Trigger Warning:

- witnessing someone else be abused

- blood

- vicarious trauma

The Hanada mansion looms in the distance like a menacing threat.

It has only been a few minutes since I got here, but each second passes by like an eternity.

The lake is frozen over, but I still skip a stone across the surface.

The ice barely cracks.

Instead, the rock skids away with an echoing shrill.

Sighing, I lie down on a boulder. Last winter, I set her on this boulder after she nearly slipped during ice skating. That night, the stars glittered like diamonds. Looking at them twinkling from the sky right now, I am reminded of that night. The memory brings a small grin to my face.

But where is the girl who was the center of that memory?

No sooner than I think that question do I hear a familiar voice echo my name in the distance. I whip toward its owner. Selene tries to climb down carefully from the rocks bordering the lake. It isn't easy with a cane in one hand and fabric in another. I get up and approach her.

She stumbles over one jut out slab. I reach her just in time to halt her fall. "Are you hurt?" I ask. "Here. Lean on me." Lifting her into my arms, I place her on the boulder. She hit her left foot. I remove the loafer and inspect for blood. None. But when I touch it, she flinches from the pain. I hurry to massage the wound.

"I'm fine," she replies. She pushes my hand away and slips inside the shoe. "I'm truly happy to see you. Come sit with me."

Confused, I do as she says. She unwraps the fabric. They are shawls, I notice. Selene puts one around my shoulders and the other one around herself. "A treat for you. You must be hungry, and you deserve more than a handkerchief and salt. After all, none of this must have been easy to endure." A container of onigiri rests in my lap. I'm not even finished opening the box when she says, "Shouto, listen to me carefully. I don't have much time. I gave Hanada-sama the excuse that I needed time to prepare for the press conference. He will come looking for me if he believes I am taking too long."

I nod in understanding. Even getting that note to me must have been difficult for her.

Right now, I would love to do nothing more than hold her and shower her with affection. I want to protect her from the abyss that she is being dragged deeper into. But she does not have time to spare. Then neither will I. My gaze falls onto the ring of band-aids that are no longer hidden by the pearl necklace. "Are you okay?"

Selene smiles wistfully. She knows that I am not asking about the foot injury. "I promised you the truth. No, I am not all right."

I figure as much. I glance at the shoulder Hanada-shi gripped tightly. "May I ask about the murders?"

"You may."

My first question is about what happened that night. Selene tells me that the League of Villains appeared in her bedroom. All of Hanada-shi's sons were in her bedroom. This detail comes out with a wince. The implication that they hurt her … it makes my blood boil. The dead are dead, I remind myself. Hate them all I want, but don't let the hate consume me. Suppressing my rage to a simmer, I listen to Selene continue. She watched the villains kill the boys one by one before it was her turn. Immediately, my fury shifts into pity. You did not deserve to see that. As disgusting as those boys were, you did not deserve to witness their deaths.

When she finishes, I cannot resist the urge to grasp her hands. She comprehends my need for physicality and intertwines her fingers with my own. The gloves are cold from the chilly night, but her presence makes everything feel much better.

"How are you faring?" she says after a moment of silence.

How do I answer that? I bite the inside of my lip before replying. "Better, now that I've seen you. The past few days, though … not so great. Did you know I came to visit you in the hospital?" She nods. "Hanada-shi confronted me. He had your phone and my contact was not in there. It made more worried about the situation."

Selene presses her hands against mine. A squeeze of comfort. She details how after I saved my number in her phone, she had to delete it soon after. Every call or message we shared, she manually removed from the phone. For my sake. So that I would not be used as a tool for Hanada-shi's selfish agenda.

However, there is still one question remaining. "Then how come I was able to view your location whenever I checked my phone?"

"As a courtesy, I let that feature remain. A few Internet searches showed me how to do that."

And yet, I could not save you. Not just once, not twice, but thrice.

I have to do everything in my power to stop the chance of a fourth arising. "Do you remember how the League broke into your room? Did they sneak in? Teleport? Was Kurogiri with them?"

