I do not own these characters or the world, that belongs to our lovely author of MHA, Kohei Horikoshi. Also, cover art was a commission by me from the artist Krumbs. Follow them on or Twitter—though I guess that's called X now—if you'd like! They are extremely talented!

A/N: This chapter was a real pain to write. Weaving established canon narrative with my own was challenging, to say the least. I had to go back and watch the episodes that span this chapter and write down all the dialogue which was a lengthy process. I've utilized the dialogue from the English dub since that was easiest & least time consuming for me to transcribe. I struggled A LOT with the first half so much so that I almost considered scrapping the entire thing but I pushed on and at least toward the end I feel like it took better shape. So, apologies if it drags or doesn't feel as fluid as previous chapters.
Anyway, thanks for any and all reviews/follows/favs—they're much appreciated. Please enjoy!

Sixty-Five

The Darkness

It'd been just a little over an hour and a half since they'd arrived at their work study location. Izuku had been both relieved and slightly surprised that their only real task seemed to be evacuation of the local city they were in. While combat and fighting a villain would be exciting and he'd be lying if he said the prospect of that didn't make him excited, he was mostly content to help evacuation. Saving people was the most important and fun part of being a hero and a lot of times that involved fighting bad guys but other times, it simply meant ensuring the safety of innocents by less extreme means.

While Deku had found it mildly annoying, poor Kacchan seemed to be absolutely miserable in their assignment. Fighting, tactical analysis, and laying plans were all things that he excelled at; interacting with civilians, or as he was fond of calling them, extras, was not his strong suit.

Izuku watched as his friend approached a nearby house and angrily hit the doorbell there. He could tell that Bakugo was impatient since he was tapping his foot and his body language in general was stiff and closed off.

"Hey idiots! The city told you to run the hell away—did you not check your phone or are you just stupid?!" He shouted angrily at the house in front of him. Oh Kacchan. You do know that you ten to catch more flies with honey rather than with vinegar, right? Deku wondered to himself as he looked away from his frenemy who was practically vibrating with from unspent irritable energy.

Uraraka was at Deku's side, her face focused. He had to resist the urge to blush at her proximity or at the memories of that very morning that kept trying to play on repeat in his head whenever he looked at her. Not helpful, he thought to himself.

Both Uraraka and Deku stood together on the sidewalk, Ida nearby and heading up the street toward some apartment buildings that were just out of sight. They'd already managed to successfully evacuate a few other assigned sections of the town but the town was large and thorough evacuation was time consuming. The apartment building housed lots of people and speed was most important in executing that location for evacuation. Speed was his strong suit as well as Ida's. Plus, if I'm with Ida, it'll get me away from Ochako so I won't be inclined to keep getting distracted, he thought to himself as he turned from Ida and back toward Uraraka.

"I can help Ida with the apartments around the corner; that leaves the houses to the rest of you!" Deku declared and then without giving her a chance to respond or offer to assist him, he sprinted away from her and toward Ida who was further down the street.

As he jogged to catch up with his speedy classmate, he heard Uraraka shout encouragingly to those that remained behind with her, "We got this guys!"

You got this, he thought to himself as he caught up with Ida.

"Let's go Midoriya!" Ida exclaimed, the telltale sound of his engine quirk sounding into life. Deku grunted in response and leapt forward to join him.

(This is a break since ff won't let me put in a fucking asterisk! And eats my goddamn fucking formatting!)

About an hour later, Ida and Deku had finished zipping through the apartment buildings. When they returned to the group, Izuku was pleasantly surprised to see that it looked like the rest of his classmates had also finished rounding up most everyone in their assigned sectors.

Both Ida and Deku rejoined the group to continue to help facilitate the civilians in the right direction and toward the safety of the nearby shelter. Deku looked out over the evacuee's and saw that Kacchan looked like he was arguing with an old lady, or arguing at might be the more appropriate term.

"Thanks for your help young man," the plump old woman that Bakugo was arguing with said with a smile on her face. She then held out a small plastic wrapped chocolate bun to him, "here, have a chocolate bun!"

Deku watched as Bakugo practically let out a plume of rage smoke in response. "Are you crazy?! I'm working here!" The poor old woman shrunk back from the petulant, fiery blonde, her aged hand still holding the sad little bun.

Sighing, Deku began to move in the direction that Kacchan was, ready to step in but stopped when Uraraka was suddenly at Bakugo's side, coming to the defense of the old woman. "She's being nice to you; you should take it!" She had a timid little smile on her face and her words were nothing but encouraging but that grace was entirely lost on Bakugo.

Bakugo whirled around angrily, his fist raised and shouted, "if you're so desperate for dessert you can eat it yourself!" The old lady again offered the bun toward him, another smile on her face.

