The class sat in silence, nothing but the scribble of pens filling the room. We were working on some maths. Someone knocked on the door and entered.

"Hello there, Eraserhead. Principle Nezu has called for Miss Hinami Hata." Zap smiled. Father looked up with a scowl.

"I thought that Nezu was out of the school for a meeting." Zap faltered slightly.

"Yes. Well apparently he's back. Don't shoot the messenger!" Me and Father shared a look before he nodded and I left. The walk to Nezu's office was tense; for me, anyway. Zap was talking away, greeting everyone we passed cheerily. He held the door open for me and I entered the office. Everything was silent.

"Principle Nezu?" As I looked around me, I heard the door close. Then lock. Turning in surprise, I saw Zap walking away from the door with a twisted grin. I ran to the door, but he grabbed my blazer and pulled me back.

"I'm sorry to have to do this to a child. But you were catching on so quickly, I could tell from the way that your stupid little buddies looked at me." He spat. "And then my secretary called to say someone had been snooping around my office-" What was going on? Had I been right all along? He began pacing the room, monologuing and ignoring me and my shock.

"Could you imagine my surprise? When I discovered that there was another Hata? That I had missed one of you? Ha! Your family were always like cockroaches, so I suppose the apple fell straight down. I was so sure that I had been thorough. You really do look just like your father, you know. And I'm sure that you're just as annoying and persistent as he was. I mean, your house was torched and, yet, here you stand before me. Happy, and healthy, and youthful, and disgusting. If your parents could see you now, all heroic... they'd be turning in their graves. If they'd have had any bodies left for a grave, that is." He cackled.

"What are you even-"

"How does it feel? How does it feel knowing that you're the last of your lineage? The final Hata? Well? Answer me!"

"I-I-"

"I can't hear you."

"I don't know." I managed to squeak. He took a step forward. I took a step back.

"Pathetic. Look at you, quaking in your boots. It's a miracle that you survived. Look at me. Look me in the eyes and know that I was the one that murdered your parents." My vision blurred as I stepped back even further. "Aw! Are you crying? Blub blub, baby." He mocked cruelly.

"W-what do you want?"

"What do I want? I want to finish what I started. Your family were the bane of the police; they were untouchable. I ended that. You being alive is a risk. You are a danger to yourself, to your family, to your friends. And you always will be. You can't run away from who you are. And you can't run away from all of the people who want you. Like me." By now, my back was pressed against the wall, but Zap kept on creeping closer. Hot tears were threatening to spill. My pulse sped up. I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. "I'm just doing you a favour."

"I didn't do anything to you. Why are you doing this?" My cheeks were wet. My voice cracked.

"Your ridiculous excuse of a family killed my parents. They were journalists. They got too close to uncovering the Hata's secrets. So they were killed. In cold blood."

"S-so you were all alone as a kid? Well I-I was too. We aren't so-so different." I managed between sharp inhales.

"Don't compare us!" He yelled, making me flinch. My hands flew in front of my face, hands curled tightly into fists. He wouldn't hit me. Would he? Oh my God, what if he hit me? "We are nothing alike!" After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Zap stood directly in front of me. I pressed my back as close to the wall as possible, trying to find a way out. I could jump out of the window, but it was three stories up. By the time I got to the door and unlocked it, Zap would catch me. My mirror was in my bag. In class.

What could I do?

"I watched your parents scream for mercy and writhe as they burnt to ashes. Now I'm going to watch you writhe too. Like the worm you are." A dry laugh escaped him as he shot his hand out and grabbed my throat, pushing me up the wall. "The bloodline ends with you." I gasped, trying to get as much air in as I could. He was way too strong for me to fight him off. I thrashed, I kicked, I clawed at his hand, I scratched at his face, all to no avail. Large droplets were streaming down my face as I silently screamed for help. Zap tightened his grip even more. Dark spots clouded my vision.

Then I remembered.

My bracelet!

I barely managed to reach my bracelet and started pressing the button as many times as I could. Nothing happened. Terror overtook my body as my stomach churned and saliva filled my mouth, making it even harder to get any air. Ringing sounds filled my ears as my arms fell limp and my feet started tingling. Fear crashed over me like a tidal wave.

I'm going to die if he carries on.

