🌸 Before you read 🌸

🌸 As always, I've been given permission by the author of KL to use her characters.

🌸Fun fact about villain and people used. He villain used here was always the same. The other people who may show up, well, that kept changing until I discussed this chapter with the KL author.

🌸 Enjoy!!

🌸 Trouble 🌸

The rain started to fade a bit the longer I walked outside. I didn't care for the rough tiny grains of sand inching up my legs as I did, but the alternative was something I wasn't going to cave into.

"If you couldn't be a hero, what would you be?" Tami's question rang in the back of my head.

We all wanted to be a Pro Hero more than anything, but none of them seemed to have wanted it as badly as I did. If they were really serious about becoming a Pro Hero and protecting people who couldn't defend themselves, then they wouldn't have been acting like idiots like they were.

We should have been training. One of these days, after we graduate, our days will be filled with hero work. The only one that was an exception to this was Tami, but even she should be training. There were too many times that she was a target for villains. I didn't want something bad to happen to her again.

A good hero protects everyone. I know there will be times I can't protect Tami, so she needed to learn to defend herself. If something happened to her again...

No. I couldn't think about that. She would be fine right now. Even if they were acting like complete idiots in there, every single person that was with her was training to become a hero and would protect her no matter what. They'd have to.

I was about to turn around to see how they were doing when I noticed a thin purple fog rolling up to my ankles. There wasn't much smoke left, almost as if it had been going for hours and was about ready to fade away for good, but I still caught the sight of it. Purple fog on a beach, rain or no rain, it couldn't have been a good thing.

As if knowing what I was thinking, I heard a voice in the distance.

"Hey!" the voice nearly shouted before growing louder. "Could you help me?"

I turned around to see a girl my age running towards me. Because of the rain, her entire outfit—which consisted of a black tank and denim short-shorts—were soaked. So soaked, in fact, that her shorts almost looked the same color as her top. It was an odd sight to see since no one in their right mind would be out here long enough to get drenched like that.

The fact that she had purple cat ears sitting on top of her head seemed even stranger.

When she realized I wasn't going to answer, she stopped and pulled her long purple hair over her shoulder, showing off her thick braid. "I seem to have gotten lost and can't find anywhere to go. Could I borrow your phone to call a taxi or something?" her voice purred as she asked.

My hand instinctively slid down my shorts, realizing I was still in my black swim trunks. I didn't have pockets, meaning I had left my phone back in the cove all my friends were in. Realizing that, I looked back, trying to figure out how far we were from there.

"No," I answered. "But I could take you—"

I never finished my sentence as I noticed the purple fog rolling over my feet. Something was off about the fog when I first saw it, but now, after turning my back on the girl with the cat ears, I knew something wasn't right. I just didn't think it had something to do with her.

Luckily, I turned around just in time to see her lunging towards me. Her claws had extended from her hands as she was mere inches from me. Not really having much of a choice, I ducked, avoiding the attack as much as possible.

Before I could go down into the fog, I covered the bottom half of my face, careful not to inhale any of the fumes the girl had created. She had to have been the one to create them. None of this could have been a coincidence, so I had to be prepared for anything.

There was no way I could let my guard down again.

"You pesky little—" the girl started to hiss as I stood up and looked back at her. She turned around, glaring at me as if I was in the wrong.

I wasn't. Had I known she was a villain, I wouldn't have let my guard down. Then again, that was exactly what she wanted. Cheap. Part of me wanted to call her an amateur for that, but I couldn't, not when she clearly knew what she was doing.

"What the hell do you want?" I growled, keeping my hand over my mouth. The last thing I needed was to breathe in those fumes.

How was I going to fight with just one hand? If I had a better Quirk, I wouldn't have this problem, but I didn't have that kind of power to go back and get a Quirk my dad would be proud of.

Those thoughts made me even angrier that this girl had to pick a fight with me. Then again, villains never played fair.

But they always loved to gloat about their plans.

"You have something I want," she declared as she crouched down in a position to pounce again. "So give it up!"

She didn't look familiar enough for me to understand what she was saying, but she didn't give me time to ask. The moment she stopped talking she pounced into the air once again. Only this time, once she was in the air, purple fog around me thickened. It seeped through my fingers, causing me to stumble back a bit as a wave of nausea washed over me.

I was distracted by the pounding in my head and the unwelcoming sick feeling that bubbled in my stomach that I forgot my opponent was coming in for the kill. Her hands grabbed my shoulders forcing me down into the sand. It was at that point I made a quick decision. Either I could let her beat me up while I continued to try to hold my breath, or I fully inhaled whatever toxic smoke she had expelled to try and fight her off.

