They were arguing about something, though she couldn't quite understand it at first.

She was still confused by the loud shots and the bright lights and the pain in her head and so she couldn't feel too bad about being out of the loop, even when she didn't like the fact that she didn't know what was happening. People walked by her but she was unable to recognize anyone other than Spinner, his smooth skin pointedly different from any other when he touched her.

She got some words, some of the intent behind it—anger, hurt, desperation—but voices melted together in a way that made it difficult to tell who was saying what or who was screaming the loudest. Someone wanted the phone, though she hadn't heard it ringing since the van had crashed, and then someone mentioned a car before silence took over. Had their van really survived the accident? She was a little surprised she'd survived herself, let alone the vehicle.

Time passed in a muddied way so she had no idea how long the silence was before the sound of a car parking nearby interrupted her thoughts. She reached for one of her knives instinctively, possible wounds be damned, and she hastily tried to sit up. A cold, smooth hand stopped her and her uncovered eye shot open despite her head-splitting migraine. Pink eyes met her in the dark, her vision adjusting immediately.

"Don't move."

She let out a small questioning noise and he went on.

"You're hurt. Y-you're bleeding."

She tried to incorporate herself again and Spinner stopped her with a huff.

"Goddammit woman, stop."

"The car." She croaked.

"That's just Stain."

Almost as if summoning the man from hell, strong arms scooped her up and she found herself with her head tucked under Stain's chin for the briefest of moments. She enjoyed the closeness despite the lurching feeling she got once lifted and moved, and her one eye gazed up at the man tenderly. Stain placed her inside a vehicle and, in her still confused state, she was only able to recognize that people were piling up inside the car alongside her, limbs and torsos pressed up against her own body in a way that comforted her greatly. The car started moving at some point and, as time moved forward, she became more and more aware of her surroundings. This wasn't the van, for starters. They had actual seats in the back, not to mention windows, and the vehicle went over bumps much smoother than before. She was sitting in between Dabi and Spinner, Shoto somewhere out of her immediate personal space. There was something wrapped around her neck, immobilizing her head.

Soon enough she realized that she was resting on Spinner's side, the mutant a little tense despite how exhausted he must be. A quick glance showed that he was blushing slightly and Toga smiled at the cute dork. She wouldn't admit it out loud, not even in her tired state, but Spinner giving her blood willingly was something she wouldn't forget any time soon.

Clarity turned against her in an instant.

She heard voices, grunts, Dabi talking somewhere to her right and his voice made the blue light from earlier click in her mind and she sighed shakily. There had been a fight, something had happened after the crash, and she hadn't been able to do anything. She'd been left behind, a heap on the ground unable to hold her own, just like she'd been when Stain had called for backup days ago. That made her think of warm green eyes and blissful smiles and she was sinking into the void before long. She was stuck in her mind, in her own unwillingness to forgive, and not even the sight of blood on her companion's face was enough to cheer her up. For days now she'd been lost and emotions fell upon her with a vengeance. She was furious. Frustrated. Ashamed.

God, she wanted a drink of blood.

"You okay?" Spinner asked her. She realized she was grinding her teeth, fists opening and closing rhythmically, and she forced herself to breathe more evenly.

"Where did Stain get this SUV?" She changed the subject immediately.

"You think they sent all those guys with guns on horses?" Spinner asked, a brow raised.

"It was a fair question, though." Dabi commented on her right. Had she been in a better mood, she might have stuck her tongue out. Instead, she focused on the red spots littered along Spinner's face, noticing that he was missing a fair deal of scales. She couldn't turn her head to look at Dabi's injuries, but she assumed he was beaten up as well. Then, she panicked for a second.

"Where's Shoto?"

"Back there." Dabi responded and Toga was forced to imagine another row of seats behind them. Oh thank God, the kid wasn't dead. He was the one thing keeping their alliance alive, not to mention one of Izuku's dear friends. He'd be heartbroken if he came back to the team missing someone, she was sure of that.

She glanced at the two figures in the front seats, their frames impossibly different from one another. The road ahead was illuminated only by their headlights, the sky still a gloomy dark purple, and Toga wondered what time it was. She couldn't focus her one eye on the little clock on the dashboard and the radio was only murmuring about news unrelated to them. She blinked, fingers gently touching the bandage wrapped around her head. She closed her eyes and moved them around, making sure that the covered one was still in fact inside her head. Finger by finger she made sure that all of her was still in place and she sighed in actual relief when she was done, even leaning on Spinner a little more.

