Entropy

by Imperium42

Midoriya Izuku didn't change overnight. The process was slow and gradual, the end result of a life filled with rejections and roadblocks- but everyone has a breaking point. Destruction brings renewal, and with the death of his old dream, Izuku has found a new one- one he intends to share. All orderly systems descend into chaos. No one is immune to entropy, heroes least of all.

29. Friend of the Devil

Chapter 29: Friend of the Devil

Downtown Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward

---

"Describe the dream for me again, Battle Fist. Start from the beginning, no details spared."

Kendo sighed and shook her head, sparing a glance over at Sir Nighteye as she collected her scattered thoughts. The two of them were currently standing beneath the awning just outside her apartment building, watching as a heavy morning shower of rain fell on the street just beyond. The sky was choked with thick grey clouds, and the sounds of morning traffic helped to obscure their conversation from any stray, umbrella-bearing passerby. It had come as a relief when Nighteye arrived alone a few minutes earlier, without any fanfare of paramedics or police cars in tow. I don't want to make a bigger deal of this than I need to, Kendo reminded herself, rubbing at her left arm; the experience had left her entire body sore, like the aftermath of a long and intense workout.

"Well, it started when I saw the Vestiges. All Might told you about those, right? The fragments of the other users, left inside One For All."

"Toshinori was often… less forthcoming than I would have liked." Nighteye adjusted his glasses, a look of distinct dissatisfaction crossing his face. "Aside from the vaguest of references, I don't believe he so much as mentioned their existence to me until the past few months, after your first experience with them- when you spoke with All For One's younger brother."

"Yeah, and scorched my bedsheets in the process," Itsuka murmured, her arms crossed. That dream had come several weeks before graduation, back when the world was still somewhat normal- before the Black Day. "That was tough enough to explain on its own, but this… This is gonna be way harder." She shook her head, then met his eyes again. "This time, almost all of them manifested, but they told me that the connection was weak, and they don't know why. They were trying to warn me about something- they said that my life was in danger because of One For All."

"Quite the alarming claim, given what happened a few minutes later," Sir replied, one golden eyebrow raised. Reaching into his suit jacket's inner pocket, he produced a small notebook and pen, and began to jot down observations. "I've reviewed All Might's research into the past wielders- I looked through those notebooks before Vlad King sent them to you, in fact, and made a copy for reference. Which users gave you this warning? The details of their lives and quirks could give us some insight into what they were trying to tell you."

"Shimura, the Seventh, was the first to bring it up," Kendo answered, one hand on her chin. "It's funny- for a while, I kind of assumed you two knew each other, back in the day. But she died way before you met All Might, didn't she?"

"Before I was even born," Nighteye corrected. "But I understand the confusion- it's easy to forget just how long Toshinori held One For All. Even after his injury, when his body was weakened, he hardly seemed like a man nearing sixty."

"That's for sure." Kendo grinned, tempted to keep reminiscing, but shook herself out of it. "Back to what I was saying, though, after Shimura, the Fourth spoke next."

"Ah, yes, Shinomori Hikage. Quirk: Danger Sense. Held the power for eighteen years, cause of death uncertain."

"Yep, that's the one. He talked about the weak connection I mentioned, then…" Itsuka trailed off, steeling herself as the memories of what had come next rushed to the surface again.

"Then what, Kendo?"

"Then All Might spoke to me." Kendo paused, watching Sir's reaction; a hint of emotion flashed across his face, of grief and longing, but it was gone within a heartbeat, back to stoic calm.

"…I see. So he's been absorbed into the quirk itself, just as the others were."

"Yeah. He was the one who told me that I was in danger from One For All- he said it was because of his choices. At the end of the dream, he was starting to say something about my quirk being the 'reason', but that's when I woke up."

"Your quirk?" Nighteye's frown grew deeper. "Was he referring to One For All or Big Fist?"

"I wish I could say," Kendo responded with a sigh. "It all happened so fast… I know they didn't have a chance to tell me everything they meant to. After the dream ended, everything played out like I told you the first time. Sudden, agonizing pain, One For All going haywire, the scar burning itself on my wrist, and then this great new 'highlight' in my hair." Itsuka turned to look at the apartment building's lobby window, watching her reflection in the glass. The streak of bone-white sent a chill down her spine; it was as if a stranger had changed a fundamental part of her appearance without her permission. "It's obviously all connected, but I need to talk to them again to figure out how."

"I may have a theory, but…" Sir paused and glanced off to the side as another group of civilians passed under the awning. "This conversation would be best continued in a less public setting. We can talk while I drive you to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Kendo tried to conceal her dismay, but quickly failed. "But… I'm scheduled to report to Toga's guard detail in thirty minutes. She's been asking to speak to me nonstop, right? It could be our big break in her interrogation, you said so yourself."

"Correct, but assessing what exactly just happened to you takes first priority," Sir declared, his arms crossed. "Your life could still be in danger, for all we know. I had half a mind to put you in the back of an ambulance the moment I arrived."

"Well I'm grateful that you didn't, Sir, because this thing with Carmilla, it's really goddamn important- excuse my language." Itsuka felt her face flush with embarrassment in response to Nighteye's disapproving glare, but continued all the same."Yes, what happened this morning was scary, but I feel fine right now, I swear to you, and something tells me that the Vestiges would find a way to warn me if another attack like that was coming. I know I can't prove it, but they wouldn't just let it happen again without intervening."

"…I'm parked over at the corner," Nighteye declared after a moment of contemplation. "Once we start driving, you'll have approximately four minutes to make your case to me before I have to turn one way or another- to the hospital, or the detainment facility. Understood?"

"Understood!" Itsuka replied, beaming. Sir's a tough nut to crack, but if he hasn't flat-out shut me down already, I know I can change his mind.

"Umbrella?" Nighteye offered, pulling two of the collapsible variety out from inside his light grey jacket.

"Thanks, but it's just half a block- I think I'll be fine." A grin on her face, Itsuka raised one hand above her head and enlarged it until it was wide enough to protect her entire body from the downpour. Over the years, Kendo had grown so used to this method that she'd hardly even worn a raincoat since elementary school.

Once Nighteye's umbrella was up, they strode out together into the rain, making for his modest grey sedan. When their doors slammed shut in unison half a minute later, both had managed to stay dry, aside from Kendo's hand, which she wiped clean against her costume after shrinking it back to normal size. As she reached for her seatbelt, she took a moment to glance in her reflection in the windshield and make sure it wasn't wrinkled or stained from the incident earlier; designed as a hybrid between All Might and Shimura Nana's outfits, it swapped her mentor's traditional red, blue, and gold for a blue, silver, and white color palette.

Battle Fist's gauntlets, an eighteenth birthday gift from Dr. Shield, extended from halfway up her forearms to the backs of her hands. They had a distinctive, silvery metallic sheen, and were made from a specialized, ultra-dense prototype material that could flex and expand with her hands, then harden in place, supporting and reinforcing her knuckles and wrists for particularly heavy blows- it was an offshoot of the specialized components that Ryukyu and Mt. Lady used in their costumes. Her cape was a dark, ocean blue, fixed in place by a silver chain that ran along her collarbone, and the dark grey jumpsuit beneath it was emblazoned with a stylized blue and white crest, similar to All Might's famous design. A smaller, skirt-like cape, white in color, was fastened around her waist with a silver belt. Grey leggings and white boots completed the costume, though the latter were a pain to keep clean; a quick glance indicated that they were already somewhat stained around the soles just from the short walk through the rain.

Melissa texted me a week or two ago to tell me that her dad was working on an upgraded costume, Ituska suddenly recalled, smiling for a brief moment before she remembered that Dr. Shield and his daughter were both still in Syndicate captivity, kidnapped nearly a week ago on Okinawa. Just… hang in there, okay, Melissa? I'm gonna rescue you and your dad real soon, and Todoroki too. I just need to get us some proper intel first.

"So don't get me wrong," Kendo began as Nighteye took hold of the steering wheel and the car's engine hummed to life, "being in the same room as that woman is the last thing I want to do, but if me being there might be the key to getting some real information from her, to finding out where the Syndicate is hiding, then I'll talk to her twenty-four hours a day, if that's what it takes. We can't afford to waste any time, not when another attack could be coming this afternoon, for all we know."

Though his eyes remained fixed on the road as he pulled out into the street, and his expression was still deeply skeptical, Nighteye didn't interrupt her with an objection at the first opportunity, an encouraging sign. Sir's a tough nut to crack, Itsuka mused, but if he hasn't completely shot me down already, I think I can manage to change his mind.

"And if I did end up going to the hospital right now," she continued, her brows furrowed as she wracked her brain for more evidence to support her argument, "who knows how long I'd end up being there! They might want to keep me cooped up and monitor me for days, for all we know!"

"Speculating that doctors might find your condition severe enough to merit that response isn't exactly helping your case," Nighteye countered as they came to a stop at a red light.

"No, that's not what I meant…" Kendo shook her head and rubbed at her temples in exasperation. "The point is, if I'm stuck there for a week, think of everything the Syndicate might get up to in that time! The people they could kill and kidnap, the destruction and damage they could cause, taking advantage of the fact that I'm gone… I know it's not a high chance, but what if me talking to Toga now could prevent all of that, and help us catch them for good?"

"And what if you talking to Toga instead of receiving immediate treatment leads to your death?" Nighteye asked, as blunt as ever. "What if you're wrong about the Vestiges warning you before another incident? What if the next one wipes out a city block instead of leaving a few scorchmarks your kitchen? Consider how much the Syndicate could stand to benefit from the ensuing chaos- from the abrupt and accidental demise of the Symbol."

A few horns blared ahead of them when the lead cars didn't move forward quickly enough in response to the light turning green; both mentor and student fell quiet for a few moments as they crept along with the traffic. The rain was still drumming loudly on the windshield, obscuring it again and again even as the wipers did their best to keep up.

"Since you mentioned the Symbol," Kendo finally replied, her eyes lowered to her lap, "I might as well say it. Going straight to question Carmilla is exactly what he would have done under these circumstances, and you know it. He never hesitated to prioritize the greater good above his own health and safety."

"And that is exactly why I left him!" Nighteye snapped, his knuckles white on the steering wheel and his eyes wide with a mixture of grief and anger. "I… forgive me for that outburst." He straightened his glasses with one hand, then smoothed out his bangs before continuing; his voice was already back to its calm, steady tone, and his face showed no hint of the sudden emotion it had displayed just moments before. "I left All Might after his injury because I could not bear to watch my best friend destroy his own body for the sake of his duty- for the sake of the Symbol. Please, Kendo…" he turned briefly to look at her, and she glanced up to meet his gaze. "Don't make me watch you do the same. After everyone we've lost already…" He trailed off and shook his head, struggling to keep the emotion from his voice as he turned back to the road. "I don't want to bury you too. I would never be able to forgive myself if it came to that."

Another few seconds of silence passed between them, heavier than the last. More than once, Itsuka opened her mouth to try and respond, only to close it again, searching for the right words.

"I don't want to bury any more of my friends either," she finally managed, in a quiet voice. "We went to All Might and Gran Torino's funerals together. We both knew them, both loved them. But in a few days, I'm gonna have to stand and watch while they lower Uraraka, Vlad, and Eraser's ashes into the ground. Three people I cared about- three people I should have been able to save, but didn't. So forget burying me- how many more people do I have to bury before we bring down the Syndicate, Sir? Are you going to tell me that my life matters any more than theirs? Because I can't accept that. I won't. And I would never be able to forgive myself if I tried to."

Seraph's mocking words from the day of the graduation attack echoed once more through Itsuka's head in the ensuing silence. 'You call yourself a hero, pretend to hold fast to their ideals, but when it comes time to show who you really are, you tell me that your life is worth more than everyone else's.'

He's wrong about me. I have to prove it.

"I'm sorry if it's not what you want to hear. I'm sorry if it's painful for you. But All Might was right. Protecting the people, giving them something to believe in- those duties are more important than my life, and they always will be. So please, Sir…" The car slowed down to a crawl as they came up on another traffic jam, and Battle Fist met Nighteye's gaze again, her expression fixed in determination. "Either take me to Carmilla, or I'll get out of this car and go see her myself."

"Just as I feared." Nighteye sighed in resignation and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "You sound more and more like him every day. And just like him, there's no stopping you once you've set your mind on something."

There was a sudden jolt as the traffic began to move again, and Sir switched on his turn signal before pulling off to a quiet side street at the first opportunity. Once he'd found a spot to park in an alleyway behind an office building, Nighteye unbuckled his seatbelt and turned towards Kendo, his expression deadly serious.

"I'd like your permission to use my quirk on you- just briefly."

"Huh?" Itsuka's eyes narrowed in confusion. "But you turned me down when I asked you to do that last night!"

