"Himiko.." You mumbled a warning at the little girl as she pried open your bedroom door. Holding a pillow in her arm, and with that sad look, it was obvious what she wanted. "I told you... It's dangerous to keep sleeping with me."

     "I don't care!" The girl pouted. Tears came to her eyes rather quickly. "I love you and I hate being away from you so much! Please! I promise I'll run to get help next time you start having nightmares!"

     "Khhh, but what if I kill you in your sleep?! I wouldn't be able to live with myself!"

     "Well I can't live without you!!" She stomped her foot so matter-a-factly. Toga rubbed the tears out of her eyes, then looked up, directly into yours. A crying smile stretched across her face. "..I need you."

    You stood there by your bed in distraught. Was it really worth the risk?

. . .

     "Sure..."

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

     You'd never forget what you did to Toya... How could you? You were indirectly responsible for his death. The rest of his family was suffering now in part because of you.

     You had to make things right...but how? 

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

     The first day you spent mostly just inspecting the house as an invisible cat, getting close to some of the people just to be sure they weren't allergic. You also used this as the opportunity to figure out people's schedules, personalities, as well as a general vibe.

     Rei was nowhere to be found. And judging by the depressing atmosphere of the place, it was probably for the worst possible reason.

     ...Guess your little stunt hadn't changed much in the Todoroki household after all.

     The second day, you found and sat outside the youngest's window. He was busy studying at his desk, too deep in his thoughts to notice you were even there. You stared for a little while. The boy was only eleven and yet it looked as though all that childlike wonder had been drained from him. Rarely allowed to even speak to his siblings, plus how he was treated, there was no wondering why that could be.

     After sitting there for a while, you scratched at the little one's window until his head perked up. The boy stared at you for a while as if lost in a trance. It was sadly confirmed then. He had that boil mark on his face. Finally, you meowed, which snapped him out of it.

     Shoto stood from his chair and crossed the room. He cracked the window open and spoke to you with an adorably soft voice. "Are you hungry, kitty?" You rubbed your head against the glass and mewed again. The boy slid open the window just enough to pet you through the crack. "I haven't seen you around here before... Are you lost?"

     "Mrr."

     "Is that a yes?"

     "M'aow."

     "Oh. Okay..." The boy opened the window enough for you to enter, which you did so eagerly, jumping down onto the floor. You rubbed your side against the young one's leg, purring happily. The boy flustered a little bit. "So-sorry, I- I- I don't have any food.. I- I should go get some." Shoto stumbled away from you shyly and snuck out into the hallway, closing he door behind himself. You used this time to explore his room. It was painfully boring. There was nothing to show for personality or interests.

     After a few minutes, the boy returned. He opened the door while glancing cautiously over his shoulder, as if scared of being caught out of his room. Then, his feet patted over the carpet floors as he hurried over. He set a bowl of milk down before you and scooted it closer. You sniffed the bowl, deciding it would be rude to refuse this gift, though you weren't much of a milk enjoyer, personally. Shoto crouched low and hugged his knees, watching intently as you lapped up the milk. After a while of this awkward silence, Shoto reached his hand out and started petting your head. You purred softly to assure him there was no need to be so nervous. You were just a cat, after all. Definitely not the teen daughter of an ancient super villain. No-sir-ee!

     After you had drank your full, the boy tried to and failed to shoo you out. But, no, you were a stubborn long-haired feline. You waited for him to sit back at his desk, then pounced onto and curled up on his lap. You purred again, getting comfortable for a nice nap as the boy adjusted to your company. After some time struggling to concentrate on his work, Shoto hugged you and smiled, tears of joy in his eyes. "Cute kitty."

     Endeavor wasn't here very often, thankfully. Because you never wanted to run into that guy. There was a slim yet daunting chance he might know it was you.

     Natsuo was hard to track down. He was often out of the house, hanging around his friends' homes instead. Understandable, but this made it all the harder to make an impact in his life. You tried your best, tracking the boy down on his way to school to interact with kindly. Anything to make his day just a little better than how it was before. Though a year younger than you, Natsuo was in the same grade and was apparently doing very well at that. Overall, he was probably the one least interested in you of the three siblings.

     Fuyumi was the one most visibly touched by your company. All you had to do was show up and her day would instantly brighten. She seemed to have a love for cats, so as long as you left no traces of yourself behind, she was more than happy to host you. The girl had just started college this year and was still adjusting to the new stage of life she was entering into. For that she had a lot of stress in her; her family troubles weren't helping any. The first time you appeared to her was in the kitchen while she was cooking and since then she had grown to expect you to accompany her while she cooked. She learned you liked human food pretty quickly, and so she let you have little samples each time she cooked.

