A/N: Hold onto your hats, everybody; it's time for another request from Ryuujin96! At first, I wasn't sure how to go about writing this one until I took some inspiration from a movie I saw recently, so Ryuujin96, I hope I did your request justice! Also, I've got a double-shot of horror music recommendations this week: "Zombie" and "The Black Hole", both by Methusalem. TRIVIA: The latter was used in an episode of a Russian cartoon series called Nu, Pogodi!

Today seemed to be another peaceful afternoon for Deku as Todoroki was taking him on a quiet little drive through the countryside of Shizuoka Prefecture. While Deku loved being with Todoroki regardless, he loved riding with her in her '72 Oldsmobile because not only did it have such a smooth ride, but also because the special edition velour seating was so comfortable. He didn't even care that she was listening to Saxon's "Rough and Ready" over the custom-installed cassette radio. Even if he wasn't as big a metalhead as her, he was growing to appreciate NWOBHM through her playing it for him. Overall, the drive was going well. Then, at one point, Todoroki pulled over.

"Why are we pulling over?" asked Deku.

"The oil light came on. Something must be wrong."

Todoroki and Deku got out of the car, only to notice a trail of oil coming from it.

"Damn it." Todoroki shook her head. "I must've sprung a leak somehow. Deku, could you please lift the car?"

"Right!"

Deku lifted the front of the car, and Todoroki looked under it. Sure enough, one of the oil lines had sprung a leak.

"How far is it to the nearest town?" asked Todoroki.

Deku put the car down. "Let me see…" He pulled out his phone. "There's a town called Tatun less than a kilometer away from here."

"I guess we can push the car, then…"

Todoroki hopped in the driver's seat and shifted the Oldsmobile in "NEUTRAL", while Deku pushed the car. Sure enough, they came upon Tatun, a small mountainside town that was rather easy to miss if one wasn't deliberately looking for it. While they were pushing the car, an Atomic Silver 2016 Lexus IS 300 stopped nearby. Seeing this, Todoroki stopped her car and nearly knocked Deku off his feet.

"Need me to call a tow truck?" asked the driver, a tall, older man.

Deku waved at the man. "It's fine, really!"

"We just need directions to the nearest mechanic!" said Todoroki.

The man gestured out the driver's window with his thumb. "Take the third left at Yamashita Street, head two blocks, take a right at Kaji Street, keep going and Okamoto's Garage will be on your left."

"Thank you!" said Deku and Todoroki.

"Just be careful; some really strange things have been happening here lately!"

Deku put his index finger on his cheek. "What sort of strange things, may we ask?"

"Well, there's been a string of odd murders happening in the past few days. Me and my department are doing our best to investigate, but we haven't turned up any solid leads."

"Your department?" asked Todoroki.

"Oh, that's right! I'm Superintendent Haruki Kishimoto, Head of the Tatun Police Station, Shizuoka Prefectural Police!"

"I'm Shoko Todoroki, and that's my boyfriend Izuku Midoriya!"

"Hi!" Deku waved at Kishimoto.

"Nice to meet you both! Anyways, I have to get going; I have business at the main police headquarters."

"Bye!"

Deku and Todoroki waved at Kishimoto before pushing the car to Okamoto's Garage. A couple of employees turned heads as soon as the red/white Oldsmobile pulled in.

"Whoa, I've NEVER seen a car like THAT before!" said one employee, a muscular fellow with a beard.

"What seems to be the trouble?" asked another employee, a man of Todoroki's height with average build.

"One of the oil lines sprang a leak," replied Todoroki. "I'm not exactly sure how it happened."

The shorter man gave a thumbs up. "OK, we'll take a look. Can't exactly guarantee when we'll get the part considering no one's ever brought anything like this over here, but we'll do our best."

"Thank you!" said Deku. "In the meantime, you wouldn't happen to know any place where we could stay until the car gets fixed, would you?"

The man pointed to his right. "There's the Miyaki Family Lodge just four blocks down that way. I'd be really careful if I were you, though."

"So you know about the murders too?" said Todoroki.

The man nodded. "Everyone around these parts knows, but nobody knows exactly who's to blame. Jun here has an idea, though…"

The muscular man known as "Jun" cleared his throat. "This wouldn't be the first time anything like this has happened in this town. In the first year of the Meiji Restoration, a man known as Makoto Matsushita was arrested for the murders of six young women. He escaped an execution attempt and hadn't been seen since. Supposedly, he started a family of cannibal murderers, but nothin' definitive has been brought up."