Despite the impassioned nature of her plea, Battle Fist's request for Sir to look into her future and determine the outcome of the conflict with the Syndicate had been rejected almost instantly when she confronted him on the matter fewer than twelve hours ago, without so much as room for a rebuttal.

"You even specifically told me never to ask again! So what gives?"

"Two things," Sir declared, holding up an equal number of fingers. "One, the situation has changed a great deal since last night. This condition of yours is a new and unexpected variable, one that seems likely to constantly endanger you until we can find a way to counteract it, no matter how safe we keep you from outside threats. Rather than debating back and forth over the likelihood of another incident, I would prefer to determine with certainty whether one is coming in the immediate future. That brings me to number two." He paused, watching her reaction carefully. "Last night, you asked me to look far into your future, weeks and months, to chart the course and outcome of this conflict. I remain strongly opposed to that notion, for a variety of reasons that would take a considerable amount of time to fully explain- time that we don't currently have."

"Fair enough." Kendo crossed her arms, still unsatisfied with his lack of proper justification. It's probably better to move on for now rather than start another argument, though. "I do want to hear that full explanation later, though."

"Under these new circumstances," Sir continued, brushing her request aside, "I intend to look ahead a few hours at most, for the sole purpose of determining whether One For All will lash out at you again today. Is that acceptable?"

"Fine by me," she answered with a nod. "Some warning before I get zapped again would definitely be appreciated."

"Well then, without further delay."

After a brief tap of his hand on her shoulder, Sir's eyes began to glow with the dull purple light of Foresight, his pupils steadily rotating. This is probably one of the first times he's used his quirk on me since the day we met, Itsuka realized, thinking back to the way he'd challenged her to retrieve a pen from his jacket pocket in under two minutes, just moments after Gran Torino introduced the two of them. I only managed to snag it with a few seconds left on the timer, she recalled, a wistful smile on her face. I spent the first minute and a half slowly backing him into one corner of the room, then made my hands so big that he couldn't get around them even if he saw the attack coming. Gran Torino couldn't stop laughing for half an hour after that.

"Something amusing?" Nighteye asked, one brow raised in confusion as his eyes returned to their normal color.

"It's nothing, Sir. What did you see?"

Nighteye leaned back into his own seat and straightened his polka dot tie, then reached over and put the car into drive again.

"Luckily, it seems you're not in any immediate danger of another attack. I was scheduled for reconnaissance duty this morning, but I'll cancel that and bring you to Carmilla's holding cell, on the condition that we report to the hospital the moment your shift is done." Outside the car, the rain was beginning to let up- it had slowed down to a steady drizzle by the time they pulled back out onto the main road, and Kendo glanced at the rows of taillights up ahead with a forlorn expression.

"I appreciate the thought, Sir, but I could get there a lot faster on my own- and without getting totally soaked or struck by lightning, now that the weather's clearing up."

"That reminds me of the second condition," Nighteye countered, holding up two fingers once again. "Until we have you assessed by medical professionals, I want you to try to avoid using One For All whenever possible. As for why, allow me to explain the theory I mentioned earlier. Unlike you, I cannot speak to your predecessors, or hear their thoughts directly. But all the same, I've learned a great deal about the nature of One For All over the years, listening to All Might and Gran Torino, and I believe that this problem might arise from the quirk's very nature. Imagine, for a moment, that One For All is this bottle."

Sir gestured down to a half-empty plastic bottle of store-bought green tea sitting in the cupholder between them, still ringed with condensation, and Itsuka raised an eyebrow, skeptical. This sounds like one of Gran Torino's elaborate metaphors.

"…Okay, I'm imagining it."

"When One For All formed, and the first user gained access to its power, his body was the empty bottle. But over the remainder of his life, he poured all the strength he could manage into it, and filled it just a little." Nighteye reached over, lifted the bottle, and swirled around the tea inside before taking a sip and setting it back down. "The Second did the same, then the Third, the Fourth, and so on. Some held the bottle for just a few years, so they only managed to add ever so slightly to the amount of tea- of accumulated power. Others held it for longer, filled it more. Then came All Might." A hint of a smile played briefly across Sir's face as he spun the steering wheel and turned onto the ramp leading to the highway. "For four decades, he poured his physical ability and his will to fight into that bottle, and by the time of his injury, he had filled it to a level of potency far beyond what any previous wielder had achieved. You've held it for just over two years now, but this attack you've suffered begs a very pressing question."

"What happens when the bottle's full?" Kendo answered in a cool, even tone, staring at her streak of white hair in the windshield's reflection.

Nighteye gave a solemn nod as the car sped up to merge onto the freeway.

"Unfortunately, it seems that we might be finding out sooner rather than later."

---

Undisclosed Location, Tokyo Suburbs

"Uh… Sir? Are you sure we're at the right place?"

Kendo frowned, glancing around with a skeptical expression as she shut the car door behind her. After driving for nearly half an hour, they were well outside Tokyo's urban sprawl by now, in a small suburban town west of the city that she'd frankly never heard of. The street Nighteye had parked on was quiet for morning rush hour on a weekday, but understandably so; both sides were lined with one or two-story buildings, mostly restaurants and stores, but a majority of them wouldn't even open for a few more hours. There were no other cars passing by and only a handful of pedestrians in sight, milling around outside a coffee shop on the other end of the block.

Oh man, what I wouldn't do for a cup of dark roast right now… Itsuka felt her heart flutter in longing as the distant aroma of coffee wafted past, then glanced down at her right hand with a wince of pain. Her skin was still red and tender where she'd been scalded by the explosion of her favorite coffee mug less than an hour ago, and amid all the chaos and panic, she hadn't gotten the chance to make another cup.

"Feel free to double-check the directions I provided you with last night," Sir replied, striding across the street and onto the opposite sidewalk, "but I can assure you that we are. This way."

After a backwards glance to ensure that Kendo was following him, Nighteye stepped through the tall black fabric curtains hanging from the entryway of a quaint, nondescript restaurant, emblazoned in white with the kanji for fish. One eyebrow raised, Itsuka entered just behind him- the pair was greeted almost immediately by a smiling waiter in a baggy, stained white apron, but aside from him, the cramped, aging interior looked to be almost empty, aside from one elderly woman reading a newspaper and smoking a cigarette at a table on the far side of the room. Through the narrow window looking into the kitchen, a bald, burly chef glanced briefly up at the newcomers, but he quickly lost interest and returned to his work.

"Welcome, heroes!" The waiter cried gleefully, his hands clasped together as he stepped over towards them. Perhaps in his late forties or early fifties, the man's black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he sported a greying mustache and goatee. Most notably, though, two short, curved horns jutted from his forehead, and his legs tapered to a pair of hooves rather than ordinary feet, clicking against the floor as he walked. "How can we help you two at this early hour? Some tea, perhaps?"

"No thank you," Sir declared curtly. Drawing his phone from his pocket, he glanced down at a message, then back up. "We'll have your daily special. Scallop sashimi with extra wasabi, a side of black sesame dango, and two glasses of umeshu, no ice."

Huh? Itsuka blinked in confusion, and only barely managed to choke back an immediate objection to the order. Plum wine at eight in the morning? Not to mention, those two dishes don't go together at all- I doubt this place even sells dango. Unless that was… Battle Fist's eyes widened in understanding as the waiter gave them a cheery nod.

"A most excellent choice! If you'll follow me, I'll escort you to our private dining room."

Still beaming with positivity, the waiter led them to a door at the back end of the room; once they'd passed through, and the waiter locked it behind them, any remaining doubts that this was the correct location were quickly extinguished. At the end of the short, wide hallway just ahead, two fully armed and armored riot police stood guard on either side of an ominous set of metal doors, stun batons at their belts and submachine guns slung around their shoulders. The silver badges on their chests declared their affiliation with the Hero Public Safety Commission, as did the badge that the 'waiter' flashed in their direction a moment later.

"Hold out your arms to either side," He ordered, suddenly blunt and businesslike; his smile had vanished, and his gaze was now cold rather than friendly. As they complied, he undid his apron and hung it on a peg, revealing a pistol and taser strapped across his chest, then pulled a collapsible plastic wand from his pocket, similar in appearance to the ones used at airports to check for foreign objects. "Alright, you guys should know the drill. Hold still."

Battle Fist gave a stern nod, unsure whether or not she should speak as he waved the wand up and down their bodies. Thankfully, Nighteye answered that question for her moments later.

"So how did your daughter's recital turn out in the end, Hizume?"

"Oh, it was fantastic." The man's face lit up in a smile again, and he paused midway through checking Sir's legs, chuckling warmly. "She nailed every piece, and now she's talking about applying to be the lead flutist for a group that does soundtracks for movies and TV shows! We're so damn proud of her. Have to say, though, I didn't expect to see you here two days in a row, Sasaki- thought you weren't supposed to be back on this shift until Friday."

"I wasn't, but let's just say that 'intervening circumstances' arose with this one here," Sir quipped, nodding in Kendo's direction as Hizume resumed his work. "I've had to rearrange my schedule for the rest of the week on rather short notice, so my apologies for not communicating the change beforehand."

"Ah yes, the big bad Battle Fist. I've heard a lot about you- seems like you were trouble after all." Waving his wand along Itsuka's arms, Hizume gave her an intense, suspicious stare, then broke out into a grin again with a wheeze of laughter. "Sorry, kid, just messin' with ya. It's a pleasure to meet you- welcome to Site 113, your friendly local Temporary Villain Detainment Facility, courtesy of the Public Safety Commission. We're the ones who keep the nastiest bad guys under lock and key while the government files all that long, boring paperwork to get them into Tartarus, or one of the other max security prisons."

"Huh- never heard of you guys, but I guess that's the point, right? It's nice to meet you too." Itsuka returned his smile and held out a hand, but Hizume frowned and shook his head.

"Can't make any unnecessary physical contact, I'm afraid. We had a scare with this villain who used organic bio-trackers a few years back- real sneaky stuff, almost impossible to see, and they stick to your skin like glue. And speaking of recent scares, even with Carmilla detained right here in this facility, we can never be too careful these days, even if both of you did pass the preliminary DNA and foreign objects scan. Hold out your hands, palms up."

Battle Fist and Nighteye dutifully obeyed; moments later, Hizume produced a small, roughly cylindrical metallic device with an LCD screen on one side, and held one end of it against the tip of Kendo's right index finger. A small, swift prick followed, and after taking a few seconds to process the blood sample, the screen turned green with a pleasant beep.

"Alright, Miss Kendo, looks like you're 100% you," Hizume declared with a firm nod. "By the way, I like the new look." He gestured up to his hair before moving on to Nighteye's hand. "That white highlight goes well with your costume, and I should know- my wife's a stylist."

"…Glad to hear it." Kendo replied hesitantly, then exchanged a brief glance with Sir. Struggling not to show any outward signs of discomfort at the topic of her altered appearance, she seized at the first chance to change the subject. "Oh, I was wondering, though! Are you related to Hizume Tomoki? Pan, the Satyr Hero?"

"What gave it away?" He answered with a smirk. "Yep, he's my older brother. One of us went for the limelight, one of us went for black ops. Didn't expect someone so young to know about him, though- his glory days were way before your time."

"Yeah, and I hear he's been retired for a while, right? My mom is the one who told me about him, actually. He saved her from a robbery while she was still in high school- she even has his autograph."

"Well ain't that something?" Hizume looked ready to launch into another story, but off to the side, Nighteye raised one hand to cut in.

"Forgive us, Hizume, but we're on a tighter schedule than usual today. I'm afraid we'll need to dispense with some of the pleasantries."

"Of course, Sir." In an instant, the operative snapped back into his more formal persona, and waved them towards the guarded metal door the moment Nighteye's blood scan came up green. "If you'll come this way, these two will scan you into the facility proper."

"Morning, Sir," The taller and bulkier of the two guards declared in a deep, hissing voice as their group approached; dark brown reptilian scales were visible in place of skin at his neck and wrists, but aside from that, his body was entirely covered up with armor and gear. "…and ma'am," he added, shifting his gaze down to Battle Fist. "Hero licenses out."

As their licenses were being scanned by the second, shorter guard, the first nodded down in Kendo's direction and spoke up again.

"My, uh… my daughter's a big fan." The man's eyes and face weren't visible through his helmet and tinted goggles, but it was clear from his voice alone that he was blushing in embarrassment. "She's wanted to go to U.A. for high school ever since you debuted, so this past week's been… rough."

"I'd be happy to write her a note if you have some paper," Kendo offered, a sad smile on her face.

"We can't exchange any items with visitors," the guard replied, his massive shoulders slumping over in disappointment as his submachine gun swayed back and forth in its sling. "But she'll be happy just to know I talked with you."

