My beloved readers~! I hope this update finds you well. It's been such a long time I don't even know where to begin with excuses and apologies for taking so long, but I have one heck of a rant at the end of this chap (to make up the lack of excuses last chapter), so head's up.

You must've already noticed the sudden change of title, from Crystal Heroine to Explosive Hero, to A Heroine for a Hero. That's because my nitpickin' ass recently realized how the latter seemed more fitting for this fic, as the sole reason why I even created this in the first place was so I can lavish Katsuki with feminine affections (eventually) =)

Now, let's get down to business. This is the last chapter for this arc and one of the quickest chapters I've written for this fic. Formulating everything that went down here was surprisingly smooth sailing *٩(ˊˋ*)و✧*

This also contains a little gore and an angry Alumi, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed writing.

All my love and thanks, and a bucket of colourful confettis to the following: asphodelos, Wataame, bbymojo, and Jiminsbae, for their marvelous reviews ( ´` ).。o


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Chapter Ten

Emergence


Alumi and Ojiro hadn't even taken twenty steps from their current location when they heard the loud, repulsive noises of pounded flesh. It was so close, so disturbing, it made them jump and freeze. Their bodies instantaneously shifted into defense mode, but that didn't stop the rise of involuntary tremors from swathing every limb and sense.

"I-it's not too far from here…" Ojiro whispered, his face paling. "I think…I think it's r-right around this corner…over there by the fountain…" He gulped and Alumi winced as the abysmal bashing noises increased in its intensity. "Whoever's doing that is definitely a villain."

"You're right. And that could be…" Alumi broke off, unable to voice the thought that whoever's getting thrashed could be one of their classmates. She shut her eyes and forced herself to breathe slowly.

'Please, don't let it be Mi-kun.'

Ojiro gave her an anxious glance, the repressed tone of panic in his voice rising in degrees. "I don't think it's one of our classmates, Koseki-san. Aizawa-sensei was the only one who went down at the central plaza when the villains appeared over there. Sensei would never do something so cruel, so that could be—"

A sickening watery snap and a piercing rough cry of agony.

Heads whipped in alarm, a mutual look of terror dawned upon their faces at the familiarity of that gruff voice. Ojiro and Alumi immediately took off with the silent speed of a cat. They steeled themselves, determined to aid their teacher in any way they could.

But nothing prepared them for what they saw next.

Alumi dug a heel into the ground and whipped an arm to prevent Ojiro from advancing any further, the two of them stopping at the edge of a profusion of tall bushes, the latter freezing in place after the former's abrupt halt, his jaw slack with horror.

"H-holy shit…! What is that!?"

There, surrounded by strewn bodies of strangers, was an enormous horrendous-looking creature with a deformed bird-like face, with huge bulging eyes and its brain exposed. Their stomachs churned in disgust trying to make sense of how it ended up looking like that, but what really frightened them was how it had their teacher's head in its grip – its hand so large, its fingers so meaty, that Aizawa-sensei's head looked as small and fragile as an egg in its palm.

CRASH!

"Sensei!" Alumi and Ojiro flinched and gasped in harsh whispers, eyes wide and fists shaking as they witnessed their teacher's head being slammed face-first into the floor. The creature continued to hold his head there, mercilessly pressing Aizawa-sensei's face into the mini crater the impact created.

Directly standing in front of the creature and Aizawa-sensei was a young man sporting multiple severed hands on his face and arms. He was lanky and frail-looking, but something about the way he calmly watched what was happening before him told Alumi he was the one who posed the most threat.

"I-it's impossible…" Ojiro's face was overwrought with anguished fear. "We can't fight that thing!"

Suddenly, a mass of inky black matter began to materialize beside the young man sporting the severed hands.

"Kurogiri…" Alumi whisper-seethed just as the swirling black matter formed into the figure of a man.

Ojiro's eyes widened. "It's that guy. If he's down here then the others must've done something up there."

They looked back to see Kurogiri and the highly disturbing young man in discussion, but their words were unfortunately out of earshot.

"That guy…" Alumi narrowed her eyes at the young man with the silvery-blue hair. "From how that warp gate person, Kurogiri, seemed to have come and report to him, must be the leader."

As if on cue, the young man began to vigorously scratch at his neck, twitching and groaning while doing so. Whatever Kurogiri relayed was definitely not to his liking.

"What is he doing?" Ojiro asked, thoroughly disturbed.

"He seems...agitated...Which means the others upstairs definitely managed to escape somehow." Alumi looked up at the entrance and allowed her mouth to form a relieved smile. "They're okay now. I'm sure they're going to call for help. The only problem at hand is how the rest of us can get away from here, especially Aizawa-sensei who's heavily injured."

Escape seemed near-impossible with the state Aizawa-sensei was in, not to mention majority of their classmates were still stuck somewhere inside the USJ. Worse still was how they had no means of communication, with the outside and with each other.

And those three…they were by no means ordinary criminals like the ones they dealt with earlier. Alumi knew, from experience, that they were on a whole different league, a whole different kind of evil. The only logical thing left to do was hide and wait until rescue arrives.

'I have to find Mi-kun before that happens.'

"Eh? Koseki-san, look!"

Alumi blinked back into focus and turned her head to where Ojiro was pointedly looking at, wondering what suddenly made her companion's face light up when her eyes caught the familiar tuft of green-tinged black-colored hair. All at once she was swamped with dizzying relief, a prickling surge of tenderness and a rising pang of fear.

"It's Midoriya, Asui-san and Mineta!" Ojiro said. "Man, how'd they even get over there?"

"They…must've been teleported somewhere close," Alumi responded, her heart tumbling on itself. Izuku was so close, barely fifty meters away, yet simultaneously a mere twenty feet away from the three villains up front.