I'm really going to die.

"Get your fucking hands off of her!"

Suddenly, the pressure on my neck was gone. My knees crashed into something hard. Gulping up as much air as I could, I slowly looked up. Shigaraki was facing off with Zap. The 'hero' had a red cheek. Shigaraki had punched him. Still gasping for breath and shaking violently, I curled myself into a ball and continued to let the tears fall down my face. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Shigaraki. What if he lost and Zap killed both of us? I regretted getting him involved. When Zap tried to elbow Shig, he grabbed it, and the rubbery suit he was wearing seemingly disappeared. Then, his skin started to crumble and bleed. He made a noise of pain and tried to pull away.

"If you ever put your hands on her again, I will personally kill you." Shigaraki growled before whacking his fist into Zap's temple, sending him unconscious. Once Zap's body crumpled to the floor, Shig made his way over to my sobbing form. He stood over me, mouth open and a question on his lips. Suddenly, the door burst open. I started violently and covered my face with my forearms.

"Get away!" Nemuri! Shig sent me a sympathetic look before jumping in the portal and disappearing. I cried harder. Nemuri put her hand on my shoulder but I instantly pushed her off. She walked away and, after only a few minutes, my parents both came sprinting in as fast as they could.

"Hinami!" Father knelt down next to me and held me close, breathing heavily from running. I sobbed even harder.

"Ugh..." Zap groaned as he woke up. "Principle? Nemuri? Is Hinami alright? That villain came in and attacked us!" I shook my head.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Dad asked. My tongue felt swollen and my voice wasn't working. So I simply pointed at Zap. "Sweetie what are you-?" I lifted my head and pointed to my neck. They both gasped.

"Oh my god... Shou should we take her to the hospital? That looks bad..."

"I tried to stop him. That villainous scum." Zap cursed.

"It's okay. You did what you could." Nemuri comforted him.

No! No no no!

He was twisting the story. And they were all believing him! I wanted to yell at them.

You're all wrong! It was him! He isn't a hero at all! He killed my parents and I'm next!

But my panic attack was still in full swing and my throat was burning. So I just cried even more. I had moved on to loud, open mouthed sobs that racked my entire frame. I was almost screaming, despite the fact that every noise clawed at the back of my throat. Father pulled me even closer as he shared a concerned look with my dad.

"This issue with the League of Villains is getting more and more severe." Principle Nezu stated, making his way over to his desk. "Let's keep this under wraps as much as we can. Is that alright with all of you?" Everyone nodded. I buried my head in my hands. "I also think that now is a good time to start discussing our security measures and an idea that I've been toying with for a while... Dorms."

"How could you say that? A villain just broke in and attacked my little girl and you want her and her class to move in?" Father raised his voice angrily, but was careful not to shout while next to me.

"I understand your distress. We'll continue this once we have properly dealt with Zap and Hinami."

"Dealt w-"

"Shouta. Not now, okay? I know how you feel. I'm angry that Hinami got hurt too. But let's just... keep calm, my love." Dad said softly. Father took a deep breath before leaning his head on mine and silencing himself. I looked up and met Zap's gaze. He glared at me and I looked back down again. I tugged Father's arm. We looked at each other for a moment and I hoped that he understood what I was trying to say.

"I'm taking Hinami home." Nezu opened his mouth but was cut off. "Don't. We're going. Don't think that I'm going to just brush this off because I've dealt with villains before, because I'm a teacher, because I'm a hero. I'm a father before any of those things. My daughter is the most important person to me. So for her sake, I'm taking her home." With that, he picked me up gently and took me out of the room.

"I'll stay and sort this out. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Make sure my stupid class is sorted out, too. Bakugo has probably already assaulted Midoriya twice by now." They nodded at each other and we left.

By the time we got to the car, my tears had stopped. I was still struggling to breath a little, but that was more to do with the fact that my throat was swollen. When we pulled into the drive, neither of us made a move to get into the car. Father sighed heavily and put his forehead against the steering wheel. I reached over and put my hand over his. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. When Father sat up, his eyes were shining sadly.

"Dad..." I croaked. He looked at me, a sad expression on his face.

"Let's go inside." Once we were indoors, he pulled me into another tight hug. "Baby... my baby girl. I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologise." I said horsley. "It wasn't your fault."

