Todoroki had spent most of his free time since the exam going to the provisional license remedial classes along with Bakugou. This made it harder for him to find the chance to speak to Sumire, while it also made keeping her distance from Todoroki easier to do, at least physically speaking. Keeping their interactions limited to texts and the occasional call was wearing Sumire's emotional strength thin.

Near the end of September, that divide vanished in an instant as Todoroki rushed into the classroom where Sumire was taking advantage of the empty room to go over the latest notes she'd taken. She startled at the sudden rush of the door sliding open, shock fading into concern as she saw Todoroki catching his breath as he crossed the threshold.

"We need to go, they're at the hospital now! Mirio's been injured in a mission that Midoriya was involved in. I wasn't told all the details, so I don't know if he was hurt as well. I thought you'd want to be there so I came to get you while Bakugou went on ahead. I can fill you in on the rest of what I was told on the way."

"Yes, I definitely want to be there," Sumire said as she quickly shut her notebook and left it at her desk before joining Todoroki at the front of the classroom. "I hope they're all okay, let's get moving." She almost instinctively reached out for Todoroki's hand, but stopped herself before her arm moved.

"That girl is going to destroy you."

Even wearing her gloves and protective clothes, Endeavor's words quickly rebuilt the invisible wall she'd raised between herself and Todoroki ever since she'd heard their conversation. Nodding that she was ready to go, she followed a few steps behind as they ran through the halls and out toward the hospital.

"Were you told anything about the mission they were on? Midoriya was interning with Mirio at the same agency, right?"

"Yeah, Nighteye's agency was part of this multi-agency mission. They were rescuing a young girl that was being abused by someone in the Yakuza who was taking advantage of her quirk. They managed to rescue the girl, but apparently the villain used something that made Lemillion lose his quirk, some kind of gun or something. I don't know if Midoriya had the same thing happen to him, though I imagine Uraraka would have relayed that to me as well if that was the case."

Sumire's pace slowed as she heard that Mirio had lost his quirk. She'd been lamenting her situation for so long, and as tragic as it was for a hero with such a bright future to lose his power, for the briefest of moments, Sumire felt a sense of morbid envy. The realization that some method of getting rid of a quirk existed left her feeling a sliver of hope, though if it was something created by a villain, it likely wasn't done with good intentions.

"So these are the bullets that can take away someone's quirk? For something that Overhaul considered his life's work, they don't look very impressive," Shigaraki said as he peered into the case holding the bullets that he'd just taken from Overhaul. The gut-wrenching scream that his villain rival let out as he was left armless and robbed of his creation echoed in his mind, music to his ears after all they'd endured during the League's involvement with the Yakuza.

They decided to leave their vehicle behind and escape on foot, making it to the most populated part of the city to blend in with the crowd before any police or heroes could respond to their attack on Overhaul's transport. Compress had an eye on his phone to catch any information on where the heroes would be gathering while Dabi was miraculously quiet for once.

From the corner of his eye, Shigaraki happened to spot a shade of violet he found familiar running in the opposite direction. As he turned his attention that way, he saw the girl he'd intended to take to his master, as well as the candy-striped bastard of a hero that had shown up to rescue her and ruin his plans. The two were running off, likely heading toward some kind of heroic mission judging from their urgency.

"Hmm… Perhaps now would be a good time to test these out and see if Overhaul's hard work proved successful," Shigaraki said as he directed his companions' attention to the two that were across the street. "Keep them occupied while I get ready to take the shot."

Compress and Dabi navigated the busy street and flanked Todoroki and Sumire, blocking their path, Dabi's blue flames flickered between his fingers as he stood in front of them while Compress blocked their escape.

"The League of Villains?! It can't be a coincidence that you're showing up now," Todoroki said as he stared down the raven-haired fire user. Sumire kept a watchful eye on Compress, she'd recently seen the information gathered about the League since their attack on UA's training camp and was aware of what his quirk was capable of.

"Shoto Todoroki, it's been a while," Dabi said in return, his smirk stretching the staples along his jaw until hints of crimson started to bead up. "I'm curious, how's that kid with the explosion quirk holding up since we last met? Has he realized yet that you were the one that failed to save him in the woods, or is he still hung up on Kamino? Can't be easy to realize you're the reason the world's greatest hero is a useless fool now, after all."