Ojiro furrowed his brows in frustration. "What're we going to do, Koseki-san? We can't reconvene with them like this. We're in a gridlock."

Alumi inclined her head grimly, inwardly amused at how Ojiro couldn't have chosen a more appropriate term for their situation. "Midoriya-kun and the others can't just very well escape, either. They'll be detected immediately. As for the two of us…" she paused and shook her head, knowing Ojiro understood and that the words felt too traitorous to say. "For now…I'm afraid we can only wait," she finished, her throat dry and aching with frustration.

She clenched her hands tightly, fighting an oncoming wave of tremors that came from being simultaneously anxious and enraged. All she wanted was to be with Izuku, but she knew they were no match for a monster who easily overpowered their teacher, a sinister warp gate and their unnerving leader who wore a number of severed hands as accessories.

'Is there really nothing I can do?' she thought as she angrily looked at her palms. She contemplated whisking them away on a crystalline pillar she'd summon, but then a startling scenario of that thing intercepting their escape flashed before her mind. The distance in between their groups were simply too close, and even if she did succeed in taking them out of the area, they would end up leaving Aizawa-sensei behind, not to mention they may just find themselves teleported back to where their enemies stood.

Alumi made her decision. She can't and won't do it, not with Kurogiri around and definitely not with Aizawa-sensei rendered powerless like that.

She heaved a deep inhale and cast her forlorn eyes at the curly haired boy. 'I'm so sorry, Mi-kun. I wanted to keep you safe, I want to be there by your side, but if I swoop in to take you away or try to be with you right now I'll be putting the others in danger. Please stay hidden and don't do anything reckless.'

At the very least, it brought her comfort that the trio upfront seemed to have reached the same conclusion as her and Ojiro, that staying still was their best bet of surviving this situation unharmed. The longer she stared at Izuku's frozen frame with his back turned to her, the more she felt the need to be there, right now. Every beat of Alumi's heart began to feel like hard knocks of urgent pleas against her chest, begging her to move, but she remained stone-faced against such impulses.

What happened next unraveled like a death scene in a horror movie.

In a split-second the silvery-blue-haired young man materialized right in front of Izuku and the others. There was not a pit of swirling black air to warn them of his presence. He had closed the distance all by himself. He reached for Tsuyu, gloved fingers only inches away from her face when he paused, his arm suspended in midair.

Alumi and Ojiro shot up to the tip of their toes, tiny spots of sweat breaking over their temples, their bodies taut like bowstrings.

The young man threw a glance at where their teacher was, Alumi and Ojiro doing the same, the three of them realizing at once that Aizawa-sensei had used his Quirk, effectively stopping what would have been the death of Tsuyu. Alumi released a shaky exhale of relief and nearly screamed when Aizawa-sensei's head got slammed back into the ground.

Beside her, Ojiro shook with the effort to restrain himself, his eyes wide with distress. "What're we gonna do? They're—" A sudden upheaval of water cut into his statement, making them turn their heads to see Izuku up in the air with his right arm pulled back and ready to land a punch, his target none other than the silvery-blue-haired young man.

He screamed, and Alumi dashed forward.

"SMAAAAAAAASSSHHHHH!"

A violent torrent of wind exploded the moment Izuku's fist hit his target. The lights shattered, the waters shook, and the remaining thugs nearby got blown away by the shockwave. Alumi held her ground and threw her arms up to her eyes, Ojiro doing the same behind her. He spoke the moment the tumultuous winds died down.

"Koseki-san! What are yo—"

"Mi-kun, they're going to hurt him, they're going to hurt Mi-kun, I have to go!" She didn't stay to finish her sentence and charged straight ahead, her anxious heart in sync with her anxious steps.

"Mi-kun? You mean Midoriya!?"

'Just a little longer, Mi-kun. This time, I'll definitely reach you!'

She could see him now, his outline clear amidst the dispersing dust fog. But Izuku wasn't alone, nor was his intended target out of commission as anticipated. Instead, in his place was the hulking form of the horrifying bird-faced creature.

And it was unscathed.

Izuku stood stunned in the face of its monstrosity, his fear emanating waves Alumi could see and feel, even when she was still a few meters away. She was driven by pure instinct, vision zeroed in on Izuku and him alone. Everything else was a swirling blur. And, as if time had reached a screeching halt, the distance stretched and the world grew silent when the bird-faced monster seized Izuku's arm.

The air froze and the ground shook. Alumi pushed all of her energy into her legs and launched herself on a large crystalline pillar aiming for the beast that was about to strike Izuku. Time became hauntingly slow. Her heart raced, the rhythm hard and unsteady. Familiar. Her skin grew hot and tight. All at once she could feel everything – the wind in her ears, the blood pulsing through her veins, the hostility in her eyes, the emergence of something dark and blistering from deep within her, the distant voice of Haruki calling out to her ringing in the recesses of her mind and the parting of her lips to release an infuriated cry denying the threat of another loss.

"Let…GO OF HIM!"

It was a voice she had never used before. White-hot rage and the overpowering need to protect stained logic and fear like dark paint. She saw red and everything went black. The creature looked up with a disgruntled squawk and was met with a crystalline spike digging into the base of its neck. Thick streams of blood immediately sputtered and gushed down from the punctured area just as Alumi leaped down from her crystalline convoy, landing right in front of Izuku. There was an explosion by the entrance above but she paid it no heed, every thought and nerve locked on securing the curly haired boy.

The creature consequently released its hold on Izuku in favour of trying to remove the crystalline spike lodged into it. Alumi's eyes flashed. 'He's still alive!?' She was inundated with three emotions at once; horror, relief, and outrage. Together they melded into one bright flame of raging impulses, and with a whip of her arm she rammed the rest of her crystalline pillar into the creature with a force that should've knocked it straight into the Landslide Zone, but it braced itself on time and only got shoved a few meters away from them. It fell to its knees a few seconds later with an aggravated screech.