     You would also hang out with Fuyumi as she cleaned, watched TV, studied, and practiced the ukulele. Most of your hanging out was just napping, but she was perfectly happy to hold you on her lap. Occasionally, when she was having an especially tough day, she would come home and vent to you in her room.

     "And Tensei was not helping me today, even though this was supposed to be a group project!"

     "Mr'w."

     "So there I was doing more than half the work all by myself!"

     "Row."

     "On a time limit no less!"

     "Maw!"

     "I know, right?? What a jerk!"

     "Me'ah!"

     A month into this friendship of yours, she even started confessing to your furball self about her true feelings, terrible pains, and tough nightmares. As much as you wanted to be there for her even more.. unfortunately, you had your own human life to attend to as well.

     By the end of the first month of this, Shoto was hugging you more and more as well. You became the little lonely boy's snuggle buddy.

     Fuyumi started calling you Toki, Shoto started calling you, Ria, and even Natsuo gave you the name Fluffy!

     But... Shoto was still so lonely...
       There was so much left to be done.

---------

     Shoto was just returning to his room when he noticed you sitting in the window. "Huh? You're here early." He left the bedroom door open and hurried to let you in. You jumped down into his room and scurried past him into the rest of the house. The boy gasped, not knowing you were already well acquainted with his house. "W-wait!" He followed you around, gasping as you jumped out another window near the front door. You looked back at him though, wishing for him to follow.

     Though the boy was hesitant, he slid on his shoes and followed after you, unknowingly embarking on a new adventure.

     He swerved through crowds as he followed you to the train station, snuck aboard, and sat down on the bench beside you. You stared out the window behind him, flicking your tail on occasion. "Are you... Are you trying to take me somewhere?" The boy whispered.

     "R'row."

     Shoto turned himself around, standing on his knees to stare out the train car window with you. There was an impressive view of the city. He had never done something so risky before, and the realization settling in gave him a terrible anxiety. "I- I should really go back. Ca-can you take me back home, Ria?" You didn't even make a sound for answer. You'd lead him back once this was all over with. Shoto cowered in his seat, restless and anxious.

     As the train came to its second stop, you tuttered out of there, the boy following close behind. "Wait!" He called. He chased, getting tired after a little while of trailing behind your fluffy tail. "I think... I think I've seen something like this in a movie.. Are you.. are you taking me to an antique store?"

     Nope. Instead, you took him to a beach. You smiled inside hearing their voices from afar.

     "Kachan, Kachan, no! I was going to use that!!"

     "Too bad, so sad, nerd! I need it right now!"

     Izuku and Katsuki were fighting over an old steering wheel when you and Shoto rounded a pile of rubble. Shoto ducked behind a few pieces of junk. You turned to the boy and mewed kindly, but the poor kid was too nervous to move. He was scared enough being so far from home as it was. Only followed because his sense of direction was terrible and he knew he needed your help returning home.

     "Woah, look, that sure is one fat cat!" Katsuki pointed at you and laughed. You scoffed. This was all fluff!!

     "Wait, Kachan, look, there's someone behind him." Izuku spotted the top of Shoto's head. The two boys ran up to you, dashing around the corner to get a better look at the hiding boy. Both gasped at once while Shoto fell back into the sand.

     "Woah! Cool hair! Is that natural!?" Katsuki leaned in, hands bracing on his knees. Shoto just whined.

     "What were you following the cat around for?!" Izuku copied his friend's inquisitive pose.

     "Um.. Um..." The third boy's voice was caught in his throat. He only gained the confidence to speak by looking into your reassuring eyes. "I.. is this your cat?" He asked.

     "Huh?"
     "Huh?" Both boys turned to look at you.

     "Nope! I'm allergic to cats!" Izuku admitted. You took note.

     "I'm not allergic, but my mom hates em!" Katsuki added.

     "Oh... Then why..?" The third boy's eyes wandered back down to you. You sat there in the sand, completely comfortable around these strangers. He got the feeling that this was why you led him here in the first place. "Um... What are your names?"

     The rest played out just as you hoped it would. Katsuki and Izuku introduced themselves, then explained why they were here. Though Shoto was already under vigorous training, he was intrigued by the two's enthusiasm to become heroes. Just seeing their excitement made him want to join in. Their passion was contagious!

     Wasn't long before Shoto joined them in cleaning the beach up, then to playing around after a short while. Since you weren't there in human form to redirect them, they got sidetracked pretty quickly. 😅

     But that was okay. Because this was a huge win for you... Shoto for the first time was actually laughing, enjoying himself for a change.

