Okay, It's been a while, but you know me… Inconsistency is my middle name. I have to give a huge shout out to IamOminous, you really saved my skin here with that idea. Thanks a million.

Now on to reviews, I guess.

Death of Snipers: Heh, well, you make some good points… I hope that I address some of them here, but it might just be in aknowledgements. Also, I just wanted to clarify that Mori is aware that U.A. knows about him, he just wanted to make sure Midoriya would say otherwise if he was ever exposed. He was trying to protect the school. Still, thanks for reading and taking the time to review. It means a lot.

Huh, I guess that's it… Wow. I though for sure there were more, but whatever. On with the show, I guess.

I in no way own either Tokyo Ghoul or My Hero Academia.

"I AM HERE," boomed All Might as he thundered into the classroom before quickly disappearing into a puff of steam leaving his frail withered form behind. He coughed a bit, and took his place at the podium.

It was the Friday two weeks since Mori's secret had been discovered by Midoriya, and so far not a sign of any misdoings, which almost made it worse, with Midoriya knowing the extent of Mori's misdeeds. But a promise was a promise, and Mori's secret had been kept securely, or at least as far as Midoriya could tell. In all honesty though, despite his classmate's cannibalistic tendencies Midoriya not only sometimes forgot about Mori's quirk's quirks, but even, to his great chagrin, that Mori was in the class at all.

"Today I'll be assigning you all a new class project," began All Might, briefly glancing at his papers. "Normally since the classes are even I would have you work together in pairs, but seeing as you have a new student-"

"We have a new student?" shouted Bakugo from his slouched position at his desk.

All Might sighed. "…Yes, young Bakugo. Your new classmate Akihiko Mori has been with you for several weeks. I'd advise you to become more familiar with your fellow students, if not in the effort to become friends, then at least so that you may better understand their abilities. It seems like it's the only thing you're interested in anyway." All Might coughed again. "Moving On. For your new project you will be sorted into groups of three."

There was a bustle around the class and students looked around murmuring to each other Already forming alliances for the tribulations to come.

"However," All Might said loudly to be heard over the chattering, "you have already been sorted into groups that the U.A. faculty came to a consensus on. People you work well with, and people who help reinforce the other's weaknesses. Hopefully, you will all find this an opportunity for growth." Midoriya raised his hand. "Yes, young Midoriya?"

"All Might sir, you still haven't told us what the project is."

"Ah, yes, of course. After my unfortunate retirement, people may have drastic opinions on the current state of hero society. While not exactly a hero's job to be aware of the public's sentiments towards heroes it can be crucial when on the job to be aware of the public's perception of hero culture. To that end, you will design a poll for the public, and write a full report on your findings. Any subjects you wish to tackle should be related in some manner to heroes, and their place in society. In order to begin each group will need my go ahead on their topic. Now, take a moment to think on what subjects you might like to tackle while I write the groups on the board, and then, discuss with your partners. At the end of class I want you to come to me with your ideas."

With this All Might turned and began scribbling lists of names on the board. Midoriya was hardly paying attention, however. He considered what All Might had said. It was true that All Might's retirement had come as quite a chock, not only to Japan, but the whole world, and people were probably becoming quite frightened, what with Endeavour becoming the No. 1 hero in his place. Endeavour didn't have the same reassuring presence that All Might had, and it was hard to see who might become his replacement as the symbol of peace and justice. Maybe that would be a good idea? Replacements? Hmm…

Wrapped up in his thoughts Midoriya had failed to notice that All Might had finished writing, and his classmates had begun to move around the room forming into their own small groups. A hand was laid on Midoriya's shoulder, and he nearly fell out of his seat. He turned to see Mori, an excessively neutral look on his face.

"Looks like we're partners," Mori said.

Midoriya looked up. Sure enough the list of groups had been scrawled on the black board at the front of the room.

Katsuki Bakugo, Eijiro Kirishima, Minoru Mineta

Mezo Shoji, Fumikage Tokoyami, Koji Koda

Yuga Aoyama, Mina Ashido, Tsuyu Asui.

Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jiro, Mahirao Ojiro.

Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Tenya Iida

Rikido Sato, Hanta Sero, Toru Hagakure

Ochako Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya, Akihiko Mori

"Oh, great," exclaimed Uraraka as she bounced up to the pair. "I can't wait to get started! I'm sure Deku has some great ideas, he could probably write a book when it comes to heroes," she said excitedly to Mori

"Of course."

"Heh, yeah... Maybe someday, but it's a long way off, that's for sure."

"So, what's the plan then?" Mori leaned against the wall and focused his eyes somewhere in between the floor and outer space.

"Uh, well..." Midoriya started. "I was thinking something along the lines of a poll on the potential replacements for All Might? I mean, I'm sure people have plenty of ideas about who the next symbol of peace should be, so maybe doing a survey on either popular candidates and examining the most common threads between them, or we ask what qualities people believe are important for a great hero, and suggest some potential heroes based on those criteria."

"Sure."

"Oh, I don't know..." Uraraka struggled. "Mori, you've got to have more of an opinion than that?"

"Not really."

"No? Rgh..."

"I don't mind either," said Midoriya.

"You're really not helping, Deku."

"O-oh, I'm sorry."

"Fine, the second one," said Mori with a huff. "They both work, let's just do that one."

"The aspects of heroes?"

"No, the one about monkeys in space," he spat.

"... Are you feeling alright?" asked Uraraka.

Mori sighed. "Yeah, sorry. I... I just have a really bad feeling in my stomach, is all. It's been hard to find food that works for my new diet, and I'm kinda hungry." With this he gave Midoriya a significant look.

"Oh..." said Midoriya, his face grave.

Uraraka, however, excitedly asked "What Diet?"

"Something new. You wouldn't have heard of it."

"Oh, come on," she poked him.

He gave a wry smile. "I eat people."

Uraraka looked shocked for a moment, then burst into giggles. Softly, Mori followed, and Midoriya even gave a few uneasy chuckles, glancing over at Mori in between. Hungry? That could be bad, really bad... Midoriya resolved to ask Mori what the situation was later. It could be dangerous if Mori hadn't... eaten... in a while, and he didn't want to risk Mori lashing out at anyone.

The rest of the class went relatively smoothly, they first got their topic okayed by All Might, then spent nearly the rest of class working on the survey questions. At one point Mori muttered "I hate surveys..." but that was about the only malcontent that came about from the project.

Nearly five minutes before class had ended All Might called for everyone's attention. "Listen up everybody! I must have forgotten to tell you this, but you should know that this survey will be performed on your own time during this weekend, and submitted on the Wednesday after."

A chorus of groans rose from the students, end Mori had a mildly annoyed look darken his face, but there was little vocal complaint. This was a hero course after all. It required absolute dedication, no matter what. As the class' mutters began to wear down the school bell rang, signalling the end of the day, and most of the students began ponderously to stuff their bags with textbooks and binders. But, before Mori could make his way back to his desk in the corner of the room Uraraka stopped him.

"Hey, I think we should keep working on this, I mean we need to go out tomorrow and start asking the questions, so we should probably have them down to a science," she said with an apologetic smile, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I agree," said Midoriya. "Why don't we meet after dinner in-"

"Mori!" Uraraka interrupted. "You said that you wanted to show us your room at some point, right?"

"Well, I-"

"Yeah, why don't we go back to Mori's room after we eat, and continue our work there?"

"... Fine."

Midoriya broke out in a cold sweat. This could be bad... Uraraka had no idea what was going on with Mori, and if they met in his-

"Just let me clean up a little first. I don't want you guys to see my mess," Mori said flatly, and shuffled back to his desk, to grab his unopened bag.

...

It was later, after the short meal from which Mori was rather inconspicuously absent, that Midoriya went ahead to Mori's room without Uraraka. Now was the time. As he cleared the steps, he noticed that Mori's door was no longer set in a broken frame, and it occurred to Midoriya that he hadn't been to Mori's room since that night, when he and Hagakure (Whom he hadn't known was there at the time) had caught Mori in the act, and heard him tell his story.

