Once the girls are loaded against our back, we start moving again. It's a strange line, with Bakugou in the front, myself in the middle, and Todoroki following at the end. I can barely walk, barely carry Toru on my back, and combined with the weight of the knowledge-

Kaito.

Kaito, why?

"We need to return to camp."

I stumble on uneven ground, and probably would have fallen, but Todoroki's arm reaches forward. He grabs Bakugou's shirt, pulling me upright.

I weep as I correct myself.

"Damn it, Hoki, stop all that fucking crying!"

"I- I- I- can't!" I stutter through gasping breaths. I'm on the verge of another panic attack. I can barely breathe, Toru's weight pressing down on my already struggling lungs. My head pounds, the scars on my arms bleed, and there's blood slipping down my neck and back.

"He's your brother, fuck him! Be angry or some shit-"

"Shut up!" I snarl at him. "Just shut up! Fuck you!"

"You can't be that close if he's trying to put a fucking knife through your throat-"

"Shut up!"

"Bakugou, that's not helpful."

I nearly stumble again and Todoroki, again, reaches out to stop me.

I sob.

"Fuck!" Bakugou curses looking back at me. "Can you carry her or not?"

"I c-c-can!" I manage through breaths.

"You sound like you're about to fucking pass out!"

"I'm having a panic attack!" I scream, unable to control the gasps. "My br-br-brother is in the f-f-forest trying to k-k-kill me. He k-k-kidnapped me, k-k-k-killed my g-g-guardian, a-a-a-and t-t-tried to m-m-make me watch m-m-my housemates all be p-p-poisoned. A-A-And h-h-he's back… and- and- and- I'm g-g-gonna be sick."

They all stop, and I fall and skid to my knees as I stumble towards the bushes to heave. Invisible hair sticks to my face, my hands shake, and I sweat profusely.

"H-H-He cut her throat," I choke out as I gag, between breaths. "H-H-He cut her throat and h-h-he killed them."

Bakugou stomps over. Planting his feet in the dirt beside me, he growls.

"So what, you're gonna let him win? You're gonna let him just kill whoever he pleases just because he's your brother?"

"N-N-No-"

"Then get your ass up! I'm not gonna stand by as this bastard does whatever the fuck he pleases. We got permission to fight, and I'm gonna fucking use it! I'm gonna be the number one hero! I'll take all these bastards on and show them what it means to be the best! So fucking pull yourself together and let's get the fuck outta this damn hell hole!"

I spit.

He glares.

I struggle to my feet on shaky legs.

"Shut up."

.

.

.

We walk for what seems forever, the weight of Toru body increasing with every step. I stumble more times than I can count, I struggle to breathe, struggle to focus on my feet. One foot, and then another. It's a mantra that repeats in my bones.

I watch the blood drip between my feet, body bent forward, lungs aching.

Kaito.

Kaito… Why?

I'm so focused I nearly topple over when the thunderous boom shakes the ground. A blast of darkness explodes in the tree-line ahead, shredding trees, a familiar screech screaming in the wind.

"Watch out," Bakugou snarls.

Tokoyami.

Dark Shadow.

My chest tightens as the trees ahead of us shudder.

My energy doesn't immediately return. Instead, my fingers dig painfully into the invisible girl's thighs as I shake. No. No. No!

If he finds me…

I don't know what your shadows are made of, but they smell like death. And today, you smelled like a predator.

Ectoplasm's voice replays in my head.

I saw the panic attacks. You did well recovering both times. However, next time, you would do better to warn your teammate ahead of time. As you saw today, battles are not the time to discover your partner's triggers.

I still and edge back.

"That's Tokoyami," I whimper. Bakugou turns, eyes narrowed, and Todoroki frowns. "Dark Shadow, if he smells me… if he smells my quirk…"

I remember the feeling of its claws raking down my arms, the blood, the thunder in my ears—Tokoyami's curses. His shame.

The destruction is moving towards us, it's blowing through the trees without hesitation. I want to scream. I want to cry. My breath shudders in my chest. Todoroki drops the boy on his back by my feet. Bakugou does the same with Kyoka. I tremble, slide Toru down my back, and grimace at the blood spread across her neck and chest. My blood.