She shakes her head. "I don't remember exactly. It was dark, and everything happened so suddenly. Kurogiri was not there, though."

This is not the first time I wish to have been proven wrong. But Selene's last statement only supports the undeniable: the League of Villains is amassing strength. They are growing in the darkness, preparing for the day to strike in the light once more.

I wish we had more time. I wish that I could take her far away from here. Away from Hanada-shi; away from the League; away from everyone. But impossible wishes only bring grief. Right now, all I can do is pray for her. Selene must be able to see the reluctance to say goodbye on my face because she extricates her hands from mine to fumble with the chrysanthemum in her white hair.

When she succeeds in taking it out, many curls of her chignon fall, too. Before I realize it, I reach forward to push them back, lingering on their texture for a few moments longer. She gives the flower to me. It is a parting gift. "Until we see each other again," she promises as she wraps my fingers around the stem.

"When will I-"

Something cuts me off. A sound from the direction of the manor. Our heads snap toward the origin of the sound in unison. Whatever I was about to say dies inside my throat.

Hanada-shi.

He's coming this way.

Selene hurries to her feet and pulls me with her. "Forgive me, Shouto, but you have to hide! Return home with Midoriya-san and Bakugou-kun." I've never heard her this frantic before. She pushes me toward the dense forest.

I grab her wrist. "Not without you. He's going to hurt you, isn't he?"

"I will manage. But please. Leave. If he catches you with me, then the consequences will be dire for both of us." Selene shoves me harder this time. I scramble to remove the shawl and give it to her, but she beckons me not to. "Keep it. Return it at a later time. Go! Please!"

Hanada-shi is covering the distance. He hasn't spotted me yet, but if I don't make a move soon, he will. Not willing to fight with her for her own safety, I heed her warning. To an extent. Instead of crossing through the forest to reach the road, I hide behind the first tree and spy. Close enough to watch and hear what will ensue between Selene and Hanada-shi; far enough that neither of them spot me.

It is risky. I've made plenty of mistakes when it came to her. But if I don't stay behind, I might not be able to protect her.

How I intend to do that? I have no idea.

I pray the situation doesn't come to the point where I have to intervene.

Selene has just steadied her breaths and sat on the big rock when Hanada-shi calls out.

"You were supposed to be getting ready for the press conference," he accuses. "What are you doing out here?"

"Calming my nerves. Finding some peace and quiet," she replies coolly. Given such a short timeframe, her acting is impressive. She amplifies her impassive demeanor by looking out at the lake immediately after answering his question. As if he is not worth her attention. Then she wrinkles her nose. "Could you have not waited until after the private gathering to drink yourself to a stupor? The smell of alcohol is disturbing my nostrils all the way here."

Her attitude vexes Hanada-shi. "Playing cocky, are you? There are important guests waiting to speak to us. Remember the sympathy strategy I concocted? Or do you plan to ruin all my efforts like always?"

It is her turn to seethe. "Those 'important guests' are precisely the reason why I came out here. Pretending to feel sorry for the deaths of your children while knowing full well that they were the monsters of my life! I'm so sorry, Hanada-sama, but there is only so much pretense I can manage before I curdle with bitterness."

"Look at me when I am talking to you," he growls.

She scoffs. "What is the point? I've seen much lovelier things than your face."

I clap a hand around my mouth to stop myself from snorting.

It's a good thing I do. Because the next thing I see is Hanada-shi grabbing a fistful of Selene's hair, yanking her off the boulder. She shrieks from the sensation, and I nearly run out into the open in response.

He twists her chignon tightly, emitting another yelp of pain from her mouth. "Such lovelier things that you decided to bribe the butler with one of them, so you could escape." He pulls out the pearl necklace she was wearing in front of her and dangles it in front of her face. "Did you really think that you could tip my servants off, and they would not tell me? I pay them a hefty amount to keep quiet and report to me."

Whether she winces from the pain or embarrassment, I do not know. I don't care. I just need this to stop.

But what the hell can I do?

There has to be something. Anything that could let me help her without exposing myself.

I hate feeling so helpless. I'm supposed to be a hero, goddammit!

