Chapter 9

Towering Flames: The Last Shinobi's Vengeance

Chaos.

In a word, chaos represented the very nature of fire. It was indiscriminate in its violence, random and devastating, destroying precious possessions, memories and homes without mercy. It lacked empathy. Remorse. It burned anything it could use as fuel, prolonging its own life at the cost of others.

Gorō Watanabe was chaos. His Quirk, Infernum, could never be heroic. It could never heal the injured or save innocent life; it could only destroy. All it could do was burn. Destroy. He had long accepted it for what it was, for what it made him.

In Latin, the word Infernum meant Hell. Hell: a mythological tale conjured up to frighten the masses with eternal punishment and damnation, for there could only be one designated true religion. The masses clambered to protect their chosen doctrines—and were thus bound by them. They sought comfort in creeds created by humans, blissfully ignoring the all-defining truth.

Whether it was one God or multiple Gods, it was all just another myth. Another means by which to herd the gullible and cull the outsiders.

In reality, God and religion was a concept corrupted for power. Power over the masses. Power over their money. Power over their vote. Power through fear.

Gorō neither feared God, nor believed one existed. How could a God exist that let this corrupt society thrive without punishment? How could a God exist when suffering and injustice was everywhere?

No, there was no God. And so there was no eternal punishment for the wicked. It was just a fairytale. An old story fabricated by Pre-Quirk humans to answer questions their primitive brains were incapable of comprehending, pretending the world wasn't just a chaotic and frightening hell of their own making. All to ease the fear of death.

Gorō sniffed. He didn't fear death. When a man has nothing left to live for, death is far more welcoming. And he was a man with nothing to live for.

The tall and lanky man, dressed in a black trench coat that dwarfed his slim frame, dark pants and a fedora, sauntered through the burning apartment. Every step he took imprinted a burning silhouette of his bare foot on the cheap carpet. The smell was horrid.

People were screaming. Adults, teenagers, children, they all cried out for their Gods, their Heroes, pleading pathetically for the Pro Hero Backdraft to save them, praying for a miracle to spare them from their unfortunate fates.

It was chaos.

Their screams echoed from every direction, but they would not escape. He had trapped these sheep in this hell where they would all perish, prolonging the life of his flames by adding their corpses to its fuel.

His left hand tingled and pricked unpleasantly—a result of overusing his Quirk. The pale flesh glowed like incandescent metal, ribbons of steam rose from the appendage.

He brought his hand to the wall, gliding his fingers over the surface. Scorch marks and embers ignited along the warm, smooth wall.

Finally, Gorō arrived at the door. He grabbed the door handle and activated his Quirk. Flames erupted from his palm, burning through the handle and locking mechanism with explosive force. With a light push, the door opened.

"Knock, knock," he called.

Inside, a man dressed in a white-button up collared shirt and dress slacks was frozen in the hallway, in the midst of preparing himself and his two daughters to flee. Perhaps to the balcony. Perhaps to the roof. Who could say? It didn't matter now.

The two girls, huddled together in the safety of the living area, let out cries of terror.

The man's eyes widened. "Gorō?"

"Masaru." His right hand, deep in his trench coat pocket tightened around the object within. He drew his sharp ember-colored eyes to his two daughters. "Harumi and Hanako look well. It's a shame about this fire. They might choke on the smoke."

"What are you doing?" Masaru demanded fearfully.

"Where's Sayuri?"

"What are you doing, Gorō?" Masaru demanded again, with bass in his voice.

Gorō didn't like that. He didn't like it at all. The lanky man ground his teeth together.

"What am I doing? Isn't it obvious? I'm getting rid of you!"

In a clunky, uncoordinated fashion, he tried to remove his pistol from his trench coat. It got caught. He struggled it free of his pocket. But Masaru recognized the weapon. He charged forward and yelled:

"Harumi, get your sister to the balcony! Tell them the Villain is—"

The gunshot was loud. It made his ears ring. He faintly heard Masaru Ito cry out as he collapsed, thumping against the floor like he had fallen from the ceiling. Harumi and Hanako wailed horribly, but the older dark-haired small child grabbed her crying sister by the wrist and dragged her to the balcony. They began screaming, all but incoherent over the other cries of terror and pleas to be saved.

Blood was beginning to pool beneath Masaru, who lay supine on the floor breathing like a dying animal. Gorō savored it. He wanted to see this. Wanted to be the one who put Masaru down personally and watch him take his final breaths as he died like a lame dog.

"Wh- why? Why are you doing this?" Masaru struggled out.

The question and the sight of the man dying at his feet overwhelmed him with conflicting intense emotions of rage and elation. Rage won out, for now.

"I loved her!" Gorō shouted. "And you stole her from me! This life you're living, those kids, it should all be mine! But you, you stole it all from me!"

"Stole…her?" Masaru curled his fingers into fists. His legs weren't moving. "What are you talking about? You and Sayuri separated over a decade ago, and… You…you cheated on her, Gorō. You burned her! And you expected her to stay?"

The rage was flushing through his system in twisted pleasure. He was dying. He was dying right at his feet, but Masaru was stealing away his pleasure by trying to blame him for this when it was all his fault. All of it.

"I expected you to have my back! To lie and tell her nothing happened! But you told her the truth! Then you used the accident to manipulate her into leaving me!"

"I didn't."

"Liar!"

"I didn't!" Masaru struggled to lift his upper body off the floor. His legs weren't moving. "But I should have. I was a fool to never tell Sayuri the truth. If she found out, it was because you were too stupid and too immature to exert some self-control!" Masaru's dark eyes glared into the smoldering embers. "If you loved her, you wouldn't have screwed around behind her back! You would've seen how good and pure and intelligent she was and you would've held on and never let go!"

"Shut up!"

Gorō slammed his foot onto Masaru's back and crashed him face down onto the floor again. The fabric of his shirt began to burn.

"Papa!"

"Stay back, Harumi!" Masaru's eyes glistened with tears. He ground his teeth together. "No matter what happens to me, a Hero will come and save you both! It's your job to take care of your sister and your mother, do you understand me?"

"Papa…" Harumi's lip trembled.

"Harumi, Hanako, Papa loves you very much. You…" He grunted. "You two and your mother have made his life wonderful. But it's your turn to live now. Take care of each other. I'll be there, always. Watching with a smile."

Gorō couldn't have been angrier. He was taunting him, wasn't he? Taunting him with the love and family that should have been his!

"Harumi, Hanako, watch closely!" Gorō yelled at them. "Watch as your father dies! There is no God that will save him. No Hero. No heaven for him to go to! This is all there is! This life and nothing else!"

Harumi's eyes spilled over with tears. But something fierce flashed in her eyes. She spun around towards the balcony.

"Help! The Villain is going to kill my Papa! Help! Please!"

"Don't worry, Masaru," Gorō sneered, aiming his pistol at the back of his head. "If you believe in an afterlife, your daughters will be there to give you company as soon as I'm finished with you!"

Masaru grabbed his ankle and dug his nails into. "You won't lay a finger on my daughters!"

The twisted pleasure returned. Delight and arousal raced through him, thrumming in his core. Gorō watched with sick enjoyment as his former friend struggled uselessly like a fish floundering out of water on the floor. He couldn't do anything. Harumi continued to call out for a Hero.

"I'll make sure to tell Sayuri all about this when I see her next."

"You…sick bastard," Masaru growled. "I may not have the last word today, but you will face judgement in this life and the next!"

"I doubt that."

"Please save him!" Harumi cried at the top of her lungs.

