Timekeepers Guide To Heroing

by bajy

Something that's been buzzing in my brain for ages, here's a brief summary: Hey! Connie here, I got a quick question: If you somehow ended up in your favorite anime and you had knowledge of the future from there, how would you go about navigating said world and all who lived in it?... And is it too late to get therapy? (Izuku x OC) (Shoto x OC) (Katsuki x OC)

6. Concordia Jayden (origin) pt: 2

Here's part two!

Be prepared.

Warning: The following 3 flashback chapters will involve numerous crimes, Attempts of them, suicide, death, murder, gore, blood, abuse, enslavement, some filthy language somewhere (but not actual cursing), and numerous degrees of child abuse. (ESPECIALLY WITHIN THIS PARTICULAR CHAPTER IN QUESTION)

Side note: A number of events that happened within these backstory chapters is purely fictional, they've never happened in real life, so if you are confused about a few things look it up to make sure you do not confuse fiction with reality. If you have further questions, PM me anytime except Saturdays.

You have been warned!!

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... Not long after I turned 10 did everything change, one day without any warning a psychotic child killer appeared in the city.

He was bloodthirsty as he was insanely ruthless. Literally finding joy in causing fright and chaos to the civilians, You could practically hear him cackling from the other side of the city with how loud he laughed like an absolute lunatic Who almost seemed to have lungs about as powerful as two megaphones combined.

I kid you not when I say that although he sounds more like some freak from a horror story than a real person, but trust me what I say that he was anything but fictional.

And How he got the nickname child killer was pretty easy, but at the same time extremely gruesome, as from the first moment he appeared in town he found a nearby orphanage and slaughtered every single child there, leaving the staff horrified beyond words.

Not even the babies were spared.

With every single one of their deaths being excruciatingly gruesome and anything but quick and painless.

And he didn't stop there, no, in that very same day did he appear in a kindergarten, covered in blood and slaughtered nearly every child there. He would have gotten them all had the police not showed up in time, upon getting the frantic calls from the people Who worked at the orphanage, to arrest him, But not before they had to try and chase him away so the other children would be spared as he ran away cackling like he was enjoying the thrill of the hunt, Not even bothered that he wasn't able to finish his latest killing spree as he proclaimed that he would be back to finish the job later.

His actions that day cause a huge stir for everybody, In a huge and awful way.

Everybody, families especially, were horrified at what he had done and were worried for the children's safety and future.

Even those who didn't have children of their own feared for the lives of any innocent poor soul that would get cut down by this monster, couples who wanted to start families feared for the lives of their unborn children which resulted in many of the families whose wives were pregnant to quickly evacuate from the city as soon as possible by any means so they could avoid it, If they didn't already chose to reluctantly and heartbreakingly get an abortion just to spare their babies from a gruesome fate, It was only a blessing that he never went after pregnant woman but there was a good chance that he might change his mind at some point in the future.

Needless to say the police were working overtime to catch him, Even those who were either lackluster or lazy in their jobs started to really take this matter very seriously and really pull their weight around to try and help in the efforts, but nobody could, and it seems like their efforts were fruitless as even with the police guarding any place that children would be at, that literal bloody lunatic would find a way to bypass them in order to achieve his goal.

His actions alone shook the very state of New York and caused every single person there to go on high alert as it wasn't just Newtown that was in trouble, but any city within New York itself had to be on high alert as somehow he had an easy and fast way to get from one town to another without anyone noticing and in seemingly less time then how long transport around town usually takes, vehicle or otherwise.

It got so bad to the point that the Mayor had to cut off people from the outside world from coming into New York to spare them from suffering what everybody else was going through within that state as eventually the news went national and it left many people quaking in fear and horror, but the Mayor was more than willing to allow families to be able to evacuate as soon as possible just to get away from him so long as they promise never come back at least not until this man could either be arrested or be put down for good.

The man himself was a father of five and From the first moment he was told about what was going on he diligently and succeeded in securely getting his entire family out of New York with only him to remain to try and help in everything.

But, Sadder still not everybody was able to evacuate as quickly as some were able to, some were completely unable to for one reason or another, whether because they can't drive, whether they didn't have a means to drive out of the city, low on money, whatever the reason it left many of them despairing and desperate to the point that they were willing to smuggle themselves on to trains or any form of transport just to get away, throwing consequences to the wind not caring that they might get caught for stowing away, those who did get caught begged people who caught them to never take them back to New York ever again and explaining why which resulted in many of the people understanding and while the stowaways were still taken away by the police everybody was nonetheless understanding on why they wanted to escape in the first place And so were compliant in making sure that they wouldn't set foot in New York again, Even being brought into the protection program for their own safety.

And while there were bomb shelters (people getting so desperate to the point that they resorted to hunkering down in such as the man himself was considered to be a bomb in a very bloody manner) the most secure that was proven to be the strongest was one that had to be about as Tight as fort Knox and as impenetrable and inescapable as Alcatraz, but sadly that kind of fortitude could only be afford by exclusively and highly wealthy aristocratic families or families that were closely tied to the government, and even then not everybody was able to make it there, Not even those who were already from wealthy families weren't that extremely rich to the point of being able to afford it let alone be allowed entry into it, they were so greedy and selfish they didn't even allow any poor desperate families to take refuge there.

According to the news, there seemed to be no record of that criminal anywhere, although they can only tell by his dialect and accent alone, and when he spoke in another language half of the time did they deduce that he was Japanese, but even with their vast research not even the Japanese governments were aware of who he was, They themselves had looked but there was not a single record of him anywhere, like he never existed in the first place.

If they did have somebody like that they would have already had information on him straight from the start, to not be informed or let alone not had any known knowledge of such a man existing was both baffling and terrifying, somebody like him would have already have been put in an extreme mental asylum or be put on death row with records proving that, the fact that he has no records whatsoever only left more questions than answers here and just seemed too crazy to be real.

The sick freak didn't even bother to hide his actions as he was delighted to have an audience to bear witness to his bloody "masterpieces".

It was only on the 3rd day since he appeared in New York did the police even manage to find a name for him or rather a nickname he called himself.

Which was the Japanese version of the English translation for "child killer":

KoKirā...

Whether that was his real name or not, nobody knew but the name fit him just as well.

It was because of him that every parent was afraid of letting their child out of their own homes, fearing this man would come to kill them for it wasn't just any child who was orphaned or from a poor or modern family but any child in general, even those from aristocratic and rich families were not spared.

Shockingly yet sadly even with all the security that rich families could set up and hire, no matter how great, no one could stop him, Period (And I mean that for the regular rich families while as I've already stated previously those who were extremely and absolutely well off or from government families were at least able to avoid it).

And he would not accept any offers or bribes to spare their children if it meant he got big money or whatever his heart desired, he simply turned it down and slaughtered the child, sometimes even decapitating the parents completely or some of their body parts in the process in their desperation to stop him.

Some fools who tried to confront him outright end up dead before they even had the chance to make the first move, a blink of an eye and it was over, he killed them because "they were in my way", as he put it.

When this was brought out, this caused numerous people to flee the city in more frantic waves and move somewhere else for The safety of their children and themselves, for their families, their welfare and even their sanity.

Some were even desperate to the point of outright stealing another person's car or boat just to get out of the city as soon as possible, taking their chances with the police outside of New York's borders or whatever laid in store in the open waters of the ocean.

More heartbreakingly, some heartlessly abandon their own children just to save themselves, leaving those poor innocent souls to be left for dead.

Some people were even willingly adopting children from other orphanages, as many as they could afford, wanting to save them from their fate and were much like multiple Noah's arcs that would save them from the bloody flood which was that monster, orphanages left and right real quickly getting shut down right after every single child was adopted from each facility, whether as a whole or in groups by multiple people, with several men on guard to make sure everything went as well without that monster appearing to cause any more harm. Said people who adopted those children afterwards immediately fleeing New York with them to go elsewhere to keep them safe and to start a new life.

If they weren't already adopted then the officials worked tirelessly to try and evacuate all the orphans and take them to a safer place. Some even forcing their way into those previously mentioned fortified bomb shelters so that the children could have a safe refuge, Not caring about any complaints from anybody else and making it very clear that if any of them even tried to push them out They themselves would be arrested or, in a heartless manner in return, be kicked out of said shelters and be left to fend for themselves against a maniac like that man.

Many handfuls were successful in evacuation and finding safe refuge elsewhere, some failed, some still only managed to save several children from his grasp as the others got slaughtered.

How are those escapees doing right now? I couldn't tell you but I can only hope that they were all safe and they were all living peacefully, even those who decided to adopt for the sake of saving the children I can only hope that they would not be regretting their decision later on and would all live happily together as a family.

Of course there were some people that were not able to leave for one manner or another, As I've stated previously, and so instead decided to send their children away either to other family members who lived elsewhere or other safe havens out there where they would be safe and far away from the onslaught, many families tearfully saying goodbye to one another not knowing whether or not they'll see each other again but hoping at the very least that they would survive to see another sunrise.

