Shiina and Akechi were pretty damn sure the Cruiser of Pride was going to be their graves. Neither of them knew how they were going to survive much longer, hell, they were positive they were supposed to die a long time ago anyways.

Their little sanctuary in the janitor's closet didn't last too long. After she passed out, Akechi panicked and summoned Robin Hood to use Samarecarm on her. It worked for most of her injuries, except for the fresh new bullet wound on her back shoulder. The bullet was still lodged in there and Akechi couldn't risk trying to remove it. He had fallen asleep once he was certain she wasn't going to die on him, but a few hours later they were woken up to the frantic yelling of the janitor, who had stumbled upon them when he opened the door.

They high-tailed it out of there, still a bit frazzled and weak, and were now being chased all around the ship by blood-thirsty security Shadows.

They thought their nap would be enough to help them regain all the energy they had used up, but it had the opposite effect instead. They were even more drained then before. Shiina's could just barely stand and Akechi's limbs were beginning to tremble.

Even worse, they were beginning to lose the strength to summon their Personas.

"Do you know where the exit is?" Akechi asked before he was roughly pinned against the wall by a Dakini.

Shiina quickly pistol-whipped her and he kicked the demoness away. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the end of the hallway before turning left.

"I have no clue where we even are," she panted. "I got lost after all the turns we took."

It didn't help that she didn't have the map with her. Makoto had it and there was no way to get another one unless they went to the entrance hall, which was pointless because that was where they were trying to go anyways.

They were lost, tired, and dying.

So far, they had been attacked by fifty Shadows at most and had managed to accumulate a wide range of terrible injuries. She had broken her left ankle, got stabbed in the arm after one Shadow threw it's spear at her, got shot in the hand (the left one, thankfully), and not to mention all those little cuts and bruises...

Akechi was in the same condition, but wasn't as tired as her. He had to deal with a broken clavicle that ached in pain every time he swung his arms to run, he had a large cut on his side that was bleeding profusely, and was just as banged up as her.

Basically, the two of them were doomed to die in Shido's Palace.

It was the worst place to be killed in.

"Wait, a second!" Shiina gasped, no longer running. She had to grab the wall to keep herself upright because the second she stopped running the exhaustion hit her tenfold.

"What is it?" Akechi wheezed.

"There's a map," she said quickly, her eyes scanning the small poster on the wall. She could hear the Shadows coming closer. "It says here we're in the Mid Starboard Hallway! That's not too far from the Entrance Hall! Follow me!"

A flicker of hope welled in her chest. They were so close to the exit now! They could actually make it out of here!

But her hopes sunk when they pushed through the final door.

The Entrance Hall was flooding with security guards and dogs. The guests were no longer there, having been evacuated a long time ago.

Without saying a word, they ducked behind a huge plant and hoped they would be mistaken as leaves.

"What do we do?" Shiina whispered. Her heart felt like it would burst from her chest from how scared she felt. The exit was right there... but the Shadows were all over the place.

"I don't know," he whispered back, looking and feeling just as defeated as her. He was also growing paler from the blood leaking from his side wound. "Those Shadows will surround us the second they spot us."

Shiina bit her bottom lip so hard she was nearly drawing blood. She didn't want to die yet (and definitely not in this place), there were so many things she needed to do! She wanted to spend more time with Shouto, visit her mom for the first time, and maybe even become a designer like she always wanted if Endeavor ever decided to change his mind about her being a hero. Speaking of him, she still yearned for the day his ass would be thrown in jail...

She wondered how her siblings were holding up. How long had she been gone now? School was probably going on and Fuyumi was most likely driving herself insane with worry—

Wait a second. She suddenly thought. Insane...

It was as if a light bulb had lit over her head.

"Goro," she said. "I have an idea. Can you still summon Loki?"

"Barely," he answered unsurely. "Why?"

"Can you try going berserk again?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head. "I can't... I can only do it once. I'd have to make a full recovery if I want to try it again..."

"Dammit," she cursed, but then got another idea. He couldn't use it on himself... but what about on her? "When you were in berserk mode, you weren't able to feel much pain, were you? You didn't even feel tired until the very end, right?" While battling against Akechi in his berserk mode, she noticed how easily he was able to ignore all his injuries. Every time he was attacked, he just got back up again, madder than ever.

He nodded. "Yes, but once it wore off, all the pain hit me at once and I was barely able to move."

"I think..." She began slowly. "If I could just summon Tullia..."

His eyes widened at what she was suggesting. "Shiina," he croaked out. "I'm not going to—"

"—It's our only shot." She insisted. "If you make me go psychotic, I'll be able to push back my injuries and exhaustion and fight against all those Shadows. Hell, I'd be able to summon Tullia again. I'm not planning on killing them—that'd take too much time. I just want to pave a way for us to get to the door..."

"It'll greatly deplete your energy once it's gone... or at least whatever energy you have left," he warned her, his eyes trailing over her many wounds. "And if you get any more injured—"

"—I'll handle it," she said firmly. "Please, Goro, you have to do this. It's our only chance."

He eyed her warily, then his gaze became more intense, as if he was trying to remember every feature of her. And then he did something she wasn't expecting. He reached out to cradle the back of her head, then leaned forward to kiss her.

It was a messy kiss. Not because he was sloppy or anything, but because both of their lips were chapped and there were still some blood dribbling down here and there. But Shiina had never been kissed so gently in all her life. It felt so sweet and genuine that she almost melted right then and there, but then he pulled back and she returned to reality.

