Perhaps it was a bit hasty of Naoko to just jump in and start out with this mini-heist. Honestly, Naoko had seen better thought out plans from class 1-A of all places, yet here she was, making the same mistakes as they might. It was rash and rudimentary, but Naoko had been too excited to properly think things through... perhaps. That was the only explanation she could come up with for what was happening.

They were all standing outside the hospital, regular clothes (Except Dabi, the emo of the group), and masks that had been grabbed from a bargain bin less than five minutes ago.

Naoko had been thrown a Naruto mask and was now mostly blind to the world, but the mask was necessary because the whole thing was horrifically embarrassing. On one side of her was Donald duck, aka Dabi- who seemed even less pleased about the situation than Naoko was- who was currently sporting the reddest ears that Naoko had ever seen and smoke curling from his hands.

He, like Naoko, seemed to decide that this situation was one best dealt with in silence, as she felt no vibrations from the gothic duck.

On the other side of Naoko was Mag, A.K.A. V from V for Vendetta, A.K.A, the only one who was happy with the situation. The woman was standing there, bouncing in her shoes as they stared at the doors and chattering away with no care if the steady stream of vibrations was any indication. She'd been the one who took charge of choosing the masks, claiming that they had to "Represent the person wearing it," which was part of the reason Dabi had been pissed at Mag the entire way to the hospital, but it didn't deter her. She was still as happy as ever, still speaking, even though Dabi wasn't responding, and Naoko was about as useful in conversation as a deaf girl in a mask was expected to be.

They were quite the trio.

A trio who was quickly getting attention, which, the more attention they got before going in, the more likely it was that the police would be there prematurely.

"Ready?" Naoko said, desperately trying to hide the tremble ripping though her. If this went belly side up, she would be done with her vigilante career before it even got started.

The two nodded, and Naoko stepped forward. This was it. A half-assed plan was in big intro into the world. Go her. First, she kills All For One, huge feat, right? Well, look out world, here came Naoko Fujimura, Kidnapper extraordinaire.

All eyes were on them as they entered, which was understandable, they looked odd enough as it was, more like cartoonish bank robbers than anything.

The silence was stifling, but Naoko was 'in charge,' she had to get the ball rolling. "G-Give us Todoroki Rei." Naoko managed to get out before clearing her throat. She could practically feel Dabi rolling his eyes even as his hand lit up in blue flames.

No one was moving. Shit, they didn't hear her, did they? She'd try again. She knew she wouldn't be heard god, this was a disaster.

"We're here for Todoroki Rei, a patient at this hospital. Bring her to us with any of her belonging in the next five minutes or..." Wait. Threats? Crap, she didn't want to do that, but what else was she supposed to do? If she stopped now, they'd never take her seriously!

With a boldness she could only pretend to possess, Naoko slipped her hand out of the quirk restraining bracelet, melting the sole of her shoe in preparation, "Or... Or we'll bring this hospital crashing down on top of you."

Oof, not the threat she wanted to say, it was a bit too close to home, also something she'd never do, but oh well, too late now. For the first time in weeks, her quirk was free. The familiar suppressing pressure lifted, only to be replaced with that same, strong, feeling that something was off. It was as though something had been taken from her, the sheer... wrongness of it nearly making her take a knee.

Whatever it was, it didn't stop her quirk from swirling out, almost gleefully, towards its target. With ease, a pillar collapsed in a puddle, the ceiling above it giving a bowing ominously as it settled. Shit... She wasn't prepared for the roof to cave in.

Naoko was focusing hard enough on the roof that was still in... fragile condition, that she didn't notice the commotion that had become the waiting room.

At least one person was kneeling on the ground crying, most people who weren't staff had pushed up against the walls, staring at the floor in terror. A few unfortunate people in wheelchairs had been abandoned without a thought and were sitting in various areas, looking like a deer in headlights at the masked trio.

As for the staff, there were two different reactions. Half of them were panicked and the other half were... Smiling?

Both Dabi and Mag were taken aback at this, especially when one of the smiling nurses grabbed the phone from another, gently placing it back on the cradle.

"Oh no!" A male nurse stepped out to face them, no panic to be seen anywhere as he placed a hand to his chest, "You seem so strong and scary! Whatever will we do?"

Dabi about attacked the nurse, thinking he was mocking him (the sensitive soul that he was), but Mag set a gentle hand on his arm, pointing to the back of the office where another nurse could be seen crying, with a huge smile peeking through as she wiped the tears of apparent joy.

Naoko stepped forward, and the nurse in front raised a hand to cover a smile, "Please, scary attackers, we have nothing you'd want, we're defenseless, and the police won't be here for 10 minutes at least. If you did something, we wouldn't be able to stop you."

