"What? Why me?" You huff feeling utterly lost. There wasn't time for this. Your best friend was in trouble.

          "Because the day your quirk showed up, was the day you took away their best agent." She says carefully. "The only way Dagger releases their agents is by death. And you kill one of the agents, regardless of age, or accident. You become a target."

          "But… Dad was the only one that day…" You murmur blankly.

          "It used to be common back then. For mercenaries to play as heroes.. I'm sorry you had to find out like this. But he never killed anyone as long as you existed." She tells you, tears leaving her eyes.

           "... That's why…" You whisper, everything coming together in your head. A giant glass wall digs into the ground between you and your mom. Hibarida seems to call out, but you can't hear him even as he hits the glass. You start to turn, jumping as Rakurai hits the wall, falling to the ground. "Rakurai!" You gasp, blinking out of your daze and kneeling beside him. Blood running from his eyes and nose. 

           "R-R-Run…" He whispers, blood splattering from his lips. You frown heavily, putting K.K to his lips.

           "Breathe." You kiss his temple. "You were protecting me weren't you?" He looks at you shakily, looking worried as he inhales the canister. You hand K.K to him, standing up and taking off your hoodie as a group starts your way, being led by a pissed off blond with a deep gash running down the side of his face, passing over his right eye.

          "There you are ___, finally. Dagger has been watching your home for a long time now. Good to see you're still alive." He plasters on a smile as he speaks to you. 

          "Okay." You respond, taking off your sos bracelet. 

          "That's it? You're not scared at all?" He tilts his head. "Do you know what Dagger is?"

          "I do. Still don't care." You respond bluntly rolling your shoulders. "You're not the first fucks to come for me so let's just get down to it."

          ".... Wow! I like you… Such a shame though. First Midnight and now you…" His visible eye starts to glow orange.

          "The fuck did you do to my boss?" Rakurai growls, getting to his feet shakily.

          "I didn't get to finish him. But I'm sure he's dead by now." He smiles.

          "You… Killed Midnight?" You echo, heart sinking, right arm starting to buzz. Why were tears coming to your eyes? Why were you feeling sad? Rakurai glances at you and bites his lip. 

          "___. You can't die here. Understand?" Rakurai breathes, blue eyes boring into yours, pinkish tears leaving his eyes. You blink, a tear slipping out as well. 

          "Let's show them what happens when monsters are backed into a corner." You whisper. He smiles a bit and nods before you both look at the group. Fire flickers over the blond and he gives a catlike smile. 

          "Bring it." He hums suddenly flashing at you in a veil of fire. You dodge, jumping up and twisting about to kick him in the head, sending him into the invisible wall. The ground shakes slightly and you sense another moving behind you. Your eyes lock with Rakurai and you flip back over the mercenary's head, Rakurai swinging a black chain into his side, sending him flying. 

          "Nice hit Rakurai." You praise as the blond flashes at you again. He was full of openings, was this guy really the leader? You swiftly twist out of the way, flames licking at your arm as you do so. "Shit." You whisper as he smirks, a blast of fire hitting your stomach and knocking you away. You internally scream, bursting your shirt to be rid of the flames.

          "Oh… You're really nice to look at." The blond tilts his head as one of the others hits Rakurai into the wall with a crystal bat. "And I do love burning nice looking things." You weren't listening, glancing over to find Hibarida and your mom gone. He probably took her to the agency to get back up. But even if they got back how could they get into this dome? Could you burst it? 

           'Let's fill it up with red instead.' The whisper sounds at the back of your mind, making your hand twitch. 'We don't have time for this. What about Tendo-'

            "Now's not the time to be spacing out ___!” The blond roars, a burst of flames coming at you. You bring your left index finger to your lips.

            "Shhh." You hiss, right hand aiming at the ground, sending up particles from the ground, killing the fire and filling up the area in the dome. You dodge his kick in the particles, twisting about and kicking him in his back in retort. The particles made it feel dusty and sort of hard to breathe, but you felt safe with this. 

