fanfic-addict91: Doko is absolutely stepping over the line and making assumptions without full context. It's the same thing he did with Todoroki at the Sports Festival. It's a part of his character.

Chapter 70: Winter's Woes

December swept over Musutafu like a broom, and with it came the cold.

And on an early Sunday morning, the students of Class A awoke to see the world outside blanketed in white.

"It's snowing!" exclaimed Ojiro in disbelief.

Doko and Kirishima came running inside, screaming and dripping with melted snow. Mina was chasing them both, holding a snowball in her mittened hand. The commotion turned everyone's head in the common room.

"Hey! Stop tracking that in!" scolded Momo.

Kirishima was frantically taking his wet sweater off as he ran. "Wet wet wet cold cold cold!" he stammered, his teeth chattering.

"Gotta get a towel find a towel now!" Doko echoed, panic in his violet eyes. Mina was cackling behind them.

"Hey, shut that door, Tsuyu's freezing to death over here!" complained Uraraka while rubbing her hands over her frog friend, who had curled up on the couch like a cocoon.

"I will get it," said Iida, stepping over and shutting the door. Momo sighed and looked at the wet tracks that had been left. "Playing like children," she admonished Doko, Kirishima, and Mina.

Mina whirled around. She was wearing a pink jacket, a teal scarf, and a cream-colored winter hat that her horns stuck out of. She stuck her tongue out at Momo and said, "Snow makes an exception to maturity."

Doko was wringing out his jacket over the sink, now shirtless. He looked up at Momo, and blinked. "If you wanted to join us, you could have just said so."

Momo turned red and averted her eyes. "At least have some decency and do that upstairs."

Midoriya had just appeared in the common room, and when Doko spotted him, the two of them quickly looked away from each other. The warper frowned, and nodded to Momo, heading on up.

Midoriya sighed and headed toward the kitchen.

Mina had a sad look on her face. "Those two have been weird around each other recently. I thought they were good friends; I wish I knew what was going on."

"Is Doko not telling you?" asked Toru.

"No, I don't think he knows I've noticed."

Jiro walked over to the couch and turned on the TV. "I want to see what they're saying about the snow on the weather forecast." She picked up the remote and flicked through the channels.

Sero was sipping noodles from a bowl. "Hey, does anyone know when Bakugo and Todoroki are getting back? I need to borrow another volume of a manga…"

"Around six, I believe," Iida answered.

"Assuming the licensing test doesn't get drawn out somehow," Midoriya added.

"If they pass today, everyone in our class will have their licenses finally!" said Sato as he cleaned up the kitchen area.

"They must be in the middle of it right now. I hope they're doing well," said Iida.

"Meh," Jiro said, still flicking through channels. "That licensing exam was the only time I ever beat those two at anything, so it's kinda sad."

"Don't be so petty, Kyoka," Momo scolded.

"You have several standout qualities of your own, Jiro," Shoji told her.

"Give me a break! And…thanks, Shoji. I guess," she muttered. "Ah!"

She stopped on a weather report, which was just ending. An explanation of the snow storm that had come in drew many of the eyes in the common room, but then it changed.

"This week's top story: the company Detnerat, a massive player in the lifestyle industry, has formally entered the hero support sector!"

A commercial for Detnerat's new hero support items started playing. The CEO of the company, Rikiya Yotsubashi, was shown on screen in a pinstripe suit. He was a lanky man with orange hair and a long, narrow face.

"Oh, that's neat," said Shoji. "I buy a lot of shirts from them. People with higher-than-average limbs are a specialty of theirs."

"Wait, who are they?" asked Toru.

Shoji put an arm around her. "It's a company that specializes in making clothing and items for people with mutant Quirks. I suppose they're extending that to hero items now. Maybe I'll use them for my career."

"They seem really cool!" said Mina. "It's super important to be accepting in these times! I like this guy." She looked pointedly at the prancing CEO on screen. "He knows what the people need."

