Misa had spent her entire life in Shivmachi. She had been born into a family of people who distained heteromorphs and was raised to see them as nothing but animals. It's what she believed down to her core. It's what she taught her children. It's what made her feel bigger, superior to those sad lower lifeforms toiling out in those fields day in and day out.

Right now, though, despite an entire lifetime of seeing herself as the pinnacle of humanity, right in this moment, she felt so very small.

Because now, the sweet, perfectly normal girl she had quickly become fond of was at this moment a towering hulk of mismatched animal parts, snarling and looming over her with eyes filled with the intent to kill.

Still, Misa did not run. She couldn't, backed against a wall as she was. But she didn't cower in fear either. Even if a sinking, primal sense of impending death threatened to consume her. Instead, the innkeeper raised her hand shakily, intending to use her quirk, the ability to stun anyone she touched. As she did so, she spoke, her voice breaking while she struggled to get the words out "…y, you! Stay, stay away! You're not the Nazuna I know! G, give her back!"

"I told you! My name is MICHIRU!" the chimeric morpher roared as she charged forward, much faster than her massive bulk would imply.

"NO! GET AWAY!" Misa screamed as she moved her hand to try and catch the massive blur but it was not nearly enough, Michiru simply batting the outstretched limb before she caught the older woman in the shoulder with extended claws. The slash cut deep, blood splattering on the wall as Misa yelled in pain, her body thrown sideways.

Before she knew it, the innkeeper was hit by Michiru's other arm, a closed fist this time, the blow enough to knock her out. Misa went limp as her body crumbled to the floor, a puddle of blood quickly forming. Michiru stood over her, breathing heavily, her lips twitching as she struggled to control her anger even after subduing her attacker.

Feeling eyes on her, the enraged amalgamation turned to see that pretty much everyone had stopped, near dead in their tacks. Friend and foe alike watched on, transfixed by the sight they all beheld. Most continued to wear masks and were mostly unreadable save for their body language. Others among the League looked impressed while others were utterly shocked, including her teammates.

Michiru's eyes settled on Sakon. The brash, battle hungry ant-girl who never hesitated to speak her mind. The person who had just recently declared Michiru to be her first friend now looked on her with fear. It was too much. The anger began to leave Michiru immediately before she looked down on herself, suddenly shocked at what she was able to do with her power. She saw the blood on her paw and she thought back to all the times she had tried to talk Shirou down when he had lost his cool. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Put the monster down! Protect Sister Misa!" one of the CRC suddenly cried, breaking the silence. That seemed to be the signal for the battle to recommence because all at once, Celty was back to fending off Tomura while Sakon moved to take on Himiko. Spinner had been fighting off CRC goons but they all turned and left him, heeding the call to assault Michiru.

Any feelings of remorse or introspection left her as Michiru faced the remaining horde of racists charging her. "I've had it! With you people, this whole stupid world! EVERYTHING!" Michiru yelled, earning a smirk from Tomura as he continued to be stymied by Cetly's shadow blades.

If the CRC members were intimidated by Michiru's words they didn't show it, not slowing in the least as they bore whatever crude weapons they had or quirks they could use. It was no contest. Michiru tore into them, swiping half a dozen at a time with an arm or a swing of her exoskeletal tail. Two by four planks of wood would break on her hard shelled back before she would grab the attacker and simply toss them across the room or into another group of people before smashing the lot of them with an enlarged paw.

Those that could attack at a distance faired no better. Blasts of rock or beams of energy seemed to do nothing to the monster of a girl, who would counter by extending her tail or a limb to knock out the offender. Before long, no one wearing a skull mask was left standing and Michiru was surrounded by the unconscious or the wounded. None, it seemed, were dead but with the look in the beastman's eye that could change at any moment.

There were still villains to take down and Michiru was in no mood to let them go. Spinner was the first, left with no one to fight now that the rest of the CRC was down. The lizard man wasn't a fool. He sheathed his blades and prepared to react to whatever the enraged chimera before him was about to do.

Almost faster than he could see, Michiru moved to gore him with her horns but he was just quick enough, leaping away and clinging to the far wall. "Why?" he asked as Michiru managed to take out a wooden pilar in her missed attack. "You clearly hate these bastards, we came to rob them, but you look just as angry at us!"

The question itself seemed to anger Michiru even more when she turned to face the elusive lizard man. "You know why!" she bellowed before she enlarged and extended her arm and swung at Spinner. He managed to dodge once more and a hole in the wall was all Michiru got for her trouble.

