Trigger Warning:

- sexual assault crime scene

- crude language

- blood

There are moments in life where time appears to break its pattern.

Sometimes it sludges along like the umibōzu, other times it chases like the kamaitachi.

Now is one of those moments.

Specifically, the former.

I am not entirely sure why I am making analogies with mythological creatures. Perhaps it is a mechanism to distract myself from the unavoidable anxiety looming around me. Who knew that fifteen minutes could pass by like fifteen years. Where is Selene?

Bakugou was not at all happy when I asked him to escort her back to the dormitory. He grumbled something about how becoming an errand boy was beneath him and that I owed him. Still, he went to do as I requested.

Meanwhile, I try to complete my shower within the promised time frame. There is a lot I must discuss with Selene.

A few months ago, a whimsical idea popped into my head. About getting Selene away from the Hanada manor for good. I had thought that she could live with me at my house until it was safe for her to be on her own. Back then, I had neither the means nor the authority to ask that of her and my family. However, the situation has changed now. What with Hanada-shi bound to receive a court summons sooner or later, he will come after Selene in the most unimaginable ways possible. Before he can get the chance to do so, I want to bring her to someplace safe. Admittedly, my home is not the epitome of tranquility, but it is considerably better than that hellhole called a mansion.

Selene is scion now. She has control over her personal identification documents, bank accounts, and other necessary legalities. Hanada-shi cannot use that as leverage over her. Furthermore, she has allies - Ahearn-san, Sasaki-san, and as of late, Tsukauchi-san - to ensure her safety.

Thus I have to play my part.

It is risky. A man who could hurt his child so brutally will no doubt seek retaliation against the friend trying to help his child.

Being the son of the Number One Hero myself and his successor, Hanada-shi will not dare to try physically attack me. That is my only insurance.

So when I get a call from Bakugou, palpable relief floods through me. He found her. I accept the call. "Hey! Are you guys on your way back?"

"You told her to wait at the nurse's, didn't you?" Bakugou answers my question with his own. Warily, I reply that I did. "Well, she's not here. Recovery Girl just bumped into me. She said that Hanada did come in, but now she has no clue wherever the hell she's gone. What makes it weirder is that there is a horde of library books on one of the tables. Recovery Girl confirmed that those books were Hanada's."

Goosebumps rise.

There should not be a reason for Selene to have disappeared. Sure, my tone was unnecessarily sharp, but I knew that she understood why I insisted that she wait somewhere where there were people around. "I'll try calling her. Then I'll let you know." Ending the call to do just that, the dial tone rings and rings. Eventually, it goes to voicemail. I try once more. Same thing. Worries heightening, I call Bakugou again. "She's not picking up."

"Well, do you have any idea where else she might be?!" Bakugou is getting frustrated from the ordeal. I understand. So am I. "How far could a girl with extra support walk?"

I briefly consider that she might have gone to the gazebo. But then again, why would she have gone without me? Why would she go anywhere without retrieving her books? Now that I think about it, Selene sounded a little scared when I called her a while ago. It was really subtle, but I have enough of a read on her to get a gist of what she's feeling. Anxiety, unattended books, her unusual departure … none of it makes sense.

Something about this whole situation unsettles me.

And at this point, I know better than to doubt my intuition.

"Bakugou, I think Selene is trouble. Stay right where you are. I'm going to come over with help." Without giving him an opportunity to protest, I hang up and leave my room.

What with curfew less than two hours away, Aizawa-sensei must be in his office, grading homework assignments or preparing the syllabus for the new academic year. As I descend the stairs and make way toward his workplace, I prepare myself for what I am going to say. Though I trust my gut, I cannot very well tell him that is the reason I would like him to accompany me on a search for Selene. My best chances are simply by telling him the concrete truth. Verifiable truth.

I knock on his door.

A grumble and the shuffling of footsteps follow. Aizawa-sensei opens the door, looking just as haggard and sleep-deprived in normal clothes as in his hero costume. His hair is pulled back into a low ponytail. It only accentuates the exhaustion lines marring his face. "Oh, it's you, Todoroki," he greets as he smoothes a wrinkle from his shirt. "What is it?"

