Chapter 2

Monsters in the Dark

Katuski tugged a shirt over his head, hurriedly pulling it down over the rest of his torso as he trudged down the stairs.

He'd woken up in his bed, but the hallway hadn't been trashed at all, meaning he hadn't gone upstairs during the night. That meant Shouto had probably carried him up there after he'd transformed back, a thought that caused him to shiver.

His hurried steps slowed as he caught sight of Ochako at the bottom of the stairs, sweeping a pile of wool stuffing from the entryway with a push broom. God, he hoped that was just from a pillow he'd destroyed and not something larger and more valuable. But, from the vast amount, he had a feeling such wasn't the case.

One of the stairs creaked under his weight, drawing the brunette's attention.

She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before her expression melted into an attempt at a warm grin. Her sweeping slowed to a halt as she tentatively greeted, "Hi…"

"Hey…" he replied in a heavy breath, more out of natural response rather than thought. His mind was currently running rampant with all of the possibilities of what had happened last night, wondering what other catastrophes he'd caused.

If Ochako's mannerisms were anything to go by, then the pile of stuffing she was sweeping up wasn't the only carnage left in the aftermath.

Intent on seeing the rest of the disaster, he quickly descended the rest of the stairs before charging into the living room.

"Fuck," he huffed, taking in what little remained of their stuff. There was their black leather couch, a rug, and, of course, the box TV and GameCube, since Shouto had taken them outside with him last night.

And that was it. Everything else was gone.

Shouto didn't even cast him a glance, only continuing to arrange an armful of mismatched pillows on the couch, "Uraraka and I salvaged what we could, but there's about ten garbage bags of wreckage in the backyard." Once his arms were free of the pillows, he leaned back, his voice filling with the slightest disdain, "I'm sensing a trip to Ikea." His gaze finally shot to Katsuki, "and you know my feelings about that."

Before Katsuki could even think of a response, Ochako suddenly blurted, "My dad called."

"What?" Katsuki hissed.

"My dad," Ochako repeated happily, as she bounced on her feet, "Your landlord. He's coming over."

"In about," Shouto glanced at the clock with the broken face above the TV, "now."

"He's coming here? Why?!" Katsuki demanded.

"He's back from the countryside for a few months and he wants to meet us," Shouto shrugged simply.

"You guys are his longest staying tenants," Ochako hummed. "All the others, they, uh…" her gaze fell as started to play with a bit of plastic that stuck out of the top of the broom, "…found it strangely unwelcoming."

Katsuki whirled on Shouto with a growl, "Why the fuck didn't you tell him 'no?'"

"I tried," Shouto stated. "But she kicked me in the shin."

"You're not actually planning on fucking being here when he comes, are you?"

"Of course," Ochako pressed. " Obviously I'll hide, but it's not like he'll be able to see me anyway."

"Did you take fucking stupid pills, or something?!" Katsuki growled. "This is your dad. Your dad who held your fucking funeral. You can't be here! You can't be within ten fucking miles of here!"

"Well, I can't have him in the house and not see him," Ochako insisted, a desperate pout on her features. "He's my dad."

"Yeah, and imagine what will happen if he does see you."

Bitterness curled Ochako's lips and sharpened her tone, "Just because you've never loved someone-"

Shouto finally stepped, quite literally forcing himself between them, "Okay, okay." He sighed heavily, "Look, as long as she stays upstairs, what's the worst that could happen?"

Being shoved back only served to get Katsuki more riled up, "The neighbors gather outside with fucking pitchforks and torches! We have to protect the house!"

" You, " Ochako ground out, "have just smashed up the house."

"That w asn't me, " Katsuki growled lowly.

The chime of the doorbell rang out, causing all three to freeze and stare at the door, their eyes wide.

"Well," Shouto breathed, "I guess that settles it then. Uraraka."

"Right," she started glancing around wildly, suddenly unsure of what to do. "I…yeah. Yeah, okay." She shoved the handle of the broom into Katsuki's hands before taking off up the stairs, "Oh, the clanky pipes! Remember to ask about the clanky pipes!"