"Animalia! You need to calm yourself!" Celty chided, trying to appeal to the girl's reason.

"Yeah! You're going to bring the house down!" Sakon followed, urgency in her voice as she blocked another swipe with Himiko's knife with her armored forearms.

Tomura seemed to be revealing in the chimera girl's unfettered anger despite his stalemate with Celty, a wide grin on his face. "Come on now, she's just upset that my master ripped her away from her home world. Seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to be upset about if you ask me." The decayer quipped loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sakon couldn't help but ask, bringing her up short in the middle of a counterattack.

"Don't listen to him!" Celty implored, "He would say anything to get us to lower our guard!"

And lower her guard is exactly what Sakon had done. Himiko wasted no time capitalizing on the distraction with several quick slashes on the ant girl. Most just grazed Sakon's exoskeleton but a couple caught her joints, and the vampire girl drew blood.

Michiru, meanwhile, had also heard Tomura's taunt, which drew her attention and she charged at the hand-wearing madman. The attack was telegraphed and Tomura was able to easily dodge. Michiru only managed to destroy another support pillar and leave herself completely open to a counterattack.

Tomura obliged, coming in behind the chimera in an attempt to lay his hand on her back. He got very close to touching Michiru's shell, only for a wall of shadow to block him. "I'm getting sick and tired of that little trick of yours, you headless bitch!" he complained.

That was all he had time to say before a massive scorpion tail nearly knocked him completely off his feet. Before Michiru could follow up, Spinner had moved to the near wall and flicked his tongue out at Michiru to pull her attention away from his leader.

It worked. Moments later another wall had a hole in it and Celty had to wonder just how much longer the structure could withstand Michiru's onslaught. With less wall space to run to, Michiru had an easier time predicting where Spinner would run to next and her next attack hit home, catching the sword-wielding heteromorph and taking him clean through another wall and out of the building all together, as well as the fight.

"Funny that the first one you would take out is a heteromorph like you" Himiko called out sweetly even if underneath she was worried for her friend.

"It doesn't matter what he looks like, he works with you! That's all the reason I need!" Michiru declared as she blindly swung with her tail at the blonde blood sucker.

The ever nimble Himiko evaded the attack, but the ant girl behind her wasn't so lucky. Sakon took the tail square in the chest, sending her flying back, cracks in her exoskeleton apparent. The ant hero-in-training landed hard and curled in a ball as she struggled to breathe. After a moment, she managed to yell "You idiot!" before she was overcome by coughing fits, blood trickling out of her mouth.

At first, Michiru had grown even more angry due to her mistake but when she heard her friend's harsh words, the haze of rage seemed to clear away in a moment. Suddenly, Michiru was keenly aware of just how blind she had been. Flashes of Shirou losing his own temper and her own attempts to calm him down flooded her mind. After a moment she looked down at herself again, as if just now realizing what she had managed to do for the first time.

The calm introspection was once again interrupted however because Himiko took the opportunity and slashed at Michiru's legs and scored a glancing blow, causing the chimera girl to buckle and fall to one knee. Just moments later, three large objects seemed to appear from thin air above Michiru, a rock, a large safe and a couch, that then fell down on top of her.

"Good shot! I could totally do better!" one Jin Bubaigawara or Twice declared as he patted the masked Atsuhiro Sako or Mr. Compress on the back. The two, along with Dabi stood on the second floor where Tomura and the rest had attacked from earlier.

"We have completed our role, it's time for a curtain call!" Atsuhiro added.

"You…all of you!" Michiru growled. The others in the room took notice as she continued, her voice raising "All I want is to be home…to be me again, not…not this! AHHH!" With her good leg, Michiru charged forward, heedless of who her target was or even if she was doing anything actually useful.

It showed because instead of hitting anyone, she managed to destroy the supports below the second level where the rest of the League was standing. The three men simply retreated back further into the house, but too much damage had been done. The floor above began to collapse and with it, the rest of the house. Left in the middle of it all, Michiru could only shrink back to her base tanuki form before adding a turtle shell that she promptly hid inside of.

Within moments, the darkness claimed her as debris fell upon the turtle-shelled tanuki girl. Surrounded by darkness, she was left to wonder if her teammates, her enemies, the caged heteromorphs or even the CRC members left lying about were ok. Had she just killed them all in her unrestrained rage? Would this have happened if Zel and Emmy had been here? For the time being, all Michiru had was her thoughts as she sat in the darkness.

