Weeks passed with Shouji feeling better with each passing day. Eventually nightmares were no longer a problem and he was able to get full nights of sleep without even thinking about the night he had almost died. His schoolwork didn't suffer any longer and life went back to being just about normal... well, as normal as it could be with Class 1-A.

"Shitty Hair, I swear if you try to sneak back into the kitchen one more time, I will poison your next meal!"

Kirishima squeaked, cheeks bulging with the raw cookie dough Bakugou had told him he was not supposed to eat. As the volatile blonde turned around from his spot by the oven, the red head's eyes widened; before Bakugou had fully turned, Kirishima had darted out of the kitchen.

Shouji sighed fondly at the sight, all the while Tokoyami shook his head at their classmates.

"These vegan cookies- they don't contain raw eggs." his friend muttered, causing Bakugou to groan.

"How many of you actually know how to cook? Hmm?" he prodded as he turned a cold glare onto Tokoyami. Shouji withered a little at the gaze, even when he knew it wasn't directed at him, because he knew the insinuation about their lack of culinary knowledge was aimed at everyone but Bakugou, Satou, and Yaoyorozu. "Raw flour can be just as bad for you as raw eggs. Last I checked, I hadn't pre-baked the flour before putting this together."

Tokoyami bristled marginally beside Shouji, leaning back a little on the stool he was sat at, before he couched and shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just making sure you were using apples instead of egg as I was promised."

Bakugou bard his teeth at Tokoyami, but probably decided that it would be too tiring to call Tokoyami out on the actual reason why he had started this dialogue, because he instead turned his eyes over to Shouji.

"You."

Shouji waited patiently for his next orders; speaking to Bakugou after Kirishima managed to piss him off was dangerous to do, even when one's words were meant to aid the volatile teenager.

There was a beat of silence as Bakugou's glare became a bit softer, mouth closing in thought. Then he cleared his throat and spoke up once more, "Your mother's vegan recipes aren't half-bad. These cookies taste like they'll turn out tasting too much like coconut... but this isn't as bad as I thought it could be."

Because it wasn't very common for the other students to hear Bakugou being grateful towards anyone- much less complimenting them- Tokoyami let out a soft sound that sounded a bit like a gasp to Shouji's ears. But Shouji was, at this point, accustomed to Bakugou being a decent human being to him so he just nodded, happy to keep his smile hidden behind his mask because the moment Bakugou saw such a look, his anger always doubled for no discernible reason.

"Maybe you should come to the restaurant one day." he mused after he formed a mouth his his upper right arm, "My sister's been pestering me lately to bring some of my 'hero school' classmates." at those silly words, Shouji formed an extra hand from the limb where the mouth was, utilizing the fingers there to crook them for air quotations.

Bakugou grunted softly, nodded stiffly, and turned back to the oven as it dinged to signal the first batch of cookies being ready to take out. As he busied himself with pulling the tray of cooked cookies out of the stove to place a batch of uncooked cookies inside, Shouji noticed through his periphery vision the beginnings of a shock of read peeking in from the doorway into the kitchen.

Softly, he shook his head.

Kirishima's determination to eat raw cookie dough was admirable, yet blind.

"King Explosion Murder! Shitty Hair's back!" Dark Shadow crowed suddenly, beginning to wheeze in enjoyment when Bakugou's over the top reaction was immediate.

With a shout of pure murder, Bakugou dropped the tray he had been handling onto the top of the stove; he closed the oven's door and Shouji had to credit that even in his anger, he was able to think about the proper conditions to make food in; and swiveled on his heels. Kirishima screamed in surprised fear and the next thing Shouji could hear was twin footsteps running far away from the kitchen.

Once those two were gone, Shouji turned to Tokoyami. His friend was glaring over at Dark Shadow- who was positively laughing.

"We will have to wait longer for those cookies now, Dark Shadow."

"Ah, it's totally worth it, Fumi! Did'ya hear the scream?"

