There was no doubt suspicion would rise within the Yakuza when their most suspicious member mysteriously vanished the same night one of their own was reported dead.

     And that was why you had to return to them as soon as possible. After all, you weren't in the mood to forever hide from an underground organization of the deranged supervillains who would eventually invent the "cure" to quirks.

     Aizawa woke up that morning finding the fluffy white kitten gone without a trace save for a few annoying hairs.

     You stood at the fancy iron gate not long after the sun had risen and knocked on the iron rods. The gates were opened only after two Yakuza members were positioned at either side of you. You could sense the hostility in the air. All eyes were on you. You looked around blankly, making sure to stare each and every wandering eye back. You were escorted to the front doors of the place, where The Boss and Kai Chisaki appeared, Chisaki a little behind and to the side of the old man.

     "Why have you returned?" The old man stared you down coldly. Clearly, word had already spread. They simply wouldn't take a lie.

     You shrugged, eyes lazily glancing around at all the bodyguards that now circled you. "For work, I guess."

     "Word has it you killed one of our men." The boss frowned.

     "I did. .. For completely justifiable reasons."

     "What reasons could those be-?" Kai's accusatory tone was cut short by his boss.

     "Please.. I will handle this...." The boss hovered his hand in front of the brunette's chest. Kai obediently nodded, stepping back to let his boss handle you. In the meantime, you caught him fidgeting with his gloves. "Mind explaining your side of the story then?"

     "Gladly." You bowed politely to hopefully make up for your dry tone. "The man was stalking me. Ask any of the other maids here and you will get the same story. So, I left after hours simply out of curiosity to see if he would follow. He did. Once I came upon a dark alley, he attacked me outright. I killed him in self defense, and to ensure he didn't harm any of the other women. Then I knocked out a passerby to make it look like he was trying to mug someone before being killed himself." You lied so easily, even a lie detector would struggle detecting it. The others seemed to buy it as well. Even Kai looked down on you with understanding.

     "Anya? Is this girl telling the truth about the stalking?" The old man turned to the head of the cleaning staff.

     "Y-yessir." The woman bowed. "He'd been bothering us women for a few days before now."

     The Boss turned to his protege. "You need to keep a closer eye on the men you hire if they are going to cause problems like this."

     "Apologies.."

     The old man then turned to you with another question. "Why were you gone all night, then?"

     Your gaze dropped to the pebble path below. "To be honest, I was scared of a confrontation like this." You bowed again, this time remaining at a slant as you explained yourself. "It wasn't my intention to make myself an enemy to any of you... I only came back because I built up the courage this morning to confront you about it and ensure there were no hard feelings between us." You waited in silence for a moment. As you hoped, the old man smiled at your apology, placing a warm hand on your shoulder.

     "That won't be an issue. We don't hold anything against you... After all, you've proven yourself to be a respectable and dependable young woman time and time again."

     "Thank you..." Once his hand lifted, you stood straight again. "Are you going to need time to discuss my punishment?"

     The old man chuckled. "That won't be necessary... Actually~ ..hm. Carry on with your usual schedule. However, be prepared should anything change."

     You weren't exactly sure what he meant by that...until later that day somewhere around dinner time. You were handed a completely new schedule, one less pertaining to janitoring and moreso having to do with Yakuza business. So far the only listed things were training related. So, guess you got a bit of an upgrade on top of avoiding punishment... How lucky.

     More specifically, you were to eventually take the position of the creep you killed. He was an acting guard of the place, so guess your main job now would be in securing the campus. Hmmm, maybe now would be a good time to go shopping for a quirk that might help with that.

------------

     The strange hours in this new job and training gig of yours allowed for much less free time than before. But, you managed to get by with what you had. There was constant keeping up with the news, of course. Even if you were only half paying attention, it was still a good idea to listen or read the goings on of this hero and villain world, just so you had the bigger picture. Now that you were actually paying attention, you often found yourself chuckling at the cheesy hero promotions or straight-up juvenile way the job was portrayed as a whole. Villains too. It was like the whole world saw the war on crime as nothing but some big stage play.

     What a sad way to portray the real bloodshed going on down below. Everyone likes to put pretty little bows over things, hoping that'll be enough not to make everyone else's stomach's turn. But you knew this was no cops v robbers game. Actual lives were constantly at stake.

     You trotted happily over the rim of a fence on your way to Aizawa's apartment one fine afternoon. His place was FAR away from the Shie Hassaikai. The only reason you even found it was through a web of online villains who did nothing but dox heroes with the hope that someone else would take care of them. Thinking back to that now, guess it would be good to watch over the man. You knew he would be fine, since he is yet to even be of canon age yet, but still. You might be able to interrupt a villain attack on his home and prevent him from obtaining any unnecessary injuries.