Midoriya knocked politely on Mori's door, and a muffled "who is it? escaped."

"It's Midoriya. I want to talk to you about your... diet."

Mori's door opened. The room was warmly lit, and the window open, the air warm and muggy. Mori, it seemed, had foregone completely changing into casual clothes, and instead had just discarded the tie and un-tucked the shirt of his school uniform. His hair had grown slightly, but not enough to really make a difference. It was completely boring.

"My diet?"

"O-oh," Midoriya stuttered, realizing that he'd been staring.

"I heard that you hadn't eaten..."

"Come in." Midoriya did, and Mori shut the door behind him. He sighed. "I haven't been having much luck at the bridge I mentioned," he said, then caught himself. "That's a funny thing to say, isn't it? Bad luck that someone hasn't been so miserable that they've thrown themselves to their deaths. I suppose I should be grateful that people's lives are going so well, but... It's starting to cause problems."

"Problems?" Midoriya asked.

A sigh. "So far I've been managing alright. Just a little irritable here and there, but not eating for over half a month... It's starting to take its toll."

"Over half a month... You mean the last time I saw you-"

"Was the last time I ate, yeah..."

They were quiet for a bit, then "If there's anything I can do I-"

"There's nothing, not unless you want me to eat you. Or you feel like going and finding me a body on your own? I didn't think that would be the case."

"... Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, so long as I can remain calm. I had meant to go out tonight, but with you and Uraraka here, the earliest I'll be able to go is tomorrow after we've finished with our project."

Then there was a knock on the door, and a bubbly voice passed through the heavy wood. "Mori, It's me, Uraraka. Are you ready?" Mori went and opened the door, and Uraraka entered. "Hey, Deku, you're already here! Oh, wow..." she said, almost going slack at the sight of the drawings plastered to Mori's wall. "You did all this?"

Mori coughed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Oh, you've got the teachers too. Neat!"

"You have the teachers now?" asked Midoriya, his interest perking up.

"Wait, you've already seen these, Deku?"

"Yeah, I came by once to... check up on Mori. He showed me then. You've got other heroes too..."

By this point, Mori had retreated to sit on the edge of his small desk, watching the two as they admired his work. His lips twitched.

"Look, that's All Might!"

"Oh course you'd notice that one first. Ooh, it's Gunhead!" She turned to Mori, "I interned with him, you know."

"Wow, is that Denim Devil? Not a lot of people know about him, he was one of Best Jeanist's sidekick's before going independent. It caused a bit of controversy, and some people are saying that he might actually take over for his old master while he's recovering in the hospital."

"I like his style. Either of you two want some coffee?"

...

It was hours later, many deliberations and even some mild arguments had come and gone, though nothing outside the realms of friendship. The questions had been set, the tables developed. Each participant in the survey would choose the three most important aspects that a new symbol of piece should [have]. Then, the aspects would be tallied up and afterwards a discussion would be had on who would best fit this role, and what the attributes mean to the public understanding of heroes. Really, it shouldn't be too hard, not with Midoriya there to help.

"Alright," said Uraraka. "I'm exhausted. I guess I'll be seeing ya tomorrow then. Goodnight, Mori! Goodnight Deku!"

"Goodnight, Uraraka," Midoriya parroted.

She left the room and Shut the door gently behind her. Midoriya checked his phone. The time said it was already nearly 10:15, an uncommonly late night for Midoriya. As a hero in training he needed a full night's rest in order to fully take advantage of the day, an opportunity some of his classmates neglected, and to their detriment it seemed.

As he was about to get up and leave, a drawing caught his eye. It was almost hidden under other, newer drawings, but Midoriya took a few steps closer and it was really unmistakable. It was Mori's helmet. The design was sketchy and rough, probably the prototype which he had worked on before submitting a full design to the hero course's costume department.

"I see my helmet's caught your attention," said Mori from the side.

"Yeah, the design is…"

"Unsettling?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"I'll be honest with you, I originally designed it so that people who saw me out… collecting remains… would think that I was some kind of monster, or a ghost or something. I wanted to look as far from human as possible so that people couldn't recognize me."