     After some time, Shoto's eyes focused on the setting sun and he began to panic. "O-oh no, my dad will be back home soon! I better go! Bye!!" The boy then picked you up and asked you to take him home. You mewed and wiggled from his grasp, leading the way.

     By another stroke of luck, Endeavor was a little late returning home today, meaning Shoto was able to slip back in without any problems.

     "Bye and thanks, Ria!" He waved, then closed the front door. You stared at it for a moment, satisfaction filling your heart.

     ...You were starting to see improvement already. And those nightmares, with Toya at least, had all but faded into the peaceful mists of the night.

     At last, you could finally say you were doing some good for the Todoroki family.

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

     Kai was discussing minor matters with Pops in the old man's office when they were suddenly interrupted.

     "Overhaul, we need your help!" Setsuno exclaimed, looking though he'd just run the whole way here.

     Standing already, Kia turned and glared at the blond. "There had better be a good reason for this.

----------

     "See!?! She won't even let us sit on the couches she's not on!"

     "RAH!" You.

     Kai casually dodged a pillow you threw at them. The blond beside him wasn't so lucky. "Aow!.. Hey!! That's abuse!"

     "I don't care! Now GET OUT!" You sat/stood there curled on the couch furthest from them, hissing and growling like a cornered wild animal. Kai stared with a very, very disinterested look.

     "It appears her territory is growing..." He finally said something.

     "Her what?"

     "(Y/n) gets territorial while going through a menstruation cycle... That must be the case. Only difference is her territory has grown to include the living room." 

     "Oh.."

     Kai's eyes landed on you. "Did you take your medicine?"

     "Useless! I just threw it up in the sink!"

     "Did you clean up after yourself?"

     "Yuh!"

     "Good." Kai turned around, offering no help but a sympathetic pat on his follower's shoulder. "Good luck with the feral (Y/n). My advice is to just ignore her. She'll be back to normal in a day or two."

     "Wh?? But she won't even let me go to my room!! Where am I supposed to sleep?!"

     "Huh?" Kai turned back around, realizing this meant he too was blocked off from his room. "(Y/n), let people through the living room."

     "No! If I have to suffer, then so do you!!"

     "Khhhhh..." The young man rubbed his weary forehead. He stepped forward. Then back as a pillow was hurled his way. He took another step, this time a feather shooting at him with a warning growl. Kai turned around and entered the hallway again, acting like he was giving up. After a moment of silence, his steps thumped on the wood floor as he gave a running start to passing through. He darted from one hall to another, dodging and blocking feathers along the way using a pillow left on the floor and his own surprising agility.

     When he was safe on the other side, out of (Y/n)'s sight, the man barged into your bedroom instead of his own, glad to find Kurogiri there helping Toga with her English.

     "Kukowhatever, I need you to summon your boss."

     "For what reason?"

     "Have you seen his daughter?!"

     "Understood."

     Kurogiri vanished. About two minutes later, he appeared again, a large portal following him this time. The towering man who stepped through was undoubtedly peeved. He stared Kai down sternly. "What is this about? I was in the middle of a meeting and-"

     "-same here. Now hurry up so we can both go back to what we were doing."

     "Is this about my daughter?"

     "Yes."

     "Hhhhh.. Don't tell me."

-----

     AFO sighed again, crossing his arms while he leaned against the wall in the hallway. "Troublesome indeed." He said while observing you perched there on the far couch. A chuckle then bubbled out as a smirk split his lips. "I used to call her mother the ancient goddess of destruction whenever she got like this. The only assurance I can offer is that her cycle should slow to only once a year after reaching forty to fifty years of age.

     Overhearing it all, you flopped onto your side, in tears at the thought of suffering these for centuries to come.

     Kai stood in the entrance of that same hall, arms crossed as well. "What are we supposed to do short-term? She won't let me nor my men pass through here safely."

     "Hmmm." Your dad rubbed his chin. "It appears the goddess requires a sacrifice... Wait here. I have an idea." With Kurogiri's help, the elder left again, returning once more a minute later. With him, he brought a bag of chips. Doritos, to be precise. "I'm hoping the same trick that worked on her mother will work here as well." Smiling, he then held the bag out to you. "An offering in exchange for safe passage?"

     You pushed yourself upright, eyes stuck on the familiar brand of chips. Doritos weren't quite as common here in Japan, meaning they were a rare treasure here in this life. What used to be a normal snack now filled you with nostalgia. You could already imagine the taste, the crunch in your mouth, which made you salivate. Your dad shook the bag of chips a little, proving that it was full. Your eyes made it clear that they held your interest.

