A few days passed by, and as they did, I was passed around to each member of the league, who took care of me like the sick creature I was.

Mr. Compress seemed to have taken over the father role Kurogiri had left vacant, and I enjoyed listening to the stories he had to share about his time as a performer.

Toga would just sit and yap on about her love for one of the first year boys at UA, playing with my hair and gushing like the teen she was.

Twice had been surprisingly gentle with me; both sides of him, and confided to me that he was terrified whenever they faced off against Gigantomachia. The entire story about how he wasn't sure if he was the original Bubaigawara was saddening, and I could understand his fear.

Spinner didn't really know what the hell he was doing. He'd remain quiet, occasionally nudging me to make sure I was still alive. Of course, I appreciated the gesture, but he wasn't the most gentle of souls.

Mustard and Shigaraki were, by far, my favourite to be left with. The latter didn't have much time to spare, but whenever he had a moment, he'd spend it by me. Mustard didn't like that at all, and he would always linger, the daggers he glared obvious, even through the red lenses of his mask.

The strange oil Shigaraki had been giving me seemed to help, and after four days I was able to function like a real human again, though I was still incredibly lethargic and sore all over.
"I need a bath..." I announced with a huff, slowly climbing to my feet and attempting to click all of my bones back into place.

"It's freezing, (Y/N)...If you go in the water you'll get sick again." Mustard pointed out sternly, jumping up to make sure I wasn't going to run off and dive into the nearby river.
"Look me in the eye and tell me I don't smell like skunk piss." Narrowing my (E/C) eyes at the boy, I slightly smirked to myself when he turned his head away, scratching at the side of his cheek.

Yup. Skunk piss is putting it lightly.

"Don't worry, Hiso, I'm just gonna use a rag to freshen up a bit. For all our sakes." Softening, I grabbed the shredded remains of his black gakuren, ripping off another two sections to use, just as everybody else had when they wanted to wash up. Mustard was now only wearing his white undershirt, which wasn't fairing too well either.

I set off towards the river, the faint trickling sound guiding me, and Mustard followed close behind, hands fondling his helmet as he carried it.
"Do ya think Dabi's doing okay? I mean, he didn't really tell us much about his mission, so it's probably big..." He asked curiously, staring at the ground as he purposely avoided each and every twig he could.

I miss him.. 

"It's Dabi. Of course he's doing okay. All I know is that he's testing some Nomu out for Ujiko, so he should be back pretty soon." He had been on my mind for the majority of the time, apart from when I was alone with Shigaraki. It was unnerving how he'd vanish from my thoughts whenever that man was around me, but something inside of me was telling me that it was fine. It was normal.

Reaching the lake, two fuzzy black ears sprung out upon my head, flattening instantly as a growl tore through my throat. The few animals lingering around scattered at the sound, and I puffed out my chest, feeling accomplished.

Why did I scare them off? I love animals, don't I?

"I wonder what kind of Nomu it is...Some of them are next level ugly. Like, fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down type of ug-OHMYGODWHATAREYOUDOING?!"

"Hmm?" I glanced over my shoulder as I paused lifting my tattered shirt, quirking a brow. "Well I can't exactly clean up through these, now can I?" The boy was bright red from the neck up, and he shielded himself as though I were a bomb about to go off.
"B..bu..but...I..I'm right here..?!" He stammered, voice at least five octives higher than usual. "A child! An innocent child!"

Snorting, I gave him a look that said 'oh really?', resuming in stripping down to my underwear.
"Hisoka, sweetie, it's skin. I'm not naked. Besides, I've seen all of you, anyway." My response caused him to squeak out unintelligible jabbers for a few moments until he managed to wrangle his tongue.
"Y..y..you..you what..?!" He shrieked, spinning around on his heel, stiff as a board. "You've s..seen no such thing..!"

He's still got a lot of growing up to do...

Tossing my clothes a little ways away from the bank, I sat down, dipping my legs in the icy water. It wasn't too bad after the first few seconds, but the goosebumps remained.
"Who do you think changed you and washed you when you were recovering, dumb-dumb?" I chuckled, dunking one of the shreds of material into the water.

