Title: 逃げる手 - The Hand That Bleeds
Rating: T
Summary: "I don't want to be a Hero. I want to be a Healer. My Quirk is made for healing, like my mom's, not fighting so I train to fight like a Hero to be a Healer. I want to help others to the best of my abilities." Hisoka Matsushita, raised by her mother and who never knew her father, never could quite understand where the path she would eventually take would lead her to.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia. Boku no Hero Academia is written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi-sensei. No profit was made in the writing of this fanfic.

Beta: Ana-DaughterofHades

Now To Answer Some Reviews:

Vedahzii- Thank you! It was a really good day and I got to spend it with some family I hadn't seen in a while and had some cake so that's a plus. And I did pray for you! I hope you have a good Thanksgiving as well, at least! And of course! Steamy bathroom moments are a trope I love! But it didn't get that steamy for them... Just a little bit. Hehehehe. Thank you for the review. I hope you like the chapter.

Merc 10- Awwwww~! Thank you! My birthday was really fun. I hope had a good Thanksgiving! I was nervous about the camels at first but they're actually really nice and smart too! The lemurs were really cute! Feeding them was such an experience (their grip was really firm and strong!) and I hope you get to experience that one day! It's always fun to experience new things! The only thing I like about Monoma is his Quirk (and his use of it, even if he is an ass) since it has a lot potential to do great things. (And when he gets knocked out by Kendo! She's awesome!) Who's your 1st favorite BNHA Hero then if Snipe is your 2nd? And I am a big fan of Anti-Heroes and Mercenaries like Batman, Suicide Squad, Wolverine, Punisher and Deadpool. Ah... Deadpool... Heh. He's my babe! I'll try and see Vemon one day. Most likely if its Thank you for the review. I hope you like the chapter.

Chapter 45

To Upgrades

Location: Gym Gamma, Northeast Side of U.A. High School Campus, Northern Musutafu, South of Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

Date: September 1, 20XX

Hisoka skirted back, a bit of dust raising from her feet as clumps of dirt and stone broke her movement, arms raised as it blocked the heavy tail attack. Her body flinched upon reflex when the tail was lifted and ducked into a crouching position on her hands and the balls of her feet. She launched herself forward when the other landed, jumping upward with her right leg as she lifted her left upward, her foot almost above her head, and then brought it down on the surprised Ojiro-san. It took a split second for him to jump backwards.

She did a twist with her waist, landing easily on the ground and let out a deep breath, sweat dripping down her brow. She watched as his shoulders rose and deflated slower than before, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Ojiro-san was quicker than before, and he was using his Quirk differently as well. It looked like the training was working out well for him too.

Good.

She disliked it when potential went to waste.

Getting into position as the other did the same, they shot off towards each other once more. Ojiro-san reached her and threw a right punch to her left lung while getting in a jab to her right thigh from his tail. Hisoka slid to the right to avoid his punch, the tail instead of jabbing had wrapped around her leg and tossed her to the right. She twirled around, using the momentum to roll into a summersault and easily landed on her feet somewhere nearby. Wiping the sweat before it got in her eyes, she dashed forward and slid between another frontal attack to land a light offhand punch on his chest. He slid a few feet back from the pressure on the punch and wondered how much of her strength she had put into that punch.

Ojiro-san charged back into the fight and threw twin punches to her face and stomach and tried to use his tail to whack at her head. She dropped in a perfect split, hands landing on the ground before she had to throw her hands in front of her, blocking his next punch with an open palm strike to his wrist while cartwheeling backward from the force at the same time. After a moment to study his form, Hisoka darted back into battle; she aimed a feinted jab at his black eyes and threw in a punch to his gut. Eyes widening when he was able to see the feint coming, he used his tail to block it but missed the jab to his gut.

"Ugghh..." He let out a groan before he lowered himself to the ground, forehead resting against it, as stars exploded in the front of Ojiro-san's eyes. "Hisoka..."

"Ah..." She mumbled, blinking when she realized just how much force she had put into the punch. "Sorry, Ojiro-san... I didn't expect that punch to be so hard." She scratched her cheek sheepishly before helping him stand up. "Do you...?" She began to offer, lifting a finger when he waved her off.

