Chapter Forty

~Dabi's POV~

The land passed by in a blur of brown sand and half dead plants. The radio played in the background a soft hum of what he'd come to know as 'Country' music. Something he didn't much understand. His English was good but not good enough to understand the dejected heartbroken tunes sung by men and women. He much preferred the songs that sung of getting revenge on those who'd hurt them. They gave some good pointers, none that he would use, but good ideas none the less. Shina had stated she didn't care for the music but her phone was dead so she couldn't play anything else. If his fingers tapped along to the music, he made sure Shina didn't see it.

Honestly Dabi wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he'd volunteered to come to America with Shina and her minions. He supposed he expected to see a rich and lavish lifestyle like the one Shina had invited them to all those weeks ago. Somewhere populated surrounded by glitter and other nobles or at least people as shady as him. You didn't get to have a thief's reputation as great as her and her clan by simply being rich.

The humble beginnings he'd seen told him of a different Shina than the one he'd grown accustomed to. The Shina he was familiar with seemed to thrive in the kind of high profile environment, easily passing for an 'elite'. Seeing the dusty and rundown land she called 'home' made him reassess everything he knew about her. Dabi had watched as she and her grandmother navigated through the desert with little more than a bottle of water and their wits as they looked after the livestock as well as the cats who constantly roamed the cliffs nearby. It was interesting to note that Shina seemed more comfortable here than back in Japan. She was constantly walking around outside barefoot and showing Yoshi and Kaito where to run. Dabi had even taken to walking through the land himself, it was, daunting, being surrounded by so much silence. Part of him wondered if the silence had been the cause of Shina's loss of sanity.

There wasn't much to do here, and he found himself agreeing with Shina's previous words about this place being a good place to expand the imagination. Three days here and he was wishing they were leaving.

The truck easily travelled over the rocky terrain as they headed to the people who had called for the portal girls marriage. If this was his own family Dabi would have left them to rot. He supposed he would have attempted to help if Fuyumi had begged, but that was just a passing thought. Dabi's eyes slid from the boring landscape back to the driver. The puzzle around Shina aka Sunfire was much more interesting to think about as he wasn't so sure about her. His initial assumptions were wrong and it irritated him that he'd been wrong about that. A reassessment was needed of her character. He had a pretty good idea of what her Quirk did but this could change depending on the mind that wielded it. So far, Dabi was confident Shina helped only because Shigaraki asked and that she was intimately familiar with trauma of some kind. There was also the large factor of her spending too much time around the #2 hero Hawks for him to be comfortable.

Dabi eyed Shina's hand as it left the steering wheel to brush her dark red hair from her eyes. She scratched at her neck before she yawned, seeming to slump into her seat further. Her golden eyes never left the road, remaining alert and steady despite her body's seeming fatigue. The words her grandmother had voiced came back to him the more he studied Sunfire, 'despite having powers, we are still human beings. We laugh, we hate, we fear... it is the way things go' Indeed, Sunfire looked different than she had last night when she'd cried out in her sleep. He'd heard her whimpering. She'd looked and sounded like a lost child crying out for their mother. Pathetic.

When he'd followed her to that abandoned house later he'd been glad to hear her scream of fear when he'd grabbed her ankle. The look of shock and fear was amusing, especially when her anger had appeared. It would be amusing to see that look on her again, though he doubted it would appear so easily next time. Shina was hard to scare or sneak up on.

"Why are you looking at me traitor?" Shina asked, not looking at him. Dabi smirked.

"Wondering when your stomach will growl." He stated. He'd once again stolen the snacks and drinks that her grandmother had given them when they'd left that morning. The glare Shina gave him was enough to fill his dead heart with smug satisfaction.

"For someone who eats everything you're surprisingly skinny." Shina muttered.

"I would say the same, if you ate anything at all." He responded.

"I would if a certain dried-up husk would let me eat the damn food!" Shina growled. Dabi smirked. He truly didn't understand himself why he kept teasing her with the snacks. Maybe it was because her annoyance was a good pastime. Or maybe it was payback for the night light she was at night. Either way, he enjoyed arguing with her too much to stop anytime soon.

"Be faster." He advised. The huff she gave almost made him laugh at her pouting. He would be forgiving when she inevitably gave in and stopped at the closest gas station. Maybe.

The drive continued for another 50 minutes before Dabi saw a cluster of houses in the distance at the base of a nearby mountain. The houses here were all different colors of pink, blue, grey and brown. Every house he'd managed to get a glimpse of seemed to be a bright color. He guessed it was to differentiate from the desert around them and make it easier to spot. These particular houses were all arranged in a way that two were in the back and another was to the side facing east while the last was a brown round dome that was just to the left of all three houses.

There were people outside these houses that seemed to be chasing each other around. When they'd gotten much closer to the house to see the people's clothing better, Dabi's eyes narrowed in confusion. There were children that were using their Quirks outside against each other. There was even an adult that was using his Quirk to change forms to different animals.