Gorō's hand tightened around the pistol. His heart skipped several beats, his lips curled into a cruel mockery of a delightful grin. His trigger finger began to flex.

"Save Papa!" Hanako screamed.

A violet flicker flashed through the room. Gorō felt an eruption of pain localized at his gun hand, followed by a powerful firm object crashing into his stomach. Then he was careening through the doorway and out into the hall. He struck the wall with a sickening crack, spine and back throbbing instantly in agony.

He couldn't breathe for a moment. He gasped and coughed on the smoke created by his Quirk, felt the spittle dribbling from his lips. Blinking the fog of pain away, he lifted his gaze up to his assailant and saw a third child standing in the shadows of the doorway, silhouetted by the orange hue of chaos and flashing blue and red lights outside the apartment. One eye burned crimson, the lavender eye was a diamond drill boring through him.

Beneath her gaze, he felt as if she was the adult and he was the child. He felt small. Like a scolded child, and that infuriated him.

She's looking down on me, Gorō growled. Who does this child think she is, intervening when my vengeance is at hand? Who does she think she is to look at me like that!

She wielded a short sword in one hand and held his gun awkwardly at the hammer in the other. Masaru looked up at her back as if seeing All Might himself. Harumi and Hanako were crying tears of joy and cheering for their Papa's savior.

"Missing something, scumbag?" the child taunted.

There was no sneer to her words, or a chipper one-liner. Her voice was chilling.

Gorō initially believed she was referring to his pistol. He prepared to reply with a barb about how he didn't need the weapon to kill her or Masaru, but then she lightly kicked something across the floor. His eyes were drawn to the object. It was small, the size of a small bullet casing. But not metal. It was fleshy.

Gorō's eyes went wide. Again he felt his heart racing, but this time he felt no pleasure or arousal. Only horror at the object he was gawking at. He hesitantly lowered his eyes to his right hand, covered in blood.

My…my finger!

It was gone.

The pain enveloped him entirely.

He wailed.

Izuku Midoriya was startled from his mini-workout by the ringing of his phone.

That's strange, he thought, placing his dumbbell down and grabbing his phone. Who could be calling me at this hour?

"Iida?" he murmured, surprised by the caller ID.

Iida wasn't the type to call on a school night when it was nearly time to settle into bed by his strict standards, not unless there was an emergency of some sort.

Though hesitant from fear, he answered the call and placed his phone to his ear.

"Hey, Iida. What's up?"

"Midoriya, have you seen the news?" Iida's voice gave nothing away. He sounded calm. Serious, sure, but that was just Iida's general tenor.

"No. Is something wrong?"

"There's a Villain attack happening right now a few blocks from Igarashi's home. Backdraft is there now combating the fire, but it isn't going well."

Midoriya's eyes went wide. His heart missed a beat. A Villain attack? A fire? By Igarashi's home?

"What? Have you tried to call her? Is she all right?"

Iida hummed deeply, troubled. "She isn't picking up. We're not especially close, so I'm not surprised. However, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Tokoyami and Shoji haven't been able to reach her either. I was hoping you might try. I'm worried she might do something reckless."

Midoriya almost wanted to chuckle, if only to release the tension in his body. But nothing about this was funny. Yeah, he could see Igarashi doing something reckless, too.

"I'll call her right away."

"Thanks, Midoriya. Keep me updated, please."

Midoriya agreed and ended the call. As he rose to his feet and strode out of his bedroom to the living space, he entered his phonebook and called Yukiko. By the time the voicemail picked up he was at the couch, where his mother was already sitting watching the news.

"This is Yukiko Igarashi. If you're a friend, leave a message. If you're not, buzz off."

That's…not the voicemail I expected, Midoriya sweat dropped.

A beep chimed in his ear.

"Igarashi, it's Midoriya. Though you probably know because of caller ID, now that I think about it. Uh, anyway, could you call me back? The news is saying there's a Villain attack a few blocks away from your home and I wanted to check in and make sure you're okay. Everyone does. Call me back, please."

He ended the call and quickly typed out a message.

Hey, is everything okay? The news is saying there's a Villain attack a few blocks from your home. Text or call me back, please. Everyone's worried about you.

After he sent it, he typed out another message meant for Iida.

She didn't answer, but I sent her a text, too. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

"Oh, this is terrible," his mother Inko Midoriya said, tears in her eyes.

Izuku looked up to the T.V. and felt his heart tighten. He could see two children on one of the higher floors, waving their hands about and yelling down for help. Backdraft was alone. He was struggling to keep the fire from spreading and get it under control.

Come on, where are the other Heroes, Midoriya thought, hands tightening. He felt helpless. The Hero in his heart wanted to be there, not for glory, but to save those kids and the other people. Every instinct in his body tried to tell him to sprint out the door, unleash Full Cowling and try to rush there.

But he couldn't. He wasn't a Pro Hero yet. He didn't have a license, and he wouldn't arrive in time.

Just hang on. Just hang on. A Hero will come. I know it.

The reporter's voice came through the T.V.

"Did you hear that?" she asked to someone. "Those kids are saying the Villain is in their room! They're… They're saying that the Villain is armed—the Villain is attacking their father!"

Midoriya swallowed roughly, hands tightening.

If the Villain can cause this much damage with his Quirk, there's no reason for him to be armed or to attack their father with no cause. The rest of the fire is a distraction, isn't it? The aspiring Hero tried to connect the dots with limited information. He's out for a personal vendetta of some kind. That's why he's armed. He wanted his victim to see and know it was him.

He'll escape in the chaos. The realization made his stomach drop.

It wasn't right. It wasn't fair to those kids or their father. Yet…there was nothing Backdraft alone could do. He had his hands full already. All they could do was watch this devastating scene of fire and destruction caused by a heartless Villain, and pray some lives were saved.

This is the war Amaririsu told us about. The war against darkness.

He checked his phone. Iida had replied with a thumbs up emoticon. Igarashi hadn't.

Yukiko, are you running there now? Is your sister?

"Wait! Who is that girl? Zoom in and try to get some audio!"

Izuku's eyes shot to the screen. He expected it. It was only a matter of time before one of the Igarashi's showed up, and the thought it could be Yukiko instead filled him with dread. Because she wasn't licensed yet. She wasn't a Pro. And if she used her Quirk to fight or rush in to help, she would face consequences.

What he saw made him gasp, and he realized how far off the mark his expectation was.

"My companions and I will evacuate the civilians," Amaririsu Yūhi said to Backdraft. "Can you keep the fire maintained until then?"

"Amaririsu!" Midoriya gasped.

His mother looked back at him, startled and confused. "Izuku, do you know that girl?"

"Yes," he dipped his chin a short nod. His heart was pulsing too quickly to say anything else, squeezing up into his throat and obstructing the pathway.

"I can," Backdraft answered. "But, child, I cannot give you permission to help. Please stand back. It's too dangerous!"

"No offense, but I wasn't asking for your permission. Just keep the fire under control. I'll save the civilians."

Amaririsu brought her hands together. With the camera zoomed in, it was impossible to count the number of Shadow Clones she created. But he could tell it was a large group, far larger than they had seen from her in the Pop Quiz.

"Please save him!" one of the children screamed.

Amaririsu's head snapped to the cry. With her special eyes, Midoriya knew she could see straight through the obstructing walls to the scene taking place inside of the building. He couldn't see the look on her face at the current camera angle or know what she was feeling. He couldn't see what was so clear to her.

"Atsuko, Osamu, head to the roof!" she ordered.

He never heard the replies of the two Crows, either.

However…

"Save Papa!" the other girl cried out.