"Nah..." He grumbled tiredly, shoulders slumped and hunched forward as his arms wrapped themselves around his stomach. "I'll be fine"

She didn't push it. Hisoka could see he was a tad bit uncomfortable with her offer. "Well, if you say so."

"Really, Hisoka, I'll be fine." Ojiro-san let out a sigh, giving her a smile. "Thanks, though. For that and the spar." He had asked her when they had arrived at the gym early that morning after she had come from the Development Studio, and she had needed the practice on her hand-to-hand so there was no reason to say no.

"Un." Hisoka nodded as she began to do simple stretches. (Always be sure to stretch after a workout or a sparring match. Stretching ensured that you would have an optimal circulation of body fluids throughout your system and adequate flexibility which will prevent your connective tissues to pop when you contract your muscle.) "Your form has become better, Ojiro-san, and there were fewer openings as well." She reached up with one arm and bent her elbow as she put her forearm down behind her head and between her shoulder blades. With her opposite arm, she reached up and grabbed her raised elbow before lightly pushing down on it, stretching her triceps before repeating with the other arm then back to the other.

"Your punches don't hold back," he told her. "It feels like they've gotten sharper." Like a knife... The teen could see the resemblance now that he thought about it more. He'd join her once he was sure he wouldn't heave right then and there.

The black-haired girl then stretched her quadriceps, pulling her right leg before her in a position that made her resemble a flamingo. Once holding onto her foot, she continued to apply upward pressure before doing it with the other leg. "The use of your tail has gotten more creative too like when you used it to wrap around my leg and toss me aside. That was a good idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but the grip needs some work," she added as Ojiro-san hummed in understanding, taking stock on what to work on later. At least everything was working out. "And try using the thicker part if you want to use it to block attacks might help too."

"I'll see what I can do."

He finally joined her in her stretches after a bit, both of them mimicking one another as they chatted during the little self-imposed break. Finally, they inclined their heads forward, tilting their heads from side to side making sure to not roll their heads from side to side as that could be harmful. They stretched their necks to the left, right, forward, and back, always returning to center first. Hisoka lowered herself to the ground letting her legs open into a split, reaching from leg to the other with each deep breath with both arms while Ojiro-san bent over to touch his toes.

"How flexible are you, Hisoka?" Ojiro-san asked after a moment of staring wide eyed at her split.

"Mmmmm... I've trained since I was a kid so quite a bit, I guess," she answered, straightening her back as she tapped her chin. Placing her palms on the ground, taking a deep breath, she raised herself with shaky arms and undid her split as she brought her legs in towards her and stood up slowly. "Doing these types of stretches are easy."

Ojiro-san frowned. "For you, you mean. Even I can't do a split that easily."

"All it takes is practice. I'm sure you can do it one day too." She offered Ojiro-san an encouraging smile.

"Yeah... practice." The blond-haired male glanced to the side.

Why did he look so pale? Hisoka shrugged it off with a final stretch of her arms upward before she let them fall to her side and took a look at Ojiro-san's Hero Outfit. It was damaged and torn, dirt and specks of blood decorated the once white karate-like outfit. "Are you going to get some upgrades?"

"There are a few things I'd like to add, and I'd like to see if they're able to make the outfit out of sturdier material." He gave her a once over of her outfit. "I can see you already got yours. How are they working out for you?"

Brown eyes glanced down at her Hero Costume, different and upgraded to its current version. She wore a plain dark grey sleeveless, leotard-like one-piece made from breathable material that felt like a second skin and made moving in it easy. Over it was a light grey armor piece over her chest area made to be extra protective from attacks and to be lightweight as to not hinder her when attacking or her speed. Around her waist was a dull tan utility belt with multiple pouches filled with different items such as medical supplies, extra knives, her iron pills, and soon where her bullet darts would be. It was branded with a red plus symbol on the buckle and her Kaiken strapped to the left side. On her right thigh was her empty gun holster.

Over her outfit was an upgraded version of her grey ankle-length, sleeveless coat (the inside was a dark dull red lined with a lighter red on the bottom and sides) remade of stronger and lighter material similarly made from Aizawa-sensei's capturing scarfs. It still had its hood and its red plus sign on the back of it. On her arms and legs were firmer and better bandages that stopped bleeding quicker than before. To complete the outfit were knee-high dark red boots with lighter red accents. They were made to help scale buildings easier and to keep her footing. She had also noticed they seemed to help with jumping and made running easier on her feet. It helped big time.

