Author's Notes:

I'll try not to do too many loanwords, but sometimes the english equivalent doesn't satisfy me or is just too much of a mouthful. For example "oyakata" could technically be "liege;" but Kaguya also acted more like a parent to the Demon Slayers so I'm dissatisfied with translating it like he's your typical blueblood.

Zen Shuchu: Total Concentration Breathing
Hanami: Cherry blossom viewing

Chapter 1

Opening Breath

Izuku closed his eyes and shut himself off from the world. One by one, the young boy disconnected himself from each of his senses. Sight, touch, hearing, taste, and with some difficulty, his sense of smell.

All that remained was the void of nothingness, the beating of his heart, and the air being breathed in and out, in and out. Slowly and purposefully, his lungs expanded, paused, then breathed out twice as long as he breathed in.

He counted that cycle as "one."

Then Two. Three. Four. Five... He focused solely on breathing and counting all the way to twenty. He wasn't sure if twenty-eleven was next though, so he counted backwards instead.

Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen. Sixteen...

"Dad… I want to be… a hero."

"That's great, Izuku. I'm sure you'll be a super cool hero!"

"But I… I don't have a quirk… I- All the heroes have quirks!"

"Izuku... listen to me. Quirks are all well and good, but they are not what makes a hero. What matters the most, all that that you need is the hero in your heart. Even if people don't take videos of you, or cheer your name in the streets, real heroes would just help people. And Izuku... I know for a fact that you too, can be a hero."

His father's words crossed his mind. He was fond of the memory, yet pushed it away for his training and restarted his count.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five...

Thoughts of the latest Heroes came up, but Izuku grabbed them and threw them into the void. Again, he restarted his count.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five...

Over and over, he simply focused on breathing. Soon, no stray thoughts popped into his mind.

The wind brushed his hair, a bird chirped nearby, and he picked up the scent of budding plants.

Again, he counted his breaths. Over and over. He expanded his lungs greater than before, his heart beat louder in his ear, and heat spread all the way to his fingertips.

Again, he counted.

Again, he Breathed.

Breath.

Deeper.

Forever Deeper.

The world was lost and Izuku sank deeper into the void of nothingness.

Down.

Down.

Forever down.

- A clear, high pitched chime of a bell startled Izuku out of his concentration. His eyes snapped open and saw his mother standing right in front of him. Dangling in her dainty hand was a bell, the one used to signal the end of his training.

"Geez, you really get lost doing your panting technique," Inko said with a shake of her head.

He frowned at her words. "It's not panting technique mom. It's called Zen Shuchu and I'm still training to do it."

"Yes, yes. Zen ShooShoo and it makes you a sweaty little Carrot." She ruffled his hair and made sweat splatter everywhere.

"Mom, stop!" He pouted and pushed her big, grown-upy hands away from his head. "And it's Zen. Shuuu. Chuuu."

"Sorry, sorry. Zen Shuchu." Inko giggled and covered her mouth, not sounding sorry at all.

"Why did you ring the bell?" Izuku continued to pout. He felt that his training was paying off. If his mom hadn't rang the bell just now, maybe he could have tried doing the... Dance of Fire-something-pants.

"Well, dinner will be ready soon, so you need to take a bath."

"Why are we having dinner so early?" Izuku asked. Feeling like he'd taken a long nap, he began to stretch and raised his arms over his head.

"Izuku, it's late. You've been out here for three hours."

"Eh?" The young red head froze mid-stretch and looked around. They were a little ways inside their farm, with Izuku having sat on a flat rock that was just a little taller than the fields of strawberries and shrubs of tea leaves. The entire valley was draped in shadow, thanks to the sun sinking halfway down the mountain range that surrounded the town. It was late...

"I MISSED MY SHOW!" Izuku jumped up and bug-eyed. He couldn't have missed today's episode! Taicha was supposed to rescue Meimei from the villains!

