🌸Before you Read🌸

🌸While this chapter is fairly long, I had to cut a lot of things from it to make it flow better.

🌸There were a TON of things I had to cut/change in this short fic, so I'm going to be updating my random book with little tidbits about that, if anyone is interested.

🌸Hope you all include this conclusion of Summer Vacation!

🌸Falling🌸

After everything that had happened, we decided to take things easy, especially for Tami's sake. True, it was really just Misaki, Tami, and me who really had to deal with that villain, so it was easy for everyone to quickly go back to having fun at the beach. No one said anything to Tami about her turning into a clam and how dangerous that could've been.

From what I heard from Misaki, it would've been worse if she turned into a starfish. At least clams could hold their breaths much longer as long as they were shut and not pried open. Some starfish couldn't even last thirty seconds. Knowing Tami's luck, well, let's just say I was happy that she was alright.

No one said a word to my sister about it when she picked us up and dropped us off at the beach house. While we all went back to clean up and get ready for the night, she must've taken the opportunity to leave. I didn't even notice until I walked out of my room to see her walking through the front door with some grocery bags in her hands. All of my friends were either still in their rooms or were outside hanging around a campfire Kaito must've started.

When Hatsuko saw me, she waved me over and told me to help her with the bags. Being that we had the same Quirk, she didn't really need help. It was just her way of getting me away from all my friends. Not that any of them were around, so it didn't really matter. Still, I took one of the bags from her and followed her to the large kitchen, watching her place her backs on the marble countertop before putting the groceries away in the fridge.

"So," Hatsuko said with her back towards me. "What happened?"

I leaned over the counter top, peering into the bag I had brought in to see three dozen boxes of sparklers. It was such a childish thing, but knowing my sister, I didn't question it.

"What do you mean, 'what happened?'" I asked.

Hatsuko sighed as she turned around. Her long ponytail whipped around as she turned, nearly smacking her forehead when she looked me in the eye. "Your friend with the purple highlights had scratches all over her arms when you guys came back. Poor Tami seems more on edge than she usually does, and that pink haired girl is being cautious, even around her boyfriend."

I raised an eyebrow at her last comment. "Yukimura and Akiba aren't dating."

My sister rolled her eyes. "Gosh you're dense. If they're not dating now, they might as well be by the end of the trip with the way they've been hanging around each other. That's besides the point, Raiden. What happened that set everyone on edge?"

I drew in a deep breath, glancing out the window. When Dad first bought this place, he made sure it had a gigantic kitchen for Mamá to cook. It became her favorite pastime ever since she retired from being a Pro, which was good seeing how many of us had the Quirk, Ultra Strength. We needed to be eating foods with protein almost every hour to keep us from losing muscles or growing weak.

With how big it was, there was only one window that showed what was going on outside. I could see Kaito, Mori, and Misaki all huddled around the fire, telling stories of some sort. At least, that was what I could assume as Kaito used his arms as he talked while the other two listened. From the kitchen, it was hard to see that the girl got hurt, but I knew it was a different story if we were right next to her.

Again, it was all my fault.

"A villain attacked," I told Hatsuko. "Had it not been for Misaki and the others, I'm not sure what would've happened."

Hatsuko let out a heavy sigh as I felt her footsteps grow near. I turned my head to see her sliding a small bowl of peanuts. While I didn't say anything about it, I grabbed a few and started eating them.

"Did you find out who they were?" she asked.

"The Infernal Order," I answered, "again."

She didn't have to question what I meant by that as she slipped her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. It wasn't that it was cold inside as much as it was that she always wore the thing indoors. Hatsuko was weird like that.

"To think they were done for a while," she sighed. "Guess my search continues to figure out who these hooligans are. Keep an extra eye on Tami, alright?"

I nodded my head as I watched her grab the bags I brought inside and took them out. I knew I should've followed her, but I didn't.

If only I had trained harder, I thought to myself as I ate more of the salty peanuts my sister had handed me. There was so much I could've prevented if I had just trained harder. A hero should never stop training. Even if they were taking it easy in training, at least something could be learned from it.

My mind quickly started to replay the moments of that attack. Hearing her words that she wanted Tami, it made me sick. Tami was a person, not some object for sale. The way that they continued to come after her, it only fueled me to want to put an end to them once and for all.

My fingers scraped the end of the bowl, snapping me out of my thoughts. I didn't even realize that I had eaten the entire bowl until that moment. I grabbed it and walked over to the dishwasher that was under the sink. There were some dirty dishes from dinner still laying inside, making me realize Kaito forgot to push the clean button.

