#now my hairs so damn long and I'm tempted to cut it I miss short hair it was simplier

[baldyeosang]

am i about to once again copy wooyoungs hair style.

[brighteststar707]

Faye!! Congrats on the milestone my sweet 🎂 your event is so precious and thoughtful and I just love it as much as I love you!!! 🩷🌸

Pretty please could I pick a toy for our lovely Zen? I was so tempted to go for dark chocolate you don't even know like I'm just thirsty all the damn time tbh

Lola! I was so excited to do this request, I love any chance i get to unpack some of Zen's backstory (though I must say, it was quite fun to imagine Zen's fantasies for a minute)

I'm so happy you like the event theme! I wanted it to be something special for such a milestone, and I'm really fond of how it turned out.

I'm also really fond of this fic, I love some Zen lore. I hope you enjoy <3

✧ Toy ~ Memories from their past

Hyun at age six is quiet. His mother once told him that good boys don't call attention to themselves, so he tries his best to blend in.

Secretly, he wishes he didn't have to be a good boy. He likes singing (especially where others can hear him), he likes playing like the other kids do. He doesn't like pretending to be invisible. He tries so hard, and it so rarely works. He can duck his head and hold his tongue all he wants, but there is always someone who wants to talk to him or touch him.

The other day, a lady in the supermarket tried to hold his hand and pat his hair. His mother was very upset (with her or him, he's still not sure).

He doesn't like going outside very much anymore. The only place he really likes going is school. Not because of the classes. They're difficult and boring. But his classmates are usually nice. They choose him first when making teams for games - sports is easier than anything they learn at school. He likes how it feels when they all cheer him on. He definitely isn't invisible then.

It's less fun when his classmates make him ask the teachers for things they want (recently it was for a longer breaktime which the teacher did not want to give). They don't care that it gets him into trouble. They believe the teachers like him more than the others. He doesn't think that's true.

Sure, some teachers are nice to him, but most of them are so strict. They get upset with him when he makes mistakes (Hyun does not like maths) and give him harder exercises. A lot of them tell him the same thing:

"Don't expect life to be easy just because of your looks."

He isn't sure what that means. He doesn't think his life is easy.

He likes his brother. He's the smartest person Hyun knows. He has answers to all the questions he asks (even the ones about maths). Even more than that, his brother is kind. He doesn't laugh at Hyun or tell him that he's being bad, even when he draws attention to himself.

He didn't even laugh after their mother gave Hyun a terrible haircut recently, even though all the kids at school did. She had been telling him that he was ugly, that his hair was too long, that it was distracting. Despite how much Hyun had begged her not to cut it too short, she ended up chopping most of it.

He liked his hair. He misses it now that it's all gone.

His brother did not laugh. Instead he ruffled his hair and told him that he looked older. He promised him that he would help Hyun style it as it grew out and maybe even comb it the way he does. They have never looked alike, but perhaps that way there would finally be a similarity.

Maybe Hyun would be able to be a good boy if he was more like his brother.

Hyun at age fifteen is angry. He left home a few months ago, after a particularly nasty fight with his mother. She had found the scripts he had hidden even after she had made him promise to drop performing and work harder at school. It had resulted in a screaming match (another one, they were becoming increasingly common recently). That wasn't the reason he left, though.

He had gotten used to tuning out the yelling. The final straw came a few hours later when his brother came to talk to him. For just a few seconds, Hyun had felt the sense of comfort that he had only ever felt with his brother. He was good at reminding him that her words were just a result of her frustration, that he wasn’t ugly or useless or one of the other things she liked to call him.  

But that feeling didn’t last long. His brother's eyebrows were furrowed, a look that did not suit his face, and Hyun knew something was different. Instead of comforting him, his brother had said something along the lines of why haven’t you given up this hobby yet, you know this isn’t going to get you anywhere. You can’t do this forever.

Something like that. Hyun’s ears were ringing too loudly for him to properly hear everything. To have to hear these things from his brother was a betrayal bigger than he had ever felt.