"Sir, I want your help to find Selene," I respond. Then I delve into the tale, starting with the phone conversation with Selene to Bakugou's report about the scene to Selene not answering her phone anymore. The only detail I keep out is Miyamoto. Though Sensei looks ready to jump into his yellow sleeping bag, his eyes relay that he is attentively listening to my every word. That is the quality I admire most about him: he actually listens to what the youngsters have to say. So I do not doubt that while Aizawa-sensei is not fond of Selene, he will try to help her.

"Last week, I told her to take curfew time more seriously," he remarks. "She returned only one hour before. But I thought it was strange for her to cut it so close. She is a punctual girl."

I agree, "That's why I think there is something wrong. Selene's sudden change in behavior … the neglect of her books … no knowledge of whereabouts … the details don't add up. I hate to admit this, but I'm scared that the League of Villains might be involved again." I told myself that I would tell the whole truth, but that last sentence is a half-truth. Guilty. But it is necessary. What with all the fortifications Principal Nezu has incorporated around the school boundaries, the League will not directly target U.A. If they wanted to, they would have done so a long time ago. Even so, all they did was decay a portion of the wall more than one and half years ago. At the same time, it is true that the villains have an interest in Selene. I don't like lying to Sensei; however, this one lie will guarantee that any reservations he has dissipates. He won't take any chances when the League of Villains is a possible player.

My little manipulation works. He says, "Let me get my jacket and access card."

"Sensei, I have another request!" I add before we leave. He does not look at me, but I know that his silence is a command to continue. "I don't want the other students to know about this. At least not now." After Aizawa-sensei wears his coat, he turns around. His expression is inscrutable. This time, I do not know what his silence means. The longer it continues, the more I brace myself for a refusal.

Instead, he grunts. "Sure. We'll wait. I am going to call Naomasa, though, and inform Principal Nezu and the other teachers. A missing student is usually found quicker the more people that are involved. Don't worry. I'll tell them to keep this information from their students as well." It takes me a moment to recognize that Naomasa is Tsukauchi-san's first name. As for everyone else, I cannot argue with that. So I simply nod.

"Shall we, Sensei?"

About five minutes later, Aizawa-sensei and I reconvene with Bakugou in the infirmary.

I see the books that Bakugou was talking about. On a nightstand is a tall stack of seventeen or eighteen books. Textbooks about business and law interspersed with fantasy and romance novels. No doubt that Selene checked them out.

Aizawa-sensei converses with Recovery Girl, informing her of our predicament. Meanwhile, I talk in hushed tones with Bakugou. Why so quietly? I have no idea. Just because, I guess. "Thanks for helping. I owe you one for this. So if you want, you can leave now. Sensei will understand."

Bakugou glares at me. Hissing, he says, "Yeah. I'll collect on that favor soon someday. But I'm not going anywhere. Leaving things unfinished is not my style. You told me to find Hanada, and I am heading nowhere until I do that. Besides, after what I saw those assholes doing to her, she is at much greater risk."

"So you think that Miyamoto might be responsible?"

"Is that the piece of shit's name? It's unlikely, but not zero."

"Did you notice anything else out of place?"

Bakugou thinks about it for a moment. "Not really. I guess the fact the bed looks unoccupied."

Just then, Aizawa-sensei calls our names. In unison, our heads whip toward him. "There's a janitor cleaning the infirmary bathroom. He's in there right now. Maybe he knows something." The four of us go to said bathroom. Indeed, a man in overalls with paper towels in one hand and glass cleaner in the other stands beside the sinks. Sensei wastes no time with the interrogation. "Sir, did you see a girl just over one-hundred-and-sixty centimeters with a cane pass by here? Silver eyes, monochrome gradient hair, pointy ear shells? Flowers in her hair?"

The janitor nods. "More than thirty minutes ago. She came inside, but I told her that it would take a while until the cleaning was over."