           "Shit… Maxy! Raise it! Or put a hole!" The blond's call sounds and you lunge forward, left fist crashing into the right side of his face blindly. He cries out and your knuckles feel wet from blood that still marks his face. You follow his voice, striking out blindly and hitting him in the throat. 

           'Don't let up. Need to hurry…' You think, following him to the ground, throwing punches down at him, pausing as the particles lift away. 'It's gone now. Good.' 

            A black chain wraps around your waist, yanking you away as a crystal bat is swung at your head. "Shit Malcolm. That one busted you up good." The wielder huffs, pulling the blond to his feet as he sways and staggers. 

            "Fucking… I'm going to fucking kill them!" Fire bursts off of Malcolm as he glares at you. His eye wasn't glowing as bright and the fire seemed weaker now too. 

            "You're not fighting at full power… Not since Midnight took your eye." You realize. He pauses, lip curling.

            "Doesn't mean I can't kill you." He snarls.

            "___… I can't keep fighting at this rate…" Rakurai breathes to you. You glance over at him. He had more gashes on him now and he was barely keeping his eyes open.

            "Just keep using K.K. I'll protect you while you run." You whisper.

            "If I run you better be coming with me." He retorts. 

            "You know that's not possible with these guys." You breathe as Malcolm roars, bursting at you with crystal daggers in his hands. You raise your right hand at him and he slashes at you. The crystal dagger bursting the moment it touches your palm. He takes in a breath, pausing and giving you an opening to punch him in the nose, sending him back. Something slashes open your arm at that and you jump back instinctively, feeling something nick your throat.

            "Tch… ___ if you don't kill them we are going to die." Rakurai hisses to you as one of the women rush you both. You glance back as he brings up chains to stop her, paling as they melt from her touch. "___!" He gasps. You barrel into him to get out of the way, another air slice hitting you both as you do. 

            You can feel blood pouring from the gashes, Rakurai coughs, the last slice had put a gash on your side and his stomach. You blink and swiftly cover his wound, feeling worry rise to your chest. He pushes you back, another gash opening on his arm. 

           "Run.. I got a little more juice in me. I'm going to make an opening for you." He hisses, blue eyes flickering with lightning. 

           "No Rakurai, they'll kill you." You shake your head tearing up. He blinks at you and smiles.

           "Then you're just going to have to miss me." He winks, starting to get up again. You grip his arm, getting up as well and looking to the group as Malcolm grins viciously a fire saw forming above his fingers.

            "Get ready to die." He beams, throwing it at you. Rakurai moves to shield and everything goes dark as a wall of black water crashes down between you two and the group, rushing out and sweeping them up, Death appears as the water thins out, the group gagging and vomiting. You tense, catching Rakurai as he staggers back, both of you looking at Death.

           His skin and hair were an ashy gray, his red eyes wild and dangerous, black tears streaming from them. Heavy breaths heaving out of him. "I don't care how big the price on my head gets. I'm gonna kill all ya fuckers for what ya did ta him!" He hisses out sounding pained. 

          There's a pause and Rakurai takes a deep breath before straightening up again. You swallow, biting your lip and moving to Death's side with Rakurai. 

           "Dammit! Kobalt was here too?! You're all lining your necks out for the axe!" Malcolm barks, throwing another fire saw at you three. Black water rises and disperses it as crystal daggers fly at all of you. You swipe your right hand out to burst them, sand crashing into your gut and flinging you back. You hit the ground, skidding slightly and feeling your back get scraped. 

           You quickly move to get up, daggers flying into you moment your arms down. You gasp and swiftly burst them, sand hitting you forward suddenly almost making you fall. You swiftly catch your balance, spinning about and bursting the sand and everything that flew at you. Things were starting to get fuzzy. You look to check on Rakurai and Death. Rakurai is down again, struggling to get up. Death's black water suddenly moves again, pulling the group into a black water orb. He closes his hand into a fist and there's a sudden reddish tint to the black water before he releases it, bones scattering about on the street. 

