The sun had already started touching the horizon by the time the group got entirely out of the city. It had been a little over ten hours since they had started walking that morning and energy was low among the group. Stain gave no signs of being tired, his senses still on edge in anticipation, but everyone else looked devastated.

As they broke into the foliage of the mountain and left behind the highway, Toga groaned loudly. Dabi dragged his feet behind her, his jacket stuffed in his backpack and his arms bare. Shoto and him seemed to enjoy the cool evening air, and Izuku could understand the discomfort. Dabi in particular, with his sensitive and damaged skin, was having a hard time not resting for so long, sweat threatening to tear apart his stapled skin, if what he said sometimes was anything to go by.

"Are we there yet?" Toga whined, clearly not caring about Stain's irritation at the question.

"Knock it off, we have to get away from the city." Spinner huffed back, his attempt at authority severely affected by how tired he clearly was. His cold blood didn't do much for him after ten hours of walking under blazing sunlight.

"We are far from the city, you doormat." Toga bit back sharply, her hair plastered to her forehead.

Izuku could've sworn he heard Spinner hissing under his breath and Dabi smirked past his pain at the prospect of a fight. Izuku sent the man a narrowed look and Dabi shrugged, smiling as Shoto released a small cloud of cold air.

"Stain," Izuku called, catching up to his mentor once again. "Can we stop for a little while?"

"What, you tired?" Stain half teased, his brow raised. Izuku huffed, ducking under a branch and glancing back at his companions. You could practically cut the tension with a butter knife and everyone except for Shoto looked about ready to kill someone.

"We should eat, set up camp before it gets too dark," The teen said calmly. And then, as an afterthought he added in a whisper, "And if you want that creep to catch up then you have to stop moving."

Stain walked in silence for a good moment while Izuku waited for a response. It was almost like a contest, with Stain pointedly looking forward and Izuku glaring at him with the power of the sun in a battle of wills that wasn't uncommon between them two. It was a miracle Izuku didn't crash into anything and after a solid minute of silence, Stain sighed dramatically.

"Fine." The man groaned, already slipping his backpack off his shoulders.

Like a white flag in battle, that alone was enough to let everyone know that the martyrdom was over for today, the sound of bags and bodies hitting the ground barely muffled by the grass beneath their feet. Dabi looked ready to make a snow angel and Izuku sighed. He dropped his bag and crossed his arms.

"Come on, we need firewood for the entire night." Izuku said, sounding like a stern parent. Shoto nodded and stood, staring at his brother in waiting. But Dabi only groaned.

"I'm tired."

"Dabi."

"Leave me be, Midoriya."

Izuku huffed, now even feeling like a stern parent and feeling twice as irritated at the fact that he was almost ten years younger than the man on the ground. Shoto offered him a small shrug and headed off into the woods, Spinner and Stain already out of sight. Toga took Izuku's hand and pulled him along, already deciding that they would pair up to look for wood and leaving a dead looking Dabi sprawled out on the ground.

Perhaps to call these 'woods' was far too generous, Izuku thought as he walked behind Toga. There were trees all around, sure, but they were thin and short and offered very little protection from the heavens. If it rained, they would feel it fully.

For a moment Izuku reminisced of the time he'd spent with Stain about a year prior in the actual forest and a smile tugged at his lips. He'd never gone camping when he was younger, and as his one and only experience in the wild Izuku held those memories close to his heart. He wondered if they could go back some day.

Toga used her knife to slice a random branch on a nearby tree, examining the object in the dark as a cat would.

"They're still green." She commented, handing Izuku the tiny stick. Fresh leaves still clung to the end of the branch and Izuku tossed it aside.

"We're gonna have a hard time with the fire without dry wood." He muttered.

"We could always use Dabi as fuel." Toga said mischievously, her eyebrows raised and a playful smile on her face, an expression that didn't quite match the somber comment she'd just made. Izuku giggled nervously, the yellow of her irises shining in the last bits of sunlight available, and Toga spun happily. There was no such thing as a 'just kidding' from her and Izuku swallowed.