"Hm... Show was it?" Inko tapped at her chin with a finger and crossed her arm like she was thinking hard. To anyone else though, they'd clearly see the mischief dancing behind her eyes as she gazed at her son's expression. "What was it called? Monster Digi? Rancher Monmon...?"

"Digital Monster:Re!" Izuku answered, tearducts starting to fill.

"Oh right, that!" Inko said and snapped her fingers. Having had her fun, she stopped teasing her son. "I recorded it for you."

Izuku's eyes bulged even further that they might really fall out of their sockets. Then he sighed in relief. He wouldn't be able to avoid hearing his classmates talk about the show until the weekend. "Thank you, mom."

"No problem, sweetie. Now, go take a shower."

Now Izuku frowned at this. "But I already took a bath this morning."

Inko smile turned wry. What was it with kids and their dislike of baths?

"Well, you don't want to ruin dinner by smelling yucky and sweaty, right? Especially since we're having katsudon tonight."

"KATSUDON?!"

"That's right~" Inko singsonged. Four year olds were so easy. "And if you make yourself squeaky clean, I should just be finished making them. So get to it, little carrot!"

"Katsudon!" Izuku cheered and started running back towards their house. "Katsudon, katsudon, katsudon!"

Inko shook her head at her son's antics and blissfully watched his retreating back. Looking around the farm one more time she once again chides her teenage self. The farm had been her family's for generations. Her father and his father before him had grown up and ran around these very fields, made a living, and raised their families. As for teenage Inko? She had wanted to leave it all behind and chase after her dreams of "striking out and making it big" in the cities. Ah, the naivety of youth. Now though? You wouldn't be able to offer enough fame and fortune for Inko to even think of giving up her family in this quiet town of Kawazu.

A chilly wind blew down the greenette mother's neck. She shivered at the reminder that spring hadn't fully arrived yet and followed after her son to prepare dinner.

After entering the glass sliding doors of the living room, Inko moved to the kitchen, donned an apron, and took the seasoned pork cutlets from the fridge. Katsudon wasn't a difficult dish. Season the meat with some light miso, coat it with flour, egg, and crunchy breadcrumbs, then fry to golden brown perfection. So simple… that Inko's mind began to reminisce to when everything changed.

It all started when her parents, may they rest in peace, pulled a Momotaro one day and literally fished a boy from the river next to their house. As first impressions went, it certainly wasn't the best. Especially since the boy in question was unconscious, dressed in all black, and was bleeding so much that she thought his hair was dyed with blood.

Inko thought him to be part of some yakuza or something and wanted to call the police if not an ambulance. Let the government deal with a red-head with a death grip on a sword and a body that looked like a battlefield. She wanted her parents safe and away from anything the resembled crime and illegal activities.

Fortunately, her mother thought otherwise. She kept to her oath as a nurse and took care of the boy herself. Even keeping to patient confidentiality despite being long retired.

Despite having voiced her concerns, her parents still took the red head under their wing. Inko on the other hand, kept to her suspicion. And he certainly hadn't helped matters when he woke up and said the current year was 1916! That was 400 years ago! Sure, he spoke ye-olde-Nihongo quite fluently but for all she knew he was a very talented con-artist.

The sizzling of hot oil brought her out of ruminating on the past and she dipped three breaded katsus on the frying pan. It wouldn't do to accidentally burn down the house just cause she was feeling nostalgic of her High-school days and the various rom-com situation she had shared with her husband. As she flipped the meat over to cook the other side, she heard Izuku's four year old feet tromping through the second floor and down the stairs, all the while, continuing to chant his favorite food.

"Izuku, could you help mommy set the table please?"

"Kay~!" The young boy answered as he entered the kitchen. He grabbed three sets of chopsticks and glasses from the pantry then carefully set them on the table one by one. After he finished, he sniffed the air and ran out of the dinning room. "Dad's home!"