Being that some of the smoke had already seeped into my hands, I figured it wouldn't make that much of a difference to just let go and fight at that moment. She wasn't holding back when she fought, so I wasn't going to either. My muscles doubled in size as I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her off of me. While I did, the fog started to stick to me like moths flying to a street lamp. I tried not to think of it as I stood up, but it didn't help the cacophony of coughs spewing from my mouth.

Everything started to spin around me as I looked up at the girl. She tilted her head to the side, cracking her neck as she did.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Not feeling well?"

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded before coughing into my fist.

I felt weak, like I needed to lay down, but I couldn't. If I did that, then she would've won the battle. There was no way I was going to lose to a villain. Not again.

A hero always protected others. She was after something I had, rather, someone. It didn't take long to figure out who, and there was no way I was going to let any villain get close to her again. I promised her I would never let anything bad happen, and I was going to keep that promise.

"Why would you like to know?" she asked.

"Cuz I want to know who gives a damn about hurting my friends," I growled as my hands tightened into fists.

While I felt as if the girl was moving, I could see her mouth curve into a smile. "You know, for someone who's training to be a hero, you have a very dirty mouth," she observed as she extended her claws. "But don't worry. I'll fix that."

She didn't even give an answer as she ran towards me. I stood my ground, doing my best not to falter. It was nearly impossible to do with whatever air I was breathing in, but I didn't let it bother me too much. No. Instead, I felt my muscles contract as I tightened my fists and lowered my stance. The girl was about ready to land her attack when I stepped out of the way, forcing her to land face first into the sand.

It was a trick my older sister taught me: don't always use brute force right away. Let them miss, then attack.

That was exactly what I did. I didn't waste a second as I grabbed the girl by the leg and swung her back. She slid across the sand for a while, until she stopped because of the rough force going against her.

I took a few steps back, getting as far away as I could from the fog. My eyes were glued onto the girl as she sat up and wiped the sand off her face and spat out the sand that got in her mouth.

"Not too bad," she claimed, "but it's going to take a lot more than that to keep me down."

My whole body froze as I saw her stand up. The purple fog that was around us started to die down. I thought that would've been it, but she turned her head back to look at me. Her yellow eyes glaring at me as she did.

"I'm Neko," she introduced, as she showed off her long claws once again. "Though, you probably won't remember that."

Neko turned around as she started sprinting towards me. Her eyes were no longer on my face like last time. She must've learned from last time that I had to change tactics. I waited until she got near me until I raised my leg to kick her right in the side. Her eyes widened when my foot made contact, but that wasn't the end of it. She took her long claws and swung at my chest. The burning sensation spread across my stomach, despite it being brief.

Even as she flew away from me, Neko's cat-like reflexes started to kick in at that moment as she rolled on the ground. She didn't take a second to catch her breath as she popped back up and ran in for another attack. I didn't have time to dodge or do what I did last time. All I did was blink, and she appeared in front of me. Her claws wrapped around my neck as she pinned me to the ground once more.

The moment I hit the ground, I knew she wasn't going to let go as easily as last time. Her fingers wrapped around my neck, her claws digging their way into my skin. It wasn't the most comfortable position, especially since I felt her hold onto certain pressure points that were right there. It made it harder to move.

"Tell me where they're at," she demanded, "and I'll make this quick."

"Never," I choked out as I used every ounce of muscles in my hands to try and pry her hands off of me, but it didn't work. I was about to switch tactics and swing my leg at her when a green vine wrapped around her arm and pulled her forward. The moment her hands were off of me, I pushed myself back, almost as if I was doing a backwards somersault, only I did it to kick the villain before getting up.

The cat-like villain skidded across the ground once more, but I wasn't focused on her when I turned around to see who was behind me. Here, I thought it was Sakura who used her vine to help me out, but neither of the two girls that were standing there were her. My eyes easily brushed over the girl who probably used the Quirk; although, I was a bit shocked to see her. Again, while I hung around these people I considered my friends, I didn't get close to many of them, and that included Misaki.

Of course, the one girl I was closest to, the one who should have been back at that cove with the others, was standing right there. Her shirt was wet from the rain that had stopped, but she wouldn't stop fidgeting with it as she looked at me with her large brown eyes.

"Tami," I yelled, "run!"

Her name caught the attention of the villain. It was no surprise she had come all this way just for her, so she would've caught on eventually to it. I just had to be the one to hold her back.

If something happened to Tami again...

"So she's the one with the infamous BioChange Quirk," Neko wondered out loud as Tami started to stumble back.

Luckily for Tami, Misaki took a step in front of her, almost as if she was going to protect her. That should have made me relax, but I couldn't stop fighting and let Misaki take over. It wasn't that she couldn't protect Tami on her own, but this villain, she was on another level. She had to have been since I wanted to pass out right then and there.

