The next day Minato was still deep asleep as usual. 

"Morning sleeping beauty," Shiina sang as she combed her slightly damp hair. 

Not even a stir. But oh well. 

"I'm gonna head over to the agency now, so if you're listening to this... Please wake up dude because you will literally die under my care." She begged the motionless body one last time before exiting the room. 

She met up with Tokoyami in the hotel lobby where breakfast was currently being served for free. For some reason, everyone was transfixed with the television screens. 

"Good morning," she said, plopping down on the chair across from him. 

"Hmm..." He mumbled absentmindedly. His gaze, like everyone else's, were plastered onto the screen. 

She rose a brow. "What's going on?" 

"They're talking about re-elections," he answered, and her eyes bugged out. "Because so many government workers were in the Diet Building at the time Yaldabaoth attacked, our government's hastily trying to replace the numbers we lost." 

Dark Shadow popped up, "Plus we need a new Prime Minister too since Shido's a scumbag!" 

"You got that right," she mumbled, now turning her attention to the closest screen. 

"The Public Prosecutors Office finally decided today to break it's long standing silence. Shido Masayoshi, the winning candidate for this year's Prime Minister role, has been tried and arrested as of last night." 

The people in the lobby broke out into cheers at hearing that and Shiina grinned in relief. That heartless piece of shit was now finally behind bars. She quickly reached out for her phone and sent a text to Akechi. 

[DID U SEE THE NEWS??????]

[Pancake Boi: Yessss. eve been celibate since i found out!!!!]

[Uhhhhh r u ok????]

[Pancake Boi: hahaha yes]

[ur texting weirdly]

[Pancake Boi: Just sso happy today!!]

[I'm gonna facetime u]

[Pancake Boi: o yes pls I fuking love ur face]

[ooooookaaaaay]

Having a feeling she knew what was up and eager to confirm, she hastily facetimed him and snickered when Akechi's flushed expression came up on the screen a little too closely.

"Oh my god, you're so drunk!" She giggled. "How much have you been drinking?" 

"Chugged bottles and bottles since I found out that baldy bastard was arrested!" He cried out exuberantly. 

"I'm so happy for you," Shiina said genuinely. "I'm sure Akira's celebrating too." 

"Akira?" He perked up like a puppy at the sound of his name. "Oh my god, I forgot to invite 'kira! We shoulda celebrated together!" 

"That's a wonderful idea," she said as if she was speaking to a kindergartner. "In fact, I'm gonna go call him and have him go over to your place." Somebody needed to watch over Akechi after all since he apparently becomes a dumbass when drunk. 

"Are you leaving?" He asked, tears welling in his eyes. 

"Yeah, 'cause I need to call Akira." She explained. 

The tears went falling. "N-no, you can't leave me again! Shiina, don't go!" 

"I'm just gonna call Akira, I promise." She said gently. 

"Don't die again...!" He begged and all humor left her. Her face paled once she realized what he was talking about. She quickly lowered the volume and looked around, spying nobody paying attention to their conversation. Not even Dark Shadow or Tokoyami, who were busy eating an apple and watching the television. 

"I won't," she promised, giving him a soft look. So he's an emotional drunk, huh... She noted. "I'm just going to hang up so I can call Akira and you guys can celebrate together." 

"You won't go away like last time?" He asked tearfully. 

"I won't." She promised. 

He sniffled loudly, making her grimace a little. "O-okay..." 

"I'll see you once I get back." She told him. "Bye, Goro-chan!" 

"G-goodbye, Shiina..." He said before fumbling around with his phone a little. After a few seconds, the facetime ended. 

She sent a quick text to Akira informing him about Akechi's drunken state and turned back to the news. 

"—Government has agreed with the nationwide protests in support of holding new elections as important members of the Diet have either been incarcerated or deceased from the attack in Tokyo several days ago." The reporter stated. "However, due to the arrest of Masoyoshi Shido, the Prime Minister seat now goes to the runner-up of the election, Yoshida Toranosuke who will be inaugurated tonight." 

"Yes," Shiina quietly hissed to herself, fist-pumping. That was definitely going to be another thing Akira would celebrate about. 

"Looks like things are finally looking up for Japan," Tokoyami sighed in relief. "The dark days seem to be over." 

For some reason, Shiina's gut twisted at hearing his last sentence. A small part of her that she resented had a terrible feeling that things weren't over now... As if the 'dark days' were just getting started.

Before she could mull over her thoughts, Tokoyami stood up from his seat. "Shall we go to the agency?" 

"Yeah," she muttered, standing up to throw her things away. 

When they reached the agency, Hawks was waiting for them out in the first floor rather than his office. His smile fell a little when he and Shiina locked eyes and he gulped audibly. 

"Mornin' kids!" He greeted them over-exuberantly. Even he cringed at how fake he sounded. "So uh, did you have breakfast?" 

"..." 

"...I'll take that as a yes," he said awkwardly. "Um, so let's go out and, uh, catch some villains yeah?" 

"..." 

Hawks cleared his throat. "Er, we'll start now..." 