With a sigh, Shouji told the quirk, "You're just lucky I was able to convince Bakugou to try out this recipe. He's usually much more stubborn about using only his recipes."

Dark Shadow's laughter eventually subsided into giggles; Tokoyami shook his head at his quirk and decided that it would be for the best to not pay it any attention. "I am absolutely grateful to the friendship you have formed with him- while his temper leaves much to be desired, he is, without a doubt, the teenager with the best culinary talents I have come across."

This thought tickled Shouji, "It's not much of a friendship, Tokoyami, and you know it. It's more like Bakugou noticed that I can be useful for manual labor. The fact I'm much quieter than most of our classmates probably helps keep me free of explosion-related injuries." he told his friend through the mouth he had formed, losing the hand he had previously made. With a shrug of his shoulders, he finished with, "It's not bad being the only person in the class he doesn't actively call absolutely useless, though."

Tokoyami scoffed and Shouji found it amusing how, even with the severity of his voice, his eyes were sparkling with childish desire at the sight of the cookies that were cooling on the stove-top. "If we were to go to your family's restaurant one day, who would you like to bring? The whole class might be a bit overwhelming for a family business."

The change of subject was a bit sudden, but wasn't so completely out of topic that it was jarring. Shouji contemplated the thought for a moment before shrugging softly. "I think the only person I wouldn't want to go would be Mineta because he may not survive trying to leer at either of my sisters."

Tokoyami's form froze and he turned disgusted eyes onto Shouji. "Aren't they both younger than you?"

With a sigh, Shouji nodded regretfully. "You know how I look older than I am? It's a family thing."

Dark Shadow groaned loudly, shuddering dramatically from his spot floting beside his human. "Would the grape really flirt with a twelve year old?"

It was a terrifying and unsettling thought, Shouji admitted. But it was also a possibility he absolutely wanted to avoid. First of all, if his sisters were hit on and they felt uncomfortable, as a big brother, it was his duty to deal with the offender; and he didn't want to have any negative kind of conversation with any of his classmates. Even though Mineta could be too much, Shouji still respected and valued him. Second of all, if he didn't step in, it was very likely either of his sisters would take matter into her own hands- and there was no way to assure Mineta not having to visit the hospital if such a thing happened.

"The whole class cannot be invited if Mineta is not allowed."

"That's not what I-"

Bakugou stomped back into the kitchen by that point in time, a sinister smirk on his lips.

A cold silence fell over them as the blonde set back to working on the unbaked cookies; Shouji turned to look at Tokoyami and found that he was just as struck by the composed demeanor of the clearly still irritated teenager.

After he had slammed the oven door behind the raw batch he had set to cook, Bakugou turned around to face them with the most unsettling smile Shouji had ever seen in his life. "After some light diplomacy," from the look of absolute glee in his face, Shouji could guess no diplomacy had taken place for him to be saying such a thing, "Kirishima has agreed to pay for our meal at your family's restaurant. We're going on Saturday."

A cold chill swept up Shouji's spine at the words... Dark Shadow made a sound akin to clearing his throat before asking, "And by our, you mean?"

Somehow, Bakugou's smirk became that much more devilish. "Shouji, Tokoyami, and mine's. Whoever else is invited too."

Shouji's eyes widened and he balked at the thought, "There's no way-" he began to speak up.

Bakugou shut him down with an icy smile. "Don't worry. He's more than happy to pay the price in exchange for his life."

Bakugou was a terrifying fifteen year old.

Mutely, Shouji nodded.

When he called his mother to let her know that he would be bringing a few of his friends over to the restaurant, she had immediately lost her mind and decided that it was an absolutely special occasion that required the good decorations they usually put up on specific holidays. Shouji had tried to talk her out of such a thing, but she had been adamant. So when Saturday came and he was getting read for the outing, he wasn't all that surprised to find that she had sent him a picture during the night to let him know the restaurant's main floor was perfect and ready for his heroic friends.