"They're using their Quirks." He stated, not looking away from the kids who looked at them approaching and changed forms themselves before they ran away. The adult simply changed back to a human appearance and waited.

"Yeah." Shina stated not sounding surprised. Dabi glanced at her. Shina didn't respond as she brought the truck closer and parked a few meters in front of the man waiting outside. Dabi looked around and noted the other dogs that were all unnaturally still as if waiting. "This is the wolf clan, course why they call themselves 'wolf clan' is beyond me since they can change to different animal forms as well." Shina unbuckled her seat and opened the door. "You can stay in here if you want." Dabi didn't answer as Shina got out and closed the door.

He did roll down the window just so he could hear her talk with the man but it was in that damn secretive language. He would have to settle for watching Shina's body language, so he focused on that. She started out relaxed and fluid in her gestures which actually allowed him to know she was talking with someone important in the wolf family. The man was harder to read as he didn't gesture as much as Shina did but the more that he spoke Dabi could see Shina was getting tense and her voice was rising. Dabi wondered if a fight was going to happen. He doubted any heroes around here would get here in time given how far from everything they were. He himself didn't see the point in interfering when things got physical. Shina could look after herself as evident from all the training that she'd had the LOV go through.

Dabi eagerly watched as Shina and the man argued. Their voices got louder until Shina was practically vibrating with anger. Glancing around showed that the wolves around were all on their feet and ready to attack. It didnt take much longer for one of the wolves to run forward with a loud bark. Shina was quick to dodge the wolf as she delicately jumped over the wolf creating a light rope around it's neck and body before she then tossed the wolf over her shoulder, slamming it into the ground with a yelp. Shina wasn't done as she then used her rope to pull the wood towards her before kicking the wolf to the side making it land on it's side with a this. Dabi smirked at Shina as she turned forming a large scythe with a wicked curve. Adrenaline started flowing through him.

"If you think you can win, go ahead and try!" Shina shouted out. The declaration caused a number of the wolves to charge at her. Dabi leaned forward eagerly as he watched Shina used the end of the scythe to hit two of the wolves in the face before she took a swing at another that jumped back as it had looked to bite her arm. Shina switched from the scythe to a chain when another wolf jumped on her back. The chain wrapped around the wolves back, growing almost sentient as it grabbed the wolf around the neck as Shina then yanked the wolf off her before she stomped on it's neck. She then whipped out the chain to the other wolves that looked like they'd been waiting for this opening only to jump back with more barking. Shina formed a curved sword in her other hand that she used to stab the wolf under her foot. The wolf screamed in pain.

With her foot on the wolf holding it steady a gun formed in her hand that she pointed at the wolfs head. The other wolves started to howl while those that had attacked snarled and growled so loud Dabi was sure he could have closed the window and he still would have heard them. Shina shot the gun and a golden bullet came out, shooting the ground next to the wolf's head. The other wolves fell silent as the man Shina had been talking with came forward quickly. Dabi watched as Shina and the man spoke some more. Dabi couldn't help the glee when Shina took another closer shot at the wolves head and the man slowly got on one knee, tilting his head in seeming submission.

Shina's voice carried as she shouted something at the wolves who all tilted their heads downward. Shina pulled off her rope and dissolved her gun before she took her foot off the wolf who simply laid still. Dabi's disappointment at that was almost enough to have him get out of the truck to burn the wolves and finish this himself. Dabi wasn't much interested in what happened after as he was still wishing that Shina had at least killed one of the wolves. This hope grew when all the wolves around turned into men and women of varying heights.

He was glaring at anyone who met his eyes when Shina finally got back in the truck with a smile on her face.

"All done! And it didn't take as long as I thought it would." Dabi didn't say anything as the truck started and backed up. The wolves who were injured seemed to be ushered to the brown dome house while the one who had been on the ground also turned human and slowly got up. Dabi hoped he would at least die.

"Are you okay?" Shina asked an hour later.

"You didn't kill him." Dabi grumbled.

"I threatened to. But apparently he was the favorite son or something. That was enough to get them to renounce their contract so we're good." Dabi glared at the smile on Shina's face when she caught him glaring at her. "What?"

"You should have killed him." Shina sighed.

"I get that you're a killer Dabi, and I also get that I work with killers but I myself, I am not a killer." Dabi snorted. "What?"

"Those moves you were pulling, and the ones you do for training. Those aren't the moves of a pacifist."

"Yeah I know." Shina's low tone peaked his interest, but he didn't want to ask as he was still brooding. "Good news though, we don't have to stay here all week. We can leave tomorrow now." Dabi honestly didn't care. "Are you really going to sulk about me not killing that boy?"