Again some of the evacuations were successful, while others ended very horribly leaving many families heartbroken and devastated.

Still even with all the evacuations there were still so many people living in New York, too many, even the homeless, those who were not able to escape via stowing away, were begging people to take them in if it meant getting away from that monster and many of them accepting as they were aware that he was not hesitant to either kill or badly hurt any grown adults that interfered or got in his way. In fact from what I recall, even the homeless wanted to better their lives, strangely motivated because of everything going on, promising they would shape up and do better if it meant avoiding what is a non-stop massacre.

Of course again there were some people that selfishly refused and turned them away. Leaving them to suffer.

All of this mind you was done within days as not only did it make things way more difficult, Not just for the people making the evacuation preparations but for the evacuees themselves, but also more often led to many people rushing and making some mistakes here and there, hastily having to leave their own homes with only just essentials and the clothes on their backs. Some people even have to leave behind their livelihoods just to stay alive. Even if some of those people weren't children none of them wanted to take a chance that he would eventually get bored and start slaughtering grown men and teenagers too.

Fearing that anyone under the age of 12 and below wouldn't be enough to sate his insatiable bloodlust.

Many people, including myself, dread the thought of any family accidentally leaving behind their children unintentionally, and dreaded still of what those children were going through being separated from their family through everything that was going on then.

And obviously because of all this the adult criminals took advantage of all this to commit crimes without getting caught by the police due to their forces being spread too thinly through that living nightmare.

The only good news regarding the criminals was that some of them, who had more common sense and more of the will to survive and not get themselves killed, willingly surrender themselves to the police just so they could be locked away and get away from the onslaught, they probably believed that they had better chances living by being kept safely tucked away behind bars knowing that if anyone caught that monster he would most certainly be put on death row immediately and most importantly be kept away from any of the criminals that wanted to get away from him. They didn't care what they had to face for their own misdeeds so long as they could live, some still even promising to be better people and start striding towards change if it meant they wouldn't get killed whether by the killer or even because of their own misdeeds being so bad to the point that it comes quite close to being put on death row.

I allowed myself to stop so I could look back up to the others, all their reactions were exactly as I expected.

The detective looked so sickly white yet I could practically see red blazing in his eyes, visibly trembling as it looked like he was either going to faint in fright or going to explode it in rage. Physically and visibly forcing himself to breathe in and out to try and remain calm.

Miss Kayama had bolted from my side, dropping the brush to run to the nearest garbage can and start hurling, sick to her stomach at having heard what I just said. And chances are if she didn't do this then she most certainly would have been stricken with fear, horror and with tears just as Inko and Recovery girl were, they themselves looking near close to either fainting or outright having a heart attack.

Mr. Yagi also paled and yet he was too focused on coughing blood into his hands at the mere horror that I was describing, visibly trembling as He hastily tried to wipe away the blood and regain his breathing.

The principal himself, to my brief surprise, just like in that one reaction story of MHA that I read a while back, he was breathing in and out into a paper bag (where he got from? I'll never know) rapidly, to my greater surprise I was actually able to see he had real legitimate claws, just like in this one story I recall a while back where Izuku had an insect quirk, yet he took special care in making sure he didn't accidentally claw his own paws by accident even in the midst of doing what he's doing now.

Honestly I would be much more concerned if he hadn't reacted like that. Even the most calm and composed of men no matter what their species do experience fear and horror every once in a while, there's only so much that single individual men alone can do to hide how they actually feel depending on the case, and with this part of the story as intense and worrying as mine?

I would be legitimately worried If nobody reacted to that at all.

And Izuku, Minus Mr. Yagi in terms of coughing up blood and Mr. Nezu regarding his claws, looked like a mix of everybody else's reactions, internalizing it all into one person.

I honestly did not want to know what he would do besides the clear obvious fact that he was paler than a mountain of snow, was shaking more vigorously than a baby rattle and had a flowing stream of tears running down his cheeks.

And I don't blame any of them.

Were not for the living lie detector, This part of the story would have sounded more like something that literally came out of one's worst nightmares, or the most horrifying horror novel ever concocted or even something that was made into a nightmare fueled horror movie.

I just regret that I later give them nightmares because of this.

I nodded to them all grimly, "You get the jest, it was all a literal living nightmare that everyone wanted desperately to wake up from. It was just pure insanity, heartbreak and fear the size of New York and its population in my current era itself. The madness, the chaos, the murder, the horror, all of it was just too awful for words to describe."

"And in a world where no one has any powers whatsoever, it only makes that situation much more horrifying." Mr. Yagi chimed in softly, voice sort of hoarst, wiping the last of the blood from his chin with a now drenched handkerchief, "Had any one of us had somehow found a way to travel to other worlds, the heroes of this world would most certainly have arrested that lunatic before he could have caused anymore irreparable damage than he already had."

"The situation was that darkly grim and dire, everyone was just on their hands and knees begging for some hero, or anybody really to somehow swoop in and get rid of that murderer once and for all and save them all. But sadly that never happened." I replied, returning the gentleness.

"The fact that one man alone had caused so much literal bloody mayhem within a week is extremely disconcerting." Nezu, Now having removed the paper bag from his mouth, carefully folding it before stuffing it into his pocket, replied as his voice, though retaining a casual tone I could nonetheless see straight through him as in his eyes it told tales that I'd rather not say out loud, His voice was on the edge of cracking from this facade and there was no smile on his face as a frown now etched it.

Were our roles reversed I would feel the same way.

"Biggest understatement of 4 to 5 years ago." I said in a tired tone.

I heard footsteps as I turned to Miss Kayama, who returned from the bathroom she retreated to after emptying the contacts of her stomach, No doubt to get herself washed up before returning back to my side, albeit her frame now shaking from everything but still.

I sighed heavily, practically but not quite close to slouching in my current position given the state of my back.

I looked back down once more as I continued, knowing that the show must go on, even if it was more of a horror fest at the moment, with only James nudging me to continue, reminding me that I wasn't alone:

All of this only enraged my uncle as he cared more about the fact that it was because of this lunatic that most of his employees hadn't been able to come into work for fearing that their own children would end up getting massacred, or they themselves someday soon.

Costing him money, time, productivity, profits and work itself.

He had no care for any of the children nor how his co-workers felt and outright demanded that his employees come back to work or they would be fired.

From what I heard, there were others like him in that kind of position that felt the same way, but among others he was more insensitive.

In his own words he'd say, "Just because there's a mass serial killer running about doesn't mean that we should shirk our responsibilities!!" Which could only be as selfishly plain as possible without sounding very vulgar.

Even though for some cases it was true that just because there was chaos going about doesn't mean that we should shirk our responsibilities, it doesn't change the fact that with all this chaos going about work would be hard for anybody to really think about, let alone try to get back to it especially with all this fear that's permeating the very state itself. Especially if there's a very real fear of getting killed or someone you know and care about getting killed.

For him his actions alone made him look very heartless. But with the police already working overtime trying to catch the maniac and with other office workers and executives and such practically drowning in mountains of paperwork and running on the clock with everything going on he kind of figured he could afford to show his true colors a bit in that regard.

Half of his employees quit on the spot as none of them wanted to leave their families unprotected nor work for a man who didn't care at all, while the other half still was willing, though with much hesitation, to come but only if they were sure that their children would be safe while they were away as They all made precautions, although some that were still willing to come to work only came because either they didn't have families of their own straight from the start, they already successfully gotten their children out of the city without issue, they desperately needed the job to pay bills or they already lost somebody but came anyways to try and drown their sorrows out which only made things harder on them, about 3% of those employees in that last category eventually couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide.

And of course he didn't care whether or not I would be killed by that monster, The staff on the other hand cared deeply and would fight tooth and nail to ensure my safety. My lessons had to be canceled until further notice as the staff feared that that man would eventually start thinking of disguising himself in order to sneak into people's houses to slaughter children.

That was the only time I was perfectly okay skipping my lessons, as this also meant that I could avoid anymore of my instructors getting murdered for trying to help me.

I felt a little safer as my uncle stayed at his company due to everything going on so I hardly got to see him which was a bit of a relief... But...

While I knew I was safe at least in My uncle's house (If you look at it from one perspective), and I knew that Ginger was safe in her home, the one person I feared would be in danger was none other than Martha, for she didn't have a secure home, and while she has made her home in the park, I've read my own fair share of stories of criminals lurking in parks to continue with their nefarious crimes, often slaying innocent souls unfortunate enough to be around there at the worst times with them lurking about.

I feared for her life and I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't do something, I wouldn't even care if I had to bring her into the mansion knowing that This would only incite Uncle Martin's wrath more, I wasn't going to leave her alone to die.