     So... Guess you were now the guardian of two places then.

     Once you arrived at the man's window, you checked inside to see if he was even there. His job typically requires him to be awake all night, right? All the lights inside were off, casting an eerie amount of shadows through the place. With your cat eyes, however, you could see just fine.

     Aizawa was nowhere to be found. All hints pointed to him being asleep in his room. His cat was awake and active, though, however it was very quick to give you the cold shoulder, even hissing at you a couple times.

     After thirty minutes passed of nothing happening, you curled up in the window sill and took a nap. The clock inside assured you that you still had plenty of time before you would need to return to base. You slept out there for a good hour or two before the window was suddenly opened at your right. Your head jerked up, eyes blinking tiredly.

     "There you are..." The man mumbled. "How did you get out anyway..?" You two just stared at each other for a second.. until the hero gave in and stroked your fluffy fur a few times. You started to purr instantly. It was so loud, unlike your voice as a human. "Hungry or something?" Aizawa left the window open as he turned back into his apartment. He dug through the fridge and pulled out a can of cat food. Again, after he set the open can before you, you showed no interest in eating. "I don't get it. What do you want?"

     "Mrow.." A scratchy meow of yours responded, followed by a softer purring. You were perfectly happy with simply being around someone you trusted. Such was a commodity hard to stumble upon. Both of your parents had turned on you, after all. So it wasn't like you were the most trusting of persons anymore.

     Aizawa sighed and left the cat food out and the window open. He crossed from tile to wood flooring into the living room and plopped down on the couch to watch some television. He looked tired as heck still. Must have just woken up.

     You jumped down from the ledge into the house and hopped atop the couch. Without making a sound, you curled up on the couch beside him, laying your chin on his lap while purring happily. The young man chuckled and brushed his fingers through your fur again. He flipped through a few channels but couldn't find anything that interested him longer than three minutes. You had nearly fallen asleep again when suddenly his phone rang in the other room. Groaning, Aizawa put down the remote and rocked forward off the couch. He ambled back into his bedroom and grabbed the phone.

     "Yeah?" He reentered the living room, holding the device to his ear. "Hhh, listen, I just finished a big case last week. I'd at the very least like another week before jumping into anything big." You rolled onto your other side to allow the man more space to sit down on. He plopped back onto the couch and continued skipping through channels. You again leaned against his lap. "...No, I don't really believe in that reincarnation kind of stuff. .... Another one?" Aizawa sat up suddenly. His eyes were just a little wider as he listened to the following words from the other side of the phone... His eyes narrowed again, leaning back into the couch. "Probably just a coincidence. ... Hold up. Mummified bodies?? Oh yeah, 'just one.' Like that makes a difference!... You're kidding me..." Okay, now you were officially interested. Who stole a mummy!? You looked up at the hero, who wore a faint expression..of...horror? Mostly disbelief in what he was hearing. "My biggest question is why a guy like that would want to have a kid in the first place! I mean, I would think it would be completely illogical unless he wanted some kind of heir... And with how long that guy's been alive, I find it hard to think he needs one." Wait a minute. Were they talking about your DAD!? "I dunno.. This sounds more like a job for All Might than me. ... Oh, so he's already on it? Right... Guess I can keep my schedule open enough should you need me. ... Yeah, you won't have to worry about that. .. Okay, bye then." He hung up after that and tossed his phone onto the other side of the couch. He then dramatically draped an arm over his eyes and forehead. "Ugh.. I have a bad feeling about this..."

     "Mew?" You called softly while staring up at the man. He glanced your way through the corner of his eye, and, with his other hand, scratched through your fur a little.

     "Got that right." Chuckling. "Gosh, I wish I was a cat sometimes..."

     Heh, it sure would be nice if you could duplicate this quirk and give him one too, but.. only your dad had access to that technology. And besides. That would give away your cover.

     ...By the sound of it, though, it seemed like the heroes were already on your case. Your dad was still right about you. You were really sloppy... It would take a lot of time and practice to fix that.

-------------

     Crap, a night shift.

     Your one and only job was to circle around the inside of the walls all night. Seven hours straight. This was going to be one heck of a tiring night.

     Having the Yakuza on your side was actually pretty handy. Since you worded possibly needing a quirk to help you out with surveillance to The Boss as he was assigning you your new post, he had it issued out among his men to find and bring you someone with such a quirk should one come across their path. No one but a select few actually knew about your quirk. They just knew you were powerful somehow. So, you didn't even have to move or do intensive research this time to hunt such a quirk down.