Deku and Todoroki gave Jun blank, frozen stares, and their skin turned whiter than a porcelain doll. No matter how many villains they'd faced, hearing stories like this was something they could never get used to, and to Todoroki, the answer was obvious…

"Deku…why don't we find somewhere else to stay?"

Deku pointed his hand, palm-up, at Todoroki. "But what choice do we have? This must be the only place to stay for miles around!"

Todoroki sighed. "All right…I'll stay at the motel with you, but on one condition…"

"Yes?"

Todoroki crossed her arms. "If we fall victim to the mysterious murderers, I don't want you to cry to me about it, OK?"

Deku nodded and smiled. "Agreed!"

Deku gave Todoroki a big hug. As much as she loathed the idea of staying in a town where murders where done, she just couldn't resist when her cute, green-haired boyfriend hugged her with his strong arms, so she hugged him back.

"Enjoy that hug while ya can," said Jun. "It's your funeral."

Deku and Todoroki shook off Jun's words as best as they could.

After grabbing a few things from the Oldsmobile, Deku and Todoroki headed down to the Miyaki Family Lodge. It was a small place, but there was at least one vacancy, so Deku and Todoroki checked themselves in and got set up.

"I've changed my mind," said Todoroki. "As much as I dislike staying in this town, this room is cozy enough, so I'll put up with it."

Deku smiled. "Plus, you get to stay with a cute boy! How's that?"

"Deku!"

Todoroki gently shoved Deku down on the bed and proceeded to kiss his brains out. Even if he could never quite get used to the tingly feelings he got from her kissing him, he enjoyed it nevertheless. Once she'd had her fill of smooches, she snuggled with him.

"Deku, promise me one thing…"

"Yes?"

"If we make it out of this alive, I want you to buy me a gift."

"Any gift?"

Todoroki smiled. "Any gift!"

Deku smiled. "Anything for my sweet Shoko!"

"Awww!"

Just then, Deku heard what sounded like Todoroki's stomach grumbling.

"Are you hungry, Shoko?"

Todoroki nodded. "Very!"

"Let's see…" Deku broke out his phone. "Hey, how about that? There's a restaurant right next to this motel!"

Todoroki smiled. "What are we waiting for, then?"

Deku and Todoroki went next door to the restaurant, called Hisakawa's Eatery. It too was a small place with a counter and only a couple of small tables. They paid for their food at the machine and handed the tickets to an old guy with glasses at the counter.

"Welcome, you two!" said the old man. "Out here on vacation?"

Todoroki shook her head. "My car broke down, and they said it would take a while to fix, so we're just staying here until it gets fixed."

The old man raised an eyebrow. "Considering what's been happening in this town, you might not sleep a wink."

Deku nodded. "We're aware of the murders. Still, we'll be all right. As a matter of fact, we're interested in finding out who's responsible."

Todoroki gave Deku an odd look.

"Good luck with that," said the old man. "If the police couldn't find anything, then I highly doubt either of you will fare any better."

Deku lightly banged his fist on the counter. "But we're still gonna try, no matter the cost!"

The old man nodded. "You've got spirit, kid. Thing of it is, you remind me of a hero I once knew. You're not the son of the legendary All Might…are you?"

Deku dropped his jaw as his eyes widened, while Todoroki looked at him and had a bit of a giggle. After recomposing himself, Deku shook his head.

"No, I'm not, actually. As a matter of fact, I barely know my own father."

"Oh?" The old man leaned in a bit closer. "Did he leave or what?"

"Well, he was posted on an overseas assignment some time after I was born, and the only contact I ever had with him was a series of letters I wrote to him."

Todoroki gave Deku a curious look. "Funny, you've never told me about your father before. Still, based on what you're telling me about him, you seemed to have a better relationship with him than I ever did with my father."

The old man looked at Todoroki as well. "May I ask about your father?"

"My father – who is currently the top hero in Japan – not only treated me as a weapon to surpass All Might, but also insisted on making me pretend to be a boy since he wanted a boy instead of a girl."

The old man shook his head. "It breaks my heart when parents mistreat their children. I expected better from a man like that."

"Well, when you want to surpass All Might, you tend to lose sight of what's really important. By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Hayato Hisakawa," said the old man.

Todoroki smiled. "Nice to meet you! I'm Shoko Todoroki, and this is my boyfriend Izuku Midoriya."

"How do you do?" said Deku.

Deku and Todoroki each bowed at Hisakawa. Shortly thereafter, their food was done.

