A/N I don't own Boku no Hero Academia

Chapter 28:

Six Weeks After the VTS Incident

"Tonight's your big night! Don't fuck it up. Are you ready for it?"

Zach nodded his head.

"Alright! Stay here!"

Zach started following after Twice who walked out of the room. He had a black box on his right hand. He wore a black t-shirt, and a black pair of pants, and he was dirty. Zach's right arm no longer had any bandages around it, though the ones under his shirt were itchy and he lifted his left hand and scratched them.

Twice led Zach into a bright room full of people. Zach turned his head both directions, then he snapped it forward as Twice moved out of the way a little and he saw Shigaraki and Kurogiri standing up ahead of him. Zach hesitated, then he kept walking as Shigaraki lifted a hand and curled the fingers towards himself. "So," Shigaraki started, and Zach came to a stop ten feet in front of him. "How was your Christmas?"

Zach's eyes darted around, then back to Shigaraki and he opened his mouth. "I, I-"

"Did you celebrate Christmas?" Shigaraki asked.

"Kind, of," Zach said.

"You know why Christmas used to be celebrated right?" Shigaraki asked. "Because Jesus was 'supposedly' born on this day. You know what Jesus was known for doing? Coming back to life," Shigaraki said it and then grinned behind the hand attached to his face. "Guess that makes me Jesus," he said with a laugh.

"Y-Yeah, I guess," Zach agreed, then he leaned backwards in fear as Shigaraki stopped laughing.

"Are you ready, to keep all those promises you've made me?" Shigaraki asked. Zach's eyes grew wider, his heart pounding in his chest, but he nodded his head fast without hesitating any longer. "Do I need to remind you? All your classmates at U.A., all your friends," Shigaraki chuckled as Zach started shaking his head fast, telling him he did not need to continue. "You're not getting that box off your hand though," Shigaraki said, and Zach started nodding at him, in a way like he totally understood why Shigaraki would not risk that.

"Whatever you want," Zach said. "I'll- I'll do it," his voice came out short, higher-pitched and cracking while he darted his eyes around. Shigaraki started glaring at him, and Zach's eyes refocused without darting around as he was afraid he was doing the wrong thing here. Shigaraki grinned at that look on Zach's face.

"Kurogiri, send him over," Shigaraki said. "It's just another of our facilities," Shigaraki added to the kid in front of him who started walking forward. A portal appeared in front of Kurogiri, and Shigaraki walked forward to stand on the side of it as Zach stepped up. "Remember what will happen if you break the rules," Shigaraki said, and Zach shook his head quickly again.

"I won't," Zach said, looking up into Shigaraki's eyes, then snapping his head down and quickly walking through the portal.

Zach stepped through the portal and out the other side. He looked around him, and he saw four villains lounging around in the room he entered. They were looking towards the portal that appeared between them. One of them was sitting on a chair that was leaned back, his legs up on the table in front of him. Two others were talking over at the top of a staircase that only went down, and another had his elbows down on another table near the one the first guy had his legs up on.

"There he is," the man with curly red hair and his elbows down on the table remarked. He pushed off and took a few steps forward, putting his hands down in his pockets and looking the kid up and down. "This is the legendary Lifebringer?" Zach's eyes shot open huge as he spun to the man behind him, before shaking his head rapidly back and forth. "Huh? You're not."

"Not Lifebringer," Zach said, and the guy looking at him leaned his head back at the sixteen year old's gaze. "Lifebringer, isn't real," he whispered.

"Damn, Shigaraki really did some work." Zach spun around and stared with wide eyes at the green-scaled man he saw behind him reaching the top of the stairs. "Come on, bring him down here. Let's do this fast."

"Alright kid, let's go-"

Zach started scurrying towards the stairs. "You don't need to force me," he assured them. He looked around and gave them all twisted smiles, then darted his gaze back to the steps and Spinner who shook his head at the sight of the kid rushing his way.

One of the guys reached for Zach as he came towards the steps, but Spinner said, "Don't. Look at his hand. What's he going to do?"

Zach stared at the two guys on his right with wide eyes while he ran past. They each glared down at him, and he turned fast and then ran down the stairs after Spinner before slowing down right behind him. Spinner glanced over his shoulder as he kept heading down the stairs, and the man with a white bandanna around his eyes shook his head at the kid taking steps at his pace. "You really, fucked up," Spinner said. Zach looked up into Spinner's eyes, then his gaze snapped back down fast.