Misaki could protect her, a small yet haunting voice echoed in my head. It wasn't just that which begged me to stop. I took a step towards Neko to get her away from the two girls, but I stumbled, nearly falling when I did.

What exactly was in that damn gas she sprayed all over earlier?

"Raiden, watch out!" a small voice cried.

I didn't even process what was going on as my eyes were locked on the blonde. She was running away, but she didn't stop looking back. I didn't even have time to register that it was her who spoke when a claw came flying towards me, nearly tearing my face off. It would've too, had it not been for a vine wrapping around it and pulling the girl away.

Right now, I needed to keep fighting, but I could hardly concentrate, not when my head was ringing and I just wanted to collapse at that moment.

"You're becoming a real pain," Neko hissed towards Misaki as the purple smoke started to return. Seeing it, I knew I needed to get as far away from it as possible. One more whiff, and I was going to be out for good.

As cowardly as it was, I stumbled on my own two feet and started to run away from it. I barely got to Misaki when I felt a hand digging into my shoulder. My hands quickly covered my nose and mouth, but she didn't stay there for long. Instead, she used my shoulder to leap over me, landing behind the dark haired girl. Instead of fighting her, Neko continued to run towards Tami, the purple fog thickened as she did as she was probably going to use it to get to Tami.

"We need to get her away from Tami, now," I stressed to Misaki. My legs nearly gave out from underneath me that I had to grab onto her shoulder.

With how weak I felt, all I could hear was my dad's voice ridiculing me in the back of my head, stressing how I'd never be strong enough.

For once, he was right. I didn't have Quirks like my friends, who could put up a fight against this girl. All she had to do was release this poisonous fog, and I felt as if I was going to pass out.

"Don't worry, I'm on it," Misaki said, before I felt something slipping into my hand. I looked down to see her dark hand shoving a protein bar into my hand. "You just eat that and get to Tami."

I looked up at the girl, noticing that she was creating one of her barbs that caused others to fall asleep in her hand. Her eyes were locked onto the villain running towards Tami. It was strange seeing Misaki so serious for once. The only side I had ever seen of her was when she was with our friends. With us, she was so bubbly, happy, and extremely naive.

Seeing how her eyes locked onto Neko before she threw her deadly barbs at her, I knew it was probably best not to ever piss her off. Not wanting to do that, I quickly took a bite out of the protein bar, not questioning how she knew my drawback or how she knew I was probably suffering the consequences of it. After all, there were quite a few heroes who had the Quirk, Ultra Strength. If word got out that heroes with that Quirk relied heavily on eating a lot of protein constantly, well, it wouldn't take much for villains to hijack the food market or cut the supplies if they really wanted to.

Come to think about it, I didn't eat much in the past few hours, nor have I trained all day. It was no wonder I was getting lightheaded. Add that to Neko's Quirk...I would've been screwed if it wasn't for Misaki.

While it would've been best for me to rest for a second, I couldn't let Tami defend herself for long, so I took off running. Neko wasn't far behind Tami, nearly catching up with her. She was about ready to pounce on Tami when a flash of purple sprayed in her face. I didn't have to wait long to figure out who it was, but I was surprised to see that it didn't have the same effect on her as it would anyone else. Misaki's flowers made anyone it came in contact with fall asleep instantly.

I was careful this time not to breathe in any of the fumes around her as I pushed past her, only to find that Tami was missing. I froze, seeing that there wasn't any trace of her. Nothing, that was, except for a pile of clothes lying on the beach.

Tami had to have used her Quirk, I realized as I bent down and picked up the shirt that was there. From underneath of it, her one-piece bathing suit fell out, but still, there was no trace of an animal that was there.

My heart started to pound as I looked back at Misaki and Neko, who were fighting in a hand to hand combat at this point. The villain didn't seem to have taken notice of Tami's change, so if I could hide that fact, then everything would be okay.

But what if she turned into something like a fish? I thought. I really hope Tami wouldn't be stupid like that, but I also knew how she gets in stressful situations. When that thought came to mind, I carefully picked up the swimsuit. It felt wrong that I did, like I was doing something Tami wouldn't want me to do, but what choice did I have?

The moment I picked up her pink swimsuit, a shell fell out from underneath it. I blinked in confusion for a moment. I wasn't sure if Tami was being clever or stupid with this decision she made, but somehow, I knew that she had turned into a clam, something that I swore only lived in water.

She wouldn't have turned into something that wouldn't be able to breathe out of water, would she? I didn't have time to ponder over it anymore as I wrapped the shell in her damp clothing and took off running. My face started to heat up as I did. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but this still didn't seem like Tami.

