If there was ever a moment that Aizawa resembled a cat, then this was it.

His shoulders were up to his ears, and while Naoko couldn't see his face, she knew he would be hissing if he could.

Not that she blamed him. The situation didn't look very good, and from what she could tell, they were facing the originator of the forest fire... Along with about thirty of his clones, all of whom were circling their small group and holding fire.

It was apparent that the bodysuit man was responsible for the thing that had attacked them earlier because every single one of the clones was identical to how that thing felt. It was both unnerving and impressive to see how much power the bad guys in this situation held, and they were here for her.

The other students had circled around her in protection, and they all seemed to be preparing to fight. It didn't matter to them that they were injured, it didn't matter that the Class 1-B guy seemed to have a deep-seated grudge against Class 1-A, they were all willing to defend her.

Unfortunately, their heroism- which, under any other circumstance would have brought tears to her eyes- was about to bring them a world of hurt.

The man who created these clones had disappeared, meaning that Aizawa couldn't stop this from getting out of control. And while Aizawa was doing his best to erase as many of the clones as he could, there were just too many.

Blood was still trickling down from Kirishima's hair, the class 1-B teacher was still passed out on the ground next to Naoko, and the fires that the clones held were hot enough.

If Naoko wanted to be polite, she would say that they were in a spot of trouble...

But since when did Naoko ever want to be polite?

There was a whole litany of swearwords running through Naoko's mind at the moment as she cursed these idiots. They were making her life far more miserable than it needed to be, and while she appreciated the break from the training camp, she really just wanted them to go away.

A quick glance let her know that these clones weren't nearly as powerful as the original, but that didn't help. A difference in power didn't change the fact that the 'heroes' were about to get barbequed.

***

It was official, Levi and Chris really didn't like the broccoli boy.

Normally it would be enough that they were flying through the sky, Levi hated that, but Broccoli boy wanted to go with them, as did Todoroki, arm kid, and the birdman... Which meant that they were flying through the air bundled up with the rest of these kids.

At one point, Naoko described what her claustrophobia felt like to the two of them. They had been interested, because Naoko was able to go on trains without too much consequence, and she described her little hollowed out nook by the AC. It was something both of them wanted to understand, so as uncomfortable as it made her feel, they forced her to talk about it one day.

She did her best to explain the terrible feeling of the walls closing in on her as she lost the ability to breathe.

After that came the feeling of her mind shutting down as panic filled her.

Every time she had one of these, she woke up with something destroyed because of her quirk's volatile reaction to the panic attack.

It sounded absolutely miserable, and more importantly, it was eerily similar to how the couple felt right now.

Neither of them really loved being close to people very much, they did just fine with how close they normally got to people in hero work. Occasionally picking someone up? Yeah, that was fine. Patching up bloody wounds? A piece of cake.

But this human sandwich was terrible... Not that anyone was able to protest.

Broccoli boy was busy gauging how far they needed to go before resuming gravity, and the arm-boy was essential to making sure they didn't lose anyone along the way.

In other words, they had signed up for this horror ride, and now they had to deal with the consequences.

The only good thing that they could see about this whole situation was that the man who stole Bakugou was in sight again. The masked idiot had made a quick getaway, which was more than enough to wound Levi's pride.

He was a fucking badass, capable of noticing things and keeping a close eye out, but this magic show wannabe shows up, and somehow Levi wasn't even able to sense him coming. One second he was having the beginnings of a slow conversation with Bakugou (Who had apparently been learning sign language for several months) and the next, the teenager was nothing more than a marble.

Oh, he was absolutely going to murder that magician when he got his hands on him.

As a rule, the only people he liked were Chris and Naoko, but Bakugou was... Tolerable. The kid had spunk and was obviously determined to be the best. It was something that Levi might not relate to, but he could certainly appreciate it.

Besides, the way his heart sped up ever so slightly when Naoko's name was brought up- her name was the word the kid could sign best- was rather hilarious.

With a quick wriggle, Levi got out of the unfortunate group hug, completely ignoring the people trying to pull him back, and angled his body to move towards the magician.

To be honest, heights weren't Levi's favorite things in the world, and flying was something he liked even less. There was never a situation that was made worse by having your feet solidly planted on the ground. Because of that, it seemed blasphemous that he was trying to strike out on his own to catch the man, but he did have some understanding of science.

Their odd bundle may have had no gravity, but they weren't aerodynamically sound, which would increase the air resistance they were facing.

It was a concept that he barely understood, and the only reason he did at all was because of Chris.

So whatever, he would rather deal with his dislike of heights and take on science than stay in that suffocating group hug any longer.

Did he know what the hell he was doing?