"Stay safe. I'll try to back you up as much as I can but I'm all out of bullets and I might not be able to summon any Personas after this." He told her.

"Uh... uh huh..." She said dumbly, mind still numb from the kiss.

He noticed it, and his lips turned up in amusement. He leaned forward and pecked her once more. "Get ready," he said before unleashing Loki.

That definitely got her attention. As well as the other Shadows.

She could hear them bursting apart to their true forms before Loki pointed his sword at her and she was struck with an invading pain.

"Don't fight against it! You have to accept it!" She heard Akechi told her somewhere beneath her blood-curdling shrieks.

She stopped trying to fight back, her body tense as she felt the dark energy seep into her skin, bones, and veins. She was accepting it.

Akechi watched, unnerved as Shiina was enveloped in a violent red haze, just like he had been. She was radiating with so much malevolence that the hairs on the back of his neck stood. He wondered if she felt this scared when he had made himself berserk.

A high-pitched laugh bubbled from her throat. She ripped off her mask and called forth Tullia and immediately lunged at the nearest Shadow. She ripped it apart effortlessly with her claws while Tullia trailed behind her, causing havoc left and right with bursts of strong Curse magic.

Akechi chased after them, ducking to avoid flyaway pieces of rubble and weapons. The two of them were demolishing the entire Entrance Hall!

"AAAAARGHHHH!" Shiina shrieked maddeningly as she ripped open the throat of a Narcissus Shadow. She was straddling him, her claws making a never-ending motion of swipes. Black blood was spewing all over her face and clothes. Through the blood he could see a pink blush speckled on her cheeks.

So she becomes a complete sadist... Akechi thought (feeling a twinge bit of anxiety) as he slain an approaching Sarasvati.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" She growled, kicking aside a Titania. "MOVE!" She screamed, and Tullia unleashed Maeiha on an incoming horde. She grabbed the wing of a Garuda and twisted it in an odd angle that made it caw before she sunk her claws into the back of it's head.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" She roared as Tullia blasted away ten or so Shadows in a single shot.

They were getting closer to the exit now. Akechi wondered if it was safe to approach her, but Shiina must have regained enough of her sanity to remember what the plan was because she turned to face him with an expression of pure ferocity. "COME!" She commanded, and his legs moved forward.

Tullia blasted the doors open so hard that they were removed from the hinges. Shiina and Akechi came running out, and he was scrambling through his pockets for his phone.

"Finally...!" He breathed out once he had it in his grasps. He tried to unlock his phone but his fingers were too bloody for him to be able to swipe up.

"Oh no...! It's wearing off...!" He snapped his head up at Shiina's whimper and saw her body swaying, eyes rolling to the back of her head. Tullia was gone. The insanity Loki had induced in her had faded away. He darted forward to catch her before her head could hit the ground.

"Shiina...!" He cried out. He glanced up, the remaining Shadows were closing in on them. He wiped his fingers cleaned and hastily unlocked his phone. He tapped on the Meta-Nav app and the world around them faded away.

"Ugh!" He grunted when he collided with the ground. He was met with harsh sunlight. He cracked his eyes open. A blue sky full of clouds... They had made it back.

He looked back down. Shiina was in his arms, completely unconscious and looking as battered as she did back in the Palace. He was in the same state too. Remembering that the Diet Building would be full of people at this time, he slowly dragged themselves into the shadows, hoping nobody saw them.

"Shiina," he whispered, hoping he'd get a reaction. "We made it out... Please open your eyes..."

"..."

He gulped audibly. His fingers trembled as he brought them up to her neck, where her pulse was...

Or at least, where it should've been. He felt nothing. Perhaps it was the wrong spot. He moved his fingers an inch, but still nothing.

No, no, no... He thought, then pressed his ear against her chest. It took him a while to hear the slow beating of her heart.

She was alive, but barely. Her injuries were catching up to her fast.

He had to take her to a hospital. Now.

Even though all his strength was gone, he forced himself to gather her in his arms and stand up. I can do this, I have to do this, he pushed himself forward. He knew he wasn't going to make it far, but he had to because if he didn't then Shiina would die and then he'd—

—Why wasn't her chest moving?

She's not breathing anymore. He realized with dread. He had been able to feel her soft breaths on his neck but now he couldn't. Quickly, he took her into an alleyway for privacy and gently brought her down.

"Shiina." He said urgently as he tried to listen to her heart beat. It was gone.

Oh god no, please, don't be dead...!

He held her closely and before he knew it, he was choking on his sobs. His chest ached with unimaginable pain. "You can't leave me too...!" He said desperately. "Please just wake up!"

He couldn't believe it. She had died in his arms... And after they had made it out too...

Life was truly cruel.

But she could still be saved, couldn't she? A person could still be revived after death, right? He tried wracking through his brain for the facts to prove it, but he couldn't think anymore. His hand went for her phone and he was typing 119 down before he even knew it.

He needed Shiina to live. They didn't just go through all that hell just for one of them to not make it once they were free. Shiina needed to live. He wouldn't be able to bear it if she were to disappear completely. She was the only one who—

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of the 119 operator speaking. He opened his mouth but no words came out.

They'll come here anyways. They'll see her and revive her. They'll bring her back to life. In the mean time I should... I should leave. The calculative side of his brain said. It wasn't safe for him to be seen anymore now that he was no longer working with Shido. The ambulance was coming and he needed to hide.

