The first rule I learned when I was in UA was, 'Remember: your quirk can kill.' Even if it was a support quirk I knew the real potential of Somnambulist. Of course not many heroes tend to brag about actual casualties they caused out there villain-wise. I won't, just... I know this is hard even for me to stomach.

As Koyurei sleeps off the breakdown, I trace a scar on my side. A brutal rip from years ago. On the left side that I don't show to the public in photo shoots. One that I used to be ashamed of.

One night years ago when I did kill.

But when I look at my husband? All I want to do is hold him and tell him that everything is okay. That I'm not going anywhere and that my family is alright. Hearing his voice going small, that fear in his eyes...

I wanted to chase Dabi. I wanted to take him down more than ever. Even if I was becoming a teacher soon the fire in me stoked hotter than ever to just deal with that bastard.

He shifts so softly in his sleep to bury himself back into my chest. Even in his dreams he wants to be close to me. It was a far cry from how he was before we met. He lets out a sigh and I melt even more.

I love him so much.

He might never walk again, Mr. Todoroki. His arms are gone too. It's almost impossible to-

Can you fix him?

Enji-

Shh, Rei. I'll fix him. He's survived this long, right?

We don't need him to be FIXED, Enji! We broke him, he'll never trust us again...

Maaamuuuuu?

Oh sweetie, it's okay. I'm right here.

Caaa'...

I can't see. Can't feel.

Mom ran out of the room, why?

I stayed up and eased him onto the bed. He lets out a soft groan and I dig through one of my bags to get out the files. There was one beat-up drive in the mountain of papers. Something Moe slipped in?

I plug it into my laptop and the files all read *Prometheus.*

Scrolling through, it seems like they were all medical records. Even video of some kind of surgery. The files all have Endeavor's name and Rei... and a doctor I've never heard of.

He looked like a young man, silver hair and golden eyes make eye contact with the camera. Something about him seemed familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe if I go further into this Prometheus file I'll be able to find out more.

"What I'm about to do is going to change the history of medicine as we know it." he says, "Of course, the patient is a rather... important person." he turns the camera towards a hospital bed where a small form lay. Four stumps where its arms and legs would've been and one unblinking dull blue eye stare at him from behind a bunch of bandages. A wheezing breath hisses out from the bonds and all I can do is look back at my husband thrashing in bed because of some nightmare.

The small form thrashes as the mysterious doctor continues, "My goal with Prometheus is complete bodily reconstruction. Hopefully this won't turn out as the first few animal trials did."

He takes a syringe full of some kind of liquid and slides it into a vein on the person's arm. After a few moments bone begins to reform and the person lets out a muffled cry before breaking into screams as the muscle and veins lash out with an almost grotesque squelching. The screaming turns to whimpering and the new arm lays slack at his side. Pale, new, but there're familiar scars on it. All four limbs went the same way after they adjusted. Koyurei laid there thrashing, crying, mumbling sounds that sounded like muffled pleas to make it stop.

"Now now, Mr. Todoroki. It's supposed to make you better."

"Nuuuuu... staaaa..."

I can't tear my eyes away as the gurgling changes to toneless screeching. His neck bends at an unnatural angle and there's more squelching and crunching. But before I could go on I feel a hand on my shoulder turning me around.

Standing there is Koyurei with haunted dull blue eyes and a warbling voice, "Please, stop watching that. It... it reminds me... just... just don't."

"Honey, we need to-" he slides onto his knees and grabs at my arms, scared out of his mind.

"No! No, no... you don't get it. There's nothing left of that doctor... there's no record of him anywhere and... and we gotta worry about Dabi." he smiles, "Dabi's easy. He's really easy, right?"

"Koyurei, I'm gonna call Dr. Shinsou. And we'll get you back to where you were, okay?" I gently pull off my nightshirt, "Just come here."

He stays away stepping off back to the bed and looking at me with fear in his eyes, "You're... you're putting me to sleep so you don't have to deal with me. That's what you do, right?"

"Koyurei, baby no-" I try to move forward but his flames leap to life and he looms over me.

"Stop it!" he snarls, "You always do this! Always with the words and the quirk and- and the... why do you want me?"

