Chapter Text

"I can live neither with you, nor without you." 

Sometimes time passes fast, sometimes time passes slow. An hour could feel like an eternity, a month could feel like a couple of days. It was just last month that students were scrambling to find different schools to attend once they graduate, the following month did they graduate and then spend a certain amount of time relaxing alone or with their friends before attending their newest institute to learn. Everyone reacts differently towards their new school and classmates, some positive whereas a few were negative. And some, they just had no reaction at all, simply accepting their fate without expressing how they felt about it. 

A few adjust faster than others, while others could take up to a month to adjust. If the environment was very different from what a student was used to, it may take longer than most. During that process would they feel different types of emotions while feeling peer pressure to do their best. She wonders how God felt the moment he manifested in infinite darkness if he didn't have his infinite wisdom and willpower right then and there. Would he cry? Would he try to look for others like him, throw a tantrum and perhaps accept his fate? No one knows, that's the beauty of it, unpredictability.

White hair flew in the wind, blue eyes with a grey undertone focused on whatever was in front of her, uniform freshly ironed, shoes new and polished. Around her shoulder was a black back pack that had a simple chain attached to it, to add to its flair and keychains on the zipper that bounced as she walked : a white rabbit, a kitsune mask and a bolt of black lightning. 

A classroom was filled with conversations, conversations that ranged from innocent to scary ones about what the future has in mind for each individual inside of the room. Entering the class, eyes widened and conversations hushed as a girl without a word took a seat in an empty seat and rested her hands on the desk. The girl closed her eyes, enjoying the music blasted into her ears from her bluetooth earphones. 

Her phone was inside the pocket of her blazer, one of the safest places she could place it in. It was deep enough to hide it when she rested it sideways, enough space for her to also still stick her hand inside and easily detect the slightest movements. Another security feature on her blazer was that it could be buttoned.

"Is that."

"Yeah, guess the rumours are true."

"Constantly absent, yet always at the top of the class for midterms and final exams?"

"Constantly absent? That's an understatement, she never came to school besides orientation and days where we have tests."

"She looks so scary..."

Briefly turning her head, the conversations momentarily froze before it switched back to all the subjects they were previously talking about, sometimes would the class turn their heads and stare at her in caution while she scrolled through her phone-waiting for the teacher to arrive.

When Mr.Nakamoto did arrive at his usual class in the morning, he stopped in place when multiple of his students glanced and locked eyes at him before side-eyeing towards Shirayuri who busied herself with her stationary. Paying them no mind, he started his normal greetings as usual, throwing in a few jokes to certain individuals that made the class laugh in understanding. 

"I believe the last day of school should be memorable," he began the interesting part of his speech, clasping his hands together while his eyes trailed to every student inside of his class. "That's why I believe we should have a little party at school grounds." 

Glances were exchanged between friends, excited on what's to come at the surprise event. 

"I'm guessing that all of you want to become heroes?" 

The class erupted into cheers at the teacher's question, almost everyone showcasing their quirks in excitement while others showcased their abilities without an expression or opening their mouth. There were many quirks that were different from each other : a telekinetic quirk, fire manipulation, electro manifestation, a crystallisation quirk, bubbles and many more that made some clash terribly with each other. 

Shirayuri's face showed that she was uncomfortable, pretending to rest her head on her hands when it was actually to cover her ears. They rang. They created a symphony of chaos inside of her brain. Their sounds were awful, the smell mixing with each other for no apparent reason. It was like being stuck inside of the perfume section inside of a mall, surrounded by staff asking if you want a whiff but had already sprayed it on you. 

Looking at Shirayuri, Mr. Nakamoto noticed how she didn't showcase her quirk at all unlike the rest of her classmates that did. As he opened his mouth-ready to ask her why she wasn't showcasing her quirk, he slowly closed it once more. He remembered now. When he first saw her files, it was inked down to the paper that she was quirkless.  No special ability to call her own.

Shaking his head, he continued to allow his students to chatter with each other. Ah, youth. Filled with energy and the will to succeed. This was the generation that would one day lead the country and then have kids of their own, to love and watch grow. Smiling, he hoped that he would be healthy and alive until then. The amount of gossip he could inform their future children would be hilarious. 

When class was dismissed, Shirayuri got up and took her belongings with her. The others left their belongings in the class to prepared for the party outside. Glancing at Shirayuri, a girl opened her mouth.

"You're not going to be joining us for the party Shirayuri? Why not join us? Cmon, leave your bag in the class." 

Another girl nodded, using her quirk, the group of girls watched as they saw the party that was waiting for guests to arrive. Gasping in awe, Shirayuri merely nodded her head and continued walking.

Yurina Sakamoto - quirk : Sweet Rainbow 

Her quirk allows her to create rainbows anywhere, the sky included by using a mixture of fruits, sugar and honey. Though, she can only use the specific colours of the rainbow. 

Kazane Suzuki - quirk : Three-Eyed Ave

Kazane's quirk allows her to possess any bird, when possessing that bird, she can hear and observe the environment around the bird, human conversation included. Additionally, she can control the bird to attack others. For now, she has a limit of one bird. As long as the bird is still alive, she can possess it from a great distance. Because of her quirk, Kazane was believed to have the highest potential in their class to become a famous hero. 

Hitomi Hamada - quirk : Projector

Allows her to project information and descriptions made by others from her mind, she has a time limit of ten seconds before she suffers from the drawbacks of her quirk. Though, this time limit doesn't affect her if she flashes the projected item for a couple of seconds under ten and then wait another second before projecting it again. 

Together, these three were popular in their class. Yurina for her confectionary and performances, Kazane with her powerful quirk useful when becoming a hero and Hitomi who sometimes help the class when the teacher briefly left the class during tests. Shirayuri blinked at them, face not showing any reaction to the stunts pulled by Yurina's quirk. 

"I'm not really interested in eating the food and drinks provided, what's more is that I have training to attend." Shirayuri stated, turning her body around and continuing to walk, more interested in leaving the school grounds. 

Yurina's shoulders dropped but she allowed the girl to disappear. Shame, she was finally hopping that this was the day that the white-haired teen would try and taste her rainbows once they start raining from the sky, everyone usually loves that when the rainbow eventually breaks apart. Ever since she saw a look of disgust on the teen's face when she first showcased her quirk, it made it one of her missions during school for the girl to enjoy it. But of course, she almost never did attend school for reasons unknown to the class and even some of the teachers.Kazane placed an arm around her friend for comfort as they watched Shirayuri leave the school alone. 

"I don't think this will be the last time we will be hearing and seeing Shirayuri, don't fret Yuri." Hitomi smiled, smiling as she looked down at their classmate. To her surprise, Shirayuri was almost at the gate of the school despite talking to them a few minutes prior. 

Her friends nodded, feeling less disappointed than they were just a few moments ago. Together, they walked back towards the class. Mr.Nakamoto watched the three girls re-enter the room without Shirayuri. He still hadn't leave the room, opting to take a trip down memory lane once the last student had left the class. In his hand, he held a few works that were submitted through servants working for the white-haired teen's family. 