He lowered her phone to the ground and looked over at her motionless body. He bent down to kiss her forehead, and he tried to ignore how cold and lifeless her skin was. He struggled to stand up and held the brick wall for support.

Please come back, he prayed. Giving her one last glance, he walked out of the alleyway.

— ❤ —

Shouto could barely listen to Ectoplasm as he started explaining a bunch of math equations he could care less about. He didn't want to be here, sitting in this classroom full of irrelevant people and irrelevant things.

His body was tense and for once, he wanted nothing more than to trap his classmates and teacher—this whole stupid building—in ice so he wouldn't have to listen to their pointless chatter.

Shiina never made it back home last night. Her curfew had passed and he and Fuyumi simply dismissed it because she always ignored the curfew. But then the hours kept piling up and midnight came and she still wasn't home.

He could still remember the horrible argument they had with Endeavor when he refused to call the police for help...

"I can't get through him!" Fuyumi sighed in frustration as her phone ended after the first ring. "It's just the same as Shiina's. Every time I try to call Ryuji, it goes to voicemail right away! I've tried texting too but it can never send!"

"What does that mean?" Shouto asked.

"They must be somewhere without a signal, which worries me even more." She bit her lip. "Do you have the numbers of her other friends?"

He shook his head. He didn't care enough to ask for their number, but now he was starting to regret never asking for their contact information.

She turned to their father, her expression pleading. "Dad, please, we need to call the police. The last time she was out this late she was shot!"

"It's not my problem if anything happens to her!" He snapped, making her flinch back. "Let her stay out! If she wants to break her damn curfew than let her! She should just stay out anyways!"

"Dad, she—she could be in danger!" She exclaimed desperately. "She's only fifteen and Tokyo's not safe, we need to alert the police right away!"

"And let more people find out about her?" He growled, his expression contorting to disgust at the very thought of it.

"That's what you're worried about?" Shouto said darkly. "People finding out you have another kid? She's you're damn daughter!"

"She's an ungrateful brat is what she is!" Endeavor snarled. "She's become wild and rebellious just like him! I should've thrown her out a long time ago!"

Shouto stood up and was about to release his Quirk on him when Fuyumi suddenly let out a sob.

"Shut up, shut up!" She wept, her head in her heads as she shook it frantically. "Don't say that dad, please—"

"—Quiet, you!" He barked.

She shook her head again. "Shiina's in danger. I know it. I'm sorry dad, but I'm calling the police!" She grabbed her phone from the pocket of her pajamas and was about to unlock it when Endeavor stormed forward and snatched it from her hand. She quickly retracted them back, feeling the stinging heat he was emitting.

With an angry growl, Endeavor raised his hand and threw her phone against the wall. It shattered into separate pieces.

"NOBODY IS CALLING THE POLICE!" He screamed at her. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, FUYUMI?!"

Shaking uncontrollably, she nodded her head. Her teeth were chattering so hard she could barely speak.

He then zeroed in on Shouto. Or more specifically, the phone in his hand. "Give me your phone, Shouto."

"No." He said firmly.

Endeavor looked absolutely livid. His left hand burst into a small flame and he shot out to grab the front of his shirt. Shouto had to hold back from coughing as smoke filled his lungs. He could vaguely hear Fuyumi begging their father to stop through the crackling of the flames.

"Give me your phone! NOW!" Endeavor ordered.

Shouto struggled against him, but it was futile. With his free hand, Endeavor wrenched the phone away from him and harshly pushed the boy back. He landed hard on his bottom. He looked up and gave Endeavor his most hateful glare.

"Give it back!" He shouted, a trail of sharp ice forming underneath him. Endeavor spewed flames at his direction in retaliation. Shouto scooted back to avoid them.

"None of you are to call the police!" Endeavor yelled, spit flying from his mouth. "I'm taking your phones and the landlines too! If you even dare try to leave the house to get help I'll make sure you'll never be able to walk again! Do you all understand me?!"

He was met with the small sobs of Fuyumi and Shouto's haggard breathing. The vein on his temple bulged. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

Only Fuyumi nodded to appease him. Satisfied, he turned and walked away.

The pencil in Shouto's grip snapped in half. Momo turned towards him at the sudden sound and frowned at the dark expression on his face.

"Todoroki-kun?" She said quietly. "Are you alright?"

He grunted.

Her eyes trailed over to the empty seat between Sero and Midoriya and knew immediately what the problem was. Perhaps Shiina was just sick, but Shouto had been in a terrible mood the whole day. It couldn't just be sickness that was the problem...

The door slid open and Aizawa stepped in.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Ectoplasm," he apologized. "But I need to speak with Todoroki."

Shouto's stomach clenched uncomfortably. He ignored all the looks his classmates sent him as he stood up and tried not to focus too much on Aizawa's expression. He looked almost worried...

He walked out the door with him. There was a heavy silence now that they were out in the hallway. Shouto tried to focus on anything but that. He tried to listen to the birds chirping outside or the soft wind blowing from the air conditioning, but his stomach kept twisting and twisting to the point that he was feeling physical pain from it.

He dreaded whatever Aizawa wanted to tell him.

Said man drew in a breath and began scanning his face. "Todoroki... I need you to listen to me carefully, alright? Listen to everything I say."