"Oh? He's here…And just when things were finally getting interesting..."

She bared her gnashed teeth and gleaming eyes at the silvery-blue-haired young man who had just began to stand from his hunches and saw that he wasn't even looking at her, but at something beyond her. He didn't even look the least bit concerned for what she just did to his comrade.

"You!" She conjured a crystalline pole at his feet and sent him into the ground, the crystal's blunted tip pinning him down on the chest. "For everything you've done…you deserve to be punished!"

He switched his gaze to her then, the only visible eye behind his hand-mask was blood red and full of hatred. He laughed, the sound so malicious Alumi's breath caught in her throat. "It's not game over yet…" came his snide remark, his voice dark and scratchy. Unpleasant.

"A-Alumi-san!"

Hearing Izuku calling her name felt like something pierced through the cloudy pressure that clogged the inside of her ears, instantaneously warming Alumi and clearing her head. A shudder of awareness slithered down her spine and she immediately turned to face Izuku, her mouth quivering with the effort to soften, her eyes wide and brimming with emotion.

"All Might!" She heard Mineta exclaim but she didn't stop to acknowledge the presence of Japan's number one hero heading their way. She reached Izuku in three frantic steps and latched both hands on his shoulders, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Are you alright? You are not hurt? Where were you?"

"N-not at all! I'm okay! I-I did break some of my fingers after using my Quirk over there at the Shipwreck Zone, b-but I'm fine now!" Izuku replied as Alumi's eyes did a thorough scan over him. His eyes darted all over, abashed at their proximity when he caught the beginnings of a deep bruise stretching along her left upper arm. He trained his eyes back to her sweat-moistened face, his gaze thoughtful and concerned. "What about you? A-are you okay?"

Alumi froze and gave Izuku an arrested stare. His inquiry sent a stab of tenderness and longing so acute the only way to soothe it was to physically press on it.

"Eh? Wh—"

Alumi had drawn Izuku into her arms, one arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders while the other reached to cradle his head. Mineta gasped, Izuku was a sputtering mess, and Tsuyu stared intently, but all that mattered to her at the moment was the physical reassurance that he was safe, that he was here, with her. All the tension that had her body tightly constrained for the past minute was finally released in a volley of uncontrollable shudders as she held him.

"I'm fine…" Alumi murmured, her eyes closing. "What's important is you're unharmed. I'm glad…" She leaned into him, holding him tighter, "so glad…"

"U-un…! M-me too! I'm glad nothing bad happened to you, Alumi-san." She heard Izuku say just as she felt the tentative pressure of his uninjured hand on her shoulder blade.

Alumi smiled and melted into the hug. Unbidden, an unstable image of Haruki's lone figure appeared in her mind like a flash of light. She tensed and stifled a gasp, before slowly easing out of their embrace.

"Oh, I-uh-I'm so sorry!" Alumi started as she self-consciously pressed her hands together against her midriff. "I...I'm just so relieved to see you, Mi-kun."

"Ah i-it's okay!" Izuku replied with a pink face and a corollary wave of his palms.

Alumi gave him an affable smile and tried to school her reddening face as she glanced at the other two who were still submerged in water. "I'm relieved to see you too, Tsu-chan, Mineta-kun."

Tsuyu croaked in response while Mineta beamed and said, "Same here! Can I get a hug too!? I was so sca—"

"Nomu!" yelled the silvery-blue-haired young man. A distorted roar answered him two seconds later, filling the air and the four Hero Aspirants with dread.

"What in tarnation…?" Alumi drawled in shock as she watched the creature, Nomu, begin to rise back on its feet. The mangled gaping wound on its collar bone began to shrink rapidly until all that remained of it were splotches of blood dripping down on its chest.

Thoroughly alarmed, a singular bead of sweat slid down Alumi's face while Izuku sucked in a frightened gasp at the sight. She knew that thing wasn't normal, and felt an initial pang of relief that she hadn't killed him, but also dismay, and frustration, and fear.

The silvery-blue-haired young man released a series of ominous chuckles. He sat up, having disintegrated Alumi's crystal into dust, as he settled his baleful grinning eyes on the startled ice-blue-haired girl. "I told you it's not game over yet…"

He stood and dusted himself off, Nomu coming up behind him. "Ahh, we're finally getting to the main event…" He chuckled giddily with a flourish of his hands. "I've been waiting…All Might!"

A strong gust of wind stirred in their midst, notifying them of his arrival. They promptly looked over to where he was and Alumi's eyes widened. All Might was carrying Aizawa-sensei and not a hint of his signature smile could be seen on his face.

There was a sharp whip in the air and a sluice of water. By the time the four Hero Aspirants blinked they were clutched in All Might's arms, the latter beginning to lower them on the floor a good distance away from where the two villains were.

"All of you, take Aizawa-kun and go to the entrance as fast as you can. Hurry!"

The sharp edge of urgency in All Might's voice made them wince.

"R-right away, sir!" Mineta cried before bending to extract Aizawa-sensei's unconscious body from the ground, Tsuyu following suit with a quick ribbit. But Izuku and Alumi lingered right where they were, their eyes fastened on All Might.

'All Might-san…He's angry…' His shadowed blue eyes never moved from the two villains facing them, his features grave and severe. He was no longer their loud and dorky fun-loving teacher with his perpetual million-watt smile. For a moment he was unrecognizable, and yet Alumi couldn't take her eyes off of him. Her jaw went slack in awe at the impact of his presence and she realized that the intimidating stranger standing before her was the very same man who was adored by the people and feared by the villains – the Symbol of Peace and Upholder of Justice; All Might the number one hero.

