My heart stopped. His face was streaked with bruises and dried blood. I wasn't even certain if it was his own. I rushed to his side.

"S-Shinso? Why are you- how did you get here?! I-" I began rambling as I reached out to grasp his hand.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!"

I jolted backwards. His eyes almost appeared luminescent- practically burning with my reflection within them.

"It's your fault we are here! It's your fault we're both probably going to die in this shithole!" Shinso spat.

I winced, "Shinso, why are you saying all this? Y-you're the one who told me to leave.."

"Yeah.. and look at what damage you STILL managed to cause?! Two innocent people were killed because you're nothing but a science project!"

I tensed under his harsh words.

"You have been nothing but a nuisance to UA, the Heroes' Association, and to ME.. YOU should've died in this place!!" he spat.

Words… that's all they should be is words but— why did his have such a hold over me? I was an empath— yet I could never get a read or influence over the elusive Hitoshi Shinso.

Then, it hit me— READ. Why couldn't I read him? We may not have spoken in so long, but, the remnants of our connection between us never completely severed. Yet, why couldn't I sense it? In fact, I couldn't feel — ANYTHING.

"No.." I muttered.

He laughed mockingly, "What was that?"

"I said NO," I raised my voice, "A hero would never say something like that to a fellow comrade!"

Our surroundings began to tremble.

Shinso's face twisted into a pained expression:

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"SHINSO would never say something like that-" I emphasized.

The room began to swirl and the lab equipment started disintegrating around us.

"SHUT UP YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A MISTAKE!" he cursed.

I reached out my hand and gently cupped the false-Shinso's cheek. The image of his face distorted and struggled to maintain appearances:

"I would've given anything to see you again — I guess this will have to do.."

I held my breath and closed my eyes — I let the feelings flood in — allowing the energy to swell within my chest. I didn't know if my quirk was even stable in these conditions. I knew this was a risk, I'd never let myself loose like this- but what other choices did we have. I needed to escape whatever trap I'd fallen in. And this was our only chance.

The agony was excruciating — my bones felt like they would shatter, my blood was boiling in my veins, my mind like it was going to rip into shreds. I let out a blood curdling scream and unleashed the unbridled chaos that I'd allowed to fester for so long. My vision went white and the room dissipated - I felt my knees cave beneath me and collide with solid concrete.

Once the ringing in my ears faded and the spots in my vision disappeared, I realized I was back in the tunnels. The villainess laid crumpled over on the siding of the tunnel path, unconscious. I carefully rose to my feet. When I looked in the water's reflection, I was shocked by the mirror image staring back at me. My eyes were still a glowing icy purple hue, the blackened haze still resonated off my skin.

My body felt like it was vibrating at a molecular level. I looked towards the noise of Midoriya and the other villain's struggle. I could sense Midoriya was tiring out quickly.

I had to do something. Anything.

"DEKU!!!" I darted into the fray, allowing the energy to swell once more, "GET DOWN!"

His eyes met mine. At first, they were determined, but, that quickly changed to one of pure fear:

"KATSUMI!! NO!!"

I'm sorry Midoriya…

I took a deep breath and released every fiber holding my quirk together. The darkness swallowed everything around us whole. My ears were ringing — then, suddenly, I felt like I was floating. My heart thudded slowly in my ears.Icy breathes shuddering within my lungs. My mind was blank. I couldn't move my limbs.

Then, I felt something cradling me. A faint echo of a voice tickled my eardrums, but, I couldn't understand what exactly was being said.

Everything was fuzzy. I didn't sense any imminent threats, I must've neutralized the villains within a mile radius judging by the size of the implosion.

That's good at least..

"KATSUMI! KATSUMI!"

My vision was cloudy. I could see a recognizable green outline, but, something red was filling my line of sight.

"Katsumi?" the voice sniffled.

"M-Midoriya? Why do you sound so upset? I got them didn't I?" I wheezed.

"Y-yeah, you did-" his voice trembled.

Using what strength I had left, I lifted my palm and gently touched my eye. I blinked, moving my fingers into view— crimson droplets stained my fingertips.

I knew it. I had seen it before in the lab tests. I had finally overexerted my quirk's limits. My quirk, had literally expelled from my body. Now, it was killing me.. just like the others.

"Katsumi, we gotta get you help! Come on!" Midoriya gathered my limp body into his arms frantically.

I knew it was pointless.

I gently squeezed his forearm, "N-no.."

"No?! Katsumi, what are you saying?!" he shrieked.

"Midoriya, it's no use," I smiled dimly, "There's always been the risk of using an unstable quirk like mine. My body wasn't meant to contain it. It's a freak of nature.. They killed so many others before me by doing so, I just lasted a little longer.. but, it wasn't enough, I guess.."

Midoriya winced, "No, no you can't — we can't lose you too .."

The pain became more difficult to conceal. I grit my teeth and mustered up my bravest smile, "Hey, heroes are supposed to be willing to risk everything to protect those most important to them.. I'm just doing what anyone of you guys would.."

"Katsumi…" he whimpered, "Does.. it hurt?"

Tears began brimming in my eyes, "I.. I don't want to think about that.. Midoriya, can I tell you something?"

"ANYTHING!" his voice cracked.

My breathes were becoming staggered, erratic, "Thank you, thank you all… Class 1-A, Class 1-B.. for giving me a chance to know what it's like to be a friend, classmate, and hero. I will never forget any of you.."

Midoriya's chest rose and fell shakily, his tears dampening the crown of my head, "Katsumi… I need to share something with you.. do you think.. you could try to see it.. using your Quirk?"

I nodded weakly. I didn't know m if it was exactly possible, but I had to try.

Midoriya pressed his forehead gently against mine. I used all my focus and concentrated on him.

My vision went white —

Flashing images of Class 1-A and their smiling faces, the tranquility of UA campus grounds, the stern expression of Mr. Aizawa, beaming heroic grin of AllMight, scowling eyes of Mr. Vlad. Then, the hero suit clad attire of my beloved Class 1-B.

I felt my heart flutter in my chest. They looked so happy. Every outfit fit their personalities perfectly. Especially Monoma's. Tears stung my cheeks.

Then, I saw… him. Shinso stood in front of me, dawning a new piece of equipment. A mask?

But, his voice wasn't his own. It was Midoriya's. I was in awe. Shinso had created a voice modulator it appeared. And even, wore a scarf similar to Mr. Aizawa's. I was so astonished. He'd truly grown into his hero persona so well. I couldn't have been prouder.

Then, the images around me swirled into a cloudy mist and seemed to leap onto my body. When my eyes reopened, I was wearing a black and grey jumpsuit. The leggings had high slits along the sides, covered by a black mesh siding. Black heeled combat boots covered my feet.

I stood in shock. Could this be— Beta's hero suit?

A sharp pain shot through my chest. My dream-like state shattered and I was thrust back into my painful consciousness.

I coughed violently, struggling for air. Midoriya held onto me gently, whispering comforting words into my hair.

"Was that.. did you design a hero costume for Beta?" I sniffled.

He chuckled softly, swallowing his tears once more, "N-no.. I'm not gonna lie.. I did have ideas after assessing your quirk when we were doing our research but.. that was all Shinso.. he showed me different ideas one day after our battle simulation with 1-B. And we both agreed on the one you saw.."

My heart felt like it was going to leap into my throat, "He.. he still thought of me."

Midoriya sniffled and pulled me into his chest, hugging me tightly, "He never stopped.."

My limbs were growing cold, my heartbeat slowly fading. I willed my quirk, begging for it to deliver this last wish,

"Thank you, Hitoshi Shinso…"