He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

"Your sister, Shiina, was found dead somewhere near the Diet Building—"

Immediately, Shouto felt like he was drowning. Aizawa was still speaking but he couldn't hear a thing. His ears were ringing, his heart stopped beating, and his stomach was lurching every which way. He couldn't breath. He was choking. Air. He needed air right now—!

He was suddenly thrown back to reality when Aizawa firmly gripped his shoulders. "Shouto," he said carefully. "Shouto, you need to breath. Shiina is alive."

He stared at him with wide eyes, his breaths coming in short and quick. "Wh-what—you said—"

"Shiina was found dead somewhere near the Diet Building," Aizawa repeated. "But the paramedics came and when they brought her back to the hospital, she was suddenly revived."

Shouto felt like he could breath again. "Alive," he breathed out. "S-so she's—"

"—I don't know much of the details yet," Aizawa interrupted. "But your older sister, Fuyumi, is here to pick you up. You're dismissed for the rest of the day so you can go with her to the hospital."

Shouto didn't need him to say anything else. He quickly turned to leave but Aizawa called out to him, "Don't forget your bag."

He could care less about his things but he went back anyways. He burst into the classroom, drawing everyone's attention to him. They all looked worried.

He hastily made his way down the row and grabbed his things. He shoved his notebooks and pens into his backpack, ignoring when Ectoplasm spoke up to ask if he was okay. He ignored the rest of his classmates too when they asked him the same question. He zipped up, shouldered his bag, and sped out.

He found Fuyumi near the entrance of the building.

"Fuyumi!" He called out to her.

"Shouto!" She cried out. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery. "Come on, we need to hurry! I already called Natsuo through Aizawa-san's phone and told him to meet us at the hospital. He's probably there already!"

He nodded shortly and the two of them rushed out of the building and out of UA's gates. The second they got in her car, she sped away, not even bothering to care about her seat belt.

"Nee-san," he said. "Do you know what happened to—to her?"

She shook her head. "N-no. I only just received the news. A staff member from UA called my workplace and one of my co-workers brought me up to the office to talk to them. They told me that the paramedics found Shiina d-dead in some alleyway!" She reached up to wipe her face before she continued on. "But then—somehow—she was alive again by the time they made it to the hospital! I don't get it either, but I just..."

Whatever she was going to say was cut off by another sob.

"Aizawa-san also told me they contacted dad but that he couldn't make it," she said bitterly. "I told him that Shiina was in danger...! I told him, but he didn't listen!"

"Because he doesn't care about her," Shouto said sharply, swelling with anger at the mention of that terrible man. This was all his fault. If he had just listened to them then none of this wouldn't have happened!

The anger disappeared once they made it to the hospital. Now all he felt was dread. A doctor led them to her room. Natsuo was already there, and he shoot up to his feet once they entered.

"Natsu!" Fuyumi sighed in relief as the two embraced in a hug.

"Hey guys..." He trailed off, smiling slightly, but was his face was just as pale as theirs. Shouto's gaze transferred over to the white bed, where his younger twin laid, plugged up to a heart monitor. He was relieved to hear it beeping at a normal pace, but the relief was short-lived once he noticed how awful she looked.

Shiina always looked lively and beautiful, but now she looked like a corpse. If it hadn't been for the heart monitor, he would've mistaken her as dead—and the thought terrified him.

"Dr. Watanabe, can you please explain what happened? How—how she came to be like this and how she was revived?" Fuyumi pleaded.

The doctor nodded in understanding. "I'll start at the beginning. Around 3:05 PM, we received a 119 call from someone. We couldn't hear anything, but we sent an ambulance to their location right away. Paramedics found her laying in an alleyway near the Diet Building. Unfortunately, she... was already dead long before they made it. They brought her over here anyways and by the time we placed her on the bed and hooked her up, she was alive and breathing again."

"You found her in an alleyway?" Natsuo said, looking horrified. "Was she—? Do you know if she was—?"

The other two siblings seemed to realize what he was trying to ask. Fuyumi started to cry again and Shouto's throat ran dry.

Much to their absolute relief, the doctor shook his head. "I assure you, she was not violated in that way."

"What ha—happened to her?" Fuyumi asked in a small voice. "There's so many injuries... What...?"

"She has a lot of injuries at the moment," the doctor told them. "She was stabbed in the arm, but we managed to stitch the wound up. That wasn't the only stab wound however. We found a few more. Some worse, some not so bad. But those are all stitched up now. Her left ankle is broken and she has a bullet wound in her left hand. She has another bullet wound on the back of he right shoulder. We managed to take the bullets out, though. There's also a lot of strain in her muscles, most likely from over exertion."

"Shot...?" Fuyumi said weakly.

"She was stabbed?" Natsuo looked like he was going to be sick.

He nodded. "The cause of death was from the blood loss."

"And h-how about her revival?" Natsuo asked.

He frowned. "We don't know. We're still trying to figure everything out, but I'm just glad she was revived."

Fuyumi sniffed. "Yes... we are too..."

"Do you know... who did this to her?" Shouto asked him, fists balled tightly. Someone had killed his sister... Yes, she was alive again, but still, some psychopath had brutally killed her and left her dead in some dingy alleyway.

He nearly lost her...

And then he remembered something. Before she walked out of the house—and very nearly their lives—she had mentioned something about her friends. Didn't she say she was going out to meet with them?

Where were they, he thought, barely able to contain his anger. When this happened? Or did they have something to do with it?

