Nozomi lowered her head as the world around her seemed to move in slow motion almost. Hawks was trying to explain the situation as best he could, but his words were hardly noticed by the ex-villain. She was staring down at the floor, feeling all of the confidence and happiness from the past two days draining away rapidly.

She wanted to curl up in a ball and just disappear. Trembling, she let her tails slide from around her waist and curl forward. Her fingertips found the curved, hardened stingers on her tails and she bit the inside of her cheeks. Nozomi's nails scraped over her stinger as she felt a pulsing, painful pressure in her skull.

The beating of her heart was loud, almost deafening, in her ears as she leaned back against the edge of the kitchen counter. The scraping of her nails over her stinger grew a little more frantic. She could taste blood. Lifting her gaze, everything seemed to be fuzzy. Even though she was still wearing her glasses.

It felt like the world was starting to tilt a little so she braced a hand on the flat surface of the countertop to brace herself. She looked at Hawks, who was frowning more than she had ever seen him frown before. The hero's eyes held real, true fear that made her knees feel weak.

Her gaze slid to Eri, who was looking between the two heroes in the room with watery red eyes. She clung to Aizawa's sleeve, almost fearfully, and then she turned her eyes toward Nozomi. The ex-villain attempted a half-smile, despite the burning in her own eyes and the weak, helpless feeling that was overtaking her.

As Nozomi turned her gaze to Aizawa, she felt her pulse seem to skip. He was staring directly at her as Hawks talked and he had yet to say anything since the winged hero had started talking. She remained completely still, unable to tear her gaze away from his. The expression he wore was not one of concern. Not fear or any sort of sadness.

The look on his face was one of anger. His mouth was turned down at the corners in more of a scowl than a frown. His eyes were narrowed, the scar beneath his right eye more prominent in this moment than she remembered it appearing before.

She finally managed to look down again and lifted a trembling hand to adjust her glasses, since they had started to slide down. I have to go. I'm sorry, Shouta. I can't stay here. I can't put all of these kids in danger.

Tears dotted her glasses, causing her to frown and try to tilt her head to prevent it from happening again. Now the tears were freely running down her cheeks, speckling the floor beneath her. I should've known I couldn't start over that easily. Life's not like that. Why would I be able to get away? They're going to find me. If I'm lucky, someone will kill me. If I try to live that way again…if I have to become a villain again and…I can't! I can't do it! I don't want to hurt anyone! I don't want to kill anyone! I don't want to have to live that way again!

Nozomi's body tensed, a startled yelp escaping her, as she felt arms tightly wrap around her and hold her against a warm body. She found her face being pressed into the dark fabric of Aizawa's shirt. Her tails curled loosely around his left leg, giving it a gently squeeze as she trembled in his grip.

Her old self would have had a snappy remark ready for this sort of occasion. She would probably have taunted him for doing something like this. That was her old self. "Hiyori". A deceptively cheerful demeanor. Ready to help. Ready to fight. Ready to tease whoever she liked without a care.

She was a different person now, though. Nozomi had a fear of being touched, thanks to Overhaul and Shigaraki. She wanted to scream and fight against Aizawa for holding her so closely. The ex-villain felt very little comfort from being held. She felt trapped. She felt like she needed to run from him. Like there was an impending danger looming close.

Shift P.O.V

Hawks knew her well enough to know that no amount of hugging would make her feel better. She could barely tolerate him getting close to her so being hugged by the grumpy, scruffy-looking hero probably made her feel on edge. He could see her tail tightening around Eraser Head's leg, a stinger inching toward the back of his knee. She was stiff. Fearful.

"Let go. We seriously have to leave, Eraser. This isn't a joke." Hawks started toward the two and tilted his head when the dark-haired hero glared at him.

"She's not leaving."

"You've got to let me take her with me. Dabi knew that I had taken her. If he knew that much, what if he knows if she's here? He'll burn this place to the ground!" He hated saying this in front of the little girl that was also in the room, but it had to be said. How does he not realize how dangerous this is? He's seriously going to just put all these kids in danger just so he can-!

"N-Nozomi…don't leave!" The little girl sniffled and ran over to join the two, clinging tightly to the ex-villain.

It seemed to snap her out of her fear-frozen state because Nozomi jolted a little and looked down. The young woman's sharp amber eyes were shining wetly with tears as she tried to smile at the girl reassuringly. A sad little smile that made Hawks feel beyond terrible for what he was doing.

She was clearly happy here. Caretaking was what she was about so it probably felt completely natural for her to take care of the kid. Not to mention, Hawks saw how much she enjoyed cooking back in their old apartment. She had been happier than he had ever seen her before. The thought of tearing her away from that bliss caused a certain painful pressure in his chest, but he had to get her away before something awful happened.

"Nozomi…look, I have an idea, okay? It's just going to take some time. Please just come with me and I'll bring you back when it's all clear. I swear I'll bring you back as soon as I think it's safe." He held out a hand, hoping she would take it and let him get her to the security of their new home.

To his relief, she pulled away from Aizawa. Though it hurt to see the despair in her eyes as she turned toward him. Nozomi's wrist was caught by Aizawa, causing her to wince. "Shouta, I can't…I can't do this, okay? I can't put everyone here in danger. He's right. If I stay here-"

"If something does happen, what makes you think these students aren't capable of protecting themselves? This is a school for heroes. Every one of those students has been working on strengthening their quirks and preparing themselves to become professional heroes. If an attack happens, I'll do everything it takes to protect her and I know that they would do the same."

Kind of a sappy speech, Hawks thought as he ran his fingers through his hair. "You're making her uncomfortable. She doesn't like being touched."