Wordlessly, the two teens joined him and the sidekicks outside. 

"Listen up, team!" Hawks called out, his prior awkwardness gone now that he was back in his element of hero work and leading. "We got another alert about a villain group. They were found hiding out in a house—address 77139—at the Nishimi neighborhood. The civilians living the area have already been evacuated so that just leaves the villains to us." 

Don't you mean you? Shiina thought dully. 

As she ran after Hawks for the hundredth time that week, she finally decided that enough was enough. She was wearing herself thin from everything going on in her life. It was about time she let loose for once.

She was done chasing after Hawks. 

"Hope this works," she muttered to herself, catching Tokoyami's attention. 

"Huh?" 

"I'm gonna beat Hawks." She stated, causing him to widen his eyes. 

"What do you mean?" He asked. 

"You'll see," she said determinedly, ripping off her devil mask. The sidekicks yelped and jumped away as Tullia emerged from violent blue flames, chuckling sinisterly. 

"Finally," Tullia purred in a dark voice. "Shall we kill?" 

"Fight, not kill." Shiina corrected, allowing herself to be carried by her Persona. "Now let's beat that fucking chicken in his own game." 

"With pleasure." Tullia hissed before flying away in a rapid speed, leaving everyone behind in the dust. People walking in the sidewalks wisely dove away as the pair of them floated by. 

She spotted Hawks' back in less than ten minutes and called out to him tauntingly, "Hey, birdbrain!" 

Much to her amusement, Hawks actually turned around in response. She nearly laughed at the shocked expression he wore. 

"Wha—?! Shiina?!" He gawked. 

"It's Kiberi, dumbass!" She grinned. "Whoever gets there last is a loser!" 

"What?! Shi—Kiberi, wait, how are you—?!" 

"—Byeeee!" She shouted, waving at him as she and Tullia sped by. 

They reached their destination in less than twenty minutes. Hawks hadn't gotten there yet—meaning she was the winner—so she quickly sought out for the house addressed 77139. The whole neighborhood was quiet due to the evacuation, but the villains wouldn't be able to tell since some people purposely left their lights on as a ploy. 

After some searching, she finally found the house she was looking for. It didn't look any different than the homes in the neighborhood and there wasn't a single sign that villains were actually using the place. 

She spotted a white van in the driveway though and quickly slashed the tires to keep them from escaping. She crept towards the window and peeked into a small crack between the curtains. There, she saw the group of villains—all men—gathered around a rickety wooden table with various weapons laid out along with some cash. 

It would be easy to take them down from here. She could simply barge in and have Tullia use Maeigaon on them, but she didn't want to destroy the house in the process (she learned that heroes often got into a lot of trouble if they caused damages, even if they were saving lives while doing it). She dismissed Tullia and shed back to her casual clothes. 

She walked up to the front door and knocked. 

There was a few seconds of silence before the door cracked open. A man peered curiously at her before deciding she wasn't a threat and opening the door wider. 

"Can I help you?"

She gave him a blinding smile that left him blushing. "You sure can," she can before kicking him in the chest and sending him tumbling back. She stepped into the house and turned towards the table full of villains. One of them shot up and thrust a hand out to her. He must have had some sort of elasticity Quirk because his fingers stretched out to reach for her throat. She reacted quickly and summoned her claws, swiping at his fingers and slicing them clean off. 

"ARGHHHH!" He screamed, clutching the bleeding wound. 

She winced. "Oh, whoops." 

These are not Shadows you idiot! She screamed at herself as she ducked down to avoid a blade from a knife. She kneed the gut of the user and shoved him to the wall as she faced the next incoming opponent. 

As she fought against them, she caught a glimpse of Hawks leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and a very impressed smirk on his face. 

"Not gonna bother helping out?" She asked as she grabbed a machete from the table and stabbed a villain in the side. He cried out in pain and she took the chance to kick him in the head, knocking him out. 

"Nah," Hawks replied casually, his smirk widening. "I'm just gonna stand back and enjoy the show." 

"Fine by me," she grunted, jumping up to wrap her legs around one of the men's head. With a jerk of her body, she took him down. There was just one more villain to get rid of now. She whipped her head to face him and found him already running at her. 

Her gun appeared in her hand and she aimed it up and pulled the trigger. There was a panic yelp as the villain ducked, unaware that she purposely miss-aimed. While he was still in his kneeling position, she raised her leg and swiftly kicked him across the face. 

She looked around at all the fallen bodies, some unconscious and some bleeding, before looking over at Hawks who began to clap. 

He let out a low whistle. "That, sweetheart, was amazing." He commended. 

She shrugged. "I know. It took you a while to get here." 

"The shock slowed me down," he said, and she snorted. 

"Now what?" She asked, looking back at the villains. 

"Now we wait," he replied. "It'll take a while for the rest of 'em to get here so we just sit back and relax." 

"Ah." 

"Yeah..." He trailed off, swallowing thickly. "So, um, about last night—" 

"—I don't wanna talk about it." She interrupted. 

"Oh," he deflated a bit. "Right. Okay. I understand." 