Uraraka shied away from the foul tempered blonde a look of minor annoyance on her face. Bakugo turned back toward the old woman. Tsu joined the two and rolled her eyes at the taller boys unnecessary aggression.

"You can't even be nice to an old lady, huh?" Much to Izuku's surprise, the old lady managed to put the chocolate bun into Bakugo's hand and he did not resist or throw a fit this time.

"Here you go young man. You eat that and have a rest. You young folk are doing such good work!" The old woman gushed with another smile.

"I said I didn't want—" Bakugo started to roar but Uraraka shoulder checked him as she pushed her way into the conversation. "Hey! What gives?!"

"Thank you very much!" Uraraka said with a brilliant smile and bowed in gratitude.

"Such wonderful manners!" Beamed the old woman.

"Kiss as—" Bakugo started but this time wasn't able to finish what he'd started saying because Deku stepped in to shoulder checked him.

"Yes, thank you! If you'll just follow the others," 'Deku said with a forced smile and pointed in the direction of a larger crowd of evacuees.

"Of course," the old woman said with a nod and began heading in the direction that Izuku had pointed in.

Once she was just barely out of earshot, Bakugo turned toward Deku and glared. "What the fuck? Both of you just bumping into me is not random!"

"Ribbit, you were being kind of mean to that old woman," Tsu said, her gaze following the elder.

"I took her stupid bun, didn't I? Get off my ass!" Snapped Kacchan and crossed his arms in a way that made Deku think of a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"Yeah, but you were definitely rude about it. She was just being nice," frowned Uraraka.

"You…could afford to be a little nicer, Kacchan," Deku said with a nervous smile, hopeful that his statement wouldn't incite his friend's rage.

"If you're so worried after that old bag, why don't you go marry her then? Pfft," the ashen blonde growled before trudging in the direction of the evacuees. "Yo extras, get a move on! Move your asses!"

Asui, Uraraka, and Deku watched him with a mixture of amusement and annoyance on their faces. "He'll never learn, ribbit," Asui said with a sigh and hopped after the fiery blonde.

Deku watched her follow after his friend and smiled. The day was going pretty good so far! A little action would be nice but even if that wasn't what happened he'd just be happy to have safely gotten innocent civilians out to the shelter.

"I think if things keep going this smoothly, we'll be done soon," Uraraka said from Izuku's side. He turned to look at her and saw her eyes flickering between the city and the evacuees. Memories from that morning again began to creep back into his mind and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from blushing.

"Uh, yeah, I think so too," he agreed and turned his gaze away from her. Don't think about this morning; don't think about this morning!

"It'll be lunchtime soon, I think. Want to eat together?" Uraraka asked.

The sweat on your skin this morning tasted like liquid desire; I could do with more of that—No! Stop thinking that, stop being a horny teenager! "Uh, er, yes!"

"You okay Deku?" Deku reluctantly turned his head toward her and saw her looking at him questioningly, her brow raised in a question. She's so pretty.

"Oh uh yeah, definitely! Haha!" Deku laughed.

"You seem—" whatever Uraraka had intended to say was lost when Ida's voice suddenly cut over the softer tones of the girl at Izuku's side.

"Hey! What are you two doing standing around? There's still lots more to do!" He chastised.

"Uh, right! Yeah!" Deku said, a blush now coloring his cheeks. "Come on Uraraka, let's go get everybody pointed in the right direction!"

(This is a break since ff won't let me put in a fucking asterisk! And eats my goddamn fucking formatting!)

At Ida's behest to do another once over of apartment buildings and nursing homes, Izuku briefly caught sight of Koda who was being followed by a herd of cats as well as many other animals. Izuku couldn't help but smile at that, grateful that Koda had taken time to clear not only people but animals as well. An animal was just as much a part of the family as anything else. If after their efforts to bring people to safety and some disaster or villain attack came to pass, well it'd be just awful if they'd evacuated just the people and not the animals.

Izuku made his way to rejoin his classmates and Burnin' who was shouting various commands at the group of civilians. They were all following behind the last group of evacuees from their assigned sectors. He could hear Burnin' calling out over the civilians, advising them that they should remain calm and that there was no need to panic. The group crossed through a crosswalk and onto the other side, Deku bringing up the rear of the group.

From the crosswalk he called out, "if anyone is feeling sick, please don't hesitate to—" but his words stopped dead as he heard an internal voice—a voice that was most definitely not his inner voice that spoke over him. The voice said something but he failed to make it out clearly…but there was a weight in whatever it'd said that made him stop where he was. That voice…in my head…is that, his thoughts trailed off and without even realizing it, he started clutching at his middle.