It was early in the morning and there were still quite a few hours left before he was supposed to head towards the restaurant with his friends; he had no need to rush to get ready.

An hour or so later, he came back to his phone to find that his mother had called him five times and texted him one three separate occasions that he needed to call her. When he did, she almost blew out his ear drums by telling him that he needed to stop by the house to pick up the All Might signed-poster she had forgotten in her hurry to get everything perfect.

Very much aware of the fact that whenever she got like this, no one was able to reason with her, Shouji merely promised his mom that he would go and grab it before he went to the restaurant. She had, predictably, made him promise to not let any of his friends see it before she was able to set it up because it was one of her most prized possessions and favored talking points and she knew his hero friends would appreciate the surprise.

Because he knew his mother, Shouji didn't bother with telling her that he didn't think they would be all that amazed by the sight of it because they actually took class with the pro-hero; instead he promised he'd make sure no one saw it.

With his afternoon a bit more complicated, Shouji decided to head out, go to his house, pick up the poster, and return to U.A. before the time his classmates had agreed to be the one they would leave on. When he got to the home he hadn't visited in a long time, he was struck with how empty and quiet it was. His sisters must have headed off with his mother to help with the restaurant and his father wasn't set to come back for another month, at least.

Breathing in, he was struck by a bit of nostalgia as he closed the door behind him and began to make his way to the storage room.

He had grown up in this house and lived in it for a very long time... why did it feel so odd to come back after only a few months away at U.A.?

Still, the teenager shook off the odd feeling and moved quickly; his house wasn't very close to either the restaurant or the dorms and he was on a tight schedule.

It took him a few minutes of hurried searching, but he eventually found the poster hidden away beneath some promotional posters his mother had probably pulled out when deciding on the decorations for the day.

After that was over with, he made to go back out of the house and rush to U.A... but he was stopped when he noticed that his room's door had a piece of paper stuck beneath it- the end of the paper that stuck out was so small he barely would have seen it.

Shouji's eyebrows furrowed at this- he was sure he hadn't left anything so out of place when he had moved out.

He took the time to slide his door open, bend down, and look at the paper; even when he knew he really should get going if he didn't want to be rushing to get to U.A. to not be late.

It was an envelope.

Curiosity spiked in him.

He didn't have enveloped that belonged to him... and he hadn't written anything and placed it in an envelope before he had left.

Grabbing the paper, he found that it was rather light. When he turned it over, he found his name written on it and nothing else. He guessed it was directed at him, though, because he certainly didn't see any other name that might indicate another owner.

This wasn't the writing of any of his family members. It was rather shaky, really, and written in a scratchy, possible cheap, ink he knew his family didn't like. His mother and sisters all prefered to buy high quality pens to write and his father indulged them in this to not have to hear them complain.

So... if this very probably hadn't been made by anyone in his family... who had written it? And, actually, now that he thought about it, how had it gotten into his room?

His phone rang at that moment, causing him to break away from his reverie for a few seconds. He quickly grabbed the contraption and looked at its screen, breath catching when he read Bakugou's scolding message.

He needed to move if he didn't want to be late!

Shouji tucked the paper into the bag where he was transporting the framed poster, deciding that the mystery could be solved after he made sure Bakugou didn't try to blow him up for tardiness.

Nighttime had hit by the time he was finally able to open the envelope and find out what had been left for him.

Before he had opened the envelope, his Saturday had been just about perfect; even with all of the rushing about he had been forced to do because of his mother's maniacal propensities. He had been able to reach the restaurant; on time; with the friends that Bakugou had allowed to go with them and they had enjoyed his family's food as soon as they had been served.