"Hanada-sama, let go," she orders. Although her hands have reached up to pull her hair back reflexively, she maintains a stern tone. "The consequences of your actions will not reflect brightly on you at the conference."

A lightning-fast flash of rage contorts his features. He bends down just enough to hiss into her ear. I strain my own to listen. "Insolent girl. This time, I will have to punish you more harshly. Slitting your throat did not shut you up."

The admission hits me like a punch to the gut. I stagger back in horror. The ring of band-aids was not because of the League of Villains as I had presumed; it was because of Hanada-shi. He had the audacity to hold a blade or an equivalent sharp object and cut a vital area. No wonder she was so scared when he grabbed her shoulder.

Suddenly, my feet hit something hard. I look behind me to see what it is. A fallen branch. Thick and sturdy. I lift it from the ground. Why have I picked it up, what I want to do with this, how am I going to do it … I still don't have the answers to any of these questions. Perhaps it is just protective instinct guiding my actions. It is instinct that is telling me that I have to interfere.

Carefully stepping over the broken twigs and patches of snow, I circle around, giving a wide berth between myself and them. Once there is sufficient distance between us, I cross the threshold of the forest and the rocks. Neither Selene nor Hanada-shi have seen me approach them slowly.

I brandish the branch in circles, testing its weight and how much force I will need to use.

At the same time, Selene tells him once more to release her.

He lets go of her hair. I almost breathe a sigh of relief when he retaliates. Almost. Because the release was only a feint to hurt her further. Not a second after he frees her does he slap her. The sound echoes. The impact makes Selene waver on her feet. Her head hits the edge of the boulder.

She falls back on her hands and feet. Groaning, one of her hands reaches up to touch the injury.

It comes back wet.

And that is when I finally lose it.

No longer giving a damn about either of them noticing me, I cover the gap between us with a blaze of fire. A physical manifestation of the fury erupting inside me. Meters are covered in seconds. The image of Selene's blood is the only thing reverberating in my mind. How dare you!

I stop right behind him. Just before he fully turns around, I whack the back of his head with the branch. With one blow, he is knocked out immediately. I watch his body fall to the ground unceremoniously.

It is then that the severity of what I have done hits me.

The branch slips out of my hand. I am left standing, appalled at what I have done.

So is Selene.

Her slightly parted mouth belays her surprise at my behavior. She never thought that I would have been capable of attacking like this. Covertly. Single-mindedly. Behind the back. I admit that I did not think I was capable of doing that either.

But here we are.

Selene uses the support of the rock to push herself up to her feet. We both look at the unconscious figure of the man who raised against his only family left.

Then, I break the uneasy silence. "How badly did he hurt you?" The question is redundant. As my eyes scan the gash on her forehead that is still dripping blood and the ring around her neck that pinches me with dread, I am reminded of just how brutal Hanada-shi can be.

There is a difference between knowing and seeing. I've always seen the fear in Selene's eyes whenever she comes back to school after spending a night at the mansion. It meant that he had hurt her. This is the first time I have actually watched him abuse her.

Selene seems to have realized it, too. She has likely pieced together that I eavesdropped on their conversation - if it could even be called that - and learned things that I should not have known.

"Shouto," she says. Her voice is controlled. As though it is taking everything inside her not to burst into emotions. "Go. I'll handle things from here."

She won't even meet my eyes. Does she … does she dislike the fact that I interfered?

"I'm … I'm … I'm sorry," I gasp. "You told me to leave. But I didn't and … and …" Hanada-shi may just be unconscious, but I feel like I just killed someone. Like I killed Selene. Because when he wakes up, he is going to take out his anger on the one person who he believes he can harm without consequence. If hair snatching, slapping, and wounding were his method of venting out frustration at simply disappearing, I do not want to imagine what he will do to Selene after this.

My reckless behavior just sealed her fate.

I am still hyperventilating and steepling my fingers when Selene steps over Hanada-shi's body and covers my hands with hers. She pries my fingers from their deathlike grip and speaks. "Listen to me carefully, Shouto. You just saved me from further harm. He was drunk. And when he is drunk, he becomes more abusive. You stopped him from hurting me any more. Thank you. Please, please, please do not think that you have endangered me more from this. You did nothing wrong.