Tokoyami nodded. "To know that there is a major company out there looking out for the interests of mutants like us…is a warm thought. Even in this cold." He hugged himself about the chest.

Momo clicked her teeth. "I would hate to rain on your parade, Tokoyami, but my father has worked with Detnerat before, and apparently they are a bit…sketchy."

"Hmm?" Toru leaned forward, interested. "Sketchy like how? Spill, Momo!"

"I've just…I've just heard rumors, is all. Be careful what corporations you support." With that, the black-haired beauty turned and went upstairs.

Ojiro frowned. "Kinda hypocritical coming from her, isn't it?"

Uraraka yawned. "Rich people know best that other rich people are untrustworthy. They all play the same game. Anyway, I think I'm gonna cover up and go play in the snow. Who wants to come with?"

The class began to split up, making various uses of their snowy Sunday.

…

Mina: attention all group chat members

Mina: toru and i are calling upon you. there is an outdoor skating rink downtown. we have received permission from aizawa and are going this afternoon. this is non-negotiable

Doko: it's a date, dollface

Toru: oh god i can hear him doing the accent

Mezo: That sounds lovely.

Tsuyu: you guys have fun...i really can't go out into the cold at all.

Fumikage: I am in the same boat. I shall stay behind and keep Tsu company.

Hanta: tsu…tokoyami…you guys cant do this to me

Hanta: if its just me plus the two couples, i will be fifth wheeling so hard

Tsuyu: invite shiozaki, dumbass

Doko: wow tsu. i didnt know you had it in you. cold blooded indeed.

Tsuyu: you shut it

Mina: that's a great idea! sero, you should see if she's free

Hanta: i think she finished all her homework already so she prolly is. is this a triple date then?

Toru: omg yessssss

Mezo: It seems so.

Doko: six. a strong number. also i dont know how to ice skate so

Mina: don't worry doko, we went roller skating remember? it's barely more difficult than that

Toru: if u fall ill still laugh

Mezo: Behave yourself.

Doko put his phone in his pocket and sighed. Good thing I only wore my sweater outside for the snowball fight earlier. My heavier winter stuff is still clean. Still, it was annoying to go through so many clothes in one day.

Worth it for snow. Worth it for Mina.

As he put on his coat to prepare for the triple date, he thought about Bakugo and Todoroki, away at their test. Once they pass, we'll be getting back to work studies.

He couldn't return to Nighteye now. Not after what he'd learned. That man, Midoriya, All Might…he just didn't want to talk to them. I don't want to be wrapped up in all that. It makes me sick.

Gratefully, his Quirk had not sent him to Midoriya's dreams again since. Doko suspected that it could if it wanted, but…

Now that everyone in class knows, things will be different. Aizawa had already pulled him aside and said that while Quirkless sparring would continue with Uraraka, there would also be more, separate training for him to control his Quirk. I wonder what that will entail.

He looked out the window of his room as he finished getting dressed. He threw his black scarf around his neck, and blinked. The snow was still falling, a blanket of white.

December. The end of the school year is in March. We only have four months to end the League of Villains, or UA is going to close.

If he was to have a role in that fight, it would be with Mina. Not with Nighteye's agency.

For all the generations of people who'd suffered as a result of the clashes between All For One and One For All. This will be the end of it. I will make sure.

…

He joined his girlfriend outside the dorm room, the air biting at their joints. Shoji and Toru were there, as well, with Shoji covering up his arms for once with a multi-limbed coat. "Detnerat product," he said.

Mina made a show of shivering, and then snuggled up to Doko. "It's the man's job to keep the woman warm," she said.

Doko sighed and obliged, putting his arm around her. "You did pelt me with snowballs earlier. Look, there's Sero."

Sero waved, walking over to them with Shiozaki in tow. Ibara's vines were trimmed short into a cute bob, which took Doko aback. She was also wearing a hat that covered most of them.