Amaririsu vanished. The camera wasn't able to track her; it zoomed out and observed the mass of Shadow Clones jumping and flashing up the building to the balconies, disappearing amid the thick smoke and flames to rescue the people. A flock of Crows circled around the roof.

However, Izuku didn't need to see her face or feel the aura that irradiated off of her to know what he would see or what she was feeling.

The Villain had made a terrible mistake. One she would make him regret for the rest of his life.

Izuku's phone began to buzz endlessly. When he checked the screen, he saw his inbox burgeoning with new messages from the entirety of Class 1-A. It was a group message, the latest message likely written by Ashido or Hagakure.

AMARIRISU IS ON THE NEWS!

"Is she a new debuting Hero?" the reporter asked to the camera. "Is she the youngest undercover Pro Hero this world has known? Or a vigilante? For now, we can't say. But rest assured we will get to the bottom of this— Look at her go! Her Clones are leaping from balconies to the ground here in front of us and rushing back in to save more. I see ten, no, there's fifteen people already saved!"

Civilians who had run to the roof were swept up by the Crows and transported safely to the street, where they clambered away from the burning building they had called home merely minutes before. The two little girls were cheering and crying for Amaririsu.

Midoriya checked his phone again. Igarashi hadn't texted him back or entered the group message.

"Honey, who is she?" his mother asked.

He lifted his eyes back to the screen. As he watched her Clones save the people trapped inside the building, he was reminded of All Might's debut video. He'd watched it so many times as a child. Obsessively, even. There were days he was all but squirming in his seat as he waited for his mother to get the video on the screen and hit play. He'd been so fascinated by All Might. Inspired, truly. It was a crystalizing moment when he realized what he wanted to be and the path he wanted to walk just by watching him in action.

As he watched Amaririsu's Clones, he felt those same feelings. The same thrumming thrill washed over the aspiring Hero. The adoration and fascination with the individual he was watching, the inspiration and the crystalizing moment where he realized who and what he wanted to be overwhelmed him emotionally, almost to the point of tears.

There was only one suitable answer to his mother's question.

"She's a Hero," he stated confidently.

An eruption of fire exploded inside the apartment.

That was close.

Amari knelt on one knee in front of the wounded civilian, hands pressed against the warm floor. In front of her, a solid rock wall blockaded the broken doorway, formed by her Earth Style Ninjutsu. Heat irradiated through the wall, but the Villain's Quirk hadn't broken through, fortunately.

She had sheathed her tantō and set the Villain's strange weapon on the floor, certain he wasn't an immediate issue; he had been possessed by wailing and screaming bloody murder, eyes losing focus as he clutched at his newly amputated finger. The wounded man and his children were her main priority. The Villain could've burned in this building and she wouldn't have lost a single wink of sleep, not after he threatened the lives of children and so callously tormented their father right in front of them.

Then she sensed a sudden surge of power from him. Consumed by his rage and pain, he unleashed a devastating blast from his seated position with his wounded hand.

The attack likely cauterized his wound if his glowing left hand is any indicator, she thought. He doesn't seem to emit flames the same way Todoroki does, though. He didn't become coated in flames before his attack. And, she glanced back at the wounded man, his foot burned an imprint on his back. It's like his whole body is internally on fire, or he's manipulating his internal heat regulation to the point of combustion. I don't know. Either way, I can't let him touch me or I'll get burned. Maybe even set on fire.

But before I deal with him, I need to get these kids and this man out of here. He's bleeding badly. She glanced to the strange weapon the Villain wielded lying beside her. I don't know what it is or what it does; that's why I made a point to take it from him in my first move. But…judging on its look and this man's injury, it's likely some sort of projectile shooting weapon. I'll put it in a storage scroll to give to the police after this is over.

Amari unwound a scroll, bit her thumb to draw blood and quickly painted a new Seal to store the unknown weapon into. Her pores were opening, sweat beading on her skin and dampening her hair. It was unbearable in the apartment. The Villain was trying to burn his way through the wall.

Given time, he would.

The kunoichi stuffed the scroll back in her pouch after Sealing the weapon away, immediately turning her attention to the wounded man.

"Don't worry," she said, slinging one of his arms behind her neck. "I'll get you three out of here."

"Wh- who are you? Ggh!"

"Sorry. I wish I could numb the pain. Just bear with me for a moment. What are your daughter's names?"

"Ha- Harumi and Hanako."

Amari struggled to brace and carry his dead weight. His legs were dragging uselessly along the floor as if made from freshly cooked ramen noodles, and based on his injury she could accurately conclude why. She didn't say anything. If he didn't already know, telling him now might send him into an emotional frenzy. There wasn't time for it. There were others who needed to be saved.

"Harumi, Hanako," she called to the two girls. "You both have been very brave. But after I get you to safety, I'll need you two to be brave a little longer for your father. Can you do that for me?"

"Ye- yes!" the older of the pair answered.

The younger nodded, but held tighter onto her sister's hand.

Amari hated to see the terror, tears and pain in their eyes. She struggled against a frown. It isn't fair to ask these girls to grow up like this. To be brave in the face of this darkness and malice, but they don't have a choice anymore. It's been taken from them.

Just like it had been taken from Haku and Yukiko, from Hikari and Gaara, from her and Sasuke and Naruto and so many others.

What a cruel world they all lived in.

Two Shadow Clone's appeared on the balcony.

"We'll take these three," one of them said.

"The Villain needs to be dealt with before he brings this whole place down," the other said, gently picking up the two children.

"I know." She handed off the wounded man to her other Clone. "Get them to safety and try to keep pressure on his wounds. Ask around for a Healing Quirk."

"Right," her Clone nodded.

They leapt off the balcony.

Amari glanced down at the street to those who had been saved, then back into the apartment complex with her Byakugan. There was still so much more to do.

We've saved the easy ones. It only gets harder from here. My Shadow Clones can direct Backdraft to those who are trapped, but the rest…

Covering her mouth as she coughed, the kunoichi fought against the mounting frustration. I'm spread thin as it is with my Shadow Clones. And even with them and Atsuko and Osamu, we're seriously understaffed and unprepared to deal with this fire. I wish Mimi was here. Her Water Style would be invaluable.

There wasn't time to complain or wish for more fortunate circumstances.

The stone of her Earth Wall had begun to glow. In a flash of fire, the wall crumbled.

"Looking for someone, scumbag?" she asked coldly, half-turning to face the man, red and lavender eyes searing through the dancing shadows and light of flickering flames.

He wasn't physically intimidating by any measure. Tall, sure, and certainly enraged. But he was lanky, as if constructed from toothpicks. The trench coat made him appear smaller. Thinner. Weaker. In a physical contest, he wasn't the least bit of a threat to a trained shinobi. He wouldn't even be a threat to a fresh graduate from the Academy, not physically.

He didn't need to be physically threatening. He possessed a Quirk that made up for his physical inadequacies.

The Villain grit his teeth in the doorway. His body was trembling with one emotion: Rage.

"I'll- I'll make you pay for this! He stole her from me! He stole everything! And now you stole my vengeance from me!"

Amari furrowed her brow in annoyance. This man was utterly pathetic.

"He stole what? A woman? Tch, you should be embarrassed with yourself," she scoffed. "You're an adult. Try to show some maturity. No woman or man belongs to any individual. You didn't own her. She wasn't yours. Her life, his life, Harumi's and Hanako's lives aren't yours to claim. Not then and not now."

"She was mine! It should all be mine!" he screamed. "If I can't have her, then no one can!"

"You're a deranged and possessive lunatic. There isn't a single light in you for me to save," she replied calmly, coldly.