(X)

Michiru had spent what felt like hours but was likely only ten or so minutes curled up and hoping everyone else was alright when she heard a grown a few feet away. With all the dust kicked up by the collapse, the tanuki girl had been unable to smell another person or anything really and as she was engaged in worry and self-pity, it never occurred to her to check to see if she was alone.

Shifting her face, now much flatter with a small beak, it was the large, round eyes of an owl that allowed the tanuki girl to now clearly see. It seemed that it was the vampiric Himiko, of all people she shared the cramped pocket with.

"What the fuck…" Himiko painfully moaned as she rose, only to bang her head on a large piece of wood. "Damnit all! Crazy lighter bitch, trapping me here…"

"Hey, I'm trapped too, you know!" Michiru felt the need to point out.

"Even better." The blonde blood sucker answered, a hint of anticipation in her voice.

"Hey, what does that mean?" Michiru replied, an eyebrow raised even though she knew the other girl couldn't see her.

Though the space the two girls occupied wasn't a large one, one would still be hard pressed to find the other without some blind groping. Unless one of them spoke and gave their position away, as Michiru had. Himiko zeroed in on the morpher's location and moved to tackle her for a nice little drink of blood. The vampiric blonde was caught completely off guard though when she was met by a heavy slap across the face that sent her sideways and away from her target.

"What the hell?" Michiru asked indigently.

Rising, rubbing her very sore face, Himiko countered with "That's my line! How'd you know I was coming?"

"Gave myself owl eyes, I could clearly see you coming. What were you even trying to do? I saw your fangs…were…were you trying to drink my blood?" Michiru asked, both disgusted and very worried.

"What if I was? I'm thirsty!" And now thanks to you I'm stuck here. What's it to you anyway?" Himiko whined, seemingly oblivious to the invasion of personal space sucking blood would entail.

"Because!" Michiru began before hesitating. The League already seemed to know the truth about lighters but was she really willing to share more about her condition? Not sure how long she was going to be stuck here and hoping that the truth would keep the other girl from trying again, Michiru continued "Because if you drink my blood you'll end up like me."

"What, a self-righteous prick?" Himiko quipped as she weighed her chances of success at knifing the damned hero.

"NO! Jackass. You wouldn't be human anymore. You'd be a beastman, like me." came the instant retort.

Himiko looked unimpressed as she pulled out a knife and began to clean her nails with the tip of the blade. "Huh. You make it sound like you're ashamed to be whatever you call heteromorphs in your world. No wonder you're a hero, if you're willing to buy their lies about being less than the normies."

A frustrated growl escaped Michiru before she spoke again, her voice raised "No, asshole! I mean literally a different species! Where I come from, beastmen are entirely different, different DNA and everything. If you sucked my blood, you'd change, just like I did and I'm willing to bet that quirk of yours would be gone too, so I hope you don't actually enjoy drinking blood!"

That…actually sounded pretty bad. "Lame. I'll pass. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with you, aside from being a hero but I like who I am so no thanks." Himiko answered, dismissively waving her hands.

"Glad we could come to an understanding." Michiru answered flatly. "And by the way, I'm not ashamed of who I am, I just know how much trouble it can be, being different."

"Fuck you." was Himiko's instant response. Michiru wasn't expecting such a vehement response and remained silent, allowing Himiko to continue. "You think I don't know what it's like to be different? How weird everyone thinks I am? I decided if society didn't like who I was then they could go to hell. If you had an ounce of pride you'd do the same!"

"I'm not attacking someone because they think differently than me. That'd make me no matter than the pricks in this town." Michiru answered rationally.

With her lip curled up in a knowing smile, Himiko said "Oh? Isn't that what you were doing just a few minutes ago? Don't tell me that little tantum that brought the house down was purely self-defense."

"It…I lost my cool, that's all." Michiru quickly answered defensively.

"Uh-huh. You tell yourself that, girly. Seemed to me like you had a lot of anger built up. Trust me, I can smell it!" Himiko answered, licking her lips, her eyes taking on a predatory glint despite the darkness.

"Hey! I just had to spend a week pretending to be one of those assholes, ok?! I had to watch them beat and exploit other people just because they were different. I…I'd seen enough, that's all." came Michiru's less than confident response.

Things grew silent after that for a few moments and Michiru thought that vampire girl beside her had finally let the subject drop. Instead, the other girl asked, seemingly out of the blue "Hey. What's you're world like?"

Michiru was taken aback by the question and it showed on her face, even if the blonde couldn't see it. "Oh. Well, not too different than this one really. The tech seems a bit more advanced here but it's otherwise pretty similar. No quirks though. Just humans and beastmen. For centuries, beastmen have been hunted and persecuted and only recently did Japan let them found their own city where they could be safe."