     The Boss seemed to trust you more than most. Probably helped that you acted a lot like Chisaki, who he had spent the past decade or so raising as his own. You noticed the unfortunate similarities as well, mostly due to how reserved you were this past month and a half. Kinda made you wonder if Kai would eventually come around to trusting you too...

     When Kai himself approached from the shadows, you knew something was up; like you had accidentally summoned the man just by thinking about him. You stopped mid stride and bowed to the masked brunette. "Anything you need?"

     "No, not really. Just came to talk with you for a sec." Stepping out from between a couple buildings, the second in command slipped into place walking beside you. You continued making the rounds. However now, very little attention could be put into your job, as there was now a much more intimidating threat directly at your right to worry about.

     "What's the matter?" You'd been gifted simple sweat pants and a hoodie from these guys, which you inserted your hands into the pockets of while you strolled casually along.

     "...I've been thinking about that prophecy of yours lately. Wondering how you even knew I was opposed to the idea of quirks, since I usually keep that kind of stuff to myself."

     You absently kicked at the grass. "That's just...what I saw. Sorry to make it personal."

     "No, no.. You see, I was still on the fence about it actually. But, now that there's a chance quirk removal might be possible, I'd like to look more into that option... You seem to be pretty fond of quirks from what I can tell, so I'm wondering why you would help me out in the first place."

     "Hmm..." A little more relaxed now, you looked around at the dark sky above. The light shining over the wall at your right, and the viney plants you were currently passing, which are up the local wall. "Guess it depends on the person for me. I see quirks as mere tools to help you accomplish a task. Some are more valuable than others depending on sentimental value and others only because they are more useful... Some people handle their quirks pretty well, making use of what they were given to the best of their abilities, while others waste any and all potential they may have, preferring a simpler life. These kinds are usually the quirks I steal. Those which won't be used for much anyways. As for losing your quirk, well, guess that depends on the user. Kind of like how you wouldn't give a gun to a murderer, I think it makes sense to remove the quirks in those who would do useless harm. Because if quirks can be tools, they can just as easily be weapons. And, well, I can understand why we all would prefer our enemies not have those weapons. ... So, while I am not on board with removing all quirks outright, I can see the need for removing the quirks of those who would do us harm."

     "Mm, that is a logical way of looking at it I guess... But you do understand quirks are a disease, right?"

     "And so what?.. Quirks themselves seem pretty neutral in my eyes. More about the wielder than the quirk itself. ... This world has always been broken and nothing you do will change that. Just like you can never truly cure cancer, the flu, or any other plague. You can try..but it would be better to put your efforts into a far more specific and achievable goal. Such as helping grow the Shie Hassaikai I guess."

     "Hm... I guess." Both of you walked in silence, hands tucked away into your coat pockets, staring ahead as you thought. "...You seem pretty wise for your age. What's up with that?"

     "I've had...lots of chances to experience this world both at its worst and its best. Quirks have both brought me suffering and joy... So, guess I'm just lucky then."

     "Ah..."

...

     Kai spoke up again. "If you help me achieve this dream of mine, crafting the perfect bullet that will remove quirks, I promise not to remove your quirk in return... That sounds good?"

     You nodded. "That sounds fine with me. I'm more interested in helping The Boss' grand daughter anyways."

     Kicking aside a rock, "...You confuse me to no end... But oh well. I hope you're right about her."

     ... "I am."

-------------

     On your walk back to Aizawa's place, ready for a nice long nap once you got there, a familiar voice caught your ears.

     "Awe, what a cute little kitten to come across on my walk~" You turned and hissed at the man who approached, pressing your side into the stone wall you traveled beside. Ears flat atop your head, your bright blue eyes glared up at none other than your calmly approaching father. He appeared to hold no malice toward you, but then again he was so emotionless that he could be on the verge of killing someone no matter how happy he looks! "Awwh, don't give me that look, my angel..." The man cooed as he squatted lowly. Crap! So he knew who you were too!? "You're still painfully easy to track, I'm afraid." As the man spoke, he tended to the cloth bag hanging from one arm, retrieving a small box from it. "Even though you have successfully removed my tracking system, I could still pinpoint your location based on leaked information and news articles. I really recommend not making any major moves that will get you on the news. I also suggest disposing of bodies properly or tricking those you steal quirks from into thinking it's for their own good; even bringing them on to your side, and spending as little time around heroes as possible."

     You didn't look any more welcoming to the man, even as he gave you useful advice. Your ears still sank against your head, and your tail twitched furiously.