No, but he was gay, frustrated, and deaf. He would figure it out.

Like an awkward torpedo, he hurtled through the air, aiming for one of his frustrations, grateful he couldn't hear his husband chiding him as he went. Sometimes it was a pain in the ass to not be able to hear Chris, but right now, it was a blessing.

Just as he thought, he moved through the air much quicker on his own, and after only a few moments he had caught up with the person, grappling the person around the waist as his hands began searching the person. He was punched more than once as he did this, but the person didn't seem to have too much control, and after only a moment they were crashing through the upper layers of the trees, Levi still looking for the Marble.

The group behind him were all panicking as Midoriya desperately tried to signal Ochako to drop them. Chris looked ready to join his husband on his foolish jump, but the arm boy had reached around and was now gripping Chris tightly.

Unfortunately, it would be impossible for him to struggle out without derailing the whole group and possibly ruining their chances of getting Bakugou back. He may not like Bakugou all that much, but that didn't mean he would do something so stupid.

Gravity returned to the group quickly, and immediately they began plummeting to the ground, heading right for the magician, who was now on the ground, trying to stay out of Levi's grip.

Sure, Chris was pissed at the whole situation, but he trusted Levi to get this man... There were few who could beat his husband in unarmed combat.

***

Every second seemed to make the situation worse. It was something Naoko for sure didn't appreciate, especially since Aizawa was erasing the copies as quickly as he could, but it wasn't enough.

One by one they turned to piles of grey goop, but as each clone was erased, the group stepped closer, closing ranks and bringing the flames infinitely closer.

Kirishima was barely standing, his head injury only seeming to get worse... Naoko was sure there was a concussion as well, but now wasn't exactly a good time to say anything. Mina was quite obviously in shock and Kaminari seemed to be short-circuiting himself with the anxiety.

Naoko wasn't any better.

Just like Aizawa, she'd been using her quirk to melt these copies, but the more she melted, the more she could feel her brain slowing down. A small trail of blood ran down her face from her nose, and she could feel a bit of blood clogging up her ear as well.

This was nothing like holding off the dirt monsters from the initial treck through the forest, nor was it like melting the nomu's arms.

No, this was different. It felt like someone was taking a pair of rusty scissors and stabbing her repeatedly across her body. She was actively fighting someone's quirk and reducing it to nothing more than a puddle.

She could feel some of the scar tissue breaking open the longer she fought this person, and at this point, it felt more like a battle of wills than a physical fight...

Except this fight had her classmates lives as the prize.

She could vaguely see the fire guy standing behind everyone, watching the situation, though his blackened skin made him impossible to read.

The only thing she knew for sure was the fact that his flames were overwhelming. She didn't even have her quirk extended to him, yet she could feel how potent his flames were, with the way the material was moving, it felt closer to plasma than it did gas.

A burst of annoyance filled her and she shot her quirk out and liquified some of his flames, just enough so that it would coat his hand rather than erupting around him. His eyes met hers, surprise and amusement swirling in the electric blue depths, an extra push had his flames solidifying around his hand.

Sure, it probably would return to its normal state as soon as she released it, but Naoko was sick of the superior look in his eyes.

How could he think this was okay?

As a reward for her efforts, the metallic tang of blood crawled up her throat, making her dry heave.

Her knees gave out from under her and she collapsed to the ground, retching up an alarming amount of the red liquid.

... Shit. She hadn't thought that changing those flames would be so hard.

A single look down at her blain grey shirt had her grimacing. There were lines of blood crossing over her stomach and chest. It was a gruesome sight and one that let Naoko know that she was nearing her limits.

If she kept up with this, she would pass out.

She would be a liability to her group.

Her whole body was shaking as she tried to stand back up. She had to try... It shouldn't be that hard, just get on to her feet. It was something she had done her whole life... So why did it feel like she was Atlas, trying to lift the sky right now?

A burst of blue made her jerk her head over to the kid from class 1-B, who had his arms up protectively.

One of the clones had shot a burst of flames at him, and while he was able to dodge most of it, his forearms were a bright red, showing what was going to be a nasty burn. His pants were smoldering and his whole posture radiated pain.

They were going to lose...

What would happen if the real flame dude stepped up?

Just trying to melt his flames had one of her major organs deciding to bleed like a bitch, he was cruel, and he was powerful as fuck...

Could she melt him? Was that even possible right now?

She placed one foot on the ground and groaned as her whole body decided to collectively protest. This sucked. It really did. But they were after her.

Naoko instinctively shot her quirk out and liquified a new batch of flames, gripping her head as she did so. The soles of her shoes had long since liquified, as she wasn't exactly able to use her hands much right now, but that was hardly an important issue right now.

