Second Chance Ranch

by Thiefoflight68

Katsuki Bakugou ended up in prison after a gang shootout. Three years later he applies for a post prison program. The job he thinks he's getting and the one fate finds for him are completely different. A chance meeting with a cute freckled face man brings him to the Midoriya Family Ranch, also known as Second Chance Ranch by the prior prisoners that have made a made a home there.

15. Old McDonald

Sitting at the picnic table outside the office, Hound Dog relaxed while eating an early lunch. The day was cold, but the sun had broken through the clouds, at least enough to eat his sandwich outside.

The sound of loud motors drew his attention as three black vehicles chugged slowly down the main drag. They looked like race cars, all of them souped up with huge engines. Hound Dog set his sandwich down and wiped his hands watching as they headed deeper into town.

They had to be lost.

There wasn't much out in the direction they were headed except for the National Forest and the few ranches off the side road. They pulled into the gas station before the light and stopped at the pump.

Picking his sandwich up he chuckled,yep, they were lost. A cloud blocked the sun, and the cool air made him shiver. Wrapping up his lunch he decided to finish it at his desk.

Shouto managed to find a spot on the road right outside the annex building. He appreciated this small government division that they'd built a few years ago. Since the main courthouse was in the city, several hours away, this had been a welcome addition to the local towns.

Walking into the waiting area there were a few people that looked up at him curiously. Yanking a number from the ticket machine, he filled out the request form and sat down. Comparing his number with the one on the display, they weren't too far behind. Sitting, he pulled his hat low over his face, he was in no mood for chit chat.

"Shouto?"

Tipping his hat up, his sister waved from behind the counter. She opened her window and motioned to him. Standing, he ignored the glares of everyone looking at their numbers openly as he approached her station.

"What are you doing here?" He scowled.Crap,he did not need her in his business, not today.

"Well, I could ask you the same question," she frowned at him.

"You first," Shouto whispered, leaning across the counter to get closer. "And be quiet."

Rolling her eyes, she lowered her voice, "I needed a break from the kids and some spending cash, so they gave me my old job back, just part time. Dad's watching the boys. I thought he told you?"

"No, I don't think he did," Shouto tried to remember, but he'd been feeling so chaotic lately he was having trouble keeping up. "When did you start?"

"This is only my second day."

"Fuyumi?" A woman with indigo and white hair set down some ink pads and stamps at her station. Her blue eyes moved from his sister to him and turned deathly cold. "Oh, hello Shouto."

"Hey… Hanako," his stomach dropped, he'd forgotten she worked here too.What the fuck was wrong with his brain these days?

"How are you?" She didn't sound like she really cared.

"Fine."

Glancing at his number she cocked a brow and tsk'd at him. "You'll need to wait your turn." She pointed back to the waiting room

"Oh, I was just-" He stopped seeing the expression on her face, she wanted no explanation. "Okay, I'll wait."

"Hold on," Fuyumi gave Hanako a withering look. "He's my brother, come on, let me help him. I've seen you give Mirio special treatment before."

Her face grew harder, but she finally nodded. "Okay, what do you need?" Hanako crossed her arms not budging from where she stood.

"Look I'm not sure what your stepbrother told you-"

"Brother," Hanako snapped sharply, leaning forward and narrowing her eyes. "Only that he dumped you. Now what do youneed?"

"I need…," realizing what he was about to say, Shouto smiled tightly and shook his head. "Never mind, I'll come back later."

Ripping the number from his hand, Hanako glared at him. "You need help? This is your one chance or don't bother coming back." She held up three fingers ticking them down one by one. "Going once, going twice…"

"I need the paperwork for this case." He rushed out, handing the completed form over to his sister. He winced as she began to read it through.

Turning to her computer, she spent a few seconds typing. "It's here, I can pull it for you."

"No," Hanako looked at the computer log, "I was just in that filing cabinet. I know where it is, I'll get it for you."

Shouto groaned inwardly, he'd hoped to avoid her reading the foreclosure notice. She walked to a bank of steel cabinets and opened one of the large drawers, pushing through the mass of files. Pulling one out, she flipped it open and closed the drawer with her hip. Shouto clenched his jaw watching as she read the paperwork,this was getting ridiculous.She stopped and looked up at him, their eyes connecting. His stomach twisted so hard he almost gagged.

"Is this real?" She lifted the notice and walked back to the window.

"Yes, and it's mine to serve, please give it to me." Shouto just wanted to get the hell away from them.

"I thought a sheriff had to serve a foreclosure notice?"

"Foreclosure notice?" Fuyumi stood to read over her shoulder, "who are you-" she sucked in her breath, "Iz?" She gasped.

"Shhh, keep it down." Shouto reached out and snatched the paperwork from Hanako. "I'm deputized, just like yourbrotherand I can serve it." Spinning on his heel, he practically ran through the lobby and out the door. Once outside, he beelined for his truck.

The sound of the doors bursting open behind him and his sister's yelling made him run faster.

"Shouto!" Fuyumi ran down the sidewalk. "Get your butt back here and tell me what you think you're doing foreclosing on the Midoriya ranch!" The little shit didn't stop but raced to his truck. Climbing inside he started the engine and revving it loudly pulled into traffic.

"Hell was that?! You brat!" She screamed at the retreating truck.

"That jerk!" Hanako fumed, coming out behind her.

"I don't understand." Fuyumi watched his truck disappear down the next street. "The Midoriya's are our friends, I mean Izwashis fiancé… what the hell is going on?"

"I dunno but no wonder Iz and my brother dumped him," Hanako scoffed. "He's a prick."

"He'smybrother," Fuyumi gave her the stink eye.

"Guess you can't choose your relatives," she quipped and went back into the annex, several people were openly glaring at them both.

"Hang on," Fuyumi smiled at everyone and closed her window. Getting on her computer, she clicked on the document they'd given to him.

Hanako hung over her shoulder. "Can you print a copy of that notice?"

"I can," she hit print.

"I'll get it."

Chewing on her nail she waited until Hanako returned with the document. "What's it say?"

"Looks like they defaulted on a loan?"

"What loan?"

"I dunno, but according to this they owe your family a lot of money." Hanako laid the notice on the desk. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture.

"What are you doing?" Fuyumi snatched the notice off the desk. "You can't do that!" Hanako was already texting someone on her phone.

"I just want Mirio to see this, I wonder if he knows?"

"Mirio? Why would he know?" Hanako just shrugged and slipped her phone in her pocket. "Shit…" Fuyumi worried her nail some more. "I'll call my dad on my break."

A loud cough from someone sitting in the waiting area echoed across the lobby. Opening her window, she clicked on the next number.

"Hold that panel right there," Sero fit the last one into place before hitting the nail. Stepping back, he grinned and looked around. "Finally!"