Straightforward, sometimes short sentences and absent of emotions. Her work truly resonated with the girl. So full of mystery that made anyone curious and try to chase after her, only to stop and rethink their actions when they meet her eyes. How does the eyes of a child look as if they had been through the abyss and back? Perhaps a change in emotion could be seen when the rest of her face also shifts? How would anyone know, Her micro expressions could be considered as myths. Micro expressions were facial expressions that occur and could only be seen in a fraction of a second. This to the teacher was the true emotion anyone felt when given news/information about something. 

Leaving the area, Shirayuri made a turn and headed towards an alleyway filled with shade. With no fear in her heart, she enjoyed the silence and occasional random sound made by either stray animals or random humans lurking about. When her nose picked up another scent, did she chose to briefly turn her head before continuing on walking. Turning to a corner, she could feel the change in environment. As if someone was now right behind her. 

"Hey young lady, are you lost?" 

"..."

"Feeling a bit scared, don't worry, I may be no hero but I am able to protect a damsel." 

Shirayuri stopped walking, the gruff voice from earlier alongside his disgusting scent finally reaching her sinuses. Wrinkling her nose, one of the things she disliked since learning about the quirk phenomenon. Sometimes, the quirk affects the quality of the human. Closing her eyes, after a brief moment of silence and a hand placed on her shoulder did her eyes snap open and her leg did a flip. Barely missing the head of the man as it slammed and cracked the wall right beside them. The man grimaced as the two locked-eyes in slow-motion. She growled at him for a moment, telling him to back off. Once that was done, Shirayuri immediately placed her leg back down and began running away from the alley. 

Seeing an open manhole a few feet away from her, she immediately jumped inside and traversed through the sewers, doing her best to avoid the man that was chasing after her. 

She didn't stop running for a good amount of time, reaching a much broader area of the sewers under the city. Her eyes widened, realising the change in quality of the sewers. The walls looked ancient, with different markings and holes that ranged from scratches, collisions, burns and etc. When she approached them, did she feel a shiver run down her spine. Touching it, she hummed in understanding. 

So, this was where they used to train too. 

Shirayuri bowed, to show respect to seemingly nothing. After that, did she kneel down and began to pray. Silence enveloped the area, besides the occasional sound of dripping water and distant sounds of moving water. Once she was done,  she sat down her bag in a dry area, the white-haired teenager did some stretching while observing more of the area around her. 

Her phone opened, three consecutive messages were sent at the same time. 

March, XX, 20XX

New Message from Uncle Tsukiyama 🍴 (3)

Weather/Temperature 10°C

24th Ward, Tokyo, Japan

Ghoul Grades

SSS

SS

S+

S

A

B

C

Measured through their kagune, speed, strength, IQ, influence, activeness and hostility, a ghoul's rank may increase if they surpass the grade they were first thought to be placed in. This could happen anytime, when the ghoul in question was in a fight against investigators or was linked to a chain of crimes.

Being a C-class ghoul would be near to impossible, they never had a chance of survival at all if they were in the outside world, even if protected by upper class ghouls. In the past, they mostly attack unarmed humans, never brave enough to fight investigators. B-rank ghouls are small threats, they would already have mastered their kagune to be in this rank. A-grade ghouls would usually have a second tail or tentacle depending on their Rc type and are considered a threat at this stage. Despite the condescending words that surround these ranks, they were still 4-7 times stronger than a human. 

Confronting an S-graded ghoul is when the difficulty reaches a whole new level. Especially if they were S+ and SS. Multiple special graded ghouls were needed to handle them, even then victory wasn't guaranteed as it could end terribly badly for both sides. One losing a highly talented ghoul whereas the other side lost multiple trained special investigators that had been learning and have been on-duty for a long period of time. Until know, it's unknown how much power imbalance there is among the S grade and above it. 

But the highest class, SSS class, now, that criteria itself is unknown. Because there was only one known ghoul that was placed in the criteria, and that was the One-Eyed Owl. They were great in size and almost impossible to defeat. In one night was it able to slaughter an entire army of investigators while laughing, only when the sun rose did it disappear back in the shadows to celebrate its victory and rest its body. It was certain that there were other SSS ghouls in the past, but, their ideologies didn't align with the One-Eyed Owl's leaving them to choose living life as a hermit. 

Extremely powerful ghouls, terrifying as they are tragic. Their characters written by fate to be a tragedy since the moment they were born. As if they were trying to embody the devil within them. the same Devil that shook the Earth during the first generation of quirk-users, crawling out to fetch all of his demons before returning them back to Hell in just one night. In One night where he was summoned did tsunamis struck many coastal areas, buildings shook and crumble, volcanoes blushing, roaring as they spewed out lava. 

He made the lives of humans easier, by ridding the race that had long been their predator. In the following generations were the race of ghouls now considered extinct; the evidence of their existence now residing in museums. Quinques once used to slice and slaughter them, now collecting dust under artificial light. White coats hung and pinned in the closets of now deceased investigators or up for display. Perhaps you can even find some for sale online at either ridiculously high prices or prices so low the material being stated made out of leather was too good to be true. 

There was a famous woman, a woman with the ability to remain immortal up until her wish has been granted. Many wonder what her wish was, countless individuals from different nations presenting her with gifts from their nations to help the old woman move on and free the soul from her body that was now too old to have any other uses other than slow speaking, blinking, consuming, drinking, rid itself of waste and sleeping. 

"When I was young, there were ghouls," she would start her story, those infamous words that were replayed countless times by humans. To some, it sends shivers of either fear, excitement or interest. There was a faint smile on the old lady's face, as if she was staring at the great blue sky on a beautiful summer day. Or perhaps she was walking under the sakura blossoms in spring, accompanied by her friends or a significant other that completed her. "Some so powerful that they can shift and could compare to great heroes with quirks allowing them to shift into great titans."

"Some say they crawled back into the depths of the Earth, leaving no proof of their existence...some others say they were folk tales to begin with."

"To me, they're simply waiting for humans to get their shit together." She chuckled, observing the shocked reactions of many when she cussed. Ah, that never grows old. For others to assume that she was just a weak old woman whose great fire was reduced to mere embers. 

"I would like to witness that one day, where they return from the shadows and rejoin society..." 

"His excellency, the One-Eyed King would have loved that." 

No one knew who was the One-Eyed King, the old woman refused to open her mouth about who he was. All they knew was that he was the one powerful enough to lead and control an entire race known for their cruel and cannibalistic ways. Some would shiver, wondering if he himself was the cause of the great earthquake decades prior, or perhaps, if he was the Devil himself. 

At some point in the future, will there be a day humanity receives a reminder, a reminder that they weren't always at the top of the food chain. They weren't at the bottom, but the imbalance could be compared to that of a great Grand Canyon. 

Shirayuri laid in bed, a blanket covering her until it reached her nose. She watched the video again, sometimes having a shiver go through her body whenever they reach the part of the King. It was also the most replayed part of the video, comments underneath the video arguing if the king's existence was true or merely a myth that an old lady believed because of her old age and withering mind.

The old lady was someone Shirayuri had a decent amount of respect for, even if both of them have never met. 

