Fatigue was wearing him down as he finally went to bed. At least it was a Sunday so he could try to get some sleep. Though, try as he might, he was finding it difficult. The sweet treasure known as slumber would draw close, only to be yanked out of reach as thoughts would pop into his head.

Memories. Ideas. Theories. Aizawa felt the bed dip at his side and heard the loud purring of the hairless cat. He opened his eyes slightly when the feline nudged its head against his hand and could not resist petting it. The cat was warm, its skin kind of dry. He brought the cat onto his chest, frowning as he continued to pet it.

In his search for Grayscale, he had begun collecting information from businesses in the areas where he searched. No one had seen the pale-haired villain in almost three weeks. It was entirely possible that she was dead.

He closed his eyes, releasing a heavy sigh as he tried once more to fall asleep. That was when he heard the quiet footsteps approaching the door and he remembered that it was around breakfast time. Outside, Eri's tentative footsteps were joined by the soft patter of cat paws on the floor.

As if urged by the other cats, the hairless feline on his chest started yowling and stretched. It kneaded his chest through his shirt, tail smacking him in the face. Now the gentle embrace of sleep was so far away that it seemed a tiny dot on a distant horizon. Aizawa gave up on getting rest and decided to feed the cats and Eri. Maybe after they all ate, he would be able to take a nap.

Aizawa got off of his bed, lifting the cat to perch on his shoulder as he moved toward the doorway. Eri was already timidly peeking into the room, holding the Panda in her arms. The sight of that made him feel a little better. If nothing else, it was a nice distraction from the possibility that Grayscale was dead.

"Are you hungry?" He ran a hand through his hair as he walked, pausing to make sure that Eri was able to keep up. Seeing the little girl frown, he frowned back. "It's okay if you are."

"I'm…I'm hungry," she replied, hugging Panda a little closer.

He nodded and continued walking. It was clear from the child's worried stare; she knew he was running himself ragged. He could feel it in his muscles. It felt like every movement took great effort. Even blinking. His eyes felt so dry that he actually had to stop to dig in his pocket for some eye drops.

The little girl stared up at him, head tilting slightly. "Are you okay?"

Aizawa rubbed at the back of his neck, releasing another sigh. On his shoulder, the cat shifted so it could stare down at Eri curiously. "No. I'm not okay." He started to gather things to make her breakfast; prioritizing the child's hunger over the cats'.

"Can I help?" She came to stand beside him, eager to do something to make him feel better.

Realizing just how much he was worrying her, the hero crouched down so he was closer to eye level with Eri. "This is something that I have to work through," he assured her. Very gently, he ruffled her pale, wavy hair. "It's nice that you want to help, but it's something I have to do alone."

"…oh…" Eri fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve, looking very disappointed.

"Can you take Gremlin?" he asked as the hairless cat began to chew on his hair. When the little girl set down Panda and reached up for the other cat, Aizawa saw the faintest hint of joy in her eyes at being able to help in some way.

On some level, he knew it would be better to stop. To stay in at night. Try to forget about Grayscale. After all, the last time they spoke she acted less than friendly. She acted like a villain. He still had a scar on his shoulder from where one of her stingers stabbed into him.

At the same time, Aizawa was unable to forget that look in her eyes and the tone of her voice. Her words were harsh, but he had heard the sadness. The pain. Additionally, when they last spoke, she treated it as a last farewell. She had given him her savings so he could take care of Eri, who she had bonded with while she was in Overhaul's possession. No real villain would do that.

As he sat down with Eri, keeping the child company as she ate, he looked to the window. It was Sunday. It was still overcast outside. A perfect day to sleep. But sleep was moving further and further down his to do list as he started to consider new areas where he could search. When he knew what had become of Grayscale, then he would allow himself to sleep. Preferably with her at his side.

Shift P.O.V

Yori felt goose bumps rising on her arms, the hair lifting at the back of her neck. She groggily opened her eyes and stared at the blurry shape standing beside the couch for a moment before her brain registered what it was. In her half-asleep mind, for a split second, she thought he was Overhaul and that she was still suffering through that nightmare period of her life.

Blinking rapidly, she realized this might be worse. The girl jolted back from the edge of the couch, tails smacking loudly against the cushions as her heart raced. Her amber eyes were wide with fear as she scrambled to get as far from the looming figure as the couch would allow.

Hawks tilted his head, mouth drawing into a disappointed frown. He ran his free hand through his sleep-tousled golden hair and took a step back. "You woke up. That's too bad."

Yori, with her pulse pounding in her ears, looked from his face to the feather blade in his right hand. What is he doing? What the hell is he doing?! She swallowed her fear and opened her mouth to demand an answer, but he turned away and began walking back to his room.

"I'll just wait for you to fall asleep again. No big deal."

A cold sweat broke out all over her and she watched him walk. She had to lean up to look over the back of the couch and saw that he had left his door open a crack so he peer out into the main room. Yori grabbed her blanket and quietly slipped off of the couch. She moved beneath the coffee table, wrapping the blanket around her and reaching up for her glasses.

Only when her vision was clear did she even attempt to puzzle through what had just happened. What the fuck was that about?! Was he going to kill me in my sleep? I knew it! I knew he was going to get bored of me and now he's just going to kill me and dump my body somewhere in an alley so everyone will think the League killed me! This is it! This is the end!

Yori scratched rapidly at her neck, nails and fingertips starting to get wet and gooey after a while. She was panting, trembling, chewing viciously at her lower lip. Her eyes were narrowed, focused on the direction of his room. Terrible, painful memories were popping into her head.