"Midoriya? What's wrong?" The cool tones of Todoroki's voice barely manage to permeate into Izuku's mind as he started to feel a prickling sense of dread suddenly wash over him.

Bakugo stormed over to his side and yet he was completely unaware of it. "Stop slacking off! You're making us look weak!"

Whose voice is this? It isn't mine…who's…

"Stop him," the voice commanded from within. It was soft and familiar; who's voice was it? Wait! He knew this voice! I knew it! This voice is…the first wielder of One For All! It's been a long time since I heard from him, he thought to himself, pleased at identifying this strangers voice in his head but there was something else in that voice, some sort of weight that made him start sweating and eclipsed any happiness he'd felt at identifying it.

"It'll begin soon; I don't have much time," the voice continued and Izuku suddenly felt strongly compelled to look behind him, in the direction of the hospital. It wasn't his own desire but rather, the desire or the instruction of the first wielder. It wanted him to look back because whatever was back there was something that it could feel. He turned his gaze backwards and stared in the direction of the hospital, a feeling like icy terror wrapping itself around his stomach and tightening.

"Deku, what's up?" Uraraka asked her face puzzled but tinged with concern. However, not even her words were able to break through Deku's trance like stare or to the voice that whispered to him from within.

"Free from the shackles of humanity, his power grows; a transcendent one approaches. Stop him," the voice commanded and Deku felt nausea churn in the pit of his stomach. A transcendent one? What are you trying to tell me first wielder? I don't understand! What am I not seeing? He stared up at the hospital and willed the voice of the first user to come back to him and explain things—anything. Izuku clutched at his middle, the nausea there threatening to rise up and out of his mouth. Cold fear wrapped itself around his mind and heart like a vice. Was it his own or was it…was it the vestiges' feelings, or was it both?

"Deku?" Uraraka questioned again, her eyebrows now knitted together, worry clear on her features. Bakugo was at her side, his face no longer petulant and annoyed but now hard and heavy with something akin to worry.

"Yo nerd, wake up. The fucks going on with you?" Izuku did not respond.

Then suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound like hundreds of boulders falling to the ground all at once. All within the immediate vicinity felt the ground shift beneath them as if it were becoming liquid. The buildings that surrounded them began to shake and shudder as if an earthquake was about to rip through the ground. Then they saw it; in the distance up on the hill where the hospital had been, a huge cloud of smoke began wafting up and hurtling toward them with frightening speed. It was like watching a pyroclastic flow explode out of an erupting volcano and the sound of the things that got in its way, was deafening. The group no longer watched Deku; the swiftly approaching destruction the only thing any of them could see or think about.

Uraraka whipped her head away from Deku and back toward the evacuees that were a short ways ahead of them. They'd also stopped, apparently distracted and concerned by the sounds and shaking earth. "This doesn't look good!" She cried in alarm.

Todoroki looked back toward the civilians, also realizing that they weren't really moving anymore, panic clear on his face. "Quick! The civilians!"

Bakugo blasted off a small explosion that put him practically in Burnin's face and shouted, "Make 'em move faster!"

Burnin' ignored the blonde and pressed her hand to her earpiece. "Endeavor! Sir! Are you there?"

Deku continued to watch the swiftly approaching destruction as his mind seemed to return back his body. Gotta act, fast! He snapped his hand into a fist and shouted, "everyone, run," as he took off in a sprint, readying his body to use air force to try and counteract or decrease the force of the impending shockwave.

As he passed by Uraraka he heard her call out to him, alarm evident in her voice. "Wait, Deku!" He couldn't spare her even a thought though since he knew that time was precious. He raced toward the oncoming cloud of destruction, infusing himself with OFA. One For All, full cowling 45%; St. Louis Smash, he thought to himself as he spun and kicked, executing air force that was backed by the strength of his legs.

The shockwave and the destruction with it, was unchanged. Deku could only stare, alarmed at the realization that his own shockwave did nothing to deter the chaos that was coming their way. Behind him, Uraraka took a step forward but suddenly stopped as she too realized that his efforts had no effect.

"No effect—this isn't some normal shockwave," she said in alarm and took a step backwards. The road in front of them, the buildings around them—all started to crumble and fall apart in such a manner that it was most definitely not caused by any natural phenomena. Uraraka turned on her heel and began sprinting away, Tsu hot on her heels.

"The whole town is falling apart!" Tsu cried.

Even as the destruction barreled toward him, all Izuku could do was stare. Airforce had no effect and the ground and the buildings are falling apart like crazy, he thought to himself as a memory suddenly flitted into his mind and that same dread he'd felt earlier returned in even greater strength. He recalled the previous summer when he'd accidentally stumbled into Shigaraki and how he'd explained how things just fell apart when he activated his decay; how they decayed.

