Rule #2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene.

Toru wasn't really sure how she had ended up here-well of course she knew how, she just couldn't quite believe it even now. It hardly seemed real. All around her, the hustle and bustle of the hospital cafeteria goers-both patient and practitioner alike-were nothing more than dull white noise flitting through her ears.

Even the unusually awake Aizawa-Sensei, emotional Mr Lee and rather patient Dr Miwa who sat to her right discussing what would happen to the victims (their patients/students/children) over breakfast, had faded to nothing more than a droning buzz.

Shock seemed to have blanketed Toru as she sat there, still in her ragged pyjamas from the night before. The neckline of the oversized smiley yellow t-shirt she wore had slipped off of one of her shoulders to reveal the series of plasters and bandages decorating her skin.

Then there was her octopus pyjama pants that she wore underneath; they were splattered with an assortment of blood & mud mostly around the hems, which in turn flopped over her dirty socked feet and hid her Anti-Sensei dagger tucked away there. Absentmindedly fiddling with the assortment of food on her plate, Toru allowed her thoughts to wander over the passed couple of days.


In the days following the Sports Festival a few things happened; Bakugou won overall (ironically much to his irritation and despite his 'speech' at the beginning of the festival) and Iida (who had placed joint third) had suddenly disappeared due to unknown family issues. UA had also declared a compulsory break for the following two days for rest and relaxation.

After the excitement of Todoroki and Bakugo's fight, Toru had practically slept away the rest of the festival, drooling onto Asui's shoulder and probably snoring in her ear, much to the albino's embarrassment. The next day, she had caught up with Karma, Nagisa and Kayano; the three of them spending the day just hanging around the city and eating their hearts out until they each had to return home with promises to keep in touch.

And then yesterday on their second day of rest, both she and Tamaki had agreed to a girls only sleepover, much to Shiro's disappointment. Toru smiled when she remembered how Shiro had replied that he "…could be one of the girls!" in a high squeaky voice that had sent the two girls into a fit of giggles.

Tamaki, laden with her things and goodies for tonight, had followed after Toru as she led the way through the maze that was her apartment complex. Unlike the other apartment blocks that were popular around the area, this one was set out in a three story-type set-up that zigzagged around the large wooden archway and garden that stood in the centre of the courtyard.

A few benches were littered here & there and a couple of basics like hopscotch or four square, were printed on the ground. All in all a rather normal apartment complex, at least that's what it looked like upon first glance, but if you took the chance to look closer you would see all the chinks in the armour.

From the dusty old security system bordering the property that was never in use or the seemingly oddly-placed drain beneath the wooden archway in the middle of the courtyard. To the dark dry patches of unknown substances patch-working the concrete and ghost-like aura that seemed to follow all the residents.

Even the residents themselves seemed a little…odd. Like the sunken beady eyes of the old man in C14 who watched people pass though the blinds on his window, occasionally licking his lips and caressing the window like he was a hungry animal trapped in a cage.

Or the sluttily dressed women who wandered up and down the mangy hallways, towing countless men after them like prizes they'd won at the fair. Faces caked with make-up portrayed sultry looks of cunning and ambition as they lead their prizes away in sky-high heels.

Then there was the clusters of grungy teens that were typically scattered around the complex who were always watching you through thick layers of smoke and alcohol. No manner of low-riding jeans and oversized hoodies could hide their true intentions however, not that they ever tried to of course. This was their training grounds and you'd be hard-pushed to kick them out.

The rundown complex definitely wouldn't be winning any kind of awards any time soon, but then again what kind of Yakuza grounds weren't infested in some way or another? It was true that the Yakuza gang were running low on members and power at the moment (something that her grandmother was ever thankful for) however that didn't seemed to deter them as they used the various apartment complexes (such as this one) as hunting grounds for new recruits.

Those who were stupid enough to speak out against them soon found themselves with a reply that probably didn't want. Like Shinral Nori from B21 who had his tongue cut out after he had pestered the wrong person with too many questions. The poor man was just lucky that it hadn't been initiation day, then he would have been in deeper shit.

Though if you lived there long enough, you soon became aware of the unofficial schedule and rules that the gang had set up. You had to learn the rules fast; it was either that or suffer the fates far worse than death.

Despite all of her complaints, Toru found that she couldn't really picture herself living elsewhere. This was her home whether she liked it or not. Moving back to live with her parents in Tokyo seemed like a far off dream now; not because she didn't like Okutama, but because when you lived in a place where Quirks were widely accepted, people tended to forget about places that didn't.