She allowed the car's movement to lull her for a little bit, if only to pretend that everything was back to normal, but she wasn't feeling tired enough to just fall asleep. She had to know.

"What happened?" She asked.

"We got ambushed. The van got absolutely totaled." Dabi said evenly, grunting a little as he adjusted his position. "But we're all alive, somehow."

"Where are we going right now?"

"We're waiting for All Might to contact us." She could practically hear the eye roll on Dabi's voice.

"Again?"

"He... hasn't contacted us yet. Not in a while." Spinner mumbled, confused. Maybe just as confused as Toga.

"Then who was calling us when we crashed?"

She was met by icy silence, the mutant at her side tensing even further, and she immediately felt on edge. She cracked open her eye and was immediately met by red eyes on the rearview mirror. Electricity ran through her spine and she had to force herself to stay in her seat. She did dig her nails into the leather beneath her, the creaking of the material sounding like shattering glass to her.

"Curious?" She asked, voice low.

Above her head, Dabi and Spinner exchanged a look. From the front of the SUV, two pairs of eyes glanced at her carefully.

"We don't think so, but we're not sure." Spinner attempted, "They didn't speak, so we couldn't hear her voice."

"Didn't speak?" Toga mimicked, anger lacing her words. She was getting tired of the lack of directness and everyone could tell. A few seconds went by in uncomfortable silence, Toga's nails effectively piercing through the tough leather of the seats. Spinner was fumbling at her side, Dabi half murmuring something, but her yellow gaze was glued to the rearview mirror, red dots examining her in the dark reflection.

At first, her love for Stain had been something closer to admiration. She had planned on meeting him and staying with him for as long as possible, thinking that his bloody ways of dealing with heroes would match her perfectly. She naively thought she'd finally found someone that would allow her to push both her quirk and will to their limits, that he'd be someone that would freely let her find herself in the world. Then she'd met Izuku, listened to his stories and beliefs, and her whole plan had crumbled before she knew it. Admiration had turned to fear of rejection, fear of more loss, and for a few weeks after Stain's rescue, she'd been terrified of looking the man in the eye. Months prior she'd promised herself that she'd live a happy life no matter what anyone thought of her, but once again she'd felt like her whole world depended on how she behaved herself.

But then she'd seen the way Stain acted around Izuku. She noticed the fond looks, the protective stances, the kinder tone he used only with the green-haired teen, and her fear had started to chip away little by little. As weeks went by she started welcoming the glances those red eyes sent her way, even when they showed nothing other than distrust and anger, because she no longer felt like her very existence would trigger the man. His eyes showed distrust but he allowed her to sleep pressed against the one person he cared for. Actions spoke louder than words, as they always had.

Admiration had turned to fear, then turned to pure love, and she looked at those red eyes now with emotions overflowing. She found that same distrust, though there was an odd layer of understanding beneath it. Stain blinked first, breaking their staring contest in favor of not crashing their new vehicle. His hands tightened around the steering wheel.

"Show her."

Spinner choked on his words, body trembling at Stain's words.

"I… uh, a-are you sure?"

"It'll be fine." Stain reasoned.

"You say that 'cause you're not back here with her." Dabi pointed out, though he was already painfully rummaging around his pocket. He fished out one of their cellphones, the screen cracked to hell and back, and Spinner actively attempted to push Toga off him. It took a moment—a long, tense, moment that no one seemed to enjoy—for the screen to react to Dabi's touch at all. She didn't know it, but the neon lines had grown more and more invasive with time and about half the display was done for already. But she could see just enough when the phone was carefully placed in front of her face, Dabi thoughtful enough to not hand her the device.

And it's a good thing he didn't, because her hands clenched so hard that the bones in her fingers cracked loudly, some of the leather getting ripped off the seat.

"Stop the car."

"Wha- Toga, we just got ambushed we can't just-"

"Let me out." She hissed in warning, sounding nothing like herself. She sounded like an animal, wounded and desperate and bloodthirsty, and Spinner looked at her with pure terror. He pressed himself against the door of the car, stupidly attempting to unlock it to let her out even if the car was still moving, and she was just about to jump out a window when the SUV pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. The locks clicked and Toga was out of the car and gone before any of them really had any time to react. She did hear Spinner yell at her about her wounds, but she couldn't care less at the moment.

She was blinded by rage to the point that she didn't even know where she was going or what she was doing. She couldn't think, couldn't properly put into words the hell that was unleashing inside her heart, and so she just let her instinct take over while her mind attempted to process what she'd seen.