"They? Almost sounds like you don't see yourself as one." Himiko astutely pointed out.

Michiru hesitated. The fact that she was even having a conversation with a villain, one associated with the very man that had kidnapped her in the first place, was chilling indeed. Yet she had already said so much, already explained the risk with her blood, what was little more? "That's because I wasn't. I only became one when I got the wrong blood transfusion. My friend and me. Now we're the only two people in the world to become beastmen! When it first happened, my friend got kidnapped so after I changed, I hid myself in my room for a whole year."

"So, you're a coward." came Himiko's unflinching response.

"…what?"

"You heard me. Or did that night vision take away your hearing?" Himiko snapped. "Listen girly, you think, you talk, you feel. What the hell does it matter what you look like, huh? If other people can't see you for what you are then fuck'em. Take them all down. Pretending your something you're not…being ignored or attacked for standing out. Being 'human' or not. It's all just words and I'll gut anyone who thinks they can look down on me for it."

Michiru sat in silence absorbing those words, sure she had a rebuttal but struggled to put it into words. The vampire girl beat her to it. "That's why I call you a coward. You hid away, let them dictate to you what was right and wrong and you played right along. Just like now. You may think you're doing right, beating up all these racists but they're really just small fry out in the middle of nowhere. This society is so rotten, you don't even see it. It's a million little things done every day to make you feel small, feel wrong and everyone just goes along with it to get along. Fuck'em. Fuck'em all."

That lit a fire under Michiru's tail and she shot back "You want to tell all those heteromorphs we just saved they were small fry, huh? Just because you felt pressured to conform doesn't make what's been happening any less worse just because what you say happens is on a larger scale. You attack people. How many people you've sucked the blood of actually told you they wanted you to, huh? Does your pain and ostracization give you license to do whatever you want? You have no right to lecture me."

"Tch, whatever. I'm not the one who rampaged all over the place. I know what I am, who I am and you can take it or leave, sister!" Himiko said, turning away in a huff before adding under her breath "Damn lighters! Can't suck your blood, the green-haired one tasted funny and I probably couldn't even pierce the rocky one…"

Silence settled between the two again and Michiru was left with her thoughts. As messed up as the girl she was trapped with was, she gave the tanuki girl something to think about. She loved who she was and what she could do. She knew humans hated beastmen. That was very much the norm back home and yet, seeing it here, having it shoved in her face had pushed her past the edge. Why?

Deep down, Michiru knew the answer. It had been creeping at the edges of her consciousness for some time now, even before she got stuck in this world. But to admit it. To even entertain the idea would be too much to bear. So, she didn't. Just like every time the subject came even close to being raised Michiru pushed the tortuous thought back into the recesses of her mind. Instead, Michiru again thought of her friends. Was Sakon alright? How mad would she and Celty be once they met up again? Did they catch the rest of the League? Michiru hadn't seen Xellos with the League, yet he was supposed to have joined them. Where was he?

"Hey."

"Damnit, what is it now?" Michiru answered, annoyed.

"Why haven't you, like, called your teammates or something?" came the honest question from the blonde.

"Don't have it. I gave my phone to one of the villagers so he could record everything for evidence. Then you guys roughed him up and dumped him on the floor." came the tanuki girl's reply.

"Oh yeah! He was checking the perimeter! Never saw us coming, classic!" Himiko responded, chuckling to herself. Perhaps sensing the hostility now emanating from the lighter beside her, Himiko moved on to another subject once she regained herself. "What about just going big again? You know, push all this debris out of the way?"

Michiru sighed before answering "I thought of that but I have no idea what the situation is like on the other side. People could be stuck like us or are being actively rescued. I don't want to make things worse by suddenly displacing a bunch of it."

"Damn goody-two shoes. What, are we just going to wait for days for someone to find us? There has to be something we could do, right?" Himiko asked, annoyed.

Snapping her fingers, Michiru answered "We could just call for help."

"You think they would hear us? Like you said, we don't know how much shit we're under, they might not hear us, and we'd just go hoarse." Himiko countered.

"Then we just have to be louder, then, don't we? Better cover your ears." said Michiru. Retaining her owl eyes so she could keep an eye on her compatriot/prisoner, the rest of the tanuki girl's face stretched forward to the all to familiar snout of a wolf. Without further ado, Michiru raised her face up and began to howl.

(X)

"How're you holding up, Formidable?"

