Uuuuuugh…

For Camie Utsushimi, waking up felt like swimming to the surface from the bottom of the ocean.

Her head spun, static fuzz dancing in her brain. Her limbs were noodle-limp. She tried to sit up and was blinded by bloodflow, her whole body rejecting the idea of movement. She let out a soft groan, unable to stop herself from falling back onto the pillow.

Then there was a hand holding hers. A rough, calloused, warm hand.

"Camie?" Izuku asked. "Are you there?"

She did not shy away from his grip. It felt like it was waking her up faster. "Yeah," she croaked.

"How do you feel?"

"Like shit."

He sat down on the bed, shifting the weight of the mattress. She managed to open her eyes and look up at him. Concern was written all over his face.

Camie blinked. "What…time is it?"

"Sun's not quite up yet."

"How long has it been?"

"Two days. You took in a lot of the gas, but Ms. Joke saved you."

"You…stayed here for two days?" She managed a soft laugh. "You didn't have to do that."

Izuku did not respond, nor release her hand. His presence spoke for itself.

Camie sniffed. "So…did you get the scumbag, at least?"

Izuku hung his head. "No."

Well. That sucks. Camie refused to cry. She tipped her head to the side, looking at the clinical length of Seiai's semi-busy hospital room, seeing other victims of Mustard asleep near her. She tried to remember the last time she succeeded at anything.

"What else?" she muttered.

"Err…Hado-senpai went back to her command center. We don't really have other leads at the moment, so…"

"So back to Kijimi it is."

Izuku tightened his mouth. "Is that what you want to do?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. We'll go whenever you're ready. There's no rush…"

Camie chuckled and managed to sit up. "That's BS and you know it." Her head was already feeling clearer, but not necessarily in a good way. If I lay here any longer being useless, after everything I've messed up…I'll freak out. "Give me twenty. Then we'll bounce."

Izuku frowned, clearly unhappy with the idea, but the expression she gave him allowed for no argument. "I'll go find your bike and meet you downstairs." He got up and left.

Camie watched him go. He respects what I want first, and is protective of me second. Other boys would do it the other way around. Hell, she'd assumed Izuku would have done it the other way around.

She wondered how far she could push him.

Izuku did his best to ignore the hostility.

As he rolled Camie's bike to the center of the Seiai courtyard, the path leading to the exit gate stretching out ahead of him, many of the refugee civilians had gathered in a crowd around the school's doors.

"Took you long enough!" someone shouted.

"And don't come back, either!"

"You're a curse!"

"Put us all in danger…"

"Go far away!"

"Go AWAY!"

"AWAY!"

Their jeers and desires solidified into a chant, unified in their rejection of him. GO AWAY. GO AWAY. GO AWAY.

Izuku swallowed beneath the mask. His throat caught, as it commonly did when he was about to cry. I will not. Even if they can't see me anyway.

He turned his back to them and the school, facing the gate. Should have never come at all.

Some of the Seiai hero students were now trying to manage the crowd and make them go back inside. A few were even shouting at them to shut up. Izuku appreciated that, but mainly he just felt shitty about it all.

This is exactly what Mustard wants, and exactly what All For One wants. Protectors and protected, unable to get along, unable to support each other. And what reason did they have to like him? None. He'd only failed to get the job done so far.

And I don't look like a hero.

Camie finally arrived at his side, in her tight black costume once again. She was looking back at the chaotic scene with fury in her eyes. "This is hella ridiculous. They've tooootally lost it." Her eyes flicked up to his masked face, as if searching to see how he was reacting. "You don't deserve to hear all that."

"Neither do you." Izuku tilted the handlebars of the bike toward her. "Let's go."

She threw one long leg over the seat, and then paused. Staring at the crowd.

Izuku followed her gaze. Standing there amidst the civilians were a few of the prisoners, all accompanied by guards. Getting their allotted fresh air, I guess.

One of the prisoners was Camie's mother, watching her daughter from across the campus ground. Camie watched back.

"She sees you," the girl mumbled. "She knows you. Like you spoke to her. Did you speak to her?"

Izuku couldn't lie. "I did…she visited you while you were sleeping." He was still not sure what to make of the things he'd learned from Camie's mom. "Did you want to…"

"It'd be illegal to get any closer. She already went too far if she pulled up while I was out." Camie turned back around and got fully onto the bike, taking a deep breath. "Vamos."

Izuku took to the sky as Camie revved the motorcycle. Together they left Seiai Private Academy behind.

It was bright mid-morning when Izuku looked down to see that Camie was swaying on the highway.

Concerned, he descended from his lofty position toward the wide, empty road, curving through urban areas on elevated supports. Camie and her bike were the lone moving piece, like a beetle on a sidewalk, and right now they were crawling almost as erratically. She was not staying in one lane (not like that mattered) but instead was meandering back and forth, as if…

As if falling asleep.

"Camie!" He got street-level and flew alongside her for a moment, gesturing for her to slow down. "Camie, do you need a break?"