"Enjoy, you two lovebirds!"

Okamoto handed Deku and Todoroki their food, and they wasted no time in chowing down. Within the first few bites, they nodded and let out "mmmms" of approval:

"OK, this is officially the BEST katsudon I've ever had!" Deku gave a thumbs up. "Even if there are strange murders going on in this town, I'll DEFINITELY be coming back for more!"

"I know, right? This zaru soba is extremely good, too!" said Todoroki.

Hisakawa smiled. "Glad you two like the food!"

After finishing their meals, Deku and Todoroki were heading back to the motel when…

"HELP! HELP!"

The two of them noticed a middle aged woman with graying hair running down the street in a panic, so they headed over to her.

"What's the trouble, ma'am?" asked Deku.

"My Yuki…somebody killed my Yuki!" cried the woman.

"We're sorry to hear that," said Todoroki. "May I ask who Yuki is?"

"H-he was my dog! WHY!? WHY WOULD SOMEBODY DO THAT!?"

The woman buried her face in her hands and continued crying. Todoroki gently approached her and gave her a big hug, which the woman returned. In the past, Todoroki never would've had the confidence to approach a stranger like this but with Deku's influence rubbing off on her, things were different. It was also because of Deku's influence that hearing this woman cry made Todoroki hurt. Nevertheless, she kept holding on because she found hugs to be very comforting, not only to give, but to receive. Eventually, the woman stopped crying, but she kept holding onto Todoroki for a bit before letting go.

"Thank you, young lady!" said the woman.

"You're welcome." Todoroki pulled out some tissues. "Here…"

The woman blew her nose and dried her eyes.

"Ma'am, if it's all right with you…" said Deku, "…my girlfriend and I are training to become pro heroes, and we'd like to investigate the murder of your dog."

At first, the woman stared at Deku as if he had two faces. Then, she sighed.

"Well…all right. I don't see what good it'll do, though."

The woman lived within walking distance of the motel and the restaurant, so it wasn't too much trouble for Deku and Todoroki.

"By the way, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Izuku Midoriya, and my girlfriend is Shoko Todoroki."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Hikari Uchiyama."

Deku and Todoroki each bowed at Uchiyama.

"So, Uchiyama, where is your Yuki?"

Uchiyama sniffled a little. "He's in the backyard, under a blanket. I'd be careful looking at him if I were you."

Deku and Todoroki nodded before heading for Uchiyama's backyard. Sure enough, there was a green blanket there, and when they lifted it up, they discovered Yuki – a Shiba Inu – whose corpse had numerous pieces of flesh stripped from it. Deku and Todoroki did their best not to regurgitate the contents of their supper upon witnessing such a horrific sight.

"Who would do something so horrific, and why?" said Todoroki.

Deku stroked his chin. "Judging by the way the flesh has been torn, I'd say that whoever killed Yuki also ate the animal. I can see a stab wound in the head, which means that the dog was killed with a knife or sword. If we could get a closer look at the stab wound, then maybe we could get some further insights."

Todoroki waved her hands back and forth. "Forget it. I'm NOT getting that close to it, and if you even think of touching it, you're washing your hands, understood?"

Deku nodded. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

Holding his nose, Deku leaned in closer to look at where Yuki had been stabbed. He eyed the wound carefully, scrutinizing it from various angles. Then, after a minute's worth of looking, he backed away.

"Well?" said Todoroki.

Deku stroked his chin. "Judging by what I saw, this dog was definitely killed by an uchigatana. Based on what else I've heard about the killers, if they have been breeding, then most likely, they're Quirkless…unless they kidnapped people with Quirks and forced them to mate."

Todoroki put a fist on her hip. "Then we'll have to act quickly. Who knows where else they'll strike next?"

"Right!"

Deku and Todoroki prepared to leave when Uchiyama approached them.

"Did you find anything?"

Deku nodded. "We think so. Listen, you might want to find somewhere to hide, just in case."

"All right. You two be careful, OK?" Uchiyama clasped her hands together.

Todoroki nodded. "We will."

Deku and Todoroki left.

"Where to now?" asked Todoroki.

"We go to the police. Even if Superintendent Kishimoto hasn't been able to find anything, we may be able to help.

After punching in directions on his phone, Deku led Todoroki to the police station. On the way, they saw a group of people crowding around, making a commotion near some bushes, so they went to get a closer look. Upon doing so, they discovered a man's body, beheaded and chewed up similarly to Yuki. Deku eyed the body carefully, but not too closely.