That's weird. He's calming down but the scent I'm letting out is different. But Koyurei falls to his knees and his flames wink out. He's sobbing down on his knees and I pull him into my arms.

I wanted the truth. And here it is.

"I want this to stop, Nemuri... I wanna... I wanna be better but I can't be better." he mumbles into my chest.

"Shhh... shhh... I know, baby. I know." I whisper.

"It all keeps coming back and I'm sick of it." he hisses, "Because when you and I are happy and everything, Touya or some other thing like my Dad or some past shit has to come back n' ruin it."

I rock him a little, "I'm scared that one day you're never going to come home, or die out there, or leave me." he looks up at me and grabs at my shoulders.

"I can't sleep when you're not home. I'm scared that one day I'm gonna turn on the TV and your name will be there, followed by the word dead." he breathes out shakily, "I hope that teaching job won't kill you."

His head nods a little, "I hope when I wake up... I'm okay again..."

"Why do you have the scars, Koyurei?" I ask, "From what I saw of Prometheus..."

"So I won't have them ever forget what I went through. That the pain and what I saw and felt back then was real." he yawns and his eyes flutter shut, sliding back down to bury his face into my chest. Dread fills my chest and makes the fear of just what else is on the drive even deeper.

"I'm scared you'll think I'm crazy..." he murmurs with his voice tinged in sleep.

I let sleep take me into its halls though. Just to make it all go away. Its all just a firestorm of feelings and memories that Koyurei doesn't want to remember and I can't blame him. It's just the idea that he's been through the mental equivalent of a nuke scares the shit out of me deep down.

Because how has he not gone full villain?

The truth is that I felt so much pain being healed from what happened at Sekoto Peak that I decided never to let that darkness overtake me. A long war is the last thing I need but because Nemuri knows about the drug that resurrected me, about what Dad did, and how I'm barely hanging on...

I grab onto one of the last bastions of willpower within me and use that to steady myself. Sitting on our bed here at her family's house. They aren't spooked even though they should be. The night's still young and Nemuri's sound asleep.

I dig through the clothes I packed for the kind of impromptu outfit where I could just disappear. I need to pound the pavement myself to find him, to end this before it begins. He made it personal and I'm fucking done with being scared.

I put on the black shirt and jacket, the pants too. It's almost like I'm trying to be someone else. Like that antihero from that comic years ago with the facepaint. Full of anger and full of love for the person he lost. But for me, it's about more than that.

I want to have kids with Nemuri, I want to have a future with her, and I can't have that with Dabi running around. I follow the trail he leaves behind. Avoiding using my quirk because that would be too obvious and mess up the trail. I wander through the dark cold streets sprawling with people out enjoying the holiday.

But it's never that easy. There's this feeling of someone watching me. Off in the distance a ways back the person fell into step with me. She doesn't really have to hide herself and I duck into an alleyway. Chitose Kizuki, a reporter I used to date, approaches me and lowers her hood.

"Well if it isn't Koyurei Todoroki!" She exclaims, "Nobody knows why he married Midnight and resigned, but here he is... back with me." she gives me a soft smile and her bright green eyes half lid behind azure eyelids. Her lilac hair was tied back away from her face and she steps closer to me, being taller and older than me. She tips my face up and studies it.

"Hmm... still so boyish." she chuckles, "I have what you want."

"Good, hand it over." I state, "I'll get out of your wa-" her finger touches my lips.

"Adadada... no sir. It's not that easy to jerk me around, precious." she gives me a sly 'I have a burning question that I hyperfixated on for hours' type smile.

"Do you want to know why I married Midnight?" I huff and she shakes her head.

"I want to know why you left me." she sighs, "I still miss you, and... and seeing you happily married with Midnight, I can't help but feel jealous."

I sit down and pat a place next to me, "Okay." I answer, ready to spin the yarn.

Chitose stares at the coat and grins, "Oh honey, this is *beautiful!*" she coos as she hugs the coat closer to her body, "Wow... this is for me?" her eyes glistened with tears and I almost wanted to hug her at that moment.

"Yeah. I wanted you to have something to remember me by." I answer with a smile, "Just in case I die horribly."