Leaning against a tree, stiff and clutching her abdomen, the contentious ant girl grinned cheekily and replied "Peachy." Then with a grown, added "But I don't think I'm going to be getting anywhere fast. Thanks for the save. You were amazing back there Shadow Rider."

Her back turned to her injured teammate, Celty looked back at the ruined mansion and answered "Think nothing of it. You're my responsibility."

It was a professional answer, and the only one the displaced dulahan was in the mood to give at the moment. Over the years Celty had been a part of plenty of jobs and missions that had gone to hell quickly, but this one was near the top. Oh, sure, there had been moments where the unexpected happened: a villain dropping in, getting detected before a sneak attack, surveillance gone wrong. Having a teammate lose their cool and transform into a rage chimera? Definitely a first.

Celty had already begun to worry about the building's structural integrity before Michiru had actually caused it to collapse so she was ready to act when it did happen. Helped, ironically, by the holes Michiru had already left, a number of the CRC members already had a means of escape and took it when things got heated. That mostly left those unable to move and had been left behind for Celty to save when the house came down. With the remaining League members retreating, the dulahan was able to use her shadows to grab the unconscious cultists and the cages containing the heteromorphs and get them out along with Sakon in the nick of time.

It was close, much closer than she would have liked but it was the best she could do. Her best wasn't able to save Michiru herself though, left trapped or worse underneath the rubble of the mansion.

There she would have to stay for a little longer. After having made a call for emergency services and police back-up, Celty had set to restraining those she had rescued before rounding up stragglers. Now back to check on Sakon, Celty was about to see what she could do about looking for Michiru.

Before she left though, Sakon spoke again, her voice unusually somber. "Shadow Rider? You're going to save Michiru, right?"

After a long pause, Celty answered evenly "That's the plan. Emergency services are still a ways out but I don't want to wait any longer."

Sakon's mouth set in a thin line but her eyes burned with certainty. "She's ok, I know it. And when you bring her back she can tell me what the hell she was thinking!"

If she had been able, Celty would have smirked at that. Instead, the mirth turned to concern when Sakon added "And what all the shit about another world is all about…she owes me at least that much after this."

Celty turned to look down at the injured hero-in-training and said "Formidable, about that…"

Before Celty could finish, a muffled howl could be heard coming from the direction of the ruined manor.

"See, told ya."

"Stay here. Call if something happens." Celty instructed before dashing off toward the mansion.

"Was that a joke? Real funny! Just bring her back so I can smack her!" Sakon called after, followed by a pained cough.

It didn't take long for Celty to get back to the destroyed building, the howling continuing long enough for the team leader to zero in on which massive pile of debris the call was coming from. Without further ado, Celty began moving rubble with her hands and her shadows, as quickly but as carefully as she felt she could without causing a cave in. Having Sakon there with her ant strength would have been very useful since some of the debris was simply too heavy for even a supernatural being to lift.

Still, the underground hero made headway quickly, working around what she couldn't lift. Her work, however, did not go unnoticed. A number of the captured CRC members were awake and well aware of what Celty was trying to do. It wasn't long before jeers and boos filled the night air, leaving a bitter feeling in the dulahan's heart. With no one to rein them in and nothing to lose, the noises became taunts.

"Look at her dig like the animals she loves so much!"

"You're confused lady! You're not supposed to dig up the trash once it's already been taken out!"

"That animal got what it deserved! Let it lie there!"

"You a hero or animal control?"

"You're what's wrong with the world! Leave us be!"

If she wasn't employing everything she had to dig, Celty would have used some of her shadows to seal every one of their dirty mouths. They got quiet again though after another half hour when helicopters arrived with emergency medical personal and a couple quads of police.

The right thing to do would have been to stop and direct the newly arrived assistance to where they were needed most. However, by now Celty's worry was getting the best of her, her stress made the worse by the horrible things flung her way as she worked. When a group of officers came to her, asking for instruction, she snapped "Help me!"

The officers complied, their faces at first betraying an unease that quickly settled into determination. Now with help the larger objects could be removed safely and before long the muffled voice of Michiru could be heard "Hello! Someone out there?"

"Animalia!" Celty called back, relief plain in her electronic voice. "You OK?"

"Yeah! The blonde League member too!" Michiru answered. Then, after a paused, added "Says her name is Himiko Toga!"

"Great! We're getting you out, just let us know if it seems like we're about to cause a cave in." came the dulahan's response.

"I got a better idea. If you're sure no one else is around, I can smash the top off of the pile." Michiru suggested.