"You didn't have much left," Mirio wiped his face on his shirt and sipped his water. "This extension is a good idea." He sat down on the newly poured concrete floor. "I might do it myself." Setting down his water bottle he noticed a heart drawn into the cement with S & K in the middle. Laughing, he traced the rough edges of the heart. "Was it a bad accident?"

Sero mopped his forehead with his bandana and stuffed it into his pocket. Mirio could see he was deciding on what to say, finally he shrugged. "From what Shin told us, it was dark, and Riot hit a tree that was on the ground."

"Was he…" Mirio stopped himself. No reason to pry if it was one of Shin's wild rides.

"Yeah… he was." Sero sighed. Luna started barking up by the main barn. "Iz and Katsuki must be back. Let's go introduce the new horse."

Coming out of the hay barn, Mirio could see two horses coming up from the south pasture.

"Good to see them," Sero sounded relieved.

"Was there a problem?" Mirio looked closer at the two, but everything looked normal.

"No," he shook his head. "Katsuki is still learning to ride so I'm just happy to see everyone's okay. I guess after last night I'm still a little on edge."

Walking up to the road, they waited for them to come up the last hill.

"Mirio?" Izuku waved at the two men. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to lend a hand and a horse."

"Horse?"

"He brought us Jack while Riot is healing." Sero pulled off his work gloves and shoved them into his back pocket.

Whistling softly, Izuku flashed Mirio a big smile, "Jack! Your boy? That's pretty special."

"I got a new colt, and he's broke now. I need to ride him every day and Jack's been giving me real dog eyes about it, so I thought a change of scenery would cheer him up."

"Well, we could use him." Stopping outside the barn, Izuku swung off Medusa and loosened the girth. "Sero, let's do that cold therapy on Bombshell. He was slow on the trail today. I'm guessing his arthritis is getting worse. I know Momo talked about doing some light treatment."

"Well, as much as he's been enjoying having a rider, I bet a couple of the longer trails might've been tough for him."

"How about you start using Jack instead?" Mirio thumbed towards his horse.

"No," Kacchan's face tightened as he took off Bombshell's girth. "I'm still having heart attacks riding the old guy here and we can skip the long trail rides if that's the case." Heaving the saddle off the horse's back he set it on the drying rack.

"But you would've missed that great sunrise this morning," Izuku called out.

"I've seen it now," he came out of the tack room with a bucket of brushes. "I'm good."

Walking down to the end stall, Mirio stepped inside and threw a halter on Jack. "C'mon Katsuki." He beamed as he led the horse out. "Look at my boy, I raised him myself." Patting his thick neck, he wiggled his brows. "Something else, isn't he? He could really use a new partner."

"Wow, he's gorgeous, Mirio." Izuku ran his hand over the dappled appaloosa's body. The horse had an undercoat that was solid white, but he was covered in small brown spots from the tip of ears to his rump. "I've never seen so many markings on a horse before." Rubbing his big head, Izuku looked over his shoulder. "What do you think of him, Kacchan?"

He was busy brushing Bombshell and gave a cursory look over his shoulder and did a double take, his brush stopping in mid-air. His face bloomed a bright red. "He's…" He sounded like he was about to choke. "He's gorgeous."

"Sounds like love at first sight," Sero snickered.

Setting down the brush, Kacchan walked over to where they all stood around Jack. As he approached, the horse's ears flicked forward, and he reached out his nose towards him.

"I think he likes you," Mirio smiled as Jack pushed his nose into his chest.

"You said his name is Jack?" Kacchan seemed mesmerized by the horse.

"Yeah, although sometimes we call him Freckles."

At the nickname, both Sero and Izuku burst out laughing.

"Now I know why you like him!" Izuku grinned mischievously. Leaning his face against the horse's neck, he pointed to his cheek. "Do we look the same?" Kacchan's blush raced to his hairline so fast, Izuku could almost imagine steam coming off the top of his head.

Sero was barely able to stand as he dissolved into laughter. "It might be confusing to call him Freckles though…" Sero wheezed. "We wouldn't know who… who you were talking about."

Mirio raised a brow at them both, Kacchan glowered and rubbed the horse's head. "Ignore them. Jack's a good name."

"Okay, just know that he's not as fast as Float but he'd keep up with SoySauce or Medusa."

"I…I don't think we need another fast horse." Izuku wiped his eyes, air hissing out from between his teeth.

"Well, fast or not, he's solid," Mirio added. "Never shies at anything and will go through whatever you throw at him on the trail."

"Sounds like our Bombshell," Sero had managed to stop laughing for the moment. "I think he'd be a good fit for Katsuki once Riot is back up and going again."

"Wanna try him out?" Mirio held up the rope.

"I…uh, I'm… not sure." He stammered.

A phone started chirping by Jack's stall. Patting his pockets Mirio handed the lead to him. "Here, hold your horse." He winked and ran to get his phone.

Izuku could see Kacchan wanted to try him out, it was written all over his face. Bumping him with his elbow, he winked. "I bet you're wondering what it'd be like to ride… Freckles," he whispered playfully and squeezed his ass.

Kacchan shot him with a stern look. "What's that supposed to mean?" But by the new level of red on his face, Izuku could tell he knew exactly what he meant.

"I betFreckles,"he emphasized, patting the horse, "is fun to ride."

"Fun?" Kacchan drawled out dryly. "I suppose, as long as he's not as stubborn and hard-headed as the usual Freckles."

Izuku smothered another laugh. "He might need-"

"Iz?" Mirio interrupted him as he came out of the stall.

"Y-Yeah?" He sputtered trying to stop laughing.

"Um." Mirio held up his phone. "I just got a text."

The sound of urgency in his voice caught Izuku off-guard. "What's up?"

"Shouto…" He choked out, a deep scowl forming on his face. "He's on his way here to serve you those foreclosure papers."

"Serve what?" Izuku turned to look at him.

"My sister, Hanako, works at the county annex and said Shouto just picked up some paperwork and is on his way here." He handed him the phone. "She sent me this photo."

"But… I have until next August." Izuku used his fingers to zoom in on the picture. "This… this says I have 90 days to leave!Withall livestock and personal belongings." Panic choked him as he continued to read.

"That fucking ass!" Sero slammed his fist into the wall of the barn. Jack pricked up his ears and stared at him warily.

"Prickhead just doesn't know when to stop, does he?" Kacchan looked around the barn. "Can you even move everything that fast?"

"No," Sero rubbed his forehead. "Shit, we need time to find a place for the livestock and the horses."

"Yeah, I guess you can't just move into an apartment with a hundred head of cattle."

"Look," Mirio shoved his hands into his pockets. "We have our lower section completely open, you can move them there until you find something more permanent."

"And when winter hits?" Sero snapped, he started pacing in the aisle flicking his fingers.

"Well," Mirio sighed looking outside across the pastures, "it won't be easy, but we have some old sheds we could use. The Tokoyami's have some room in their big barn. You could get a few horses in there."

"Thanks, Mirio," Izuku handed him his phone. He pressed his fingers against his temples trying not to completely come apart.What the hell was he going to do?