"This man was beheaded by an uchigatana," said Deku. "The more of these bodies I see, the more I'm convinced that those stories I've been hearing are real."

"So what do we do now?" asked Todoroki.

"Let's keep going to the police."

Eventually, Deku and Todoroki reached the Tatun Police Station. By now, it was getting dark.

"Can I help you two?" asked the officer at the front desk, a young woman with dark purple hair.

"We have information regarding the murders," said Deku. "Superintendent Kishimoto might be interested, too."

The officer gave a serious look and shifted in her chair slightly. "He's supposed to be on business at the Prefectural Police Headquarters, but we called them not too long ago and they claim he hasn't arrived."

Deku nodded. "Thank you anyways!"

The officer smiled. "You're welcome!"

Deku and Todoroki left the station.

"Something's really off here," said Deku. "If Kishimoto hasn't arrived at his destination, then whoever's responsible for the murders may have gotten him, too."

Todoroki stroked her chin. "Do you really think the murderers would be foolish enough to attack a police officer, though?"

Deku pointed a hand – palm up – at Todoroki. "If they're going around eating dogs and people, then would a badge really stop them?"

Todoroki nodded. "That's a good point. How are we even going to find Kishimoto?"

Deku shook his head. "I don't know. He could be anywhere by now. Odds are, he'll probably…"

"HELP ME!" shouted somebody. "SOMEBODY HELP ME! I'M BURNING UP! OH GOD, HELP!"

Without delay, Deku and Todoroki hurried to the source of the shouting, and in doing so, they found somebody crucified to a tree on fire, burning brighter than an Olympic torch. Todoroki used her ice to extinguish the fire, afterwards, using just enough of her fire to melt the ice. They then removed the man from the tree, only to discover that it was Kishimoto. A few bystanders had shown up as well.

"What happened!?" said one woman.

"Smells like barbecued dog hair!" said one guy.

"I'll go get some blankets and sake!" said another guy.

Meanwhile, Deku and Todoroki attended to Kishimoto, who was exhaling puffs of smoke from his lungs, not an easy task considering the burnt hair smell.

"Y-you've got…to stop…them," said Kishimoto. "Please…you…m-might be…our…"

Kishimoto laid his head back, while Deku turned to Todoroki and shook his head.

"This is bad," said Todoroki. "What do we do now?"

"We analyze the pattern that the murders took place in. If we can do that, then…"

"Hey, I got one!" shouted a mysterious male voice. "I GOT ONE! SOMEBODY GIVE ME A HAND!"

Deku and Todoroki rushed to the scene of the yelling, where they discovered an older man in his backyard with somebody caught in a bear trap. The trapped person was wearing rusted samurai armor and had diagonal black stripes painted on their face, and was carrying a katana.

"Is he one of the murderers?" asked Deku.

The old man nodded. "I think so."

"Let me go, ya old bastard!" said the samurai man.

Deku looked at Todoroki and nodded. Todoroki proceeded to freeze the samurai's feet.

"HEY! What the hell's goin' on here!?"

Deku took a step towards the samurai and shot a piercing glare into his eyes.

"You're going to tell us everything you know about the murders, whoever you are!"

"I know nothin'!" said the samurai. "I'm innocent!"

"Shoko!"

Todoroki proceeded to freeze the samurai's calves.

"Go ahead, turn me into an ice cube!" said the samurai. "I still won't talk!"

Todoroki proceeded to freeze the samurai's knees and thighs.

"Still not talkin'!"

"Is that so?" said Todoroki. "Perhaps this will convince you."

Not only did Todoroki freeze the samurai man's hands to prevent him from using his sword, but she lit a flame in her hands and approached him.

"HEY! Hey wait! What the hell are ya doin'!?"

Once Todoroki got close enough, she held her flaming left hand in front of the samurai's crotch.

"Would you like to defy us still?" said Todoroki.

"WAIT! STOP! STOP! OK, I'll talk!" The samurai was in tears. "Our hideout is in Mt. Yanbushi! I'll even take ya there! Just don't fry me or turn me into an ice cube!"

"Deku?" Todoroki turned to Deku.

"He's telling the truth."

Todoroki withdrew her fire hand and melted the samurai's icy shackles, but not before grabbing his katana.