     Kai scowled, reaching for and failing to grab the bag of chips. "Do you realize how messy those things are?? And this is (Y/n) we're talking about! We'd be sacrificing the couch along with that stupid snack!"

    AFO handed Kai the bag and pat him on the back. "It's your choice then. Sometimes you must sacrifice the cleanliness of your house for the peace within it."

     Kai growled and slapped the elder's hand off of his back, then stared up and down between you and the bag of chips in his hands. He already knew how messy you were with chips. But, you loved them all the same. This was a battle between his happiness and yours.

     "...Hhh. Come get em." He held the bag up, offering it to you. You smiled. One of your feathers flew out, pierced through the bag and wiggled its way inside. Then, the bag of chips started floating toward you. The sacrifice was complete. Kai sighed again and passed through the living room, this time without any trouble. He didn't care to thank your father. He, just like you, couldn't imagine himself forgiving him for what he did.

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

     Luckily, Fuyumi was in agreement about keeping the cat a secret from her father. When he arrived home a little earlier than usual, interrupting your chillaxing as the young woman cooked, Fuyumi grabbed you, ran, and threw you into her bedroom before shutting the door. Trapped without an easy exit, you crawled under her bed and hid there, hoping it wouldn't be long before a chance to escape was given.

     You had nearly fallen asleep under there by the time she returned. You crawled out from there and mewed quietly. The young lady closed the door behind her and pressed her back against it, sighing defeatedly. "Well this has never happened before." Chuckling to herself. You trotted up to the girl and rubbed up against her leg. She bent down and stroked your back. "Looks like Dad has a new hero friend over.. So I'm stuck in here with you." Your ears twitched in interest. "Or..." Fuyumi crossed her room and opened the window, then stepped aside. "It's getting late, so you might want to go home before your owners get worried." You 'mrewerd' and rubbed against her leg one more time, then jumped through the window. She was right. The sun was setting and people would start to wonder where you were.

     But first...

     You slipped through the bushes, hid amongst the ferns. You jumped into another open window, intrigued by the prospect of Endeavor actually having a guest over. A hero no less.

     The moment you landed on their floor again, you froze. The previous, low murmuring had stilled.

     "...What is it?" Endeavor spoke as quietly as one can without whispering. The other didn't respond, but you already knew who was here.

     A crimson feather stuck in the ground like a throwing knife. For a moment, everyone was silent. You could hear the seconds tick by on the nearest clock.

     "...Eh. Probably just a squirrel outside." Keigo's voice relaxed. You tiptoed past the feather painfully slow, eyes wide and ears up at attention to the human voices speaking in the living room.

     "So, about the prosecution-"

     "-Yeah, no need to worry yourself with that." The sound of ruffling paper. "Thanks to a little help from Rumi, we've compiled a case large enough to imprison (Y/n) Shigaraki indefinitely." You wanted to gasp, but knew that even breathing too loudly could mark the end of your cover. "Our only hurtle is the lack of evidence proving for certain she's the one responsible for the Masquerade Massacre... We're going to need a little more than one surviving witness for that." You expected this. You knew this would happen. It was obvious from the start what Hawks was trying to do!

     So why did it crush your heart so badly to hear the young hero speak so coldly of you? Like you were no more than his typical prey.

     ...This was just like Aizawa's betrayal all over again.

     "So then... We would need to see her firey wings in order to continue with the proceedings." Endeavor.

     "Exactly."

     "How exactly are we going to do that?"

     "She set her own trap a while back by making a plan for us. We know already how much she wants in-on taking her father down. She's already tried squeezing her way in using both Eraserhead and I.. So, the likelihood that she will join-in on the fight is high... If we coordinate it right, we can use that fight to our advantage. She'll be forced to activate Fierce Wings and your son's quirk simultaneously, giving us all the evidence we need."

     "And if she does... We can arrest her for fighting without a license so she won't see it as a major threat."

     "Then pile all of her other crimes on top once she has been apprehended. Yes."

     Endeavor scratched his beard. "I'm liking the sound of this already..." You sure weren't! "..What about the court case? Are there any chances one could plead her innocence?"

     "The only defense she's got is her age."

     "In that case, if we dragged the case on for a couple years, we could avoid all the juvenile protection laws."

     "Ehhh~"

     "What?"

     "I-unno. Her first murder was committed at only age thirteen. Same for her second. And the massacre occured when she was only fourteen."

     "And..?" Endeavor pressed. Hawks was rubbing his own chin, still freaking out about being this close to Endeavor. Good thing he was an expert actor by this point. Hawks' eyes trailed away, mind again focusing on the mission.