Toga hummed as she made her way through the trees and Izuku stared at her, suddenly deep in thought. She was wearing a yellow blouse, beige sweater and short skirt with shorts underneath in the same fashion as the rest of her clothing. Her hair was pinned up in two messy buns, ribbons holding the matted hair together. She looked so… normal, like that. Like a high school girl strolling out in the park with friends or on a date. Izuku almost stumbled at that last thought, a thought that sent him spiraling into a weird loop of hypothetical scenarios. Had any of them ever been in a relationship? He sure as hell hadn't, but he had no clue about the rest.

Toga spun once more and sent Izuku a dashing smile and the teen almost tripped over his own feet. Why was he even thinking about this? Stain had made it very clear at the beginning of their new life, that what they did left no space for personal things. There was no point in even wondering what had happened in the past, right?

Focus, you idiot, Izuku scolded himself, straightening his back when Toga handed him a branch that looked dry enough to use. Soon enough he had his arms full of wood, Toga carrying almost as much while still humming happily.

Dabi was still flat on his back when they all gathered around to build a fire and only lifted his hand slightly to light the fire himself, the blue flames much hotter than normal fire. White smoke came out of the campfire, a sign that most of the fuel was still somewhat green.

"There, I helped." He drawled out, not even bothering to fully open his eyes.

"How can you sleep so much?" Spinner commented, already huddling close to the fire. With the wood Shoto and Spinner had gathered Izuku figured they could keep it going for about five or six hours.

"I just can." Dabi responded, only sitting up when Shoto offered him a can of tuna. Dabi reached out and winced slightly, Shoto noticing immediately.

"You need water?" He asked his brother, ice already covering his hand.

"Nah, I'm good." Dabi said plainly, rolling his right wrist and stretching his fingers with evident effort before reaching out and taking the can of food. "It's just the change in temperature."

Izuku looked at him silently, his eyes trained on the darkened skin of his arms. It had happened before, more often than not, that being Dabi's skin giving him trouble. The skin on his arms, neck and torso was completely charred, and that was just the parts that Izuku had seen so far. In some places the tissue was black and seemed stiff, the edges where the staples held him together a red color most of the time. Already, the skin going up to his shoulder was starting to burn past the staples there and Izuku swallowed.

"You okay?" Spinner asked, his usual irritation towards the eldest Todoroki not quite there.

Dabi stared at the reptile, a mouthful of cheap tuna keeping him from talking. But he looked as neutral as ever once he swallowed.

"Who, me?" Dabi sounded almost oblivious, though Izuku knew that the young man was smart enough to know what Spinner meant.

"Yes, you." Spinner muttered, his arms wrapped around his knees.

Dabi chuckled dryly, taking another spoonful of food and glancing at his arm as he ate. His expression was thoughtful, his neon blue eyes shining from the fire. It was a look Izuku had seen before, when Shoto and Dabi had reunited as brothers.

"It's nothing. I probably just have to get new staples or something."

"New ones? How often do you do that?" Toga asked.

"Like, twice a year? I don't keep track of that stuff."

Izuku stared at Dabi's arm more carefully, noticing the uneven height at which each metal piece was placed. A chill ran up his spine despite the warmth of the fire.

"It's because of your quirk." It was more a statement than a question and that actually made Dabi smile. But it was anything but friendly, teeth showing in an unnatural way.

"Just another gift from the old man."

"You change them yourself, don't you? The staples." Izuku asked, noticing the panicked look that crawled over Shoto's face. It was a look filled with grief and torment and trauma and Izuku wanted to wipe it off. Dabi just held his gaze, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I do."

There was a long silence after that. The only ones that didn't look all that worried were Toga and Dabi himself. It was hard to process, the fact that Dabi had to take out and replace industrial-sized staples from all over his body without any help. How long had he been alone?

Then, as he glanced at the others, Izuku wondered something else.

How long had they all been alone before finding one another?

Dabi looked at them carefully and then scoffed, throwing the empty can of tuna directly at the fire and causing a wave of sparks to fly into the air. He leaned to the side casually and flicked Shoto in the middle of the forehead, brows raised.

