Chapter 24: Can a Holiday be Normal For Once?

Name: Luna

Quirk: Bast – She can assume the abilities of any cat, from regular housecats and lions to hybrids such as ligers and tigons. Her quirk is named after Bast, the Egyptian goddess of cats.

Appearance: Though usually taking on appearances of the cats' abilities, her usual look has been compared as eerily similar to a character of the anime RWBY known as Blake, however she has a tail, and they are complete opposites in terms of personality and choice of dress. She's 14.

Warning: Language and Adult Themes

Specific Warnings: Language, Gore

Note: I do not own Pure Imagination. Any and all credit belongs to its respective owners.

Todoroki idly fiddled with his tie as he stepped out of the elevator, looking around the lobby to see Iida was herding most of his classmates into one massive group. As soon as Iida saw him, he zipped over.

"Todoroki-kun! Have you found Luna-chan?" Iida asked.

Todoroki frowned. "Pardon?"

"You were supposed to go looking for her."

The frown deepened. He was supposed to be looking for Luna? Why was he … Wait. No, he remembered looking for her. He remembers going to the roof and the … Todoroki starts to steam a little, causing a few concerned people to look at him before turning away. He remembers coming back with Luna, and the elevator and then … nothing.

"Iida." Todoroki said quietly.

"Yes, Todoroki-kun?"

"I think someone tampered with my memories."

And that was when shit hit the fan.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Luna awoke to an incessant whirring sound, but when she tried to move or even open her eyes, she met nothing but cloth. Her eyes were hidden away with some sort of sack, her mouth stuffed with some sort of rag that tasted of ammonia and window cleaner (don't ask), and even her nose was almost completely stuffed. Her left ear was the only one that could hear, and she assumed she wouldn't have been able to if whatever was like in her right ear didn't fall out. She tried standing or struggling, but she already knew the drill. Her entire body bound by thick ropes, but even if they hadn't been, Luna wasn't sure if she could've even stood up. Her entire body was feeling extraordinarily weak, limbs heavy and shaky. She tried to summon her Quirk, but nothing. No tug, no familiar feeling to grab onto and transform. Taking as deep of a breath as she could, she began searching for Bast and Apophis, but the maximum she could sense from them was an angry buzzing. They were clearly trying to say something, but their voices were like they were speaking underwater multiplied by one hundred.

Luna began to feel a whole myriad of emotions, from anger to frustration to even a bit of fear. She didn't even remember how she ended up in this predicament, unsure if it was because of why she was feeling like a wet noodle or if it was something else entirely.

Occasionally, she heard some sort of explosions, and at one point a group of people ran by her door, but before whether she should risk trying to get help, they were gone. All she could tell was that she was in a small room, as the whirring seemed to be coming from some sort of ventilation shaft. Luna started to get antsy at not being able to move before she heard it.

At first, Luna thought her ears were deceiving her, but as the notes continued, Luna's mind honed onto the sound. For it was a piano of all things, though it was clear it was one of those pianos that could modify the sounds of its notes. And then, an angelic, quiet voice began to flow towards her.

"Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of pure imagination~" It was in English, which wasn't too weird considering the amount of international heroes here. "Take a look, and you'll see into your imagination~"

Luna felt her body start moving in the direction of the voice, her mind growing foggier by the moment. Luna was already on guard, not sure whether she should be worried or not, but her body clearly wasn't as cautious. "We'll begin, with a spin, travelling in the world of my creation~" Luna absently wondered if this was how that purple haired boy's, Shinsou's, Quirk worked. "What we'll see will defy the explanation~"

Luna felt her brain slowing down. "If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it~" She heard Bast and Apophis panic, their bubbling frantic and wild, but bubbling all the same. "Anything you want to do, do it, want to change the world? There's nothing to it." Why shouldn't she try to follow? "There is no life I know, to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free, if you truly wish to be~" After all, it's a chance to escape. "If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to do, do it, want to change the world? There's nothing to it~"

Luna felt the ropes digging into her body, but it's like her pain receptors were muted. The weird thing was that she felt that the ropes had a little slack to them, unlike before.

"There is no life I know, to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free, if you wish to be … Wish to be … Wish to be …~"

As soon as the voice stopped, Luna's brain and body rebooted, and she realized she was no longer bound by ropes. Quickly freeing her eyes and mouth from their sacks, Luna let out a shaky gasp, sliding to the floor against the door. She was indeed in some sort of janitorial closet; with the chair she was sitting on and the ropes that held her moments ago in front of her. Speaking of the ropes, Luna was left biting her lip in an effort to not make noise, the places where the ropes were left behind many rope burns, her flesh red and raw and wet.