A memory of Haruki cheering for All Might made Alumi smile. Everything was going to be all right now, for he was here. She turned towards the others, eyes fixed apprehensively on their teacher's bleeding form propped motionlessly on Izuku's back. "Let's go, we need to treat Aizawa-sensei immediately."

Izuku didn't budge. "Wait, All Might, you can't! That brain villain took a full hit from One For A—…I mean, he took one of my punches and it didn't break my arm, but he didn't even take any damage! He's—"

"Young Midoriya!" All Might flashed a palm his way and swivelled to face the curly haired boy with his trademark grin. "It's going to be all right!"

Oddly enough, his reassurance gave off a sense of foreboding. Izuku reluctantly heeded All Might's words and turned to walk away with the others. "All Might is going to be all right, Mi-kun," Alumi murmured as she leaned towards him. "Let's believe in him."

"Un," he replied, but his expression remained uncertain, his features taut with unease now that All Might's battle began.

She offered him a smile and lifted her gaze up to their destination. She thought back to the curly haired boy's earnest concern for All Might's safety and recalled the abrupt alteration of his words. 'One for A…? One for All, perhaps? Is that what Mi-kun calls his Quirk?'

"You guys! Wait up!" came a familiar voice behind them.

"Ohh? It's Ojiro!" Mineta identified.

'Oh dear, I completely forgot about him.' Alumi thought with a guilty pout.

"I finally caught up to you guys," Ojiro breathed out as he took a moment to compose himself.

"Where'd you come from?" Tsuyu asked.

"I was sent to the Conflagration Zone with Koseki-san," he answered as they resumed walking again.

"What?" Mineta squawked. "Just the two of you? You lucky bastard!"

Ojiro shot the short boy a look of complete disbelief but decided to ignore his statement. "We got separated after we got out, though. Well, I didn't have Koseki-san's courage back there, so I waited for the perfect timing to join you guys. Thanks to All Might, I was able to find that opportunity." He grinned, then threw a bemused look towards Alumi. "What you did back there really scared me, Koseki-san. I didn't know how it was going to turn out when you suddenly rushed in for Midoriya like that, but I'm glad they didn't get the chance to hurt you. Any of you."

Alumi gave him one of her warmest smiles. "Thank you. And I'm terribly sorry for worrying you, Ojiro-kun."

"No harm done. More importantly, what about Aizawa-sensei? He's bleeding quite alot and both his arms are broken."

"He's unconscious, but his condition may worsen if we don't treat him right away," Alumi answered with a cursory glance at the raven-haired man on Izuku's back. "Come, everyone. Let's hurry."

"Yeah, we need to get away fast before we get caught up in that," Ojiro rejoined, referring to the brawl that commenced. He pressed a halting hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Midoriya, let me carry Aizawa-sensei. Your hand's hurt, right?"

Izuku acquiesced distractedly and murmured his thanks. They carefully lifted their teacher off his back and settled him unto Ojiro's. Aizawa-sensei made a grunt of discomfort and began to stir, his eyebrows drawn together. He shook and coughed violently, spurting blood on Ojiro's shoulder.

"Oh no, Sensei!"

Mineta looked at the horrified tailed-boy with pity just as Ojiro stifled a sigh.

"Damn. I hope you have a lot of bleach back home, 'cause it's not just your shoulder, man."

"Can it."

Alumi slid a frantic hand into Aizawa-sensei's neck and found the faintest of pulses, the rhythm rapid and unstable. His skin had turned cold, clammy, and ghostly pale. Her eyes widened in dismay as she recognized the severity of his condition.

Tsuyu drew close with an anxious croak. "What's happening?"

"Sensei's about to go into shock," Alumi replied with forced calmness, her voice thick with repressed alarm. "He's losing way too much blood and is suffering from a deficiency of oxygen in his body. We need to lay him down somewhere right now and—"

"Oh shit!"

At Mineta's expletive they swivelled towards central plaza, their stomachs dropping and bodies growing cold at the sight of All Might on his back, restrained in midair with the brain villain's giant claws clutched into his sides. Kurogiri had joined the fray and was assisting in keeping All Might incarcerated. He was bleeding.

Without warning Izuku took off, Mineta and Ojiro calling out to him. Alumi stiffened, frozen in turmoil. Panic seared into her from head to toe, filling her with the heart-thundering urge to go after him, but the sight of Aizawa-sensei about to go into Hypovolemic shock kept her rooted on the spot. She felt suffocated, wretched with despair as she watched Izuku going further away and straight into danger, straight into one of Kurogiri's swirling portal of inky blackness.

A scream was about to tear out of Alumi's throat when she saw the outline of Bakugou's figure about to intercept with lightning speed. He blasted an explosion right into where the swirling pit was, effectively dispersing it and inducing a flash of light that momentarily blinded her.

"Move out of the way, Deku!"

Bakugou used the momentum to grab Kurogiri's physical body before ramming him into the ground. "Take this!" he screamed, his incisors bared and eyes alight with ferocity. It had happened so quickly, his movements so smooth and efficient that Alumi could not help but feel a pang of admiration and gratitude that he arrived just in time.

Todoroki appeared and intervened next, freezing half of Nomu and effectively assisting All Might escape from its clutches. Kirishima jumped into the scene a few beats later and pushed the silvery-blue-haired villain back before sliding right next to Bakugou, his hardened arms up in defense.

Alumi deflated in relief as she watched them stand off against the villains with All Might. There was not a stronger, tougher unit that could've been formed at that moment. Casting one last glance at Izuku, she decided to entrust him to them and turned back to the others, eyes hard and resolute.

"We should go," Alumi urged. "The one we have to worry about now is Aizawa-sensei."

Tsuyu nodded. "Right, let's leave this to them, kero."