Inko blinked, having only heard her son sniffing loudly, before finally hearing the sound of a car driving up to their house. Just how was it that Izuku and his father could smell things before she even heard them? Surely, the nose of a bloodhound was their quirk despite their extra toe joints.

A car's door opened and closed, muted farewells were exchanged, then the car drove away. Keys jingled from behind the front the door. Then finally, the Kamado Patriarch announced his arrival.

"I'm home!" Tanjiro Kamado announced. "Hey, something smells really good!"

"Dad!"

"Whoa, easy there Carrot. No need to jump your old man."

"You're not old, dad!"

"Are you sure? Me and old man Tsuburaba get along well, and all his friends are old too."

"Boys," Inko called after them as she started to set three bowls of pipping hot katsudons on the table. The pair often lost themselves in conversations. "Dinner will get cold if you keep dilly-dallying by the front door."

"Oh right, the katsudon!" Izuku cheered. "Dad! We're having katsudon! Come on!"

"Yes, yes, I'm coming."

The little four year old reentered the room, all the while dragging in a full grown adult version of himself, one with sun-like red eyes instead of emerald green.

"Welcome home, dear." Inko greeted and set down the last of the katsudon in Tanjiro's spot on the dinning table. A bare, burly arm embraced her from behind and Inko turned her head automatically towards her husband. She tipped her toes, and met his lips half way in a quick peck.

"Ewwww! Gross! Mom, Dad, stop!" Izuku complained, sticking out his tongue and faking a gag.

Ignoring her son for the moment, she eyed the tall, tan, and handsome redhead from top to bottom. He was sootless, if a little sweaty and was dressed down to his undershirt and suspenders. "No calls today?"

"One, but it wasn't a fire." Tanjiro answered as he hung his firefighter's coat on his chair. Instead of seating himself immediately, he pulled back Inko's chair for her. "Just a cat stuck in a tree."

Inko went weak in the knees at the gesture and her smile stretched from ear to ear. She thanked him as she took her seat. Some women might take offense at a guy pulling chairs for them, but not her. That was their loss.

"Oh, right. Chocho-san dropped by the station earlier," Tanjiro continued as he helped their son to his seat then took his own. "He asked how the costumes for the festival were coming along."

"I'll be done with them by the weekend." Inko clapped her hands together. "Itadakimasu."

" " Itadakimasu~ " " The father and son mimicked and they all grabbed their chopsticks. Metal ones for the older Kamados, and a bright yellow one with an All Might helper for the four year old. Now that all three of them were armed, they began to attack their bowls of Katsudon.

"Speaking of the festival, will we be able to have a picnic with the neighbors in the morning?"

"That'd be fine, though I'll need to head to the beach after lunch. Don't want anything to go wrong when I fight the Orochi after all."

"Da' es uin' wat?" Izuku asked, bits of pork and rice flying out of his mouth as he heard a familiar name from an old anime.

"Carrot, no talking when your mouth is full. It's bad manners," Inko told him and grabbed a tissue to wipe away the rice from his cheeks. "Now say that again after you swallow your food."

Izuku nodded and after swallowing, he asked, "Dad is doing what?"

Tanjiro lips twitched to a grin. The same kind of mischief Inko had earlier was dancing behind his red orbs. "Tell me Carrot, what do you know of the Orochi?"

Izuku stuck his tongue out and tilted his head. "Umm... He's a ninja with a giant snake, I think?"

"That's the adopted cousin. This Orochi is an giant evil dragon!"

"A dragon?!" Izuku exclaimed, eyes wide in shock. "As in the real thing?!"

"Oh yeah," Tanjiro nodded repeatedly and was mirroring Izuku's googley-eyed expression so much that Inko had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing. "He's the type that eats naughty children with eight heads, has razor sharp teeth, and has bad table manners." Chopsticks were held in front of the young red head and chomping like a dragon. "Nom, nom!"

"Ah! My katsu!"