"I bet Snipe would let you use his barn, it's basically empty except for his two mules."

"Yeah, I suppose." Covering his face, Izuku was losing the battle to stay calm. "I hate him," he whispered fiercely. "I really hate him."

Sero stopped his pacing and spun around. "Did you say he's coming here?"

"Yep," Mirio held up his phone for Sero to see. "That's what my sister said."

Nodding in response, he stormed out of the barn.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Kacchan yelled at him.

"Don't worry, nowhere stupid," Sero barked over his shoulder and broke out into a run.

"Fucking doubt that," he grumbled taking Jack into his stall.

Izuku leaned on the wall for support, watching as Kacchan gave the horse some love. He was hanging the halter just as Sero returned, Winnie cradled in the crook of his elbow. "Sero!" Izuku just about fell over seeing the rifle.

"Not loaded," he shook a box of bullets. "Promise."

"Can I hold those?" Izuku held out his hand. "Please?"

"I think moving isn't such a bad idea," Kacchan snarled. "At this rate he'll drive us all back to fucking prison."

"I said, let me hold them," Izuku finally managed to yank the bullets out of his hand.

"I'm just kidding Bossman," Sero forced out a laugh. "She's all for show."

"Then why the bullets?" Izuku jammed them into his jacket pocket.

"Be careful, he's already pinned me for assault," Kacchan warned. "Even not loaded if you threaten him openly, he can charge you." He eyed the rifle. "As much as I'd like to teach him a fucking lesson, he holds all the power right now."

"He's right," Mirio held out his hand. "Why not let me hold the gun? That way if something goes wrong, it's on me." Sero's bottom lip protruded in a pout. Mirio tapped the gun. "Plus, I'm deputized, so technically allowed to carry a weapon."

"Fine!" Handing him the gun, he crossed his arms sulking.

"Thank you," Izuku sagged against Sero, hugging him. "One prison run was enough for me." There was a sharp crunch of tires in the courtyard as a vehicle stopped a few hundred meters from the barn, he could only guess it was Shouto. Izuku took a deep breath and eyed Kacchan. "Maybe you should wait here?"

"Me?!" He griped. "Sero walks in with a gun and I'm the one that has to stay in the barn? Fuck that." He crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm going out with everyone."

"Kacchan," Izuku laid a hand on his arm. "Please, I barely got you out, I don't need him to pull some new shit on you."

"Not fair," he mumbled.

"I know, but why not stand in the tack room? You can hear everything in there." Swearing about being left out, Kacchan stepped inside and half-closed the door.

"Thanks," Izuku let out a short-lived sigh of relief before walking out to the courtyard.

Coming down the ranch road for Iz's place, Shouto's stomach was churning hard. The coffee was making him sick, and he felt the burn of indigestion in his throat. As he came around the driveway, he reached under the seat to grab a bottle of water. Looking back up, he slammed on his brakes. Mirio's yellow truck and horse trailer were parked by the barn.

"Fuck!" He swore loudly and started to turn around before anyone noticed him. Just then, from the barn, Iz walked out, flanked by Sero and Mirio. "Double fuck," he growled, realizing he was stuck now. Pulling up further, he parked trying to think of any other excuse to be here, he'd have serve Iz another time without an audience, specifically Mirio. Although… he'd know soon enough from Hanako. Cursing his shitty luck, he chewed his cheek pondering his choices.

After so many years of quiet, steady progress, it felt like everything was coming apart at a pace that was unsettling.Andfor some fucking reason every unraveled thread seemed to end at Mirio. Staring through the windshield at the damn man, he couldn't help but appreciate the way he looked. Clad in his usual tight blue jeans and cowboy hat, he'd pulled on his sheepskin jacket today. Compared to the others, he looked… Shouto paused. He had something in his arms. Leaning forward he squinted trying to see better and caught the glint of sunlight off the barrel of a double shotgun.

Why the fuck did Mirio have a gun?

Then it hit him. They knew... they knew exactly why he was here. His damnhalf sisterhad already told him. The pit in his stomach opened wide, gnawing through any confidence he had left. Chewing the inside of his cheek viciously he tried to convince himself to open the door and do what he came here to do. If they already knew, there was no reason not to serve him at this point.

"I'll talk to him," Izuku whispered.

"Hold up there," Mirio laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Make him do all the work, don't make this easy on him."

"I knew I liked you," Sero chuckled low, eyeing the gun.

"He's such a chicken shit," Mirio snorted under his breath. "Look at him, he's trying to decide what to do." Finally, Shouto opened his door and jumped down.

"Isn't he here to serve me?"

"But I'm here."

"Oh," Izuku glanced at him. Mirio's tone was light, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes.

"Well, I guess I should be happy," he sighed. "Just a bit too late."

"Why's that?"

"If he's afraid to do it in front of me, that means he has some feelings for me. Somewhere in that dark heart."

"I'm sorry Mirio," Izuku whispered, thinking about his conversation with Shouto. He'd obviously guessed right, but it was clear that Mirio didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Slamming the truck door, Shouto started across the courtyard, keeping his gaze on the ground.

"Make him talk first," Mirio beamed his widest smile.

Copying him, Izuku tried to look happy, but he knew he was failing on too many levels.

"Hey Iz," Shouto finally looked up at the three men, his face a stony mask. "Sero," not looking at Mirio, he just mumbled his name under his breath.

"What was that?" Mirio mocked him. "I didn't quite hear you."

Shouto's eyes narrowed for a second but then he softened. "I said hello, Mirio," his voice louder.

"Well, hello back at ya," Mirio jeered. Izuku could see he really did enjoy making him squirm.

Stopping a few meters from them, Shouto glanced around the ranch hesitating, his gaze landing on the gun.

"Are you going hunting?"

"This?" Mirio flipped it expertly in his hands, catching it as it twirled in the air. "Nope, Sero was just showing off…uh, what's her name?"

"Winnie." Sero's tone was clipped, he wasn't playing around.

"Have you ever met her before?"

"I have." Shouto said simply not elaborating.

"Well, she is a beauty," Mirio ran his hand down the barrel.

"What's up Shouto?" Izuku was tired, his head was pounding, and he wanted him off his property. Well, his property for now.

"I, um," he tipped his hat back and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "I wanted to serve you this notice personally." He handed him the paper. Izuku took it and without even glancing at it, pushed it into his pocket.

"It's, uh-"

"I know what it is," he snapped brusquely. "Do you really think serving this yourself makes you seem more of a human?" Izuku glared at him. "You're fucking wrong. Shouto Todoroki, I hate you and will never forgive you." His bi-colored eyes widened, and the red flush deepened on his cheeks. Clenching his jaw, Izuku continued. "We'll be out in 90 days-"

"In the dead of winter," Sero snarled.