"I'm sorry," Zach whispered while looking at his feet as he walked down the steps.

Spinner opened his mouth, then he just shook his head at the boy's response. The others were following them down the steps, and Spinner stopped when they reached another floor. The stairs continued going down in that stairwell, and Zach had no idea what floor they were on. He had no idea what this building was, as he did not remember ever being in it before. He stepped into the room out of the stairwell, and then he stopped as he looked towards the middle of it. Zach stared at a thick metal pole sticking out of the ground. There was a man near it, watching the figure on his knees whose hands were behind her back and over her head cuffed to a loop sticking out of the pole.

The woman on her knees had messy black hair, and she lifted her head and looked towards the men who just came out of the staircase with wide eyes. Her eyes focused on the boy next to Spinner though. He was someone she had not seen at this building before, but she knew him. She had seen his face before. The woman stared at the boy with huge eyes, and she whispered after a few seconds, "Lifebringer."

"Not Lifebringer," Zach whispered, shaking his head and snapping his gaze down to the floor.

The woman who looked towards that boy dropped her jaw, and her fear intensified a hundred fold as the man at her side reached to his waist and pulled out the sidearm he had on him. The man was seven feet tall, he had short spiky blond hair, and he was wearing a villain costume that looked as good as ones heroes wore. Zach heard the cocking of a pistol, and he looked towards the man with spiky blond hair who lifted up the pistol and took a few steps in front of the woman.

"Use your left hand," Spinner said to the kid next to him.

"Wh-what? Wait a second!" The woman on her knees started shouting. She shook her disheveled hair out of her face and spun desperately from one man to the other.

Zach's eyes opened huge as he stared at that gun being held out in front of him. Spinner's voice got lower, and he said while Zach stared at the gun in shock, "If you don't, I'll have to tell Shigaraki."

The boy started walking forward. "Hey. H-Hey, you can't do this," the woman said, her voice shaky as she pulled against her cuffs. Yanking her arms free was not working though, and Zach took another step towards the man in the bright red uniform with spiky blond hair. "You're Lifebringer! You're, Zach Sazaki, right?! You save people!"

Zach's lips started trembling as he opened them up. "I'm s-" he started, then he cut himself off and he pursed his lips harder. "Not, Lifebringer," he gasped out. "No, such, thing," he whispered.

The blond man held out the gun towards Zach, but he pulled it back before the boy reaching for it could grab it. "Try anything funny," the guy started, and Zach shook his head rapidly at him.

Behind Zach and the man handing him the gun, the guy with curly red hair walked up next to Spinner in the spot Zach had been standing in. "After this, we going straight on to Micro-Man's agency?"

"Depends on him," Spinner said. "Might need to wait a couple more weeks. I still can't see him doing it." Spinner's right hand lifted up to the hilt sticking out above his right shoulder. He grabbed it, but his grip loosened as Zach took the gun from their comrade and turned it on the woman who backed up harder against the pole. "Or maybe, tonight really will be his big debut," Spinner said, his eyes widening in a bit of surprise.

Zach held his left hand forward, but his hand was shaking too much and he could not get a good aim on the woman who pulled her head back and forth to the sides. "Please, just stop," Zach said, taking a step towards her and moving around his left hand to get a good lock on her. He gulped, and he gulped again. His entire left arm was shaking, and he gasped out towards the woman in front of him, "Stop moving. It'll, only hurt more if I miss." Her eyes opened huge, and she stopped struggling as she turned back to look up into Zach's eyes.

"Wh-What did they, do to you?" She whispered.

Zach's eyes widened more as he stared into the woman's. His left arm stopped shaking as much. He bit down, grinding his teeth over each other. "Ah hah, ah hah," Zach pushed the gun farther forward towards the woman's face, perfectly on line with her forehead. The barrel of the gun wobbled but no matter how he shot from this close, there was no missing. "I'm sorry," Zach whispered.

The second 'sorry' came out of Zach's mouth, his left arm stopped shaking at all. The gun steadied, and Zach took in a deep breath. He swung his right arm in front of his body and pointed the gun down at the box swinging in front of him. BANG!

"Oh shit!" A tall guy behind the smirking man with red curly hair shouted. As the others' smirks were lowering though, his lips curled up into a wild smirk as he reached down for the blades at his waist.

