Chapter 15

"Alright, Kaori-chan. No more delaying it. We're going to the mall today," Yamada said, standing in front of the TV Kaori's eyes had been glued to. "We have to get you some more clothes and shoes. And maybe some decor for your room."

"Wait, the show's just getting good," she protested, leaning to the right to bypass his block. "I can't see! You're making me miss the -"

The TV was turned off abruptly, and Kaori looked up to find Yamada holding the remote with a hand to his hip. "C'mon. You've been in this stuffy apartment for far too long. It'll be good to get some fresh air and see some other people for once."

"Fine," she grumbled, reluctantly sliding off the sofa. It was criminally comfortable despite looking so old. She would've sat there all day if given the chance. "If there isn't a rerun episode next week, I'm going to be so mad."

"You two have fun," Aizawa called from his seat at the dining table. "Buy a new shirt for me while you're there, please. Black if possible."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're coming too!" Yamada said, his scowl making him look very much like an annoyed mom. "I know you don't like shopping, but we're way overdue for this. There are literal holes in your shirt!"

"Yeah!" Kaori chimed in. "If I have to go, so do you."

"It's just the mall," Yamada said with clear exasperation. "You guys don't have to be so dramatic."

"Alright, alright." Aizawa sighed and stood up, giving the stack of papers on his table a longing look. "I guess my work can wait."

"Great!" Yamada said, beaming widely. "Let's go!"

They arrived at a huge mall, a different one from the one Aizawa had brought her to last time. A blast of cold air welcomed them as they entered, and Kaori relished the feeling. The summers were brutal, and the humidity did nothing to help alleviate the discomfort. She had worked up a bit of sweat just from walking from the parking lot to the entrance of the mall.

Yamada looked like he knew exactly where he was going and immediately walked with purpose in a direction, completely ignoring all the stares everyone in the mall was giving him. Even in his casual clothes and his hair put down, he was still extremely recognizable. Kaori shifted anxiously under the scrutiny. If they were trying to hide her identity from the public, this probably ruined all their efforts.

"Don't mind them," Aizawa said, noting her discomfort.

"Yeah. I just didn't expect it, that's all," she said.

Yamada stopped in front of a large store finally, and Aizawa groaned.

"No, not this store again," he grumbled.

Kaori wasn't sure if she recognized the name of the store, but from the outside, there didn't look like there was anything particularly wrong with it.

"Hey, we can go to other stores if you want. It's your own fault for never making your mind up," Yamada responded.

Aizawa didn't say anything back, only following behind Yamada like a sullen teenager.

Yamada didn't even look at the clothes on the ground floor and led them all the way to the back where not many customers were shopping.

"Hey Shouta," Yamada called, holding up a garish blue shirt complete with a huge fuzzy collar. It looked atrocious, even to she who had zero fashion sense. "Try this on."

"Absolutely not," he said flatly.

"Ooh. How about this one?" he asked, pulling out another equally ridiculous piece of clothing. He looked at it for a second before shaking his head and putting it back. "No, that won't do."

Kaori stared, unable to tell what made this one worse than the last.

Aizawa merely sighed, making Kaori giggle.

"What do you think, Kaori-chan?" he asked, shoving a bright Hawaiian shirt in Kaori's face.

"It's great," she said. "You should get it Aizawa-san."

"Finally, someone with some fashion sense," Yamada said with a beam, tossing it into the shopping basket he had brought.

Aizawa made a dismayed noise but didn't object, much to Kaori's surprise. He looked so utterly resigned that Kaori couldn't help but giggle more.

They continued this act, with Yamada picking the most flamboyant and un-Aizawa-looking clothes and Kaori egging him on every time until the basket was filled to the brim.

"Alright, that's good for now. Let's go find some more normal clothes for Kaori-chan in the other store," Yamada said as he led them to the checkout lane.

"So you admit these are weird," Aizawa accused, crossing his arms. "Why do you keep bringing me back to this store?"

"Your wardrobe is too drab! A little color won't kill you," Yamada said, prodding Aizawa's side. "Besides, Kaori can't wear them. She'll get bullied."

"But it's okay for me to wear clothes that are bulliable?"

