My Hero Academia Fan Fiction

Blood dripped from your nose. Wind whipped through your hair. The grasp on your quirk was the strongest it had ever been. You were giving it full power to fight.

A bloody nose is like a broken bone. The words echoed in your mind, and you held firm. You would break every bone in your body if it meant your classmates would live.

“I’m stronger than you, more powerful than you,” you said, hoping your words did not come out shakily. “If you have any hope of escaping, you will have to deal with me first. I can read every thought you have, anticipate every outcome. I can keep you here as long as it takes. I’ll keep you here until every hero in Japan is outside this forcefield if I have to.”

Breaking, your mind was breaking. You felt each strand of your quirk twist and crack under the weight of the attack from every Nomu, felt the sharp points of All for One’s quirk scrape against your shield.

“You’ve trapped yourself in here with me? Unwise indeed. You dare waste my time further?” All for One questioned. “What game are you playing at? Surely you don’t believe you could win.”

You forced a smile. “I know I can.” Break. You needed to break every facet of your quirk, let it lose control in every sense of the word. Give it to him broken; let him see the power he could have and then give it over. You let every thought in Japan flood your mind, kept your forcefields up at full strength.

Shigaraki’s struggle came into view. He was fighting, fighting for possession of his body again. All for One was using him for this body. You pulled out of his mind as to not get grabbed as you had been before.

The energy continued to scrape at your shields as soon as one spike broke through, you used your mind to shove it back out.

“My patience is wearing thin, child,” All for One snarled.

“Then, end this. If you’re so powerful, then break through.” You were absolutely terrified. No amount of confidence that you’ve perceived in your existence could have matched the words spilling recklessly from your lips.

The Nomus beat relentlessly on the larger field that you made. At this point, the bubble had started to crackle with blue energy, becoming visible. The heroes that could still move, were fighting the Nomus back as best they could as you stayed within the forcefield you’d created yourself.

The air whipped harder around you. Each coiled knot of control was beginning to unravel. The wind rushed through Shigaraki, his hair blowing back. All for One sent a different quirk at you. This one rippled and sizzled through your barrier. The radio-wave quirk had more effect on your mind than physical attacks, but you stood firm.

“You misjudged me. Now, I will show you the consequences of your assumptions,” you said boldly. You lifted your hand ahead of you, and the air seemed to suspend at your will. You caught rubble with strands of your mind, whipping it directly at All for One so fast he had little time to counteract it with his own quirks.

“Such confidence from a young hero. What would happen if I stripped you of the very thing that you hoped to defeat me with?” All for One asked. He took a step toward you, lifting his hand again.

Do it. Take my quirk. Your words did not reach past the minds and thoughts you were taking in. Break it. Burn it to the ground. Let him have what you’ve struggled with your entire life.

The wind picked up, blowing the man sideways. He had to consciously keep himself upright. Your feet left the ground. Your power fully unleashed, finally allowing you the ability of flight.

“Perhaps I have been too quick to judge you. I find your quirk much more appealing now that I know that there is so much power within it,” All for One spouted greedily. “I think I will take it for myself, for my successor.”

A wave of attacks hit your mind field all at once, beating it down. Quirk after quirk stabbed at your resistance. Piece by piece your mind was being peeled. All for One placed Shigaraki’s hand onto the outer shield. Cracks, graying brittle cracks crackled up the side of the field and then your mind. You shrieked as something ancient and powerful was being ripped apart. You fell to your knees, forcibly putting all of your energy into outputting your quirk, holding that shield up against the Nomus, giving All for One the chance to receive the gift he so desperately wanted to take from you.

You heard Shoto scream out your name, begging you to let him help. You were too pained to make out his exact words. Shinso… you heard him yelling too, felt his hand beating against the same forcefield you were using to keep the monsters out.

A cold dry palm pressed into your forehead. You looked up with tearful eyes, seeing red energy illuminate your vision, but you forced a smile. The final piece of your mind cracked like a fragile egg. The tip of your head felt like it was being chipped away, like it was decaying, and you put all of your final bits of energy into trying to protect yourself from being disintegrated.

Stop fighting! you mustered the final two words, blasting it into every single mind around you, mimicking Shigaraki’s voice. The same gravelly tone you so fearfully remembered. The Nomus would stop because they knew no different. To them, your mental words were Shigaraki’s. The Nomus would wait until your final sacrificial act was complete.

The corrupt and broken quirk left your body, filtering into Shigaraki’s. You gave it up willingly, knowing the ticking timebomb that you’d given away. You knew realization had struck the man before you, when his fingers quaked near your temple. You watched as he crumpled to the floor, a mind shattered. Not one mind, but two.

You fell back, pain replaced by darkness. You’d done it. You’d saved everyone, except yourself.

 …Ten Years Later…Perspective: Shoto Todoroki…

 Shoto stared at the little shop entrance, frozen in fear. It had been ten years since that day, ten years since Shigaraki and All for One had been defeated. He’d passed this shop every year for the past five years it had been open, but he never had the courage to actually go inside.

The outer trim of the small bakery and sweets shop was light blue with a glitter finish, outshining all of the gray business buildings beside it. The sign was made up of bold dark blue letters, spelling out the words “Chocolate Sharks.”

Shoto felt out of place here in his hero costume. He’d shot up the ranks, pouring himself into his hero work after the incident, after Anna Kokoro lost all of her memories. He couldn’t seem to forgive himself. He kept questioning what he could have done differently so the outcome hadn’t been the loss of such a brilliant hero. Even when Shoto reached number one, he felt empty, like something was missing. It was her. It was always her.

Shoto stared absently downward. If he stood outside the bakery any longer, he’d surely cause a scene. Perhaps, he wasn’t actually ready to go inside, to face her. The adults had told all of class 1-A to give her time, to not push her too soon. Her mind had been so fragile, so broken by the time she reached the hospital. It was a whole year before anyone was allowed to even see her, and it was mainly Mr. Aizawa and her parents that could speak with her. She remembered no one, not even Ochaco Uraraka, her best friend since she was far younger than she was during the accident. She was officially removed from U.A. shortly after, quirkless and lost to everything that she had accomplished. All of Anna’s classmates were told by U.A. faculty, doctors, and the police not to interact with her in case it could cause more damage to her mind, but that was such a long time ago, it didn’t matter anymore.

A silver bell rang ahead of Shoto. He let out a small gasp, meeting the hazel eyes of the young woman in front of him. She’d bent down to retrieve a small cup of weeds that had been left outside her door, yellow heads bobbing up and down with the over-filled cup.

“Oh, excuse me. Did you want to come in?” Anna asked. She smiled warmly in Shoto’s direction, and he suddenly remembered the comfort that she used to bring him. “There are freshly baked cookies. I’m sure hero work makes a man such as yourself hungry.” She propped the door open with her arm, and Shoto instinctually grabbed it out of courteousness.

The sweet and deep chocolate aroma hit him first, making even his mouth water. He never cared much for sweets, but the smell was so enticing he felt inclined to enter. Anna gave him another smile, her nose crinkling just a bit and her eyes twinkling like they’d always done before. She adjusted her glasses before moving back into the small bakery.

Anna moved back behind the counter, waiting for Shoto to step inside. He lingered at the door like a vampire needing an invitation. Patient as ever, Anna didn’t seem to mind his hesitancy.

"You’re welcome in. If you just want to take a seat, be my guest. You don’t need to order anything if you don’t want to. If sweets and pastries are not to your liking, would you like some tea?” she asked.

Shoto cleared his throat, taking one shaky step over the wooden floor. The place was cute, decorated with oversized food items, like strawberry chairs and cake designed tables with a cherry centerpiece. The place was clean, spotless. There was not a single finger smudge on the display glass. Shoto crossed the room slowly, his eyes surveying every item in the shop. Anna went on tiptoe to replace a set of weeds on one of her higher shelves behind the counter.

Shoto jolted back when she began to speak again, was surprised to hear her voice.

“There’s a man that leaves these outside my door every week. I think he’s a Pro Hero too. I’ve told him not to do it because I worry that I’ll forget they’re out there one day. He told me not to worry about it, and it’s more of a tradition anyway. I wonder if he knew the previous owner of this building. I’ve tried to ask him before, but… he seems like a rather private individual.” Anna tilted her head to the side, wiping absently at the front of her apron covered in sharks. “She must have been a very lucky lady for a hero to be so dedicated to dropping off flowers for her every week like that. Although I’m sure most women wouldn’t be as appreciative to receive common dandelions, I find they’re rather pretty. I take them in so that they will last longer. Besides, a little yellow never hurt a room.” Her voice twinkled like a morning windchime.

Anna leaned up over the counter, glancing between Shoto and the goods within the display case. “So, what brings you all the way out here to my little old shop?” she asks.

“Me?”

Anna giggled. “Of course, you. Sure, I have some Pro Hero regulars, but I haven’t seen you come in before.” She glanced away, stepping back from the counter and fidgeting with her hands. “I do have to admit something to you though…” she trailed off, blushing bashfully.

Shoto gulped. Admit something to him? He had no idea what that could be. Had she actually remembered him, their past together? Hope filled his chest. She tugged absently at her messy braid, some flour had managed to get on the end of it, and she quickly brushed it off.

“What is it?” he asked eagerly.

Anna’s blush deepened in color. “It’s sort of embarrassing, and I hope you won’t take offense to this.” She fixed the front of her apron. “I’m actually a huge fan. I see you on television all the time, and I know it’s silly because I’m quirkless, but I had always wanted to be a hero like you are. You’re truly an inspiration to me, especially since we both have a scar…” she trailed off again, looking away. She slowly lifted a portion of her bangs out of the way to show the scar made of partially cracked skin near her temple, where Shigaraki had tried to decay her. A streak of white was permanently fixed in her hair as well.

“Oh,” his voice dropped a little in disappointment. Shoto had forgotten about the scar on her forehead. He could barely see it when he walked in. Guilt ripped the next words out of his mouth.

“I didn’t mean to say something to make you uncomfortable.” She covered her scar back up. “I just wanted to tell you. I guess that was selfish of me.” She gave a small self-deprecating laugh that made Shoto’s heart break for her. “Believe it or not, I used to have a quirk, even went to U.A., but I don’t have any memory of it myself. You might have even seen me in the hallway because you went there too, right? It’s kind of ridiculous to think someone like you would have known someone like me though—”

“I always noticed you,” Shoto blurted.