"Wait..." One of the villains on the ground spoke up, spitting out blood as he looked up at them scandalously. "You guys are like... a thing?!" 

"Holy shit," another villain coughed, clutching his stomach. 

Shiina merely stared them down. "Don't make me step on you." 

They gulped and clamped their mouths shut. 

Hawks rolled his eyes at their foolishness. 

Shiina, getting tired of standing around, stepped over the bodies to find the kitchen. 

"Where you going?" Hawks called out to her. 

"To get me a drink!" She answered. 

"No alcohol!" He reminded her. 

"Don't bother," she said, inspecting the contents of their fridge with a displeased expression. "All they have here is cheap trashy beer." 

"I could use a cheap trashy beer," Hawks sighed dreamily as she returned to the living room. 

"Too bad you're on duty. Now when are the rest gonna get here?" She asked, plopping down on the couch. 

"Like I said, you gotta wait. It's the cons of being so fast, everyone else is just so slow." He said, taking a seat at the table in order to keep a closer eye on the villains. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the villain who's fingers she accidentally cut off. 

"Here, wrap it around your fingers and keep applying pressure." He instructed. 

Shiina watched him in confusion. "Are you supposed to do that?" 

"Do what?" He turned to her. 

"Help them?" She motioned to the handkerchief. 

"Uh, yeah, you don't want them dying on you, ya know?" He gave her a 'duh' look. 

"Guess that makes sense," she mumbled to herself. At least she was finally learning something.

Another awkward silence fell between the two of them, which Hawks broke. "I really think we should talk about last night." 

She glared at him. "I really think we shouldn't." 

"Kiberi—" 

"—Drop it." 

The villains looked between one another, one question on their minds: Are they a thing? 

"You being pissed off at me all the time and me having to walk on eggshells around you isn't the best sort of relationship* for us to have—" 

"—Walk on eggshells?" She repeated incredulously. "Since when have you done that? You haven't shown an ounce of caution around me at all! You spout out whatever's at the top of your head!" 

"It sounds like you two need to go to couples therapy." A villain chimed. 

Hawks and Shiina stared him down with empty gazes. Gulping, he wisely looked down and stopped talking. 

— ❤ —

The next few days were... decent. Now that she was able to catch up to Hawks with the trusty help of Tullia, she was able to join him in kicking villains' asses. Which was fun, but waiting for the Tokoyami and the sidekicks to arrive was... awkward, to say the least. 

Hawks seemed to think that puppy dog eyes (or was it baby bird eyes?) would work on her. 

They didn't, but he kept on using them anyways. But she always ignored him whenever he did that. 

It pissed her off that the only reason he was trying to be buddy-buddy with her was because of who her father was. Couldn't he take the hint? Anytime that man was mentioned, she'd always grow angry so why was Hawks so insistent on talking about him?! 

It was honestly driving her up the wall. 

That wasn't the only problem though. Her biggest growing concern was Minato, who was showing no signs of change (but then again, it had only been a few days). Shiina wanted nothing more than to transfer him to a hospital, but what would she say if they started asking questions? 

1. How did you find him? 

He was delivered to me. 

2. What's his name?

Arisato Minato. But don't look him up because he's already been declared dead.

3. How did he fall into a coma? 

Ummm, maybe it was from constantly fighting a god after giving up his soul to act as a seal?

If she remained silent, they'd be suspicious. 

Maybe I can pull an Akechi and leave him in some alleyway after calling 119... She contemplated, a finger under her chin. 

"Ready to return?" Tokoyami asked as she joined him at the bottom floor of the agency. 

"Yeah, sure," she replied sluggishly, letting out a heaving breath. 

He stared enviously at her exhaustion. "How was fighting the villains?"

She gave him a sympathetic look. Unlike her, Tokoyami had yet to figure out a way to catch up to Hawks, but he was still working hard every day. "Weak as hell, so you're really not missing out on anything." 

He looked down at the floor. "If I could just figure out a way to be faster... There's only a few more days left until our internships are over. I had yet to show my true strength." 

"If you want, you can always hitch a ride with me on Tullia," she offered. "Then we can beat the villains up together. Two beings of darkness." She grinned at the thought. 

He shook his head, rejecting it. "No, but thank you for the offer. I want to do this with my own power." 

She nodded in understanding. "Okay, I get it. Good luck, but don't be afraid to come to me if you change your mind." 

"Thank you." He said earnestly. 

The door was just a few feet away from them now but before either of them could reach out for it, Hawks suddenly called out to them. Or, more particularly, Shiina. 

"Kiberi!" He exclaimed, sounding... worried? 

"...What is it?" She asked warily. 

"You should come with me," he said with a weary tone. "It's, um, something I should speak to you privately about." 

Something told her that whatever he wanted to talk to her about, it was dire. So she nodded and hurried after him to his office. He didn't bother even taking a seat before he spit it out. 

"There was an attack today. In Tokyo—Hosu City, to be specific." He said. 

Tokyo. That was where she lived. Her stomach tightened. "What happened?" 

"Do you know what a Noumu is?" He asked her rather than answering. 