"Adults don't bully. They just talk behind your back," Yamada said cheerily, dumping the contents of the basket onto the conveyor belt. "You'll be fine. These aren't as bad as what you usually wear, anyway."

Aizawa only shook his head and watched Yamada pay, once again shocking Kaori with his lack of resistance.

"Aw crap! I just remembered that Nemuri wanted me to get something for her from the gear store," Yamada said once they stepped out of the store. "I'll be right back. Go get some clothes for Kaori-chan, okay? I'll join you in a bit"

"Wait. We can go with you, I want something from the store too." Aizawa looked panicked all of the sudden, and he glanced over at Kaori with a worried look.

"Really? What do you need? I can grab it for you."

Kaori was a bit more curious about the hero gear store than she was about clothes, but she didn't think Yamada would take her.

"Never mind. Just go," Aizawa said, slumping.

"Okay! See you later!" he said, giving them a wave and vanishing in the sea of people.

"Alright, let's go. Where do you usually shop for clothes?" Aizawa asked, turning to Kaori with a blank expression.

As much as Kaori enjoyed watching Aizawa squirm, she wasn't a complete sadist. "It's okay, we can just wait for Yamada-san if you want. I never went shopping with my parents before, anyway, so I have no idea."

"Hm. No, Hizashi won't let me live it down if I can't do this much. I'll go take a look at the map."

The mall directory didn't seem to be helping Aizawa much, however, and he stood there for ages like he was studying hieroglyphics. Kaori was gotten so bored that she was about to start exploring on her own by the time he picked out a destination.

Kaori followed Aizawa, half wishing Hizashi was here instead. "You know, I don't need a lot of clothes. Midnight already gave me a decent amount." She wasn't sure how she felt about making them spend money on her when they already helped her so much.

"Hizashi said they didn't fit well and you're missing clothes for formal occasions. It wouldn't hurt to have a bit more."

"Yeah, but still…" It wasn't like she didn't have clothes either. She just didn't have the courage to go pick them up back at her house.

"Don't worry about it, kid. You're our responsibility and clothes are a necessity. It's not that big of a deal." Aizawa looked uncomfortable the entire time he was saying that sentence, but Kaori appreciated it all the same.

From the corner of her eye, Kaori saw two people dressed completely in black, standing near the benches in the corner. Stopping dead in her tracks, she stared unabashedly at them. They looked very familiar. Where had she seen an outfit like that before? They also looked like they were staring straight at Kaori, but it was hard to tell for sure since the area was so crowded.

"Kaori-chan? Why'd you stop?" Aizawa asked, doubling back to her.

"I think… um." Then it struck her. The attack. It could be a coincidence, yet Kaori didn't think she was that lucky. Granted, these two didn't have their face completely covered. They only had a face mask on instead of a whole hood, but the similarity was still alarming. Even if they weren't the same people, they still looked suspicious.

Aizawa turned and followed her gaze, a frown appearing on his face. Kaori hoped he would confirm that it was just her paranoia making a big deal out of nothing.

However, before either of them could do or say anything, one of them suddenly sprinted at Kaori, his fists aflame with a strange black substance. He was so fast he looked like a blur to Kaori, and he was able to cover the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Screaming, Kaori barely managed to roll out of the way clumsily, her arm lightly grazed by his strange quirk. Within seconds, white-hot pain erupted across her entire arm where it made contact. Yelping, she cradled it against her chest, her eyes watering. The other one appeared out of nowhere right after. His fist had protruding claws, almost like Wolverine's, except much longer and there were five on each hand. Kaori whimpered, backing away from the two. It wasn't just her paranoia, after all.

"Kaori! Run, look for Hizashi," Aizawa yelled as he pushed Kaori away from knockoff wolverine, his voice thick with emotion/ panic, something Kaori couldn't quite recognize. For the first time, Kaori obeyed without question. Without a backward glance, she stumbled away and hid behind a trashcan. She had never seen Aizawa so rattled, and it only made the situation seem so much more dire.

The sound of fighting was deafening, and everyone in the mall was screaming and stomping amongst themselves to get to the exit. Kaori whimpered, covering her ears to block everything out. She could barely hear herself think under all the commotion, and her heart pounded wildly against her ribcage, sending jolts of adrenaline through her veins. It drowned everything else out, even the pain in her arm.

