The dart planted deep into Sayuri's forearm when she lifted it to protect her face. She stumbled back a few steps and stared in horror as Kohaku ran at Kurono. The man was able to dodge the girl's grasping hands and was in the process of digging into his pocket so he could reload his dart gun.

Sayuri's vision was beginning to blur at the edges and her thoughts started to get muddled, but she still pushed herself forward. Just as Kurono managed to reload the gun, she sprinted toward him and threw herself onto his back with her arms around his neck. He gritted his teeth and continued to aim his gun at Kohaku.

The teal-haired girl rushed forward and slammed a hand against his chest, sending vibrations through his body that even Sayuri was able to feel. He was forced back a few steps, struggling to regain his balance, as more men rounded the corner and charged at them.

Whatever had been in the dart was pumping through her veins faster and faster. Her limbs felt heavy and she was struggling to keep her legs wrapped around Kurono's waist from behind. She had to adjust her arms around his neck as she was almost thrown off of him. Moving her mouth took a lot of effort and her brain struggled to try to form a coherent sentence she could say.

Kohaku was forced to turn and take on the two men that were approaching, believing that Sayuri could handle Kurono on her own. She was unaware of the powerful tranquilizer that was trying to shove Sayuri into unconsciousness. The pale-haired woman managed to lift a hand and plant it over Kurono's face as he sprinted at Kohaku's back.

Sayuri's eyes widened as he got closer and a strand of his hair, arrow-like in shape, darted forward and struck the back of Kohaku's neck. The teal-haired girl froze in place, mid-punch. "No! You…why…?" Sayuri's words were slurred due to the tranquilizer.

Kurono twisted sharply and threw her forward over his shoulder, slamming her onto the cold, hard ground. His lips twisted into a cruel smile as he crouched down and dug his fingers into her pale hair. "How did you think this was going to go, Sayuri? Did you think you'd be able to kill me? Was that your plan?"

She was struggling to keep her eyes open, but moved her lips. Ignoring how his fingers tangled in her hair and pulled hard, yanking her face closer to his. Her stomach twisting in nausea when the back of his free hand traced along her cheek. She forced all of her thoughts to focus on her mouth forming a sentence. "What was…in the…dart?" she managed.

"It won't kill you. It's just gonna knock you out long enough for me to take you back to Kai. Hey!" He saw her eyes starting to close and his hand struck the side of her face, hard. "Stay with me a little longer. Where's the kid?"

Her thoughts were too fuzzy for her to stay focused, even if she wanted to. Sayuri's eyelids were too heavy to keep up. Her limbs were refusing to respond to her commands to move and she could feel her heart palpitating; forcing the tranquilizer through her body and overwhelming her.

"Maybe I need to get your adrenaline pumping again. That should wake you up a little." Kurono gripped the front of her shirt and lifted her off the ground. Her back slammed against the wall and the man pinned her there, staring coldly into her eyes as he saw them widen with panic. "Where's the kid, Sayuri?"

"Not…telling…" she managed to force out. She winced when she felt his hips press forward into hers and struggled to turn her head to the side. "D-don't…"

"You think your boyfriend's gonna want to take care of someone else's kid? How long until he gets bored of playing house with you? He's gonna want you to ditch her. Eri's not his responsibility; she's just getting in his way. You might as well save yourself the trouble and just tell me where you're hiding her."

Sayuri squirmed the best she could; still not ready to give up on fighting him. She could see Kohaku sprawled on the ground to her left. The other men were kicking her and stomping on her. "No!"

Kurono turned to follow her line of sight, his face taking on a vaguely smug look. "You wanna save her, but you can't even move anymore. You want me to make it stop? You wanna keep her alive? Tell me where the kid's hiding."

"Ko…haku…" Her words were slurred and her eyelids were becoming more difficult to reopen when she went to blink. The weight of Kurono's body pressing against hers made her release a pitiful whimper and she tried to force her limbs to move, but it was useless. Handing over Eri was not an option, but she had to do something to save her friend.

