Kinda insane BNHA is coming to a close soon. Just to cover all bases, if Bakugou gets paired with anyone at the end then I'll have to obviously ignore/rewrite it in this work or figure something else out.
Also a bit of a content warning on this one, we're going the goriest we've gone so far.
(Not sure when I can update again. I've been insanely busy recently and I'm also working on an original webcomic so updates are still gonna be dicey for a while)
"What do you mean we can't touch her?!"
The annoying jerk wearing the dumb bird-mask sighed, rubbing his eyes the same way Shigaraki would when she would inevitably ask again for sushi for dinner.
But this guy was way more uptight than Shigaraki. And she already hated him for killing and disrespecting Big Sis Mag, and hurting Mr. Compress.
"Because, to put it in simple terms so you understand. You will be killed if you do." The mafia head stared them down.
Himiko huffed, crossing her arms.
"We're stronger than you think! We'll be ripped apart…!" Jin confidently said in the first half, and Himiko knew to disregard the second and frightened statement.
"She's not that strong. All she did was cry and whine when we had a hold of her." Himiko huffed petulantly, unphased by his warnings.
Something in the Overhaul-jerk's eyes changed at that.
"Besides! The people who hired us to capture her never even came to get her! They don't care! So what could even be so special about her?" Himiko pouted, growing antsy as they all stood around in some dumb office talking about boring stuff.
They were practically torturing her! Izuku was in the same building as she was right now, and they were wasting time being told specifically "not to hurt the girl with the Akita Quirk". What did it matter, anyway?
"You think I'm bluffing?" Overhaul-jerk arched a brow, his voice a little too cocky for her liking.
With a snap of his fingers, Overhaul-jerk summoned one of his lackeys to hand him over a laptop. He opened it, clicked a few buttons, then turned it around to face Himiko and Jin.
A video was paused on screen, the thumbnail looking like CCTV surveillance footage of an alleyway.
"What's this got to do with—"
"Look at the date."
Himiko frowned, still wondering what an almost-decade-old recording had to do with anything.
He tapped the spacebar, and let it play.
It wasn't anything her and Jin hadn't seen before. Just two unlucky Heroes getting their comeuppance, in the form of being brutally stabbed. Himiko could appreciate the weapon of choice, though the method the attacker was using to finish them off was something she struggled to discern, it almost looked like they were—
"Okay? What's that prove?" Jin asked, able to keep a handle on saying something contradictory for once.
Overhaul-jerk closed the laptop, silencing the last of the dying cries of one of the Heroes still clinging to life.
"As far as the world is aware, this video doesn't exist."
Himiko blinked, actually wrongfooted. "Huh?"
Overhaul-jerk leveled them with a cold stare. "The Heroes in this video are Silver Shifter and Golden Geist. They were killed on duty in an unmarked alleyway, too far from any witnesses. Their murder is still unsolved, because— as far as the public is concerned —the CCTV camera recording the area was turned off for maintenance at the time."
Himiko frowned, pointing at the laptop. "But you just showed us—"
"A copy of the only recording of the crime to still exist. That's the kind of power she has." Overhaul-jerk cut her off, voice unwavering, but still holding a hint of urgency. "The kind of power to make things go away. The kind of power to silence anyone who even comes close to figuring out the truth. Even to hire the most well-known Villain organization in Japan to kidnap a girl, just to run a test trial to see how the Heroes would go about getting her back."
Both Himiko and Jin's eyes widened.
"The kind of power that means she makes the rules. And her golden rule is, if something happens to the girl known as Hitomi Saito, she's going to make us suffer in ways unimaginable even to me. Do you understand?"
Himiko swallowed, feeling much less confident than when they walked in.
Overhaul stood, adjusting his gloves (all of his lackeys in the room held their breath at the action) and again leveled them with a cold stare.
"Look, if everything goes smoothly, this will get you in her good graces. And trust me, you're going to want her as an ally." Overhaul shrugged casually. "Even your boss apparently understands her significance. Heard he wants her help in his endeavors. So you better not blow this for yourselves."
"Shigaraki knows this crazy lady?" Jin asked, surprised.
Overhaul scoffed.
"I wasn't talking about him."
…
Hitomi's paws twitched, claws long and razor-sharp, itching to get ahold of the girl in front of her.
Toga watched her with a narrowed gaze, her expression brimming with hatred. Her scent was overpowering with how many volatile emotions were clashing in the deranged teen's body.
Hate. Envy. Desire. Excitement. Fear…
With a snarl, Hitomi lunged before Toga could make the first move. Her right paw swiped at Toga's face, claws whistling as they cut through the air in a blur. But the blonde barely managed to duck to the side.
"Hitomi!" Izuku squawked behind her, shocked that she was charging in without hesitation.
"She still has the knife!" Mr. Aizawa called out, but made no move to intervene— too busy trying to staunch the blood in Rock Lock's side.