"It's fine. Snap out of it." He told his brother, Shoto blinking a few times. They shared one of those looks that carried entire conversations, both their faces hardening in something akin to determination and pain.

Just then, the sound of footsteps came close and Stain walked into the light of the fire, Dabi's face the image of tranquility. Shoto wasn't able to pull himself together as fast, but Stain wasn't one to ask. He just let down all the wood he'd gathered on the pile and sat down as far away from the group as he could.

"How's the area?" Spinner asked.

Stain glared at no one in particular, looking up at the sky and then looking away.

"Stay sharp." Was all the man offered and Izuku smiled. It was more than nothing, and when Dabi threw a random can at him the man even nodded his thanks. Izuku was beyond happy and Stain seemed slightly annoyed at that fact. But he said nothing else.

They each had a bit of food, Toga allowing herself a few gulps of blood as she did now and then, her form shifting to that of a recent target and remaining like that -older, with long white hair and horns- as they all fell asleep. Izuku watched her shift back a few hours later as he kept watch with Stain and then fell asleep himself as Spinner took his place.

For the first time in weeks, Izuku dreamt.

It was one of those dreams where you lack full control of your body. He was in the forest, it was pitch black and he was unable to run even when he wanted to. But why was he running? Was he chasing someone, or was he the one being chased? He tripped and fell, his body not feeling anything and he looked back. There was no one there. But he had to run. With terror and adrenaline pumping through his veins, he tried to drag his heavy legs to escape the darkness, the lights, whatever his mind was starting to make up through the fog.

He saw weird shadows and figures in the mist, their shiny eyes blinking like Christmas lights and filling him with childish fear. These were monsters he'd dreamt about before, but they felt foreign to him at the moment. Even when they just stared at him in silence, he felt like his life depended on him getting away.

Then the ground rumbled, the trees around him shook and the sky turned an aggressive red. The terror in his soul turned to odd recognition, and Izuku stood in the forest as the trees burned around him. The fire was going to engulf him, he knew it, but he couldn't move. Another explosion, this one right by his ear and Izuku jolted out of his dream.

He swiftly recognized the people around him, recognized the blue tint of the fire by his feet, and exhaled shakily. He ran a hand through his hair, the bleached ends feeling dry unlike the green roots that were slowly but surely starting to grow once more.

"What's wrong?" Toga whispered sleepily, her back pressed against Izuku's leg.

He smiled shakily, feeling more calm by the second.

"Nothing, go back to sleep." He whispered back, running his hand through her hair as Toga leaned into the touch. She was asleep again even before Izuku realized that not only had he fallen asleep with his hand in the blonde's hair, but that there were two pairs of eyes looking at him with raised brows. Embarrassment exploded inside him and it took all of his willpower to not send Toga flying in his mad attempt to get away from her.

Spinner said nothing, an awkward look that said he had absolutely no idea what had just happened, but Stain's eyes were like lighthouses in the dark. Izuku's face was probably just as red as his mentor's eyes as he got up and wandered into the woods, a half hearted 'Jesus, do you even sleep' slipping past his lips.

He could feel more than hear the disapproving and mocking scoff Stain sent his way.

Izuku walked for a few minutes, the blush refusing to leave his face. He wanted Shoto to bury him in ice and leave him there forever.

"What are you even doing, Deku?" He whispered harshly, pulling at his hair and walking in circles. He was getting way too used to Toga always being right next to him and a big part of him told him that it was wrong. The rest of him was just just a jumbled mess of emotions and panic and God knows what else. He ended up crouching next to a tree and biting his hand to stifle a frustrated scream.

"She's your friend, you live with all of them. She's just clingy and you're getting used to it that's all." He murmured. "You're adjusting to having her around, that's it! You've never had a girlfriend, as in a friend who's a girl! Maybe this is all normal with them. Yeah, women are far more open about their feelings, right?"

He looked at the darkness in front of him and pulled at his hair harder, not even half convinced by his own words.

The sound of a branch cracking behind him was half a relief for him. His very first instinct was that Stain was right there, that maybe they could talk.