He looked on at the impending doom as realization and horror dawned on him. "Shigaraki."

Todoroki was suddenly at his side, a huge ice wall blooming from his outstretched hand, blocking the impending doom. "Heaven piercing ice wall!" He cried out as ice formed faster than a blink of an eye. Both boys looked anxiously as the ice wall held and then cracked. No! Thought Deku just as Todoroki gasped, "it can't be!"

The sound of Burnin's voice cut through the shattering of buildings, and cracking of concrete. "Get back everyone!" The ice wall shattered. Heroes and civilians alike scuttled and scrambled away from the destruction. What had once been relatively quiet and organized, was now full of screams of alarm and cries for help.

Bakugo blasted away from the destruction, snatching up the old woman who'd offered him the chocolate bun with his legs and then using his teeth to snag hold of a running child's shirt. As Uraraka raced away from the incoming shockwave, she grabbed a woman while simultaneously sending out her cables to grab a nearby panicking man that wasn't running in the right direction. Todoroki snatched up a fallen evacuee and propelled himself forward using his ice as both a shield and as a slide.

Hado was also on the scene, using her energy swirls to lift buses and cars out of harms way. Uraraka managed to move the woman she'd rescued onto her back, now using her free hand to activate zero gravity on busses and cars she passed by.

It was utter chaos and even with the shouting and screaming of hundreds of people, the dominating sound was the destruction behind them. Deku used black whip to grab hold of another bus before sending out further tendrils to grab any loose stragglers. If this was decay then he had the sneaking suspicion that whatever this chain of destruction touched would extend to that. How had Shigaraki grown so powerful? If this was decay, how was he able to chain the destruction to things he wasn't directly touching? The implications were…horrifying.

All the while the students fled and attempted rescue, Burnin continued on her earpiece, desperate to make contact with someone, anyone. "Hospital team come in—someone respond dammit! Endeavor! Ryukyu! Mirko! Crust! Whoever's there—please talk to me! Why aren't they answering me? Hello? Can you hear me? Endeavor? Ryukyu?!"

After what felt like a continuous heart stopping scramble for their very lives that lasted far longer than it actually had—the wave of destruction finally stopped, leaving behind absolute ruin. Did we get everyone? Did we save everyone? Deku thought to himself as he cast a panicky glance around his immediate vicinity. It wasn't good. There were people that were on the ground, there was crying, shouting, screaming—sensory perception was pushed to the limit.

Uraraka, he thought to himself in a panic but caught sight of her nearby where Burnin' was, still desperately trying to raise someone on her earpiece. She's safe, good, now worry about the bigger issues, he thought to himself and tried to begin assessing the state of the evacuees.

Deku moved closer to where Burnin' and his friends were, their faces mixes of fear and panic. He suddenly heard his earpiece buzz with noise followed by Endeavors voice—clearly strained but definitely alive—making him stop where he was. He'd said something, something that chilled Deku to his very bones, but what was it? What…what had he just heard? The earpiece buzzed again and this time he heard it loud and clear.

"One For All."

"Huh? What's a One For All? Endeavor are you there?!" Burnin' repeated, her voice high and tight with anxiety.

Izuku's hand remained pressed up by his ear, his eyes wide, sweat beginning to pool on both his brow and his upper lip. One For All. One For All. They know. Shigaraki knows. This is bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. What do I do? What do I do?!

Burnin's voice cut through his inner thoughts of panic. "I've got to get over there and help him out! You kids should fall back and evacuate!" Izuku watched with mounting alarm as she took to the sky and prepared to fly away from them. No, no, no! If you go there…if it's him…no!

"Burnin' wait!" He cried in alarm. Do I tell her? Do I tell them now? What do I do?!

The students looked on in horror as Burnin' spared them a brief glance and said, "Listen to the police and keep your distance!" Her voice was tight and strained; her decision to leave the children a heavy one. Deku, Uraraka, Ida, Todoroki, Asui, and Koda watched in muted terror as the pro heroes left them to provide backup support to Endeavor, wherever he currently was.

Deku opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut when Endeavor's voice suddenly cut in over his earpiece. "Shigaraki is heading straight toward the evacuees! The battle zone is expanding—clear the area surrounding the city!" Deku looked on, his hand still up by his ear, his face shell shocked. He cast a panicky glance around the evacuees and saw startled, terrified faces, fallen heroes that others were trying to attend to but were being ushered away. It's like an active warzone…

Too many lives; too much risk, he thought to himself as the panic continued to rise in him. Have to act, have to move! He gaze darted wildly around and stopped briefly on Uraraka. She was unhurt but looked frightened. Shigaraki was heading straight for them…straight to him. Everyone in the vicinity, as long as they remained close to him, were in imminent danger.

