Coco: Hey, everybody! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, but the next chapter for Ayonic is here. I was hoping to have season 4 done before 5 came out, but…well, as you probably know, that didn't happen. I've been procrastinating writing this season hard, but I promise to do better! But enough of that as I'm sure you guys are ready to start reading the chapter, am I right? XD

'What…what happened here?' Ayano thought as she looked around in horror.

The scene before her was one of devastation. Buildings were half crumbed away and what did remain was burning in raging fires. The ground itself was cracked and ripped apart as if an earthquake had come through the city. People were running around her and screaming in a panic. Many of them injured and obviously scared. It was sheer chaos. But what really caught her eye were the bodies…the bodies lying on the ground—some not even whole. Some seemed to be of civilains, but most of them…most of them were the bodies of heroes that she recognized and even her friends.

'Aizawa-sensei…Midnight-sensei…Endeavor…Edgeshot…Todoroki-kun…Tsu-chan…Iida-kun…' Ayano just kept seeing more and more of them as she followed the direction in which the bodies were facing as if they were running towards something. 'Kirishima-kun…Jiro-chan…Izuku…Katsuki…'

They were all just lying there and their lifeless eyes were all looking at one thing…or rather someone. Ayano followed their line of sight with her eyes widening in dismay. There standing before the corpses of people, who had been her friends…her teachers…heroes, was herself. But she was different…her eyes were glowing brightly and her face set with no emotion whatsoever. Her body covered in the blood of those who had fallen…and she wasn't alone.

Rina…and Kazane were with her. Both flanking her on either side, and their eyes were glowing as well. And behind them were more individuals. Mandalay…Nighteye…Yanagi Reiko from Class 1-B and many more that Ayano didn't know. They were like a small army. All of them looking on with blank expressions and not even reacting to the carnage in front of them or reacting to the screams of people who were desperate to get away.

"We will purge this world," The glowing eyed Ayano said.

Her voice overlapped with those behind her as if they were all one being…all one mind.

"We will never again be harmed…never again be ignored and cast away by this corrupt world," They continued to speak as Ayano stepped back wanting to just get away. "We will make it a new. A new world where we will all be equal and happy. A world where no will one ever have to live in fear and pain again. It will be a world…of our creation."

Ayano gasped as she shot up in bed with her eyes wide. She sat there panting as her clothes clung to her sweat covered body which was shaking like a leaf. Many objects in her room floated around rapidly in a circle and the room itself seemed to be shaking, but she barely noticed as she felt the bile rise into her throat.

She shot out of bed and ran to the small bathroom in her room. She barely made it to the toilet in time before she heaved the contents of her stomach into the bowl. She sat there for what felt like forever with her body giving violent shudders every time she retched up more and more.

Finally, it all subsided and she could vaguely hear the things in her room that had been floating come crashing down. Hopefully, Konan, who was a few rooms down, didn't hear anything. Ayano sat there for a second still breathing heavily as she tried to collect her thoughts.

'What the hell was that?' She asked herself as she curled up on the bathroom floor with her arms tightly wrapped around her. 'What did I do?'

'You have done nothing, Ishida Ayano,' Hive's voice rang through her head. 'However, what Hive might do in the future…is still uncertain.'

Ayano, who shook in fear, felt icy-cold dread wash over her at Hive's ominous words.

'Is what I just saw more than a nightmare?' She wondered. 'Was I just shown…the future?'

Katsuki grumbled as he turned over in his bed as his sleep was interrupted by the sound of knocking on his door. He was going to ignore it, but when it persisted, he let out a snarl and pushed his covers off of him. He marched over to his door and ripped it open.

"Who the hell—?!" Katsuki stopped mid rant when seeing it was Ayano at his door.

He frowned taking note of her appearance. She looked as if she recently showered as her hair looked damp. Her eyes had dark circles under them and she looked very pale. Her expression also had a haunted expression. Though what made his eyes narrow and his jaw tense was the redness in her eyes as if she's been crying.

"Aya, what the hell happened?" He asked. "Did someone—?"

He didn't finish his question as Ayano stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She buried her face into his chest as her whole body shook.

"I'm sorry," She said with her voice a little hoarse. "I just didn't want to be alone."

