I open my mouth, not really sure what I'm going to say.

At the same time, Sensei's phone rings.

"Nighteye Agency calling! Nighteye Agency calling!"

Everyone at the table freezes.

Sensei, frowning, pulls the phone from his pocket and stares. Then, with an irritated sigh, drags it to his ear.

"Eraserhead."

The person on the other side is too quiet to hear, but Sensei's expression morphs into annoyance in an instant.

"Get to your point."

He freezes the next second, fingers curling head tilting forward.

"I see. How long?"

Whatever the person on the other end says, it must be serious. Sensei makes a noise and hangs up. Then, turning to us, gives Aunt Nemuri an unreadable look.

"I need to leave."

My throat closes, the sour taste in my mouth bitter and thick.

Plays the perfect little Dad, right? I had one of those too. Tucks you in, tells you to talk to him. That you can trust him. Feh. Wait until you fuck everything up, it ends.

He stands, food barely touched.

"Rin-" He pauses, eyes catching mine. For a moment he looks like he wants to say something. Instead, he sighs. "Rin, stop. I don't know what you're thinking, but I can imagine. My leaving has nothing to do with you or any of this. I've been called in for a raid, the time and location aren't being shared, so I'm uncertain how long I'll be gone."

He turns to Aunt Nemuri then.

"Kayama, I need a list of who all is involved in this mess, who had access to those files and where they came from. I've left notes on what I read, but the information in that folder isn't the same as what's been shared with the detective. I'd tell you to contact him, but Gran Torino said they were intending to target Kurogiri along side us."

He pushes back the chair, dragging the hair tie from his hair and scattering his long, dark waves.

Then, he's gone, pushing past his door and rattling his closet dresser.

Aunt Nemuri frowns.

She looks worried, her bottom lip jutting slightly.

Standing, she collects some Tupperware and scrapes his food in.

"Rin-chan," the woman says lightly, focus entirely concentrated on her food.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You know hero work is dangerous. While I don't believe in apologies you don't mean, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't remind someone that you care even when you're hurt or upset. Regardless of what happened earlier, the importance of being a family is supporting and loving each other."

I look down.

"I told him that I hated him," I admit softly, the guilt of it aching something sharp.

"Then perhaps you should go make sure he knows you don't," my godmother says softly.

I nod and stand.

I make it to his closed door and regard it quietly.

On the other side, I hear a weathered sigh.

"Sensei?" I call, knocking lightly.

The door opens to Eraserhead, goggles against his forehead, uniform stretching across his entire body, and capture weapon wound loosely on his bed.

"Yes?"

Eyes downcast, I shuffle from foot to foot.

"I… I'm sorry."

"For?" he asks sharply, he reaches for the capture weapon and starts putting it on. "I don't need an apology Nemuri has guilt-tripped you into."

I frown.

"She didn't—She hasn't… I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I don't hate you."

He looks back, expression bored.

"Obviously."

I twitch, lips thinning.

"Sensei..."

I cut off at the hand that settles against my head. Looking up, Sensei stares tiredly back.

"We'll discuss this when I get back," he says, voice gruff as he tilts back my head. Leaning forward, he kisses my forehead, rough chin hairs prickling against my skin. "I wasn't going to leave without seeing you kid. And I'm not upset—at least not about that. I am frustrated, but it's moreso because you didn't think you could trust me, that you haven't brought this to me. I'm frustrated you felt the need to hide this alongside whichever classmates you've roped into helping you. More than anything, I'm worried about the amount of attention you've brought with your investigation. People looking into stuff like this doesn't go unnoticed, whoever you used to get those files needs to lay low. But there isn't time..."

He sighs.

I stare up, eyes watering.

He reaches out, dragging me into a hug.

"Kid… Jeez. Sometimes I wonder if having you take that medicine isn't more rational. You're crying again, I invited Nemuri over to try to stop the tears. Cheer up, or think about something else. If I come back to the dorms flooded by your quirk, there's gonna be a lecture."

I can't help the laugh, it bubbles up my throat, the sound lost in his uniform. I only reluctantly let go.

He collects his wallet, slides a knife into his belt, and hesitates only a moment before reaching for a small bag. He tucks it into his belt. Then, shooing me out his room door, he gives Aunt Nemuri a sour look. She holds a wrapped plate of food with a too-big smile. He takes it reluctantly.

"Thanks..."

"Of course hun! Have a great day!"

If looks could kill, my aunt would be very, very dead.

Returning to my side, he drops one last kiss, hugging me tightly.

"Be good."

.

.

.