Izuku nodded in agreement. "That's right. This place will be yours. But remember this," he jammed his finger at him. "I choseto give you my family's ranch." Spitting on the ground he turned to walk into the tack room, and into Kacchan's arms.

"Good one Freckles," he whispered softly. "I couldn't have said it any better myself."

"Why is Shouto here?" Shinsou stood at the window and yawned, trying to wake up from his nap. "And why the hell is Mirio holding a gun?" He watched as Shouto turned to walk stiffly back to his truck. "Finally," he snorted triumphantly, "it looks like Mirio handed the assfuck his walking papers, and in style."

"Shin?" Kiri called out groggily.

"Yeah," he headed into the bedroom. Kiri's eyes were glazed over, and he was lying limply on the pillow.

"Thirsty." He lifted one hand and gave him a goofy smile.

"You're cute," Shinsou chuckled and went back into the kitchen to get some water.

A loud humming of car engines thrummed from behind the cabin. Turning, Shinsou looked out the window. "Someone else is here." As he spoke, three black cars slunk into the courtyard past his window. The first one had flames painted down the side and from the hood, three metal tubes emerged. They reminded him of the kind of cars you'd see in the movies. "Idiots," he grumbled," they're gonna scare the horses." Walking over to the window, he was curious who'd driven into the ranch. "Hella lot of visitors these days." He yelled out so Kiri could hear him, though he doubted he was listening.

Sero waved and walked across the courtyard to the circle of cars. He leaned over and knocked on one of the windows. Suddenly he jerked back putting his hands up as a man rolled down the window, pointing a gun at him.

Shinsou jumped back from the window. "Shit, shit, shit!" Stumbling over his legs, he ran for the bedroom and slammed the door shut staring at it. "Fuck!"

"Mmmm," Kiri mumbled behind him. "What's going on?"

"Shhh," Shinsou shushed him, then whispered loudly. "Kiri! Someone's pointing a gun at Sero!"

"What?"

Opening the door a crack, Shinsou saw several men getting out of the cars. They were shouting and waving guns at everyone. One of them shoved Sero, while another screamed at Shouto. Shinsou slammed the bedroom door closed and spun around to see Kiri pulling himself out of bed.

"Men… guns." He was trying to breathe past the panic crawling into his throat.

Standing unsteadily, Kiri walked to the door and opened it for a few seconds, then calmly closed it. "How many are there?"

Shin blinked at the change. His voice had lost its slur, and he looked focused. "I.. I don't-"

Kiri grabbed his arm, "I need to know. Think Shin. How many people did you see?"

"Four… maybe six? I - I think I saw six come out of the cars." His heart raced as he tried to remember.Why hadn't he thought to count?

"Okay, most likely there were more, but that's good to know."

Another voice was yelling but he couldn't make out the words.

"Kiri!" Shin clutched his hand. "What the hell is going on?"

Sliding open his closet, Kiri knelt and started digging into the back. Standing, he held two rifles in his hands.

"Fuck are those!?" Shinsou's heart blew out of his chest.

"My guns." He bent down and pulled out a box, opening it he cussed. "Shit, where are all my bullets?"

"Since when have you ever had a gun?" Shinsou was shaking now.Bullets… bullets killed.He sank slowly onto the bed, he could hear more yelling. "Kiri." he squeaked, his mind starting to spin out of control. "Please…"

Sitting down on the bed next to him, Kiri set down the guns and pulled him into his arms, even with his warmth Shinsou couldn't stop shaking. "Hey… hey, it's okay." He kissed his cheek. "This is just for defense."

"No," he mewled, "no it's not. You… you're gonna do something stupid and get shot." He flung his arms over his head. "Please…"

"Hey, shhhh," he cooed, trying to pull his arms off his head. "When do I ever do anything stupid?"

"Um," Shinsou had to think. "Never."

"Right and I'm not going to start now. My guess is we have about thirty seconds before those thugs come searching through these cabins." Standing he hauled him to his feet, staggering, but he caught himself.

"The medicine?" Shinsou whispered.

"I'll be fine." He pointed to the window over the bed. "Get that open while I find the bullets."

Shinsou stared at the window and then the guns on the bed.

"Hey," Kiri shook him gently, "I need you."

Shinsou nodded slowly, repeating the words. "You need me."

"I do. Okay? I need you to get that window open and take out the screen."

"I can do that," Shinsou focused on the task as he climbed up on the bed. Taking off the screen he slid the window open and peered out carefully.

"Anyone out there?"

"No," Shinsou felt his thick flannel land on his back.

"Put that on. Where's your phone?"

"In my pocket."

"Good, I got mine too," Kiri grabbed his phone and pulled on his coat. "Throw the screen outside so no one sees it, then jump out and I'll hand you the guns."

"Okay." Tossing the screen down to the ground he swung one leg over the sill and leapt down. It was only a few meters, and he landed softly.

Turning back around he took the guns that Kiri eased down. Leaning them on the wall he stretched up to help him. "Hold on," Shinsou whispered, trying to help him. "I don't want you to get hurt." Kiri shimmied out of the window and carefully landed, losing his balance at the last minute but Shinsou caught him. "Are you okay?"

"Good enough," Kiri glanced up at the window. "Can you reach up and close it?"

"I think so," stretching up on his toes, Shinsou managed to catch the lip and slide it closed.

"Alright," Kiri picked up the guns and started around the back of the cabin. "Follow me."

Mirio froze as men poured out of the cars, at least eight, all armed to the teeth. One shoved Sero face down to the ground while two more pointed guns at both he and Shouto, screaming for them to get down. Lowering down to his knees, he saw Shouto do the same.

"Check it all out, men!" A man with a mask tied over his face emerged from the last car covered in flames. He leaned on the hood and smiled. "Find my little escape artist!" He roared. "Find him!"

Him?

Shouto glanced in his direction before quickly turning back. Mirio wondered if he knew who they were after.

The men scattered in different directions around the ranch leaving them alone. Taking the opportunity, Mirio set down the rifle and maneuvered himself in front of the gun.

One man spotted him moving and spun around waving his pistol. "Hands behind your head!" He yelled at him.

Holding his hands up higher, Mirio hooked them behind his head. Seemingly satisfied, the man turned back to peer into the shed by the barn.

No one was watching.

Very slowly he brought his leg forward and catching the butt of the gun with his boot, he kicked back hard. He could hear the gun slide across the hard packed dirt and hit something wooden. He hoped it had made it inside the barn, but he didn't dare look.

The men that were searching the sheds headed into the cabins next and emerged shaking their heads at the masked leader. He snorted in disbelief and, looking at the cabin behind him, he pointed towards Shouto and himself. "Put them in there."

"You!" A larger man with a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes pointed his gun at Mirio. "Get up, get over here." He walked over to Shouto and hauled him to his feet.

Bending over as he stood, Mirio hid his face and whispered as loudly as he dared. "Gun in barn, don't come out." He straightened and put his hands up in the air, walking slowly towards Shouto.