Tanjiro raised the piece of pork over his head and dropped it into his open maw and spoke in a dramatically evil voice. "Mm..! Naughty children are delicious!"

For the first time in Izuku's life, his mouth was filled with the bitter taste of betrayal. He could do nothing but gape and ask why... Why have you forsaken me, father...? That is, until it was replaced with a katsu twice as big.

The older Kamado's couldn't help but chuckle as their little Carrot's smile returned two-fold. Truly, their son's vivid innocence was something to be treasured. They were in silent agreement to see as many expressions Izuku could make all the while his childhood last.

So went another peaceful dinner for the Kamado household. Truly, moments like these were to be cherished. For Tanjiro Kamado knew, more than anyone, that life changes like the weather. It shifts and moves. Never endless days of sunshine, nor will snow eternally fall.

And whenever happiness is destroyed, there's always...

The scent of blood.

Tanjiro stood in his restroom, studying his reflection in the mirror. He would need to shave tomorrow. While he could grow a beard, he wasn't a fan of having one, especially with his occupation as a firefighter. That was also why he, instead of mimicking his father who wore his hair in a ponytail, kept his hair short similar to his days as a Demon Slayer.

'Demon Slayer…' The word echoed in his mind. In a few more days, it would be ten years since he last wore the title. An entire decade living in this peaceful Era. He was lucky, he supposed, having been found by a caring family and eventually marrying the pretty daughter of the house. Still, that didn't make his time displacement any easier to bear. He had left them behind… all to make sure their mission was completed.

'I hope they lived happy lives.' Tanjiro prayed, not for the first time nor the last. He had tried looking for his friends and family's descendants, or at the very least, their graves. 400 years however, was a long time to look for a trail. The World Wars half a century after the Taisho-era surely had messed things up, then the 'Dawn of the Supernatural' only buried things in the past even further.

Well… he did find one family. Oyakata-sama's descendants, the Ubuyashikis, wasn't all that hard to find. A simple Google search, when he finally figured out how to use his smartphone, gave him a long list of the family deeds and business ventures. The family seemed to be doing well, and they didn't seem to be afflicted with the curse that Oyakata-sama had.

Maybe… maybe they still had record of the Corps? Oyakata-sama had memorized every single member of his organization. Was it too far fetch in hoping his descendants would keep the practice? If not memorize, then perhaps just written down?

'I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye...'

Tanjiro shook his head and started to undress. Much as he wanted to do something for people in the past, he had a family here in the present too. Izuku would want his bedtime story.

He took everything off, including the hanafuda earrings with the image of the sun, and neatly placed them in a laundry basket. Just as he was about to enter the bath however, a feminine pair of arms wrapped around his chest and two soft mounds were pressed against his back. Scratch that, the mounds were being rubbed on his back and one dainty hand was traveling down to his nether regions.

"What about Izuku?" Tanjiro asked his equally naked wife.

"He's watching his show right now. It's an hour special, so we've got some time just as long as we're quiet." Inko answered, her voice husky with desire.

"Candles…" Tanjiro grunted. He was starting to get into the mood too, but they couldn't let the bathroom emenate the smell of squid. They grabbed a pair of scented candles from under the sink, lit them, and double checked the lock on the bathroom's door.

As soon as they were sure no accidents could happen, the young couple jumped into each other's arms and lips were locked.

They were going to have a long bath.

"Yes! Do it, Taicha! Beat the villain!" Izuku cheered as he watched the main character transform into a new evolution and push back the frog villain.

"How?! How are you doing this?! You're friends abandoned you!" The frog villain croaked from the TV.

"There's more to me than just the power of friendship!" Taicha yelled as he chased after the villain, his digital form blazing like the sun. "More than anything, this fight is for love!"

"You-! Don't think I'll let you have it this easy!" The villain retorted and set his power, Swamp of the Underworld, to its maximum limit. Vines, mud, and shadow gators block Taicha's path but he didn't hesitate for a single second.