So it was much to her surprise when the door behind her was opened, causing Luna to fall onto her back with a squeak. Looking up, she saw a man who appeared to be a janitor, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Um, hello?" he asked awkwardly. His eyes were drawn to her rope burns, and they widened considerably. "Are you, um … that's a stupid question."

Luna still hadn't given a response, her eyes drawn to his fingertips. They were tiny spouts … where did she see that before … oh, right, her week at the Ryukyu Agency. The man was the one who scared both her and Ito that one time; Ito's name sent a pang in her heart. He too seemed to make the connection.

"Wait, you're that girl from …" Luna nodded, afraid that if she tried to speak it'd be a weird, rasping sound. "Can't you talk?"

Luna sat up, leaning on the wall. "I'm … sorry. Someone must have drugged me or something, I can't use my Quirk." Her tongue felt heavy and unwieldy, her words coming out a lot slower than before.

He paled. "Oh, you're the kid who's missing then. Um, okay, listen very carefully. The entire island and this building have been taken over by a group of villains. Most heroes have been incapacitated, but there have been a lot of explosions and booms and such, so there's probably a few who're trying to get to the top and take back the building."

"And you?"

"Look, I'm not a fighter, okay? I was just looking for a quiet spot to wait this out." Luna felt a bit of pity for the man. Here he was, involved not only in the Hosu battleground, but now here. "I guess that's out of the window, since they put you here, they must know about this place. Okay, I have a few other places we could wait this out. Can you walk at all?"

Luna got up on her two feet, leaning heavily against the wall. Already, the strain from that made her legs shake. The man sighed, looking both ways in the hallway before scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder. The action made her let out a tiny sound of surprise, but the man didn't pay her heed as he quietly sprinted through the halls, checking corners quickly before arriving at another place. However, the entire wall was a smoking crater, the remains of what appeared to be a robot littered about the room.

"For fuck's sake, of course it had to be exposed." He grumbled but turned away and began searching anew. It wasn't long before they stopped once again, but this time, in their path stood a man with a mop of dull, pink hair.

"Where the fuck did this kid go, we pumped her with enough drugs to kill an elephant. I swear to god if I get -" he paused, his brown eyes staring at the man carrying Luna. "That was easy. Hey, dude, give me the girl. Find another drugged chick to fuck."

The man … she forgot to ask his name. This was getting really tiring really fast …

I'll just call him Taps.

Taps began to look around for any way to escape, but there really wasn't. Luna was surprised he carried her so easily, but there was no way he was outrunning the criminal.

The pinkette grew impatient. "Look dude, hand over the girl and you can leave, I'm kind of tired of this shitshow."

Taps bit his lip. "Really?"

"Duh, the hell I need you for?"

Luna felt an initial wave of indignation that Taps even considered giving her up but sighed when she thought it through. He was a civilian, with no combat experience and no want to fight either. He was just a dude who washed windows and cleaned buildings. So Luna made the decision for him; she pulled herself out of his grasp and collapsed onto the linoleum before getting up; Taps whirled around in alarm.

"Look, thanks for the help, but I don't need you to get caught up in this." Luna took a deep breath, now standing on two feet. She could actively feel something going through her veins and burning the weakness away. Assuming it was Bast and Apophis, she just had to stall for a bit before her Quirk became available to her.

Looking closer at the man, she saw that he had some weird, pink markings underneath his brown eyes. He wore all black clothing, which wasn't too surprising, considering his occupation.

"Wow, I got myself a real hero over here." Pinkette smirked. "You got five seconds to leave dude."

With a nervous glance at Luna, the man took off past the criminal, who didn't even blink at him. They both stared at each other until the man began to approach her calmly.

"Look girl, let me tell you exactly what's going to happen. You're drugged, you're barely standing, and your Quirk's not available. So, you're going to do the smart thing and surrender." He stated calmly.

"Are you with the Phantom Cloak? Is this why you did this?" Luna demanded.

"Well, someone give her an award, she's a detective!" The man summoned two steel swords and approached her. Luna eyed the swords hesitantly.

Her Quirk was not at all good for dealing with weapons. She was all flesh and bones, nothing reinforced. If she could turn into mythological cats like the Nemean Lion or even her Hero namesake Zouyu this wouldn't have been a problem, but she couldn't. She'd need Apophis or Bast to either outspeed him or have a weapon to deal with the swords. As she started taking steps backward, the man followed, whistling casually, the swords gleaming as they hit the occasional light in the hallway.