To the left, both of their licenses had been approved, and the doors slid open to reveal an elevator with a pristine, stainless steel interior. Hizume gestured for them to enter, watching alongside the guards as Nighteye and Battle Fist stepped inside. The panel ahead of them had only two floors on it, 0 and -1; Sir reached out and pressed the latter.

"When you talk to your daughter, tonight, tell her I say hi." Kendo turned back towards the reptilian guard in the moment before the elevator closed, her smile widening slightly. "Tell her I said everything's gonna be alright. I'll catch the bad guys."

The doors slammed shut before she could hear his reply, and as the elevator descended with a smooth, electric hum, Nighteye gave a wordless nod of approval. Once they'd come to a stop a few seconds later, the opposite set of doors opened out into a brightly lit, stark white corridor, and they were greeted by two more guards, just as well-armed as the last pair.

"Keep these out and visible at all times," One declared in a rough yet vaguely feminine voice; the guards' gender was relatively difficult to determine under all their armor and gear, but this one had a noticeable brunette ponytail jutting out from the back of her helmet. With impressive, professional speed and efficiency, she hung a neon green visitor's badge on a lanyard around each of their necks, then nodded for them to proceed.

"Even if it can get a bit repetitive, it's reassuring to see how much they care about procedure," Kendo commented once they were out of the guards' earshot, throwing a glance over at Sir.

"Indeed. Clandestine facilities such as this one require total discipline from everyone involved in order to ensure operational success; it's not by accident that you've never heard about Site 113 before, even as All Might's successor. And it should go without saying, but any and all information about this place can only be shared on a strictly need-to-know basis, even among fellow members of the strike team."

"Understood- I had a feeling that would probably be the case." Itsuka propped a hand on her chin, her brows furrowed in contemplation. "But I have to ask, how do they manage to keep the facility a secret with the entrance set up the way it is? After a while, someone would definitely notice that a bunch of heroes and Safety Commission employees keep going into that restaurant and disappearing."

"They certainly would, which is why it's only one of four entrances spread out around several blocks. The main entrance is concealed in an office building, and there are two others in a teahouse and a department store. It may not look it from the surface, but Site 113 covers quite a large area underground."

"Seems like it. By the way, that weird meal you ordered- I guess that was a password, right?"

"Precisely. The restaurant's 'daily special' changes every six hours, but it's always a combination of items so mismatched and unorthodox that no real customer would ever ask for exactly the same thing. You would have been provided with the proper order as well, had I not decided to accompany you."

Moments later, they finally reached the end of the corridor, and a heavy metal blast door creaked open to reveal a tall, cylindrical chamber that could only be the facility's main hub: multiple detainment cells were visible along the curved outer wall, with squads of Safety Commission riot guards patrolling along the perimeter. Over the next few minutes, it would gradually become clear that Site 113 was shaped like a donut; one wide main hallway stretched around in a circle approximately a kilometer in length, with twenty cells set into the outside wall at roughly forty-meter intervals, plus the four entrance tunnels. The large inner 'donut hole' served as the main command hub and guard barracks, a panopticon that could maintain direct visual contact with all of the cells simultaneously.

At this time of morning, the hub was bustling with activity; guard patrols marched in circular routes around the outer corridor at all hours of the day and night, but their numbers and frequency had been increased even further after the Black Day and the graduation attack. Aside from the considerable security presence, Safety Commission bureaucrats and psychoanalysts were a common sight, brought in to help process detainees and oversee interrogations, not to mention the wide variety of heroes who served as additional support.

"Yo, Battle Fist, Nighteye! Over here!" As loud and enthusiastic as ever, Real Steel began waving at the duo from across the wide, expansive hallway the moment he spotted them; after waiting for a squad of guards to pass, he rushed over in their direction, childlike excitement on his face. "So you guys just got here too, huh? This place is so friggin' cool, like some stuff out of a spy movie! Did you take a different secret entrance than us? Ours was at the back of this clothes store, and they-"

"Come on, give 'em a sec to get a word in edgewise, kid!" Following a few paces behind Tetsutetsu with her usual smug expression, Mirko pulled him back and lifted him into the air by his costume's metal collar as he attempted to blurt out an apology. "Excuse this one's thick-headedness. I might have to knock him around a few more times before we leave to make sure he remembers not to blab about this place to everyone he knows."

"I won't blab, ma'am, I promise!"

"Is that so? You believe him, Battle Fist?" Still dangling him a few centimeters off the floor, Mirko shifted Real Steel in Kendo's direction, prompting Itsuka to stifle a laugh, and Tetsutetsu to flush bright red.

"He's trustworthier than he looks, I promise."

"I dunno if I buy it," Mirko replied, her voice full of faux skepticism, "but if you say so, I guess we'll let him stick around." At that, she opened her hand, and Real Steel fell the short distance back to the floor with a thud; he wobbled a bit, but managed to stay upright.

"I shudder to imagine how many HR violations you rack up in a single day," Nighteye declared with a sigh.

"Hey, who was the one who convinced me to start taking interns and team-up offers in the first place?" Mirko raised one eyebrow, leaning over towards Nighteye with a self-satisfied expression. If you're not happy with how I do things, I can always go back to flying solo."

"It's fine, Sir, I don't mind!" At the drop of a pin, Tetsutetsu was back to his usual self, smiling wider than ever. "But I've been meaning to ask…" He turned back to Kendo, and his eyes drifted up to her hair. "That's, uh… it's new, right? Isn't that one of those highlight things?"

"I was just about to say," Mirko chimed in, turning back towards Battle Fist with a curious expression. "Wait, I've got it!" Rumi clapped her gloved hands together, and her confident smirk returned. "It's a tribute to me, isn't it? To my hair?" She gestured up at her own ivory-colored locks, then ran a hand along Kendo's streak of white, giving it a closer inspection. "It's not quite the right shade, but close enough!"

"Y-Yeah, you got me!" Itsuka stammered, struggling to keep her cheeks from flushing red. No way I can let them know what really happened- at least not for now. Even if I don't tell them about One For All, Tetsu would be too busy worrying about me to focus on the mission, and I have no idea how Mirko would react. "The salon didn't have the exact color I wanted, but I figured I'd go for it anyway!"

A quick glance to Sir confirmed that her response was the correct one; he nodded almost imperceptibly in affirmation.

"Come on now," Nighteye cut in, before either Mirko or Real Steel could reply. "We don't have time to waste with any more of these antics." He nodded towards one of the doorways to the command center, where yet another pair of guards waited to scan their visitor badges before entry, then pulled back his sleeve to glance down at his watch. "We're already thirty seconds late."

"Oh man, a whole thirty seconds?! Looks like the stick up your ass is extra big today." Mirko reached out and tousled Nighteye's hair with a gleeful smirk, then hopped the entire twenty-meter distance to the door in one bound, leaping over several startled staff members in the process. "And would you look at that?" She called back, one hand on her hip as she held out her badge to the guards with the other. "You're running later than me now!"

Smoothing out his hair as quickly as he could, Sir let out a deep sigh of exasperation as he strode across the hall, and shook his head in silence rather than answer Rumi's teasing aloud. Battle Fist and Real Steel followed close behind, and Kendo was the first to speak up again.

"So you got reassigned to this shift too, huh?" For the sake of her boyfriend's masculinity, she decided not to mention his 'scolding', shifting to a more general subject instead. "Definitely not how I was expecting to spend my morning."

"Me neither," Tetsutetsu replied, his sharp-tooth smile turning to a frown as he held his badge up to the scanner. "To have to come here and stare at this lunatic for half a day, after what she did to Todoroki and the others… After what her boyfriend did to Kirishima…" Real Steel's brows furrowed in frustration, and down at his side, one hand curled into a fist. "Is it true you're gonna talk to her? Because there are a few things I wanna to say to that freak too."

The command center doors slid open before Itsuka could respond, revealing another bustling hive of activity. Easily twice the length of a football field, the massive central chamber was subdivided into two main sections: The guards' barracks and administrators' offices were located in the center, taking up around half of the total space, while the remainder was occupied by rows of monitors and desks ringing the outer perimeter, walled off into twenty separate monitoring stations, one for each of the twenty cells. The outside wall was almost completely lined with massive windows as well, though they were tinted black on the outside, so the view was only one-way. Across each stretch of window, digital displays of that specific cell's occupant and their vitals were visible, as well as multiple live camera feeds.

"This place is friggin' insane!" Tetsutetsu's eyes grew wide with awe as he and Kendo took a moment to marvel at the enormity of the operation. "Forget spy movies, this is more like sci-fi! It must be so cool to work here!"

"Employment at sites such as this one requires living a life filled with secrecy," Sir declared, straightening his glasses as a group of Safety Commission psychologists and field agents rushed past them. "For the most part, these men and women receive no glory, no accolades after all they sacrifice for our sakes. They must conceal all but the most basic details of their work from their friends and loved ones. Bear that in mind as you interact with them, Real Steel."

Tetsutetsu nodded solemnly, though Mirko seemed considerably less moved.

"No offense, but let's save the life lessons for later, okay? I'm not exactly a fan of stand-still assignments like this one in the first place, so I'd rather just get this over with- I only agreed to come because this guy asked very politely." She elbowed Sir playfully in the side, then nodded to the left; there was a sign suspended from the ceiling just ahead, indicating which monitoring stations were in which direction. "The little psycho's in Cell 6, right? Should be this way."

A short walk later, Sir swiped their group through the door of Monitoring Station 6, and the full scale of Site 113's surveillance capabilities quickly became apparent. Towards the front of the room, two long, curved rows of desks and monitors housed a majority of the Safety Commission staff dedicated to keeping watch over Carmilla's behavior and interrogation sessions, around fifteen to twenty in total. Overhead, a live camera feed from her cell was playing on the massive, curved window; combined with the relatively dim lighting and sterile atmosphere, the chamber felt like some kind of surreal movie theater. Itsuka's sense of awe at the intricacy of the operation faded away moments later, though, replaced by a sudden swell of anger and revulsion as the star of the movie in question came into view. To her left, Tetsutetsu muttered a string of insults and profanities under his breath, and to her right, Mirko crossed her musclebound arms in disapproval, a furious scowl crossing her face.

Oblivious to their scorn, Toga Himiko was skipping and prancing about her cell, dressed in a dull beige prison uniform with a serial number stamped on the left side of the chest. Her golden blonde hair was down around her shoulders, messy and tangled, and just as Kaminari had mentioned the night before, she had a muzzle over her face- the ivory-white mask was held in place with two metal-reinforced straps, and dotted with a handful of breathing holes over her mouth and nose. It didn't prevent her from speaking, though; Carmilla's voice was slightly muffled, but when she began to sing a few moments later, the sound echoed clearly through the room, captured by half a dozen microphones in the cell.

"Ride on time,

Spinning on together, you and I,

Gone beyond forever, sailing free,

Together we just ride on time…"

Himiko giggled and twirled around in the center of her cell, a wide smile visible even beneath the mask as she continued on with the next chorus. Over at the desks, a staff member clicked a few keys and lowered the input volume for the time being, reducing Toga's singing to background noise. Another swipe on his touchpad and the feed shrank to a fraction of its original size, relegated to one corner of the screen; with the majority of the window freed up, the cell itself was now visible across the perimeter hallway, with a reinforced metal door surrounded by a wide screen of transparent safety glass. Curiously enough, though, the door didn't appear to have a handle, keypad, lever, or any other means of gaining entry- it was a perfectly smooth and featureless slab of tungsten. Huh. Well, guess I'll find out how it works soon enough.

All of the heroes currently on assignment were watching from an elevated platform in the center of the room, giving them a better view of all the visuals and data being displayed. As their group approached, Kendo spotted Kamui Woods, Lightwave, Tentacole, and Alien Queen chatting amongst themselves, along with Fatgum, Ryukyu, and Ms. Joke.

"This is some beefy goddamn security for one girl," Tetsutetsu whispered, leaning in towards Itsuka to make sure Nighteye couldn't hear him. "You think it might be overkill? I mean, there are already seventy, eighty dudes with machine guns walking around the place."

Off to the right, one of Mirko's rabbit ears twitched, and she replied at a normal volume.

"We're not here for her, kid. We're here in case all her friends try to come get her."

"About time you guys got here!" Hagakure cried out moments later, darting down from the platform to wrap Kendo in brief hug. Always a slightly weird experience, Itsuka noted, as Toru's bare chest pressed up against her own. Have we really never found a way to make her an invisible costume?

"She's right," Ryukyu chimed in, smiling softly in Nighteye's direction as Kendo and the others ascended the stairs to the observation platform. "It's unlike you to be late, even by just two minutes."