The doctor began speaking, catching his attention once more. "There was nobody around by the time the paramedics arrived. Investigator's are currently checking out the area and so far they found a trail of blood starting outside of the Diet Building to the alleyway. They think she was dragged there. There aren't any suspects right now, but they've crossed out theft since her wallet was left untouched—that's how we found out her identity by the way. She had her UA ID on her. They're suspecting it was foul play."

"I see..." Shouto trailed off, not knowing what else to say. He returned his gaze to Shiina.

"Has she woken up?" Fuyumi asked.

Dr. Watanabe solemnly shook his head. "We're unsure when she will."

Everyone snapped their heads towards him.

"Y-you're saying that she's in some coma?!" Natsuo nearly shouted.

"Yes," he replied.

"And you can't... can't think of when she'll wake up?" Shouto asked weakly. This was almost as bad as her dying...

Dr. Watanabe shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"That's fine. You did your best. Thank you very much, Dr. Watanabe..." Fuyumi smiled sadly.

"I'm very sorry for all of this. I'll leave you three alone for the time being but a nurse will come up soon. She's only here to use her Quirk to heal the bruises and smaller cuts, you can still stay until visitation hours are over."

He was just about to leave until Shouto said, "Wait."

"Yes?"

Shouto pointed at the glass vase full of flowers that were set at her bedside table. Next to it was a get-well-soon card. He didn't notice them until now, but he felt somewhat suspicious.

"Who gave these to her?"

"Oh," the doctor blinked. "One of the nurses working behind reception said a young man came up and requested that these be given to her. He never said his name, but he looked very worried so we had someone bring them in. He also asked to come in and see her but the nurse had to decline since he wasn't family."

"What does he look like?" Shouto asked sharply.

The doctor hesitated. "Er, according to the nurse he was... well, very covered up. I wasn't there so you'll have to ask the reception nurse if you want more details."

"It was probably one of her friends," Fuyumi mused once the doctor left.

Shouto quietly walked over to the table and flipped open the card. No written words. No signature. Nothing.

"Man, people are already talking about this..." Natsuo sighed. "Have you guys checked the news lately? It's all over the media now... 'UA Student Found Dead'..."

"Our phones were taken away," Shouto said while Fuyumi winced at the poor titling. "By him because he didn't want us calling the police last night."

Natsuo turned red with rage and Fuyumi was quick to interrupt. "Do you guys think Shiina made the call?"

Both boys turned to her. "Huh?"

"The doctor said someone called 119, but nobody spoke. And by the time the paramedics got there she was already... d-dead... I don't know, but I just have this feeling that it wasn't Shiina who made that call..."

"You think someone called 119 and just... left her in that alleyway?" Natsuo frowned.

She shrugged, but she clearly looked uncomfortable with the possibility. "I don't know. I just... I don't know."

Shouto didn't know either.

But one thing was for sure, Shiina's 'friends' had something to do with this.

— ❤ —

When Shiina regained consciousness, she realized she was laying on the world's most comfortable bed. She never wanted to leave, but her eyes fluttered open and she knew right away that something was wrong. There were no walls surrounding the room she was in. She saw a golden pillar and behind it was a peculiar sky that had a combination of blue, green, and purple hues. It was pretty. It reminded her of the Northern Lights.

She turned her head to the left and saw the same thing.

Suddenly, a deep and smooth voice spoke. "You are awake."

Despite being startled, she didn't feel scared. She felt oddly... comforted and safe. She slowly sat up and saw a man in a white suit. His face was covered by a white mask with a butterfly wing design painted on the side. His brown hair was long and tied up in a neat pony-tail.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Philemon," he introduced himself. "A dweller between consciousness and unconsciousness." He motioned to the area they were in.

Shiina looked around and realized they were on some circular, checker-board patterned platform and nothing else. All she could see passed the golden pillars were the blueish green 'skies'. It was as if they were the only two people left in the world.

"Is this... not my world?" She asked hesitantly.

He nodded. "That's correct. In a way, you are in my domain. Now I must ask you a question: What is your name?"

The question struck her hard because for a few brief seconds, she didn't know what her name was. But then she heard the voice of boy echoing in the back of her head, "Kiberi Shiina! Has a nice ring to it, yeah? Do you know what 'Kiberi' means? It means 'precious berry', 'cause you're always gonna be my precious ichigo!"

"Kiberi Shiina," she answered.

"How wonderful," the man said, and even though his face was covered she could tell that he was smiling. "There aren't many that can remember their identity when in this domain. Do you know why you are here, Shiina?"

"I can't..." She was going to say 'remember', but then images of bloodshed flickered through her mind. She remembered being trapped in Shido's Palace with Akechi... an agonizing pain... and then numbness... "Did I... die?"

Her heart sank when he nodded. "Indeed, you did. You died in result of the many injuries you sustained from the Shadows. A tragic fate for someone so young."

I'm dead. She thought, staring at him with wide eyes. She was really dead now. Everything she had gone through in that Palace was all for nothing because she ended up dying anyways. "Wait...! What happened to Goro?"

"He is alive," he assured, and her shoulders slumped with relief. "His injuries are almost dire for a human, but I know for a certain that he will survive them. My greatest concern, though, is you."

"Me?" She pointed to herself. "But you said I was dead... Unless you're trying to decide if I should go to heaven or hell... If you want my opinion, heaven sounds a lot nicer so you can put me there."