Katsuki's frown deepened. He's never seen her like this. Even when facing those villains or when she was worried about how he'd react about learning the true nature of her quirk…she was never this scared or fragile looking. Katsuki finally wrapped his arms around her.

"Ayano," He began getting her to move her head enough to look up at him. "What happened?"

Her eyes filled with tears at his question. Something he didn't want to see. He wasn't good with the whole comforting thing. He didn't know what to say or do most of the time. Usually, he just lets Ayano hold onto him—even before he realized his feelings, and use him like pillow to cry into. But this was different. He was unsettled by how upset she was. He wanted to make it go away.

"I…I just had a really bad nightmare." She said. "Everyone…everyone was gone and it was all my fault."

The tears started slipping down her cheeks as she spoke as the horrible nightmare came back into her mind. She just wanted to forget all about it.

"Can I stay with you, please?" She asked Katsuki. "I don't want it to come back."

She knew she sounded like a child, but with Katsuki she felt safe. And she hoped that even if she does fall asleep—though highly unlikely—that knowing he was there subconsciously would be enough to keep the nightmare away. Katsuki didn't verbally answer as he took her inside his room and shut the door. Rules be damned.

He picked her up once the door was shut and carried her over to his bed. He sat her down and let her get underneath the covers before he climbed in after her. She turned towards him while tucking herself as close as she good against him. Katsuki frowned once more as he laid back on his beck while partially pulling her on top of him, so she was resting on her chest. He put one arm around her and then the other hand behind his head.

"You're a pain in the ass," He told her. "I don't know exactly what the nightmare was about, but stop writing me off as weak."

Ayano looked up at him in confusion as he kept his eyes glaring up at the ceiling.

"If I wasn't there to protect you that means you dreamt something happened to me," Katsuki said. "Whatever it was attacking—whatever its power was, I would have beat it and saved you. There's no way I'd lose because I'm going to become the Number One Hero."

His words that would normally comfort Ayano only filled her with more dread as she stared up at Katsuki's determined face.

'But what if I was the threat?' She wanted to ask him, but bit her lip to prevent the words from coming out.

She wanted to believe it was just a dream—a horrible one—but still a dream. But something inside of her knew that it wasn't.

"Today we will be doing patrol and surveillance." Nighteye told his sidekicks as he laid out his files on his desk. "We'll split up into two teams. I'll be with Bubble Girl. And, Mirio, you'll be with Ayano and Midoriya."

Ayano, who was standing between Izuku and Mirio crossed her arms over her chest. She was ready to get out there. Ready for something to distract her from the nightmare she had had.

"Surveillance?" Izuku repeated with slight confusion.

"Nighteye Agency is currently working on a secret investigation." Bubble Girl informed him.

Nighteye nodded as he turned the file around to show Izuku. On top of the notes, there was a picture of a man wearing a plague mask.

"Shie Hassaikai is a small organized crime syndicate." Nighteye said as he placed his thumb above the photo. "That's Chisaki Kai. As the young head of the group, he's at second in command, and he's been behaving strangely lately. That plague mask is his trademark."

"Creepy," Izuku said as he picked up the picture. "I thought there wasn't trouble with organized crime these days since the police know who they are and monitor their movements."

"It's been that way since the big groups broke up," Bubble Girl said. "But this Chisaki guy is starting to gather them again. Though we don't know why. The details are unclear, but we do know that he made contact with the League of Villains recently."

Izuku stiffened at the mention of the League as Ayano frowned. She understood her friend's concern. The League of Villains has already caused them so much trouble. Not to mention the problem with Rina…

'I wonder if Rina knows anything,' Ayano thought. 'Maybe All for One used the fear of my power and what I might do to help in conditioning Rina to follow him…Speaking of knowing the future…'

Ayano looked at Nighteye, who was taking the photo of Kai away from Izuku, as she was starting to wonder if what she had seen last night is what he saw. It would make sense considering he was the one to warn Ayano's parents to separate her from her sisters.

'What that nightmare the disastrous future that he had seen?' She wondered to herself.

Though his foresight doesn't quite work like that. He can only see so far into a person's life after the conditions have been met. He couldn't have seen something far along in Ayano's life like that.

'Unless he had some kind of help,' Ayano thought as Hive came to mind.

Though she tried to push those thoughts aside as Nighteye continued to speak.