"But-" Midoriya started. "… We've all seen it."

"…Right." Mori deflated. He slapped his face into his palm. "Damn it."

"Maybe if you-"

"Forget it. It probably wouldn't have worked, anyway. I'll just leave it next time. Don't want my most identifying feature as a hero the get caught on some freak toting around body parts. People could get the wrong idea."

Midoriya couldn't help but laugh at that last part, and part of him regretted it. It wasn't something to be joked about, but something about how Mori had said those words had tickled him.

"Goodnight, Mori," Midoriya said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Mori didn't offer his own goodnight, but walked with Midoriya, and shut the door behind him. It was strange, but Midoriya felt himself becoming at ease with Mori again, little by little. He knew he shouldn't be, Mori was a cannibal for crying out loud, but still… there was something about him. It made Midoriya wonder why Mori didn't have more friends. Then he remembered. If he had the same condition as Mori did he probably wouldn't want too many visitors himself. For a moment Midoriya felt sad, but the time, and prospect of what the weekend held soon kicked him right in the sleepy balls, and he started to doze his way down the hall. He remembered making a gentle promise that he would try to make sure Mori didn't feel so lonely.

...

The day had gotten off to a strong start. It was just before lunch when they had went out into the streets of Musutafu, and the day was hot. Summer was just beginning to wind down, but that didn't mean there weren't any scorchers still hidden up its sleeves. The trio had gone out to try and catch people as they went on their lunch breaks, and maybe try asking a few store clerks if they were willing to participate. Most people were willing, if not enthusiastic, but others seemed eager to share their opinions on the current state of the world. Only Mori was having some trouble getting people to answer the survey, as people didn't believe that he was a part of class 1-A, let along U.A.

It would have been insulting, or even disheartening to anyone else, but Mori just took it calmly. He was probably in a constant state of focussed emptiness, trying not to get riled up in any way. He'd said earlier that it was getting harder to control himself, but so far everything seemed good.

As the day wore on, the group tried again with the crowds which had been released from work. They were less receptive to the teens' requests, clearly in a hurry to return home and relax, but some still answered, and, as a way of celebrating a so far very successful census, Midoriya suggested that the group get a little something to eat, seeing as they had only eaten a small lunch. It was when Mori blanched that he remembered.

"Uh… Or maybe we could just return to the school," he said. "I think I forgot to finish the report that Present Mic asked us to finish for Monday, and I really want to get that done, heh."

Mori released a small sight of relief, and added. "That was due on Monday? I should probably get to work on that too." This was a lie, he'd had it finished the night it was handed out.

Uraraka looked disappointed. "Aw man," she said. "I was really getting hungry, and after all that work I though we really deserved a treat." She slowly melted into a puddle on the ground, and a grumble thundered from where her stomach would be. Midoriya crouched down, and gently pulled her up by her shoulders, waiting for her legs to return to a solid state.

"I'm really sorry, Uraraka, but we can stop in at a convenience store on the way back, If you like?"

"Ugh, alright, Deku. It's not exactly dinner, but it should hold me over." She finished with a tired grin, and crinkled eyes. Sweat dripped down her forehead.

"At least it'll be air conditioned," Mori mentioned, and Uraraka's eyes flashed. She straightened.

"Well, come on then, let's go." She slowly spoke, and shuffled her way onwards. The other two followed, and their procession moved through the fading orange light of the afternoon.

Soon they came to a storefront, lit up with a neon 'OPEN' sign, and cardboard cut-out posters advertising lotteries and ice slush drinks. Opening the door was amost like opening a refrigerator, and the trio almost stayed out in the had muggy afternoon, but Uraraka entered, and the others followed after her.

The light was sharp inside, it stung, and to Mori the smell of cheap air freshener and toxic cleaning chemicals burned his nose. There were a few other people in the place, an old lady with cat eyes and ears, and a small bag of groceries at check out, the old man behind the counter playfully flirting with her. Mori almost gagged, and Uraraka tried to stifle a titter. It wasn't a big place, the middle filled with processed foods: chips, cans, bags of candy, and the back wall of the place was lined with glass fridge doors. There was a girl there, long black hair tied back into a ponytail, and large headphones covering her ears blasting away some ridiculous pop tune. Mori grimaced. He looked up into the corner of the place and saw the shopkeeper giving the trio a suspicious, accusing glare, before returning to his playful chatting.