He chuckled in amusement. "No, dear girl. You died, yes, but I have brought you back. In fact, I am currently healing what is left of your injuries. Admittedly, I have interfered too much by doing so, but your survival is vital to me. You are, after all, the piece that will bring them all together."

"Huh?" Her mind was still trying to register the fact that he had somehow managed to bring her back to life. "What do you mean you brought me back? Are you some sort of god...?! And bring who together?!"

"You will find out soon." He said, and he sounded like he was smiling again. "For now, you must return to your proper time and place. Good luck on your journey, Kiberi Shiina."

The conversation with Philemon faded away the second she woke up again. She blinked the sleepiness away and noticed that she was in a dark hospital room.

Huh...? She thought. For some odd reason, she kept thinking about a glowing blue butterfly... But that wasn't important right now. She was in a hospital. Somehow. What was she doing here? The last thing she remembered was—

Knock, knock.

The sound didn't come from her door. She turned to the right and her eyes flew open in surprise.

Standing outside her window was Ryuji.

Carefully, she unplugged all the wires that were attached to her body and practically sprinted for the window to open it.

"How did you get all the way up here?" She asked, grinning from ear to ear.

The first thing he did was nearly tackle her down with a tight hug while murmuring, "I climbed. It also helps to have a Persona that can short-circuit security cameras."

Shiina didn't hesitate to hug him back. It felt like so long since the last time she had seen him... "Dude, you have no idea how much I miss you!"

"Yeah?" He asked, pulling back. He was grinning with happiness and the edges of his eyes looked watery. Like he was going to cry any second if he didn't keep his emotions in check. "Well I missed you too. Like, a lot. You better not do this to me again or I swear to god I'm gonna get a heart attack. Like, dude, I was seriously getting palpitations ever since that stupid wall came up and separated us."

"P-palpitations?" She spluttered. "That's a really big word for you, Ryuji..."

"Oh, shuddup," he swatted her arm, then immediately regretted it. "Holy shit, did I open a stitch or something?!"

"Relax," she rolled her eyes. "I feel perfectly fine. I don't even have any injuries. Which is weird because I remember getting my ass whooped a lot back at Shido's Palace..."

"Speaking of that..." He said anxiously. "What exactly happened? How did you bring yourself back from the dead?"

"How did I what?"

"Oh shit," his eyes flew open. "You didn't know?"

"I died?!" She squeaked.

"It's all over the news now," he said, hastily fumbling for his phone. "Look!"

UA STUDENT FOUND DEAD!

The body of Kiberi Shiina, a first year student from the prestigious hero school UA, was recently found murdered in an alleyway in the Nagatachō district of Tokyo. The crime scene is currently being investigated by the police department. No suspects have been named at the moment, but investigators are ruling this as foul play.

[UPDATE of UA STUDENT FOUND DEAD!]

DECEASED UA STUDENT MAKES MIRACULOUS RECOVERY!

Kiberi Shiina, fifteen, was found dead in an alleyway in the Nagatachō district. After being declared dead for almost an hour, she was suddenly revived after arriving in the hospital. Nobody knows how she came back to life and the police are currently still investigating the case.

"Ah shit," she cursed. "I died... I really fucking died... And now everyone knows... Dammit, this was not how I wanted to become famous!"

"So you really don't remember?" Ryuji asked worriedly.

She sighed and plopped down on the side of her bed, Ryuji joining her. "All I remember was being stuck in Shido's Palace with Akechi... We had to hide in some janitor's closet and we fell asleep there. Then someone found us so we had to run away... We were attacked so many times..." She shuddered, looking down in her hands. She was sure she was shot in one of them too so where was the wound? "And then we made it to the Entrance Hall... and that's where everything goes blank. I don't know how I died."

He winced. "After... after we came back from Shido's Palace and realized you were gone, Morgana told us we needed to get you guys back since you ran the risk of losing the energy to summon your Personas. We were in there for over twenty hours, so you were in more danger than Akechi... We went back for you guys, we really did, but we were nearly drained out and there were Shadows all over the place... We couldn't summon our Personas anymore. We couldn't find you. We had to go back since we were also..."

At risk, they both finished in their head.

She grimaced. She didn't like thinking about her friends getting themselves killed because they were trying to find her and Akechi. She was glad they came back, even if they failed to find her. She was fine with that. As long as they were alive.

"Shiina..." He trailed off. "Do you know where Akechi is?"

"What?" Her face fell. "Y-you don't know...? Did he not make it back with me? Is he...?"

Ryuji panicked. Shiina's lips were trembling and her eyes were watering, sure signs that she was about to break down in front of him. "No, no, I think he made it back!"

"You think?!" She was about to get hysterical.

"Someone called 119 for you," he said hastily. "We got a bunch of info from Sae about this. At 3:05 PM, someone called 119 from your phone. It wasn't you because when you arrived at the hospital, the doctors said you were dead sometime between 2:50-3:00 PM. You couldn't have called the number. So we think Akechi did. We also think he was the one who dragged you away from the Diet Building... The alleyway you were in was on the way to the hospital so I'm pretty sure he was tryin' to take you there. Dunno why he didn't just call 119 in the first place..."

"He was probably too panicked to think straight," she mumbled. "I was dying after all. I hope Goro's okay though..."

Ryuji tried not to scowl when she said his first name. He still hated the dude and he hated how much closer they had gotten.