He clearly knows where I am or has an idea of where I am, why else would he head here? To just bring about more destruction? No, there was specific mention of One For All…it's him, it's All For One. The longer I stay here the more danger I put them—her— all of them in!

He took a step forward and paused for a split second to cast one last glance back at Uraraka. She wasn't looking at him. Don't hesitate, go—now!

Izuku took off at a sprint, as fast and as far away as he could get from the people behind him. Bakugo was at his side and while he found this surprising, he squashed such an observation. Bakugo was the only other person who knew what the stakes were and the truth of both One For All and All For One.

"You can't tell them your secret—the heroes would try to split their forces to protect you and the civilians." His voice was hard and firm; unwavering.

Deku looked at Bakugo and answered in a voice just as firm, "I know."

The two raced ahead a large cement barrier just starting to come into their line of sight. "The only thing they know right now is that he's after One For All; it's not a lot to go on. It's a hero's job to protect the people so you only have one choice."

They reached the cement barrier and blasted up and into the sky, Deku with OFA, Kacchan with his explosions. "I need to make sure that the evacuees can be protected." And that she stays far away from All For One and Shigaraki. The memory of her interrupting Shigaraki's stranglehold on his throat felt like a hot poker in his side. No, I will not allow her to be in the line of fire again. Not because of me. No one will get hurt because of me.

"Yeah, which means you gotta get outta here quick," Bakugo agreed.

"Hey—where are you two going?!" The alarmed voice of Todoroki shouted after them.

Deku glanced over his shoulder to take in the sight of Uraraka, Ida, Todoroki, Asui, and Koda. Their faces were a sea of turbulent storms. The concerned and confused expression on Uraraka's face burned into his memory as he managed to shout back at them, "Uh, I left something. I'll be right back!" It was a lie and an unconvincing one at that; even to his own ears he could hear how falsely it rang. Izuku whipped his head away from the direction of his friends…from her.

No one would get hurt because of him.

(This is a break since ff won't let me put in a fucking asterisk! And eats my goddamn fucking formatting!)

Uraraka floated, her eyes carefully examining her surroundings. She had to help the people that needed help…but to do that, she needed to find them first. Her stomach twisted with dread and fear but she pushed those emotions down. She didn't have time for that; not right now.

A lot had changed in the twenty or so minutes that had passed since she'd last seen Deku and Bakugo. Todoroki had thrown caution to the wind and followed after them. She had started to follow after him but had been stopped by Froppy and Ida who urged caution and the importance of trying to find those that were injured or stuck or hadn't been evacuated yet. There was also the added threat of Gigantomachia to worry about. They knew his arrival was imminent but they didn't know exactly how imminent.

Even as she floated above the destroyed city street, a large building covered in shiny glass at her side, she still felt pangs of anxiety and fear. What had happened? What was going on? How had things gone so horribly wrong so quickly? I hope you're okay Deku…

The sound of buildings crumbling, concrete cracking, and screams of alarm interrupted her thoughts as she looked in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, the enormous and intimidating gigantic beast bulldozed through the other side of the city. How…?

"I can see the beast now!" Someone from below called out while another person shouted, "keep searching!"

Uraraka watched the behemoth storm through the city, causing an obscene amount of damage. He made his way here?! She thought to herself until the sound of Froppy's voice redirected her attention.

"Uravity—two civilians!" Her friend called out to her. Ochako looked in her friend's direction to see her pressed onto the side of a building, one civilian in hand and another safely coiled in her tongue.

"Coming," she started but her word morphed into a screamed, "Froppy," when she saw a huge chunk of debris come crashing down and directly into Tsu's path. Not on my watch! She thought to herself and thrust her arm out, her retractable cables flying out to wrap around all three individuals. She pulled them to safety and successfully set them down a moment later.

"Thank you so much! You saved us!" Marveled Tsu.

"I hope I wasn't too rough," she called back. Her cables were still somewhat new to her or rather, making fast rescues were new to her. And unlike black whip—the inspiration for her cables—her cables were firm wires that could easily cut or dig in if not used with the proper care.

From her position on a balcony—a bit safer of a location than the side of a building—Froppy lowered down one of the people she'd rescued with her tongue. "Are you injured?"

"No, I'm fine!" The man shouted in response.

"Thanks girls," the other evacuee said with a smile.

