After the meeting with Sir, Hado, Amajiki, Togata, Midoriya, Tsu, Uraraka, Kirishima, and I all sat together to talk. Midoriya, Togata, and I were still sullen from the prior meeting with the pros. Learning about what could be happening to Eri now was almost unbearable. Also the fact that If we had saved her that day then none of this would be happening.

"You guys must really be hurting," Kirishima looked over at us.

"Deku," Uraraka said softly.

Suddenly the elevator dinged and Shota came out. "Holding an all night vigil are you?"

"Mr. Aizawa!" Tsu exclaimed.

"You guys can call me Eraserhead outside of school," Shota put a hand up. "Anyways, I was planning on talking to you guys about ending your work studies today."

"What?! Why now?!" Kirishima stood up.

"You heard about how the League of Villains might be involved. It's a whole different ball game now," Shota said simply.

I slammed my hands on the table and stood up. "That's not fair, Shota!" I snapped at him. "I don't care if they might be involved or not. I wanna save Eri!"

Shota sighed and patted my head, "I figured you would say that." I blinked at him confused by his reaction but he turned his attention to Midoriya. "You still haven't earned my trust back. Unfortunately if I were to cut you off now it's all but guaranteed that you would leap into action anyway. So I will watch over both you and Kanna. Let's try and do things right this time, Midoriya. Understand you little troublemaker?"

"Hey Mirio, keep your head up," Amajiki said timidly.

"I get it Togata," Hado joined in. "You've got regrets so you're feelin low, but that's just how it is sometimes."

"Yeah," Togata said softly.

"If it makes you feel better, when you reached out with those hands to help Eri, even though you failed, I bet it gave her some hope," Shota said glancing at me and Togata as well. "So pick yourself up."

"Yes sir!" Midoriya exclaimed. "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth Eraserhead!"

"No need to go that far," Kirishima chuckled.

"Oh sorry!" Midoriya flushed.

"Pipe down Kirishima," Tsu said.

"Shota," I bit my lip and hugged him. I buried my face in his chest, "thank you."

He rubbed my back and put his hands on my shoulders. He gave me a soft smile as I pulled away from him. "With that said, the big three are on par with the pros, maybe even better. But the five of you will have more reduced roles," Shota explained. "Asui, Kirishima, Uraraka, you three aren't exactly here because you volunteered. What do you think?"

Uraraka stood up with determination on her face. "Mr. Aiza-- I mean Eraserhead, after hearing a story like that, there's no way I'm backing down!"

"If you are giving us permission, Eraser, then I'd like to contribute anyway I can," Tsu said with a ribbit. "No one should hurt a little girl and get away with it."

"If there's anything at all we can do to help that girl then we'll do it, Eraserhead!" Kirishima said knocking his fists together.

"Just looking at the first years in this meeting makes it clear that the pros must respect them," Amajiki said. "Especially compared to me, they show a ton of promise."

"You never miss a chance to take a shot at yourself do ya, Amajiki," Hado teased.

"I just needed to make sure you all are good," Shota nodded approvingly. "It's fine as long as you understand this; the goal of the mission is to rescue Eri. We can't make it anything more than that. The looming threat of the League of Villains is our biggest concern. According to Nighteye and the police they're not active partners in all this which means there's a low chance of running into them when we start investigating, but on the off chance we are wrong about that and the mission involves them fighting as well then that's where your roles end. Especially you Kanna."

"Right!" We all nodded in agreement. I understood why Shota didn't want me facing the League, but hopefully we wouldn't need to.

The next day we were all on stand-by until they could find Eri's location. In class we were working on our climbing abilities. We had to scale a rock wall. This was easy for me since I could use my quirk to form grab and foot holds. Even while training I couldn't stop thinking about what horrors Eri must be facing. This only pushed me harder, so I could be in perfect shape for when we went to save her.

"The work study group is really moving, huh?" Sero said looking up at Kirishima and I.

"You guys are hiding some secret that you learned, right?!" Katsuki shouted. "You better tell me!"

"Sorry, no can do," Kirishima called to him. We weren't allowed to talk about this to our classmates. I couldn't even tell Shoto about it.

At lunch I sat down next to Shoto along with Midoriya and Iida. It seemed both Midoriya and I were poking at our lunch. Seems he had a lot on his mind as well. "Are you not gonna eat?" Shoto asked us.

"Oh yeah," I nodded and took a bite out of my ramen.

"Is everything okay?" Iida asked us.

"I just have a lot on my mind," I said, but Midoriya remained quiet.