Clank! The box hit the floor. Zach swung his right hand in and he slammed it into his chest, while spinning his left arm out to the side and firing two more times. BANG! BANG! Zach's body covered in a black veil, and the two fastest men in there, Spinner and the blond guy who were already closest to him, tried leaping backwards while pulling their arms away from the boy. Spinner reached up for his weapon, then his eyes opened huge and he dove for a table.

"FUCKING DIE!" Zach roared, spinning and swinging his right arm in front of him. His entire body was covered in a black wispy veil, and when he swung his arm, a black wind came off of his arm and swept towards the villains who were all on one side of him. Zach saw each of them diving for cover or running into the stairwell, and Zach turned his head sideways for a brief second. The woman in front of him who saw her life flash in front of her eyes when Zach apologized to her, dropped her jaw as the terrifying dark monster rose the gun back up towards her again. BANG! The cuffs holding the woman's hands to the pole broke, then Zach dropped the gun on the floor. "Find your own way out!" He yelled at her, then he turned and sprinted as fast as he could farther into the room away from the stairs.

Zach heard gunfire behind him, and he clenched his eyes shut as he ran as fast as he could. Hackerman could be watching from anywhere. Kurogiri could try and make me run into a portal at any time! There could be villains everywhere! Zach sprinted while darting his glowing red back and forth. Windows! Zach sprinted towards the windows, and he barely slowed down at all while grabbing a folding chair that was leaning against the bottom of a half-staircase he leapt fully down instead of taking any of the five steps. Zach spun in a full circle and he threw the chair at the window as hard as he could, then he spun back to the man he saw chasing right behind him.

"I knew this was a bad idea!"

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE CHASED ME!" Zach screamed, his voice echoing over itself in a dark deranged way. He rose his hands up, and all the black wisps that normally seeped off of different parts of his body disappeared. The black veil got less thick around his whole form, and instead, the darkness over the top of his raised palms got thicker and more condensed. Zach breathed out a deep heavy breath that released black steam in front of him, and the man holding two knives in front of Zach felt the blades slip out of his grip. The dark figure before him, his glowing eyes, his skeletal form and black aura, and the black swirling mass of death he held above himself. It was too much for the guy who turned, only to scream out as he looked over his shoulders and saw Zach throw both of his arms back anyway.

Spinner was sprinting towards the guy running back up the small staircase, and he started shouting, "Don't you run from-" Spinner came to a short stop at the explosion of darkness that blew up behind the other villain, then swept up the steps and slammed into the man's back. The other guy had almost escaped it too, but as soon as the black wind hit him, his eyes started rolling back and he gasped out while falling off his feet. Spinner stepped back, holding his huge weapon of different blades up in front of him with a dark look in his eyes.

When the black explosion died down, Spinner narrowed his glare towards the broken window he saw down the few steps and a little ahead. He ran forward up to that window and hopped up into the windowsill. He looked down from the second floor, and he saw shattered glass all over the ground downstairs. He also saw some blood on that glass, but there was no body down there, only a broken chair. Spinner got a dark look on his face, but also a nervous one as he lifted a hand and ran it up through his hair. "This is not good."

Zach scrambled down an alleyway, then he turned down another only to see it was a dead-end and turn back. He spun and he sprinted down the alley out to the edge of a sidewalk. He poked his head out and looked both ways, then he sprinted out and across the nearly deserted street. The dark figure sprinted into another alleyway, spending as little time out on roads that might have cameras on them as possible. He took a few seconds' break, putting his left hand out on the wall next to him for balance. He slid his hand down after those few seconds as his arm got tired, then he turned to his left arm and narrowed his eyes at the glass sticking out of his tricep. His gaze shifted to the wall he had put his left hand on, where blood from his injury had seeped down to already so that he left a bloody handprint on the wall that slid down it. He looked behind him and saw some blood drops on the sidewalk too.

"No no no," he muttered, and he started running down the alley. He lifted his right hand and reached over to his left tricep, and he ripped the glass out which made a lot more blood splash out of his arm. He dropped the glass on the floor, then he reached his left hand down and pulled his shirt up. He was having difficulty getting it off, so he had to use his right hand too. He felt his hand brush his chest as he lifted his shirt, and he ripped it off faster before touching his lightening chest again to recover his darkness. "Come on, I need something to kill," Zach mumbled, while he stumbled farther in the alleyway. He stumbled to his left and put his back up against the wall while he tied the shirt on his left arm using his right hand and his mouth. "They'll be coming. I can't be leaving a trail," he shook his head and then picked up his feet and started running again.