Anna blinked at him in confusion. “What?” she asked. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Ah.” Shoto pressed his lips together. He may have said too much. Would it be bad to discuss the past with her now? Could it damage her mind even this far from the incident? He didn’t want to take that chance. “I would have always noticed you if I’d seen you,” he corrected. “Maybe we were in different classes.” He hated lying to her. He hated himself for lying to her.

Anna blushed again. “I’m sure you’re just flattering me.” She waved her hand. “It’s certainly appreciated, but you don’t have to be nice to me out of kindness.”

Shoto’s shoulders dropped. He tried to cover it up by looking over the pastries inside the display case again. Coming here was a mistake. He missed her too much. He wanted so desperately to tell her everything.

“Anything catch your eye?” Anna asked. “One pastry on the house for new customers.” She smiled again.

Shoto remembered baking with Anna. He remembered how much of a disaster he was in the kitchen too. He considered buying everything, but he didn’t want to scare her. He had the money for it, but he also didn’t want all of her hard work to go to waste either. There were only so many people at his agency that would consider eating sugar.

“The chocolate chip cookies,” he said, deciding upon the very item he had worked with her to make so many years ago. “And, a chocolate ganache cake. Make those three cakes.” He would eat them himself if no one else at the office would. He’d eat them until he couldn’t stomach it, just for her.

“Of course. How many cookies?” she asked, already packing the cakes in cardboard boxes with the shark logo on the top.

“All of the chocolate chip cookies please,” he said. That should be enough. Not too much, not too little. It wouldn’t seem like he was overdoing it.

“All of them?” she squeaked out. “Are you sure? I mean, I’m not questioning how many cookies you can eat Mr. Shoto, but—”

“Just Shoto is fine,” he corrected smoothly. Of course that wasn’t a normal amount. What was he thinking? He wished he were better at these kinds of situations, but his social interactions with the public had only gone so far. Maybe, he should have just gotten one.

“Shoto, there are over four hundred chocolate chip cookies here,” she said, scanning over the amount lined up within the case.

“Seems like a fair amount for my hero agency. I wouldn’t want to leave out any of the hardworking sidekicks after all,” Shoto said, trying to come back from what he had perceived as a blunder.

“If you’re certain, then I will pack them up neatly for you right away. If you would excuse me, there are some more boxes in the back," Anna said.

Shoto relaxed, fighting the urge to slam his palm to his forehead. This little detour was far more difficult than he had expected. His eyes floated up toward the register. Out in front of it was a purple cat with a swinging paw. A small button necklace was looped around its porcelain neck. Shoto narrowed his eyes at the object. It didn’t seem to go with the rest of the shop, and Shoto suspected who the lucky statue cat had come from. Perhaps, Shoto wasn’t the only one trying to see Anna again.

“Just enough boxes!” Anna called cheerfully as she came back up to the front. “I hope you’ll be able to carry them all by yourself,” she murmured, counting each cookie as she placed them into the open box.

The entryway bell chimed, and Shoto tensed. Anna poked her head up from what she was doing to greet the new customer.

“Welcome to Chocolate Sharks! Ah, Red Riot. It’s so nice to see you again!” Anna said. “I’ll be right with you after I serve this other patient customer.”

Shoto’s eyes widened. Kirishima came here? Shoto was beginning to feel foolish. Had he been the only one too scared to reach out after the incident? Did she know everyone else?

“No worries, Princess. I’m on break. Take your time.”

Anna looked momentarily distracted from counting. She pouted. “You shouldn’t be calling me such a familiar nickname, Red Riot. People will get the wrong idea about us. You’re my loyal customer. I don’t like spreading rumors.”

“Sorry, Princess. It’s just a force of habit,” Kirishima said.

So, she didn’t know him? Or, didn’t know the old him at least. Shoto risked a glance back toward the Pro Hero. Kirishima’s crimson gaze was already scanning him.

“First time here?” Kirishima asked knowingly.

Shoto’s muscles coiled. He nodded in shame. Kirishima patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s alright man. I get it,” he whispered. “We all missed her. It takes some people longer than others to heal.”

Shoto clenched his jaw. He wasn’t the one that needed to heal. Anna had sacrificed her dreams to become a hero for ultimate peace in Japan, and she didn’t even know she’d been a hero. She had no idea that she made the sacrifice either. She was the one who needed to heal, deserved to heal. Shoto was ashamed of himself for not trying to find her, talk to her, sooner.

“You better not be harassing my new customer,” Anna said, continuing to count the cookies.

Kirishima put his hands up in defense. “I would never! What kind of a loyal customer would I be if I scared off all of your business?” Kirishima asked.

“Uh huh,” Anna said suspiciously.

Once she finished wrapping the last box with twine, she hauled the lot of them over to the register. She slowly input all of the items, hesitating with some numbers, most likely being held back by residual damage from the decay to her head all those years ago. She read out the total, and Shoto readily handed over his card. Once the transaction was complete, Anna gave Shoto a final smile.

“Thank you for coming to Chocolate Sharks. I hope to see you again.”

“You will,” Shoto said. He wanted to tell her he should have come sooner, but he didn’t have the heart. “Thank you for such a warm welcome.”

“Any time,” Anna said almost breathlessly. “It was nice meeting you.”

Shoto paused with the boxes in hand. He wanted to blurt out all of his feelings then and there. He’d put so much work into distracting himself from her that during this small moment of peace, it was killing him to even look at her. All of the past memories he’d spent with her came flooding back all at once. He wished things had ended up differently. He wished that they could have been together. He waited far too long to come and see her. He would not make that mistake again.

“Thank you,” he repeated. The sadness was clear in his tone.

All for One retracted the spears of energy, sending out a radio shockwave that rattled your mind. You hissed out in pain, staggering back. All for One took the opportunity to send a blast of yellow energy at you, and you stopped it just short of sending you clear off of Gigantomachia's back.

“Interesting.” All for One got closer and closer, as you fought off attack after attack.

You gasped as your found yourself inches from Shigaraki, his hand reaching out toward your face. Exhausted and overexerted from shielding from an onslaught of attacks, there was nothing left of your quirk to use, nothing that you could bring forth to force him away.

“Don’t be frightened. Your quirk will be used for something greater,” All for One stated. He grabbed your face, and you clawed at his fingers.

Red energy pulsed, ripped, and sucked at your mind. Your quirk was being pulled from you, taken. Seconds. It took seconds. You shivered as it was finally disconnected from you. Your eyes rolled back up into your head.

…

You jolted upright, grabbing for anything to stabilize you. The cleanly smell of antiseptic hit your nose first. The white walls made your stomach churn. Hospital. You were in the hospital.

It was quiet. It was so quiet, eerily quiet. Your fingers trembled as they reached for your head. You didn’t feel it. You didn’t feel your quirk there anymore. The distant buzz was gone, the constant need to ensure that you weren’t reading someone’s mind was gone.

You resisted the urge to rip out your IV. Instead, you stood up from your hospital cot, pulling the equipment attached to you weakly with you. You peered out into the hallway, hearing murmuring voices come from the next room over.

Your eyes widened when you saw a purple silhouette exit one of the neighboring rooms. Shinso’s violet gaze met yours. He blinked at you once or twice, disbelief clear in his expression, then he rushed to you. His arms were around you before you could speak.

“I thought he had killed you,” he choked out. “I thought I had lost you forever.”

You hugged him back, as clunky as it was to do so attached to so much equipment. You were shaking. Tears pooled in your eyes.

“What happened?” you asked, but you already knew.

Shinso’s embrace tightened. “I think you’ll need to sit down first.”

“Tell me,” you gasped out, lip quivering.

Hitoshi hesitated to answer you, but he wouldn’t outright deny your request. “Shigaraki escaped. He stole your quirk.”

…Ten Years Later…

“Pay attention students. These questions will be on Friday’s test,” you announced, etching out the equation in chalk on the board. If they understood how important this was, you were certain they wouldn’t be so distracted.

“What does it matter? It’s not like we’re going to use math like this in the real world. You’re just having us learn it because the quirkless normies have to do it in their schools. Heroes don’t need to know all this crap,” Nakaya spat. He kicked his feet up on his desk, reminding you of Bakugo as a youth. He had spiky blue hair that looked like your old classmate’s too.

You paused with the chalk still in your hand. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten the importance of planning, or how much you like using your support items in the field. What if you needed to crack a code to stop a villain’s bomb before it detonated? All of these things would not be possible to solve without equations, numbers. Not everything is thwarted with strength or dumb luck.” You let your hand fall down to your side, seeing Nakaya’s reflection in the corner of your glasses. He was off balance, putting all of his weight on the back of his chair. A little force would certainly have him reeling back. “Angles are also important,” you continued, calculating at which exact angle you would need to hit his chair to have it slip out from under him.

You started to etch the trajectory on the board, showing the class your plan before enacting it. A few of the brighter well-behaved students began to murmur as they started to put it together, weight distribution, an object, velocity, impact. It was all coming together. You circled back to your desk, grasping one of your weighted hero projectiles from a drawer. You held it in your hand as if it were an ordinary stress ball, then with little effort you whipped the support item at the back end of Nakaya’s chair. He yelped as it was just enough to tip him over, and he crashed dramatically to the floor.

You pointed back up at the board. “As you can see, planning your next move using strategy and simple mathematics can allow you to have the upper hand over any adversary that you might encounter.” You continued writing out the rest of the prep questions for the end of the week’s test. “It is also important to remember that being quirkless does not mean being incapable of doing great things. Quirkless individuals can be a hero too. Math and science are huge factors in allowing those of us without natural-born gifts to surpass those of us who refuse to pay attention in class." You continued to scroll out the rest of the formulas. “Take me for example. I lost my quirk in the early stages of being a student at this school, and I was still able to become a Pro Hero thanks to my inventive mind and support items.”

Nakaya clicked his tongue, scoffing as he collected himself off the ground. He sat properly back up in his seat, and you considered how proud Aizawa would have been to see such a feat accomplished.

The door suddenly burst open, and you turned, hand already reaching toward the drawer with your utility belt. You relaxed when you saw Midoriya standing at the door, freckled face flushed and worried.

“S-sorry, I thought I heard a loud bang, and I thought maybe you were in trouble, Miss Kokoro.”

A few of the students snickered and laughed.

“Mr. Midoriya to the rescue,” one of the girl students cooed.

Midoriya’s face got redder, and he started stuttering again. “I-I was only trying to assist if needed.” He adjusted his green tie that complimented his brown plaid suit. He had to start wearing support gloves so he wasn’t in pain constantly from the damage he had caused his arms and hands in the past. They poked out from under his sleeves, an intricate mess of silver mechanics and red wires.