"Um," she racked her brain for the information her brother had told her about. A Noumu had attacked Shouto's class during their USJ trip, a time way before she transferred in. According to him it was some sort of weird monster that was almost unkillable. It took a bunch of punches from All Might to take one down. "My brother told me about them. What do Noumus have to do with this?" 

"A bunch of Noumus attacked Hosu City just today. Even worse, the Hero Killer, Stain, was somewhere near the scene. Your brother and two of his classmates Iida Tenya and Midoriya Izuku encountered him. They're at the hospital right now." 

Shiina's blood went cold. "What?" She said, but the information kept ringing in her head. "Shouto's in the hos—hospital? H... how hurt is he? And my classmates?" 

"They're just fine," he said soothingly. "Their injuries weren't that bad."

"Where the fuck was Endeavor?!" She hissed the name with so much venom that even Hawks winced. "Where the hell was he when Shouto got attacked? He was supposed to be watching over him!" 

"They must have gotten separated from the fray," he tried to appease her, but nothing was working. 

"I want to see Shouto." She said firmly and started for the door. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He shot out and grabbed her arm only to receive a glare. "You can't do that. Not right now, at least." 

"Why not?!" She demanded. 

"Because they're resting," he placated. "But you can visit him tomorrow morning. I'll even let you have the day off. That good?" 

She relaxed under his grip and slowly nodded. 

He sighed in relief and released her. "Good. Don't worry too much about it, okay? Your brother and his friends are tough as balls to go against the Hero Killer while a bunch of Noumus were attacking. Try to get some sleep, alright?" 

She nodded slowly again. "Okay..." She said shakily. 

She left his office in a sort daze-like state. 

She couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. 

— ❤ —

"You jerk, I thought you were dying!" Shiina cried out in outrage. 

Shouto stared blankly at her, looking perfectly fine other than the hideous hospital gown he was wearing and a few bandages wrapped around him. "Sorry," he said bluntly. "I would've called you, but my phone died." 

Shiina rounded on Midoriya and Iida, who instinctively inched away in their beds. "And you two!" She roared. "You couldn't message me either?!" 

"I apologize for worrying you, Kiberi-san!" Iida said regretfully. "But we were told by authorities to keep what happened a secret!" 

"Oh fuck the authorities," she rolled her eyes, making Iida gasp scandalously. "I can't believe you three made me stress out the entire night! But what really insulted me was the fact that you guys beat up a high-classed villain without inviting me! Midoriya! Where the hell was the invite, hmm?" 

Midoriya shrunk a bit. "S-sorry!" He squeaked. 

She pouted at him. "The next time you guys decide to break the law, make sure to include me too!" 

"No," Shouto said immediately. "I think you've broken enough laws." 

"But I can always help you get out of trouble," she pointed out, winking at Midoriya and Iida flirtatiously. "By seducing the fuck out of the officer. It always works!" 

Shouto nearly set the hospital bed on fire. "When have you ever—"

"—Oh yeah!" Shiina suddenly gasped, remembering the Minato Situation back in her hotel room. "Have any of you guys been able to get a hold of Kenny?" 

Iida frowned. "Amada-kun? I'm afraid I never bothered to contact him at all during this, I'm sorry." 

"Ah, me neither, Shiina-chan," Midoriya scratched his cheek. "Did you need something from him? I don't think he was involved with the attack in Hosu." 

"Oh, it's not that, I just um... have something that I need to talk to him about. What about you, Sho-chan? Have you spoken to him? Or Aki?" 

Neither Midoriya nor Iida knew who 'Aki' was so they just stayed quiet and listened. 

Shouto shook his head. "I never bothered to contact them either. Is something wrong?" 

Shiina stole a cautious glance at Iida and Midoriya and began to say, "Er, well, Elizab—" 

Unfortunately, she was never able to finish what she was going to say since the door to their room opened and in walked in an old man dressed as a hero—Gran Torino, she guessed—another hero she didn't know, and a suited man with a dog head (he wasn't as adorable as Koromaru though). 

Gran Torino spoke first. "Ohh, all the little wounded warriors are awake!" 

"Gran Torino!" Midoriya gasped. 

"Manual-san!" Iida said. 

Gran Torino walked up to Midoriya's bedside, clicking his tongue. "I'm still gonna chew you out, but..." He jutted his chin towards the dog-man. "Before that, you've got a visitor. This is Tsuragamae Kenji, Hosu's chief of police." 

"Tsuragamae! Ch-chief of police!" Midoriya freaked out. 

"Please stay seated, woof." He said before directing his gaze to Shiina. He opened his mouth, but Shiina cut him off. 

"I've already been informed of the situation." She said coldly. 

Tsuragamae usually wouldn't listen to the words of a strange girl—especially to one who spoke to him so rudely—but something about her made him obey. 

"Understood," he said respectively before facing the other three. "So you're the UA students who put a stop to the Hero Killer, woof. As for the hero killer... He's currently in treatment for his burns, broken bones, and a number of other serious injuries, woof." 

Good for him, Shiina thought, feeling satisfied. 