"I hate these places. They feel like cockroach hospitals," Mori said.

"Cockroach hospitals?" Midoriya asked.

"They're so clean, but the only things that could live here are roaches."

"That's funny, Mori," Uraraka said with a small laugh.

She started to skim the shelves, walking slowly up and down the aisles. Midoriya followed her, every once in a while extending his hand, then placing it on his chin as if in deep though, then returning it to his side. Mori just watched them. The girl at the back of the store was still staring into the refrigerated glass, trying, or maybe not, to find a drink she wanted.

Then the bell rang as the door opened. A hooded figure walked in. He was tall, dressed in dark colours, though not quite black, and he had his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. Mori watched him out the corner of his eyes. Why the hood in this heat? The man stepped up next to the old lady, and began speaking in a low voice that Mori couldn't make out to the shopkeeper.

"What?" said the shopkeeper, squinting as if that might help him hear what the other was saying better. "Look, son, you're just gonna have to wait your turn. I'm not finished helping this lovely woman here."

There was some more muttering, and the hooded man leaned closer. Mori was starting to get a really bad feeling, and by the look on Midoriya's face he wasn't the only one. The hooded man was getting louder, though no intelligible words could be heard.

"Look, I told you to wait, so you can either try doing that, or you can leave." The old man was getting angry now, and the Woman had backed off slightly, looking worried. Then the figure reached into a pocket, and the clerk quietly said one thing. "Gun…"

Mori's head snapped up at that, and so too did Midoriya's. They started to move, and the old lady gave a small squeak, so the thug grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. He was loud now.

"Empty your bag," he growled. She did, spilling its contents onto the floor, an orange began lazily rolling along the shining linoleum tiles. He gestured, "Fill it up. Don't think about going for any buttons, I'll know, I've got an X-ray quirk, and you already know what happens if you piss me off."

The clerk shakily nodded, and went to his register. The ding as it opened made him jump, but he didn't move an inch, his eyes focused on the barrel of the gun. The hooded man turned slightly, and shouted back, "Nobody move! I don't want to have to shoot anyone, but I will if anyone tries to be a hero."

Mori, Midoriya, and Uraraka stood frozen, Midoriya shaking slightly with fists clenched.

"You look angry, boy, but you don't have any power right now," the man leered. "People sometimes forget just how frightening a gun can be in a world filled with super powers. I felt like since the symbol of peace has so recently 'retired' I might just remind some people."

Midoriya didn't answer; he just kept his hands raised, and his eyes focused on the man's.

While the man had been preaching he hadn't noticed the girl with the loud music open the fridge and pull out a bottle by the neck. She turned around, and looked confused as an orange rolled up and bounced off her shoe. Then she looked up and froze. The bottle came crashing down to the floor, and Midoriya watched as if in slow motion as it burst, and the hooded man spun his head, his gun following soon after, the old lady squealing.

Then Mori moved, he pushed himself off the floor and right over one of the rows of shelves, propelled by the eruption of his spider legs from his back, tackling the girl to the ground. Then time resumed, and the gunman opened fire, three shots ripping into the glass of the fridge and the bottles behind it, sending shards flying. The other five blasted right into the huddled figures. Fizzing sweet juice flowed out of the blasted frame, pooling on the floor along with a trickle of blood. There was screaming, from the clerk, the old woman, and a shout from Uraraka, but the gunman was silent, eyes wide. He was breathing hard, and his eyes were unfocused, small points in wide white saucers.