That much was true, Toga was still gripping a bloodied blade, twirling it around twice with experienced ease. But strangely, she was making no move to use it. In fact, Toga stood keeping the knife held as far from Hitomi's direction as she could, going as far as to point the tip of the blade the opposite direction from the pinkette once she stopped twirling it.
Hitomi's ear flicked, confusion now faintly cooling her rage. But not by much.
"Why…?"
Toga scowled, squeezing her knife tighter. But still, she wouldn't engage.
Hitomi barely managed to keep her Quirk in check— her fangs grew and her skin tingled, seconds away from sprouting thick fur as it all came bubbling to the surface. "Why did you take me? Who was behind it? Why won't you fight back?!"
Toga twitched, her yellow eyes burning with contempt, and yet she still made no move to swing her blade, thus only proving to Hitomi that something— or someone —was keeping her from attacking.
In a flash of gray, Toga was wrapped up in Mr. Aizawa's capture weapon.
"This ends now!" He yanked on the spool, jerking her over to him.
Perhaps because Toga was naked (supplying less friction for the capture weapon), or that she was unprecedentedly lithe, she was able to snake her arms out, and used them to pull back on the scarf. She used the lingering forward momentum to flip over Mr. Aizawa, and gave a swift stab into the back of his right shoulder as she vaulted over him.
"Sir!"
"Easer!"
Both Hitomi and Izuku respectively cried out in concern.
Mr. Aizawa lost some of his hold on his capture weapon, instead pulling out a twelve inch tanto blade of his own, that he swiftly used to swipe at Toga. But she dodged by ducking back, and took the opportunity to slither her way out of his reach, using the second he let go of the scarf to get free.
Toga's twisted grin shined briefly, before another wall suddenly grew down from above and separated her from them all.
"No!" Hitomi howled furiously, charging at the barrier. She slammed her fists into the concrete wall, again and again, growling louder with each hit.
Behind her, Izuku frowned, reaching out a hand and cautiously approaching. "Hitomi—"
"I need answers!" She all but screamed, rearing a leg back and kicking with all her might. All it did was make a splintering crack.
"We'll have time to get them later. Now we know the League and the yakuza are working together, meaning she won't have gone far." Mr. Aizawa spoke calmly, despite the obvious pain he was in.
With his voice Hitomi's attention was pulled back, her mind once again registering all the blood stinking up the air. She gasped, her hands shrinking back to normal and her fangs retracting.
"Are you okay?" Izuku fretted over their teacher.
"Sir!" Hitomi rushed over to him, guilt washing over her for completely forgetting he and Rock Lock had been stabbed.
"I'm fine, focus on helping Rock Lock. And get the other knife, I've heard Toga's Quirk uses blood somehow."
"Yes sir!" Izuku rushed to retrieve the discarded blade.
Blood…
She took the form of Rock Lock, after stabbing him… Ochako and Tsu said she was determined to steal some of Ochako's at the camp, and succeeded… she stole the identity of that blonde girl from Shiketsu, and Izuku later said that that same blonde had transformed into Ochako…
An image of that disgustingly full jar of her own blood— being carelessly collected in that dingy lair in Kamino, and what it could mean, infiltrated her mind.
Hitomi frowned in internalized panic at the connections she was drawing in her mind, but forced herself to stay present in the moment, reaching into her pockets and pulling out some of the first-aid supplies she brought: disinfecting wipes, cotton pads, and bandage wraps. She picked up one of her staffs, twisting the end. The last few inches unscrewed from the rest, revealing a syringe, and a small rectangular device that split in connected halves.
Kneeling at Rock Lock's side, Hitomi gently injected the needle close to the wound, slowly pushing the plunger down, administering a fast-acting localized anesthetic. Tearing open the package with her teeth, she scrubbed the area with the alcohol wipes. With a grimace, she picked up the metal rectangle, and delicately pressed the ends of both halves on either side of his wound, clicking the button on the opposite end of the device. With the sound of a snapping spring, a staple pinned that bit of the sliced skin closed. Hitomi made quick work of stapling down the rest of it, pinning his flesh together with the temporary solution.
"I see you took the HUC assessment to heart."
Hitomi paused, but quickly came to the conclusion that it made sense for their teacher to be given their scores, so as to help them work on what they needed to improve.
"Mm." She nodded, not looking up from her work now bandaging the Hero. "I asked Hatsume to add some new features to my staffs."
"Smart." Mr. Aizawa stood, stifling a small grunt.
But Hitomi caught it, and her ears flattened. "Sir—"
"It's a shallow cut. Save the supplies."
Hitomi's lips pursed tightly, biting the inside of her cheek to refrain from arguing.
As if to prove that things could only get worse, the room rumbled with a distant roar of anger just as she finished wrapping the Hero's torso, as the walls, floor, and ceiling started to crack before winding pillars of earth and concrete began filling the open space in giant writhing coils of concrete.
"Crap!" Izuku jumped back before he could be swept up and crushed.
"What do we do?!" Hitomi shouted over the noise, fearfully looking to their teacher for guidance.