Mustard was amusingly silent for a long while, up until he coughed awkwardly.
"J..just so you know...I..I'm still growing...and the old base was pretty cold...so..." It took everything I had not to break down into wild laugher, my lungs squeezing uncomfortably as I tried to hold it in.
"Whatever you say, Hiso." I snickered, glancing at him from the corner of my eye as I scrubbed at the filth on my skin. "You're pretty scrappy yourself. I brought another bit of your dead uniform if you wanna wash up."

He really did look like shit, and not just because of the dirt and muck on his body. The bags under his eyes were certainly not Gucci, and his complexion had grown much more pale than it should ever have been. His appearance was reminiscent of how he looked when we had rescued him from the hospital, and I worried about him.

"N..nah...I'm good...You do your half-naked thing and I'll...uh...stand way over here and look at this...neat leaf..." Mustard replied, his voice still not recovered from before.
"Tadashi Hisoka, you sit your ass down and practice proper hygiene before I suplex you into the river." My tone grew much more stern than his had ever been, and within the minute he was sitting a few feet down from where I was, hunched over and covering his boxers.

What peaked my concern though was the fact that; despite his obvious nerves, he had pivoted his body so only the front faced me.
"I prefer sister mode over mother mode...Just saying..." He pouted, holding his hand out, asking for the spare material scrap.

He's hiding something...

"You know what I prefer..?" I leaned across and; instead of placing the rag in his hand, grabbed his wrist, yanking him closer and spinning him around, making him yip. "Not hiding shit mode." I knew he had been hiding something, but it didn't make it any easier to see the horrendously dark dapple of black and blue across the expanse of his back. It looked so painful, and I felt his skin quiver as I held him by the shoulders.

"It probably looks a lot worse than it is..." He started quickly, refusing to look at me. "How am I supposed to not get the shit kicked out of me when we're up against someone like that huge bastard?" He was right, sure, but that didn't make me any less worried. Not only was there bruising, but there were small cuts and grazes on his discolored skin, each one looking enflamed and on the way towards infection.

Without uttering a word, I began to dab at them with the cool water, flinching along with the boy as his wounds stung.
"Why didn't you say anything..?" I questioned after a while, trying to get as much grit out of the flaring cuts as I could.
"Why should I complain about it? The others have injuries too, so I'm not special. I can't keep being weaker than them...I gotta..." His posture slumped, and his voice grew much softer. "...I gotta make the second chance you gave me worth it..."

Hisoka...

My chest squeezed as I looked into the coral-reef hues that painted his back, knowing that if I squeezed the boy into a hug it would hurt him.
"When it's me, you can complain all you want." I told him gently, beginning to wet his ashy hair and comb it with my fingers. "Expressing your feelings doesn't make you any less of a villain, or a man. You know, I can already see how much you've grown in the last few weeks. Not just with the extra muscle, either."

Mustard wiped at his eyes as a few drips of water trickled from his hair, turning his head a little to look at me as I untangled his knots.
"It isn't enough, though. Like, my ability is shit, I can't throw a decent punch to save my life, and my quirk isn't designed for teamwork...All I can really do is run around like some stupid idiot and distract the fat fuck while the others attack..."

Sighing, I handed him his rag over his shoulder, going back to my own self cleanup.
"Y'know, there's more to a fight than just brawn. You have smarts, and I've seen that. Do you know how many students were taken out by your attack on the summer camp? You dealt a big blow, and you didn't even have to lift a finger. If Tetsutetsu and that other girl hadn't managed to get through to you-"

"But they did! That's the problem! Even with a gun I couldn't do shit! I've gotta get stronger, and I've gotta do it as fast as possible! You threw everything that mattered to you away because I sc..screwed up! I can't give that all back to you, b..but I can try to make it worth it, y'know?!" Squeezing his eyes shut, Mustard hurriedly dipped his hands into the water, splashing his face to wash away the stray tears I had already seen.