Leaning his shirtless back against that wall snapped him to his senses because of how cold that wall was, and because of the pain from tightening his shirt around his bloody wound. His black shirt was getting darker each second, but before it soaked through, Zach knew he had to lose his trail. It's so cold, he thought, while sprinting even faster and panting out dark breaths of air. He sprinted out onto a sidewalk and then looked to his right in panic at the two people who had almost stepped out in front of that alley at the same time. It was two men who looked to be drunk and heading home from a bar, and they both stared at him in terror at the sight of the black form with glowing red eyes and a skeletal appearance.

Zach sprinted past them and across the road, running behind a car that just drove past. Maybe it's not as late as I thought. Those first few roads close to whatever building I was in, they were deserted because that's a warehouse area. Where do I go? Who can I go to?! Zach sprinted down a sidewalk for a few more seconds, then he found a narrow alleyway that he cut into and started running through. He had to weave around garbage and then he was met with a fence that he did not know what he was going to do about. Zach turned towards some garbage cans near him, and he considered hiding in one. "No," he told himself. "They'll find me. I need to keep moving. Before I start leaving a trail again. Before, a trail…"

Zach's eyes widened, and he spun back to the garbage cans, then the fence. Injured and leaving a bloody trail, they'll never think I could make it over this fence. I barely considered it! The dark boy reached out and dragged a garbage can over towards the fence. He climbed up on top of it, and then he jumped for the fence. "Aghh-" he bit down harder, ignoring the pain in his left arm, ignoring how cold the steel fence was. He tried rolling himself over it, but the fence cut into his side as he did and he winced in pain again.

The boy brought his right hand down to his side and grabbed it tightly. Can't let any blood spill, he thought, while running fast down the rest of the alley, then cutting right into a different one that was a little thicker and led onto another road. At the end of that alleyway and across the street past its exit, he saw a sign for a subway station only 150 meters straight ahead. Those two drunk guys. They might be heading home on a train. I don't have money. I don't have a shirt now either. I have to get out of this area though. I have to get far! Zach started staggering down the alleyway. He lifted his left arm to grab a wall for balance again, but he clenched it into a fist remembering that he could not do that. He slammed his right fist to the side and into the other wall a few times, filling himself with pain as he could feel himself getting dizzy and inattentive.

"Fuck, if I hit an artery I'm done," Zach muttered, coming to a stop before he reached the end of the alley. He just saw someone walk by on the sidewalk, and he did not want to go out there as he was right now. He bent down and put his black hands down on his knees. "Why not?" He asked himself. "Is that really, a bad thing? No, no no," he shook his head a few times. "It was better dead, than stuck there, but I'm free now. I can do this. I'm smart. You are smart!" He lifted his hands and smacked his cheeks a few times. His skin started to lose its black color and Zach got nervous that he must have hit himself an odd number of times. He lifted his right hand to do one more smack on his face, then he stopped and looked out the alley at someone who just walked by. Screw it. I'm sorry.

Zach ran down the alleyway, and he leaned his head out to turn left towards the woman who just walked by. "Excuse me," Zach started, his voice raspy and cracking. He almost tried to use a fake voice to speak in, but just trying to speak normally made him sound worse than he wanted to. The woman walking down the sidewalk turned her head and looked back at the boy with huge eyes. She stared at the pale-faced, five foot four teenager, who was not wearing a shirt despite it being below freezing out. Zach only had part of his body sticking out of the alley, leaving his left arm inside it so she would not see his condition. "I must have gotten really drunk, and I just need to get home, but I lost my shirt somewhere…" he gave her his most apologetic, as well as slightly buzzed look that he could muster.

Her panicked look started to calm down a little more, but she rushed towards the boy and she started taking off her jacket. "Here, let's go get you-" Zach stepped out of the alley, and now she was able to see the blood all over his left arm, and the shirt around the upper part of it.

The woman looked at him in shock, and he said, "Okay, I was lying." There's no way someone would just give a drunk person their things and let it go from there. It's the drunk person's fault anyway. But, "I'm actually homeless. Another homeless guy stole my stuff, stabbed me when I tried to stop him," Zach said.

"Let me call an ambulance," she started, though she finished taking her jacket off first. She held it out, and then her eyes widened more as the boy reached up his bloody left hand instead of his right that looked perfectly fine.

