The temperature continued to drop as (L/N) rose in altitude, leaving behind the forest to join the stars until the ground below disappeared beneath the clouds. He didn't know where he was going. He had no destination in mind, no intention. All he knew was that he needed to get away. Away from the noise and the confusion and, most importantly, away from her. He couldn't think clearly when he was around her, as if her mere presence robbed him of all logic. He needed to escape. The problem was no matter how far he ran, she was always with him, stuck inside his head. Her voice echoed inside his head, so soothing and gentle. Her scent, like a spring day after a heavy rain, carrying the smell of fresh peaches on the wind, filled his nostrils with every breath he took. And the warmth of her touch, the warmth of her presence, oh how it filled him.

Among the clouds, he shook those thoughts from his head. She was a dream, he reminded himself. A distraction that made him forget who he was. He couldn't allow it. He couldn't allow himself to forget. He was (F/N) (L/N) and he was alone. He had to be because he was dangerous. He may not like fiction, but he had heard enough fairytales to understand; he wasn't the hero of the story. He was the villain that killed his parents. He was the monster that hurt the little girl. He was the beast that no one could love.

But when he was with her all that seemed to change. How did she make him forget that? How did she make him forget why he was alone? All the safeguards he'd created to keep people out and all the walls he'd put up to keep himself in, it was like she just ignored them all. She was so close. Too close. Any further and she just might see him for who he was. If she did, would she stay? Was it possible that she could... care about him?

"Enough." (L/N) said to himself through gritted teeth. "That's not what this is about. It's about keeping them safe."

That's right. It didn't matter what she thought about him. It didn't matter what anyone thought about him. All that mattered was they don't get close.

'Keep them away so they can't hurt you.' He thought to himself. 'No, wait. Keep them away so you can't hurt them.'

"Keep them away so you can't hurt them." He said aloud.

His grandparents left him.

"Keep them away so you can't hurt them."

Kendo left him.

"Keep them away so you can't hurt them."

Yaoyorozu would leave him.

"Keep them away so... so you can't... hurt them."

But what about when they hurt him? The Watcher's question echoed in his ears once more. What is it you want? And why do you want it?

"I want to control my quirk," he answered, "because I don't want them to... I don't want them to get hurt."

Yes, that was the answer, he decided. He didn't want to hurt anyone else, and the closer Yaoyorozu got the more likely it became that he would hurt her. The same way he had hurt his parents. The same way he had hurt Kendo. And when he did, she would leave him. That didn't matter. All that mattered was she leave now to avoid the pain. Avoid the pain he would cause when he hurt her.

He took several deep breaths to clear his mind. In through the nose and out through the mouth. All he needed to do was recenter himself and remember who he was and why he had to be alone. Let go of the scent of her hair. Let go of the sound of her voice. Let go of her warmth. He was (F/N) (L/N), he was dangerous, and was alone.

After a few more deep breaths Yaoyorozu finally began to leave his mind. The scent of rain and peaches was gone, replaced by smoke. The sound of her calming voice disappeared and screaming took its place. Her warmth left him, but the heat of white and blue flames now licked at his skin. Below him the world was on fire.

[My Hero Academia]

From his vantage point in the sky, (L/N) could sense where the flames had spread. The trees and shrubbery surrounding the Wild, Wild Pussycats' Mountain base had been set ablaze and the fire was now traveling inwards. This was no accident, he knew. The situation was the same as it had been at the USJ. The camp was surrounded, their escape routes cut off, and based on the panicked screams and sounds of battle coming from below, villains had already begun pouring in.

Returning to the ground (L/N) dropped beneath the trees, flying low to the ground. Rocks and fallen leaves were kicked up in a dust cloud that trailed behind him as he sped through the forest, traveling faster than he ever had in the past. This close to the action he couldn't sense anything very far. The smoke from the fire combined with the darkness of the night was interfering with his quirk, but he knew he had left her somewhere around this spot.