Her face twitched. She was leaned all the way forward in the seat, and her eyes looked bloodshot. "I…don't want to take one."

"Hold on, hold on." He got in front of her and forced her to stop in the middle of the highway.

The motorcycle screeched, braked, and went quiet. Leaving the two of them alone in silence, in the center of a concrete wasteland.

Camie sighed. "What?"

"Don't roll your eyes. You're dozing off."

"You got any better ideas, big guy? Wanna drive it yourself?" She tilted the bike toward him sarcastically.

"I don't know how." Izuku turned on Blackwhip and wrapped several of them around the motorcycle. Then, he tied them off around his shoulder and armpit, so that he had both free hands.

Camie's eyes widened. "You're gonna carry it? That looks like it's gonna hurt."

"I've lifted heavier weights for longer. We're only a few hours out."

"And what the hell am I s'posed to do?"

Izuku held out his arms. "Sleep."

Her expression softened as she realized what he was offering.

"Mmkay," she whispered, now putting on an eye-twinkling smirk, and gladly walking over to him and hopping up into his arms.

Izuku was only slightly taken aback by how quickly she'd agreed. He held her tight around the shoulders and under the bend of her legs, in front of his chest. She threw her arms around his neck. "Ready for liftoff," she said.

Clearing his throat and trying to ignore the amount of close body contact, Izuku jumped back into the air again, the motorcycle being dragged behind them like a helicopter payload, hanging securely by the blackwhips.

The wind picked up as they followed the freeway, Izuku using several Quirks simultaneously and bearing the weight of girl and bike together. Camie clung to him tightly, her eyes darting toward the ground with just a tinge of nerve. I like how subtle she is. When that normally playful and abrasive attitude, which he also liked, just gave way a little to the true girl under the surface…

I should focus.

"Don't wanna take the mask off?" Camie asked him, her fingers tracing up toward where the fabric met his neck. "Aren't we familiar?"

"The air will sting my face at this speed."

"What about my face, huh?"

"You can bury it in my chest if you like."

"Hmm. Maybe I will."

"We're doing this so you can sleep. You ought to sleep."

"No way," she insisted with a shake of her head. "This is way too lit."

"Then…do you want to talk?" he dared to ask.

He'd meant about their relationship to each other, but Camie broached a different topic. "My mom must have asked why you were there. At my bed." She gazed away from him, watching the horizon.

"I told her we work together. That I didn't intend to leave without you."

Her lip quivered, and she let out a short exhale. Once again, Izuku couldn't read her thoughts. "Did she tell you anything?"

"...Not much I didn't already know. That she was locked up because she worked with the mafia. And that she regretted letting you grow up in an environment like that." Izuku's throat was dry. "She…she said that she's proud of you."

"Hmph. Well, who wouldn't be?" Camie tossed her hair and laughed weakly. "It's not like I've…totally screwed up everything I've tried to do since the war…or anything…"

Izuku had nothing to say beyond "Join the club."

She hugged him a little tighter. They flew in silence for a few more minutes.

"Camie…" He worked up the courage. "What happened to your dad?"

"Did she not tell you?"

"Only that he died." Izuku kept his voice soft.

Camie nodded. "That's true."

"...Who was he?"

Another weak chuckle, another toss of the hair. Her face twitched. It was like she was trying to figure out how to say it in the most nonchalant way possible, but he could see her eyes glistening. "He was a prostitute. One of Mitoma's. My old lady made enough dough off the illusion jobs she ran for the Hojos to hire him, like, exclusively, or whatever. He was her booty call. I guess one day they decided to do it raw, and…" She snorted harshly. "Here I aaaam." One of her hands left his neck and waved it, a mockery of a magic trick reveal.

"I…see." Izuku processed.

"So now you know." She turned away from him, as if anticipating his disgust.

"How…how'd he die?"

The story came out flat and blunt. "I was fourteen. My mom had started taking me on mob missions to practice my Quirk. I was spotted by heroes doing stakeout and they ran an operation to rescue me. They were getting too nosey with the Hojo business, and my mother was blamed. Naru told her to create a big illusion to throw them off, so she had to leave me at the apartment. She called my dad and asked him to stay and watch me until she got back. The authorities had the address somehow and showed up to take me. My dad assumed my mom would have wanted him to fight to protect me. The cops shot him."

Izuku's brain turned over and over. A lot of things about Camie were beginning to make sense to him. She stayed away from Tsukauchi and the other police. And the young Hojo they had caught, the one Izuku had been disguised as…he asked Camie if she was looking for work. Because she'd been on missions with them before. She'd been becoming a villain.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

"It's no biggie, he just…" Camie had a sad smile. "You know. He was a sex worker and I don't think he was very mentally…strong. I only saw him a few times a month. But my mom sure liked him."

"What happened after that?"