“I’m fine, Midoriya. Thank you for checking in,” you responded to him warmly. “I was just teaching one of my students the importance of strategic planning.”

Midoriya glanced at the board, muttering to himself about the calculations. He turned to Nakaya, having deduced where you’d thrown the projectile. “Oh, I see.” Midoriya cleared his throat. “I suppose I should be leaving—”

The U.A. security alarm began to blare, and red lights flashed throughout the room and hallway.

“Is this a drill?” Midoriya asked.

“It’s not in the schedule,” you said firmly. “Students, orderly exit the classroom to the designated safety areas! Mr. Midoriya please help guide other students calmy through the hallways.” You scrambled through your drawers, picking out support items and hooking your hero utility belt around your evening teacher’s dress.

When you looked up again, the students were uncertain of whether or not to leave you. These were only first years after all. They hadn’t been in your classes for very long either. “This is not a drill. You need to move.” You flicked out your retractable staff.

Nakaya rolled his eyes. “Bet it’s just a damn drill.”

Some of the students started filtering out of the classroom to your relief. You counted them on the way out to make sure no one had left for the restroom or to the nurse’s office. As you counted the tenth student, an explosion rattled the building. Nakaya jolted away from the noise. You slid out in front of your retreating students as another explosion made the classroom tremble. You spun your staff out in front of you, preparing for combat. The wall burst open with the next explosion. A wave of fire hurled toward you.

You jumped back, bumping into Nakaya as you went for your belt. With split-second reflexes you found your subzero projectile and tossed it out. The ice and fire combined together in a cloud of steam. You grabbed Nakaya by the arm, urging him for the door. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched a man casually walk through the open wall. The villain was dressed in a pristine white suit, not a mark on him. His blond hair was slicked back, and his beard was well-trimmed. His blue eyes observed you with interest as he raised an eyebrow.

“Hailey, it appears you may have miscalculated that last explosion,” he said, adjusting his tie. “I don’t believe this was the correct room. This one is quirkless.” His eyes shined with purple energy. “Ah, wait. Something there is dormant. No, definitely quirkless.” He tutted sharply. “Heavens, I tell you every time to watch where you use your quirk. It defeats the element of surprise.

From the smoke, came a lightning quick villainess, propelled by explosive fire. Without you even being able to lift your staff, her hand was around your neck. Smoke came from her nostrils, and her fingers burned like hot iron. You stifled a cry.

“This is the one,” she hissed. “Two to go.”

She held all of her weight forward as if she never stopped moving. Even now, she was pushing you back toward the door. She had silver eyes and slicked back black hair. You used her momentum, twisting your body and her weight forward. She growled when you hooked a cuff to one of her wrists on the way down. She moved too fast for you to get the other on her. Her hands were on you again as she maneuvered out of the throw, catching herself and pivoting.

Before she could lay her hands back on your skin again, a flash of green crossed your vision. Then, the woman was gone. You watched in awe as the fire quirk villain had been launched back at the formally dressed man. Suddenly, you were being held securely in place by a muscular freckled arm. Midoriya’s entire suit had been ripped up the sleeve, suggesting he had just used One for All to launch the villain, Hailey, into oblivion. His support glove whirred and adjusted. Midoriya winced.

“Sorry. I circled back when I heard the explosion. Are you okay?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” you said, looking over incredulously at the two villains that had single-handedly just been knocked unconscious. “Thanks for the save.”

“Of course. I would never just leave you in danger.” Midoriya’s green eyes moved down to your neck, and he gasped. “Are you really okay? She burned you. Let me take you to the nurse’s office.” He lifted you up into his arms to carry you out, and you immediately started to squirm out.

“No, no, I’m fine.” Between the struggle to get out of Midoriya’s gentle grasp, you noticed U.A. security picking up the unconscious villains. The alarms almost simultaneously stopped squawking. “Really, Midoriya. This is not necessary.”

Midoriya had barely taken a step outside the classroom, and the giggles started up immediately. Several of the returning students were staring at the two of you. Your face blossomed into a blush. Midoriya froze with you still very much in his arms. Having been unable to escape, you resorted to covering your face with your hand.

“Please put me down,” you murmured.

Midoriya finally obliged, and you dusted the front of your dress off. Midoriya cleared his throat in embarrassment. The students continued to watch the two of you and gossip, some of them even pulling out their phones to take pictures.

“Return to your classes. That’s enough gawking,” you scolded the lingering students. You rubbed your temples.

“Sorry,” Midoriya apologized.

“You were only trying to help,” you replied.

Your class came sauntering back into the classroom, looking between the two of you with cheeky smiles.

One of the female students boldly started chanting, “Miss Kokoro and Mr. Midoriya sitting in a tree K—”

“Enough.” You didn’t let the student finish, already thoroughly embarrassed over the situation in itself.

“Sorry,” Midoriya apologized to you again, only making matters worse, as the students started conversing about the absurd idea of the two of you having a secret relationship once more.

You gave him a look and his muscular shoulders crowded his ears. He said a “sorry” under his breath, and you waved a hand at him in frustration. You dismissed your students, as the classroom was in ruin, letting them know there would still be a test at the end of the week. Midoriya stood by sheepishly, glancing at you and most likely waiting for all of your students to leave before trying to get you medical attention again.

To your surprise, Nakaya paused in front of you. He scuffed his nose with his knuckle, then shoved both his hands into his pockets. “That was pretty cool, Miss Kokoro,” he admitted under his breath.

You blinked at him in surprise. “What?” you asked, thinking that you must have heard him wrong.

“It was kind of alright the way you threw that villain over you like that. You used her own weight, right? That had to do with that calculating stuff you were rambling on in class about, yeah?” He turned his head away, checking that no one was listening to him compliment you.

“Yes,” you said carefully, waiting for him to flip this on you somehow.

“Think you could explain that next class?” He clicked his tongue. “I mean, I don’t know, maybe I might pay extra attention if you show me how to kick ass like that.”

You attempted but failed to hide your smile. You were proud that he actually was reaching out to you. “First of all, language. Second of all, I will be sure to center next lesson around full-body takedowns. It will highlight the angle advantages too. I appreciate the feedback, Nakaya.”

Nakaya’s eyes seemed to light up, but his face fell when he noticed Midoriya still standing there. “Yeah, whatever, Teach.” He absently kicked his shoe over the ground. “Glad you’re okay. I’m sure a substitute would have been as—”

You gave Nakaya a warning look.

“Assumingly annoying,” he said. He gave you a final wave goodbye, before disappearing with the rest of the class.

You sighed. “You know you don’t have to walk me to the nurse’s office, right?” you asked, tilting your head back toward Midoriya.

“Would you have actually gone if I didn’t wait?” he asked.

“Probably not.”

“Then, it’s a good thing I stuck around.”

You shook your head, nudging him with your elbow. “You sticking around is what keeps starting up rumors about us.”

“Wait! Don’t! He’s only trying to help!” you shouted toward Best Jeanist. “Let him go!”

You struggled in Shinso’s grasp, but he’d lifted you from the ground. The binds tightened around Kobura. His eyes widened in panic. You saw venom gurgle up into his mouth. Bubbles of air barely making it out his throat. He struggled, and the cables only grew tighter around him. His face twisted in pain, growing red and then purple in color.

“He can’t breathe!” you shouted. “Let him go! He’s not our enemy! He was helping!”

“Best Jeanist knows what he’s doing. Stop fighting me, Kitten. He’s a villain. He should have never showed up here,” Shinso assured you.

Doku didn’t even have enough air to respond. Watching him struggle like that was too horrifying. You elbowed Shinso in the jaw, scrambling out of his grasp to make it to Doku. They weren’t listening to you. No matter how easy or constricting Best Jeanist was being, something was wrong with Doku’s quirk. He was drowning in his own viral venom. He couldn’t even fight for his case to be released. You took hold of the cables, attempting to pull them away with assistance from your mind quirk. You pulled off some of the rope, but lost grip on others.

“You’re killing him!” you shouted. “Let him go!”

Doku’s eyes rolled up in the back of his head. Your chest constricted. In a last-ditch effort to get him free, you cut your hands on the special fabric. You snapped three binds. It took four for Doku to be dropped. You put up a mind shield so he wouldn’t be grabbed again. You reached for his face, patting his cheek in an attempt to get him to react. You put him on his side and venom emptied out of his parted lips, followed by streams of blood. There were indentations of where the cables had him, they’d gone deep into his skin, leaving behind red welts. How could a Pro Hero have done this? You begged for him to be released and yet Best Jeanist didn’t even weaken his hold on him.

“Breathe! Wake up, Doku. You’re free,” you begged.

Tears burst from your eyes. You continued to shake Kobura, hoping that he would respond to you. His skin was cold under your touch. You pressed your ear to his chest, but you couldn’t hear a heartbeat. You rolled him onto his back, beginning CPR. As you pressed the heel of your palm into his chest, wracking sobs escaped you. You pressed your lips to his, trying to breathe life back into him. You weren’t sure how long you continued on like this. It could have been minutes or hours that you were doing compressions, but he never woke up.

You fell over Doku, crying into his chest and pleading for the life to come back to him. You were screaming for someone to get help, but no one came. Your mind shield eventually dissipated from exhaustion. Shinso dragged you off of Doku’s lifeless body, clutching you to him as you cried.

“Please, someone help him,” you begged again.

Evidently, Shigaraki had escaped with the help of his Nomus. Everything appeared to be at a standstill. Silence and decayed landscape lay in the wake of the destruction. You refused to leave with the paramedics, until they finally covered Kobura’s body and took him away.

You shivered, unable to forget the lifelessness that beheld his vivid green eyes. Shinso somehow managed to get you into an ambulance. They checked you over, uttering nonsensical words at you. Nothing mattered. The heroes killed Kobura. They murdered him.

You numbly sat in your dorm room for days. Classes were on hold while everyone recovered from the aftermath. You packed a bag before you knew what you were doing. With Mr. Aizawa in the hospital, no one stopped you from leaving U.A. grounds. You’d made up your mind. You wouldn’t become a killer. You couldn’t become a Pro Hero after what you’d just witnessed. Best Jeanist had been in the top ten Pro Heroes. Hawks was number two, and he had murdered Twice. You wouldn’t go back to your parents. You wouldn’t be locked away again.

