My eyes are hardly cooperating, as I'm too tired to proofread, so fair warning for any errors.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter; it marks a huge turning point for the story and a lot of the characters. I'm super eager for your guys' reactions.

"Kyoka." Hitomi started seriously, eyes pinned down the dark path ahead. "I need you to go back, and warn the others."

"What?!" Kyoka hissed.

"Get Kendou, Kodai, and Honenuki, and you four go—"

"I'm not leaving you here to deal with— with whatever it is that's happening!"

Hitomi gritted her teeth, her canines growing. "Listen to me, someone has to go back, while someone else has to keep going and make sure no one ahead of us is hurt."

"Hurt by what?!"

"I don't know. But it… it feels like the USJ, and I-Island."

Kyoka paled, looking down. "This is bad. Really bad."

Hitomi touched her shoulder, giving her the best smile she could manage.

"Please, Kyoka."

With a faint growl of reluctance, Kyoka took off, sprinting down the path from where they came.

Once she was out of eyesight, Hitomi turned back ahead, stepping forward and sniffing the air, searching desperately for—

There it was. Burnt caramel.

"Bakugou! Todoroki!" Hitomi called, darting off from the beaten path into the brush, weaving through bushes and trees, ever so grateful for her genetic night-vision.

"Everyone!"

Hitomi stopped, shivering at the now familiar feeling of Mandalay speaking telepathically.

"Two Villains attacked us!"

Hitomi bit back a curse, hands clenched tightly in frustration. She knew it. She just hoped to be wrong.

The USJ. The mall. I-Island. And now the summer camp. Villains were there at every turn.

Shigaraki's words to her slithered unpleasantly in Hitomi's mind.

"It's possible there are more coming. Everyone, return to camp immediately! We're regrouping. Do not engage any enemies."

Don't engage? Seriously?

Hitomi warred with herself, hesitant to move forward after Mandalay's orders, but…

"Dang it!" Hitomi spat, charging on.

It was like her body refused to turn back, not until she knew that he was safe.

Her eyes widened, feet stumbling.

They. Until she knew that they were safe.

...Did she have a fever or something?

All confusing musings were banished, however, when she came upon Ragdoll's station.

A white pull-out table was set up, with stacks of name tags for each student.

But it was all splattered with blood.

Hitomi backed away, covering her nose to block the metallic smell that turned her stomach.

The area was abandoned, Ragdoll nowhere to be seen. And it was hard to say if that was reassuring, or damning.

Then, something obvious occurred to her. Hitomi reached inside the hoodie pocket, fishing out her phone. She dialed Momo's number, and it rang until going to voicemail. She tried the same with Bakugou, only for the same result.

"Come on!" She hissed, fingers trembling and fumbling across the screen.

(Katsuki Bakugou!)

(HS) OMW

—

After waiting tensely for a reply, she finally got one that sent her heart plummeting.

—

(KB) Don't.

—

Hitomi's breath grew stilted, then turned into hyperventilation, her vision tunneling.

Like hell she wouldn't.

She shoved her phone back, racing in the direction of his scent. The farther she went, the more the air was misted with a purple gas— the culprit of the strange smell she noticed under the smoke, and tried her best not to breathe it in. She pulled the hem of the hoodie up over her mouth, flipping the hood over her head for good measure.

Nori was going to kill her once he found out about this, so might as well dive headfirst into danger anyway.

…

Shouta scowled venomously at the scarred Villain, keeping his bindings tight.

"That's exactly the performance I'd expect out of a UA teacher." The Villain rasped in a husky voice, staggering to his feet. "Tell me, Hero—"

Shouta yanked on his capture weapon, intending to jerk the Villain to the ground again, but… it slipped right through. The Villain's body turning into something like mud.

"You worried for your students? I wonder if you can save them in the end." He grinned, pulling at the staples embedded into his face. Finishing with a chilling statement before dissolving away completely.