He expelled another blast of fire from his right hand, the stub of his trigger finger no longer bleeding. The kunoichi leapt away, then up onto the ceiling and off again, shooting like a bolt of lightning straight at the Villain. She kicked him in the chest with repeating blows, causing him to stumble back into the hallway.

Her eyes snapped to his left hand, glowing and steaming, reaching for her leg. She kicked and pushed off at the same time, flipping back onto all-fours to avoid the grabbing hand. He stumbled back and crashed against the wall, which he braced himself awkwardly against. A novice in combat, she analyzed. He barely had his bearings.

The smoke was thicker in the hallway. Amari coughed. She noticed burning embers on the carpet floor everywhere he stepped. It was impossible to tell if the soles of her sandals were damaged in anyway, already warm from the sweltering hell this apartment had become.

Reaching into her ninja tool box, she slipped her finger into the ring of her kunais pommel and bolted in, spinning the blade one full revolution before gripping the hilt tightly to slash the blade along his right knee. The spray of blood coated her onyx blade and splattered over the wall. He cried out but tried to blast her again at point blank range.

The pouring flames did not touch her, but the intensity of the heatwave stung her skin and eyes. Sweat was beginning to drip off her skin. The kunoichi didn't dare to consider the reality of her clothes and hair beginning to burn.

After Body Flickering to the side to evade, she leapt in again with a Body Flicker, jumping on her final step to land a powerful kick to the Villain's unguarded and bewildered face. The blow sent him careening down the hall into a far wall. She coughed again but never let her eyes leave her enemy as she pressed forward through the smoke and heat towards him.

He's getting hotter. The air around him is becoming suffocating without the smoke.

"Your very existence threatens the lives of this innocent family, and all the lives of those who may have been lost as mere collateral damage in your twistedness, and may still be lost if I fail to save all of them."

Amari unfurled her killing intent. The gall of this bastard, to do all of this for such a childish and selfish reason. She squinted her watery eyes against the heat.

"You paralyzed that man for your immature and ridiculous cause. You've scarred those innocent children with your malice, branding them with a mark they may never escape. You've stolen their innocence and the innocence of all the other people who occupy this building."

The Villain attempted to stand. Amari threw her kunai.

The blade impaled against the wall beside his head. He gaped at her, bearing the appearance of a wide-eyed fish out of water. A trickle of blood slid down his cheek and ear.

"It's over for you," she said coldly, striding through the hell he created as if it were under her control. "You don't possess the power or Will to defeat me. We're not even in the same league, let alone the same planet. Consider yourself blessed it's not my right to pass judgement on you, because I would make you suffer a thousand deaths for what you've done. But that's not my right. I'll let this society decide your fate and your punishment."

"No. No. No," he whimpered. "This can't be how it ends! No! I refuse…to let anyone steal anything else from me! I won't… I won't… I won't!"

His ember eyes, glistening with tears, flashed. A rush of insurmountable heat washed over Amari's entire body. She lifted her hand in front of her face and coughed, squinting and blinking.

It's…so hot… It hurts to breathe.

She coughed again, rougher. She struggled to move forward. Her body and brain wanted to retreat, but she ignored their pleas. Taking one painful breath, she held it in and shut her eyes, relying on the Byakugan's inverted black-and-white vision to see her enemy and the surrounding space.

The carpet beneath the Villain ignited; a burned imprint formed on the wall behind him. Steam rose from his entire body. At that moment, he thrust his hand at the ceiling above her and unleashed another blast of fire. The ceiling opened up.

Damn!

Debris and hellfire rained down in the form of meteorites and orange waterfalls. As she rushed forward, evading the debris and streams of fire, the Villain sprang to his feet and dashed away. Something heavy crashed onto her shoulder, knocking her to the floor. It burned. The sounds of screaming people and the chaos of the fire overwhelmed her ears.

Amari rose to all-fours. The floor trembled beneath her.

Cursing, she threw herself forward into a roll, scrambling to her feet as the entire floor collapsed from beneath her.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" she hissed curses, stumbling and evading side to side as debris crashed around her.

She rounded the corner and chased after the coat tail of the Villain, but not before grabbing her kunai.

He's going for the stairs, the kunoichi realized. And he was igniting more of the apartment as he did.

Channeling chakra throughout her body, she quickened her speed but did not enter a full Body Flicker. It was too risky with the beginnings of the collapse taking shape. If she rushed through too quickly she could end up beneath a collapsing ceiling or where the floor fell apart without realizing it until the last moment.

I have to hope the evacuation is almost over. I have to trust my Clones and the Crows have it handled.

Even still, she quickly checked each room she passed by with her Byakugan, searching for any trapped civilians. All she saw was an emotionless inferno engulfing the empty rooms, left in a state of disarray abandonment. She saw a dropped favorite stuffed animal left in the chaos; it was burning. She saw flames dancing around a family photograph, melting the precious memory that could never be reclaimed. Fresh picked flowers were withering and crumbling in another room.

But no people. No civilians trapped in their rooms or immediate casualties on this floor or below her. The shinobi knew this wasn't over. The man she had saved could still die from blood loss. People who had inhaled this smoke or been injured before she arrived weren't entirely safe yet. But she held onto hope.

I need to finish this and get out of here. She coughed roughly but maintained pursuit of the Villain. If I don't, this smoke will kill me.

Through the Byakugan, she saw the Villain reach the stairwell before she rounded the cramped hallway. He was not alone. One of the evacuating civilians, a girl likely around the age of the three upperclassmen she met, had accidentally run straight into the Villain in her desperate escape from the burning lower floors towards the roof. He grabbed her by the throat with his steaming and glowing left hand.

Amari's strides grew longer, her feet all but flying on air, hand reaching into her pouch. The girl screamed in terror and agony with her eyes, unable to do so with her throat burning.

Then the Villain screamed. He dropped the girl, the length of his arm impaled by shuriken, but his flames and power burgeoned within his right. He aimed it for the girl.

Amari Body Flickered.

Flames poured from his palm.

The Villain screamed again.

Together, the kunoichi and the Villain slammed into the wall opposite of the entrance before tumbling down the stairs. She grit her teeth and shut her eyes against the swell of heat irradiating off of him, against the intense burning enveloping her back and side.

The burning hands of her enemy grabbed at her arms and upper body, anything he could to wrench her off. Everywhere he touched was burned. Aggravated by her pain, furious by this twisted scumbag and burning up inside because of the heat, Amari twisted her kunai—impaled into his side—to coax another scream out of the Villain.

His hands relinquished their grasping and groping, allowing Amari to pull herself free and yank her kunai out, growling as she did. Flecks of blood splattered over the adjacent wall in a long arc.

The floor and ceiling trembled around her.

Amari glared with burning and icy eyes into the soul of the man responsible for this hell. He was grabbing at his newest wound, trembling, grimacing and gasping on the verge of tears. She wanted to finish the job. All it would take was a single slice of her kunai and he would be finished, permanently.

It was as she felt the vibrations of the impending collapse that she remembered Kōri, and the reason she hadn't been able to save Sandayū or his men.

"I let Kōri drag me into a personal battle."

In her Byakugan, she glanced back to the girl; she was still lying on the floor where she had fallen.

The collapse was imminent. He was aware of it, too. Small pieces of concrete were beginning to rain around them. His eyes were wide, pleading.

He was afraid to die.

In the end, there was only time for one choice. One life. The Villain or the civilian.

Amari half-turned, but spared him one last ice-cold glare.

"Burn in the hell you've created, scumbag," she spat.

