It felt like his heart was going to explode from beating so fast. Jin's worst fear was unfolding before his eyes and all he could do was watch, held back by many arms. His own arms ached from being twisted behind his back, his nose and lower lip throbbing from being hit. The man's vision blurred as he fought again to try to free himself, to no avail.

In front of him, just a few feet away, a heartbreaking scene was occurring. His stomach clenched, the taste of bile rising in his throat as he screamed and shouted for it to stop. He gritted his teeth as he heard a cry. He wanted to close his eyes, to block out what was happening, but he was afraid that if he did then it might really all stop and if that happened, he knew he would break.

Neneko's blood was pooling on the floor in a puddle so dark it was almost black. The translator's face was bruised, bleeding, sliced in some places. Tears mixed with the blood that ran down her once porcelain skin and her body shook with sobs. If this onslaught continued for much longer, she would break as well; just in a different way.

The thing that made Jin truly feel sick was that he was the cause of this. The men that were bringing her such harm shared his face, his voice. He was hurting her, right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do to stop himself. Jin could only watch and struggle as she cried.

The other doubles only released him when she had ceased moving, ceased making any sort of noise. By the time he got to her, the woman's body was limp. It had grown surprisingly cold in the short time it took to get to her and he held her against his chest. Her blood soaked through his clothes, sticking to his skin and making him grit his teeth once more.

Those once bright violet eyes stared up at him, unblinking. Cold. Lifeless. He gripped her wrist, lifting her chilled hand to his cheek and inadvertently smudging her blood on his skin. Tears spilled down his face as he held her closer, unable to stop himself from trembling.

He loved her. He would never hurt her. However, the fact that the doubles had so viciously attacked her made him question himself. Doubt himself. They were him. They did what he would do. So if they had no problem with killing Neneko, then what did that say about him?

Jin was jolted awake by a cat yowling and found himself staring up at a clean, pale gray ceiling. The surface beneath him was soft, comfortable. Nothing like the poor excuse for a mattress that he had in his motel room. There was something warm on top of him. Not heavy, but not light enough to be a blanket.

He slowly woke more and more, noticing more details. His arm was draped across the thing on top of him and something was resting between his legs. Realization set in as he remembered the previous night and Jin lifted his head to look down at Neneko.

While he was lying on his back, she was lying on her stomach on top of him. Her head was resting on his chest, one leg nestled between his. The translator had a few stray locks of shining obsidian hair hanging across her pale face and her lips were parted slightly as she slept. She gave off a faint chamomile scent that did little to ease the racing of his heart.

How they had gotten into this position, he could not remember. He did recall cleaning blood off of her face and trying to take care of her since she was sick. They had watched a few comedy films together and he made her some more tea. At some point, he knew he must have dozed off.

The arm that was wrapped around her tightened on instinct when she moved in her sleep, trying to prevent her from falling off the couch. This made her body press tighter against his and he felt a rush of heat run through him. Her chest was soft against his and his mind began racing.

He had dozed off wearing his villain costume so the only thing separating Neneko's cheek from his chest was a thin layer of material. He was sure she could hear his heart pounding beneath her ear. Yet she looked so content, so tranquil and pure. When he adjusted his position a little, her arms slid around his neck, seemingly on instinct since she was still asleep.

Neneko…Jin's free hand reached down, fingers gently pushing her hair away from her face. The warmth and happiness that had started to bubble up was swiftly replaced with pain. His heart felt like it was being squeezed as he stared down at her face and remembered his nightmare. The blood, the bruises, the cuts that had marred her skin. The coldness of her lifeless body in his arms.

There was a sharp feeling at the corners of his eyes, a slight blur to his vision as he realized he was on the verge of actually crying. The thought of losing Neneko hurt too much for him to even consider. She was warmth and light. He loved her more than anyone he had ever loved before and she accepted every part of him. If he ever lost her, he was unsure if he could keep going.

I'd never hurt you, Jin thought as he felt her move in her sleep. Her pale, delicate hands lifted and it seemed like she was going to wrap her arms around his neck. He held his breath as her hands rested on his shoulders. Her hips moved against his as she settled once more with a content sigh.

Feeling her move against him made him tense up as a wave of warmth ran through him. Pleasure made him grit his teeth and the hand on her back pressed down on reflex. I couldn't hurt you. I love you. Thinking this made his lips twitch into a half-smile. I love you…I love you! I'd do anything for you, even if it hurts! Ouch! I'm not going that far!

Shift P.O.V

Neneko's eyes opened half-way, staring at the television across the room. There was a fast, but steady, thumping beneath her right ear and it made her feel oddly comforted. Despite this peculiar position.

She knew immediately that she was lying on top of Jin; his body heat made it obvious and she knew that thumping sound was his heart. He was awake and probably wondering why she was sleeping on top of him. Before she could start to feel bad for literally falling asleep on the man, she noticed the pressure of his hand against her lower back. Holding her, keeping her in place so she would not fall onto the floor when he moved.

The translator's own heart began to flutter as she thought more on it. This was the closest she had been to anyone in years. It felt so nice, so comforting, to be held like she was something special. She was sure that if he knew how dangerous this situation really was, he would have left the room as soon as she dozed off.

If she suffered from a nightmare and cried out, or even talked in her sleep a bit too loudly, Jin would have been hurt. She never wanted him to hear her speak at a normal volume. Even in her villain persona, she used a voice that was below a normal volume in order to keep her quirk a secret.