It hurt me to know he was still feeling guilty. No matter how many times I had explained to him how I was the one who made the call, or how it was absolutely worth it, it never got through to him. There was no changing the way he felt, and it sucked.
"Hey, why don't we head back and we can play a game or something? I know we don't have a console...or electricity...but we could do something to pass the time until the others get back?"

It's at least something to do until we can pull our weight again...

Nodding, Mustard swept his hair back, looking down into his reflection.
"Sure, that sounds good..." He murmured, chewing on his bottom lip as he seemed to mull over something in his head. "Do you ever...wonder about Dabi? Like, where he came from..?" His question took me by surprise, and I slowly stood up, offering him a hand.
"Well, of course I do. I only know his name, after all." I chuckled, pulling him to his feet.
"It's just...you haven't really been as close to him as you used to be...Kinda like he's second best to Shigaraki..." The boy confessed, hurrying to pull his pants back on, hopping on one leg.

Is he trying to focus my attention on Touya again? It hasn't changed that much...has it..?

"They're both important to me. I love Dabi, and I love Tomura, but in totally different ways. I already spoke to him about it." I explained, grunting as my hair got tangled in one of my shirt buttons. "I love you, too, again in a totally different way. Dabi's my boyfriend, Tomura's my master, and you're my little brother." Mustard scooped up his helmet, pouting as he shook a number of insects out of it before tucking it under his arm.

"That master thing is really creepy..." He muttered under his breath, clearing his throat to try and cover it. "What if I told you...I knew more than you do about Dabi? Rather, I know more about Touya..?" He really had my attention now, but I was unsure. How could he know more?
"He'd probably try to fry you if he knew you were trying to dig up his past, Hisoka." I chuckled, though my warning was all too real.

"Why do you think he had me by the collar when you walked in that one time? He knows I know. I think he expects me to keep my mouth shut, but if you want to know, then I'll tell you. I reckon it's something you should know..." The boy confessed, following me as I started back towards the camp.

I want to...I really do...but...

It was a difficult choice. Of course I wanted to know more about my mysterious boyfriend, but was it anyone else's place to tell me? If he wanted me to know, he would have told me himself.
"I appreciate it, but for the time being I think I'd rather not know. I mean, there has to be a reason why he hasn't told me, right?" I glanced over to the brunet, having to look up a little due to his recent growth spurt.

"Oh, there is..." Mustard whistled, drumming his fingers against the surface of his helmet absently. "It's your choice, but if you ever change your mind, just let me know." The remainder of our trip back was quiet and uneventful, save for the loud squeal Mustard uttered when he ran into an inhabited spider web. Once we were back under the shelter and had made sure that no creepy crawlies had tried to hitch a ride on the younger teen, I sat down, letting the boy lean back into my chest.

"Comfy?" I chuckled, brushing at the wavy tips of Mustard's hair as he hummed, crossing his ankles.
"Yup." He murmured, tracing the striped stamp on the side of his helmet. "(Y/N), once all this is over...when we win...can I stay with you..? Like...you keep saying I'm your brother, and I don't know if you really mean it or not...and even though I don't like Dabi that much because he's a crispy bitch...can I still stay..?"

Abandoning his hair, I wrapped my arms around his front, giving him a light squeeze whilst being mindful of his bruised back.
"Even if things don't go our way, we're family now, alright? All of us." I assured him, planting a squeaky smooch to the back of his head. "I mean every word and promise I make to you, hun."

I've always wanted a little brother or sister...and now I actually have one.

"I'm glad..." Mustard moved his hand up to rest upon one of my arms, pulling up a knee and sitting his mask on top. "So, what should we play? The others won't be back for a while."

"Have you ever heard of I'm Going On a Picnic..?"

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***I hate this chapter but I love Mustard and he actually ranked pretty high in the new popularity poll? Number 36, right above Eri! Please keep loving our precious baby fart so Horikoshi has no choice but to write him back into the manga :')

Next time: Oh no, I've got a disease-***