It was 8 PM. Hospital staff still occasionally walked down their room's corridor, but there were considerably less people than if the quartet were to sneak around during the day.
With the fluorescent white lights buzzing above their heads, Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Killua not-so-quietly made their way to the stairwell (Killua almost groaned at their louder than necessary footsteps, but he obviously knew not everyone went through the same training as he did.) Using the elevator was too risky since they could have potentially run into doctors or nurses, and they wanted to avoid trouble as much as possible.
Soon enough, they were just two floors below their own room, and, fortunately, Gon's room was also conveniently right next to the stairwell. Killua gestured the other three to follow him. He turned the knob, and—
Click.
"It's locked," Killua whispered.
"What!?" Iida "whispered."
"Quiet," Todoroki hushed, "you'll draw attention to us."
"Um, you guys, I think we're already drawing attention to ourselves..."
Killua scanned the area to confirm what Midoriya was talking about for himself, and... yeah, they were definitely getting odd looks from the visitors sitting in their chairs. It wasn't too surprising, though—even if it was night and less people were around, they were still four kids in hospital gowns all whispering in front of a door as if no one could see them.
Letting out a groan, Killua turned back to his classmates, speaking normally. "Okay, let's find our way in. It's not like we have a key, so does anyone know how to lockpick? If not, I'm breaking the door."
"And stoop to property damage?" Iida said.
Killua snorted. "You're the ones who wanna be Pro Heroes. They damage buildings on the daily."
"Not on purpose!" Midoriya said.
"Whatever, I'm following in their footsteps, accident or not." With that, Killua stepped back and reeled his leg back.
BANG.
The door slammed open, miraculously still hanging from its hinges.
Killua grinned. "Look at that. I'd be such a good hero."
"That was so loud!" Midoriya said. "I thought you wanted to be quiet?"
"Too late for that now," Killua shrugged, and casually walked inside, the other three closing the beat-up door behind them.
Squinting his eyes in the dim room, Killua stepped towards the curtain shielding the boy from his sight. He let his fingers rest on the fabric, hoping Gon didn't look as bad as he remembered.
With a deep inhale, he slid it aside.
What he uncovered was a frail boy, IVs stuck in his veins and tubes coming from his nose. The beeps of the heart rate monitor came slow but steady. He was dressed in a gown similar to his and his classmates', but Killua knew he'd be the last one to actually get to take it off.
His ears perked up at the sound of a mumble behind him. "That's Gon..." Todoroki said, voice low.
Killua barely turned his head. "Yeah."
No one said anything for a while. All eyes were on the strange boy, watching his chest slowly rise and fall.
"You can probably already guess, but I have my memories back," Killua said. "All you need to know is... Gon is my best friend. And he and I don't belong here. Once he wakes up, we're gonna find our way back home, together."
CREAK.
All heads whipped around to the opening door. It was too late to hide from whoever was behind it, so Killua only hoped it wasn't someone who'd get them in any major trouble—
"All Might!?"
"Principal... Nezu...?"
The number one hero and the tiny dog-rat-mouse walked side by side, approaching the quartet whose jaws were hanging wide open.
While Midoriya was completely spazzing over his favorite hero being in the room (Killua still didn't understand the whole All Might worship thing he had going on,) the rest of them simply stood, staring at each other, waiting on the other to explain what exactly they were doing in Gon's hospital room.
"Well, hello! Uh, students," All Might started, an awkward hand scratching the back of his neck. Quickly regaining his confidence, he questioned, "What are you doing here? I don't believe you're supposed to be out of your hospital rooms right now!"
"They are not," Nezu answered with a smile. "But, considering Zoldyck is here, I can assume he has something to do with it!"
"You always assume I'm doing something wrong," Killua grumbled.
"Ah! However, in this current situation, am I really wrong?"
An annoyed exhale followed, but Killua couldn't deny the annoying rat's speculation. Crossing his arms with his head held up high, he said, "I just wanted to check on him. I haven't seen him since I brought him in last night, so... I wanted to make sure he was okay. What are you two doing here?"
"Exactly for the same reason as you!" Nezu exclaimed.
Killua tilted his head. "Huh? Why would you care about him?"
The rat bared his stone-cold smile at him, and said, "We're moving him to U.A.'s infirmary."