"Uhh, guys? Aizawa-sensei's been trembling and heaving for a while now!" Ojiro cried.

'Oh no.'

Alumi narrowed her eyes and started to mentally gather the minerals she was about to use. "Please huddle around me, everyone. We need to hurry but we're not safe here, and we can't run in Aizawa-sensei's condition so I'm going to use my Quirk and take us up there."

The three were quick to heed the instruction. Mineta in particular was the quickest and deliberately chose to stand beside Alumi's legs, his nose steaming.

"Say, Koseki-chan, you wouldn't mind if I hold onto your legs for sup—"

He was struck with a tail and a tongue. Rather fortunately his words went straight over Alumi's head as she was preoccupied in forming a crystalline platform wide enough to carry the five of them right beneath their feet.

"Please sit down and brace yourselves," Alumi advised as she crouched down and placed both palms upon the crystal's surface, "we're going in fast."

"Oh boy, that's what she said!" Mineta chimed only to be hit twice from both sides again.

Once she deemed them ready, Alumi channelled all of her focus into getting them to the other side of the clearing. 'It's quite the distance…This is the first time I'm doing this, but I'll give it everything I've got.'

Repressing a huff of effort, Alumi lifted their crystalline convoy off the ground and had it rapidly grow into a massive thirteen-meter column. She gathered more crystalline matter and thickened its base before propelling them towards the grand central stairway.

Alumi struggled against the unfamiliar strain, unused by the task of carrying five people in an extensive crystal convoy moving at high-speed. A powerful wave of wind erupted behind them, the force pushing them forward. They wobbled and Alumi gritted her teeth, her temples throbbing.

"I'm sorry, everyone!" she yelled over the gust of wind. "But we'll have to land here!"

Everyone braced themselves as they descended unto the grand stairway's second platform. Tsuyu had wrapped her tongue around them to keep them stable and began to retract it the moment Alumi's crystalline convoy touched the floor.

"Here, quickly," Alumi breathed out, the second word coming out as a pant. "Carefully lay Sensei over here."

"Should I prop his legs up?" Ojiro inquired as he gently placed their teacher on the ground with the help of Tsuyu and Mineta.

"Don't, I think his spine is injured," Alumi replied just as she kneeled before Aizawa-sensei's laying form, a drop of sweat sliding down her cheek. "But don't worry, I'll make sure to set Aizawa-sensei's blood pressure back to normal."

"You can to do that?" Mineta asked, baffled.

She placed both palms on Aizawa-sensei's chest and shot Mineta a confident smile. "My Quirk doesn't just end at Crystallization, Mineta-kun."

"Ohh…" Mineta uttered, awed. "That's hot," this last directed at Ojiro who subsequently grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.

Brows drawn in concentration, Alumi activated the other side of her Quirk, drawing in energy and releasing it out into Aizawa-sensei's body, calibrating it in a slow pace to keep it from overwhelming his heart. He was still shaking and was stirring in discomfort, his breathing rigid and shallow, his skin damp with cold sweat. He looked nothing like the man who scolded her three days ago. Blood pooled beneath his head, bright red and frightening, the thick coppery smell assaulting her nostrils. Alumi felt like gagging, but squashed it down, weighing it with the intent to help him.

"Oh, great. Some of the villains are getting back in business." She heard Mineta say, eliciting a jolt of panic.

"Don't worry, Koseki-san!" came Ojiro's voice. "Do what you have to do. We'll stand guard and make sure they don't get up here!"

"Please be careful!" Alumi responded back without sparing them a glance, her head spinning and vision growing hazy, eyes locked on Aizawa-sensei and him alone.

'No, not yet...Sensei, Sensei...Please…wake up!'

One minute passed. Alumi gave a breath of relief at the miraculous change in Aizawa-sensei's complexion. His chest rose and fell twice, wincing with the effort of pulling air into his lungs. He groaned and sputtered, appearing to struggle for consciousness.

Alumi temporarily deactivated her Quirk and lifted her hands, eyes stinging against a sudden headache. Without pausing, she reached for her belt-bag and took all of the remaining bandages out, setting one roll of bandages to the side before flattening and pressing the rest on Aizawa-sensei's head. She placed her free hand on his chest and increased his blood levels again, wary for any sudden changes in his condition.

She briefly lifted her head to announce, "Everyone, sensei's okay now!" eliciting murmurs of relief from the other three. All of a sudden Aizawa-sensei twitched, her name slipping out of his mouth in a hoarse whisper.

"Ko…seki…"

"Hello, Aizawa-sensei." Alumi leaned over with her default smile and caught his eyes the moment he cracked them open. "I know you already know this, but please refrain from making any sudden movements. You're bleeding profusely and you were about to go into shock. But don't worry, your blood pressure should be stable now and I'm keeping it that way."

Aizawa-sensei huffed out an exhale and regarded her with dazed eyes. "You…I thought—nnggh… told you not to…hagh—uugghh…not to do anything reckless…unnecessary…" He swallowed thickly before continuing, and for a second he sounded like his usual gruff self. "You should've escaped."

"It's all right, Sensei. All Might is here, and help is on the way. And I apologize for being impertinent, sir, but this isn't me being reckless, nor is this unnecessary," Alumi remarked, her voice gentle but firm. "I'm going to be a hero, and right now, it doesn't matter to me whether you're a teacher or not. I'm going to help you in any way I can."

She felt Aizawa-sensei stiffen underneath her palm. His eyes lingered on her face for a few extra seconds before he clenched them close. He released an abbreviated sigh. "...Don't overdo it, kid."

The last word made Alumi take a while to reply. With an effort, she kept her voice calm and her face pleasant, even as her fingers began to quiver and her thoughts became sulky.

"Understood, Aizawa-sensei."

'I am not a child.'

