"What are you guys doing here?" Deku asked, descending from the attic room where he had been staying.
"Your friends are here," Krista replied, her voice warm but edged with concern.
"Deku, you're okay!" Shoto said, moving forward to embrace him, relief evident on his face.
"You ran off without us," Bakugo added, crossing his arms, his expression a mix of frustration and worry.
Deku turned back to Krista, nodding toward his friends. "This is her cousin Shoto and her friend Bakugo."
Shoto looked at him, his expression serious. "Why did you run off like that?"
"I… don't remember…" Deku mumbled, glancing down.
"We picked him up," Rachel said, stepping in. "I couldn't just leave a kid out there halfway through his transformation into a Hanyou. I'm Rachel, and this is Krista, also known as Kraehe."
Shoto's eyes narrowed. "Deku, is this about that syringe that girl gave you?"
"You didn't inject it, did you?" Bakugo demanded sharply. "Deku, that's the—"
"Stupidest thing you could have done!" Krista interjected, her tone fierce. "She put a controlling agent in it! She can take control of you whenever she wants!"
Not wasting a second, Krista pushed past them all and headed straight for her car. Deku hurried after her, panic rising within him.
"Where are you going?" he asked, catching up.
"I'm going after Sadako. I need to get that remote from her," Krista said, her determination unwavering. "She'll kill everyone you care about, and then she'll kill you."
"You can't do this alone," Deku insisted.
"I don't need anyone else," Krista replied, her voice softening for a moment. "She'll just try to use them against me. No one else needs to get hurt because of her. She's already altered your DNA—she's done enough damage."
Krista sighed and reached out, placing a hand on Deku's shoulder, but he stepped back, his face set with determination.
"I'm not going to let you do this alone," he said firmly. "You could get hurt. I'm coming, and so are Shoto and Bakugo. You're not doing this by yourself!"
Without waiting for her response, Deku turned and went to gather Shoto, Bakugo, and Rachel.
Meanwhile, Krista jumped into her car and drove off, her resolve steeling as she prepared to face Sadako, even as Deku and his friends prepared to follow her.