"At the dawn of this extraordinary era, the police moved to prioritize leadership and to maintain the status quo... so they decided not to use Quirks as weapons. The profession of 'hero' rose as one that would fill that void, woof. Authorizing the use of such might... of these powers could so very easily kill... was a heavily criticized decision at first, but it would garner public support. All because your predecessors acted morally and complied with laws, woof. But those without permission, those who harm without explicit instruction from the police and powers that be... Even if they were to face someone like the Hero Killer... Such action would represent a stunning breach of the law, woof. You three, as well as your Pro Hero mentors Endeavor. Manual. Gran Torino. The six of you must be dealt with strictly and impartially." 

"So you're saying they should've died for the sake of obeying the law," Shiina sneered at him and Midoriya instantly knew that resentment for the hero society and authority was running through her veins right now. "That they should've left Native to die because it's apparently against the law to save him. Let Native die and let the Hero Killer run free, is that what you want?" 

Tsuragamae narrowed his eyes at her. "The law—" 

"—Hold on a minute," Shouto interrupted with the same sort of resentment laced in his voice. "She's right. If Iida hadn't acted, Native would've been killed. And if Midoriya hadn't shown up, both of them would be dead. Nobody even knew where the Hero Killer was. Should we have let people die, all in the name of your 'law'?! Everything turned out fine, so just forget about the law this time!" 

"T-Todoroki-kun!" Midoriya tried to reach out for him as Shouto abruptly shot up from his bed to stand beside his sister. The twins were both exuding the same aura of disgust, rage, and hatred that made the greenette flinch away from them. 

"Isn't it a hero's job to save people?!" Shouto nearly shouted. 

"Clearly you've much to learn." Tsuragamae said loftily with a hint of snide. "Some education you're getting, woof, from UA and Endeavor." 

"You fucking mutt..." Shouto growled, starting for him. 

Iida shot up and grabbed the back of his shirt. "Stop! This is serious!" 

Shouto angrily yanked himself free and Iida and Midoriya were left shocked at how they were behaving. Midoriya wasn't too surprised about Shiina's reaction—he knew how much she hated things like this—but he never expected such a behavior from Shouto of all people. 

But I shouldn't be surprised... He told himself, looking down. Both of them were raised under a cruel hero. If Shiina had no respect for authority figures, Shouto wouldn't either. 

Tsurugamae began to speak again. "All of that... is what I'm obligated to tell you, as the police. But the real question is whether or not to deal with this issue publicly, woof. If we let the story out, you'll all be lauded by the public, but you won't be able to avoid punishment. We can't risk tarnishing the hero name any more than it already has, what with the actions of the infamous Phantom Thieves... But if we keep all this nasty business to ourselves... the Hero Killer's burns will support the story that Endeavor was the key operative. He'll receive the accolades, woof. Fortunately, the number of eyewitnesses was small enough that we can hush up this whole matter before it causes problems, woof."

"Endeavor?!" Shiina snarled. "You want to give that piece of shit all the credit?!"

Tsuragamae's patience was thinning with her. "Watch the language, young lady!" He snapped. "You should learn to give more respect to a hero who risks his life to protect you everyday!" 

Shiina couldn't help it. The second the words left his lips, she burst out into hysterical laughter. Tears were literally streaming down her eyes at the bullshit he just spewed out. 

"P-protect me?!" She squealed, holding onto her brother to keep herself steady. "Hoooly shit, that's the most hilarious thing I've ever heard! Protect me? Dude, where have you been? The only thing he protects is his image." 

"That's enough out of you!" He barked, but she was too busy laughing her ass of at what he said.

"It's not his fault he's so stupid, Shiina" Shouto said, completely ignoring the fuming man as he wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders. "He's never met the bastard before. In fact, he's lucky enough to never have been in the same room as him." 

"Both of you, please!" Iida begged, sending worried glances at the trembling dog-man. But Shiina was still laughing and Shouto was still trying to explain Tsuragamae's idiocy to her. 

"It's a good deal," Gran Torino addressed the twins. "It's either this or be charged. What do you say?" 

They immediately steeled their expressions. 

"Must it be him?" Shiina crossed her arms. 

"Yes, can't it be any other hero?" Shouto inquired. 

Gran Torino frowned at the elder sibling. "What's with the hostility? Endeavor is your father, Todoroki-san."

"Besides," Tsuragamae added. "Endeavor is the only other hero we could use for this story. The Hero Killer was seen with burns so it only makes sense, woof." 

Shouto's expression darkened. "Fine then. I'll take the damn deal." 

"Todoroki-kun...!" Iida scolded under his breath. 

"We're very sorry for the trouble we caused!" Midoriya said quickly, bowing lowly. 

"Thank you for everything, sir!" Iida said, bowing as well.

Neither Shiina or Shouto did the same. And they noticed. In fact, their stances were still tense and trembling with rage by the time the adults left. 

Iida turned to face them, an angered expression on his face. "What was that about, you two?! Your attitudes towards the chief of police! And in front of two heroes as well!" 

"Forget about it." Shouto said darkly, sitting down on his bed. 