"I'm not sulking." Dabi snapped as he glared at her. Shina sighed. She drove in silence before she suddenly said,

"You said earlier that they were using their Quirks." Dabi didn't look at Shina as she talked. "I know they were. Everyone here knows. We're not like the rest of the world. Because of how isolated we are and how much wide open space we have, our parents encourage us to use our Quirks freely from the day we develop them. Gives us more time to get used to them and explore them to our hearts content. The adults are the same way. Not everyone chooses to be a Hero or a Villain. Here, we can simply use our Quirks freely without consequences. It's a bit of a relief compared to the rest of the world and honestly, it wasn't something I realized was unique to us until I went to Japan for the first time. Not going to lie, I have missed being among people who can use their Quirks."

"Hmm." Dabi still wasn't going to talk with her, but Shina had managed to distract him with that for the moment. Guess he'd have to come to terms with her choices. If not then he was pretty sure he could unleash that frustration later on.

The drive back to her grandmothers house was silent, not even the radio was enough to dull the tension that kept building. Not that Dabi was going to be the one to break it. He was still mulling over everything he'd observed.

"That didn't take you long." Shina's grandmother Sarah greeted them when they arrived that afternoon.

"Uncle didn't have much more to say." Shina shrugged. "And the wolf clan was open to negotiation." Dabi snorted but looked away when Sarah looked at him.

"I take it that means you got violent." Sarah asked Shina as Dabi stalked past them to the edge of the mesa he'd come to like. There was only one cat in this hole that was separate from the other cats. He didn't seem bothered by Dabi so Dabi didn't bother him. None of the other cats came near which Dabi was glad about. Sarah and Shina left him to his own devices as Kaito and Yoshi helped them tend to the livestock.

As the rest of the afternoon passed Dabi didn't go inside when Sarah called them to dinner. He was still mulling over Shina's infuriating choice and that of his own desire to still know more about this place. Dabi wasn't sure how long had passed as the sun had taken forever to finally go down. He was just about to go inside the blue house to 'sleep' when he saw the flickering lights of the houses across the valley. He wasn't well-versed in morse code or anything but he was certain that was what it was. Still though, he didn't pay it much attention as he went inside the house.

Yoshi and Kaito seemed like they were still with Sarah and Shina was most likely tending to them so Dabi didn't bother to close the door to the blue house as he flopped down on the floor. He stared up at the wooden ceiling not thinking. At least until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Figuring it was Shina coming to bring in the boys he rolled over on to his side to face the wall.

"Yoshi, can you take Kaito to bed?" Shina's voice carried softly.

"Sure. Where are you going?"

"The flickering lights, you can see them right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm just going to go meet up with the person who's flicking them."

"Okay… should I let Dabi know?"

"I'm pretty sure he'd already asleep." As if.

"You sure you want to go alone?"

"Yeah I'll be fine." Dabi's ears perked at the slight hesitance in Shina's voice.

"Okay, be careful." Yoshi entered the house. Dabi supposed Kaito was already down so he simply sat up when Yoshi's back was to him. Dabi glanced at the door to see Shina's form walking down the road.

"Figured you weren't asleep." Dabi glanced over at Yoshi who didn't turn. "Can you follow her? I don't want her to get into any trouble."

"Tch, as if I care." Dabi stated.

"I can follow her." Yoshi offered. "You can stay with Kaito." Dabi was rolling to his feet not even a second later.

"You've got him."

"Sure." Dabi shook off the feeling that he'd been played as he exited the house and started down the road. Following Shina was easy due to her glow. With the full moon it made it even easier for him to navigate the land as he dodged rocks and bushes.

His curiosity at following Shina grew the further they walked from the houses. The path Shina followed deviated from the road when they reached the old dried out river bed. Instead of following the road, Shina turned down the river bed and continued through the winding curves. Dabi made sure he kept a good distance in case she suspected someone of following her. The riverbed started to grow thin spiny roots on the sides that reached up towards the sky, making the river bed look all the more frightening. Dabi himself didn't pay the weeds any mind as he was pretty sure he could handle anything that jumped out at him if needed.

Dabi stopped after he cleared the roots as up ahead, the river curved slightly to reveal another branch of dry riverbed was revealed to join the first. From this second riverbed came another woman. She was taller than Shina with short black hair that framed her face. Unlike Shina she wore shoes and a sweater to protect against the desert cold air. Dabi started it off sight as the two women silently watched each other, assessing.

"Hey Shina." The woman finally greeted. She gave a shy and awkward smile. Shina nodded at her stiffly.

"Hey Mari." The two women shuffled awkwardly before 'Mari' moved closer.

"Wanna stargaze with me?" Shina looked like she'd been stuck as she froze. Dabi wasn't sure what her deal was but a moment later he was witnessing something unusual. Shinas arms came up to hold herself like she was suddenly cold.

"Y-Yes please." The voice that came from her wasn't one that he's heard before. Whoever this woman was, if she was able to bring Shina to this fragile and timid woman this fast, she must have been strong.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." The woman rushed to state. "You don't have to spend time with me. It's not like your obligated to."