     "Hhhh. Come here, little one." You refused, so a strong invisible force dragged your stubborn butt over the sidewalk toward the man instead. Once he placed his hand on your head, "Forced quirk activation." He mumbled, smiling when you switched from a cat into a normal human wearing a basic light gray hoodie and dark gray sweats. You looked around frantically. "Don't worry. We are currently in a blind spot. No one person or device can see us."

     You huffed, then shoved your dad's hand away. "I hate you, okay?! And that's not me being a rebellious teen! I really HATE you!!" You jumped to your feet, for the first time in forever staring down at your father. "You're the one who made Mom go crazy and try to kill me!! You monster!! I can't even describe how much I just want to kill you right now!!" AFO's smile was non existent as he stared you in the eyes softly. This provoked you even more into anger. You reached out your right hand, claw-like fingers aiming his way. But, you just couldn't bring yourself to touch him with all five... At least not right now... It was just too much.

     There was so much you had been suppressing for so long. So much fear.. guilt.. hatred.

     Tears filled your eyes. And before long, you were standing there uselessly bawling your eyes out over everything that had happened less than two months ago. All the revelations, screaming, blood, and pain. All of it which kept you up at night, made it hard to sleep, eat, drink, breathe.

     The denial. The veil-like fog resting over your head, all fell away in one moment. You didn't even know what to do anymore...

     You wished it never happened at all. That was what you really wanted. The only thing you could think about.

     Your father sat on his knees silently, letting you cry there for a moment. As it seemed you were beginning to calm down, All For One smiled faintly and pat your head. "It would be pointless trying to explain my perspective while you are like this. So how about we just get down to my reason for being here?"

     "I'm not going with you." Wiping the tears from your eyes. You couldn't bring yourself to even look at the horrible monster any more than a second.

     "And I'm not going to force you to..." Said the man. Your head perked up a little, curious eyes meeting his. "However, I noticed you haven't been eating well." Holding the box between his hands, the man opened it to reveal it was in fact a lunch box containing a simple meal of chicken, vegetables and rice.

     You backed away from your father and his little lunch box, thanking him with an expression of blatant disgust. "I'm not eating that."

     "Do you know what I had to do whenever my brother stopped eating..?" He stared you in the eyes intently. Nervously, you shook your head. "Though I never enjoyed the act of force feeding him, I got pretty good at it after a few months... I would recommend eating what I offer you, young lady.. unless you want me to bring you back home." He so calmly threatened.

     "-You don't really care about me." Tears filled your eyes again. You stared across to your father with such great distain. "I'm just some puppet to you; your perfect little monster! You never really cared about me, or Mom, or anyone-!"

     "You might be right." Didn't take him long to respond. "I often pride myself for not caring about those around me. It has proven an unlikely strength of mine, after all... But..." The man reached out a gentle hand. For some reason, you allowed him to stroke through your hair as the two of you stared the other in the eyes. Your mind was stirred frantic, trying to sort out why your heart wished to love him again. "I do miss the company of your mother now that she is gone... Though troubled..she was the only being I saw as my equal... She was the only one who could stirr up passions within me I never knew I had...such as the hatred I felt every time she killed our children. ... But, I never blamed her. After all, she knew what my end goals were." His hand was placed on your shoulder. You flinched under its weight. "..To create a gem far tougher than diamond. A god among men... That perfect goddess would be you, my dear angel." Leaving the box behind, All For One stood, ruffling his hand through your hair one last time. "You can hate me if you want to. After all, the greatest hate is derived from the deepest love. It is only natural for your sense of betrayal to morph into something truly powerful. I only advise that you use those feelings wisely. For I am not your enemy. No one truly is. ... In time, I hope that your pain will make you stronger. That is the biggest divider between I and you. I simply cannot use my emotions to my advantage like you can... Do with that what you will. In the meantime, I expect to see you eating more. These years are most vital for a growing girl such as yourself. I wouldn't want to interfere with your plans because you have been neglecting your basic needs." A portal of dark cloud appeared as suddenly as the man turned away. He waved behind to you one last time. "Take care.."

     You stood there confused after he had left, not sure how exactly to take that. Guess... it was a threat?

     You stared down at the half open box of food left on the ground. Your stomach growled as the aroma hit your nose. A spike of hunger pain but inside. The first time you felt hungry in so long. Even as you were growing thin, you hadn't noticed the pain...

     Guess that changed.

     You sat on the ground and scooped the chicken strips into your mouth with your hands, discarding the fork.

     Guess it was time to take care of yourself again.

     Too bad it had to be your dad to knock that sense into you.

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Previous work uniform:

Two weeks after publishing this chapter and I find this: