Super sorry for the lack of updates! I am literally in the middle of moving from Texas to West Virginia. We drove about thirteen or so hours yesterday, and even more than that today. I'm at a motel now, but tomorrow we'll finish up and I'll be at ze new residence. There'll be loads of unpacking, but it's like, summer, so I'll be back on track soon!

Third person pov

Neito failed his practical exam, but only because he had a panic attack. Or maybe it was more of a flashback. He really wasn't too sure anymore, not that it mattered. He's screwed the pooch on this one.

It's not like he'd meant to or anything. In fact, he'd been doing quite alright in terms of trauma. Some hiding it, bottling it up— it didn't take much. Acting like his old self was as relaxing as it was taxing. He loved who he used to be. The old him was confident and fairly sure. He joked around, having no issues telling people what was on his mind. Nowadays, even he wasn't sure what he was thinking at times. If his emotions were a mess before, he wasn't sure just what to make of them now.

He'd shut down pretty much right off the bat. He'd made a plan with his partner before they split. Neito had entered a darkened building. It was the kind that looked vaguely like a warehouse, but it was smaller. More of a personal storage unit if nothing else. His hero costume was dark, making it less likely for him to be spotted in dim lighting. Crossing it and popping out in the alley on the other side so he could slide into the next building undetected should have been easy. It had been something that would have came easy, before.

The blonde had no time to process what was happening. He couldn't even begin to try and backpedal before he was gasping for air and crashing hard to his knees. They cracked almost deafeningly against the concrete as a suppressed memory of what had gone on hit him like a tidal wave. It washed over his entire being, suffocating him. Even though there was no water, Neito was sure this was what drowning felt like.

The shadows of the not-warehouse seemed to almost sneak up on him. They struck like snakes, biting into him and twisting around him in the most suffocating sort of way. They tightened around his neck like a noose. Though Neito didn't really need to breath, the urgency slammed into him and made him realize that he couldn't. His throat constricted and he just... he suddenly couldn't anymore.

Neito didn't remember much from the night he was taken and... Well, killed. He'd told Tsukauchi what he knew, but he couldn't recall any faces. Just warbled voices and Jay's dull eyes as his head rolled. Having him try to relive it proved to be ineffective. Tsukauchi had shut down the interview almost as soon as it started. The investigation was still going on, though they weren't making much progress. Not without Neito's account of things, and not without Jay's husband, who'd been missing since.

The feeling swarmed him. Neito thought, distantly, that he heard someone calling his name. There was no telling. All he could do was gasp for air and claw at his neck. He felt like he was being strangled. Neito could swear, without a doubt in his mind, that something was slicing through his neck. It wasn't brisk and fast like it had been back then. This was slower, more meticulous. It was meant to hurt, and even though he wasn't alive anymore, he felt it. He felt it all.

Y̶o̵u̸ ̴d̷o̶n̵'̷t̶ ̶w̸a̴n̴t̷ ̵t̷o̵ ̸r̷e̷m̵e̴m̸b̵e̴r̴

No, no he didn't. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to.

Ỳ̷̪̱͉̅͝ö̶̬̞́̾u̸̡͂ ̶̨̲̱̣̃̋d̸̼̟͆̚o̷̝̳͖̓̋̒̚n̴̳̉̈́͌'̶͍̑̏t̴̙̩̟̒̾͒̿ ̸̧͕͖̏͐̔̃w̸̘̮͠ḁ̵̗̋́ͅn̴̮̠͇͑̔ͅẗ̷̮̫͖̌̆ ̷̩̺͂̆͛ẗ̵̺͈́̈́͝ǫ̵͉͚̤͌̆ ̴̢̙̲̱͘r̴̨̈́̓̕ę̶̪̤̋͝ͅm̷̡̡͉̆̕͜ę̸̦̜͒̐m̵̺͛͋͋b̵̧͓͓̬̔ȩ̵̞̈͗ͅŗ̷͚͍̀͛̊̇!̸̝̓

He didn't. Why didn't the voice understand that?! Neito didn't want to remember! It hurt to remember! It hurt, it hurt, it hurt!