You wandered the streets of Japan, backpack weighing heavily on your shoulders. You blended too well into the crowds in your normal clothes. Day became night, night became day, and again the cycle continued. You didn’t sleep. You didn’t eat. You just walked, until you were standing in an alleyway, swaying on your numb legs. Hunger clawed at your empty stomach. Night had fallen over you.

“Anna?”

You turned, feeling the hairs stand up on your forearm. Toga tilted her head to the side in confusion. She looked you up and down, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What’s a hero student doing in this part of town at night?” she asked.

“I’m no longer a hero student,” you murmured. Your fingers dug into the straps at your shoulders. A single tear fell down your face. “They killed him. The Pro Heroes killed him, and I couldn’t save him.” You collapsed where you stood, exhaustion taking you in one fell swoop.

Toga rushed to you, keeping your head from hitting the ground. Her eyes widened at your words. She sunk down beside you. “They killed both of them,” she corrected. “I lost them both.”

You sobbed. Toga’s arms came around you in an embrace. You hugged her back.

“It hurts so bad. I can’t stop seeing it. I can’t stop having nightmares about it,” you confessed.

“I know.” She rubbed your back in an attempt to console you.

“I hate them for it. I did everything I could to stop them. I begged them to let him go.” You cried harder, shaking.

“He loved you,” she said. “He really loved you, and he wouldn’t want you to blame yourself for it. It’s not your fault. It’s the hero’s fault.”

You nodded into her shirt in agreement.

“There’s one thing you can do to make the pain go away,” Toga explained.

You wiped at your eyes, trying to look at her. “I’ll do anything. What can I do?”

“Avenge their deaths.”

…Ten Years Later…

You adjusted your hood again, watching a few Pro Heroes make an illegal deal with villains for some quirk-erasing bullets. They weren’t cops. They fully intended to use those bullets for their own gain. You saw it in their minds. Their perverse understanding of how to get ahead in this powered world was to erase the quirks of those that were standing in their way. You almost wished you had waited for Toga to come out with you. She would have enjoyed cutting them to pieces.

You tapped one of Kobura’s knives with the tip of your finger. A slit to their throats would be more than they deserved. They’d been making these kinds of deals all over the city. They’d been doing it for years. Your hand trailed up your false-leather suit, pressing into your temple once you reached your head. Kobura’s taste in clothing impressed you. He only had the finest fabrics, all of which had a tactical advantage. Toga insisted you inherited all of his assets. She said he would have wanted it that way. If he only could see you now, he’d probably be grinning from ear to ear.

Your eyes followed the Pro Heroes as they left. Perhaps, you’d let them suffer before you scrambled their minds, make them imagine their worst fears. Of course, making them braindead was a far worse punishment, alive but incoherent. They’d be remembered as the braindead puppets of a villain, rather than their former selves as dishonest Pro Heroes.

You dropped down from your perch, smirking as the three men turned around. You gripped one by the mind, taking everything he was and twisting it into nothing. He dropped, a mindless vessel.

“Please, don’t hurt us, MindVirus,” one of the more experienced Pro Heroes begged. He recognized you immediately. “We were buying those bullets to get them off the streets. You have to believe us. We didn’t know it would be a bad thing.”

But, he did know. He was lying to your face. He knew you could read his mind and yet he rambled on about having no knowledge of what he was doing. “Know that your final words were a lie,” you spat. You lifted your hand, snapping his mind in half like a twig too.

The last man trembled in fear as you approached him. You lifted your hand to wipe his mind too.

“Anna Kokoro!”

You halted, lifting your lip into a snarl. You hadn’t heard that name in a long time. It had been erased from existence long ago. You were now MindVirus in honor of Doku Kobura’s wrongful death. You glanced back, narrowing your eyes.

“You’ve got the wrong person,” you snapped.

“The hell I do.” Katsuki Bakugo charged out into the dimly lit alleyway.

You smiled, a crooked and wicked grin. “Dynamight, how nice of a Pro Hero like you to grace me with your presence this evening. Unfortunately, I cannot play with you right now. I’m rather busy.” You turned back, and the man escaped around the corner. You rolled your eyes. At least he was not the one carrying the contraband. Still…

You shot a strand of your mind out, catching the Pro Hero even without seeing him. You heard the smack of his face hitting the sidewalk pavement. Yes, that would suffice as a punishment for now. He would think twice about doing something villainous again.

“I’m talking to you, Big Brain,” Bakugo snapped.

You yawned in boredom. “Stop acting like we’re back in school, Dynamight. That nickname has very little effect on me anymore.” You looked at your nails in disinterest.

“Why are you killing Pro Heroes?” he growled out, holding up his hand, ready to blast you at a moment’s notice.

“I haven’t been killing that many,” you said. “I’ve mostly emptying their minds.” You glanced at him again. “I assure you that they deserved it, but I know you wouldn’t believe me.”

“This isn’t you, Anna. You don’t kill people,” Bakugo said. “Come with me willingly, and this won’t get ugly.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. He was far more chiseled than you remembered. Age matured him nicely. He bulked up significantly from when the two of you were teenagers. You scanned him over. It may be to your benefit to string him along. It wouldn’t hurt to have him chasing after you. Actually, it would be a welcome distraction from your monotonous day to day as a villain. Things were too easy for you. Your mind quirk thrived when you weren’t holding back.

“I’m not Anna anymore.” You shrugged. “And, don’t waste your breath, hero. I’m not coming with you. The only reason that I haven’t fried your brain yet, is because I find you rather amusing, physically and/or mentally. I haven’t really decided yet. Besides, you’re one of the ‘good’ ones, if I can call any Pro Heroes good ones. At least you’re honest.” Yes, you knew him well. He’d blasted his way up the hero ranks. His overall personality hadn’t changed. He never strayed from the hero’s path. Although many believed that he walked a fine line, you knew that he never did anything evil in the slightest.

You reached out and gripped his mind, a grape between your quirk’s grasp. Bakugo shivered. You scowled when you watched the memories of your old self flitter through his thoughts. You let go of his head, sending him back with a mind blast. He caught himself, but much farther away from you.

“Arrest me if you can, Dynamight.” You lifted your hand as a farewell. “I await your ultimate triumph. Perhaps, you may be the one to end my reign of terror, but I highly doubt that.” You placed him in a mind barrier so he couldn’t follow you. You’d release him as soon as you knew you were out of his sight. “I’d give up on what you knew about my former self if I were you. She died a long time ago, Katsuki.”

How did Doku see that Shigaraki was internally fighting All for One? He couldn’t read minds as far as you knew. Perhaps he could sense it, smell it on the man. Doku had said his last questions with such certainty that he had to have known.

Doku continued to adjust where he stood, ensuring that he was directly in between you and All for One. Doku wanted you out of harm’s way. He needed you to be safe. He motioned with his hand behind his back for you to run.

You glanced between Doku and All for One. If you didn’t make a choice soon, the Nomus would be upon both of you. If you left Doku, All for One might actually kill him. You hesitated, fists clenching at your sides. No, you wouldn’t leave him. You took a few steps forward in determination, but Doku had already put his hand out to stop you.

“Please. I can’t live without you. Please run,” Doku said. “I love you.” His body trembled. His knuckles went white from clenching the knife so hard in his hands.

“I can’t—” You gasped, turning your gaze down to your chest. Red and black energy had punctured through you. All for One managed to slip his quirk behind you.

“You’ve revealed your weakness, Doku Kobura. Though I must admit it had been obvious,” All for One said.

Doku’s electric-green eyes widened. The quirk energy was pulled from your chest, blood spurting out. Doku gripped your body as you fell. Rage clouded his vision. His eyes went dead as his trembling stopped. He set you down and in the next instant he was on top of All for One. The knife in his hands plunged into his chest. Doku was blasted off of Shigaraki’s body. Kobura’s hand clutched the knife as he was forced away. He skidded beside you, breathing animalistically, like a thousand snakes hissing at once.

The Nomus came careening up Gigantomachia’s back. You shot out strands of your mind, creating a barrier between them and Shigaraki. You coughed up blood as the Nomus hit the mind shield. You played Shigaraki’s voice in your mind, over and over. The nightmares created his vocal tone vividly.

Stop! Do not interfere! Freeze! you shouted into the Nomus’ minds with your memory of Shigaraki’s rasping voice. Like a zombified army, they stopped moving.

You fell back, clutching your hand to your chest. Blood dripped through your fingers. You unsteadily stood to your feet, using your mind to give you some support. You wrapped a strand around your torso to hold the wound closed as best you could.

All for One looked toward the Nomus, losing focus. Kobura took his chance to strike. He slit Shigaraki’s throat, nearly a fatal wound. Once All for One drove Doku back again, his neck healed, but not fully. All for One went to speak and found the words stuck in his throat. Kobura must have severed vocal cords, where he had expertly plunged his knife. He knew what you’d been able to do. He was ensuring that Shigaraki would be trapped here, unless he himself escaped without outside help.

All for One lifted Shigaraki’s hand again. A multitude of energy spiked tendrils took form, reaching out for Doku. Kobura easily avoided the stabs. His speed was unmatched, and it appeared he’d grown even faster with the new development from his quirk. He sliced through All for One’s arm. Doku was repelled once again by yellow energy.

Kobura skidded to a stop beside you. “Your first mistake was attacking Sweet Anna. Your second mistake will be your last. You let me live. The Pro Heroes have been going easy on you, All for One.” Doku grinned, eyes flashing menacingly. “A villain doesn’t have the same obligations as a hero. I will kill you.”

The black tendrils escaped Shigaraki’s spine, holding him afloat. All for One backed away to escape. Without the Nomus to control by his voice, he would need to escape on his own. All for One was well-aware that time was running out for a clean retreat. The heroes had been incapacitated for the most part, but more Pro Heroes would arrive. He would be outnumbered, outpowered, and too weak to escape.

You grabbed All for One with strands of your quirk, and his eyes were back on you. Tendrils of dark energy shot for you again. Doku reached you faster, grabbing you and leaping from the side of Gigantomachia. The two of you landed, and he sprinted for the buildings with you in his arms. You held fast on Shigaraki with your mind quirk, keeping him from his escape. He managed to jump down toward the crumbling street level even with you holding him.

You shrieked as All for One grabbed one of your mind strands with Shigaraki’s bare hand. It disintegrated in his touch. You clutched your head. Doku put you down, rushing for All for One again, knife clipping into his thigh. Doku easily dodged tendril attacks. Any hands going toward Doku were evaded too. Another slice was made in Shigaraki’s shoulder. All for One sent Kobura reeling this time. The energy blast sent him careening into the bottom of a building, through the glass and several rooms.