There were a couple of artworks that would attempt to depict what he looked like. The first one was a skeleton sitting on a throne, a crown around its head and wore clothes of medieval times. The second was a demon-like art with a red background, the thing had one eye in the centre of its head like a cyclops. There were more but, they all were too similar to each other. The point was, all of them looked monstrous and demon-like. 

It was a shame. 

No one attempted to depict him as having human-like features. 

Suddenly feeling awake, she turned on the lights of her room and went towards her desk. Sitting down, she grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper. Straightening the paper, making sure it was landscape, Shirayuri began sketching what she thinks the one-eyed king would look like. 

Because the title was king, she would make her sketch more male-like. 

He would look human, a blank expression on his face. 

The king unlike what most would draw or believe, would actually have two eyes. The only difference is their colour : one eye would be a normal colour while the other iris would be red and glowing. She paused, deciding to draw a mask on his face that covered his normal eye. 

Time passed by, when she yawned, it was finally time for her to stop drawing. Blowing away some eraser residue, Shirayuri lifted up her art and began inspecting it. 

"Strange," she smiled, bringing it closer towards the light. "He kind of looks like me before I added the mask."

From behind his mask feared by all, Ken Kaneki sat on his red leather chair in his office; doing his daily paperwork. His kakugan briefly appearing from time to time whenever something irks him in the reports. Surrounding him were countless books, organised to perfection by his secretary. He wore a classic black suit with formal black shoes and a black tie to go with the outfit. Like his eyes, he looked sharp and refined. A perfect example of what a man who has hit shit together should look like ideally. 

Miwa gulped, observing him from the corner of her eye as she re-signed the same paperwork again. Her eyes widened, whispering a curse as she turned her pen upside down to erase the ink marks with friction. (Thank you to whoever invented erasable pens)

Unlike her boss/king, she was at least an A-rated ghoul in terms of a criteria that was once used by the Commission of Counter Ghoul better known as CCG. Strapped to her belt was a katana, the same sword used by Kaneki if he was not in the mood to utilise his kagunes. With his experience, he could easily slice through two of their kind in merely a few seconds. Oh to have that amount of training...

That would take her almost a decade with the rate she's improving. 

His powerful powerful kagunes enhanced by his dragon organs, connected to his kakuhos. She could practically  imagine him taking down an army with no problem, the highest ranked investigators having nothing on him-

"Miwa, you're drooling." Kaneki stated, no smile appearing on his face. His eyes were blank of any emotion

Miwa yelped, standing up straight and bowing in apology, hissing a bit when her head slammed onto the mahogany desk. Kaneki looked up from his papers, expecting something from the fresh-out-of-high-school student. Embarrassed, Miwa cleared her throat and apologised to her boss. 

"Ah! I'm s-sorry Mr. Kaneki! I d-didn't mean to interrupt you at all!" Miwa stuttered out, her embarrassment growing as her cheeks turned red. She groaned and slumped down on her chair, great, could she be more of a useless embarrassment? 

Kaneki stood up, chair scraping loudly against the floor. This caused the young adult to  jump from her seat over the screeching noise hurting her sensitive ears.  She stood frozen in place, holding in a breath as he walked over towards her as if she had dropped such shocking news to him. She looked down, refusing to meet his gaze, Kaneki clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. 

"Look at me, Miwa." he purred, holding her chin with two fingers and forcing her to slowly look up. 

She met his gaze.

His right eye was a beautiful storm grey, whereas his left eye was occupied by his kakugan. If she paid closer attention, she could see the truth of the world the more she pays attention to his kakugan. 

He was a king.

She was his slave.

"Miwa...could you please give me the reports?" Kaneki shot his secretary a concerned look, it hadn't even been five minutes yet she was entering a dreamlike state once more. The man was confused when a familiar scent permeated into the air that came from his secretary. He's familiar with it, usually found in the brothels he visited when searching for a target and dealing with them when located. 

"O-oh right of course sir!" Miwa stuttered, collecting all the papers and practically hopping her way towards him. Her electric blue ukaku wings manifesting and fluttering behind her excitedly. Fuck, she really shouldn't have stayed up during the night to re-read her favourite fanfics. 

Miwa's face reddened, watching how the man observed her kagune. As she handed them, her hands intertwined as he paid no attention to her face. Unlike the queen, she had no ability to infuse her attacks with electricity. Perhaps that would be for the best, she wouldn't want to accidentally loose control. 

When she heard his hum of approval, she quickly bowed and turned back to return to her place in his office. Further away from his scent and body. Even when she returned back to her post, his scent lingered. Closing her eyes, she hoped it stuck to her body and clothes. Oh how she can brag to her friends after this once work was finished. 

"Sir?"

"Hmm?"

"I heard that it was now possible to travel closer to humans without the need for the Haraguchi bloodline?" Kaneki looked up, nodding at his secretary.

"Times are changing, it has been since my family and I took charge of this civilisation." He stated, flipping through some papers as he took another one. Miwa nodded, opening her mouth to sing praise towards the leader of many. Even years after he became king, did he remain humble and never forgot about his family and friends that had stood by him since the moment he became one of them. His rise, was the start of a new era. A greater era that would be completely different from the era of blood. "Soon the world would experience a great change Miwa, something humans would deny accepting but in the end, they will have to accept." 

Miwa's eyes perked up, briefly standing on the tips of her toes, creasing her shoes too in the process. 

"I can't wait for everything to come down to fruition sir, I've been training long and hard to make sure I don't fall back and burden you!" she chirped, practically moving up and down in her place. She was sometimes similar to a child in an adult's body, adorable but sometimes annoying. 

"Be patient Miwa, do that for me?"

She would die for this man, Kaneki sighed again, he should really stop testing out Hide's advice if this was constantly going to happen during working hours. Standing up, he needed a distraction and a break. And he knew the exact solution. 

"Call my wife please, tell her I need her in my office and you can leave us alone." 

Seeing the distraught look on her face, he almost smiled and broke his harmless facade as the young adult did as she was told. Touka shook her head when she met the eyes of the young girl, straddling Kaneki as she complained of his actions and words. In return, Kaneki kissed her fingers.

"You're the only one for me, so perfect," he kissed her bangs, her forehead and trailed his lips down from her face to her neck. "So perfect for me, my wife, the mother to my children."

Miwa groaned, ghouls have enhanced hearing if anyone had forgotten!

When they were returning home, Touka with a sad expression looked up. Noticing this, Kaneki wrapped an arm around her shoulder for comfort. Touka sighed and rubbed herself against him a bit for more comfort. 

"Touka, it was for the better. We should have done what was done almost a decade prior. But, still, our work here isn't done." 

"When the work is done, can I finally see my daughter again? I don't have to rely on pictures, holograms, holidays and videos just to see her grow up." Touka asked, Kaneki nodded. He understood very well what his mate was telling him. He wished that he could've brought her home, he truly wished he could. But he would tear the world apart and crumble everyone he could care less about if he were to see a white sheet covering a body at an altar, waiting to be burnt. 

Everything would be in vain. 

Eyes followed their movement, Kaneki's kakugan activated. He took a deep breath, it seemed that they had company, eager to stay for quite a while for a meaningful conversation with him. Without much to say, Touka understood as she had sensed the arrival of others too. 

