain like you did. Even if the way he did it was wrong, he was trying to live up to his ideals..." Izuku calmly explained, that is until Amaya heard him gasp.

Shigaraki seemed to have relaxed at the answer because he let Amaya get off his shoulder, but Amaya soon wished she hadn't seen his face.

Pure unadulterated relief and understanding appeared on Shigaraki's face, but it only made him look more like a maniac.

"It's like a weight off my chest, I've finally connected the dots. Why Stain and you piss me off… everything's because of All Might," Shigaraki giggled. Amaya began trembling, trying to keep her tears at bay from the pure insanity on the maniac's face.

"What was I worrying so much about? These guys are able to smile thoughtlessly because All Might is smiling thoughtlessly," Shigaraki laughed, his grip unbreakable and finally causing the smallest of whimpers to escape Amaya.

Her ears twitched hearing a choked gasp, and out of the corner of her eyes she could see that Shigaraki was now fully choking Izuku.

Desperately grasping onto Shigaraki's arm, Amaya quietly cried out for Shigaraki to stop.

Tears leaking out of her eyes, Amaya gently moved one of her hands onto Shigaraki's face and turned him to her, effectively cutting off his ranting.

"Shigaraki please, I'm begging you, let go of Izuku, you're hurting him."

Shigaraki stared at her eyes before looking at her lips, releasing Izuku, his gaze on her never faltering. Izuku coughed, trying to keep his sounds quiet as he caught his breath.

Amaya breathed in relief before she realized Shigaraki had fully released Izuku, only for him to gently wrap his hands around her own neck instead.

"A-Amaya!" Izuku cried, moving to stand in front of them before he stopped, watching Shigaraki warningly move his last finger near her pale neck.

"Hmm, you look so pretty when you're crying, you know Hitachi. Or should I call you Amaya like Midoriya does? I'll call you Amaya since we're supposed to be lovers," Shigaraki laughed, his cheeks tinting pink as he stared at Amaya's tear-stained face.

He wasn't choking her, but Amaya never felt so suffocated before.

"I like it when you beg me, Amaya. It's fun watching someone so strong just crumble," Shigaraki laughed, finding his pun funny as Amaya grimaced.

"You know, you really were a bad kitty last time I saw you. You really left your mark on me with those little claws of yours, I wonder if I should do that too," Shigaraki growled, tilting her neck to the side.

He moved his head down, licking his lips as he stared at the delicate pale skin in front of him. He gently licked the area where her neck and collar met before biting down hard.

Amaya jolted and bit down on her lip to prevent any noise from escaping as she felt his teeth dig into her sensitive skin. Shigaraki used enough force that blood came out and Izuku was forced to watch in disgust as a purplish red color bloomed on Amaya's pale neck.

Clenching his hands together, Izuku bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from attacking the man in front of him.

Shigaraki lifted his head, admiring his work, gently sucking and licking the blood away, moaning at the taste.

Amaya shuddered, cheeks shamefully pinking at the feeling. She felt tears gather in her eyes again, hating how this man made her feel weak.

"Hmm, that's much better, now I feel like we're even," Shigaraki muttered, caressing his mark.

"You know, like how I was saying last time, I wasn't joking about you joining me. Your parents didn't want you in any of this, but they left you all alone. They don't really care about you. You're all alone in this world, and no one wants you to succeed," Shigaraki plainly stated, looking at Amaya as if she was a poor dirty stray animal.

Amaya growled, baring her teeth in anger.

"You don't know me, stop acting like you do. Whatever my parents did with your league I want no part in it. And stop looking at me with that fucking pity in your eyes, it makes me want to puke," Amaya snarled, glaring with all her might at the man before her.

Shigaraki frowned at that and snapped her head back, causing Amaya to whine at the sudden pain.

"It's not nice to talk to your owner like that Amaya. I'm just telling you the truth, and I know because I was just like you. I mean look at that collar you're trying to hide. If this society really wanted you, they would've taken that off by now. But they haven't. They don't trust you." Shigaraki explained, his pinky tugging on the neck part of her shirt.

Amaya felt her stomach drop at his words. There was some truth to them, which she hated to admit.

But she wasn't someone's pet.

She didn't understand what Shigaraki meant with the whole 'he was like her' bit but right now she didn't care. All she cared about was Izuku escaping but the greenette was glued in front of them, wanting to do something but too scared to risk Amaya's life.

Izuku should've just left her, she didn't want him to get hurt.

"I will never join you," she hissed, ignoring the tears of pain that escaped her eyes.

Shigaraki tsked her again, starting to squeeze her neck.

"Ugh why are you such a difficult little bitch? I'm trying to be nice to you. I thought girls liked that. I want you on my team now. Can't you see how kind I'm being to you?" Shigaraki continued disappointed, his gripping causing Amaya to wheeze as her oxygen was slowly being ripped away from her.

"Shigaraki! Get away from her!" Izuku whispered-shrieked, stepping closer only to halt when Shigaraki began to decay a single strand of Amaya's hair.

Ignoring the whiny boy, Shigaraki paid attention to the pretty girl in front of him, feeling excitement pass through him from seeing her tears fall.

"You really think these so-called heroes in training want to be friends with you? They're probably looking down at you. Humans are so selfish. Especially ones who believe in this whole hero system, so why bother with them? You have such a nice quirk too, but I bet people are scared of it," Shigaraki sighed, smiling as Amaya's face started to lose color, her eyes glazing over.

Black dots were starting to cover her vision, but she glared as best as she could. She was sure as hell not going to die looking scared of Shigaraki.

"A-Amaya-chan? D-Deku?" Ochaco's voice hesitantly called out, surprising all three of them.

Izuku immediately tried to make Ochaco leave, Amaya couldn't even look at her as she started to slump against Shigaraki, knowing she'd be out in a few seconds.

That is until Shigaraki suddenly let her go, Amaya crashed into his chest as she wheezed and coughed, desperately catching her breath.

Shigaraki laughed, wrapping his arms around the limp cat-girl. Softly rubbing her back with one hand, he gripped her chin with the other. He had to bite down on his lips to stop a sound from coming as her teary glazed eyes squinted up at him.

He sighed, rubbing his nose with Amaya's before standing up, letting Amaya fall over, "Hah, that's awkward. Amaya and Midoriya didn't tell me they were with other people."

Shigaraki moved to leave when Izuku called out to him.

Shigaraki paused before looking back, ignoring the green haired boy to stare at the crumpled form of the petite girl that he had marked up.

"Please take care of my girl if you don't mind. I have to go, but I will be back," Shigaraki promised, and then he was gone.

Face down, Amaya felt like her throat was on fire. She flinched when she felt gentle hands touch her, but she relaxed when she saw they were Izuku's. He was helping her sit up and she let herself lean on him, trying to calm herself down.

Closing her eyes, she shuddered against Izuku, not wanting to cry in front of him but the tremble in her shoulders were doing little to show that.

She hated Shigaraki. She hated him so much.

She hated that he scared her.

He didn't know what kindness was. He didn't know what Amaya needed.

She couldn't hear as Ochaco tried to talk to her nor Izuku's frantic voice near her head.

Emotionally exhausted, she slumped her weight against Izuku and let herself sink into that familiar darkness, the cries of her friends in the distance.

It was her first day of public school and Amaya couldn't stop her shaky hands if she tried.

Finally, she escaped from that witch of a woman. Ms. Reí might have seemed like a sweet lady to others, but she was a stone cold bitch to Amaya.

Amaya was locked in her room on most of the days, chained to the bed, unable to move even if she was hungry or had to use the bathroom. Ms. Reí forced Amaya to cook all the meals but then wouldn't let her make anything for herself.

In just that one week Amaya was shocked five times.

She wasn't allowed to talk back because she looked threatening, she couldn't eat more than leftovers because Ms. Reí wasn't made out of money and she should feel lucky to even eat at all. She had to do the housework because that's the least she could do to stay at an officials house. She had to train her body to only use the bathroom during certain times because Ms. Reí felt unsafe if she didn't chain Amaya up.

Honestly if it wasn't for the fact that Amaya was allowed to go to school, she would've just stayed in her cell. At least then she could go to the bathroom whenever she needed to.

Still being escorted down towards the 2-C classroom Amaya felt that maybe this was worth it. So, what if she didn't have anyone anymore? She could make new friends who'd comfort her and take up space in her heart.

Sure, adults hated her, but other middle schoolers would surely see that she was a normal girl like everyone else. A lonely girl who dreamed of helping others.

The bulky collar bothered her and made her stick out like a sore thumb with how it sat uncomfortably on her small neck, but she hoped these kids could look past that.