"'Specially that perky little mutt."

Shouta froze, his body coiling with undiluted dread.

Saito's blinding smile flashed in his mind, looking so much like Naomi's.

"You're lucky I'm not supposed to touch you." Shigaraki's ominous statement on the police report flashed in his mind, making his heart race and lungs stutter.

"I swear, I'll do everything in my power to guide her on the right path." Shouta had once whispered solemnly over his mentors' graves, determined to help raise their daughter from the sidelines.

He knew the second that she clung to him in that snowy playground, covered with his coat, and teary-eyed from the service, that he was done for.

Hitomi Saito, so much like her parents, while also standing out as her own person, had no idea how important she was to him.

And now, a group of highly dangerous individuals had a plan for her, for some unknown reason.

Shouta's blood boiled.

Over his dead body.

…

The mountain side on the edge of the forest cracked and crumbled audibly, and for a second, Hitomi thought she saw green lightning flash above.

That second was enough, however, for her to make a grave mistake by not paying attention.

Her fur puffed up, her canines bared, and she felt every sense heighten as—

"Argh!"

Something huge, and massively heavy slammed into her back, knocking her down onto her front.

She cried out, the thing— which she absently realized was a tree —was pinning her down, and—

"Gagh!" Hitomi screamed when she tried forcing herself up, her right leg aching with a pain so horrific that it whited out her vision.

Blood. She smelled her blood. And all she could feel below the knee was agony.

It was broken. It had to be. So this was what a broken bone felt like? How in the world did Midoriya function?!

"Oh my, that might've been a tad extreme." A silky male voice spoke over her. "Hopefully the damage isn't too severe. We're not supposed to harm you too badly before handing you over."

"You're lucky I'm not supposed to touch you."

Tears welling in her eyes, Hitomi's stomach turned to lead, and her dinner rose to the back of her mouth. What did he mean?!

Then, Mandalay's voice called through her cluttered mind.

"Everyone in Class A and Class B! In the name of the Pro Hero, Eraser Head, you are granted permission to engage in combat! I repeat, use your training! You may fight these Villains!"

Hitomi blinked, her eyes drying. She wished nothing more than to be able to do just that, but… with how her leg felt, it was clear there was too much damage done to it.

"I'm afraid she must use caution." The Quirk doctor her parents took her to after she activated Akita Inu for the first time, had plainly stated. "Because of the way her mass changes, and bones shift, if she were ever to try to use her Quirk while restrained, or ailed with, say, a broken bone, it would cause serious injury. Maybe even permanent issues."

But she couldn't just sit there and do nothing!

She reached down, forcing her hand into her pocket again, which was made difficult as she was being pushed into the ground, and pried out her phone. Keeping the screen pointed downwards so he wouldn't see the light, she clumsily typed a message out, praying her muscle-memory would be enough to make it legible, unable to check the screen or risk catching the man's attention.

But unfortunately, a few seconds after pressing where she guessed the send button was, her phone chimed with a notification.

"What's this?" The man asked, finally stepping into view. Revealing himself to be finely dressed, with a long tan overcoat, red gloves, a black feathered top-hat, white cane, and a flat monochrome mask.

He kicked her phone out of her hand, shattering the screen and sending it flying.

Hitomi whimpered despite herself, her eyes stinging again with a helpless panic.

And it only got worse.

"Listen, we've discovered two of the Villains' targets!"

Hitomi's ears twitched at the phantom call.

"A student named Kachan, and Hitomi Saito. Kachan and Saito, you should try to avoid combat, and stick to a group! I hope you can hear me!"

Body stiff and quaking, Hitomi stared blankly down at the ground inches from her face.

Well, that confirmed it then. They had something planned for her. But the thing that really terrified Hitomi, was their desire for Bakugou.

The man paused, staring at her through his mask, and with good reason.

Hitomi glared furiously up at him, her eyes darkening to a crimson red.