When Sensei leaves, my godmother quickly shoos me back to the table for more food. Finishing that, she collects the dishes, dumps them in trash and quickly ushers me to the couch. I yawn, curling up with a blanket, and frown as she pushes up her glasses and addresses the pile of papers I'd printed now stacked with sticky notes and highlights.

I lean forward, glancing over Aunt Nemuri's shoulder at the very tiny writing that usually appears on corrected essays.

Politicians supportive of anti-quirkless and anti-mutant laws. Noted in several media outlets for hiring discrimination.

I frown. Below that several lines reach towards several different people on the list.

Acquitted of crimes of bribery, fraud, identity theft, and racketeering. None have any connection to each other.

Aunt Nemuri lowers the papers slowly.

"He's right," she says softly, lips pursing to the side. "Shit. Rin-chan, when were you given these documents?"

"Ah… Monday and Today?"

She chews her cheek.

"Call them up and put whoever you talked to on speaker. We need to have a conversation."

I pull my phone from my pocket.

"Aunt Nemuri… Is she going to be in trouble?" I ask, scrolling through to find Kagura's number.

"I'm less worried about charges Rin-chan," the dark-haired woman says as the phone rings. "This… This looks like Yakuza hits."

"Yaku-"

"Hellspawn!" laughs a voice on the other end. It's hard to hear over the sound of loud music. "Girl! You're up late! Finally doing something crazy?"

I ignore Aunt Nemuri's narrowed eyes and glance at the time. No wonder I'm tired, it's well past one.

"Nee-chan," I say. "Where are you?"

"The club! Duh! Oh, oh!"

Aunt Nemuri smirks and gestures for the phone. Reluctantly I pass it.

"Rin-chan, who am I talking to?"

"Ahh… Kagura-nee-chan," I answer.

There's a sound on the other side. A sort of hiss of breath.

"Hellspawn, who is that?"

"My-"

"My name is Midnight, the R-rated heroine. I expect you've heard of me?" she says, voice firm and kind and strangely authoritative for her. I can almost hear Nee-chan's gasp.

"Midnight!?!"

"The one and only," she says with a little wink towards me. I can only stare as her expression smoothes from silly to serious in a second though. "I have reason to be concerned for your safety dear. I apologize for interrupting, but I need you to answer a few questions. Have you been followed by lately or been approached oddly today or within the last few days?"

Kagura makes a weird noise on the other end.

"What? No! Nothing!"

Aunt Nemuri seems to relax, her shoulders drooping.

"Ah, good. Has there been anything weird or out of the ordinary lately?"

"No more than usual," the other girl laughs, and I can hear the amusement despite all the buzzing bass in the background. "What's this about anyway?"

"I'd rather not say over the phone," my Aunt hedges easily enough. She frowns as she considers something else. "I don't want to scare you, but please continue to stay aware of your surroundings. If you do feel uncomfortable, I'd like you to call the police immediately, even if you're not sure. Keep your phone on you and-"

"Alright! Alright! You're killin' my vibe lady! Hellspawn, what is this? And intervention?"

I snort.

"Just be careful Nee-chan," I say, taking back the phone.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll catch you later!"

She hangs up and I look curiously at my aunt. She raises a brow.

"Hellspawn?" she asks, lips quirking.

"It's… It's just a nickname," I huff, feeling my skin brighten and red.

"I think I like Glow worm better," she says, wrinkling her nose and leaning toward me. My skin brightens further, and I bury the urge to shove her away. "But it's late and you probably need to head to bed."

I yawn at the reminder before shaking my head.

"My sheets are still wet," I say, standing. Heading to the washer, I go ahead and move the damp sheets to the dryer, amused when they smell like Sensei.

"We'll just bunk in Shouta's room," she says, grinning.

I swear she's trying to see how red I'll turn.

I'm pretty sure it's working.

"I… N-No way!"

She grins.

"Well, I'm certainly not sleeping on a couch. These things are terrible for your back, and I'll wake up looking like an old lady!"

I give her a weird look.

"You could go home!"

She puts on an expression of mock horror.

"Rin-chan! What? Are you trying to kick me out?"

My eye twitches.

Yes.

She giggles, shaking her head.

"Well, lucky you, I need to finish reading all this before it gets too late… Well, I suppose now too early. You should go ahead and head to sleep though, for someone that's usually in bed by ten, tomorrow is going to be rough."

I pout.

Then collecting the blanket from the back of the couch, I curl up on one side of the couch.

Aunt Nemuri hums, quietly flipping through pages as I settle down.

"Can… Can I see it again?" I mumble sleepily.

My godmother looks over, her pretty blue eyes bright.