With the info they needed, Deku and Todoroki forced the samurai to lead them up Mt. Yanbushi. It was a rather perilous trek, mainly because daylight was almost gone, but so far, nothing had befallen them. However, Deku wondered just how far up the mountain the murderers' hideout was located, especially considering the path they were taking wasn't very well-marked. Nevertheless, he knew that this samurai was telling the truth, so he decided to put up with the trek. Eventually, they came upon the entrance to a cave, marked by a couple of dim lanterns.

"Stay here," said the samurai. "They're expecting me."

Deku and Todoroki did as they were told, while the samurai entered the cave.

"Suisei, you're late!" said a mysterious older male.

"Yeah, where the hell have ya been!?" said a mysterious older woman.

"Sorry, Papa Mokusei and Mama Kaiosei," said Suisei. "I was almost ambushed by the local authorities."

"Papa, Mama!" said a young woman. "Suisei's lost his katana!"

"How DARE ya lose your weapon!?" said Papa Mokusei. "That's a treasured heirloom!"

"I-I'm sorry, I…I musta dropped it when I was runnin' away!" said Suisei.

"YOU BASTARD!" shouted Papa Mokusei. "You've killed us all!"

"Hey Pops, can I chop this dumbass' head off?" said a young man.

"Keep your mouth shut, Dosei!" said Papa Mokusei. "If anyone's gonna punish him, it's gonna be ME!"

While the murderers were still arguing, Deku tapped Todoroki on the shoulder and nodded, after which they proceeded to charge into the cave, which was quite well-lit.

"DETROIT SMASH!"

With a single punch, Deku knocked down a samurai with a long beard, whom he presumed to be Papa Mokusei. The other murderers took notice of this:

"INTRUDERS!" Mama Kaoisei – an older woman with random-colored splotches painted on her face – pointed at Deku and Todoroki. "KILL THEM!"

Immediately, the cave turned into a massive frenzy as Papa Mokusei, Mama Kaiosei and their cannibal children attempted to kill Deku and Todoroki. Upon seeing Deku's Blackwhip in addition to Todoroki's fire and ice, though, most of the children scattered, being without Quirks of their own as Deku had predicted. However, one of them raised his sword, which gave off a bluish-green glow, and he swiped at them, shooting a laser bolt in the process. Another one turned her fingers into bandage-like appendages and attempted to restrain Deku and Todoroki. As for Papa Mokusei, he turned into a giant ball and attempted to crush the two lovebirds, while Mama Kaiosei turned into a wolf and charged at them. Despite the intense odds, Deku and Todoroki fought on. Deku caught Papa Mokusei with Blackwhip and hurled him against the wall, though he had to dodge another sword laser. As for Todoroki, she managed to freeze Mama Kaiosei, but nearly got caught by some bandages. Fortunately, an expertly timed blast of flame saved her. As the battle raged on, the Quirkless children easily gave up, but the others staunchly refused to surrender, especially Papa Mokusei, who briefly turned back into a human to chew out Deku and Todoroki:

"YOU! Release my wife from your ice…NOW!"

"Not until you surrender!" said Todoroki.

"Then, you will DIE!"

Papa Mokusei changed back into a ball and charged at Deku and Todoroki, who managed to evade him and take down the other two children who had Quirks. The family patriarch was proving to be quite a tough customer, much to Todoroki's concern:

"Deku, how do we stop him!?"

"Think: a lot of transformation Quirks are temporary, aren't they? Let's just stay alive until he turns back into human form!"

"Right!"

Despite the odds, Deku and Todoroki kept using their Quirks on Papa Mokusei. Deku's Delaware Smash and Blackwhip seemed to do a good job of at least diverting the villain, and Todoroki's fire and ice at the very least slowed him down. Nevertheless, Papa Mokusei kept going. As Deku had predicted, however, he eventually had to change back to his regular form, which was the perfect opportunity for Deku to hold him down with Blackwhip and Todoroki to cast a more permanent restraint with her ice, also restraining others who were unbound.

"What sort of sorcery is this!?" said Papa Mokusei. "Lemme go!"

"No!" said Deku. "You're going to Tartarus, and you're gonna stay there for a LONG time!"

"YOU BASTARD! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

Deku opened his mouth to say something else, but was distracted when he heard Todoroki drop something.

"What was that?" said Deku.

"Yaoyorozu made me some emergency beacons, so I set one so the police can find these guys."

"Shouldn't we wait until they arrive, though?"

Todoroki nodded. "A wise decision."

And so, Deku and Todoroki waited until the Shizuoka Prefectural Police could arrive. Even if it was going to be a while until Todoroki's car would be fixed, at least they could rest easy knowing that they stopped this gang of cannibalistic killers.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.