With one leap, she was at the top of the flight of stairs and beside the girl.

"No! No! Get back here! Come back!"

She didn't look back.

Amari hoisted the girl off the floor bridal style. The floor trembled and cracked beneath her feet. Clenching her jaw, she channeled chakra through her body and ascended the stairwell; the flooring of the stairs rapidly collapsed, and the terrified cries and final dying screams of the Villain chased her.

She didn't look back.

Racing to the roof, she took the stairs two and three at a time. She eyed the girl and the tears streaming down her face. She listened to her hoarse croaks, and she hoped the Villain was still burning alive.

"Stay with me, all right?" she said to the girl. "I'm going to get you out of here."

The girl tried to say something. It was impossible to tell what it was.

When she burst onto the roof, she noticed there were no other civilians in sight.

The evacuation was complete.

Amari started towards the roofs edge. An explosion deep below in the bowels of hell made the entire building quake. She stumbled and struggled to stand upright as the whole world seemed to be shaking in the fist of a god preparing to throw a pair of dice..

For one moment, the world calmed. Then, with the cracking of cement, hell seethed awake and its demonic flames broke through the earth to capture the two souls left.

Cracks in the roof tore intricate and jagged lines through the stable surface. Amari's eyes took them all in through the haze of an ominous orange hue, pouring with smoke, flashing with red and blue lights.

Before she could react, the slab of concrete beneath her collapsed and shifted inwards like a soda can tab. Amari fell to her butt and began to slide down the concrete; the girl held tighter onto her. Heat expelled from the new opening and below she could see an endless sea of fire.

Wrapping her left arm tighter around the girl's midsection, Amari slapped her right hand onto the hot concrete and channeled chakra to her palm, halting their fall with an abrupt jolt.

She lost grip on the girl. The civilian slipped from her hold towards the flames, eyes wide and screaming louder than any cry her voice could've managed. Amari cursed and dove after her.

With a desperate reach, she caught the civilian by the wrist and slammed her hand against the concrete again, channeling chakra to her palm and dragging them to a slow halt. She felt something pull and tear within her arms and shoulders.

There, above the hellfire, they hung at the very edge of the concrete slab, held up at the top by a few pieces of rebar. The heat was unbearable. The smoke made it nearly impossible to breathe or speak, but she had to. She had to calm the girl down, who was wiggling and hanging desperately onto her slick with sweat mesh sleeve.

"When I—" Amari's voice broke off for a cough. She grunted and swallowed. "When I lift you up, climb onto my back! All right?"

The girl was looking down into the fire.

"Hey! Look at me!" Their eyes met. Amari channeled steel behind her gaze. "I'm going to get us out of this! Everything will be fine! But I need you to do exactly what I say, okay?" The girl nodded. "When I lift you up, climb onto my back and wrap your arms around my neck!"

The concrete slab cracked and trembled. The girl whimpered and croaked.

"Do you understand?" Amari remained calm.

She nodded again.

Grunting and grinding her teeth together, she pulled the full weight of the girl up onto her back, ignoring the sounds of the collapsing roof. Ignoring the tearing and pulling of muscles through her shoulder and arm. The girl wrapped her arms around her neck a little too tightly, but she was secure and now she could access her hands and feet.

"Don't let go, no matter what," she said.

She pressed her hands and toes into the concrete, chakra humming at the points of contact.

No matter what, she thought, I will save you. Even though I can barely breathe, even though I'm badly injured, even if my body begins to fail me, I will not…

Green chakra exploded off of the kunoichi, enveloping her body and the body of the girl.

I will not die!

The cement slab broke off the rebar.

Amari ran as fast as she had ever run up the falling piece of cement. She dashed against gravity to the very top edge, where she leapt off towards the center of the collapsing roof, over the roaring flames onto another piece of crumbling cement. She jumped again, landing on another declining roof leading into the bowels of hell. She surfed down it, red and lavender eyes flicking against the stinging heat in search of the next piece of solid ground. Anything she could use to jump towards any edge of the roof to reach the ground below.

Another leap. She dashed along the side of a wall, feet light as wind, then jumped onto a solid piece of rooftop, which shuddered and collapsed when she landed on it. The kunoichi jumped again, closer to the edge, closer to safety.

Almost there. Come on. Come on. Come on!

Heat was rushing up from beneath her. The concrete was falling apart all around, on the verge of complete collapse. Her legs were heavy. Burning. She couldn't breathe.

Just a little closer. Closer.

She dove off from the edge. The entire roof collapsed behind her.

When Atsuko and Osamu caught Amaririsu and transported her to the street safely, Midoriya knew he would have collapsed onto the floor if he hadn't sat down beside his mother.

She did it.

It'd only been a few minutes since she first arrived on the scene, yet Amaririsu and the Crows appeared to have evacuated everyone from the burning building, with the remaining Shadow Clones rushing to the nearby buildings to aid the evacuation on the chance the fire continued to spread.

However, when the camera zoomed in on Amaririsu as she helped the teenage girl off her back and allowed the emergency officials to take care of the civilian, the shinobi collapsed down to her buttocks. She braced her forearms on her knees and leaned forward, coughing terribly. Atsuko and Osamu looked concerned. Although it was impossible to hear them over all the other noise, Midoriya noticed Amari was speaking to them through her coughs. Whatever she said, the duo flew from her shoulders out of camera view.

The cameraperson moved in closer. Midoriya gasped at the sight of severe burns on her arms, burned through the fabric of her shirt, and legs. The closer they moved in, the easier it was to hear her coughing fit.

Suddenly, a policeman Midoriya recognized immediately cut off the reporter and cameraperson. He was naturally tall with black eyes, dressed in tan overcoat and matching hat.

It's that police officer All Might is friends with. Officer Tsukauchi, right? Did All Might message him?

"Please, stay behind the barrier. The fire is still out of control."

"Yes, but, what about that girl? Is she a Pro Hero? A vigilante? Is she another copycat of the Hero Killer? The people want answers, officer!"

"Right now what is most important to me is the safety and security of the civilians, including yourself and your cameraman."

"Sir! Sir! What is your opinion on this matter? We've received no reports of a Pro Hero so young with their license already?"

He sighed and glanced back at Amaririsu. The two little girls had rushed over to her and wrapped the coughing shinobi in a tight hug. Despite the clear pain on her face from the embrace and the coughing, Amaririsu found the strength to hug them back and to smile at them.

Tsukauchi returned his gaze to the reporter standing out of view. "I understand your concerns on the matter; we have laws against the use of Quirks for a reason, and though she has saved many lives, that does not place her above the laws. However, whether she's a Pro Hero or a vigilante, we owe her our deepest gratitude at this moment. Had it not been for her, well, you can see two of the young lives right there that would've been lost.

"So no, I do not believe she is a copycat of The Hero Killer: Stain. In this moment, for these people, she is a Hero. A life saver. That is my opinion on the matter." He half-turned. "One of my men will escort you to safety."

Tsukauchi strode over to Amari and knelt down beside her. The cameraman continued to film them even as they were escorted to safety.

"I'm sorry, but I'll need you three to step out of this perimeter to safety," he said to them. "Backdraft has warned us the building may collapse entirely, and the smoke is dangerous for all of you. Also, the ambulance with Masaru Ito will be leaving soon."

"Understood…" Amari broke off in a cough. "Understood, sir."

Holding the kids tighter, she rose slowly to her feet and limped towards the ambulance where their father was being loaded onto a stretcher. The girls didn't let go. They cried into her shoulders and neck. She stumbled more than once. Tsukauchi was there to catch her, fortunately.

"Easy there."