Shouto gave her a nod, waiting for her to round the corner and disappear from sight before tugging the door open.

"Fucking crazy…you're both insane," Bakugo hissed under his breath.

Ignoring the blond's growls, Shouto tugged the door open, finding a man who very much resembled Ochako on the other side. Their hair color was exactly the same, and so were their eyes.

Shouto had never really been much of a people-person, but during his hundred years of life, he'd developed a sort of programmed behavior for first-time interactions.

He stuck out his right hand for a handshake, greeting simply, "Hello. I'm Todoroki. Nice to meet you."

The man took his hand with a gentle smile, "Yes, nice to meet you, too. I'm Mr. Uraraka."

Shouto stepped to the side, allowing the man to step into the entryway.

Katsuki, not one for familiarity and amicable gestures, only nodded in greeting. His scowl was still etched into his face as he introduced himself with a grunted, "Bakugo."

His harshness caught the man off guard for a few seconds, but he eventually nodded back, "Nice to meet you. I hope the house is treating you well? No problems?"

"Its great-"

"The fucking pipes are noisy as hell," Katsuki cut Shouto off, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"The water still comes through, though," Shouto chimed in, "but...the sound is a bit annoying."

"No worries. I'll take a look, see if there's something jamming them," the man smiled gently. "Its such a relief having you guys here. It didn't really work out with the last few people. I think they heard about what happened, and their imaginations went wild."

Shouto wondered what kind of shenanigans Ochako had gotten up to before he and Katsuki had arrived. Her actions seemed ridiculous now, but in all honesty, he held no judgement. Her predicament was definitely not an easy existence by any means.

"You…you do know about my daughter, right?" the man asked tentatively.

"Only a little," Shouto lied. "Just what the estate agent said."

Uraraka's father looked around, suddenly not so pleasant and a bit reminiscent, "Yeah, I've…I haven't been back here a lot since. You can probably imagine, its… weird being here."

"What happened?" Katsuki demanded, his hands still shoved in his pockets and a glare still on his face.

Although he was immune to Katsuki's bluntness, Shouto knew that demand was at least a little insensitive.

But he couldn't deny that he was the tiniest bit curious as well. Ochako hadn't told them anything about her death, really. Only that it'd happened in this house.

The man let out a heavy sigh, "We, uh…We'd literally just moved in. I mean, we were still living out of boxes. And…it was dark. I…I hadn't really figured out some of the wiring I was fixing up." His voice faded out as he shook his head and dropped his gaze, "And she was at the top of the stairs, and…I don't know…They said she must've missed a step or something, and she fell all the way down…hit her head on the tile…"

Oh...so that was probably why there was that cracked little tile in the entryway.

"So...what was she like?" Shouto pried a bit further, unsure of where else he could steer the conversation. That was something people normally asked when someone they didn't know died, right?

"Ochako?" the man seemed a bit taken off guard, but at the unwavering stare he was receiving from Shouto, he took it was genuine and sincere curiosity. "She was kind, and smarter than she realized or ever thought she was."

There was something incredibly bittersweet about it all. He was still obviously shaken up, and why wouldn't he be? He'd lost his only child, and even though it was coming up on a year since the incident, he had every right to still be upset.

Never one to have much of a filter between his mouth and his thoughts, Shoto started talking before he'd realized it, "I believe people can leave an echo in a place where they once were. I know the tenants before said they could feel something. Maybe that's what it was."

The man smiled, as if he liked the idea, a bit of humor in his voice as he remarked, "They said it was creepy."

"It's not," Shouto refuted immediately. "It's good. We like it a lot here."

The man's smile grew, "Sorry, but I should probably get going. Just wanted to pop in and say 'hi.' If there are any problems, you've got my number, right?"

Unable to clearly decipher what was being said, Ochako peaked past the corner of the top of the stairs as the three in the entryway conversed. Well, at least Shouto and her dad did. She didn't hear much from Katsuki other than a few grunts.

She could only see their legs from her vantage point, and her eyes widened when one pair of legs, her father's disappeared from her line of sight, the soft shutting of the door following in his wake.

With a tightening in her chest, she collapsed back against the wall, clenching her eyes shut to stop the gathering tears.