"Alumi-chaaaan! Tsu-chaaaan! Everyoneeee!"

Alumi looked up to see Ochako bounding down the stairway with Sato and Mezo. Her eyes lit up, relieved to see her classmates – especially the brunette – in one piece. Ochako gasped at the sight of their teacher on the floor – who remained motionless and seemed to have fallen asleep – then flicked her gaze up to Alumi, her chocolate eyes wide and sympathetic. She sank right next to the bluenette and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"We heard your voice from up there," Ochako said, her voice soft and shaky. "I'm so glad to see you're okay, Alumi-chan."

Alumi leaned into her embrace, pressing her cheek unto Ochako's head as if to convey the words "Me too".

"What's the situation? Is Sensei going to be okay?" Sato asked.

"He lost a lot of blood but he's going to be fine. However, Aizawa-sensei's blood pressure may be stable for now but he's still wounded. I'm currently trying to keep his blood levels balanced, and I'm afraid I can't stop giving him a transfusion just yet as Sensei's blood pressure may plummet again, so right now he's like an open faucet. We need to stop the bleeding this instant."

Ochako released her hold on her and straightened. "What can we do, Alumi-chan?"

"Here, please continue to press down on this spot right here, Urara-chan. Gently." Ochako nodded as Alumi guided her hand on the layer of bandages on Aizawa-sensei's head. They switched places and a visible start went through Ochako after hearing Alumi say, "That's where sensei's bleeding the most."

"O-okay! Got it! I'll be careful!"

Alumi moved over to Aizawa-sensei's side with the last roll of bandage in one hand, the other reaching for a vial of antiseptic in her belt-bag. "I'm going to treat Sensei's wounded elbow. Once the bleeding stops, we can move him up there at the entrance. We'll be counting on you two for that, is that all right?"

Sato and Mezo nodded in unison. "Don't hesitate to call for us!" Sato said. He lingered on the spot for a moment and just stared at the bluenette, his face unsure and hesitant. Mezo tapped him on the shoulder and the two of them turned to join the other three at the edge of the stairs.

Alumi cringed at the horrible sight of Aizawa-sensei's elbow and frowned as she recalled what happened back at the central plaza. 'The skin is disintegrating…This is very similar to what that villain did to my crystal back then. This is his doing…What a dangerous Quirk he has…'

She took a measured breath and deftly worked on the wound, every beat of her heart knocking hard inside her ears. Alumi released a satisfied whiff once she was done and continued her previous task of maintaining their teacher's blood pressure. She was surprised to feel herself sway against a sudden onslaught of dizziness that smacked her in the face. At the same time the bridge of her nose began to throb persistently, informing her of an inevitable epistaxis. She braced herself and gritted her teeth as several streaks of sweat flowed down to her chin, watching them morbidly as they fell and formed into tiny droplets on the floor.

"Alumi-chan, are you okay?" Ochako's worried inquiry sent a shock of awareness through her, the brunette's voice sounding muffled amidst the ringing in her ears.

"Yes, I–…I'm fine...It's just…it's my drawback acting up." Alumi swallowed hard and plucked a hand off Aizawa-sensei's chest before bringing it upon her midriff. "Keep pressing gently, Urara-chan. You're doing well," she said as she lowered her own blood pressure while simultaneously raising their teacher's.

Ochako's face glowed with the praise, the sight giving Alumi comfort. She closed her eyes momentarily, trembling with the effort to stabilize two blood pressures.

'Focus…Don't. Lose. Focus.'

"Look, Alumi-chan! I think the wound stopped bleeding!"

Alumi peeled her eyes open and blinked twice against the watery hot blur that lingered on the edges of her vision. "Ah, yes…that's great." She gave a small wobbly smile as she tried to refocus her eyes on Aizawa-sensei. Slowly she brought her hands into her chest and pressed them on her eyes, breathing hard. "C-Can you call the others…? And wrap…the bandages a-around…Sensei's head…I just…need a moment…"

Ochako's response seemed to come from far away. Alumi heard the brunette's voice rising in tone but could not comprehend the words she was saying. She felt numb, her jaw growing lax with exhaustion as darkness clung to the corners of her vision like a vignette, threatening to take over completely. It was uncomfortably warm, as if someone had smothered her with a blanket, and yet she was shaking, every heartbeat sending a tremulous pulse throughout her body.

'Ah…this is…I've finally reached my limits…' she thought in between breaths. Her head bobbed up and down in slow jittery motions, and in her gyrating awareness her mind scrambled to deduce whether she needed to lower or increase her blood pressure. Activating them simultaneously had caused her body to experience its side effects at the same time, throwing her blood pressure into a state of disarray, as if it was in a frenzy to settle which drawback should be more prominent.

Gritting her teeth, Alumi channelled all of her strength into pushing a hand into her chest and decided to lower her blood pressure. She could deal with the anemia, but a nosebleed was definitely not an option. Her hand fell heavily on her thighs afterwards, her breathing slowing down as she grew weaker. It grew quiet in her head, and for a few dizzying moments she was under the bewildering impression of fading in and out of consciousness, even as she was sitting up.

She nearly lurched back in fright when a large shadowed figure showed up right in front of her. It was Sato, who had come to lift their teacher and was about to deposit him into the hammock-like web of Mezo's arms. He was saying something to her but the heavy thumping in her ears made her miss it completely.

She formed her mouth into words, her voice sounding strange and unpleasant to her ears. "Be careful not to—… not to jostle…Aizawa-sensei…" She strained to stand, steeling her wobbling knees when a searing migraine teared into her. With a low strangled whimper, she bucked and toppled forwards, hopeless to stop the descent until she was unexpectedly impeded by something warm and compact.