So the 5th night that came since KoKirā came into town, the main source and mastermind behind everything which led to this being dubbed as the CAMM (Child Assailant Mayhem Massacre), I snuck out of the mansion and made my way to the park, with the night alone to cloak my presence.

Too fearful to even ask for any of the staff to help as I was too scared for Martha's life to even think about doing something logical like that.

A squirt gun full of the hottest and spiciest hot sauce I could get my hands on and a hard plastic bat by my side as weapons to protect me.

Even though it was very dangerous, and stupid to go knowing the risks, I knew I had to save Martha, no matter the cost.

And I wasn't alone in my mission as Ginger was doing the same thing as I met her at the entrance of the park, armed with a real gun and a Knife.

I honestly couldn't question her logic in a 10 year old carrying those things In this situation as not only were we solely focused on getting Martha away from danger alone, but also, unlike me who couldn't get her hands on such weapons without her uncle or the servants catching wind of it straight away, Ginger had actually trained in self defense longer than I had (via Ginger teaching me herself occasionally And even with me being a fast learner I was still a beginner as Ginger was the expert and I didn't even know how to fight against somebody bigger than myself yet around then) ... although she admitted that she was not old enough to wheel real weapons yet, and that she wasn't a lethal weapon kind of girl, she knew that desperate times called for desperate measures, desperate to the point that she had to smuggle those weapons out of a safe that she remembered her mother had in case of a life or death emergency.

But as much as I wanted to question why her mother had those weapons in a safe in the first place, I stopped myself in remembering that her mother was a renowned and famous person so it made sense that she would need some weapons at home in case of a break-in or worse, Even with bodyguards it was always best to be prepared, and I could only imagine that she had several tools on hand in case she got robbed on the streets such as a taser and pepper spray.

None of this was child's Play, it was life or death, a rescue mission and we were not coming home until we brought Martha to safety.

We both agreed we would talk later as we made our way into the park...

Not knowing that that night would be the second worst day of my life...

I took a moment to steady myself as I practically felt my throat start to waver in terms of my voice box as I took a moment to take a few breaths before I spoke again.

I didn't need to look up to know that everybody was extremely horrified.

And who can blame them?

Two 10-year-olds attempting to go on a rescue mission to save their friend from a bloodthirsty murderer knowing that said murderer could strike at all of them at any time practically? And knowing that they did so without any adult help? Yeah no duh it would be terrifying and extremely worrying.

But that's what happened, but everything ended horribly, and it was the first and last time I ever saw that sick freak with my own eyes that very night.

To this day I still don't know how that creep always made it from one town to another so quickly, how he never ran out of steam, how he could be so heartless, nobody found out how he did it all, and his case has remained cold to this day.

I knew my silence was only just prolonging the inevitable, it needed to be said.

It was just plain unavoidable.

... I remember that night all too vividly, we traveled through the area where we knew Martha would be at as she had shown us several times so we knew the way by heart, we made sure to be quiet, trying to keep ourselves concealed, I was to navigate and Ginger was to keep on the lookout in case we got ambushed.

If it weren't for the fact that there was a blood thirsty freak roaming around, and how ominously quiet the atmosphere was, the night with the moon shining bright along with the stars in the nearly clear skies and gentle breeze blowing in that summer night would have been pleasant, nearly perfect.

Strangely enough we didn't hear a single animal within our vicinity, although given what's been happening back then, I only imagine that the animals took it as a sign that something near apocalyptic caused by a single man was enough to cause them to run away and hide.

The streets alone were completely empty, The only thing that could be heard for many miles away were the police sirens that could practically be heard from every town in New York, Still though It felt a lot like a ghost town, Which made the situation even more creepy and eerie.

No other person (excluding the police) was outside due to the fact that all throughout that week the news had strongly urged everyone to stay off the streets at night, no matter what the reason, unless you wanted to meet in early grave it was best to stay off the streets at night even if it meant hunkering down at a friend's place or a stranger's house or even in a shop somewhere, everyone was given a very strict curfew to follow until that monster was finally out of everyone's hair for good.

Suddenly, just as we were passing by a big bush of blueberries, a pair of hands grabbed us both and pulled us in, revealing that it was none other than Martha who shoved her hands onto our mouths to stop us from yelling, telling us to stay quiet.

Thankfully we all already knew how to speak in sign language thanks to Martha teaching us so we could silently communicate with the other without causing any noise.

"What are you two doing here!? Are you both insane!? If he's in this city by chance and if he finds you both here then you'll die!" Martha signed frantically in fear.

"We're here to save you, neither of us would forgive ourselves if anything happened to you, we're the Three musketeers after all and that means we stick together, meaning also we save each other no matter what happens." I signed firmly.

"But what if you guys get killed instead!? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you two!" She signed as she tried not to cry.

"Nobody will be able to forgive the other if we all end up dead." Ginger signed as she countered, "Besides, unlike us, you don't have a secure place to live, so we decided that we're going to get you out of here and see if we can hold you up in either of our homes."

"I'd rather not be a burden to you guys." Martha signed back, trying to argue.

I nearly smacked her for saying that but stopped myself knowing that that would cause noise as I instead signed furiously, "Martha Ana Palmer, You are not a burden to us, just as we are not burdens to you, we're not to the other. We're sisters, whether by blood or not, and we've always been there for each other, if it weren't for you two I would be in an even worse place, I would be all alone, without us you would be completely by yourself After your parents were killed, without us Ginger would be completely all alone as the girl who has everything but Real friends to talk to Knowing that with a reputation that her mom has it will lead to some people only wanting to be her friend just for the money or reputation. We're all here for each other, nothing will ever change that, and if it means that we have to risk our lives to get the other to safety then so be it, call us foolish if you want, but do not ever call yourself a burden, because you're not nor will you ever be, And we've been through too much just give up on the other now. We're family, and we always will be. Okay?"

By the time I finished signing that, I myself was in tears, same went for the others as they themselves were in tears, Martha especially as her eyes shined with regret before nodding firmly that she understood.

We've always been there for one another especially in our darkest times, with me with my uncle, Ginger with her absentee mother 98% of the time, and Martha herself with her having no family at all.

We'd stick together no matter what happens. Even if it meant getting hurt or killed in the process.

Even though we didn't want to be killed, We knew the only people who would miss us would be Ginger's mother and the servants from both of our homes.

Other than that, we were on our own.

Our favorite quote being this, "Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.", Which was very true in our situation and we weren't going to back down from that, Especially when we took these words to heart.

"Now that that's settled, we should get going, staying here longer would be bad." Ginger signed as We nodded in agreement.

But just before we could even move we heard a twig snap sharply which made us freeze up.

While we were already crouched down and hiding within the bushes themselves, we huddled together nonetheless trying to make ourselves invisible as we listened, hearing the dreadful sound of leaves and twigs cracking under heavy boots with the sound of something lightly plotting to the ground occasionally in a drippy manner.

It was so quiet that we could hear anything else within that frightening atmosphere. Even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard, said pin here being the thing which was coming close to us.

We held our breaths as we kept our hands over our mouths, trying to keep ourselves from making even a single bit of noise, knowing that it would be fatal if we did.

...It was only thanks to the light of the Moon that we were able to see his appearance through the leaves of the bushes, no matter how thick they were...

...And what we saw would forever plague us in our nightmares...

There was silence for a while before someone rubbed the top of my head gently, which made me look up (again, and this time) to meet the serious eyes of Tsukauchi as he broke it, "Can you describe what he looks like to us?"

I could practically feel him trembling from his hand on my head alone, I could see it in his eyes the waves of fear, anger, and The burning fire of an outraged police officer knowing that something like this had happened and nobody had been able to stop it, mainly due to the circumstances I described to all of them and the blatant reminder that I came from a world where nobody had super powers and therefore the existence of heroes and villains remain simply in fiction, period.

Unquestionably if he had the power he would have been able to somehow send himself and his men to our world to apprehend that sicko, knowing that with their powers it would give them an advantage, but sadly the ship has already long set sailed not to mention that we are not dimensional travelers, although given my case right now I imagine that could be possible but that's another thing to think about later.

Yet... when I look into his eyes, I see something else, almost like... He knows who I'm talking about... Although that would be rather impossible considering the circumstances.

Still, he has every right to know what he looks like, they all do, as I gave his description as clear as performing moonlight sonata.

As in within the dark setting, it's utterly eerie.

His short black hair looked frizzled and much like a mangled up rat's nest That was set on fire and put back together without even bothering to take out the dead bits out of it, his skin was although natural tanned was nonetheless pale in a way that screamed creepy, He wore a faded ratted leather jacket that was torn at the end of the sleeves and around the collar area from deep wear and tear, He wore no shirt and had deep scars all over his chest and stomach area almost like some kind of mad cat had torn his flesh like it were a scratch post, faded gray flexible jeans that look like are just begging to be thrown away due to being worse for wear despite looking 99% intact, black boots that look like to have been worn in a war and been very thoroughly used for many long years...