"Be a dear for me my love, I'm worried that Arata and Ichika are ganging up on Kishou now that he's all alone." Touka nodded, briefly kissing his lips before walking inside of the house. As she was about to close the door, she smiled once more at her husband. 

Kaneki turned his back, raising his hand, he cracked his fingers. One flinched, remembering the infamous action of the king before every fight he enters and wins without causing much destruction to the surrounding area, most of the time. 

"Now then, gentleman, are we going to stay here all day, or are we going to fight?" 

Multiple masked men charged at him at the same time, with his experience in martial arts did Kaneki easily dodge their attacks. Toying with them for a bit, he released his kagunes and pierced them all in their abdomens. When blood spewed out of their mouths did he slammed their bodies against each other hardly to the point all of them could hear their bones crack from force of impact. 

Dropping them onto the ground, Kaneki placed his foot on one of their throats and applied light pressure to it. Blood spurted from the new open wound of the ghoul under him, his face frowned. Blood had seeped into his white socks. white socks. 

"I'll leave you all here as evidence for your friends, now, do me a favour and don't be so loud." He warned, giving them no second glance as he took off his shoes outside and entered the house, locking the door behind him. God, wearing wet socks were uncomfortable. 

Chapter Text

It was sometimes possible, to find a heavily interesting article regarding a scandal. Sometimes, there are moments when you just want to re-read it again for the entertainment and you do just that, searching using keywords on the internet for it. Only to find it gone, as if it had never been published with nothing covering the topic.

Buried underneath countless other articles of other crimes, scandals of celebrities especially heroes and news. With money, to remain in the dark was that simple. Money keeps the world turning and thriving, without it, everything would be in chaos. That was why a system existed and was installed. To keep the peace, to protect and to allow the hearts of everyone to be at ease without constantly suffering from fear and paranoia. That wasn't healthy, it would take a toll on our bodies soon. 

When something takes a toll on our bodies, we choose to remain in doors to recuperate for a certain amount of time until we are ready to face the world once again in a state of prime. Though their main estate was further away from the city, there were times when she was frisky about being in a certain location cooped up for far too long. Leaving her guardian no choice but to purchase a penthouse in a city high up just so she could enjoy the view and have her own territory. There kind did treasure their territory, becoming aggressive when it was infiltrated by foreigners. Especially younger ghouls, who would even sometimes hiss and growl at their parents for disrupting their feeding in their own rooms or just walking in to talk to them. 

Parents would sometimes submit, but because of the nature of more aggressive ghouls, most would hiss and growl back without having any intention to fight or scold them. It was rare to see a soft reaction because simply, softer and submissive ghouls had long been gone due to all the exterminations during generation one. Aggressive bloodlines, create hostile and the same future generations. A repeating cycle.

"Are you sponsoring Adidas?" Shuu Tsukiyama asked, the current head of the Tsukiyama Group. 

They were a powerful family, having founded their business and thrived since the end of World War 2. The Tsukiyama Group was a powerful international Business Conglomerate. with holdings in multiple sectors and around 20 subsidiaries under them. Their true influence comes through food, precious metals, iron & steel, chemistry, medical care and education. Due to this, they hold a large amount of influence and have used it for political, business and financial purposes. How do you think they were able to save themselves and remained beside humans after quirks manifested.

They too were the reason many remained in hiding and continued to thrive despite the conditions given. 

Ever since the incident that took her parents a few years ago, Shirayuri had been living with him; her uncle who was eager to help introduce her better to society after she chose to shun herself and rethink her choices. He was the one who sharpened her etiquette, speech, behaviour and anything she needed to know to fit right in with the rest of his family who were worried about the change in social status. 

Instead of being burdened with the label of being an orphan, she was registered as being adopted by Shuu Tsukiyama. Changing her surname from the ones of her parents to something new completely. She didn't really know why her surname was changed, nor could she clearly remember what it once was. Now, she was completely cut off from her previous parents. As if she missed them in the first place, she had no recollection of memories with them nor knew what they looked like. She could only theorise what was their hair colour of eye colour based on her own looks. 

"Yes, I have been for a while now." Shirayuri answered, looking at her outfit in the mirror once again. 

Tying her hair into a ponytail, she adjusted her medical white eyepatch and then did a couple of poses with her outfit : a black v neck cropped top that exposed enough of her midrift, black and white Danielle Cathari Trackpants and white falcon shoes. To many, her clothes would seem unfit to be worn at her age-but, this was an age where mindsets had evolved and were less influenced by the past. The focus was on the future, leaving almost no room for the past until it emerges once again as a great wave.

It was contradictory, to hide her kakugan whilst also considering the use of her kagunes. But, in this day and age, there were many heroes who have the ability to use tendrils and countless individuals too had wings. But quirks similar to kagunes whilst also have a black sclera and scarlet red iris that sometimes glow? 

Shirayuri looked down, losing herself to her thoughts. If her kind was declared to have gone extinct near the end of the first generation of quirk users, and a generation is about 20-30 years then let's multiply 30 with 5 then...that's about 150 years ago. One and a half centuries...

'The truth will be dug up eventually, until then, I can only prepare myself for the countless possibilities once the cat is out of the bag.' Shirayuri thought, nodding to herself while looking out the tall glass panels. Until then, she won't take any chances. Since that incident, her family's protection only worsened. Attending only schools that were under the influence of the Tsukiyama family, segregating her from events that require interactions with many humans, unable to leave the property without escort or just wanted to go outside. If people were to find out without her being in the proper state of mind, there were many things that could happen and go wrong. 

'Many things could go wrong, you're not ready, stay inside.'

Everything was handed to her on a silver platter. Even her education was mostly learnt and practiced at home, with the best teachers in Japan for each subject coming to her house and leaving her with enough work to remain busy. That was why she was able to stay at the top of her class, despite barely showing up for most of the school year. Not to mention that the Tsukiyama Group is also a large investor of that private school.

Privilege is a power, something that easily causes an imbalance of power different and sometimes more effective than having a quirk that is more powerful compared to others in a certain batch. You can be powerful, you can rise up on your own. But, would the results sometimes be the same as those who was given a ladder? 

Her phone let out its normal notification sound, buzzing and lighting up as normal. Walking towards it, she picked it up and read the message on her Lock Screen.

U.A High School

Opening her phone with facial recognition, she pressed a shortcut that allowed her to see her messages. Reading newly sent ones, Shirayuri smiled at the sent messages before sliding her thumb to play Spotify. Kissing the man on the cheek, she was escorted out the door with her bodyguards towards the elevator. Tsukiyama sighed, finishing his wave as he checked his phone for new messages. Just as expected, they were sent. Now with that settled, he has other business to attend to. 

With Shirayuri, she nodded at acknowledgement at a couple of the bodyguards as she sat in the car, placing one of her legs over the other as she made herself comfortable. The car turned on, the driver setting the coordinates on the map before steering the car to get out of the parking slot. 

She felt like a character from a thriller show trying to blend in. 