"Now go. Before he wakes up. The conference, the meeting … do not worry about any of that."

I open my mouth to protest. "You cannot possibly-"

She interrupts me. "I could not answer all your questions tonight. I apologize for that. But when I do see you again, I promise I will. Good night, Shouto. Get home safely."

I stumble away from her. Heading back toward the forest, toward the route I took to get here. Every three steps, I look back. She tries to assure me with a gentle smile. I do this until she becomes a distant figure.

The last thing I can make out is Selene levitating Hanada-shi's body and walking in the opposite direction, toward the Hanada manor.

Three hours, I am inside in Dad's home office, frantically pacing back and forth, waiting for him to come inside.

The car ride home was tense, to say the least. Midoriya and Bakugou were shocked to see me so rattled. Dad was busy inside the manor, so I told them everything Selene had told me, except the phone, the abuse, and my impulsive retaliation. My excuse for appearing so unhinged was that Hanada-shi almost caught us. Which is true enough. That's all they need to know. I could tell that they knew it ran deeper than that, but they both had the decency to not pester me about it. I don't think I would have been able to. They could not help me in this situation. But there was someone else who could.

That was why I waited until we arrived at the U.A. campus and Bakugou and Midoriya stepped before informing Endeavor that I intended to spend the night at home.

And here I am now.

"You could have at least changed out of your suit while you were waiting," I hear a deep voice call out behind me. Dad enters the office, in his nightclothes. Looking at my rumpled tie and wrinkled coat hem, I realize that he is right.

"Sorry," I murmur. "I was just so preoccupied."

He waves it off. "This thing that you're preoccupied with must be the reason you asked to urgently speak with me. So what is it?" he asks as he sits on his chair.

I waste no time getting to the topic. "What did Hanada-shi talk to you about?"

Endeavor raises an eyebrow at my choice of honorifics but does not question it. He begins to stack some documents in piles. "We had a long conversation. The matter was such. In short, he wants you and his daughter to work together to unify my agency and his corporation under one mission. An alliance between us and them."

I'm not surprised to hear that. Selene told me herself that she came to U.A. to advocate partnerships between the Hanada Group of Companies and the heroes. Of course, I am a valuable chip in that game.

I plant my hands on the desk and lean forward. "Tell him that I agree."

The file of papers in Dad's hands falls on the surface with a thud.

"What?" he exclaims. "You're actually willing to do what he says?"

I'm willing to do it for Selene.

"Last New Years we celebrated at their place. Invite them here for dinner. Soon. Fuyumi and Natsuo don't even have to be here, if that is a concern you have."

He is still incredulous at my decision. He points out how I irritatingly stubborn I am. How I have rejected him so many times, and how when I decided to learn from him, I set so many boundaries. Dad is right. I detest being treated as a pawn. Were it simply me involved, without a doubt I would have said no. Unfortunately, I am not. And Endeavor deserves to know.

"I learned an important lesson tonight. Heroes cannot save everyone in broad daylight. Sometimes, we have to use the darkness of the night. We have to resort to underhanded and covert means to protect the people we care about."

"Is this about his daughter?"

"Her name is Selene. And yes, I am doing this for her sake.

"Her happiness means my happiness. So if you wish for me to continue my work-study at your agency, accept his offer. Leave the rest to me."

Dad's eyes narrow. "Another ultimatum? Fine, you adamant boy! But if I suspect that my years of effort will come crumbling down because of you, I will meet your obstinacy without fail."

"Sure thing. After all, amongst other traits, I inherited my headstrong nature from you."

I leave his office.

After some changing and freshening up, I lie in bed.

Sleep evades me.

Rather, a burning conviction simmers inside me.

The first battle is never fought on the battlefield.

It is fought with words and tactics behind the scenes.

If backstabbing and deceitful means are the only way to save you, then I will.

I will become a hero prepared to resort to dirty methods.

And only one person's lifetime of success will come crushing down.

Hanada-shi.