Only recently released from the hospital after the brutal wounds she sustained during a battle with the Syndicate in Yokohama, Ryuko Tatsuma still sported visible burn scars on her left shoulder and right leg. As she drew nearer, Itsuka spotted the remnants of two long, straight slash-marks as well, running diagonally across Ryukyus's nose and left cheek. Those are from Monoma, she realized with a sinking feeling, the smile fading from her face. After he copied her quirk.

Naturally, Strike Team Fenrir had thoroughly reviewed the security footage from the Yokohama fight as part of their research into the Syndicate's tactics. The task had proven especially taxing for Kendo, who'd been forced to watch her onetime friend savage a hero she admired and respected, to scrutinize each of Neito's attacks and taunts in agonizing detail. Then, even harder to stomach, there was Ryukyu's account of the interrogation she had endured under Chaudron's supervision. The torture, Itsuka reminded herself, forcing the word to the forefront of her mind. He tortured her, plain and simple. Even after the Black Day, after the speech he gave along with the rest of them, I never wanted to believe that Neito was on the same level as Seraph and the others. But after what Ryukyu described… after what he did to her…

"There's our Real Steel! And Battle Fist, too!" As jovial and bombastic as ever, Fatgum derailed her dour train of thought by wrapping the two in a bearhug that left their feet dangling half a meter off the ground. "We were about to start taking bets on whether you guys had messed up your passwords!"

"It's good to see you too," Kendo managed, her voice slightly muffled as she struggled to keep her face from sinking into his stomach. Beside her, though, Tetsutetsu seemed well-accustomed to the experience.

"Come on, Fatgum, you know my memory's too sharp for that! It's like a steel trap- get it?!"

"Oh, that's a good one!" Fatgum eased them both back to the floor, but his attention quickly focused in on Tetsutetsu, who had interned with his agency for over a year alongside Kirishima.

Itsuka was well aware that Red Riot and Suneater's injuries in Okinawa had taken a heavy toll on both Fatgum and Real Steel, but despite the odds, they were both just as optimistic and upbeat as ever- on the outside, at least. It didn't take a degree in psychology for Kendo to tell that they were both still in pain, but the same could be said for practically everyone present. While Fatgum and Real Steel continued to chat, and Nighteye greeted Kamui Woods, Ms. Joke watched from the side with her arms crossed and a neutral expression on her face, her cheeky, gregarious antics conspicuously absent. Even Mina, the bubbliest personality in either of their year's hero classes, seemed somewhat subdued, offering only a small, weak grin as she wrapped a muscular pink arm around Itsuka's shoulders.

"Hey, babe, glad you finally made it. Was gettin' worried about you." Her choice of words was the same as always, but Mina's voice was notably quieter than usual, and there were dark purple circles beneath her black and gold eyes. "Wow, I love this highlight, by the way!" A bit of Mina's trademark energy seeped back into her as she ran a hand along Itsuka's streak of white; off to the side, Mirko let out a chuckle and turned away from her conversation with Ryukyu.

"It's the best, right?" Rumi rested her hands on her hips, beaming with pride. "Betcha can't guess where she got the inspiration."

"It's quite close to my own shade, actually." Shoji Mezo offered, stepping over towards Ashido. "But I agree with Alien Queen- it does suit you well, Battle Fist."

"Alright, that's enough chitchat," Ryukyu declared after a glance down at her phone to check the time. "We're already a few minutes behind schedule, but nothing we can't make up, especially given the fact that we have additional support today." She glanced over at Nighteye, who turned towards the rest of the group and gave a brief bow.

"As Ryukyu indicated, I'm only here for this shift due to a last-minute schedule change. Regardless, though, she and Mirko will remain the designated team leads- I'll let them handle the rest of the briefing."

"Very humble of you, as usual," Mirko replied with a teasing smirk, before shifting back to a more serious expression. "Well, we have eleven heroes here instead of ten, but that doesn't change anything about the mission. We'll be splitting into two teams- I guess one of 'em will have six people instead of five- that will rotate between interrogation oversight and general guard duty in four-hour shifts. First shift questioning Carmilla goes to my team, which will be Kamui, Battle Fist, Alien Queen, Tentacole, and…" She paused and glanced over at Sir, who gave her a curt nod. "…and our late arrival, Nighteye."

"They'll be running the first portion of this morning's interrogation attempt," Ryukyu added with a firm nod. "Fatgum, Ms. Joke, Real Steel, Lightwave- we'll observe their progress from here, make sure there are no interruptions or security breaches, then switch in when it's our turn. Any questions?"

"No questions, ma'am!" Tetsutetsu barked in reply almost immediately, a sentiment which was soon echoed, albeit a bit less boisterously, by everyone else.

"Alright, then let's move it, double time!"

Mirko glanced down at one of the Safety Commission staffers stationed at the desks below the observation platform, and made a circular gesture with one gloved hand.

"Bring it around, boys."

The staffer nodded and pulled up a digital, bird's eye map of the facility on his monitor, then selected Cell 6 on the touchscreen. Moments later, a low, smooth electric hum began to sound in the background, and Itsuka felt a steady, growing vibration through the soles of her boots. She and Mina exchanged a puzzled glance, but Ryukyu quickly noticed their confusion, and spoke up before any of the recent graduates could ask.

"For all the Site 113 first-timers with us today, one of this facility's most important safety features is the fact that only one of the twenty cells can be opened at a time- as for why and how, I think that'll become clear very shortly."

As she spoke, the vibrations and humming continued to grow in volume, until it finally came into view around ten seconds later: a retractable, revolving access tunnel, made of interlocking sections of safety glass that could be collapsed down like a handheld telescope. From its anchor point on the curved outer wall of the command center, a hidden array of electromagnetic servomotors rotated the tunnel around a circular track that ran beneath the floor in its retracted form, then extended it to link a monitoring station with its corresponding cell. Another set of powerful magnets ringing the end of the access tunnel then interlocked with the cell's sealed tungsten door, only opening it if the monitoring station entered the correct sequence of electric charges.

As Mirko's six-person team assembled at the front of the room, waiting for the all-clear to proceed, Nighteye offered them an abridged version of the technical and mechanical details involved; despite her efforts, Itsuka couldn't help but giggle a bit at Mina's blank-faced look of confusion when she attempted to listen in.

"It's okay, I promise he's not gonna quiz us on this." Kendo reached out and rubbed Ashido's back, giving her a sympathetic grin. "I mean, I'm pretty sure we need to know about gravitic torque for this assignment."

"Pretty sure, but not certain, huh? Some relief you are." Mina winked, her mouth upturned into a hint of a genuine smile, and Itsuka's own grin widened in response. It's been a while since the two of us last talked outside school- we both keep getting caught up in our own friend groups.

"Hey, are you doing anything tonight?"

"Detainee 2709," A stern, authoritative voice declared over the loudspeaker, cutting Mina off before she could reply. "Place your back against the rear wall."

"Aww, is my playtime over already?" On the live camera feed playing across the window overhead, Toga drew to a halt mid-pirouette, and crossed her arms in protest. "That was so short!"

"Isn't she supposed to be tied up 24/7 anyway?" Kendo threw a skeptical glance over at Nighteye. "Pretty sure that's how Chargebolt described it last night."

"Twenty-four-hour restraint is only permitted at Tartarus." Kamui Woods replied, stepping up beside them. "All other government facilities are legally mandated to provide inmates with at least two hours of physical activity per day."

"Indeed." Sir adjusted his glasses, a slight frown on his lips. "Several notable human rights groups have been campaigning for years to raise the amount from two hours to six, and to remove Tartarus' exemption. How kind of them, to fight for All For One's right to stretch his legs." There was a clear tinge of bitterness in Sir's voice, and Kendo felt a frown forming on her own face as well.

It sounds horrific to be tied up in the same position day and night, fed through a tube, with machine guns pointing at you and ready to fire if you flinch. But… it's necessary, right? People like him, they're too dangerous to take any risks with. That's how you felt too… didn't you? Itsuka found herself desperately wishing to speak with the Vestiges again, to hear All Might's thoughts and guidance. But her dream with them had ended, and now the only thing left to do was face reality on her own.

A few seconds later, two bright red alarms flashed overhead, and the voice on the intercom returned.

"Cell 6, connecting access tunnel. All personnel, stand clear of the entryway."

The massive windows built into the outer wall of the command center began about two meters up from the floor, but as the three-meter-tall access tunnel rotated into position, Kendo caught sight of the faint outline of a doorway, a barely visible seam built into the window and wall. A squad of four Safety Commission guards standing by to move into the cell with their group gestured for them to stay behind a yellow line marked on the floor as the tunnel connected with a hiss of steam, and the hidden door slid down into the ground.

"Alright," the squad leader declared, one hand on his earpiece as he gave them a thumbs-up; across the hall, Carmilla had finally complied and moved to the back of her cell. "We're clear to move in. My men and I will go in first, then signal you to follow once she's restrained."

"We could help with that too," Kendo offered, taking a step closer to the yellow line on the floor. "My quirk's really good for restraining people." She enlarged her right hand a bit as a demonstration, but the officer shook his head.

"Sorry, Battle Fist, but protocol is protocol. We can handle her."

"I know you're talking about me," Toga called out in a singsong voice, her voice echoing once again from the speakers. "What's wrong, too scared to come in and play?"

"Goddamn psycho," the guard muttered under his breath, then turned to his men and made a quick hand signal to advance.

With precise, military efficiency, the four men crossed the access tunnel and took up positions on either side of the featureless cell door; moments later, a series of deep, electric hums sounded out, and the meter-thick slab of tungsten receded into the floor. Battle Fist watched closely as the guards entered the cell, their guns drawn and aimed at Carmilla, and her heart began to tighten in her chest as they approached her. Itsuka's hands tightened reflexively into fists, and her eyes flit from side to side, searching for any sign of intrusion, for anything out of the ordinary.

This is always how it goes with the Syndicate. We think everything's fine, we think our security measures are airtight, and then, at the worst possible moment, we're proven wrong. At the worst possible moment, he shows up.

Kendo's eyes shot back up to the camera feed projected above her on the window; one of the staff members had just pulled up a new graphic to display Toga's heartrate and vitals, and Kendo felt herself flinch in response to the sudden change, her eyes wide and her heartrate quickening. For a brief instant, she was convinced that the Syndicate had hacked the feed somehow, that the image would pixelate and transform into Seraph's smiling face at any moment. But a second passed, then another, and a third, all without incident- to her right, Mina laid a hand on Itsuka's arm and leaned in towards her, a concerned expression on her face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ashido kept her voice to a low whisper. "If it's too much for you to handle, then you can ask to stay back with the other team. I'm sure they'll understand."

Kendo shook her head, her mouth set in a firm line; a quick glance to either side indicated that both Mirko and Tentacole could still hear them, regardless of whether they intended to eavesdrop or not.

"Thank you, but I'm fine. I won't run from her."

The Symbol doesn't run, she almost added, but fell silent instead. The Symbol can't run, or they're no longer the Symbol. No matter how I feel, I have to show them all my back, not my face. That's what you taught me. That's what you-

"Well then, while our security team is busy restraining Carmilla, allow me to say a few brief words in advance of today's interrogation."

The tired, monotonous voice that had interrupted Kendo's inner monologue sounded oddly familiar; together with Alien Queen and the other heroes in their group, Battle Fist turned around to find a beige-haired, exhausted-looking Safety Commission official walking towards their group, a clipboard and pen in his hands. Identified by the Site 113 personnel badge hanging over the front of his suit as Mera Yokumiru, he paused to let out a yawn, then began to scribble down a few notes as he inspected Mirko's team.

"Um- excuse me, sir." Mina raised her hand, a curious expression on her face. "But aren't you the one who-"

"Yes, I oversaw your Provisional License Exam. I recall each one of the recent graduates here, in fact. Pinky, isn't it?"

"Alien Queen now, actually! And… congrats on the promotion, I guess?"

"Rest assured, it was hardly a promotion." Mera sighed and rubbed at the bags under his eyes. "The Safety Commission is extremely understaffed right now due to recent circumstances, but that's beside the point. As for our assignment today, Sir Nighteye and some others here may already be aware of this, but we usually conduct our interrogations remotely via video, from the safety of the monitoring stations- especially when it comes to detainees as violent as 2709. Under normal circumstances, we would only ever permit entry to her cell for meals, hygienic purposes, and for releasing and then resetting her restraints at the beginning and end of her two-hour daily physical activity period." Mera yawned again, then shifted his gaze towards Kendo.

"That said, the circumstances surrounding Carmilla are hardly normal. As you've already been briefed, Battle Fist, Detainee 2709 has made repeated and… impassioned requests to see you from the moment we transferred her to this facility, with the clear implication that she would be more willing to talk if this demand were fulfilled." He glanced down to the sheets of paper on his clipboard, leafing through the pages until he found the section he was looking for. "She also included the condition that she wishes to speak to you face-to-face, as opposed to our usual method. Now, despite the departure from standard protocol, I doubt that I have to explain to you how important a breakthrough in this interrogation would be- how much it would mean to the entire country, after the events of the past few weeks." Mera lifted his bloodshot eyes back up to meet Battle Fist's, and she gave him a firm, confident nod.