"C'mon," Baseball Cap grabbed Mirio by the elbow and shoved him forward.

Walking past the circle of cars Mirio locked eyes with the man that appeared to be in charge. He had on a thick mask that covered the upper part of his face, his eyes looked like dark sockets that peered out of jagged holes. He sneered at him and made a cutting motion across his neck. Then he laughed, a low cackling sound that crawled up his spine.

Watching Kiri load both rifles, Shinsou squatted next to him. "Just defense?" He whispered accusingly. He didn't like the way he was leaning on the shed for support.

"We've called Hound Dog and he's comin' with others. We just need to stay outta sight and we only use these if something happens."

"Well of course something's gonna happen!" He huffed back too loudly. Kiri gave him a quick warning glance and Shinsou lowered his voice. "They all have guns." Kiri shrugged and continued to fiddle with the gun, his movements were awkward.

"What's wrong?" But Shinsou knew. His eyes were starting to glaze over again.

"Fuck," Kiri gulped in air and blinked several times.

"Here," Shinsou pulled the gun from his hand gently and opened the chamber for him. As Kiri went to slide the bullet inside, Shinsou wrapped his hand around his, gripping it tightly. "I'll only help if you understand one thing."

"What's that?"

"Don't you dare risk your life for Shouto." Shinsou clenched his jaw and tried to tamp down the fear. "I'm not losing you over him." He took the bullet from his hand and slid it into the rifle.

"You mean that Shin?"

Handing him the gun, Shinsou shook his head, his voice small. "No…. but… if you die, and he lives. I'm really gonna hate him more."

Kiri ruffled his hair tenderly. "I guess that's fair. But how about we work on no one getting killed at all?" Peering around the shed, he pointed back to their place.

"What?" Shinsou tried to see around him.

"Speaking of Shouto, they just took him and Mirio into our cabin."

"Get inside," Baseball Cap opened the door. "Stand facing the wall."

Doing as he was told, Mirio faced the wood paneling as Shouto stood next to him, he cocked his head slightly to see him. "You okay?" Mirio mouthed quietly.

"Shut up!" Baseball Cap snapped, knocking their hats off their heads. From behind him, Mirio could hear him dragging two chairs across the floor and slamming them together.

"Hands up, sit the fuck down."

Holding their arms in the air they both sat as he pulled ropes from his pockets. Working quickly, he wound the ropes around their ankles and chair legs. "Hands behind your backs." With the last two ropes, he wrapped their torsos and wrists locking them together. The rope bit through Mirio's clothes and skin as he pulled it tightly. Checking his knots in several places, the man grunted with satisfaction and headed back out the door.

As soon as Baseball Cap was gone, Shouto began to fight the ropes. "Fuck this is tight." His fingers were already going numb

"It is but that could help us."

Turning as far as possible, he could only see Mirio's blonde hair sticking out. "How is that helpful?" Shouto could feel the panic already rising. "We need to get out of here before they kill us."

Laughing, Mirio tipped his head back until he bumped him. "It hasn't been that long has it? What do I always have in my boot?" He paused for a moment before adding, "Sir."

Shouto let out a strangled sound that caught in his throat.

Sir.

The name was stupid. He'd hated it from the beginning. Mirio had called him that in jest because of his cruel nicknames. His throat pinched hard as guilt welled up uncontrollably. Struggling, his fingers brushed against Mirio by accident. A sense of doom hammered into him. "I'm… I'm sorry."

Sighing, Mirio bumped him again. "You can be sorry after we get out."

"Right," Shouto focused on escaping. "Do you have your knife in your boot?"Later… later he could tell him.

"I do," he began moving, the chairs rocking under his weight. "Damn."

"Can you get it?"

"No, shit! The rope is right above the hilt and… I… can't" his voice strained as he shook some more. "Nope, no good." He cursed again and turned his head, "can you move anything besides your fingers?"

"Nothing, my head and fingers and that's it," Shouto moved his body. "I guess I can sort of move my hips."

"Okay, me too."

Whatever Mirio was doing was making his chair wobble. "Somethings happening." He looked down as the legs scraped over the wooden floor.

"I think we might be able to move if we try standing together." Mirio started shifting back and forth.

Shouto tried moving his hips at the same time, and suddenly the legs of the chairs rose an inch. Hope soared. "I - I think this could work." Looking around there wasn't much in the cabin. "Where to?"

"In the kitchen, I think we could find something in a drawer."

"We'll have to get around the table." Shouto couldn't see behind him, but he remembered the layout of the small area.

"I'll lead, you go backwards, we should be able to fit through the space."

"Right. You start then."

"On the count of three, let's try standing. One, two, three…" Shouto planted his feet and surged upwards, he could hear Mirio grunt as he did the same, the chairs went upwards about another inch. "I'm going… to try… to move forward." The chair tilted sideways but didn't move any farther.

No matter how hard he tried, Shouto couldn't get his feet to move. "Fuck! I have no leverage with my legs bent at this angle, the fucker tied my feet on the outside of the chair legs." Inspecting the bindings, he could see there was no give. They let the chair legs rest back onto the floor.

"I think they've done this shit before." Mirio panted from their effort. "Now what?"

"Back to my being sorry?" Shouto slumped down into the chair. Wiggling his fingers as far as they would go, he was able to touch him. He smiled wistfully. "There you are," he brushed his skin. "Mirio… I really want to say that I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

Shouto wished he could see him. He couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or serious. "I am, I should've never gotten mixed up…"

"With the likes of me?"

"NO!" He turned his head trying to see him, whipping around both ways. Mirio was staring straight ahead though, he couldn't even see his cheek. "I… I know I said that, and that was crappy of me. But that was in the beginning… and… now."

"You're right, it was crappy of you." His tone was terse. "Now that you're about to die, you want to confess your love for me?"

Looking out the window, Shouto could see a man wearing a large camouflage jacket pull a gasoline can from the trunk of one of the cars.

They were going to die.

A thousand thoughts ran through his mind at once, all distilling down to one that stalled on his tongue.

Say it.

Taking a breath, he closed his eyes and… there was a thudding noise from the bedroom. Shouto jerked his head up. "What was that?" He could hear more noise. "Mirio, can you see?"

"I can." He laughed in relief.

"What is it?" Shouto tried to look behind them into the bedroom.

"I see our rescuer peeking through the door and he has purple eyes."

The man's foot on his back was crushing him into the ground but thankfully his jacket was thick enough to keep the gravel from digging into his skin. Twisting, Sero tried to see how many of them had surrounded the place. Based on the number of feet and voices, he had to guess at least six. Whoever these men were, they were going to be fucking angry when they found out they had no money… or whatever it was they were after. A pair of black army boots approached him, and the person bent down so that he could see his face. He had a homemade mask tied over the top-half of his face, the bottom-half was uncovered, and his skin was covered in pock-marked scars.

"Hey," he grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged Sero to his feet. "Tell me," he peered at him closely. "How is it that there are four trucks, four cabins and a house, yet we only found three men?"