     "...Crazy to think that was just three years ago... She's managed to do a lot in that time..."

     "Exactly. She's a high level threat."

     "Sort of.. but also no?" The teen shrugged, looking up at his hero. "I mean, yeah, she's dangerous when she wants to be, but she's not completely evil like her dad either. More like chaotic neutral. She just does whatever she wants and if you're in the way," shrug "you're in the way~"

     "That isn't exactly a defense in her favor."

     "Perhaps not legally, but logically it may be. Just think about it real quick. The girl's a real secretive one, right? No one really knows what she does in her free time.. And while she could be murdering people or running a criminal underworld, it is just as likely for her to be picking up orphans up off the street, donating to charities, and holding ancient evils back from wrecking cities! The Law only cares to keep track of all the bad she's done, but what about the good??"

     Endeavor glared down at Keigo disapprovingly. "You wouldn't seriously be taking her side, would you?"

     "Nononono!" Waving his hands around defensively in front of himself. "But! Eh, it's food for thought..." Keigo's casual, careless attitude dropped with his eyes. "I've seen her kinder side, though. I've seen the lost children she takes such good care of. And I know her heart isn't purely evil. So... I wouldn't be all too surprised to find out she was involved in something big too, like holding back dozens of lawless criminals or something. I dunno... The point I'm trying to make is that we should just press for the juvenile charges instead of dragging it out. I think...with the right guidance at least, she has a lot of potential as a hero too."

     Endeavor stared Keigo down with a very 'you done yet?' look. When the older teen had at last finished his mumbling, the red haired one rolled his eyes. "You make somewhat of a point. But still..." His arms unfolded, hands bracing on his hips instead. "My main objective is to get that monster off the streets... You can have all the moral debates you want inside your head. That won't change the fact she's a criminal."

     "Ayeye, cap'n." The young hero called back all the feathers that had been planted around the house. He then bowed theatrically. "That's all the information I needed to share. I'll be sure to keep you and the others updated!" He started to fly toward the door. "Tootaloo~"

     You hid right before he passed by, trembling the whole while. You knew too much! Part of you wished you had never eves-dropped! Not like any of this information was useful! Because nothing would change your plans to help lock your father up for good. And there was little chance you would last long against your old man without the use of Hellfire Wings! So all you had then was the knowing that all of Hero society was out to get you! Even close acquaintances like Keigo were made to be your enemies.

     You were trapped.

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

     You couldn't eat. You couldn't sleep. You could hardly manage basic conversation. Dang... Who'da thought something like this would hit you so hard? Mostly, you were just... numb. Numb to everything.

     That night, you asked Kurogiri for the unthinkable: to see your dad.

----------

     You trotted into his office as a cat. It was uncanny seeing how bright it was outside while you were supposed to be in bed. Your dad noticed you in the corner of his eye. He turned his head from the screens to smile down at you. "My, what is a delicate little creature like yourself doing here?" You just mewed and hopped onto the man's lap. Sitting on the warm surface, you stared up at the screens with narrow, tired eyes.

     "..Interested in learning how I run my business?" The man chuckled, sliding his hand from the keyboard to instead pet your head.

     "Mrr.." A little sound of disinterest had him chuckling again. Though you really weren't interested, AFO gave you a tour of all the spreadsheets and files he used for sorting out his multiple branches of devious business dealing. All the numbers and big words made your mind and soul doubly tired. 

     You laid down on the man's lap, draping your body limply like you were dead. His free hand stroked your fur as he shut up, continuing his boring office work in silence. The brightness shining through the windows annoyed you now. All you wanted was to sleep now. Sleep and forget your problems ever existed.

     "Is something wrong, (Y/n)..?"

     "Mah.."

     "I assume that is a yes?"

     "Mea."

     "Understood." AFO started to worry a little now. You never came to see him willingly like this before. "...Would you like to turn into a human so we can talk about it?"

     "Ny'a'ah."

     "Hm.. I see. Well, you can have your nap now. I still have quite a bit of things to sort out here on my own."

     "Mrr..." You laid your head back down and started to take in slow, even breaths. Thanks to the soothing environment and gentle nature of the man holding you, you drifted to sleep pretty easily.

     You were woken about an hour later when the man had finished what he was doing and stood, carrying you with him out of the room. You tried your best not to dig your claws into his clothes, but that was kind of hard being a nervous cat and all. Kurogiri stood just outside the office room, waiting for an order to be given.

     "Kurogiri, take me to Destination 216." The Nomu nodded obediently and promptly opened a portal beside him. You growled deep in your throat while approaching. There was something terribly ominous about this...