Y̷̗̟͖̐̆͑͋̔͗͒̌́̊͂O̶̹̥̱͇̥͕̥̓̏̉̈͂̉Ư̷̡̛̯͔̙̟̭̼̖͚̗͑̆̓̽̉̃̍̄̈͋̈͘̕͝ ̵̡̳̪̜͙͙̱̃̓̀͊͘Ḑ̴̫̺̫͙̠̭͉̟̺̻̘̯̗̾̀̀̇̏͑̑̓͆͂̕̚̚͠͝͝Ő̶͔̼̯͂͋͊̀̓̾͘͘̚N̶̨̧̳̫̝̱̥͎̖̦̹̄'̷̧̧͔̝̭̖̻̣̣̞̠̲͇͙̽̒̒̌̇̿͊̇̓͒̕T̶̘̦͓̱̟͍̞̻̂͊̅ͅ ̵̢̫̞̙̰̤̠̰̭̫̜̮͎̫̇ͅW̶̭͔̬͉͔̮̘͖̊͗̍͑͌̆̽͊̇̄̚͝A̷̳̺͖͇̺̹̲̩̝͖͎̪̹̿͒̃̽̓N̷̖̰̯͖̳̠͚̱͓̺̦̹͇͕̾͜T̶͙̳̳̗̰̫̩̹̭͊̿̔́̎̓̊̚̚͜ͅ ̵̲͎͉̱̖̯̣̖̫̝̈́́̃̓̔͑̆͌̚͜͝͠T̵̛͍̦͂̄̾̂͛́͆̿̈́̀̑̀͘͠͠Ȯ̷̮̤̺̹͚͕̠̤̭̙͇͐̃̿̈̾̐̄̏͐͊̀̚̚̚͜͠ͅ ̷̢͖̰̘̭̘̟̲̙̜̻̈́̌R̶̬̺̩̘̜̰̓͆ͅȨ̴̛̣͈̥̬̮̙͉̳̙̟̬͕̜̏̀͜M̷̙̬͇̪͕̹̩͍̠̈́͊͛̓́́̔͝E̷̼̯͇̭͂͑̊͂̀̓͋͆̋͐̊M̷̛͓͇̩̭̲̹̯̦̣͙̜̬̟̓̿͒̿̈́̑͊̉́͘B̸̲̜̗̺͔͓̥̱͍̻̱̥͔̥͓̌͒͗͌͠ͅÊ̶̠͓̟̜͍̭̱͔̠͓͍̤̗̰̙̑̄̃͛̐̀̂̀̉̕̚̚͝R̶̘̩̪̘̘̰͊!̵̢͔̪̙̜͇̰̙̬̈́́̈́́̉̂

He didn't want to remember. Naturally, life had to fuck him over, because it all came rushing back anyway, despite his thoughts, and despite the voice that echoed around his head like a bullet ricocheting off metal. All it took was a single moment before he knew exactly what had happened to him, and his sobs halted. It all clicked into place. Something slotted in him, and the voices made sense. His breath hitched in his throat, and he felt his eyes glaze over in shock.

His heart gave a few beats. Real ones. Neito was too shocked to really care.

Y̴̘͓͙͖̘͐ó̴̙̱̻̈́̈́͂́u̵͈̣̒̄'̴͍̍̏ͅr̸͕̼̐̓͌̈e̵̢̜̦̝͆͒ ̶̺̖͇͉̼͗̔̈̍ń̵͉̤̣̞o̶̡̊̃t̶̠̞̂̆̓̐̕ ̸̹̗́͝a̶̩͕̋̓̔̕l̷̮̳̣̿̇i̶̯̹͈̜͎̐v̶̨̤̩̮̫̐͝e̶͙̤̗͖̽̏,̶̡̖̥̓͒́̓ ̸̳̜́̈̈́ǹ̵̮͉õ̴̗̘͇̬ͅt̵̢̖͖̰͔͊ ̷̧͇̬̦́̐a̴͓̒̆̅ň̶͇̙̙̩̯̏͊͘y̸̪̾̏̈͠͝m̴̛͔̦͖̈́̐͜o̶̢̖̳͚̙͆́̓r̶̲͖͙̤̄͊̿̀͘é̸̘͂.̷̩̐̔̈́̆

Well, now that wasn't exactly wrong. Neito wasn't alive.

The voice?