"I'll…show you," she finally lied. "Just make them stop." She winced again as she felt the man's chilled fingertips stroke her cheek.

"Good girl. See? That wasn't so hard, was it? You could've saved her some pain by just giving in sooner."

Her stomach twisted into cold knots as his lips pressed against her cheek; not in an affectionate way, but in a cruel, taunting kiss. The inside of her head felt fuzzy. Murky. All she knew was that she could not show him where Eri was. She would have to improvise and mislead him because if she led him to the child, Eri would certainly suffer. Sayuri could take the pain of a punishment. She would even let Chisaki kill her if it meant keeping the little girl safe.

"Leave her." The words from Kurono made the men back away from Kohaku's fallen, bleeding form. He looked over at them briefly to make sure they complied and then turned his attention back to the pale-haired woman. "You know, you really owe me one. Kai wanted me to kill you as soon as we get Eri back to the base, but I'm gonna give you another chance. You'll have to behave yourself, but at least you'll be alive, right? Besides, that boyfriend of yours is gonna get bored of you sooner or later."

"Nah. I don't think I will." The voice came from Sayuri's right and she closed her eyes tightly in anticipation.

There was a sharp blast of heat behind Kurono, who pressed closer against Sayuri to avoid it. Knowing that the blue-eyed man at the alley entrance would be reluctant to risk hurting her. The men who had attacked Kohaku were engulfed in blue fire and shrieked in agony. Running to try to escape the searing pain and the hot flames, but tripping and smoldering on the ground.

"I've known her long enough; I know I'm not gonna get bored of this little crybaby," Dabi continued. There was a loud crack of joints popping and he greeted Sayuri's look of fear with a half-grin, stretching his arms over his head and cracking his neck. "Looks like you had some trouble. Probably shouldn't have run off on your own, huh?"

"She's not getting away again." Kurono slipped a hand into his pocket and slowly drew out the dart gun. Still loaded with a fresh dart.

"Is that right?" He still sounded a little sleepy and kept his eyes on Sayuri for a moment longer before turning his gaze to the teal-haired girl on the ground. "Is that one still alive?"

"No worries. Just…heh…taking a breather!" Kohaku shakily pushed herself up onto her elbows and shook her head. "Whew! It's been a while since I had a real challenge. Lots of guys talk a big game, but you…" She moved sharply and was now in a crouch; grinning at Kurono as blood ran down her face. "You're something else, huh?"

"I'm done dealing with you. Sayuri came to her senses. She's coming with me to get the kid and we're going back. Isn't that right, Sayuri? You're doing what's best for you and the kid. You know it's safer for her to be with us. You're trying to be a good "mom" so you know this is what's best for her."

Kurono gripped her throat and turned quickly, pointing his dart gun at Dabi when the man took a step closer. "Tell him, Sayuri."

She was still struggling a little. Her mind hazy and having trouble keeping up with what exactly was going on. A hand weakly lifted and she gripped Kurono's wrist, her fingers brushing over the scar that matched the one on her wrist. "We're not…going with you."

Her eyes narrowed into a glare and she leaned forward before smacking the back of her head against the wall behind her. Biting deep into her lip until blood flowed down her chin in a trickle. Fresh adrenaline pumped through her veins; finally enough to help her push past the tranquilizer in her body. She braced a foot against the wall and threw her weight forward against Kurono.

He stumbled back, glaring down at her and gripping her throat harder. The dart gun now at his side with his arm lowered. With his attention on her, Dabi seized the opportunity and slung an arm around the front of the man's shoulders. A hand was held up beside Kurono's face, blue fire dancing in his palm and quietly crackling as the flames grew higher.

"You think you can win this? Tch. Between me and that vibrator girl over there…pretty sure we could beat you." He leaned down close to the man's ear and smirked at Sayuri before whispering, "And I don't think your boss is gonna recognize you when I make you into a pile of ashes."

