Y/n pressed her red marker on today's box and struck a mark through yet another date on her calendar. "Not too much longer." Y/n's voice was a mix of all sorts of emotions. Sadness, excitement, worry, anticipation. She knew these last two months were bound to be the most stressful, but she didn't expect it to hit so soon. 

Y/n flipped through the pages until she stopped at a circled date. "Who knew ten months would feel so long?" 

The ultrasounds y/n had collected from her two hospital visits were taped to the calendar. Y/n looked at the newer picture; the two were much more visible, yet y/n could never tell which one was Tomoko and which one was Tomoru. She studied the little hands with their tiny fingers and their little feet. Every time she looked at the picture, she couldn't help but notice that it seemed like they were hugging onto each other. No matter how stressed y/n got, the sight of the two brought a smile to her face. 

Y/n wished she could have visited the doctor more often. She thought it would have been nice to have an ultrasound every month to see the babies grow. Unfortunately, y/n didn't have the money for that. 

Over the past few weeks, y/n had found that she spent more time looking at the calendar than her map. Dabi's trail of death was almost unpredictable, the expectancy date circled in red was more concrete. As of now, it was more tangible than trying to track Dabi. 

To add to the difficulty of finding her patchwork comrade, it seemed like the snow flurries were slowing him down. That part didn't make any sense to y/n. With Kurogiri around, Dabi should be able to go wherever he wants with little to no problems. She began to wonder about other possibilities. 

Maybe Dabi is separated from everyone too. The trail of burnt bodies would make sense if he was all alone. If that was the case, y/n hoped she'd find him soon. It would ease her burdens if she had Dabi with her. There was also another alternative. 

A copycat killer. Y/n hated thinking about it. Someone going around imitating another's murders and crimes. Y/n never understood the point, but they were common in the villain world. In Dabi's case, it wouldn't be impossible to copy his murders. Realistically, all anyone needed was a fire-type quirk. Elemental quirks are relatively common. 

Just thinking about how she has been wasting months trying to track down someone who wasn't Dabi made her skin crawl. That was the worst-case scenario. If that were to be true, then y/n was back at square one.

The only thing she could do was to pick up the pieces she had and keep going. Starting over wasn't that easy, though. She'd have to scrutinize every single clue that could lead her to The League. She'd have to figure out which leads she can keep and which ones she had to throw away. 

She looked down at the calendar. Her eyes drifted to the ultrasounds. "I have to keep moving for them."

"Okay..." Y/n reluctantly placed the calendar off to the side to take a look at her map. She tapped a black circle. "This month, Dabi went here, then here, then here, and finally here." Her finger drew an invisible zigzagging line that connected all the marks. 

"It looks like he's headed south." Y/n chewed on her nail as she tried to predict the patchwork villain's next move. Her eyes trailed north. "Does that mean the rest of The League is up north? Surely he wouldn't attack anyone too close to their hiding place, right?" 

At this point, nothing was off the table. Dabi's pattern may lead directly to The League's hideout, or it may not. There was also no promises The League had a base. It was just as likely that they were separated. 

Her gaze lowered back to her finger on the map. She examined how far Dabi's attacks were to each other. Keeping that in mind, y/n imagined a large circle around the map. "He's going to attack somewhere in that circle next."

Fingernails tapping on wood filled the little motel room. Y/n took everything into consideration. Distance, population, and everything else she could potentially think of. 

Y/n was in the last few months of her pregnancy. The twins were doing a number on her. It hurt to move for long periods. In fact, merely sitting in her chair, staring at the map, made her back flair up with discomfort. 

She placed her hand on her stomach, feeling for a sign of movement from either of the two. Complete stillness. "You two aren't in the mood to say hello, I see." 

She smiled to herself. "Hopefully, you two aren't getting daddy's anti-social attitude already."

Y/n returned to tapping on the table in front of her. "I don't have much time left, do I?" 

She tapped on an unmarked city close to one of Dabi's prior attacks. "I'm feeling lucky. I'll stop by there and check it out."

Y/n knew traveling while pregnant was going to be a pain, but she wasn't quite prepared for how much of a hassle it actually was. 

She pulled on her coat sleeves as she rode the train. Y/n temporarily could no longer fit her black hoodie and resorted to buying herself a replacement. She hated the feeling of her new coat. It wasn't the same. 

"Oh, my." Y/n looked over to see an elderly woman looking her way. "Is it a boy or a girl?" 

Y/n shifted in her seat, uncomfortable. "Twins. One of each." The elderly woman cooed at y/n, oblivious to the fact that y/n didn't want her to even look at her direction, let alone speak with her. 

