"Oh, Y/N... I'm sorry, are your wings still in their full form?"

My mother immediately asked when she spotted the large hoodie I was wearing, and I nodded, smiling comfortingly.

"It'll be alright, Mom! You can't tell I have wings, right?"

She peered around me, checking if what I said was true. When she was done looking, she met my gaze and returned my smile hesitantly.

"I suppose so. Here's the list."

My mother handed me the shopping list, slipping a bag onto the curve of my arm. Upon further inspection, I realized there was money in the bottom of the cloth bag. I then looked down at the shopping list and noticed that it consisted of things like eggs, flour, and sugar - supplies for baking. I looked up from the list and asked,

"Are you baking cookies today?"

She smiled widely at me and nodded, eyes gleaming with a newfound excitement that made me grin a bit.

"Yes, I am! If Shigaraki and Todoroki stay, they can have some too!"

I nodded, knowing that Touya loved the cookies my mom would bake. Since his mother was currently in the hospital and was not in the best mental health, he usually never had homemade baked goods.

"I know Touya will love the cookies! I'm gonna get going now, see you!"

I walked past her, and she bid me goodbye. A fresh, warm breeze ruffled my hair when I stepped out of my house, and I sighed happily, feeling relaxed. Summer was always great since there was no school and no worrying about assignments.

As I walked to the market, I kept my head down just in case if any of Overhaul's underlings saw me. The market was bustling with activity when I arrived, the loud advertising of stand-holders surrounding me. Many people were chatting with each other as they shopped, but some just kept to themselves. I wandered over to the poultry-related section, and selected some eggs, handing some money to the man who was running the stand.

As I put them into my bag, someone suddenly bumped into me, nearly making me drop the eggs. I was about to look up to see who it was when I suddenly caught a glimpse of an ominous mask that resembled a bird. The owner of the mask was a large, muscular man with wild, blonde hair that stuck out from the back of his mask, and he wasn't wearing a shirt. The man faced me, staring down at me. I swallowed hard, feeling my palms get sweaty. He then turned his head and called over his shoulder,

"Yo, Chrono! Is this the person Overjerk was lookin' for? The quirk fella?"

I squeaked in horror at the familiar name of Chrono and was about to run when I was effortlessly scooped up by the collar by the man. He laughed and said to me as I dangled in his hold, his voice full of glee,

"Hey, hey! Don't go anywhere! We ain't done wit' ya yet!"

Since the cloth of my hoodie was digging into the flesh of my throat, the passage for my air was being blocked, causing me to feel light-headed and breathless. I knew that struggling would only make it worse, so I just kept still, choosing to simply send pleading looks to the people hurrying along, hoping, just hoping someone would step in to help. Unfortunately, they all refused to make eye contact with me - probably because they were so fearful of Overhaul and his minions.

When Chrono strolled over to where the man and I were, I was suddenly thrown back into the memory of the alley, and I gulped, squeezing my eyes tight.

Was this the way I was going to die? Slowly being smothered by a large man who has no idea that he's killing me, while Chrono just watches on?

"Rappa, let them down. They're suffocating from the way you're holding them..."

A smooth voice of who I assumed to be Chrono suddenly said, and I felt my body being let down back onto the ground by Rappa. When I could finally breathe again, I gasped for air, my eyes shut tight as I coughed, hunching over slightly. As I hacked loudly, I could faintly hear Rappa chuckling sheepishly.

"Ah, whoops! Sorry-"

"Whatever... Overhaul said he'd prefer if this "diseased person" was brought to him alive. Now, I have to check something here..."

Chrono said softly, and then I heard a soft popping noise come from the relative spot he was standing. I looked up at him with teary eyes and was shocked to see that the male had removed his mask. His dark, brooding eyes were staring straight down at me, and I shivered. It felt as if he was looking right into the depths of my very soul.

He then moved a pale hand up to pull down his hood, which then exposed his uniquely styled white hair, the end of each strand widening out into the sharp shape of an arrow.

I vaguely wondered why his hair was styled like that, but my question was answered when a strand suddenly extended from Chrono's head. The piece moved towards me smoothly like a snake, and I flinched, trying to back away, but Rappa's strong hands held me in place.

The arrowhead gently nudged the soft fabric of my hoodie aside, and I stiffened up as the side of it brushed against the soft feathers of my right wing.

"We have the right one..."

Chrono breathed out softly, and it seemed that his voice was strangely relieved at the discovery. He then withdrew the arrow, the strand moving back into its original position - framed against his jaw. His gaze then darkened as he asked,

"You received the note, yes?"

I nodded slowly, and Chrono then smiled, the smile empty and more menacing than comforting. The expression on his face sent a chill down my spine.

"You know the conditions if you don't turn yourself, right?"

I nodded meekly, looking down. A strand of hair then suddenly lifted my chin up, the point nearly poking the skin there.

"Look at me when I speak to you."

Chrono chastised, and he opened his mouth to say more when Rappa slid over into my field of view, his mouth spreading into a wide grin as he pointed a thumb to himself.

"You should fight me, whaddya say? I heard ya got a crazy cool quirk, I got one too! It's called-"

"...Rappa, please. Refrain from sharing too much information with this outsider..."

Chrono said weakly, dark eyes shut as he retracted his hair from my chin. The faint ghost of a scowl was settling on his handsome, boyish facial features, but Rappa didn't seem phased at all. The dumb grin was still on his face.

"Aww, c'mon Chrono! Don't tell me ya don't wanna fight them!"

Chrono's eyes were still shut, and Rappa sighed, crossing his arms.

"Eh, what can I expect from ya? You follow Overjerk around like a dog wandering after its owner, I don't expect that ya would wanna break his rules."

While Rappa was rambling on, I was feeling really confused.

"Did you just say... Quirk?"

I asked, confused, and then Chrono opened his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go, Rappa. Ah, and before I forget-"

Chrono said as he placed his mask back onto his face, the creepy bird face once again staring at me,

"I hope to see you soon at the palace, though you could probably just find some patroller in the streets and show them your quirk..."

He then pulled his hood back up, and I watched him tuck the strands of his hair delicately into the hood. When he was done, he motioned to Rappa with a hand.

"Come on now, we have to go back and report to Overhaul on our findings."

Chrono said, starting to walk away briskly, and Rappa unwillingly followed after. I faintly heard the male shout over his shoulder as they melted into the crowd,

"I'm lookin' forward to that fight the next time we meet!"

I stood there in the same place for about a minute, before I shook myself out of my trance and quickly looked down to my list.

I had to get this shopping done and get home to tell Tomura and Touya about what had just happened.