Sure Okutama was a nice place, lovely and welcoming to most; but it was one of the few places that leant more in the favour of the Quirkless. Which y'know was fine and all, but some of the residents could take their opinions a little too far, Toru could count the number of times she had felt like she had been the victim of a witch hunt in that little town. The incident with Koro-Sensei hadn't really helped things either.

But back to the events at hand, when Toru and Tamaki had eventually hauled themselves up to Toru's apartment on the third floor of the complex, the scene they had arrived to was less than pleasant to say the least.

Instead of being met with cherry greetings from her tiny grandmother or the good-natured grumbles of her grandfather; the pair were met with the sight of a small body hanging by their neck from the doorway that led to their bedrooms. It was the albino's grandmother and she had a tag tied around her ankles.

Her slumped form dangled and swung slightly in the breeze created by the open doors leading out onto their small balcony. All around them the apartment looked like a small tornado had torn through it, tearing up everything in its path.

Papers and books were strewn about the place, furniture was upturned and the little figurines that lined the mantelpiece had been shattered to pieces, scattered about the place like colourful china snowflakes.

Mindless of Tamaki's choked gasp from behind her and with lips pressed firmly into a line, Toru picked her forward through the wreckage and moved towards her grandmother, intending to free her from her hold. Tears slightly blurred her vision but she furiously blinked them back as muscle memory overtook emotion.

"…W-Who is that?" Tamaki stammered shuffling into the room, stopping just inside the doorway. "What happened here?"

"…I-It's my grandmother" Toru sniffed, gently untying the tag tied around her grandmother's ankle which simply read: TRAITOR in fancy cursive and letting it flutter to the ground. "Looks like she bothered the wrong person"

"Should…should we call someone? Like a-a cop or something?"

"Don't bother…" Toru moved back over to the kitchen counter where an abandoned butter knife lay amongst the mess and moved back over to extract the corpse from where it hung. "…No cop's gonna willingly come out here. It's not like they care about us anyway"

"What…what about a teacher? Like Aizawa-Sensei or All Might-Sensei?" Tamaki's voice was muffled by the sleeve she had shoved over her mouth in an attempt to keep her nausea at bay. "Toru? How are you so calm about this?"

"…"

"Toru? Toru? What are you doing?" The blonde followed the albino's movements as she hauled her tiny grandmother over to one of the coffee table which was miraculously still in one piece and lay her atop it before turning to the blonde with a steely look in her tearful eyes.

"I'm gonna go see if their still here or if my grandfather is okay. I want you to stay here and call Aizawa-Sensei and tell him what's going on"

"What! Don't leave me! What if they come back? I don't wanna be alone!" Tamaki cried, more upset at being left with a dead person than the prospect of any villains still lying in wait.

"Uh…here, take this" Toru handed Tamaki a large kitchen knife, "You'll be safer here in the kitchen; if they really are still here then they're probably hiding in one of the bedrooms or something"

When that didn't seem to reassure the blonde, Toru proposed another idea, "If you want, you could hide in the pantry until I come back" She gestured to the small walk-in pantry on the other side of the kitchen counter where the wooden door lay slightly askew on its hinges; "…But I need to see if my grandfather's okay. Okay?"

"…Okay?" Tamaki nodded, shuffling further in the room and began to pick her way through the mess on the floor as she slowly made her way over to the pantry in the corner. Leaving the blonde to edge her way through the kitchen, Toru drew on her courage and swiping a pair of utensils from the bench, made her way into the hallway leading to the rest of the apartment.

Moving silently, Toru made quick work of searching every nook and cranny that someone could be hiding in but found nothing. My room, check. Grandparent's room, check. Laundry, check. That only leaves the en suite and the bathroom by the front door.

When she reached the door to the en suite, Toru found that unlike the rest of the rooms this one was locked tight. Rattling the handle a little and giving the door a bit of a shove, she thought that something might be blocking the door on the other side. "Gramps?" Toru called loud enough to let her voice carry through the wooden door, "Gramps? Are you in there? It's me, Toru"

"…B-Brat?" Her grandfather's stuttered reply sounded tired.

"Yeah Gramps, it's me. Are you okay?"

"Think so. Helluva headache though"

"I've just gotta check one more room, okay? I'll come tell you when it's okay to come out"

"Get those sons' of bitches! You put those killer lessons to use, ya hear me? Make 'em pay!" He growled, his mood suddenly taking a turn.