And with deceptive speed he leapt at Luna, swords lunging towards her. Thankfully, Bast and Apophis had the brainpower to realize to cleanse her legs first, and that was when Luna did the most embarrassing thing she'd ever done in her life: she ran. By the sounds of cursing, the pinkette expected her to fight, which rubbed even more salt into the metaphorical wound, but she had to. With only her legs free of whatever the hell they pumped her with, there was absolutely zero chance of her winning the encounter. Besides that, she would need time to learn how her opponent used his swords, how he could summon them, how fast he could do it, how often … the time she needed was time she did not have.

"Get the fuck back here girl!" the man shouted.

Luna merely ran faster at the provocation. The once plus to the situation was that she was faster than him, if only just so. It was more of a compliment to him than an insult to her, really. She was faster than most people at running if no Quirks were involved, so to have her barely have the edge was something that surprised her slightly. She ran and ran and ran, running past empty hallways and corridors, never quite far enough to slip into a room and disappear.

"How are you so damned fast, you're not supposed to move for another hour!" he howled behind her.

That revealed something interesting: the Phantom Cloak either did not know Apophis resided in her, or they did not account for him helping her. Which led to an interesting possibility; was it possible for the both of them to work together and beat Set? It was entirely possible; after all, Bast was able to defeat Set … but that was with the help of the blood moon. Hmm.

Luna was interrupted when she ran smack-dab into Taps. When Luna faltered, he didn't even budge from the spot. This time, instead of a hesitant and desperate face was a cold mask, his eyes glinting the way a piece of ice or a gemstone might. He seemed … different, this time. And Luna had a VERY bad feeling about this.

"Where are you going, Luna Aizawa? You want to get me into trouble?" Taps bared his teeth, his fingers steaming and twitching. Luna's heart dropped. She never told him her name. She sure as hell didn't tell strangers about taking the Aizawa family name. As she debated on how to proceed, the dude from before skid around the corner, huffing and puffing.

"So, guess the contingency plan was needed?" he said. And Taps struck. He blasted Luna point blank with boiling water, causing her to let out a shout before fleeing once again, but this time she was the slower one. Her rope burns began to ache terribly, and her new water burns added yet another layer to her pain. Taps, meanwhile, was able to keep up by propelling him forwards with his water, which only benefitted Luna because the other criminal couldn't pursue them as closely. But Luna knew Taps was toying with her. She heard the rumbling of pipes in front of her, skidding to a stop before the roof in front of her collapsed, dumping many gallons of water in front of her. Unfortunately, Luna didn't have any respite as the cool water began to boil and leap at her.

Taking a running leap over the water, she hissed as her bare legs came in contact with it before she fled. Only to be shoulder checked by the previous criminal, slamming her through a door and into a room. Gasping, she stood up, only to see Taps and the other man enter. At least she no longer felt weak. But she still could not use her Quirk. At all. She heard the distant roars of outrage from both Bast and Apophis, but they were just that: distant. She'd have to figure this out by herself. The room, thankfully, was relatively large, the exact purpose a mystery because of how bare it was, with a few painting the only things in the room.

The man - Pinky, Luna was sure Mina wouldn't mind her stealing the name – lunged at her while Taps stood back, a shit-eating smirk on his face as he watched Luna bob and weave. Swords flashed under the chandelier's light, with Luna getting an idea. All she needed was a way to steal his sword. So she would play the long game. The only hope was that she wouldn't be turned into a shish kebab before she could take one.

Left, right, overhead, sweeping, lunge, snap, twirl, it was clear that Pinky was a master of swordsmanship, not giving Luna time to execute her plan. As soon as the sword was there, it was gone. Taps was clearly enjoying himself, watching Luna scramble around the room like some feral cat trying to escape animal control. Finally, Luna got her chance when Pinky stabbed at her, only to get it lodged into the wall behind her. With a swift open palm to the outside of his elbow, she heard an audible crack as the man let out a shrill scream, his arm from the elbow down held at weird angle. Pulling the sword out of the wall behind her, Pinky situated himself perfectly under the chandelier. All she needed was to –

She was interrupted when something hard smacked her hard enough to crash into a wall, leaving a decently sized crated to appear. Agony burned through her midsection; it was clear at least a few ribs were broken with that. Looking up, she saw Taps holding the fucking door with a stream of boiling water, an eyebrow quirked in amusement.