"What do you want with him!? I swear if you even touch him…!" She trailed off in a snarl.

The man's shoulders stiffened, her words seeming to have some effect on him. Then they shook with mirth, his voice lilting with it when he replied.

"Oh, darling pup, we don't plan on hurting him."

Before Hitomi could demand answers, or make any more threats, the man raised his hand.

And everything went black.

…

Katsuki felt his phone vibrate in his jean pocket, and pulled it out all while keeping an eye on the Villain in front of him and Icy-Hot. He glanced down, intending to just skim the message to check if it was urgent— and it had better fucking be —before putting it aside.

But the text made him freeze.

(Cherry)

(C) OMW

(KB) Don't.

(C) SOS villaon nsme station

—

Fuck. Fuck shit—

He hastily typed, ignoring the curious side-eye Icy-Hot was giving him

—

(KB) Hang on.

—

Saito wasn't the kind of person to request backup for no reason, Katsuki knew that much. She went as far as electrocuting herself in order to take down the bad guys at the I-Expo. Pushing herself to the brink until she had no more fight to give.

And she was asking for help. That was fucking a bad sign—

"Listen, we've discovered two of the Villains' targets! A student named Kachan, and Hitomi Saito." Katsuki's feral grin trembled, his eyes blazing like the sparks in his palms. "Kachan and Saito, you should try to avoid combat, and stick to a group! I hope you can hear me!"

"Of course it's fucking Cherry." He snarled to himself, and charged at the Villain, because right now, killing something sounded really fucking good.

The Villain shot out his teeth at them, which Icy-Hot just barely managed to block with a wall of ice.

"Don't rush into this fight carelessly!" Icy-Hot scolded.

"Have to keep growing…" the Villain rasped. "Have to work… do my job…"

"Weren't you listening to Mandalay? They're here because they're after you and Saito."

As if Katsuki could miss that detail.

"Telling us not to engage, and then changing their minds. I don't know how, but I get the feeling this is Deku's fault." Katsuki growled, knowing no way in hell would anyone else be dumb enough to call him Kachan when warning the Pros. "Well, I don't care what anyone says!" He leapt out from behind the ice wall, hands poised to blast the Villain.

More razor sharp teeth came at him, and were once again frozen by Icy-Hot.

"Damnit! He's good at moving through this terrain with his Quirk."

Katsuki sneered. "This freak, he looks like a scrawny little Sidekick to me! Come on you bastard!"

His palms itched, his pulse raced, he needed to kick this Villain's ass.

(And in the back of his mind, something called out to the fact that Saito hadn't ever texted him back.)

…

Everything hurt, her head especially. It pounded, and the warm wetness of blood trickled down her face. She was also… moving? Her arms felt strange, like there was glue on them, or—

"This is bad! This is really bad!"

Momo tried cracking her eyes open, headache doubling with the effort.

"What the crap is this thing doing here?!" A voice she recognized as Awase from 1-B cried out.

When she finally managed to pry them open, her eyes locked with the hideous face of the Nomu chasing them. Its body muscled and green, with half a dozen arms that all ended in different kinds of razor sharp blades.

This was the type of thing that Hitomi tried fighting? The thing that busted her head open like it was made of styrofoam?

Ah, now she remembered. It got the drop on them. Explaining why Momo felt battered, and dripped with blood from various places.

"Yaoyorozu, are you alive?!" Awase's voice cracked with panic. "If you are, please wake up now! It's gonna catch us!"

The stickiness on her arms, she realized, was the result of Awase using his Quirk to weld them and his together, that way he could carry her along. Despite the fact that she slowed him down considerably, he held her close.

If they weren't in the situation currently threatening their lives, Momo would've noticed the way her chest warmed at his valiant struggle to keep her out of the Nomu's grasp.