"Just great, now Endeavor's getting more credit he doesn't deserve. As usual." Shiina spat venomously as she plopped down beside him. 

Iida gave them a lost look and opened his mouth to question them further, but Midoriya hastily cut in, "I'm sorry, you two." He said with genuine sadness. 

She just shrugged. "It's fine. Nothing else can be done." 

Just then, a nurse walked in. "Sorry miss, but visitation hours are over for now. I need to give these boys a bit more treatment." 

Shiina rose from her seat. "I got it, thank you." 

"Be careful out there," Shouto told her. "Things are still crazy in Tokyo." 

"Unlike you, I won't land myself in the hospital." She said confidentially, flipping her hair back.

— ❤ —

It was when she stepped out of the subway did she get that terrible feeling again. 

No, she thought, freezing in place. She hadn't sensed this creepy presence since the day Elizabeth came over and delivered Minato to her. Why was it happening again? Did she get her guess wrong? Was it not Elizabeth? 

The foreboding feeling was growing more and more intense and even worse, the street she was walking in was becoming less vacant. She contemplated on what to do. The last time she tried to confront the person, he completely disappeared on her. Should she try again and risk failure or hide until it was safe? 

Oh fuck it, she decided. I'm sick of this creeper. 

She ducked into the nearest alleyway and did what she should've done before: summon Tullia. 

"Nocturnal Flash, and hit everywhere." She ordered sternly, turning around to face the supposedly empty alley. 

Tullia did as commanded and struck every inch of the area with her power. There was a pained cry and suddenly, a man was materializing a few feet away from her. 

Shiina immediately stormed towards him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt to yank him forward. His dazed eyes met stared past her confused ones. 

"Who the hell are you?!" She demanded, more lost than angry. She had never seen this person before. He was an adult male probably around thirty and didn't look like anything special except for the hero costume he was wearing. 

But why was this hero stalking her? 

"Unng... uh... I... nnh..." He groaned, unable to think straight. 

She smacked him hard against the cheek and glared viciously at him once his senses returned to normal. He paled once he realized the situation he was in. 

"W-wait... how did—?! What's—" 

"—Shut up," she growled lowly. "Right now you'll answer my questions, got it?" 

"How did you—"

"—I'm the one asking the questions here so shut up until it's your turn to talk!" She shouted, interrupting him. She shoved him against the wall and summoned a gauntlet in her free hand, placing a bloody red claw under his chin. "If you don't talk then I have ways to make you, understood?" 

Breathless and frightened, he nodded hesitantly. 

"Good boy," she purred before her steely gaze returned. "Name and title." 

"Ha-Hashimoto Yuuta," he stammered. "I'm Chameleon, t-the Camouflage Hero." 

"Camouflage, huh...?" She murmured, more so to herself. "So that's how you managed to escape from my sight. You've been camouflaging yourself the entire time." 

He tried to nod, but was too wary of the blade at his neck so he let out a breathless, "Y-yes." 

"How long have you been following me?" She asked next. 

"S-since I saw you exit a Walmart store back in Tokyo. You were with another boy, the T-Todoroki kid." He answered. 

She tried not to panic at hearing that. Was he talking about the time she and Shouto went out to buy sleeping bags? That was when they were talking about the Phantom Thieves! Even worse, she could remember a couple of times where she called herself a Phantom Thief! 

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" She said with a dangerously low voice. 

"N-no! I tried, b-but I wasn't able to get close enough to hear anything. While my Quirk lets me camouflage, my shadow is still visible. P-plus, I gave up after you picked up the stray cat. Animals have always been good at detecting me..." He explained. 

She mentally sighed in relief. He didn't hear anything. That was good. Now came the important question. 

"Why were you following me?" 

He swallowed thickly in response, but didn't say anything else. 

"Well?" She drawled, pressing the blade closer. 

"..." 

She dug the blade deep enough to draw blood. Underneath the claw, she could feel him trembling. 

"If you don't tell me I'll kill you and find out on my own," she said teasingly, digging the blade in more. 

Of course she was just kidding, but he didn't need to know that. There was no way she would ever kill this guy—stalker or not. Unless... he was a Shadow, but fortunately for him his blood was red and not black which meant he was a 100% human. 

His lower lip was trembling and she inwardly smirked, knowing that she was getting closer to getting him to crack. 

"You have five seconds," she told him. "Five... four... three..." 

Before she could even say 'two', he finally cracked. 

"I was ordered to!" He finally exclaimed. 

She rose a brow. "'Ordered' to?" She echoed. "Who gave you the orders?" 

He squeezed his eyes shut. "I-I can't—" 

"—You will or you'll die." She said with a deathly serious voice that he fell for. 

"It was... It was Hawks," he choked out. 

There was a deafening silence as the name was spoken in her head over and over again. The inside of her body suddenly felt like it was on fire—like she was burning from the inside from all the hate and anger. Her blood was boiling beneath her skin and any second now she was going to erupt and—! 

"It was Hawks...?" She whispered, feeling the sudden urge to hurt. 