"That was smart, I'm not going to lie. Had I not been here, you would have taken him out of commission. Although, if I wasn't here, you would've escaped him. But he would've found you first, so I suppose this entire situation would always have been hypothetical." Taps mused.

Luna tried to stand up, but with a smack to the head, she was forced down again, this time with the door being placed vertically against her upper back. Her chin throbbed from where it collided with the carpeted floor.

"You try that again and you'll end up paralyzed. We only have orders to take you alive, not perfectly untouched." Luna growled but didn't try to get up again, recognizing her defeat. Pinky power walked over, swearing all the time.

"Lemme snap an arm! Or both! The bitch broke my arm!" Pinky snarled.

Taps seemed to consider it, a thoughtful expression on his face before it relaxed into an easygoing smile.

"Sure."

Luna tried to move, but the door now was pressing into her back, pinning her. Pinky approached with a devilish grin, pinning Luna's upper arm to the floor with a foot while he tugged at her lower arm with his unbroken arm. He didn't snap it immediately, oh no. No, he instead opted to go about the process slowly. Luna hissed as the pain slowly grew, tears beginning to form in her eyes. In the past, she'd read about people who'd endured torture, not giving a single reaction. Luna always thought it was remarkable on their ends. She also found it impossible.

With a short scream, Luna felt her left arm snap, tears now leaking through her closed eyes. She could now audibly hear Apophis and Bast spitting in rage, their curses rendered to animalistic sounds of fury.

"Doesn't feel too good, does it Princess?" Pinky hissed in her ear, a shudder making its way down her spine. She didn't answer, couldn't answer really, unless she wanted to let out more screams. There was no way she'd be able to say anything comprehensible, her arm already swelling and hot and hideous. "Ooh, what nice bones you have. Too bad it's sticking out huh? Guess I missed your elbow."

Bile rose in Luna's throat. She could just imagine the way her arm looked right now, and it wasn't doing her any favors. She could feel her face get tinted in green.

"Hurry up, snap the other one and we're leaving." Taps sighed. He fucking sighed, as if he was watching something boring!

"Right, right. Give me a second. Don't have two arms, you know?" Pinky grumbled.

As soon as he placed his leg on Luna's other arm, she was filled with a deep, deep rage. There was no way he was breaking it too! She wouldn't allow it! She was going to do something, anything! And then, she felt something snap inside her, and then an explosion, before everything grew dark.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Scald groaned, pulling himself from the wreckage of what was the floor. Looking around, the entire thing was blown up, the building standing on bare bones, and even that was debatable, the whole thing groaning. The other man also slowly got up, though it was clear he wasn't as lucky as himself, considering the metal spike that sprouted from the arm that wasn't broken by the girl. Where was she, anyways?

Looking around, he saw two figures through the dust, one holding the limp figure of the girl while the other hovered nearby, his angry voice rattling through the empty floor. Suddenly, the man's piercingly violet eyes landed on him, and Scald would later swear that they burned with such intensity it almost made him wilt. With a bark of dismissal the second figure straight up leaped outside, which made him swear. They were on the eightieth floor, how the hell were they supposed to survive?

"I suggest keeping your eyes on me, if you want to live." The figure emerged from the dust, his voice a calm concealing a deep, deep rage. "You've committed a grave crime, you know? Attacking the child of a goddess, and the cat goddess no less. You two would have been skinned alive before slowly drowned in a river if this was still in the Ancient Egyptian era."

Scaled tensed immediately while Swordkil growled. "Look pretty boy, how about you leave before we kill you. It's clear you have no idea who we are. Besides, threatening us with death? That's not very heroic."

"No, it is you who does not understand who you are dealing with. For you see, I am most certainly not a hero. In fact many would call me a … villain." The unidentified figure spoke before he was gone, Swordkil pinned underneath him. Scald barely had time to fling himself out of the way, the place where he stood an iron maiden made out of a purple liquid. "You see, I am not a hero. I am not a god. I. Am. Your. Death."

With his cane, he began repeatedly bashing Swordkil's head, the man's screaming turning slurred by the blood before he was silenced, the flailing of the limbs no longer moving, the only thing that was heard was squelching as the man's brain was exposed and bashed into a paste before the figure turned to the rest of his body, being enveloped in the same purple liquid. His body was slowly dissolved before it was soon gone, the smell of burned human flesh and blood the only sign of the man that once stood there.