Only taking a moment to think it over, Celty answered "OK, I'll leave you to it, give us a minute to clear out." Without wasting any time, the dulahan nodded to the officers and they rushed down and away from the rubble.

Moments later, pieces of wood, roof and the like exploded outward as a massive turtle shell appeared to poke out the top of the pile. Then the shell was gone again. When Celty rushed back up, Michiru was already climbing out, Himiko trailing behind, wrapped in the other girl's tail, which looked very much like a monkeys at the moment.

Offering a hand, which Michiru took, Celty asked "This girl didn't cause you any more trouble, did she?"

"Fuck off." Himiko snapped.

Michiru rolled her eyes as she waved the vampiric girl off and said "Nah, we came to an understanding. I had the advantage and let her know what would happen if she got a little too bitty."

Celty turned to look at the blonde and Michiru was sure if a dulahan could raise her eyebrow, she would be doing it now. With her team back together again and speaking over the sounds of disappointment from the captured CRC members, Celty began to give directions for how to process this mess. She hadn't gotten far, however when she was brought short by the feeling of the earth beneath them shaking.

In the distance, only partly visible from the few lights still on in the town down the hill was the silhouette of a massively large humanoid shape. At first, it was very hard to make it out but one who knew spoke up, namely Shu, who had recovered from his injuries earlier. "I can't believe it! It's him! After all these years, he came back! Why? Why this night of all nights?" he rambled on in fear.

Michiru knew instantly who the cultist leader was ranting about. Gigantomachia had appeared. However, it wasn't clear what exactly he was doing. The giant wasn't attacking, or even approaching them. He seemed to be going through the town, seemingly unbothered by anything.

Then, realization dawning on one of the other CRC members, the man blurted out "The farm! He's headed for the animal house!"

"You mean he's going to free them, don't you?" Celty asked.

An answer didn't come, just seething anger born of a lifetime of prejudice. Sakon could be heard saying in an annoyed tone "Sure, he gets to let them go. We did the hard work…"

Michiru had gone back to her owl eyes to watch more clearly what was going on. Before Gigantomachia could do anything though, the tanuki girl felt a sharp pain in her now long thin tail. Letting out a yelp, she instinctively loosened her grip, allowing Himiko to slip free.

With everyone's attention drawn to the sight of a giant freeing others like him, it had been the perfect chance to escape and the spilt second it took others to turn their attention to Michiru's cry was all Himiko needed to dart away.

Clutching her tail, Michiru looked at the appendage. As if reading her mind, the vampiric girl called back "Relax! I didn't break the skin! See ya next time and maybe you'll have your shit together!"

With that, Himiko was gone, lost to the darkness, leaving a seething tanuki girl behind and a confused and annoyed dulahan.

(X)

As much as Celty wanted to go after the escaped blonde, there was just too much to do. Once Gigantomachia had wandered away, a squad of officers was sent to round up the freed heteromorphs. Others remained to continue to process the CRC members and prep them for being detained once those units that were coming by car finally arrived.

Michiru had been sent to help take the wounded for treatment and it was here that she ran into Sakon, having received treatment and left to rest until it was time to leave, her injuries not life-threatening.

"Hey, idiot." The ant girl said, a tired smile on her face as Michiru came close after delivering someone else to the medics.

Michiru had been dreading seeing Sakon again, fully aware that her friend's current state was solely due to her own carelessness. The fact that the normally brash girl spoke her insult with no malice was a good sign to the tanuki girl though.

Walking over and getting down on her knees, Michiru bowed to the ground as she begged "Can you forgive me Sakon? I'm sorry, I didn't even know I could do that. I was so angry, I was careless. It won't happen again!"

Sakon chuckled, which again caused her to cough briefly and hold her side with two of her hands. Once she could talk again, she clenched a fist weakly and said "What are you talking about? You were a badass out there. Sure, you kinda lost it out there but they say quirk evolution can do that sometimes. Don't exactly have the best control the first time it happens, ya know?"

Michiru rose, sitting on her knees and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Heh, yeah, quirk evolution." Was her weak reply.

Then, with a suddenness Michiru didn't think was possible, Sakon grabbed what was left of her friend's top as she sat up, pulling the tanuki in close and growled "But if you ever pull something like that again, I will wreck you! You understand? Friends or no, that was dangerous, unheroic even. I…I don't want to see you like that again. Looked like you were in a lot of pain."