"No I know! It's just,." Shina sniffed. "Fuck I'm not good at apologizing. I'm really sorry Mari. I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean to say those horrible, awful things to you last time. I didn't mean any of it."

"Then why did you say them?" The woman, Mari, asked gently as she shuffled closer towards Shina. Dabi narrowed his eyes at the uncertainty and hesitation he saw in Shina, whoever this version was, he hadn't seen her before. So far his opinion of her wasn't looking very good as this was a weaker form than he was used to.

"It's a long story." Shina muttered finally.

"We have time." Mari stated. "I mean technically we have all night." Shina slowly nodded.

"Okay,." Shina sat down where she was in the sand, patting the area next to her as she got comfortable. Dabi mentally groaned. He should have had Yoshi come do this if they were going to get into their feelings. Before Dabi could follow his plan on leaving and going back to the blue house Shina spoke again. "You probably already figured it out, but I didn't marry that jerk." Well, that was interesting.

"I was going to say your new guy doesn't look Russian."

"I should be surprised you know what he looks like but I forget how nosy everyone is. No offense." Mari blinked slowly at that.

"Offense taken. Continue." Shina cleared her throat but didn't immediately answer.

"I didn't marry him because his sister was basically dosing me with her Quirk which she called 'Love Spell'. She'd literally hoodwinked me for the entire 9 months we were engaged." Dabi blinked. Was this the same man Shina had said she'd married? No that was a story she'd said.

"I wish I could say I was surprised but honestly you did get engaged too fast." Mari stated before her voice spiked up in tone. "Hey, so you really were possessed when you said you wanted roses, diamonds and glamour at your wedding." Shina groaned and put her hands in her face.

"I was hoping you'd forget that."

"Sorry just clarifying." Mari stated softly before she asked, "So what happened? How did you get out of that relationship?" Shina lowered her hands.

"His sisters Quirk was nullified whenever the subject of her Quirk met water. Every time I showered or got sprayed with water, I snapped out of it. It was just small increments at a time as every time I snapped out of it, I was immediately put back under." Shina's voice lowered. "I wasn't myself for 9 months. Every decision I made wasn't mine, it was all his or his sisters. I had no choice, every time I tried to fight it I only gained conscience over my actions but I couldn't break it."

"I'm sorry." Mari stated. "I wish I could say something other than that but honestly I'm not sure what I can say."

"It's okay." Shina sniffed as she rubbed at her eyes and sighed. "His, uh, his dad had apparently caught on that something was wrong with me. Guess he thought the engagement was too fast since we'd only been dating for two months. He managed to get some quality time with me and then tossed a cup of water at my face." The laugh that came from Shina lacked any amusement. "Ruined my make up and I was angry for a few seconds before I came to. He got me to tell him everything and he said he'd help me."

"Just like that?" Mari asked. "I don't mean to poke holes but if his father was suspicious shouldn't he have confronted his son?"

"He did." Shina stated flatly.

"And?" Shina was silent for a long time making Dabi wish he was next to her so he could pry the answers from her himself.

"Did I ever tell you I have a healing aspect to my Quirk?" A hard pit started to form in Dabi's chest at that. "Guess I should say thanks to him, I didn't even realize I had a healing aspect until I was broken." Mari gasped as Shina tilted her head down. Dabi looked away from the two women. Guess he now knew where Shinas intimacy with trauma came from. In the back of his mind Dabi could hear a part of him bragging about how that shouldn't matter as she didn't seem as broken as he was. He knew better than to go down that road right now though, right now he needed more information.

"Don't take this the wrong way, I'm glad your okay. You are okay right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so how had you not realized that you had a healing aspect?" Mari asked. "We've gotten hurt many times doing stupid stunts out here."

"I've never been that injured." Shina stated self-deprecatingly. "Not even the roughest training out here could have helped me figure that out." The pit was a cold dead weight that made Dabi feel something he didn't want to feel so he shoved that feeling away for now as he concentrated on the conversation in front of him.

"I'm very glad you left him because if you'd brought him here and told me this I would be marching up to take his family jewels." Mari stated.

"That's what Sam said." Shina mused. "She wanted to track him down but I told her it was a waste of military funding."

"I'm sure she could find a less legal way to track him." Mari stated.

"Probably but I forbid you or Sam from doing that." Shina stated. "I've wasted enough time on that jerk. I just want to focus on what's going on now." Dabi supposed he was exempt from that request. If he ever ran into any Russian men well, he'd have a bit of fun before he burned them. Not that he was doing it for Shina's sake. He'd been in an abusive relationship before, not the same way, but he could understand the cathartic release of burning replacements. "How's your brother doing?" Dabi listened intently to the rest of the conversation between the women but there was nothing more said on Shina's past lover.

"You guys are in Japan now huh?" Mari asked. Shina nodded. "It's a bit ironic that you left here for Japan and then ended up going back after a couple years." Dabi filed that little tidbit away for later.