Honestly, I couldn't rely on him for anything, but my friends couldn't always rely on me either, not when I could've let that villain attack me.

Neko, I remembered. What was the name of the other one Tami talked about?

"Doing okay?"

I turned around to see the quietest member of our friend group: Hikaru Akiba. His most defining feature was something that couldn't be seen with the naked eye, but that was how most Quirks worked.

Thinking about it, I ignored his question to ask one of my own.

"Did you happen to read that villain's mind?" I asked. "The one from the beach."

Akiba let out a heavy sigh as he walked over towards the cabinet and pulled out a glass. I watched as he silently made his way to the sink to get some water. For a moment, I thought he was avoiding the question, almost as if he didn't want to tell me what was going on in her mind.

But what came out of his mouth was something completely different.

"My Quirk only works when I touch someone, Yamamoto," he explained as he turned off the faucet. He glanced over at me, showing off his unusual silver eyes. "Even if I could read her mind, I doubt it would be anything useful. She looked like she gave up by the time we found you."

As much as I hated it, Akiba had a point. It was pointless even asking. I just couldn't help but feel useless as my Quirk couldn't do much. Had it not been for Misaki, had it not been for Kita and Mori getting there when they did, I might as well be as good as dead.

The boy let out a heavy sigh after he placed the glass on the counter. His eyes were fixed on the window, so I followed his gaze to see him staring at our friends. Hatsuko was outside, handing out sparklers to Kaito and Misaki while Kita and Sakura took the stuff to make s'mores. Everyone seemed so relaxed, so at ease, despite what happened.

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Akiba said, as he glanced at me in the corner of his eyes, not moving his head from the window. "We all made mistakes today."

I raised an eyebrow at his observation, but Akiba didn't catch on. Instead, he continued looking out the window, watching as our friends started roasting marshmallows or lighting up sparklers. Even though it was dark out, I could see Sakura pulling out her camera and getting pictures of our friends.

But Akiba didn't watch them for long. Instead, he bumped into me as he opened up the dishwasher to put his glass away. When he did, I felt as if I was taken back in time when we were in the cove. Only, I saw a hand pull away from a hand that was much lighter than mine. The head turned to look right at Kita Yukimura. Her face burying into her knees slightly as she refused eye contact.

The scene was so brief I almost missed it. I glanced over at Akiba as he seemed to have realized what he had done and shoved his hands into his pockets. His gray eyes were focusing on our friends once more.

It didn't take me long to realize why Akiba was thinking that, and showed me those thoughts, whether he was intentional about them or not. Either way, I felt as if I needed to say something about it, especially since I had a haunting feeling that Akiba knew what I had seen. One thing was for certain from what I had just seen. While I had my suspicions before, now it was known that Akiba definitely had feelings for Yukimura. That dare he gave Mori might have ruined his shot at that.

If anyone in this group knew what that felt like, it was me. I might not have said anything to him before about it, but he did keep my secret back during the game of twenty-one questions a few months ago. Guess it only made sense to return the favor.

"At least your mistake wasn't as deadly," I commented, looking outside. If I didn't hold up as long as I did, would Misaki be able to hold Neko off to protect Tami, or would something happen to her? Yet, I knew how bad he had to have felt for making a mistake like that in front of a crush. "But I get it. Don't...don't do anything stupid like that again. Yukimura will at least forgive you if you brought it up. Not like you knew how bad it'd affect them, right?"

In the corner of my eye, I saw the guy's mouth twitch upward for a moment. Yet, while it did, I didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, I just looked outside, searching for who was all out there. At this point, I could see Misaki and Kaito chasing each other with sparklers. Meanwhile, Sakura, Mori, Yukimura, and my sister were all sitting around the fire, talking about something as they were enjoying their s'mores. Part me wanted to go out there and stop her from telling any embarrassing stories, but I didn't.

I didn't as there was one person missing from the group.

"Doesn't make it easy," Akiba answered as he sighed. "But the same could be said about you and Tami. Sure if you told her how you felt, she'd understand."

Would she though? Before I met her, I just wanted to become a hero to keep the family legacy going. She taught me that there were people who needed to be protected. I wanted to be that person. No. I needed to be that person for Tami. If I told her how useless I felt, she would just stumble to find the words to make me feel better because that was her way of showing she cared.

I didn't deserve that.

"You know," Akiba said, "I think I saw her head downstairs if you wanted to talk to her. With everyone outside, it might be the perfect opportunity to talk to her. I'll cover for you if you want."

I turned around, noticing that the guy was no longer beside me. Somehow, when I was staring at what was going on outside, he had made his way to the other side of the kitchen. Akiba was about ready to leave when I realized there was something I needed to know from him.