"I don't have health insurance," Zach lied. "This is more than enough," he told her, showing his most grateful look as he slid his arms into her jacket. "I'm sure I'll be alright. I'm sorry I'm leaving you with only your sweatshirt, do you think you'll make it home alright?" And with that, how can she ask for it back now? Not only am I being grateful, but caring for her as well. How can she ask an underage homeless boy for her jacket back? She should feel like a hero for the rest of her life after this. "You're my hero," Zach said to the woman. She is, a hero, he told himself, realizing that he was not just manipulating her like he thought. "You're seriously saving my life here," he said, and he reached up and put the woman's hood up over his head.

"I- I mean," she turned and watched as Zach started staggering across the street. She watched him start going, then she turned and looked down the alleyway he just came from. The woman lifted up both hands and she rubbed the back of her brown hair in such a confused way, even if she was feeling a little good about herself. "I, should call them anyway," she said, shaking her head after a few seconds. "How young was he? I thought I recognized him too," she mumbled, while pulling out her phone. "I thought he was a kid," she started while holding her phone in front of her. "But, he may just be short. He was stabbed though." Her finger moved down to start typing on her phone, then her eyes widened. "He was just, stabbed?"

She looked back down the alley he came out of. She looked down at her nice sweater, thought about the fact that she was a woman walking alone at night, imagined a crazy homeless guy with a knife around her, and she shoved her phone back into her pocket. "I'll report it when I get home," she whispered, spinning and speeding up her walk back towards her place.

Zach stood on the escalator up into the subway station. Higucha City? Where is that? Why don't I know where that is?! Zach closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. No, that's not true. I do know this. It's like, the cities around Tokyo. It's not actually a city, it's a part of- Kyoto! Zach's eyes shot open, and he let out a small breath of relief that he could remember that. Then his eyes started darting around again while he reached the top of the escalator.

He hurried forward from the top of it after a small crowd of people that were all heading the same way. Must be a train in a few minutes. This might be my only chance. If this is the closest station, they'll be here soon to cut me off. If they're not here already- don't think like that! If they're here, you're fucked and have to go Nightmare and try another escape! If they're not though, this will be the only way to avoid a prolonged chase. I can't get caught. I won't get caught! I'll die first!

Zach moved farther into the crowd, finding the most crowded part of it. Then his eyes widened as he saw people moving the other way. Alright, a train just dropped people off. These people moving the same way as me are rushing, some of them are drunk. Some are drunk moving the other way too. Fuck it, try it and go for everything!

Zach stepped a little to his left, looking a little wobbly just as some others near him did. He stepped left when someone else who he could see a lump on the front pocket of their coat was wobbling the other way. It was a hard bump, and the two of them bounced off of each other. Zach lifted his left hand and he patted the man's chest in an apologetic way, leaning forward and saying, "My bad."

"Haha, nah don't worry about it! It's Christmas!" The guy yelled, throwing his hands up in the air as he walked backwards after some more of his friends.

Sorry, Zach thought while turning back around. He seemed, like a cool… I thought Shigaraki said Christmas was yesterday, or something. Did I really escape him? Zach pulled his new wallet out of his left coat pocket and flipped it open without taking his right hand out of his pocket once. He was still cold, having nothing on beneath the coat and a rip in his right pant leg. He hoped he did not look too strange to the officer who sat near the turnstiles to get onto the trains. Oh yeah. Fucking nice, Zach popped out a card to put money on for using the trains, then he felt bad again as he scanned it and saw more than eight thousand yen on the card. Sorry, but I need to get out of here. It's life or death, and you all fucking owe me anyway- Zach shook his head around after walking through the turnstile. He saw some people running, and he sprinted to catch up to them. They were running to a different platform, and his eyes opened wide as he saw doors start closing to the train up ahead.

I don't know where you're going, Zach thought, as he sprinted harder than he knew he could at his current level of exhaustion. Zach sprinted through the doors when they were halfway closed and stumbled after making it in. The train was not overly packed considering the time, but there were a few people around him who laughed as he just made it in.

"Nice!"

"Haha," another guy near his buddy who called out 'nice' laughed.