Entering the lively classroom Amaya shyly walked up to the front, watching as the other kids stopped and stared at her. However as soon as they noticed her collar some began gasping and glaring at her. Nervously she looked up at her homeroom teacher, but the man merely ignored her stare, boredly introducing her to the class before directing her to her seat in the back, a few feet away from the others.

Amaya nodded and slowly started walking towards her seat, her black ears catching the kids whispering words.

"Ew why is she wearing that collar? Does she have fleas or something?" A high-pitched voice snarkily commented, laughing behind her hand.

"Shhh! Don't you know what her parents did! She could kill you!" A male voice whispered back panickily, others humming their agreement.

"What? Why is she in our school? I'm scared!"

"Ugh I hope she doesn't try and talk to us; someone should put her in her place," another voice said.

Amaya, too focused on everyone's voices, didn't notice the foot in front of her. She yelped as she crashed face-first onto the floor, slamming her nose so hard blood dripped down.

Everyone laughed and when Amaya turned to look at the teacher, he looked at her in disdain.

"Amaya do please watch where you walk, as a middle schooler you should be able to not trip over your own feet," he droned.

Amaya stared at him in disbelief, tears gathering in her eyes as her blood fell onto the floor.

"Go clean yourself up and you better be back here in five minutes or else I'll have to write you up," he continued, absolutely heartless to the inner turmoil occurring in her body.

Amaya nodded and headed to the bathroom, not bothering to hold her nose, letting her clothes stain with blood.

'What did I do to hurt them?'

'It's not what you did. It's what your parents did. You're a monster, remember?'

Amaya splashed water on her face and as she stared into the mirror, blood dripping into the sink, she finally saw what they all saw. She was a monster, and those kids didn't even know the half of it.

Hugging herself she promised not to speak if she could help it. Better to be alone than let anyone near her. As she stood there trembling in her stance, Amaya let herself cry a little. The only one to comfort her being her reflection.

"Kid. Kid! Please wake up!" A worried voice spoke from above.

Amaya gasped, sitting up in shock and backing away at the sudden hands. She breathed heavily as she realized that she was just having a bad dream, or rather, a bad memory.

Looking around she noticed she was in her own bed, and Aizawa was looking at her, his brows furrowed, and eyes narrowed. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes screamed he was in pain.

"Kid, you're crying. What happened?" Aizawa softly asked, slowly moving his hand where Amaya could see to pat her head.

Amaya shook her head, trying to smile as she looked at her guardian.

Aizawa gave her an unimpressed look back and lightly stroked her hair, trying to calm her shaking down.

She was shaking?

Amaya opened her mouth to speak but her throat burned, and she reached her fingers up to touch it but winced at the sore area. Her fingers traced the bite mark on her neck, and she scowled.

"You don't have to speak if it hurts. That bastard almost crushed your windpipe. It's only bruised but it must hurt to talk right now," Aizawa explained, looking at Amaya's neck in anger.

Amaya gently grabbed his hand, trying to motion that she was okay. Wiping the tears off her face from her sad memory, she tried to appear fine.

"Iz-Izu…" Amaya croaked, not being able to get the name out.

Aizawa understood her nonetheless and nodded.

"Don't worry about him, he's fine. He was taken down to the station to give his testimony about what happened with Shigaraki. You'll have to do that too but not now." Aizawa told her, softly pushing her back down into the bed.

"Just rest for now kid, I'll be here when you wake up, don't you worry. I promise you I won't leave your side."

Tears filled Amaya's eyes again. Gripping his hands, she let out a raspy thank you and Aizawa took one look at her before he hugged her. His strong arms and warm presence blanketing her in a feeling of safety and home.

Her shoulders shook from the force of her own sobs, but Aizawa only held her tighter.

"I know, I know… you must've been so scared," he whispered, his head comfortably resting on top of hers.

Amaya nodded, letting everything out to the man that loved and cared for her. Aizawa was so much more than her guardian. He was like her dad, but the difference was that Aizawa would never leave her.

As her crying died down Amaya's eyes started to droop. Aizawa could feel the girl leaning more and lightly placed her back down on the bed.

He stayed the whole night, watching over her before his own eyes closed as well.

Sharp knocking on the door downstairs caused both the pro hero and teen to jolt from their sleeping positions. Amaya yawned, stretching as Aizawa sluggishly walked down the stairs, grumbling about annoying people.

Amaya giggled slightly, wincing at using her voice but ignored it.

She figured it was about mid-morning, which made her curious about who'd be visiting Aizawa on a Sunday, but she was too tired to check.