"Your hair," he pointed out.

She smiled at him. "It doesn't do well in the cold. Though I don't like to cut it much shorter than this. It grows back in a matter of days anyway."

"We're glad you're coming!" Toru chirped. "Without you, poor Sero would have been complaining the whole time."

Sero put his face in his hands, while Ibara just giggled. "Yes, well, I'm very pleased to be invited. When Hanta came to get me and Monoma caught wind of what we were doing, he said, I hope you freeze, you class traitor, and then stormed upstairs. It's enough to make me wish I really was in your class."

"You'll be wishing that even harder, after how much fun we're gonna have!" Mina chimed in.

"How far is this skating rink, anyway?" asked Shoji.

"It's downtown, in the park! Not far at all."

The six of them set off together, intermingling as a group in a way that made it feel less like they were three couples. Doko, somewhat interested in catching up with Ibara, fell into step with her as they walked.

"How have you been?" he asked, his breath visible in the air.

The tip of her nose was red. She inhaled and said, "Well. And yourself?"

"Well, I've uhh…been hanging in there."

"I was worried about you after what happened during our joint training."

That took Doko aback. "Why? I mean, I guess I understand why, it's just…"

Ibara smiled reassuringly at him. "When I fought you at the sports festival, I got a sense of what your Quirk was like. When you used it on my hair, I could feel…I could feel it. It was a surprisingly warm feeling. It distresses me to see that your Quirk might now be fighting against you. It sounds silly, but I wish there was something I could do to help…"

"I don't think my Quirk has ever been warm, Shiozaki," Doko told her. He was inwardly confused as to why it had felt that way to her, when he'd used it on her vines. "It's always been a delicate balancing act. That's why you were able to put up such a good fight against me; I have to be so, so careful when I use my powers. I appreciate your concern. Maybe I could take you up on a rematch sometime; that would be helpful for both of us."

Ibara nodded, but her smile had faded a tad. She was running her fingers over her collarbone, which was covered by her bulky jacket. "Katayama, I don't think you should think so negatively about your Quirk. I understand your feelings, but…Quirks are a gift from God, you know. We are meant to use them for good. I am certain you already understand that. But we must be grateful for the powers we have been granted. That is how I feel, anyway. Sorry if I'm being annoying, I have a tendency to…"

"It's fine," Doko told her quickly, reassuringly. "I don't mind. Thank you."

That seemed to appease her, and she smiled, stepping forward a bit to talk to Sero again. Doko's thoughts darkened. A gift from God? That's what Shiozaki thinks Quirks are?

He remembered Overhaul, randomly. He'd thought they were a disease. That's a common theory. A disease started from rats…

His dream flashed through his head again. Rats. The first Quirk, that glowing baby…

Bile seemed to rise in his stomach. He swallowed it down. No, not a gift from God. If Shiozaki ever found out what my Quirk really is, what it really CONNECTS to…it would completely shatter her worldview.

…

A few minutes later, they arrived at the park. The last time Doko had been here, it had been all green…now it was completely white.

In the open field beyond the treed walking paths, the skating rink had been set up. It was elliptical with a safety railing around the perimeter. Nearby there was a stand to rent skates from, as well as a few other stalls. And lastly…there was a tall ice slide set up on the left.

"Oooooh!" Toru breathed. One could see the vapor ejecting out of where her mouth was supposed to be. "An ice slide? That looks like fun!"

Mina's eyes twitched. "Probably costs extra. C'mon, Doko, let's get our skates. I'll show you how it's done."

"Err, yes, alright." He took her hand and they walked over to the stall.

"Not to worry," said Shoji to Toru. "We can go on the slide later if you like."

"I would like," she replied. "What about you two?" She turned to Sero and Shiozaki. "Are you coming?"

"Oh, yes, I am excited. I haven't been ice skating since I was a little girl." Shiozaki blinked excitedly at the rink.