"I'm supposed to keep you safe. I love you so much. I wasn't even the one to save you. What if I can't get to you next time? What if- I'm sorry."

"Dad, I love you too. Please stop this. The fault lies with two people here. Me and Zap. This was not your fault at all. Please stop apologising and blaming yourself." He held me at arms length before rubbing his eyes and giving me a watery smile.

"Okay... You're so brave and grown-up. I'm so proud of you. You're my entire world. Never forget that. Promise me you won't?"

"Of course I won't. Never."

"That's my girl. Now let's get something to soothe your throat."

After eating some ice cream in front of the tv, drinking honey and lemon tea, and getting plenty of cuddles from my tabby, I felt a lot better. Physically, anyway. Once I was safely in my room, I pressed my bracelet thrice, slowly this time. I only had to wait for a few seconds for Shigaraki to appear in front of me.

"I'm sorry."

"Hinami, are you okay?"

"Are you?"

"You're the one who almost got choked to death."

"Yeah, let's not use that phrase."

"Sorry..." We looked away for a moment. I decided to engulf him in a hug. Instead of hugging me back, he lifted his hands in the air and away from me.

"What are you doing?" We asked each other at the same time.

"I'm hugging you."

"I'm making sure that I don't touch you."

"Why?"

"So that I don't use my quirk on you accidentally." I let go and took a step back.

"What is your quirk? It looked painful." Shigaraki gave me a run down of his quirk, decay, and how it works. "Why don't you wear something on your fingers?"

"Because it would be touching all of my fingers." Having an idea, I rummaged in a draw for a moment before pulling out a pair of black gloves and grabbing a pair of scissors. After a few snips, I held them out to Shigaraki, who daintily picked them up with his thumb and forefinger. When he put them on, he saw that I had cut them so that it was just the wristband and the far side of the glove that covered his ring fingers and little fingers. I then handed him a ball of paper. He held it in his hand and nothing happened.

"Why did I never think of this?"

"Becuase you're fucking stupid, duh."

"I saved your life."

"And I'll be forever grateful... dumbass." Before he could scold me, I decided to try that hug again.

"You're a very huggy person..."

"I wasn't until I met Mina and Kaminari."

"The pink one and the other blonde one?"

"The other blonde? Ouch. But yes." After a stiff and awkward hug, Shigaraki asked.

"Why did you call me here?"

"To say thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there. And... You're kinda getting the blame for everything. So I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. I think I can live with one more crime on my record."

"But you didn't do it." I narrowed my eyes as he just shrugged.

"Life isn't black and white, Hinami. You'd do well to remember that."

"I don't think I can forget it... A hero killed my parents... and he almost killed me too..."

"Wait. He did it? Toga was looking into it and- I should have disintegrated his face." He growled under his breath.

"Shig. He's going to get away with this. He's still going to be a 'hero'. I don't know what to do. I don't know who to trust."

"Trust me." He replied, as if it were simple. We looked into each other's eyes for a few long moments. I nodded.

"I'll try."

"That Zap will get what's coming to him."

"They're not going to believe me!"

"Make them."

"It's not that-" I realised that I was raising my voice, so I dropped it back down in case I was heard. "It's not that easy. That would mean outing you, outing us. I'm in cohorts with a villain in one of the most notorious new villain groups."

"Well, if you won't tell anyone, I'll get you justice in a different way." He said determinedly.

"Don't. Don't tell me anything. I don't want to know."

"Of course not, little hero." I gave him a quick small smile. "I should get going. That offer is still there, by the way. Our place will always have a spare room if you need it."

"I told you before. I don't run away from my problems."

"Maybe it would be better if you started to."

"Thank you again, Shig. And I'm sorry."

"I'd do it again a thousand times over as long as it kept you safe. I'll always be there to protect you. Just buzz if you need me." And without giving me a chance to say anything else, he stepped back through the portal and disappeared, leaving me alone with my thoughts again.

The scene played in my head, and I couldn't help but snort.

Now I wish he did hit me.

(A/N)

Sorry for dipping for a while. I'm doing a double update to make up for it (and I'll update again on Tuesday as normal). I'll elaborate more in the next chapter.