"What would you do?" I asked.

The boy froze before he looked over his shoulder. He didn't have to voice the question that was running through his head, so I drew in a deep breath.

"Tami's question from earlier, you said you'd have an answer later. Have you given it some thought?" I asked.

Akiba shrugged. "Why does it matter? We're all going to be heroes someday, right?"

Words failed as I watched him walk out of the kitchen, leaving me alone..

🌸🌸🌸

Like Akiba had said, I found Tami downstairs. To be honest, I didn't believe him at first. If anything, I thought Tami would've retreated to the room she was going to be staying in with the other girls. The last place I thought she would be was downstairs in the basement. Because I came from a family of heroes, the basement was converted into a gym where Dad would throw my siblings and me into training everyday we were on vacation. There were training dummies everywhere, targets for my siblings who shared a similar Quirk as my mom to use for shooting practice, and so much more. I almost didn't see Tami at first because nothing seemed out of place.

That was until I heard a squeal.

My head snapped up just in time to see Tami falling from a good fifteen feet from the air. There was a rope that was tied onto the ceiling for Hatusko and me to climb. Two of them, actually, as Dad wanted us to race each other to help strengthen our Quirks. I didn't think Tami would be one to try climbing them, even with the amount of training we did back at home.

Of course, I didn't stall for a second the moment I saw the petite girl falling. Her body curled up into the ball while I sprinted towards her, catching her in my arms just before she could hit the ground. I let out a sigh of relief as she slowly peeled her hands away from her face and looked up at me with her brown eyes.

I carefully placed her on the ground, shaking my head. The small gesture was all it took for Tami to wrap her arms around herself and turn her head away from me.

"Thank you," her voice was soft as she said it, softer than it usually was. My lips pressed together as I noticed her body trembling slightly, especially since her hands were clenched into fists.

Ridiculing her now would only make things worse.

"What kind of hero would I be if I just watched you fall?" I asked. "What are you even doing here anyways?"

Tami still wouldn't meet my gaze as her short blonde hair fell in front of her face. I hated that she did that. She shouldn't have to hide things from me, even if it was her face. I mean, I had seen her cry before. What difference did it make if her eyes were filled with tears now or if her face was red with embarrassment?

"I...I need to train," Tami whispered. "I don't want you to worry, or the others to—your sister said I could come here if needed. I just wish..."

She didn't say another word as she took a deep breath. It was sharper than usual. I didn't need to see her face to know what was happening. Even though she was pulling herself away from me, I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, hoping she'd understand.

Tami wasn't one to like physical touch, but I couldn't help it. If she didn't like it, she could always break free from my arms. I wouldn't care. She knew she could do that if it was too much. At the same time, I couldn't stand seeing her sad. I mean, I get it. The girl went through too much shit in the past year, and her anxiety was probably eating her alive at this point. That didn't mean I liked it.

If hugging her meant she'd get better, then I'd do it.

Like I had thought, Tami didn't pull away from the hug. Instead, she just laid her head into my chest, slowly dampening my shirt with her tears. Just how long had she been holding in these emotions? I get why she'd hide them in front of our friends, even me, but it still had to have been draining.

"You're going to be okay," I told her. "We're not going to let anything bad happen to you again."

Her head shook in my chest, catching me off guard. "It's not that. It's just...I wish I didn't have this Quirk. If I didn't, then they'd leave me alone."

I raised my hand and threaded it through her blonde hair. It was soft, but it was a bit damp, probably from the sweat that poured out during her little training session. Not that it mattered. I was just relieved she was still here.

If one second went by when we were fighting that villain, things could have ended very differently.

"Don't let those damn villains bring you down," I explained. "You're more than your Quirk. You always have been."

"But...but what use is it if I can't use it like you and the others?" Tami cried as I felt her hands start covering her face, so I could no longer feel her tears. I glanced down, noticing her body curl up even more.

Like Akiba's Quirk, Tami's Quirk was unique. It probably had a lot more applications than we even knew about, but Tami didn't want to rely on it. I think part of that had to deal with the drawbacks it had. Sure, if she turned into another person, the drawbacks were pretty minor. It made sense too since she couldn't imitate the person's voice or always pull it off that she was that person.

Animals were different. She wouldn't be able to transform into someone else for another day. In a world where people used their Quirks on a daily basis, it was strange not being able to do just that. To make matters worse, her anxiety worsened with each animal she turned into, and sometimes, she'd start acting like them too. I didn't notice this when she turned into a rat, but looking back, even then I should've known. She dug right into the tamales without taking the husk off and kept wanting to run away from people she hardly knew. Seeing that she wanted to curl up, I had a feeling those clam instincts were still clinging onto the back of her mind.