There's our answer. That's why she left the infirmary. With the way surreptitious glances pass amongst each other, I can tell that the four of us have reached the same understanding.

I pipe in now. "Do you know where the nearest restroom is from here, Sir?"

He tells us that it is down the corridor on the left-hand side. We thank him and immediately go there. The poor guy is confused as to why we would ask him about a girl of all things, but there is no time to explain.

Any sane person would go to the closest facility rather than a faraway one. And for a disabled person like Selene, even more so. I know for sure that after learning that the one in the infirmary would not be open for a long time, she decided that her next best option was this one.

Distantly, I realize I'm a guy stepping inside the girl's restroom. I would be embarrassed, if it were not for two other males going inside and the urgency of the situation. Instantly, I sense that something is very wrong.

A broken stall door, just hanging from its lower hinges. Shards of ice melting into a puddle. As I dash toward the dangling door, I see more. A uniform blazer lying in a mess on the tile floor. An unopened pad beside it. And a silver dragon cane.

Instinctively, I stagger back. As the others join me, I stutter out, "Selene … she was … she was on her period. She must have … she must have come here to change."

Aizawa-sensei cannot pull out his phone fast enough. "I have to tell some people to hurry the hell up over here," is all he mutters before dialing the first number. Recovery Girl looks sick to her stomach. She could dash into the nearest toilet, but this entire restroom is a crime scene now. I guess even doctors are capable of feeling queasy. Bakugou moves to the large trash can, and I try to regain my abilities to plan and reason.

Selene would not have taken an attack without fighting back. The door to the restroom is made of solid metal, meaning she would have heard it opening and closing while she was in the stall. Then her assailant must have broken the stall door in, seeing how it is leaning toward the toilet instead of away. The ice must have been Selene's defense. And if Selene is missing, it means that the attackers subdued her.

God, where are you? Are you safe? Are you alive?

"Guys, you might want to check this out." Bakugou's voice snaps me out of the torment of my thoughts. I look at him. He has upturned the entire trash can onto the floor. The contents initially at the top are now at the bottom of the pile. At the bottom of the mountain of garbage are unused paper towels wadded up into balls. That's not the horrifying part. It's the stuff above. Clumps of charred flesh still carrying the stench of fire and towels red and pink with blood.

I don't need a DNA test to confirm that is Selene's blood. It's a lot of blood.

The burnt flesh must be the attacker's quirk.

Everyone else is just as horrified as I am. And equal parts of furious.

How dare he? How fucking dare he? Hurting my Selene … having the audacity of even thinking to touch her … he'll reap what they sow. I swear it. He won't get away with it.

Aizawa-sensei swallows hard and murmurs in a consistently lower tone with every person he calls. His rage is so barely controllable that I know he is making the same promise as me: to punish the perpetrators severely.

All of a sudden, the dial tone of my phone rings. Oh, who is the douchebag with such terrible timing? I swear, if it is Dad nagging at me- No. It's not Dad. It's Selene. After so many missed calls, I am finally getting a response. Sorry for calling you a douchebag, sweetheart! You are the furthest thing from one. I do not hesitate a second to pick it up.

"Selene?" I shout, unable to hide my fear any longer. Thank God, you're alive! Bakugou, Aizawa-sensei, and Recovery Girl whip their heads in my direction, just as eager to hear her voice. I put the phone on speaker, so everyone can listen.

All I get is three words. Three feeble words that take the world's strength for her to utter: "Trace … phone … quickly."

I call out her name again and again. No response. The seconds are still going up, meaning that she has not disconnected. She said to trace her phone. I hurry to the location tracker app. Indeed, her phone is showing the status as "Currently Active." Without any prompting, Aizawa-sensei snatches my phone.

"This is in the northwest parts of the forest. Hound Dog has not reached that area for his patrols yet. There's a side entrance that leads directly to this area. Recovery Girl, could you go back to the infirmary and prepare for an operation? We're going to be coming back with a critically injured student. You two, come with me."

