NeonHorizon: Um...I guess...nightmare fuel warning? Just for the first little bit.

"Yori…my girl. What did you do to yourself? You know I…hate it…when you do stuff like this." Four fingers tangled in her golden hair, pulling harshly and making her wince. A face leaned down close, chapped lips being chewed anxiously as narrowed red eyes glared down at her.

No! No, no, no! She opened her mouth, trying to protest or at the very least scream. No sound came out. She tried again and again, hands grasping at his in an effort to pry his fingers from her hair. It was futile.

Three cold fingers trailed over the side of her face as he leaned in further. He pulled at her hair, making tears of pain blur her vision. She kicked at the air behind him, but there was no getting away. He was sitting on her waist, keeping her pinned flat on her back on the ground.

Shigaraki's hand moved down along her cheek and gripped her neck gently, keeping his little finger extended. "My girl…look at you. You don't even look like my Yori anymore. I'm so angry…" His eyes narrowed, fingers tightening around her neck. "You betrayed me." He brought his face inches from hers, watching her lips move as she tried to protest.

Her vision was starting to fade. Unable to breathe, she kicked and whipped her tails back and forth in a panic. She desperately reached for anything to try to help free herself. The ex-villain's hands tangled in his hair and she pulled as hard as she could. A few strands came loose and he leaned back, eyes wide with outrage.

To her surprise, he stood and released her completely. Standing over her now, Shigaraki glowered at the blonde girl. "I won't let anyone else have my girl…I'm going to kill you. You can die as my girl."

Wait! No! No, please, no! Her body jolted as a foot lifted and the sole of his shoe slammed down on her throat. She released a strangled scream, her tails frantically striking at the air as she tried to make her stingers connect with his legs. If she could just injure him even a little, it would help her.

She felt a stinger's tip lightly sink in before it was yanked out by an unseen hand. A heavy weight pressed down on her tails, pinning them to the ground as she continued to thrash. Faint whimpers escaped her lips as she struggled to free herself from Shigaraki.

"NOZOMI! Nozomi, wake up! You're okay! Wake up!"

The ex-villain jolted awake, amber eyes snapping open wide and staring up at Hawks through her tears. The hero was sitting on her waist, pinning her down on the bed with his hands gripping her shoulders. Her tail was gently pinned down by his right knee.

"What…happened?" She trembled, her nightmare still vivid in her mind. Did I sting him? I felt one of my stingers puncture something.

He stared down at her for a long moment, studying her to be sure that she was fully awake. Releasing her shoulders, he sat back on her waist and tipped his head back with a sigh of relief. "You had a nightmare or something," he replied, ruffling his hair. "You okay now?"

"…you're heavier than you look…" she mumbled, head turning to the side. Nozomi wiped at her eyes, hating the fact that he saw her cry.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm light as a feather," he retorted, a grin tugging at his mouth. When he saw her half-smile, he let his grin form. "You okay now?" the hero repeated.

"I'm fine. Just…a little freaked out." Nozomi was glad when Hawks got off of her, but the relief was short-lived when he flopped down beside her on his stomach. His wings extended for a second before folding against his back. "Did I sting you?"

"You scraped me, but I don't think you broke the skin." He nodded down toward his pajama pants, showing a small hole near his thigh. "So you want to talk about it? I've never heard you scream in your sleep before."

She sat up and drew her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself. "I…had a dream that Shigaraki found me…and he was going to kill me." She felt sick to her stomach just saying it. Fear made her glance toward the bedroom door and then she closed her eyes. If he finds me, will he kill me? He'll be so pissed off that I went missing. I wouldn't be surprised if he…

At her side, Hawks raised his eyebrows at what she said. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, frowning deeply and running his fingers through his hair. "Get dressed. I've got to go to work soon."

"Tch. I'm not going with you to work. Didn't you hear what I-?"

"Nozomi-chan, get dressed." There was a firmness to his words that was nothing like his usual carefree tone. He was serious.

It was unsettling to see him so solemn about something. The only other time he got even close to this level of serious was when Endeavor got injured. Nozomi grabbed some clothes and changed in the bathroom. By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Hawks had gathered up her art supplies into a messenger bag and handed it to her.

He offered no explanation whatsoever as he flew high above the streets, holding onto Nozomi tightly. His eyes were narrowed, mouth set in a straight line as he seemed to be lost in thought. She was shaking, still terrified of heights, and had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Her tails were wrapped around her own waist to hide them from sight, but her stingers anxiously tapped at her belt.

Nozomi kept her face hidden from those down below, reluctantly buried in the side of her roommate's neck. Where is he taking me? He wouldn't take me to his hero agency, would he? That would be way too risky for him. He isn't heading the right way for us to be going to UA. Where are we going?!

"You know, you're making some good progress, Nozomi-chan."

"What're you squawking about?" she muttered.

The arms holding onto her tightened, pulling her closer against his chest as he picked up speed. "You're okay with this right? Remember when I couldn't even sit next to you on the couch?"

She grudgingly nodded. He was right. The two of them were really close in this moment. They had even slept in the same bed together the night before. It was definitely progress. Her first few nights in his apartment, she had refused to sleep because she was fearful of what he might do. Back then, she never would have imagined that she would be where she was now.

"Your goal is to be able to get close to Eraserhead, right? You two were a thing before you got taken by the League. So do you want to get back with him? Is that your goal?" He had to raise his voice a little to be heard over the wind.