"I'm pushing her. I'm willing to push her to help her overcome her trauma. It's more than what you were doing. Your methods were to make her try to forget her past and just start over, but she needs to heal. Making manga isn't enough. She needs to push her limits."

"This isn't some class or something! Look; just let Nozomi do what she thinks is best." His wings twitched back a bit as his frustration grew. This idea was absolutely for her safety, but he could not ignore the fact that he wanted her to come back with him for his own selfish reasons as well.

"I hired her to take care of Eri-"

"I can't…" Nozomi stepped away, her arm sliding from Aizawa's grip and her tails whipping side to side, the stingers shining at their tips. She shook her head, stepping back from him when he started toward her. "I have to go. I'm sorry, Shouta. I'll be back again, but we've got to sort this mess out first."

She let her long, golden hair out of its ponytail and crouched down. Beckoning Eri over to her, Nozomi embraced her in a hug. "I'm sorry, Eri-chan. I've got to go for a little while. But guess what! When I come back, I'll bring you lots of coloring books, okay? And we'll cook together again and I'll bring my manga with me so I can read it to you. How's that sound?"

Watching her say good bye to this small child was hurting his heart. Hawks turned away and started to shrug off his jacket, planning to make Nozomi wear it. I'll have to do something to make it up to her. I'll think of something good. He saw her remove her hairband and slip it onto the little girl's wrist like a bracelet. The sight made him feel even guiltier about taking Nozomi away.

Shift P.O.V

This apartment was much more secure than where they previously lived. Nozomi stood near the door, staring at her surroundings, even after Hawks had settled on the couch. When her gaze landed on the panda plushie, lying abandoned on the floor, she grimaced. "You kept that?"

"I was in a rush to get everything moved. I'll toss it somewhere tomorrow." He tipped his head back, releasing a sigh of relief.

She fidgeted with her tails, trying to decide what to do next. She was upset about leaving Eri and Aizawa, but she knew it was for everyone's safety. Nozomi had no desire to act sulky in front of Hawks though. "So? Are you giving me a tour or what?"

The hero lifted his head again to meet her gaze and grinned sheepishly. "Awww. You're excited, right? It costs a little more, but you've got to admit it's pretty nice, huh? It's all furnished, too, so I didn't even have to worry about moving furniture; I just left it all."

Wow. That sounds lazy. She smirked and pushed up her glasses. "What? No friends to help you out?" she taunted. "I thought the term was "lone wolf"."

He had pushed himself to sit up by this point and turned to her with a slight frown. The young man rubbed the back of his neck and half-shrugged. Hawks offered no further words on the subject, but looked almost sort of hurt for a second. "Okay, so we have soundproof walls, the windows don't open and they're super thick…"

Nozomi followed him to the kitchen, listening to his explanations and thinking about the future. If someone does break in while he's at work, I need a plan. He said Dabi gave him that panda thing. Dabi's pretty self-centered so I doubt he would've actually told the others yet. So if anyone breaks in, it will be him. She chewed the inside of her cheek, anxiously thinking the scenario over.

It was easy to imagine him burning through the door, setting the hallway outside on fire in the process. He would be smug. He had always been smug when they were alone. Well smug and kind of needy. He would smirk and walk in, seeing her probably working on her manga.

She would need to defend herself and the closest items to the couch, where she would be working, happened to just be pillows or art supplies. If Nozomi tried to sting him, she would need to get close and that would mean risking getting burned alive. Her best bet would be to get in close under the guise of greeting him as a friend and then sinking her stingers into him as deep as possible.

As long as he doesn't tell Shigaraki, everything will be fine. Right? She saw Hawks yawn and her caretaker instincts kicked in. "Did you sleep last night?"

He gave her a sleepy half-smile. "Nope. I've been pretty busy."

Nozomi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Just go to bed then. No worries; I'll make some dinner and wake you up when it's done."

The hero blinked slowly and nodded. "Oh! Right! I didn't show you yet. Come with me." He reached over, gently grabbing her hand and trudging off across the apartment.

She followed him, but stared down at where he was holding her hand for a moment. It was odd. She could remember a time when Hawks even getting close to holding her hand would send her into a panic. Her pulse was a little fast right now, but that was it.

Now she looked at her roommate a little more closely and frowned to herself. He looks exhausted. I mean, he literally looks like he hasn't slept in like a week. It's only been two days. He must've been pretty worried. Somehow, the thought of Hawks actually being worried about her made her feel weird. Not exactly guilty, but kind of irritated and maybe a tiny bit sad.

"The bedroom's bigger than the last one so the bed's bigger and it's got a bathroom attached. Pretty great, right?" Hawks flashed her a grin, clearly proud.

She tilted her head and pushed up her glasses. "Uh…yeah. That's pretty cool." Nozomi looked over her shoulder toward the couch with longing. "Okay, so, you need to get some sleep. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

There was a loud thud that made her turn to look at the bed. Her roommate was sprawled there on his stomach, his crimson wings neatly tucked against his back and a quiet snore coming from him. Well that didn't take long. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed to herself. Dumb bird.

As she was walking back to the kitchen, she paused and looked toward the panda plushie on the floor near the couch. Nozomi walked over to retrieve it and held it up in her hands, examining the stuffed animal carefully. Trying to imagine Dabi handing this to Hawks made her almost want to laugh, if not for the fact that it was obviously a silent threat.

The thought of seeing him again made her stomach hurt. Not in a "butterflies in the stomach" way. This was fear. Nausea. Above all, it was anger.