They got in line at the stall, the six of them. The guy working it had given Mina her skates and had just returned with Doko's when his eyes widened.

"You're UA students?" he asked.

"Indeed," said Shoji.

"Man, I was wondering when some would come down and check this place out. I guess you guys are still locked up pretty tight in there, though."

"We got permission today," said Mina. "Happy to patronize your establishment!"

Doko deadpanned at her. "Fancy words."

"You two," the guy said, pointing at Sero and Shiozaki. "You guys beat that guy out front of the gate, didn't you! That was the best hero fight I'd seen in ages!"

Shiozaki beamed, thanked him, and then nudged Sero aggressively in the side. "Gah! Yes! You're welcome! I mean, thank you for the compliment!"

Doko laughed at Sero's antics, and then the six of them put their skates on at the edge of the rink. There were maybe a dozen people circling the outside area slowly, and three younger girls nearer the center who were going a bit faster. In the very center there was a tall guy, probably an employee, skating around like an expert and supervising the whole thing.

"I do hate walking in these," Doko muttered, as the sharp blades forced him to awkwardly tilt his feet sideways.

Experimentally, he put one foot onto the ice at the rink entrance. There was no purchase, of course. It was all slick.

Gripping the rail, he slowly brought his other leg onto it, faltered for a moment, and gripped the rail more tightly with both hands.

Mina slid up next to him and giggled. "Here," she said, taking one of his gloved hands in her own mittened one. "I'll help you out."

Holding hands, they slowly made their way around the rink. Toru and Shoji followed, a bit more skillfully. Sero and Shiozaki brought up the rear.

…

He lost count of how many laps they did like that, holding hands, slowly speeding up as he grew more confident. It got to the point where he could sort of drift along, merely hovering his hand over the rail.

And he began to laugh. Mina laughed, too, their breaths mingling in the air. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed hers right back. They didn't need to exchange words. Here in this world of white, the wind lapping at their faces…

It was magical. Like all his troubles melted away.

They took a break shortly after.

"That stall is selling hot chocolate," said Sero, pointing. "I'll grab some for whoever wants."

"Meeee!" said Mina.

"I should like one, as well," Ibara chimed in.

"Here," Doko said, fishing for money in his coat pocket. "For mine and Mina's."

Sero waved him off. "That's fine, I'll cover it."

Doko blinked. "But-"

"I'll cover it," Sero repeated, insisting. "Consider it paid by me getting to watch how much of a goof you were acting like out there."

A flash of deep, brother-like understanding flashed between them. In that moment, Doko considered Sero his best friend, and it had nothing to do with him paying for his hot chocolate.

"Alright," he finally said, sitting down at one of the picnic tables set up next to the rink.

Toru pointed at the ice slide. "Shoji, let's go do that now!"

"Does that mean you don't want hot chocolate?" Shoji asked.

"Oh, I do! Just slide first!"

He sighed good-naturedly. "Alright."

Mina sat down next to Doko, and Ibara sat opposite them, as the other three moved off. Mina was struggling to get out of her skates. When she finally did, revealing her sweaty socked foot, Doko made a show of wrinkling his nose.

"You'll disgust Shiozaki here and turn her to Monoma's side," he complained.

Ibara laughed. "I have spent all my life around dirt and fertilizer. I don't take issue with that."

"Yeah, Doko. Girls are way more used to gross stuff than you think. Even more than boys." Mina stuck out her tongue at him.

…

Mezo and Toru climbed the stairs on the side of the ice slide. Mezo was carrying the two-person inner tube that they would use to go down it.

"You were a surprisingly good skater, Mezo," Toru was saying.

"Surprisingly?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you don't often think of it as something big guys are good at."

"I had an indoor rink near my childhood home. It closed when I was twelve, though. Besides, I learned to use my Quirk to distribute my limbs in a way that constantly kept me balanced."