Mr. Aizawa hoisted Rock Lock up over his shoulders, careful to support the man extra on his wounded side. "That yell, you heard it, right?"
Hitomi frowned but nodded, before it clicked. It wasn't a pained cry, or even a victorious one. It was furious. Something or someone must have angered the Villain in the walls, provoking him into causing such chaos.
"The voice must be Irinaka!" Izuku clued in as well, looking around for any sort of sign of the man's presence. All they needed to do was reveal in small part of him, so that Mr. Aizawa could render him powerless.
There was another rageful shout, but this time Hitomi was on high-alert, and immediately pinned her ears on the source of the noise.
"There!" She pointed up to the left at a spot on the wall near the ceiling.
Without hesitation, Izuku sparked and launched into the air. With a spinning kick, he destroyed that segment of wall, uncovering the shocked yakuza member hiding inside.
With a flash of red from Mr. Aizawa's eyes, the room finally stilled, and the man came falling from the crumbling cement.
"Sorry, yakuza!"
Hitomi tensed, whipping around.
"I think we'll do what we want after all." The Villain Hitomi now knew went by Twice, chipperly taunted the falling Villain from where he stood in the dark chasm Izuku created.
At his side, was Toga.
"Later!" The two waved, and disappeared into wherever the jagged opening led to.
Hitomi moved to follow, but a large and surprisingly strong hand grabbed onto her arm, halting her. Her frustrations only grew once she turned her head and saw green and yellow hair.
In his anger, Irinaka must not have realized he opened up the barriers separating the teams from one another. And much the same, neither had Hitomi.
Nighteye— now rather disheveled —threw one of his ridiculously heavy stamps, which soared through the air and hit Irinaka in the jaw, stunning and knocking the wind out of him all while the man was still falling.
"Catch him!"
Izuku swiftly did as he was ordered, kicking off and scooping up the Villain before landing back down.
All of his quick hopping around briefly reminded Hitomi of her Aunt Rumi.
"The League betrayed them?" Mr. Aizawa puzzled, looking out at where Toga and Twice got away.
"Seem so. And they used us to aid in their scheming." Nighteye pushed up his glasses, finally releasing Hitomi's bicep. "Though, at least we're on solid ground now."
"Two League members… acting on their own accord. What are they up to?" Hitomi's ears sat flat on her head, tail twitching in the effort to keep it from tucking between her legs. She clenched her fists, only to wince at a full sting. Opening her hands, she looked down and saw that her claws had dug into the flesh of her palms, blood seeping visibly through her light gold fingerless-gloves— and it occurred to her that it must have happened when she was punching the wall out of anger only moments ago.
Her mind flickered back to Katsuki, and the surprisingly tender way he had bandaged her hand a few nights before, even after the revelation that she was the one who hurt him— scarred him —he was so… gentle. And for some inexplicable reason, the thought of his fierce— yet at times soft —carmine eyes, and sweet smell of burnt caramel, caused a wave of ease to hit her, though only as long as she let herself drift off down this line of thought. All too soon she was being pulled back into the present, body again aching and mind again reeling.
"I'm positive Eri's bedroom is located in that direction." Nighteye pointed off down one of the only paths left in a semi-decent shape, thankfully.
Hitomi's ear twitched, and her brows furrowed. If the yakuza knew they were here for Eri, it wouldn't make sense to hide her away in the most obvious location. If she were in Overhaul's position, she would take the girl and sneak out of the building all together, while the rest of the Villain's bought some time.
"Irinaka, I want you to straighten out these hallways again, you hear?!" The police chief ordered uselessly.
But the thug only sat in his cuffs, panting like a rabid dog.
"The drugs must've worn off." Mr. Aizawa observed. "Looks like Fat Gum knew what he was talking about. Irinaka's power, it's back to normal again."
The police chief sighed. "I guess that's good news. But that was Toga and Twice just now, the League of Villains is here too."
Irinaka sat up, face red and bulging with veins. "Toga… Toga and Twice! I won't forgive you! You traitors will die!" He raged at the two that were no longer around.
"Tell us where the other League members are hiding." Nighteye pressed him.
"I don't know! But I'll find every last one of 'em! I won't stop until I've crushed all their skulls to dust!" Irinaka finished with a wild wail, wiggling and thrashing.
"I'm guessing those two are the only ones here. At least for now." Nighteye took Irinaka's word for it, as his anger seemed genuine.
The acrid smell of it nearly burnt Hitomi's nose, and she took a strange comfort to know that their enemies weren't as chummy as they had first assumed.
"It doesn't look like the Villains are gonna attack us." A policeman said hopefully, but kept his gun drawn.
"Maybe not, but they're not on our side just because they betrayed this guy." Another one hedged.
"Those criminals are wanted across the country," the police chief lifted his own pistol, "as officers of the law, we can't let them escape."