She needed to listen to Aizawa, right? She wasn't sure why she was lingering here, where it was most dangerous. She was about to go look for the store Yamada had gone to, but then a bolt of worry stabbed her heart. Slowly and carefully, she peeked out from behind the trashcan toward where the action was taking place, just to make sure Aizawa was alright. She'll leave once she's sure he can win.

However, the fight didn't seem to be in his favor. Kaori watched, stunned, as the two villains pushed Aizawa back, approaching Kaori's shoddy hiding spot. Aizawa fought back valiantly, trying to keep them occupied so that Kaori could run away.

Her breath hitched. This was like the USJ arc, except very real, and right in front of her. Real blood — Aizawa's blood maybe— was spattered all over the white marble floors. Kaori felt like she was going to throw up. She gripped her head, rocking herself slightly at the horrid sight — how could this be real? Aizawa wasn't supposed to lose. He was strong. If he couldn't win, then who could?

Kaori knew she should run. Aizawa was so hard to keep them away from her, but it would mean nothing if she hung around so closely. Yet she couldn't look away. She could only continue to watch, as unmoving as a stone statue, as Aizawa continued to struggle despite his resistance. His attacks didn't seem to be doing much damage, as if the black clothes the villains were wearing were absorbing all the impact. The villain's fire quirk had been extinguished and looked worse for wear. Yet the one with the claws flourished throughout the fight. Kaori gasped, remembering that Aizawa couldn't erase mutation quirks. He also didn't have his gear with him.

She needed to do something, anything. She wasn't even sure which store Yamada had gone off to, and there wasn't anyone around either — they had all fled. It was all her fault that he was having such a tough time in the fight.

She couldn't stand around doing nothing like last time, letting people around her die for her. She wouldn't be able to live with herself. However, even though she had a quirk this time, her legs remained rooted to the floor. Yamada was coming, surely. Even if he was at the other side of the mall, he could make it if he ran fast enough, couldn't he? Kaori silently began to count. If by the time she had counted to thirty and Yamada hadn't come yet, she'd think up of a distraction or try something to help Aizawa.

When the count of thirty inevitably became fifty, Yamada still hadn't shown up. Aizawa only looked more worn out, and Kaori worried that he was about to drop any minute now. Kaori felt like she couldn't breathe.

Then he was on the ground, and the villain's quirk came back in a black haze of glory. Kaori moved, finally.

The villain turned their attention to her, and his mouth seemed to be moving, but Kaori couldn't hear their voices at all, only a vague ringing and the sound of her blood pulsing in her ears. Adrenaline pulsed in her veins, giving her a weak dose of misplaced courage. Kaori stood up straight, her confidence wavering as she stared up at the villains. They looked so tall and scary, even from a distance.

"Stop," she yelled with all her strength. It came out high-pitched and weak. "Leave him alone."

Sticking a trembling hand out, Kaori tugged at the air around the villains frantically, praying it'd do something. She was too panicked to remember any particular moves she had invented. One particularly strong blast at the clawed villain's feet staggered him a little, and he paused for a moment to regain his footing, looking entirely unfazed.

Fear engulfed Kaori's entire body at the non-reaction, and she shook like a leaf. Instinctively, Kaori backed off slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the two. What should she do? How could she possibly get Aizawa and herself out of this alive?

Just as she was about to send out another wave of air at them — probably her last one, considering her stamina - the two backed off a bit. They stared at her for a moment, and Kaori swore one of them nodded at her. Then the moment passed, and to Kaori's surprise, they turned and vanished in sync.

Kaori stared at her still trembling hands in confusion; she hadn't actually hurt them, had she? They ran from her even though they were clearly winning. Deciding to ponder this strange event later, she ran over to the still on the ground Aizawa, her jelly-like legs almost tripping over itself in her haste.

"Aizawa-san?" she asked tremulously, giving him a tentative poke. His eyes were wide open, but he looked out of it, and his pupils weren't moving.

This couldn't be happening to her, not again. Before she could spiral more, Aizawa groaned and stirred. Kaori's eyes watered with relief. She almost hugged him but held herself back in fear of hurting him.

"Kaori," Aizawa rasped. "Are you alright?"