"I'm sorry… Awase." She croaked to the best of her abilities. "I'm alive, b-but…"

Awase growled, trying to pick up the pace only to trip, glancing back at the lumbering Villain, and its hands that whirred to life, revving giant drills and chainsaws.

"What the hell? What are those?"

The Nomu was upon them, towering over the two and raising its blades.

Awase stared up at it in terror. "Oh no, oh God, I'm so sorry!" He cried out, doing the only thing he could think of, and covered Momo's body with his own. Cradling her head in the crook of his neck, he shielded her as best best he could.

Then… it stopped.

The Nomu straightened, its arms receding into its back, then turned and walked away as if they weren't there.

"It's just… gonna leave us here?" Awase whispered in bewilderment.

Momo's heart dropped.

"D-does this mean the Villains finished their mission?"

Hitomi. Did this mean they had Hitomi?

If they did, then… then she had to do something!

Her hand glowed with the use of her Quirk, a small coin sized tracker sitting in her palm, that she held out to Awase.

"Awase, use your Quirk to attach this to that monster."

He released her arms, deactivating his Quirk on them, and took the tracker.

"What is it? A button?"

Momo pushed herself up weakly, looking at him through her bangs.

"Just hurry up and do it, before he's gone!"

Awase bravely ran after it, reaching out his hand and splaying it lightly on the Nomu's back. "I don't know what's going on, but okay!"

The tracker and the Nomu's skin glowed for a second, and when Awase pulled back, the tracker was safely welded deeply into the monster's back.

"No way he's gettin' that thing off." He assured her, watching the Villain continue on, oblivious to what he had done.

"Thank you so much." Momo whispered, some of the tightness in her throat abating. "Good job."

Awase groaned with relief, slumping against a tree. "Ugh, that was scary." Forcing himself upright again, he ran over and helped her up. "Okay, now let's run!"

"Right." Momo nodded slightly, wincing at the throb of pain it caused.

With that tracker, now maybe if the worst case scenario were true, and Hitomi really was taken for some unknown reason, Momo could do something to save her.

…

The first time Hitomi Saito almost died, she was two years, and one month old.

It wasn't an interesting story, or a harrowing one. It was rather dull, actually.

Nori bustled around the kitchen, acting as Ayami's little helper as she went through the process of baking a special three-tiered cake, to celebrate her bosses' anniversary. The top and bottom cakes were angel's food cake, while the middle was devil's food. Then the whole thing was meant to be covered in rich chocolate frosting.

Ayami only stepped away for a few minutes, just to answer the phone.

Nori did what any unsupervised child would, and snuck a taste of frosting.

What followed was something he felt guilty for even at present day.

The boy noticed his toddler sister staring mystified at the cake, her disproportionately large tail swinging side to side, and her fuchsia eyes bright with curiosity.

Nori smiled, taking a spoon and scooping up some of the frosting.

"Here, Tomi! Try some before Ayami gets back."

The girl blinked at the offered food, wordlessly opening her mouth.

Nori giggled, holding the spoon out for her, as she messily wrapped her lips around it.

The girl's eyes lit up, practically sparkling with wonder at the amazing sweetness.

Nori glanced to the bowl, knowing Ayami had accidentally made too much— having heard her mumbling about it, and figured, what was the harm?

By the time Ayami came back, the two children had eaten a bulk of the frosting, their dirty cheeks proving that they had committed the crime. Ayami had simply shaken her head and huffed at their mischief, just glad there was still enough for the cake.

Due to their overindulgence, Nori predictably whined about feeling gross and nauseous, and was sent to lay down to ride out the sugar high.

So when Hitomi's face scrunched in discomfort, and her small body shook with upset cries, they all brushed it off as her first encounter with the body's punishment for eating too much sugar, and sent her off to nap as well.

An hour later, Nori bounded into his sister's room, and found her on the floor, in a pool of her own vomit.

Hitomi didn't remember any of this, or the ensuing five day long hospital stay. She only knew of it from grim retellings by Ayami. Nori never spoke of it, leaving the room any time it was brought up.