Hitomi flinched as a gloved hand lightly wrapped around her elbow. She turned her head, finding Izuku already looking to their teacher. She wasn't sure if his gentle hold was there more as a comfort to her, or himself.
"Eraser Head?" His voice held a slight quiver.
Hitomi was in the same boat, left wondering and waiting for guidance. The debrief had made it abundantly clear: if the League was involved, then all UA students would draw back— but leaving wasn't an option anymore, not when they were essentially stranded in an underground labyrinth.
Mr. Aizawa didn't respond for a few tense seconds, but before he could formulate an answer, someone else spoke up.
"Why're you fools standin' around talkin' instead of actin'?!" Rock Lock grunted from where he was put down to rest, now sat upright while cradling his side.
Hitomi was just relieved he was alright enough to keep heckling everyone.
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked.
Rock Lock glared fiercely. "The cops can deal with the League! You're wastin' time, so ignore them and keep on moving! Or did you morons forget our mission's top fuckin' priority?!"
"He has a point. That would be for the best." The police chief nodded to his men.
"I'll hang tight. Someone has to stay behind to keep an eye on Irinaka. And thanks to the crazy girl with the knives, I'm not goin' anywhere anytime soon." Rock Lock placed a hand over his bandage. "Well, go on! Finish what we came here to do! Ryukyu and the other Heroes up top, the cops we got separated from down here, Suneater, Red Riot, Fat Gum, Lemillion— they're all still fighting for us! You gotta know that, right? We worked too damn hard to fail that little girl now! So go on!"
Hitomi stared at him for a second, cheeks warming at his intense determination to make sure this day didn't end in tragedy. Eri needed them. That was why they were here, why this all mattered. To save a little girl from a life of pain and fear at the hands of those who should be nurturing her.
And Rock Lock thankfully gave them the kick they needed. With that vehement and stern encouragement, the team took off, following Nighteye's lead.
"We'll find her, and we'll save her!" Izuku promised over his shoulder. "Don't worry, Rock Lock!"
Hitomi sprinted faster, matching Nighteye's long-legged stride to run beside him. "Sir! Do you believe in Togata?"
The Hero gave her a sidelong look, eyes hidden by his lenses. "Of course."
"So you trust that he's caught up with Overhaul and Eri by now?" She pressed, already inching her way ahead of Nighteye.
"It's highly probable, yes."
Hitomi's expression steeled. "Then I can take us straight to them! I know Togata's scent, I can track him down!"
Nighteye didn't answer right away, his face giving no sign of any of his emotions.
But Hitomi could smell the worry clinging to him. And despite herself, she found it managed to endear him slightly to her.
"Alright. Lead the way."
Hitomi perked up, surprised that he would actually entrust this to her, but didn't let it slow her down.
Hitomi took a deep breath, closing her eyes and focusing on blocking out the people running next to her. Her ears twitched, and her nose flared, seeking the scent of her upperclassman.
When she could detect no trace of him, for a moment she panicked, until all of a sudden she could smell him— grass and hair gel, before it was gone again without a trace. It hit her, suddenly, that his Quirk erased him completely from her radar when in use, not having really noticed before during their gym training because her mind was so… frazzled.
"Got him!"
The trail led them down an excessive amount of hallways, and even a masked yakuza— laid out unconscious on the ground, already beaten.
Much to Hitomi's confusion, Togata's scent suddenly stayed put, no longer flickering in and out of the air. But her confusion quickly turned to fear, as another smell entered her nose.
A metallic tang she so dearly despised.
…
"Oh look at my girl! Isn't she just incredible!"
A lithe man with dark hair that hung like tar, bowed his head in subdued agreement. "Of course, my lady."
The blonde woman spun gleefully in her chair, holding a tablet to her chest, squealing over the security feed coming from the Hassaikai base.
"She's doing so well for her first big-girl mission! I'm so proud!"
"Madam, if I may, shouldn't we be concerned about Chisaki being detained? He is the only supplier of some of our essentials." The man dared to point out— one of the only people under her command who had the right to speak so freely to her. An advisor's no good if he can't advise.
The woman hummed, eyes never leaving the screen. "It will be fine. If it comes down to it, I can simply entice those in the Hassaikai who aren't arrested to come work for me. Surely Chisaki isn't the only one who has a hand in acquiring all their special wares."
"Of course, my lady."
The woman grinned, tracing the screen lightly with her fingertips, where her darling girl could be seen running.
The dark haired man watched the woman he devoted his life to, and spoke again.
"With everything going on, I'm sure if we wanted to, we could take the girl now."
The woman's smile fell, replaced by impatient disappointment. "I'm afraid not." She sighed, slumping back in her chair morosely. "I need all my ducks in a row before even thinking about bringing her home. Besides…"
The man shuddered, lowering his gaze away from her, back ramrod straight.
Because the woman's eyes burned a roiling acidic green, lit with fury.
"I have to take things slowly, if I ever want her to believe me when I tell her about the real kind of people the scum that raised her was."