"Who?"

"My… My brothers? Daddy?"

She furrows her brows before they widen. She sits forward and turns.

"Rin-chan… Rin-chan, do you not have pictures of them?"

I blink at her tiredly and cover a yawn.

"No… 'scuse me."

She breathes deeply, brows furrowing.

"He probably didn't even think about it," she huffs, shuffling through pages again and pulling out a few. "I'll ask around tomorrow to see if we can't get something a little more… well, something that isn't a mug shot."

I don't really care.

Taking the papers, I stare down at Sora tiredly, memorizing his features. I swipe my thumb across the printing, wishing I could touch him. Wishing I could see him, even if we'd probably just argue.

"I miss them," I admit, yawning again.

"Maybe we can see about visitation rules?" Aunt Nemuri suggests. "But we'll worry about it tomorrow. Go to sleep Rin-chan. I'll make sure we all get up on time."

I nod, and with one final yawn, fall asleep.

.

.

.

I wake to a strange buzzing against my leg.

Warm, in soft, comfortable sheets against something equally soft and warm, I groan. I don't want to get up. But then it's buzzes again, urgent against my leg, and even in my sleep-induced haze, something feels wrong.

"Ugh…" I grumble, picking myself up.

Patting blindly for the obscene vibration, I frown when I finally find my phone. It's on the edge of the bed, plugged in.

Sleepily, I unplug it, staring blankly at the time. Four a.m.

Three missed calls from Kagura.

I slide the green button and pull the phone sleepily to my ear.

"Nee-chan?"

"Hellspawn," cries a voice on the other end. It sounds like Nee-chan, she sounds terrified. "Hellspawn don't! Hang up! You can't-"

I sit up sharply.

"Shut up," snarls someone, a voice dark and deep. There's a sharp sound, like flesh against flesh, and any trace of sleep left in me evaporates.

"I swear-"

"You ain't got no room to be swearing," interrupts the voice from before. There's a sobbing in the background that makes the shadows under my skin burn. "I've got your sister, and if you don't want anything bad to happen to her, you're gonna do exactly what I say."

I snarl.

"What do you want?"

"Right now? You. Get your ass out of that bed and start walking. I want you at the train station in Mustafu in less than twenty."

My jaw drops. I slide from the bed.

"That- That's across town!" I growl. "There's no way-"

"Rin-chan?" asks a sleepy voice. I stiffen.

"Who the hell is that?" snaps the voice on the other end. "You say shit and you'll be lucky to find pieces of your sister, girl. And don't try signing or writing shit either. My quirk is tech sight, and I can see you clearly. Rainbow on your shirt and all."

Rainbow?

I glance down, seeing the rainbow printed there. I swallow.

"It's- It's just my aunt," I manage, mind racing. Why was he sharing so much information? How could he see my shirt and not her? Was there some sort of radius-

"Give her an excuse and move. If you're late, I ain't promising shit."

I want to yell.

I want to scream.

I don't dare give this asshole an excuse.

"Rin-chan?" my godmother says, sitting up to hold her head. I realize, suddenly, we're not in my room.

Sensei…

His pale walls are bleak, empty of everything.

"I… I need to go Auntie," I say, mind whirling on what I can say—what I should. I've never been particularly gifted with words, damn it. What do I do? "My… Auntie, my Dad's on the phone. He… He wants me to come home now. I… I think he might have lost his glasses in the bushes again."

"The fuck?" comes the voice from the other end. "What kind of lame ass excuse is that?"

"Your Dad?" she repeats. She sounds lost, brows furrowing. But behind that, I can see her thoughts whirling, hopefully putting two and two together. I can't stay. I rise, heading to the doorway.

"Yes ma'am. He's on the phone now. He wants me to leave right away."

"Girl, if you don't shake that woman now-"

"I've gotta go," I interrupt the voice, lips thinning. "The- His- His glasses. He really can't find them and he's gonna get upset if I don't hurry."

"I… I see. I'll come," my Aunt says, pushing back the covers.

"No!" the kidnapper and I both say at the same time. I scowl, move into my room, and grab a jacket. At least then I'm not running around only in pajamas. When I find this dude, I'm gonna beat the shit out of him. "He-"

"Tell her I don't want a ton of people over and get your ass out that door now."

I grit my teeth.

"He says he doesn't want a ton of people over," I say sharply, and the dark way she studies me tells me that at least she understands. "I'll be fine. I'll text you later."

"You'll text me when you get there," she says, her voice brooking no nonsense. She plays along effortlessly though before reaching for a pad of paper and pen.