...His most distinctive features however were the spikes at the front of his boots, he had multiple blades visible around his belt from small to medium, A large machete strapped to his back and lastly and most certainly not least, the last of his features that were the most horrifying... Was the blood that was on his body from his chest to his pants from the knees down, the front of his shoes, and that which caked his face all of which long since dried up except for that which was dripping from the sheave of the machete as it was still very much coated in fresh blood along with around his upper arms and around his hands especially, and the fact that his chin didn't look natural to us as it was not only longer than normal but somewhat crooked...

... And finally, his heterochromic eyes...

... The left as black as volcanic ash and the right was a sickening muddy red that seemed to pierce straight through your soul...

...The soulless, bloodlust in his eyes was as treacherous as a tsunami, with a mix of a sickening glee that would make even the Joker back away in disturbed wariness...

Again I paused briefly, But this time because I can feel myself trembling, or rather the trembling that had started the very moment I started talking about that very incident 4-5 years ago, first small and somewhat unnoticeable until it started getting worse and worse and more notable.

Knowing what was going to happen as my heart started pounding as my fear grew more and more.

It was only by the combined efforts of Inko (via holding my hands), Miss Kayama (Who is now holding my shoulders from behind me), James (who is snuggling in my lap trying to soothe me) and to my surprise, which was enough to snap me out of it a little bit enough to be coherent And also causing me to look back up Just as I was about to cast it down at the same time, Izuku had placed one hand over both of mine, His eyes showing a cascade of emotions, practically feeling like him showing concern and the same time comfort, trying to silently tell me that I shouldn't push myself if I didn't want to and that if I did want to say it then it's ok to take my time, to stop me from having another panic attack.

To remind me that I was in the company of good people that want to help me. That I wasn't alone.

My heart practically bled with admiration towards all of them. But most especially him, once again reminded that he's so much like the boy that I saw on the TV from the show that I always loved, but now seeing it in person, practically feeling it right before me, It was a whole another thing all together.

Like I can easily tell him anything and he wouldn't ever judge me for my past or anything that happened in it, that he would understand.

That was enough to make the tears I've been trying to hold back start to well up in my eyes, threatening to burst at any moment.

As much as my voice wanted to abandon me at that moment, I kept an ironclad grip on it.

... It took everything we could to not scream, not let out a single peep, not move even an inch, his gaze alone causing us to hold our breath in fearing that he would hear us breathe even one single breath as he was surveying his surrounding, looking to see if anyone was there, didn't matter who, either another child he can relish in killing or another grown adult to flee from or to cut down if they were foolish enough to try and confront him, but not before creeping them out to the point of running away like scared babies or any police he needed to get away from...

It felt like an eternity just waiting for him to move away, hoping that he wouldn't find us, pleading for him to go away so we could get out of there safely.

The waiting was agonizing, especially as our lungs felt like they were going to explode from how long we've been holding our breath.

After a while eventually he moved away from our hiding spot, but none of us dared to do anything until we knew for sure he was gone.

Once he was out of sight, We waited, wanting to make sure that he was gone, no matter how much we felt suffocated from holding our breaths, we wanted to make absolute sure that he was gone.

After a solid 2 minutes we couldn't take it anymore and we all burst as we were gasping for air, trying not to faint from nearly suffocating to that point.All of our faces had gone blue from how long we were holding our breath and soon enough started to regain their original colors as we welcomed in the fresh air.

The moment that we managed to catch our breaths completely we froze and kept listening, quietly looking around, Peeking through the leaves of the bush, double checking in making sure that he was gone.

When there was nothing, we sighed in relief believing that we were safe so we can now initiate escaping from the park as quickly as possible...

... Oh how unbelievably wrong we were...

...Just as we stepped out of the bushes Martha narrowly managed to push us out of the way in time as her cheekbone got cut by a blade as some blood flew from that alone...

The moment we got our bearings did we all freeze up in fear upon what we saw next...

He was there... grinning at us menacingly...

"I found you..." He chimed in his sickeningly sweet and smug manner.

He tricked us into believing that we were safe, he knew we were there the whole time, he was just waiting for the right moment to strike...

"Especially you, Little Miss Orphan.."

That sent shivers up my spine, especially as he pointed his finger directly at me, not anyone but me, and the glint in his eyes told me that there was more going on than I knew.

And I was quite deadly right.

"I thought I would have to make plans to lure you out by using your friends as bait, but no it seems I didn't even need to lift a finger, just only make a sacrificial compromise on my end... You see that man Martin, your uncle, he's been really angry that I've been killing the children of his co-workers, driving some co-workers to suicide and/or to outright quit, and as it was revealed, some of his workers that foolishly tried to stop me and it's been causing him a lot of trouble, it was only by chance the other night that we met at the same bar..."

Grimley chuckling as he started caressing his knife as if it were a priceless gem as he continued:

"... Not going to lie in saying that he looks like the kind of guy I want to butcher given that my own grandfather's brother was much like him... But then he told me a very juicy detail, that while he himself had no children he had a niece that he was anything but pleased with... actually no, more than that, he hated her with every fiber of his being..."

Oh I didn't like where it was going as I slowly but surely became more and more pale, heart pounding increased in my chest, then what he said next was the final nail in the coffin that confirmed my fears.

"... So we made a compromise, If I agreed to stay away from his other co-workers that are still working for him that I haven't caused harm to in terms of their children or their own health yet, then he would secure me a plane ticket to go to Hawaii and leave New York for good... so I can continue my little spree while exploring my Hawaiian roots... Oh, And the price... *chuckled* He's willing to allow me to execute you and to do so however I like by means of torturing you before sealing the deal ... he also said he'll even throw in your two little buddies to sweeten the deal as extra insurance..."

"WHAT?!?!?!"

Despite everybody's scream in anger and horror, I barely flinched, I knew this was coming, even if I didn't know when.

Even if only getting hints via barely looking up, I knew for a fact that Mr. Yagi already buffed up into his hero form in a fit of sheer rage as his hands clenched so hard that they threatened to break themselves, Inko and Izuku were both in tears as their faces were whiter than snow in a fearful way, could practically hear recovery girl grinding the tip of her cane into the floor as she was muttering, though I couldn't hear what she was saying I knew for a fact that she was angry about this turn of events, I could however hear clearly the wooden brush that was being used to brush my hair cracking under the tight grip of Miss Kayama as undoubtedly she was angry herself, could feel Tsukauchi's hand still laying on top of my hand but could feel it twitching as it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was trying to make sure he didn't tighten his hand into a fist and end up pulling my hair inadvertently in pure disgust as I can hear him growling under his breath, and Nezu himself, Who seemed to have a calm demeanor on his face, and was actually within my peripheral view due to his height, had a small frown and a very deadly glint in his eyes as it seemed like the gears were turning in his head as if evaluating on how he can introducing both my uncle and that man to his agenda of unpleasantness, and that's just putting it mildly as I knew it could be a billion times worse.

Never underestimate somebody who was both small and extremely smart.

I didn't need a quirk to know that the room was practically radiating with anger, disgust and horror.

"Yes I couldn't believe it myself either..." I mourned as my head sank lower, "Even though my uncle hated he, He never outright tried to kill me or worse beyond the verbal and physical lashing (and constant murders of my past mentors). A part of me wanted to believe that he didn't entirely hate me but I squashed it down, because I knew that he could never be kind even if his life depended on it... I was nothing but a burden to him, I was never family, as far as he knew his only family was dead because of me, even though I did everything I could to try and stop my parents from going... And while I knew that my uncle made shady deals, the fact that he made a very horrendous one with the very same killer that was terrorizing our state as a whole and was willing to murder me and my friends just so my uncle could continue his business and wipe his hands of my existence completely without any more issues was just... more evil then I can describe..."

I spat that out like it was nothing but venomous, even contemplating that word in my head gave me unpleasant chills.

I even still have nightmares about it.

Even though it was broad daylight, the trauma of all of it just brought me back to that very moment where I was nothing but a traumatized 10-year-old.

'It's because of me that she's... why couldn't I have been stronger? Why couldn't I have been braver?!' I internally ranted to myself in self-disgust.

"Martha..." The voice of Nezu made me snap out of my spiral as I turned to him, the glint in his eyes now turning from deadly to sad, like he already knew the answer but asked anyway, ".. Her name was not on the contact list... if she's really as dear to you as Ginger is, Her name should be there, but it isn't..."

That immediately changed the atmosphere of the room as it now became silent, so silent you can hear a pin drop.

Inko squeezed my hands as tightly as she could as if pleading that what I was going to say next was not true, I squeezed back as I knew that no matter how much I wanted to believe that it didn't happen, my memory was just too perfect to forget it.

Which also emphasizes why having a perfect memory can be a double-edged sword in itself for it was both a blessing and in its own way a curse.