…
"Chisaki!" Togata's roared on the other side of the last wall facing them, voice full of righteous fury.
Overhaul's own voice measured an equal amount of rage. "I told you that's not my name anymore!"
With a swift kick from Izuku, the barrier between Togata and the rest of them came down.
The first thing to reach Hitomi, was the overwhelming stench of blood.
She had been growing more terrified by the second when the scent had first started tainting the air, and how the ground rumbled harder the closer they got, but she never would've expected just how bad things really were.
The battlefield was a mess of debris and spikes sticking from the ground, with all exits blocked off, keeping Togata from taking the girl and running.
When Hitomi finally laid eyes on her upperclassman, she covered her mouth with a gasp of horror.
Blood seeped from large gauges that pierced his right side, arm, and calf. His body trembled with the effort to stand, supported entirely by his left half, all his strength nearly spent.
Izuku didn't hesitate, and struck Overhaul down with a glowing punch, sending the man flying.
Mr. Aizawa's hair flipped up, goggles obscuring the red glow as he nullified Overhaul's Quirk. "Ōkami, Nighteye, quick! Secure those who've been injured!"
Hitomi flinched, before jumping into action. She and Nighteye reached Togata, while Izuku and Mr. Aizawa stayed on Overhaul.
"Mirio!" Nighteye rushed to his protege, his voice wavering for the first time.
"G-get Eri out of here, she's… behind me." Togata gasped out, stepping aside to reveal the girl, who sat terrified, wrapped in Togata's torn up cape.
Hitomi's eyes burned, but she ignored the tears and went to Eri, as Nighteye caught Togata before he could collapse.
"I've got you now. You were amazing. You found her, Mirio." Nighteye clutched the boy protectively.
The white haired girl was so much smaller than Hitomi expected, and it was only made worse by how she curled up into herself, hiding in Togata's cape with an anxious expression as soon as Hitomi got close.
Despite the situation, with blood overpowering every other scent, Togata severely injured, and Izuku and Mr. Aizawa facing off with a disgusting but powerful excuse for a human, Hitomi took a subtle breath, and did what she did best.
"Hello there." She dropped down, kneeling to be on Eri's level. She kept her movement slow, and maintained a small distance so as not to scare her. "My name's Ōkami. We're all friends with Lemillion, so don't worry, everything's going to be alright now." She smiled gently, her voice calm and light, while keeping her posture loose and eyes soft, all calculated to give off an air of confidence and capabilities that deep down, was nowhere to be found.
Eri flinched, and shook her head minutely. "Y-you— he'll—"
"Be no match for us." Hitomi immediately assured, hearing how fiercely Izuku was fighting, between thundering blows and furious words thrown the Villain's way.
But just then, it seemed Overhaul had had enough.
"Time to get up, Chrono!" Overhaul roared, his voice almost seeming to shake the building.
Eri flinched harshly, holding her head in her hands on both sides of her temple, eyes wide and threatening to spill with more tears. One of the downed yakuza littering the battlefield revealed himself to be awake, as an off-white ribbon moved and shot out from under his cloak's hood, and went soaring straight for Izuku first.
Before it could hit him, however, Mr. Aizawa pushed him out of the way, taking the slash on his arm to shield the boy.
Hitomi's heart lurched.
"Nighteye!" She called shrilly, watching as the fight began to turn away from their favor.
"Those pierced by the long-hand will find their movements slowed. I meant to skewer both of you at once, but, then, that's Heroes for ya." The man referred to as Chrono rasped from the ground, shrugging casually as he remained unbothered as he attacked.
She watched her teacher falter and teeter, careening in what felt like slow motion. His hair seemed to struggle to stay suspended in the air, Izuku's fight with Overhaul going on behind him, an ominous warning of what would happen if he let his Quirk fail.
A surge of desperation blinded her, Nori's words ringing again in her mind.
You're loyal. Like a dog. You're loyal. Like a dog. You're loyal. Like a dog.
You're loyal.
Nighteye quickly hurried over, carrying Togata for the most part, and sat themselves down by Eri.
"Go!"
She didn't waste another second.
"Sir!" Hitomi launched herself toward them.
"Ōkami, stay back!" Mr. Aizawa called to her, trying to put up a hand to motion for her to stop, but his movements were starting to stagger, as if glue was slowly hardening his body into immobility. Meanwhile Chrono was charging him with a flash of an eager grin.
She didn't listen to him, watching as her teacher finally fell, his hair fanning flat down in a clear sign that—
"I've got you!" Izuku charged confidently at Overhaul.
The vile man was already raising his warped and defiled hand out towards her friend.
Hitomi's blood went cold, her hand reaching out despite still being so far from either of them. "Izuku!"
"…All you've done, has been for nothing!" Overhaul cried victoriously, slamming his hand to the ground.
The room exploded in jagged tipped spikes, and Hitomi felt her stomach drop with her as a chasm cracked open under her, falling down into the darkness with a short scream.