Entering the grounds, she wrinkled her nose at the scent of humans. Her mouth watered a bit, having crave the taste for more food after going almost two weeks without it. They smelled delicious. Although ghouls typically devour one human per month and wait another month before feeding, she was lucky enough to eat everyday, three times. Human meat moulded to resemble steak served with blood sauce. During dinner, would sometimes Tsukiyama allow her to try a sip of blood wine. A drink that is very similar to wine especially with how its crafted and its properties. Another drink popular to consume besides water and coffee. 

Full-grown woman. Meat. 

Full-grown man. Meat.

Adolescent female. Meat.

Adolescent male. Meat.

Oh hey, that one was 2 in 1! Shirayuri's eyes widened, realising that the 2 in 1 meal wore uniform. Casually she walked with a smile on her face towards somewhere. Opening her mouth to say something, she eventually closed it with no words coming out. 

Well, that was one form of climbing up the ladder. Wouldn't be long before this would end up as a large scandal all over the internet once it was exposed. The future of two humans being ruined and possibly three if the foetus was not aborted. 

Having an insatiable diet seemed to run in her family, but of course, they limit themselves to not draw suspicion. God forbid they lurk around and murder in the shadows just because they were in a frenzied state of hunger. Following the other students, Shirayuri took out her stationary and waited for the written exam to begin. The recommendation exam consisted of three parts : a written test, a practical test and finally an interview. 

Placing her hand on her desk, she looked as if she was day dreaming when she was truly just listening to the conversation of others. Her eyes focused on a tall pretty girl with a rather flamboyant pony-tail, then a student with brown hair, another guy that was not really that attractive and so on and so forth. 

'Why the fuck are you even judging if they're attractive or not, you're a ghoul, they're humans.' Shirayuri's inner voice scolded her, the girl held back from rolling her eyes as a cartoon speech bubble showcased revealing the angry inner her holding a belt. 

"You can do this Momo, you've studied all night for this. Now just remember that the formula for ---

"Well I'm fucked."

"I wonder who was that homeless looking guy?"

"Is that the son of Endeavor we walked past?" 

"Yeah, that's Shoto Todoroki." 

Nothing out of the ordinary, dissatisfied with the lack of interesting words exchanged, Shirayuri yawned and paid no mind to anything until the familiar scent of an adult permeated into the room. Following the scent of the hero, her eyes snapped open when a cold presence enter the room. Frowning, great, someone had an ice quirk. Although elemental quirks are powerful (at least most of the time), it really affects the user. At least to Ghouls, sometimes when it comes to those types of quirk-users personal preference of taste and smell comes into action. 

Fire quirks usually smell like...well, fire or smoke. When consumed they could taste like freshly grilled meat, a dish with some heat to it and the best when it could mimic a barbecue. 

Water depends, sometimes they can be salty like the ocean or have no special scent at all. Think of this as something similar to sea food, personally, Shirayuri has a preference for water-based quirk users. There were multiple ways to serve them that prevented boredom. 

Nature really depends on how the individual's quirk works. Much better blended or with little to no seasoning, chop them into smaller pieces, slice some parts into ultra-thin pieces and voila! A cold-cut platter with some blood sauce on top. If you're feeling mischievous, with the sauce, draw a pentagram on top of it.

Ground...the only time she detected someone who smells good with a geo related quirk was a tall handsome man who was also half-dragon. 👍🏻

Shirayuri blinked and squinted at nothing, trying to remember if she had eaten anyone with a ground-based quirk...nope, no clue. As Shirayuri continued going through memory lane whilst drowning herself in her thoughts, everyone else besides a few others began to mentally prepare for the test to begin. 

Focusing out of the classroom, inside of another room. The heroes at U.A went by the list of recommendation students. Leading the meeting, was their principal-an animal : Nezu. The principal hummed, looking through the papers before pointing out a few couple of names.

"I wonder what this new batch of students would look like, everyone's quirk from all the files I read is unique with almost no similarities to each other." Nezu stated, looking over at Eraser Head. The Erasure Hero shook his head, disagreeing with the principal. 

Present Mic hummed a song, Midnight adjusted her glasses, Snipe was wondering if the way he breathes through his mask really resembled Darth Vader and Power Loader was snickering at the comment he made to his colleague.

"That's because you suddenly started hibernating." Nezu laughed, of course he would hibernate, he was a chimera! The bear side of him demanded to go to sleep whereas the dog part of him and other parts voiced their opinion to play, eat and do something Youtube viral worthy. 

"You can't blame someone for their biology Eraser Head, our biology is something we can't change about ourselves." Nezu began, the other teachers listening and agreeing with his words. "If we could, then perhaps ghouls would still be among us, yet, they are all gone."

Midnight tensed, Present Mic stopped humming, Eraser Head continued scanning through the papers and the other teachers stopped in their actions. Nezu's smile remained, everyone especially himself knew he was correct. 

"Those were cruel times, something that we humans especially heroes will take an eternity begging for forgiveness. That's why, it's also important for the future generations to learn, acknowledge and prevent events like those from happening again." 

"Their future generations weren't given a chance to learn." 

Perhaps it was bias that made Nezu say those words, of course, he could form a sort of relation with ghouls because he too was subjected to experiments-torturous ones before his time came to become the highest authoritative figure in an institute of education for the youth, the same youth from the same race that abused and mistreated him. He wouldn't lie when he says his Mr.Hyde comes out at given opportunities. Opportunities to release his sadistic side without much worry of the aftermath of his actions because in the end, it was for educational purposes and to shape students to becoming heroes. 

The second phase was the practical test. They were given a hologram of what the obstacle course looked like with mountain climbing, tight ropes between mountains, a damn waterfall and fake buildings with the last part just simply being an empty area for them to cross the finish line after that intense process to get there. Shirayuri blinked, observing the blonde man holding a stop watch with the incoming appearance of heavy winds and...ice. 

"Can't handle the cold?" a green-haired girl asked , Shirayuri looked towards the direction of the voice.

The girl had dark moss-coloured hair and dark green eyes to match it. Similar to her, she wore clothes fit for sports but a different colour scheme. Shirayuri nodded, placing her hands inside of her pockets. Seeing this made the other girl smile a bit and stand beside the other as they watched the now one on one race of two boys with an ice quirk and a wind quirk. 

"You don't seem like a foreigner, so why can't you handle the cold?" She asked, curious.

"It's a part of my quirk," Shirayuri spoke to her, glancing at the leftover trail of ice. The other girl's eyes too now focused on the trail of ice before seeing the wind user trail after the ice user. "My senses are all incredibly heightened, it doesn't take much thinking to know its drawbacks." 

The girl laughed hearing her words.

"Alright alright, I see you dislike talking much about your weaknesses...Setsuna Tokage, nice to meet you." Setsuna introduced herself, Shirayuri looking down a bit. 

"Shirayuri." 

When it was time for their turn, they and other students took their starting positions. Present Mic, the voice hero began his countdown. Everyone who wasn't participating now focused on the new batch of racers. Getting into stance, Shirayuri wondered briefly what a world with both humans and ghouls living together side-by-side looks like. To her, it looked uncertain and unpredictable. Yet this could also be fun, just run wild and be free, be free Shirayuri. Free to do whatever it is you desire, that makes you happy and most of all, makes you love this world that I too once loved.