The flames were harder to control, and, just as before, the moment they had liquified and been released, they burst back to life.

With a massive amount of effort, Naoko forced herself to her feet and stumbled to the class 1-B boy, who was somehow still standing strong. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into the middle of the circle, ignoring his cry of protest.

"You're barely standing," She mumbled out, trying to stop her eyes from crossing as she looked out at the circle, "Take a break."

Not like she was one to talk, because even as she said that she about fell flat on her face.

The boy no doubt saw that, but Naoko wasn't putting up with any more shit. She shot him her fiercest unfocused glare, which probably did the trick, and stepped to where he had been.

Naoko was sick of watching people get hurt because of her... As much as she hated to admit it, this whole thing was her fault... Whether it was because she had fought off the Nomu for a small while at the USJ, or because her quirk was volatile, Naoko wasn't sure.

This time, she was the root of the problem, which was something Naoko hated to admit, but you know what?

She was done being at the center.

She refused to watch Aizawa for another couple of months, struggling to get around because of the injuries that came from his heroism.

No doubt he would say that it was just a part of her job, but that didn't mean Naoko liked it.

There was no way she was going to stand for it.

She was about at the end of what she could do, but it wasn't a problem. What she had planned wouldn't take too much of her remaining energy... She just hoped that the villains would back off if they got what they came for.

Her quirk pooled out under her in a rather large radius, and she activated it, melting the ground out from under each of her classmates and her teacher.

Thank heavens Aizawa's back was to her, otherwise, he would have erased her quirk long before she could get this done. She felt everyone drop into pools of liquid earth and hardened the ground up around them before they had time to react.

This time it would be her decision.

She took a shuddering breath, ignoring the vibrations that came from everyone in her group as she looked past the clones to where the fire-man was standing, "I'll come with you, but only if you promise to leave with me and stop hurting my classmates."

A wicked grin covered his face as he looked around at her peers and teacher, all of whom were struggling against the earth, but she had made sure to capture their arms... There was nothing they could do.

The flame-man began walking towards her, his grin growing with every step.

No... He couldn't get any closer. She might not be able to protect them if he did.

With a vicious swipe of her hands, she activated her quirk, creating a moat around their group, forcing him to stop unless he wanted the weirdest bath of his life, "Not so fast," She spat out, "I need you to promise that they'll be safe if I go with you."

Fire-man looked back into the darkness and nodded, which must have been some kind of cue, as the clones immediately began to disappear. When he looked back the grin had only grown creepier because now Naoko could see all the graphic details on his face. The silver staples which reflected the fires that still blazed around them, the purple color of his scars- a story of years of burns, his electric blue eyes which held an anger Naoko could feel down to her toes.

He was terrifying.

Perhaps he was trying to make his smile less intimidating as he looked back at Naoko, but if that was the case, then it really didn't work.

Everything about him made Naoko want to run for the hill, piss her pants, and have a panic attack all at the same time. That sounded exhausting though, so Naoko settled for watching him intently, as his stapled lips made his words hard to read.

"I'm sure we can swing that," He said with a shrug... It wasn't very believable though, as blue flames were still licking up his arms.

Naoko didn't move (Partially because she wasn't sure she was able to anymore), she just glared, "I'll believe that when you put the flames out, Patches." She looked strong, especially since she was able to so easily ignore her classmates' calls, but she felt anything but.

Patches, as Naoko had officially decided to call him, lett he uncomfortable looking smile drop as he stared at her incredulously, "And what? Let you have the first shot? I know you're trying to be a hero and all Kid, but there's no way I'll become another one of your victims."

Shit.

Naoko could feel the little blood that was still circulating to her head drain away as her eyes widened in horror. Another victim?

Did that mean he knew about the USJ?

Damn it. She was never going to escape that, was she?

Behind her, the other students were turning to each other with curiosity. They were well aware that they didn't know very much about Naoko. Heck, they had just barely found out that she was both a minor genius when she wanted to be, and that she was deaf, so perhaps they shouldn't have been so confused about this.

But the way it was said and the way they could see Naoko react made them pause. What were they missing out on?

One look at Aizawa told them that he knew something, and the pained look in his eye told them that it wasn't good. Maybe they should just leave it alone, but let's be honest here, they were UA students. They didn't know the meaning of that phrase.

A heavy sigh escaped Naoko and she reached up to rub at her temples, well aware that her classmates had more questions for her than she ever wanted to answer.

"Fine." She came to the decision to kind of trust these guys. It was better to take a risk on an unknown than to lose people because of a guarantee.