…
The woman's eyes narrowed, as she gave a displeased click of her tongue.
The tablet no longer showed anything of worth, the cameras going out in the chaos. She had faith her darling would be alright, given her arraignment with Chisaki, but she still wanted to be able to see her in action more.
"Is there anything you would like me to do, Madam?"
The woman hummed. "Mmm… no. I need to let her fight her own battles, without me doting on her." She rested her hand on her forehead with a dramatic sigh. "Oh how they grow up so fast! It feels like it was just yesterday that I held her for the first time— her tiny red face, and floppy ears, small enough I could hold her with one hand…" She sagged low, hugging the dark tablet.
The man blinked slowly, an exasperated bead of sweat dotting his head. Of course, he would never show such disrespect to his lady, but that didn't mean he couldn't sigh at her dramatics on the inside.
…
It wasn't a long drop, landing on her side and kicking up a cloud of dust. Hitomi coughed, rolling and pushing herself upright. A quick scan of her surroundings left her eyes adjusting to night vision, blinking and squinting to examine the rough little cavern she was carelessly thrown into. The opening above her was already gone, sealed back up.
But why—
She heard commotion up above, an explosion followed by the deranged voice of Overhaul.
Hitomi moved to transform into her largest Akita form, so she could bust a new hole open and leap out to rejoin the fight, but—
She smelled more blood, and this time, she could recognize it immediately.
Her fur stood on end, and a growl overtook her chest as she whirled around, facing one of the walls of the chasm.
A small splintering crack had created an opening into the room her teacher's scent was coming from, but even at a glance she could tell it wasn't big enough for her to get through, she would surely get stuck if she tried.
"Mr. Aizawa!" She shouted coarsely, the metal scent of his blood getting stronger, laying thick in the back of her throat.
With a desperate growl she moved to kick the wall and bust a wider hole through, but as she pivoted on one foot and raised the other, pebbles and dust rained from above, a sickeningly dangerous rumble shook the foundation, and she wavered, faced with the possibility that the ceiling would come down on her if she tried it. Teeth grinding and heart racing, she was left with one option.
Make it work.
With a sharp breath she ran at the opening, sticking an arm through first, then her head, immediately meeting resistance as the jagged concrete dug and raked into her skin as she pushed. She growled deeper, feet skidding against the floor as she tried to force her way through.
Hitomi's eyes fell shut, closed tightly as her body strained. Her gums gave a familiar tingle as her fangs sprouted, and in the darkness behind her eyelids, she felt her body twist in transformation.
But instead of the walls closing in— crushing her larger form, she felt them fall away.
With a startled gasp she tumbled out on the other end, blinking rapidly as she caught herself on four paws.
What? How did—
She looked up, eyes naturally adjusted to night vision.
It revealed an intact room of the base, left untouched by the chaos, save for a hole in the ceiling and a chunk of wall that was now rubble on the floor.
And before her stood a figure, one of towering height— Wait—
Hitomi gasped sharply, backing away as her body changed once more, this time growing larger as she returned to her human body. She stumbled back a step, blinking in an effort to see clearly, squinting for her eyes to readjust again while her fists raised in defense.
"Mr. Ai—"
Something whizzed past and brushed her left cheek, warm wetness rolling down right after.
The darkness dissipated fully, revealing the yakuza member— now without his mask, standing over the downed body of her teacher. An off-white ribbon came shooting back to the Villain, retracting into his hair, and with a wave of dread, Hitomi realized what had nicked her cheek.
"It's you." The Villain hummed, gray eyes narrowing in thought.
Hitomi growled again, taking a step forward— or rather, tried to, only for her leg to stagger and lock up, sending her to the ground with a gasp.
"Saito, get out of here!" Mr. Aizawa ordered, trying to inch his body away from the man and towards her, his eyes forcefully blindfolded with a torn piece of the yakuza's cloak.
It was a desperate and ultimately useless command, and they both knew it.
Hitomi panted, bordering on hyperventilation, trying with everything she had to stand, or even just get on her knees. But it felt like the air around her had turned into cooling tar, so thick and restricting. Without meaning to, her fangs extended, and her hands shifted into clawed paws, as deep panicked yowls rumbled with almost every exhale, akin to a snared animal.
"Interesting." Chrono mused, stepping away from her teacher, and instead loomed over her. "You came to this Hero's aid, instead of staying by the girl. And you both refer to each other by your real names."
Hitomi yelped as she felt another slice being dealt to her back between her shoulder blades, and felt herself slow even further.
"Enough!" Mr. Aizawa snarled, despite being unable to see what was happening.
Chrono ignored him. "Kai made things quite clear. You're the one called Hitomi Saito, correct?"
Hitomi froze, eyes wide and terrified as they stared up at him through her disheveled bangs.
"I'll take that as a yes." Chrono sighed, and placed a hand to his chin in thought. "Strange, the information I was given said you possessed an Akita Quirk, not a Shiba one… no matter. My Quirk won't last long enough to get you to the Madam securely, so it looks like we'll be doing things the hard way."