Everything about the image had been wrong; the dark setting, the hands grabbing at Izuku, the crooked cell door, Izuku's terrified expression. God, his expression. His face, usually calm and welcoming, had been twisted by fear and that was something Toga could not comprehend. Izuku's eyes had been made to shine light upon the world, not be clouded by primal emotion. She couldn't forgive it, not ever. The image flashed in her mind and she let out a visceral scream that left her throat feeling raw. No, she was already screaming, had been for a while. She slashed at a tree, knife already in hand, and she felt the blade bend from the force of the impact. It wasn't enough. Nothing would be enough but she still wildly slashed at the space around her like a blind demon. A movement she made, violent and uncalculated, ripped the knife from her hand and she felt as if a piece of her had come loose. She was coming undone. She was in a hospital room and in a girly bedroom with blood all over the bed and then just falling into darkness. It was too much. Her whole soul called for blood, for vengeance and destruction, but her heart wanted nothing more than green eyes and gentle words. She let out a monumental scream, slashing with her nails at whatever was in front of her, fully knowing that she was hitting with enough strength to shatter her own hand.

Her wrist was caught by a firm hand and her eyes widened in the dark, so wide that it hurt. Unable to recognize the person before her, she attempted to hit with her other hand, but that was also stopped mid-strike. She growled, trying to kick, but both her hands were pulled down harshly in a way that squished the air out of her lungs.

"Stop." The voice instructed. She pulled against the rough hands holding her, trapping her not unlike the bindings at the mental institution, but she only got shaken harshly for her troubles. She looked at the person holding her with the full intent of tearing them apart limb by limb because dear God if she felt this torn then the world deserved to feel it too.

But she got shaken again, hard rough to make her dizzy, and the harsh shine of red irises made her hesitate just enough to realize who this person was.

"Look at me," Stain demanded. "That's enough."

For a long moment, she couldn't do much. She was breathing heavily, all the muscles in her body tense and spasming as if she were a fish out of water. She growled, an instinct, and tried to pull away but the man wouldn't let her. He gave her a glacial look, one that he only ever gave targets, and she flinched involuntarily; though, to Stain, it looked like she was almost convulsing in her panic.

"Get back in control. Now." It was a simple command, reasonable even, but she couldn't make much sense of it. Her mind was still telling her to tear flesh from bone, to drink until she could finally think again, just like that night, just like-

She let out a frustrated noise, freeing one of her hands and punching Stain square in the chest. She couldn't feel her hands anymore and so she had no way of knowing how hard she had hit him, but she wasn't stupid enough to do it twice regardless of the reaction. She tore herself away, screaming and lashing out against the next thing she found—a tree, she guessed—until her chest hurt from so much excretion. She kicked and punched and yelled like a child, wearing herself out until she had nothing left to give; no tears, no insults, no nothing.

And, surprisingly, Stain let her do all of that until she was done. Until she collapsed on the ground, a sweaty mess, and until her breathing evened out.

"Are you back?" Stain asked evenly, towering over Toga.

She sighed shakily, rubbing her hand over her uninjured eye.

"I am."

Stain crouched a few feet away from her, examining her like she was roadkill. For a long moment, they only looked at one another. Toga's hand lifted, her mind telling her to crawl closer to someone she loved, but she stopped herself just in time. This wasn't the time, nor the place.

"I'm here. Right here." She said softly, giving him the same honesty she had when Izuku had gone missing.

In return, he gave her something new. His expression shifted into something almost distant. Almost sad. The corner of his mouth twitched and he looked away from a solid three seconds, shoulders tense. He suddenly looked so much older than before, like he'd aged a thousand years in the span of an hour.

"You think I'm disgusting, don't you?" She asked carefully, no hint of ill-will in her voice. It was a fact, at least in her mind.

Stain exhaled through his nose, hands clenching into fists.

"It's fine. I know I'm… difficult, even at my best. I can… I..."

"That's enough." Stain commanded again, though it was much more gentle than she expected. She even frowned and he looked away again, discomfort clear in his posture. But he didn't move away from her, didn't get up and leave and so she hesitated.

"Why did you follow me?" She asked.

His jaw twitched again.

"I know how people like you work. We have no time for you to wander off and get lost while blinded by your thirst."

Toga chuckled lifelessly, nodding to herself as she realized that she had no idea which way led back to the car. She realized she was indeed thirsty for blood, her mind spinning. She thought of asking Stain for blood, knowing immediately that it was a terrible idea. Maybe Spinner? Dabi? Surely none of their equipment had survived and she wasn't about to use a dirty knife or needle on her companions. Would they even let her bite them?