           'Good. Now I can get Tendo.' You think, staggering for where you remember leaving the tunnel. Your legs felt like noodles and you kept tripping, blood splattering under you. 'Move body. Just until we get to him.' You plead, starting to fall again but Death catches you with shaking arms.

           "Y-Yer red haired lad… H-He told me ta tell ya he's fine. A-and he went ta hide…" He whispers as you look up at him. His skin and hair had returned to normal now, black tears still running down his cheeks. "Helpsa comin… S-So just wait here ___…” He sniffs. He looked so sad. It made your heart ache as you reach up and wipe away one of the tears.

          "... I'm sorry… About Midnight." You whisper tearing up too. He bites his lip, hugging you as your vision starts to blur, face hiding in your shoulder.

           "I'm sorry ___… I'm so sorry…." He whispers crying. Why was he apologizing? You can feel his tears falling on you even as you start to black out. 

*~*~*~*

         This may be your first time waking in a hospital bed. You blink up at the ceiling, feeling utterly drained. You wanted to go back to sleep, but your eyes drift about, finding a familiar pair of foxes curled up on either side of you. Kiyoomi asleep in a chair nearby and what feels to be an owl nestled next to your head. But something was weighing on your chest.

          "Tendo…?" You whisper. The foxes raise their heads at that, looking at you. 

          "___! ___'s up!" Atsumu gasps, taking human form and cupping your face with tearful eyes. 

          "Where's Tendo?" You ask quietly, voice feeling hoarse. He swallows and Osamu takes form.

          "I'll get the doctor." He states hurrying out. Kiyoomi leans over you and Chibi Bokuto hugs your neck sniffling. 

          "How do you feel?" Kiyoomi asks you softly.

          "Kiyoomi. Where's Tendo?" You murmur. They all pause, looking away from you now. "He was with me in the tunnels… Where's my best friend?" Desperate tears coming to your eyes.

          "We… We don't know… No one can find him…" Kiyoomi admits. 

          "D-Death said he talked to Tendo. Tendo said he was going to hide… Wh-where's my phone?" You try to get up only to fall back wincing.

          "Don't move, you have an infection." The doctor says coming in and shooing the guys off of you. "Hello ___, it's good to see you finally awake." He smiles.

          "H-How long was I out?" You ask.

          "Two days now." He hums.

          "... Tendo should've contacted us by now." You breathe, looking to Kiyoomi.

          "I've been messaging him with both of our phones." He tells you. 

          "Then I… I need to go look for him." You try to get up again. 

          "___, I implore you to stay in bed." The doctor says. 

          "No. I-I need to see him…" You force yourself to sit at the edge of the bed. "I need clothes." 

          "Wait. Babe. Please. We'll go look for him again. So just stay in bed." Bokuto begs, swiftly changing into his original size. You meet his gaze, searching his face. 

          "... You have until sundown." You whisper, looking down. He nods, him and the twins hurrying out. The doctor frowns heavily, leaving as well. You sigh heavily and lay back down at that. "What time is it?"

          "You've given them three hours." Kiyoomi informs, frowning heavily. "___…"

          "I don't want to be scolded. If you want to calm me. Get me Tendo." You tell him, looking at the ceiling. Death's apologetic sobs are still ringing clearly in your head. "Please… I need to know he's okay." You whisper, biting your lip. "He made me leave him down there…" You tear up and cover your face. "I shouldn't have done that…" 

          "I-I'm sure…" His voice falls and he just puts a hand over yours in a feeble attempt to comfort you.

         "___ I have informed the detectives you're awake. They'll want to talk to you after we clean your wounds and give you your antibiotics." The doctor says coming back in and pausing at the scene. "I'm sorry didn't mean to interrupt."

         "... It's fine. Clean me up so I can talk to them and go look for my best friend." You wipe your eyes, sitting up again. Kiyoomi watches you before getting up and leaving the room as your wounds are drained and cleaned. 

          After speaking with the detectives, you look out the window to find sundown drawing near and start to get dressed to leave. Kiyoomi didn't come back, you probably upset him by being stubborn. 