The person she loved most had been so close, but she couldn't even get the slightest glimpse of his face.

Shouto's lips threatened to curl in disdain as he stepped into the hospital's cafeteria for his break. The room filled with applause right as he stepped through the doors, several in the crowd letting out sounds of amazement.

A man in a white mask and yellow trench coat stood in the center of the mix, showing a pile of change in his palm before making the coins 'disappear' with a simple flick of his wrist. He clapped his hands together and slowly rubbed his palms back and forth, the disappeared change appearing once more and spilling from between his hands to clatter to the table below.

If Sako was here, that meant he was probably here, too.

"Don't enjoy magic tricks anymore, Todoroki?"

Shouto's gaze shot to the side, and sure enough, a familiar man with scraggly, pale blue hair was leaneing against the wall directly to the right of the cafeteria doors.

"You didn't get my message," Shouto ground out in a low voice. "This isn't your pantry, Shigaraki."

"It's just a social call, nothing more," Shigaraki said as he pushed himself off of the wall, straightening out his paramedic's uniform as he stalked closer. "You know, I haven't heard from you for nearly two months."

"Vampires are meant to keep a low profile," Shouto hissed. " You're the one that taught me that."

Shigaraki hummed, "Hm, yes, the old rules...Makes you think, doesn't it? These rules about what we can and can't do." He held up a finger, "Now, here's a thought. Suppose the world knew of our existence. Suppose they had the choice to change."

Shouto quickly glanced around with his jaw clenched, making sure they weren't being overheard, "Say we declare ourselves. Then what? We start a mass conversion?"

"Oh no, one step at a time, Todoroki," Shigaraki lightly chuckled. "But that's exactly the kind of thinking we need right now."

"And those that refuse?"

A sly grin overtook Shigaraki's dry, split lips, "As I recall, you welcomed me with open arms."

"It wasn't because of you," Shouto hissed. "I thought my brother was dead, but then I found him in that clearing in the middle of a war and you offered to change me in exchange for the lives of my regimen. I couldn't refuse."

"Ah yes, ever the hero ," Shigaraki jeered. "How very noble of you to take on the curse of immortality so that your friends could wither and decay in old hospitals and care homes."

They stared at each other in silence, Shouto's face frozen in a blank expression.

That same unsightly smirk found it's way onto Shigaraki's lips again, "I'm willing to bet if we offer eternal life to people- not just for themselves, but for their families, their lovers, and their children- they'll be lining up for miles." He suddenly took a step closer, his voice dropping in volume but picking up in intensity, "If we went to the children's ward right now, do you think a single one of those parents would turn us away?"

Shigaraki let out a breathy chuckle at the pained look on Shouto's face, "You've already thought about it, haven't you?"

Shouto shook his head, finally overcoming the tension that'd been choking him in its grasp, "I don't understand your interest in me. I've told you time and time again that I don't want anything to do with you and your people anymore."

"We want you on our side when the time comes because people admire you. They tell stories about your… eccentricities. "

"My eccentricities?" Shouto repeated blankly.

"I mean…we all play a part in the grand scheme of things. But you ...you were at the top. And you thrived."

Shouto's fist clenched again at the mention of the past.

He wasn't that man anymore.

"But now," Shigaraki scoffed with disdain, "everyone tells me you're 'on the wagon.'"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Good. I don't. It's insanity," Shigaraki stated bluntly. "You're a monster. A demon, even. You must know that it'll catch up to you eventually, right?" His lips quirked in a knowing sneer, "But I suppose you've got some fallbacks in place?"

"Fallbacks?"

"Oh, you know…someone you've been grooming so that eventually, when you do fall off the wagon," his smirk faded, voice going monotone, "you won't have too far to fall. There's only two things that can kill a vampire, Todoroki."

A wooden stake straight through the heart and…a werewolf.

Shigaraki stepped closer again, "Everything's about to change, Todoroki. Nothing can stop it. This is nature."

He stepped back, his lips quirking one last time before he turned to leave, his last words trailing in his wake, "And the only thing me and you get to choose is which side we're on when it happens."