But then a second branch cracked loudly and he barely had enough time to grab his knife before two projectiles dug themselves into the tree above his head. Not a second later a man followed, Izuku somehow able to deflect the sharp objects aimed at his side. The stranger crashed into the tree, the force of the impact making a bunch of leaves rain upon them with a shaky noise.

Had Izuku not been too preoccupied with berating himself about forgetting about their stalker, he might have felt proud of his quick reflexes.

The man said nothing, peeling himself off the tree as if it was nothing and swinging his arm in Izuku's direction. More projectiles flung themselves in his direction and while he avoided some and deflected others with his knife, a few lodged themselves on Izuku's arm and shoulder. The skin around the points of impact immediately went numb and Izuku felt panic surging up his chest.

In the brief moment between the impact and the next wave of projectiles, Izuku thought.

He couldn't scream. Well, he could, but that could bring more unwanted people towards him. Who knew if this person was alone. The numbing sensation wasn't spreading, but the effect might take time to take hold. If he lost control of his arm, he would have a hard time taking this person down.

The man stepped forward and raised his other arm, the silhouette of quills clear even in the dark, and Izuku snapped back to reality. He ducked low and behind a tree, effectively avoiding all of the quills this time. He wasted no time, sprinting towards another tree and pushing against the trunk with both his feet, launching himself towards his assailant rather than away.

The man, depending on the movement of his limbs to launch his quills, was unable to bring his arm back down fully when Izuku collided with him, blade first and straight into his side. The man stumbled back and Izuku took advantage of their height difference, jumping with all his strength and connecting the top of his head right into the man's jaw.

There was a flash of pain that blinded Izuku for a moment, but the cracking of teeth and bone let him know his plan had worked. He pulled the knife from the man's stomach and pressed it against his neck before they both hit the ground, Izuku's legs keeping the man pinned down.

"Who are you?" The teen asked breathlessly, the adrenaline high making him an intimidating figure despite his age. "Why are you following us?"

The man blinked in surprise, blood dripping from his mouth. He had clearly bitten his tongue and he couldn't speak clearly, but still he tried.

"Disciple," The man said and, sending chills down Izuku's entire body, began laughing. It was a gurgling sound because of the blood, and it was ghastly and weird. Then the man nodded and shook his head, bringing attention to something strapped to his forehead. "Smile, kid."

Izuku frowned in confusion, unable to distinguish what the item was in the dark. It looked like a cube, small and held to the man's head like a miner's lamp.

"What do you want from us?" Izuku hissed, pressing the knife harder against the man's neck with both his hands. He'd been right, the numbing effect had taken its time and now most of his left shoulder felt like it was covered in ants, the strength leaving him.

"We want your sacrifice." The man said simply, the laugh stopping.

"Wha-" Izuku suddenly hissed in pain, his arms twisting painfully without any evident force even touching him. His whole body was flung backwards and against a tree, the impact knocking all of the wind from his lungs. From the top of the trees another figure joined his attacker, this one thin and small and with glowing hands.

Izuku coughed, holding his knife in front of him even when he couldn't get any air into his ribcage. His left arm was as good as dead, but his right arm and legs still had strength in them.

"Did the camera break?" The new person, a woman, asked his prior attacker as she held her hands before her, the glowing light getting brighter. Against his consent, Izuku's arm let go of the knife and bent backwards painfully.

The man covered in quills removed the item from his head and Izuku saw the clear red light of a recording device.

"No, it's good."

"You have the questions?"

The man started rummaging through his pocket and Izuku growled at them both like the wounded animal he was. For once his anger was bigger than his curiosity and he found himself not giving a damn about what they wanted with him. He tried to fight against the invisible force holding him, but that earned him a hard knock against the tree he was leaning against. Stars danced before his eyes and he missed the satisfied noise the man made upon finding a piece of paper in his pocket.

"Here we go." Then he came close and spit out blood, not a care in the world. "Midoriya Izuku, if you would be so kind as to look at the camera."

Izuku looked at the man dazed, a moment passing by. Then he spit right at the GoPro's lens. That earned him another hit against the tree and this time his head actually fell to the side in a brief moment of unconsciousness.