"That won't stop me!" The flaming hero yelled, pushing through all the obstacles even as thorns cut into his limbs and shadowy fangs dugged into his shoulder. "I'll take you down, even if it means being cut into pieces!"

Izuku was on the edge of his seat, all focus on the screen and the flaming red hero willing to give it his all. To the young red head, he ignored everything but the TV. Even as something upstairs went thump – thump – thump. His parents will handle it.

When it looked like this was it for the main character, diving in headfirst to a razor sharp wall of vines and shadow, an energy beam cut through them from above.

"WHAT?! WHO-"

"It's Meimei!" Izuku yelled, recognizing the attack. The TV's camera showed an imprisoned heroine, tangled in a vine trap high up in the trees. Her arm, mangled and bleeding from the vines, was transformed into a digital cannon and was evidently the source of the attack.

"I won't let you hurt him anymore, you slimy toad!" The flowery heroine screamed.

With the walls cleared, Taicha had a straight shot to the villain and already had his clawed fist ready to strike him down.

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! THIS CAN'T-!"

"JUST. SHUT UP ALREADY!" Taicha yelled and brought down his claws.

"ARGHHHHH!" The villain screamed.

"YYYYEEEEEEESSSSS!" Izuku screamed.

"…uummIIIIN-"

The young red head blinked and looked up to the ceiling. He thought he had just heard his Mom screaming too, but it was really quiet upstairs right now.

"Taicha, are you okay!?" Meimei asked from the TV, stealing Izuku's attention once more.

Inko laid in the bath with her husband, soaking up after a good, long, and pleasurable exercise. Resting her head in the crook of her husband's neck, she traced her finger on his skin, feeling solid muscle, hard bone... and the faded ridges of scars. They say scars made men manlier but seeing so many on Tanjiro only made her feel sorrow, for she knew each one was gained in battles of life or death. "Tell me about this one," she asked as she found a small scar just under his chin. "What demon caused this?"

"You don't believe in demons." Tanjiro reminded her as he had one hand playing with her ponytail and the other continued to play with her chest. He was a breast man, no doubt about it.

"I believe that you believe in them," Inko reasoned and looked up to meet his eyes. His tale of fighting demons and time travel was hard to swallow. Occam's razor would suggest that Tanjiro was hit by a memory altering quirk, replacing all his battles of quirk users with demons. That was less of a far-fetch theory compared to being able to time travel 400 years before "The Dawn of the Supernatural." At the very least though, she believed her husband told the truth as he saw it. "Isn't that enough?"

"Maybe…" He smiled wryly and touched the same scar she was tracing. "This wasn't caused by a demon though, but by Kanao."

"Kanao…" Inko wondered, searching her memories for a description. "That's one of the girls with a butterfly, right?"

"Mmm…" Tanjiro nodded as his stomach constricted. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the bathroom wall in an effort to relax. While he could speak freely of his past life, specifics on people were hard for him to say. His lost of contact with them was still heavy in his heart.

"Tanjiro, if it's too painful..."

"No, it's fine…" Tanjiro shook his head. Inko was here, in his arms. The past can't supersede the present. Letting go of her hair and breast, he grabbed her by the waist and held her closer to him. She clung back just as tightly. "I'm fine now. Anyway, it happened right after the spider demons in Natagumo Mountain.

"At the time, that was the hardest battle I've ever fought in. In fact, I'm pretty sure we would have died had our back up not arrived. The problem was though, Nezuko had still kind of been a secret. So all they saw was a demon, not my sister."

"Then how did you get away?"

"Well, the one that found us was actually Giyu-san. At first, I think he didn't recognize us but when he did, he defended us from the other pillar, Shinobu-san. He held her back and told us to run. Not that it did us any good though, as Kanao was just hiding in the shadows."

"So you fought her?"