"Am I alright?" she echoed in disbelief. "Look at yourself first." She gestured frantically at his battered body. Fear and anxiety rose when she took a closer look at his injuries, so she focused on his face instead.

Aizawa raised his head with effort, giving Kaori a once over before lying back down with another groan of pain. Alarmed, Kaori leaned in closer in concern, hovering over him.

"I'll be fine," he said. "You won't be though, not after deliberately going against my explicit instructions." He glared weakly at Kaori, and she noticed just how bloodshot they looked. "And your arm is injured."

"B-but you were dying! I couldn't just run away." She felt like she was going insane. She looked at her arm, and sure enough, there was an angry rash extending all the way down to her wrists. "Oh wow, it is."

"In case you forgot, I'm a trained professional," he said flatly. "You are a four-year-old who has only had her quirk for not even a week. You can't be dealing with villains, no matter what."

"Whatever, I don't think that's important right now. You are literally bleeding out. Should I … call the ambulance or something? I don't have a phone." Kaori couldn't believe where his priorities lay. She wrung her hands anxiously. What was she supposed to do? What can she do?

"We'll be having this conversation again later," he said. "Phone's in my pocket."

Right as she was about to dig for it, Yamada burst into the scene. Kaori almost cried in relief at the sight of his face. There were also some other people, police officers included in the back, all clamoring for a better look. She couldn't help but stare at each individual present, afraid that someone else was going to jump out of nowhere.

"Oh my god!" Yamada exclaimed. He ran over and was by their side in an instant. "Shouta! Are you alright? I'm sorry I'm late. The ambulance has already been called and is on its way."

"Fine, the villain just caught me off guard. They got away."

"Kaori-chan? Why are you here? And your arm! Please tell me you weren't involved." Yamada took off his jacket and started to press on Aizawa's open wound. Aizawa made a pained noise.

"I dunno. I…" Kaori stared blankly, finally feeling herself let go now that help was here. She didn't need to do anything anymore, except worry about Aizawa.

"She tried to help instead of going to find you," Aizawa said. Kaori was somewhat glad that he still had the energy to reprimand her. "Stood right in front of the villains and tried to use her quirk. Failed to, I might add."

"Kaori-chan!" Yamada said disapprovingly. "Oh, whatever. I can't be mad right now. I'm just so thankful you two are alright."

"Right, I know, I'm sorry," she grumbled. They seemed to be awfully calm about the horrifying events that had just transpired, or calmer than how Kaori felt. Perhaps it was just a side effect of hero work, being desensitized to these things. Kaori thought she could never, though. Despite still being terrified by all the blood, she couldn't tear her eyes off Aizawa's injuries — injuries he had sustained because of her. It looked like it came straight out of a movie.

A few moments later, after more fussing from Yamada, the paramedics finally came and wheeled Aizawa away urgently without giving them a chance to hitch a ride on the ambulance. Kaori watched numbly as he went out of sight, her body still trembling like leaf; whether from fear of adrenaline, she wasn't sure.

"Right," Yamada said with false cheer. Yet Kaori could see the worry in his eyes, a far cry from his usual cheerful self. "Let's go get your arm checked out. You must be in pain."

They started walking away from the scene, where several officers and camera crew were already crowding.

"Can't we just go home? I'm tired and I don't want to be here anymore," she said. She inspected her arm a little closer, and to her relief, it looked like it was only on a surface level. It still hurt like hell though.

"I know Kaori-chan," he said, taking her arm gently to take a closer look. "But this could get infected. I think we should at least let them take a quick look."

"No, please." She turned her watery eyes toward him for emphasis. "I feel like I can't breathe here."

"I'm sorry, kiddo. We can't risk it. Injuries from quirks can be nasty," Yamada said, sounding conflicted. "It'll be okay. I'll be there with you the whole time."

Unhappily, Kaori followed Yamada to the paramedics still on scene. Apparently it wasn't just her and Aizawa who had gotten hurt.

The paramedics looked surprised when they turned up but quickly set to work. Yamada hovered over them anxiously, asking them questions about her injury. Kaori wasn't sure why he was so concerned when Aizawa had looked so much worse. Shouldn't he be more worried about him?