The voice most definitely was.

~~~~~~~

Dabi had literally no idea what to do. After getting sprayed in the face, he had a sneaking suspicion he should probably be freaking out. He had absolutely no idea what the thing in the backseat was, but it was absolutely terrifying. Dabi was someone who wasn't easily intimidated, so coming from him, admitting that something was scary was a lot.

The creature was gangly and black, far too tall for the backseat. It looked out of place sitting next to such a cheerful little girl. Even if the little menace had just soaked his face in what smelled suspiciously like vinegar, it didn't change the fact that she was nothing more than a child. She beamed at him as though she were the happiest thing on this Earth, unperturbed by the beaked creature hunched next to her, tilting its head and letting its long, grotesque tongue flick out.

"What the hell is that?" Dabi breathed, not taking his eyes off it. Heat danced beneath his skin threateningly as he eyed it. He was afraid of what would happen if he looked away. The thing was skinny, but he had a feeling it was stronger than it looked. The scarred man wasn't sure whether or not he regretted getting in the car or not. On one hand, the driver was totally batshit and apparently had a pet... whatever that was. On the other, there was a literal child in the backseat that most definitely didn't need to be around... again, whatever ungodly thing this creature happened to be.

"Oh, Eri is a child." Chad said nonchalantly. Dabi felt his eye twitch.

"Not her. The other thing." Dabi all but hissed, still not looking away from Vlad. His immediate thought was that it was someone with a mutation quirk. There were some people out there who didn't resemble humans in the slightest. Dabi being a villain, no matter how small of one he was, had seen some real shit. Especially in joining the league. That Kurogiri guy didn't even have a face from what he could tell, though there was a small chance it was hiding behind all that fog.

"Uh, the water gun?" Chad glanced back. His mouth formed an O. "Wait, you mean Vlad. Vlad, say hey."

Vlad didn't respond, blinking curiously at Dabi. Dabi felt a shiver run down his spine. There was no way this thing was a human. Normally he wouldn't dar assume. He couldn't afford to be judgemental, and he really had no right to be considering his skin was patchwork at this point. There was just something about "Vlad" here that struck him, and he knew immediately that the creature wasn't naturally occuring.

"He's shy." Eri offered a smile to the man she'd just sprayed in the face, patting Vlad's back happily. Dabi flinched as her small hand came into contact with the creature, half expecting it to lash out at the girl. It didn't do much other than grunt and glance at her, not seeing horribly hostile. It was a relief, though Dabi didn't bask in it. Just because it wasn't actively trying to murder them all didn't mean it didn't have the future capacity to.

"Right." Dabi answered the girl shortly, shooting a glance at Chad. "Should you really have this thing around a child? Why do you even have a child?"

Chad seemed to consider his answer as he slurped his drink in a way that was almost endearing, but still obnoxious overall. He would call the police if he wasn't so sure he'd be arrested as well. He was reasonably concerned, but he didn't care enough to try and put the kid first. Dabi had learned a long time ago that in the end, the only person he could ever really count on was himself.

"She didn't want me to take her to the police station." Chad finally settled on. Dabi gave him an incredulous look.

"She didn't want you to take her to the police?" Dabi was a bit astonished. "Did you kidnap her? Fuck, is this one of those Stockholm Syndrome things?" He cursed himself. He never should have gotten into this car. It was already more trouble than it was worth, albeit, it was fairly entertaining.

"I mean..." Chad trailed off. Holy shit, he did kidnap her, technically. Sure, it had been from another kidnapper, but that wasn't the point. "Fuck man, this is woke. I did kidnap her."

Dabi stared at him with a blank look, processing. Eri was happily humming to herself while Chad contemplated over the fact that he was technically a child napper. Well, had it really been a kidnap, or was it more of a rescue? Both? He'd taken a kid that was in no way his off the street and thrown her into his car before speeding away, not even trying to go to the police simply because she'd said she didn't want to.

"What the fuck?" Dabi finally said. It seemed to be a reoccurring thought and phrase for him at the moment. Chad took another sip of his icy beverage, swallowing.

"Before you freak out," He flipped on his blinker. They needed some tacos, "I sort of rescued her at the same time."

"That's not how kidnapping works." Dabi said automatically, his voice gruff and eyes narrowed. His gaze snapped right back to Vlad when the creature let out a quiet and small screeching noise.

"Oh, don't worry! He kidnapped me from my kidnapper." Eri chirped happily. She then leaned forward as Dabi stared at her with slightly wide eyes, lowering her voice as though to share a secret. "I learned that from the internet."

"Is that what you were googling a few days ago?" Chad asked absent-mindedly as he pulled into the drive-thru of one of the few Mexican food places Japan held. He didn't bother stopping at the microphone to order. The guys here knew what to do.

"Wait, wait, so where are your parents?" Dabi backtracked, trying to wrap his head around this. He knew he should take advantage of the car being stopped and get out now, but he was a bit too stunned to. He hadn't been this taken aback in a long time.

Before Eri could answer, Vlad did.

"Avocado!" The creature shrieked. Dabi couldn't help it; he screamed.

