Merry Christmas! ...yesterday. I'm a day late. I finished writing this yesterday, but you know, it was kind of a busy day, and I didn't get around to posting. And today I should probably get to looking at scholarship stuff for college...but it's so complicated! You think all this college stuff would be easier since so many people have to go through the process, but no. You can never find what you want on the websites. There's one college I honestly might just give up applying to all together because it's too much of a pain. There's another college I'm set on going to, anyway, and it's always been my policy to stress only as much as necessary. But anyway, here is my (slightly late) Christmas present to all of you! Hope you enjoy.

The room falls silent when I burst inside, only my panting filling the dorm space. All accounted for 1-A students are gathered tensely around the couch area, where Mr. Aizawa and the retired All Might sit amidst them. After a moment, All Might stands, and with the stillness broken Iida dashes up to me.

"Todoroki, you were close to the two of them! What do you think—"

"Tell me what happened first," I cut him off.

"Deku promised to help me with dinner tonight," Uraraka pipes, her fingers pressing together nervously in front of her, "so I went looking for for him so we could get started. He wasn't in his room, and no one had seen him around for awhile, and then we realized Kyou wasn't anywhere to be found, either. Do you think something might've happened to them?"

Kaminari throws out his hands, shaking his head with a smug smirk. "I'm telling you, they're probably an item. They probably just snuck away to do the deed."

"T-T-That can't be it!" Uraraka squeals, cheeks exploding with color.

"Kyou does seem to get along with him surprisingly well for her," Ojiro points out.

"You're all idiots!" Bakugo spits. "Think about it. That bitch's always biting people's heads off. That idiot Deku probably insulted her somehow and she kidnapped him to beat him to a bloody pulp."

"No matter the cause of their disappearance," All Might interjects, "our top priority is finding the two of them and making sure they're safe."

"In light of that," Mr. Aizawa joins the rest of us standing, "you've known Kyou Megumi for a long time. Where do you think she would go?"

I shake my head. "I can show you a few places we used to hang out, but I haven't seen her since we were kids. I doubt she still has much of an attachment to them."

"You're assuming Kyou is the instigator, here," Jiro comments, twirling her earjack around her finger. "What are the odds Midoriya brought her somewhere?"

"I doubt it," Iida refuses. "He was crushed being unable to participate in class. He wouldn't do something to to prolong his punishment."

As the discussion drags on, stones slowly settle in the pit of my stomach. They're right. Odds are, Kyou did something with Midoriya, and thinking back on her behavior particularly in the past few days, her reason probably isn't good. Does she intend to hurt him? But Ojiro's right. She's always seemed rather tolerant of Midoriya. Of all of our classmates, he's the one she seemed to have the least aggression towards. So why him? Could it have been to get at someone else? Someone close to Midoriya? But who—

….Of course.

"Are you okay, Todoroki? You look a bit pale."

I force myself to nod at Yaoyorozu. "I'm fine. I just...have a bad feeling. We need to find them as soon as we can." I turn towards the teachers. "I can guarantee if this was Kyou's doing, they're off campus. There's a children's park we used to go to between our houses, and a street of vendors near it. She mentioned something about an arcade the other day, so it might be worthwhile to check a few of those. I'll check her house. Other than that, though, I really don't know where she could be. It's just been too long."

My classmates immediately begin to separate themselves into groups, All Might helping split them up by abilities and directing them where to go. Mr. Aizawa, however, makes his way over to me. Coming to stand before me, he talks in a low voice that is certainly swallowed up by the clatter to anyone farther away than me.

"How likely do you think it is that she's acting with malicious intent?"

I hesitate.

"So long as no one is hurt by the time we've found her, we can sweep this under the rug and get her help. If she's hurt someone, I can guarantee no such thing. If you're keeping something from us, you need to tell me. Keeping secrets now will only hurt her."

"I swear, I've told you every place I can think of." My jaw tightens. "And she won't hurt anyone. More than anything else, the thing she's always hated the most is hurting people."

His eyes search me. "Let's hope that's true."

It is. What I'm hoping, praying, is that it's still true.

He then begins to insist he travels with me, but I argue that, until we're certain Kyou is acting malevolent, we shouldn't alert her father, and a teacher accompanying me to her house would definitely cause him concern. With anyone else, it's likely my argument might have fallen through. It's a parent's right to know the whereabouts of their child. However, with the Magician being a professional hero in the area, it's likely that even if Mr. Aizawa has never worked with him, the two of them have met, and it doesn't take much time with him to understand that Mr. Kyou is an extremely nervous personality, and extremely protective. If he knew that his daughter was missing, and that we suspected that she might be acting out of villainy, who knows what he might try to do. It seems my assumption is correct because Mr. Aizawa reluctantly agrees to let me go alone. Yaoyorozu suggests she accompany me instead, but I decline, urging that the more thinly we spread, the more likely we are to find the two of them. Iida also decides to form his own party of one, with his plan being to rush through the city using his quirk. The idea of using his quirk in public arises backlash from Mr. Aizawa, but All Might agrees, suggesting that Iida merely use his quirk to the extent that he can keep up his regular top speed without exhausting himself. With everyone sorted and the plan set, we break.