Regardless, I ran, protecting her as much as I could. My Quirk was pretty much useless being that I didn't train and eat as much as I should. Top that with that villain's Quirk...how was I going to be a good hero if I couldn't do anything?

Something trampled in the distance. I looked up to see our other friends running towards us. The group was led by Mori, who flew beside Yukimura. Akiba, Sakura, and Kaito trailed behind them. Seeing them, I stopped and turned back, to see Neko in a losing fight with Misaki. She didn't even see the two coming in from behind as Yukimura kicked her to the ground.

I didn't even make it that far away from her. Maybe just 40 meters. It was enough for her not to reach us so quickly, but not enough to hear her last words.

"This won't be the last time you see me, U.A. brats," she spat before something opened up underneath her and swallowed her whole.

My eyes widened at the sight as I felt someone pat me on the back. I glanced over to see Kaito standing there with Sakura beside him. Neither of them looked happy, especially Sakura as she eyed Tami's clothing in my hands.

"Where the hell is Tami?" she asked, catching everyone's attention. "She was supposed to be out here with Misaki looking for you, you know? I swear—"

"She's right here," I said, handing her the clothes. "She turned into a clam, so if I were you, I'd take her somewhere no one can see her change."

Sakura didn't say a word as she carefully held onto the clothes. Her eyes snapped when she saw the gray shells sitting on top of the clothes. She placed a hand on top, careful it wouldn't fall as she ran back, probably to the cove we were all in.

At least, I hope she was that clam. If she wasn't, then I had no idea where Tami would be. I thought to myself.

"What exactly happened," Kaito asked as he subtly wrapped his arm around me to help give me some sort of support. I wasn't sure how he knew I wasn't dealing with things well as I just stood there, but I didn't question it.

Instead of looking at him, I looked up to see our four friends from 1-A walking towards us, all wondering the same thing. My eyes glued onto Misaki's dark ones. She had bared some scratches from that villain all over her arm, and there was nothing I could do to help stop it.

Talk about being useless. It was my fight that if she didn't step in when she did, I would've been done for. I was grateful, but at the same time, she shouldn't have been the one to get hurt for it.

"I needed some fresh air," I said, "and that villain attacked me, claiming she wanted something I had. Why the hell do villains keep going after people weaker than us?"

Yukimura shook her head, causing me to look at her. "I wish I knew. If it makes you feel better, I can offer Tami some more muay thai lessons."

"And I'm sure I could teach her some gymnastics if she'd want it," Misaki chimed in.

All eyes were on me, as if they were waiting for me to approve of their suggestions or something. There was just one problem with that.

"That's not for me to decide," I told them. "I just wish villains would stop targeting her all the time."

"Don't worry, Raiden," Kaito said from beside me. "We'll get them next time. Whoever they are, we'll figure it out."

I just wish I knew more about them, I thought. About any of the villains that tried attacking Tami. No matter how much training we got in, it never seemed to help.

"She's a part of the Infernal Order," Mori voiced, catching me off guard. I glanced over at him, seeing the boy crossing his arms over his chest while his dark wings pressed against his back. "I remember fighting her when they tried breaking into U.A. a few months ago."

The air stilled after he said that. Misaki and Yukimura both dropped their heads, the latter of the two girls scratched the back of her golden horn as it was mentioned. They didn't have to explain much for Kaito and me to know what Mori was referring to. The whole school knew about it. A few months ago, 1-A decided to take a break from training to watch a movie, only to get attacked by these villains.

Even Akiba looked bothered as he wouldn't meet my gaze. If I remembered right from the reports on it, he was one of the students who was knocked out cold from the start. There was no doubt it came from that girl's Quirk.

So, why didn't it knock me out?

"Why would they want Tami?" Kaito asked. "I mean, her Quirk is amazing and everything, but if they attacked you guys for the heck of it, why would they want to take her?"

Yukimura shrugged. "I don't know. To be honest, we don't know much about them," she explained as her ears twitched. "We'll have to talk about it another time. I don't think it'd be good to worry her anymore than she already is."

No one asked who she was talking about or how she could tell. All we did was turn around to see Sakura and Tami walking towards us from a distance. They were far away to really make out any defining features, but none of us was going to argue with Yukimura, not when she was right.

As much as I hated the idea, the best thing for Tami would be to get her mind off of things. I just couldn't help but to feel responsible for the entire thing.

🌸End of Part 3🌸

🌸Chapter Question 🌸
Who is your favorite BNHA villain? (And yes, fan-made ones count too)

🌸Character Spotlight: Misaki Handa🌸
Book: Kita's Legacy
Likes: Building Sandcastles

🌸Character Spotlight: Raiden Yamamoto🌸
Book: I'm No Hero
Likes: Playing Chicken

Song: Rengoku's Theme from Demon Slayer