Izuku would.

She started feeling tears streaming down one side of her face, the other getting blocked by the bandages and a weak little sigh escaped her lips. Stain looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Get up. You can get blood later." He stood, his voice forcefully distant. Toga shook her head, looking at the man as if she were pleading with some God. She sort of was, in a way.

"What?" He asked, distrustful.

"I don't want blood," She hiccuped, running a hand through her disgusting hair. "I want Izuku to hold me."

With her good eye clouded by tears, she had no way of seeing Stain's expression at her words. She was too stuck in nostalgia, in her vulnerability, to even care about what he thought. He was probably angry, anyways.

But he wasn't. Gods, he wasn't.

No one witnessed it, no one knew, but his frozen frame reflected no anger. His usual flame was gone, replaced only by the face of a man that's seeing his worst nightmare come to life. Like he'd come across someone he'd prayed to never see again in his life. As if the void was staring back at him.

He was afraid. Deadly so.

He stared at the girl at his feet in pure terror, his hand reaching for his katana almost defensively. He was reminded of other nights, other tears, other pleads for affection being answered in the worst ways, and he was overcome with the sudden urge to vomit. He had to blink away the images, forcing himself to focus on the blonde mess of a child that might have looked innocent and broken to the onlooker, but that looked like a perfect disaster to him.

Because he knew. He could see the last page of the book already, and he was terrified that things would simply repeat themselves. That he wouldn't act in time to stop them once more.

He was suddenly very aware of the fact that they were alone and that she was weak and unarmed. This was easy. He just had to strike her down and then it would be over. He could tell the others that she'd attacked him and they'd believe him. He could stop this before it happened, he could break the wheel.

Not again, was the one thought in his mind, I can't let it happen twice. Not to my kid.

His hand clenched around the hilt of his sword, darkness in his eyes. It was so easy. So simple.

But he heard the unmistakable sound of glass shattering not that far away, and he knew that he didn't have time to deal with Toga just yet.

He ran, panic flooding his senses without his permission. He couldn't allow anything else to go wrong, not with Izuku's rescue hanging by a thread. He couldn't handle any more injuries, any more attacks, he couldn't lose their one vehicle. Why had he even gone after Toga in the first place? He didn't care about her.

The image of Izuku's determined face flashed in his mind and he gritted his teeth. God fucking dammit.

Another window exploded before he got back to the vehicle, and the sight that greeted him was nothing short of chaotic. Glass on the ground scattered like snow, three blades strewed about. Spinner effectively hanging off the side of the SUV by some miracle, half his body out a window that was no more. Dabi standing in front of the car, illuminated by the headlights and breathing heavily, arms outstretched in a defiant gesture that made him look like the statue of a God. Inside the car, behind the wheel, Eraser Head.

The SUV already had the engine running, but the speed at which the vehicle moved still caught him off guard. It moved in reverse if only not to run Dabi over, and it turned sharply before stopping for a second. Then the accelerator was stepped on again and the SUV lurched forward in a wild manner that made Stain think of the way they'd crashed not two hours prior. Spinner lost his hold on the door of the car, his body being flung in the air as if thrown by a wip. Dabi attempted to throw himself in front of the car once more, his own safety be damned, but the vehicle circled around him and started speeding down the road.

Stain moved with a speed that felt both familiar and excessive. He caught Spinner right before he hit the ground, maneuvering the young man onto the floor as carefully as he could without losing momentum, and then jumped past Dabi to follow the vehicle down the road. He could keep up, he knew he could with the road as filled with turns as it was, but he allowed himself no slack. Dabi's scream behind him only pushed him to run faster.

There was no mystery as to why Eraser had taken the vehicle, but that played to Stain's advantage; he wouldn't risk another crash with such valuable cargo.

Not even a mile away, Stain crashed on the roof of the car like a demon from hell, katana plummeting through the metal. He jumped off and landed ahead on the road, knowing full well that the car could drive right through him and kill him. But it didn't. The car swerved to the right precariously and then stopped abruptly, brakes screeching.

The sudden silence after so much movement and action was deafening and it was as if the Earth stood still in anticipation. For a moment, no one moved. For a moment, two very capable individuals thought about every possible action, every viable thing they could do or say. For that brief moment, both held hope to just get things done without any further chaos.

But then they both exhaled and the moment ended and the fragile truce that had held them together shattered at their feet.