"Yeah. Course I didn't think we'd ever go back. After mom passed I didn't want to go back once we'd managed to leave."

"By any chance did you ever find out why she'd been transferred to Japan?" Shina titled her head.

"What do you mean?" Mari bit her lip.

"I uh, thought you'd remember. Uh, remember your mom transferred to Japan because she told us she wanted a fresh start after, after your uncles and aunts passed?"

"Yeah."

"You told me later that day that you didn't think that was the real reason because you'd overheard your mom and grandma talking about 'the Nara family home'? Which you found odd because you didn't remember ever hearing about your grandpa's home or his family." Well, this was a different conversation. Shina straightened up.

"No I don't remember this but tell me please." Shina begged.

"That's all you told me. I swear." Mari stated. "You said you were excited because you were going to meet your grandpa's family but that's the last time we ever talked about that."

"I forgot about that." Shina muttered. "How did I forget about that?"

"It's been years." Mari offered. Dabi mentally snorted at that. He doubted it was something important but still, this was something he should probably look into if he was going to learn more about Shina. Guess Detective Dabi was going to go full drive when he got back to Japan. Dabi glanced behind him, back the way he'd come. Of course, why wait until Japan when there was someone here who had direct answers to some of his questions right now? It was a good thing Grandma Sarah seemed to like him.

~Tokoyami's POV~

Tokoyami didn't normally enjoy doing his school work, at least he hadn't until Yuto had offered to join him. With Yuto's help Tokoyami had managed to bring his grades up in Science and World History. He'd even managed to perfect his knowledge of English as Yuto was a native English speaker. It helped as now Tokoyami had a new appreciation for Edgar Allen Poe and William Shakespeare's darker arts. If this also meant it received new appreciation for edgy, angst riddled American songwriters than he fully awarded this to Yuto's help.

Not to say all they did was study. Sometimes Tokoyami joined Yuto in his room for some of Yuto's games as he liked to play on his Nintendo Switch whenever he could. Tokoyami liked how Yuto and Dark Shadow got along during both study times and gaming hours. Yuto was always kind to his shadow and always made sure to give extra pets. If Tokoyami was left a shuddering mess after Yuto managed to scratch a particularly sensitive spot, well he kept that secret to himself. It wasnt like they were the same, no, far be it for him to say Yuto was as dark as he himself was.They had their differences but it never hindered their friendship, if anything it enriched their friendship. Yuto appreciated Tokoyami's room décor and always asked questions if he wanted clarification on something that interested Tokoyami or Dark Shadow. Yuto was kind and infinitely patient with the both of them when he needed to be while Tokoyami was patient when Yuto got into his games to the point that he blocked out the real world. Neither of them minded as they looked out for the other when they were preoccupied.

Really it was no wonder that Tokoyami found himself seeking out the natural Shadow boy half the time. Most of the time Yuto was always already with him. Given how much time they spent together, it shouldn't have been a surprise when Tokoyami realized that he was in fact crushing on his best friend.

Tokoyami had introduced Yuto to his mother and father who had liked him and his 'shady aura'. Tokoyami had been worried about Yuto meeting his little brother Kurayami as his brother often found other people tiring and a bit too bright for him. But Tokoyami had been pleasantly surprised when his brother took one look at Yuto and immediately taken to him. Tokoyami guessed it was due to Yuto's 'elven' ears as his brother was in that phase right now. Still, the shock he'd received at his mother commenting on their 'relationship' being serious enough to be meeting the parents was uncalled for. Yuto had simply laughed and assured her that the only relationship they had was friendship before he had gone onto asking his mother about where she got her jewelry as his sisters would simply love it.

Despite his mothers comment, Tokoyami hadn't come upon his realization until three days later. The comment had nagged at Tokoyami's mind and he had endeavored to find the meaning behind it as any plight on his conscience was nothing but an enigma he didn't fully understand. It was also the key in figuring out why his heart ached at being labelled 'friend' to Yuto. Surely this feeling was just the thought of not seeing his family for another few weeks? Still, the realization came when he was lying in bed listening to a particular song that Kana had recommended to him when it dawned on him as the chorus rose before it resonated with the lovely tune, about why his heart beat so when he thought of his friend. His eyes snapped open as the fog lifted and suddenly, suddenly it was all so very clear and obvious to him.

He hadn't been sure what to make of his revelation or how he should oroceed as he was fairly certain Yuto did not think of him the same way. In the end, Tokoyami resolved on waiting to see if Yuto showed any signs of reciprocating his feelings before he did anything. As life would have it, this had not been there best plan because as one knew, to everything bright and light as friendship there was also the darkness of jealousy, envy and heartache. This Tokoyami was aware of but this did not make an impact until one such day after classes.