Sero gritted his teeth as the asshole squeezed his hair so tight his scalp burned.

"Where the fuck is everyone else?" He waved the gun in his face, his eyes burning deep in the sockets of his mask.

"Fuck," Sero wanted to punch the guy in the face, but there was no way. He'd run every scenario through his head, and he was pretty sure all of them ended with someone dead, which was probably himself. He'd said they'd only found three men, which included Shouto and Mirio, meaning… they hadn't found the others.

Stay close to the truth.

"Two of our workers were in an accident, Shinsou and Kirishima." He'd learned from the best liar in the world that the closer a lie is to reality, the easier it is to believe and remember. "Kirishima had to stay in the hospital due to a concussion and Shinsou decided to stay with him." Since neither of them had been found in the earlier sweep of the cabins, Sero hoped that they were busy calling Hound Dog.

"How about him?" He flipped open a folder. Sero recognized Katsuki, it was his parolee case file with his police photo.

So, that's who they're after.

"Katsuki?"

"Yeah, Bakugou is his family name. Got out about three months ago."

They knew he was here, no reason to lie. "He did dawn patrol today with the ranch owner, so they aren't back yet."

"Dawn patrol? What the fuck is that?"

"The ranch has a watering hole, that's where we run our cattle. We ride out every day to check on the herds."Keep it simple.

The man's eyes flickered with disbelief. "This guy?" He pointed to Katsuki's picture. "He's riding a horse?" He cackled loudly and bowed his legs like he was in a saddle. Bouncing up and down he yanked on Sero's head like he was the horse. "Get along little Bakugou!" The other men snickered. Suddenly he straightened, all laughter gone. "I think you're lying."

He pressed his gun against his face. The hard metal dug into Sero's cheek and clicked the hammer into place.

"Uh," Sero stammered, trying to think fast. "You… can come up to the barn and look for yourself." He doubted this guy would understand anything he saw, he reeked of the city as much as Katsuki on his first day, but if Iz and he were still in the barn… at least there was a chance. "So, um, how do you know our new ranch hand?" Those dark eyes squinted at him.

"None of your fucking business… but we did bring a friend of his with us." Letting go of Sero's hair, he snapped his fingers. Two men bolted over and opened the trunk of the flame covered car. Wrangling a large duffel bag, they dumped it onto the ground. A muffled groan came from inside.

"A friend?" Sero stared at the duffel bag.Who was in there?

"He was real helpful in getting us reunited with Bakugou." He snapped his fingers again. In response the men heaved the bottom of the bag in the air and a body fell unceremoniously onto the ground. Squatting, the thinner of the two men flipped the poor sucker on his back and pulled the bag off his head. Pulling down the blindfold, he left the gag in his mouth.

Sero gasped. It was Aizawa, at least from what he could tell. His eyes were swollen shut and blood was smeared across his bruised face from an obvious broken nose.

"You know him?"

"Yeah," he whispered hoarsely. "His parole officer."

"I brought him along to kill with the rest of you. Figured I'd use him to get my blonde rat." He laughed and lined the gun up to Sero's forehead. "But now I have so many other options." He spun him around and shoved him forwards. "Show me this barn of yours, McDonald."

Stumbling forward, he caught himself before he fell. The man said he was going to kill all of them. Sero's mind was spinning, if he could delay him, that would give Kiri and Shin more time to get help. "McDonald?"

"You know… Old McDonald had a farm." He tipped his head. "Are you a farmer?"

"What?"

"Are you some kinda farmer?"

Sero looked at him in disbelief,was he for fucking real?"No… this is a ranch."

"What's the difference?"

"We raise cattle not crops."

The man studied him closely then nodded. "Alright then," tilting his head back, he started to sing loudly and completely off key. "Old McDonald had a ranch," he winked at Sero. "EEE III EEE III OOO," his screeching echoed over the entire area. Sero was sure Snipe could probably hear him. "And on this ranch, there was a man," he held up the picture of Katsuki. "EEE III EEE III OOO… with a bang, bang here and a bang, bang there…" his voice trailed off as he chortled.

"Stain!" The thin man that had dumped Aizawa out of the bag yelled at him. He stopped, grabbing Sero's jacket to yank him backwards.

"Yeah?" He looked over his shoulder.

"You want me to start with this one?" He pulled a can of gasoline out of the trunk and pointed to Kiri and Shin's cabin. Sero's heart slammed into his throat.

"Yeah, go ahead and start there."

"Fire?" Sero choked out.

"Good way to deal with the living," Stain winked.

"B-but the horses and livestock." He reeled thinking of SoySauce trapped in her stall in a blazing barn. "They'll all die stuck in their stalls and pens."

"Well, prove to me you're not lying, 'cause I'm guessing that blondie is around here somewhere. Then maybe I'll let those horses out and just kill your friends, since you don't seem to care so much about them." Cackling, he gripped Sero's arm tight as he walked to the barn singing at the top of his lungs. "EEEIIIEEEIIIOOOOOO."

"Kacchan!" Izuku whispered hoarsely.

They'd heard the cars come into the courtyard, and then Mirio's warning had them burying themselves under the pile of blankets and leather equipment in the back of the office. After it had quieted, they'd crept to the barn entrance to try to see out into the courtyard.

From where he was standing, Izuku couldn't see anything except Mirio's truck and trailer.

It was when someone started howling an off-key nursery rhyme that Kacchan's face went deathly pale, he grabbed his hand and started running for the other end of the barn.

"Wait," Izuku jerked out of his grasp and snuck back to the opening.

He came up behind him gripping his arms tightly. "It's him… it's Stain," Kacchan rasped, his mouth was right against his ear, and he was breathing so hard it sounded like he'd run a marathon. "We have to get out, now!"

"Okay," Izuku held up his hand to quiet him as he tried to pinpoint where the howling sound was coming from. "First, let me look."

"No," he tried to pull him away.

"Stop," Izuku turned to clasp his face. His red eyes were wide with panic. "Kacchan, we need to see where our friends are."

"Fuck." He gulped, his throat bobbing wildly. "Okay."

Izuku edged closer to the barn opening when his boot hit something hard. Looking down he saw Winne wedged into the crack of the door and the barn wall. Peeking around the corner, he could see into the courtyard.

"Do you see him? A mask… on his face." The fear was so thick, his voice was almost unrecognizable.

"I do," Izuku counted at least six men. He guessed Stain was the one singing, his head was thrown back and he was laughing loudly. There were three huge black cars parked in a circle in front of Kiri and Shin's cabin. He spotted one man standing over a body on the ground and at least three others watching him. Trying to see better he couldn't tell who was at his feet. Most likely Shouto or Mirio considering both were missing. Stain shoved Sero towards the barn and Izuku jerked back. "He's coming this way."

Kacchan gripped his shoulders. "Let's go, now!" He hissed desperately.