"No way," Tanjiro scoffed. "I was already dead tired from fighting so many demons. Not to mention that Kanao was way stronger than me at that time. No, Kanao just dropped kicked my back and I was almost knocked out from there. When she tried to kill Nezuko, all I managed to do was pull her by the cloak and she ended up sitting on me. In the end, she finished me off by stomping her heel on my head. This scar is me grazing my chin on a rock."

With the tale finished, the couple lapsed into silence. Not an uncomfortable one, but one that left the two with their own thoughts. And despite having his wife in his arms, Tanjiro's traitorous mind thought of the girl he had just spoken of.

It had begun after his two month coma following the defeat of the Sixth Upper Moon. Kanao had come to visit him everyday until his full recovery. They hadn't done much other than talking or playing to pass the time. Actually, it was Tanjiro doing most of the talking but he handn't given it any mind. What little Kanao spoke off though, he treasured, such as her liking the taste of sour plums or enjoying her tea more when it's cold. Back then, he had promised he'd find many more things she'd enjoy and the smile she gave even bedazzled him.

Then there was his post Fourth-Upper-Moon-battle recovery where they...

"So she straddled you?"

"Huh?!" Tanjiro blinked, his memories overlapping with the present.

"She sat on you right? So did she straddle you like this?" Inko moved from his side to sit right on top of his crotch.

'Did I say any of that out loud? Did she read my mind?! I thought her quirk was telekinesis!' Panic surged through Tanjiro. He met his wife's eyes to gauge her anger, but instead all he saw was desire. Relief washed over him then as Inko seemed to have just gotten herself into the mood again. Guilt niggled at the back of his mind, but he focused and took hold of his wife's grinding waist. "No... you're doing it much better than she did."

"Oh, is that so? I'm glad."

"Minx."

"Only for you," Inko giggled.

A lump formed in Tanjiro's throat and forced it down. 'Getting guilty of the pass is silly. It's not like you cheated.'

"Hey honey... let's have another child. A girl! You'll spoil her rotten, I'm sure."

"A girl huh? With your eyes and my hair?"

"No, you already had your carbon copy. I want mine!"

"We could do th-"

"Mom! Dad! Can you read me a story?" Izuku asked from the restroom, halting any further discussion in the making of his little sister.

"cockblockedbymyownson," Inko grumbled quietly before she answered Izuku. "In a minute dear, we're almost done."

"Go and pick a story while we get dressed, okay?" Tanjiro added.

"Kay~!" Izuku replied before waddling off to his room.

Inko started to get up, but Tanjiro suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and whispered in her ear. "We'll continue round two in bed."

Suddenly, Inko found that Izuku wasn't falling asleep fast enough.

Spring had finally arrived to Kawazu, and with it, came the town's festival and the blooming of cherry blossoms. As bright, pink petals marched along the river the valley was transformed. From a rustic farming town with some hot springs, to a bustling cardinal of festivities and a prime location to have a picnic. The townspeople were over joyed. Such a coincidence was a sign for a good year. And for the more opportunistic sort, a great chance to peddle their wares at highway robbery prices. Capitalism, ho!

People from all over the Chubu region came to visit the otherwise sleepy-town, intent on dining and feasting under the sakuras and join in on the festival.

With the influx of people, however, came a few bad apples. Delinquents, ne'er-do-wells, and other miscreants are par for the course. A simple call for freshly graduated heroes to come and protect the town, with free food and exposure as their payment, then the men in tights would come in droves. Your typical rabble would then be subdued once faced against the overwhelming might of the law.

"Shota! Over here!"

Shota Aizawa, wearing his typical black shirt and pants and having just stepped off the Kawazu train station, heard Nemuri Kayama calling for him. Upon looking around the crowded train station however, he failed to spot his former senpai.

"Oi, Shota! It's rude to ignore me, you know?"

Shota blinked and looked to his front, where a woman with bright pink hair that faded to green and tied into three braids was staring at him. Scratch that, she was pouting at him and had her arms crossed, enhancing the already generous cleavage she was displaying thanks to her short, loose, and sakuras-on-black themed kimono. "Who are you..?"