"Whoa, that's really cool!" Toru exclaimed. "Man, it seems like everyone else in our class was fine-tuning their Quirks for so long even before UA. Meanwhile, I didn't even learn I could refract light until this year."

"Better late than never. You're amazing, Toru."

They came to the top of the stairs, but the final step up to the platform was randomly much higher and steeper. Mezo paused for a moment, and then stepped up, confused.

The guy manning the top of the slide gave him a look. "Yeah, we rented this thing. I have no idea why it's designed that way."

Toru paused for a moment, and then looked down off the side of the narrow steps, worried about having to step up so high. Even though he couldn't see her, Mezo was ultra-aware of how she was feeling, like ever. It always made her heart soar…

With three of his arms occupied holding the inner tube, he tried to use one of his others to take her hand and help her up…and accidentally tried to use his missing limb, the one that had been decayed by Tomura Shigaraki. Phantom pain raced up his body, and he grimaced, hissing, before correcting himself and using one of his actual arms to help her up.

"What was that?" Toru whispered.

"Nothing," he muttered.

They climbed into the tube on the precipice of the ice slide, Toru in front, and Mezo behind her, wrapping his legs around her for protection. She sighed happily. I love having him so close. Strong, comforting…like my pillar.

The guy cleared them to go, and Mezo pushed off. They tipped over and went plummeting down.

Toru squealed. The tube more bounced down the slide than anything, feeling like it was speeding out of control down the narrow ramp. The wind buffeted at her invisible hair.

It leveled out and they began to skid, the tube screaming against the scraping ice. There was a wall of tires at the very end of the run, and they slammed into it hard. Toru was ejected by the impact and hit the tires hard, before landing on the ice on her rump.

"Toru!" Mezo exclaimed, in more panic than she'd ever heard from him. He was there in seconds, holding her and helping her up. "I'm sorry, I think my weight made it too fast! Are you hurt?"

She giggled. The bone in her rear was a little sore, but she was otherwise fine. "I'll be alright. It's not your fault, don't worry. That was fun!"

"Okay, but…" His eyebrows furrowed in concern. "You worry me sometimes. If you ever really get hurt, it's hard for me to tell how bad it is."

"Right." She punched him playfully. "How bad was that? I'm fine, Mezo. And I'll keep being fine."

…

"Do you want to try the ice slide?" Doko asked Mina as they finished up their hot chocolate, which had warmed up their stomachs quite a bit.

She seemed distracted. "Erm…sure. Alright."

"Come on, let's go." Personally, he was sort of intrigued by it and wanted to try it out. He'd never really done many slides or roller coaster rides or anything like that, aside from the ones at the playground.

The two of them left Sero and Shiozaki alone at the picnic table.

Hanta watched them go, and then turned back to Ibara, watching her take another gentle, careful sip of her steaming hot chocolate. She noticed him looking, smiled, and asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking how cute you look with your nose and cheeks all flushed from the cold like that."

She laughed. "Haha, well, this weather doesn't quite agree with me, as you might imagine."

"The trees will be back in the spring as always."

…

Doko and Mina climbed the steps, Doko holding the inner tube, Mina in front of him. She was acting really quiet.

"Something bothering you?" he asked her. "I've really enjoyed today."

"Oh, me too," she said quickly. "It's just…"

"Mina." Doko's lip curled into a smirk. "Could it be that you're actually really scared of this slide?"

"No!" she protested hotly, and suspiciously. "It just seems like…kid's stuff…that's all…"

"I can't believe this. Brave, fearless, confident Mina, brought low by a thirty foot tall ramp."

"I haven't been brought low," she argued. "Come on." She snatched the tube from his hand. "Let's hurry up and do this thing."

Still smiling, he followed her, and at the top he climbed in behind her. He moved his hands to grip the handles on the tube, and she muttered, "Put them on my waist."

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Please…don't make me say it louder…"

Doko chuckled, and did so. Her whole body was stiff and taut like a stretched spring.