"Anyways," he was more than eager to change the subject. "Police are still investigating your, uh, 'murder' and we're sure that your siblings probably even told them that you left the house to go hang with us."

"Oh my god," she didn't realize it until now, but there was a huge chance her friends could be suspected for this. "Did Sae say anything about them going over to question you guys or what?"

"Nothing yet," he replied. "But the biggest problem is that all of our parents know we met up to hang out. That makes us look suspicious, so Akira figured out an alibi to give us. Haru's the only one who lives alone, so if we were ever asked, we'd just tell them that we all hung over at her place and decided to sleep over and accidentally forgot to inform our guardians. You couldn't stay over so you left and got attacked."

"And I can't remember what happened," she finished. "Ahhh, I see, okay. If they ask me, I'll tell them that I was at Haru's with you all, but I left to go home and can't remember what happened afterwards. Though... I'm pretty sure Endeavor's not going to let this investigation go on any longer anyways. Too much attention's being brought to me. He's probably getting an anyeurism right now from all the worrying."

"The one time Endeavor's shitty parenting does us good," he snorted.

She chuckled in response, and then yawed.

His eyes softened. "Ah, you should probably rest up." He hopped off the bed as she began crawling under the covers.

"G'night..." She mumbled, settling in well with pillow and blanket.

"Er... good night..." He bit his lip unsurely and then decided Oh fuck it, and leaned down to press his lips against her forehead. He recoiled instantly, face as red as her hair. She was too sleepy to even register the kiss. Feeling relieved and disappointed at the same time, he scrambled back to the window and tried to crawl but he was so flustered that he stupidly bumped his forehead against the top.

"Ow..." He muttered, glaring at the offending thing before successfully making it out. He closed the window back and gave his best friend one last longing look before leaving.

— ❤ —

Shiina was discharged the next day because, much to the hospital staff's astonishment, all of her injuries were fully healed. Her broken ankle, the shot wounds, the stabs, etc etc. They were all gone and her skin was, even more shockingly, scar free. As if she had never been hurt in the first place.

Even better was that after Endeavor paid her doctor to keep hush hush about her relation to him, he paid a visit to the police department and managed to get her case dropped. It enraged her siblings to no end (yes, even Fuyumi was angry), but his word was final. He didn't even bat a lash when Shouto pointed out that her killer was still out there and that was most likely because he was hoping the killer would have another go with her.

Anyways, despite her full recovery, Fuyumi didn't allow her to go back to school even though the Sports Festival was drawing closer. So now she was home alone...

Until Endeavor returned from work early.

Oh you've gotta be kidding me, she moaned in her head as her shit-stain of a dad entered the dining room. His eyes stayed glued onto her form before diverting to the plate of microwavable pizza on the table, and then back to her.

"Just because you were hospitalized for miniscule injuries does not mean you can ditch school!" He glared at her.

She nearly dropped her jaw at his stupidity. Dude, I almost died. She wanted to say, but that would probably get her hit. Instead, she tried to reason with him. "Fuyumi was just worried," she said, but then internally winced because it sounded like she was blaming Fuyumi for this. "And I'm not ditching. She called to make sure I would be excused. They understood and said I was allowed a few days off—"

"—A few days off that you'll spend lazying around," he snapped. "The UA Sports Festival is a few days away and you haven't done any training for it! Are you asking to fail?! To humiliate yourself in front of the whole country?!"

"Why does it matter?" She demanded, glaring back. "Nobody knows I'm your kid anyways, so I won't be 'tainting' your precious Todoroki name!"

"Nobody but the teachers of UA." He growled. "The only reason they accepted you was because I told them that you were strong, that they wouldn't regret it. But they'll see me as a fool if you go out there and make an idiot of yourself!"

"You mean like you always do?" She shot back. "Chasing after All Might and failing over and over again."

The second those words left her lips, she knew she was going to regret them.

"Stand up." He said, his voice dangerously quiet.

She didn't say anything.

"I said, stand up, Shiina."

He was losing his patience now. Stiffly, she stood up. He strode over and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her out of the dining room and towards the front door. The situation was painfully familiar to her now.

He threw her against the door and delivered a harsh smack across her face. She spat blood out of her mouth because she had accidentally bit her tongue.

"Get out!" He seethed. "Out! Now!"

"No!" She said stubbornly, and he smacked her again.

"I SAID OUT, SHIINA!" He screamed, and flames burst to life from his fists. She stared at them, trying to hide away the fear from her watering eyes, but the flames were getting too hot and too close. Her shaking hands grasped the door knob and she flung it open. She was about to step outside until she felt a searing hot hand shove her forward and BANG! The door had been slammed shut.

She stared at the door in disbelief before she shook her head. Why was she so surprised by this? This wasn't the first time he had kicked her out after all. She hurriedly left the estate. School should be ending soon, and she desperately wanted to see Shouto again.

She kept her head ducked down throughout her journey to Musutafu. Her face was probably bruised up and her shirt was bloody because she wiped off the blood from her mouth. Her tongue stung and she could feel a breeze from her back because Endeavor had left a burn hole on her shirt. Her back was cooling down at least.

She was getting closer to UA now and classes were over since there was a bunch of students flooding out from the gates. She stopped walking and stood there uncertainly. She wanted to move forward to find Shouto, but she didn't want anyone to see her this way... She had never looked and felt so terrible before.

