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Eri was petrified with fear. Her stomach twisted in the same way as when Kai killed someone. Why was Himiko-nee there? And why was she smiling so terrifyingly? Eri had always thought Himiko-nee was a bit weird, even for a villain, but she had never been afraid of her. But at this very moment she was terrified of her. Her eyes stung, as if she was about to cry, but Eri bit her tongue. She was a big girl, and big girls didn't cry. Crying was useless, it wouldn't allow her to escape. Because she felt it deep inside her; she had to escape. Himiko-nee wasn't her friends like Ochako-nee and Deku-nii were.

Himiko-nee put on her other face again and easily lifted Eri by the face. Her smile had become softer, similar to Momo-nee's, but her eyes shone with a glint that reminded Eri of Kai's eyes. Eri wondered if Himiko-nee had always looked this dangerous, and if her terror of Kai had simply prevented her from noticing that all villains were scary.

"I see you remember me, I'm glad Eri-chan!" sing-sang Himiko-nee, "Let me introduce you to a friend of mine" she added.

She took a small blue marble out of her pocket, which exploded into an adult man dressed as a magician. He was wearing a top hat and a colourful coat. Eri couldn't see his face, which was hidden behind a mask, and she was immediately frightened by the stranger. The masks reminded her of the basement she grew up in, of Kai and his henchmen.

Her nightmares were full of them, and she often woke up screaming because of them. The psychologist who was helping her get over all the memories of Kai had told her that this was normal. She had given a name to the illness she was suffering from, but Eri couldn't remember it. She had to focus on getting better and not having any more nightmares so she could smile every day. Unfortunately, Eri was sure that this mask would soon join her nightmares alongside Kai's.

"Hello, Miss Eri. I'm Mr. Compress, but feel free to call me whatever you want. I'm not here to hurt you, so behave yourself, okay? Don't worry, my quirk doesn't hurt."

Eri's eyes widened as the man moved his hand towards her, but before she could really react, everything went black.

Himiko grabbed the marble containing Eri and looked at it for a moment before stuffing it into her pocket. The first part of the plan had gone off without a hitch. Now she had to cover their tracks. Fortunately for her, she had some time before anyone noticed Eri's disappearance. She would have time to put the few art classes she had taken during her school years to good use. After all, her parents had insisted that she be as normal as possible.

And what could be more normal for a teenage girl than to be passionate about drawing? She had feigned an interest in art in the hope that her parents would be more tolerant when she used red to replace her beloved haemoglobin. It hadn't worked out so well, but at least she was quite decent at drawing.

"Perfect!" sing-sang Himiko as she high-fived Mister. "Can I have my drawing stuff?"

"Of course, dear. Would you like some help?" offered his elder in his usual friendly tone.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Just keep watch and let me know if anyone comes near" she replied with a big smile.

Mister complied, and she immediately set to work. With the help of a template saved on her phone, Himiko set about representing the Shie Hassakai symbol. After all, some of the members who had escaped the hero purge were in hiding in the underworld. With the ongoing fiasco over Hana-chan's disappearance and the Ashuva cult undoubtedly having been exposed, it wasn't unthinkable that the remaining members of the Shie Hassakai would try to take advantage of the chaos to retrieve their secret weapon.

It would give them back the strength they had lost with Overhaul's arrest while marking their return by infiltrating Yūei to kidnap a child. Perhaps it would even look like Yui Koriko was one of their members or that she had been forced to kidnap the little girl. What a scandal that would be! A yakuza in Yūei! The students would be shaken, traumatized. How would her dear Ochako-chan react to the news?

Himiko felt a huge smile form on her face. The media would devour Yūei for them. Dabi-kun would no doubt be delighted. Guerrilla warfare was his specialty, after all. The petite villainess had no doubt that he would eagerly feed the internet debates and send his men to vandalise heroic agencies. She would find the best targets for him; he was too focused on Endeavour. Although she understood why.