"Pro tip. Don't call the person that's helping you "vibrator girl". Ugh. It takes a lot to make my stomach turn. I deal with neckbeards at my other job and I've been trapped in a conversation about what animal ears the "ultimate waifu" would have. But what you said seriously made me want to puke." Kohaku was standing now and approached the group. "You want me to take over or what?"

The dart gun lifted and Kurono held it an inch away from the tender skin of Sayuri's neck. "Both of you back off. She's already got one dose in her. If I give her another, she'll be out cold."

Dabi cocked his head to the side, looking down into Sayuri's lilac eyes. His smirk grew and he slowly slid his arm from around Kurono's shoulders. Dragging his fingertips across the pale-haired man's chest with force. He stepped back; moving closer to Kohaku and shooting her a look.

Sayuri saw the girl nod and that was the only real warning that the woman got. Kohaku sprinted forward and crouched. Her hand slammed against the back of Kurono's leg and sent tremors shooting through his limb. His knee buckled, his finger slipped, and the second tranquilizer dart shot into the side of Sayuri's neck.

The man went down, dragging her with him, and turned to engage Kohaku in a fight. The pale-haired woman's eyelids were unbearably heavy. Every beat of her heart was pumping the tranquilizing drugs through her veins until her body finally gave up the fight. Her eyes closed and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Shift P.O.V

Dabi crouched down next to Sayuri's unmoving body as the other man fought with the coffee shop girl. "Hey. C'mon. Wake up." He reached down to pat her cheek, but saw the bright red mark that was on her skin. As if she had been hit. As if that psychopath might have actually struck her across the face.

He looked over at the fight that was taking place and shrugged to himself. Dabi lifted Sayuri onto his back and started off at a brisk pace. Ignoring the sounds of the skirmish behind him. Instead, he was thinking about a time when Sayuri and Fuyumi were playing some stupid game and his sister fell. Sayuri had taken the skinned knee injury from her, but then she was unable to walk without limping so he had carried her on his back. Just like he was now.

The closer he got to the coffee shop, his thoughts began to drift. Seeing her pinned against the wall by another man had ignited his jealousy. What was he gonna do with her when he got her alone? I need to find somewhere safe for them. I don't know what we're gonna do.

Dabi trudged up the stairs to the apartment above the coffee shop and Eri hurried over with tears in her eyes when she saw Sayuri. He ignored the coffee shop owner and her kid, but shifted Sayuri so she was over his shoulder and held out his hand to Eri. "C'mon. I don't want you out of my sight right now."

"What happened?! Is she alright? Does she need to go to the hospital?" The woman started toward him as he approached the bedroom, but stopped when he glared over at her. "Tell me what happened to her!"

"Lock all the doors and cover the windows." Dabi kicked the door closed behind him and set Sayuri down on the bed. He saw the terrified look on Eri's face and frowned. A hand gently rested on her head and he sighed; feeling exhausted. Between overusing his quirk and now the added stress of Sayuri being incapacitated, he just wanted to lie next to her and go back to sleep.

"Is she…okay?" Eri teared up when she focused her eyes on the dart sticking out of Sayuri's neck. "What happened?"

He leaned down to carefully pull out the dart and tossed it into the floor. "Don't worry about her. She's just sleeping." Dabi yawned and glanced toward the closed door. It's probably safe for now. That shop girl's got it under control. I'll just get a little sleep and I'll be good to go again.

Sprawling on the bed beside Sayuri, he slipped an arm beneath her head as extra cushioning. He blinked sleepily at Eri before giving the child a beckoning nod. "C'mon. It's safer if you stay close. You wanna be with her, right?"

The little girl hesitantly climbed onto the bed and settled on Sayuri's other side. Looking at the woman with concern. "She's…going to wake up. Right?"

"Promise. She'll be awake and worrying over you again before you know it."