"Stand down, Hero Killer." Came the grave warning from inside the car. Eraser couldn't leave without it, not if he wanted to keep Shoto as immobile as possible. Stain stepped forward without hesitation.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Eraser. Can't let you take neither our vehicle nor my follower."

"Your follower?" Eraser hissed, his tone shifting into something Stain didn't like one bit. The car door swung open and the hero stepped outside. "Do not call him that."

"That's what he is, by his own choices, might I add."

"You took this kid from his home, against his will, and then brainwashed him with ideas of family and justice." Eraser spat, shoulders tense. "He's your hostage. Nothing more."

Stain examined the other man, back perfectly straight. This wasn't right. None of this was the way it was supposed to be. When had things deviated so much?

"I take it All Might contacted you whilst I was gone." It wasn't a question and thus it needed no answer.

"This has gone on for long enough, Hero Killer. No more."

"No more? Eraser, Midoriya Izuku is still in danger. This isn't done until we get him back."

"We aren't doing anything. I'm done entertaining your little alliance and I'm done watching you drag these kids through hell just for the fun of it. I'm getting Shoto to a safe location and then I'm helping with Midoriya's official rescue."

"Fun of it?" Stain actually frowned at that, confusion at the tip of his tongue. "Surely you don't mean that."

"That kid," Eraser pointed at the vehicle, "isn't your pawn. I'm not letting you sacrifice another innocent, promising hero in training for the sake of your sick work. Not again."

"Again?" Stain echoed after a few seconds, eyes narrowed. "I have never taken an innocent life, hero. Only corrupted souls-"

"Bakugo Katsuki was a child! My student was innocent and still you-" Eraser half-spat, finally, bitterness and hatred in his eyes. His mouth opened as if to say something else, but then he clenched his jaw and got in a battle stance.

Stain felt something crack inside his chest. The ground beneath his feet titled to the side and he felt as if acid was running through his veins. This would surely undo him, would irrevocably drive him mad sooner or later. Eraser was a hero. He was one of the few that deserved to be called so, that deserved to see the dawn of the new world he was going to forge alongside Izuku. He was a silent idol, an invisible symbol that helped bring peace and justice where the light didn't reach. He was good and honest and selfless. He did everything for the greater good.

My student. The words rang inside his head like gunfire. Izuku had mentioned it once, the fact that Shoto and that other blonde kid had been classmates in U.A. They knew one another, shared a classroom. A teacher.

My student. Was this not the work of someone seeking a better tomorrow? Were these not the words of someone that would give everything for a cause? Was this man not one of selflessness and sacrifice?

My student.

No, Stain finally understood. Eraser wasn't what he'd believed him to be. He wasn't a statue or an idol or a symbol; he was a man worried about his kids. He was flesh and blood and he was hurting and desperate. He was willing to compromise for the sake of the one kid that still mattered to him, even if it meant working with unsavory people.

It was like the final puzzle piece clicking into place. The killing blow, if you will.

Eraser was just like Stain.

Which meant he was no hero at all.

He wasn't sure who moved first. His katana was held firmly in his hand, raised to strike, and his leg was already wrapped in metal bindings in a heartbeat, but neither man had the chance to do more before they were both engulfed by ice. It grew in fractals all around them, pretty much threatening to swallow them whole and suffocate them to death, but thankfully it stopped right before covering Stain's face entirely. Frozen just a heartbeat before the collision, both men exhaled in surprise, breaths condensing in front of their faces.

From the SUV, mismatched eyes watched him with the intensity of a higher being. Shoto's hand was clutching the empty space where a window had shattered, little droplets of blood staining the ice that exploded from the vehicle and onto the road like a tsunami.

"Stop," Shoto growled, voice clear even if he looked beaten and confused, and reminding Stain of someone else entirely. The killer exhaled again, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Todoroki, what are you doing?" Eraser asked. He had his back to the vehicle and thus couldn't see Shoto.

"Keeping you both from killing one another."

"Now what, Shoto?" Stain asked carefully. "Are you gonna leave us both here?"

"Should I?" The teen asked defiantly.

"You could." Stain said though it wasn't entirely true. Eraser was still recovering from his wounds, but both men were strong enough to free themselves from the ice eventually. But having Shoto help one of them out was the easier option, and they both knew it. There were a million reasons to give the teen, a thousand things that could try and sway him into doing one thing or the other. Ideas of family and justice, as Eraser had flatly stated. Time was of the essence as well, Eraser more than likely having already compromised their location. The idea of Dabi getting captured was all the leverage he needed.