"Unfortunately, we don't have solid proof linking him to anything criminal yet." Nighteye said as he turned the photo around for everyone to see. "Hassaikai an illegal area close to black, but we can't treat them like villains. Our objective is to tail them and find out what they're up to. Be careful not to arose and suspicion."

"Yes, sir." Ayano and the others side with a nod.

Everyone went to leave at that point as no further instruction was needed. However, Nighteye, who came around his desk, placed a hand on Ayano's shoulders.

"Ayano, if I could have a moment before we all leave," Nighteye said as he looked down at the young girl.

Mirio and Bubble Girl looked a bit curious as they looked between the two. Though since they weren't asked to stay, they knew they needed to keep moving. It wasn't their business, so they moved on—with Mirio having to usher the concerned looking Izuku out—and shut the door behind them.

"Is something the matter, Sir?" Ayano asked the tall man as she turned to face him.

Nighteye didn't answer at first as he studied the girl's face. She seemed to have dark circles under her eyes and her skin seemed paler than normal. He had noticed the moment she arrived in her office that something was off about her.

"That is what I would like to ask you," Nighteye said causing Ayano to shift uncomfortably. "You've been very quiet since your arrival. You didn't even react to Mirio's usual antics and there were several times where you missed the things being said to you before our meeting started. So, tell me, is there something troubling you?"

He asked this while reaching back out to place his hand on her shoulder once more. He even gave it a comforting squeeze. Ayano mentally frowned. Of course, he noticed she's been acting differently. Not much—if anything—gets by him. But they already had so much on their plate with this investigation. Now wasn't the time to bring up a nightmare she had. Her own problems could wait for now…So, with that in mind, she gave a slight smile.

"I'm sorry to concern you, Sir," She said. "I just didn't get much sleep last night. I'm trying to stay ahead in class due to the work studies, and I stayed up later than planned to do some extra course work."

The lie fell a little too easily off her tongue, and the guilt for telling it was already setting in. However, she couldn't bother Nighteye with her problems right now. After the investigation, she'll come clean. She'll tell him all about it and she'll finally ask for the answers she's wanted to know for so long. Like what kind of future Nighteye saw that was so bad her family had to be broke apart. And why…why he was helping her become stronger if he knows what kind of monster she's going to become?

"And that's all?" Nighteye pressed.

"Yes, Sir." Ayano said with a nod. "I'll try to work on a more balanced schedule, so I don't wear myself out. I don't want to hinder the investigation in anyway, so I'll be more careful, I promise."

She said this while forcing a wider smile on her face. Nighteye stared at her a moment longer before giving a slight sigh.

"Very well," He said. "Then let's go."

Ayano nodded before following him out of his office. They met with the others on the bottom floor, and while Izuku looked as if he wanted to ask if everything was okay, he just smiled at Ayano as he got the feeling that she didn't wish to speak about it. She tried to smile back as they prepared to leave.

Ayano walked down the street with Mirio and Izuku to her left. The latter of the two walking very stiffly.

"This is a little nerve-racking." Izuku said as a couple of people recognized them as heroes.

Mirio looked down at the younger boy as Ayano gave a friendly wave back to those who pointed them out.

"What gives?" Mirio asked. "You went out on patrol during your internship, didn't you? Though I guess I don't blame you from being a little shaken after what went down."

"Oh, no, it's not that," Izuku said. "I just kind of missed out on learning some of the basics…so…"

Izuku trailed off as he remembered his internship, which was mostly Gran Torino pummeling him. The first time he was actually supposed to patrol and that Nomu attack happened and then the incident with the Hero Killer.

"Yeah? Huh, that must be strange," Mirio said. "Ah, don't you worry. Sir and Bubble Girl are actually the ones watching the target today, so I can teach you all about patrol duty. We'll get you up to snuff. Just watch and learn, my friend!"

He said this with a laugh as he waved his arms around manically. Ayano watched him off to the side with a deadpanned expression as Izuku looked down at the ground with a troubled face.

"You amaze me sometimes with those moves of yours, Lemillion-senpai." Ayano said as she shook her head.

Mirio chuckled before giving a slight gasp as he hit his fist into the palm of his hand. He turned towards Izuku.

"Hey, we forgot something," Mirio said getting Izuku's attention. "Our hero names. We should know each other's, right? I already know Ayonic and she knows mine and I'm sure it's the same for the two of you. But it's not the same for us."