"I'll be okay. I'm tougher than I look."

"I believe you. But still, don't push yourself too hard. I can carry the children for you."

"It's okay. They're not a problem."

"Mm. Do you know this family?"

"No."

"The young lady?"

"No."

"I see. Well, I won't pry right now. However, what can you tell me about the Villain responsible? Clearly you encountered the individual. Did they escape?"

The group moved out of the audio range of the news crew.

"Amazing," Midoriya muttered under his breath.

His mother wiped the tears from her eyes with tissues and, after a short conversation about what they had just witnessed, they shut the television off. Midoriya returned to his room, lying down on his bed with his phone in hand hovering above his head. His inbox was fuller than an All Might convention, and it was only growing larger as his classmates continued to message each other.

Noticeably, Yukiko hadn't replied to anyone. Midoriya assumed she was watching the news, gripped by the sight of it while her phone was likely somewhere out of earshot and reach. Still, he worried. It was just his nature.

He pulled up another live broadcast of the fire, hoping to catch another glimpse of Amaririsu or possibly learn new information about the situation. It was a helicopter view again, showing the caved in roof they'd all seen Amaririsu and the civilian escape by the skin of their teeth.

More Heroes had finally shown up, too late to save any civilians but able to aid Backdraft in containing the fire to keep the building from collapsing entirely. It likely wouldn't be livable without severe renovation, though he assumed the families would only want to grab whatever valuables that may have survived before moving elsewhere. Bad memories couldn't be erased by renovation.

As he lay there, watching the firefighters and Heroes work, answering text messages now and then, he wondered what happened to the Villain. More accurately, he wondered if Amaririsu let him escape to save more lives, or if she had slain him for his crimes. And the more he wondered, the more he came to realize he wasn't sure if he actually wanted that answer.

Regardless, there was something that lingered in his mind.

She never gave up, even when she nearly lost that girl. It's just like All Might said, a true Hero will always find a way for justice to prevail. To save as many lives as we can at the risk of our own. And when it was all over, when those two little girls hugged her burned and injured body, she still smiled warmly and fearlessly at them.

Midoriya saw her again on the broadcast. It wasn't a good shot or close enough to pick up audio, but he saw her exiting the ambulance the father of the two girls was in. She helped the girls up inside, hugged them one last time and smiled at them.

After the ambulance pulled away, Tsukauchi gently guided her to another while she struggled through another coughing fit, where a paramedic was waiting for the kunoichi. She sat on the edge of the interior and took the offered oxygen mask with a grateful nod. The officer stayed with her, but pulled out a phone and brought it to his ear.

The camera cut away again to more Pro Heroes and firefighters at work.

Midoriya exited the live broadcast, gripped his phone in his hand and spread his arms over his bed, staring up at the ceiling above him. His phone continued to vibrate.

No matter what the media says about her, Amaririsu is a Hero, he thought.

One day, he hoped he could smile like her for the sake of others.

Amari watched the battle against the fire and the evacuation from the back of their medical vehicle, breathing in through the oxygen mask between coughs while her skin tingled and burned relentlessly. Above, Atsuko and Osamu coordinated with her Shadow Clones and other Pro Heroes to evacuate the civilians inside the adjacent buildings to safety. On the street, Backdraft and the others fighting to contain the fire were pushing the flames back.

Despite the success of her mission, despite knowing she saved lives, a solemn feeling lingered in her belly where a happy one should've been.

I saved people, sure, but…

That didn't mean they were saved. Their homes were destroyed, priceless possessions burnt to nothing, and in their place the innocent people caught in the Villain's immature schemes were left with a terrifying memory. A scar they couldn't erase. It was like the Invasion all over again.

Sure she saved their lives. But for Masaru Ito, for that teenage girl who had her throat burned, for Harumi and Hanako, their lives would never be the same ever again. Her life hadn't been the same after Ryu died. It hadn't been the same after the Land of Waves left its scars on her. How could theirs ever possibly be?

Coughs shook Amari's body, tore at her throat and incensed the lingering headache to crawl out of its cave and begin stomping its feet against her skull. When she finally stopped, she inhaled the oxygen again and swallowed roughly through the dry, scratchy feeling in her throat. Her nose was clogged by solid boulders, or that was how it felt anyway.

"Amaririsu?" The shinobi, with tired onyx and lavender eyes, looked up at the police officer—Tsukauchi, he called himself. He held his phone out to her. "A mutual friend wants to speak to you."

Amari hummed and nodded. She reached out and took the phone, placing it to her ear the way she'd seen him use it.

"Hello?"

"Young Yūhi," All Might sighed in relief on the other end. "I saw everything on the news. Are you all right? Do you need to be taken to the hospital? I can meet you there and arrange everything in advance."

"I'm okay, Mr. All Might," she replied softly. "My burns are pretty bad, and they have me on oxygen right now, but I'll survive until morning without a hospital trip."

Amari looked out at the scene in front of her. There was a flying machine with someone pointing a camera out of it, alongside more and more news reporters gathering around.

"At this point, I have to assume my image will be all over the news. Any trip to the hospital will draw these reporters there in search of a story, interrupting the recovery of the patients there. And more people will physically encounter me, which risks the truth of my origin slipping through. If that happens, mass panic is guaranteed. It'll be like a science-fiction novel where aliens invade Earth, only they'll fear me and people like me. It will be better if I wait until I see Recovery Girl tomorrow."

"Yes, but—"

"I can bear these injuries for one night, Mr. All Might. I've endured worse," Amari reassured. She moved the phone away from her ear and endured through another painful fit of coughs. "I'm sorry," she said after it finished. "I've caused you trouble and made you worry."

"Caused trouble?" All Might sounded baffled. "Young Yūhi, that couldn't be farther from the truth."

"The whole reason we kept me restrained to a few locations was to prevent this situation. But I…I couldn't stop myself from running here when I saw the fire."

"Your body moved on its own, yes?"

The tone of All Might's voice, both serious and soothing, gave her pause.

"…Yes."

"Young Yūhi, in this world of Heroes there are a variety of origin stories, each unique to the individual and their circumstances. However, there is one common thread that binds all top Heroes: When lives are in danger, their bodies move on their own before they ever have a chance to think."

The intensity of the fight, the fire and brush with death had burned away and collapsed her shinobi walls. For that reason, his words broke straight through to the heart of the girl behind them. Amari brought her hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut against the sting of tears.

"Tonight, that very thing happened to you, Young Yūhi. It wasn't The Symbol of Peace who saved those people tonight. It was you. When those people cried out for help, you were there to answer their call, vowing to protect them with your very life. I saw you on the news. We all did; Nemuri, Aizawa, Nezu, our students, all of us watched as you leapt in to aid Backdraft, fearlessly. Even though you owed those people nothing. Even though there was a chance you might be seriously injured. You were willing to sacrifice life and limb for them, because you couldn't sacrifice your heart by leaving them to their fate."

Amari broke off into a short, haggard cough. She sniffled after it was over; her clogged nose was running.

"Please, don't apologize. You've caused us no trouble at all, Young Yūhi," All Might reassured. "Tonight you showed not only us, but all those watching the true nature of your heart. Your Will of Fire was burning brighter than those flames. Just by being there, you cast aside that dastardly Villain's darkness to illuminate the world of those children, that man and young lady and all the others you managed to save with your pure heart. That is who you are!"

Pressing her forehead deeper into her hand, Amari sniffled and coughed. She didn't want to cry. She was fighting against it.