As he continued further down the forest path, the sudden presence of Mandalay's voice ringing in his brain caused him to lose focus and sent him veering off into the trees.

"Villains have surrounded our location and are closing in." The voice said as he picked himself up out of the small crater he'd made in the dirt. "Do not engage in combat! Everyone is to return to camp immediately."

The telepathic message ended, leaving (L/N) still reeling with the odd sensation of someone's voice being projected directly into his mind. The light around his body flickered out as he shook his head, reorienting himself. The smell of smoke was feinter this deep in the forest, replaced instead by a pungent sulfuric smell, like burning garlic. The scent reminded him of a time at Shonien's when some of the children had gotten their hands on the custodian's cleaning supplies and unwittingly mixed bleach and toilet bowl cleaner. It didn't take him long to register what was happening. Someone had flooded the forest with mustard gas.

His skin and nostrils burned for a few seconds before the light slowly enveloped him once more. The dim glow around his body shielded him from the poisonous vapors as he flew deeper into the cloud of gas. Mandalay's warning had come too late, and she didn't have the full scope of the situation. If he had to guess, he alone knew how widespread this attack was. So, ignoring her instructions, he continued his search. If he ran into any of his classmates, he'd clear away the gas to give them a chance to breathe before directing them to the campgrounds, but he wasn't leaving until he made sure Yaomomo was safe.

He passed Kodai from Class B about ten minutes later, watching over an unconscious Ibara and Juzo. The three were all equipped with gas masks, so he didn't bother stopping. After another few minutes he heard a familiar voice just a little further down the path, so he sped up to rendezvous with them.

"(L/N)." Kendo heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of him.

"Kendo," (L/N) asked seriously, landing next to her, "where's Yaoyorozu?"

"I don't know." She answered. "I haven't seen her. But Tetsutetsu..."

"Yeah, she gave me these gas masks when I ran into her." The silver-haired boy told him. "But that was over twenty minutes ago."

"Where was she headed?"

"Deeper into the forest, I think." Tetsutetsu said. "She said she was going to look for the others."

Nodding his thanks, (L/N) took to the sky once more, ignoring Kendo who tried to call him back.

[My Hero Academia]

The whole world was fuzzy, and she felt like she might vomit. What happened to her? The last thing she could remember she and Awase from Class B were looking for their classmates. The poisonous gas had dissipated, and they were able to remove their gas masks, but after that she couldn't remember any further. Her head was throbbing and felt like it was going to split open, and she could just barely register the feeling of something warm trickling down her forehead and into her eyes. Was it blood?

She tried to open her eyes, but it only served to worsen her already splitting migraine. Even with her lids still closed she was seeing stars, but the feeling of Awase's hands under her arms roughly dragging her through the trees told her something was chasing them. And by the way he was screaming, though muffled by her concussion, seemed to indicate that whatever that something was, was gaining on them.

"Yaoyorozu, are you alive?" Awase asked in a shouted panic. "If you are, please wake up now! It's gonna catch us!"

"I'm sorry... Awase." She muttered, struggling to get each word past her lips. "I'm... alive, but..."

She couldn't say anymore, she didn't have the strength. It was all she could do to just stay conscious, but even that was proving too much. She could feel herself beginning to fade. Was she going to die here, before she'd even had a chance to truly live? But there were so many things she still wanted to do. She wanted to graduate from UA High School, become a professional hero and carry on her family's tradition. She wanted to make her parents proud and spend more time with her friends. She wanted to travel more, to see the world and experience other cultures. At least, she thought, she didn't have any regrets. But she did wish she had the chance to get to know him better. There was so much about him she wanted to discover. What he looked like when he smiled. What color his eyes were.

Exhausted, Awase slowed to a stop. "What the hell? What are those?" He asked, petrified. "Oh no. Oh God, I'm so sorry."

He wrapped his arm around her to try to protect her and closed his eyes. Yaoyorozu could hear their assailant drawing nearer, crashing through the trees as it screamed... her name?

"Momo!"