Madam? The person that wanted her for whatever reason, was a woman? The thought had never even crossed her mind, and only left her more confused.
"Leave her alone…!" Mr. Aizawa grunted, body quaking with the effort to get up. "Whatever it is you want, you—"
"I'll be needing this." Chrono casually grabbed onto Mr. Aizawa's capture weapon, callously yanking it free from around her teacher's neck.
Hitomi watched the man, unable to even rotate her ears as he went behind her and out of sight.
Her pulse thumped loud and rapid, felt in every part of her body. This was worse than the USJ, than I-Island, than the attack on the training camp, than when the League had her chained to a wall.
At least all those times before, she could move some part of her body, at the bare minimum.
Now, she was trapped. Imprisoned inside her own body.
"If only I had some sedative on hand." The man sighed in mild irritation. "Oh well. I'll try to make this quick. Just don't struggle and it'll make things easier."
Hitomi sucked a panicked breath. "W-wha—"
The comforting scent of Mr. Aizawa encased her, momentarily blocking out all the blood and fear, as his capture weapon came down over her face. For a split second, she felt a wave of calm, brought only by the illusion that her teacher was close. But the illusion was shattered when the scarf was pulled further down, sliding under her chin.
A heavy boot pressed into the same space between her shoulder blades that he had cut, pushing down, at the same time that the scarf was pulled up.
Hitomi choked on a gasp, trying frantically to move her hands, to grab onto the capture weapon wrapped around her throat and tug it away, but her arms could only twitch.
"Saito!" Mr. Aizawa called out, hearing her desperate choking.
"I told you not to struggle." Chrono calmly chided above her,
He's— he's choking me!
Hitomi croaked, trying to speak. But the lack of airflow and the paralytic Quirk made her unable to form any words. She didn't even know what it was she was trying to say. Stop? Please? A desperate call for her teacher to help her?
Her head started pounding, and a darkness began creeping in from the edges of her vision. She felt as if she was being pushed deep under water, the pressure bearing down on her, too strong for her to hope to beat.
Why is this happening?
It felt like her head was splitting open.
Why is this happening?
Through faltering eyes, she watched Mr. Aizawa tremble, as he shouted words that were too muffled to make out.
Why is this happening?
Her head slumped forward, unable to keep itself up anymore, as her eyes fluttered shut.
Why is this happening to me?
The faintest sensation caught her attention. It was as if every hair on her body stood on end, suddenly hyper aware. The fogginess clouding her brain was still heavily in place— growing thicker, in fact. But while her mind slid into a blissfully numb and ignorant state, her body seared hot, and moved.
…
Perhaps it was a dream, or illusion, or maybe even memory.
Who was to say?
In a vast void of darkness, a spotlight coming from seemingly nowhere shined down where a large trunk chest sat shackled shut, a lock and chains keeping it tightly closed.
A shaking hand held onto a small key, toying with it in a bid for time, before it reached out and slid it into the keyhole in the middle of the lock, turning it hesitantly.
There was a metal click.
The chains fell away like nothing, leaving the dusty, and vaguely familiar chest bare.
The lid flew open on its own, so violently that it slammed against the back.
A fearful but undeniably curious set of fuchsia eyes dared to peer inside. But all there was to be seen was a pitch black darkness, somehow even darker than the void around her. With a shuddering breath, she reached out a hand.
A larger one shot out from within the chest, latching onto her wrist with a vice-like grip.
She tried pulling back— to get away.
A pair of fuchsia eyes looked back into hers, matching hers all the way down to the white pupils. Yet this set was grim. Void of anything but exhaustion and something that almost looked like heartbreak.
A man's voice spoke, deep and solemn, but despite his ominous words—
"Sleep, kid. Let it take control. It knows what to do."
—There was something so soothing about it, too.
Soothing enough, that despite not having any idea of what this was or what was happening, she instinctively relaxed, and let herself drift off, feeling safe and secure in the hands of—
Before everything was ripped away, there was the faintest scent of bluebells, cigarettes, and shame.
…
Her tongue ran over her teeth, nearly nicking itself on her large fangs. There was a strange taste coating her mouth, something her sluggish mind couldn't identify yet.
She was sitting on the floor, her knees bent with her legs on either side. Her posture was slouched, hands lazily hanging between her thighs. Her knuckles brushed the floor with every exhale.
She blinked slowly, face slack of any expression. Her head felt heavy and airy at the same time, as she turned it side to side, looking around at her surroundings uncomprehendingly.
A wet gurgle brought her attention to an odd sight. A red mass sat quivering not too far from her, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it was that she was looking at.
Until it coughed harshly, spitting blood in a large splatter.
Hitomi blinked.
Blood. That was what that taste was. Blood.
As if the realization of what it was only then allowed her to notice it, she suddenly became aware of just how much blood there was around her. On her.
It stained her mouth and hands, smeared on her cheeks, nose, chin, and neck— and dripped from her elbows to the coated tips of her fingers.