The decorations were a bit much- for the restaurant looked like it was prepared for a party, rather than just receiving a bunch of teenagers- and he knew for a fact that neither Bakugou nor Tokoyami had been all that affected by it. But Kirishima had forgotten for a good time that he was going to be forced to pay for peoples' food (no he wouldn't, Shouji'd pay him what he didn't really have to lose once he had enough money) and Mina and him gushed over the All Might poster his sister set up, without being seen, after around a minute of the group having arrived.

The dinner had been delicious, just like the dessert, as was always the case with his family's cooking, and all of his friends had been so satisifed with what had happened that they were raving about returning after final exams with the full class so that everyone could experience how great Shouji's family was.

Shouji had been very happy. After what had happened; how he had almost died; how he had spiraled negatively; how difficult it had been to understand that he had survived and he was just fifteen... it had been almost cathartic to have been able to hang out with his classmates, relax, and feel safe and not perpetually worried.

After he had opened the envelope, all of that happiness had been stolen away. His body acquired all of the tension it had managed to escape from with so much hard work during these last weeks. His mind began to turn, roiling with anxieties, worries, and fear.

Seated on the ground of his dorm room, with the paper he had pulled out of the envelope mocking him from its spot beside him... Shouji Mezou felt small.

The Hero-Killer had contacted him in this letter.

The Hero-killer had written the letter that was in the envelope that had been left inside of his room; at his house.

The Hero-Killer had somehow managed to find out his name, his address, the names of his sisters and mother, the address of their family's restaurant... and he had visited both of those places. He had broken into his house to leave him this letter. He had periodically visited the restaurant and tasted various dishes- he had gone enough times to know that his favorite dessert was the vegan chocolate chip cookies that Shouji had given Bakugou the recipe for.

Tears of frustration and terror welled up within his eyes as he allowed his upper hands to dig into his hair... there was nothing else he could do and gripping his hair so tightly it hurt... it wasn't anything close to positive... but it grounded him.

"Follow my instructions exactly unless you wish to become an orphan."

His chest felt tight; his throat closed up.

The Hero-Killer: Stain had threatened with killing his family if he didn't comply with his orders.

The world was closing in around him.

"Try to tell anyone within your school about this, and I will know. If you are foolish enough to try this, your family will not survive another month."

He couldn't go to Aizawa-sensei with this. He couldn't go to anyone.

How would the Hero-Killer even know? What was his quirk?

Biting onto the inside of his bottom lip, Shouji shook his head- he couldn't be thinking like that! He couldn't risk his family because there might be a possibility Stain wasn't actually able to surveil him within the dorms. If there was even the slightest chance the villain was able to watch him, then there was absolutely no reason to try and seek aid from his teachers.

"Within a week of finding this letter I have written, you are to head to the adress I have circled in the map I included in the envelope. You have exactly seven days to visit this spot- 9 at night to 4 in the morning would be the most appropriate time. If you do not accomplish this in the alloted time, like a broken record I reiterate, your family will pay the price."

He had a week to sneak out and head towards a ship port he knew little to nothing about and find... he didn't know. The Hero-Killer hadn't added that. All he knew was the address.

He wanted to cry.

He had just managed to get back to his normal life...

When the tears began to fall, he wasn't sure. All Shouji knew was that there was now wetness against the cloth over his face and he had never felt this helpless in his life.

The Hero-Killer Stain was targeting his family... and it was all his fault.

"Shouji Mezou, you know me as Stain, the Hero Killer," was how the letter had begun. "I know more about you than you know about me. The most important thing you need to know is that you have caught my eye, young hero, on account of the true spirit of a hero I saw in you when you threw yourself into danger you knew nothing about in the hopes to save a life. For this, you have my respect as well as my interest. Along with another young hero aspirant, you will become the hero this corrupt society is in dire need of."

He wanted to scream. He wanted to sob. He wanted to cry and yell and... he wanted to wake up in another life where this wasn't his life.

So focused was he on the danger to his life and family, Shouji didn't even notice that another person was in the same boat as him.