She continued to ask questions. What were their names? Who was more excited, her or her husband? When is the due date? Y/n grew more uncomfortable with each question, especially the ones about Tomura. Anything about y/n and her family was none of her business. 

Y/n kept her answers short and vague. She hoped she wouldn't have to hurt a little old lady's feelings and request she stop talking to her. 

The train slowed to a stop. Y/n had reached her first destination. 

Dabi's last attack was in this city. Y/n hoped she could return to the site and see if the patchwork villain had left her a hidden clue. She was doubtful. As she walked down the crowded sidewalk, y/n reminded herself not to get her hopes up.

The streets were bustling with people. Every so often, she'd catch people taking glimpses of her as she walked by. Y/n kept her head down, avoiding their gaze, and stared at the pavement below her. 

Y/n had studied her map tenfold before even thinking about leaving Ogura. She knew the fastest route to Dabi's latest attack, like the back of her hand. She walked on the opposite side of the street. In her mind, she thought that maintaining a distance between her and the site would keep her from looking suspicious. 

From a distance, y/n could see Dabi's handiwork. Yellow tape barricaded an alley. Behind it, the brick was blackened, causing the small space between the buildings to look dark even though the sun was still high in the sky. 

As she walked by, y/n's eyes darted all around, looking for anything that stood out as odd to her. The bricks and the cement were burnt to a crisp. The nearly entirely black scene made the white chalk outline with several small numbered markers stand out. In the center of everything, a lone man stood with a notepad in his hand.

Even at a distance, it was apparent by the long brown coat he was wearing that he was a detective. Y/n stood still, her eyes fixed to the man across the street. She let the steady stream of people walk around her as she observed him. 

The man was tall with pale skin and short dark hair. She watched him circle around to each numbered marker and scribble something on his notepad. Y/n wished that she could take a look at his notes more than anything in the world at that very moment. Maybe he possessed clues as to Dabi's next attack. 

Y/n closely followed him walk around to each marker. He stood by the outline, then he moved to number five. The detective walked to number three momentarily before returning to the outline. Over to marker seven, and back to his starting point. Y/n theorized if those specific numbers held particular importance. 

She tried to see what exactly those numbers were marking, but it was no use. Y/n couldn't get a good look from the other side of the street. 

The detective paused as he stared at the chalk outline. He looked around the alley for a moment before turning around. He glanced over across the street. His black eyes zeroed in on y/n, and their eyes met. She and the detective stubbornly stared at each other. Eventually, y/n was the first to break eye contact. She turned away from him and followed the crowd of people. 

As she walked away, y/n took a quick look over her shoulder. He was still staring. She kept her head down as she walked.

Y/n suddenly remembered something the villain hiding out among the police force, Detective Tsuji, had said. The detective in charge of investigating The League, y/n had been given a warning about him. More specifically, his quirk. 

Just thinking about Tsuji made her head ache. She had tried to find him. Y/n was sure he still had a direct line of contact with Giran. Unfortunately for y/n, trying to find a villain pretending to be a police officer was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She knew he was around, but it seemed like he was doing everything in his power to remain undetected. 

Y/n was unfamiliar with the city she was in, aside from the little alley y/n had circled on her map. She followed the current of people blindly, only veering away from them to take a random turn and rejoining a new group of people. 

Paranoia sunk in. Y/n caught herself glancing behind herself after each twist and turn. Was he following me? Did he send a hero to keep an eye on me? 

Neither of y/n's questions was answered. She didn't see any heroes, nor did she see the detective. That meant little to her. She anxiously expected to see someone while she navigated her way back to the train. 

Thanks to that detective, her first trip was a bust. Y/n had one more place to try, she still had a bit of hope to hold onto. 

Y/n took the train further south. She came across a city that seemed ideal for a Dabi attack. It was massive, with an abundance of escape routes. Compared to the enormous population, there wasn't enough hero or police force. 

Dabi often picked secluded areas. To keep herself busy on the train, y/n examined the city on her map. She looked for potential places Dabi might strike. A few caught her eye. Y/n chewed on her cheek as she looked over the locations again, one thought echoed in her mind: I wish I knew Dabi a little bit better. 

Y/n planned out a route for herself. She'd be able to pass by every single one of the marked locations and end back up to the train station to go home. She folded up the map and put it away. Y/n placed her hand on her belly. I can't wait to introduce the beans to everyone. 

Y/n was exhausted. Walking around while pregnant was like carrying an extra twenty pounds in front of her. Determination and fear were her only driving factors making her fight through the soreness. Snow began to slowly rd all from the sky. Y/n knew she had to hurry. The last thing she wanted to do was to add trudging through the snow to her list of obstacles. 