"3...2...1 GO!" 

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, her ghoul side blooming a smile filled with a teeth at being let free, her Rc cells burned and felt like flames lighting up inside of her kakuhos and dragon organs. In a blur, Shirayuri took off. Setsuna and the others eyes widened, watching from where they were left behind as Shirayuri allowed her instincts to take control, her kakugan appearing from under her medical eye patch due to her internal excitement. With one jump did she easily make her way towards the top of the man-made mountain, the dirt gripped by her hands as she briefly kneeled once at the top. The next second, she was crossing the tight rope with no problem until she slipped and her eyes widened.

In her state of surprise did she also automatically changed her fate, gripping onto the tight rope with one hand, the ghoul twisted her body and threw herself onto the other side from where she came. Landing on her feet, she looked back and nodded mindlessly before continuing on with the race. 

Startled, a few of the teachers jumped from their seats at what had just occurred in front of their eyes. Almost forgetting entirely that it was a race, the attention span of the teachers were now at her. The number one hero's eyes widened, surprised at the amount of skill displayed in a matter of seconds. Though he had high expectations for the recommendations, especially the son of the number two hero- but the adopted daughter of a CEO? 

"Number 23, what's her quirk?" All Might in his small form asked, squinting his eyes at the screen.

Eraser Head flipped through the papers, his resting face slowly hardening when he found her information paper. Midnight nudged Snipe, who slapped her hand away for trying to break his concentration from the screen-the somnambulist quirk-user puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms in annoyance. Choosing to focus back on the screen too. 

"All right, who did the paperworks approving her for the recommendation exam?" Eraser Head glared, Present Mic excitedly raised his hand from where he appeared on the giant screen in the observation room. "Hizashi. She's registered as quirkless."

"Oh, I think I was drunk when I approved, wine can be a bit strong these days." Present Mic bonked his head, winking at the direction of a camera while sticking out his tongue with sparkling eyes. The Erasure Hero groaned, focusing back on the quirkless girl. Great, just great. He needs to inform her guardian to have her re-registered to the government regarding this.

When Shirayuri arrived at the finish line, when she looked back, no one else was behind her. Taking a deep breath, she did a couple of stretches as she walked towards the teacher whose jaw dropped as he looked from the phone screen to her. 

"That's...the fastest time ever achieved in the history of recommendation exams." Shirayuri nodded, taking pride at that without showing it. 

"History of recommendation exams? That was literally faster than the time needed for a third year to cross the finish line during the Sports Festival." 

Outside on the field, Present Mic was spluttering out incoherent words as Shirayuri looked at the sun. Did she remember to bring her sunscreen? She was afraid that it would had weaken a little after jumping from a waterfall. 

"To think, they had a waterfall prepared..." Shirayuri said to herself, rather amazed. 

"Isn't that...?" Midnight's voice trailed off, Eraser Head confirmed her words. Both of their faces were Grimm, remembering now where they must have seen Shirayuri years prior to their second meeting. 

Nezu smiled, taking a sip of his tea. "Call number 23, I want us interview her first."

Feeling satisfied with herself, the ghoul decided to reward herself by sitting under a tree and enjoying the peace and quiet. By now, most of the other contestants were at or was in the process of reaching the finish line. Looking at the time on her watch, she blew out a puff of breath. Closing her eyes, the sound of nature was relaxing and calming her senses down when she sensed that someone was watching her.

Opening the one eye not covered, her eyes fixated on a male, tall with black sweatpants, jacket and a white shirt underneath looking at her. His eyes were wide, almost in disbelief as he looked at her. Checking behind her, nope, no one was behind her. 

'What's up with him?' 

"Shirayuri Kaneki, you're up first for the interview with Principal Nezu."

"Adopted daughter of Shuu Tsukiyama, head of the Tsukiyama Group." 

The interview was strange at first, with the chimera stating something and then Shirayuri confirming if it was true. And for the past two minutes, he had been correct with all the data being read out. If she thought about it, this was similar to that one scene in typical mystery movies. Speaking of mystery movies and changing to the topic of investigations, perhaps she should re-read Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. 

The book was calming to read on a nice dark and rainy day, a glass filled with red liquid on a table beside her as she read whilst comfortably sitting upon a burgundy, long arm chair with a pillow by her side. Sometimes would her position shift to place her legs too on the chair. 

"Young Kaneki, you're not actually quirkless are you? Nezu asked, Shirayuri nodded her head. "Then why did your parents never register your quirk? Didn't that cause you to suffer any bullying?" 

How could she know why her parents never registered her quirk? She couldn't get the answer now. And even then, seemingly no one around her had much information about the two who had long taken care of her before Tsukiyama. 

"It never did stand out after it manifested. I lived a protected life under the care of uncle Tsukiyama so I never suffered from bullying, additionally I had always been active in sports and training for many years." She answered, not bringing out that she was a ghoul. 

Fuck she was a hypocrite, being all right with revealing herself but when she can purposely reveal it she backs away like a coward. Nezu's beady eyes showed no reaction, as if it could, the only change in emotion one could tell with those types of eyes is when they change in shape or width. 

"It seems that I have about three more minutes before I have to move on to the next student, so...young Kaneki, why is it that you want to become a hero?" 

She didn't answer immediately. Her thumbs played against each other on her lap, glancing around a bit before speaking. 

"To be honest...the exact reason isn't clear to me, but, what is clear to me is that I will use my abilities while also helping my family expand more into the hero world to help their business." 

That was what she had came up with. Nezu said nothing, yet, there was smile on his face. Shirayuri's hair fell a bit to hide more of her eyes, although she shouldn't be-she felt very uncomfortable at the moment. 

"May I be excused, I'm feeling rather parched..." she coughed, touching her throat to place an emphasis. 

"Yes you may, thank you for your time Shirayuri Kaneki." 

After exiting the room, it didn't take long after taking a few steps did a scent strike her nose. A scent mixed with the fresh smell of snow in the morning and a gentle smell of fire that when seen, seemed harmless unlike how its usually portrayed in various sources of entertainment. 

Looking in front of her, she met a pair of eyes affected by heterochromia iridium. One eye was grey whereas the other was a bright blue. Keeping her head down, she continued walking and moved to the side to not bump pass the individual her age.

He didn't say anything when the two were finally shoulder to shoulder, but it seemed for her that the world stopped right at that moment. Due to her speed, she allowed herself to quickly glimpse a look on his face. A scar, an expressionless face with eyes filled with varying types of emotion ranging from hatred to pain. He was about a few centimetres taller than her. Looking back forward, she continued back on her path. 

She wonders what a human had experienced to become like that at such an early age, taking out her phone, she stared at her own reflection in the black screen-for the first time in a while, did she take a good look at her eye, briefly, did she pull up the eye patch to see her kakugan staring back into her. 

Outside the gate of U.A, Setsuna smiled at Shirayuri as she was about to enter the car picking her up.

"See you in official uniform Kaneki." 

Shirayuri said nothing, opting to send the girl who parted with her nothing. She was nice and friendly to her, but Shirayuri just wasn't interested in further solidifying their bond. 