"We need him awake." The man told his partner sternly, wiping the camera on his shirt. Izuku faintly felt his body getting lifted off the ground, his arms and legs pinned firmly against his own body as if he had been tied with rope.

"Not if we take him." The woman said easily, though the words barely made any sense to the teen. Still, a primitive fear built inside his chest, and Izuku willed himself to fight once more. He glared at the two people in front of them with an intensity not unlike the one the Hero Killer sometimes emanated, his voice the low warning noise of a building about to collapse.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, you damn fakes."

Surprisingly, the woman seemed shocked at the sudden energy and the glowing of her hands flattered for half a second. But that was half a second too long.

Still suspended in the air, Izuku managed to lift his leg straight up in the air, effectively kicking the porcupine mutant right where he'd hit him before, sending the man stumbling back and onto the ground. The woman seemed surprised, but her hands quickly moved down and to the side, twisting Izuku's leg painfully. The teen growled again, but the pain didn't last long.

Behind the woman, her companion along with a good thirty feet of woods burst into blue flames, the man not even having time to properly scream before he was engulfed by the abnormally hot fire. The woman barely looked to the side, eyes wide, when a knife hit her square in the cheek and sent her flying to the side, her shrieks of pain melting with the sounds of the fire.

Izuku's body hit the ground painfully, but he was on his hands and knees in an instant. He could see Spinner standing a few feet away, eyes narrowed with bloodlust and arm still extended from the knife throw. Dabi was next to him looking like a god from hell, though the mirage only lasted a few moments. Soon, Shoto's ice had killed the fire and they had all been submerged in darkness once more.

Izuku hissed, his arm giving out under his own weight and leaving him face down on the ground. The woman's panicked screams only got worse, rising to an abnormal level before the sound of crunching and slicing filled the air, the noises becoming more animalistic than human.

Izuku felt an arm wrapping around his torso and he was carefully lifted off the ground, Spinner's characteristic reptilian skin touching Izuku's arm.

"Are you okay?" The mutant asked worriedly, his demonic expression gone as it had never been there to begin with. Izuku gasped raspily and nodded, the air already coming back to his lungs. His leg hurt but not enough to signal any broken bones.

"Did you get attacked?" Izuku asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, but we got rid of them fast enough." Spinner responded. The screaming of the injured woman reached its highest point, sounding like something out of a nightmare. And then there was a final slash, and then silence. Seconds later Izuku's other shoulder was being supported by someone else, someone Izuku could have recognized anywhere.

"Are you hurt?" Stain asked him gravely. Izuku's eyes were already getting used to the darkness once more, and he could see the pure rage on his mentor's face. Izuku whimpered slightly as he put weight on his injured leg.

"I need a piece of cloth." Without as much as a heartbeat of hesitance, Stain removed the bandana holding his hair up and handed it to Izuku. The teen wrapped his still functioning hand using his teeth and quickly ripped out the quills still impaled in his arm and shoulder.

"They're coated in something. I can't feel my arm." Izuku explained, noticing how Stain glared at the smoking corpse of Izuku's attacker as if he could bring him back and kill him again somehow.

Spinner attempted to not touch Stain as he helped support Izuku up, but that effort was thwarted when Toga squished her way in between them to hold Izuku close. The unmistakable wetness of fresh blood covered her from head to toe and Izuku could feel it seeping through his own clothes. She held his face in her hands, her eyes glowing with the insanity she only reserved for when she ran out of blood to drink.

She looked terrifying, with her somber frown and enraged eyes, and Izuku got the feeling that she was just as scary as Stain was when he got mad.

"Did that bitch touch you?" She asked gravely, not caring about the fact that she was practically pressed against Spinner and Stain as she held Izuku close. He shivered involuntarily.

"No. I think she had a mind quirk, she didn-"

"Did she hurt you?!" The girl hissed like a maniac, already turning back towards where the horrible screaming had been coming from. There was no doubt in his mind as to who had been the cause for such horrid wailing, and it looked like Toga wanted to go back for more. Izuku quickly grasped her wrist with his hand, somehow untangling himself out of Spinner's hold.

"Toga, look at me." She did, and Izuku shivered once more. Those yellow eyes could see through his soul. "I'm fine. She's already dead."