All for One bent down. His hand pressed into the ground, and the decay rippled for the building.

“No!” you shouted. You lifted a piece of debris beside you, whipping it at full force toward All for One. In his weakened state, it actually hit him.

As the decay tore through the remaining structure, Doku was already up and moving toward you again. You managed to get to your knees, clutching your wounded chest, but you could barely move other than that. Kobura took you up in his arms. Your cape tore free from your back, being snagged on a piece of metal bar. The building collapsed, pieces falling around you. Even with Kobura’s speed, it was clear that you’d both be crushed before he could manage to outrun the falling debris. You pushed through the searing pain in your mind, giving the two of you one extra burst of mind blast energy to send you flying forward. Kobura clutched you to his chest as you both sprawled out onto the ground. The skyscraper had finally fallen. Dust and rubble rumbled over the two of you, creating a cloud of cover and making it hard to breathe.

You passed out, just as Doku lifted you up in his arms again.

…

You jolted awake. Pain immediately burned in your chest. Your breathing was labored as you took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Easy, Sweet Anna. You’re safe,” Doku said.

You were in a room, a regular seemingly underground room with the same modern aesthetic as Doku’s apartment room that you’d been in ages ago. Monitors beeped beside you, connected together with an assortment of wires as if they’d been built from scrap.

“Where am I?” you asked. A migraine throbbed in your temple, and your fingers moved to massage your head.

“My newest hideout,” he said. He bowed his head in front of you, his white hair falling in front of his face. “I’m so glad you’re conscious. It’s been months.” Tears dripped down his face, difficult to see from his posture.

“Months?” you croaked out. “I’ve been here for months?”

He nodded, hesitating to grip your hand in his. “I was so scared. I… I wanted to bring you to the hospital, but there was a manhunt out for me. I wouldn’t have even made it close enough to ensure they’d take care of you appropriately. I… I just hoped that my medical knowledge had been enough to help you. Once I got you stabilized, I didn’t think a doctor would be able to help. It might have been selfish… It was… but…” He covered his face. “I couldn’t lose you. I couldn’t bear to lose you again, and your mind actually allowed me close enough to examine you… I read the other hospital reports, and it had never allowed that before. I thought my help was your best chance for survival in your condition. I was so unsure, and…” He was rambling, trembling and rambling uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry. I just couldn’t let you go.”

Your hand found his, and he froze. “I’m okay, Doku. I survived.” You gulped, tentatively touching the wound at your chest. It was sore, but it clearly had healed. Months? You’d been out for months? “N-no one came looking for me?” you asked, voice wavering.

Doku’s hand tensed around yours. “Your cape was found beneath the rubble of that building. They thought All for One used Shigaraki’s power and had disintegrated you.” Doku looked down guiltily. “Even if that weren’t the case, there was footage of you being stabbed. They assumed you would have bled out and died if the decay had not been the cause of your demise. It was all over the news. Because they found nothing of mine, they thought I was still at large.”

“They think that I’m dead?” you asked.

“Yes,” Doku said solemnly. “I couldn’t tell them otherwise. I would have been arrested or killed on sight. I couldn’t leave you.” Doku wiped his face with his free hand, trying to hide the new tears pouring free. “Your classmates held a funeral for you. They swore that they would capture me for your sake. It was broadcasted on the news too.” He took in a feeble breath. “I know it’s a lot to take in. I will answer anything you need me to. I… I’m just so happy you’re awake and alive.”

“I’m dead…” you trailed off in disbelief. “They just believed that I died and didn’t look for me.” You gulped. You had stood beside Kobura in that fight against All for One, Shigaraki. You stood beside a villain. Even if you went back, would they want you back? You fought against All for One, sure, but there was no explaining working in tandem with Doku. You did it willingly. You chose to trust him. There was no going back to your old world like this.

Your gaze shifted back up to Doku. “You saved me,” you said less like a question and more like realization.

“Of course I did,” he choked out. “I would have given my life for you.” He pressed his forehead to the back of your hand. “I-I can take you back. Once you’re up on your feet, I can bring you back to them. If that’s what you want, I’ll bring you back. I love you so much. I would do anything for you. I promised that if you woke up that I would do anything you asked of me. All I cared about was seeing your eyes open again. I’ll carry you to that damned school today if you so wish it.”

“No,” you said.

“No?” Doku raised his head, surprise washing through his expression.

Tears filled your eyes. You’d been fighting him with every confession. You’d been trying to ignore your feelings because it conflicted with your dreams. You hadn’t realized how much you cared about him, until you were willing to fight alongside him. “I love you too, Doku. I don’t want to go back to that school, to ignoring my feelings for you.”

Doku blinked. “Are you sure? You don’t have to decide now. I don’t want you to feel like you have to say that. You know that I wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt you. It’s whatever you want. I promise, Anna.”

“I love you,” you repeated. “This is what I want. You are what I want.”

A smile slowly formed on Doku’s face. He pressed his forehead to yours, nuzzling your nose with his. “I love you so much. You make me so happy. I can’t believe… I just love you.”

…Three Years Later…

The night air nipped at your nose. Up on this rooftop, under the night sky, this was freedom.

“Your chicken will get cold,” Doku said, pouting.

“It’s been cold, Doku.” You chuckled. “You ran all the way in town to get it up here.”

“No one else would have been able to deliver it faster,” Doku retorted, shoving some food into his own mouth. “If it’s cold, it was cold when I picked it up.” He eyed you suspiciously. “I’m not giving you mine again, Anna. You should have ordered it if you like it so much.”

“But, I wanted their specialty chicken, not the lemon steak. Just give me a taste,” you pleaded.

Doku rolled his eyes. He held out a piece of his steak toward your mouth. You took it, chewing happily as you kicked your legs. Your gaze shifted toward the street. Everyone looked like ants from how high up the two of you were sitting.

“I’m getting you both next time, and you better not complain it’s too much food.”

“Or, what?” you teased.

Doku scrunched his nose at your question. “Or, I’m cutting the Wi-Fi in the house. No more video games.”

“You wouldn’t,” you gasped out.

“It’s better than watching my girlfriend starve herself because she won’t eat her own food,” Kobura said.

You stuck your tongue out at him, stealing another piece of steak from his takeout container and popping it in your mouth. Despite his empty threats, he nudged the container of his food toward you. He leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky.

“I’m just kidding, Anna. I’d order you every dish if that’s what you wanted,” he said. “I’m smitten. You’ve got me wrapped around your finger.”

“That sounds like a villainous thing to do to someone else. Perhaps, you’ve had an effect on me,” you said playfully.

Doku snorted out a laugh. “I gave up being a villain the day you moved in. You can’t use me as an excuse for your dastardly deeds anymore, Sweet Anna.”

“You’re right,” you said. “The past is behind us. We’re in a better place now.”

You leaned into him, glad to snuggle up against him to keep out of the night’s wind. He wrapped an arm around you, pulling you closer. He nuzzled his head against yours, sighing contently.

“I’ll always love you, Sweet Anna,” he murmured.

You charged forward, mind shield up as you rushed to the right of Shigaraki. All for One scoffed, blasting you off balance with yellow energy. You tumbled sideways, hand slipping out of your mental shield and grasping the bandana between your fingers just as you rolled. You grinned in triumph, but you barely had enough sense to reach your other hand out to grab the side of the beast you were just about to get launched off of. Your fingers dug into the side of Gigantomachia, dangling at the edge of the fallen creature.

You struggled to pull yourself up, but found strength in the gift that you held. Just as you came over the edge, you spotted All for One raising Shigaraki’s hand. Your shield came up to protect your face. The air left you when you felt the dark red and black energy stake you in the back, then two more. Your vision blurred. You watched a Nomu lift up Shigaraki for an escape. Another Nomu broke free from the pack, reacting to something that All for One instructed it to do. Your body quivered in fear as you saw the creature’s long gangly arms reach overhead, before they came down on you. Your mind shield was no match for the creature’s strength, and you felt your ribs crack. Its fists came down again, and you felt consciousness slipping from you. You clutched tightly to the bandana, silently apologizing to Eijiro for failing, for not being strong enough to finish what he’d started.

…

“You have to let me see her, please!”

“She’s in critical condition. She’s being carted to surgery as we speak. Even if we let you see her, she would most likely be unconscious.”

“Eijiro,” you said weakly, eyes barely peeking open. You could barely see him at the end of the hallway, trying to get past a doctor. He was bruised and scraped up pretty badly. “Kiri,” you called out a little louder, but your voice was barely a rasp.

Somehow, he saw you, saw you struggling to speak as you lifted your arm, showing him the bandana between your fingers. His eyes widened, and, to your surprise, he pushed past the doctor, barreling down the hallway toward you.

“Princess!” he called out. “I’m right here! It’s going to be okay! Just, fight through this, alright? Don’t let these injuries beat you. We’ve got to train together and become heroes together, okay? Stay strong, Princess. I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

You struggled to breathe. Your fingers tightened around the meaningful fabric with more force. “Eijiro…” you managed. “You gave me strength.” The last sentence was broken, barely audible.

Eijiro stopped in his tracks, already being held back by an army of hospital staff. Surprise etched into his expression. He watched you disappear into the operating room. The world went black again.

You floated on a sea of nothing, wading through your own mind and feeling space and time trickle past you. No matter how hard you tried you couldn’t get out of this pond of water. You couldn’t open your physical eyes. You restlessly waited, letting the water float you along and staring at nothing.

Every once in a while, you’d hear the occasional voice, the echo of a hospital monitor, but it was faint, almost like a distant memory or thought drifting through your mind. You wanted to hear more, wanted to take on more thoughts. No one was talking to you, no one was saying anything, until…

Will she ever wake up? Kirishima asked.

It’s undetermined if she will ever recover from such physical and mental trauma to her body. Her quirk will not allow us to run further tests on her brain. Her physical body is heavily damaged. Her spinal cord was our biggest concern, and it appears to have suffered severe injury from the Nomu’s attack. Should she wake up, there’s a good chance she may not be able to walk again, the doctor explained.

We understand. Thank you for the update. Please keep us posted and notify us immediately should she show signs of waking up, Mr. Aizawa said solemnly.

You were hearing their conversation as if they were thoughts in your own mind. You flailed in the pool of water you were floating in in frustration. You wanted to shout that you were right there, that you were awake, but words would not form on your lips. You waited. All you could do was wait as your quirk mended your mind, kept you in a form of stasis for your own recovery.