Uraraka hovered nearby and was assisting Froppy with the people that she'd rescued. She was about to activate her quirk to help lower down the other person when a frantic and panicked yelling of an elderly voice caught her attention. A chubby and aged woman looked up at both Tsu and Ochako, her face pinched with panic and desperation and something maybe close to despair.

"Please—I need a hero! My poor husband's bedridden; I can't get him outta here by myself! He's heavy and I've got a bad back. Our place is right around the corner—follow me!" The old lady shouted at the two girls before she started off running in the direction she'd referred to—a side alley.

Uraraka watched the woman race off, activating the air pressure control in the heels of her shoes to follow her before pausing to address Tsu. "You make sure they're safe and I'll help her, okay?" I've got this, she thought to herself as she steered herself in the direction the old lady had gone.

"Just be careful! I don't want you getting hurt!" Froppy called after the her.

Ochako paid little attention to Tsu's warning, her mind focused on the speedy old woman. "I'm good!" I have to help everyone I can, she thought to herself as memories of Nighteye began drifting back to her. She'd been so helpless; there must have been something more that she could've done. Nighteye didn't need to die. This time, this time would be different. I'll save them!

The old woman raced on ahead of Ochako; moving far faster than Uraraka thought old ladies should be able to move. "That's one fast old lady!" She said aloud as she struggled to keep up with the aged woman. She was no longer weightless; now following on foot, the sound of her heels clicking on the pavement.

"There's no time to spare! He must be so scared! Our love is fueling my legs!" The old woman shouted over her shoulder as she continued to blaze her way down the alleyway.

Ochako lost sight of the old woman for a split second before turning a corner and racing into another alleyway. She called out reassuringly to the old woman, "you'll be fine, I'll protect him, I promise!" As the words left her lips she watched as the woman raced on ahead but then sort of…exploded…no, not exploded, melted, melted into another person. It…it was Himiko Toga!

Himiko Toga—not an aged old woman—looked back at Uraraka with a mischievous grin, a hand up at her mouth playfully, her nude form covered in the left-over sludgy residue from her transformation quirk. "Oh! You're so nice!"

Uraraka stopped where she was and stared in shock. "Huh—Himiko?!" She gasped.

Toga gave her a playful smile before bouncing backwards towards an open doorway. "It's been forever Ochako…" Still smiling, she disappeared into the building.

What? Why, why is Himiko Toga here? Why?! "Get back here!" Ochako shouted as she watched the girl vanish and then raced after her. She stopped outside the doorway that Toga had vanished into, her heartrate beginning to speed up. The building was probably someone's home—ruined now—but it was dark and unfamiliar. She took a few steps forward, pausing at the point that she'd normally remove her shoes. A darkened room with at least two doorways and tatami mats greeted her. If she stepped in there…if she stepped in, she'd be alone; alone with Himiko Toga.

She stepped into the building.

It was silent save for the sound of her own breaths and the beating of her heart or the crunch of the tatami under her shoes. Both arms were raised up defensively as she cautiously tried to survey her surroundings. Toga's voice whispered from the darkness.

"How sad—I wanted to talk to you and Tsu together. How's my precious little froggy friend? And of course, I'm missing Izuku real bad—he's so cool when he gets all bloody and beat up. I just love him like that, don't you?" Toga's voice echoed from what felt like every direction. Have to find her, find her fast!

"Don't worry—I love your super cute floaty friend too. In fact, I think I wanna be like you, so be honest Ochako," there was a pause and then without warning Toga burst from the ceiling, practically through the overhead light fixture—knife poised to strike—and leapt onto Uraraka. Ochako barely had time to block the blade before she was pushed onto her back, Toga pinning her to the tatami. "Hero," Toga began, her cheeks rosy, her eyes excited, "what do you want to do to me? Do you want to kill me like Jin was killed? Will you murder me too?" Uraraka resisted the pressure Himiko continued to exert on the knife, though she realized that the knife was more so in a direction to the side of her; not aimed at a vital body organ. "Start talking. Exactly what are your intentions?"

Uraraka watched Himiko and felt unnerved by her full faced smile, the blush in her cheeks, the malicious glint in her eyes…but there was something else there too, something deeper. It was hard to pinpoint what other emotion was lurking beneath the surface, especially since she was pinning her to the ground and threatening her with a knife, but there was something else in her face that she couldn't idenfity.

What's your deal? You did all of this to what, talk to me? What's the matter with you?! "You pulled this whole stunt just to ask me that?!"

Himiko's eyes widened, her cheeks still rosy but the malintent in her gaze vanishing. "Well, it's important." Her tone was serious. Uraraka felt some of the pressure in the knife lighten just a little. This observation was swiftly eclipsed however, by niggling worries she began to feel at the old woman's fate. Was that old woman still alive? Had Himiko drained her to the point of death?