Once she had finished her tag, Himiko took a few steps back to observe the result. She had painted it black, although she would have preferred pink or red. Unfortunately, it wouldn't have gone with the yakuza clan. What a pity they had no taste. It was always better with colour. Except for her Ochako-chan, black suited her perfectly.

A sigh escaped Himiko. How she would love to go and cuddle her! Surely her Ochako-chan would be able to make her forget about the men in the cult, the ones Tomura-kun had killed for her, the ones who had – The teenager shivered and clenched her fists, forcing herself not to think about this moment. She couldn't. Not here, not now. When she would be in the quiet in her room, in the safety of her bed, she could. But until then, she had to be strong.

For Tomura-kun. For Hana-chan.

Himiko threw away the can of paint and turned back. It was time to leave. With a closed face, she patted Mister on the shoulder, and he was kind enough not to ask her any questions. He disappeared into a blue marble, and she put him away safely. Then she grabbed her backpack and left the room. She couldn't wait to get back to Deika, to wake up Hana-chan and get some rest. The last few weeks had been exhausting, both physically and mentally.

Downtown Musutafu was chaotic. Teenagers as young as fifteen had all suddenly started using their alters, turning the town upside down. Hawks had rushed to the scene as soon as one of them had been overheard talking about 'Mother'.

He had immediately understood that they were members of the Ashuva cult that Mirko had told him about, which had been found decimated a week earlier. How many of them had escaped? Hadn't the Paranormal Liberation Front killed them all? No, it was possible that some of them, absent at the time, had managed to escape and hide in the underworld. As no underground heroes had been notified of their existence because of the fear of another traitor, no one knew just how many could have escaped.

But why reappear today? Why only young people? What the hell was going on? He wanted to call Dabi, but his contact had remained silent for a fortnight now. According to Mirko, he had been captured by the Ashuva Church along with Momo Yaoyorozu and Shigaraki. Hawks was beginning to wonder if the pyrokinetic had survived. There had been traces of fire at the scene, but that didn't prove anything. With a man like Twice among them, it was obvious that clones of anyone could have been created, and any quirk used.

Shit. What a mess.

The media was already crucifying them, Momo's disappearance official since the discovery of the cult ruins, and Hawks didn't want the commission to be on his back. If Dabi died, he lost his best chance to get interesting information about the PLF. Because he was too talkative and unstable, Twice didn't have access to all the information of his own free will – from what Hawks had gathered. Moreover, it was difficult to completely believe what he said.

Dabi was a gifted liar and a talented manipulator, but Hawks knew where he stood with him. Twice was too unpredictable to be a reliable source. The best source would be Shigaraki, but Hawks had not yet managed to approach him. Himiko Toga was too smart to be fooled by nice words – even if Hawks didn't like to admit it –, and the risk that she would decide to stab him in the middle of a conversation was too high to approach her. As for Sako Atsuhiro, Mister Compress, he was simply unapproachable.

Dabi was the only lead Hawks had. A smirk stretched his lips. It was the first time he had prayed for the welfare of a criminal of the pyrokinetic's cruelty.

His feathers quickly overcame the rampaging children and pinned them to the ground as the police arrived. Hawks kept the two longer ones in his hands, ready to slice tendons if the need arose. He had no desire to, but he wasn't closed to the possibility. He had been raised by the Commission, and he knew that sacrifices were sometimes necessary. His heart sank as he thought of Lady Nagant, locked up in Tartarus with criminals when she should have been allowed to live freely. No. He couldn't allow himself to think about his mentor. It was too dangerous.

Hawks stood still as the youths were handcuffed and forcibly removed to the police station. He recalled his feathers, rolling his shoulders as his wings rebuilt themselves on his back. Everything had gone well.

Suddenly, someone landed brutally beside him, and the concrete gave way under the intruder's feet. Hawks turned sharply, ready for battle, but immediately recognised Mirko. She exuded pure fury, and Hawks gulped. She was terrifying, grown by her charisma and rage. The Rabbit Hero ignored him, walking straight towards one of the older cultists, who couldn't have been more than sixteen. With an aggressive move, she grabbed the boy by the collar and lifted him easily with one hand.