"As The Symbol of Peace, you have my utmost gratitude for protecting those people when I couldn't. As a friend, my heart is overflowing with emotions. Your teacher, your mother and your family should be proud of you, Young Yūhi. I know I am. You are going to be an amazing guardian in your world. You'll become a beacon of hope, I just know it."

Her fight ended in failure. Warm tears streamed forth.

"Thank you, Mr. All Might," she said, voice cracking.

"Hey, you know what, I think I've come up with the perfect Hero Name for you. From this day forth, you will be known as The Guardian of Light: Amaririsu Yūhi."

Amari smiled through her tears. Her words of gratitude were caught in her throat.

She hoped to live up to the name.

They finished their conversation after she pulled herself together. All Might promised to let Nemuri know she would be staying at Yukiko's and Amari promised to try to sleep through the night. She handed Tsukauchi his phone back, who spared a few more kind words with All Might before ending the call. The officer took a seat beside her on the ambulance.

"You certainly have friends in high places, Amaririsu," said Tsukauchi with a smile.

"I was lucky to meet him."

Amari looked out again at the fight against the fire. She didn't say anything for a while after that, simply breathing in the oxygen.

"We'll need to come up with a story to tell the media," Tsukauchi said abruptly. "They've likely filmed us speaking. I'll learn the truth from All Might privately, but from what little he mentioned it doesn't sound like something the world should know." He eyed her curiously. "It's a strange situation, I admit. Does it have to do with your Quirks?"

She chuckled softly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," he smiled.

"I'll let Mr. All Might explain it," she replied. "Where I'm from, it pays to be cautious of possible eavesdroppers. With all this foreign technology, someone could be listening right now. As for the story…"

Several Shadow Clones dispelled simultaneously. The general evacuation was on the cusp of completion. In the next few minutes, the remainder of her Shadow Clones would pop and Atsuko and Osamu would return, ready to take her back to Yukiko's.

The wave of exhaustion that hit her must have been noticeable. Tsukauchi rested a hand on her shoulder. He looked worried.

"Are you all right? Did something just happen?"

"I'm okay. When my Clones dispel, I gain their experiences, which also means I gain their fatigue. I'll be a zombie soon enough." She yawned. "Anyway, as for the story, the best deceptions have truth to them. Call me The Guardian of Light: Amaririsu Yūhi, a wandering shinobi who happened to be at the right place at the right time. And then vanished into the shadows.

"I'll be leaving Japan in two days; there won't be other incidents involving me to build enough interest. I'll be a hot topic for a week or two and then I'll fade from the memories of the general public. They'll find someone or something new to talk about, and The Guardian of Light: Amaririsu Yūhi will become a myth."

Amari yawned again then removed the mask, feeling more of her Clones dispel. Atsuko and Osamu were circling above, signaling it was time to depart.

"As far as stories go, I think that's a good way to end this one," she said as she slid off the vehicle and onto her feet. She turned to face the officer and bowed her head. "Thank you for the help."

"It's me who should be thanking you. So." Tsukauchi stood up and bowed to her. "Thank you very much, Amaririsu Yūhi. I can't say I completely understand who you are or where you're going, but I wish you the best."

"Stay vigilant, Mr. Tsukauchi."

Atsuko and Osamu swooped down to her shoulders. She smiled at the officer.

"And thank you again."

In a flock of Crows, Amaririsu Yūhi vanished into the night.

For the second time in the night, Amari knocked on Yukiko's balcony door.

For a second time, Yukiko answered.

The kunoichi, dead on her feet, wasn't sure what to expect when she arrived. In her energy deprived state, she expected to find Yukiko casually lounging around on the couch, who would then causally saunter to the door and greet her with a smile, usher her in and guide her straight to the couch, where she would fall asleep. All quite casually.

She did not anticipate Yukiko flashing to the slider door, all but tearing it off its track in an abrupt movement. By the time Amari was able to process the startled jolt the sudden action sent through her exhausted body, Yukiko's arms were wrapped around her smaller body, embracing her tightly against her chest. Not casually at all.

The tight embrace might have hurt normally. But Amari was too tired to feel the sting and aches. She shut her eyes and rested her head against Yukiko, content to fall asleep there in her arms if it was an option. The desperate hug said everything she wanted to, but couldn't bring herself to express in words. Amari inhaled.

"You smell good," muttered the girl. Like lavender and vanilla. Not at all like the smoke and fire lingering in her nostrils. "You'll smell like me if you don't let go."

"Shut up."

Amari obeyed. Tried to stifle a cough, but couldn't. Yukiko didn't reprimand her for it. They stood there on her balcony, the older and taller girl holding her tightly and refusing to let go, threading her fingers into the knotted mess of blue hair and burying her face into the smoke scented tresses. Amari let her. She pretended not to notice how her hands trembled or how she sniffled.

After a minute or two, maybe more—time was impossible to track while tired—Atsuko spoke up.

"I must apologize for interrupting this tender moment, but Yukiko, may I ask that you to take care of Young Haya tonight. The Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and the fire have taken its toll on her."

"Yeah," Yukiko agreed immediately, still holding onto Amari. "You can count on me."

"Excellent. Osamu and I will rest out here, if that is acceptable. We'll wake early and finish our scouting of your city; it is quite intriguing, this world. Unlike any shinobi Village I've seen. Young Haya, do try to sleep tonight. Recovery Girl's healing process requires energy. In your state, she won't be able to help you."

"I'll sleep," Amari promised into Yukiko's Jolly Roger shirt. "Thank you both for the help."

"It is our duty and our pleasure to aid you, Lady Haya," said Osamu.

"Sleep well, children."

Yukiko relinquished her hold, took Amari by the wrist and guided her indoors, sliding the door shut behind them.

"I prepared the shower for you. Towel, spare clothes—"

"Too tired and sore."

"Lucky for you we have a handheld shower-head. Strip down to your underwear and I'll bathe you so you don't smell like you've spent the last hour dancing around a bonfire."

Any embarrassment the idea otherwise would have caused never hit Amari. She was on auto-pilot, and Yukiko's commands were easily overwriting her normal programming. She shut her eyes and let Yukiko guide her to the bathroom, appreciating the cool air on her skin, trusting wholly in her kindred spirit to take care of her.

"I ran to the store while you were finishing up evacuation and bought some over-the-counter burn ointment. It isn't perfect, but it's better than nothing. After you're clean I'll apply it to your burns. I'll wash these clothes once you are changed, too. Normally I'd trash them. But my clothes are all a few sizes too big for you. These can last you until tomorrow. Momo has probably created a new set."

"Mm."

They entered the hall then the bathroom. Everything was set up, just as Yukiko said it would be. Fresh clothes and a towel were set out on the sink countertop, the burn ointment was off to the side and the shampoo, conditioner and body wash were all set out as if she expected her pitiful attempt to evade a shower.

The bathroom was fairly cramped with them in it, so they left the door open for extra space. When Yukiko turned around to say something, Amari leaned into her and hugged her friend.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Yukiko wrapped her in another hug. Lips pressed against the top of her head. "Come on. Quicker we do this, quicker you can sleep."

Amari agreed. She unbuckled her harness and tantō first, setting them in the hallway then grabbed at the hem of tank top and mesh undershirt and struggled to peel the sweaty, burned and frayed layers off. It was as the fabric slid over her flesh and as her arms were raised above her head that the stings and aches became noticeable. The kunoichi grunted, coughed and winced, struggling to pull her left arm through the sleeve of her long sleeve. It hurt. She was seriously beginning to ache everywhere. The layers of smoke dousing her clothes were suffocating.