"Oh yeah, you're right." Izuku said. "Totally. I'm Deku!"

Mirio blinked in confusion at that as he tilted his head at Izuku who had a smile on his face.

"Deku? Like deck?" Mirio asked. "That's weird."

"I like it." Izuku said without missing a beat.

Which isn't something he would have said a mere few months ago. That name used to be a chain on him. A chain that said he couldn't be strong, but now he used it to show he could become the hero he's always wanted to be.

"Kay, well, I'm Lemillion," Mirio informed Izuku as he pointed to himself. "For the number of people, I'll save. You know, can't save them all, but I can shoot for saving a million instead, so that's what I'm doing! When we put on our costumes and start hitting the streets that's when we become heroes, so don't let your guard down, Deku."

"Got it, Lemillion." Deku said with a nod.

The group was then about to continue with patrol, but Ayano paused when she heard a voice…a voice filled with terror.

'I have to get away…' A small voice entered her mind. 'I don't want to go back! Please, don't make me go back!'

Ayano turned her head just as a little girl, who was covered in bandages and wearing what looked almost like a small medical gown, rushing out from the alleyway beside them. She ran right into Izuku, but before she could fall backwards, Ayano, who knelt down, caught her in her arms. The little girl's eyes widened as she tilted her head back to look at Ayano who noticed she looked so frightened.

"Whoa, I'm sorry," Izuku said as he knelt down as well. "You took a tumble."

He reached forward to check on the girl, but she flinched causing Izuku to pause. Ayano frowned at the reaction. This girl…Ayano then looked towards the alleyway as Izuku continued to speak with the child.

'I feel a presence…but their voice I can't make it out,' Ayano thought as a feeling cold feeling washed over her. 'But whoever it is…they feel so dark…'

"You should be more careful," A voice came from the dark alley before someone stepped out.

Ayano tried to control her facial expression as the very person, who was the target of their investigation, stepped out into the light.

"You don't want to cause trouble for the heroes." Chisaki Kai said as Ayano, who passed the trembling girl to Izuku, stood onto her feet.

Ayano kept her stance relaxed as she faced the young head of the Shie Hassaikai. Mirio kept things cool as well, but Izuku…Izuku looked absolutely disturbed.

"I'll hope you'll forgive my daughter, hero." Kai said as he appeared to smile behind his mask. "I don't know what to do with her. Always playing rough; bumping into things."

Ayano glanced down at the frightened child and all the bandages on her lips. Ayano would the girl does more that just simply bump into things. But she couldn't pierce through Kai's mind to take a look. It was like he was keeping up a wall to keep his thoughts silent…No, she could hear a slight buzzing as if his thoughts were being muffled by a dense blanket. Either he knew she was a psychic from seeing her on TV during the Sports Festival.

'Or he's being more careful with his thoughts because he's recently run into a telepath,' Ayano thought with Rina coming to mind.

Which was the most likely scenario considering his recent meeting with the League of Villains. She also knew based on the officer's reports and what she had picked from his brain that Rina had been there that night when Kai contacted the League. Ayano then looked down at Izuku as his worried thoughts reached her.

'Calm down, Izuku,' Ayano told him mentally as Mirio flipped the boy's cowl over his head to hide his worried expression.

Izuku flinched in surprise though he did try to calm himself as Ayano instructed him.

"Whoopsie-daisy," Mirio said once Izuku's mask was in place. "Looks like that darn mask came off again. "You might want to think about getting it resized, my friend."

Mirio then turned to Kai ask Izuku mentally scolded himself for not better controlling his facial expression.

"I'm so sorry about that," Mirio said. "It was our fault too."

"Yes, we should have been paying more attention to our surroundings." Ayano added with a smile.

Mirio nodded along with her words as he and Ayano kept the man's attention on them, so Izuku had time to collect himself.

"I know that mask." Mirio said. "You must be from the Hassaikai, right? You guys are famous around here."

"Yeah, please don't mind the mask." Kai said. "It's to keep out the filth. I don't believe I've seen you three in the area before."

"Yeah, we're really new, but you've probably already guessed that much." Mirio said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Now, on your feet, partner. Can't do much heroing from down there."