The porcelain of the sink in one of the hospital's bathrooms creaked as Katsuki gripped it, letting out a heavy, frustrated sigh.

He'd gone to the hospital's memorial for Momo Yaoyorozu, but not of his own volition. Some old lady who was a patient at the hospital had wanted to go, saying she'd been under Momo's care a few times before she'd died. He'd been the one tasked with taking her there in a wheelchair, and the service was just as stupid and pointless as he'd thought it'd be.

Nearly dying himself and living with two people who were dead had given him a whole new perspective on death. It was fucking complicated, but all they were doing was planting a stupid fucking tree.

Far from fitting, if you asked him.

The actual service aside, just being there had been fucking horrible.

People sobbing, a priest reading off some sort of Bible phrase that he supposed was meant to comfort him.

That wasn't Katsuki's type of thing.

But, finally, it was over.

He bent forward and turned on the water, letting it pool in his cupped hands before splashing it across his face.

He was fed up . Was this really all their was to it? Carting around old ladies in wheelchairs, folding towels, mopping up hallways and waiting rooms. Did trying to 'be human' again really have nothing else to offer?

His hands found the porcelain of the sink again, and he lifted his head, catching sight of his own reflection once more.

He froze.

His senses, or rather the wolf's sense, were blaring, telling him that he was no longer alone.

And yet, he was the only one in the reflection in the mirror.

He spun around, freezing when he caught sight of Momo Yaoyorozu standing only a few feet behind him.

His crimson eyes were blown wide, "The hell…?"

It was obviously her; the pitch black hair and soft face were unmistakable.

But at the same time, she seemed like a completely different person. She looked different... like something about her was just off. She didn't look as innocent as she had before, like there was something darker beneath the surface.

And she looked fucking terrified, her eyes just as wide as his as she stared back at him.

Was she a ghost, like Ochako?

"Did you enjoy her memorial service?"

Katsuki's gaze whipped to the bathrooms entrance.

A man he didn't know leaned against the wall beside the door, his arms lazily folded over his chest. There was something familiar about him beneath the grungy black hair and warped scarring beneath his eyes and across his chin, but Katsuki couldn't place it.

The man pushed himself off the wall, his hands finding his pockets as he stalked closer, "It's a shame Shouto couldn't be there, but…" a twisted smile pulled at his scars, "...maybe he'll come to yours."

He set his hand heavily on Momo's shoulder, the girl's eyes going completely black as he shoved her towards the blond.

Katsuki only stood there, processing.

The black eyes...Shouto's eyes had looked like that the first time they'd met. That was a trait of vampires.

Momo stumbled to a stop still a few steps away. She wouldn't meet his gaze, her black eyes somewhere on his chest as she quivered out a breath, her hands shaking in fists at her side.

The other man set his hand on her shoulder again, leaning in to speak softly in her ear while he kept his eyes on the blond, "Come on, Momo. He's Shouto's friend. Don't you want revenge?"

"Half 'n Half did this to you?" Katsuki snapped, a trace of something akin to disappointment just barely there in his voice.

An eyebrow quirked beneath disheveled black hair, "You mean…you know? You know what he is?" The man pushed Momo out of the way so he could step in front of the blond, his nose twitching, "Hold on a second…" he took a deep sniff of the air, immediately recoiling backwards, "A fucking werewolf?" He pressed the back of his hand against his nose, leering, "Disgusting."

Leaving that last word echoing between the bathroom walls, his hand enclosed around Momo's wrist, the pair disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Katsuki's blood was blazing.

Not from being called disgusting.

Not from almost being fed on.

As soon as he caught sight of the split-colored head of hair when he turned the corner, his fist lashed out.

Shouto had barely even had a chance to see Katsuki coming before he was almost sent toppling by the fist he took to the jaw, the mop in his hands nearly coming free of his grasp.

"The fuck are you playing at?!"

The stupid, innocent confusion on Shouto's face only made his blood boil more. So, before he gave him an answer, Katsuki gave him another fist to the face.

As Shouto stumbled again, the mop clanking to the floor, Katsuki finally growled, "Momo Yaoyorozu."