"It's not that bad," he told Yamada after a brief inspection. "It's only a surface wound and I can deal with it right here. But if you want, we can take her to the hospital if you want to be the safer side."

"No!" Kaori blurted out. "I don't wanna go."

"Are you sure Kaori-chan? I don't want you to have to go to the hospital later anyway"

"No." Kaori sat down on a bench, folding her arms. It stung a bit.

"Alright, alright," Yamada relented. "Please go ahead."

The paramedic nodded. "Now, can I use my quirk on you?" he asked, turning to her. "It won't hurt, I promise. It'll just numb the pain for a little while."

Kaori nodded hesitantly, allowing him to grab her injured hand. A brief moment later, she felt a surge of warmth pass through her entire arm. The pain subsided greatly right after, but the wound still looked an angry red.

He grabbed some supplies from a nearby medkit and started to tend to her wound, all the while chatting to her about trivial things. Kaori couldn't bring herself to respond. She wished Yamada had just let her go home.

"There, all done," he told her with a smile, releasing her now bandaged arm. "Good job, kiddo."

Kaori was too exhausted to be annoyed at the blatant condescension. "Thank you," she said quietly, reattaching herself back to Yamada's side, who placed a gentle hand to her back.

"Monitor the wound carefully for the next week or so, and if it shows any sign of worsening, come to the hospital right away," he told Yamada. "It's not very serious, but it could if you don't take good care of it."

"Of course, thank you so much," Yamada said.

"See, that wasn't so terrible, was it?" Yamada asked once they were away. "You did great!"

Kaori didn't respond, staring blankly at nothing.

"Let's go home now, okay?" Yamada squeezed her shoulder lightly, and she nodded.

She couldn't wait to go home and never go out again.

Without Kaori needing to say anything, Yamada went and grabbed a carton of ice cream from the freezer for them. Ice cream always made things better, and she desperately needed a mood boost right now.

"You want to go see Aizawa-san in the hospital, right? Don't stop on my account. I'll be fine alone with Shiro." Kaori said, feeling guilty. "Actually, I want to go too. Can we go check on him?" She patted Shiro on the head, already feeling some of the stress and fear recede. She couldn't help but worry about Aizawa. He looked so severely injured, and Kaori wished she had more confirmation that he was going to be fine.

Yamada shook his head, walking over to the couch. "We can visit him together later. You've been through a lot, I think it'd be better if we stay home and rest. Shouta will be fine, don't worry."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yes, now sit," he said, patting the cushion next to him. Dutifully, Kaori sat, taking the ice cream from Yamada. It was cookies and cream, her favorite.

"Right. Now, I'm sure you don't want to talk about it, but I need to make sure you're okay. Did the villains scare you?"

"Yeah," she admitted, swallowing hard. "There was so much blood, and Aizawa-san… he …"

"Oh, Kaori," he said with a frown. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. I should've gotten there sooner."

She sniffled a bit, holding back more tears. She had shed enough today already. "Do you deal with that kind of stuff every day?"

"Well, not every day, but hero work is like that," he said. "Anything could happen when we're on the job."

"How? It was so … scary. They were definitely trying to kill us." Anxiously, Kaori shoveled gobs of ice cream in her mouth, trying her very best not to remember the murderous expressions on their attacker's faces. It tasted blander than usual.

"It gets better with time, but even to this day, I still get nervous going on certain raids or stings. I also worry for Shouta, even though he's very capable at what he does."

The idea of Yamada or Aizawa going to work one day and never coming back struck her like a punch in the face, and she placed down her unfinished bowl, suddenly nauseous. "That's … that's…" She couldn't hide the tremble in her voice,

Yamada smiled faintly, placing his arms around her shoulders gently and pulling her towards him. The gesture — while comforting — triggered an emotional switch in her, and she took in a shuddering breath, blinking back tears. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you with what I said. What I'm trying to say is that it's perfectly normal to feel scared after what happened. You don't have to try so hard not to cry like you usually do."

"I'm … I'm not. It's just … just…" Try as she might, Kaori couldn't find the words.

"I know, I know." Yamada's voice was filled with sympathy, and his grip on her shoulder tightened a tiny bit.

"Now, how about we relax and watch some TV? We deserve a small break, I'd say."