If she didn't go with these guys, they would kill her classmates, that was the certainty.

"I'll go with you, but we have to leave together, I don't want you or the clone guy to stay behind." Perhaps that was wishful thinking on her end, but she was willing to risk that.

The clone man stepped out of the trees and walked towards Patches with a surprising amount of spring in its step. Naoko wasn't sure she had the ability to be surprised by anything anymore. The way he walked reminded her of when her father would do fashion shows.

With one last look backward, Naoko rehardened a narrow path across the moat she had made. Everyone seemed to be horrified and in the process of yelling at her to stop, but she knew that she couldn't. Even if that choice presented itself, she would still go with the villains... She made up her mind a long time ago on this matter, and there was no backing out now.

She smiled ever so slightly at the group and saluted them before turning back around and stepping onto the narrow bridge she had made.

Before she could take another towards the villains who were watching her expectantly, Naoko was stopped in her tracks by a long grey something...

Well, not just something- A capture weapon, one that Naoko was painfully familiar with.

This was nearly her undoing. She just wanted to go and be saved the guilt trip, but even when all seemed hopeless, Aizawa was still finding ways to try and stop her from doing stupid shit.

He...

He really was the best teacher.

A sob forced it's way out of Naoko as she twisted a hand around and laid it gently on the scarf.

This stupid thing was normally poking her, forcing her to pay attention, or just pointing her towards important events in class.

There had been times when Aizawa would use it efficiently to point out something important he wanted her to notice, or to pull her attention to a student who had been talking to her so she wouldn't seem quite so deaf. It saved her bacon more than once with her classmates just as often as it irritated her.

Her fingers tightened around the material as she remembered all the good times, especially those when Aizawa and she were arguing.

When did things get so complicated?

Why did they get so complicated?

A small flair of her quirk was enough to send the capture weapon to her feet in a small puddle and with a watery grin, she looked back at her teacher.

"I told ya that I'd melt that damn thing one day." She said, barely loud enough to be heard.

There was panic written all over Aizawa's face, but no matter how much that hurt, she took another few steps forward, her eyes never leaving his.

Even as the villains grabbed her, Naoko's eyes remained locked with Aizawa's, and before a wall of flames erupted between them, blocking their connection, Naoko allowed one last, faint smile to tug at her lips...

Just for him.

***

As Chris expected, Levi was easily able to beat the shit out of the masked man.

It was obvious that the poor guy had no combat training, especially with the way he was trying to avoid Levi's hits... Or... Maybe it would be better to say, running right into his fists.

By the time Chris and the rest of the group had gotten back to where Levi disappeared to, the magician was on the ground, with a heavily cracked mask that parted slightly to show two beautifully bruised black eyes, a dislocated shoulder, and, more importantly, Levi sitting on the man's back looking incredibly irked.

Marbles were scattered across the ground in a decent radius, but Levi didn't seem to care.

No... To be honest, Levi looked a little too happy to be sitting on the man, positioned perfectly so his weight would hold up to the dislocated arm in a painful position.

This sight seemed to shock the rest of the students, but Chris just sighed heavily, shaking his head at his husband's antics. It wasn't the first time that Levi had done this, and Chris had already come to terms with the fact that it wouldn't be the last.

He raised his hands, doing his best to not look at the students- all of whom were looking between the couple closely, "Were you trying to give me a heart attack?" Chris' fingers were extra sharp today as he tried to keep the glare off his face.

Levi, who seemed far smugger than should be allowed, simply shrugged, "What? Did you really want this idiot to getaway? I got him, and that's what matters."

"You could have DIED!"

Todoroki, unbeknownst to the rest of the class, had been forcing his mom to teach him bits and pieces of sign language, but he was lost in this moment, the fingers moving far too quickly for a newbie like him to follow. Instead, he took a step back from the group, looking around at the trees as though they were going to bite him.

He just wanted to go back to the cabin and pretend like the whole day just never happened. Tomorrow everyone would be going back to normal, there would be no villains, and maybe he could just forget it all.

Shoto really wanted to forget.

Thankfully for everyone, the couple stopped arguing after a moment and moved instead to trying to figure out which marble was the spikey teen. Levi remained seated firmly on the magician and watched as the teens jumped in to help with a start.

Even Broccoli Boy was helping, despite the fact that he really should be on his way to the nearest hospital in a full-body cast.

Seriously... If Levi was impressed by anything, it was the fact that this thick-headed teenager was able to move his limbs at all, not to mention able to do complex tasks like moving his fingers to grab small marbles.