Shouto visibly tensed at the name, his face blank as his eyes found Katsuki's.

"I manage my condition," Katsuki hissed. "I hide in a shitty fucking cellar, but you ….What's the fucking point of us trying to build some fucking semblance of a life when you attack our friends and turn them into fucking monsters ?"

The once empty hallway was becoming not-so empty, a few nurses carrying charts turning the corner.

"I'm not like you," Shoto hissed back as he took a step closer and lowered his voice to avoid being overheard. "I don't get any days off. This is what I am."

"Then why the fuck are we even trying?" Katsuki immediately ground out in response.

He didn't give Shouto a chance to say even another word in defense, shoving the other boy back before stalking off, shaking out the hand he'd used to deal the blows.

When the doorbell rang, Ochako jolted from where she'd been lounging on the couch with a book.

"Todoroki? Bakugo? It's Mr. Uraraka."

She jumped to her feet at the voice that carried through the door, her eyes wide.

Why was he here? What was she supposed to do? What the hell was she supposed to do?

The telltale jingling of keys made the decision for her.

When the front door started to creak open, she bolted, quietly pressing her back against the nearest wall that was out of his line of sight.

Her father's footsteps echoed in the entryway, calling for the boys again, "Todoroki? Bakugo? Hello?"

As his footfalls grew closer, Ochako pressed her palm into her chest, more out of habit than necessity. Though, she was sure if she still had a heart, it'd be screaming.

Panic flew through her as he made his way into the living room and into her line of sight, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of the boys.

Ochako harshly bit her bottom lip. This was the first time she was seeing him since her funeral, which was almost eight months ago now.

But his eyes simply glazed over where she stood.

The tiny bit of hope in her chest died as her hands flew to her mouth to muffle a sob, tears springing in her eyes.

He couldn't see her. All sorts of people had been able to see her. It hadn't been consistent, but the number of people had grown in number. The guy that'd delivered the boys' pizza the other night. The little kids that played in their front yard every Saturday.

She didn't know how he'd react if he did see her, and she knew that it'd put her and the boys at risk of being found out.

But still, some tiny part of her had been desperately hoping for it. Then, maybe she could make things right.

Swallowing down her sobs, but not bothering to stop the stream of tears, she snuck across the living room, following after him. She peaked past the wall just as he brushed through the curtain of beads into the kitchen, her eyes following his hands as he messed with the knobs of the sink.

The pipes started making that awful groaning and clanking noise that drove Katsuki crazy.

After listening to it for a moment, her dad switched the sink off and crouched down to open the cabinet.

Ochako's eyes went wide as the front door opened yet again. But this time, it was someone much less surprising.

Katsuki looked pissed. Like, even more pissed than usual.

His eyes sharply zeroed in on her tear-streaked face as he slammed the door shut behind him, his voice callous as he ground out, "The hell's wrong with you?"

Anger flashed across her features at his lack of sensitivity. But she clenched her lips shut, pointing sharply and urgently at the kitchen.

"The fuck?" he followed her hand, going still when he caught sight of Uraraka's dad coming into the entryway, obviously drawn by the slam of the door.

"Oh, Bakugo," the man smiled pleasantly. "I rang the doorbell, but no one answered."

The blond stole a quick glance at Ochako before looking back to her dad, obviously processing the fact that the man couldn't see her, "It's...It's fine."

"I thought I'd come by to take a look at the pipes, but...I think I'm gonna have to come back later and take a look at the tank in the basement." He took a few small steps towards the door, "Is there a time when you're not home? I'd hate to disturb you and Todoroki."

"Well, there's usually someone here," Katsuki hissed in disdain.

Ochako would have rolled her eyes if she'd had the mind. But she was still too caught up in her emotions.

"Well," the man's hand fell on the door knob, and as he pulled the door open, he looked back one last time, "I'll pop by sometime later in the week?"

Katsuki only nodded and grunted in affirmation, his hand finding the edge of the open door, silently rushing Uraraka's dad from the house.

Once the way was clear, Katsuki slammed the door shut behind him, cutting off the man's bid of farewell.