Kaori nodded weakly, and he turned it on, flipping through the channels until he finally stopped on some random English TV show playing with Japanese subtitles. Kaori let the white noise wash over her, numbing her scattered thoughts.

"Yamada-san?" she said quietly after a while. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For getting you guys involved in my mess. The guy from today was targeting me, and probably with the guy who killed my parents. If it weren't for me, Aizawa-san wouldn't be in the hospital right now." Kaori stared at the TV, unable to meet his eyes.

"Kaori-chan. Look at me." Hesitantly, she turned towards him, only to find nothing but compassion and warmth in his eyes. "Don't you dare blame yourself for that. We're pros. It's our job to protect people like you. I won't lie. I'm scared for Shouta. But it's not the first time he's had to stay at the hospital, nor would it be the last. We signed up for this. We know what we're in for. If anything, I'm the one who should be mad at myself for not sticking to you two. But that makes no sense, doesn't it?"

"Oh. I guess," Kaori mumbled. "I was so scared that … it'd be like my parents again. All because of me. Why does this keep happening to me?" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, hopeful for an answer.

Yamada looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Kaori-chan. We'll get to the bottom of this. Shouta and I are working hard on the case. We'll get the person behind this. I promise. You won't ever have to be scared to go outside again."

"No," she cried, letting her latent tears fall freely. "I don't care about getting the villain anymore. I just want it all to stop. I don't … I don't ever want to see Aizawa-san l-like that again. I really thought he wasn't gonna get up! What if next time he doesn't? What if-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Yamada wrapped her in a tight hug, quietly murmuring assurances until her shuddering breaths ceased and she slumped against him tiredly.

"It's going to be alright. Shouta and I got you. We're not going to die on you. He'll be out of the hospital and scolding you for your actions today in no time."

"He better," she said weakly, finally pulling away from Yamada's embrace. When had she gotten so attached? She didn't even want to think about Aizawa dying, and this time, it had nothing to do with her concerns about canon. They all seemed inconsequential now that she had gotten to know these two better.

Yamada chuckled. "Shouta's got too much spite in him to die in a simple villain attack. He'll outlive us all."

Kaori nodded slowly, forcing herself to believe his words at face value and stop worrying incessantly. Aizawa was strong. There was no way he'd ever die so easily.

"So do you think he's gonna be mad at me when he comes back?"

"For dashing in recklessly even though you didn't have a good handle on your quirk yet, nor a license?" Yamada asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yeah, that." She winced. When he put it like that, her actions did sound pretty dumb.

"Don't worry. He won't stay mad forever. He cares for you, you know."

"Does he?" Even to her, her voice sounded painfully hopeful. Since when had she cared so much about Aizawa's approval?

"Yeah, he just isn't great at showing it. He wouldn't have gotten so angry if he didn't. He was trying to protect you, and you just ran straight into the danger zone while ignoring everything he was saying. Can you imagine how he must've felt?"

"I should probably apologize then," she said, feeling even worse. "I didn't mean to make him worry. I was just trying to help."

"I know. He knows too, I'm sure."

"Are you angry?" she asked hesitantly.

"I won't lie. Yes. I am a little mad. You shouldn't do it again, but … don't let Shouta know I'm telling you this, but it was brave kiddo. Not many would've done what you did today. You should be proud. You have the hero spirit." He ruffled her hair lightly. "As long as you don't plan on doing it again," he added sternly. Kaori had never seen his face so serious, and she smiled, despite herself.

"Thanks," she said. "Wish Aizawa-san saw it the same way." She wasn't sure what she would do if something like today happened again, but she didn't think she had done anything too wrong. She was a huge coward when the explosion happened, and she wasn't going to make the same mistake of running again.

"I'm glad you're finally opening up to me. I was worried you'd never come around," he said. "If I had known all it took was a villain attack, I would've … well, not orchestrate a villain attack… You know what, never mind. I'm just glad."

It did feel good having someone else to talk about her feelings with, for her worries and fear to be validated. She wondered if she should do it more often. "Yeah. Thanks for talking it through with me," she said.

They sat on the sofa for a while longer, side by side. The mood was more solemn than usual, but they found themselves enjoying each other's company in this trying time.