"You think so? Why don't you tell that to the old lady who's blood you took? Did you kill her to ask a stupid question?" The outrage was unmistakable in her voice. How could Toga ask such a stupid question when she'd likely just killed an innocent woman?!

"Did you say stupid question?" Toga repeated, an undertone of shock in her words.

I have had enough of this. There are people I need to save and you are wasting my time! Uraraka thought to herself angrily, balling her free hand into a fist. "Okay, fine, what I want to do is to save as many people as I possibly can," she paused briefly to glare at the blonde girl, digging into her heart and the hurt and fear she felt there and the outrage it sparked in her. "…and you are in my way Himiko Toga! So I'm gonna stop you RIGHT NOW!" Before Toga could react, Uraraka used the full weight of her body to flip the girl clear off of her, knocking her into an adjoining room. Toga rolled into the adjoining room but was fast on her feet; knife in hand and poised to strike in an instant.

Uraraka rose to standing, her arms going defensively to her front, her brow knitted with righteous fury. "Sorry, but I'm way stronger than I was last time." There was steel in her voice but worry in her mind. I need to touch her without letting her steal my blood and I can't take too long—what do I do?!

Toga stood, apparently unbothered by the rage in Ochako's face and voice. "Ochako, when I think about someone I love it makes me want to become that person; to live inside their skin. I wanna drain their blood so badly it makes my chest hurt," Himiko's eyes narrowed her voice caught somewhere between desperation and ecstasy. "That's just who I am," her words were bordering on unhinged but there was a note of honesty, vulnerability in her tone as she added, "I can't help it—but not everyone is like that!"

While Toga spoke, Ochako grabbed at a closed container for tea and chucked it at her. Toga easily ducked out of the way—the thrown object crashing through the window behind her. Himiko moved her knife into a striking pose and shouted, "It's so hard to be me!" She screamed as she stop thrusted her blade toward Ochako. Ochako barely managed to dodge the attack, stumbling backwards and into a sliding door that broke off as she rocked backwards into the far wall behind her.

Ochako struggled to move, desperate to get back onto her feet and defend against any advance by Toga but much to her surprise, Toga just stood on the other side of the door and started speaking. "The other day there was this meany reporter who called me a lost child and tried to kill me because she said my cravings weren't normal—that's why I used your blood and your quirk to drop her and her friends from way, way up high!"

Uraraka had managed to get to standing now, but couldn't help the disgust and horror that Toga's admission made her feel. She'd used her quirk too? Not only had she used her likeness but her quirk too? No, no, no! Zero gravity didn't hurt people! I don't hurt people! I'd never hurt someone!

Himiko looked at her, a smile still plastered all over her face, eyes narrowed in pleasure or malice, Uraraka wasn't sure which it was. "It turns out if I love a person, I can become them and use their power! You have no idea how happy that makes me!" If Uraraka hadn't been so overcome by horror and disgust she would've picked up the undertone in Himiko's words. Himiko wasn't bragging but rather, seemed to be trying to share a new and exciting experience with her, like she would with a friend—an experience that she wanted Ochako to be excited about too.

However, this wasn't something that Uraraka was aware of on a conscious level and the admission that her quirk had been used for violence pushed her over the edge. "Stop it!" She screamed and wildly sent her cables out toward Himiko. However, Toga easily dodged them and sent her many different needle injectors in Uraraka's direction.

Fearful of Himiko getting her blood again, Ochako stumbled backwards as she attempted to block the incoming hits from Toga's blood tubing. She tripped and fell into the back room again, this time hitting the back wall, hard. Anger coursed through her veins as she spat, "you're happy? I would never feel good about hurting another person! What are you even trying to get at?!"

Rather than answer her though, Himiko stopped where she was and knelt down to pick up Ochako's little All Might charm that Izuku had given her at Christmas time. Ochako looked down at her side and at her belt and the little compartment that she secretly kept the tiny charm—now empty since it had apparently inadvertently opened and then fallen out. Oh no!

"What's this?" Himiko asked softly as she picked up the tiny little charm and looked at it before looking back at Ochako. "You must've dropped it, friend."

No, that's mine—it was a gift from Izuku. You can't have it! And we are not friends! Ochako surged forward and attempted to steal the tiny charm back from her. "That's mine!"

Toga bounced out of Ochako's reach, playfully asking, "something precious?"

"Give it back!"