The idea of being able to get close to Aizawa the way she had before made her heart skip a beat. She bit her lip, shrugging. It was definitely something she would love, but she was afraid of having a bad reaction and offending him. Nozomi just wished that things could go back to the way they were before.

They landed and he reached for her hand, taking it in his gloved one. "Okay! Today I'm going to push you a little, Nozomi-chan. If you can get through this, I'll get you something cool, okay?"

She let him lead her, lost in her own thoughts and giving him an absentminded nod. Nozomi's tails tightened around her waist as she tried to push away thoughts of her nightmare. She looked over her shoulder, fearful that she might see him somewhere behind her. Her red-eyed terror. The blue-haired hoodie gremlin that was now apparently haunting her dreams.

"You're early."

"Sorry I can't stick around; I'm kind of in a hurry. So you don't mind, right?"

"No, no. It's fine. It's been a while since I've had company."

Nozomi shook out of her thoughts and realized that they were now standing at an open door to what seemed to be someone's apartment. She pushed up her glasses, eyes lifting from the floor to meet a pair of eyes that curiously studied her. What…the hell?! Where is the lower half of this guy's face?

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Hakamata Tsunagu." The man seemed to be smiling, but he was wearing a turtleneck sweater that covered everything beneath his eyes. "And you're…?"

Before she could answer, an arm was wrapped around her shoulders and Hawks beamed. "This is my Nozomi-chan. She's a little nervous around guys so she's kind of quiet. Nozomi-chan, this is Best Jeanist."

Oh. So this is that hero. She gave a small bow and adjusted the strap of her bag. "Nice to meet you, Hakamata-san."

"Okay, well, I've got to go. I'll be back to pick her up later, okay? Nozomi-chan, take care of him."

Wait a second! What?! Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she looked from her retreating roommate to the man in the doorway. Great. So. I have a part to play. This is what he meant by pushing me; he expects me to play nice with this hero to prove that I'm doing better. Nozomi put on a polite smile she had mastered during her days as a villain, attempting to keep Shigaraki happy.

"Thank you for having me. I'm sorry for any inconvenience," she spoke. I have to play a part. I have to let him think he's doing me a huge favor by having me here.

"Of course. When Hawks called this morning, he said that you were afraid of a break in so you didn't want to be left alone. I can understand. It's a dangerous world sometimes." He stepped aside to let her in and led the way to a sitting area.

Nozomi kept a decent amount of space between them and set her messenger bag down. She saw a somewhat pained look cross his face and she frowned. "Are you alright, Hakamata-san?"

He put a hand to his chest and gave a nod. "Yes, I'm fine. So Hawks told me that you're a writer."

Her face went bright pink and she bit the inside of her cheek. Just what did Hawks tell you about me? What kind of writer do you think I am? Exactly what role am I supposed to be playing?! She put on a half-smile and shrugged, feigning a humbleness. "He made me sound a lot more important than I am. I'm just a mangaka. I only have one volume written and it hasn't even been published yet-"

"It's something that you're passionate about, though." He was clearly impressed. He clearly had the wrong impression about her. "It's interesting that Hawks is dating a mangaka." He definitely, seriously had the wrong idea about her relationship with the winged hero.

Shift P.O.V

Multiple attempts had been made to contact Hawks. Multiple times, they went ignored. He had promised Eri that Nozomi would return soon. The little girl was visibly distraught by the thought of not seeing her again. So the fact that he was unable to get Hawks to at least answer was frustrating.

Aizawa was thinking about it again. The way that the hero had looked over at Nozomi while she talked to Eri. It bothered him. Coupling that with how reluctant Hawks had been to leave her with Aizawa, he had to wonder what the winged hero really saw her as.

He had options other than calling the number Hawks had left. Of course, they were far from appealing. If he was really desperate, he could call the hero agency belonging to Hawks or he could go there in person. That would force him to speak to Aizawa. However, he wanted to avoid doing that.

Looking over at Eri, he saw the sadness in the child's face as she pet one of the cats. She was frowning deeply, holding back tears of disappointment. At the arrival of Togata Mirio, he felt relief. The teenager was more than happy to try to cheer Eri up and succeeded after picking up the black and white cat and making a funny voice as if it was talking to her.

Aizawa saw her cheering up and smiling slightly, but it was clear that she was still upset. He had to do something drastic, yet indirect. Approaching Mirio, who was now holding Eri on his shoulders, he frowned and held out a scrap of paper. "Call this number and ask for Nozomi."

Shift P.O.V

"Wow. You look so cool, Nozomi-chan." There was no hint of envy in his voice as he stared at the blonde girl.

Her hair had been wild and a bit tangled when they arrived. The wind was not kind to long hair when flying. She looked almost like a different girl now. Her long blonde hair was lying straight, shiny. It had been meticulously brushed into order and she looked kind of like a European model, but with battle scars and a fire in her eyes that could make a weaker man back away slowly.

"Would you like for me to do yours, too?" Hakamata lifted the brush from the couch cushion beside him and raised an eyebrow.

"No, that's cool. Not really my style. So how'd it go?" Hawks had been thinking about it all day. Worrying about Nozomi all day. It was really unlike him to worry so much and he disliked the feeling. After hearing about her nightmare, he had just been too anxious to let her stay in the apartment alone.

"I helped Nozomi-san with clothing designs for her characters. They should give it a little extra style."

Nozomi looked over at Hawks with an odd sort of expression. A bizarre look that read "I want to tear out all of your feathers one by one" and also "please help me because this man is insane". It made him grin. "Want to get dinner?"