A couple of the groups are forced to pause at the school gates so the teachers can explain the situation to the gatekeeper, but the rest of us immediately split. I only stop once at a street corner to orient myself. It's been years since I visited the Kyou household, almost a decade, so it takes me a minute of deep recollection to remember how to get there. Once I've got it sorted out, I take off again.

Unfortunately, having already run from the hospital to the school less than half an hour ago, I can't keep up running much longer. I slow myself to a brisk walk, trying to recollect myself with deep, meditative breaths as I try to relax the drumming inside my ribs. By the time I've arrived at the street lined with wealth, I've grown significantly less hungry for air. However, I can still feel every heavy thump of my heart as I hurry up the inclined sidewalk to the fence with a rose design.

When I come to stand in front of it, I pause, once again attempting to slow my heartrate as I drink in the sight of the Kyou house. My heart does indeed quiet down, but an uncomfortable squeezing feeling unfortunately takes the place of the pounding. It used to be that the pristine white house stood elegantly among a swath of green dotted with rainbows of flowers, but now, the pale mansion rises in solitude out of neatly patterned stretches of grey. How could such a welcoming home have become so devoid of warmth?

I steel myself and ring the doorbell.

A few seconds pass. Then,

"...Mr. Todoroki? Is that you?"

The voice is fuzzy through the speaker, but I still recognize it as Kana's. So she still works here. For some reason, that fact relieves the tension in my heart a bit.

"It's nice to see you again, Kana," I greet, feeling it appropriate despite the fact I can only hear her voice. "I was looking for Ms. Kyou. Does she happen to be home?"

"She isn't, but you must come in! Mr. Kyou would love to see you!"

"I don't want to intr—"

Something clicks in the gates, and Kana insists, "We won't keep you long." Then, in a slightly lower voice, she adds, "Please, Mr. Kyou hasn't been very well lately. The little miss has been hard on his heart. I think it would do him good to talk about her with you, even if only for a bit."

I glance down the street hesitantly. The thing is, though, other than everywhere I've already mentioned to the others, I don't know where she could be. There isn't time to waste, but perhaps there's a chance her father might have an idea as to where she is. I'll have to find a way to get it out of him without confessing that she's gone.

"Alright," I concede. I push open the gates, finding them lighter than I remember. After making sure they're closed behind me, I quickly head up to the front door. It opens before I can knock twice.

Kana is shockingly unchanged after all these years, the only real difference I can spot being that she's chopped off most of her hair. Despite how much I've grown, though, I can still see affection for a child in her gaze. And relief. I'm surprised how well I can still read her stoic expression after all these years.

After staring at me for just a bit longer than would be considered normal, she hastily steps aside and ushers, "Come in. Mr. Kyou is currently in his study. If you're willing to wait a moment, I can bring him to a room more suitable for company."

"If you don't think he'll mind," I say, trying to ignore the wave of nostalgia that rushes over me as I step into the house, "I should probably see him in his study. I don't have much time before I need to be back at school."

She nods in apparent understanding, but something about the way her eyes subtly dart hints that she's overwhelmed by something. "Yes, no, I don't think he'll mind. Come, I'll escort you."

I let her, but as we walk through the halls it becomes evident I still remember the layout like I was here yesterday. Despite the monumental change on the outside, the inside is preserved impeccably.

I have to strain to keep a straight face when she opens the study door to reveal a pale, middle aged man with short orchid hair in disarray loitering by his bookshelf, a glass of some sort of alcohol in hand. He jumps upon our entry, his timid blue eyes flickering between the two of us. Then he clears his throat and sets his glass on one of the shelves.

"Hello, young man. I'm sorry you had to see me like this, I wasn't expecting company." He clears his throat again, this time running a hand through his hair in an attempt to smooth it down. "Is there something I can…" His voice fades as he inspects me. When he finally speaks again, his voice catches in shock. "My...My word...Shouto?

I struggle to keep my own words from stuttering, quelling the strange mixture of emotions swelling inside me at bay with the reminder that this isn't a pleasure visit. "Mr. Kyou, it's been awhile. How have you been?"

"W-Well I've been fine, but look at you!" He shuffles abruptly closer, his eyes wide with horror, his hands raised as if to cup my face, but afraid to touch. "I can't believe...Rei did this to you?"

I flinch. I know, of course, that that incident with Mom is what allowed Dad to finally cut my ties with the Kyous, but somehow it hadn't clicked until now that that means Mr. Kyou has never seen the burn. He must not have watched the sports festival with his daughter. Or maybe he did, and just seeing it in person is hitting him differently.