That night, Shirayuri stared down at her food. This time it resembled steak tartare with salt for seasoning. Taking her fork, she was hesitant as she stabbed the meat and brought it up to her mouth. Sniffing it, all her woes were momentarily forgotten the moment she instinctively opened her mouth and tasted the fresh meat on her taste buds. If there was anything she was told during her time in the underground, was that hermit ghouls had to eat bodies that had been lying for many hours because those who died by suicide chose to do it deeper into the forest. Because of quirks, nowadays fresher bodies were easier to find. Crime was just much easier and tempting to commit because of supernatural capabilities found in a race whose had it for less than a mere minute in the lifespan of Lucifer Morningstar. Don't forget that many too chose to end their lives for a variety of reasons, but they gave no care and consumed them while providing food for the ones in the shadows. 

"Isn't it kind of comedic, how I spent a day with humans and now I devour them?" Shirayuri spoke to the servants, the ghouls stiffening and choosing to look down when she turned her head to gaze up from her plate to whatever was in front of her. "But this is my biology, I cannot deny the circumstances I was given with to live in this world." 

Turning on her phone, she scrolled through the contacts until she found the one belonging to her family. She smiled, re-reading all the messages sent today and the previous day. She missed them all, thinking it was unfair how she could feel the love of her social circle through the rare times they could meet each other. She couldn't wait until that day came, until now, she'll try to stay alive and live the life they had always yearned for her to have. In the world that they desired and shaped. 

Chapter Text

Have spirit! No one forced you to join U.A!

That was an inside joke from seniors to underclassmen, because it was true. No one forced the first-years to join U.A, they came to the school due to their own wishes. Now, they had to suffer the consequences up until the day they graduate from the school. Especially the students from the hero course, they had the highest pressure set to them by the second and third years, teachers and pretty much the entire nation of Japan. They were the number one hero school in Japan. There were multiple reasons they remained at the top, one of them was their more unique styles of teaching compared to other hero schools. 

Shirayuri blinked, actually feeling uncomfortable within her own skin at the fact that now, she would have to an actual good attendance record now. Fuck, she had to had a good attendance record, participate and communicate with humans. Humans 

Wait a second, why is she joining the Hero Course again?

"Let's go!" Shirayuri flinched and jumped in her place, quickly turning her back, she watched as a blonde male with blue eyes ran past her as if he had just received the best news of his life. Steadying her heart beat, she shook her head and blew out a puff of air out of annoyance. 

"Do people really have to be this loud in the morning..." She muttered, looking back to find two other figures running after who she assumes to be their friend-the same cheerful blonde student. 

"Nejire...please...stop dragging me across the ground...You're embarrassing me in front of the new first years, now I don't think I can ever face them again in the future without feeling shame course through my veins." An indigo-haired male with elf ears gloomily spoke, a female with lavender hair was dragging him by the back of his shirt. 

"Cheer up Tamaki, this will be our last year at U.A before we officially become heroes! Turn that frown, upside down!" The female named Nejire encouraged, a bright look on her face as she glanced at the brooding male.

Tamaki groaned, Shirayuri now had her full attention on him. Eventually, Tamaki too glanced up and met her eyes-eye. His eyes widened when he met the eye that stare back at him, shaking her head, she continued on back towards the direction she was heading before she was interrupted. Tamaki...his quirk's scent was interesting, it had a mix of different animal scents and seasoning. 

It disgusted her.

The smell of different cooked animals, mixed with seasoning and then the faint scent traces of vegetables and rice. It was repulsing, destroying the appeal of eating him. Though he would taste delicious perhaps, she doubted that it would be a hearty meal due to his scent...she had no plan of hunting and devouring him, groaning, she should really break this habit around strangers. 

"Hey there! I'm Mina Ashido!" 

"Nice to meet you too!  I'm Toru Hagakure!" 

"Wait you're that boy that got attacked by the sludge monster a year ago, your quirk is so manly!"

Class 1-A in big, bold red letters...literally. Her senses were on high alert, before she entered, Shirayuri hoped that her kagunes didn't quickly manifest and attack whoever was the first to approach/ surprise her. Filled with new faces, new personalities, new quirks. From beside the open doorframe, Shirayuri first listened in to the conversations of others, even trying to see if she can find a couple of scents that are familiar to quirks she had witnessed and encountered in the past. Focusing she was able to smell : acid, a faint smell of bird, the sticky side of tape and...caramel? 

'Well, I don't know what I was expecting but caramel was one of the last things I thought I would be able to smell.' She thought, finally taking a step forward to reveal herself. 

Most of the people were sitting in their places, talking to the people beside them. Scanning her eyes, there was an empty seat right at the back of the class. 

A male student's eyes widened. Quickly did he walked towards her, Shirayuri staring at him as he did. 

"Good morning. I'm from Soumei Private Academy. I am Tenya Lida." His voice was clear, filled with firmness and confidence she could tell. He offered her a hand, Shirayuri just looked down at it with a look on her face.

From his mannerisms, posture and choice of words, she could already tell that he came from an upper class familial background. Respecting that, Shirayuri slowly extended out her hand and shook his hand for two times before releasing her hand from his grip. Much to Shirayuri's surprise, Tenya Lida's quirk didn't seem to have much affect on his scent as he reminded her of expensive cologne and freshly-opened books. 

She likes that, it was a nice scent and one of the best scents she had smelled since entering the class.

Lida prevented himself from saying anything else, despite the neutral look and handshake from the girl in front of him, she spoke no words. He had recognised her, there was a time in the past where his parents had contact with her father. They were searching for a type of metal coating, something once used and distributed widely by the Tsukiyama family during World War 2. Although it was light, it was practically indestructible. They wanted that to further strengthen their hero outfits. 

He had heard about her from Tensei, his beloved older brother. How he watched the meeting between the two families occur on a specific day in the past in which Lida couldn't join due to his age. Shuu Tsukiyama was a man that although was professional, open-minded and respectful; he seemed too good to be true. He described how his eyes hold a different story, a story that made him refuse to drop his guard. It seems his parents thought the same, seeing as how they kept guard and rejected the offer of wine and the food provided by their chefs, preferring to drink only water and eat the confectionaries provided. 

As he left the room to take a breather, Tensei had felt eyes on him. The hairs on his skin standing up as shivers ran through his body. Looking around in warning, his instincts to survey the area worsened as he tried to find the source of his senses rising. A blur of white passed by in the corner of his eye, the door leading to the halls moving slightly. Quickly did Tensei act, running using his quirk slightly. 

Whatever passed him was fast.

He was now at the foot at the grand staircase, his eyes trailed up the stairs until he met a girl. His eyes widened, black eyes meeting pale bluish grey ones. She wore a white buttoned down short-sleeved shirt, a dark blue school skirt, a turquoise ribbon tied around her neck as a replacement for a tie and a matching turquoise belt that held a sort of symbol in the middle. There was a sparkle around her neck, squinting his eyes did he find a charm in the middle of the ribbon : a silver crescent moon accompanied by two stars. 

Between the two of them, she seemed more terrified of him than he was of the situation before. Eyes wide, face ready to contort in fear as she remained frozen. 