"Where is she?" roared Mirko. "Where did Shigaraki take my student?"

"You're the one who has Mother!" the boy shouted back. "Give her back to us!"

"Stop lying or I'll break your bones!"

Hawks rushed to his colleague and forced her to let go of the boy. What was wrong with her?

"Mirko stop!"

"Let me go, you fucking bird!" she shouted, pushing him away easily. "I'll make him talk!"

"Certainly not! Calm down!" Hawks snarled. He released his feathers, shielding the boy from his friend's rampage, and grabbed her by the shoulders to force her to look him in the eye. "Stop it! Look around you! You're scaring people!"

"I don't give a shit! You don't know how it feels!" roared Mirko again.

She was no longer struggling, which reassured Hawks. She was calming down. Yet, here wasn't a good place to do so. He grabbed her by the waist, called up his feathers and flew away, taking her with him into the sky. She shrieked in surprise, but clung to him, her hands on his shoulders. She was almost crushing his bones, but it was no big deal.

"What the hell are you doing!"

"I'm helping you calm down."

He finally stopped when they were dozens of metres above the highest buildings in the city. Mirko glanced down before instinctively tightening his grip on him. Hawks wanted to smile a bit mockingly at her but held back. It was rather logical to hold on to the only reason you don't fall to the ground. But still, seeing Mirko have this kind of reaction was amusing. He almost wanted to carry her bridal-style to make fun of her, but he probably wouldn't survive her anger.

"It's better here, isn't it?" he said instead, lifting his head to look at her.

"Not at all! Take me back to the ground, I've got a nutcase to interrogate!"

"Absolutely not. You think I can let you go into the interrogation room in this state? You'd smash that guy against the wall."

She glared at him but didn't deny it. Hawks felt her eyes and expression soften.

"I know you're worried about her. Don't worry, so am I. If I tell you something to make you feel better, will you keep it to yourself? The Commission wouldn't like it if I share their secret."

"Swing, but it better be worth it."

"I've infiltrated the League and the PLF. If you give me some time, a few days at most, I'll tell you where she is, and in what state. Dabi needs me as a mole in the Commission, he'll spill the beans pretty quickly. I'll give him some pseudo-important bogus information, and he'll tell me what state she's in. I've sent two mutants I know personally to handle the official investigation. They won't keep her long."

Her eyes widened and then she burst into an uncontrollable nervous laugh.

"That explains why they were so quick to agree that I should make a deal with Shigaraki! I had to work with him to get the necessary information about the cult and find it." Hawks nodded and let her continue talking when he saw his friend's expression break. "She's the one who understood, you know? That the cult was after Shigaraki. She's the one who thought to go to a theology professor to understand what we were dealing with. If it wasn't for her, I would have been stuck in this shit for months. I'm a shitty investigator. I'm a shitty teacher... a shitty heroine! How could I let my own student get kidnapped twice?"

Tears suddenly began to roll down Mirko's cheeks, and her ears fell back. Sobs began to shake her body, and Hawks felt his throat tighten. He had never seen Mirko in such a state. She'd always seemed indestructible, tougher than Endeavour, always smiling and outspoken, ready for battle. He hated seeing her like this.

But he knew it was better for her to break down here, up in the sky where no one could see them, than in front of the public. Her pride would never allow it. A new certainty was born in Hawks; he would find Momo Yaoyorozu for Mirko, whatever it took. And she wouldn't be blamed by the press and others for what had happened. He would make sure that all the blame for this mess would fall on that traitor Naomosa, the Yaoyorozu and the PLF.

He would not let a new Lady Nagant be born; he would keep his friend smiling. He would make sure she could hug her student. If he had to sell his soul to ensure that, there would be no problem. After all, he had lost it almost twenty years ago, when his mother had sold him to the Commission.

He would be just another sacrifice.