Michiru didn't resist. Sakon was right and if this was the worst the ant girl was going to do to her or say then Michiru knew she was getting off easy. When she felt Sakon's grip loosen, Michiru gently pulled back, unable to look her friend in the eye as she tried to explain "Yeah, I told you doing this undercover work was hard. Honestly surprised I lasted as long as I did. I just didn't think I would do, you know, that."

"I've lost my temper more than once out in the field. It's one of the reasons I'm even here. Could never hold down an internship after all." Sakon said, trying to make her friend feel better. Michiru smiled weakly at that before noticing the odd look on Sakon's face. The ant girl appeared to be glancing around, as if to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

That must have been the case because once she appeared satisfied, a more serious look settled on the ant girl's face. "So." She began, "What was all that talk about another world?"

Michiru's eyes widened, her face going blank. Tired and emotionally drained, the tanuki girl, not the world's best liar at the best of times, found herself utterly unable to summon a poker face before she nervously answered "What? No! Another world? Where'd you hear that? I have no idea what you're talking about! Heh, heh, heh."

Checking to see if her friend bought it, Michiru cringed at the pair of narrowed, suspicious eyes that glared back at her. "Come on Michiru, I ain't that stupid. What's really going on here?"

Her shoulders sagging, the tanuki girl gave up, herself glancing around to double check no one was listening. Sakon noticed, her excitement building as the other girl checked and triple checked, as though to draw out the wait for the tantalizing secret. Finally, Michiru leaned in and whispered, "You have to promise not to tell anyone, ok?"

When Sakon nodded, Michiru continued, "Ok then. It's true. I'm…I'm from another world. Emmy and Zel too."

"You're an alien!?" Sakon instantly blurted out, her voice above a whisper but not exactly shouting either. Michiru instantly covered the ant girl's mouth as the two froze.

Once it became clear no one had taken notice of their conversation, Michiru removed her hand and whispered back "I guess? Kinda? Look, some asshole used some weird, fused quirk to bring us here. We all come from different worlds too, so it's been different for each of us. That's actually part of the reason we're out here. We were looking for leads to the group that brought us here. I'm sorry I've had to lie to you this whole time."

Sakon was, at first, at a complete loss for words. The idea was almost too big to wrap her head around. Already worn out and injured, the brash ant girl decided to leave the thinking to later and instead simply said "Huh. Cool."

Michiru raised a confused eyebrow. "Wait, 'cool', that's all you have to say?"

Laying back down and letting out an exhausted sigh, Sakon answered "Well yeah. You got to admit it sounds pretty damn cool. I always thought you were a little different. Now I know why. Not really much else for it. You're still the same person. Still my friend. Thanks for telling me, by the way."

"You're…wow. I don't know what to say. Sakon, thank you." Michiru managed, a bewildered look on her face.

Suddenly looking very tired, Sakon chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it. Got any other world-shattering secrets you want to share?"

"Honestly, I've got a bunch but I don't think their mine to tell so you'll just have to settle for one world shattering revelation for today." came Michiru's cheeky response.

"Fair enough." Sakon answered with a grin. "Now leave me alone little miss badass, I'm going to take a nap."

Briefly taking one of Sakon's hands in her own and squeezing it, Michiru stood up while saying "Yeah. Sure. Rest up Sakon, I'm sure we'll be home before long."

Sakon offered a weak wave before letting her arm plop back to the ground before closing her eyes. Turning to walk away, Michiru looked back at the other girl and whispered "Your pretty badass yourself. Rest well my friend."

(X)

Misa's life hadn't been perfect. Life in a farming town is often hard, a lot of times boring with fairly few changes. There had been joys and sorrows the same as anyone else. She was never great at school. Finding out her quirk wasn't terribly useful for farming hurt and finding someone she loved in such a small town hadn't been easy.

And the animals. It was always having to deal with the wildlife that was the worst. Sure, Misa knew it was their place to make sure the sad creatures were kept in their natural state but it didn't mean she had to like being around them at all. That's why it was always so great to meet someone new. To have a friend to share things with and make the day that much better. A friend like Nazuna.

"Nazuna?" the innkeeper spoke groggily.

Everything hurt as Misa's eyes slowly opened. She could tell she was laying on a sheet or cot on uneven ground and that it was dark outside. Some lamps or torches were lit nearby to give some light so the middle-aged woman was able to see the figure sitting beside her.

"Nazuna! You're ok! I…I had the worst nightmare ever. We were in the holy room and we were attacked. You, you turned into some horrible monster! I thought we were all going to die! But you're here now. I just got too excited and passed out, didn't I? You're apart of the clan now, aren't you?"