"No sir, you don't have to explain- I understand the gravity of the situation. And I promise you, I will make her talk."

"That's very encouraging to hear," Mera replied, though thanks to his monotone voice, Itsuka couldn't tell whether he was being sincere or sarcastic. Moments later, he lifted a hand up to his earpiece, and nodded in the heroes' direction.

"Alright, that's the all-clear from the guard team. Carmilla is fully restrained- your team can proceed inside, Mirko. I'll be monitoring your progress from here, and providing additional instructions if need be." He reached into his pocket and produced six earpieces, then stepped forward to hand them out to the group. "I'll communicate with you through these. And for the team leader…" Mera turned to Mirko and offered her his clipboard. "We've prepared some questions in advance, but feel free to go off-script if you think you're getting a lead. We'll leave the finer details of your strategy up to you."

"Thanks, but I doubt we'll need these," Mirko gave Mera's notes a single, disdainful glance before tossing the clipboard over to Nighteye. "Now come on, let's get moving. I'm about to fall asleep just standing around here."

The beating of Itsuka's heart began to steady again as she stepped forward into the access tunnel, keeping pace alongside Tentacole and Alien Queen at the center of their group. On either side of the tunnel's thick safety-glass walls, two hulking, eight-meter combat mechs were moving into position, their arm-mounted cannons trained on Carmilla's cell; the ground shook with every step they took, and their red electronic 'eyes' glowed menacingly as each one recited its orders in a deep, mechanical, voice.

"Unit 4481A, weapons armed. Target locked on Detainee 2709. Awaiting further commands."

"Unit 4481B, weapons armed. Target locked on Detainee 2709. Awaiting further commands."

"Must've been real tough sneaking those two through the back of a department store," Mirko commented, her sarcasm laced with contempt. "Why bother parading around a bunch of gearboxes when they've already got us?"

"They were transferred to Site 113 from Tartarus specifically for Carmilla," Nighteye responded, gazing up at one of the mechs as the group walked past them. "By the order of the Safety Commission President, no less. She seems intent on taking every possible precaution against Syndicate activities moving forward, and I, for one, can hardly blame her."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm willing to bet ten thousand yen that these buckets of bolts would be next to worthless if this turned into a real fight," Mirko countered, her arms crossed, then stopped to glare at the mechs in question. "Mark my words, a machine's always gonna find a way to disappoint you, compared to the real deal."

"Perhaps- perhaps not. But when it comes to security, it's far better to overprepare and feel as if you've wasted resources than to remain content with the status quo and find yourself outmatched." Nighteye paused to adjust his glasses, a frown spreading across his face. "I learned that lesson in searing clarity three days ago- it seems that the Commission President did as well."

Kendo's eyes sank to the floor, and she felt Ashido's hand on her back again; the group had come to a momentary halt midway through the tunnel while Nighteye spoke.

"I believed Vlad King and Eraserhead when they told me their security measures were sufficient," Sir continued, his golden brows furrowed. "I held members of our strike team on standby as they requested. I followed all the proper protocol, but by the time we deployed, Overhaul was holding a dozen hostages, and it was already too late to intervene. Best Jeanist, on the other hand, acted correctly when he ignored my complacency with U.A.'s assurances and reassigned Endeavor to the ceremony at the last minute. Regardless of any revelations about his past, his presence saved lives, and helped us capture Carmilla." Nighteye glanced ahead to the end of the tunnel, and shook his head. "Suffice to say, we can no longer rely on the comfort of standard procedure alone in the face of this enemy. That's more than enough debate, though- let's not keep Carmilla waiting."

At the far end of her cell, Toga Himiko was currently locked in place on a two-meter-tall vertical rack that had extended out from a hidden panel in the center of the wall, with magnetically sealed titanium shackles around her ankles and her neck. Her arms were fastened together over her chest- it seemed that her prison uniform could be converted into a straitjacket- and the four guards were positioned around her, two to each side, their submachine guns trained on her chest. Once their group had all entered the cell, the tungsten door rose back into place with a low, electric rumble, and the access tunnel retracted with another hiss of steam; as Mera explained over their earpieces moments later, it was against protocol to leave the cell open and accessible for any period longer than five minutes.

"There they are!" Toga Himiko cried in delight, another peal of laughter ringing out from beneath her mask as Nighteye and Mirko led the group across the cell. "Just like clockwork! I was starting to miss my little heroes!" Already wide with glee, Himiko's golden eyes grew even wider when Battle Fist stepped out from behind Nighteye and Tentacole, and around the edges of her muzzle, her cheeks flushed visibly red. "Aww, and you brought me a present, too?! I can't believe it- you guys really do care about me after all!"

"Alright, let's go ahead and begin." Mera's voice crackled back to life in their earpieces, and Kendo forced herself to suppress a yawn as he let out another over the line. "Do your best to ignore the taunting, it's a favorite tactic of hers. I would recommend a-"

"Ya don't need to tell us how to do our jobs," Mirko cut in, then tore out her earpiece and tossed it aside. "Right, that's better already. Battle Fist, you're up." She nodded in Itsuka's direction, then began to pace back and forth across the cell. After handing over the clipboard, Nighteye fanned out with Alien Queen and the others in a rough semicircle around their interrogation subject, leaving Battle Fist at the center of their formation.

Okay, I can do this, Kendo reassured herself, balling her hands into fists. Don't let her get to you, just focus on-

"Itsuka," Toga purred, interrupting her internal pep talk. "Why won't you look at me? You're staring at the wall, silly!"

Blinking in surprise, Itsuka refocused her gaze on Carmilla and furrowed her brows. Alright, alright. Battle Fist the interrogator. Let's do this.

"Where I'm looking is no concern of yours, 2709."

Kendo crossed her arms and straightened up her posture, doing her best to purge all the emotion from her voice, expression, and body language. 'Don't give the subject anything they can use against you- not a single hint of your true feelings or reactions. Become a blank slate.' It was the approach that Nighteye took whenever he questioned villains, and after watching him closely for the past year, Itsuka felt confident enough to try her hand at imitating his method.

"Now, you seem to believe that my presence here is some sort of concession- that's not the case." Battle Fist glanced down at the clipboard in her hand, her eyes roving over the first page of questions and notes. "The information we want from you hasn't changed, nor has the-"

"Why are you talking like that?" Toga laughed again, louder this time. "You sound like some sort of gross, stuffy old man! I asked to you see you because I wanted to get to know the real you, Itsuka. Not whatever icky disguise you put on for work. Let's have some girl talk, okay? Just the two of us."

Okay, so I can mark the Nighteye Strategy down as an immediate failure. I guess I should play along, for now? Battle Fist glanced over at Sir for guidance as she took a tentative step forward, but Carmilla clicked her tongue disapprovingly, and shook her head.

"Look at that, you're ignoring me again already!" Toga gave a loud huff of disappointment. "You keep looking at your hero friends, at the wall, at your notes- anything to avoid looking at me! That's not a very nice way to treat someone who cares about you, is it?"

"You care about me, huh? Well you sure do have a strange way of showing it." Kendo's cheeks had flushed red despite her attempt to control her emotions, and she had to suppress the urge to lash out in anger at Toga's ridiculous assertions. "Exactly what part of maiming my friends and helping kill All Might was supposed to demonstrate how much you care?"

"Oh, that's all so far in the past, Itsuka- it was before I really even noticed you! We can put it behind us, right?" Carmilla's voice sounded perfectly sincere- if Itsuka hadn't already been aware that she was speaking to a psychopath, she might have mistaken Himiko's words for a show of genuine, heartfelt contrition. "You know, let bygones be bygones! I'm willing to forgive you for all the ways you've hurt me, if you can do the same!"

"The ways I've hurt you?" Battle Fist's brows furrowed, and her hands curled into fists. "By what, trying to stop you from murdering the people I love?!"

"Murder?" Toga tilted her head to one side, a puzzled expression on her face. "Silly, I don't want to murder them! I just want to show them some of my love!"

"Oh, is that it?" Kendo's eyes widened in mock understanding. "Well how about I come over there and show you some of mine?"

"Keep calm," Mera's voice urged in her ear. "She's just trying to put you off-balance. She wants you to get mad at her."

"Well she makes it really damn easy," Kendo whispered back, turning her head briefly to the side to respond. "I don't know how anyone's supposed to-"

"Bad girl, Itsuka!" Toga's voice cut her off midsentence, scolding Kendo like a child. "You looked away again! If you can't even keep your attention on me, I don't know if I want to talk to you after all."

"Alright, I'm looking at you," Battle Fist shot back, quickly taking another step towards Carmilla. They were around four to five meters apart now- close enough for Kendo to see Toga's cheeks rise as she smiled beneath her mask. The sight sent a shiver racing up Itsuka's spine, but she managed not to show the response on her face; her expression had reverted to a neutral one. "Let's have some girl talk, Carmilla- like you said before."

"That's much better." Toga's eyes locked onto Kendo's, daring her to avert her gaze. "But you heard what I said, right? Just the two of us." Carmilla's voice suddenly grew cold, and she glanced around at the guards and other heroes. "It's not really girl talk if there are all these other people intruding, right? They're all so nosy and selfish, trying to interrupt our private time together!" Toga looked back towards Kendo, and her smile returned, wider than ever. "Wouldn't it be so much better if we could be alone, Itsuka? That's all I really want!"

"We can't be completely alone," Kendo replied hesitantly, "but if it's that important to you, maybe we could get a little bit more privacy."

"Everyone but Battle Fist, take a few good steps back," Mera declared through their earpieces. "We have enough weapons trained on 2709 to turn this entire cell to dust, not to mention all of your quirks. A few meters' distance won't change that."

The heroes and guards complied wordlessly; Mirko, who had discarded her earpiece, thankfully had ears acute enough to hear the order regardless. Even as she stepped back, though, the Rabbit Hero hardly seemed enthusiastic about the idea of entertaining Carmilla's requests, her mouth turned down in a furious scowl.

"…load of bullshit," Came a faint mutter from Mirko's general direction a few moments later, though thankfully, Toga seemed to ignore the comment.

"Alright, there." Kendo narrowed her eyes, her arms still crossed. "That's the farthest they're going. Take it or leave it."

I've gotta be both the bad cop and the good cop here- we need to play along with what she wants to some extent, but if we give her too much rope, she'll hang us with it.

"I guess it's far enough," Toga answered with a loud, dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes. "It's not as nice as being all alone with you, but we can make it work. Isn't that right, Itsuka?"

The sound of her name on Toga's tongue produced another involuntary shudder from Kendo's body- somehow, hearing it from Carmilla felt even more violating than it did from Seraph. When Midoriya addressed her by her first name, it was meant to mock, to belittle, to get under her skin by implying a faux sense of familiarity. From Toga, though, the meaning changed entirely; it felt disturbingly genuine and intimate, as if Himiko truly believed that the two of them were close, inseparable friends. But she's not a friend, a voice inside Itsuka's head screamed, the one she'd been trying to suppress from the moment she laid eyes on Carmilla. She's the one who fooled me and put a knife into All Might, before she and Midoriya threw him off the roof. She's the one who stabbed Todoroki half a dozen times before she helped kidnap him and Uraraka. Who cut off Tsu's tongue, who… Itsuka closed her eyes for a brief moment, and pushed the voice away. One of her hands curled into a fist again, but it relaxed again moments later, as her anger sank back beneath the surface.

"Yeah, we can make it work." Kendo opened her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying as best she could to slow down her heartbeat, which had been steadily quickening the closer she drew to Toga. Her palms were slick with sweat as well, and her voice nearly caught in her throat when she spoke again. "Let's have that girl talk, okay, Carmilla? Just forget about the others."

"I'd love to, but there's just one last thing that doesn't feel right." Toga's grin returned, and her eyes took on the same depraved, sadistic gleam that Kendo had seen before in Midoriya's. "Since we're friends now, just spending some private time together, I've been calling you by your name. But why won't you say mine?" Toga pouted, and her expression flipped to that of a heartbroken puppy with impressive speed. "Don't you care about my feelings, Itsuka? I've been so considerate of yours! I even offered to forgive you for everything you've done, so we can have a fresh start!"

God, please, anything but this. Battle Fist swallowed, fighting the urge to explode in anger or disgust at Carmilla's sheer audacity. Her heartbeat had grown even faster, and on top of it all, a headache was beginning to come on as well, pounding at her temples with a dull, aching pain.