Mag was smiling like a fool, and Dabi was confused, but Naoko just took another step forward.

"I told you, all I'm here for is Rei Todoroki. If she's not down here soon... I'll..." Naoko gulped, looking at those who were terrified. She wanted to get Rei, but not like this. "I'll take her by force."

Hopefully, the nurse wouldn't get fired in the near future for this, but he beamed at Naoko, throwing the whole room off guard. "Oh, don't worry, We are a helpless hospital, we'll get her to you quickly." Chitani looked behind him to another nurse who nodded, "In fact, she's on her way now. I should feel guilty for trading one patient for the rest's safety, but something tells me she'll be in good hands." His grin was almost blinding as he knelt and looked up, "May I ask who is libera- I mean kidnapping our favorite Todoroki?"

Naoko took a step back, though she was smiling beneath the mask too. She loved Chitani for this. Rei and Hasame were always chatting with him and he would bring her the best coffee when she was trapped in the bed with only terrible hospital coffee to comfort her. He was a good guy.

"My name is..." Naoko paused for a good second. Choosing her hero name had been hard enough and this. She wasn't following in Stain's exact footsteps. She needed to distinguish herself... "I'm... Kismet. The vigilante Kismet."

She could feel people behind her doing spit takes, but she didn't care. As a hero hopeful, she had fought in the memory of her parents, the memory of all she had lost...

But she couldn't do that anymore, she had to fight for herself and those like her.

"Well, Kismet, I can't help but think that you'll do great things. I'll be keeping an eye out to... see what you do." Chitani stood and turned just as the door opened, "Ah, well, I believe this is who you're looking for."

A nurse walked into the room, carrying a small bag, all of Rei's earthy possessions as the woman herself walked out behind her, eyes wide, as she took in the strange sight. Though it all softened as she saw who was standing in front.

Chitani retreated and wrapped Rei in a tight hug, which was gladly returned as the nurse, who'd obviously been crying recently, handed Mag the bag. "She's our favorite," Her voice was quiet, face turned from all cameras, "Let her live again, please?"

Rei turned to Naoko, who had hidden tears rolling down her cheeks, the two stared at each other for a long moment, taking each other in.

Naoko's mother figure was wearing scrubs rather than her usual white sweater and skirt, likely the first colorful thing she'd worn in years, and she looked beautiful. In contrast, Naoko was in an oversized t-shirt, leggings, half-melted shoes, and a Naruto mask, but it was enough.

For a moment all was quiet, as Rei nodded slowly, and stepped forward, almost as though she was going in for a hug. At that moment, even those who'd been terrified seemed to see what was happening, that the situation wasn't as scary as they first assumed, and a few were crying, though more were smiling as they watched.

"I truly hate to break this up..." Chitani spoke rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "But we were legally obligated to call the police, they'll be here in... 3 minutes? I don't doubt the new number one will be here shortly after. Don't get me wrong, you're welcome to stay here, but things might not go the way you want if you do." He dragged out his words reluctantly. He was more invested in this than anyone else, but he wanted Rei to be free, and not just meet with Naoko, or Kismet.

That was all it took for it to be over. Mag literally picked up Naoko and Rei and ran for the door, with Dabi hot on her heels. Neither of them wanted to tango with the number 1 hero, and wanted even less to fight the police right now. It wasn't the time or place.

Mag made it about a half-mile away from the hospital before she stopped and dropped her load. It had been a long ride, and both Naoko and Rei were winded, but it was barely a second after being dropped that Rei had Naoko up in a tight hug. The Naruto mask long since gone, and tears streaming freely down both their cheeks.

She'd done it. Rei wasn't quite comprehending what had happened... It'd all been so quick, one moment she had been reading, as was usual at that time, and the next a nurse was rushing into her room, crying as she shoved a pair of scrubs into her hands. Obviously, Rei haed recognized Naoko the moment she entered the room, but that didn't make it any easier to understand what'd just happened.

But... She was off hospital grounds for the first time in a decade, and Naoko was here with two other people in masks.

"Who..." Rei was forced to stop as the tears just kept coming faster. Her breathing hitched as she tried to speak for a moment more to no avail. Instead, she simply buried her face in Naoko's hair, choking out a quiet word over and over again.

"Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~

Sorry for all the short chapters lately, it just feels wrong to make some of these longer, as they are more emotional. I promise, I'll get more out here soon, but life's been crazy the last few weeks, and things are finally starting to settle down, after far too long.

Thanks for waiting for me!

-klypso01