Izuku didn't move at first as he watched Mirio and Ayano try to handle the situation.

'His guard is obviously up,' Mirio thought as he casually glanced at Ayano. 'We can't tell him Sir's name. Are you getting anything from him?'

'You're right,' Ayano agreed. 'And no, he's even keeping his thoughts protected. I'm getting nothing from him.'

Mirio frowned because that wasn't good at all. This would have been a good opportunity to get a lot of information from Kai by using Ayano's telepathy. However, that doesn't seem as if it's going to work. Mirio knows if Ayano pushes too hard, Kai would be alerted of her presence, which could ruin Nighteye's investigation entirely.

'And the poor girl isn't much help either,' Ayano added as her expression showed a very small amount of tension thought she quickly smoothed it away. 'All she can think about is trying to get away and how scared she is.'

Mirio's hands clenched into fists for a small moment. He could understand Ayano's frustrations, and he wanted to help the frightened child. However, they might not be able to. At least not yet.

"So, what agency do you belong to?" Kai asked.

"We're only students, sir." Ayano answered this time. "Still in training, so we can't make such a bold claim to belong to an agency. We haven't earned that just yet."

Mirio, who was going to say something similar, laughed and agreed as he placed his hands on his waist.

"That's right," Mirio said. "We're just getting our internships to get some experience. Speaking of which, we need to finish patrolling this division by lunch. Come on, you two, let's go."

He motioned for Ayano and Izuku to follow and while Ayano didn't want to leave the child behind, she went to follow. Izuku went to do the same, but the little girl clung to the front of his uniform.

"Please," The little girl whimpered as tears entered her eyes. "Please, don't go."

Ayano's hands clenched at her weak plea, but kept her expression as neutral as possible. Izuku looked up to Kai while trying to keep a smile on his face.

"Um, excuse me," Izuku spoke up for the first time since Kai arrived. "I'm sorry, but your daughter seems scared."

Kai narrowed his eyes. Things weren't going to be pretty in a few seconds if things continued on like this.

"A reaction to being scolded," Kai said with his tone a bit clipped.

Mirio frowned at Izuku since this wasn't going to help them. He wanted to help the girl too, but if they did something too rash, the girl could actually be put into more danger. Not to mention other civilians.

'Izuku, I don't want to leave her behind either, but you'll only make Chisaki more suspicious.' Ayano thought. 'We need to go.'

Izuku knew she was right, but he couldn't get himself to move from the little girl. In fact, without even having to think, he put his arms back around her.

"Wait," Izuku said. "…but she's got bandages all over…those are just from playing rough?"

The little girl clung to Izuku even tighter as her trembling increased. Ayano didn't have to guess what was going on in the girl's homelife. She was obviously being abused in some way, and Ayano felt like scum by trying to ignore that fact. She felt terrible not just taking the girl now for the sake of the investigation a secret, but there was no guarantee that they'd be able to save her if a fight broke out. Not to mention other civilians could be pulled into the mix.

"Eri's an exceptional clumsy girl." Kai tried to play things off once more.

"Her whole body is shaking," Izuku, who lost his smile, pointed out. "But she's not making a sound. Does that seem like it's normal to you?"

"It's dangerous to make assumptions about what's normal for other people," Kai pointed out while not even trying to pretend to be friendly any longer.

He was obviously growing tired of this, which means he could lash out at any moment.

"Yeah, everybody's different, am I right?" Mirio asked with a grin before thinking, 'This is bad. Chisaki obviously doesn't want us to pry. If we spook him now, he'll be even less likely to show himself. We have to let it go.'

'I know that,' Ayano replied to his thoughts. 'But Izuku isn't going to just drop things. He knows we should let it go, but he won't. Not when there's a crying, scared child right in front of him. I'd have to physically drag him away, but that'd only cause a scene. We need that even less.'

Mirio mentally nodded. Ayano was right, but there wasn't much they could do at his moment. Chisaki isn't a villain, so they couldn't treat him like one. A case—one that could involve an abused child—like this would be in the police's line of work.

"Tell me, what are you doing to this girl?" Izuku asked.

Kai didn't answer at first, and just when Ayano thought he might lash out, the man sighed.

"You heroes really pick on the subtlest things, don't you?" Kai asked. "Very well…this situation is embarrassing. So, I'd prefer to discuss it where we won't be overheard."