"Mori!" yelled Midoriya, and began to move over to the prone form. His motion broke the gunman out of his shock, and he pushed the old woman to the ground and ran, leaving the bag of cash behind. The door's bell dinging behind him. Midoriya and Uraraka rushed to the still form of Mori. As they knelt down they could smell the thick scent of blood, and the sharp sweet smell of the bottled drinks. Midoriya slowly extended a shaking hand to the huddled corpse, but withdrew it when he heard Mori groan, and begin to roll over. He struggled, pulling himself onto his back, then dragging himself up to lean against the glass of the unbroken fridge. He trailed a long red streak of blood up with him. The girl on the ground was whimpering, and tears streaked down her face. Her headphones had fallen off, but you could still hear the music.

"Mori, are you-"

"I'm- I'm fine Midoriya," he said with a cough and a groan of pain. "She needs help though. I thing one of the bullets may have missed me and got her leg. Uraraka, please, you need to find some way to keep her from bleeding out. There are some major arteries in the leg."

The shopkeeper, now free of the hooded man's threats, lunged for a silent alarm, and hurried around the counter to help the old woman to her feet.

"You!" shouted Uraraka. "Give me your belt!"

The old man, stunned, quickly ripped off his belt, and threw it to the young girl.

"Don't worry," she said to the girl. "You're going to be alright. My name's Ochaco, I'm in the hero course at U.A. When I was interning with the hero Gunhead he taught me how to tourniquet a leg wound," she explained reassuringly. "This will hurt, but the bleeding will slow down, and the ambulance should arrive in no time. You're going to make it out alright."

While Uraraka explained this Mori gripped Midoriya's arm tightly. He was looking away, but Midoriya could just barely see red pinprick pupils. "Midoriya, I need to get out of here. You stay, help the police when they show up, and help the girl, but I need to leave. There's too much blood, I won't be able to… Not in this condition…"

"Mori, you can't go anywhere, not like you are now! You-" Midoryia started, but was cut off when Mori began to push his way up the glass.

He left a long red streak behind him, and Midoriya tried to hold him down but was surprised when he was pulled up with Mori. By now the whole building was watching him rise, and watched quietly, aside from the wounded girl's sniffling, as he began to slowly stagger away, blood dripping from the bullet wounds. And then, to everyone's shock, the bullets one by one fell making small chiming noises against the now bloody floor.

"I'm going to make sure no one else gets hurt…" Mori explained, and opened the door, walking out into the now dark streets.

...

Mori had never been shot before, and it fucking hurt. But it was better than being trapped in that room with the smell of blood. He was distraught at how not-sick he felt at that smell, ham much he wanted – needed to go back.

It was that bastard's fault. The gunman. It was tough in his current condition, but Mori straightened up and took a deep breath. He winced, pain lancing through him, and he coughed a little, blood spraying from his lips, but he just wiped his mouth and continued on. He started to pick up speed, moving urgently, desperately trying not to lose that damn criminal's scent in the smoggy late night air.

He found it.

The man smelled like cigarettes and cheap body spray, but also baby oil. It was surprising, but maybe he had a rash. In this weather it was more than possible. And there was gunpowder. Mori took off, making great haste, even though each step tore into him like a new gunshot. Down a few alleys, across busy streets, ignoring the screams of shock and disgust as he pushed people out of his way, still dripping blood. He didn't notice for a while, but he figured that he must have followed the gunman into a district popular for couples to visit on dates. There was the smell of cheap alcohol, and some other, less legal, substances on the wind. But only one interested him: baby oil and gunpowder.

He rounded a corner, his wound burning, and saw the man. The man saw him, his eyes widened. "You! I killed you!"

Mori didn't answer, he screamed. He darted forward, but the man was fast. Mori must have caught up because the man had slowed down thinking he was safely away. The man shot out of the alley's mouth and began to run down the street, his hood flapping around in the wind. Mori tore after him, eyes red, leaving bloody footprints behind. They struggled against the tide of crowds tightly packing the streets, and Mori was catching up. Then the man pulled his gun again and fired into the air.

The crowd let out a collective scream, and the man grabbed a young woman, bashing her boyfriend in the head, knocking him to the ground. She screamed, and Mori moved closer, but the man yelled something unintelligible and he stopped.

"Leave me alone, or she's dead!" the man screamed.

Mori said nothing, just watched the man and panted. The man started to move, quickly dragging his hostage away, moving towards a restaurant with blinking lights and acrid neon in the windows. Mori growled, but didn't move. He just watched.