Overall, she was proud of her upgrades and had inquired a new respect towards the Department Course. Without them, this wouldn't have been possible.

"It's better than before, I can tell you that. It's easier in this and the boots make it feel like I'm running on air sometimes!" She pulled up her hood as it had fallen over during the fight, letting it shadow the upper part of her face. "The coat is more durable as well. They said it was remade with material similar to Aizawa-sensei's capturing scarfs."

"Wow," Ojiro-san said in awe.

"I know!"

"What's the empty holster for?" He glanced at her thigh.

Hisoka gave him a grin that made him blanch. "To hold my new weapon, of course. It's not ready yet, though, so keep it quiet." She pressed a finger to her lips.

The boy nodded quickly. "Oh... Uh... Okay!"

"Best to keep the element of surprise, right?"

"Right!"

BOOTHON! SMASH! BOOM!

Hisoka snapped her head to the right (so quickly that it would be a surprise if she didn't get whiplash) when the loud noise suddenly rang throughout the gum. With a shared look with her sparring partner, they made their way towards the front of the gym as others followed suit. Some had already gathered, wondering what had happened, as bits of stone rubble surrounded All Might and Midoriya-san crouching a few feet away from him. Upon standing up, the green-eyed boy asked the blonde teacher if he was alright.

"What happened, Fumi?" She asked as she and Ojiro-san came up to the feathered-haired boy.

Red eyes looked between them before he answered, "Bakugo had unleashed a new attack when some stray rubble had almost fallen on All Might. Midoriya-san saved him with a new fighting style he developed, apparently."

"Huh. Cool!" She hummed, glancing all around her as students talked to one another. The few teachers there gathered around All Might while Bakugo-san exploded in Bakugo-san fashion before her eyes landed on a rather frazzled All Might himself, staring down at his unbroken arm with a staggered look. Making a beeline around her classmates, away from a conversing Fumi and Ojiro-san, she went over to the skeletal man.

"Are you all right, sensei?" Hisoka stared blankly at the man, blinking before he looked up from his hand.

He gave her a smile, eyes closing as he lowered his hand to his side, slowly closing it into a fist as he spoke, "Ah... Young Matsushita! Yes, I will be okay! Do not worry about me! Ahahahaha!"

"..." She gave him a flat look. "Sensei..."

"Really, Matsushita-chan. There's nothing wrong here so don't waste your medical knowledge on me!" His smile widened as he let out another signature All Might laugh.

Her expression morphed into a scowl. "I wasn't talking about psychically, sensei."

Electric blue eyes widened as they blinked at her in surprised confusion. "Eh?"

"Sensei... You're not a Pro Hero anymore." She heard Aizawa-sensei hiss at her in warning, but she ignored it in favor of continuing. "But even the powerful need protection sometimes. All Might will always be All Might even as the times changes but you are not who you once were. You will be a Hero, a teacher, and an inspiration to many." She gave his shoulder a pat. "Everything will be okay."

She could feel his gaze (along with Aizawa-sensei's burning one) on her as she turned and made her way back to Fumi's side. Not even moments later had Vlad King, Class 1-B's homeroom teacher, and Class 1-B came in as the clock had hit noontime, so they could use Gamma gym for their training session.

Location: Common Area, First Floor of Heights Alliance, South Side of U.A. High School Campus, Northern Musutafu, South of Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

Date: September 1, 20XX

Hisoka was dragged from her relaxing bath for some girl time with her female classmates by Ashido-san and Hagakure-san, both of them saying something about how it wouldn't be true girl time if not everyone was there. Tsuyu, Uraraka-san, Momo, and Jiro-san were already there, scattered on the provided seating that surrounded a large, rectangular wooden and metal-based coffee table with a TV sitting in the corner, diagonal of the seating. Hisoka plopped herself between Tsuyu's legs at her request, relaxing on the floor after she had grabbed some of her after bath sugar cookies.