Grateful and confused, Alumi forcefully opened her eyes and saw it was Ojiro who had whipped out his tail to catch her. In that instant a relentless surge of shockwaves originating from where All Might and the others were scattered throughout the USJ, breaking glass, uprooting trees and rupturing concrete. Two pairs of hands enclosed around her at once, gentle feminine arms surrounding her protectively. She recognized Tsuyu's damp hero costume and the sensation of Ochako's padded fingertips. She sighed and sank deeper into their secure hold, face clenched against the torrential winds and the stinging inside her head. A few tense moments passed and the windstorm finally diminished and scattered away.

Alumi willed to regulate her breathing and whispered, smiling weakly, "Urara-chan…Tsu-chan…thank you."

Being close in proximity she heard each of their replies floating just on top of her waning consciousness. "We got you, Alumi-chan," came Ochako's affirmation followed by Tsuyu's raspy voice, "The battle is getting intense, kero. We need to go upstairs now."

With a weary downward bob of her head, Alumi harnessed all of the strength left in her body and tried to walk on her own when her vision blurred into nothingness and she staggered, her consciousness draining away into an ocean of murky darkness.


It felt like a nightmare. She was restless, struggling in the dark as she tried to find stability in the swirling abyss. Her senses were telling her that she was shouting, calling for someone's name, but she heard no sound.

It felt like an eternity and yet simultaneously a second by the time Alumi woke up. The first thing she noticed was that the pain inside her head was no more than a distant twinge, and that her body was aching all over, the stinging especially prominent on her left side. She clamped her mouth shut and sucked in a plaintive breath, upset at her current state but nevertheless relieved that her drawbacks had finally lessened in their severity.

It took her a few seconds to register the familiar sound of police sirens ringing throughout the USJ. It took her a few seconds more to realize she was actually on the ground leaning against somebody. Masking her unease, Alumi lifted her head and was met with Ochako's bright eyed smile of relief — a welcoming sight.

"You're finally awake! How're you feeling?"

"I…I'm fine, I'm all right." Alumi sat up straighter and placed a hand on her forehead. "Although I think I need to drink something."

"Oh, right! Water! You worked so hard back there after all."

Alumi shook her head before the other girl could make an offer of fetching some for her. "No, not water," she said, chuckling as she snaked a hand around her waist to get something from her belt-bag. Having acquired what she was looking for, she brought her hand in front of them and uttered, "This."

Ochako cocked her head sideways. "Cold medicine?"

"Not quite, but yes, technically. They're iron supplements. I get anemic whenever I use the other side of my Quirk, so I need take one of these to alleviate my blood pressure somehow. They're usually a great help." Alumi teared the small singular red packet and popped the rather large red-colored pill inside her mouth. She reached for her last remaining water vial next and emptied it in one gulp.

"The other side of your Quirk?" Ochako reiterated before realization struck her and she stared at the bluenette with newfound interest. "Right…I was wondering how you were able to increase Aizawa-sensei's blood pressure earlier. That's why you kept pressing your hands on his chest. To be honest, I got nervous watching you! Because you were touching Aizawa-sensei."

The way she half-whispered, half-blurted out the last word with a serious look on her face made Alumi laugh. "W-Well…Putting my hands directly on the chest increases the blood pressure faster, but I suppose I'll have to apologize to Sensei for overstepping my bounds. That was pretty weird, huh?"

"Eh? Why so? If it were me, I'd be too nervous to do it! Because Aizawa-sensei's always so…so gruffy. But he's okay now thanks to you!"

Alumi chuckled once more before giving the brunette a quick head pat. "You helped a lot, too, you know. Where's Aizawa-sensei?"

"Outside. I think they just loaded him inside an ambulance, with Thirteen."

They both looked over to the entrance and heard the ambulance drive away, the unmistakable noise of its siren tailing after it.

"I'm glad they're both okay now," Alumi said. She craned her neck and looked around but failed to see her classmates. They were finally on the USJ's highest platform directly connected to the entrance, but the only ones there were the two of them, with Midnight, Principal Nedzu and Snipe standing at the cusp of the grand stairway. "What about the others? All Might-san...and Mi-kun?"

"Some of the heroes are still looking for the others inside the other simulation zones, while the others are waiting outside. As for All Might and Deku-kun…I think they're still down there, but they should be on their way here in a jiffy."

"I see…" Alumi murmured before lifting her gaze to the sky. It was visible in spite of the dome and was bluer than ever, relentlessly bright and vast and unbothered by what just transpired below it. She wished she was just as carefree, but knew that nothing, and no one, would remain the same after today.

Alumi inhaled deeply and released it through her nose. Gingerly she stood up and turned to lend Ochako a hand.

"Let's go join the others."


Koseki Reika was sitting outside their second-floor balcony reading a magazine when her phone rang. It was always right next to her in case of emergencies mostly from work, the recent emergency being a certain incident that happened just yesterday involving her daughter. And so, she lifted it without much effort, her peaceful expression shifting into a solemn one which abruptly slid into a pleasantly surprised one when she saw the caller ID. She raised the phone against her ear, smiling slightly in amusement for it hadn't even been an hour since his last call.

His voice had always brought her warmth, and security, and hope, but all of those disappeared as his grave words painted a horrible picture in her head. She shot up from her seat and the magazine which previously rested on her lap fell with an audible 'thwack!'

She remained silent, stunned, as she listened with a hand pressed against her mouth, voice barely rising above a whisper. "The heroes are on the scene? And the police…w-what about…oh thank God, thank God...Alumi…my God..."

Reika turned to head back inside the house and kept her voice from shaking any more than it had as she attempted to assert control on her trembling body. In not even a minute she had donned on her coat and had strapped on her car's seatbelt all while keeping the phone pressed against her ear.