~~~~~~~

The exams had ended a little over an hour ago, and everyone was really just milling about stressing about how they'd done and talking about their various strategies. Izuku was all too willing to take attention off him and the fact that he and Shoto had managed to take out All Might with nothing more than a car bomb and miscellaneous metal pole that had gone from god knows where. Knowing how good Midoriya was at analysis, pretty much everyone was open to constructive criticism from the freckled boy.

Aizawa was having a bit of a crisis over in his little corner of the world. After seeing the footage, Mic could only wince at everyone's astonishment. Even Nezu seemed mildly taken aback, which a was a lot considering he was a super genius. To think Lillian would work well with Bakugo of all people, and yet they'd done perfectly. They both counted on one another and played off the other's strengths and weaknesses. Lillian and Bakugo had not only supported each other effectively, but they'd also communicated and utilized their quirks to the best of their ability to pass as well as they could.

It was exactly what they'd wanted, but that didn't make it any less shocking.

Meanwhile, Bakugo was pacing. It wasn't something he did often. After promptly telling anyone and everyone-- save for Lillian, who'd bounced off with the Turnip Bastard and Icyhot-- he'd fallen deep into thought as he contemplated something he hated. Something he never confronted or thought about. A part of him that was, quite frankly, horrifying in every sense of the word.

He delved into his...

God, he shuddered just thinking about it.

His... feelings.

He grimaced at the mere thought, because Bakugo Katsuki didn't have a good relationship with himself. His primary emotion was anger, and the rest he let simply let sit there. If he wanted to feel happy, he'd feel happy. If he wanted to be pissed, he'd be pissed. Not need to dwell on it or anything. Normally, he'd just let things be, but this time he couldn't. It just wasn't an option. Things were getting complicated, so as much as he hated it, he needed to at least try to sort out whatever the fuck new emotion was trying to take over.

He knew some things about it. Around Lillian, he felt warm. Not in a temperature sort of way, but on the inside. Like he was getting a hug. Only he fucking hated hugs, so why did this one feel so nice? It was like when he hugged Lillian, even if she had been crying at the time. 

Another thing was his heart rate. It increased every time she was even within his line of sight. On top of that, the urge to smile was nearly overwhelming, and he kinda wanted to be around her. It wasn't just that he enjoyed her presence, either. He wanted to interact.

It upset him when she talked to other guys too, plus Pinky. He knew that was dumb as shit. If she wanted to talk to other people, she could. Why would he care if she was talking to possible love interests or something? Lillian was pretty and cute and... all that shit, so it made sense that she'd like people and that other people would like her. He knew Lillian was pan, so pretty much anyone and everyone was an option. Pinky was the only chick he knew for sure who was into girls, barring Earjack bitch, who was with the weird 3D Printer one.

Fuck, this wasn't getting him anywhere. Bakugo let out a huff, whipping out his phone and typing in some of his 'symptoms'. Fireworks, urge to smile, the odd desire to hold people-- or specifically one person. Sometimes he just wanted to wrap his arms around Lillian and stand there. It was weird as shit and he hated it. Not her, just the urge. It was creepy, and Bakugo didn't want to be creepy. Lillian was just his best friend, that was all.

He waited impatiently as his results loaded, eyes darting towards the girl. She was talking to Koda through sign language. Watching her hands rapidly move in an excited way made him smile without meaning to. He wasn't fluent in JSL, but he knew enough to get the gist of it. She was happily telling the selectively mute boy how well her exam had done, and how amazing Bakugo had been. Yes, she'd used the word 'amazing.' It made his heart swell and his cheeks flush as he turned back to his screen, grinning.

His smile immediately dropped as his eyes landed on the first link's title, eyes going wide and face pale. His mouth fell dry, and his eyes raised to look at Lillian again as his brain rolled the idea around.

"Ten Signs You're Low-Key In Love With Your Best Friend"