"Whatever you say, Gramps" Toru smiled slightly as she turned on her heel and made to return to the main room where Tamaki was hidden.

That was until a high-pitched scream echoed throughout the apartment, followed by the sounds of struggling and ended with sudden silence as something heavy hit the ground. Racing out into the main room, the new scene that Toru laid her eyes upon, shattered the logic containing her emotions.

There was a tall teen standing over the form Tamaki; his lecherous grin stretched across his face as he peered closer at the blonde whose head looked like it had caved in with the force of whatever he had hit here with. When the teen had moved to undo his belt, Toru moved too.

"NO!" She shouted catching the teen's attention just in time for him to see the glowing fork which was headed on the warpath straight towards him.

"AGH!" He roared stumbling backwards and clutching to his face as the fork buried itself deep into his right eye. Blood seeped from between his fingers and the slight smell of burnt flesh began to permeate.

The next few moments were a blur, like a wounded animal calling out for help, once hidden gang members seemingly popped up out of nowhere with the intention to avenge their colleague. No sooner had the newest additions appeared, had the second utensil flown towards an outstretched hand, burying itself hilt-deep in the teen's palm.

Next she moved with snake-like movements, her palms glowing in the dim apartment as she moved from teen to teen, injury one and maiming another; doing anything to keep them down. When Toru was sure that the teens wouldn't be an issue any more, she quickly made her way over to Tamaki's limp body.

Oh thank God! Toru breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the blonde's chest was rising up and down, if only in small increments. Blinking back more tears, the albino quickly set about calling her homeroom teacher, thankful that she had thought to put his number on speed dial as well as the fact that he had given it to them not long after the USJ incident as a precaution.

"…Hullo?" Drawled the familiar tone of Aizawa-Sensei on the other end of the line. Heaving a sigh of relief, Toru replied.

"Sensei? It's Hagakure, I need help…"


After all family members and other emergency contacts had been alerted to what was going on, the remaining occupants had been rushed to the hospital to treat their wounds. Thankfully, Toru hadn't received too many wounds-and even then they were mostly superficial; Tamaki on the other hand…

Dr Miwa had said that she had taken a serious hit to the back of the head, one that had not only dented her skull upon impact but had caused her some serious pain. She had been rushed away to surgery not long after arriving and they had needed to place her in a medically induced coma to help with the pain, one that they had had to keep her in since…Or at least that's what Toru had been able to understand from the long medical spiel.

In turn, Toru's grandfather had suffered more from shock and slight PTSD as well as the grief that had settled over him when the weight of what had just happened seemed to sink in. I suppose watching your wife getting murdered would do that. Toru mused.

When Tamaki's family had arrived along with Shiro, she had been met with stony silence and steely gazes. It was clear that they blamed her for what had happened, so much so that a hysterical Mrs Lee had taken out a restraining order against Toru; one that she only found out via the cop who had interviewed her once she was cleared.

And then there was Shiro, instead of being concerned for her wellbeing or worried about her, rage had burned in his eyes when he shoved her up against the vending machine in the quiet hallway. He paid no attention to yelp of pain nor discomfort clearly shown on her face when he declared quite loudly, that he wanted nothing more to do with her. That they were no longer friends, that she was no better than a villain and that he would be transferring classes.

Tears and guilt had flowed freely when the taller brunette had eventually let her go and she had slumped to the ground hugging her knees to her chest as she finally let it out. Snot mixed with tears as she flickered out of visibility, folding into her need to disappear, using her Quirk like the security blanket she had created it to be.

That had been a couple of hours ago, now she sat here poking at the rice and chasing the boiled carrots around her plate while the adults discussed what to do not too far away. It had been agreed that Aizawa-Sensei would take her in for a night or two whilst things were further sorted out; technically speaking she could've stayed with Hitoshi's family as they were the closest thing she had to other family, but there had been concerns over further attacks.

"…Toru?" A gentle voice called. Glancing up from the plate she hardly touched, Toru saw that it was Hitoshi who had appeared before her. His ragged appearance suggesting that he had just rushed out of bed, what with his oversized cat-print t-shirt and violet bedhead standing up every which way, looking very much like Aizawa-Sensei in that moment.

Stumbling from the bench upon which she sat, Toru quickly launched herself at the brainwasher, clinging onto him like koala would a tree and buried her face in his shoulder as the tears flowed once more. Arms encircled her back, hugging her close as her legs wrapped around his waist. "Please don't leave…" She whimpered, tightening her hold on him.

Hitoshi tightened his hold too.