"Yes, of course, I'll be right over there. No, no, you don't have to. She's always preferred you but you're too far right now. Let me handle this, please."

For a tense moment the other line was silent, but Reika was already out in the streets before she even had the answer she wanted.

"Thank you, dear. I'm on my way. I'll call you after I have her."

"All right," crackled the phone just as Reika settled it on the dashboard. "And please, don't go over the speed limit."

She huffed just as the call ended, hands gripped on the steering wheel and eyes glowing with cold intensity.

"Don't worry, I'll try not to murder anyone."


Tidbits time~ (oo)*:・゚:

Hypovolemic Shock – a life-threatening condition that results from severe blood loss, giving the heart a really hard time pumping enough blood for the body. It can also lead to organ failure.

Epistaxis – acute hemorrhage in the nasal cavity, commonly known as a nosebleed.


In response to the Guest Reviews:

Wataame: The only thing I love more than a long review is a positive constructive criticism. I really can't thank you enough for your kindness and insights! 。・゚゚・ (⊃。╥ o ╥。)⊃・゚゚・。. I've taken your advices to heart and corrected the Japanese words/phrases I've used, as I've realized that hell yes, you're right. Now that I took a step back and took a real good look at it, I agree the usage of such words should be kept to a minimum for a better reading experience and quality story, therefore I will heed your suggestions and limit the usage of Japanese words to titles/honorifics only! ( ´ ▽ ` )/ (and maybe the occasional 'Ara Ara', teehee). Thank you so much for your belief in my work and my characters. I hope to hear more of your wisdom and guidance ❤

Jiminsbae: Man, I haven't read alot of BNHA fanfics, but a talkative Todoroki is just...that's just wrong (lll □_□). Anyhow, it makes me very happy and accomplished that you've noticed that =) Thank you so much for your kind words~!


Okay, rant time.

I just want you guys to know why I've only managed to pump out one chapter and so late last year. I didn't explain my circumstances because I felt the chapter was too long already and I didn't really want to damper ya'll with my personal issues, plus I actually felt so detached about the whole thing that the only thing that mattered to me at the time was to get that chapter out ASAP.

Now, however, I feel that I should let you guys know (and I really want to vent lol). To put it bluntly, 2018 was a really shitty year for me. It sucked, and it all started in the summer when I had my internship. There were a lot of other factors – like the grind of my intern duties and scummy superiors, campus life as a senior and as the new president of our club, THESIS, a new doting but overbearing Dean/instructor with an obsession for being precise and some family issues – but what really got to me was my ex-bestfriend and HER SHIT.

I won't go into the details but we had a falling out and it wasn't pretty. I didn't get depressed by everything she did, thank God, but it really affected me on such a personal level and changed my perception on a LOT of things, mostly on love and friendship and what trusting somebody really means. Now the whole self-reflecting just made me...distant. With my passions, and mostly everything that directly concerned me.

It was just so jarring and heartbreaking how someone I used to love and respect with all of my heart, someone I shared secrets, tears and made memories with, and whose company I used to genuinely enjoy turned out to be such a toxic person. I was convinced we had a real connection, a genuine bond because we spent so much time trying to understand each other and had so much trust in us that it was almost spiritual, no homo! But turns out, I've never been more wrong my entire life. She didn't believe in me after all. She didn't trust me enough to tell me what was wrong. I really don't want to admit this, but...she fucked me over. With her lies, with her blatant disrespect for our friendship, with her fake-ass dramas and her fake-ass personality (bitch even got me writing a poem lmaooo).

The worst part was that I never got the chance to confront her about it because I tried being considerate to both of us as we were both graduating students with each our plates full (and I would never stoop so low as to do to her what she did to me). You could imagine our encounters being tense asf wearing our best civil smiling masks lol. I did give her a hint we needed to talk after graduation, which was just this April (yaaas ya girl is FINALLY a college graduate, woot!) but in the end she never pulled up 'cause she was too busy being a stuck-up coward hiding behind her boy toy flunky. And that's what really pissed me the fuck off because she acted all mighty talking shit in front of me with her boy toy around but not when we're alone. It was so fucking ridiculous and immature of her, the very reason why I neglected dealing with her properly.

But this I promise. We WILL talk once I get her alone in our upcoming Alumni's homecoming party this November (if she even shows her face). My real ones say I should just let it go and not waste any more time on her because there's nothing left to repair, but see, I'm not looking to fix our relationship. I'm looking for closure. I want to hear her side, her reasons, from her own mouth, of why she did what she did to me. I just wanna know. I have to know, and she has to know my side and hear me out too, or else I'm afraid I'll never move on. If that happens and we do get to talk, I just might update you guys ;) I'm looking forward to it actually. I'm ecstatic!

As for this year and WHY I just updated today...well, turns out, 2019 was a little hard on me too. There were happy times, like I finally attained my undergrad degree, but in exchange for gaining such an achievement I lost two of the most significant existences in my life. A beloved instructor who taught us on almost all of my majors, who passed away from cardiac arrest just 12 days after our graduation, and a cherished daschund who was killed in a hit-and-run last July. They were 64 years old and 5 months, respectively. For the longest time I couldn't accept their deaths, and I sorta reverted back into my old self where I experienced losing someone dear to me for the first time. That had been about 11 years ago, and that someone was actually my inspiration for Haruki. I still get a little upset every time they come to mind, but I'm getting better each day and this update is proof of that (๑´ `๑).

Well, I hope I didn't annoy ya'll too much with this long-ass rant (* ื▿ ื). Thank you so much for letting me vent As a reward for reading all the way here, the next chapter is already being written and will probably be out around early December, if not next month (*´`*)*: ・゚

I hope to see some of you in the reviews~!


[Date Updated]: October 16, 2019
[Edited]: Fixed grammatical errors and deleted unnecessary parts.