He then turned to walk back into the alleyway. Izuku, who stood up with Eri in his arms, looked to Mirio who nodded even if he wasn't happy with the situation. Ayano walked into the alley with the boys as she had a feeling that things were about to get ugly.

"Hard to admit that you can't control your own child," Kai said casually as he held out his hand. "But lately, Eri defies me no matter what I try."

"What do you try?" Izuku asked with a frown.

"Parenting, man, sounds rough," Mirio, who was still playing dumb, said. "Can't be easy."

Ayano held in a sigh. She doubted trying to play dumb was working anymore. They were being led into a dark alleyway by a criminal after all.

"Ah, yes, children are tricky." Kai said before reaching to tug at the end of his glove. "So, determined to do whatever they want that sometimes they just don't listen."

At his motion, Eri's eyes widened in horror, and her thoughts got louder in her fright.

'No, he's going to kill them!' She realized.

Ayano looked to the girl at the sound of her frightened thoughts before looking back to Kai who had a dark look in his gaze as he glanced back at them. Ayano frowned as her fingers twitched; ready for the attack that was coming. However, that isn't what happened next. Instead, Eri pushed herself away from Izuku, so he'd put her down. She then ran back over to Kai to walk alongside him.

"Oh good," Kai said. "Done with your temper-tantrum?"

Eri nodded silently as she kept her head down and eyes fixated on the ground.

'She's going back…to protect us,' Ayano realized as her hands curled into fists.

"Ah, Eri, are you sure?" Izuku asked the girl.

Eri didn't reply nor did she look back at the interning heroes. Though Kai spoke to them one last time.

"She's always like this," Kai said as he ushered Eri along. "Sorry to involve you in our family drama. I'm sure you have better things to be doing. Good luck with your internships."

Izuku went to step forward to stop them, but Mirio put out his arm to stop the first-year.

"We're not going after them" Mirio said. "Didn't you notice? He was ready to get violent. That's why she went back. If we keep pushing him, he's going to be even harder to catch. For now, let's report to Sir."

"Right," Ayano said with a nod.

Though before she followed the boys out, she looked back towards where Eri and Kai were getting farther away.

'Eri,' Ayano thought causing the girl to flinch in shock at her voice. 'I'm sorry we couldn't save you this time. Please, hold on a bit longer. I promise that next time…we won't fail you. We will save you.'

Eri glanced back over her shoulder with wide eyes as she looked to Ayano as the girl turned to follow Mirio and Izuku. Eri felt tears entered her eyes as she watched the three young heroes walk away. But even as they went…she felt it deep inside…a glimmer of hope.

Ayano let out a sigh as she worked with the large circular weights that Giichi had Hatsume make for her. They were of different sizes and weights to boost her strength. Her power was versatile so it could do a lot and she has learned that more than ever during her time here at U.A. However, she needed to work more on her overall strength of her quirk. Hence the weights.

'Another day…another day of feeling like I've accomplished nothing…' Ayano thought with a frown.

After reporting to Nighteye, Ayano and her fellow interns had been dismissed for the day and would be waiting to hear when their next day at the agency would be. She didn't like how things ended. She wished they could have done more for Eri, but Nighteye was right…People can't be saved through good intentions alone. They had to play the long game even if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

'We will save Eri,' Ayano thought we determination. 'But even knowing that…there's no telling what is happening to her right now…'

Around her, the steel spheres shook before they shattered completely as she crushed them with her telekinesis. What remained crumbled to the ground as Ayano stared forward with an angry expression. Giichi, who was watching her from the gym doorway, frowned. She was getting even stronger, and the time…the time Nighteye has foreseen was approaching quickly.

Coco: And the end of yet another chapter. Sorry it took so long again, everyone, but I hope you liked it. Things are getting a bit more serious and it seems as if we're finally getting to the point where Ayano will soon understand exactly why she and her sisters were separated and the true dark power behind Hive. Not to mention all the excitement that comes along with this season to begin with. Anyway, that's it for now…well, expect for the bonus. I can't remember exactly who requested it as I'm terrible keeping up with such things, but someone wanted a chapter bonus with Ko in it, so here you go!

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!Chapter Bonus!