She was surprised she didn't have any nightmares; she knew she would never forget that incident.

"Exhaustion would make it, so you just straight up pass out."

Amaya nodded to herself, accepting that answer. She prayed that she wouldn't have to see those red eyes in her dreams again.

Looking down at the foot of her bed, Amaya noticed Mochi resting and called for the fluffy cat to join her. With Mochi now settling on Amaya's lap, the teen got comfy, ready to fall back asleep when Aizawa opened the door.

With him came Izuku, Ochaco, Hitoshi and Tenya, surprising Amaya. Even though she knew her friends knew about her relationship with Aizawa, she never imagined them actually visiting her in her home, minus Hitoshi of course. It felt nice and Amaya smiled as bright as she could.

Her friends smiled back but it seemed tight and started to diminish as they noticed her neck.

"Damn I wonder how bad it looks."

"Well, it sure as hell doesn't feel great."

Izuku and Hitoshi were the first to move, one standing on each side of Amaya. Ochaco and Tenya followed, the bubbly girl sitting on the bed next to Amaya while Tenya stood beside Izuku.

"How you feeling Amaya?" Hitoshi quietly asked, bringing his hand to caress Amaya's cheek.

Amaya blushed at the notion and prepared herself for the pain to talk.

Thankfully Izuku cut in. "Amaya-chan if it hurts too much you don't have to answer. You can just nod or shake your head if you want. Oh, I also brought this pen and notepad for you if it'd be easier," Izuku hurriedly added, taking out a miniature notebook from his back pocket along with a pen.

Amaya smiled and received it, giving Hitoshi a comforting smile to reassure him that he didn't do anything wrong.

She neatly wrote down a I'm fine and gave a thumbs up to her friends.

Ochaco stared at her for a second before throwing herself on top of Amaya, hugging the cat-teen firmly.

"I was so scared… I thought he really hurt you," Ochaco whispered but everyone heard. Amaya's ears flattened a little at that, worried for her friend so she hugged her back, showing Ochaco that she was fine.

"I'm sorry for not being there Amaya-san, as class rep… no as your friend, I should have been there to help you. I'm sorry to both you and Midoriya-san," Tenya apologized, looking ashamed of himself.

Amaya wrote down that it was out of his control and to not worry about it as Izuku verbally told the taller teen the same things.

Izuku met her eyes and immediately grabbed her hand, holding it close to his chest.

Flashbacks of Shigaraki's fingers squeezing Amaya's neck as he spit disgusting lies to her kept appearing as he stared at the dark purplish bruise.

He tightened his grip as he spoke, "I should apologize more than anyone Amaya-chan. I was with you and couldn't do anything as he hurt you."

Amaya frowned, shaking her head as she tried to write but Izuku stopped her.

"No, you can't say that it's not my fault because when Shigaraki was choking me you got him to stop. There is no excuse for me not trying to do the same," he quietly stated, his eyes shining with tears.

Amaya tugged Izuku close and flicked his forehead.

"I was lucky he actually stopped. So, stop saying it's your fault," Amaya croaked, her voice deep and crackly but the message got through as she saw Izuku nodding.

"You should never smoke Amaya, your voice sounds really bad," Shōto stated as he walked into her room, nonchalant. Amaya and the others almost screamed at his sudden entrance, but once Amaya processed his words, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Todoroki-san this is not the appropriate time for jokes!" Tenya scolded, moving his hands as he spoke.

"I think it sounds kinda hot, but I do prefer your regular voice," Hitoshi added, making all of them blush, except Shōto.

"You sound like you ate a chainsaw," Shōto deadpanned.

Ochaco started laughing as Izuku tried to defend Amaya's voice.

Amaya joined in chuckling while silently thanking Shōto for lighting up the atmosphere, even though Amaya was almost 100% sure he didn't know he did that.

As Aizawa leaned against the door from the other side he smiled, shaking his head at the teens in his house.

He never imagined his life would come to this, but if those kids made Amaya laugh and smile like that, he wouldn't complain.

She deserved all the happiness in the world.

A/N: Hello! So I hope you guys enjoyed reading that and liked my Yandere Shiggy. I'm sorry if some of y'all think he's OOC but I feel like if Shigaraki was actually in love with someone he'd obsess over them. Also just to clarify, Shiggy is not one of Amaya's love interests, because she has enough, but he is definitely someone important. That said I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and please stay safe!