"Yes ma'am," I say, moving immediately away. "Bye auntie!"

She scowls.

I jog to the door, unlock it and head out.

The lobby is empty, dark and quiet. Except there's a light in the kitchen and the sound of dishes. A head pokes out as the door behind me clicks shut.

"Hmm?"

It's… It's Iida.

Shit.

"Ho-"

"No time to talk!" I shout, putting on my best grin. It's all teeth as I wave. "My- My Dad just called and I- I need to run!"

He makes a noise, but the sound is lost as I push past the door. I jog towards the front gate.

"Well, at least you understand the urgency," growls the voice in my ear.

If I could, I'd kick him.

No, I'm definitely going to kick him when I find him.

How dare he-

"I can see your face girl," the man on the other side hisses. "You try and pull any shit and your sister's gonna lose some limbs. You understand that?"

"Please!" cries Kagura in the background. She sounds muffled but alive. I grind my teeth. "Please leave her alone. She's- She's quirkless! Please-"

Quirkless?

I glower. What the hell was she doing?

"Someone gag her," snaps the man and I let out a hiss of breath, arriving to the school gate. It doesn't open. I kick it before angrily lodging my foot in the bars and pulling myself up. I pull myself up to the top in seconds, kicking my feet over and dropping on the other side. "Damn. Climbed a few fences huh?"

I don't respond, jogging forward.

Fences were nothing compared to the walls of cement Sensei had us scaling all week.

"Tch. Whatever, get here in 15 or else."

Your threats are less and less impressive.

I don't.

I make it to Musutafu train station in 14. Out of breath and nearly bent over. Silently, I promise myself that I'm going to learn to run marathons when this is over.

When I have Nee-chan back.

If Sensei doesn't kill me.

"I-I-I'm here," I manage, coughing as I take in the train station. "Wh-Where are-"

"Find the third terminal. You'll see a man in a gray trench coat." I do. But Kagura's not there.

"Where is-"

"Hand over the phone."

I grit my teeth and snarl, feet planting firmly.

"Hell no. Where is my-"

"Bring me the girl," interrupts the man on the phone. There's a shout, a muffled scream, and I stiffen at the sound of Kagura comes thoroughly through the phone.

"Rin-chan- Rin-chan-"

Her words cut off in a cacophony of sobs.

My knuckles whiten. Terror and fury swirling so fully I can taste them in my mouth.

"What did you-"

"I broke her pinky," the man on the phone says darkly, voice flat. "You want me to break another, question me again. Now hand over the phone."

I shove the phone at the man still standing calmly several steps in front of me.

He takes delicately, gloved fingers sliding across the screen.

"We'll need to ditch it, there's a location GPS built-in," the trench says. He listens to something but then nods. "Understood."

Without bothering to hang up, he tosses the phone in the trash.

"H-Hey-"

The man in the trench coat grabs my arm, pulling me back.

"Didn't you hear him?" the man hisses. "You cause issues, and this is going to be worse. Knock it off and walk. We're heading to the car."

I stiffen and let him drag me on.

The gloves on my arm squeeze warningly.

"Why are you doing this?" I snap. "What are you getting out of this? Are you some kind of sick-"

"Shut up," growls the man furiously, eyes darting around.

"My sister's not done anything wrong," I sneer, refusing. "Why are you hurting her?"

"I said-"

He stops as someone walks by, jerking me closer.

His steps increase, his wide gait making it harder and harder to keep up.

"I don't know what you or your sister did to piss off the boss," the man says, voice low as he drags us out into a parking lot. "I don't care. I'm just told to my part."

"So that's it?" I snap. "You just hurt people because he says-"

Even as I say it, the hypocrisy of that statement dawns.

I stop talking.

The man in the trench coat glances my way.

He pushes me into a simple, unremarkable car with tinted windows and speeds off. I try to follow the directions, try to memorize every turn. It doesn't work. I don't know this side of town and I know even less about the area.

All I can do is stare at the back of the seat in front of me.

Aunt Nemuri's going to be furious.

Sensei's going to kill me.

Don't wander off with strangers.

Ugh.

I'm going to be grounded again.

I slump in the seat, eyes getting heavier and heavier. I frown and look up, refusing to-

The trench coat is wearing a mask.

My eyelids sink, and I scramble for the window-

The world darkens at the edges.

.

.

.

I wake slowly, a dull throbbing in my head that takes a moment to work through as I force open my eyes.

The ceiling is different.

I frown, blink and look around.

Why is the- I cut that thought off as I remember the conversation. The phone call, Kagura's screams. The car ride with the driver and his weird mask.