"My mom got arrested and I got moved to a different middle school across the country. I was only there a few months, but…it felt super sweet and fresh, I guess. I kinda got way into, like, being a normal, basic gal…which sorta explains…well, I'm sure you've noticed how I talk."

I notice you drop the slang when you talk about your past. Which now made sense. It was like Uraraka shifting into her country accent when she was on the phone with her parents.

Izuku thought of Eri as well. Camie's story sounded awfully similar to the little girl's, only…we didn't kill any of Eri's family members by accident. He imagined Eri growing up and becoming like Camie. Will she also feel the pressure to become "normal?"

"I really am sorry you had to go through all that," he muttered.

"It's okay, really." Camie shifted in his arms, re-situating herself and snuggling up to him. "Like I said, going to that new school was actually…nice. I wanted nothing to do with my past, you feel? Not my mom, not the mafia, not anything. It was Naru who wanted bigger illusions on jobs in the first place, and he was more than happy with my mom bringing me along…until I got spotted, and then all of a sudden she and I were a liability to him." She spat into the wind. "I decided to try and apply for hero schools because…well, everyone knew me as a ditz and I wanted to rub it in their faces, and also because I imagined being a hero as the last thing my mom would ever do. I didn't even bother applying for UA because I knew how close Kijimi is to it."

Izuku's mask-ears waved in the wind behind his head. "But you're right back in it," he muttered.

She relaxed her eyes. "Knowing what Naru is…what he's always been like…there's no way I can avoid this fight, Izuku. Before, when we thought the Hojos were helping Mustard…that got me so pissed that it made me brave enough to do some really stupid things. Like trying to take on a crowd of goons at an arms deal by myself. Now that it seems like they aren't helping him, well…I guess that makes me more scared than angry again. But I still can't give up, even if it gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Izuku chuckled, unable to help himself.

Camie pouted. "What?"

"It's just interesting," he said. "You said before you wanted to become a hero because it was the complete opposite of your mom's job. And yet…you have the same Quirk as her."

"Well, yeah." Camie poked him. "You'd make a crazy good villain with your powers, too. Heroes and villains are two sides of the coin, or whatever the hell the saying is. That's nothing groundbreaking-"

"My point is," he interrupted, "that I'm glad you fight for us, Camie. Whatever winding road brought you here…no matter how much you've screwed up…you're still a hero."

Camie made a dainty noise in her throat and sniffed. She turned her face away from his again. "...Thank you, Izuku."

They settled into a different type of silence. Izuku, for as glad as he was that he'd made her feel a little better, was now mulling over her other comment. You'd make a crazy good villain with your powers.

You don't look like a hero.

She had begun to watch him again, her eyes probing his mask. "So when do I get to hear Deku's tragic backstory then, huh? Tit for tat."

Izuku simply answered, "I had it easier than you."

The idea of talking about his former life, which he had kept hidden from his mother for years and had not even told All Might too much about, was so foreign that he balked at the idea. Even though it's only fair after she told me all that stuff.

Camie yawned. "Fine then. Be mysterious. Whatevs."

"Are you getting sleepy at last?"

"Yeah…" She shut her eyes and nuzzled against him. "When I wake up…we're gonna talk about…something nicer…'kay?"

Izuku gulped. He wondered what that meant. "Okay."

It was only a few minutes later that she began those soft, quiet breaths that only came from a girl fast asleep. Safe in his arms.

"It's a shame to have to receive help from such a vile murderer," said Tsukauchi. Sansa the cat and two other policemen flanked the detective, while All Might stood across the room, a grim expression on his face.

The detective and his officers had processed the data tapes, and now Tsukauchi held a printout. Toshinori Yagi was worried about what they could have possibly found.

"Stain did not kill Young Midoriya nor Young Amajiki. War makes for strange allies," he said. "What was on those tapes?"

"Tartarus's systems are cut off from the outside world. There would have been no way to gain this data normally," said Sansa. "The prison was severely damaged by the simultaneous radio wave attack from both Shigaraki and All For One. Since the latter had a vestige of sorts in the former, they were able to synchronize a perfect attack from above and below."

"That's the thing, Officer Sansa." Toshinori leaned forward. "The two of them were able to communicate because All For One's consciousness resides within the version of the AFO Quirk that Shigaraki possesses. The same thing is true of One for All, with one difference…I was never able to communicate with the vestiges of the past users. Only Young Midoriya can. It may be that One for All is only just now becoming strong enough to match the synchronicity of All for One."

"However true that may be…" Tsukauchi sighed. "They were able to use the radio waves Quirk in tandem, with extremely specific instructions passing between the two. That was how All For One coordinated the breakout." He lifted up the printout. "And…those communications, being radio-based, show up on data."

The weight of what he was saying hit Toshinori like a truck. "So…you analyzed the data and found…a conversation between All For One and Shigaraki…?"

Tsukauchi nodded gravely. "There's one sentence that stands out. We will be complete in 56 days."