"Midoriya, you've been looking a little depressed since you started your work study," Shoto pointed out.

"Huh? I don't know what you mean," Midoriya said, playing dumb.

"If it ever gets to be too much and you need to talk just say something. I'm your friend," Iida said. "That's what you told me back when I was acting a fool, before our internships."

Midoriya looked at Iida and then put his head on the table where he started to cry. "Midoriya," I looked over at him. Was this whole thing with Eri eating him up this much? Or was there something more? Something he couldn't tell us about.

"I'm fine, it's nothing," Midoriya sat up and wiped his face. "Heroes don't cry."

"Nah, even heroes cry when they have to, I think," Shoto said taking my hand into his. I gave him a sad smile. He had seen me cry more over the past week than throughout the whole year.

After class I was working on some work when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and found Shoto standing there. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," I nodded. "I'm sorry I've been kinda distant and emotional. There's just a lot going on."

"It's okay, I understand," Shoto hugged me. "If you wanna talk to me about it you can, Kanna."

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just that I can't," I bit my lip.

"Oh I see," Shoto nodded, he understood.

"But thank you," I smiled up at him. I stood up on my tiptoes and gave him a kiss.

As I started to pull away Shoto brought me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let myself fall into his embrace. As he deepened the kiss I followed his motions. I hadn't realized just how much I missed, and longed for his touch. All of my fears and worries melted away and the only thing I could think about was Shoto. He had been here for me all this time, I only hoped that I could do the same for him.

He pushed me against the wall and held my waist with one hand, his other leaned against the wall. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I wanted this moment to last forever. I reached up and brushed my hands through his hair before stroking his cheeks. I could hear his breath quicken as he pulled me even closer until my body was pressed against his.

When he finally pulled away we were both out of breath and flushed in the face. "It's been awhile since we did that huh?" He asked, letting out a chuckle.

"Y-yeah, I think so," I giggled. "Thank you Shoto." I brushed my hand across his cheek and over his lips.

"I should be thanking you," Shoto looked from my eyes to my lips.

"Hopefully when things have... settled we can have more moments like this," I said, choosing my words carefully.

"That would be nice," Shoto said before giving me a small kiss. "Good night, Kanna."

"Night, Shoto," I grabbed the door for him and waved as he walked down the hall to his room.

Not even five minutes later someone was banging on my door, "open up Snowflake!"

I sighed and opened the door, "hey Katsuki. What's up?"

"I saw IcyHot walking down the hall," Katsuki frowned. "Are you two dating or something?"

"I'm not sure about that," I giggled. "I did tell him that I liked him and stuff though."

"That's good," Katsuki sighed. "He's treating you good, right?"

"Yes of course," I nodded.

"I just wanted to make sure. You haven't seemed like yourself recently," Katsuki said, there was worry on his face.

"I've just been distracted with the work study, and before you ask, I can't talk about it," I said holding my hand up.

"Something serious is about to happen, isn't it?" Katsuki asked. I didn't say anything, I just looked away from him. "That's okay, I understand. Hopefully once whatever it is is over you will be back to your usual self. Night, Kanna."

I was surprised that he actually used my name. As he walked down the hall I called out to him, "Night Katsuki!" He looked over his shoulder and shrugged.

The next two days soared by. One night when I was sleeping I woke up to my phone buzzing. I wiped the tiredness from my eyes and looked at the message. It was a date for when we would rescue Eri. I quickly tossed on a jacket and my slippers and ran down stairs. If I had gotten this message then there was a good chance the others did too. We all met at the same time and showed the messages. We would finally have the chance to save that girl.

After I couldn't sleep. My mind kept racing so I made my way to Shota's room. I knocked on the door, unsure if he was awake or not. It only took a minute for him to answer and let me in. I laid in bed with him and talked about my worries until sleep took over.

The day before the actual mission we had another meeting at the Nighteye Agency. "Eri is at their HQ," Sir said once the meeting started.

"So this whole investigation was for nothing?!" The dark skinned pro from before asked. I had found out from Shota that his hero name was Rock Lock.

"No, we gained plenty of new intel as a result," Sir shook his head.

"How did you figure it out?" Another pro asked.

"A Hassaikai member was at a nearby department store the other day. He was purchasing this toy for young girls," Sir explained as he revealed a box.

"What the heck is that?" Rock Lock asked, looking closer at the toy.

"Maybe the guy has some weird hobbies," Fat Gum wondered. "Takes all kinds in this world."

Sir shook his head, "no, if the man had any personal interest in this product he wouldn't have been speaking the way he was. Also to be sure, I used my Foresight on him."