Now she had to make a decision. If she showed that she was awake, she would need to move. This warmth, this blissful moment, would have to end. At the same time, she knew that she had work to do and he probably had his own things to attend to. It would be wrong to keep him like this. Selfish.

"Jin…I apologize for falling asleep on you," she mumbled, fingertips pressing gently at his shoulders through his costume. "I was rather exhausted and I suppose…well, to be quite honest…you make me feel safe in a way that is just a bit too comforting…"

"I-it's fine." There was a strain in his voice and the hand on her lower back hesitantly lifted. "You almost fell so I…just wanted to keep you safe."

Neneko felt her pulse skip a beat as warmth rushed to her face. She bit her lip, her mouth curving into a faint smile. If he only knew how he made her feel. He was so sweet, so noble, so unlike anyone she had ever met before.

When she pushed herself up, the translator realized the full extent of their strange position. Her left knee was between his legs, his left knee was between hers. The absolute closeness made her face go from pink to red and she turned her head to the side. "…oh my…"

He turned his head to the side as well, the faintest bit of color on his face as he pretended to not notice. "Neneko…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here last night. I…forced you to let me help you."

"No! Jin, it's…quite alright. I was exhausted and you took such good care of me last night. I truly appreciate what you've done for me. It's…a bit bold of me to admit this…perhaps a bit too forward…" Neneko turned her face toward him, gazing down upon her friend. Still wearing his tight-fitting villain costume. Still lying on his back beneath her. "You…are quite pleasant to sleep with," she murmured.

Jin's eyes widened and it was the only warning she got. He was soon sitting up, carefully trying to move her off of his lap and gritting his teeth. "I'm sorry…I can't…" His hands threaded into his hair, giving it a small tug as his face took on a panicked look.

Neneko recognized what was happening. He feels as though he may split. I need to find…something…She looked over her shoulder to the coffee table and spotted exactly what he needed. Grabbing the black and gray mask, she moved forward along his lap. Her knees pressed at his hips to try to warn him to stop moving, and forced the mask on over his head.

He went still for a moment, the two sitting in silence until he threw his arms around her waist. "You know me so well! I didn't need any help!"

She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, biting her lip as a smile began to form. The translator was basically straddling the villain's waist, hugging him. Such an odd pairing, but I would love for this to be…what is the word that I'm searching for? I would say that I wish for a relationship, but…I suppose…that would be rather unfair to him. It would be selfish of me to demand such a thing.

The woman reluctantly slid her arms from around his neck and bowed her head, trying to hide how red her face probably was. "I will…make some breakfast. I do apologize, but I will need to begin working soon. I have some documents that I must translate."

"Awww! I don't wanna let you go yet! Get off me! You're too heavy!" The eye parts of his mask seemed to indicate he was smiling, even if it clashed with his protest about her being heavy. His arms drew from around her waist, but instead of completely breaking contact, his hands settled on her hips.

He leaned up a little, masked face getting close to her flushed face and peering at her through his mask. The man tilted his head and lifted a hand up to cup the side of her face. His thumb ran along the cut on her left cheek and the eye parts of his mask changed. No longer did he seem to be smiling. Instead, they indicated a concerned sort of frown.

"I'm not gonna let you get hurt again, got it? I promise! If you can't protect yourself, why should I have to do it?"

Protect…myself…Neneko's heart felt like it was dropping and she gave a nod, her eyes shifting to the side. But I suppose he has a point. Why should I rely on him for protection when I'm unable to protect myself? Unable to protect him. If I want to keep Jin safe…if I want to make him happy…I need to be stronger, smarter. I will need to do some research…

Shift P.O.V

A full stomach. A good night's sleep. The lingering smell of chamomile on his costume, from holding Neneko so close. Even though he had to leave, even though he was now alone in his motel room, he still felt content just from having that time with her. It really made him feel good after the weird incident with that female villain trying to flirt with him.

Part of why he had gone to see Neneko, as far as he could determine, had been due to that incident. He felt guilty about even telling Mystic to leave him alone. Like he was cheating on Neneko, despite the fact that they were not officially dating. He had to see her that night to make himself feel better and it had done way more for him than he would have thought.

Not even the terrible memory of his nightmare could ruin his good mood now. After all, he loved her. He would never hurt her. It was just a nightmare. Just a horrible, bloody, heartbreaking nightmare. Suddenly, he felt cold without her there. He felt a heaviness in his chest and stomach, remembering his nightmare.

The ringing of his cellphone was a welcome distract now and he was glad that it was Giran who was calling. Hopefully he would want to have Jin visit. It would keep him from thinking about his soulmate lying dead in his arms at least. He was sure that he could drive away the bad thoughts if he just thought of how it felt to have her on top of him, but that made him feel a little guilty.

"Hello? What do you need now?!" He covered his mouth, frowning and furrowing his brow. It made his scar look deeper when he did this, but without Neneko there to see, he simply did not care how he looked.

"Where'd you go after the meeting last night? I heard you left pretty quick. Right after Mystic, right? I thought you and that translator were-?"

"How do you know about her?!" Jin sat upright, his free hand curling into a fist as he started to panic. If Giran knew about her, he might tell Shigaraki and then it would just be a matter of time before she was in danger.

"Relax, relax! I didn't say anything." Giran paused and there was a click of a lighter. "You know, that Kuroiwa, she's had it kinda rough. I did some digging and you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I found. Pretty horrible."