"Buwaahhhhh. Every day has been so tough..." Ashido-san sighed, her head leaning back as it rested against the back of the love seat she shared with Jiro-san. Jiro-san let out an agreed hum as she stretched her arms.

Uraraka-san was sipping some milk, a thoughtful expression on her face as Tsuyu, whose hair was tied in a high bow, produced a brush out of nowhere and began to brush Hisoka's messy hair.

"They're not putting on appearances when they call it a boot camp, huh," Hagakure-san stated, rolling her shoulders before snagging one of the offered cookies from the basket that sat in the middle of the table. Hisoka was willing to share.

"We've got less than a week left, though." Momo sat on one of the smaller chairs, hair down from its usual ponytail, as she sat up to grab one of the sweets.

"Yeah..." Hisoka let out a content sigh, shoulders relaxing as she felt the gentle scrap from the brush against her scalp each time Tsuyu stroked her hair. She held up a cookie for the other to eat, grabbing it right from her hand with her teeth. "Not much time left before the Provisional Hero License Exam."

"Yeah! It's going to pop up in no time! I hope everyone's ready!" Hagakure-san threw both arms up into the air excitedly. "Oh! Ooohhh! Yaomomo, how's your special move coming along?"

"Mmm..." She thought for a moment. "I know what I'm going for, but my body can't quite pull it off yet. I just have to strengthen my Quirk a little bit more." She rested a hand on her cheek, letting out a huff.

Hagakure-san turned to her Tsuyu next. "Tsuyu, what about you?"

The frog Quirk girl paused in her brushing, causing Hisoka to frown slightly, bits of her hair falling in front of her eyes. "I'm in the process of completing a more frog-like technique. I bet you'll be surprised Tooru."

Hisoka leaned her head back, letting it fall backwards into Tsuyu's lap. "Is it the one you told me about?"

She nodded, leaning her head down to stare right into her eyes. "Yup."

Hagakure-san bounced in her seat. "Ney! Ney! Hiso-chan! What about your special move?"

"Yeah! I wanna know too cuz of your Quirk and all that!" Ashido-san was grinning widely.

"Hmmmm... I've been working on it. It should be almost done in fact," Hisoka explained between bites of her fourth cookie.

"Really?" Interest sparked in Momo's dark eyes. "Is that why you haven't been at the TDL lately?"

Hisoka nodded. "Pretty much. I've been training elsewhere to help with my 'special move'."

"Oooooo! Tell us!"

"I would like to know as well," Jiro-san added, curiosity alit on her face.

Hisoka raised an eyebrow, tapping a finger to her chin. "I don't know..."

"Tell us!"

"Hmmm..." Hisoka gave them a small smirk. "A magician never reveals their secrets."

Ashido-san whined, "Ehhhhh?! Come on!"

"...No."

She snickered mentally as everyone either pouted dramatically or sighed in disappointment before exhaustion stepped on her shoulders and weighed heavily against her mind. Twisting her body around, she rested her head on Tsuyu's lap (who had sadly stopped brushing in favor of drinking some milk), arms hanging beside her. Hisoka rolled her eyes beneath her eyelids when she heard Ashido-san giggle with Hagakure-san.

It didn't matter, as she sighed quietly, snuggling into a comfortable position while Tsuyu rested a hand on top of her head, stroking her hair lightly. She half listened to the rest of the conversation.

"What about you, Ochako?"

She was tired. All of this training was slowly taking a toll on her body; her hands were shaking more as well from the recoil of the gun training.

"Ochako?" Tsuyu asked, poking the girl.

"Uwahhh!" A startled Uraraka-san screeched.

"You seem a little tired out."

"No, no, not at all!" She debated, waving her hands wildly as a blush took over her entire face. "I'm not tired at all. I've still got a long ways to go! At least that's how I should feel, but... How do I put it..." She nervously poked her pointer fingers together. "Lately, my heart's been feeling a little bit jumbled up."

It was worth it, though. While she had a long way to go, she felt like she had made some progress with it.

Ashido-san stated bluntly, "You're in love."

"Gyaa! Wh-What?! Love?!" Uraraka-san touched herself as she activated her Quirk. "What are you talking about?!"

"Is it Midoriya or is it Iida? You're with them a lot, aren't you?"