"Over my dead body you creep!" Martha yelled defiantly as she took out a water balloon from her pocket before she threw it at the killer who sliced it with ease, which was a big mistake as within that water balloon was not water but hot sauce as it splashed on him and some even getting in his eyes which made him reel back in pain, screaming in agony.

That was our cue to start running as Martha took us both by the hands before we bolted in the opposite direction, trying to get away, trying to put as much distance between us, Martha knew the park like the back of her hands so she knew all the routes to take in case something went wrong.

However, barely a minute later we heard him chasing us as we could hear the sound of his blades slashing through all the shrubbery around him.

While the three of us were pretty fast on our feet, he himself was faster, almost inhumanly so. Even with tricking him into falling into the traps that Martha set up only bought us a few seconds at a time to try and distance ourselves from him.

No matter where we went, we couldn't escape, our only hope was to try and book it towards Ginger's house, knowing that the mansion was completely out of the question, her house had the best security You could find so we knew that if that man tried to get anywhere near the estate he would be tackled by an entire army of guards The size of two football teams combined, If they didn't rapidly started shooting him at first sight right away.

We just needed a more potent diversion. At least enough so we could live to see another sunrise. One so tempting that he couldn't resist.

I only realized this too late when Martha, dear sweet Martha, hid us away, outright shoving us in a haste, in her very last hiding spot before running in the opposite direction, getting that man's attention as he chased her.

Martha alone was much faster on foot with nobody to drag along than the two of us were so she had a better chance of staying ahead of him, but It didn't change the fact that he was getting dangerously close to her.

I ran in the same direction, trying to stop her, ignoring Ginger as she was trying to get me to stay back, my heart pounded in fear.

"Please! Not Martha! Please don't kill her! Please not her!" I yelled, trying to raise my voice yet my voice was so choked up that it could barely be heard as my tears were flying down my face as I forced my body to run as fast as I possibly could, to try and reach them.

No matter how much my body protested, I was far too scared and desperate to care. Fruitlessly I tried to squirt that monster with the toy gun I had that had hot sauce in it, yet unable to aim right let alone hit my target as I only just wasted it in my attempt to try and slow him down somehow.

No matter how scratched and bruised up I was getting from bumping into every tree, rock and bush around me, Even losing my hot sauce gun on the way, I forced myself to keep running, knowing that I had to do something, anything, even give up my own life if it meant Martha wouldn't be killed.

I wouldn't forgive myself if Martha saw through with her suicidal plan to save us.

By the time I burst out of the last bit of bushes in front of me, I witnessed something that I could never erase from my mind, even if I wanted to.

... Petrified by fear as I saw that Monster had caught up to her, Just outside of the park entrance on the streets, with a bright flash of light from a passing by car, so bright you would mistake it as the light coming from a flashbang, just for a brief moment before he brought the knife down on her, it was a bloody mess as she was screaming, in agony, fear and pain while he was cackling like a psycho, which snapped me out of it as I bolted forward, trying to catch him, trying to make him stop as my voice at that point had abandoned me...

...Aimlessly swinging my bat to try and reach him... to hit him... to make him stop by any means...

...It... It was Ginger who held me back after having caught up with me ... keeping me back while covering my mouth trying to not draw attention, avoiding my flailing swings from my bat, even though she herself was in tears like me, watching in horror as that heartless beast was.. s..sl.. slaughtering our best friend...

.. It... It was only thanks to a series of bullets flying past him that made him stop as he dodged them effortlessly while standing...

...He... He Stole Martha's locket before he ran away...

...By the time... I.. I finally managed to wrestle my way out of Ginger's arms to get to Martha, he was already long gone, and Martha was already dead right before us... It was already too late...

She was gone...

I practically wrenched my hands out of Inko's as I used them to cover my face as I cried into them, trembling.

"She... She died... I couldn't save her.. We couldn't... And that... And that monster stole that one last remnant of her from us..." I forced it out of my throat as my voice became broken yet again, raw from grief and anguish.

I felt myself immediately being pulled into Inko's arms as she held me and I cried even more, not able to hold back my tears nor pull back, Not like I could let alone wanted to.

Soon enough I felt 2 more sets of arms wrapped around me, another woman's, younger which obviously meant Nemuri and the last one being even younger, around my age but with a masculine build, though kind of scrawny which I knew was Izuku.

Even as my voice felt choked up, I practically kicked my words out of my mouth trying to get it all out yet struggling as if I was fighting against a tsunami of my own regret and guilt:

".. Af..After that he-he vanished *sniffle*... Jus-just as suddenly *sob* as h-he appeared... With o-only a se-se-severed right arm *sniffle* th-that was le-left *sob*... th-that was le-left behind... fr-from a fi-final stun gr-gr grenade *sob* wh-while pas-passing by a-a-a tru-truck full of kn-knives *sob* The ca-case has re-remained unsolved t-t-to this day..."

Amidst my tears I felt a thin but strong (by tough callous) hand ruffling through my hair on top of my head, Not needing a degree in any sort of profession to know that The officer had already changed positions with the blonde, as I heard Mr. Yagi say, sorrowful, "I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that, it was bad enough that you lost your parents when you were only six, And it was also bad enough that you had to suffer being tormented by your uncle just because you're an orphan, but then to lose one of your dearest friends when you were only 10, 4 years after losing your parents, because your uncle made a deal with a nightmarish monster who was plaguing your home state... undoubtedly you had to fight tooth and nail just to keep your head afloat through all that madness of grief and pain."

"*Sniffle* ... more than you know..." I replied softly, my voice barely a whisper, at least I was able to calm myself enough to allow me to speak without stuttering this time... for the moment anyways... ".. I almost gave up completely..."

"I understand how you feel... years ago I lost a friend of mine too, Who was very dear to me and two others, we were not able to save him in time... By the time we realized what had happened it was already too late, but for you it was worse because you actually saw what happened, You were all so young back then and were helpless to stop it completely..." Nemuri sympathize sadly.

Oboro Shirakumo...

I know she was talking about him, what happened roughly 16-17 years ago, she, Eraserhead and Present Mic were all on a mission for work studies, then a big villain came and their friend ended up getting caught under a falling pillar of concrete trying to save a bunch of school kids from getting crushed...

She doesn't know that he's still alive (no one does except me and 2 villains), but not the same person as he was before... thanks to a number of fanfiction and AO3 stories I have a good idea or two on how we can get him back... But for now one step at a time for that will be for another time, but hopefully not too long...

Here's hoping that the Erasure hero won't strangle me to death once he finds out...

Let's also not forget that even just finding out what actually happened will be severely crushing to all three of them... Especially when knowing that this happened all those years ago and none of them ever knew of it...

'Oboro Shirakumo... someday soon, I hope I'll be able to save you, even if not by me then with the help of your friends and the others... We'll save you from the darkness you are trapped in... figuratively and literally.' I thought to myself, a part of me hoping somehow that I would have telepathy to tell him this... Even though I know it's not possible since I'm quirkless, therefore there's no point... I guess I was just trying to be hopeful at least to myself, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm not going to give up on him or anybody... I don't want to give up on anyone or myself again, not like last time when I almost did...

... That's going to be an even worse band-aid to rip off, and this is going to be the third to last of the can of worms that I'll have to open for them to see...

Once I felt like I was calm enough, despite some tears still present, I gently pushed Inko away as she and the others, understanding the gesture, let go to give me space, but the green haired woman kept her hands on my shoulders, as a way to ground me.

Which I was glad for.

... Oh she will be even more heartbroken once she hears what happened after... Especially as for this case it is almost a little too close to home in one particular manner...

Regrettably, the show must go on, or in this case the story of my past as my guilt soon turned into defeat, even with Inko drying my eyes I knew that more tears would soon follow.

Even as Mr. Yagi patted me on the head one last time before removing his hand, it did little to extinguish the tiredness I felt in my own heart.

That night was a very bitter night for us both, the police did not lecture us but instead gave us comfort as they saw that we were traumatized enough as it was, we didn't need any more salt on the wounds given what had transpired that night, so they escorted us both back to our respective houses, well my uncles for me but you know what I mean, and like the two-faced liar he is when in front of the police he pretended to be a very concerned guardian, almost like the perfect surrogate dad, however once the door were closed as the police left He sent me to my room without supper... All the while I heard him muttering that at least there was one less "parasite" for him to deal with upon hearing what happened to Martha...

And yet I wasn't exactly listening, because deep inside of me we had failed, I had failed, we could not save Martha, I couldn't, instead it was she who was saving us, I couldn't stop myself from crying my eyes out as soon as I got back into my bedroom, as always only the servants were concerned about my welfare while my uncle just locked himself away in his office not even heeding the words of the others asking him to go see me, to comfort me or at least give me some encouraging words, not like I wanted to see him anytime soon or anything given everything, in fact I didn't want to deal with him at all especially after knowing that he had hired an assassin to kill me and those who I cherished dear.