          "___? Coming in." A rumble sounds as you finish getting dressed and you look over at Hibarida.

          "Is my mom safe?" You ask.

          "Yes. And worried about you." He tells you lightly.

          "Good. Then you can help me look for Tendo." You respond bluntly.

          "___ we've already searched the tunnels and the places Tendo has been… We can't find him. And if he had tried to get in Dagger's way then…" He stops as you give him a severe look.

          "Shut your mouth. Don't you dare say it without evidence." You hiss out, tears coming to your eyes again.

          "___ please… Calm down. We're doing all we can." He raises his hands carefully.

          "Really? Because it just sounded like you've already given up on him." You brush past, pulling on your right glove and storming out. Where would he go? Where would he hide? Your mind was buzzing so loudly you didn't realize someone was currently trying to talk you into going back to your room until they touched you. 

          "___! What are you doing? Go back to bed." Iwaizumi frowns. 

          "Did anyone find Tendo?" You ask.

          "No but-"

          "Then fuck that bed. I'm going to look for him." You continue on. 

          "___, you're going to get sick." He grabs your arm but you smack his hand away, looking at him with a glare. He straightens, meeting your glare calmly. "Please ___. We're trying…"

          "I can't wait in that hospital room wondering if he's okay. Or if he's…." You shake, fighting down the tears. "That's my best friend. I can't… Iwa-chan… I can't…" You shake your head hopelessly, tears streaming from your eyes. He bites his lip, tears rising to his eyes too and he suddenly hugs you as tight as he can.

          "Then I'll go with you." He whispers as you wipe your face.

          "Okay. Let's go." You nod and both leave the hospital together. "... Maybe… There was another way out back in the tunnels." You sniff. "Death saw him, and I'm pretty sure Death came out of the sewers when he joined the fight so…" 

          "Alright. Sounds like we'll need some flashlights. Let's stop by the dorm." He nods, glancing at the setting sun. 

          "Okay. Message Bokuto and the twins that we left okay? They're probably there now." You tell him. He nods and does so, peering at you. 

          "You were asleep for a while. Did you eat?" He asks.

          "No… I'm not hungry either." You respond looking ahead. He frowns heavily at that but doesn't argue, eventually you both reach the dorm and he rushes in to get you both flashlights. Even from the outside you could tell everyone was gone. Iwaizumi returns, passing you a flashlight and letting you take the lead for your old home. 

           "Everyone has been looking for him.." He lets you know as you walk together. "The twins tried to follow his scent. But apparently Death was in the tunnels at some point too and they lost it." 

           "... When I left the tunnels, Rakurai tried to keep Dagger off of me. He said they were his opponents. So maybe Midnight…" Your heart sinks a bit at the villain's name but you shake your head. "Maybe his gang was already tracking Dagger to attack them and we were just caught in the middle." You rub your eyes. "Death said he had a price on his head. He didn't care though. Because they killed Midnight." Tears threaten you again. "I couldn't save him or Tendo…" 

           "___… You didn't know Midnight was involved. And you know Tendo… He…" Iwaizumi frowns again, not sure how to continue.

           "He would do anything to protect me." You bite your lip. "And I let him." Iwaizumi stops, bringing your head to his chest. You hug him tightly, calming yourself down before pulling away and moving on hastily.

            You reach the destroyed home and frown, taking off your glove to burst your way down to the tunnels. The flashlight beams search the walls as you both walk in silence until you reach where you had made the cave in.

             "Could he have gotten out from here?" Iwaizumi shines his light upwards, igniting a tree that peered into the hole before shining it to the side where it opened into a sewer.

             "Maybe, let's check near the door before trying the sewer." You breathe, moving further down. You just. Needed to check this side. Where you had left your best friend all alone. 

            It's like your flashlight was attracted to this certain spot on the ground near the door that had been ripped open. A large dark spot on the ground, sitting so close to the door, reaching up the wall like someone had leaning against it and bleeding out. Tears were leaving your eyes again as you stood there frozen looking at the spot. A small shaky whisper leaving your lips. 

            "What have I done…?"