"Now, for you."

"You won't get away with this." Scald spat, his fingertaps pointed at the figure. "Even if you escape the Phantom Cloak's grasp, the heroes will hunt you down!"

The man chuckled. "You see, that won't really happen. For one thing, the only person in your organization who could even interest me is your boss, Liam Nadeau, but he's not strong enough to fight fairly. They don't call me the Devourer of Worlds for nothing. For another, how could the heroes arrest me if they don't know of my existence? After all, the poor thug was crushed into a paste by the explosion, and you'll be locked away in an insane asylum."

Scald paled. Oh no. He was screwed. Royally fucked. "You're …"

"I am."

Scald blasted Apophis with everything he had, only to falter when Apophis merely flicked a single drop of poison into his water before the boiling water stopped, turned into a deep purple, and flung itself at Scald. Jumping out of the way, he had to propel himself away from the writhing mass of boiling poison which followed behind him closely. Apophis's cackling laughter taunted Scald, the poison splitting into three streams as two shot ahead while one pursued. The two split streams collided in front of him, disappearing but leaving behind an acrid cloud of purple mist.

Scald hissed in pain as he was forced to pass through it, his eyes closed so his eyes wouldn't burn to the poison. When he sensed he was outside of it, he opened his eyes, only to stare in horror as Bast stood in front of him, her left leg raised to her head before she brought her heel crashing down onto his back, his spine audibly snapping as he was slammed into the ground with a scream. He then continued screaming when the poison distributed itself evenly and crashed onto the man, eating away at his clothes and skin.

"So, let me explain what is currently happening to you." Apophis said, wiping the head of his cane with a rag, not even remotely bothered by Scald's screams. "Currently, my poison is eating away at your skin, and will soon make its way to your nerves, where it will tamper with it so even the strongest painkillers won't make a dent. The pain will fluctuate so you won't be able to get used to the pain, but you won't die. The purple mist that you foolishly inhaled is now eating away at your brain and tampering with your memories, so you won't be able to say anything, and any mortals with mind-reading Quirks won't be able to tell what happened to you. Oh, and Bast will break every bone in your body now, so have fun."

Apophis pulled out a phone and recorded as Bast giggled in glee before proceeding to snap every bone in Scald's body, Apophis making sure to capture everything perfectly, the man's screams music to the immortals' ears. Soon, Scald fainted, but was soon awakened by the fumes of Apophis's poison, at which point the process repeated several times until Bast was done with her grisly work.

"You have everything on camera, fool?" Bast hissed at Apophis.

Apophis groaned inwardly before changing his voice. "Y-Yes ma'am! Please don't hurt me!"

Bast scoffed. "Shouldn't have threatened by cub then." She then leaped at the camera and Apophis flung it aside, screaming in fake pain as Bast roared angrily before Apophis went silent. Bast picked up the phone.

"You're next, Suetekh." Bast warned before stopping the video and flinging it at Apophis, who sent the video with a few taps and a smirk.

"You know, maybe Luna was right." Apophis said after a few moments, hopping out of the building with Bast as they proceeded to watch Wolfram fight All Might and Midoriya.

"I hope so. I really do Apophis." She hesitated before she turned to him. "Can I ask you of a favor? In case I won't be around."

Apophis nodded hesitantly, paling slightly as Bast told him her favor. "Bast, she'll kill me."

"No, she won't. She'll forgive you. Please."

"Are you sure? I mean this, Bast. I'll only agree because I know it probably will happen at this rate, and IF you promise that Luna won't be able to lock me away. Please, don't tell her how."

Bast was taken aback slightly by the worry and slight fear in Apophis's eyes. She knew him as a cold, albeit reluctantly social jokester ever since he was released. There was one thing she found he feared: loneliness.

"Why are you so worried?"

He hesitated, observing the fight as it progressed. Finally, a massive cube formed above the tower, intent on crushing it into the ground, only for two figures to smash it, resulting in a massive explosion that rocked the entire island. "Don't tell her, you hear me? One word and the pact is off."

Bast nodded seriously, her face growing increasingly horrified as the tale progressed. The rising sun did not make the situation any lighter, not this time.

0-0-0-0-0-0

A phone rung in the apartment, awaking Nadeau from his slumber. His arm flailed toward it, missing it the first time before scuttling over the small beside drawer, picking it up groggily.

"This better be important." Nadeau groaned.

"Boss, check the news!" the voice shouted urgently.