His jaw hung open.
...What?
"...He isn't a student, though," Todoroki said.
"Yes," Iida agreed. "Not only that, but for what reason are you letting a... stranger onto school grounds? No matter his age, he may still be dangerous!"
Killua bit his cheek at Iida's odd wording, but quickly realized he only said it like that because, to everyone else, Gon was just a random boy Killua brought into the hospital. Without the holes in his face, he couldn't be recognized as the villain who stole those Pro Heroes' pinkies.
...At least, that's what he thought.
Nezu cleared his throat. "Witness reports state that two young boys fought each other using electricity quirks. Those two young boys also happened to have green and white hair, and those boys caused enough property damage to rival All Might's usual work day!"
The blonde man in question let out a weak chuckle, and, through a tight smile, said, "No need to bring that up..."
"Also," Nezu said, ignoring All Might, "it seemed the green-haired one looked an awful lot like that hole faced Villain who popped up on the news a week ago. And, I believe you've recently rediscovered your electricity quirk, hm? What a coincidence that both this boy and the villain can copy it!"
"So what if he did? He... doesn't even match the description of the villain," Killua said, clenching his fists and internally smacking his forehead for not coming up with a better excuse.
Nezu was up to something. That's the only reason he'd take a "villain" in instead of immediately dropping him off at the police station once he healed up.
"Young Zoldyck, there's no need to hide the truth," All Might said. "You still may not want to talk about it, but we have our own reasons for wanting to watch over him."
"What are they, then? What about Gon makes you want to keep him under your watch so badly?" Killua said.
The rat's ears twitched. "You don't trust us with the boy?"
"His name is Gon," Killua corrected. "And, no, I don't."
"Would you rather him stay here in Hosu? You're so concerned about this bo—excuse me, Gon, but you aren't thinking ahead! You'd need to take a train every time you want to check up on him, while it is much easier heading into the infirmary whenever you want! Strive for proactivity, Zoldyck!"
Strive... for proactivity?
Killua had to mentally hold himself back from knocking the pretentious buzzword-happy rat upside the head. While his actual argument did make more sense and was more convenient for Killua, he still could not shake the uneasy tingling from his fingertips. The rat seemed to have an agenda; he just couldn't figure out what it exactly was... but even if that does ring true, what could he possibly do about it?
"Fine," he exhaled. "Take him to U.A.. But anything more than that, and—"
The principal grinned and clasped his palms together, interrupting him. "Perfect! I will be seeing all of you back in school next week, then?"
After Killua's frustrated sigh, all four students gave their nods and quiet "yes"-es, and watched as the school faculty made their way out of the room, gazes travelling everywhere except towards each other.
The heart rate monitor's beeps sounded throughout the cold room.
"Do you... think that's good?"
Killua turned to the freckled boy. "What's good?"
"Gon being closer to you?"
"I mean, yeah," he answered. "But everything else..."
Midoriya and the others understood, despite him not finishing the sentence.
Looking back down at his best friend, Killua decided he'd said enough. It didn't matter to him much whether they knew he had his memories back or not. What mattered was getting Gon and himself back home—he just had to wait for him to finally wake up.
Scratch scratch.
"Calm down."
Scratch scratch.
"Sensei will find a way through this, I'm sure."
Scratch scratch.
"Be careful, you're going to hurt yourself again—"
Shigaraki slammed his fist on the bar counter, rattling the wine glasses sitting on top of it. "Shut up," he seethed, long fingernails clawing at his neck. "Gon hasn't come back and it's been four days. Four fucking days!"
Kurogiri stilled. He set the glass he was just cleaning down on the bar top, and said, "Shigaraki. Giran is coming today with new recruits. It would be wise to have them join us so we can come up with a plan to get him back. I understand your frustrations, but, as of right now, I believe complaining about Gon only wastes our time and energy."
"You can't just teleport him back? Doing anything but that actually seems like a waste of time and energy. Why can't you just do that?"
"You already know the answer to that."
"But—"
Three knocks on the door halted Shigaraki's tantrum. As it opened, the broker spoke from behind, cigarette in hand.
"You've been the talk of the town for days on end."
Two newcomers—one being a disheveled high school girl, and another being a boy with scarred flesh—entered the room, accompanied by Giran.