That night, he packed up his most important belongings and slipped out of the house. He hasn’t looked back since. That doesn’t mean he isn’t still angry, though. In fact, the longer he has been away, the angrier he gets.

He has started to see things more clearly. The way he was treated as a small child, like a nuisance who could only do wrong, whose hobbies were annoying and looks were burdensome. The way he has only ever been discouraged, the way he has always been wrong wrong wrong. All while his brother was praised as the perfect child.

The injustice of it makes him seethe with rage. He doesn’t recognize this version of himself, the one who is always a step away from exploding.

It has helped him survive out on the streets, though. His new friends use his anger to help them pull off robberies. He is taller than most kids his age, and when he squares off his shoulders and clenches his jaw, he can look very intimidating. He doesn’t like how it makes him feel afterwards, but he needs the money. Even when he isn’t trying to be intimidating, store owners are usually to busy admiring his face for them to notice the things he’s stealing.

His hair is growing past his ears. He’s not going to cut it again if he can help it. He pins it back and makes tiny little ponytails to keep it out of the way when he’s training.

And oh, he trains. He’s attending auditions like crazy, whenever he can fit them between the short work gigs he lands. He keeps reminding himself that he’s waiting for just one break, that one good show will kick start his career, and he won’t have to live like this anymore.

If only someone would cast him. Every director he has met so far has complimented his skills (which feels good) and his looks (which feels less good) but tells him that he still needs time, and to come back in a few years.

Hyun doesn’t have a few years, he wants to tell them. He wants to scream it, after a while, in each of these director’s faces. He is crashing at a different house every night, on blow-up mattresses and lumpy sofas. He eats only what he can scrounge up in a day, be it from the little money he earns or whatever he can steal. He has his eye on a cheap apartment listing, but it will be a while before he can afford even one month’s rent.

It's the idea of this mythical home (one with no rules, no arguments, no forced haircuts) that keeps him going when his doubts start to creep up on him. He has to believe that he hasn’t made a big mistake, because he’s in too deep now.   

Little does he know that he's a week away from landing his first role.

Zen at age twenty is unsatisfied. He keeps getting cast in the same archetype over and over again. His lines feel repetitive, his monologues uninspiring. He wants more for his characters, more for himself. At the same time, he cannot afford to branch out and take risks because he needs the money. On top of that, modelling gigs pay more than acting, so he’s spending more time in front of a camera than he’d like.

With a lot of his jobs centring around his appearance, he has been learning how to care for himself in a way he has never done before. He has treated himself to a few hair care products, and enjoys brushing out his hair every night after stressful days. Investing time in himself feels like an escape from everything else in life. He can be playing the fifth romantic interest character in a row, but at least he will be beautiful doing it.

It’s a phrase he has slowly been learning to get used to. He is beautiful. He is handsome. It’s funny, he has heard it countless times throughout his life, but only recently has it stopped feeling wrong.

He feels like he has hit a wall in his career, and his personal life is not looking any better. His girlfriend broke up with him a week ago and it still doesn’t feel real. He should probably be sadder about it than he is. All he feels is lonely.

She was great, really. They had met after a show and hit it off quickly. At first it was nice. He liked the company, craved the affection she gave him. But with his workload as it is, it was impossible to manage a relationship at the same time. He never got more than a few hours off of work (most of which he spent resting), which cut down on the time they could spend together significantly.

They drifted apart; it was inevitable. And despite him knowing this deep down, he didn’t expect her to leave him like that.

Now he’s lonely and anxious. Not a good combination. For all his regrets about his time spent with the gang, at least he was never lonely.

Some of that anger he carried with him as a teenager can sometimes still flare up in him. He sees people his age who have the support and care of their loved ones, when he ends every night by himself in his crappy apartment on the sofa with a beer and a script. He remembers how unfair things are, how he wishes things could have been different.

Oh well, it's no use dwelling on what could have been. He can only face the future head on and keep pushing. He will try his best to remind himself why he chose this path, despite all the difficulties he is facing.