----------

     There was something very disturbing about the air down here. Like how in water, the deeper you go the heavier it gets, the air down here was very dense...as though you were miles underground.

     It was dark. Dark, cold, and damp. The worst possible combination. You could hear nothing but heavy footsteps underneath and your own rapid heartbeat. Your dad held you even closer in his arms, stroking your fur and hushing you caringly. "We won't be down here long, I promise... But I need to show you something." The man whispered. You didn't even make a sound.

     AFO must have been using one of his navigation quirks to see, because even you with your specially trained cat eyes could barely make out the obstacles ahead of you. There was this very familiar wiring on the ground you recognized. Sloppy, thick cords interwoven with one another like some massive, complex web. And it looked like the majority of these tubes led on into the room ahead.

     You began to get an idea for what might be going on down here, and you didn't like it. You never liked The Doctor's experiments. "I won't blame you for being repulsed by this one, (Y/n)... I too, though I tried to grow accustomed to its sight, could never stare long without wanting to vomit." The villain said in preparation, which only worsened your anxiety.

     He carried you toward the pale blue light slipping through a crack of double doors, and, carefully, pushed open one of them.

R'k'eeeeeee...

     The old hinges cried aloud, revealing a tall room with a massive testing tube in the center. The only light illuminating the room came directly from inside the tube itself.

     You needed only glance for three seconds before your eyes had had enough. It was a three headed monstrosity with six arms and two legs still under heavy reconstruction. Each face was so alive in its death, all three turned in different directions, eternally screaming in frozen anguish. Their eyes and skulls had yet to be fully reconstructed, meaning their brain matter still mixed freely with the tank juices. In and around its core were so many cords and wires that it was hard to distinguish between what was human and what wasn't.

     Yet it still breathed, though slowly. Maybe half a lungful per minute. For the most part, this monstrosity was long dead. Nothing but a corpse imitating life.

     Your father forced himself to stare just a little longer, before finally turning his head to the side. "This... Was supposed to be backup in the case that you or one like you were never born or in some way died... It is.. made up of several of your incomplete siblings... Though imperfect, some had traits that, when combined.. would make a being just as, if not even more powerful than you..." Unlike how he usually was while revealing grand feats or longtime plans of his.. there was no boasting here.

     Of course, what parent would dare bost of the conjured corpses of their own mutilated children? Even the sickest minds mankind can muster would struggle with that.

     He glanced back at the monstrosity again, forcing himself to stare at his creation while he continued. "The project was put on hold immediately after your quirk diagnosis." All the symptoms of the rawest kind of disgust crashed down on him at once. Dry mouth. Shortened breath. Tension in the throat. "Garaki has asked since then to continue, but I urged that he-- Oa!" Pulling you out of the way, the man suddenly bent over and vomited on his own shoes. He dropped to his knees, holding you tightly as he fell into a panic of sorts. Of all the things to be sick of, it was his own calm speech that nauseated him the most. His jaw was clamped tight, rattling and grinding his teeth together as he breathed intensely through his mouth. Pain was made clear in his eyes as they remained fixated on the ground. "I've always known I was going to Hell, but I never feared it... To compensate, it seems I've made my own hell right here where I am most comfortable! Every time I seem to notice how far I've fallen, I only get worse! I'm so sick of it!! First it was my brother, then my own wife and children! I'm afraid to find out how I could possibly get any worse!!." You struggled for freedom, but your father had you wrapped in a painfully tight iron grip!

     "My earliest memories were of killing and stealing quirks for my survival! I was deemed a threat to society before I could even properly formulate thought! As the first quirk user, I was often blamed for the wars and chaos caused by their arrival! I tried to change the world's view of me in my youth by killing criminals and stealing their quirks, but since stealing was the only thing I was good at, I couldn't escape the label! Eventually, I gave up and decided to embrace it, but then that turned Yoichi against me; the only family I had! The only thing I could truly call my own other than quirks themselves! I had no identity to go with other than the one I was given since birth! I thought I was happy with that label for the longest time! I had embraced the Demon Lord name because I grew to believe I really was that!! Why then did that all have to change after I was married?! After I had a family of my own!! It wasn't just a change of atmosphere; the label of husband and father forced me to rethink everything!! The labels over my life have been at war for almost a century now! I- I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO I AM!!!" He tucked his chin into your fur, his body shaking with uneven gasping sobs. Warm tears joined the bits of vomit in your fur. You really wanted to growl, but held it in for now.

     After your father had calmed some, his voice was raspy, trying with all his might to articulate the pain he was feeling inside. "...There's no place for me in this world... I should have accepted that long before now... Instead..I'm left here, wanting to die but too afraid to go through with it."