Soon after their introductions, Shigaraki exited the room in yet another tantrum, loudly slamming the door after him.
And then, on a walk to clear his head, he coincidentally ran into Midoriya Izuku.
The noisy chattering of students filled the classroom, little tidbits of information surfacing through the waves of conversations about their internship experiences. Killua had closed his eyes, resting his head on his hand until All Might finally showed up for their Foundational Hero Studies class.
It had been a very slow week since his fight with Gon. Every day since then, he'd visit him in the infirmary, hoping to see any sign of consciousness (and to make sure Nezu isn't doing anything out of the ordinary with him.) Thankfully, it seemed he was gradually getting better; color started coming back into his skin, his hair was less brittle, and his heart rate was stabilizing. The only thing Killua wanted was for him to wake up just a little bit faster.
As soon that happens, he thought, we're getting out of here.
"I AM HERE!"
Everyone turned their attention to the grand presence's entrance, noticing the door swinging wildly behind him.
"Students! Put on your hero costumes, and we will meet at Ground Gamma!"
Then, as soon as he entered, he immediately left.
No matter how many times Killua took this guy's class, he'd always find a way to make some sort of bold impression.
Standing up from his seat, he gathered his things and started towards the locker rooms. He heard Midoriya call his name.
Looking his way, Killua said, "What?"
"Can we talk about something after class?" he said in a hushed voice.
"Ah... sure," he said, trying not to make a face.
Ugh.
If it was going to be something about his memories, he'd definitely be annoyed. For the last few days of internships, Iida at least left him alone about it while they worked together under Manual, so he kind of hoped it'd be that way for both Midoriya and Todoroki once classes started again.
But he wants to be a "hero" and get in my business, Killua mocked.
Whatever. What happens happens. Besides, he'd only tell him the things he wants to.
"Okay, see you, then..." he mumbled, and quickly walked off into the hallway.
Soon, the whole class stood at Ground Gamma. All Might declared they'd be doing a rescue training race to test the skills they all learned during internships (once again, something Killua found to be boring.)
"Since Hagakure is absent today, the last group will only have four people!" All Might announced.
Some murmurs of what could have happened to their classmate arose, but were quickly forgotten once the race started.
"Hey, Killua," Uraraka said, lightly pushing his shoulder. "Who do you think'll win?"
A hand came up to stroke his chin. "Probably Sero."
Her cheeks puffed out. "Really? I thought it'd be Iida."
"Maneuvering through the air is a million times easier than on the ground. He could just swing on his tapes."
"Ah, I guess that does makes sense." She patted his back. "Well, we'll see in the end!"
Killua nodded, and watched as the five students raced through the complex architecture.
"By the way," she started again, "what happened to your mask?"
Ah, right. Killua couldn't find his mask in the locker room. Actually, he hadn't been able to find it since yesterday...
"I'm not really sure..."
"Wow, look at him hop!" she burst.
Uraraka's attention was instantly diverted to Midoriya's propelling technique that unexpectedly boosted him to the front of the race.
Huh, he thought. That's new.
Turning his gaze towards some of the other students, he noticed that they were surprised with Midoriya, as well. Only one seemed to have a more sour expression on his face, and of course it was Bakugou. When did he ever not have one?
After three groups, it was finally Killua's turn to go. He got put in the four-member group, along with Aoyama, Asui, and Bakugou.
Once he got into position, he groaned.
"Okay, here we go..." All Might boomed.
Honestly, he was fed up with everything.
Killua felt that every single thing he did for the time being was useless. All he was doing was waiting for Gon, but the only thing he was told was that he needed "more time to recover," as if he was supposed to take anything at all from that. Gon was a fast healer, yes, but he had no idea what the repercussions of hosting an Ai (that wasn't Nanika) were. He didn't know what exact relation Gon had with the Hero Killer or the League of Villains, either, and he didn't want to make any hasty moves before having all the information he could possibly gather.
He just wished he could get it over with.
"Start!"
It was all so... annoying.
All Might blinked, and, immediately, Killua appeared in front of him with a still expression and a hand in his pocket.
"Zoldyck?!"
"Are you still surprised?"
The teacher's grin nearly turned to a grimace. "Ah, no! You are just incredibly fast, young boy!"
Killua made no reply, instead choosing to sit down against the railing.
A few awkward seconds passed.
"I picked up your mask," the Pro Hero said.
"Huh?"
His hand reached out, and, sure enough, he held Killua's forgotten mask.
He closely inspected the teacher. Taking it, he said, "Thanks."
"Of course."
A few more awkward seconds passed.
"I, uh, found it in the infirmary earlier."
Killua nodded.
"You were checking up on... Gon?"
He froze at the sound of his friend's name. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"...I see."
Killua internally scolded himself for not taking his time on the race. First, he was dreading the conversation topic with Midoriya, and now he's having it with his own teacher?
This couldn't get any wor—
"CAT FACE!"
And then it got worse.
Bakugou closed in on them, explosions blazing as he approached the top of the water tower.
His shoes hit the floor, creating a cloud of dust that nearly assaulted Killua's eyes if he hadn't covered them. Lowering his arms, he watched as the explosive teen shot a glare at him.
"When did you get here?" he snarled.
"Five minutes ago, give or take."
"What?"
Shortly after, Asui and Aoyama arrived, both panting heavily (and the latter looking as if he were about to vomit.)
"So... close..." Aoyama gulped, hunched over and clutching his stomach. His face was all puffed up. "Tsu..."
"Kero?"
All Might stood straight with his hands on his hips, beaming at the final group. "Great work, everyone! I can clearly see the improvement you've all worked hard for during your internships! Now, keep at it, and start preparing for your end of term tests!"
Killua felt his teacher's stare linger on him for a little longer than normal, but he didn't think it meant anything all that important. He then turned towards Bakugou to find out if he wanted to say any more insults or expletives towards him, but there were none at all. He almost chuckled. If the annoying hothead could keep that up for the rest of his life, he'd be oh so happy.
Once everyone finished changing back into their uniforms in the locker rooms, Killua remembered what Midoriya told him before the race, so he tried to find him in the crowd. Spotting a green head of hair leaving the room, he set off, following it as best as he could. Oddly enough, Midoriya headed into a staff room. Killua wondered what he could possibly be doing there after telling him he wanted to meet up with him (mostly because he didn't want his time to be wasted.)
I guess I'll just wait outside, he thought, and comfortably leaned against the wall by the door.
A small vibration tickled his shoulders.
'Do you remember...told you...I granted...power?'
Killua's ears perked up.
...Huh?
Pressing his ear further into the wall, he listened in.
'One For All won't transfer to a new recipient, unless its owner wishes it.
'All For One...robs others of their quirks and renders them the users' own. It's also a quirk that can grant them to others.'
That voice sounded weirdly familiar, but he couldn't quite place the name on it. Whoever it was, it seemed like he was giving Midoriya a private history lesson on some specific quirk. Was it really worth eavesdropping on, though...?
Sure. He was bored.
'And so, the quirk to stockpile power and the quirk to pass itself on merged together!
'I was the successor to finally beat him! Or... so I thought...'
Stockpile power? Pass itself on? That didn't sound like anything Killua had learned in their classes. What about this is worth telling Mido—
'Whatever you task me with, I'll answer to your call, All Might!'
Killua held his breath.
He was talking to All Might?
The thoughts in his mind raced around, piecing themselves together to form the picture of...
...
Did... All Might pass down his quirk to Midoriya?
Killua snorted. No wonder Midoriya was so obsessed with their teacher.
The door swung open, and he hurriedly pulled his head away from the wall.
Midoriya spotted him, rapidly shifting his gaze up and down. "...Killua?"
"You wanted to talk?"
"You didn't..." his finger weakly pointed to the door, his face going pale. "You didn't hear... um, nevermind. Let's just go somewhere else."
Midoriya led him to a more enclosed part of the hallway, and, instead of spitting it out, he began twiddling his fingers.
"...Go ahead," Killua urged.
"Okay, um... you do know the League of Villains, right?"
Killua scoffed. "I already told you, I'm not connected to them." He paused. "If you're talking about me being their target, I have no idea why. You're a target, too, anyway."
"No! I-It's not about that..."
"Oh?" He tilted his head. What else could it possibly be?
He exhaled, gripping his fists tighter. "Do you know their leader? Shigaraki Tomura?"
Running through the names he bothered to remember in this world, he said, "No."
"We ran into each other yesterday, and... he asked about Gon."
His eyes widened. "Gon?"
"He just..." Midoriya took a deep breath, deeply gazing into his eyes as if he were to die if he looked away. "He asked me all this stuff about the Hero Killer, and why everyone likes him but not him, and I answered him, and then he started going on about how All Might was the problem because he dares to smile in the faces of the people he doesn't save, or something like that? And then, he told me that if U.A. has Gon, it's okay? I don't understand it, but he told me that we're doing the League a favor because he's out to kill All Might and you and me and wouldn't let anything get in his way! And he—"
"Hey, slow down!" Killua exclaimed. "You're telling me he's making Gon kill me?"
"Don't forget All Might and me!"
Waving his hand in dismissal, he said, "Yeah, yeah, you guys, too. But, there's no way that'd happen. Gon's a good person."
"It's kind of hard to see that when all I've seen him do is try and kill people..." he mumbled.
"Well, it isn't Gon doing it."
Midoriya's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Raising his hand to point at his own face, Killua said, "The holes in his face. He's being possessed by something from our world that's making him do these things."
"Your world...?"
Killua stopped himself. Shaking his head, he said, "It doesn't matter. Anything else you wanted to tell me? Or was that it?"
He shuffled his feet. "I don't know. I think I'm just as suspicious as you about Nezu bringing him here. Once he wakes up, none of us knows what he'll do. I really don't know what our principal's thinking..."
"There's no way you're as suspicious as I am."
"What do you mean?"
Shoving a hand in his pocket, he said, "You love this school. You love the teachers, the rest of the staff, the students, whatever. I'm pretty sure those things love you right back. Me? I'm stuck here, waiting for my best friend to wake up so I can finally leave this damn place."
"Do you hate it here?"
"I don't—No, I don't hate it here. I just want to get back home."
Midoriya tightened his lips. "What's your home like?"
"More dangerous."
"That sounds like a bad place to live in."
"I don't care. It's mine."
"I guess, so..." The green-haired boy glanced above Killua's head. "Er... I should be getting home, now."
"Okay! Good talk."
Killua rested the back of his head in his hands, nearly twirling around on his heel until he felt a small shiver travel down his spine. Standing perfectly still, he shifted his gaze, checking every angle in his vision. He looked at the windows. The corners. The vents. The floor tiles. The ceiling. And then, right back at Midoriya.
He narrowed his eyes.
Someone... is watching us.
"Did something happen?" Midoriya asked, oblivious to the mysterious onlooker.
"No. You can go ahead."
"...Okay, then. See you tomorrow."
"See you."
As the sound of his classmate's footsteps disappeared as he neared the entrance, he sensed for signs of the onlooker still being there so he could confirm whether they were following him or Midoriya.
Slowly following the path outside the school, he still felt that itch on the back of his neck.
So... it is me. But where are they? Are they waiting for an opening to attack? Are they gathering information?
Frustratingly, there seemed to be no visual cues at all to where this person may be following him.
Am I just going crazy?
No, that's not possible. Even if the amnesia potentially impaired his senses, there's no way he'd forget what someone following him felt like. He'd better be careful, then.
On the way to Aizawa's apartment, he made sure to stay cautious, but not too cautious. After all, he was confident in his ability to, if the situation calls for it, defend himself. He couldn't say the same for Aizawa, however, since he had no idea what kind of person was following him in the first place.
Hm... nah, he's a Pro. He could handle it. Most likely.
Entering the apartment, he quickly remembered the reason for it being empty—Aizawa's hero duties.
Oh well. Guess it's another day of passing time. Just like every other day.
Flopping down on the futon, he massaged his face.
So the League's making Gon kill All Might and some students, huh?
Maybe they want Killua dead because Gon said something stupid about him. Maybe he told them, "Hey, guys, Killua's an assasssin!" and they're just trying to wipe out the competition because they're supposed to be the most epic, mega-amazing League of Villains, with super tough bad guys who are the absolute best in the world!
He laughed. It was stupid. Everything here was just stupid.
The League's stupid. Bakugou's stupid. Nezu's stupid. All Might's stupid. Aizawa's stu—
"Kid. Did you not hear the phone ringing?"
"Huh?"
Killua lifted his head to the door, and, sure enough, it was wide open with Aizawa standing right at it.
"While you were throwing a tantrum, I was calling you to tell you to unlock the door."
Tantrum?
"I didn't even know your apartment had a landline." He tilted his head. "And why do you need me to unlock it? Don't you have a key?"
"I had to use the one under the rug."
"See? You didn't need me."
"I don't know, apparently I'm stupid."
Killua bit his cheek. Was he saying that stuff out loud...?
...
...Judging from the look on Aizawa's face, he probably was.
"I didn't mean for you to hear that."
"Well, I did, anyway." He walked around the apartment, setting his equipment down. "Something bad happen today?"
"No. What are you doing here early?"
"I'm supposed to make a call to Hagakure's parents for her absence, and I need the files in my drawer. Don't know why it couldn't have been anyone else..." he said, mumbling the last sentence.
Killua snorted. "Kind of irresponsible of you, don't you think?"
"You're talking to me about responsibility?"
"I'm only telling the truth."
"Your version of it."
The boy made no reply. Aizawa glanced at him for a second, then walked into a corner to make the phone call, pulling out a couple documents from the drawer under it.
Ah. So that's where the landline was.
Getting up from the futon, Killua realized he nearly forgot about the stalker.
And then, he realized that if they were still following him, they would have seen the key Aizawa placed under the rug.
Walking towards the front door, he opened it and lifted the rug. He sighed in relief. Thankfully, it was still there. Grabbing it, he once again locked the door, hanging the key on a mirror hook.
As he made his way back to the futon, he noticed Aizawa pointing and mouthing at him.
'Water the pudding.'
"What?" Killua said.
He waved in disapproval. 'Want. All. You. Growing.'
Scratching his head, he once again said, "What?"
"Okay, thanks for letting us know. We'll look out for her tomorrow, then. Goodbye." Ending the call, Aizawa was finally able to say out loud, "What are you doing?"
"Oh. I'm not a mouth reader, you know."
"Clearly."
He laughed. "I'm just keeping the key safe."
"From?"
"Stalkers."
"You do know that someone would have to be extremely stupid to break into a Pro Hero's residence, right?"
"Yeah. Just don't forget your key next time."
"Definitely not, since you don't pick up the phone."
"It's motivation!"
"Sure it is." A pause. "I'm going back out."
Killua made a noise of acknowledgement, and soon enough the hero was gone.
He clicked his tongue. Hopefully whoever was following him was gone, too.
Earlier...
Sonohoka woke up, absorbing the life energy Gon managed to recover over the past few days. It found itself in an infirmary, and noticed a tattered mask that belonged to Light on its chest.
It slipped right back into dormancy.
A/N: ...it has been a very long time. i kind of fell off of the face of the earth for a long time, as well as falling into a deep hole of not really knowing what to do with myself (in turn leading me to nearly abandon every project i'd been working on.) life's rough, but, hey, i got a chapter out, lol. honestly, rereading what i wrote, my notes, every single amazing review/comment you guys have so thoughtfully left (plus re-immersing myself into bnha's & hxh's characters and worlds) gave me enough reason and motivation to finally finish this chapter because, yes, i have been writing this for nearly two years. though, it doesn't seem like it because i stopped for a long time in the middle of it. part of why i hadn't updated is 'cause i haven't been writing, and i didn't want to publish, like, mega super unreadable shit, y'know? but in the end, i want to keep going and finish this story because i have a storyline planned out that i think sounds pretty cool! ...in my head, at least. all of you have been so kind and even compliment things about my writing style/the story in general that it makes me super stupid and start thinking, "can i live up to that?" like girl just shut up and write the story or else you'll never find out LOL. anyway, thank you for reading the chapter. i still have doubts in whether i think it's "polished" and "perfect" enough, but i really started writing this story because of impulsive self-indulgency, so of course it's not going to be perfect. i do hope, though, that you all find something you like in it :)
P.S. yeah, sonohoka is a wrong translation, my bad. but i've already gotten so attached to it, so can i ask a single favor of you guys to suspend your disbelief a little bit? thanks lolll