The blond's glare was hard as it found the still-crying Ochako.

To her, his stare was one of judgement. It pressed her for why she was upset when, really, nothing had changed. She was still dead, her dad was still alive, and their lives together were over. And that's the way things had been for almost a year now, so why the hell was she getting so upset over it?

Ochako broke under that stare, her tears escalating to full-on sobs. Her voice struggled to work for a few moments before rapidly spilling from her lips, "I just...I thought...I thought if I ever did get the chance to see him again and if he could see me, I could explain. I could say goodbye.. .I thought if he saw me, we'd...but he couldn't see me. And now he's...and I'm still in the stupid shitty clothes I died in! He has to live all on his own...and I...I'm stuck with you ."

Katsuki's expression and posture hadn't flinched the slightest bit during her tirade. He was still staring firmly right back at her, almost as if he was letting her vent and waiting for her to finish before he did anything.

She hadn't meant to suddenly flip it around on him like that or for the words to sound so harsh. But she was hurting and tired and frustrated, and no one seemed to care.

Before her legs could give out on her, Ochako plopped herself down in front of the couch again. She drew her legs into her chest before folding her arms atop her knees, burying her face into the nest her arms made as she continued to sob.

She didn't know when, but sometime during the moments when neither of them talked, Katsuki had plopped himself on the opposite end of the couch. She wasn't aware he'd come so close until he suddenly hissed under his breath, "Fuck…"

She lifted her head to find him there, his arms resting on the pillow over his lap. He looked like he was trying to say something, but was struggling with how to say it, his brows furrowed and jaw clenched.

He wasn't looking at her, but he must've felt her curious stare, because he closed his eyes and, with a huff, finally started, "Look, after I…"

Ochako's brows furrowed. Was Katsuki actually trying to comfort her?

"After I lost... everything, I ran away. My parents think I'm dead because I want them to think I'm dead. They knew I was attacked, but before they could get to the hospital, I left. I couldn't face them, after knowing what I was."

He still wasn't looking her way, so Ochako decided turn her gaze forward as well, granting him some form of privacy as he opened up to her for the first time since they'd met.

"Then, I met Half 'n Half, and we moved here. Then...I saw the old hag."

Ochako's brows furrowed. Sure, hag was far from a pleasant term, but he said it with an inkling of fondness, or at least that's what Ochako interpreted it as. Did he mean...his mom?

"It was on accident," Katsuki continued. "Must've been here for a day trip or some shit. But she looked fucking desolated. It felt like losing everything all over again."

Ochako finally risked taking another glance at him, one hand tangling in the hair at the back of her head as she tentatively pressed, "Bakugo...how did it happen?"

Katsuki's eyes finally snapped to her, catching on to what she was getting when he found her stating at his shoulder, where they both knew strips of white, scarred skin ran in jagged, parallel lines.

His gaze tore away from hers again with another humph, the sound frustrated, but hell, he'd already come this far, so there was no point in stopping now.

"I'd just graduated high school," he started bitterly. "We were on vacation overseas, staying at some lodge in the mountains. I had a fight with the old hag, so I decided to go out for a walk, even though it was past midnight."

He paused for a few seconds, his voice drowning in anger and resentment when he started again, "That thing was...I remember looking at it, and being fucking offended at how hideous it was. It was so fucking wrong. "

"It just...attacked you?"

At the question, Katsuki's mind was filled with flashes of that night. He didn't think his heart had ever beat that fast before, his lungs screaming for air as he sprinted for his life over the uneven forest ground.

"This other guy who followed me died," he stated flatly. "It literally tore his throat and chest out as I watched. All I got was a fucking scratch."

Katsuki let her process in silence.

Of course she'd thought about how he'd become a victim of the werewolf affliction before. The thought had even haunted her after she'd watched him transform at her own naive insistance.

And, of course, she knew she wasn't the only one in the trio of housemates who had trauma and issues because of what she was. She'd always known that, from the minute she met the two boys. But to hear it was something else entirely, especially from Katsuki.

Neither of the boys seemed like the type to talk about their feelings, but Ochako had always assumed that if one of them were to ever open up to her, it'd be Shouto.