Teeth chattering, he confirmed, "Y-yes... Some time after the attack on Tokyo, he sent me there to spy on you and during your internship. But for a few days, I gave up since I couldn't find anything on you, n-not to mention I didn't even know why he wanted me to spy on you." 

Cold teal eyes searched his. "He never told you anything?" 

"N-no. He—he just came up to me one day and asked me to s-spy on you. He didn't give me a reason why, but I couldn't reject it anyways since he's my boss so—" 

"—Get out." She suddenly said. 

He stared at her for awhile in complete disbelief. "W-wha—" 

"—GET OUT!" She screamed, pulling her claws back and pointing to the other end of the alley. "GET OUT! JUST LEAVE! NOW!" 

Hashimoto didn't hesitate to dart away as fast as he can. He shakily rounded around the threatening form of Tullia before making his exit. 

"Hawks...!" Shiina growled under her breath, feeling the heat beneath her skin grow ten times hotter. 

She was so done with this internship.

— ❤ —

Shiina forced herself to calm down before she returned to her hotel room. As dangerously pissed as she was, she still needed to take care of Minato and she couldn't do it while she was in a bad mood. 

She couldn't understand why, but Minato's needs just... seemed to be more important than hers. Of course, he was in a coma so the extra attention was necessary, but for some odd reason... Shiina just cared for the guy. 

Maybe it was because he was Ken and Akihiko's dearest friend. Or maybe it was because he died to save the world. 

She didn't know. But she cared for him. 

She was in the middle of replacing his IV when a knock came to her door. She sighed and patiently returned to her work before going over to see who it was. 

She swung the door open wide enough that only her face could be seen. The second she saw who it was, she felt her blood boiling all over again. 

"...Hawks." She acknowledged, trying not to break the doorknob under her grip. 

"Can we talk?" He asked, oddly serious for once. 

She plastered on a false smile, "Of course!" She exited the room and stood outside in the hallway with him. 

He sighed, "I meant in your room." 

"Oh no, we can talk out here." While she would prefer privacy, she couldn't let him in the room because of Minato. 

"Kiberi, please. We should talk inside." He kept insisting.

"No, we'll talk right here, right now." She said firmly before forcing her smile on again. "So what did you want, Hawks?" 

"You threatened one of my subordinates." He finally stated. 

"Ugh, what a tattle-tale," she rolled her eyes. 

"Kiberi, this isn't funny!" He hissed at her. "You threatened to kill him! Had your claws out and everything! There was no need for you to do that!" 

"There was no need for you to have him spy on me." She retorted quickly, her voice equally as serious and angry as his. For a second, Hawks looked shameful but she ignored it and barreled on. "Do you know how creepy that is, Hawks? Hiring a thirty year old dude to stalk a fifteen year old girl? Not to mention the amount of paranoia he gave me! What was even the point in all of this, huh?!" 

He looked down, "Kiberi—" 

She reached out to punch him in the face, relishing at how loud the sound of his nose cracking was before she grabbed him by the front and shoved him against the wall. 

"I deserved that..." He chuckled humorlessly. 

"You deserve a lot more in my opinion," she scoffed. "Now answer the question. Why did you have him stalk me?" 

"Kiberi, I really think we should go inside for this." He pleaded. 

"We're not going in, you're spitting it out right here, right now." She glared. 

"Kiberi—" 

"—Hawks, just answer the question—" 

"—I saw you!" He whispered. 

"What do you mean?" She asked, giving him an impatient look. 

He looked around wearily before leaning closer to whisper, "I was in Tokyo the day Yaldabaoth attacked." 

She stiffened. "..." 

He continued, "I saw you, Kiberi. You and those other teens and... and some cat go up some creepy bridge that practically reached the skies. You all were dressed up in—in hero costumes or something, but I knew it was you. I saw you from the Sports Festival after all... and even recognized your voice... And another other guy too, Akechi Goro, right?"

Oh fuck. She thought. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!

Suddenly, something occurred to her. 

People didn't begin to see what was happening until after they went up that bridge. The only ones who could see it were those who still believed in the Phantom Thieves... 

Without thinking, she blurted out, "Are you a fan of the Phantom Thieves?" 

He stared at her oddly. "Uh, well, yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with this..." 

"Right, right," she shook her head, though she was still shocked. Who knew Hawks liked Endeavor and the Phantom Thieves at the same time? She definitely wasn't expecting that. 

"After what happened," he resumed explaining. "I hired one of my sidekicks to spy on you for a while. He was ready to quit on the second day of the task since apparently you tried to shoot his brains out, but I offered to give him a raise so he went on... Even better was that I sent an internship offer for you that you accepted, so it made keeping an eye on you even easier but then you started to hate me and you tried to kill Chameleon—" 

"—Oh my god," she rolled her eyes again. "I was bluffing, dumbass. I wasn't really gonna kill the wimp." 

"Look..." Hawks trailed off. "I just... You... Are you a Phantom Thief?" 

How the hell was she supposed to answer that? He didn't have any concrete evidence, but he managed to recognize her and Akechi (curse him for being so fucking famous) from that day. 