As much as I absolutely wanted to run away from home, I knew I could not for multiple reasons, mainly that due to my uncle's reputation in a sense the public would demand that he looked for me, He could not get rid of me even if I pleaded for him to just disown me and put me in orphanage so that we could both be done with each other, but the other reason, one that laid heavier on my heart was leaving poor poor Ginger on her own, and just thinking about that broke my heart more because now I only had Ginger, and while I had the servants I knew I couldn't tell any of them about how I felt or anything of that at sort Even if I wanted to I knew that it would eventually slip to my uncle and that'll only make things worse, that only made the pain in my heart grow even worse.

While everybody still in New York were celebrating knowing that that maniac was finally gone and given evidence they believe for good, while a handful of families returned back to their rightful homes while others didn't want to come back due to bad memories which was pretty understandable, while still the city itself was working on getting everything back to normal and welcoming in new inhabitants that would eventually take residency in the city for one reason or another, only Ginger and myself were beside ourselves, we couldn't stop crying when we met up the very next morning, especially so when we started to make a makeshift grave for our dear friend and did a funeral service for her, still heartbroken, but I was suffering the worse.

As soon as I got home I made my way back to my room which I waited in there knowing that my uncle was going to be back home from a super early meeting he had to attend to, but when he did that was only the start of when things started to get much worse, for the next two months things became even harder for me.

He started locking my door so I couldn't sneak out of my bedroom, even though I could easily sneak out of my window and climb the climbing Jasmine vines that were on my side of the whole mansion, it doesn't change the fact that he didn't want to deal with me. Unless it was for meals or for lessons, when it came to meals he became absolutely strict and only gave me minimum of what I was originally getting, he wouldn't heed the servants when they asked him why he was insisted on making my portions smaller or even when they contradicted that I needed more food to be able to stay healthy and strong, he'd scream at me if I even dare to ask him for even more food or even sweets, when it came to lessons he was present for every single one of them and no matter how many times I did everything exactly as my instructors told me he would get infuriated and said I did everything incorrectly not even listening to the instructors who would correct him saying I did follow everything as I was told to do which Just led to an even worsening cycle of my instructors go "missing" and then getting new ones immediately after.

Needless to say that one corner of the park where our makeshift gravestones were was starting to become an actual graveyard as the more people that were killed by him the more we had to put up makeshift tombstones for them despite how painful everything was I didn't want to forget about the faces of the people who tried so hard to help make things better for me, And even though we didn't have their bodies we thought it's the least we could do for them even though they weren't there anymore.

He might as well have been deaf to anything that the servants were saying, no matter what he just did not listen to anyone unless it was something business related.

And obviously the beatings only got worse Even though the only good thing that came out of that particular one was that he had specified days of when he would "beat some discipline into me".

There was a good reason why I hated Mondays and Fridays the most.

The more it continued the weaker I became especially as it made it harder for me to sneak out of the house just to see Ginger to just trying to escape everything, and the more my guilt sorrow and depression became, to the point that I became so numb to my uncle's tormenting that on some days I would forget what it was like to actually be happy.

The mask I always wore to hide everything from everybody and not just my uncle, I became too good at doing that, even to the point of hiding how I actually felt from ginger of all people. Even though it hurt to lie to her every single day that I was okay, I didn't know how to stop.

My depression got so bad that I could barely understand what Ginger was trying to tell me as she became more and more concerned about my welfare, although I got the hint that she had tried to call the authorities but there was nothing they could do as quite mainly they were still trying to get everything back to normal after everything that happened with that sadistic child killer, and the other, not to my surprise, was that my uncle would make sure there would be no evidence of him ever abusing me and try to chalk it up as one of his employees trying to make him look bad because he tends to be really strict at work.

It was a wonder how despite everything I didn't end up having any injuries that required me to absolutely need to go to the hospital such as having broken bones or worse, even though my wounds, Especially the long cuts that required stitching via using the stapler as doing so by hand with a thread and needle was too risky and would hurt even worse, were regularly attended to by Ginger as she got better at conducting first aid even though it came with a very grave price as she had to suffer watching me suffer.

To the point that I could barely look up as I always kept my head down, not even taking heed to any of the servants if they got concerned about me.

The pain only got worse in just about every sense, eventually, although I didn't realize it at first, I wanted to live and yet I couldn't take it any longer...

Were it not for the events that took place that day that marked the second month since everything that transpired I wouldn't be here today.

Only by James' loud whimpering, practically crying, was what brought me out of my flashback daze as I looked down at him, he had tears in his eyes as I petted him softly, giving him a small tear stained smile.

But I couldn't hold it for long especially when I heard just about everybody sniffling or growling at everything I was telling them, undoubtedly if my uncle were here right now they would absolutely murder him.

I barely chuckled at the thought of how my uncle would be absolutely powerless against a room full of people who had quirks, with only a few exceptions.

And more especially at the thought of how my uncle would react when he realized that he had no resources or assets he can get into contact with in this world as he would be absolutely powerless and undoubtedly would be arrested as no one can get it past a living lie detector.

It's like trying to lie to a brick wall, nothing was going to come out of it, especially if you're the one in the confined space with no way of escaping.

I nodded to James, silently thanking him for the brief distraction I needed so I could catch a second wind as I continued with the story:

...I'll never forget that day, for It was pouring down rain, the streets were practically deserted with only a few stragglers trying to get to their next destination either on foot or via the car given how dreary the weather was...

I remember I was making my way to the park, slow and practically on autopilot. No coat, no umbrella, not caring at all about my bandages getting soaked, But my destination was not to the places where I would usually meet Ginger but instead I made my way to one particular part of the park that I hadn't been to in a few short years around that time, perhaps I just wanted to be alone or maybe I just wanted to do some exploring to try and get my mind off of things, I'll never fully know and I'd rather not think about it anymore then that, it was to a river that was kind of large and deep and it had a wooden but very sturdy and stable bridge that would allow you to cross from one side to another, but I didn't cross the bridge as I went to the very edge of the river itself.

With how much rain that was coming down the river was practically raging, currents running faster than a roadrunner, The only thing visible that I could make out was the fishes swimming in that very river, traveling, though fast but otherwise in their own peaceful world unafraid of anyone who would try to grab them. Unaware of the danger yet you could say they were blissfully ignorant of it.

It was silly but I felt jealous that these fishies could live peacefully in such a river despite their being some obvious animals of prey that would gobble them up if they weren't careful, And yet I knew that none of them were being beaten up as if they were worthless, none of them were getting yelled at for just being fish, none of them were forced to take lessons and had to do them repeatedly no matter how good they did in them, although strangely the more jealous I became the more at peace I became, It was odd but later I would realize that such thinking like that was anything but good.

I remembered wanting to join them, to be able to swim away from my troubles, to just get away from everything, to not have to go through any more pain than I already had, Even though I could not swim as I never took swimming lessons and it had been many years since the last time I ever went to a public pool (which was only one time) yet I didn't care about that, before I even knew it I started to fall into the river like deadweight as I almost blacked out, the key word almost as what snap me out of it and made me come back to reality was feeling someone, by two pairs of hands and a pair of teeth from an animal to be exact, grabbed me from behind and yank me away, it took me a few moments for my vision to become clear as I realize who had pulled me away as I laid there on the ground panting, too numb to feel pain, as I felt like I just woke up from a nightmare.

It was none other than Ginger, One of the maids known as Lydia, and a little pup that would soon become one of my dearest animal companions.

"James?" I heard Izuku asked hopefully, to which I nodded in return as I gave a gentle smile.

I still remember first meeting the little pup He was back then, the right age for a puppy to be adopted, small yet very playful and very empathetic, quick to protect me from anyone who would try to hurt me.

The little puppy that would soon become my companion and therapy pet especially when it came to the nightmares that still terrorizes me to this day.

James huffed, As of in confirmation as he looked up at me to lick my face a little bit trying to cheer me up, which I appreciated as I got to the next important thing that would change my life forever.

As I could hear everyone sigh in relief in knowing that I was saved from making a stupid mistake, that I had known James for that long and he was one of the three that saved me from doing the unthinkable, I continued with the story once more, My sorrow starting to dissipate just as the rain clouds did that day:

I was shocked at seeing them, briefly confused on why there was a puppy with them, and a little startled that the rain had suddenly stopped right as I was about to fall into the river, as the rain clouds above slowly but surely started to shift as little by little they started to part.