So, for Katsuki to tell her all this about himself, and for him to be so genuine about it...it really meant a lot. Although her chest still ached, his words made her feel not so alone.

"Why do you think your old man couldn't see you?" Katsuki finally asked the question that'd been on his mind since the encounter. "Seemed like a lot of people were starting to be able to."

"I don't know," Ochako swallowed heavily. "When I saw him, I felt something. Almost like a snap, somewhere inside my chest...Maybe...maybe the shock of him being here, just...set me back? Like...like a relapse." She swiped at the tears on her cheeks with the cuffs of her sweater. "There's just so much of this I don't understand."

"Well look what we have here. Mind if I join you?"

If Shouto's heart was still beating, he was sure it would have quickened at the familiar voice that interrupted his chat with Mina. Or rather, Mina had been the one doing most of the talking, but Shouto had made sure to nod every now and then.

He wasn't sure when the two of them had become break-time buddies, but somehow, the pink haired girl always managed to sync her break with his and find her way to his table.

Her normally bubbly demeanor flattened when Dabi slid into the empty seat at Shouto's side, her eyes glancing confusedly between the two of them, "You guys know each other?"

When Shouto only continued to stare forward, refusing to acknowledge him, Dabi huffed out a laugh, "Come on, Shouto. Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Shouto smashed his empty paper cup, still staring devotedly forward as he hissed, "Please don't do this."

"We've known each other for a long time," Dabi smiled slyly at the girl. "A long, long time."

Shouto's chair screeched against the floor as he stood, his hand circling his brother's elbow and tugging him upwards, "Get up."

Dabi let himself be pulled from the cafeteria, smiling over his shoulder at the pink haired girl, "You seem nice! Maybe afterwards we could hang out sometime?"

Shouto dragged his brother to the nearest dead end, throwing him against the wall.

Dabi only chuckled at the fiery look on his younger brother's face, "I met your furry friend about an hour ago. And to think, I was gonna have her feed from him."

Oh...that had to be how Katsuki had found out.

Shouto did his best to press forward, not giving in to his own guilt or his brother's taunts, "What the hell do you want? Did Shigaraki send you again?"

Dabi rolled his eyes, exasperated, "Why does everything have to be about Shigaraki?"

"Then what do you want?"

"It's about Momo," Dabi smiled cruelly at the way his younger brother tensed. "You brought her into this, and then you left her. She woke up surrounded by strangers, when it should've been you there."

Shouto hated the way his brother called her Momo, referring to her with such familiarity.

But he could fix this. He had to fix this. For both himself and for Momo.

His hands clenched into fists, his gaze gouging into his brother, "Where is she?"

"What...you think she needs saving or something?" Dabi scoffed, "We're not some shitty abusive boyfriend. There isn't anywhere you can go to hide from us."

"I know the League," Shoto insisted. "You guys stay away from the smaller towns, anywhere that's not busy enough to cover up what you're doing."

"You don't get it," Dabi chuckled cruelly. "She doesn't want saving . She wants to kill . She nearly killed her own parents. That's why she came back to us."

Shouto's courage almost died right there.

He hated what he was, and yet he'd let himself pass on the curse to someone else; let them experience the same pain that he had.

"If you ask me, I think she's got the right idea," Dabi hummed. "Shigaraki's talking about offering it first, but fuck, let's just give it to them, right?"

Shouto had taken a few steps back, no longer holding his ground and caging his brother in. His gaze had fallen, too, his thoughts trapping him in his own head.

Dabi prayed on his confusion and confliction, "You can't keep going like this, Shouto. You can't choose them over us. Whatever it takes, we will drag you back ."

Dabi followed through on that threat the next day.

"What the hell have you done?!"

Katsuki's panicked shouts from down one of the hospital halls were the first thing that tipped Shouto off. It wasn't unusual for Katsuki to yell in anger, but these ones were different. They were full of utmost rage, with a sense of urgency and alarm.

The second tip was much more throttling.

The scent of blood. Human blood.

Shouto slid around the corner to the hallway he'd followed the scent to, cold creeping across his skin at the sight that greeted him.