"It was a long time ago," I assure him. "Mom and I are back on good terms, and I don't blame her for it.

He nods slowly, then turns and walks back to the bookshelf to grab his drink. After gulping down half the glass, he mutters, "That Enji, he could never think of anyone but himself. Even Rei couldn't endure it. But anyway," he looks back up at me, offering a wobbly smile, "I'm glad to see you, Shouto. What brings you back?"

All too glad to switch topics, I answer, "I was looking for your daughter. Kana's already told me she's not here, but I thought I'd come in and say hi before I have to go back to school."

His smile shatters, his tone dismayed as he realizes, "She left campus without permission again."

"She isn't in trouble—"

But even as I say that, he's slouching into his desk chair, crestfallen. "I don't understand. Why does she act like this? I thought being lenient would be good for her! It's been so long since I've given her rules, but even when I set them, she never listened. Her mother was always better at getting her to listen." He rests his forehead against the hand with his drink. "Oh Sachiko, what have I done to our child?"

"Mr. Kyou." I come to kneel by his chair, and his eyes shift to meet mine. "I'm sure you haven't done anything wrong. Take it from me, teenagers are walking emotional wrecks."

"I appreciate the thought, Shouto, but she was like this before she even turned thirteen. I don't even remember when it started." He smiles bitterly. "It's probably because I gave her that horrid quirk. It's caused her so much pain."

"You had no way of knowing she would inherit such an ability."

"I should have realized…" His breath catches, and he hides his eyes behind his hand. "Sachiko could manipulate dreams, I can manipulate perception, I should have known such a thing was a possibility."

"Then would you have rather not have had her?"

"No! Of course not! I'm...so blessed to have her...after Sachiko's passing…"

"Then don't beat yourself up over it. It isn't your fault. Even though she was born with such a quirk, you helped her. Without that surgery you decided to chance, there's no way she could have lived a normal life!"

He sniffs, then lowers his hand slightly to look at me questioningly through his tears. "You...You know about...the surgery?"

I tense, but don't let it show. "I heard it from my dad." I opt to leave out that I overheard him using it as leverage to argue with Mom about how despicable it would be if she let me get close to such a monster. "You know how necessary that was. She might be acting wild, but because you made that decision, she's been able to go to school. She's making friends at UA. I promise, I will do everything in my power to help her. I know you're worried, but it's not that you haven't done enough for her. I promise."

The man sighs, wiping away his tears with his index finger. When he's somewhat collected himself, he forces a sad smile and ruffles my hair with his free hand. I blink, having not expected the contact. "You're a good kid, Shouto. You have no idea how relieved I feel to know Megumi still has a friend that cares as much as you. Recently the people she hangs out with...well, I haven't even met them. She never brings them home."

I tilt my head inquisitively. "I've been curious myself as to what kind of people she's been mingling with."

"Well I'm afraid I can't tell you. The most she ever says about them is that she's going out to 'hang' with them. Frankly, I'm not entirely sure they're even real."

"If they never come here, she probably doesn't go to their houses either, does she?" It would probably be helpful to know who she's with when she runs away from school, but if what he says is true, I can at least be fairly sure she won't be at a phantom person's house.

"If she ever names a place, it's usually an arcade. If you still have time to search for her before heading back, I would check some of those."

Seems he doesn't have any new ideas. Why does she have to be such an enigma? At least now I know it was a good decision to send some of the others arcade hopping. "I think I'll try that. I probably have to be on my way if I want to get that in before I'm expected back. I'll be sure to visit again soon, if you'll have me."

"Of course! Please come any time you like! This house has always been and always will be open to you."

I stand to leave, but before I can go anywhere, Mr. Kyou sets his empty glass on his desk and rises out of his chair. He turns squarely to face me, standing tall, and formally stretches out his hand. "You've grown into a fine young man, Shouto. If it isn't too much trouble, I ask that you continue to look after my troublesome daughter." I give him my hand and he shakes it. Then, he covers it with his other hand and says, "And just know that no matter how she acts, you have always been important to her. That's one thing about her that never changed."

...That's it.

I'm not imagining things. She really is doing this because of me. Since day one, she'd acted strangely towards me. If I really am so important to her, if she really is still hung up on the past, and she kidnapped Midoriya because he's close with me, then she's going to want me to be the one to find her, and if that's the case...

This chapter ran longer than I'd initially planned, but hey. I think it turned out pretty well. I knew Shouto would check out her house, but then the next thing I know he's inside the study comforting her dad. I'm not really sure how that happened, but I'm glad it did. As for what he's thinking at the end, you'll have to stay tuned for the next chapter to find out! I think this next chapter's gonna be a big one. Any predictions? Hopes? Dreams? Concerns? Feel free to share, and I'll be back to feed your curiosities again next chapter! See ya then!