He noticed her hesitance and spoke in a reassuring tone, "I won't tell anyone about it, you know. Trust me. I'm a huge fan of the Phantom Thieves. I have been since day one. I like them more than I like Endeavor which is shocking since I've been a fan of his since childhood—I even got this super old plushy too, though speaking of plushies, I really wished the Phantom Thieves had some merch but nobody even knows who they are so—" 

"—Hawks," she cut off his rambling. God, sometimes he was even worse than Midoriya in his fanboy state. 

"Sorry." He said sheepishly. He looked ridiculous with blood dripping down from his nose. 

"Yes, I'm a Phantom Thief, okay? Happy now?" 

"Oh my god," he whispered excitedly. "Holy shit, are you, like, the leader or—you know what, that doesn't matter. This is so cool, why'd you guys retire though?" 

"None of your business," she replied with a roll of her eyes. She finally released him from her grasp. 

"Does your dad know?" 

"Nope." 

"Ah," he made a sound of understanding. "Makes sense. He's always been so hellbent on capturing you guys." 

"He never will." She said seriously. 

"Oh, I totally agree!" He said, bobbing his head up and down. "You guys are, like, way too awesome to get caught so easily," he was grinning ear to ear at this point. "Are the other Thieves attending UA too? Or is just you?" He suddenly let out a gasp before whispering, "Is Shouto one too?!" 

"No, yes, and no." She answered dully. "Are we done here? Don't ever pull that stalking shit on me again or you'll be the one having a change of heart." 

"Oh you're already messing with my heart if ya know what I mean," he said flirtatiously with a suggestive waggle of his brows. 

"Goodnight." She deadpanned, turning around to head for the door. 

"Oh wait, no, don't go! I still got a bunch of questions I wanna ask you! Who's the cat? How'd you get Akechi Goro to join you guys? And—" Suddenly his words died out as she slipped through the door. His eyes were plastered on something he could spy between the gap. "And why is there a dude on your bed?" 

Fuuuuuuuuuuck. She thought, wanting to die in a hole right then and there. 

"Ummm..." She tried to close the door but Hawks was pushing against it, trying to take another peek. 

"What the hell happened to him? Is he okay?" He asked, finally pushing his way in. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

"Kiberi, what the hell is going on?!" He demanded from her. 

"It's a long story—he was delivered to me like this!" She exclaimed, before taking her words back. Good lord, why was she the one a flustered, panicking mess now?! "I mean, not like this literally, but this girl came in and dropped him on me and then I had my doctor friend help me set this up 'cause I couldn't risk taking him to the hospital!" 

"Well why not?!" 

"Because he's technically supposed to be dead?" She said awkwardly. 

He was still gawking at her. "What?!" 

"He died a few years back," she said with hasty wave of her hand. "But look, that's not important right—"

"—How is that not important?!" 

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay? I'm dealing with it right now!" She said firmly, trying her best to regain whatever was left of her cool. 

"What exactly are you planning to do?" He asked her. 

"I've been waiting for him to wake up," she said miserably. "But he hasn't yet. But once he does I'm taking him to Tokyo where my—well, his too—friends will know what to do." 

"This is fucking insane," he said, pacing around the room. "Explain to me why you can't exactly tell the authorities about this?" 

"Well one, he's supposed to be dead." 

"R-right..." 

"And two, I can't have them asking too many questions." 

"Why not?" 

"Because the truth is hard to believe." She stated and he paused to register her words. 

"Okay... Okay, I see your point, but—Ohmygod." 

"What?" She nearly jumped at his sudden panic. 

Hawks pointed at the bedridden figure. "The dude just moved." 

"Huh?" 

"No, I'm serious, I swear I saw his face just twitch!" 

She sighed, "Hawks..." 

"Shiina, look!" He hissed, eyes widening. 

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's Kiberi—" 

"For fucks sake, woman, look!" 

Angry and done with his shit, she whirled around only to freeze. 

Minato let out a small groan before his blue eyes finally fluttered open. 

— author's note —

Okay okay, I know that Akira was supposed to get arrested and some shit in the game, but I changed it cuz I didn't wanna deal with it lol. So basically all u need to know is that Sae somehow managed to get Shido arrested without needed Akira to testify and out himself as the leader of the Phantom Thieves (it's crucial his identity stays a secret in my story). He's deemed innocent now that ppl knew he never really assaulted Shido and shit and don't ask about the whole 'getting caught as a Phantom Thief and faking his death', let's just say ppl forgot about it for PLOT CONVENIENCE!

Don't u guys just love plot convenience? I sure do.

* When Hawks said 'relationship' he meant an 'intern and boss' relationship, but the villains didn't know that, lol.

ANOTHER NOTE BUT ABOUT THE SEPARATE BOOK!

A long time ago I think I mentioned starting an Akechi x Shiina oneshot and IT'S DONE!!!

I'm gonna upload it later, but here's the summary:

What if Shiina never met the Phantom Thieves when she stumbled upon her own Palace? What if it was someone else?

It's lame I know, but oh well. It's starring a Yandere!Akechi, a clueless unfortunate Shiina, and a surprise character at the end!