"Open the door," the man growled, eyes still on Mori. The woman, shakily, extended her hand and pulled on the handle, the glass door swinging open. "Stay the fuck away."

Inside the restaurant was lit with lurid fluorescents, and there was pop music playing over cheap speakers in the corners. It must have been some crappy fast food joint, so it wasn't all to busy at that time of night; only a few couples occupied the plastic tables with attached chairs. There was a very bored looking employee behind he counter. He had on a chicken hat.

"Where's the back exit," asked the man. He was dripping sweat, and his hands shook.

"I'm sorry sir, but-"

"Now!" shouted the man and he pointed the gun. His hostage let out a squeak. The employee quivered.

"R-right this way," he stuttered, holding onto his minimum wage training like it was his life. Maybe it was. The young man came out from behind the counter and moved across to the other side of the place. He started playing with some keys, trying each one into a metal door marked 'employees only.'

"Hurry it UP!"

"S-sorry. P-please don't shoot! Oh! G-got it!" The door swung open.

As the hooded man began to make his way across the neon lit floor the wide eyes of the patrons watched. Everyone held their breath.

Then there was an explosion of glass and a brutal scream. The neon lights went out, and Mori's flying form, spider legs extended, wreathed in glass, was lit only by the sparking electricity and the dim light behind the counter.

The man turned, eyes wide, and he began to move, but Mori was on him in an instant. One of his spider legs shot forward, piercing the gunman's arm and forcing him to drop the gun with a scream. A flying shard of glass buried itself into the man's eye, and both figures toppled to the ground, the hostage stumbling backwards to be caught by the shaking attendant.

The gunman screamed, clutching his bleeding eye with his undamaged arm, His other was still pinned by one of Mori's legs. Mori straddled the man, breathing heavily, his legs forming a sort of impromptu cage. He was rasping, moving close, breathing in the man's scent; breathing the scent of blood. The man whimpered, Mori's eyes almost casting a red glow on his slick skin, and he smiled redly. He was close enough to the man to taste him. He could reach out and take him then and there, devour him. His chest rose and fell. The man began to cry.

With a shuddering shriek Mori moved back, taking his leg from the man's arm and taking a few shuddering steps back. He stooped down and grabbed the man's gun. He didn't know how to handle a gun properly, so he just walked over to one of the customers.

"Please…" he said with a shaky voice. "Take care of this…" He placed the bloody device on the cheap plastic table, and the customer leaned as far back as possible. Mori turned back to the room. "Someone call the police." Then he saw the phones. A few were pointed at him, and he realized he still had his legs out, and his eyes must have been showing their true colours.

He started back, glancing quickly between cameras, and then he almost tripped against the lip of the window frame behind him. He didn't say anything, but he did run. He shot out of the window, his legs carrying him faster than he could run without them, and even taking him up the side of a building. Once on the rooftops he started to move in earnest. He leapt from building to building, and at first he didn't know where he was going, but eventually he found himself back at the bridge. He groaned as he sat on the edge of the building overlooking the small river that the bridge crossed.

He sat quietly for a long time. He didn't know what to do. He'd freaked out. He knew that he was going too far, taking down that villain. He didn't even have his provisional hero licence yet, let alone a full one. What was he thinking? He wasn't thinking, that's what. He sat for a while, until the air became cool. Then a familiar scent moved its way up from beneath the bridge, just catching Mori's attention. He grimaced, or maybe smiled, and je jumped from the ledge, down to the street.

...

It was late at night, and Midoriya was still giving his version of events back at the convenience store. The police had been questioning him, Uraraka, the owner, and the old lady for the last hour, just to make sure that all their stories lined up. The girl with the music had been carted away, taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

The paramedics had said that because of Uraraka's quick thinking with the tourniquet the girl hadn't suffered too badly from blood loss. In fact she might owe Uraraka her life. Uraraka just blushed and said that it was nothing, that it was the right thing to do.