Most people stayed quiet though, and Zach only glanced towards those two before turning and walking over to a nearby open seat. He sat on a spot with no one on his right side, even though he had his right hand in his pocket. He felt nervous though, because he wanted to take his right hand out and check on the shirt tied around his upper left arm. He was too nervous to do it though, even under the coat, with the man sitting on his left side who he might bump into through their clothes. It's too potent when it's trapped only in my right hand. Regular fabric won't protect people from it. Lucky for Zach though, he smelled bad. The man sitting next to him made an annoyed grunt and a face to show not-so-subtly why he was standing. Never been so happy to smell, Zach thought, while he pulled his right hand out and slid it carefully through the center of his coat.

He noticed the person across the train from him look at him oddly, and he thought they may have noticed how he did not have anything on under the coat when he pushed aside the buttons for a second. Then he wondered if the guy just thought it was weird he was wearing a long brown woman's coat. Then Zach considered that it probably looked like he was rubbing his left armpit after the guy next to him stood up because of the smell. Do I really smell that bad? When was the last time I took a shower? How many days has it been? Weeks? Months? Where is this train going? He tightened up his shirt again that was soaked, but he felt like the pain in his left arm was not as intense as it was before. That's either a good sign, or a bad sign. No shit. Damn…

Zach's eyes snapped open, and he shook his head around before standing up off the seat. Can't fall asleep. They won't just let me get away. Figure out what stop to get off on. This train card will work at other places, and this guy had some cash on him as well. Don't use his credit cards, it's a dick move- plus they might be able to track me. I need a hat to keep out of Hackerman's sights if he's checking nearby cities' security cameras. I need to get a bullet train to Tokyo tomorrow from wherever I go to. Somewhere that I know the layout of, is much better to hide in than somewhere I don't.

Zach lifted his left hand, winced in pain and hoped he did not reopen the wound on his upper arm, but he had to smack himself in the cheeks a couple of times to keep himself awake. Shigaraki, said he's going to kill my classmates. He should have just left her- That fucker. That mother fucker! The U.A. students have been in danger from his attack for so long. But protected in the dorms, protected by the teachers… Zach's lips twisted and he snarled for a second. They're safe. I have to think they're safe. If I didn't tell myself that from the first day, I never would have been able to keep alive escape plans. I would have just accepted what he said because I would be saving them, not just myself, doing whatever Shigaraki said. But the code. Just remember the code. Don't kill anyone. Did that woman survive? Fuck! I just left her to die back there!

The boy shook his head around and clenched his eyes shut, pressing his forehead against the metal bar in the train to be used for support. The train was slowing down, and Zach had wanted to stay on it for another few stops or so, but he shook that thought out of his head. The longer I stay on this, the more a chance they come to one of the next stops. They might find out that someone stole a card at the last stop right before this train left, and just hit all the stops after it. I have to move fast to a station not on this line. I'll change up my route quickly and often. Keep my mind off everyone else for now. I fucking, I fucking escaped. I won't be captured again. I can't let anyone know where I am, because the villains will figure it out. There's a spy back at U.A. How many spies are in the police forces? Shigaraki would never let me know any of them. The only person I can trust is me. I could never get back into the hero society anyway. Turning myself in? Giving up the villain life? Why did I ever think I would be able to do those things after all I had done? After becoming a true villain… Focus! He shouted mentally at himself as the train came to a stop and the doors opened.

Some people here were suspicious of me. Move fast before anyone can report. Get away. Act normal. Buy some normal clothes with this guy's cash. Put on a hoodie for men, wear a hat, buy some first aid stuff so you don't pass out from blood loss. Escape Kyoto first. Make it back to Tokyo. They might expect that… but they might know that I know they expect it. Either way, I know those streets. I ran Musutafu for years. I ran the neighboring cities too though. Cities I could reach in a quick train ride, how many times did I run around their streets to explore a new place? To see more of this beautiful- this, amazing world? …Amazing? Is this really, the world I loved?

Zach left the subway station and got up on the street, but he stopped and looked around with a blank look. He watched as a group of guys and girls who looked like they were in college started walking one direction while talking about which bar they wanted to go to. He saw an older couple with their arms locked, and then the woman pointed up and her husband or boyfriend looked up too and smiled wide. Zach lifted his gaze up, and then he lifted his left hand. A snowflake fell down on it and he looked down at his palm that had some dried blood on it, something he only noticed now and realized some people on the train had probably stared at. Before he could hurry away from the station though, he was stuck staring at the snowflake that was slowly melting on his hand. The snowflake was perfect, unique, beautiful when it landed on him. But it melted away, all of its beauty gone as it turned to water and made his dried blood get wet again.