A second pair of hands helped free her off the layers. Amari heaved two heavy breaths, face scrunching in pain. She lightly braced herself on the adjacent countertop, on the verge of blacking out.

Glancing in the mirror, she saw the discoloration of several severe burns, some shaped like the Villain's hands, marring her fair-colored flesh. The largest was from his final attempted attack on the girl. From her left side, up and across her back the skin was inflamed and discolored.

Yukiko exhaled a heavy breath through her nose.

"I'm sorry for hugging you. I didn't know it was that bad."

"I didn't feel it. Not until now, at least," Amari grunted.

"Here. Sit on the edge of the tub." Yukiko stepped aside and guided her to the edge of the tub. "I'll take your sandals off. Can you get your bandana and headband off?"

"I think so."

"Easy. Don't collapse on me. There we go." Yukiko made quick work of her sandals and set them to the side, out of the way. Amari handed over her purple bandana and forehead protector, but left her Clan crest necklace on. "Where does this tool box come off at?"

"Take my pouch first. Your phones still in it, and it kept vibrating. I hope the fire didn't damage it."

"Don't care. A phone can be replaced, but you… Never mind. Now, where does this come off? Wait, found it."

"There's a scroll in my pouch that I can seal my equipment into to clear up the clutter."

"The clutter is fine." Yukiko stared directly into her eyes. "You took care of all those people tonight. Now it's my turn to take care of you. So shut up and let me help."

Amari scrunched her nose in a playful pout. "You're bossy."

The corner of Yukiko's lips lifted for a brief moment. "Get used to it. Now lift your butt."

She obeyed. Yukiko slipped her shorts off and tossed them away. Before they began, the High Voltage wielder tied her own hair back with a hair tie she wore on her wrist and stripped out of her shirt. Even then, as they were both almost entirely undressed, as Yukiko knelt beside her and turned the water on, the blush that may have formed didn't. She was too tired. It was all clinical anyway, unlike the game of footsie and affectionate touches they shared before.

The process of bathing was nothing short of torture. Amari hissed and flinched beneath the water, and that was only the water. The application of soap to her skin, no matter how soft and gentle Yukiko's touch was, left her hunched forward, digging her fingers into her palms, biting her lip.

By the time Yukiko finished washing her hair for the second time, to rid it of the lingering smoke smell, the kunoichi was on the verge of turning the shower off herself. Fortunately, her friend was finished.

"All right, spin around. I'll dry you off."

Drying off was better, but not by much. The pain exhausted her, eventually to the point where her headache was worse than the actual burns. With a towel wrapping her hair up while Yukiko dried her legs off, she stared down at the aspiring Hero with a sad expression.

"I'm sorry, Yukiko."

Violet eyes glanced up at her. "For what?"

"I…wanted…I wanted to spend my night here, with you. I didn't know what we would do. I just…I wanted to spend time with you and create memories for us both. But…I ran off. And now I'm like…this."

"Mm. Well, this definitely wasn't how I would've expected us to end up partially undressed after we shared a kiss."

Amari blushed. Yukiko finished drying off her leg.

"Lift your butt." She placed the towel beneath her, folding it over her lower half. Yukiko braced her hands on either side of her legs before pushing herself up and into Amari's personal bubble, violet eyes gazing directly into hers.

"Nothing is ruined. We're still here, aren't we?" she whispered.

In another life, Amari realized at that moment, she would've stayed and fallen deeply in love with Yukiko Igarashi. But it wasn't this life.

No. It wasn't this life.

Amari leaned in backed only by the feelings of affection, warmth, sorrow and regret. In the brief kiss they shared she sensed the same feelings from Yukiko.

Because it wasn't this life.

They parted slowly, breathing in each other. Igarashi pressed her lips against Amari's forehead then stood up.

"Don't apologize. Without you, those people would be dead. We both would've regretted it if you stayed." Yukiko smiled. "Besides, we did make memories. We're still making memories. And we'll continue to create memories until the final moment you're here."

Amari nodded. "Yeah."

"Now, come on. I'll apply this burn ointment then you'll be even closer to sleep."

Applying the burn cream wasn't fun either. But she endured it, savoring the cool sensation on her burns, absorbing the feeling of Yukiko's soft hands gently rubbing circles over the injuries while the touches lasted. Finally, after sealing away her equipment and after Yukiko departed temporarily to give her privacy to change, Amari dressed herself in the oversized grey shirt, pajama shorts and undergarments she'd be sleeping in.

Yukiko returned to retrieve her smoke covered clothes, throwing them in the wash after telling Amari to wait so she could brush through her hair. Afterwards, they retreated to her bedroom, where Igarashi prepared to sleep on the floor. Amari stopped her by holding her hand.

"Stay with me. I can't sleep lying down with these injuries anyway."

No other convincing was needed. Yukiko changed into a loose white shirt and short black shorts then climbed into her bed, setting up the pillows vertically against the wall behind them. She rested against them, split her legs and Amari crawled between them, laying her burned back against Yukiko's chest and melting into her embrace.

For a while, they talked about everything and nothing. About the world she lived in, her friends and family, about life and dreams and the future while never failing to remain present in the moment together. They shared affectionate touches, gliding hands over arms and legs, intertwining fingers and sharing quick pecks on their cheeks, necks, chins and the top of Amari's head.

Finally, Yukiko checked her phone. She rolled her eyes at the surplus of calls, voicemails and text messages her classmates left in her inbox.

Hoping to end all conversations with a single message, she snapped a photo of them lying together, hands intertwined and Amari on the verge of passing out. Yukiko sent it to her classmates with a message that read:

I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. Gave my phone to the Hero of the hour in case the Villain escaped. We were hanging out before the Villain attack before any of you ask. Been busy taking care of this exhausted burn victim ever since. Amaririsu says not to worry. Also, don't text me all night. She needs to sleep.

Which inevitably led to everyone texting her at the same time anyway. Amari giggled at Igarashi's exasperation, especially when it came to Ashido and Hagakure complaining that she didn't invite them over for a slumber party.

"Tsu says we look cute together," Yukiko said at one point.

"…Ribbit?"

Yukiko chuckled softly. "Yeah. That too."

"Is Jiro okay? She likes you, you know."

"Kyoka is okay. We have a separate message thread going. And I like her, too."

"…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to step between that."

"Heh, step between what? We're not dating. We haven't kissed or held hands or played footsie. We're just close friends."

"But—"

"Amaririsu, you haven't stepped between anything," Yukiko reassured gently. "Kyoka and I aren't there yet. I've been working through so much of my personal baggage, and she's focused on her Hero career. Maybe one day…"

Amari nuzzled into Yukiko's neck. "I know it's tough, but… Will you try? For me?" she whispered.

"Hm?"

"Don't punish yourself, Yukiko. Don't convince yourself there is someone better than you for the person your heart yearns for. Trust your heart. Listen to it and try, even if it ends up hurting. Love is worth it."

"…I'll try, Amaririsu. I'll try. But I don't know if I have anything worth giving."

"Yes you do. How can you think that when you've already given me so much? These moments, these feelings we've shared, our bond, I will cherish them and you for as long as I live, Yukiko."

Yukiko didn't say anything for a pregnant moment. She sent a message and shut her phone, placing it off to the side on her nightstand. When Yukiko's freed hand cupped her cheek and guided her chin up, Amari no longer feared if she overstepped. The kiss was longer than the others, deeper and expressed the words and feelings left unspoken.

"Ditto, Amaririsu," Yukiko replied softly.

Amari nuzzled back into her neck, where she eventually fell asleep in a warm embrace.

It wasn't this life. But they didn't let that stop them from loving each other while they could.