"Okay," bending down he jerked Winnie free.

"What? No… Freckles." He shook him hard. "No guns… I can't fucking lose you too!"

"We need to go, don't worry about the gun. Do you have your phone?" His words seemed to pierce his fear. He let go and began patting his pockets.

"Saddle bag!" He whirled around looking at the office.

"Too late." Izuku saw his own phone sitting by the tack box. Running over, he picked it up. "We'll get down to the goat pens and call… oh, shit." He stopped at the sound of their footsteps just outside the barn. Lunging sideways, Izuku opened SoySauce's stall and flung himself inside. Turning to look for Kacchan, he saw him slip out of the far end of the barn."Shit," Izuku closed the door softly. Holding his breath, he listened to the echo of Stain's voice as he walked into the barn.

Squeezing Winnie tightly, Izuku pulled out the box of bullets he'd taken from Sero and dumped them loose into his pocket. "Fuck," he groaned as he leaned back against the wall.

Now they were split up.

Strutting up to the barn, Stain made a face at Sero and waved his hand in front of his nose. "Phewww! This place reeks!" Stopping just inside, he signaled to the two men that had followed them, pointing to the open doors of the office and tack room. "Anyone here?" He called out playfully.

Running by them the men searched the area with their guns drawn. "Nothing." They shook their heads.

"Where could he be hiding? He dragged him to the front stall where Float was munching on her hay. She lifted her head and stared at them both. "How many horses do you have here?"

"There's usually five but we have a few older ones that no one's riding right now."

"So, if Katsuki and the owner are out. Why does this place got five horses?" He gave him a sarcastic smile. "Bet you thought I was too stupid to count."

"It's becau-"

He tapped him on the mouth with the gun to silence him. "Don't answer that." He held his finger to his lips, then hauling him down the aisle, Stain glanced inside both Medusa and Riot's stalls. "I know Katsuki's here," he sniffed the air like a dog on a scent. "I can smell when there's a rat lurking."

Down at the end SoySauce began kicking at her door. She was bobbing her head and dancing back and forth.

"What's with that one?" He grunted suspiciously.

Seeing his girl trying to get his attention, Sero tried not to think of SoySauce trapped in a burning barn. "That's my horse, she wants me to come say hello."

Stain snorted. "Like they know," he quipped. Stopping in the center of the barn aisle, he spun in a slow circle and walked to only the empty stall, he leaned over the door with his gun. Reaching over he knocked on the wood loudly. "Hello?" He motioned for the men to keep going down the aisle.

SoySauce squealed and stamped her hoof, whinnying at Sero.

"Shut her up, I need to listen for that little rat."

"Can I go to her stall?" Sero was still wary of the gun.

"Nothing stupid," he leveled it at him.

Walking over to her, Sero fished out a treat from his pocket. As she chewed happily, he petted her nose before pushing her back into her stall.

"Are they like dogs?"

Biting his tongue, Sero tried not to snap at the man. He wanted to rip his head off, but the fact that neither Katsuki nor Iz were in the barn was a good sign. The longer he kept the conversation going the better the chances of help being on the way. "Kind of," Sero turned and leaned back on SoySauce's stall. The door jiggled slightly from his weight. Rubbing his neck, he glanced down. It wasn't latched from the outside.

Someone was inside her stall.

"Yeah?" Stain walked up and peered around him. SoySauce lunged towards him looking for more treats.

"Shit," he danced backwards out of her reach. Sero quickly covered his smile. Letting out a loud growl, Stain tucked his gun into his pants. "You know, I'm not a very patient man."

Digging out a pack of smokes, he shook one out and lit it, smirking as Sero jumped forward only to slide to a stop as his men lifted their weapons aiming for him.

"You can't smoke in a barn." Controlling the tone of his voice Sero didn't take his eye off the lit match he held in his hand.

Smiling wickedly, he flipped his hand upside down and watched the flame eat its way up the cardboard towards his fingers. "You seem to be especially fearful of fire."

"That's because this place is flammable. If you drop that match in the wrong spot, this whole ranch could burn up, fast."

Stain watched the tiny flame lick upwards until it smoked out on his fingertips. "Ever do that?"

"Do what?"

"Let a match burn all the way up and go out on your skin?"

"No."

"C'mere," he waved him over, "shit… I forgot your name."

"Sero."

"Try it. Unless you wantmeto do it again? And my skin's kinda blistered already." He grinned. "I might drop it this time"

"No," Sero held out his hand. "I'll do it." Anything to get those fucking matches.

Laying the matchbook in his hand, he watched as Sero lit the match. "Now turn it upside down."

Sero flipped his hand over. He could feel the heat of the small flame already on his finger and thumb. Suddenly Stain snatched his arm and yanked it so that it hovered into SoySauce's straw-filled stall.

He leaned so close to his face that Sero could smell his sour breath. "Is this one of thosewrongspots?"

The small flame flared as it crawled towards his skin. The pain was intense, but Sero knew it wouldn't take long, whatever minor burn he got from a stupid match was nothing to what would happen if he dropped it into the stall. As his skin started to smoke, the match sputtered, and the flame died.

"There, it's done," Sero held up the burnt match.

"Well that wasn't any fun," Stain frowned and rolled his eyes. "This is getting… booorrrring." Waving at one of the men behind him, he pointed at Sero. "Tie rancher boy up with the others."

The larger of the two men grabbed him, twisting his arm behind his back so sharply that it felt like his shoulder blade was being ripped in half. The man started shoving him back towards the courtyard.

"Don't worry rancher boy!" Stain yelled behind him. "I'll be sure to start withyourhorse's stall. I think a little fire might flush out those rats."

Putting on his bullet proof vest Hound Dog checked his belt, adding another can of mace and taking out three more smoke bombs, he clipped them onto the side. The door clanged open, turning, he saw Hanako and Fuyumi race into the station. "Sorry," he held up his hand. "There's an emergency, I'll have to take care of you later."

"We know!" Hanako ran to the equipment area and pulled out two vests. "We heard the radio chatter at the annex, dispatch is with us."

"What the hell are you doing?" Hound Dog frowned as the two women suited up. "This is official police business."

"Ask us to help," Fuyumi ducked behind him and grabbed two belts for them.

"That's not possible!" Hound Dog growled. "Get the hell out of here. I can't deputize you in two seconds."

"Yes, you can, just ask us to help!" Slamming a full bullet casing into a gun, Fuyumi flipped on the safety and handed it to Hanako. "Statute PC 150 says that any person over the age of eighteen that is asked to assist a peace officer in the conduct of official business is required to do so and has the full authority of the law behind them." Picking up two cans of mace, she threw one to Hanako. Spinning back around she put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "Ask, Hound Dog, this isn't a request. We've been hunting with our families since we were kids, so you know we're as capable as the next person. If there are people holding Shouto and Mirio hostage, you sure as hell aren't leaving us behind."