My breaths come quicker, the world beginning to spin.

I step back again, trying to control it, trying to control my urges.

Run. Run. Run.

"Calm the fuck down," Bakugou snaps. "Dark Shadow's weakness is fire."

It doesn't help.

"H-H-He'll h-h-h-hurt y-y-you," I stutter.

Bakugou turns and glares, face snarling.

"The hell he will! I beat his ass last-"

"Hoki-chan," Todoroki interrupts, tossing the blonde a glare before turning back to the monstrous darkness exploding ahead. "If that is Tokoyami, he is at an extreme disadvantage. Please calm down."

I squat amongst the too still bodies and hold my head, trying to control my breath as the rumbling earth closes in. The ground shudders beneath me, my knees knock, and I squeeze my eyes tight. Terror, panic, and numbness swirl too powerfully for me to control.

I can't summon my shadows.

I can't summon fire.

It feels like before. It feels hopeless.

And I... I can't do anything.

Kaito…

Kaito, why?

"KAA-CHAN!"

My head snaps up at the voice.

Midoriya.

The ninja guy with multiple arms races from the trees and Dark Shadow chases him. My throat closes at Green's face, the scratches and puffy eye and the way he's wrapped against Ninja's back.

He's hurt.

Bakugou snarls, Todoroki glares, and in tandem the two boys rush forward, flames swirling in their hands. I don't want to look. I don't want to see the destruction. But I can't turn away. I watch as they race towards the shadow as tall as my behemoth.

And I can see the moment Dark Shadow smells me. Red eyes burning as they spin in my direction.

"Death!"

I want to scream. I can't. I can't breathe.

Ninja keeps running, past the boys. Todoroki and Bakugou leap in the air.

And I wait for the blood.

But it doesn't come.

I suck in a breath as the darkness shrinks, as it would from my flashlight, and my body quivers. Ninja slows as well, his breath ragged and blood leaking behind him. He stops, leans forward, and heaves. I press my head back between my legs and do the same.

"H-Hoki-chan?"

I cry, face between my legs, and clutch at my hair.

This is so much worse than the Last One. This is so much worse than anything I can remember.

"H-Hoki-chan," says the ninja, and I don't know his name. "Your head's bleeding."

I know, I want to spit at him.

It feels like my insides are bleeding.

Like Kaito broke something so essential in the clearing that I'm leaking without it. It feels like every step away, every step in this horrid, godforsaken forest, just pulls more of it out.

"Midoriya-kun, Shoji-kun," Todoroki says as he returns. "Are you okay?"

"Wh-What's wrong with Hoki-chan?" Midoriya asks insistently. I can hear Todoroki's grimace, even if I can't see it. I press on my head a little harder, trying to make the mass of feelings stop.

"She just found out her brother is trying to kill her," Todoroki says flatly.

I look up from my arms and snarl.

Kaito.

That's not my brother!

"Fuck you!" I growl angrily. All three boys blink in surprise. I bar my teeth at them. And then, unable to control the swirling emotions, I lean forward and sob. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this!

It hurts.

"Fuck, if you bastards set her off again, I'm gonna beat your asses! She just stopped all that damn crying!" Bakugou snaps as he stops back towards us with Tokoyami in tow. I glare at him and he glares back. "Man the fuck up!"

"I'm not a fucking man!" I shout back.

"Then act like a fucking hero and not some sniveling little bitch!"

I drag myself to my feet.

Midoriya and Ninja look between us with wide eyes. Todoroki just sighs.

"I hate you!" I snarl.

"Yeah, well I don't give a fuck. Get your ass up and let's go." Bakugou turns to the others and glares at Midoriya. "And you. I know you're behind that stupid 'Kaa-chan' shit! Who the fuck do you think-"

I stop listening as I turn to the three downed survivors. They don't look any worse, but they don't look any better either.

I glare and swipe my hand over the empty air and grimace as I touch sweaty hair and a damp forehead.

But she's breathing.

Shin was breathing too.

I try not to think about that, about the fact that it was all my fault. That he attacked them because of me. That he wanted me.

How many more are you going to kill?

I tremble as I start pulling her towards me.