Ginger grabbed me by the front of my shirt as she yanked me forward into a sitting position as she started to shake me, tears falling down from her face, Which gave off the most heartbroken expression I've ever witnessed, as she gave me the biggest scolding lecture a 10-year-old could ever give to someone around their age.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT!? NO DON'T YOU DARE ANSWER! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GO THROUGH WITH IT! DON'T YOU DARE DO IT CONNIE!!" She yelled in a very worried yet angry, broken voice, "COMMITTING SUICIDE WON'T MAKE ANYTHING BETTER! IT NEVER DOES! AND IT WILL CERTAINLY WILL NOT BRING MARTHA BACK! HOW DO YOU THINK I'LL FEEL IF YOU LEFT ME ALL ALONE?! I ALREADY LOST ONE FRIEND I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE ANOTHER! I KNOW TIMES ARE SERIOUSLY BAD FOR YOU BUT YOU CAN COME TO ME WHEN TIMES GET BAD! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE! WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE! SERIOUSLY, YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE SUFFERING FROM HAVING LOST A DEAR FRIEND! I'M JUST AS UPSET AND MISERABLE AS YOU! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO YOU ESPECIALLY AS I'M PARTIALLY THE CAUSE OF THINGS GETTING WORSE FOR YOU AT THE MANSION!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH IT HURTS KNOWING YOU'RE HURTING AND THERE'S HARDLY ANYTHING I CAN DO TO STOP IT ON MY OWN!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS KNOWING THAT WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH IS A MILLION TIMES WORSE THAN WHAT I'M DEALING WITH!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS IN GENERAL!? DON'T YOU REALIZE YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE MOURNING FOR THE LOSS OF ALL THE INSTRUCTORS THAT TRIED TO HELP YOU!? DON'T YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH I CARE ABOUT YOU AND HOW MUCH I JUST WANT US BOTH TO BE ABLE TO LIVE HAPPILY!?! DON'T YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW MUCH MORE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT US, ABOUT YOU, THAN WE KNOW?!? THE SERVANTS ARE JUST AS CONCERNED ABOUT YOU AS I AM! WE LOVE YOU! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T DIE!!"

When She screamed those words That was when it hit me like a runaway bus, what truly made me come to my senses, I was so shocked that it left me mortified, I had almost committed suicide! I didn't even realize it! Here I was just thinking about swimming away with fishies just to get away from everything for a while, and yet a part of me was just thinking to just end it all there even though I still wanted to live, wanted somebody to help me, wanted somebody to let me know that everything was going to be all right and that there was hope, though it seemed that a part of my brain didn't want to listen, part of myself too, and just disguise the fact that I was about to do the unthinkable so I wouldn't have second thoughts of what I was about to do.

When she said those words, it hit me even harder as tears started to well up...

I wasn't the only one who was suffering, no matter how different the circumstances, it didn't change the fact that not just me but Ginger was suffering and mourning over the loss of our dear friend, of poor Martha, too and even for all the lives that were lost of those who tried to help make my situation better. That I wasn't the only one that was suffering, Ginger was too from seeing me suffer, at that moment I felt like a selfish idiot for not even taking how my friend felt in consideration of everything, even though I knew that she was dear to me and would be there to lend an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on, I didn't even think about how she felt and knowing I was going through all of that, helpless as a mouse trapped in a glass cage with no way out.

I felt like I wasn't being a good enough friend to her as she was trying to be for me, especially now. It only made me even more regretful as more tears fell down.

I was just as selfish for not even taking to heart how much worry and concern the servants had towards me, and were trying their best efforts to get my uncle to listen.

I felt my heart shattered in a million pieces from my own selfishness as I couldn't help but cry as Ginger and Lydia held me close as they too were crying while James, even as a puppy who didn't really know better, could tell that I was very sad and tried his best to try and cheer me up by licking my face, trying to wipe away the tears which only made me cry even harder.

As the sun started to peak through the clouds as if shining a light to signify that things were going to get better no matter how bad times got, I made a promise to them that day that I would never think of doing something that unacceptable ever again, And if I ever needed anything, no matter how much it hurts, I would tell them everything no matter what, especially to Ginger.

I'm alive today thanks to them...

I felt a handkerchief being pressed against my left cheek as I turned only to see the principal, for the first time now seeing that his face although showing it was neutrally calm I could see that the look in his eyes and even the tears that were visible told a completely different story altogether, nonetheless I accepted the handkerchief as I started to dry my tears up, even though some more came down I felt both Inko and Nemuri pull me back into a hug in a smothering (But not quite) and yet soft and comforting way, strong yet gentle to ensure that my stitches wouldn't get broken or accidentally hurt me anymore than I already was, as they were both crying profusely, and they were not the only ones who were in tears, profusely apologizing to me for having to go through all of that and how heartbreaking it was knowing that I had gone through all of that about as helpless as a fish without its fins in a goldfish bowl, even though I had trouble trying to turn my head due to being in between two women I was able to see the looks on everybody else.

Recovery girl was heartbroken as She cast her head down with cold burning fury underneath her gaze as she was gripping her cane to the point that it seemed like she didn't care if she would end up breaking her own hand on the thing.

Tsukauchi looked equal parts mortified as well as angry, In my mind it must be from knowing that such a despicable man as my uncle had done all of that not even caring about how anybody else felt and all of this being swept under the rug and going unpunished for years and years, what else could tear him up something fierce then either All For One or egregious crimes about the size of a mountain that Never got addressed at all.

Without question going against everything that he stood for as a police officer knowing that even though some of the fault wasn't exactly on the police back there due to them already being busy (working overtime times 10) trying to apprehend the murderer who was the cause of New York's statewide panic and strife before his disappearance, it doesn't change the fact that even in entirely ragged states the police should have done a further investigation to prove whether or not the man did commit any crimes against his niece or not, No matter how you slice it my uncle is a criminal through and through and should have been punished ages ago.

And I agree without a doubt, he'd get a lifetime prison for this... or worse.

While Mr. Yagi, now as All Might As he had steam coming off from his body, was more than just angry or in fury but was absolutely livid, beyond that even, giving off a glare so terrifying that it would make any unfortunate criminal facing against him wet their pants in fear, probably even go as far as begging to the police to save them from him, not able to escape having been scarred for life by the normally heroic man.

I can only imagine what the man would do to my uncle if he were to be in the same room right here and right now, aside from obviously making the man understand just How much he messed up and how messed up he truly was, And that's just me putting it lightly as I did not even want to think about what awaited that man who had tormented me my whole life... aside from a joke on the muscular man turning my uncle into a literal pretzel.

Because I know it could be, and possibly would be, even worse than I could ever imagine.

And Izuku?

When I looked at him I was absolutely heartbroken, My heart went out to him even more than ever at seeing the look on his face, he too was saddened and quite mortified, but I could see the particular glint In his eyes as he clenched his fist tightly... I understood why...

Sympathy and understanding, contemplating thoughts of what could have happened if he never met All Might that day... Just because I haven't read the reports on quickness it doesn't mean that I don't have a clue on what people who don't have any powers go through, especially in having seen what Izuku went through in the anime and what he went through in a good number of fanfic and AO3 stories I've read over the years... I know that if he never met All Might that day he would have committed suicide himself... Knowing that I came close to losing my own life, even if it was unintentional, it still hits far too close to home especially in knowing that someone felt pretty similar to how he felt no matter how bad our situations were, no matter how different our circumstances were, world wise.

Although honestly, despite how bad his circumstances were before, Izuku had it better than me, because unlike me he had a relative who loved him and cared for him for who he was, Who helped raise him despite how difficult the circumstances were, he had an adult figure to rely on even though he felt like he had to hide the truth from his mom knowing how she'd react (same goes for his mentor although I plan the remedy that), even though he didn't have any friends around his age he could count on, while for me I'm the polar opposite as I didn't have a family relative to count on and I only had my friends around my age I could turn to especially when times got bad. Although it doesn't change the fact that unlike me and my friends by ourselves, Izuku actually had someone (2 adult figures) he could go to in case trouble arose who would be ready to help him despite the things I've mentioned previously, Izuku never got whipped, starved, yelled at, threaten and abused by his own relative like what my uncle put me through, although I'd imagine him having been tormented in different ways besides getting yelled, abused and threatened by his childhood bully, my uncle did not need a quirk to show just how awful he was in far too many ways than one. Izuku had an actual real home that he could find a safe haven in while for me the mansion was no home and never had been for the past few years I lived there. Even though he had more mental and emotional scars than physical ones (as far as I'm aware), I on the other hand had all three of those kinds of scarrings in spades, Especially as some of them aches to this day and some even produce phantom pains I still feel here and there. Just to name a few examples really.

Izuku was saved from the edge by All Might (despite what took place before the sludge villain attacked again) and I was saved by Ginger, Lydia and James (some time after the incident with that murderer).

The one thing we both have in common is the hope of something better coming, no matter how bad things may become, that everything will turn out better someday in the future, not wanting to die and leave the people who still care about us behind heartbroken and sad, No matter how hurt and fed up with everything we were as children, The will to keep working hard prove our worth and that we could achieve something great.

Still...

Even just thinking about it, a 10-year-old, though unintentionally all things considered, committing suicide was heartbreaking and unthinkable to anyone, especially to those who uphold justice and sought to help people no matter what happened, it only brought more tears to my eyes as I could feel James licking my left cheek gently trying to stop my tears from flowing, though the effort was appreciated it didn't stop the tears from flooding down like a waterfall.