"Here we go!" he said suddenly, and kicked them off. She let out a scream, and leaned back into his chest, covering her eyes. They went plummeting down, Doko laughing like a maniac.

When they skidded to a stop at the end of the runout, bumping gently into the tires, she practically melted in his arms, letting out a long exhale. "I nearly released acid from my pores like I'm a little kid having a nightmare again," she mumbled.

"Did that happen?" he asked her genuinely.

"Yeah, a few times. I had to replace my sheets a lot."

"I'm sorry for laughing about it," he told her, helping her up out of the tube. "It's just…surprising to me. You're always so bold."

"Well…" Mina averted her eyes. "Do you remember that thing Kirishima said this morning? Before I started chasing the two of you inside with snowballs?"

"Yeah. Something about you inspiring him to move, or something. You guys went to the same middle school, right?" Doko's days of being worried about that, or possibly considering Kirishima a threat, were long gone.

"We did. His hair was still black back then, and he was much less confident. One day, he saw two of my friends being cornered by a giant villain in the street. The villain had this cloak on, shadowing most of him, but from what we could see he had skin like rocks."

"We? You were there, too?"

Mina nodded. "I slid between him and my friends. The villain was asking them where a hero agency was, and I gave him the wrong directions, sending him to the police station. That appeased him and he walked off. Kirishima saw the whole thing. It was my heroic action that inspired him to pull himself together, or so he says. Along with some other stuff he's never been brave enough to talk to me about."

"So, uhh…I don't understand. Sounds like typical Mina to me."

She shook her head. "I'll tell you what I told Kirishima when he tried to apologize for not helping. That I was scared too. Terrified, even. The villain looked like he could crush our skulls like eggs, and would even be inclined too if I said the wrong thing. But I raced in there anyway. It was my friends on the line. I get scared a lot, Doko. You've seen it before. At USJ, on the rooftop at Hosu, when you got captured…I have as much fear as anyone else. I even still think about that big villain sometimes. I wonder what happened to him. In prison, I hope. If I ever have to encounter him again…" She shuddered.

Doko squeezed her hand. "Let's get back. I think I'm about ready to go."

…

When they returned to the dorm, both Bakugo and Todoroki had gotten back from their successful test…and someone else was in the dorm, as well.

Hitoshi Shinso was carrying bags up the stairs. Toru gasped when they saw him and waved. "Hiii, Shinso! Are you moving in now? Oh my god, are you gonna be in your class tomorrow?"

"Yes, and yes." Shinso blinked. Doko stepped up next to him. "Let me help you with that." He took one of the bags out of the other boy's hands.

"Thanks," he muttered.

On the upper floor, Iida was waiting. "Ah, Katayama! You and the others are back! And you're helping Shinso move in, as well! Good to see! Let's make him feel welcome!"

"Yep!" Mina agreed. "It'll be great to have you, man!" She kissed Doko on the cheek and quickly slipped away. Toru and Shoji followed. "See you in class tomorrow," Shoji told him before leaving.

Doko and Shinso went into the room together, while Iida was chattering rapidly about the specific rules of the Class A dorm.

"Do you want this anywhere specific?" Doko asked, holding up the bag.

"Nah, just set it down for now. I can organize later," said Shinso. He looked around the empty room and whistled. "Feels weird to be here. I mean, I could have just stayed in the general studies dorm and been fine, since we all go to the same campus. But for officiality's sake…I'll miss those guys."

"They seemed really supportive of you at the sports festival," said Doko. "But I hope you can feel just as at home here." Those words carried special meaning, as the dorm was Doko's home. Shinso didn't know that, though.

"So, wait," Shinso said, turning back to Iida. "Was this an empty room before, or what?"

"Hmm?" Iida looked up from the clipboard he was writing on. "Oh, no. This was Kaminari's room."

…

Cold, Denki thought.