"You will be trained in the skills you will need to become a real hero. I promise you this much. And, do not worry, as long as you don't endanger them, your family will remain blissfully unaware of your predicamente."

He was not able to sleep that night.

Kirishima asked him if something had happened when Shouji refused to eat any breakfast.

Shouji promptly cursed how attentive his classmates could be.

He lied and said that he thought that maybe he had eaten something that had gone bad yesterday; Kirishima hadn't believed him, obviously, but had allowed him to scurry away without any further questions.

He spent Sunday far away from all of his classmates, locked up in his room.

Tokoyami knocked at lunchtime to bring him some food.

Shouji felt bile rise in his throat; he was worrying his friends yet again... and this time around, he knew there would be no improvement for him and no explanations for them.

During the night, he looked up information on the internet about the address the Hero-Killer had directed him to. It was nearer to a series of warehouses than it was to the port Shouji had initially believed to be where the villain wanted him to go. There wasn't that much information about the place online, but there were a few news articles that claimed this was very possibly a space where criminality could burrow if the police wasn't careful.

It seemed that criminality had already burrowed there.

He decided to sneak out Monday night.

His friends had been giving him confused and worried looks all Sunday. Monday morning, Bakugou had prepared his breakfast without prompting. He needed to bite the bullet as soon as possible before his teachers caught onto his distressed mental state. The last thing he needed was for Aizawa-sensei to sit him down again... he highly doubted he'd be able to keep quiet if such a thing happened.

During the schoolday, his mind was far away from class. He was too focused on coming up with the best plan to sneak out of the dorms without getting caught to pay any real attention to his class.

It wasn't going to be easy because U.A.'s security was high. But if he was able to avoid the security patrols, he should be able to jump the fenced walls that separated the school from the rest of the world.

"Sho-kun."

Shouji blinked as his mind was taken away from his thoughts. He looked up to find a floating girl's uniform. "What's up, Hagakure?"

"Lunch started." her voice had worry clearly intoned in it, "You haven't moved."

Oh.

It was already lunch time?

Shaking his head, he pushed his chair back and began to get up. "Thank you; sorry; my head's in the clouds."

"Sho-kun, you know," Hagakure began and he immediately knew what she was going to say; and he didn't need to hear it.

"I'll see you after lunch." he bit out quickly, heading out of the room as fast as his legs would carry without having to break into a run.

He felt like shit doing that. But the last thing he needed was to start worrying about worrying his friends. He needed to think of his family and the danger he had put them in first and foremost.

It took him two hours to be able to leave school grounds. He had moved slow and careful, more than aware of the danger he would be putting himself into with his school if he was caught sneaking out after curfew with no reason for being out.

It hadn't been easy, but he had eventually been able to find a cab that hadn't rushed past him in the town area near U.A. Once he was inside and gave the address, the driver hadn't questioned why he was going there- or even who he was.

This was one of the few times Shouji counted himself as blessed for appearing older than he was- especially when clad in dark clothes that emphasized his height and musculature.

Minutes passed by in mounting tension.

With his heart in his throat, Shouji nodded in gratitude at the aged cab driver after he had paid for the trip. He took a moment to stand at the entrance of this warehouse district... a dozen different futures flashed through his mind- none of them positive.

Eventually he breathed in, forced his legs to move, and began to look for the specific spot the Hero-Killer had told him to go to.

He wasn't able to find it.

He got lost in a few minutes.

He began to panic.

And then, when he was about to break into a frantic run to try and find where he was supposed to go, he heard it- a sharp whistle that broke through the quiet night.

His body froze against his will.

Immediately, he cursed himself for having been so focused that he hadn't noticed that he could have been watched.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon, Shouji."

He recognized that voice.

Shouji's heart was caught in a vice.

The Hero-Killer... he sounded amused.

"Come along then. We have much to discuss and you have only a few hours left before you have to go back to your silly school."

~..~..~

And so the plot thickens!