"Yuto should we get going?" Tokoyami asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Yuto glanced up at him, the smile in his eyes making Tokoyami and Dark Shadow thrum before Yuto spoke,

"Sure but Jiro said she needed to talk with me about something. You mind if I catch up?" Tokoyami nodded. Jiro had voiced she needed some help with English, maybe that was her question. Still, this wasn't something that concerned him so he dutifully walked iut, intending to wait for Yuto in the hall.

"Yuto?" Jiro's voice carried over to him as he exited the classroom.

"Yeah what's up Jiro?" Yuto asked. Tokoyami was almost out of range of hearing when the next words froze his body and his heart.

"I- uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to the convenience store just outside campus? We can grab dinner there?" Jiro was asking Yuto out on a date…

Say no.

Why?

Please!

"Sure." Tokoyami felt his heart clench as he went cold. "What time did you want to go?"

"We can leave at 5?" Jiro and Yuto were still talking while Tokoyami could only eavesdrop as his heart felt like it was fracturing. It was as if thorns were creeping under his skin the longer he listened as anger and hate started to coalesce.

"Sure let me just let Tokoyami know. We were gonna play some games later but I'm sure he'll understand." At that simple sentence, the anger and hatred receded, Tokoyami was left empty. Even if Yuto and Jiro started to date, Yuto was still thinking of him.

"Yami?" Dark Shadow's whispering caught Tokoyami's attention. Determined to not be caught here listening Tokoyami started to walk away from the classroom. "It'll be okay."

"I'm fine Dark Shadow." Tokoyami managed to voice. Dark Shadow didn't need to protest this. He could feel Tokoyami's feelings at this heartbreak. Being made of Shadow he had no experience with these so he offered comfort in the only way he could, with his presence.

~Kira's POV~

Kira didn't like to run. She understood it was necessary when getting away from Heroes, but honestly? She would rather be someplace safe eating chips and watching TikTok's on her phone. Anything to lounge about and just relax as the day wore on.

"AKIRA FOCUS!" The loud shouting in her ear by her brother wasn't something she particularly like either. Her communication earbud was set too high.

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Kira shouted back. Kira kept running down the street, causing civilians to scatter as she essentially parkour-ed her way through the people. The reason why she was running with the mindless sheep was simple, Endeavor was on her heels and if she had some cushions well that worked in her favor. Kira dove over a shiny silver car before she landed on one knee as she used the car to aim and fire at where Endeavor's form was. He yelled out as his flying fist of fiery 'vengeance' came to destroy the car.

The loud explosion from behind her missed as she'd dodged that hit at the last second. Kira glanced back to see the infuriated eyes of Endeavor tracking her as she got up. "Missed me Endeavor!" Kira cackled as she shot a line of blood at the nearest lamp post to swing away from him like Spiderman. Kira had to release the blood whip as she caught sight of the incoming targets coming her way. Kira grunted as she attempted to dodge the projectile feathers midair. Some managed to cut her but it wasn't too bad and really, this just helped her to pull out her blood so she could manipulate it into bullets.

"TWO V ONE?! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Kira shouted knowing Kai would hear her from wherever he was playing with the bunny girl Mirko.

"I would suggest you don't steal if you want a fair fight." Hawks commented.

"God I can't see what Sunfire finds interesting about you." Kira rolled her eyes as she fired off a bullet at where the birdman was hovering. He dodged it but she was starting to track his movements. Kira shot a blood whip to the side as she heard Endeavor's loud thrusters going. He kept trying to grab at her but thankfully her small stature meant she was quick.

"A little help here would be nice!" Kai yelled through their devices.

"Idiot!" Kira loaded her rifle and scoped out her target before she took a shot at the bunny girl that was going after Kai's butt. She also shot off two bullets towards where Hawks was flying before she crouched low to the ground and rolled forward. Kira grunted as she quickly took a position to scope where Endeavor was coming at her. She shot twice before she jumped out of the way allowing Endeavor to deal with her bullets.

Kira's Quirk was technically a regeneration Quirk that she shared with Kai since they were twins. However due to her shady experimental background, Kira and Kai had also undergone enhancements before Nikolai had had them join his family. One of those enhancements was with Quirk manipulation projects that caused Kira's regeneration to lag behind Kai's, but it also gave her two other Quirks. Kira's most used Quirk was for the Blood Manipulation quirk which she used in combat to make bullets. She could form whips made of blood but her favorite form was using her blood to make bullets that she compressed and shot out of her sniper rifle. Since it was her own blood the bullets didn't stay in solid form once theyd been fired as they could explode at her will. It didn't matter how good of a shot she was, which to be fair she was an excellent shot, once her blood landed on her target they were done for. This was because while Kira's blood seemed normal enough, her blood was hotter than a regular person. The longer her blood was exposed to the air, the hotter it got until it essentially turned to acid.

The shouting from Endeavor let Kira know that he'd gotten hit with her blood. Kira dodged several other feathers that were incoming. Kira formed a whip of blood that she used to zip towards Hawks who was coming at her quicker than she could shoot.