Kirishima visited you every day, or it’s what you could only assume. His voice came booming through your head like clockwork. He must have gone from U.A. classes straight to the hospital. He was constantly talking to you, and your subconscious continued to relay the messages, keeping you sane, while you waded through calm water.

I brought you some more chocolate and a new shark plushy. I saw it in the hospital gift shop, and I couldn’t pass it up. You would love it, Princess. It’s blue and even has sparkly gills. I’ll put it right next to you for when you wake up, Eijiro said.

Man, today sure was rough. Bakubro totally yelled at me for being distracted during training, and I failed one of Mr. Aizawa’s tests. I wish you could have tutored me. I know that I would have aced it if I had someone as studious as you being my study partner.

You will never believe what happened. Sero and Mina started dating! I’m so happy for the two of them. I really hope it works out. After everything we’ve been through, Sero didn’t want to hold his feelings back. Life’s too short, you know?

I miss talking to you, Princess. It’s been kind of hard lately. I’m trying to stay motivated and all, but…

I brought a book! I thought that I could read it aloud to you. I don’t know if my voice is all that good for storytelling, but I think you’d really like it. It’s about a sharkman meeting a human woman, and they fall in love. I hope it’s got a happy ending, but you never know with these romance stories.

I really miss you, Princess. I’d give anything to see you smile again.

I fought a really cool villain today. He was super strong, and he challenged me to a duel! Of course, I had to agree to help protect citizens, but it was really kind of weird. I never thought a villain would call me out like that. He said that I looked really strong and no one had ever defeated him before. It was a tough fight, but I came out on top. Got a new scar though.

Princess, if you can hear me, you mean the world to me. I love you so much. I hope you get better soon.

The days strung together as Eijiro continued to visit. His words never faltered in their sincerity. He tried his best to keep upbeat, but the longer that you stayed in a comatose state, the sadder it seemed that Eijiro became. If you could cry in this weird subconscious part of your mind, then you would have.

You weren’t sure when it happened, but there was a bright light that shone at the top of the wading pool. You squinted your eyes as it was painful to look at. Soon, however, you found yourself reaching for the light, wishing that you could finally see Eijiro Kirishima again. You clawed, swam, and reached upward. There was nothing to lose. You didn’t want to spend another moment stuck in your own mind.

Your eyes crept open as nausea washed over you. You were tired, so tired and fatigued that it hurt.

“So, I told Fat Gum I was coming today, and he understood. He’s starting to get worried about me, but I’m fine. You’re the one…” Kirishima looked ready to cry. He was staring down at his hands. “You’re the one everyone should be worried about. I’m doing just fine, Princess. I promise. I’ve got to keep working hard for when you finally wake up.”

“Eij—” You could barely make a sound. Your voice strained due to its disuse for so long.

Kirishima turned his gaze up. He blinked at you with those beautiful ruby-red eyes, and you smiled at him.

“Y-you’re… You’re awake!” He sprang up from his chair, reaching toward you. He hesitated to move forward, looking back toward the door. He shook his head and grabbed your hand. “I was starting to think that I’d never see those beautiful eyes open ever again,” he said, voice cracking.

“Kiri…” you croaked out.

“It’s okay, Princess. You don’t need to force it. It’s been months. Your voice may need some time to get back to where it was.” He looked worriedly back toward the door. “I should tell someone you’re awake.” He shifted, and your hand weakly tightened over his.

“Missed you,” you whispered. “Heard you.”

“Heard me?” Kirishima asked, blushing. “You heard me come here and talk to you?”

You nodded happily, giving his hand another feeble squeeze. Exhaustion hit you, but you forced yourself to stay awake, to keep holding onto him.

“Love you too,” you managed.

“Ah, you heard…” Kirishima trailed off. He rubbed the back of his neck, gaze lingering on your face. “Yes, I love you. I… I should have said it before the mission, before all of this happened. I’m so happy that I got to tell you.”

Eijiro stopped trying to leave you. Instead, he knelt beside your bed, resting his head beside your hand. His pointy hair brushed your fingertips, and you giggled. He grinned at you, gently squeezing your hand.

“There are so many things I want to tell you,” he said. “I’m so glad that I can see you smile again.”

…Ten Years Later…

“I told you that I’m fine, Eijiro. I haven’t needed help going up the stairs since you got me through that whole year of physical therapy,” you said, swatting away at your husband’s hand.

“You’re pregnant, Princess. At least let me carry your bag,” he said.

“There’s barely anything in my bag,” you said.

“All the more reason that I should just carry you.”

You sighed out, smiling toward him. He’d become a handful as soon as he heard he was becoming a father. You trusted him with your life, but sometimes you wanted him to pay attention to himself, rather than doting on you all of the time.

Eijiro tied back his lengthy red hair as he paced the stairs behind you. His hands continued to spring out with each step as if suddenly you would fall. When you reached the door, he shouted after you in a panic.

“I’ve got it,” he said. He opened the door for you, holding it open so you could go inside.

You put your hand on your hip and shook your head, but you gave him a kiss on the cheek on the way into your house. It was quiet, a little too quiet. You reached out your quirk and caught several minds all at once. Before you could warn Eijiro, your old U.A. classmates sprung up from behind your couch.

“Surprise!” they shouted together.

You were genuinely amazed to see them all together, as most of them were Pro Heroes and rarely got a day off. Eijiro was bouncing in place behind you.

“Please tell me that you like it,” he said.

You didn’t have the heart to tell him you knew about the “surprise” baby shower for weeks. It was very obvious from the decorations he had haphazardly hidden all over the house. You didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what he’d been planning. You were, however, surprised by how many of your old friends that he managed to convince to visit.

You nodded, tears filling your eyes. “It’s perfect,” you said. You glanced at Ochaco and the two of you were hugging each other, so happy to see one another after such a long time.

Eijiro’s shark-toothed grin widened as he clapped his old group of friends on their backs. Katsuki Bakugo roughly gave him a side hug, before coming back over to Ochaco. It was a wonder that Katsuki and Ochaco hadn’t been closer in high school. The two of them wound up connecting shortly after graduation and were now happily married. It turned out that they had more in common with each other than they thought they did, and the two of them were able to balance each other out very well.

You clasped Ochaco’s hands, and the two of you bounced in place giggling.

“Have you thought about names?” she asked.

“Millions,” you said. “I really like Ryu and Daichi, but Gou is such a strong manly name, you know?”

“Ooh, those are good ones to pick from.”

You pouted out your bottom lip. “I wish you were having a baby too. They could have had play dates together.”

“Don’t rush it,” Katsuki interjected. “We’ll have our own damn brats when we’re ready.”

Ochaco frowned at him, and he scowled right back at her.

“I’ll just need to spoil the baby when he comes, since I don’t have one of my own yet. Just call me Auntie Ochaco.” She stuck her tongue out at Katsuki, and he clicked his tongue.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll get the brat whatever he wants,” Katsuki said, waving the two of you on.

“I thought you would have at least helped him be a bit less grouchy,” you said under your breath.

“It’s a work in progress,” Ochaco said, winking at you.

Eijiro suddenly came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and holding you close. He pressed a kiss to your temple, surveying the large crowd of baby-shower goers.

“What’s wrong, Eijiro? Don’t you want to catch up with everyone?” you asked.

“Ah, I talk to them all the time. You only get to have one first baby shower.” He gave your shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “I just want to be in the moment with you.”

You reached up, intertwining your fingers with his. You felt so happy, so loved that you could hardly hold in your tears.

“Eijiro?”

“Hm?” he asked, nuzzling his face into your neck.

“I love you,” you murmured.

“I love you too,” he replied. “I love you so much, and I’m so happy that I got to tell you. And, I’m going to tell our baby boy how much he’s loved too, every day until he gets sick of me for saying it so much.”

You giggled. “Don’t get too carried away.”

Shoto could be your only hope in getting out, but he’d likely already pushed himself far past his own limitations. Endeavor would be another safe bet for escape, but his last attack against Gigantomachia had left him unconscious too. Bakugo may be able to blast through the dome of ice, but you were pretty sure he’d already passed out. Deku couldn’t use his arms or legs anymore because he’d broken all of his bones just to fight Shigaraki, so a Detroit Smash wasn’t likely getting you out either.

You turned your gaze down to your belt. You had explosives, but, at this range, they could kill you both. You had fire projectiles, but, again, it was a fatal and an unlikely solution. You glanced at Shoto again, rubbing your arms to bring friction and heat to your body. White condensed air was already coming out from your shivering lips. You knelt down beside Shoto, checking his pulse. It was faint, fainter than you would have liked it to be.

“S-Shoto,” you chattered out his name, hoping you could somehow get him to wake up. “P-Please, you need to wake up.” You shook his shoulder, wincing at how forceful you were being. He needed to rest. What he went through today was beyond horrible. You couldn’t imagine the emotional and physical trauma he suffered from battling his “dead” brother.

Shoto didn’t move, even as you continued to try to shake him awake. He was barely breathing. His throat must have been raw from smoke inhalation or burns because you could hear his breath rasp with every exhale. You brushed some hair out of his eyes, and the icy strands melted with your touch. As your fingers accidently skimmed his face, warmth began to spread across some of his frosted skin. You brought your palm to his cheek and again felt heat rise from his body. You grabbed his hands, holding them between your own. His left side reacted to your touch, even without him being conscious. You breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed the ice had almost completely melted from his upper body. It didn’t solve the immediate problem, but you were glad he wouldn’t succumb to frostbite.

“Shoto, I need you. I know… you’ve done more than enough today… but I really need you,” you murmured. You came closer to him, wanting desperately to huddle against him for warmth, but no action in this situation was death. The Pro Heroes available would not be able to get you out.

You blew into your hands, fingers trembling. Your attention froze. You could get out. There was a way to get out, but it was going to hurt. Deku might not be able to Detroit Smash his way in, but you could punch your way out. Heart of Hearts had trained you to punch through things, break through things, using your quirk to your advantage.

You settled into a fighting stance, carefully adjusting as to not pivot into unconscious Shoto. Your quirk swirled in your mind, reacting to your instincts. You balled up your fist, feeling wind begin to turbulently fill the space. Strands of your quirk coiled around your muscles, placing a thin layer around your knuckles. The first swing came easy, but as you hit the cement-like ice, you heard bones crack. You cried out, clutching your hand to your chest. Sweat pooled over your face, nearly freezing on sight. You let out a pitiful whimper. You didn’t dare look at the damage, afraid a finger may be out of place.