Todoroki reaches forward and takes the boy, frowning as I struggle.

"Tokoyami, carry the girl. Hoki, get out of the fucking way," Bakugou snaps as he reaches out to grab Kyoka. He hefts her onto his back and glares when I hesitate. "Today, dumbass."

I glare and move.

I watch with narrowed eyes as Tokoyami picks up Toru. I swallow at the sight, at the thought of Dark Shadow rising from his back, claws striking through her flesh.

"With Kaa-chan and Todoroki-kun, we'll be able to control Dark Shadow," Midoriya says, and I look over to see him staring in my direction. My lips thin and I rub my dirty hands across my face. They're bloody and filthy and I have no doubt it's just making things worse. "We should head directly to camp. With two pro heroes there, they'll be our best chance at keeping Kaa-chan safe."

The blonde glares.

I nod.

"Her brother is still at large," Todoroki says, eyes narrowed. "She appears to be a target as well."

I swallow.

Brother.

Why- Why- Why?

"Don't you dare," snaps Bakugou angrily. My lips quiver as I glare.

"Stop telling me what to do," I snarl back at him.

"Then stop fucking crying."

"Can we get out of here before anything else comes out?" Ninja asks from one of his arms. I flinch as the mouth appears on one end, automatically stepping towards Bakugou's side. He came. If his arms weren't full, I'm positive the blonde would have crossed them in annoyance. "That tooth thing is still out there."

I have no idea what he's talking about, but Midoriya quickly puts us all in position.

Ninja leads with Todoroki behind him, followed by me, Bakugou, and Tokoyami. Bakugou is not amused. I have no idea where we are, how far we have left, or if the others are even okay. I grimace as we start moving again. Even without the burden of Toru, I can barely breathe, can barely move. My head throbs, my body aches.

I focus on Todoroki's feet and walk and walk and walk. And when the forest seems like it never ends, something touches against my back.

I open my mouth to scream, but it's too late. Whatever it is, is already folding me up, tightening like a coil, condensing me into a pebble.

And then the world goes black.

.

.

.

I nearly scream as the world returns into focus. I slam into the ground sideways, even as black feathers appear in my vision and blood fills my mouth. I bite my tongue. My head snaps back. I choke on my breaths, and someone screams, high-pitched and shrill.

"No problem," says a deep voice. I roll my head, eyes blurred. Shadows. A swirling shadow and a man with burns, Bakugou's face.

"KAA-CHAN!"

Midoriya. He's too slow.

I can hear him run, hear the pounding of his feet and even without looking I know he's too slow. Bakugou stills in some man's arm, a fist around his throat. He won't make it.

Green hair flashes across my vision as he runs, the darkness swirling away.

I remember. I remember my shadows connecting to it—to him, in the USJ. To the shadow man inside.

Cold. Colder than any winter without food. More desolate than any sleepless night. More terrifying than any nightmare. The man beneath rips free of me in seconds, bright eyes latching onto my own.

I can see the planes of a face lost in the sea of darkness.

I can see the expression of surprise curling there, of anger and fear.

"KAA-CHAN!"

Even as Bakugou's face disappears, the shadow's face stays, etched into my mind. A boy.

"I've seen him, his face," I say to Midnight, pointing to a boy with smoky white hair and a goofy grin. He wears a pair of goggles and what looks like martial arts robes.

"Him?" Midnight asks. She sounds surprised, but I don't look away. It's his features, I decide, that are so familiar. But where? "I'm kind of surprised. I didn't think Shouta or Hizashi kept pictures out of him."

It wasn't a picture.

Shirakumo.

"Don't come Deku," whispers on the wind.

Midoriya collapses into the dirt.

I can only stare in the distance, my body as numb as my mind as I try to process, as I try to understand what... everything.

Bakugou's gone.

It registers slowly.

Midoriya screams. A dark mass beside him that I can't make out.

He's gone.

"Punk," Asp sneers, his hand rising to his mask. It lingers on the edge before dropping back down. "I'm going to enjoy carving my sign into your fucking head."

I lean forward and sob with him.

He's gone.

A/N: Many of you have asked about Shirakumo and why Rin recognizes him. Chapter 17. :)