Flicking on the television, Nadeau instantly woke up, his eyes narrowing in anger.

" – the villains. Thankfully, All Might was able to stop this situation from ending catastrophically, with the help of several students from U.A. high school. On another note, there have been four fatalities and about a dozen injured, two in critical care. Three of the fatalities have been confirmed as part of the villain group while the last is the now late scientist Samuel Abraham, assistant to Professor David Shield. Said professor is one of the two in critical condition from a gunshot to the shoulder. The other will remain anonymous, as they are underage."

Nadeau began to shake. Of fucking course they were thwarted, why wouldn't they be?! And if he was a betting man, he was willing to put everything on the fact that it was his daughter who was the other. With her luck, she'd be fine by the next day.

"Listen here, shithead." Nadeau snarled into the phone.

"Yes boss!"

"I want a meeting. Gather the rest of my lieutenants and schedule a meeting with All for One. Tomorrow. Got it?!"

"Yes boss, right away!"

Nadeau yelled in frustration, flinging his phone away before getting up. There was absolutely no way he was going back to sleep. A notification on his phone made him growl, pulling up a video from Scald, who hadn't even called him back regarding the status. Watching the video, he understood why. He watched Bast giggle and laugh as she snapped every single bone in Scald's body, relishing his screams clearly. An angry fire lit in his eyes as he heard Scald begging for mercy, only for Bast to snap another bone. She left the head as the only place without a broken anything, but the way his face looked clearly showed that he suffered some sort of chemical burn, the skin on his face red and raw. She barked at Swordkil before killing him too.

"You're next, Suetekh." Bast seethed and the video ended. A kissing emoji was sent after it was clear that Nadeau watched the video before Scald went offline.

"FUCK!" shouted Nadeau before lowering his head, his hands scrunched up in his hair. Scald was immensely valuable as an ally and was realistically the only person in his organization that he could even consider a friend. The fact that his phone was in the possession of the police soon meant that his latest movements would be stopped, with no time to end the operations already in full swing. Thankfully, the information autodeleted after a day or so, but the police were sure to know about it, and likely would deactivate the command.

"You want to play? Let's play." Nadeau snarled.

I couldn't agree more. Set whispered.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Todoroki sat in the ambulance heating and cooling pads on opposite sides of his body. Even though the flames and ice could somewhat counteract the weaknesses of each other, they weren't foolproof. That and he was exhausted. He sighed, thumping the back of his head against the wall of the vehicle.

"Excuse me, are you Todoroki Shoto?" a paramedic asked.

"Yes?"

"Are you the emergency contact for Luna Aizawa?" His skin crawled at the question.

"Her guardians?"

"Have been notified. However, you are the closest."

"Where is she?"

"She is currently undergoing an emergency surgery. If you are not busy, we recommend going to the hospital along with your classmates who are able. This was the will of one Shouta Aizawa."

"I'll go. The others can come later."

"Very well. Please buckle up."

The door closed and Shoto felt his heartrate skyrocket with worry. What happened to her? She clearly wasn't okay, considering she was in emergency surgery. He burned with the need to know, but he couldn't just ask the ambulance to break the law so he could get there faster. So he waited. It wasn't long before they arrived, with Shoto bursting into the hospital. The receptionist looked up.

"Who are you here for?" she asked.

"Luna Aizawa." Shoto panted.

"Relationship to the patient?"

"A … close friend."

Her fingers flew rapidly over the keyboard. "Aizawa-san is currently in emergency surgery, but you are welcome to wait until she is out."

With a nod, Todoroki began to pace the room, worry gnawing at his very being. She would be fine, she was currently in one of the most advanced hospitals in the world, but still, the idea of what if continued to pester him. He had no idea how bad the situation was, no idea what the resulting effects would be. All he could do was pace. So he did.

Within the hour, most of his classmates involved in the incident also turned up, Midoriya coming with an older and scrawny man who he said was his guardian for the trip to I-Island. Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Uraraka, Iida, Kirishima, Mineta (ugh), Kaminari, Bakugo, and even Melissa turned up, most of their faces etched with stress.

After what seemed like an eternity, the receptionist called him up.

"Todoroki-san, you may go to the third floor and visit room three-hundred-twenty-seven. Only you, Aizawa-san is still in recovery."

"Is she …?" Todoroki's words lodged themselves in his throat, but the receptionist gave him a small, understanding smile.

"She is expected to make a full recovery, but for now she needs rest, hence only you being able to go."