Where am I?

I turn on what feels like the floor, a ratty, threadbare blanket strewn across my chest. There're three people in the room. I blink at their shape, trying to focus and feeling like I'm underwater. My head swims as I sit up, my fist rising to my head.

What did they do to me?

"Rin-chan?"

My head snaps up at the familiarity. Kagura. I turn and stare at a girl I don't recognize, vibrant hair dull and greasy. Her normally expressive features withdrawn and bloodied. Something in me burns when I stare at her face, at the split lip and swollen eye.

They hit her.

They hurt her.

She swallows me in her arms, shaking as she clings to my oversized shirt. The shirt I hadn't arrived in. Where were my pajamas? Where were my clothes?

They undressed me?

Fire and darkness churn beneath my skin.

"Nee-chan," I manage, teeth gritted. I take in the other two in the back of the room. They're looking at us. One, a boy probably no older than twelve, in disgust, and the other, a girl clearly younger, with an obvious hunger.

Where are we?

"Hellspawn," Kagura chokes, breaking into tears. I don't know what to do, don't know how to respond when she presses into me and sobs. How long has she been here? Who did this to her? Where- "Y-You shouldn't have come. They- They kidnapped me and they're horrible and they kept talking about- about what they were gonna do and- and-"

"Nee-chan," I interrupt, barely managing to keep the growl from my voice at her hysteria. "Nee-chan, breathe. In and out, take deep breaths."

It doesn't help. I'm not sure why, but the breaths which should have been calming come in fast, almost rushed breaths. Some sharper, more clinical part of my brain whispers panic attack.

I try to focus on the other techniques, the ones Tulutho-san had been teaching me. Square breathing.

"Nee-chan, focus. We're going to breathe together."

I press my hands on the older girl's cheeks, guiding her face towards me. The others in the room still haven't moved, so I ignore them, looking instead into the older girl's eyes. Her pupils are blown wide, her nose red and running, her lips dry and cracked and crusted with dried blood.

"In, ready?"

I suck in the breath, slowly, inwardly counting to four. I puff my cheeks, excessive as we pause, and then out. She struggles, breaking into tears and choking breaths as I rub my thumb across her cheek, trying to imitate the way Sensei does it.

Sensei.

He's gonna blow a gasket.

Shit.

It takes almost eight times before she's calm.

I pull her closer, tucking her head against my shoulder as I focus again on the surroundings, feeling her shake. No obvious weapons. No windows. Two doors, one towards what appears to be a bathroom, another shut to some unknown other space. The piles of blankets, there're only three, are shoved as far from those doors as possible.

I scowl.

Sensei is going to be furious.

I ignore that and try to come up with a plan. Turning to the other two, I regard them carefully.

"Where are we?"

The boy scoffs, dirty clothes wrinkled as he folds his arms.

"You think we know?"

I press my lips together. Probably not.

"Fine," I acknowledge. "Were you kidnapped too?"

The younger girl nods, and I worry for a moment that she'll cry. She doesn't. Folding backward into herself, she huddles into the corner and pulls her knees to her chest. The boy glares.

"And if I was?" he snaps. "What are you gonna do about it? You got kidnapped too. You're as stuck as we are."

I ignore his waspishness and glance back toward the closed door.

"Where does that lead?"

Kagura squeaks then, head shaking furiously as she suddenly separates.

"N-N-No! No Rin-chan! They'll hurt you-"

The captors, I surmise, taking in her rising panic.

"How many?" I ask, cutting her off. Whoever they were, they hadn't taken very many precautions. No drug to steal my quirk. No handcuffs or poison candles. This wasn't Kaito's doing at least. Had it been him, there would have been corpses.

I push away those thoughts, of hollow eyes and Yui-san with a bloody sideways 8 carved into her skin.

"What's it matter? You gonna fight 'em or something?" the boy snaps.

I give him a flat stare. Obviously. I wasn't waiting in here for them to come to me. I had no idea if Aunt Nemuri would be able to track us, or if the police even knew we were gone. The boy seems to realize this at about the same time I open my mouth and gives me a thoroughly disgusted glare.

"They have guns," he snarls. "They have guns and quirks, and they'll kill you. They'll kill us! You're an idiot!"

Something about the way he says that makes me pause.

Quirks…

"You're quirkless?" I ask, brows furrowing.

The boy glares, his whole form bristling like an angry cat.

"And if I am? I heard them talking! You're no fucking better!"

Was that why we were untied?

I turn to Kagura.

She shakes. Face pale and bloodied.

The flames inside me burn.

"It doesn't matter, I'm getting us out."