The woman blinked, then thumped a fist onto her other palm. "Oh right, I haven't shown you this yet!" Then, like a chameleon, her hair color changed to the dark purple of his former senpai. "Ta-da! Pretty cool, huh? I use the pink hair as a disguise for my civilian persona."

"Kayama?" He hadn't recognized her. While it wasn't a radical change, she was exuding a caring aura instead of the disturbing sadisim she usually displayed as Midnight. "I didn't know your quirk lets you change hair colors."

"That wasn't my quirk. It's not too different from your unique consitution, actually." She winked and returned her hair to the exotic pink. Then she grabbed him by the arm, buried it into her valley of a bust, and started to drag him further into town. "But enough about that, come on! Let's go get lunch."

"Lunch? You called me here as back up." Shota pointed out then tried, and failed, to pull his arm out from her crevice. He should have been able to easily over power her, but she had a knack to sticking to his arm like a boa constrictor.

"You are, you are, but since your usual M.O. is being all secretive, I figured we could do it undercover."

"I can do that alone, now let go of my arm!"

"Aw, don't be such a stick in the mud. Patrol would be more fun like this and we can catch up! Besides, look around. We got heroes in every corner," she gestured around them. And true enough, one could easily spot the heroes thanks to their wacky, spandex, and unfestival-like motifs. They looked like they were here for a cospay convention than a flower watching festival.

"You're still being illogical. We can cover more ground seperately."

"Details, details," Nemuri waved in dismissal before she took out her phone. "Besides, I can't show you the videos of Sushi that's too big to send if we're apart."

"... Fine," Shota capitulated quickly. Curse the woman for knowing his weakness for cats. Then he recalled Nemuri had also called a third person for this little excursion of hers. "Where's Yamada?"

In response, Nemuri pointed to a speaker post used by the public address system. Just in time too, as the speakers came to life.

"Gooooooood Morning, Listeners! In case you've been living under a rock, todays the day of the Spring Festival right here in the town of cozy Kawazu! And it's my honour to be your host today, Present Mic!"

"Ah," Shota said. Yeah, that made sense for his former classmate to do.

Though he could still push to have his way, Shouta relented himself to being led around by the obstinate woman as she dragged him towards the festival-proper.

Despite the great number of heroes mingling among the crowds... not all individuals could be cowed so easily.

In a secluded corner of the parking area next to the beach was a black car almost like any other. It's windows were fully tinted however, and it's license plate was a forgery not in any legal database. A phone rings from within, and with a beep, is answered by the driver.

"Yes sir, I've arrived in Kawazu... Yes, the case is safe... No sir, I have that separately in a doll... Yes , of course. Then I'll begin looking after sun set."

The caller hanged up with another beep.

"Well, let's hope I find some nice toys to play with."

Author's Notes

I saw that "Hold Your Breath" had been completed a couple of days ago and thought it was good oppurtunity to post this rather than let it keep collecting dust. What can I say? I'm an oppurtunistic bastard.

Truthfully though, this chapter had been sitting in my hard drive for about a month now and I'm struggling with the next part. Actually, the start of this whole story is a struggle! How much exposition can I give to the readers? Am I going into too much angst? Does this really even matter to the plot? I've rewritten the start of this story so many times but I keep feeling like I'm hitting a brick wall.

I've had a prolgue starting all the way back with how Tanjiro got time traveled and getting taken care of by Inko. I've had one where we start where Izuku found out he was quirkless and Inko gets soooo angsty blaming herself for it. I've even had one where we forgo all this and just start at the UA exam, which need truckloads of exposition to start making coherent sense.

Hopefully, I can get the next two chapters over and done with soon. After that, I'll be done with Kawazu for a long, looooonnnngggg time.

You'll see me in a weeks time, so long as the narrator in my head doesn't spontaneously dissappear for months on end again.