Just when she was about to find a tree to hide behind, three people had already spotted her.

"Oh my—is that—?! Shiina-chan!" She heard the high-pitched voice of Uraraka.

Shit, she thought, stiffening as she, Iida, and Midoriya jogged over to her. Iida, naturally, reached her voice.

"Kiberi-san, how nice to see you! Should you be walking around after—Oh..." His voice died out when he caught sight of her face—which she had been trying but failing to hide without looking rude.

"I'm fine," she lied to him as Midoriya and Uraraka finally caught up. "The only injury I have left from the attack is this bruise."

"But the blood..." Uraraka pointed out.

"Ketchup stain, relax." She chuckled. Please buy it.

But Midoriya wasn't convinced. "Kiberi-san—"

"—Can I use one of your guys' phones? I, um, I want to call Shouto. He doesn't know I'm here." She cut in.

Of course, they all offered to let her use theirs but Midoriya had his phone out first. She dialed down her brother's number but it went to voice mail...

"He's not answering..." She mumbled sadly after her third try.

"He was still in class before we left so I'll go look for him for you!" Iida exclaimed, then bolted away before she could say anything.

"Are you really okay, Shiina-chan?" Uraraka asked with concern. "Everyone's talking about it... about how you, er... well..."

"I'm okay," she lied again. "All of my injuries have healed—well except for one, but that's just a small bruise. I'll be good to go for the Sports Festival."

"Eh?!"

Midoriya's eyes widened. "K-Kiberi-san, you're still going to participate in the Sports Festival?! You can't! I mean, you shouldn't! You just went through something horrible and—and..."

"You need to tell the teachers and your parents to pull you out of it!" Uraraka suggested.

Shiina tried not to let her eye twitch. As if my dad gives a shit about me to do something like that, she thought snidely. He didn't even care when I died.

Thankfully, Iida returned with Shouto in tow.

"Sho-chan!" She said brightly, feeling ten times better now that he was here.

"Shiina," he breathed out, brows furrowed with worry. "What happened to your—"

"—Doesn't matter! Thanks for bringing him here, Iida! I'll see you guys in school tomorrow! Come on Sho-chan, let's go!" She tugged his arm impatiently, not even realizing that she was holding onto him with a desperate grip. She could feel her control slipping away. She was about to breakdown any second and she didn't even know why now.

The trio watched them walked away, still shocked that she would be coming to school again so soon, but then they spotted something that brought them concern.

"Ah, Shiina's shirt is... Huh?" Uraraka blinked.

There was a hole in the back of Shiina's shirt. Judging from the edges, it was burned. Even worse was the pinkish hand mark on her bare back. Something dropped in Midoriya's stomach. He had his own suspicions as to who her dad was, and if it was who he thought he was then...

He immediately recalled the conversation they shared during All Might's class. Shiina had a terrible view on heroes because her dad was one, and from what he learned, he wasn't a very nice guy. But that mark on her back... and the bruise on her face... Could it really be?

— ❤ —

They just barely managed to get away from UA when Shiina finally broke down into hysterics.

"He kicked me out again, Shouto, he kicked me out and hit me again!" She cried out, gripping at her red hair. Shouto had to grasp her hands to keep her from ripping them out from the roots. "I don't wanna go home, I hate it there and I hate him!"

Shouto had only seen her like this once, and that was when she collapsed in the living room and expressed her regret for her treatment towards him. But this... this was worse. Shiina was choking on air, her words were incoherent and she was shrieking loud enough to scare the birds. He hoped nobody was around to see this because people were already talking about her enough as is.

"I can't stand him! I want mom back and Touya and I want Natsuo to stay home! I hate our dad—and—and I want him to just drop dead already!" She said between heaving breaths. "I want someone to help us for once, Shouto, why doesn't anyone help us?!"

"Because they can't," he replied softly, biting back his own tears. He remembered thinking such naive thoughts back when he was kid. He always prayed and prayed for a hero to come and take them away from Endeavor, but it never happened and it never would. Because Endeavor was a hero and he was powerful.

And then his thoughts grew darker as the years went by. He started praying for a villain to come and kill him. He wanted Endeavor to go on a mission and never come back. Hell, he even imagined killing him himself and finally being free of him, but then he realized how wrong it was to think that way. To be so invested on a person's death. It was dark, and he didn't want Shiina going down that path too.

Shiina's nails were digging into her skin and he had to pry them away from her face. "We don't have to go back home," he said soothingly, bringing her closer. He rubbed her back but then froze. He felt tender skin instead of fabric. He looked down and saw the burned shirt and the pinkish mark and his lips started to tremble. "We'll—we'll go shopping. And we'll eat out for dinner. We don't have to go home."

He didn't want to tell her that they'd have to return afterwards though. She'd realize it once she calmed down.

"I don't ever want to go back..." He heard her beg in a slight whisper.

"We don't have to," he assured and he could barely hold his tears in anymore. She was breaking apart in his hands and he didn't know what to do. She had just died, found out her murder case was being dismissed because their dad didn't care about her, and now he hit her and kicked her out again. This was too much.

And he's not even going to give her therapy, he thought darkly, holding onto her tighter. The doctor had insisted since she had gone through a traumatic ordeal, but Endeavor refused vehemently because that would mean another person knowing about her true identity.

"Come on," he cooed, pulling away. "Let's go shopping. I know Chanel is still open."

The most he could do was distract her.