"Just say it," Nighteye's voice murmured in her earpiece. "It doesn't have to mean anything. I know how painful it must be for you, to go along with her delusions like this, but we have no other choice."

"Pretend that you're speaking with someone else," Kamui Woods added in a reassuring tone, "someone who simply happens to have the same name as her. Focus on the questions you ask, not the person you're asking them to."

"Ah ah ah, I can see you whispering!" Toga called, chiding the other heroes as if she were a teacher who'd caught her students cheating on a test. "If any of you try to interrupt my girl talk with Itsuka again, I might just have to call it quits for today! In fact…" She glanced back over at Battle Fist, the intensity of her gaze boring a hole straight into Kendo's soul. "Why don't you go ahead and take out that pesky little earpiece, Itsuka? I don't want anyone's voice in your head but mine."

"…I'll leave the decision up to you, Battle Fist," Mera offered a few moments later. "If you think you can manage her without our feedback, then-"

Kendo pulled out her earpiece before he could finish his sentence, holding it up in the air for Toga to see before setting it down on the floor. Gotta win this psycho's trust somehow.

"Okay, it's out. Happy now?"

"Super happy," Carmilla replied, her eyes narrowed in amusement. "But I think you already know what would make me even happier."

It doesn't mean anything, Kendo reassured herself, repeating Sir's words again and again as she opened her mouth. It doesn't mean anything.

"Ready for a chat, Himiko?"

"Ooh, it sounds even better than I thought!" Toga practically squealed in delight, giggling mirthfully as her cheeks flushed even redder than before. "Come a little bit closer, Itsuka- I want to hear you say it again."

This is so goddamn humiliating, was the only coherent thought Kendo could properly muster as she took another few steps toward Carmilla, her face now the same color as her hair. It's a real good thing Tetsutetsu isn't in here, or would've already flipped out on her.

"How's this, Himiko? Close enough?"

They were only two meters apart now- close enough for Kendo to hear Toga's heavy, panting breaths, to see the rise and fall of her chest and arms beneath her straitjacket. A wave of pure revulsion swelled up inside Itsuka, coupled with the intense urge to turn and run far away, but she held her legs steady, and managed to keep the new swell of emotion from showing on her face.

"Oh Itsuka, this is just amazing! You have no idea how much I wish I could hug you right now. And maybe cut you… just a little!" Toga's panting grew even heavier, and it took every ounce of discipline in Kendo's body not to take an immediate, sizeable step backwards. "I've seen you bleed once or twice, but never in person, always in videos! It just isn't the same- don't you agree?! I need to see how it smells and tastes, not just watch it on a screen! You have Type O blood, right, Itsuka?! I think that's the most delicious type, personally! When I heard that, I just knew we were meant to be friends!"

Himiko paused to take a breath, her cheeks now bright red from ear to ear. Itsuka, for her part, felt like vomiting, and had to bite her lower lip to keep her mouth from falling open in pure disgust.

"I've spent hours and hours in here imagining how it'll happen," Toga continued with a longing sigh, before Kendo had the chance to formulate a proper response. "Once I break out, I'll come to your new apartment in Shinjuku, and slip in through your bedroom window at night- I doubt you have a good alarm system, so that part'll be easy."

What the fuck?! Kendo's eyes widened in alarm, and her mouth flapped open; this time, concealing her reaction was impossible. How does she know where I live?! She's been locked up in here since before I moved in!

"Ochako let me know that you're a pretty heavy sleeper," Toga continued, her voice growing heavy with a sense of yearning and anticipation. "So I doubt you'll wake up before I inject you with a nice little paralyzing compound from Momo. Then I'll snuggle up next to you in bed, and your neck… oh, you have such a beautiful neck! I might not even use a knife, just my teeth! But don't worry, I'll make sure you don't die! I've been working on my self-control, after all."

"That's… good to hear," Battle Fist was still reeling from everything Carmilla had just said, but she forced herself to reply all the same. Ochako... that must be it. We talked about where we'd be living after graduation about a week ago- that's how Carmilla knows. "How's that been going for you?"

"Oh, so-so." Himiko shrugged her shoulders and gave a loud, dramatic sigh. "I'm a girl who likes to do and say what she wants, when she wants. But when Izuku and Overhaul and Neito all tell me how I need to follow orders better, I have to listen to 'em, you know?"

Kendo felt some of the air leave her chest at the brief mention of Monoma's name, but Toga continued on just as quickly.

"But enough about all of them- like I said, it's just us girls right now! Who needs those silly boys?"

"That's right, just us girls." Kendo forced a reluctant smile onto her face. "But it's nice that you're trying to... improve yourself like that, Himiko."

"Aww, you said it again!" Toga's grin widened. "And I didn't even have to ask you that time! I'm so proud of you. Itsuka. Not to mention, you're even prettier than I remembered! That highlight in your hair is just gorgeous!"

Girl talk, Kendo reminded herself, shaking the persistent urge to swiftly and decisively decline all of Toga's flattery. This is 'girl talk'. Just go along with it for a little while, and then work in the questions naturally.

"Thanks, I just got it recently."

"Do you think I should get one too? What color would look best on me?"

"With that shade… maybe, um…" Kendo narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Toga's hair- it was unkempt and greasy now after several days of imprisonment, but it still shone with a bright, yellow-gold luster. God, I've never been great with fashion. Wish I could still hear from Mina right now, I'm sure she knows the right answer. "How about a nice… red? Like, a dark red."

"Hmm, maybe." Toga frowned, her tone genuinely contemplative. "I'd probably have to look through a bunch of examples to decide."

"…What color do you think Midoriya would like?" Kendo asked after a moment's pause, seizing at the chance to steer the subject back towards the Syndicate.

"Oh, my baby isn't all too concerned with silly things like hair." Toga giggled softly, and her voice and expression grew suddenly wistful. "Trust me, he has way bigger things to think about."

"Oh yeah?" Kendo felt her brows lift in interest, though she did her best to downplay the reaction. This sounds promising, but I've still gotta take it slow. "I guess those attacks did take a lot of planning. He seems like a really smart guy."

Complimenting Midoriya Izuku was perhaps the very last thing that Kendo wanted to do, but under the current circumstances, it seemed like a fairly safe option. If I can get her to keep gushing about him, she might slip up and reveal something.

Rather than agree with the praise, though, Carmilla fell silent; still smiling, she narrowed her golden eyes, searching Battle Fist's expression. Slowly but surely, a pit of dread began to open up in Kendo's stomach, aching in time with the dull pain from her headache. She knows, the voice in her head shouted. You idiot, of course she knows- you're no actor. She can see right through you, just like him.

"H-Himiko?" Itsuka stammered, struggling to maintain her smile. "Sorry, enough about him. Did you wanna get back to girl talk?"

"Oh no, no- it's fine, Itsuka. I don't mind at all."

When Toga spoke again, there was something different about her voice. She still wore a wide smile, but her cadence was slower, more deliberate- combined with the cold, piercing glow of her eyes, her demeanor now felt almost predatory. The pit in Kendo's stomach widened, and a single bead of sweat rolled lazily down her forehead.

"Let's talk some more about boys, okay?" Toga tilted her head to one side again, and giggled. "Like that one, what was his name… Tetsutetsu?"

Try as she might, Itsuka couldn't keep herself from flinching at the mention of her boyfriend's name, and Himiko's grin widened.

"Yeah, that was it! Tetsutetsu… such a strong guy, and he cares about you so much, too! It's so romantic!" Carmilla let out a sigh of delight, watching with glee as Battle Fist's forced smile slowly faded. "Come to think, he really seems like the type of guy who'd take the hit to save his girlfriend, doesn't he? I'm curious, Itsuka- have you thought about what you'll say at his funeral, if he dies for you?"

Kendo's brow twitched, and her eyes narrowed- her mouth had set in a firm line. The anger and dread were rising up inside her again, and this time, suppressing them was proving much more difficult. Continuing on with the same amicable guise was out of the question, and a few moments later, disdain and dismay finally broke out across Itsuka's face, impossible to conceal any longer.

"Never gonna happen, psycho!" Mirko shouted from the other end of the room before Battle Fist could reply, her patience clearly at an end as well. "Lemme take over, Battle Fist- I'll teach her a little something about strength." Both her hands balled up in fists, Rumi began to stalk across the cell towards Carmilla, only to be held back by one of Kamui Woods' branchlike arms- he shook his head sternly, and after a moment of hushed conversation between the two, she finally relented.

Carmilla, for her part, hardly even acknowledged the interruption, aside from a single, bored glance in Mirko's direction. Once things had quieted back down again, she turned back towards Battle Fist, and her smile returned.

"Aww, why the long face, Itsuka? You were so talkative just a second ago!"

"I don't really like this subject." Kendo managed, after taking a moment to compose herself again. Come on, you knew coming into this that she was going to try and play with your emotions- snap out of it already, and move on. "Why don't we talk about-"

"Talk about what?" Toga interrupted, tilting her head quizzically again. "Talk about what Izuku's planning next?" Another peal of laughter rang out, manic and high-pitched. "Oh, Itsuka… you're adorable, but you're such an easy read! You were trying so hard to stay in character, but all it took was one little question about your boyfriend, and poof- it all fell apart!"

She straightened her head again, staring intently into Itsuka's eyes; after the past few minutes, Himiko's gaze had grown strangely entrancing, like a spell that was nearly impossible to break. In spite of all the pain and anger swelling up inside her, Kendo couldn't bring herself to look away.

"And it's so cute how nervous you are, right underneath that confident exterior you put up. I used to hate you for what you did to my Izuku, for that brash, boring, 'heroic' personality you always parade around in public! But now that I know it's a fake- now that I can tell that you were just pretending all along, and I've met the real you- I know we can be friends after all! Let's try to get to know each other even better, okay?! Don't worry, I'll pay you a visit at your apartment before long, just like I promised!"

"I don't know what the hell you think you see in me," Kendo shot back, a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation. "And feel free to lie to yourself all you want, but I can assure you, I'm not nervous. If anything, I'm-"

"You're right," Toga interjected with a sigh, "I guess that isn't the best word for it after all. No, you're not nervous. You're afraid. Afraid of me, afraid of Izuku- afraid of all of us."

Kendo's heart seized up in her chest, and shock flashed across her face for a brief instant before she managed to hide it again. The pit in her stomach had opened up into a chasm, and the voice in her head was more incessant than ever. You've already failed. She can tell. Of course she can tell.

"I… No." Itsuka's mouth had suddenly gone dry, and she paused to try and collect her scattered thoughts. Her headache was almost unbearable by now, and her heart was pounding like a drum. Out of the corner of her eye, Battle Fist could see Nighteye take a step towards her, but she held up a hand, gesturing for him to stay back. "No, I'm not afraid. I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work."

"Aww, what's this? "First you tried to lie to me, and now you're trying to lie to yourself!" Himiko had taken on a tone of faux, mocking sympathy, struggling to contain her laughter with each breath. "Don't bother, sweetie. There are some things you just can't hide- not from me. Every breath, every movement, every little twitch and flinch and glance- I don't need you to tell me whether you're afraid, because your body's already done that for me! And trust me, I should know- I've seen what fear looks like in so many of your friends, after all."

Kendo's mouth turned down into a scowl, and her brows drew together in thinly veiled anger. And here it comes. Took her long enough to get around to it.

"Enough. Just stop talking, Carmilla. I thought we were getting somewhere, but if all you're going to do is play games, then this conversation is over."

"I still remember each one of their faces like it was yesterday! Nejire, Todoroki, Kirishima, Tsu… All Might." Toga paused, savoring every moment of Kendo's effort to remain calm with utter bliss on her face. "I got to learn so much, watching them fight and struggle and bleed… In a way, I know more about who they really are than any of you heroes do!"

"I said, that's enough!" Her fists shaking in frustration, Kendo turned and began to walk away, but Toga's voice followed behind her, pure, sadistic delight dripping from each syllable.

""Hey, Itsuka… do you wanna know which of them were cowards?"

"Shut your mouth, you filthy bitch!" Off to the right, Alien Queen surged towards Carmilla with pure, vindictive rage on her face, aiming her hands directly at Toga's head before any of the heroes or guards could stop her. "Say one more word about Ei, or Tsu, or anyone else, and I'll melt that goddamn smile right off your face!"

"Mina!" Tossing aside the formalities of hero names and operational procedures for the time being, Kendo took a step towards Ashido and blocked her path with an enlarged hand. "Stand down! She wants you to react like this!"

"Oh, Tsu! It was so cute, the way she begged me not to take her tongue!" Himiko cackled gleefully, watching with a delighted expression as Itsuka struggled to hold Mina back. "She's just gorgeous when she bleeds!"

"Who cares what this freak wants?!" Ashido shouted, tears of anger welling up in her black and gold eyes. "I can't stand by and let her talk about my friends like that! Don't you get it?!"