The thing he'd bought with the last of his money from the Asakusa job had been a jacket, but the weather was still biting at his skin as he walked down the twilight street. Imagine how much worse it would be without it, though…better this than food. Besides, just a little further.

His stomach growled. It had been several days since his last proper meal. He was a wisp of a thing now, all skin and bones. That made the cold even worse.

Plenty of petty villain operations around the greater Tokyo area were happy to have a guy with an electricity Quirk. He'd managed to scrape by with that, doing random jobs here and there. Problem was, Denki was too well known. He'd caused a whole media storm just by appearing once. No one wanted to keep him around for long.

Most villain groups still prefer to stay in the shadows, even with All Might gone. They will learn soon enough. They will learn that they must be loud and obvious, like the League. Denki hoped it would happen soon. With his notoriety, he would only find a lasting job with people like the League who were interested in stirring up the public. And he couldn't exactly go back to the League itself.

His stomach growled again. Food. Need food. He'd drunk some snowmelt earlier, so he was fine on the water front. But hunger was a constant companion. Constant. It never went away.

He hugged himself at his sides as he turned onto the alleyway. At the back of it stood a sullen, dark warehouse.

I wonder what the League is doing now. They haven't made any public fuss in ages. Is Shigaraki brooding? Are they in poverty too? Starving?

Denki didn't want to resort to risking a visit to the bank, or to his father in Jakku Hospital. Even if the doctors were there. I must carry on. Just get through winter, and then…

And then what? What would he do? How could he serve All For One like this?

Food. Focus on that for now. Live to the end of the day, and then think about tomorrow.

Denki entered the warehouse.

Soft grey light was streaming in from a hole in the roof, casting a beam onto the center area of the dusty floor. At the back edge of the light was a pile of boxes. Two silhouettes were perched on top of the pile; one of them jumped down nimbly.

"Hahaha…" the boy laughed. "Well, well, well."

"If it isn't Chargebolt!" said the other, a girl. Her voice was harsh with mockery. She remained high up on the boxes.

Denki groaned. "You two." A pair of villain siblings. Kelsier was the boy, Vin was the girl. He'd had run-ins with them before.

"You could at least pretend to be glad to see us," said Kelsier, stepping into the light. He was flipping his signature coin in his hand, which went with his Quirk.

"Where's Giran?" Denki demanded, his blood rising in anger.

"He was captured by the Meta Liberation Army," said Vin. "Probably dead by now."

"The…what?" Denki paled. A long forgotten memory flashed through his brain, his master telling him something. Destro, something about Destro. And the first Quirk war.

"Yeah, you know, the one in Deika City? Run by that Detnerat CEO guy. A massive group dedicated to letting people freely use their 's got all kinds of connections. And we're two of 'em," said Kelsier.

"I was meant to be doing business with Giran here," Denki snarled. "Not a couple of second-rate telekinetics. Why was he…why was he captured?"

"You didn't hear?" Vin raised a mocking eyebrow of innocence, crossing one leg over the other. "The MLA lured in your precious League of Villains. According to my contact within the army…" she lifted up her cell phone, glowing bright blue. "Your old pals will be confirmed dead any minute now. Finally paying for their sins."

"You have a contact? That's good," Denki said honestly. "Information is our strongest weapon. My master told me that often. But I need Giran if I'm going to…"

"Can it," said Kelsier, letting his coin float in midair, an indication that he was getting irritated. "The broker's a goner. You'll have to make do with us. We'll be happy to finish your business on his behalf."

Denki did not like their smiles, their attitudes. Something was very wrong here. "I need food," he said, unable to keep the desperation from creeping into his voice. "Is that what you have for me? Is it food?"

Vin patted her hand against the boxes she was sitting on top of. "Imported potato chips and cookies from America. Intercepted by a colleague of ours who works at sea. Come and see for yourself if you don't believe me."

"I'm not coming any closer to you," said Denki. He pulled out the case of money. "This was meant for Giran."