She had survived through so much already; Overhaul's sick and twisted treatment of her, Shigaraki's constant creepy demands, fighting for her life even before she ever became a villain. For it to end this way, at the hands of a hero that had just lost interest in his little "project", was almost anticlimactic. If she had known it would end this way, she would have fought him. She would have at least tried to escape the apartment.

Yori spent the next two hours staring at his door from beneath the coffee table and couch. She listened for any indication that he might be coming out again. If he came after her with that feather blade again, she would have no choice; she would have to try to sting him, pump his veins full of her venom, and hope he was not immune.

She finally heard a quiet snoring and let herself relax a little. He went back to sleep. But for how long? Was he really awake when he came out here? What if he was sleep-walking? But he seemed pretty awake. I don't know enough about sleep-walking to…Yori yawned and grimaced. She was still very sleepy and now the adrenaline was wearing off.

It was unclear when she had dozed off, but by the time she woke up, there was sunlight filtering in through the curtains. Yori was forcefully dragged into consciousness by the fact that her ankle was in someone's grip and she was forcefully being dragged from beneath the coffee table. She thrashed, clawing at the floor to try to get back to her hiding place.

Unfortunately, Yori had been sleeping on her stomach so she was in the perfect position for Hawks to perch on her lower back once she was out in the open to pin her down. His weight kept her pressed tight against the floor and Yori yelped as she heard the sound of something sharp striking something blunt.

Continuing to thrash, she tried to free herself. She had no idea what he was doing, but the sound continued and filled the room. Yori felt him moving up along her back until he was sitting on her shoulder blades. She tried to reach for one of his wings in the hopes of yanking out feathers and doing some damage to fight back. Her tails tried to lift, but she felt him grip the base of her tails and hold them down.

What is he doing?! I can't see! Even if she looked over her shoulder, all she could see was the winged hero sitting on her back and doing something. Whatever it was, she had no view of it. His wings flapped, a few loose feathers falling around the two as she continued to struggle.

When cold air came into contact with her left tail, just a little, she tensed and realized what he was doing. Hawks wedged his fingers into the opening in her cast and pried it open to free her tail. "Don't sting me," he muttered over his shoulder. He started working on the next one as she ceased fighting him.

Once he was done, he slid off of her back and sat against the couch, watching her tails lift and bend slightly. The adrenaline had caused her stingers to leak a little venom, but he was unscathed. He saw the way she stared at her healed tails and grinned. "Well? I did a pretty good job, huh? Considering I learned from an online tutorial."

Yori lifted a hand, scratching at an itch on her neck, and looked from her tails to the man. His feather blade was sitting on the floor beside him, just within his reach. "You couldn't just tell me what you were doing?" she muttered.

Hawks tilted his head, an eyebrow lifting. "I wanted it to be a surprise. You were going to wake up and see the casts were off. It was going to be fun."

She lifted and thumped her tails against the floor. "I legitimately thought you were going to kill me. Do you know the shit I've been through?"

He was about to retort, but then saw her scratch her neck. More specifically, the deep gouges her nails had made and the dried blood around them. Hawks listened to her talk for a moment and then reached over for her wrist. Without a word, he proceeded to stand and dragged the ex-villain into the bathroom with him.

What the hell is he doing now? Yori could feel herself getting irritated. With her tails freed now, she felt her sarcasm starting to resurface. The second that Hawks released her, she tried to get out of the bathroom to put distance between them again. Needless to say, she was more than a little fearful of him at this point. Waking up to someone standing over you with a blade will do that to a person.

Before Yori could get out of the room, she found her back making contact with the wall and the winged hero planted a hand against the smooth surface beside her face. She winced at the action and then glared at the man. Venom dripped from the points of her stingers, vicious words coming to her mind.

Hawks lifted her face before she could speak, fingers pressing gently at her jaw on both sides. He heard her tails start to angrily smack against the wall, but he was focused on the scratches on her neck. His free hand went to the medical kit that sat open on the sink's edge and grabbed an alcohol wipe. He tore open the pack with his teeth and started cleaning the wounds.

"I know you've been through some bad stuff," he started, his tone warm and gentle. "I'm not going to say it'll be okay. I'm not going to pretend like I know what you went through." The bloody wipe was tossed into the sink and he reached for some bandages. "But you're safe now. I told you I wouldn't hurt you. There we go."

Yori had closed her eyes when he lifted her face and now opened them. Hawks leaned back to admire his handiwork and half-grinned when he saw her reach up to touch the bandaging. She had not realized that she was holding her breath until now. A small sigh, sounding disgustingly like relief, escaped her.

"Next time," she started, in her soft, hoarse voice. "Just tell me what you're doing." The pale-haired ex-villain was trying to maintain her glare, but it was difficult when this man was wearing such a pleased expression on his face.

"Where's the fun in that? It was supposed to be a surprise." Hawks ruffled his hair with one hand and looked away, still half-grinning. He left the bathroom, stalking into the other room to collect his feather blade. There were chunks of Yori's casts all over the floor, as well as her discarded casts.

Knowing that there was no chance of going back to sleep after being woken in such a bizarre way, Yori decided to attempt to work on her manga. Though she was still extremely skeptical that anyone would ever publish it. She sat on the couch, looking through her sketches and trying to forget what had just happened.

"Oh! You're working on the manga? Wait a second." Hawks' voice came from beside her ear and the man soon struggled to pull himself over the back of the couch. His wings nearly smacked her in the face and he grinned as he sat beside her. "I can do shading."