Y/n was entirely out of breath by the time she made it to her first stop. She leaned her back against a brick wall and rested. As she caught her breath, y/n scanned her surroundings. It was perfect. 

Dark, secluded, and far from a police station. The only thing y/n wasn't sure about was how often the local heroes passed by on their patrol. 

Y/n pulled out a handful of tiny slips of papers as she looked for the perfect place to leave one. Her eyes lit up when she noticed a cardboard box on the floor, pushed against a dumpster. Perfect. 

Y/n dropped the little clue as close to inside the box as possible, then she used her foot to nudge it inside. Trying to position the note was much more of a challenge than y/n expected it to be. "I love you two, but I really miss being able to bend forward." 

Y/n stepped back to take a look at her hard work. The box protected the slip of paper from the snow and kept it somewhat out of sight. She didn't expect anyone to notice it. Dabi is different, though; he was observant. She had a feeling he would see the clue right away. 

The cold from a snowflake landing on her cheek reminded y/n that she needed to keep going before the weather got too bad. 

Y/n began to leave the alley and head towards her next location. She turned around one last time and looked at the little note. Y/n, Ogura. 

Y/n didn't realize just how cold she was until she boarded her train. Her previously numb hands stung. And she couldn't feel her face. 

As the train moved, y/n rubbed her hands together and held onto her face. Today, she was acting on a gut feeling. Y/n hoped that she was right, and Dabi would see her note to look for her in Ogura City. 

Y/n watched the scenery fly by the train window. From behind the glass, the world looked like a snow globe. Y/n lightly rubbed her fingers over her belly as she zoned out. She knew that the walking made her exhausted, but she didn't realize she was moments away from passing out until she sat down. 

She vacantly watched the world from behind the window while feeling faint kicks from either Tomoru or Tomoko. Maybe even both of them. 

For this short moment, everything was perfect. Y/n was warm and sitting on a comfortable chair. No one was around; it was just her, the beans, and the gentle rocking of the train moving. Y/n felt her eyes fluttering as she stared out the window. 

A peaceful blackness took over. 

The train chimed. Y/n woke up to the train station outside the window. A crowd of people was standing off to the side. A few of them appeared to be huddled together for warmth, the looks on their faces screamed that they were ready to come in.

Y/n stretched her arms out in front of her and groaned. She was a bit upset that her nap was over, and now she'd have to try to force herself through a crowd of people just to get off the train. Y/n got up and waited by the door. Through the little window, she could see the people on the other side. Her eyes narrowed. "Ugh, people," she mumbled. 

The doors slid open, and y/n stepped out, not giving anyone a chance to walk in until she had left the train. 

Y/n tucked her hands into her pockets. She shrugged her shoulders in a futile attempt to block the frigid wind from touching her face. Ogura City was still a while away. For the first time since she stepped foot in Ogura, y/n was excited to get back to her motel room. 

As awful as the room was, her blankets and a bed were waiting for her. Y/n never knew she'd be so thankful for those small things that everyone took for granted. Spending a few weeks sleeping under bridges and hopping from motel to motel was an eye-opening experience. 

Y/n flung open her door. The people renting the room above hers were yelling again. She listened to them as she crawled into bed. 

Hours passed, and they hadn't stopped. Y/n snapped, all she wanted to do was sleep. She grabbed her knife from her bedside table and threw it at the ceiling. The blade stuck above her bed. "Shut the fuck up!" 

The room above her went quiet. Y/n smiled to herself, mistaking the brief moment of silence as their compliance. 

Loud thumping echoed around her room from her ceiling. It sounded like the guy upstairs was now stomping around out of spite. Y/n groaned as she rolled over onto her side. The blade she threw shook in its place until it loosened enough to fall back on the bed next to y/n. 

Y/n threw her pillow over her head, trying to muffle the noises. It took much longer than she'd like, but she eventually forced herself to go to bed. 

Y/n curled forward a whimper escaped her lips. Her eyes shot open, a thick layer of sweat on her skin made her hair clung to her face. Y/n felt like her whole body was on fire, at the same time, it felt like someone was slowly carving into her stomach with a knife, peeling off her skin.

She inhaled sharply through gritted teeth; pain emanated from her core to every inch of her body. Y/n has been stabbed plenty of times, more than the normal civilian in their lifetime, but this felt different. The pain was incomparable to anything she's ever felt before. 

Y/n attempted to slowly crawl herself out of bed, her whole body trembling under the stress of the pain. Her vision blurred, y/n couldn't tell if her eyes were beginning to well up or if the sharp pangs from her core were messing with her. 

I have to get out of here.