Todoroki's temper had neared its breaking point before he heard Sumire's voice follow Dabi's. "You don't know anything about heroes! All Might fought All For One because he knew it was what was necessary to stop that menace, there's no one to blame for what happened after that! You'd really try to place that burden on a teenager?"

"Ah, do you really wanna talk about putting undue pressure on a kid with me, girl? Because I could have you quivering and sobbing in a corner with what I know on the subject." Dabi's blue flames flared for a moment before settling down. "As much as I'd love to engage you on that train of thought, it'll have to be something I discuss at a later time. With a far more captive audience than you."

Shigaraki retrieved the gun from the bag they'd taken along with the bullets. He loaded one of the quirk-erasing bullets in before chambering it. Trusting his aim enough at the short distance, he kept the remaining bullets in the case. Dabi noticed that he was ready as he leveled the gun up to his eyes and braced himself.

Sumire noticed Dabi's momentary distraction and watched in silent shock as Shigaraki aimed the gun in Todoroki's direction. At that moment, Sumire remembered that Mirio's friend, Tamaki, had briefly lost his quirk after being shot during a recent villain attack. Todoroki mentioning Lemillion losing his ability due to something relating to a gun just before the League showed up had Sumire realize Shigaraki's intentions as he pulled the trigger.

"No!" Sumire yelled out, startling everyone nearby as her legs moved on their own at the same time gunfire sounded out. Todoroki drew his attention away from Dabi just as Sumire dove in front of him, the hollow thud of a bullet meeting flesh sounded far too close as Sumire collapsed next to him.

"Damnit! I didn't expect her to jump in front of the bullet, I wanted to get rid of that boy's annoying quirk so we could bring her back to Master," Shigaraki whined as he lowered the gun. The shrill sound of sirens grew closer, signaling the League's need to return to their hideout. Shigaraki took a moment to consider loading another bullet, to at least take both of their quirks away, but Compress caught his attention, shaking his masked head.

"Shigaraki, it's time for our grand exit. We'll need time to regroup and learn about what we've acquired. At least you can be satisfied with the knowledge that they do work, as you can now see," Compress said as he waved his hand toward the two heroes on the ground. Todoroki now had Sumire held against him, crying over her as he called out her name. The contact would have certainly caused him to lose his quirk and bring Sumire extreme pain, yet there was no reaction at all.

It didn't ease Shigaraki's mind to have proof the bullets worked if it meant missing out on finding out if Sumire's former quirk had any relation to his Master. With a heaving sigh, Shigaraki put away the gun and bullet case. "Well, can't do anything to change it now. Let's go, leave them to their despair."

The villains fled as the sounds of the responding vehicles got louder. Todoroki may as well have been sitting in a dark, silent room, only seeing Sumire laying still in his arms as his eyes blurred with tears. "Please, please wake up Sumire!" Todoroki cried out as he held her close against him with no regard for the danger that contact could mean with her quirk. "I can't lose you here, not before I can tell you how I feel!"

Sumire slowly awakened, her vision blurry at first before she realized how close she was to Todoroki. Warmth and comfort eased her instinct to panic and withdraw, with Todoroki as the source for that comfort as he held her closer than anyone ever had before. It was too much and not enough all at once, which left her at a loss for words as she looked up into gray and ice-blue eyes relaying a sense of relief that set her at ease.

It would have been far too easy to take Todoroki's quirk at this point, especially with the position they were currently in. And yet there was no reaction to their close proximity. The pain Sumire normally felt if she touched another person was absent, replaced only by the warmth that Todoroki's body provided as he gazed upon her with fear and concern in his eyes.

That was when she knew that she had been right about the bullets causing people to lose their quirks. She didn't know if it would be permanent, since Tamaki had recovered his quirk soon after his attack. All Sumire knew was that she never wanted to forget or go without feeling how close she was to Todoroki in this moment.

"Shouto… I'm free!" Sumire exclaimed as her arms rose up to embrace him, no longer fearing a painful consequence. Her brief burst of energy led her up to Todoroki's mouth, carefully pressing their lips together. Their kiss was short but full of intention and emotion, those few seconds full of promises of more moments like this to come.

Holding her closer than he'd ever dared before, Shouto felt the moment Sumire fainted in his arms. Sifting his fingers through soft, violet locks of hair, he embraced her even tighter as tears ran down his cheeks to soak the shoulder of Sumire's gray body suit.

Emotion choked his voice as he finally managed to speak.

"Yuuki…"