She of course didn't blame him, and held absolutely no ill will. But she could understand why he would. The idea that a silly childish whim to sneak some sweets, endangered her enough to send her to the hospital, wasn't something to brush off.

That wasn't the last time Hitomi unknowingly ate something she was allergic to, and it wasn't even the worst of her hospital visits. The year she turned three she spent most of her time in one, actually. But it was a memory that still haunted Nori, usually in the form of nightmares.

Like, now, for instance.

The man panted, forehead beaded with a cold sweat. Sitting up in bed, Nori tried shaking off the horrible image of his baby sister, cold and lifeless on the floor all because of him—

"Nori?" Yu murmured groggily, turning over and squinting up at him with tired and concerned eyes. "Another nightmare?"

Nori slowly nodded, bitterly amused that she was already familiar with his late-night episodes. "Yeah."

"What was it this time?" She asked gently, scooting over and rubbing his back.

God, he didn't deserve her. And to think he was going to brush her off, just because she was a Hero. Thank god he was a coherent drunk-texter.

"Something that happened a long time ago. When I was a kid." He spoke lowly, staring heavily at the special Quirk-suppressing sleeves hugging his arms.

"Does it have to do with your sister?"

Nori looked at her, blinking in surprise. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

Yu smiled ruefully. "You've got two types of scared faces. The I'm-scared-in-general face, and the I'm-scared-because-my-baby-sister-is-mortal face."

Nori pouted, crossing his arms. "I don't make a face like that."

"Sure you do. And I bet Usagiyama would agree."

Nori flopped back down, grinning softly. "You know you can just call her Ayami, right? Everyone does."

Yu shrugged, cheeks flushing. "I don't know, it feels weird. Let's see how you feel when I ask you to call my parents by their first names."

"Okay, okay." Nori huffed a laugh, raising his hands in surrender.

He didn't mention how airy his chest felt at her certainty that they would reach the point of him meeting her parents.

They fell quiet, Yu's eyes fluttering shut, while Nori's traced the ceiling restlessly.

Something was wrong. He could feel it. But there shouldn't be. The summer camp was at an undisclosed location so that Villains couldn't find the kids. Hitomi should be perfectly fine there. Heck, she was probably goofing around with her friends, staying up irresponsibly late, and having fun the way kids her age should, without the threat of people out to kill them.

So why did he still feel worried?

"Just text her already." Yu mumbled tiredly.

Nori thought whimsically, that he could marry this girl.

(Tomi)

(NS) Hey, I know it's late and all, but I just wanted to check in.

—

Nori stared at the screen, waiting anxiously for a reply. One that never came.

"I'm sure she's just asleep. Those training camps are no joke." Yu tried reassuring him rationally.

Nori nodded dully.

Every time the screen went dark, he tapped it awake, always met with his solitary text.

He continued this on until morning. Unaware of the news he would be getting, come sunrise.

The news he dreaded since the day they lost their parents.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Saito. It's about your sister—"

Last chapter: Oh boy! Sleepover and crush talk!

This chapter: Everyone's gonna fucking die.

Anyway, I have an important question to ask, and I really want some input. I realize that the main Momo ship is Momo/Todoroki. But… Horikoshi has stated that Awase has a crush on Momo, and admires her greatly. Now, I've always loved the idea of them together, and personally felt like her and Todoroki were paired because of convenience rather than chemistry. While Awase literally threw himself over her, prepared to fucking die doing his best to protect her, like, dude.

But to get to the point, would anyone be against this fic going Momo/Awase? Like, I know I'm the one writing it, but I dunno, I guess I want to hear your guys' opinion. If I did go that route, it wouldn't be much, honestly. Moreso a slight side-pairing like Nori/Yu is.

(In case you're not familiar with Heroes' names, yes, Yu is Mount Lady. In this house we stan a giant queen.)