But in the end, Stain only looked Shoto in the eye and said,

"Your call, kid."

There was a long moment of silence, only interrupted by Shoto's shaky breathing. The teen took the moment to fully assess the situation unfolding in front of him, the seriousness in his eyes speaking of a kid that had never gotten the chance to be a child. Stain almost felt bad for him.

"Mister Aizawa, what will happen to Stain if I let you go?"

"I'll make sure you go back home safe, Todoroki. No one will blame you for-"

"Answer the question."

"The Hero Killer will be arrested. He will pay for everything he's done," Eraser said coldly, much to Stain's disappointment. "He will either spend the rest of his life in Tartarus or be sentenced to death for his crimes."

"And his followers? What about them?"

Eraser visibly hesitated at the sharp tone.

"Todoroki, whatever they told you is a lie."

"Will they be arrested and locked up forever too? Or be killed by the state?"

Silence. Todorki's expression hardened.

"I know what Tartarus is like. Endeavor tended to describe it in vivid detail. You want me to just… accept that my…"

"Todoroki,"

"No," Shoto said with finality. He openly glared at some point on the horizon, at something only he could see. "I'm not letting you kill him again."

Eraser attempted to say something else, hurt in his eyes, but he was fully encased in ice in a millisecond. Just as quickly, Stain's prison melted away just enough for him to break out. His skin stung from the direct contact to the ice, but his mind was focused on more important things. Shoto's head had fallen, his entire frame shaking. Someone else might have thought the kid was crying but Stain could see that using his injured side had hurt him horribly, even if he'd used it for only a second. Hell, the SUV was still partially trapped in ice. Besides, this kid was too stubborn to just openly cry in front of someone like him, and the man respected that.

Stain allowed himself one blink of reminiscing. He recalled what Izuku looked like just when they started working together, with his small frame and terrible physical condition. That kid had pulled through by pure power of will, pushing against every force in the world to find a place he felt proud of being in. He'd fought his own demons, his precious morals to get there, had jumped from one side of the chasm to the other without looking back. Stain had believed it was an anomaly of the universe, a change that only Izuku could ever pull off. After all, people rarely changed. But it was happening again, right in front of his eyes.

"You okay?" Stain asked after a few moments.

Shoto let out a shaky sigh, mumbling something under his breath before clearing his throat.

"How are you gonna move the car? I can't… I'm..."

As if on cue, running steps started getting louder and louder. Stain turned to see Dabi running towards them, his breathing labored and his eyes wide open. He took one glance at the ice structure and almost tripped over his own feet.

"I think we can handle it." Stain replied, turning only to realize that Shoto had already collapsed back into his seat. Stain checked his pulse and then, because he no longer had control over his life and actions, pat the teen's hair twice softly.

"Wha… Happened… Where?" Dabi wheezed, his adrenaline rush fading already.

"You left the other one alone?" Was Stain's response.

"I would… never… Toga was there."

Right, Toga. Stain ran a hand down his face tiredly, half wishing that the one that fainted from exhaustion was him and not Shoto. He was more than done with this whole situation, his terrifying status as the Hero Killer doing nothing for him right now. Sixteen years he'd worked his ass off, sacrificing everything for his cause, building up a deadly reputation corpse by corpse, only to end up with a litter of strays giving him more problems than they were worth.

"Melt the ice on the SUV and get inside." Stain instructed, no longer willing to look back at his life choices. Dabi did as told, slumping down on the passenger seat like a sack of potatoes. The remaining windows were tinted black, so there shouldn't be any problems with people seeing him and recognizing him, but he still grunted in annoyance. He drove back in silence to get the other two, pointedly trying to ignore the one girl in the group as he picked up the mutant.

"What the hell happened to Eraser?" Spinner asked.

"Did you kill him?" Toga asked carefully.

"No," Stain said after a moment, "I did not."

He drove off in silence, getting away from where they left Eraser fully knowing that the man would be found by All Might soon enough. Just in case, he hotwired the first car he saw and ditched the SUV, moving kids from one car to the other as if he was a nurse and hating every second of it. And then he just drove. He drove until the sun came out, until one of the others asked for water, and even until they all decided that they needed some basic supplies from a shady convenience store. He was driving on a narrow road when they realized the phone had finally run out of battery and he was driving under a bridge when they finally managed to take out the SIM card and change it into another phone, only running the risk of being tracked because of Izuku's photo. He was driving past some warehouses, considering if they would serve as a hideout, when the new phone blinked to life and dinged with three new messages.

And then Stain slammed on the brakes.