Chris was more exasperated than anything. The magician was mumbling out snide comments the whole time, Todoroki was avoiding eye contact like the plague, and his husband was a suicidal maniac... Sure, he already knew that last one, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

There was a small connection that Chris could feel sparking between some of the marbles and the magician guy. It was nothing major, but it gave him a good idea of what kind of quirk they were working with.

Something that could reduce people down to marbles, it was both intriguing and terrifying.

Just as they had gathered the last of the marbles, the sound of a small explosion hitting Levi caused everyone to jump.

A wall of blue fire erupted, lining the edge of the clearing.

Levi had been hot by a ball of the blue flame, which sent him flying off the magician's back and right into a tree. The deaf hero slid down the tree trunk, burns already forming on his face from the heat of the blow.

Chris screamed something intelligible and tried to run to his husband. The students were all in a state of shock from the sudden attack, and Midoriya seemed to be frozen in his tracks. He had been the closest to the magician when Levi got blown away, so he was the only one who noticed a marble top across the ground, right into the villain's hand.

It was a moment of desperation as Chris tried to run to his husband, who was lying in an unresponsive heap at the base of the tree. The students prepared to fight, unsure of what was even happening...

The night had already taken a toll on everyone, but now was not the time to wimp out.

To some, it felt like the most important fight of the night... The final boss, if you will.

Before Chris could make it to the Levi, everyone was frozen in their tracks by the sight of a familiar face. A heavily beaten up familiar face.

The flame man was there, as was the bodysuit man. That was to be expected... What wasn't expected was Naoko, standing there with silent tears (and blood) running down her face and flame man's hand wrapped securely around her neck.

Chris tripped over his own feet at that sight, as he looked between the two people he cared about most. He had trusted Aizawa to protect her... What happened? Anger flashed their him, most of it directed at himself.

No... This couldn't be happening.

They got her.

"Did you get the boy?" Flame man's voice broke the group out of their shock as the magician hobbled to his feet, quite obviously in pain.

Midoriya tried to step forward, he really did. He was going to be a hero, and sometimes that meant going beyond what he was capable of. The villains had one of his classmates, one of his close friends, and they were alarmingly close to getting Kacchan as well. He has had to do something, no matter the consequences...

Unfortunately, the self-sacrificing teen had already been going beyond- Plus Ultra for a bit too long as it was, and as he moved to step, his legs gave out from under him, sending him plummeting to the ground in a painful heap of broken bones and insecurity.

Todoroki was the next to try anything... His mom was going to kill him... He had been so glad that Naoko was in the remedial class when the attack started. She was a target, and being at the cabin meant she was surrounded by pro heroes, but now she was here.

God damn it... She was here.

His flames weren't nearly as hot as the blue ones that surrounded them, but maybe he could...

His hand reached forward and he mentally accepted the consequences of his actions, but it was too late... Just as always, his efforts were for naught as a purple portal opened behind the villains and Naoko was pushed through first.

The villains weren't giving anyone a chance to take her back.

The magician was next, flipping a marble in the air just long enough for it to be seen before a flash made everyone cover their eyes.

When the light faded Bakugou was there, hands mid sign and a look of honest-to-God terror on his face.

Chris wanted to move, he really did, but he couldn't. This had progressed into a hostage situation. The villains held all the chips... If he attacked now, it would be simple for the flame villain to light the boy on fire... It would be simple for the villains who were probably on the other side of the portal to hurt Naoko in retaliation.

But he couldn't just do nothing. He was a hero... He had dealt with situations like this for years

If he wasn't so constrained by laws, he could disconnect this man's nervous system... He could do something more helpful than the wet rag he felt like. Naoko didn't deserve this... And no matter how rough he was, blasty boy didn't deserve it either.

None of these kids should have to deal with this... They were kids, yet the way Broccoli Boy was reaching out for his classmate told a story of stress and worry far beyond his years.

The flame man began to walk backward through the portal, Bakugou in hand still.

They were about to lose two classmates in one night... Chris and Levi had been so sure that they could protect the students, but they hadn't... They had lost their daughter... They had failed.

Bakugou was already halfway through the portal when that changed.

A quick jerk had Bakugou disappearing completely for a moment, but right before the portal could close as it was obviously about to do, the boy reappeared. This time with no constraining hands around his neck.

He fell out of the portal violently, as though he was shoved and the hands that followed him, hands that we're still in the act of shoving, were hands that Chris recognized.

They were hands he watched a lot as Naoko signed, they were hands that showed signs of her strength on her wrists... The small slices that she tried so desperately to hide.

He didn't know what Naoko had done, but she just saved Bakugou when they couldn't...

Her hands disappeared quickly- she must have been pulled back- and the portal closed immediately after, leaving behind the disoriented boy.

And no Naoko.