With a thankful nod and a quick promise to convey a hello from everyone if she was awake, Todoroki practically sprinted to Luna's room, quietly opening the door. There were a couple of nurses there, but they didn't pay him any mind, merely recording Luna's vitals before slipping outside quietly.

Todoroki's throat parched instantly at the sight. Luna's feet were swaddled in bandages, her left arm in a cast. Her face was also mostly covered; really almost everything was covered by something, whether it was bandage or cast. The monitor showed that her vitals were steady, which calmed him slightly, but still left him with an increasing amount of guilt. He was delegated the duty to make sure nothing happened to her, and yet here she was, once again in a hospital. She was asleep, but somehow, her right hand was left unmarred and uncovered, so he gently took it. It was to his immense surprise that she squeezed slightly.

"Luna?" Todoroki whispered, but there was no response. It was likely a subconscious instinct, and yet, it made him feel better. The fact that she knew it was him made his gaze soften, his critical gaze now relaxing as he sat heavily in the chair nearby. The amount of fluids being pumped into her made him nervous. Saline, antibiotics, painkillers, and nutrients were being pumped into her right hand. The potassium one made him wince, experience making him know it would burn.

And so, he hunkered down for the foreseeable future, staring quietly at her.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The telephone rang throughout the house, causing Aizawa to grumble. It was way too early to reasonable call someone at this ungodly hour. It was supposed to be summer break for god's sakes, the one time when he could sleep in.

"Hello?" Aizawa asked grouchily.

"Hello, is this Shouta Aizawa?" the male voice spoke into the line. Aizawa tensed.

"If it is? Who is this?"

"This is a receptionist from I-Island Mercy Hospital on I-Island. Your ward, Luna Aizawa, is currently in the hospital undergoing emergency surgery."

Silence throughout the house. Aizawa closed his eyes in defeat.

"Azi? Who is it?" Ichika called.

"What happened?" Aizawa growled.

"A group of villains took over the I-Expo tower, however the situation has been dealt with. It is currently unknown what happened to Aizawa-san, however we have discovered that she had been drugged with some sort of Quirk suppressor, as well as a few narcotics. She had multiple broken ribs, internal bleeding, first degree burns on her legs, torso, and face, as well as a sprained right arm and an open fracture on her left arm, along with many severe rope burns. Because you are the emergency contact, we called you to let you know of the situation."

"Thank you for letting me know."

"It is no problem. Please have a nice day."

Aizawa hung the phone limply, taking a deep breath. He was never letting that girl go anywhere without his supervision. He though I-Island would be safe enough, considering its security was on par with Tartarus, but obviously he was wrong. Ichika peered around the corner, paling when she saw Aizawa's gaunt face.

"Azi?"

"Pack your bags for a few days. We're going to I-Island."

"Azi, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

He took a deep breath, staring at his wife. "Luna is currently undergoing emergency surgery. And they don't know what happened to her."

Ichika licked her chapped lips, nodding. "Okay, I'll, uh, pack then."

Aizawa followed after his wife, the both of them sinking underneath the feeling of guilt and worry and fear. As soon as they entered the bedroom, Ichika broke down crying, Aizawa holding her close as she tugged at his shirt.

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Luna woke up several times, always through the haze of painkillers, never for very long. Her … well, everything hurt, and she was tired, oh so tired. Sometimes it was Todoroki, sometimes Ichika or Aizawa, or one of her classmates who was sitting there. They always grew excited, or slightly more animated in her homeroom teacher's case, but she was never able to calm them, to quell their worries. It was so tiring to remain awake, her breathing hampered by her ribs.

Luna didn't know how long she was under or for how long she remained on the edge before she finally woke up, feeling stifled and incredibly hot. Her right arm carefully searched for the remote on her bed, her position not allowing much to see unless it was the ceiling. She finally found it and pressed the button to the seated position, wincing as the bed gently folded to a 45-degree position. There was another bed in the room, where her homeroom teacher's mop of black hair and Ichika's golden head poked over the edge of the bed.

Not wanting to wake up her guardians, she just sat there, observing them with a small smile. She began to doze when a nurse walked in.

"Excuse me, can you get me some water?" Luna asked quietly.

As if a firecracker was fired under their bed, the two adults shot up and over to Luna, their eyes conveying clear relief.

"Oh, Luna dear, don't do that to us!" Ichika said hurriedly. "Why do you always find trouble?"

"I didn't do anything. I was just on my way to the Expo with Shoto and then …" Luna trailed off, her memories hazy. "Then I woke up in a closet."