. . .

     "I meant to ask for your help in burying the body... Finally putting this dream of mine to rest.
            ...But.. now....
                   I don't know."

       Wait...this guy was serious?

         No. Surely not!

           Not this manipulative b#####!

             But then........why?

               Was he.....serious?

     It suddenly dawned on you. Your reason for coming here was to reform the villains of this world, was it not? Yet, the moment you saw this man, you accepted there was no changing him. Nope. Not a chance in the world. Instead, you prioritized smaller villains. Ones you were more sure you could change. And then, in your rage, you gave up on him completely. You made it personal, wishing he would burn in Hell for the rest of existence.

   After all, it was so much easier to forgive dozens who hadn't yet sinned than it was to forgive one who had.

     But... What if..?

       What if even he could change?

     What could you accomplish if you whole heartedly accepted your mission to redeem as many villains as possible, including this one? He might still go to Hell, but...maybe....?

     Maybe it was worth it actually giving him a chance?

     You grew back into a human, crushed until your dad realized what was going on and loosened his grip. Then, there you were in his arms, hugging him tightly. You dug your chin into his shoulder, letting the tears flow from his own eyes. Your fingernails dug into his back. There was so much hatred in you still. So much of it that just wanted to lash out and make him suffer!.. You had your chance here, too. Not a quirk of his was active. All it would take would be to activate Decay, and..

     You bit your lip and clamped your eyes shut.

     No... What would Tenko do? What did Tenko do? While his dad was at his lowest in the hospital.. he offered him something more valuable than any cash or words of wisdom could.

     You swallowed and opened your mouth. Your jaw just hung there for a second. Took you a moment to remember how to speak. "...You deserve Hell and more, Dad.." you mumbled, "but.... but I'm willing to give you a second chance... Yeah.." sniff "I'll help you burry the body." He leaned his forehead against the base of your neck, sniffling still.

     "...Thank you..."

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

     It was somewhere random. Some place you'd hopefully forget. And centuries from now might never be found by humankind. "Pulling the plug" was probably the toughest part on the both of you. It required a combination of mastering the controls to the test tube, your father using his quirk to deactivate theirs, and you using decay to rid of the monstrosity as easily as possible. So, now it was just the ashes needing to be buried. It was a lot easier to look at ashes than it was to see, smell, and hear that halfbaked Nomu and all its interconnected tubing. No doubt The Doctor would be disappointed to hear you had destroyed what could have been his greatest creation yet. But, you both agreed that it was for the better.

     Though it would have been easier to use quirks, you pressed that it would be more respectful to dig the grave yourselves using plain shovels. This was, at least, what you always used to do when an animal of yours died. There was something strangely therapeutic about taking the process slow, as well as doing it yourself scoop full at a time. And, since it was only ashes you were burying, it wasn't like the hole had to be that big. You two set to doing that.

     No words exchanged. Your minds were buzzing with their own thoughts, mainly about what to do now. Your father had been in the business of crime so long that it wasn't even second nature to him; it was first! And it wasn't like he necessarily hated crime as a whole either. He still loved "collecting" quirks, as well as the thought of ruling the world someday. But... He decided he no longer wanted the path he paved to be so bloody. If it was going to cause him and those closest to him the most pain, than maybe it was he who needed to change. You on the other hand were still trying to figure out exactly what giving him a second chance would entail. Should you tell him of his impending doom? Warn him? Or, simply let him get the punishment he deserved?

     In the end, it didn't really matter. One way or another, someone was going to get arrested at some point. Someone was going to be required to suffer for their wrongdoings eventually. And, well, you didn't want that someone to be you.. The more you thought about it, the more a small plan formed in your head.

     About halfway done with the hole, you stabbed the ground, passing the shovel on to your dad for now, since you were taking turns digging. It was out in the middle of the forest, by the way. Again, hopefully a place that no one would care to cross in quite some time. After stabbing the ground, "All of Japan's top heroes are gathering to take you down, by the way. They have a plan and everything. I even played a part in making it."

     Already digging away at the sides of the hole, your old man kept his eyes on the earth below. "...I see. And why have you decided to tell me about this secret attack?"

     "Because... Well.. I just found out the other day that they're after me too. I was eavesdropping and-- ...sounded to me like they were planning on letting the two of us duke it out, then take us both in after we had weakened each other."

     "Sounds like the kind of plan they would come up with... But, again I ask, why would you tell me this now? Especially when you could just let me go to jail then run away yourself."