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

"Fifty-si…" Sansa sputtered. "B-but the research at central HQ said we had at least four months!"

"What do you trust?" Toshinori asked quietly. "Your own research, or a direct message between the supervillains themselves?"

"But…the prison break was…!"

"50 days ago." Tsukauchi inhaled. "Tomura Shigaraki will be complete in less than a week."

Toshinori looked nervously toward the door. Beyond lay the rest of UA, increasingly restless. "If this leaks out to the refugees here…"

"We have the foreign heroes coming, right?" Sansa demanded.

"It's a tough bureaucratic process." Tsukauchi gave a shrug. "Our best bet would be to recall Deku."

"First we have to find him." Toshinori would have bet money that Midoriya had fled Seiai by now. That news had come in last night. They failed there. Mustard was still out on the chessboard, and his young pupil was no doubt reaching the end of his mental rope. And me unable to do anything to help.

"Do you have any idea where he might be headed next?"

All Might headed for the door. "I know a couple of people who could. They'll be giving their reports to the principal today, if I remember the schedule correctly." He left the room, now intent on finding either Nejire Hado or Tamaki Amajiki.

"So that's what I was told," Tamaki finished, appearing panicked.

Izuku took deep breaths, trying to stay calm. He had arrived back at Kijimi; he was here at their base camp and surrounded by police and technicians; he had to stay cool. They were all watching him and Suneater, their lieutenant commander, whispers sweeping through the small crowd at the news.

"Okay," he said aloud. Shigaraki. Six days. "Okay. Did…did the rest of UA know about this when you left? The refugees?"

Tamaki shook his head. "I don't think so. They…well. They heard about what happened at Seiai, and…it's bad, Deku. Things can't continue like this."

"They probably don't want me there, then. They'll hate to see me."

"What does that matter?!" Nejire's voice cut through the air, and everyone turned to see her arrive, breaking through the crowd and into the center of the command room. "The attack will come at UA."

"Or it may come wherever I am," he countered softly, meeting her eyes. "My best bet could be to fly far away from here."

Nejire pointedly ignored that. "Where's Maboromicamie? I saw her bike outside."

"She's showering." Camie had only woken up when they were just getting back, so Izuku had let her go get clean before having their talk. She'd been reluctant about using the Kijimi hero operation's facilities, but Izuku had reassured her that it was fine. "Why do you ask?"

"Because we may need her help. We're going to take down the Hojos. Tomorrow." Nejire crossed her arms.

Izuku looked around at the Kijimi crowd. The police, the minor heroes…everyone, were all nodding and murmuring in agreement. There was an energy in the place. He could hardly believe it. She got back here only two days before me, but…

He glanced at Mandalay and Gang Orca in one corner. "Is this true? Do you guys have a plan?"

"We were formulating the beginnings of one before Commander Nejire-chan returned, but she finalized it," Gang Orca replied. "Tomorrow's the day. We finish this business and then return to UA to prepare for the final battle."

Izuku looked back at Nejire. "But what about the Company Town? And Mustard's man on the inside? Defeating the Hojos here won't solve everything. There's more threads, and we can't just…"

"Surely Shigaraki and All For One take precedence," said Mandalay. "You of all people know. We do what we can here, and then head back."

"What about the other heroes?"

"Endeavor and Hawks are at UA already. Jeanist and Edgeshot's team are finishing up on the train line, but they'll be back soon. Along with Miri…Lemillion." Tamaki coughed. "And there's foreign heroes coming as well."

Izuku's head spun. For so long he'd gotten settled into these things he was pursuing. Mustard. Lady Nagant. Everything. He hadn't imagined that he'd simply run out of time. She's waiting for me at the Company Town. "Just because Shigaraki is complete doesn't mean he's going to attack right away," he muttered weakly. "If I can just have a few more days to find hi-"

"You've had time and time and more time," Gang Orca boomed. "You've hopped around in that dirty mask of yours long enough. Whatever the civilians think of you…your classmates want you back and so does your teacher."

"We're all counting on you, Deku. It's time to become the hero you were meant to be. And that isn't this." Mandalay had found the steel he'd told her to find, and was now using it against him.

The others - all the others who'd observed him from afar in that room - they were all agreeing, nodding and encouraging. Not negatively, but just…wanting him to do this. To abandon what I've been doing. But how could he? He was so close, he was…

I'm not close. Who was he kidding? Mustard had gotten away and there were no leads to him. Whether Nagant awaited in the Company Town or not…her master is preparing to move against us without her.

The train of war was ready to leave the station, and Izuku Midoriya was running late.

His shoulders slouched. "I'll…do whatever I can to help you guys tomorrow."

Nejire beamed. "Good. I'm glad. The Company Town…we'll be able to worry about that afterward, right? Since it's Hojo-controlled, when we take its bosses out tomorrow, whatever plans they have for it won't be able to come to fruition anyway."

"Right…" But…Tsutsumi-san…

"Okay!" She clapped her hands. "Get some rest, everyone! It's nearly sunset, and I want us all up bright and early so we can go over the drills."

Buzzing, almost excited, the crowd of Kijimi personnel…Nejire's army…scattered away from the command room, attending to this and that.

Gang Orca and Mandalay walked past Izuku, the former clapping him on the shoulder, the latter giving him an encouraging smile. "You don't do this alone, remember?" she said, blinking her deep brown eyes. "We're all here for you."

"Yeah…"

They left. Tamaki, still standing an awkward distance away, nodded shortly and walked off as well.

Izuku turned to Nejire.

"Can I know…the plan?" he asked, somewhat strained.

"In the morning." She inhaled and rocked on her toes. "You need a shower, too."

"Yeah, yeah…I'll get one."

"And rest. Your room's still open. You just had a long flight."

"I know." All around the two of them, the command area had mostly emptied.

Nejire lowered her voice to a whisper. "How'd she take it…I mean…when she woke up?"

"Hard to tell. She's got a lot going on. Listen…did you find any leads on the teleportation Quirk that leaves the turquoise residue behind?" Izuku had looked over the Seiai security footage a hundred times before leaving, trying to figure anything out, to no avail.

"...No. Look, I'm not saying you should give up on that, Midoriya-kun, but…whoever's helping Mustard, they won't be able to do much after we get full control of Kijimi tomorrow. And as for a potential bombing…where else can Mustard target next besides UA? If we all go back there and protect it, then…"

"Yeah, because that really worked last time. What good is being there if we still don't know how they're going to attack? I'm talking about Mustard, All For One…anyone! We're going into battle blind, and it's all because I couldn't figure out more stuff while I was out here…" He cut himself off, catching his breath. His voice had cracked.

Nejire put a sympathetic hand on his chest. "It's okay. No one was expecting all that out of you, especially when you do so much of it by yourself. You're not a detective. You're not a vigilante. You just need to be…Deku, 'kay? Can you be that? Everyone you care for, and everyone who cares for you, wants you to be that. That's your mom, that's All Might, that's all of Class A, that's me…"

He pulled back from her touch. She cares about me. All his toxic feelings he couldn't find an explanation for, the ones that made Nana so frustrated, were mixing up again. He couldn't even look Nejire in the face.

"The Company Town," he muttered. "I promised Tsutsumi-san I'd meet her out there. If Shigaraki is really complete soon…doesn't that make her mission obsolete? If All For One has decided that her usefulness has run out…she'll die. He can kill her whenever he wants."

Nejire flattened her mouth. Her eyes were full of pity, and something else he couldn't place. "You wanted to save her. But there's no time to go there. And you never came up with a plan for saving her, did you?"

Izuku shook his head, miserable. He'd had no time to come up with anything.

"Then…let's focus on what we do have a plan for. Now, go freshen up." She shooed him affectionately.

Izuku feigned an agreeable expression as he turned to walk away from her. But as he left the command room and went back out onto the street…he couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Nevertheless, he did stink. So shower time it was.

It was past dark, and Nejire was attending to some scouting notes beneath one of the tents. Going through the plan for tomorrow over and over in her head. I'm already nervous, and this won't even be the main show. Soon she'd be in battle against bigger enemies once again. Dabi, who no doubt would have a score to settle with her after she'd embarrassed him at Annaka. Shigaraki, who'd been the cause of Ryukyu's injuries.

The time of stalking in dark alleys, rescuing from basements, going undercover and spying and sneaking and hiding…is almost over. Soon they'd be fighting in the skies, Quirk to Quirk, for the fate of the world. For some reason, she could hardly wait.

I should have told Izuku about Akira. That type of fight was one she would not miss. He said he'd never leave me alone. But he only appeared when she was vulnerable. As long as she stayed with a group, stayed with a team where they were strong…he wouldn't show his face.

Besides, what good would it have done to tell Izuku? Akira was not the Mustard ally. His Quirk was those music notes, not the turquoise teleportation…right?

Nejire shook her head of the thoughts, and then heard a voice.

"Hey. Queen Periwinkle."

She turned from her scouting notes. Camie was there, using a small towel to wring the last few drops of water from her blonde hair. She was dressed in her tight black suit again.

"Glad to see you made it," Nejire greeted quietly. "Are you going to help us tomorrow?"

"I…" Camie frowned. "I should. Shouldn't I." It was not a question.

"I'd say so! You know a lot about these guys, don't you?"

"Yep. I could spill the tea now if you want-"

"Nah, I'd prefer you to rest. We're gonna go over everything in the morning."

"Lit." Camie clicked her tongue and glanced skyward. "Any idea where Izuku is?"

First name basis again. Nejire felt tense as she answered. "No, but…" She leaned out from the tent and pointed at one of the brick buildings down the street. Like the others, it was characterized by its zigzagging rusty fire escapes, dark windows, and graffiti on the walls. "Whenever he's been here, he sleeps in that room up top. He's either there or still in the showers-"

"Aight, thanks." The other girl waved and sauntered off into the night.

Nejire furrowed her eyebrows. Quite a few things she'd managed not to think about in the past few days were coming back to her. Iruka. Mandalay. Lady Nagant and her promise. Even Mirko, Mirko who they'd found laying atop Izuku in that pile of rubble, almost as if…

His shower complete, Izuku climbed into a white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants, grabbed his hero costume and backpack, and left the tiny alcove of a bathroom.

His hair was already in the process of drying and fluffing back up like usual. Feeling refreshed, but still kinda miserable, he navigated the narrow hallways of the old apartment building, passing just a couple of people on his way. Behind closed doors he went by, he could hear discussion of tomorrow's operation.

The building he used was two over, so he went out a side door and onto a fire escape, then climbed up onto the roof. His freshly clean body responded well to the night air. It was nearly summer, and pleasant outside.

Izuku stared off into the distance, the sullen, seedy roofs of Kijimi stretching away toward nicer areas of town. Taller buildings loomed in the night, only visible on the horizon because they were blocking it, black silhouettes.

Somewhere in that direction was Musutafu, and UA, high on its hill. He could not quite see them from here. Hard to believe I'll be heading back there.

Shaking his head in annoyance, he turned back the other way and hopped onto the next roof over. His bed was in the building just ahead, down a short length of stairs and through a window.

On the middle roof, Camie was standing in front of him.

Izuku halted. "...Hey."

"Hey yourself." She leaned forward, grinning. "There's your face. Haven't seen it since we left Seiai."

He looked down at the mask and costume, tucked under one arm. For some reason, his instincts told him to put them into his backpack. That he needed both hands free. His heart was racing.

As he took his bag off one shoulder and unzipped it, shoving the outfit inside, he took note that she was wearing her costume. "Are you heading out for the night?" he asked.

"No, but they didn't have any extra fits for me. I guess you're just a special regular." She folded her hands behind her waist. "So…tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Facing my, uhh…old pals, I guess." She chuckled hollowly. "And then it'll be time for…for the big fight."

"Yeah…"

"How's that, uhh…makin' you feel?"

Izuku closed his bag and put it back on his shoulders. His instinct was to suppress like always. None of them down below would understand.

But she will, he realized. Camie will understand.

"I hate it," he blurted, confessing. "I hate this; it makes me so mad."

She spurred him on with a tilt of her head, stepping closer. "Yeah?"

"I should have figured everything out ages ago. There's so many things I should have solved before we reached this point. I hate the idea of leaving them unfinished. It feels like everyone's giving up on me."

"What do you mean?"

"No one said it straight up, but…" You don't look like a hero. "They all want me to stop what I've been doing. To become a type of hero that they want me to be, all of a sudden."

"Ugh. That's BS!" Camie crossed her arms. "You should be the type of hero that you want to be. Screw what the locals say."

"That's what I'm saying!" Izuku felt a rush of emotion. "Like…I know I haven't been effective like this. I know I've messed up a lot, but…it's like they won't even give me the opportunity to redeem myself!"

"Exactly!" Camie assented, furious. "Like…if I want to be a loner, and try to do things on my own, who are they to pull me back? We're licensed to be out here just like them!"

"And now there's things that I've started that I have to finish and just won't get the time to do so! Which could mean more lives lost!"

"And if we let that happen…then we've just screwed up even more! And I've done nothing but screw up; I got kidnapped by the blood girl, I wasn't able to save my school, I lost the phone that led the sniper back to you, I couldn't catch Mustard…if we get dragged away now without doing anything right, then it'll have all been for nothing!" Camie was shaking. "Fuck this! And fuck all those guys!"

"I did this to keep everyone safe in the first place! This is what was best in the first place! And now they're just telling me I have to come right back?! What the hell is that about?!"

They both let out wordless noises of anguish, throwing their arms up in the air and walking past each other in a rush.

Then they both stopped, eyes going a bit wide…and looked back at each other. They had only taken a few steps past, so they were much closer now.

Still shaking a little, Camie said, "Yeah…I mean…that lowkey feels good…doesn't it? After a lot of things lately, especially in the last few days…have felt like total shit…"

"Yeah…" Izuku agreed. He was shaking now, too.

"Heh. It's like…we've chatted about so much stuff…except…well…" She was oh-so-close to him now. Again. She had stepped into his shadow, peering up at him expectantly.

Izuku remembered what Mirko had told him. What his instincts were telling him. Something's off. Something's off, we're not good for each other, but I don't care. Camie - sexy, dangerous, loner Camie, with her morally ambiguous past - was the only one who knew how bad he was feeling. They were the only ones who could make each other feel just a little bit better.

He didn't care. He didn't care. He didn't care, he just wanted her.

"Kiss me already, you dumbass," she whispered, and he obliged.

It was just as good as he remembered. Camie was so good. She kissed like a goddess. Her lips were perfect. Her body, all its contours flush against that tight costume, rolled against his, desperately, needily. Her fingers roamed through his still-damp hair, fluffing it, feeling it. They twisted against one another.

Izuku pushed, pushed against her, nearly dipping her as he fought for that pleasure his subconscious had been aching for. Their mouths opened, and he tasted her tongue, her sweet tongue. Fresh out of the shower, she smelled like coconut and vanilla. She smelled blond.

The kiss broke for just a moment, Camie gasping for breath, her hands moving down from his hair to his neck, shoulders, chest, rubbing and feeling him. "God," she breathed, and came back in a rush.

The kiss grew even deeper, hungrier, more desperate. It was different. It felt different. Izuku could take a guess as to what that feeling meant. That they were going to cross a line he hadn't crossed before with the others. Camie. Perfect perfect perfect Camie. He was okay with it. He wanted to so badly.

He ran his hands down her hips and felt her ass, which he'd only gotten a tease of before. She giggled into his mouth and kissed him insistently, goading him on. He squeezed her bottom. A rush of blood went through his body. She was just so round and squishy in all the right places. He kept one hand on her ass and lifted her right leg up, bringing it flush to his hip so he could squeeze her thigh. She giggled again at the contact, this time a little gaspier, as if his touch was making her light-headed. "Please," she murmured between kisses as she twisted her head. Her lifted leg tightened, wrapping slightly around his waist. Her flexibility was a marvel.

Izuku grunted and picked her up, not able to stand it anymore. She let out a squeal and separated from the makeout, wrapping her arms tight around his neck and putting both legs firmly around his waist. Her head crashed into his shoulder, her hair cascading and tickling his neck. She laughed airily, giddily. He laughed a little too. "C'mon, you." He carried her toward the edge of the roof, activated his Quirk, and hopped over to the next one. Then went toward the fire escape. His window was just a couple of flights down.

As he stepped down the stairs, backwards and going slow and careful, they resumed kissing. He still carried her. Her body wrapped against him. She gave as good as she got, pushing and shoving with her tongue. Izuku could hardly imagine how pent-up she was. He intended to fix that.

They got to the landing by his window, and he put her against the brick wall for a moment, making out with her for just a bit longer, knowing he had to stop for a second to properly continue with the proceedings, but not wanting to break away from her.

Against the wall, still being held up by his strong arms, Camie couldn't help it - she began to move, primally, subconsciously. As heavenly as that felt against him, Izuku knew it wouldn't do to stay in this position. He backed her off the wall and tucked his hands under her thighs, feeling how they squished just a little under his fingers, separating their iron grip from his waist and unwrapping her. She giggled again as he gently placed her down on her feet.

They continued their kiss. It had grown very wet and very noisy. Camie bent one knee in-between his legs, lifting her booted heel off the ground. Her hands probed his chest. Without looking, Izuku reached over her shoulder and undid the window latch, which he'd left unlocked. The window creaked open.

Camie took a step backward toward it, bringing him with her. Still kissing. Grabbing him by the shirt now. Not to be outdone, Izuku reached forward daringly…for the zipper on the front of her costume, between her breasts.

And unzipped it nearly down to her belly button.

They were pressed together so tightly that the catsuit did not fall off her the way he'd expected. Izuku reached up to her shoulders and pawed it off, the flaps of the outfit widely separated by the lowered zipper, exposing her bare, pale shoulders, collarbone, and upper back. Not quite her breasts.

Sighing sexily, Camie bit his lip while he ran his hands over her bare skin, rolling the costume lower and lower down her arms. Izuku backed off a moment and opened his eyes, looking down at her exposed neck and collar.

She had a small line tattoo there - some kind of astrological shape he didn't recognize. He leaned down and kissed it. Camie gasped, her hands back in his hair, running through it almost absent-mindedly.

The top curve of her breasts were bare, so Izuku wandered a bit lower and kissed them as well, feeling how much softer the skin got there, how much more precious give there was beneath his lips. Camie moaned. He pinched just a bit of her skin gently between his lips. Camie moaned louder.

"Enough," she husked, and backed him off with firm hands. For a moment, Izuku feared he'd done something wrong…but then he looked into her eyes, and saw an almost forbiddenly alluring expression.

Not breaking eye contact, Camie stepped backward through the window, into the darkness of his room, and beckoned for him to follow.

He did.

Once they were inside, it did not take long for the rest of her suit to be taken off. Or his own clothes, for that matter.

They made love once, on that small bed.

After a short period of further kissing and mutual chest exploration, Izuku realized that his stamina was probably above average for this sort of thing, and so they made love a second time. Because they could.

And then he realized his stamina was significantly above average.

After the fourth time, Camie collapsed against him, exhausted. Her pale outline glistened with sweat. The two of them cuddled close, tangled under the sheets, breathing together. He could feel her heartbeat through those perfect breasts. His hands stayed around her tight waist, holding her. His head was in the clouds.

Camie stared at him like he was some kind of foreign creature she was seeing for the first time. "Wow…I don't even…"

A hint of his old anxiety stirred. "Was I…was I okay?"

She bit her lip and nodded emphatically. "Uh huh," she breathed.

They cuddled in comfortable quiet for an indeterminate amount of time.

Eventually, Camie took to tracing his chest with a wandering finger, searching his old scars and wounds.

"These all look stretched," she commented. "Like you got 'em before you got big."

Observant. "You're smarter than you get credit for," he told her. But he didn't elaborate. Something held him back.

Her eyes glimmered. She had noticed his hesitance.

Instead of pushing further, she changed the subject.

"It was after I disguised you," she whispered. "Blowing my Quirk all over you…all the way back then, the idea of doing this…well, it was just a random thing that popped into my head in the moment, and I didn't like that it had…but then. Later, after you saved me, and then told me it was okay that I'd lost the phone, and then pointed out that my hair was a mess before we parted…" She laughed lightly again. "It popped into my head a second time. And I didn't mind it so much then."

"I…didn't know these things occurred to girls as quickly as they do guys."

Her lips curled, and she leaned in to kiss him again. "Depends on the girl. Depends on the guy."

"I'm…sorry we couldn't address the tension earlier."

"S'all good." She wiggled closer, appreciating his warmth. "There was a lot of stuff all at once. We had to get out there, then we had to fight, then we had to come back…and tomorrow we're fighting again."

"Yeah. I guess I have just been in a rush for the last…well. I was going to say week, but it's been the last two months, really."

"Oh? And is it nice to not be in a rush now?" She kissed him again, just a tad longer this time.

When they separated, Izuku grinned and said, "You bet."

Camie giggled. "What about those two days I was out? You could have caught a break then. Or were you just watching me sleep…pining over me, waiting for me to wake…" She got close, teasing, and gave him another peck.

"I was…hey. In all fairness, I also looked at some security footage."

"Oh? What of?"

Izuku winced, sheepish. "Oh…just some…I mean, you don't want to hear about it, really…it was just Mustard escaping. Using some teleportation Quirk that leaves behind a turquoise residue, same one that was used to move the bombs from the arm deal. I guess I thought by staring at it I could figure something out, bu-"

Camie had gone stiff.

Izuku paused. Stared at her. She had deer-in-headlights eyes.

"What did you say?" she whispered.

"Mustard…escaping." Dammit, I ruined the mood. "Like I said, I knew you didn't want to hear about it-"

"Not that. The Quirk. The teleportation Quirk. Turquoise? Like, green-blue?"

"Err…yeah?" There was something he was missing.

"Why…why didn't you tell me that before?" She seemed in total shock.

"I…thought I had." Izuku's heart was racing now for entirely different reasons. "I guess I didn't? Everyone else knew. But…"

Camie launched herself backward out of his bed, throwing the covers aside.

"Hey, hey, whoa!" Izuku sat up, feeling profoundly behind. "Camie, what's the matter? If we just…"

Her teeth were bared now, her fists bloodless and white from how tight she was clenching them. "It was him. It was him the whole time. Of course. Of course."

"Camie, who? Who's him?"

She lunged forward and picked up her costume off the floor, climbing back into it with an unnatural speed. Izuku scrambled to his feet. "Camie!"

"It's Hojo, don't you get it?" she hissed, turning on him as she zipped her suit up. "He lied to you! He played us all for morons!"

"...Naru? But his Quirk is-"

"His son's Quirk! Marlo Hojo's Quirk! It can teleport items or people from an agreed-upon location!"

"Marlo…Hojo…" There was a record of the young man in the heroes' possession, the heir to the mafia empire…but his Quirk was one that they had not discovered.

Camie had the answer the whole time. Izuku's blood ran cold. We had everything we needed the whole time.

Naru Hojo had told him that Mustard's co-conspirator was someone from the Harbor. Had spun a tale about the cards and the family history. A more complicated explanation that trumped Izuku's simple one - that the Hojos were the ones working with Mustard.

But I was already right. I was right and didn't know it.

What were the rumors about the Company Town that the Skindancer had told him?

Chemicals. Weapons. Chemical weapons.

Weapons like mustard gas.

He'd had Naru Hojo in his hands.

Stunned, Izuku shook himself back to reality. Camie was climbing out the window. Fully suited up, and raging.

"Wait!" he cried. "What about the bigger operation, we have to-"

She turned and looked back at him. All the history she'd told him, all her failures and shortcomings, all her ties with the enemy, were festering deep in her eyes. He remembered what she'd told him before.

When we thought that the Hojos were helping Mustard…that got me so pissed that it made me brave enough to do some really stupid things.

Camie Utsushimi opened her mouth, and he half expected her to say something in her usual slang, something like he's gonna catch these hands or equally irreverent.

"I'm going to kill him," she stated, and jumped out into the night.