"Can't pay a dead man," said Kelsier. His fingers twitched. The coin remained spinning in midair. "Hand over the cash."

Denki still wasn't sure they were telling the truth. The League, lured toward some city by a CEO? Why aren't the heroes on top of this? Shouldn't it be all over the news? All his alarm bells were going off, but…

His stomach was still growling.

"Fine," he growled, placing the case on the ground, and giving it a kick. It slid across the floor toward Kelsier. He leaned down, opened it, and began shuffling through the bills.

"Well?" Vin demanded.

"The correct amount is here," Kelsier muttered. "You earned all this yourself, Chargebolt? Hard to believe."

"Don't call me Chargebolt," said Denki. "Also, no. I was simply transferring this from Giran's contact to him. The food is a messenger's wage, you might say."

That had been a bad thing to say, he realized immediately, because Vin started laughing. "A messenger's wage? Hmm, how much do you think that information we just gave Chargebolt is worth, dear brother?"

Kelsier stood up, the closed case in hand. "About as much as what's in here." He was smiling.

"Hey, what?" Denki closed his fists, snarling. "I didn't ask for info, I asked for food! If you don't give me that case back, I'll…"

"You'll what?" Kelsier raised an eyebrow. Denki watched the floating coin very carefully. "Come and get it then, Chargebolt. You're not a real villain. If you were smart you'd have taken the money to buy food yourself. But you're too much of a coward and a leech."

Denki let electricity course through him, and he rushed forward.

The coin went flying toward him, cutting his arm, before Vin pulled it back with her Quirk. She pulled, Kelsier pushed. Denki always got it mixed up in his head. "Damn telekinetics," he snarled, holding his arm. The cut had gone deep.

"It's Allomancy," Vin corrected, tossing the coin back down to her brother. Kelsier attacked with it again.

Denki rolled, and this time, when the coin came at him, he caught it.

"Huh?" Kelsier's eyebrows shot up, and he pushed with his Quirk again, but nothing happened. The coin was safely in Denki's grip now. "Vin! Pull it back!"

Vin did not answer. Her phone had lit up, and she was staring down at it. Her face was blank.

Denki ran toward Kelsier, who was starting to panic and back away. "VIN!" he shrieked.

Vin's face was covering in horror. She could not tear her eyes away from the phone screen.

Denki arrived at Kelsier, and shoved both hands into the boy's chest.

ZZZZZZZZAPPPPP!

Kelsier yowled, his whole body smoking with electricity, and then Denki kicked his limp body away.

Vin seemed to come to her senses, and freaked out, leaping down from the box with a scream. She pulled the coin out of Denki's hand, but he just ran forward and pushed her to the ground. Electricity coursed through his fingers, and he stood over her, about to deliver the final blow.

"You traitor," she hissed.

Denki smiled sadly. "It's what I'm best at."

He quickly made an end to her, and her phone dropped out of her dead hand, gone dark.

Denki turned away from the corpses briefly, to pick up the cash and then check the crates for food. They were empty, of course. Predictable. He felt bad using Giran's money to buy for himself, but…

He looked back at the phone, suddenly curious. Vin had been texting her supposed contact with the Meta Liberation Army, right? That would be a good way to see if the story about Giran was true.

If he's dead, then…I don't have to feel bad about spending this. His stomach growled again, guiltily.

Denki rolled Vin over and used the dead girl's fingerprint to unlock her phone. It opened to a text conversation.

He picked up the phone. What got her so scared at the end there?

He read the texts, and his blood ran cold.

6:06: It's over. It's all over.

6:06: Twice and Shigaraki liberated. Dozens of clones. Hundreds. Dust. Dust everywhere. The city is decayed.

6:08: They have a giant.

6:09: Re-destro submitted. Curious dead. Geten and Trumpet unknown. Whole army now under the League. One hundred thousand strong. Announcement soon.

6:10: Prepare.