"Freak? Freak?!" Toga laughed again, even more shrilly than before. "Silly girl, I'm not a freak! Everything about my life is normal!" Carmilla's voice was steadily rising in volume and fervor, her eyes shining with a frantic, crazed light. "Why is it so hard for you to understand that?! I have friends, a job, lots of boys and girls I love- my life isn't any different from yours! You get it, don't you, Itsuka?!" Toga's gaze latched onto Kendo again, and Itsuka felt another shiver race through her body. "We have so much in common, after all! Let's keep talking about our girl problems, okay?!"

"I've got a better idea," Mirko declared, stretching her arms and neck as she strode across the room towards Toga and Kendo. Kamui Woods and Tentacole were both occupied calming down Alien Queen off to one side of the cell, and Nighteye allowed her to pass freely. "Battle Fist, you're relieved- I'm taking over. Now, why don't you tell me about these 'girl problems' of yours, huh? I'm a real good listener."

"You're pretty," Toga replied, after taking a moment to size up her new interrogator. "I can't deny that. I love those legs, and I wouldn't mind tasting your blood. But that doesn't give you the right to barge in on my talk with Itsuka."

"Well this may come as a surprise, but I don't give a rat's ass whether you think I have the 'right' to do anything, ya little psycho." Mirko took another step towards Carmilla and narrowed her eyes. "Battle Fist here was nice enough to play along with your bullshit fantasies, but I think you'll find me a bit less friendly. Maybe you forgot, but we're the ones asking the questions here, not you. So let's start with a simple one: Where's that little boyfriend of yours hiding?"

Rather than answer, Toga simply burst out laughing- it took several long moments before she could compose herself enough to give an actual reply.

"Oh god, that's a good one! 'We're the ones asking the questions here'," Himiko repeated in a serious voice, mocking Mirko's words. "And you say I'm the one with fantasies!"

"I guess I shouldn't expect a psychotic bitch like you to have any hold on reality," Mirko shot back, "but in case you forgot, you're the one locked in an underground cell, strapped to a goddamn wall all day."

"Stupid woman- it doesn't matter where I am, or how much I can move! You people have no control over me, not in any way that matters!" Toga laughed again, writhing with amusement in her restraints. "I have all the leverage, and you have none!"

"I think you'll have a very different assessment of what 'matters' when I'm done with you." Mirko took another sizeable step forward, and cracked her knuckles- the sound echoed through the chamber, and Kendo shivered. Her mentor's voice had grown low and menacing, her eyes devoid of sympathy. "You see, they all say they don't care what you do to them- until the bones start to break."

She gets this way sometimes when she really wants to intimidate a captured villain, but they always break down and talk before she actually hits them, Itsuka reassured herself, fighting the instinct to rush forward and intervene. She's our team leader, we have to trust that she's in control of the situation.

Mirko was just an arm's reach away from Carmilla now, close enough to drive a fist- or a kick- into her face, but Toga's grin never faltered for a moment, only growing wider as the Rabbit Hero approached. Even when Mirko surged forward and grabbed hold of her straitjacket, pulling her as far forward as the restraints allowed, Carmilla simply laughed- when she choked out a reply moments later, her voice was hoarse, her eyes shining with glee.

"You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing you can do, even with all that strength. Doesn't that make you angry? Don't you want to hurt me? To use those nice, strong arms to wring the life out of me?!"

"You have no idea how easy that would be." Mirko growled, her muscles taut as she strained to hold herself back. "How much of a favor I'd be doing the world by ridding it of you."

"Oh, but I do! I know how much you want to- I can see it in your eyes!" Himiko leaned her head forward, until she and Mirko were only a few centimeters apart. "So go ahead, do it! Break the rule, the one all heroes swear by! It's the only way you can stop me from showing my love to more and more of your friends!"

"Mirko!"

Battle Fist and Nighteye cried out her name almost simultaneously, each stepping towards her; they exchanged a brief glance, and Kendo continued forward, laying a hand on Mirko's shoulder once she'd reached her side. A few tense seconds later, Rumi finally released her grip on Toga's straitjacket, and turned away with a grunt of disgust.

"Not worth it."

"Hey! Don't walk away just when it was getting good!" Toga pouted in protest beneath her muzzle, disappointment clear in her voice as Mirko and Battle Fist made their way back to the center of the cell together. "You can't get a girl all hot and bothered like that, then leave her hanging! Don't you wanna come back and hit me? Just once or twice, enough to draw a little blood, that's all!"

"I think not," Nighteye declared, stepping forward to pluck Battle Fist's discarded earpiece off the floor. At the front of the cell, the access tunnel was extending back into place, and the squad of guards was already moving back towards the metal door. "That's all the questions we have for you at the moment, Detainee 2709. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Aww, you don't have to leave with the rest of them, Itsuka!" Even as the hero team turned away from her, Carmilla didn't let up for a moment. "Tell them you want to stay- we could have a sleepover together! There's so much more we can talk about, and I still need to see some more of your blood!"

"I think we've talked more than enough for one day," Kendo shot back, her composure steadily returning as Sir stepped up to her side and gave her a wordless glance of sympathy. "You can sit here alone and think about your 'normal life'until you're ready to stop playing mind games and have a real conversation."

Ahead of them, the tungsten door was sliding back down into the floor with a steady hum, and Mirko wrapped an arm around Battle Fist's shoulders as their group waited for the way to clear.

"Don't let it get to ya, kid. Getting good at this kind of thing takes time and practice, and I'm the last one who should be talking- I ran outta patience with her first, not you."

"But you can't go, not when there's so much juicy gossip we need to trade, Itsuka!" Behind them, Carmilla's frenzied shouts and demented laughter were still echoing off the walls of the cell- ignoring her was practically impossible, no matter how much Battle Fist wished she could. "Ooh, I know- why don't you start by telling me about that crazy night a few weeks ago? You know, the night you fucked Bakugo Katsuki?!"

Itsuka had just taken her first step into the tunnel alongside Mina and Shoji, but she froze in place out of pure instinct; her eyes widened in panic, and her entire face swiftly turned scarlet from ear to ear. No… How could she… Around her, the others paused as well; suddenly, Itsuka found herself being watched by five pairs of eyes.

"What, did you really think we didn't know?" Toga was practically wheezing in amusement by now, tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks. "Did you really think no one saw the two of you, all over each other in the middle of the hallway like dogs in heat? To be honest, I was pretty impressed!"

"Battle Fist. Come on." Nighteye laid a firm hand on Kendo's shoulder, then glanced at the others and gestured towards the far end of the tunnel. "Let's keep moving. There's no need for us to listen to any more of this."

Kendo nodded, though not even Sir's efforts to shield her could hold back the wave of utter shame currently crashing down on her, or block out Toga's fading voice.

"Hey, hey- just between us girls, how was his dick, compared to Tetsutetsu's?! I bet Izuku's is-"

The cell door slammed back into place with a metallic clang before Toga could finish her sentence, and Kendo let out a long, ragged sigh of defeat.

I knew it would be hard. I knew she'd screw with me. But…

"That was so much worse than I expected," Battle Fist murmured, half to Nighteye and half to herself.

---

"Well, I think it's safe to say that no one's a natural in their first interrogation."

Mera Yokumiru yawned, and clicked the tip of his pen in and out a few times before lowering it down to his clipboard to jot a few notes. After returning from Carmilla's cell, the six heroes from Mirko's team had been directed straight to the small, glass-walled office at the back of the monitoring station for a debrief; they were currently seated around a table while muted footage from the questioning played on a monitor overhead.

"And it may come as a surprise to hear it," Mera continued, still writing diligently, "but 2709 was actually considerably less vulgar and aggressive this morning than usual. Wouldn't you agree, Nighteye?"

"Yes, I would." Sir leaned forward and straightened his glasses. "In the session that Lemillion and I oversaw yesterday, coherent, back-and-forth conversation with Carmilla was practically impossible. Each time one of us asked a question, she would either ignore it, interrupt it, or reply with something completely unrelated- describing precisely how she would kill each one of us, for instance, or recounting in detail her sexual encounters with Midoriya Izuku."

"This isn't the first time she's succeeded in provoking an emotional outburst, either." Mera added, leafing through his notes. "Take yesterday, for instance. Pixie-Bob walked out of the interrogation mid-session when 2709 began to speak at length about Mandalay's injuries and Tiger's death, and several minutes later, Chargebolt had to be restrained before he used his quirk to short-circuit the viewscreen- that was in response to 2709's colorful description of her 'interactions' with Asui Tsuyu, Hado Nejire, and Todoroki Shoto."

Mera set down his clipboard and glanced at Mirko and Alien Queen in turn before looking back up at the footage playing on the monitor.

"Given that we took the unprecedented step of holding this morning's first session inside the cell itself rather than remotely, I'm simply pleased that no lasting physical harm came to the subject. We hardly intend to discipline either of you for getting angry with her; in fact, we have several certified therapists on-site in the administrative wing if either of you wishes to speak to a mental health professional. That goes for the rest of you as well." His bloodshot gaze shifted over to Kendo next, and she reflexively straightened up in her chair.

"As for you, Battle Fist, I would once again ask you to disregard the specifics of her taunts- we've heard far worse from her already. On the contrary, the mere fact that she was willing to have something resembling a substantive conversation with you represents a massive step forward- our analysts should be able to determine a great deal more about her mental state and ideology by reviewing your interaction with her. So by all means, take some time to recover, but we'd like to have you step in for at least one more session later in your shift. While it may not feel like it, you did your job well, considering your obvious lack of experience."

"Thank you. That's… reassuring to hear," Battle Fist forced a smile onto her face, though she could hardly bring herself to believe her own words- or focus on Mera's, for that matter. Carmilla's voice was still echoing through her head, and her headache had returned as well, but Itsuka managed to push them both aside before continuing. "It means a lot to hear that. I won't lie… I'm not exactly looking forward to going back in there. But if me being here and talking to her really did help that much…" She glanced across the table at Alien Queen, Nighteye, and Mirko, all watching her with varying degrees of concern, then back to Mera. "Then I'll walk back into that cell as often as you need me to."

Resting his chin on one hand atop the table, Mera gave her a nod of gratitude, then held out a small remote.

"Rest assured, the Hero Public Safety Commission is incredibly thankful for that. Now, let's begin our breakdown of the session itself, starting at the beginning."

---

"Hey, they're finally out! Guess it took you guys a while to go over all that, huh?"

Fatgum was the first to greet their group when they emerged from Mera's office nearly an hour later, waving down at them from the observation platform.

"I hope they didn't chew you out too hard," Ryukyu added, nodding towards Mirko and Alien Queen. "I don't think anyone here blame the two of you for reacting that way."

"Blame them?" Fatgum scoffed, his arms crossed. "I'll buy 'em both a beer tonight! I just wish I'd been in there to yell at her myself."

Carmilla was still visible via a live camera feed on the window up above, but she was muted now, her image condensed down to a corner of the screen again; Ryukyu's team wouldn't take over interrogation duties for another three hours or so, and were still on general security detail. Ms. Joke, Lightwave, and Real Steel were stationed near the entrance to the monitoring station, but Tetsutetsu and Hagakure rushed across the room towards them moments later, the former's face full of worry and relief.

"That goddamn bi… psycho," Tetsutetsu declared, switching to a slightly less aggressive term when he remembered that Nighteye and Kamui Woods were within earshot. "I'm so sorry I wasn't in there to help you deal with her."

"For his own sake, he should be glad he wasn't," Ryukyu countered, one eyebrow raised. "Given how passionately he reacted from in here, he would've likely strangled the detainee if he'd been in the cell with her."

"I… got a little heated, yeah." Tetsutetsu rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck, then gave them a shrug. "But how could I not be angry? Especially after she lied about you like that, making up that gross shit about Bakugo… I mean, that pissed you off too, right?"

"Uh… well…" Kendo trailed off, her cheeks flushing with color once again.

During the debrief, she'd hoped for a while that Mera would write off Carmilla's comment about Bakugo as another meaningless taunt, another lie meant to egg her on. When he asked her about it directly, though, Itsuka had been left with no choice but to reveal the humiliating truth to the entire team- of the five of them, only Mirko had known about the incident before today. Thankfully, none of them seemed to judge her too harshly for it, and Mina's reaction in particular had been kind and understanding, but the prospect of discussing it with Tetsutetsu was a different matter entirely.

"Give 'em some space," Mirko declared, shooing the others away from the pair and back towards the observation platform. "They'll be back with us in a minute, right?"

"…Right," Kendo answered, struggling to meet Tetsutetsu's gaze as her expression grew increasingly pained. "Why don't we… step over here?" She gestured to a secluded corner along the chamber's outer wall; once they were alone, Real Steel spoke up again, laying a hand on her arm.