You turned your gaze up. A small fissure had begun to form in the ice. Not enough. The crack wasn’t enough to get the two of you out. You readied your stance again, switching from your dominant hand.

“Punch through it,” you said to yourself, gritting your teeth. You couldn’t afford to break both hands, but you also couldn’t hold back. You lined up your punch with the crevice. Your quirk spiraled up your muscles again. You struck, biting back another yelp. Tears came to your eyes. The ice made a hollow twang, and the crack continued to grow.

“One more,” you said. “One more, and you save us,” you assured. “You save Shoto.”

Your attention floated down to him. He was in critical condition. He needed help, your help. Shoto needed you, and… you needed him. You needed him to make it out of this alive.

You adjusted your stance again, letting out a puff of misty air from your dry lips. You pulled back. Wind roared. Your quirk connected with your body, wielded it like its own weapon. It pulsed and streamed through muscles you hadn’t realized you had.

“One more!” you shouted, driving the final punch home.

A rush of air and mental quirk energy vibrated through the gap. Ice splintered and crackled like dropped glass. The punch rippled like an explosion, shooting through the solid ice. A hole had finally been exposed. Fresh air came rushing into the small nook that Shoto and you had been trapped in. Your whole body shivered as you dropped to your knees, your arms falling lamely to your sides. The remaining ice cooled them. They were both broken, shattered. But, at least, you were free. You managed to get Shoto free.

A few Pro Heroes managed to get the two of you out. They had to have taken the injured to the hospital already. You rode with Shoto to the hospital, allowing the paramedics to attend to him, before you even said anything about your arms.

Once you’d made it to the hospital, you mentioned that you may or may not have severe injuries. A nurse rolled up your sleeve and gasped. Fretfully, she guided you into your own room. You didn’t remember much after being helped into a bed. Consciousness slipped in and out. In your delirium, you could only think about Shoto’s condition.

“Is he okay?” you murmured. “Is he going to be okay?” you asked.

You awoke to two casts on your arms, blindly swinging at nothing and wincing when you felt what punching solid ice had done to your bones. Shinso jumped back from your cot as if he’d just fallen asleep sitting up.

“It’s me! Hey, it’s okay. You’re in the hospital,” Shinso said.

“Shoto, is he okay?” you blurted out. “We… we were trapped,” you tried to explain. “He was injured.” You blinked at Shinso, and he sighed.

“He’s okay,” Shinso assured. “You got him here just when he needed to be. He can’t speak, but he’s okay, stable.”

You bit into your bottom lip, already hoisting yourself out of the hospital bed. Shinso put a hand on you for support. “I have to see him.” You paused, turning back to Shinso with tears in your eyes. “C-can you tell me where he is?” you asked.

Shinso’s eyes widened in surprised. He tried to hide his disappointment. “Room 356. It’s just down the hallway.” His hand left you as soon as you started moving again.

“Thank you,” you said, before leaving into the hallway.

You reached room 356 in no time, turning the corner in blind concern. You had to see him. You had to know for sure that he was alright. You bumped into a hard back upon entering, nearly being knocked down from the impact. You awkwardly stumbled back, unable to catch yourself with the casts on. A strong hand reached out, grabbing you before you fell.

“Oh, sorry. Are you okay?”

You looked up toward a familiar stranger. He actually looked a lot like Endeavor; his build did at least. He had white hair and gray eyes, and he appeared a bit older than you, probably out of high school.

“I-I’m sorry,” you stuttered out. “I didn’t mean to come in unannounced. I wanted to check on my classmate.” You gulped, feeling like there wasn’t a great reason to run into anybody, but you had to know that Shoto was okay. “I was told he was here, and I just… I need to know he’s okay. I’m sorry I was rushing.” Tears filled your eyes. You weren’t sure why exactly.

The young man in front of you blinked in surprise. “Uh…” He seemed uncomfortable, like he wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away but finding it difficult to not try to do something. He patted your shoulder awkwardly. “No hard feelings. I didn’t even flinch when you ran into me. You don’t need to cry or anything.”

A young woman peered her head around the taller man, immediately going into a nurturing mode upon seeing you. She rushed to your side, helping wipe your face with a tissue without smudging your glasses. “N-Natsuo! You made the poor girl upset,” she scolded him.

“She bumped into me,” Natsuo grumbled. “I don’t think I’m the reason she’s crying, Fuyumi.”

The young woman adjusted her glasses, hooking a strand of her white hair with flecks of crimson behind her ear. She fretted over you for a moment or two, stepping back in worry. “Oh, I apologize. I don’t even know your name. My name is Fuyumi.” She gestured to herself. “That’s Natsuo.” She pointed to the other man. “You said that you were here to see your classmate?” she asked.

“I…” you trailed off. Fuyumi? You knew that name. That was Shoto’s sister. “I’m sorry for the intrusion.” You attempted a deep bow but your casts wouldn’t let you get that far. “Shoto is very important to me, and—” You cut yourself short, realizing what you’d just said aloud to his sister. A deep scarlet blush brushed your cheeks. “I’m sorry. I just want to know that he’s okay. He saved me, and…” you trailed off again. You were beyond nervous to slip up and say the wrong thing. Shoto’s sister was very important to him, and he talked about her often.

“You’re Anna Kokoro then,” a soft voice spoke up from the other side of the room. “Please come in. I’m sure he’d really like to see you. I’m afraid he cannot speak right now, but he’s spoken very highly about you when he came to visit me in the past.”

“Y-yes. It’s very nice to meet you.” It had to have been Shoto’s mother speaking to you. He looked a lot like her too. You forced yourself to move into the room, despite being very nervous to meet his family. There was no turning back now. You cared too much for Shoto to just leave, even if it was so nerve wracking.

Shoto gave you a soft smile when he spotted you. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it shortly after, glancing away as if it pained him. He motioned for you to come closer, and you rushed toward him. You wanted desperately to hug him, but the casts were in the way. Natsuo quickly brought you a chair to sit down, and you didn’t hesitate to do so, just to be close to Shoto. The best that you could do was lean next to him. He patted your back gently in response.

You started crying again, despite yourself, and he wiped the tears from your cheeks, shaking his head. He pressed his palm to your face, as if to say that he was okay and that he was there, and you leaned into his touch.

…Ten Years Later…

“Are you sure they’ll be okay without us?” you asked your husband.

“Fuyumi has it handled. I trust her with my life. She can watch the twins for a night. It will be okay, Anna,” Shoto said, kissing you on the cheek.

“I feel selfish for sneaking out like this,” you said.

“You and I both know that we need to take time off now and again. The twins will be alright. I promise. We’ve been working really hard as Pro Heroes and as parents. Let’s just enjoy our free time together for one night, okay?”

You were still hesitant to leave, but when Shoto’s hand touched yours, you turned back to him. His dual-colored eyes were soft with understanding. If you asked to stay, he wouldn’t push you to go out again. He would let you stay for a family night in. But, you knew how much the two of you needed this. You were both working extremely hard to balance work and life.

“Okay,” you said. “You’re right. Fuyumi will take very good care of them. One night won’t hurt.” You gave his hand a squeeze, and he led you toward the city for an evening stroll.

Shoto made sure he was giving off enough heat to keep the cold at bay. You snuggled up close to him as you walked, glad you could spend some quality time together.

“You look beautiful,” Shoto said.

“Thank you,” you replied, blushing. You’d worn one of your favorite blue dresses on your date tonight. He bought it for you on your last birthday, but you couldn’t find an occasion to actually wear it. You were happy to know that he liked it on you. “So, where are we going?” you asked curiously.

Shoto paused. “Don’t you think that it would be better as a surprise?” he asked.

“Maybe,” you grumbled, pursing out your lips. You always liked surprises, but you were too excited to really wait to find out the surprise part.

Shoto chuckled. “Don’t make that face, Anna. We’ll be there soon enough. I don’t think that you’ll be disappointed either.”

Shoto stopped in an unfamiliar location to you. He held open the door, and you were surprised at how quiet that it seemed. You meekly entered the building. Shoto strode ahead of you, pulling you gently by the hand to an elevator. Once you both got in, he hit the top floor.

“What is this place?” you asked, not remembering seeing a sign outside.

“A secret,” Shoto said softly.

The elevator doors opened up to an empty restaurant. One table was lit up with candles, glowing in the dim room.

“I rented the whole place out just for the two of us. No other distractions. No thoughts to plague your intelligent mind. I thought it would allow you some time to relax,” he said.

“Shoto, it’s too much,” you said. Your eyes moved down toward the ground to see blue petals lining the path toward the table.

“It’s never enough for my lovely wife,” he said. He led you toward the table, helping with your chair. He poured you out a small glass of wine.

“You know I’m not keen on alcohol, Shoto. It’s normally so dry,” you said. You wrinkled your nose, looking over the glass suspiciously.

As he slid the glass toward you, he slowly nodded his head. “It’s chocolate wine. Imported from America,” he said. “I thought you would find it more palatable.” He chuckled, pouring himself a glass of something else. “As for me, I will take the ‘dry’ vintage wine.”

You tentatively took a sip of your glass and were surprised to find it actually quite nice to start out the evening. There was a delicious aroma filling the room, coming from what you would only assume was the kitchen. You looked toward your husband again. He caught your inquisitive gaze.

“I hired the chef for the night as well. You know I’m not exactly a culinary expert. I hope that’s okay. Should you want a rather cold bowl of instant ramen, I would be happy to oblige when we return home. I don’t think they would have the pre-packaged ingredients in the back.”

You set your glass down, looking out toward city from the window. The lights sparkled like stars while the two of you were so far up in the tower. You reached out your hand, grabbing for Shoto’s. His fingers easily slipped between yours, intertwining comfortably. You were surprised to find his hand was clammy. For the first time all night, you realized he might not be so calm and composed.

Shoto cleared his throat, gazing at your touching hands. “Do you like it?” he asked. “The surprise?”

Your attention shifted back to him. It was so sweet of him to ask. You wish that he wouldn’t worry so much. The two of you were married after all, even had two children together. You loved him tremendously.

“It’s very thoughtful,” you said. You exhaled, finally feeling as if you could breathe. It was nice to feel so secure with him around, and it was even better that you didn’t have to worry about your quirk acting up. “I think I love it.” You hesitated to admit it. It must have cost a fortune to clear out an entire restaurant. It was rare that you’d actually let him spoil you. Guilt seeped a little into your expression. You wished the twins could be there with you. They would get a kick out of seeing Japan like this.

