Rui had reached the hospital, leaping out of the cab and rushing up to her mother's room.

"Mom..?"

Rui stopped just inside the doorway, her heart sinking at the sight of her mother's frail body barely clinging to life. She stepped into the room hesitantly and approached her mother's bed.

"Mom, it's me..."

Isane stirred at the gentle touch as her daughter grasped her hand carefully. "R-Rui...? You're here..."

"I'm sorry, Mom... I should have gotten here sooner... I should have just come home after your last call..."

"Hush... it's alright..."

"Excuse the interruption, but are you Rui?"

Rui looked up to see a doctor standing just inside the room. "Yes. What happened? What's wrong with her?"

Shota came into the hospital room just as the doctor began to explain that something had happened after Isane had been struck by the bullet that attacked her blood in a way they had never seen before.

"Your mother's lack of using her quirk for as long as it has been has made her quirk incredibly weak as a result and that already weakened quirk has been taking a toll on her body. We believe that the bullet she had been grazed by must have been contaminated somehow and once that contamination had entered her bloodstream, there was no stopping it. It attacked her red blood cells first, which caused her to faint from severe anemia, and by the time she had reached the hospital it had already started attacking her white blood cells. We've tried to give her transfusions, keep her on a fluid IV drip... we've tried everything we could think of to stop whatever it is going on with her body." The doctor sighed and continued, "Unfortunately, nothing we've been able to do has worked and her condition continues to deteriorate. Your mother has already crashed twice in the last hour."

Rui and Shota sat on either side of her, each holding a hand.

Isane tried to offer her brother a weak smile. "Sho, take care of Rui for me...? She's so close to finishing her studies..."

"I will..."

"I love you, Sho..."

"I love you too, sis."

Isane turned to Rui. "Rui... be strong for me, sweet girl. You've proven to me... that you are more than capable... of standing on your own... you are so much like... like your father..."

Rui leaned forward, trying to hug her mother as best as she could. "Mom, please... don't leave me..."

"It's going to all be OK... whatever happens... I am so proud of you... and your father would be too..." Isane did her best to return her daughter's embrace. "I love you so much... and I am so sorry I shut you away from the world... promise me... promise me that you won't do the same when I'm gone... promise me that you'll go out and be who you want to be... experience life as you choose to..."

"I promise..." Rui sat back, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I love you too, Mom..."

Isane reached up to wipe away the tears and smiled for her daughter one last time, closing her eyes and taking her last breath when Rui did her best to return the smile. Her hand fell weakly to the side and the EKG flatlined.

"Mom...?" Rui reached forward, gently shaking her mother's shoulder. "Mom, come on... wake up... please..!"

But Isane was gone and Rui collapsed onto the bed next to her mother, sobbing into the blanket. When the doctor and a team of nurses ran in to revive her, Shota stopped them and shook his head.

"Let her be..."

The medical staff understood and stepped out of the room, giving them space. Shota had been trying to keep his emotions in check, but seeing his niece so heartbroken was the last straw and he couldn't help but sink into the nearby chair and let his tears free.

After that, Rui began to shut down. She barely spoke a word to anyone, not even her friends when they tried to reach out to her, and she barely ate anything. Between her grief and guilt regarding her mother, her guilt in having to reject Katsuki when he tried to kiss her and the heartbreak she felt in having to leave everything and everyone she cared about behind, Rui was in a very dark place and needed time to cope with it all.

Shota took her in, giving her the guest room upstairs for as long as she needed. He took care of the funeral arrangements, as well, having Isane cremated and put to rest with her husband. The day of the funeral, after all of the ceremonial rites had been completed, Rui stood before the gravestone of her parents while her uncle and grandparents accepted the condolences and mourning gifts. She barely acknowledged anyone as they tried to speak to her, at least until her friends stopped by.

"Rui?"

Rui turned to find Mina's hand on her shoulder with Momo, Ochaco, Tsu, Izuku, and everyone else gathered nearby. She didn't say a word and simply broke down crying again as Mina pulled her into a hug.

"We're so sorry to hear about your mom..." Ochaco offered.

"We wanted to offer our condolences," Momo added, looking to Shota, "to both of you."

Rui meekly thanked each one of her friends as they offered her a hug. She was grateful for the support, but her guilt in leaving the way she did was beginning to take its hold.

One by one, each of Rui's friends hugged her and gave their condolences, then lit incense and offered up prayers while some placed their gifts of flowers around the gravestone.

Shota watched as his students did this and he was touched that they would take the time to be there to support him and Rui. Mitsuki and Masaru had even come by, but Katsuki was nowhere to be seen. He watched as one by one, they each left- Izuku being the last to leave.

"Rui, if you ever need anything, you can count on us," Izuku said, hugging her. "I hope you know that."

Rui nodded. "Thank you, Izuku..."

Izuku tried to offer her a smile, but he wasn't sure how convincing it would be. "Call if you ever need us, alright?"

Rui nodded, trying to return his smile. "I will..." Her smile faded quickly though as he turned away, leaving her alone with her remaining family.

"Rui, we should go, too, before it gets too late," Shota said, reaching up to touch her shoulder.

"I'd like to stay a bit longer..."

"Take all the time you need, kiddo... I'll wait for you at home."

Rui nodded briefly, turning her attention back to her parents' gravestone and soon enough, she was completely alone.

"Mom... I'm so sorry..." Rui's tears were renewing themselves and breaking free to trickle down her cheeks from puffy eyes. "I should have come home sooner... I shouldn't have been so selfish to stay like that... I'm so sorry..." She sank to her knees, bawling before the image of her mother as it rested at the base of the gravestone marker.

She sat like that for who knew how long, eventually crying herself to sleep. By the time someone had come to find her, she had rested her arms against the base of the gravestone with her head pressed against them.

"You dummy..." Katsuki said with a sigh, leaning down to scoop Rui up into his arms. He had come to at least give her flowers and try to offer his condolences to Rui, unsure if she would even accept them, but he had waited until everyone else had left. When he was sure no one was still there, he had made his way through the rows of gravestones until he found Rui- passed out in front of her parents' gravestone.

Katsuki carried her out of the cemetery, making his way towards the exit. He had found the address to where she was staying in her purse and carried her the whole way there, reaching up carefully to knock on the door before stepping back and waiting for someone to answer the door.

"What? Bakugo, what are you doing here?"

Katsuki looked up to see that it was Shota standing there. "S-Sorry, sir. I found her passed out; thought I'd bring her home."

"Up the stairs, third down on the left," Shota instructed, closing the door as he kicked off his shoes and climbed the stairs. He followed him up the stairs and stood in the hallway, watching as Katsuki gently set Rui down on her bed, grabbing a blanket from the foot of the bed and draping it over her. He watched him set the flowers he had held onto carefully as he carried her on the bedside table nearest her, then smoothed back her hair and sighed. "I'm sorry, Rui... for everything..." He heard him say as he leaned down, kissing her cheek before leaving her room and closing the door behind him.

Shota narrowed his eyes momentarily, looking over his students before sighing. "Thank you, Bakugo."

"Sure, whatever. Oh, and... sorry about your sister."

Shota watched as Katsuki made his way back down the stairs to the front door, slid his shoes back on and let himself out. 'You're a good kid.'