"Wait for real?" Rock Lock asked, surprised.

"As I explained the other day, I'll use it once I'm positive about something just to be doubly sure," Sir explained.

"So this means we are finally ready to take the fight to them," Fat Gum said, narrowing his eyes. I remembered his outburst the other day. I imagine he's been even more worried about Eri.

"We will stake the place out so we can be certain the jerk is home," Centipeder added.

"We just need to get warrants, hmm?" Gran Torino rubbed his chin.

"Let's do this!" Togata stepped forward. "Midoriya, Shichi, you ready?"

"Yeah!" Midoriya and I nodded with determination.

The day of the operation we met outside the police station at 8am. We were wearing our hero costumes. I had my hood down and my goggles around my neck still. I stood near my classmates, but Midoriya and I would end up with the Nighteye squad. They handed us papers, briefing us on the mission at hand. Once everyone was gathered the lead detective began speaking.

"Thanks to Nighteye's peek into the flunky's future, we've learned of a secret underground facility in the Hassaikai compound, an area not in the public records. And the little girl we are out to save was hidden away in a room down there. On his way to her room, from the underground entrance, the man didn't make any stops or detours. Because of that we weren't clued in to the whole layout of the basement. Still the route he took is the quickest path to our goal. This is critical information given the otherwise daunting prospect of searching the entire compound. We know where they are headed but if could still be a slog if they are any good with their quirks."

"On that note," The detective continued. "We have a list of these Hassaikai punks' registered quirks, as many as we could figure out anyway. Drill them into your heads. Don't give them time to take her away. We are hoping to capture every lowlife there as quickly as possible!"

Kirishima looked over the papers, "they aren't wasting any time, huh?"

"You're quite the morning person aren't you?" Amajiki asked timidly.

"I'm kinda nervous," Uraraka bit her lip.

"First it's detective work and now a full on police operation. Something new every day," Tsu put a finger on her chin in thought.

"They didn't teach us about this in school, so I had a hard time early on," Ryukyu said.

"All the pros are so calm! I guess they are used to it," Kirishima laughed nervously.

While I listened to them talk I paced around Midoriya. I too was nervous about this mission, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I took a deep breath and stood with Midoriya. "Gran Torino isn't here," he said looking around."I wonder why."

"It turns out he couldn't come," Sir said walking up to us.

"Tsukauchi learned of a big development in the League of Villains case," The lead detective explained. "He was distraught that he couldn't be here, but we've got plenty of people here so it's no great loss."

"Maybe Hassaikai and the League'll go down hard today!" Kirishima said energetically.

"Let's hope so," I said softly.

"Kanna, Midoriya," Shota called out as he approached.

"Mr.- I mean Eraserhead!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"You remember why I'm sticking around the Nighteye Agency squad right?" Shota looked at Midoriya.

"Yeah," Midoriya said with a short nod.

I let out a breath and hugged him, "Shota, I'm glad that you are here. Knowing that you have our backs makes me feel better. I love you and I'm gonna do my best!"

Shota wrapped his arms around me, "I love you too. I'm certain you will do just fine."

I pulled away and gave him a smile, "thanks Shota, I mean Eraserhead."

"Heroes!" The detective got our attention again. "They're probably gonna put up a fight, so if you spot any one of them resisting or trying anything funny, I'm counting on you guys to deal with it. We're up against a mafia group that's somehow survived until now. So don't let your guard down for even a second. Get in there and do what you gotta do! Now move out!"

I pulled my hood on and my goggles, I was ready. I looked at Togata and Midoriya and gave them a short nod.

It was 8:30am when we reached the compound. We were lined up with our agencies. I stood between Shota and Midoriya. I clenched my fists and let out a deep breath. Being nervous wasn't going to help me. Shota patted my shoulder and gave me a reassuring nod.

"Once I read off the warrant things are going to start moving," The detective explained. "So let's try and end this quickly."

As he went to press the speaker button a voice suddenly called out. "We Yakuza have always lurked in the shadows, hidden away, but don't expect us to flinch just cause the police and some heroes are out to get us."

The gates suddenly burst open as a bulky villain, with a plague mask, slammed into them. Three officers went soaring into the air. "Help them!" Shota called out.

Midoriya and I leapt up into the air. I grabbed one and he grabbed the other. I used my air quirk to land us safely on the ground. I quickly looked and saw that Shota had used his capture scarf to save the other officer.

"Thank you," the officer said to me.

"No problem," I nodded.

"It's kinda early for so many guests," the villain taunted. This was where it would begin.