Shoto brought your hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to your knuckles. “I’m glad,” he said. “Our alone time is precious to me, and I wish I could do something like this for you more often.” He scanned over your expression. “Perhaps, next time, we could even bring the boys, if that would allow you to relax even more.”

You smiled at him. “I’d like that,” you said. “But, I’m also glad that we took this time to spend with each other, just you and me. You bring out the calm in me. That’s why I love you so much.”

Another blast of energy cracked against your shield. Another spike lodged into your mental shield, and a small visible blue crack started forming in the shell. You clenched your teeth, raising both your hands and lifting every color projectile in your arsenal. If Shigaraki’s body had been weakened, All for One shouldn’t be able to deflect them all at once; however, an attack like this might leave you vulnerable to taking physical damage. You weren’t certain you could keep your mind shield up, but you’d trained for this. You would try.

Two wrecking balls, filled with their weighted gunk, became solid after you triggered their internal mechanism. The strain of holding them weakened your shield. You grabbed the smaller spherical bullets with your mind, whisking them around you to pick up speed. You watched All for One’s stance change. His attention shifted to the multiple moving elements. You knew he was calculating, knew he had far more experience than you did.

Gigantomachia’s body rumbled. Multiple heavy footfalls sounded behind you. The Nomus were coming, heading to their master’s call. You didn’t have time to hesitate, to debate if this would be too much strain on your defense. It was your only chance to stop him. You struck, sending a mind blast rippling behind your multiple missile attack. With adept precision, he deflected each object in its turn, despite your best attempts to try to make each one of the projectiles hit him at all angles. As he deflected them, they seemed to completely detach from your mind’s control, disconnecting from being attached to your quirk as he sent them flying beyond your range.

The mind blast hit All for One the hardest, sending him skidding back even with the yellow shield in front of him, but that too was reflected, crashing into your mind shield like a snowplow. He held one hand out in front and one in the back to keep himself steady. You gritted your teeth, keeping your mind shield focused at the front to take on the blast you’d overzealously shot out at him. You winced as the blue fracture widened in your shield. You tried to hold it.

All for One sent a rippling radio wave at you next, and it hit your mind quirk like a sledgehammer. You held back the agonizing scream in your throat, worried that this would make you lose all focus. You needed to keep your attention on the frontal shield, or he’d knock you straight off your feet.

You screamed. A sharp stabbing pain pierced your back. You’d been so focused on protecting yourself from the front that you’d left a gap. Another red and black dagger of energy broke through your mind shield in the front, and you looked down at it in your chest, gasping. You turned your gaze down to the puncture wound, putting your hand to your chest, as he dislodged the energy. Bright red blood spurted out the wound. You fell to your knees in shock. Tears formed in your eyes.

“Why? Why would you do this?” your voice asked, but you never asked the question.

“There are consequences—” All for One’s distorted voice stopped.

Hitoshi Shinso’s voice rang out clear next. “Stop! Stop moving! You are not to leave from where you are!” he yelled in rage. “You will not let anything take you from where you stand!”

Shinso had used your voice. He used your voice to trick All for One.

Your entire body shivered. You held a hand to your frontal wound, feeling cold as you collapsed. Shinso’s hands were around you, cradling you.

“No. No. Please, stay with me. Stay with me, Kitten. You’re okay. I’m here. You’re going to be okay,” he said frantically. His violet eyes scanned you over, trying to find the best way to heal you, to keep you from bleeding out.

“H-Hitoshi,” you hiccupped out, feeling blood drip from your mouth. “It hurts…”

“Shh… It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to speak. I know… I know it hurts. Just hang on for me, okay? I’m going to get you help. You were so brave, so brave and strong, and I just need you to be stronger for a little while longer, okay?” he said. He was crying. Tears were coming down his cheeks and falling into yours. He grabbed your hand, pressing kisses to your fingertips and squeezing with all his might. He only released it to put pressure on the wound in your chest.

The Nomus came charging for Shigaraki, running blindly past the two of you. All for One evaded them in Shigaraki’s body, following Shinso’s direct instruction.

Shinso tried to shift you to pick you up, but you yelped out an agonizing cry. Your whole body shivered. “I know it hurts,” Hitoshi said, and his voice cracked. “I have to get you help. Please. I need to get you help.”

You gasped in a few hard breaths. Your chest strained. It was hard to get air. The pain was unbearable, and a whimper left you. Shinso looked as if the noise had physically hurt him, wrought him such pain that what was left of his stolidity crumbled. The tears came down harder now.

“Please, hold on, Anna. I love you. I love you so much, and I can’t live without you. Please, Kitten. Please. Stay with me. I know it hurts. Just…” He gritted his teeth, looking down at his fingers now coated in your blood.

Your eyelids felt heavy. You could barely move, but you managed to place your hand on his. His violet eyes widened, and he glanced between your hand and your face. You were so grateful to see him there, have him with you. You were terrified, terrified of the cold creeping through you. It brought you so much comfort to have him beside you. Had he always brought you so much peace?

All you could think about now was how much you cared about him, how much you wanted to tell him that you cared about him. You wanted to go see Button’s at the cat café with him. You wanted to go back to the time in each other’s minds. You wanted to see the stars, feel the grass between your fingertips. You wanted to spend hours talking about becoming Pro Heroes together. You wanted to go out on patrol with him, go out on another date with him, a real date. You needed to tell him.

“I…” you gulped. The air became even harder to breathe. “I love you too.”

…

“No, I’m fine,” Hitoshi said.

“It’s been weeks, Mindjack. You need to go back to class. You need to sleep,” Heart of Hearts said. “I know… I know it’s hard to get back to normal when she’s…”

“I can train, do my homework, and spend nights here. It’s the least that I can do,” he said.

“The least you can do? You single-handedly brought Shigaraki into custody, and you still think you have to do more?” Heart of Hearts sighed. “As soon as she opens her eyes, the hospital will contact you. You can’t waste away like this. Do you think this is what she would have wanted?”

“I said that I was fine,” Shinso snapped.

Your eyes fluttered open, and you saw Shinso and Hearts facing each other. The bright lights of the hospital burned harshly into your retinas. You stirred slightly, but the pain in your chest made you wince.

“Hitoshi,” you murmured, but your voice barely came out as a whisper.

Shinso’s eyes widened as he turned back. Relief washed through him. He could barely contain his happiness, smiling widely at you. Hearts looked genuinely surprised. She covered her mouth, and her pink eyes watered with tears. She turned away before she started crying.

“I…” Your mouth was so dry. Your whole body was sore. It hurt just to speak, but you had to say it. You had to let him know.

Shinso knelt down beside your hospital bed. He grabbed for your hand, smoothing over your knuckles with his thumb. “Take it easy, Kitten. You’ve been in a coma for over a month. Your body probably needs some time to…”

Your eyebrows knitted together as you tried to find your voice. Shinso had trailed off after seeing how determined you looked. He gave your hand a squeeze and waited.

“I love you too,” you said. You wanted to explain that you weren’t sure if he heard you, that you weren’t sure that he’d actually confessed to you like that. You weren’t even sure if you’d faced off with Shigaraki. Things felt so surreal. The only certainty that you did have, was that you loved him. You loved him more than anything. And, as you were dying in his arms, all you wanted to do was tell him how much more time you wanted to spend with him, how much time you’d wasted not spending time with him.

Shinso cracked a sly smile. “I know. You told me.” He chuckled, but you saw a tear slip down his face. “I love you.” He squeezed your hand harder this time. “I love you, so don’t you ever do that to me again.” He pressed his forehead to the back of your hand, sighing. “You really know how to keep a guy on the edge of his seat.”

…Five Years Later…

“I said no peeking,” Hitoshi said, chuckling.

The two of you were freshly married, yet he never ceased to amaze you. His slender fingers were covering your eyes, but you kept trying to peer through them, too excited for a surprise to wait.

“Well, show me already,” you huffed.

“Not yet,” he said. He continued to guide you. “We need to be at the right angle.”

“For what?!” you shouted out.

“So impatient,” Hitoshi chided playfully. Then, he stopped. “Okay. Now, it’s not completely finished, so—”

“Show me!” You bounced up and down in place, frustrated that he still wouldn’t remove his hands from your face.

Before you had to ask again, Hitoshi lifted his hands away from your eyes, gently placing your glasses back on. You blinked as your vision adjusted. You were both standing across the street from a huge building. It was still modest, despite its size. It looked like it was in the midst of renovation. Your gaze trailed up to the large sparkling blue and purple sign at the top, reading “MindThink" in large letters.

Hitoshi rubbed the back of his neck, shifting uncomfortably next to you. “I spoke to Hearts, and since her agency has been doing so well, she said a little healthy agency competition would be good for her. Of course, she said she’d miss us as sidekicks, but she’s excited to see what we can do on our own.”

Your smile dropped as you read the large sign above you over and over again. He’d put your hero name and his own together. He’d actually created a hero agency for the two of you. It was beautiful and spectacular and beyond anything you could have imagined the surprise to be.

“You hate it,” he said dejectedly. “I knew I should have put your name first. Is it the purple? I can have them change it. Don’t tell me that you’re worried we can’t handle this on our own? We’ve been shooting up the hero ranks. It’s only a matter of time before we’re in the top twenty.”

You turned toward him, and he closed his mouth. You couldn’t contain your smile any longer as you grinned from ear to ear. You ran toward him, jumping into his arms.

“It’s perfect! I love it!” you shrieked, giggling. “It’s so sparkly!”

Hitoshi sighed in relief, squeezing you back. “I’m glad you like it. Thought I was going to have to scrap the whole project based on your expression.” He chuckled.

“Are you kidding? You did this all by yourself, and I had no idea? I can’t believe you surprised me like this. It’s great,” you said.

“It’s pretty hard to surprise a mind reader, so I’ll take that as a well-deserved compliment,” he said. He twirled you around, setting you down and placing his hands on your shoulders, pointing you back toward the building. “I can’t wait to start.”

“It’s not finished yet,” you reminded him.

“That’s exactly why I brought you here. There’s still plenty of paperwork to sign and a code of conduct to construct.”

You pouted. “Paperwork?” You wrinkled your nose.

“Hey, you used to love paperwork back in U.A.,” he said.

“Yeah, that was back before I knew better.”

“I might let you lean on your partner for the more boring stuff if we get some coffee.”

“Only if I can get a hot chocolate.”

“Oh darn, and here I was hoping you’d give me your coffee after you tell me how bitter it tastes.” Hitoshi grabbed your hand. “Ready for our next adventure as crimefighters, Kitten?” he asked.