"Hawks her blood! Stay away!" Endeavor shouted. Kira narrowed her eyes as Hawks processed that. Instead of slowing down he zipped past her before he flew up back into the sky. Kira took this chance to look at Endeavor to see him cradling his right arm.

"Aw does the old man need a break right about now?" Kira asked, smirking when he glared at her.

"Just give us back what you stole."

"Does that ever work for you?" Kira asked as she fired off three more shots at Endeavor. With the trajectory and aim she managed to get him to back off to where Hawks was flying above. Kira took that moment to assess and see where she was. They'd started out in one of the lower end parts of the city but they were now in the more popular shopping district. Civilians were scattered everywhere trying to get out of the line of fire. This would be the best time for them to get out before they got caught. "Raijin, sparklers are needed. Fall back as civilian." Kira ordered.

"What? I can take this chick." Kira heard a loud cut off yelp before she felt a gust of wind coming from down the street. Kira and the other two heroes watched as Mirko went flying back, crashing into a glass building across the street. "Nevermind, okay fall back!"

"Moron." Kira muttered before she focused on the two heroes in front of her. She formed a couple other bullets before she called out, "Sorry old man, no more play time. We'll leave ya to lick your wounds." Kira fired off two shots before Kai's lighting started to dance through the street. Hawks flew up high to avoid getting caught while Endeavor tried to power through. Kira shot at him again making him back up. She didn't stick around much longer as she took the distraction to dart down the nearest alleyway. Kai would be able to get out after the black lightning he expelled left everyone seeing after images.

Kira found an unlocked door to a restaurant and slipped through, closing the door firmly shut behind her in case anyone was following her. There was no one around as Kira quickly and methodically broke her rifle down before she pulled out the pink cloth bag she kept in her back pocket. She tossed her rifle parts into the bag and then ripped her jacket off, throwing it in the supply closet after pouring a homemade cocktail over it to melt it down. Once that was done Kira tied up her hair and took off her mask. The gloves on her hands were removed and placed in her pockets while she pulled out some glittery earrings and shoved them in her ears. Kira also pulled out a pink and kawaii face mask before covering her face.

By the time she was done she looked like a regular high school girl that was cutting school to have some food. Kira slipped her bag onto her back as she slipped through the kitchen and into the dining area where it looked like civilians were huddling. She pulled out her cell phone to check the time and to add to the image that she was a regular student.

For now she simply waited with the other civilians as they waited for the 'all clear'.

"Kira you there?" Kai's voice came two minutes later.

"Yes I'm here." Kira reported in a low voice. "Took you long enough."

"You try and change out of a skin tight suit into normal civilian clothes." Kai grumbled. Kira smirked as she looked around. The civilians were starting to move.

"I've told you before, wear jackets you can throw away. Makes it so much easier." Kira stood to follow the group as they exited the building. As they moved, Kira quietly moved her cloth bag to her back while also pulling out a random silver bracelet from her back pocket. This was the cause of the sudden fight with the heroes as Kira and Kai had been doing some jewelry thieving to help with some of the costs the LOV was doing, also to show James and Yuto that the twins could indeed be awesome thieves.

"And ruin a perfectly good jacket? Hell no." Kai snorted.

"Then you're just going to have to deal." Kira murmured as she eyed where everyone was going. "Meet up at the train station."

"Got it." Kira made sure to move as quickly as she could to the train station. Once she was down in the depth she was able to move quicker through the people here as no one down here was concerned with the hero fight above. Her phone chimed with a text making Kira look down. She looked around her before she headed to the bathrooms.

"Kai."

"Yeah?" He responded.

"Get somewhere private and take a panoramic pic, send it to Kana for extraction." Kira ordered.

"Fine." Kira made sure no one was in the bathroom before she pulled out her phone and took a picture of her surroundings. She should have done this previously, but she wasn't sure if Kana had been busy or not. They had started school again last week after Kana had passed her Hero Course. Surprisingly, Yuto and James hadn't passed. Kira really wanted to meet up with them before she started to tease the furry about that.

A colorful smoke started to appear behind Kira. Kira turned to watch the smoke whirl in a circle before it finally expanded like a bubble only to show Kana in her bedroom at the UA dorms.

"Come on loser, we're going to watch Disney." Kana called in a bored voice.

"I'm coming." Kira groaned as he stepped through the portal.

"Where's Kai?" Kana asked as Kira took off her bag and put it on Kana's bed.

"He's probably going to send you a picture soon." Kira stated. Kana grumbled as she closed the portal behind Kira. Kira walked over to the vending machine and put in some change before putting in her own ID to get some snacks. Yoshi had put in additional combinations in case any of them visited Kana under the radar, this was a godsend as Kira really wanted some Hot Cheetos right about now.

"He sent me a picture of nothing but shadows!" Kana moaned. "I can't see anything. That could be anywhere." Kira snorted.