"Koyurei I'd be honored to write that obituary through so many tears I'd rehydrate the Sahara." she wraps her arms around me and kisses me fondly on the forehead. This is the same woman who'd blow up Dad for me had I asked.

But deep down I never thought I'd be this happy. That Chitose would want to be mine... and the fact that I knew Dad would hate her. Just for the reason that she's a reporter. He fucking hates reporters. But I curl into her arms as she types.

When I hear the keys it's like I'm far away from those that hurt me. Chitose writing the expose to end all exposes. The news that Dad was a monster all along. Dad... No, I have to close my heart to it. Chitose is going to save us, save my family, and be the one who finally dealt with Endeavor.

But then I remember how Dad would act. How he'd probably turn up his nose at her for, 'meddling where she wasn't supposed to.' and hurting her. He always does, anything or anyone that he deems a distraction he would burn down to cinders if he found out about them. Not actually kill, just ruin their reputation, their livelihood, and leave them WISHING he could've killed them when it comes to us.

After she manages to fall asleep I creep over to her laptop and open the article. Filled with my past. The abuse, the trauma, Sekoto Peak, and the Prometheus drug. All of it laid bare and factual by my loving girlfriend's detailed and vibrant words. Every line had our relationship in it. Every night spent on it. Every rambling diatribe about how she would write things and how beautiful she'd get when she would ramble. How her eyes would sparkle and how she loved me so deeply.

She never used me, abused me, or made me feel like I was the only one keeping them together.

When I opened the window to delete it, there was this moment of doubt. Almost like I could leave it be and it'd end it all. I'd topple Dad's empire and his reign of terror all in one blow and get a loving wife and family out of the deal. Even before Nemuri, even before Chitose, I never felt more conflicted. The other two exes were unhealthy as all get out but I didn't know that fourth time was the charm. Only that if I deleted it, I wouldn't be able to face Chitose again.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and I kept looking at how peaceful and triumphant her smile was. She won the lottery. Handsome boyfriend, the scoop of the ages, and easy street ahead. I had the window open, hovering over the delete button. The fire wasn't that strong then. I had my career and my father to think about. How I'd be the one to make things worse for my siblings and myself. How Mom could've been hurt too. The fear made my decision.

I deleted it. I looked back at her and weighed the options. Either I lie and tell her something went wrong or I tell her the truth that we'd never work out. Or just run away like a coward because I couldn't believe I would ever be happy. I left early that morning, deleted her contact information, and went back to Dad without incident.

At least until now.

Chitose's expression after I'm done is full of sheer disgust, "Koyurei... you deleted my article?! That was going to put Endeavor in the ground! All that digging, all those questions, and you left me because you felt sad?!" she snarls.

"I loved you, you know? I opened my heart and fell for you because you listened to me. When everyone else didn't, you did." she continues, "And then I wake up and you're gone, and my article's deleted, and I had nothing to show for years of research!"

Chitose's eyes filled with tears, "I... I don't know what you were thinking, but I'm glad you finally feel bad enough to apologize."

"I know! I know, I'm sorry..." I have tears in my eyes, "I just... I was in my own head and it just... got worse." they fall as I look down at the pavement. I feel her hand on my shoulder.

"At least you confessed, Koyurei." she says, "But after this, I won't help you. I've been doing my own groundwork on the whole Dabi thing. Turns out..." she pulls out a file and I open it by firelight.

"He's got a place to crash?" I guess.

Chitose smiles, "Bingo. But I wouldn't go after him if I were you. He's already joined up with some nasty customers." she stands up, "Read the rest when you got time. I won't hold you up."

Just before she leaves I kiss her on the cheek, "Thank you." I say with the deepest sincerity I can muster.

She blushes a deeper blue, "Don't push it, you're a married man."

"I wasn't trying to." I bow to her and walk away. The file nestled in my arm. I read it on my way back to Nemuri's place. It had detailed notes on where Dabi was going, what he'd do. I wonder how she got all this?

But I know she'd probably blow it up if anyone she didn't like tried to take it. Or blow it up anyway as a form of revenge. But all the pieces were set. All I needed was to send this all off to the proper people who could do what Dad couldn't.

This has to end.

No matter what it takes.