To her left, seated with her legs laying out was the human Misa knew as Nazuna. In her confused state, the innkeeper hadn't noticed the sad look on the face of the girl beside her. Nazuna seemed to be looking at her as she would one of her sons when they didn't know they had been caught doing something bad and was about to be scolded. Then Misa noticed the needle and tube running from Nazuna's arm, up to a bag on a pole and then to her own.

Worry creeping into her voice, Misa spoke again "Nazuna? What, what's going on? Why aren't you saying anything?"

It was hard to see in the low light but there was a twitch on the younger girl's face that almost looked like she was holding back a smile. A pit began to form in the innkeeper's stomach. Then Nazuna spoke, her voice slow and deliberate. "I told you, my name is Michiru."

Misa's eyes widened and she tried to sit up but found that not only was it painful to move but that she was actually strapped in place. "What's going on?!" she insisted.

With a brief array of sparks, Michiru changed, fur covering her body, a short puffy tail poking out from behind, ears on her head and an short muzzle. She was a tanuki girl, to Misa's utter horror. Fighting to keep off a smirk, Michiru answered her so called friend with faux innocence "Why what does it look like? I volunteered to give you a blood transfusion! You lost a lot of blood back in the mansion after all and since I'm a universal donor, I wanted to do what I could."

Misa struggled again to try and sit up, making whimpering sounds as she wiggled in place. When that didn't work she lifted her head and feebly tried to reach for the needle in her arm with her teeth, coming nowhere close. When she wore herself out in her attempts, her head fell back down with a thump. With her face twisting into a hateful sneer, Misa bit out "Get your filthy blood out of me! I'd rather cut my arm off then have myself defiled by an animal's blood in my veins!"

Slowly, surely, a wide grin spread across Michiru's face. She let the expression hold to make sure Misa saw it and when she did, it drew the restrained innkeeper up short. Michiru slid closer and leaned in so that her face was right on top of the horrible woman. Michiru spoke then, her voice low and threatening "Oh I've done much more then just give you 'animal's blood' Misa. You see, my blood is special. If someone gets a transfusion of my blood, they become. Just. Like. Me."

Michiru could watch the blood drain from Misa's face and her jaw go slack as the truth of the tanuki girl's words sank in. The innkeeper was speechless. Really, what was there to say. All Misa wanted to do in that moment was die.

Michiru leaned back, a satisfied smirk on her face as she said "I can't tell you what animal you're going to be. If I'm lucky you'll be a slime or something. I can tell you it'll be a little while before it happens but it will be quick. Then you'll have plenty of time in prison to figure out how to look human again. Oh, and you're going to lose your current quirk, I'm pretty sure."

At that moment, a medic came over and said "Animalia, that should be enough, you're free to pull the needle out. Thank you for your help."

Michiru did as she was told and handed the needle to the EMT when she stood up. "Glad to help!" Michiru said happily before turning to Misa and added "I hope you feel better Misa. I'm sorry it turned out this way and I hope you reflect on your views in jail."

Misa said nothing, instead looking down at her own body and suddenly feeling like it wasn't her own. Like she had been trapped in a skin that she could never escape. Like she was the lowest, most disgusting thing in the world. It was the loneliest she had ever felt in her life.

(X)

And thus ends Michiru's mission. Our favorite tanuki girl is getting closer to admitting what it is that's eating at her but she's not there yet. At least she has unlocked the next step in her powers. If her abilities were versatile before, that's just been taken up to 11. Regarding that last scene, I went back and forth deciding just how mean spirited Michiru would be. I decided she would mostly let the act speak for itself. Part of me also wanted her to do it to others but she's only got so much blood she can hand out after all. Besides, doing that would also raise some serious red flags with the authorities.

We'll spend a little time here in the town next cleaning up loose ends but will otherwise catch up with the others before reuniting. I hope you look forward to it!

As for me, my yearly big event has come and gone and though it was a success, it took a lot out of me. Between time spent on the vent and recovery, I didn't have much time to devote to writing this month so once again I have to apologize for another short chapter. I foresee having more time again so expect some more meat on the bones as it were going forward.

As for reviews this month, much to my surprise, there were none. I've noted some technical difficulties with and I am telling myself that is possibly a reason why there was nothing to say this go around. Hopefully everything is fixed and hopefully this chapter was more worthy of comment than the last. If not, I will strive for the next one to be better still that you may find cause to review. Either way, I am glad you are here to continue to share this ride with me. Take care, thank you and I'll see you next month!