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Shota frowned at the villain in front of him who currently had a hold of a young teenage girl. When he had arrived to the situation it was too late to clear out all the civilians caught up in this villain's attack. Hence his current predicament. Even if he does erase the villain's quirk, the girl could still be harmed, so he had to think about what to do next carefully.

"One more step, hero, and I'll break this girl's neck." The villain warned. "It'll be easier than snapping a twig."

Shota's jaw tensed as he wondered what he should do. However, before anything else could happen, someone else came into the scene. A figure dressed in mostly black came swinging down and managed to kick the villain in the back. The attack sent the villain tumbling and loosening his hold on his hostage. With the villain's hold not as tight, she was pulled out of the villain's grasp and thrown towards Shota. Shota, who caught the teenage girl, watched as this new player, who landed on the ground, didn't waste time in whirling around throwing out his arm.

His arm connected to the villain's chest and seemed to grow and warp before turning into large metal restraints that bound the villain's arms to his sides. He was then kicked in the face thus successfully knocking his lights out as he fell backwards. Those around clapped for the hero who came to assist as Shota just frowned.

"That was reckless, Jailer." Shota said as the girl's parents took her off his hands. "The girl could have been hurt."

Jailer—or rather Ishida Ko—just smiled at his friend as if Shota's scolding went clear through one ear and out the other. Knowing Ko…that is probably what happened.

"Shota, good to see you after so long!" Ko said as he threw his arm around Shota's shoulders.

"I literally saw you three days ago." Shota deadpanned as he removed Ko's arm.

Ko laughed not seeming at all bothered by Shota's standoffish nature. He has known the man since high school after all so he was used to it.

"Still feels like forever," Ko said with his grin still in place. "So, what have you been up to? Have Nemuri and Hizashi managed to talk you into becoming a U.A. teacher yet?"

Shota rolled his eyes while not even surprised that Ko was in on the whole thing too. Nemuri and Hizashi have been trying to get Shota to join the teaching staff at U.A. for some time now, but that wasn't for him. He wasn't meant to be a teacher.

"I can tell by your facial expression that that is a no." Ko said. "I think you'd like it though, man. I hear even Naosu is working at U.A. now as Recovery Girl's apprentice."

He then paused in his conversation to wave at a few kids who were calling out to him and Shota. He smiled at them before turning back to his friend.

"They're letting that sadist around kids?" Shota asked in disbelief. "But anyway, what about you? Why don't you become a teacher at U.A if you think it's a great job opportunity?"

"Because, my dude, that would mean less time with my precious Ayano~" Ko said with a happy smile pulling across his face. "She's gotten so big now. It seemed just like it was yesterday when she was brought home to the family. Wanna see her? I have a bunch of new photos!"

Shota paled since he really didn't want to go through another photo bombardment of Ko's little sister. The last one was two hours long. Ko acted more like a proud parent of a first born than an older brother.

"I'll pass," Shota said pushing Ko's phone down.

Ko pouted at Shota, which resulted in the long-haired male giving a sigh as he actually felt a bit of guilt. When seeing his defeated expression, Ko grinned once more as he started going through pictures of Ayano to show Shota.

"Why do I even put up with you?" Shota grumbled after the hundredth photo.

"Cause we're best buds and ya love me," Ko said.

"Just get lost or something." Was Shota's irritable reply.

"Ah, come on, Shota, you know your life would suck without me around!" Ko laughed.

—break—

Shota gave a yawn as he sat at his desk in the teacher's offices. He was ready for a break, but after this he had patrols he had to do. He was very eager for the weekend at his point.

"Hey, Shota, there you are!" Nemuri called as she hurried into the office.

Shota looked up with a quirked brow wondering what could have Nemuri in such a rush.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"It's Ko." Nemuri replied.

Shota sighed thinking the guy had gotten himself into some trouble again, but when a few tears started to leak from Nemuri's eyes, his heart seemed to stop.

"…What happened?" He asked almost dreading the answer.

"He's currently being taken to the hospital in critical condition." Nemuri explained. "They…they don't think he's going to make it…"

Shota was out of his seat before Nemuri even finished telling him what was wrong.

'Ah, come on, Shota, you know your life would suck without me around!' Ko's words rang through his head.

'You better not die, idiot,' Shota thought as he hurried out of the office with Nemuri behind him. 'Not like this.'