"Hey, is everything ok? Did… did she say something else, something we didn't hear?"

His eyes were wide and innocent, his expression earnest- it was easy to tell that he hadn't suspected Carmilla's claim to be true for a single moment, and the realization struck Itsuka like a blow to the stomach, driving the air from her lungs as she searched for the proper words to explain her actions.

"There's… something I've been meaning to tell you- you and Kyoka both- for a while now." Itsuka's mouth had gone bone-dry, and she paused for a moment before continuing, too afraid to look back up into Tetsutetsu's eyes. "It was, uh… a while ago, I guess. Right after Todoroki and Uraraka were abducted. Remember when we sparred that night?"

"Yeah. You beat me, and then we started to make dinner in the class kitchen, with Setsuna and Yanagi. But…" He squinted his eyes, trying to summon up the memories. "You went over to 3-A's common room. And then we joined you, and we all got drunk. There was… a shots contest?" Tetsutetsu reached up a hand and rubbed at his temple, a sharp-toothed smile on his face. "Yeah, that's right. It was a team battle, right? Crazy shit. I put down a lot, but then I…" His smile turned to a frown, and he shook his head. "That's where it all gets fuzzy. I remember waking up in the bathroom a while later, laying on the floor by the toilet. Then I made it back to my bedroom, and passed out." His eyes widened in sudden alarm, and his grip on her arm tightened. "Wait… did something happen to you? After I blacked out?"

"Well… sort of. After you got sick, I… me and Bakugo, we called a draw in the game. And then…" Kendo closed her eyes and sighed, cradling her head in both hands. "We were both so drunk, and we…"

"Itsuka." Tetsutetsu grabbed onto both of her shoulders; his voice was shaky and uneven, and his eyes were wide with horror. "Did Bakugo… did he take advantage of you, while you were drunk?! I promise you can tell me, it's okay. If he did, I swear to god, I'll-"

"What?! No! No, he didn't…" Kendo shook her head vigorously, and held up her hands. "It wasn't like that. I just… I made a mistake, Tetsu. We both made a mistake." She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head on his shoulder as tears began to well in her eyes. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

Tears had begun to flow down Itsuka's cheeks now, and as the first sob shook her body, Tetsutetsu pulled her closer, rubbing her back with one hand.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay, babe. Why…" He paused for a moment, his voice still wavering. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I was afraid." Itsuka tightened her grip on him, trembling. "I was so afraid, Tetsu. Afraid that you and Kyoka would hate me, that you'd leave me. That it would change everything."

"Bullshit." He shifted his hands up to her face, and began to gently stroke at her tear-stained cheeks; despite everything, he was still smiling. "That's total bullshit, okay? I could neverhate you, Itsuka, and I'll never leave you. Never, okay? Even if you're stronger than me, even if you're the Symbol of Peace, I'm always gonna be here to protect you, and one mistake won't change that." His smile widened, and he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"But I… I spent a month lying about this, to both of you." She tried to meet his eyes again and failed, turning her gaze down to the floor as the tears blurred her vision. "A-Are you sure you don't…"

"I'm not gonna pretend I'm totally fine with it," Tetsutetsu answered, letting out a sigh. He shook his head, then reached a hand up to stroke her hair. "It hurts, Itsuka- I can't lie about that. It really fuckin' hurts. And the next time I see Bakugo, I'm probably gonna have to slug him in the face. But after that…" His smile steadily returned, and he planted a kiss on her forehead. "After that, I think we'll be okay. I love you, babe. Don't you ever forget that."

In spite of the pain, Kendo felt a shaky smile spread across her own face as well, and for the first time in what felt like ages, the fear and shame in her chest were supplanted by a swell of pure relief.

"I won't." Itsuka leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek. "That's a promise."

---

"So did you see all of that, when you used Foresight on me this morning? All the wonderful details of my total failure and humiliation?"

Her arms crossed, Kendo threw Nighteye a sidelong glance as she stepped up beside him on the observation platform. After taking a minute or two in the bathroom to calm down and ensure that her eyes weren't still red from the tears, Battle Fist had rejoined Sir and Tentacole as they continued to monitor the live feeds from Toga's cell; Mirko, Alien Queen, and Kamui Woods, on the other hand, were chatting with a few of the Safety Commission staffers down amid the desks and monitors, while Real Steel and the rest of Ryukyu's team were spread out on guard detail around the monitoring station.

"Only a few brief flashes of your frustration with her," Sir replied, his gaze still fixed on the massive screen overhead. "Not enough to piece together anything meaningful. I was checking to ensure you wouldn't suffer another attack, not to see how the interrogation would go. And as Mera noted, even if it was a difficult experience to endure, much of proved quite useful."

"And trust me, I'm really happy to hear that. But still…" She trailed off and shook her head. "I just wish I'd been able to get more from her. I wish she hadn't been able to rattle me so easily."

"I thought you comported yourself quite well, all things considered," Shoji said quietly. Standing to Battle Fist's right, Tentacole had several of his Dupli-Arms spread out above the rows of desks below, watching almost all of the individual screens simultaneously with half a dozen eyes. "Carmilla seems to be an expert at psychological warfare, and she made a concerted effort to provoke you, but for the most part, you held your ground."

Kendo opened her mouth to thank him, but she was interrupted by Ryukyu, waving up at their trio from below with Mera trailing close behind her.

"Sir, Battle Fist- could you two join us in the office for a moment?"

Half a minute later, the four of them were sitting down around the same table Mera had debriefed Mirko's team at a short while prior. As opposed to last time, though, Mera's demeanor was noticeably more serious, his brows knit together in concern- once they'd all taken their seats, he clicked a button on his remote, and the office's large glass windows turned opaque. A second click, and a cone-shaped beam of blue light shot out from the lens of a security camera mounted in the back corner, sweeping methodically across the entire room. Once it had receded, a green notification flashed across the screen of Mera's cellphone, and he slumped into his chair with a sigh of relief.

"Alright, no foreign signatures detected- we have total privacy."

"Is there… a reason we need privacy?" Kendo asked, glancing between the three of them. "Did something happen?" Her eyes widened. "A security breach?"

"Whether or not our security has been breached remains to be seen," Ryukyu replied, leaning forward in her chair with her hands clasped together. "We've decided to include you in this discussion not only because of your direct involvement in the subject matter, but because our confidence in your loyalty is absolute- something we can unfortunately no longer say about the rest of the heroes on staff today, even those who are members of Strike Team Fenrir."

The pit of dread from before returned to Itsuka's stomach with a vengeance, and she reached up to rub at her aching temples. No, no, that can't be right. They're getting paranoid- they must be. Everyone on the strike team went through a strict screening process, and we've all sacrificed so much in this fight.

"Is it… is it okay to talk about internal Fenrir business here?" Itsuka asked, turning to Nighteye for guidance. I'm not sure how the permissions work, and I don't want to put my foot in my mouth in front of Sir.

"Ryukyu was actually one of the Safety Commission's original choices for Fenrir's leadership," Nighteye replied, nodding in the Dragon Hero's direction, "but the injuries she sustained fighting Dabi and Chaudron prevented her from joining us until she recovered. The paperwork is still being processed, but from this point on, you can consider her a de facto member- Fatgum and Ms. Joke will be joining soon as well, along with several other heroes. Unfortunately, in the midst of this expansion, today's first interrogation session with Carmilla produced a rather disturbing revelation."

"I know it's probably the last thing you want to speak about, but this involves the… intimate encounter between yourself and Bakugo Katsuki." Ryukyu paused to give Kendo a brief, sympathetic smile before shifting back to a cold, businesslike disposition. "Tell me, Battle Fist, how do you think Toga Himiko learned of that incident?"

"Well… based off what she said, I theorized during the debrief that someone must've seen it, without us realizing. It's not that hard to imagine, given the circumstances. Then, the rumor would've spread, and once Uraraka returned, under the Syndicate's control…"

Kendo paused, glancing up at Ryukyu with a pained, apologetic expression. Uravity had been an intern with the Dragon Hero's agency for over two years, and in addition to her death, Ryukyu's other intern, Asui, and her sidekick, Nejire, had both suffered grievous injuries at the Syndicate's hands.

"It's alright." Ryukyu gestured for Battle Fist to continue, her tone even and calm. "Please, don't stop on my account."

"Well, after Uraraka returned… my theory is that she heard the rumor floating around, and that's how the Syndicate found out. Up until today, I thought that only Mirko and my roommate Kodai knew, but clearly, I was wrong." Kendo sighed, and shook her head. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"That certainly seemed like a plausible explanation to me," Mera replied, yawning as he opened a laptop and projected its screen onto the office's overhead monitor. "But just in case, I decided to do a bit of digging, after I dismissed you all from the briefing. "I hope you'll understand, Battle Fist, but I needed to determine whether an actual recording of the event existed."

A few taps on the laptop's touchscreen, and a thumbnail appeared on the monitor, marked with the same date and timestamp as the regrettable incident in question; the video began to play moments later, security camera footage from the 3-B common room. Half of the skybridge connecting to the 3-A dorm was visible on one side of the video, but Mera enlarged it to fill the entire screen moments later.

"Now, the physical databases containing U.A.'s security footage archives have obviously been destroyed, but thankfully, the Syndicate didn't seem too interested in erasing the digital backups, like they did with the Tokyo PD. As a result, my staffers and I were able to find the relevant footage from the relevant cameras fairly quickly." He paused the video with a tap of his finger, and turned back to face Kendo and the others. "I knew that I had stumbled onto something promising when I found that the camera in the 3-A common room apparently suffered a brief power surge that corrupted several hours of its data from that night. Do you have any idea as to why that might be the case, Battle Fist?"

"Well… like I said, a group of us were drinking that night. Apologies again for that…" Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, just as they had when she explained the incident to Mirko's full team the first time. "Things got kinda crazy, but I can't think of anything that would've caused a power surge."

"Understood." Mera nodded, and exchanged a brief glance with Ryukyu. "Let's see what the 3-B camera captured, then." He turned back to the screen, and the video resumed moments later.

Kendo's face continued to redden as her past self came into view, stumbling drunkenly towards the skybridge; Bakugo was only scarcely visible at the far edge of the screen, but as the footage continued, their interaction played out largely in line with her hazy memory of that night.

"Do… do we really have to watch this?" Itsuka asked, suppressing the urge to bury her head in her hands as she and Katsuki began to kiss passionately onscreen.

"You don't see it?" Mera raised an eyebrow. "I can assure you, Battle Fist- the details of your romantic life are not what caught my attention in this footage. Look again."

Kendo narrowed her eyes, glancing away from herself and Bakugo and towards the other areas of the section of footage that Mera had selected. Maybe someone walked through the 3-B common room, and saw us that way? But if that's it, then why would he zoom in on this part of the video? After a few seconds of fruitless searching, Itsuka was steeling herself to swallow her pride and ask for a hint when she caught sight of it, out of the corner of her eye: a faint human reflection, visible in the skybridge's floor-to-ceiling glass window. Someone was watching them from the 3-A side of the bridge- and judging by the dull gleam of a cellphone in their hands, recording them.

"What the hell…" Itsuka rose from her chair and took a step closer to the monitor, scrutinizing the damningly familiar silhouette as her heart slowly sank in her chest. "No, this… this can't be right."

"Computer," Mera called with an exhausted sigh, "run image enhancement program, and extrapolate this section from existing data." Moving his finger along the touchscreen, he traced the outline of the reflected figure. "Cross-reference any faces with the Hero Network database."

"Extrapolation and enhancement complete," a generic feminine voice declared a few moments later, as the faint reflection suddenly resolved into a grainy yet recognizable image- a pajama-clad student with bright gold hair, holding his cellphone aloft with a smug grin on his face.

"Facial match detected. Kaminari Denki, hero name: Chargebolt."

---

I'm very glad to be bringing you this chapter with a much shorter wait than the last few! As you can probably tell from the length, I had a very fun time writing this one- not just the interrogation itself, but the world-building parts too. And how could I not get pumped about the Entropy debut of best tired boy Mera?

I'd really love to hear your feedback on the long-awaited Toga-Kendo conversation- I spent a lot of time working on that scene, and I honestly could've made it even longer! Next chapter we'll be shifting focus back to the Syndicate, but maybe we'll check in on Toga and Site 113 again sometime soon. And to everyone who asked if the Kendo-Bakugo affair was ever going to be plot-relevant, I'm glad that I can finally answer with a resounding yes.

Fun fact- the song Toga is singing in her cell is an English version of Ride on Time, a famous Japanese song from the 80s by Tatsuro Yamashita (and recently covered by a famous shark).

I can't promise that the next wait will be this short, but I certainly hope that I'll be able to keep the space between chapters at roughly a month going forward. Until next time!