As fast as Recovery Girl's old, short legs can take her, she hobbles out of the restroom and down the corridor we came from. I don't miss the glistening droplets appearing in her eyes. Meanwhile, the three of us run in the other direction. Aizawa-sensei leads us, and Bakugou and I keep chase. A part of me is surprised that Bakugou makes no rude order about staying ahead of me. He races beside me, grumbling, "Fucking stain on U.A.'s name," and other curses like that. My sentiments are mutual. To imagine that one U.A. student would target another like this … I would never say it out loud, but a traitor like that is ten times more evil than the League of Villains.

Sensei's gaze alternates between my phone, up ahead toward the destination, and behind at us. Again, his fatigued demeanor conceals his true strength. For someone at age thirty, he is a very fast guy. We cross the threshold of this side door and into the forest. He pauses, waiting for us to catch up.

"Lately, Principal Nezu decided to booby trap the entire perimeter of the jungle as an extra precaution. If we go directly straight, we will activate a bunch of traps. Follow my directions, boys."

We do as he says. As we take a series of left turns and right turns, I realize that Selene's assailants must have had the knowledge of these booby traps. Otherwise, why would she be in the forest at that particular location? How did they get that information? This wasn't stuff neither Bakugou nor I knew until now. Obtaining such classified information could not have been an easy task. In other words, this attack was being planned for a long time. I can only think of two people who would have such a vendetta against Selene: Hanada-shi and Miyamoto.

More embers are ignited to fuel my fury.

That rage makes this seemingly infinite journey tolerable. Anger I can embrace. Fear is too tumultuous. I can suppress the storm of anxiety and panic that constantly threatens to overwhelm me. It's a good thing, too.

Because when I see Selene, my heart stops.

There she lies, an unconscious mass of skin and bones. She rests on a dirt ground, face smudged with tears and grime, glasses askew. Her chignon comes mostly undone, letting her hair get dirty. That is not the frightening part, though. It's the brown bruises on her face. The wet, matted parts of her head where blood has dried. The bulky metal shackles around her wrists and ankles. Her lapis lazuli pendant, her phone, her flowers … her belt … all of them are scattered around.

What really shocks me is the way her shirt is unbuttoned and pulled down her arms, exposing her shoulders and the top of her back. It's the way her camisole is shoved up her waist. Her trousers are unbuttoned. Selene is lying on her side, which reveals the numerous marks on her body. Bite marks. Two rows of teeth leaving imprints so deep that the wounds bleed.

The world around me disappears. I have no idea how Bakugou and Aizawa-sensei are reacting because I see red. Volcanic, fiery red. Lava erupts from the volcano of emotion deep inside me. This wrath is new. Never have I felt this strongly toward my dad as much as I do toward Miyamoto right now. The sensation is not unwelcome, though. I can do anything. I want to do everything. Torture him, torment him, kill him …

Covering the three steps between us, I drop to her side and shuck off my jacket. I cover her with it and lift her into my arms. Holding her close and listening to her heartbeat and breath tempers the volcano just enough to bring me back to reality just enough to watch Bakugou pull out a napkin and press the end call button on her button.

Aizawa-sensei's phone dings with a message. He opens it. "Naomasa is here. Boys, do you remember the route back?"

I do not have the ability to say anything. My mind is still on Selene. Bakugou replies, however. "I know the way. Come on, Icy Hot."

"I'll inform Principal Nezu and the other teachers that we found her," Sensei says. "If any of them confront you, just redirect them to me. Tell them that until Naomasa gives approval, you guys won't say a word about this to them."

Again, it is Bakugou who answers. I cannot stop staring at Selene, even though my feet mechanically begin moving in the same direction as Bakugou. What little skin remains exposed after putting the jacket on her reveals dark scars that have almost faded with time. Small ones. Big ones. Thin ones. Thick ones. Short ones. Long ones. They are neither raised nor sunken, but it is easy to identify the sources of each one. Some are caused by heat, others by blades. My gaze falls on one of the many bite marks. Scars are reminders of a painful past. She did not deserve them; She doesn't deserve any more, either.

Especially not a reminder like this.

What of the psychological scars, though?

How can that ever be erased?