Midorya was just finishing up his version of the story saying for the fifth time that that Mori had run off after the villain with no explanation. He was very careful to leave out any sticky details. That was when Mori returned. He shambled over to the tapeline around the scene, and addressed the officer on duty.

"Officer. My name's Akihiko Mori. I was involved in the incident."

After that the three U.A. students had been taken down to the station to wait for a representative of the school. While Midoriya and Uraraka waited out in the hall on cheap wooden chairs Mori was being interrogated. It turned out that Mori had been the one to actually chase down the villain and apprehend him. The gunman was in serious condition if what he'd heard was to be believed. And Mori could be in serious trouble.

That was when a familiarly short white figure, maybe a dog, maybe a bear, maybe a mouse, popped into Midoriya's peripheral vision.

"Oh, principal Nezu! What are you doing here?"

"Hello, students" the principal called cheerily. "I came down personally to respond to the situation as U.A's representative. I'm here to help provide a defence for Mr. Mori, seeing as he isn't yet a registered hero."

"What? You mean, he doesn't even have his provisional licence?"

"That's what I'm here to discuss," said the principal. He knocked on the door to the interrogation room, and it opened a crack. "Down here," the principal called, and the door swung fully open, admitting the principal. Nearly a half an hour later the principal exited the room with Mori in tow.

"Thank you, Principal Nezu. Your support in this matter means a great deal to me. It can't have been easy to speed through my request for the provisional licence."

"Well, it seemed that the circumstances called for it, and the committee knows that I wouldn't pressure them unless it was absolutely crucial."

"Regardless, I've put you through a lot of trouble tonight, and I'm sorry."

"Well, you did save a life tonight, maybe many. I'd say it was well worth the effort. Come along students, I'll hire a cab to take the three of you back to campus. I will need to stay here a little longer and help sort out the logistics of this issue, but you three look like you could use a good sleep, especially considering the amount of work you have due this coming Monday," the principal said, leading the way down the halls and out of the building.

Mori blanched. "Oh, right…"

"Th- thank you, Mr. Principal, sir."

"It's no trouble. Now please, come along. Let's get this done before the sun rises."

"The sun rises?" Uraraka asked.

"Oh, yes. It's quite late. Or early, depending on your perspective."

The principal was quite short, so he had trouble hailing a cab. Eventually a cop car pulled up and it's driver stepped half way out of the door. "You need a ride, Nezu sir?

"No, not me. But if it wouldn't trouble you officer, could you give these students a ride back to the school? I'm afraid I'll be staying behind."

"It would be my pleasure," said the officer. "Come on, get in. I'll drive with the sirens if you like."

"No thank you," said Uraraka. "We're not in a hurry right now. To be honest, I could use a rest."

"Well, whatever you say, It doesn't bother me."

The trio piled into the police cruiser, saying again goodbye and thank you to the principal as they pulled away from the curb. The rest of the drive was spent in silence. No one had anything to say, not at all. And, after thanking their driver for the ride, the group trudged with weary steps onto the campus. The trio was quiet all the way to the dorm. They all packed into the elevator, too tired to take the steps.

Midoriya was the first to get off. He issued a mumbled "g'night," and trudged off, yawning. He had plenty of thoughts and questions, but they would have to wait. No one among them was in good enough shape for anything like that at the moment. Once Midoriya was gone it was Uraraka's turn to get off next, but she stopped before exiting.

"You know," she said. "You saved that girl's life today. I still don't know how you're standing, let along moving like nothing happened, but you did save her."

"Sure…" he said.

Uraraka started to leave, and the doors began closing, but before they could shut completely Mori extended his hand and stopped them. He leaned his head out.

"Thanks."

Uraraka smiled, and then resumed her crawl back to her room. The doors closed, and Mori leaned into the corner. He closed his eyes, just for a moment, but it was enough. He was full, and he was absolutely exhausted. He didn't leave the elevator until the next morning when Tsu gently poked him awake.

Jeeze, that took absolutely forever to write. I'm sorry if the end feels kinda rushed, but I just wanted to get this chapter done. I still think it turned out well, and again that's in big part to IamOminous' suggestions, so big thanks to him. I feel tired now… Good night.