It wasn't impossible to snap her out of those instincts quickly, but it sure as hell wasn't easy.

"You did your best," I told her. "That villain was just stronger than the ones we've encountered in the past. What matters is that you're still here. I...It was my fault that the villain came out in the first place, so stop blaming yourself."

Tami lifted her head, showing off her pale face that was blotched in red. She managed to stop her crying, but my words didn't erase the amount of concern she had.

"How is it your fault?" she asked. "I-I was the one she was after, right?"

I shook my head. "If I didn't leave, she wouldn't have found us. She was too strong for any of us to take down alone. She must've known that when the others showed up. I'm sorry for putting you in danger. I'm the one who's at fault here."

The girl pushed herself out of my arms after I said that. The moment she did that, I knew I couldn't face her. My hands pushed themselves into my pockets as I turned my head to look away.

Honestly, I had no idea what I would've done if I lost Tami again. Every time she was taken, it was always on my watch. I don't know--

A hand slapped me on the arm as hard as it could. That wasn't much coming from the short person standing her ground in front of me. I snapped my head back to see Tami standing there. Her face was still red, but this time, it was filled with determination as her hands clenched into fists.

"Stop blaming yourself," she squeaked. "I-I don't like it when you do that."

It was only Tami and me standing there. I knew it too as I didn't hear anyone. Someone would've reacted to her slapping me on the arm because Tami wasn't the kind of person to do that. Or at least, people didn't think she was. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind around me or show me how she felt. This was especially true after training. Looking down at her, I noticed small little sweat marks making their way to her light green t-shirt. It was hard telling how long she was down here, but she had to have been at it for a while.

Still, it was just us two down here. Because of that, I let my lips curl up into a smile.

"Then don't blame yourself, you hear," I told her. "It's stupid. You're okay, so let's get back up there before Kaito and the others eat all the s'mores."

Tami's stern expression softened as her hands fell to her side. It was strange how her mind worked. She was still probably anxious and a nervous wreck, but when someone mentioned food or her little brother, her worries seemed to just disappear. Seeing her get like that was cute.

Cute as in I didn't have to worry about her or worry as much as she could go back to being her amusing self. That was what made her Tami. Who else would get so distracted at the mention of food or would drop everything to help out her family? She truly cared about others and was so innocent about everything she did. It was because of that she needed to be protected.

"Are they really making s'mores?" Tami asked, almost not believing a word I said.

When I heard those words, I couldn't help but to chuckle in response. Again, only Tami would say something like that. Some may say that was childish, but the alternative of her mind being stuck who knows where was a lot worse.

My mouth opened to confirm her thoughts when I heard something behind me. I turned around, to see Sakura stumbling on her own two feet while Misaki stood behind her.

Everything stilled as the girl lifted her head to show off her vivid green eyes. My eyes dropped to her hands, where she held her phone and was pointing it towards Tami and me.

Instead of answering Tami's question, I glared at the two girls who were standing at the edge of the steps. I knew it was only in good fun. They were having fun all day. Because of it, they didn't get anyone in trouble. Well, except for now when I realized what they did.

"You have five seconds to hand over your phone and delete that," I threatened, "or else."

Sakura stood up straight, holding her phone tight in her hands. Meanwhile, Misaki grabbed her shoulder. Seeing the look in Misaki's eyes, I knew she knew that I was being serious. Unfortunately, Sakura didn't seem to think the same thing.

"Or else what?" she shot back.

I didn't care to even wait another second as I started sprinting towards her, leaving Tami behind. Her silence signaled that she was probably confused by what happened, but I didn't care. I didn't want people getting the wrong idea about Tami and me.

But as I chased Sakura and Misaki up the stairs, I realized something I didn't before. Yes, Tami and I could have trained to get her stronger for that attack, but that might not have prepared either of us for that villain. If I had just relaxed like everyone else did, maybe things wouldn't have happened the way that they did.

I'd relax after Sakura gets payback for spying on Tami and me.

🌸The End🌸

🌸Chapter Question:🌸
What was your favorite part of the crossover?

🌸Character Spotlight: Hikaru Akiba🌸
Book: Kita's Legacy
Likes: Beach Walks at dusk

🌸Character Spotlight: Tami Smith🌸
Books: I'm No Hero Series
Likes: Collecting Seashells

Song: Time with Family from Weathering With You (I need to see that movie still...looks so good!)