"Noo! Noooooo!" Uraraka-san spun around, hands covering her face in embarrassment, trying to get away from the pink-skinned, easily excited girl.

"Ahahah. She's floating. She's floating!"

Hagakure-san jumped up. "Who is it? Which one? Who is it?!"

Jiro-san watched from her seat, relaxed as she ate some good sweets. "Are you going to vomit?" She asked. "You'll feel better if you just spit it out!"

"That's not it! Really!" Uraraka-san tried to deny but everyone knew differently. "With something like that I really don't... I don't know what..."

"It's not good to pry so much," Tsuyu said with a small frown.

Hisoka grunted in agreement, cracking an eye open. "Stop egging her. She'll say something when she wants too." She raised her hand, covering her mouth as it opened to yawn.

"Yeah," Momo concurred. "In any case, we have to get up early tomorrow, so let's call it a night." She stood as did Tsuyu, tapping Hisoka to do the same before she grabbed her hand.

"That would be best."

"Ehhhhh? No!" Ashido-san groused, huffing with a raised hand. "I wanna hear more! Overbearing or not, I can make even the most unrelated stories relate to love!"

"It's not like that..." Uraraka-san mumbled quietly. Hisoka glanced up at the still floating girl, now upside down, as she held a blushing but thoughtful look as she gazed out the uncovered window. Brown eyes followed her line of sight, catching Midoriya-san training some kicks outside in the courtyard.

Huh. Maybe it was Midoriya-san...

She was then led away by Tsuyu, pulling the other along by her hand as Momo followed them up to their dorms. As soon as they reached their floor, they said goodnight to one another. Hisoka closed her dorm room door, beelining to her bed and let her face fall into the pillow. It was not long after that she fell asleep.

Location: Unknown

She was tired... She tried... Triedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtriedtried!

Time and time again did the clock strike midnight - each time letting the blood rain down as each strike made her go deeper. Time and time did it cruse her... Curve around her like a chain.

Red. So much red... Nothing but red coming out.

Let live and let die.

She stabbed. (No! Nothing was... It was dripping... Red. So much red!) She cut. (Why was noonecomeingtohelp?) She decapitated. (The madness. Some have said you cannot outrun insanity; it was like your own shadow. It was always there - a constant companion beside them. It was there, mocking them. Mocking her. Soon...) She sliced opened and let it rain down upon her. (It was dripping all around her... Red. It would drown her if it could right then and there. So much red!)Upon everything.

Aha...

Bodies littered themselves around her as mountains of them trailed behind her. She couldn't stop as her hands were stained in unwashable red. She turned and looked forward, walking forward, as the blade rested easily in her hand. She needed nothing else.

She called out for help.

Sinking... She couldn't breathe...

It was so easy to do. The smiles before made her jittery. They were so proud of her. Finally. After so long. She was so happy they called her their child. What was her name again? Ahah... Who cared anymore. Nothing else mattered, after all. It was just them.

"My child... I'm so proud of you. You take after your father so much!" Mother...

"She will do just fine." Who?

"Nothing will get in our way now that we're all together, dear. Just think of it, my child, just the three of us." Moth-?

"You have trained her well -buttzz-." Oh... What?

"Together. Forever, my child." Why? Call her...

Blurry faces. Smiles. So proud. Nothing. No more. Name... Who?

She sunk deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper. Trapped. The red surrounded her. Vanish. Gone.

But no one came.

Did it even matter anymore?

Author's Note: And cut! Let's leave it there! ^^ It's always nice to leave it there. Hehehehe. Hoped you like the chapter~! How was all of your Thanksgiving? I hope they were all excellent! Mine was pretty good. I had family come over that I hadn't seen in a while and I got to eat some plain old vanilla cake like I asked mom to get. (My favorite flavor!) It was delicious too. And! I got a bit of money for my birthday as well so that'll be put to good use. And I got this more adorable chibified keychain! I've placed it with my keys and I just love it so much!

Oh, and look! We're close to 200k words! Is that wonderful?! I'm so excited as when the Arc ends, we'll be there for sure!

Leave a review before you exit the page entirely! The more there are the more motivated I am to write (and longer the chapters will be)!

Good night/morning/evening/whatever time it is for you and goodbye!