     "Because I don't want to run away." You huffed, throwing your hands out dramatically. "I mean- I mean, look at what happened to you! People demonized you from birth because of your quirk! I mean it's not AS bad for me, but having you as a dad definitely hasn't made things easy on me! And if I run away, they'll just chase me! Then I'll be just like you! On the run from the government, sitting around in evil lairs trying to pull the right strings that'll give me at least a day out in the sun! I don't wanna turn out like that!! Like you!!" By this point, your father hadn't the will to even argue with you. He was still trying to decide between truth and falsehood himself. "So I'm trapped. I can't just back out, I can't just team up with you, and I can't just run away. I'm...stuck."

     "Mmm, decisions, decisions, decisions~" AFO handed you the shovel again. You promptly picked up where you left off. The man sat down on a nearby fallen log and interwove his fingers. "Sometimes, the best solutions are the most obvious ones. The kind that are so obvious, in fact, they are often overlooked."

     "Do you think you could turn yourself in for me?"

     "The what?"

     "Turn yourself in." You repeated. Hauling a load of dirt out of the hole, you grunted, "Apparently, my sentence is so bad that even at my age, I'd be in prison for life... Maybe, though, if I turned you in myself without any complications, not only would that prove I'm on their side, but it might chip some time off my own sentence as well." Not only that, but you wouldn't have to activate Hellfire Wings for that to work. The plan was perfect!.. Too bad bad then that it didn't look like he was onboard with it.

     "I don't... Well I don't really want to go to prison either. I'd for sure be given a much longer sentence than you."

     "Yeah, but you're not.. You're not immortal without having to activate that rewind quirk. Meaning.. well.. you could die earlier if you wanted."

     The man scowled across the pit at you. "And who said I wanted to die a criminal and not a king?"

     "Ay. I said I'd give you a second chance. That's not the same as forgiveness... Honestly don't think I could ever do that."

     "But still. I would certainly not wish to die... Not without achieving something of importance, at least... And it's not like I am in a rush to burn in Hell either."

     "Psh. Same."

     "So why not just join me then?. Doesn't it bother you how easy it was for the hero society to exclude you~? How little chances for redemption they offer to their criminals in the justice system? Don't you find it a bit cruel, the level of segregation between criminals; how simply having a quirk automatically makes you a greater threat in the eyes of the public and justice system than those with deadly weapons? Don't you find it strange how-"

     "-Okay I get it. The world is corrupt. What else is new?" You stabbed the shovel in the mud, staring across the hole and into the eyes of your dad. "Look, I've always known this world was sick and dying. But that's just reality. The real question is whether you want to be a part of that sickness or not. And I don't. So... I dunno what I'm going to do, but, whatever it is... I want it to be the right thing. Not something that'll just add to the problem and make it worse." You took to digging again. Meanwhile, it looked as though your dad was actually digesting what you had to say. "That should be good enough." You said after a few minutes. Your dad kicked around and inspected the hole for any faults. You had made sure it was a respectful looking grave. Not just some hole. He pleased with that.

     "Alright. Now do we burry the jar with the ashes?" Referring to the antique clay pot that was originally just a decoration.

     You shrugged. "It's your pot."

     He considered for a moment, eventually deciding on placing the whole thing inside there. After the clay pot had been set in the center of the deep hole, the two of you stood on either side of it staring like two idiots. "Do you...want to say anything?"

     "Hhh, nothing I say would help anything." The man said defeatedly. You just nodded.

     "Well. Guess it wouldn't hurt to pray a quick prayer and hope they made it to the right afterlife." He nodded with you this time. The two of you put your hands together and had a moment of silence, offering some small, most likely useless prayers to the dead. "Guess I'll start." You began by shoving dirt into the hole, then passed the shovel on to the other. Your dad did the same. Silent again, the two of you buried the pot of ashes. And finally, there was nothing but a mound of dirt, which you tapped at with your shovel.

     There was something very weird about your father's general personality that you kept noticing. It was the day after he showed the monstrosity to you, so, no, you hadn't completed all of this in the span of one night. But, ever since then... You couldn't even put your finger on it, but something had completely changed in him; it was the uncomfortable kind of change too, because you had no idea what to expect out of this guy.

     "How about this?" Your father finally spoke up. You stood straighter, listening close. "Seems like we're both struggling with the same problems here? So.. for now at least, how about we make a truce not to do anything rash until we have settled in our decision making? Then be sure to tell the other what our plans are ahead of time... Fair enough?" He extended his hand to you. You shrugged and grabbed his. The two of you shook hands firmly, deciding on one thing at least.

     Neither of you had a clue what the future had in store for you both, but, at least you had each other to count on.

     Maybe.