The nurse quickly checked her vitals before exiting the room. Shortly after, a doctor walked in, very obviously trying to cover his pant.

"Aizawa-san, how do you feel?" he asked. "Oh, sorry, my name is Dr. Abrahamyan."

Luna tilted her head slightly at him. His last name was quite peculiar, his accent rich and awkward at the same time. How was that even possible?

"Well, everything hurts …" Luna trailed off uncertainly. What was she supposed to say?

"Well, yes, but anything major? Does your arm hurt too much?"

"My arm …" oh, right. "No. I mean, it hurts a bit more than everything else, sure, but. Not really."

"Very helpful, Luna." Aizawa snorted. Ichika gave him a short glare.

"Oh, no, it's perfectly fine. I'm, ah, required to ask because there are a couple police officers that have been waiting for you to wake up."

"Am I in trouble?" Luna asked.

"Oh, no, it's just they need to figure out if there are still criminals here on I-Island."

"I think I can hold a conversation."

"Great! I mean, sorry, didn't mean to sound so excited, but it's kind of a thing of mine. You know when people feel better?" Luna was instantly reminded of Midoriya and the way he spoke, genuine but sometimes bumbling and way too open. "I'll, uh, go get them now!"

It wasn't long before two people walked in, Luna recognizing both of them from the two who interviewed her after USJ.

"Hello Aizawa-san, I'm sure you remember us, so we can skip introductions, yes?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, I remember you two, Tsukauchi-sama and Tamakawa-sama." Luna nodded slightly.

"Well, then you should remember I don't like the added formality." There was a bit of reprimand in his voice but his and Sansa's grins made it clear she was fine. "So, shall we get to business?"

And so, Luna started to remember. Tsukauchi frowned when Luna got to the mystery voice.

"So, let me get this straight. You were completely bound, but you heard a voice with a piano, and your brain grew foggy? Afterwards, your mind was cleared, and you found yourself out of the ropes?"

"Yes, it was weird, because when I was freed, there was no woman there. It was clear she knew I was there, and the lockdown had commenced, but then why didn't she help me? Maybe she was another villain?"

Tsukauchi and Tamakawa exchanged looks. "Very well, we'll get to our questions at the end. Then what happened?"

Luna then went on to recount her tale, learning that Taps was an infamous villain named Scald, and Pinky was named Sworkil. Both were part of the Phantom Cloak, but they worked independently of each other. When she got to the end of her recount, everyone in the room was confused by the ending.

"And … that's it?" Ichika asked.

"The next time I fully woke up it was here." Luna affirmed.

"That … doesn't help much." Tamakawa meowed uncertainly. "Are you sure that's all?"

"I'm quite positive."

Tsukauchi huffed. "Well, we can deduce that Swordkil was crushed, that's not the issue though. What happened to Scald then?"

Luna perked up. "Something happened to him?"

"Every single bone in his body except for his head was broken, he's paralyzed, and he's insane. Mumbling something about purple clouds."

"Oh." Luna held no sympathy for the man. It was clear that he was spying on her during her tenure at the Ryukyu Agency, and the fact that he pretended to be a random civilian before his hand was forced suggested he was either going to play the long game or use a moment of surprise to incapacitate her and … do something to her. Unclear exactly what, but it couldn't have been good.

Tsukauchi sighed before standing up. "Well, if you remember anything else, please let us know. Until then, I wish you a speedy recovery, Aizawa-san. Eraserhead, Aizawa-chan."

With several shallow bows, Tsukauchi and Tamakawa left the room, leaving the three to catch up. This was going to be awhile.

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Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for the hiatus! The combination of moving everything for university, work, and a complication with my Percy Jackson fanfic all led to me not having the time I need to push out good chapters. I understand that I should have made the time for my stories, but unfortunately, I was not able to, I hope you can forgive me!

In regards to this story, Melissa and her dad will pop in a couple of times later on, but it won't be anything major. Maybe a reference or two, maybe an email, I don't know yet, I just like Melissa and her dad as characters. However, I think you all know what's next: the summer training camp! I hope you all are as excited as I am, because boy oh boy do I have a good plan for that! Also, I changed the way Swordkil's Quirk worked. I hope you guys aren't too upset with that. Normally his arm would become the sword-thing, you know what, it reminds me of the needles from Hollow Knight, so I'm calling them needles. In this fic he just summons swords.

Anyways, that's all from me! Stay safe out there! – Bananaman out!