Mina Ashido was splayed out on the tiled floor, a bloodied hand fumbling against where her life was flowing from the puncture in her neck. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, gurgled choking sounds spilling from her mouth.

Her head was in Katsuki's lap, the blond's hands and scrubs covered in her blood as he, too, tried to stem the flow of blood.

Red eyes snapped up to Shouto the moment he appeared, Katsuki practically screaming, "Come on, Half 'n Half! Can't you fucking do something?!"

Shouto slowly stumbled closer, falling to his knees on the girl's other side. He lifted his hands, but didn't know where to place them; didn't know if he could stop himself once his hands were coated with her blood, "I…"

"Come on, Shouto," another voice leered.

His eyes numbly found his brother, who stood down the hallway some distance, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You know what you need to do to save her," Dabi urged with a cruel smile on his face. "You better hurry. She's about two pints away from being an organ donor."

Mina choked again, her eyelids slowly beginning to fall and the spasms in her body lessening.

Katsuki bored his eyes into Shouto once more, a silent urge.

"I can't," Shouto breathed, watching as Mina's eyes finally fell shut. "Not again..."

"Is this how it ends?" Katsuki grumbled out after nearly an hour of silently sitting in a hospital hallway. "We can't even make it three months without everything getting blown open?"

Shouto glanced over at the blonde from where he sat in the chair beside him, "...What are you talking about?"

"I found him with his fucking mouth on her neck," Katsuki growled. "The fucker got away, but she has fucking fang marks on her. And most of her blood's gone. Not on the floor or on her body or even on me. It's just gone. Don't you think people are gonna have questions?"

Shouto stared forward in silence.

Mina Ashido hadn't survived. Despite being in a hospital, help hadn't arrived quick enough. Even if the crowd of doctors and nurses had gotten there sooner after hearing the commotion, she still probably wouldn't have survived. She'd lost too much blood.

"We've been around for thousands of years," Shouto started. "You think this is the first time something like this has happened?" His tone suddenly got sharper, "They have branches everywhere."

Katsuki followed Shouto's intense gaze, finding it zeroed in on a man with scraggly blue hair in a paramedic's uniform who stood just outside Mina's room. The man cast the pair of boys a quick look and a hint of a smirk before turning back towards the cop he was conversing with, walking with him until he disappeared from their sight.

"I'm gonna go find us a fucking cab," Katsuki left Shouto standing by the hospital's entrance, the blonde forcing his way through the crowd on the sidewalk to get to the street.

"It's all about to start."

Shouto didn't have to look to know that Shigaraki had just exited the hospital, coming to stand right beside him.

"We've made a list," the other vampire continued. "It's time to make up your mind."

Shouto glared dutifully forward, not an ounce of fragility in his voice as he pledged, "I choose them."

There was silence for a few moments before Shigaraki left one last message before disappearing into the night, "We'll be seeing you, then. And your little dog."

Katsuki and Ochako stood in the kitchen on either side of the doorway, their gazes resting on Shouto, who sat by himself on the black leather couch in the living room.

His eyes stared off at nothing, but his face was strained, his thoughts tumultuous enough to steal away his focus on the outside world.

"I almost forgot what they were like," Katsuki suddenly and lowly hissed.

Ochako looked to him with furrowed brows.

"The other vampires," he answered her silent, curious stare. "They're predators. Every inch of them is just hunger ...and fury ."

"The energy it must take him every minute to not be like that," she solemnly voiced her own thoughts. "Do...Do you think he should have saved her?"

Silence overtook them again for a few moments, the pair still staring at the vampire through the curtain of beads.

Katsuki's gruff voice was uncharacteristically solemn, "I think he did save her."

Ochako curled into herself at his words.

Vampires...was this what they were really like? Shouto was the only one she'd met, and though she knew the many couldn't be characterized by the few, he was too kind, too normal to be this level of sinister.

She wanted to stay inside. Away from all the people who couldn't see her. Away from all of the people who would just walk right through her, like she wasn't there.

She felt safe here.

Outside, there were monsters. But when it was just the three of them, it was like none of that could touch them.