"Idiot must not want a ride then." Kira stated. She pulled out her phone from her back pocket to text her brother to ask him what he was doing. There was a text message that popped up from Shigaraki that had Kira mentally whining as she opened it.

'Toga is needing assistance.'

'I'll meet her.' Kai responded. 'Where?'

"Guess Toga needs help so Kai's going to go meet up with her." Kira stated.

"Oh well fine." Kana threw her phone on the bed. "I didn't want to see him anyway." Kira smiled as she noted the bags under Kana's eyes had lightened.

"So what movies are we going to watch?" Kira asked. Kana hummed.

"The Aristocats?" Kira nodded.

"Hey can I borrow some clothes?" Kira asked as she indicated her jumpsuit. "I just came from a job where I had to fight Endeavor and Shina's feathered man." Kana gave her an odd look before she pointed at the closet.

"Find something in there. And don't let James hear you say that."

"How is the furry anyway?" Kira wondered. She looked through the clothes in Kana's closet only to end up pulling out black sweat pants and a black shirt.

"He's upset that he has to take remedial lessons with Bakugou, Shoto and Yuto." Kana sighed. "Honestly I'm not sure how I ended up passing the exam but I am so glad I did. I don't want to be around my brothers or Bakugou every day doing lessons." Kira hummed as she finished changing.

"I thought you liked the blond though?" Kira eyed the way Kana stilled for half a second before she tossed a book on her desk.

"No." Kira smiled as she walked over to Kana's bed. She grabbed a pillow and a plush that she didn't recognize.

"You sure?" She asked dangling the plushs head uo and down. "Cause sharky says you're a liar."

"Yes I'm sure!" Kana cried out, turning around to glare only to stop as Kira wiggled the shark.

"I don't recognize this shark. But there is a small notation here on the tag that says 'idiot'. I mean the boys would just say it instead of writing it down." Kira screamed as Kana launched herself at her shouting out multiple phrases of denial. The fighting only stopped when Kana had pushed Kira off her bed making her hit her head on the ground. "OW!"

"I'm sorry! I don't like your teasing though." Kana whined. Kira started to laugh as she sat up. She saw the blush on Kana's face and relaxed.

"Sorry but it does seem a bit… you know?" Kira attempted. Kana pursed her lips before she haltingly stated,

"It's not- I don't… like him like him. I just," Kana buried her hands in her face and let out a loud whine. "Don't laugh."

"I won't." Kira promised. Kana didn't put her hands down as she mumbled out,

"I like his hair, its poofy. I did like it better when he came back from Best Jeanist's agency. It kind of floofed back when he got angry at us for laughing but it was cute. I like his eyes too, they're pretty and," Kana's blush could be seen through her hands, "They look fierce. I like his personality and attitude towards things, it's refreshing seeing how passionate and driven he is." Kira smiled.

"Sounds like you have a crush on him." Kana grabbed a pillow and whacked her in the face.

"I DO NOT!" Kira didn't laugh, although it was really close.

"Okay, okay, okay you don't like him." Kira sat back up. "So are we going to watch the movie now or what?" Kana shot off the bed.

"Hold on I have to grab something from the kitchen!" With that Kana ran out of the room. Kira sighed as she got up off the floor. She needed to look through the rest of her things anyway. She'd hidden most of the jewelry somewhere the Heroes wouldn't be able to find but she did take a handful of jewels with her. She needed to put them in a specific bag so she didn't lose them. She also needed to reassemble her baby.

"I'm so sorry for being rough with you." Kira whispered to her rifle. "Please forgive me and don't jam." By the time Kana returned to the room, Kira had reassembled her gun and put it behind the curtains. She had also put the jewelry she did have in a velvet bag so Shina could inspect it when she got back. Kana was talking with someone when the door opened to reveal Kira eating Hot Cheetos.

"I have my sister in here as well." Kira blinked as she came face to face with the blond boy she knew to be Kaminari Denki. His surprised face at seeing her turned into a large grin.

"Hi nice to meet you! I'm Denki Kaminari." Kira nodded clearing her throat.

"Nara Kira. You going to watch Aristocats with us as well?"

"He was actually going to borrow my notes." Kana said as Kaminari's eyes widened.

"You're gonna watch Aristocats? I love that movie!" Kira gave Kana a look before she waved him over.

"Come on Kaminari, we're gonna watch some movies."

"Yes!" Kira had to laugh at how childish he was as he jumped on the bed and settled in. Kana shrugged and grabbed another blanket.

"Fine but don't eat all the snacks." Kana warned.

"Sure thing Kana." Kaminari smiled.

GM NASAI: Writing Dabi is like writing a moody, grouchy cat who's also a part-time detective determined to know all. Infuriating as hell.

I'm not going to lie, it hurt to write Tokoyami's POV. It's still hard but I wish it wasn't necessary for the plot. Damn you plot!

Also we've gotten it into our head that Kana, Kira and Denki would share one brain cell.