Himiko stood in the doorway, her eyes still on the little charm. "Jin was precious to me too…like a brother. You know, we're the same you and me," she raised the charm so that it was level with her mouth before gently biting it, "because I'm pretty sure you've got a massive crush on Izuku too. I put it together a long time ago…hold on…does this thingy belong to him? Awh, see?! We really are twinsies!" Her voice was high with excitement, her eyes twinkling with something like happiness.

Ochako was growing frantic. She couldn't waste any more time playing whatever bizarre game it was that Himiko Toga was playing with her. I can't spend any more time on her. If I attack head on, she'll dodge, she thought to herself as she cast a frazzled glance around the room. There was a lot of debris that her cables could easily connect to. That's it, she thought to herself as she sent her cables out to haphazardly latch onto anything and everything. "Zero gravity, satellite!" She shouted as her cables lashed out toward Himiko, making her drop the charm.

Watching the charm fall from Toga's hands distracted her—I've got to get it back, it's my gift from Izuku, something he picked out just for me—she nervously thought before demanding inwardly to herself that she focus. "I have to shut out every other feeling!" She cried as she pushed down her anxieties and fears that were tied to Deku.

Smiling, Himiko said, "great! Neither of us has to hold back anymore!" She easily danced around the barrage of debris before playfully adding, "when I was little, everyone said I had to change—but that didn't help at all!" Her playful movements abruptly altered as she faced Ochako and shouted, "ignoring your urges makes them worse!" There was an edge of despair and desperation in her voice that was lost to Ochako.

"Enough!" Uraraka snapped as rage began to turn her vision red. She whipped her cables and the debris attached to them at Himiko. Himiko wasn't as quick at dodging this time and took a few hits. Good, I've had enough of this ridiculous conversation, Ochako thought to herself angrily, her blood boiling. "Threaten people so you can do what you want—then you deserve whatever's coming to you." The words were harsh and mean and while they felt like the right things to say, there was a stab of regret attached to them…but why? Himiko Toga was a bad person, a villain—of course she deserved whatever bad things that were coming to her…right?

Toga stumbled a little at Ochako's words, her eyes filling with tears and a single one falling down her cheek. Her teeth clenched and her chin began to tremble. The look in her eyes…it was…raw sorrow and it stripped Uraraka of the rage she'd felt just moments before. She stared in dumb shock at the girl in front of her as she took in that look of profound sadness…but why? Why did she look like, like that?

What bad things has she already seen? What terrible things have happened to her to make her into what I'm seeing right now…? The thought hit like a wrecking ball in her head.

"There's my answer," Himiko's words were resigned and laced with hurt. Ochako could only stare at the villain, her eyes widening when Himiko pulled out three blades and tossed them at her. "Thanks for the chat. Goodbye." A quick dart of pink blocked the blades that were flying at her face. It was Tsu—Tsu had come to her rescue.

"Froppy!" Uraraka exclaimed; relieved to see her friend.

Asui looked at the two girls facing each other curiously. "Why is Himiko Toga here?"

Toga bounced backwards, her arm still raised from having thrown her blades. "Tsu."

"I told you, you can't call me that," Froppy snapped in annoyance before leaping to Ochako's side as Himiko looked at them, clearly questioning what her next move would be.

The sudden shaking of the room and the beams of wood supporting the house beginning to bend and bow from strain, caused all three girls to stumble. Both Asui and Uraraka closed their eyes for a split second as they readjusted, opening them to find that the blood crazed villain was no longer in sight.

Tsu took a nervous step forward, looking around the room. "It's a sneak attack; back to back—we'll cover each other."

Uraraka shook her head and took a step forward, toward the fallen charm. "Don't worry," her voice was confident but also…hollow. Ochako knelt down and picked up her discarded charm as she held it up to her face before holding it close to her heart. She looked in the direction that Himiko had likely gone in and felt her stomach churn with something unfamiliar. The memory of Toga's tearful, sad face replaying on repeat in her mind. "She ran away," she mused softly, still thinking about the tears she'd seen. The tears…they were real. "Those were tears." Her voice was quiet and surprised.

Even if she's bad, even if she's killed people…she's still a person with thoughts and feelings and even if she's the bad guy, does that really mean that she deserves to suffer more so than someone else? She thought of Deku's face briefly and his giving and kind soul as an answer to her question was whispered to her in the quietest of voices.

No; no one deserves to suffer.

F/N: For my American readers out there-and according to my stats that's the majority of you-anybody else have booze ready for the shit ass election tomorrow? Those of you old enough to vote and drink, that is. Regardless of your political affiliation-and let's not get into political shit here, we get enough of that day in and day out-it's a stressful time for everybody and boy howdy, if I didn't have work the day after I'd get black out drunk if I could. Though I'm an old ass lady now and the second you turn 30 your ability to drink like more than one drink is severely limited.