"Ms. Jayden," Said Nezu as I turned to the principal as He proceeded to pull out another handkerchief as he wiped his own tears away, having a glint in his eyes that told equal signs of him wanting to unleash terror on the man who hurt me and for causing so much pain in the first place, and to the murderer who inflicted such a bloody nightmare to everyone within a single state including to me and to my loved ones (who can blame him?), and at the same time he showed sympathy in seeing someone so young having to go through all of that knowing that there was nothing anybody could do to stop it, hurt knowing that all this was going on in a world that should have been at least a little more peaceful given that my world had nobody who had superpowers of any sort, honestly my world wasn't at all peaceful as it was going through its own struggles from wars to crimes of many different magnitudes, some of which I'm afraid to say knowing it'll mortify them all for life if I told them, "No words can describe just how awful your situation was, beyond that really, even though you haven't finished your story just yet as I can tell there's still more to unravel, it doesn't change the fact that everything you went through up until then was anything but pleasant, it's heartbreaking knowing that you went through all of that helpless, especially in knowing that your uncle had bigger resources and influences that would ensure that no one would ever be able to suspect that he was a criminal in any manner And knowing that those who tried to stop him ended up getting murdered in the process and he would pin all that blame on you. No words can even describe just how sorry I and all of us are in knowing you had gone through all of that for so many years. Though we are relieved that you had friends you could turn to your darkest plights, The grim reality of it all hurts... Especially at the fact that we shouldn't forget that all of you were still mere children and you were still all alone way back then..." He said as his neutral tone was starting to lean on the sorrow side, expressing just how sad he was, but then it started to go to a lighter tone as he then said, "...But, Still I must say I'm really proud of you for having remained strong through all of this, Even when times got grim and even when times got worse and worse you still wanted to live, even when fighting against yourself and just wanting to end it all you still wanted to live deep down."

That made me perk up in surprise.

"It takes a lot of courage and strength of heart to endure everything you went through, physically and otherwise." Recovery girl was next to give her two cents, or rather yen given that this was Japan, turning to me as she said, "No child should have to go through what you went through, neither you or any of your friends deserve to go through any of that just for existing, And none of you especially should ever have to be driven to the point of actually contemplating ending your own lives at the mere age of 10, and yet the fact that you all strived to keep going even when times got monumental worse it's not something to scoff at, even when your friends were going through their own sort of terrors you were there for them just as they were there for you. It showed how much love you had."

Tsukauchi went next as he told me with a look of determination, "Most children your age back then would have given up and either just ran away from home or... did the unthinkable (Which is a concept, at that age, that's too horrible for words)... but you stayed, you were willing to try and tough it out even when you didn't want to be tormented you still endured, Even when you felt imprisoned you thought of your friends more than you thought of yourself, you didn't want to leave them behind which showed how much you cared about them, and the fact that your friends and eventually you worked so hard to make artificial graves for the people who had lost their lives trying to help you is really admirable, showing more and more just how much you care, that you have far more love and care than your uncle ever will."

"Even when faced with a deadly and grim situation such as that maniac terrorizing your home town, And even though what you did was extremely foolish, the fact that you were even willing to risk your life to save one of your dear friends showed how much heroism you had, even when it was terrifying you still wanted to protect the people you cherished even though your situation was already worse as it was, You were willing to endure anything and go against your uncle just to help the people who needed that kind of help the most. Even when being buried underneath all of that suffocating sorrow, guilt and depression, deep down you still wanted to keep going, you wanted things to get better, and that waiting paid off, Even at the brink of it all, you wanted someone to lend you a hand just as you always did and it did in the form of Ginger, one of the servants and even James, who all came to save you." Mr. Yagi said, calmer, and back to his true form, and yet while his eyes still held sadness he had a look of admiration within them, a look of pride that made his blue irises within the pitch black of his eyes shine like stars as He placed his right hand on my left shoulder in a firm yet gentle grip as James ceased licking and yet still pressed his face against my own cheek in comfort as the man then told me, "Despite your rescue efforts being extremely foolish, suicidally dangerous and in vain, even though you were rightfully scared out of your wits, the fact that you were concerned about your friends well-being is not something to spit at. Even though it took your other friend bringing up certain things that you forgot about to snap you out of it, you were nonetheless willing to admit that you were foolish and wanted to do better, it takes a lot of willingness and humility to admit such faults like that, no less at a time like yours way back then. And I could just tell in your eyes that you wanted to use the past to push you to be better instead of letting it drag you down again, to help you grow, to not let that past anchor you down even if you do look back at it every once in a while and feel sadness, Even knowing that there's no way you can ever change the past, you still wanted to live, Not just because you know that that's what Martha would have wanted for you and Ginger. You had hope, even with everything going on, you had it, and had even accepted the renewed hope from the love of others, a hope so strong that you never wanna let go of it, even if it all just feels too much to bear, All of that just shows how much of a good person you are and how much you cherish life unlike that man who dared call himself a loving uncle."

"Anyone who even dares to even think that you don't deserve any love at all are the sick ones who need to be put in a psych ward, You're a very kind person, no one deserves to be unloved just for being alive, You haven't done anything wrong dear, You simply haven't done anything to deserve all that and that is that." Nemuri said, voice broken as she and Inko both were in tears once more as I was again unbothered by the tears that were falling on me.

Inko then said tearfully, "Growing up as an orphan is never always easy, More often than not it's difficult and even if the situation can be different between one person to another the struggles are still there even if they come in different forms or at least to a similar caliber to one of them, but still everything your uncle ever did to you just because your parents found you as a orphaned baby and loved you, the fact that that man hurt you so badly to the point that he was even willing to hire an assassin to kill you, and not care whether or not you committed suicide or not? That man in general is an inexcusable human being, the only one who deserves to be punished for all of this is him, you never did anything wrong because it was his fault. If I ever see that horrible man I'll rip him apart!"

I couldn't help but shiver there, at least slightly, because I know even with a quirk like her's she was definitely capable of doing such a thing as I've seen a few examples of such a thing or at least something similar from a few stories I've read.

Because yes folks, organs and individual bones do count as small objects!!

And let's just say from a few stories I know for a fact that it's better not to be the source of her ire.

Otherwise it's your funeral.

I was brought out of my train of thoughts as I felt another hand, but this time, on my right shoulder as I turned, with some difficulty and some nudging since I was sandwiched between the two younger women, to see that it was none other than Izuku.

In his eyes I could see a fiery blaze raging in them as a form of determination rather than of anger, there were still tears visible around his eyes from crying but the look on his face told me another story.

"You don't have to be alone anymore, Despite everything you've been through... It's not just Ginger You can count on, not just her mom and not even just the servants from back in your home state, Not just James either..." He stopped briefly as He looked to everyone in the room to which I did so too after the two women have loosen in their hold on me and I can also see looks of determination on all their faces, all giving firm nods before the boy turned back to me giving me a small but otherwise calming and reassuring smile, "... You don't have to handle everything on your own, We'll help you too, even if there's still more to tell, even if This sounds kind of premature, Even if it all sounds crazy and too unbelievable to be real, Even if there's still so much we don't know yet, we're here for you. And I know that we want to be there with you every step of the way. All of us."

When he said that I felt such a warmth in my heart that I hadn't found from another person around my age outside of Ginger in so so long, a warmth so welcoming and liberating that I couldn't help but let my tears fall even more but nonetheless I nodded before I started wiping my tears away furiously with everybody around me giving me comforting words and some just offering hand on my shoulders to let me know that everything was going to be all right.

And I would forever be grateful to them all for doing this, and firmly establishing that my hopes haven't been misplaced, that they were just as kind and understanding and heroically supportive as I always believe they would be, had always seen them as.

It was because of this that I was able to show a true, genuine and big smile rather than the small ones I've been giving which I shared with them as I looked back up to all of them, lowering my arm even though there was still some tears in my eyes this time they weren't of sadness but of relief and the sense of happiness that I hadn't felt in some time.

As stated previously, there were still more to tell, however even though I haven't gotten to the end of my story, even though I haven't gotten to the end of listing every single crime that my uncle ever committed towards me, and even though I haven't gotten to the part about certain someone that I hope to never see ever again, I know that everything will be all right, because I'm not alone, And I won't be ever again.

Even though there is a good chance that I will never see Ginger in her mother ever again, or even any of the servants (which I felt regret as I hadn't even thought about them until only bringing this part up within my backstory), I have a group of new friends and supporters I can turn to for help and companionship.

Yes I know we all only just met, but even with this short time we've had, I know it'll be okay.

And thankfully this last part to be told is a little bit better but it doesn't change the fact that There were still some obstacles I had to face way back then and the final climax of it all will be quite the shocker and the most horrifying of them yet.

Which in itself is a big understatement.