The metallic taste tainted her tongue— now bitter and displeasing once identified —clogging up her sense of smell from the inside. Or maybe she was just smelling the crimson scene she sat in the middle of.
She was sitting in a pool of it.
Then, she finally noticed something else. A figure wearing dark clothes sat a few feet away in front of her.
She blinked at it slowly.
A pair of bloodshot, and glowing red eyes stayed locked on her, expressing something she wasn't used to seeing in them— at least not turned on her.
Fear? Why is he afraid?
"Hitomi…" He spoke slowly, as if trying to calm a wild animal, and never once did his gaze stray from her.
Distantly, in some compartment in her mind that was still lucid, Hitomi felt hurt that he felt such an intense need to keep using his Quirk on her.
Her teacher moved cautiously, as he inched closer on his knees. His movements were slow, but determined. Once close enough, he reached toward her neck, using extreme care to not touch her as he removed the capture weapon twisted up under her chin. When he pulled it away, she saw the fabric stained in red as well.
Only once, during the USJ, had she ever seen the item stained in so much blood. After, it was always pristinely gray, looking warm and soft for being support gear for capturing Villains. And it always carried her teacher's comforting smell.
Now it hung heavy in the man's hands, more red than gray.
As if the sight broke some kind of spell, Hitomi blinked once more, looking around at the carnage one last time, before the numbness washed away and she truly saw it all for what it was.
A bloodbath.
The mass nearby was Chrono. The man looked closer to ground meat than a person. Tendons and viscera lay scattered beside him, and his heartbeat was getting slower by the second.
A revolting realization gripped her.
Her breath hitched, tears stinging her eyes and quickly rolling down her cheeks, disappearing into the blood covering the bottom half of her face.
"D-did I— I don't— Mr. Ai-izawa?"
When she looked desperately at him, she was again met with glowing red eyes.
You did this.
Her body felt cold, making the warm blood coating her a stark and disgustingly noticeable contrast.
Vomit soon joined the blood pooling on the floor.
Hitomi screamed gutturally upon seeing that nothing but crimson and a few pieces of gummy human meat was what spilled from her.
You did this.
Her hands shot up to her head, gripping fistfuls of hair so violently it tore some out. She continued to scream, shaking and curling in on herself.
You disgusting monster. Look at what you've done.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
You vile, heartless, bloodthirsty, diseased animal. You're not even human. No human could ever do this.
Her hands morphed into paws, and she dug her claws into her scalp without a second thought.
Look at what you've done.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry—"
"Stop!"
Hitomi froze, taking a few seconds to even notice that anything changed.
Now, Mr. Aizawa sat clinging to her— or more so, clutching her to his chest. He shook, from either exhaustion or fear, and Hitomi prayed it was the former, she couldn't tell through the stench of spilled blood. He held her against him, so tightly it became slightly hard to breathe.
Hitomi sat there, stunned and confused.
Carefully, he reached up and pried her paws away from her head, eyes flashing red again, forcing her hands back to normal.
"You did what you had to."
Hitomi flinched at his soft voice. She risked looking up, meeting his gaze.
This time she was met with obsidian irises. And to her incredulity, the only emotion showing on his face now, was tender concern.
"You did what you had to." He reaffirmed sternly, making sure she really heard him. "You stopped breathing. He— he choked you out for too long. You could've— you almost—"
Hitomi stared, awestruck as her unflappable teacher pursed his lips, brows furrowed and minutely trembling as he clearly struggled with the thought of what could have happened to her.
He took a breath through his nose, schooling himself, if only slightly. "I don't know what that was, but it's alright."
Hitomi slowly shook her head, more tears spilling from her eyes. "N—"
"It was self defense." He cut her off, almost glaring. "You're not at fault here. You did what you had to."
He's gonna die. She wanted to argue, starting to turn her head to torture herself with the gruesome sight again, but Mr. Aizawa gently held her in place, keeping her from seeing it.
"No matter what, you have me on your side. You'll be alright. I'll make sure of it."
Hitomi's breath hitched again, this time followed by raw, heartbroken sobs.
Mr. Aizawa held her even tighter, lowering his head until his chin rested on the crown of hers.
"It's alright. You're okay. You didn't do anything wrong."
And while it was a bald-faced lie, Hitomi felt her body release its tension. A wave of exhaustion washed over her, making her eyelids droop.
Darkness blanketed her mind, slipping into a dreamless sleep.
The last thought to pass by in her mind was—
What did I do?
…Yeah. Those final scenes were some of the very first that I had outlined for this story. It will all make sense in due time.
Also, the reason Hitomi could move to attack Chrono was that he released his Quirk on her when he felt her go unconscious, as there was no reason to keep using it on her. And Aizawa was released when Chrono was, well, torn to shreds, as he couldn't maintain control of his Quirk. Is this how Chrono's power works in canon? Maybe not. But this is fanfiction babyyy