Toga shivered with uncontrolled emotions, her frame shaking from rage and adrenaline. She looked at the mangled corpse lying on the ground a few feet from them, looking about ready to tear more skin from bone until nothing was left. But then, after Izuku hissed from the wound on the back of his head, Toga shifted towards him. Practically pushing Stain away, she clung onto Izuku as if he was made of glass, as if he was the most valuable thing on the face of the Earth.

"You're okay," She said, though it sounded like she was talking to herself rather than to Izuku. "Nothing's gonna happen to you. Not while I'm around."

Izuku tensed, confused and slightly afraid at the behaviour. Stain, who still had an arm on Izuku despite Toga's efforts to push him back, seemed to tense as well and that made Izuku even more anxious. He was honestly thankful when Dabi spoke up, his arm covered in a thin layer of frost courtesy of Shoto.

"What did they want with you?" He asked Izuku, his pupils still dilated from the attack he'd performed.

"I…" Izuku swallowed, speaking over Toga's shoulder as she squeezed him tighter. "They wanted to ask me something and take me with them. And… record me."

"So these ones had cameras, too." Spinner said, touching the charred remains of the other mutant with his boot. Toga's hold on him became stronger at his words and Izuku used his good arm to pat her back carefully.

Izuku was just about to ask about the attackers the others had dealt with, but he was interrupted by the most unnatural sound: a ringtone.

Everyone seemed to freeze at that, different levels of confusion taking over their features. Spinner even patted one of his pockets out of pure habit, as useless as it was. Stain didn't let any of them keep phones, not even burner ones, since they could easily be tracked in the city.

The sound was coming from the woman's corpse, the ringtone a generic sound that hadn't been personalized or changed by the owner. Dabi raised his arm to strike again, blue already shining on the palm of his hand, but Izuku stopped him swiftly. The phone kept ringing.

"They were probably sent by someone." Izuku murmured, turning to look at Stain. His mentor had a harsh look in his eyes, but he waited without a word. It was like they were all waiting for something to happen, a sign that this phone call was connected to them somehow. The ringtone stopped after a while and they all waited in tense silence for about ten seconds. The sounds of the wilderness around them seemed weird now, as if they didn't belong. Then the phone started ringing again, and Stain exhaled slowly. He nodded at Spinner, who quickly made his way towards the carnage to search for the phone. He found it miraculously still intact, though covered in blood, and, after a nod from Stain, he picked up and put the phone on speaker.

"Ito-san, did you get to Midoriya Izuku?" A female voice came over the speaker and Izuku immediately felt like ice was building in his chest. He had to actively hold Toga in place as she tried to rip herself from him with a murderous look in her eyes. Aside from her, no one tried to move.

"Ito-san?" The voice tried again.

"They're dead." Dabi replied flatly. A moment of silence.

"I see." the voice said, sounding slightly disappointed but not particularly upset about the loss of life. "A shame, to be sure. I was looking forward to that preliminary interview. But I suppose I can always meet Izuku myself when I'm not so busy." The woman's cheerful tone was enough to anger Izuku. Stain and Toga looked like they could destroy cities with their bare hands and nothing else.

"Who are you?" Izuku hissed, and the woman made a small sound of delight at hearing his voice. "Who sent you? Shigaraki?"

"You can call me Curious for now, dear Disciple. And I assure you, I'm in no way related to the League of Villains."

"The hell do you want with him?" Spinner asked, pulling the phone closer to his face to ensure he'd be heard. The woman on the other side of the line chuckled.

"I'd love to have this conversation but not over the phone, so we can leave the questions for later. I'll be sure to ask everything once I have some free time to go meet you myself. See you then."

"You stay away from him." Toga all but growled, but the call had already ended. It left them all with a sickening feeling, which the dark of the night did nothing to ease. Izuku's mind was spinning out of control and he unknowingly pressed closer to Stain in search for something stable. His mentor grabbed him by the shirt and refused to let go, fury coursing through his veins.

This wasn't some random stalker. This wasn't someone looking for Stain. And if they weren't with the League, then who the hell were they?