Am I, a snowflake? Zach thought, then shook his head around at the analogy. "That snowflake, was beautiful," he whispered, and he turned his head and started jogging, shoving both hands far into his coat's pocket. His eyes filled with water and spilled down his face, making his face cold as the snow fell around him. "This world, really is beautiful. I don't ever want to, leave it again," his voice cracked and his face scrunched up as he ran. "I just want to live, in this world. I want to see more of it. And I, I want to…" in his head appeared the woman he left behind with Spinner and the others. Zach gasped in pain, his chest aching as he thought about three other faces. "I want- I have to change the answer."

"You- you- how could you let him-"

"He shot off the damn box in one shot," Spinner growled. "He touched his chest before any of us could do a thing. He wasn't broken at all!"

"He was!" Shigaraki yelled, turning and glaring at Spinner who did not back down. Shigaraki lifted a hand and he started scratching his neck, scratching over and over to the point he was almost bleeding. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

"Shigaraki Tomura," Kurogiri began, moving up next to Shigaraki. "He is sure to appear on our radar before long. Everyone in Japan knows his face after all."

"They know Zach Sazaki's face," Shigaraki muttered. "With spiky hair, and no scars," he shook his head and kept scratching at his neck for a few seconds. "And they know Lifebringer, in a mask…" he kept scratching even more furiously, then he stopped with his hand half-scratched down his neck. "Then, let's call him," Shigaraki said, lowering his hand down and turning to Kurogiri.

"He will charge a large sum," Kurogiri said, knowing exactly who Shigaraki was referring to. "Hunter, does not come cheap. He has shown willingness to work with us in the past, but-"

"Pay him whatever he wants," Shigaraki said, waving his hand like it was no problem. "If it's him, we'll get Sazaki back for sure. Then," Shigaraki's head bowed and his hands started shaking at his sides. "I'll have to find a way to step his conditioning up." Spinner was not unnerved when he and Shigaraki were having their confrontation, but he got nervous at the look in Shigaraki's eyes now. "That, that thing was tricking me," Shigaraki said, his voice low and with a new kind of rage in how calm his tone was. That's what Master called him. I didn't realize it back then. "It's not a human, more like a beast," Shigaraki growled. "Which means," his lips twisted back up at the corners, "it can be tamed."

A/N Thanks for reading. Didn't put an Author's Note last time to just leave it on that note, and now we're suddenly six weeks later. Shit got dark fast. Zach escapes the villains, and now he's on his own. In hiding, on the run from the villains, and the Hunter is being sent after him. Time flew by since Zach joined up with the villains after his court case in August. Lifebringer, his time slowing down saving people and whatever he was doing leading up to VTS, and the six weeks after to late December. Zach is finally away from them, but will it last? Where can he go? What can he do? Hope you're enjoying... Leave a review below telling me what you think, questions, or predictions. Review responses:

The wielder of the blue flames chapter 27 . 16h ago

Honestly I saw this coming... but it still hurts.
Zach was foolish to think the villains wouldn't find out about his relations after all his antics in the past.
They may have done it... but he showed them the way to do it.

;( I don't think he really thought about them not realizing it, but still gotta be shocking when family's dragged into it. Thanks for the review.

LordOfTee chapter 27 . 8h ago

GODDAMN! Shigaraki is a f*cking hardcore monster.
He did all of that just for a piece that could change the whole board.
If he's that ruthless what else is he willing to do for victory?

Shigaraki did it for the piece, and now he's lost that piece. What's he willing to do to get it back? To win? Thanks for reviewing.

Nightsky of FlameClan chapter 27 . 3h ago

I have no words...

I have three.

CPU-BLANC-WHITE HEART chapter 27 . 3h ago

Holy fuck that sounded horrible at the end

Yeah, that's not something one's ever going to forget...

Guest chapter 27 . 21h ago

Fuuuuuck

Yea. Agreed.

Guest chapter 27 . 1h ago

NOOOO.. I like jenny and I like her and Zach and I believe she has to be saved and I think Zach should unlock a new power to save her but have him not make to the parents in time and I want to she more of her in the story. But you do want you want just know that some people love Zach and jenny.

Nooo... I also liked Jenny. Didn't know how that chapter was going to end when I started it. Jenny's been there since the beginning, with Zach since much longer. She's been a part of his life through all we've seen of him. Zach and Jenny shippers... sorry. Thanks for the review, sorry for crushing your hopes in this chapter.