Zen at age twenty-four has butterflies. He’s on the phone talking to a bubbly stranger and something feels different. They call him often (he’d like to think more often than they call any of the others) and ask him about his day in detail. Despite having received so many compliments throughout his life, when they compliment him, it makes him blush. He feels comfortable, more so than he has in a long time.

He wants to follow this feeling, the excitement and anticipation for as far as it will take him. Something tells him something good is waiting at the end of it.

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

i'm not sure how long talking like is normal before it gets weird (is it weird already?) you're just a really cool person and i just keep finding things to reply to!

but anyways, i get the guilt about not seeing people thing. the situation in my country got a bit better during the summer, after the first wave of the pandemic and so we could go out and see people. and i did sorta go out? but it was mostly alone, for walks or to buy something. so when i could i didn't really meet with people and now we're back in lockdown (i haven't been to school since the middle of october) and i can't see people. so now i feel guilty for not spending time with them when i could.

i do think they give robbers names tho! at least if they're good... and having green hair to distract the wintnesses from our faces? GENIUS IDEA

i can't believe i'm yet again feeling tempted to become a criminal. but green hair? cool name? t rex bones? sign me the hell up! sorry ma and pa i'm dropping out and starting my career as a master thief!

and damn your first hair colour was pink? that's so cool! when i first dyed mine a similar thing happened though. i wanted to be blonde but since it was my first time the hairdresser talked me down to just bleaching my ends. and then i regretted it because it wasn't what i wanted. went back about 2 months later to bleach it completely! my hair was sooo damaged after that, but i can't say i regretted it coz one - it looked very cool and two - it was an amazing base for other colours later and i am all for that

oh mood. i don’t think it’s weird but i also don’t necessarily understand how normal conversations work in general so y’know. i just go with the flow, whatever works. thank you though! i’m enjoying these asks! you also seem very cool.

yeah, it’s weird. Like the situation has been more or less normal here since,,, idk, June I guess? (except for Auckland slfhsdf thanks for locking down a little more). And while I was at uni I kinda felt like I was making the most of that y’know, attending classes, seeing people I know, getting groceries and being in crowded situations without worry. But now I’m back home for summer and I just,, never leave the house. I don’t really want to. I’m enjoying a break with books and films and games and just chilling in the yard by myself. Then I see people in other places wishing they could meet up with friends or family or do certain things that i CAN do, I just don’t WANT to do and it creates a guilt. Like I’m not appreciating what I have. But then I’m gonna be meeting up with my dad’s side of the family and my mum’s side for Christmas, having our usual gatherings and that also creates a guilt?? Like I know people in other places have been forced to miss important occasions all year and still have to in this holiday season when people often gather while I just get to chill with my fam and joke and eat some pav like everything is well??? It’s the weirdest thing. Guilty for not doing it, guilty for doing it, I don’t know how I should be doing things in a way that doesn’t make me feel guilty.

Anyway. I really hope things get better where you are! I think it’s nice to have the option to see people and do things in crowded places even if you don’t choose to. It just sucks being kept away from all that without any options. So hopefully you can see those people again soon, if you want to of course.

ooo, so we just gotta be good at stealing things then! lucky for you I used to steal the clear counters from my classroom when I was roughly 5 or 6 to create a collection, I’ve already got experience.

I still have said counters. I apologise to my teachers. But I got away with it, so clearly I have some talent in stealing.

Heck yeah! Getting a degree from uni? nahhhhh. stealing dino bones from museums with the famous green master thief? heck yeeahhhhh!!! I will inform my uni I am dropping out for more important things.

yeah haha, pink seemed like a fun choice and even when it faded I kinda had streaks of blonde in my hair which was sorta cool. yuuup, there’s probably a good reason they talk people down for the first time they dye their hair but also,, i’ve already committed to this, i’m prepared for any consequences. 

I always thought it’d be neat to dye long hair cause then once it faded you could do more colours and it’d just last longer, you don’t really have to worry about more bleaching. But perks of short hair, almost every time I dyed it, the colour would grow out and be cut off by the time I dyed it next so it was fresh undamaged hair again. Except for the time I dyed it blue, I still had a bit left that I hadn’t cut. Blue does NOT want to leave your hair. But I was getting purple next so it didn’t reallyyyy matter too much. 

[smokingtomas]

So how do you picture Soma and Erina confessing their feelings base on the manga !? I'm still salty how it went and just here to satisfy my cravings. Lol

Warning: Trust me, this could be the (NSFW) ending you prefer. ;)

A Silent Conversation

It startled her when Soma pulled her arm to the side between the crowd of their friends just to say, “You’re staying for sake later, right?”

But what surprised her even more was her mouth slightly gaping and stuttered, “Oh, um, sure.”

So it happened just as it was planned– when all their friends are leaving, she waved them goodbye. Alice apparently decided to get out the door last just to grab her arm and whisper something that wasn’t on Erina’s mind.

“Good luck, Erina. And by luck, I mean you’re so gonna get a good load of it.”

This girl just knew how to embarrass her. “Goodbye, Alice!”

Nothing interesting occurred from the point she shut the door behind Alice. Not even when he swept the floor as she helped him wash the dishes. 

Erina kept thinking that Alice didn’t know what she was talking about. That her assumption was nothing but a mere tease in an orderly Alice fashion. Good luck, schmood luck– the girl had even managed to dodge his questions regarding the dish he served her. Thanks to her friends who fought to get a spoonful of his–

“Yo, Nakiri,” Soma’s touch on her shoulder jerked her out, “Ready for that sake?”

“R-Right, I’ll just have to wash this pan.”

“Nah, it’s alright. Leave it and sit here.” He said, opening up a bar chair for her.

She glanced at where he rest himself, just him casually filling her glass with sake. Just before she turned back, Soma looked up and chuckled.

“Cmon, what’re ya waiting for? This good sake ain’t gonna drink itself!”

With that, she set the pan aside. “Very well.”

The clinking of their glasses followed by the word kanpai had turned into a few more pours, episodes of travel stories, a series of laughs, and were spiced with some unapologetic grazes on arms and thighs. 

Both of them had realized how rare these kinds of moments are. Where they were alone in a room and only their voices echoed. Where Erina would start to notice new things each time he came back from his months of travel.

The corners of his eyes that crinkled when he laughed too loudly, or the recent knife cuts on his callous fingers, or that strong arm that reached through her to tuck a piece of her blonde locks behind her ear.

And how it never failed to heat her cheeks.

“Wow, your hair is really, really short now.” He pointed out.

“Long hair is tedious to take care of.” Erina brushed the back of her hair, “Do you not like it?”

“You kidding? I love it. Makes you ten times hotter.”

Now, this is an example where you need to stay cool, Erina. “Flattery and flirty remarks won’t change how I think of your dish, Yukihira-kun.”

He laughed at her remark, “We’ll get back to that, but I’m serious. You’re beautiful in long hair, and hot in short.”

“Well, if you start using proper hair products, I’m sure you would… not look half bad.” She hesitated.

“I’d take it as a compliment. Cheers.”

Once again, they took another shot.

“So how long will you stay this time?” Erina asked.

“Uhm… a while, I think. Haven’t booked a ticket anywhere in the near future, so I’ll just be here in Yukihira. Updating the menu and serving ‘em to our regulars.”

She couldn’t help the release of her long breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, but it was no secret that she acknowledged the relieve.

“I see.” She took a sip from her glass.

“Aren’t ya gonna ask why?”

“Yukihira, you just said you wanted to update the diner’s menu.”

“Technically, that’s what I’d be doing in the time being.” Soma corrected, “Go ahead, ask me why I’m staying.”

“Ugh, fine.” Erina rolled her eyes, “Why do you plan on staying so long?”

“‘Cause I miss cooking for you.”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Y-You do?” Then as if something jolted her, she shook her head, “I-I mean, hmpf. It’s always cooking with you. Isn’t there anything else you want to say to me?”

He slowly cocked his head forward. “Like… how I know you’re looking forward to eat my cooking too?”

My God, he hadn’t changed. “No! It’s– ugh, nevermind.”

He laughed once again. Damn, those crinkles making him look cute.

“Cmon, Nakiri. Y'know how I feel about you.” Soma ruffled her hair. “You already forgot that hell of a kiss before I left the last time?”

Of course she hadn’t. It had intoxicated her brain and left her sleepless for a week.

She remembered said moment as if it was photographed. 

He’d placed his palms on her cheeks and pressed his lips gently against her. When he’d deepen his movement, it was silence. There were no passerby with luggage, no crooked voice announcing it was his flight’s last call, or the thought of him leaving her again for months.

Even just thinking about it, that tingling sensation on her lips and butterflies in her stomach came back.

Wait a second– she did know how he felt. Yes, he kissed her well, alright. 

Was it her that hadn’t said or did anything?

“No, Yukihira. I remembered well.” Erina finally said, “But do tell me if what’s coming is better.”

It might be the alcohol taking charge, or it could be her plain desire, but as she lifted herself from the chair and grab his cheek, her body wasn’t aware that her lips were already on his.

Yes, she was trembling. Yes, her heart was jumping out of her chest. But none of it mattered when the feeling from that autumn came rushing down like a waterfall. Lips were as soft as she remembered and she wouldn’t know what to do if he’d kissed her back at this moment.

So before he had the chance, she pulled away and opened her eyes slowly, revealing how he’d been mimicking her movements.

She gulped, wiping her lips as she rose completely and headed through the door, “Goodnight, Yukihira.”

In her mind, saying that goodnight meant she’d rather go home and overthinking what just happened, or even worse, what could have happened if she’d stayed.

But a good grip on her arm stopped her from taking another step.

“Y’know it’s rude to kiss a guy like that and walk away, right?”

Soma’s voice was an invitation and her soul would want to be an attendee. All it took was another step from him and a good pull of her waist back into his arms, drowning into that deeply familiar kiss that swept her feet away.

The feeling was welcomed with her lips’ slow dance, reciprocating the gentle brushes he kept on gifting, and she didn’t mind his fingers that crept up through her back to finally end up tangling her short blonde locks. 

To her, it wasn’t just about the growing heat, or that tongue of his that had started invading her mouth making her gasp for air, it was also their buried feelings– the newfound emotions she only recognized ten years after a pair of golden eyes started haunting her dreams.

So when Soma got hold of both her legs around him, she let him lift her off the ground and hooked her arms behind his neck.

The dance continued as soon as Erina was rested on one of the dining tables, but it was cut short and the sensation had moved to the junction of her shoulder. A small whimper escaped her, but the urge to remove his white t-shirt was bigger.

As his top flew across the room, she didn’t have much chance to admire his physique. Even in the split second he undid her blouse, she knew he’d spared some time to work out.

His lips never left hers. His hands wouldn’t stop grazing her exposed thighs. And she found it hard to hold back her sweet noises when they left to roam around, touching and nibbling on her other sensitive flesh.

That was before he suddenly lifted a knee to hover over her. Ragged breath fanned over her like a tempting sin.

“Nakiri,” He whispered, “Should I stop?”

She shook her head quickly before pulling him in for another kiss. It quickly turned into a blur when she found him buckling his fingers to the hem of her skirt.

He looked up to her for confirmation, and when she responded with a nod, he slowly pulled every single fabric covering her most sensitive areas before landing his lips back on hers.

Erina’s head rested on the table’s hard wood and she was weak. Her knees had been trembling, and it trembled more when his fingertips gently tease her inner thighs. She didn’t react when she felt his lip dropped. All she squirmed to was the feeling of his digits, finding that spot that felt too eager for him.

Moans after moans went into his mouth. Mirroring the rhythm he set was her arched back that continuously bucked at his thumb. He’d kiss her at times to suppress her noises, but he’d be the only one to end up groaning. She knew he enjoyed sketching away his feelings this way– in a delicious, circular motion. And the harder his finger pushed, the louder her moans had gotten.

And when she was on the edge, he stopped and fished his wallet.

“Wh-Why did you stop?” She panted, obviously disappointed.

“Condom,” He told her, “No way I’d leave you like that.”

She smiled and rose up to help him free, watching with anticipation as he rolled the rubber on himself.

It didn’t take long for him to finally dipped inside her, colliding their warm skin that melted into one. He kissed her goosebumps, before kissing her lips once again. He tasted so sweet even when it was only their breaths that meld, and she couldn’t stop the crave her god tongue desired.

She never understood the words she wanted to say to him because what she felt was deeper than its surface. It had been eating her alive, and she’d die if he’d never known of it.

With that feeling, with every thrust he stroked, gentle or rough, she pulled him deep. Maybe the only way he’d acknowledge it was only by the desperate moans of her lungs whispering his name in his ear. He’d know these voices, the peak she had reached, only belonged to him.

This was that silence conversation: where only their bodies spoke, and their heart listened.

And as he hushed and cursed her name repeatedly, his throbbing strengthened, that was where she knew he felt the same.

//

“Yukihira,” Erina mumbled as he zipped up her top, “It was good.”

He chuckled, kissing her shoulder, “Are you talking about my cooking or the sex?“

“I’ll let you figure it out.” She said, "Thank you for today, Yukihira.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Soma responded.

He held her in his arms for what felt like a long time. Long enough for her to notice and not minding the seafood smell intact on his t-shirt. All she felt was that warm embrace she had missed.

“Sweet dreams, Yukihira-kun.” She pulled away and gave his cheek a peck.

“Wait, Nakiri. You’re leaving?”

“W-Well, it’s 2 am. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your rests.”

“Oh…” He said dejectedly.

Strange– she’d never heard that tone before, “Wh-Why? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you… wanna stay? I mean, you just had a drink and it ain’t good to drive after all that sake you just drank, y'know.” Soma persuaded. “And I got a great breakfast recipe I’d make ya in the morning! What a deal, eh?”

“Yukihira, I have my driver waiting for me. I’d just have to give him a call.”

“Aight. Then stay for me.”

She blushed.

“E-Eh?”

“Don’t go, Nakiri.” He pulled her into another embrace, “Stay for a little while, will ya?”

“For how long?”

He paused and caressed her hair.

“If I say forever, would you do it?”

Erina swore her heart was about to burst. It was the first time he spoke something somewhat heartfelt. No food. No recipes. Just him as a man, showing his vulnerable side.

She knew she needed to say no more– she knew he meant it.

“I… suppose I can arrange that.”

A/N: YEAAAA so I haven’t written this kind of thing in a pretty long time so… feedback would be greatly appreciated :) and the only non-anon in the bunch @lisa786786, hope this helps and good luck if you decided to create it!

[dominaecaede]

Tomorrow Never Comes

Chapter 4 results: 65% chose to see who it is

〘 twitter 〙

The following story will have themes such as blood, gore, situations that may cause anxiety and major character death. If you are sensitive to any of these, please do not proceed.

Chapter 5: It's A Small World After All

They watched the knob shake and jangle and the door banging in. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of their foreheads as their brains pounded with what to do. If they let this mysterious person continue, those creatures will hear the knocks and they'll kill him. If not, then they could save a life. The life of someone they don't know whether they were trustworthy or not.

"We... We have to let him in," Kirishima stood up. "Those things are gonna get him if we don't!"

Enji only grunted. He was always hard to read but surely his inner conscience knew it was the right thing to do. The man took out a hunting knife he had holsted in his belt and held it on guard, using his other hand to unlock the door.

"Try anything funny and I'm gonna slice your damn head off," he spoke firmly before holding the door wide open.

The hooded figure immediately ran in, followed by Enji slamming the door closed and locking it. He held up his knife at the stranger's head point. It prompted the figure to raise his hands up.

"Alright. Now take off your hood and show your face."

The figure nodded and obliged. When he put his hood down, a face was revealed that Enji would never forget. That thick spiky black hair and stapled scarred flesh were unforgettable. It made Enji hostile.

"...! You damn villain...!" Enji snarled and charged at him.

Dabi was prepared, though. He dodged Enji's attack and pulled out a gun he had in his belt, using it to wack the knife out of his hand and point it at him effortlessly. He chuckled, and the group knew full well that this man wasn't intimidated in the least. Midoriya watched. His reflexes were fast and swift.

"Now, now," Dabi began. "I know I have quite the reputation, but the world's gone to shit. Without quirks, should I even be called a villain anymore? Since without quirks, I don't consider you a hero anymore, oh powerful Endeavor."

His tone of voice was mocking, the smirk on his face as the cherry on top. It pissed the man off. Todoroki stood up and was in front of his mother as he held up his metal baton in a protective position.

"You killed people even before this happened," Bakugou spoke up. "Why the hell should we trust you?"

"I killed heroes who weren't worthy of that title, not random people on the streets," Dabi clarified. "And I may just so happen to have information you'll need, so put your weapons down, or kill me and you'll be left in the dark."

There was a moment of silence as everyone darted their eyes around the room. When the group came to a silent agreement, they put their weapons down. However, Enji still had his weapon up with fierce eyes. Dabi blinked.

"You really think I'm stupid enough to put down my weapon for you?" Enji barked.

Dabi only sighed. "Whatever. You were always a bitter old man, anyway."

Todoroki sat down next to Rei again, who was quiet the entire time. The woman didn't seem scared by the former villain. In fact, her storm colored eyes only observed Dabi from where she was. Dabi sat down in the chair not too far from the door. Midoriya took his spot back on the floor, crossing his arms at him.

"Okay, so start talking," Todoroki spoke. "Why'd you come to this room specifically when you could've escaped the hospital?"

"For the same reason you all did," Dabi answered and looked up at Rei. "To see her. I just didn't expect a full party here."

Todoroki got defensive. "But why? What the hell do you have planned with my mother?"

Dabi snorted. "Relax, kid. I came here to see if what I heard was true, only it turns out it wasn't."

"...?" Todoroki blinked. "If what was true?"

Enji sighed, in which caught everyone's attention. The man looked down. "... If Clearnox got to her."

Dabi raised his brow at the man and gave an amused smirk. "So you and I thought the same thing, huh?"

"There's that name again. Clearnox...," Midoriya muttered. "What did they want with Todoroki-san?"

That's when Enji stood up to look out the window, having an almost visible concerned look on his face. Those who knew him would be surprised to see such a face. "Back to when everything wasn't like this, Clearnox contacted my agency. Yura Hana was seeking subjects for their upcoming project and that Rei was chosen among the 'lucky people' who would take part in it. Rei was under strict protection under me, so I assumed Yura discovered this. 'She would be a completely new person than before,' she said. 'It's not good to keep her cooped up in a hospital room knowing she has so much potential to be something more.' It seemed sketchy but then it seemed... tempting when she put it that way."

"But you declined her, right?" Todoroki raised his brow.

"No, but I didn't accept her offer either. I told her that I'd think it over," Enji responded. "But... Something wasn't right. So I sent spies to their company and see what this project was all about. What I found out was... beyond words."

Midoriya furrowed his brows. "And what did you find out?"

Enji turned his gaze towards the greenette and then the rest od the group. "That they were actually experimenting on people."

Their breath hitched. Kirishima winced. "Experimenting?"

"Yes," Enji nodded. "My associates sent pictures they took of people strapped into these beds and these people in suits injecting something in them. I didn't know what it was but I kept the photos as proof to warn others and to intentionally bring their organization down. From what it looks like, it seemed to have been going on for a while. Here, take a look yourselves."

He tossed three photographs onto Rei's hospital bed where they could see. They were hidden photos of people screaming, deteriorating and dying. That would explain why her name was on that list. Todoroki was horrified. "And... They wanted to experiment on my mother? To do this to her? But why?"

"That I don't know," Enji responded. "But after one of my associates reported to me, something happened. I remember his breathing began to get heavier and he screamed... Then there was silence. The same thing happened to the others. Only one survived long enough to send this last photo to me."

Enji then tossed the one last photo and Midoriya picked it up to examine it. He gasped. It showed the face of one of those creatures, blurred out as if the photographer was running for their life in the process. "Those things were people? What the hell?" Bakugou whispered.

"When that happened, I didn't hesitate to make my way to Rei's room. But by the time I got to the hospital, it was already infested with those things. I can only assume that the hospital was one of the first buildings to go down."

Todoroki was in disbelief. "That's... That's insane. So... Clearnox caused this to happen..."

"That's so fucked up," Kirishima blinked. "Who would do something like this?"

"Someone who probably thought that they'd make a big profit for themselves," Dabi spoke up as he reloaded his gun. "From what I've seen on the way here, those things are contagious too. There was this survivor running away from one of them. They got her, but not even a couple minutes later she began making those deafening noises."

"Are you fucking serious?" Bakugou huffed. "If we get bit by one of those things, we become one?"

"Seems like it," Dabi shrugged.

"I'm still confused though," Todoroki stood up. "You didn't just come to this room specifically just to see if some rumours were true. What's my mom to you? Why are you really here?"

Dabi didn't respond at first, but he didn't want to answer that anyway. However, he didn't have to after all. Rei stood up and began walking towards him, in which made the former villain stand up as well. Her hands reached up to touch his face and the woman's eyes began tearing up.

"... Because you never forgot about me... Like I never forgot about you...," Rei whispered. "Isn't that right... Touya?"

Both Enji's and Dabi's eyes widened. He instantly walked towards the woman and the former villain and put a hand on her shoulder. "Rei, that's not Touya. Touya is gone... He's been missing for years. He's never coming back."

"And why do you think that is?! You made my child disappear!" Rei snapped back, causing Enji's hand to fall off her shoulder. "But a mother never forgets her child's face, no matter how many years have gone by... And that is my son. That's my Touya...! He came back! Just look at his eyes, Enji! Don't you dare deny that truth!"

The large man looked back up at Dabi to see for himself, and the villain stayed silent. In fact, Dabi's expression changed. He looked sad. Enji's own facial expression began to change in realization, followed by disbelief.

"No...," Enji shook his head. "You can't be..."

Rei began sobbing and took Dabi in her arms, holding him tight and not letting go. The former villain didn't do anything, however. He stayed silent and let it be, but he began blinking rapidly as if he was going to cry as well. He couldn't form any words.

However, their time of sentimentality was cut short. The screeching noises seemed to be getting louder and closer towards the door, with the sound of their feet making loud thuds on the floor from running. Bakugou backed up.

"Shit, they're coming...!"

"Dammit...!" Dabi's eyes darted every corner of the room for a way out, but the only way was through the window. He snatched Todoroki's metal baton and broke the window open, then looked out of it. "There's a shade over the second story window and a large patch of grass underneath. It'll hurt but it's our only way out. We have to hurry!"

But by the time anyone could make a choice, those things were already at the door trying to break it down. Enji darted towards it and used his strength to keep it closed. Eventually the door broke open, but Enji was still pushing through and forcing it closed. The group had begun lunging out of the window; Bakugou was already down, Todoroki carefully guiding Rei out and Midoriya was soon to follow.

"Shit, it's not gonna stay closed...!" Kirishima darted to help Enji keep it closed, trying to find anything to barricade it but he couldn't find anything within reach. Enji grunted and looked back at the group before looking at Kirishima.

"You have to get out of here, boy! Or else you won't make it!"

"But then you'll die!" Kirishima shouted.

Midoriya was already at the edge of the window to jump down, but when he heard both Enji and Kirishima shouting in the back, he knew they weren't following. The greenette rushed to look behind. "BOTH OF YOU, COME ON! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!"

"SOMEONE HAS TO STAY BEHIND TO KEEP THESE THINGS AT BAY WHILE YOU ALL ESCAPE. YOU HAVE TO GO, BOY! NOW!!"

Who should stay behind?

• Enji?

• Or Kirishima?