Letting out sharp huff, Hound Dog crossed his arms and glared at them. Finally, he opened his drawer and tossed two badges to them. "Hanako Sakuraba-Togata and Fuyumi Todoroki, will you assist me inpeacefullyresolving this hostage situation asbackuponly!" He emphasized. "You can ride with me to the Midoriya ranch where I am meeting with the rest of the deputy sheriffs. Once we determine the best course of action, I will decide what role you will play."

"We will," Fuyumi nodded, pinning her badge on her shirt. Walking to the door she flung it open. "Let's go."

"Shin?" Mirio tipped his head. "Are you staying in the bedroom or coming out here to help us?"

"They can see in through the window." He hissed back. Cracking open the door a bit more, Shinsou could see a man pouring gasoline on the outside of their cabin. The sharp tang of petroleum filled the small space.

There were four more men waiting by the cars. They had put their guns away, but the gleaming metal handles protruded from their pants. None of them seemed to be looking into the cabin now but were more interested in whatever was happening in the barn.

Kneeling, he opened the door just enough to slip through, then laying down, he army crawled across the floor to them. Reaching out, he used Mirio's leg to drag himself closer to his chair.

"Do you have a knife?"

"Yeah," Shinsou pulled out his pocketknife and began to saw the thin blade across the bindings. The rope was thick, and his blade was doing little damage. "Shouto," he hit his foot.

"Yeah?"

"Can you see out the window?"

"Kind of, I can only see the men by the cars though, not the ones in the barn."

"Tell me what's going on, so I know when to bolt."

"Okay."

"Fuck," Shinsou pushed harder on the rope. "This blade is almost useless. Mirio," he prodded his boot. "Try to move your feet." The rope went taut as he inched his legs out and his knife sliced deeper into the thick mass. "That's good, do that again." Doing as he asked, Mirio wiggled his feet further out. Shinsou laughed as the rope started to fray. "That's it!"

"Crap," Shouto muttered under his breath. "It looks like someone might be coming, the guys by the car are talking to someone I can't see."

"They are?" Shinsou tried cutting faster but the pocketknife was taking too long.

"Someone's coming." Shouto wiggled in his chair. "Stop Shin, just go!"

"No, you don't have time," Mirio jerked his head towards the kitchen table. "If you grab one of those rocks and hide behind the front door, you can smash the asshole in the head when he comes in, then we can all get out of here."

"Rock?" Shinsou rolled over to see his collection piled on the table. "If I hit him like that… " he sat up. "I might kill him."

"They're gonna kill us, Shin. You need to do it!" Mirio was jerking his foot under the frayed rope.

"I could just cut some more," Shinsou didn't want to think about death.

"Shin." Shouto whispered. "I know your record, I've read it, everything."

Bristling he snapped the pocketknife back into place. "You have?"

"Can you just grab a fucking rock?!" Mirio was practically bouncing now trying to break the rope.

"I don't know what you were told back then Shin, but it was an accident. There was no way you did anything wrong. I saw the doctor-"

"You don't know shit." Shinsou snarled, cutting him off. Crawling to the kitchen, he peered across the tabletop at the pile of stones he'd dumped there not too long ago. He brushed his fingers along the cool, hard surface of his favorite one.

"Also, don't listen to Mirio. You aren't going to kill anyone. All you need to do is hold the rock in your fist and punch right under the man's jaw. If you land it right, it will activate the nervous system, and he'll pass out."

"I won't kill him?"

"No."

"Hurry Shin-"

"Shhh," Shouto interrupted Mirio. "They're getting close… Shin. Can you stand by the door with the rock?" His voice had dropped low at the sound of their boots on the gravel by the side of the cabin. "Do whatever you can. Kick the gun away or punch him."

Walking to the door, Shinsou weighed the rock in his hand. "What if he attacks me?"

"Just keep punching… I promise, you won't do more harm to him than a few bruises or a black eye."

Gripping the rock, he remembered the day he'd found this one, when he and Kiri had been stuck in a rainstorm at the Ridge. He smiled at the memory. They'd sat under their makeshift tent playing poker. If he didn't do something now… he could lose Kiri. There was no way these men were leaving anyone alive. "Okay."

"Remember, uppercut to the jaw. Focus on the spot on the side of the chin."

"What happens if I miss, and he starts shooting?"

Shouto went quiet.

"That's what I thought," he mumbled.

The sound of their footsteps on the porch echoed outside. There was more than one person. Shinsou started to panic.

Too late now.

Squeezing his fist around the rock, he glanced over his shoulder. "Shouto, I - I want you to know…. I won't be sorry if they kill you."

The doorknob turned.

Sliding against the wall, Shinsou held his breath as everything seemed to move in slow motion.

As the door swung open, Sero stumbled through first and tripped, falling to his knees. The man walking in behind him started to lean down to grab him but seeing Shinsou, he stopped. Words started to come out of his mouth as his eyes widened with surprise.

Shinsou couldn't hear anything he was saying. He could only focus on the place where he needed to hit him. His hand, wrapped tight around the rock, had already begun to move on its own. Then his whole body was twisting with the force of his swing until he felt his fist connect with his chin. The man's head snapped sideways so fast he never got his words out and his big body slumped to the floor.

When he finished his swing, Shinsou looked down at his limp body. It was done. He'd done it. Panicking for a brief second that he'd killed him, he saw his chest rise and fall.

He was alive!

Sero leapt to his feet and pulled his body out of the doorway. "Good one Shin! Quick, close the door!"

Puffing on his cigarette, Stain looked out at the sweeping views from the back of the barn. The big white horse was still being fussy, turning he looked at her. She was dipping her head down, then popping it up and snorting loudly.

"What's your deal?" He stepped closer, holding out his hand. She shook her massive head and lunged forward at him. Jerking back, he put his hand in his pocket.

"Bitch."

He didn't like animals. They were too unpredictable. People were easier. They always followed the same pattern. Taking a long drag, he blew the smoke in the air watching it drift slowly out the large opening.

Stain knew he'd find him. He was too good at finding what eluded most people by never missing even the smallest detail. Still, it never hurt to be lucky, and he considered himself very lucky. It had been luck that had kept him alive after too many near death experiences, although luck had made him pay the price with his flesh. He rubbed the flattened spot on his face where his nose had once been. A knife fight that almost left his throat cut open had ended up only removing his nose when his attacker slipped.

Standing there looking out over the fields, it was luck that a flock of ducks began screaming at that very moment, racing from a pen down below. Stepping out of the barn to see them better, he turned to see wide red eyes staring at him from where he'd flattened himself against the wall.

Tossing his cigarette down and crushing it with his boot, he laughed. "Look at what I found… Bakugou. I thought I smelled a rat."

TOL - Nooooo! Katsuki! Why didn't you run? At least Hound Dogs on his way and the boys are loose now! Kiri is still out there with his guns (ehhh maybe). Izuku's in the stall with Winnie. I smell a gunfight ahead.