Perhaps this was a repeat of the situation, but this time, she was not scared nor afraid to move. When Tenya Lida said nothing else did it gave Shirayuri the signal to brush past him, allowing her hair to touch his arm briefly. 

Making eye contact with a few people, Shirayuri walked towards the back of the class where an empty seat remained. Eyes widening, to her surprise, the back was also where two familiar individuals from the Recommendation Entrance Exam. The girl with the rather flamboyant ponytail, she thinks her first name was Momo. The other one, looking into his left side, ah, that eye.

Shoto Todoroki, son of pro-hero...

Yeah, she didn't remember, the only heroes she has had interest in was the ones from anime especially anti-heroes. Ah...Eren Jaeger, the way his character was perfectly written, animated and then voiced was just *chef's kiss*

But then there was also Levi Ackerman-

"Oh, it's you." Momo said with a smile on her face, walking past the other familiar face to stand right in front of Shirayuri. Momo bowed a little in respect, Shirayuri did not bow back. Shirayuri hummed, maintaining eye contact with Momo before shifting her gaze to look at the table. In much faster time, did Shirayuri's eyes briefly shift and Momo's appearance was blurred, replaced with a dark silhouette and glowing read beating areas in different parts of her body. 

She blinked once, they disappeared. 

"My name is Momo Yaoyorozu, nice to meet you." 

Unlike the other girls inside of the room, she was on the thicker side. Less skin and bone to consume. Muttering a hello, Shirayuri sat down and made herself comfortable. Pathetic, unable to control herself as soon as the first person jumped onto her. Momo said nothing, understanding that the other was not interested in getting to know each other. Noticing the small crestfallen look on Momo's face made Shirayuri slightly curse. 

"...Shirayuri Kaneki." 

Momo and Shirayuri exchanged brief eye contact, the taller girl's eyes briefly lighting up as Shirayuri nodded in acknowledgement. With their interaction finished, Shirayuri busied herself with other things.

It didn't take a while for her to be disturbed again. Curious, it was in their nature to be curious about things or others that they rarely interact or see. In this case, she was another new figure they will have to interact with for the next three years. Perhaps more once graduation ends. 

There were eyes close to her, eyes that bothered her deeply. This pair was staring at her longer than the others. In growing aggression did Shirayuri chose to imaginatively curl her ears back and release her fangs...translating to she chose to glare at wherever the source of the feeling came from. It was from right beside her. As a matter of fact, the stare did come from the male with half-white and half-red hair and mismatched grey and blue eyes. 

When he noticed her aggressive expression, he didn't flinch at all, only did his eyes briefly widen before shifting back to neutrality. Shirayuri hummed, noticing a shift in his scent from the last time she had briefly encountered him. Much better in her opinion, compared tot the previous one. 

Momo who was still standing flashed an awkward smile, coughing a bit to remind the two that she was still in-between the both of them. Uncaring, Shirayuri rested her chin on her hand. Watching as a green-haired student carrying yellow back pack enter the class, she frowned, completely surprise on the scent of his quirk. She watched him interact with a female student with brown-hair and a round face.  

Her head perked up, hearing the shuffling of a body rolling through the floor and growing closer towards their class. Her interest grew, an imaginary pair of tail and ears appearing on top of her head behind her.

Shirayuri's head tilted, observing and comparing her new teacher to Mr. Nakamoto. Unlike the previous teacher of hers that would try his best to smile, tell stories and sometimes praise a few individuals in the class; Mr. Aizawa was the complete opposite of him. The way he spoke and carried his words were different, something that Shirayuri was not used to but didn't dislike at all. 

Honestly, it was a very big surprise for her when she was given permission to attend as many school days as she wants to. Then again, maybe bribery didn't work at U.A; that could also be another reason. 

"It took eight seconds for all of you to shut up," That was his first words towards his class. This caused a variety of reactions to occur, allowing the teacher to briefly see the varying personalities he would be exposed to in this class. " That's not gonna work, time is precious. It can take a second for things to derail and completely change the outcome of an event."

"I am Shota Aizawa, your teacher." 

"Now, put these on and go outside." 

Heading towards the girl's changing room, Shirayuri hummed and placed the uniform on a shelf of a locker after claiming one. Taking off her uniform one layer at a time, she couldn't help but observe her body in a mirror provided at the door of the locker. Skinny. 

Her diet was extremely limited, her hunger greater than most. A curse of her bloodline that perhaps couldn't ever be fixed. What would it feel like to fatten her body and no longer see her rib cage jutting out if she were to stretch her body? Thick thighs, a filling body and great muscle mass. From the mirror, she glanced at the bodies of the other girls as they changed; unaware that her eyes were trailing over their figures. 

Looking at her hands, she tilted her head. How does it feel like, to know that her blood was busy transporting digested humans and blood to various parts of her body? Hah, that question was simple to answer. She simply felt nothing. Once she changed her shoes did she finally leave the changing rooms and headed towards the open field. Glancing out the large windows, she could be hallucinating but was that her normal eye and kakugan staring back at her?

"What?! A quirk assessment test?!" 

"But orientation! We're gonna miss it!" Ochako Uraraka looked worried, wondering if what was said by their homeroom teacher was true. The man gave her a blank look, neither nodding nor shaking his head. Uraraka swallowed back her words, regretting what had just came out of her mouth when she saw the obvious look on the teacher's face. 

"If you really want to be a great hero, it starts from now. No need to waste your time on pointless ceremonies such as today."

'It's either he is speaking from experience when he was a student, repeating the actions of what his teacher did-or the orientation truly is just a waste of time.' Shirayuri thought, unable to blame him for the class missing out on it. 

"Here at U.A, we don't follow traditional learning methods. That means, I am pleased to run and control this class however I desire," In his hand, he held a ball. Gently did he threw it up and down. 

"It's common sense that all of you have been taking tests up to par with this nation's standards. But, none of them include the utility of your quirks. This country can pretend all it wants, preaching like a priest on how we are all created equal by oppressing those with the most power, refusing to allow them to rise and excel above all others." Mr. Aizawa looked around, Shirayuri's ghoul growling in agitation when his eyes passed her. 

"And if those who hold the power to surpass others do rebel back, then, you can all re-check your history books to see what happened." 

Mr. Aizawa scanned through the faces, stopping when he found the student he was looking for. Calling out his surname, did he too threw the ball and asked him what was his furthest distance in his previous school. Bakugo momentarily looked up, giving a few brief seconds to remember. 

"67 meters? Now, throw it with your quirk." 

'For a quirk that smells like caramel, I wonder what it is.'

The smell of nitroglycerin stabbed through Shirayuri, her eyes focusing on Bakugo's palm that lit up and started smoking as he threw the ball in a great burst similar to that on an explosion and its after-effects. Many others around her either clapped or expressed through their face and words what they thought about his stunt and quirk. They had clearly enjoyed and loved it. 

"This looks like fun!" Mina Ashido punched the air, face breaking into a grin.

"Is it still fun when I inform to you all that the person who ranks last will be kicked out of my class. Meaning that one of you will be expelled." Mr. Aizawa grinned, enjoying the looks of terrors that washed across most of his class. 

"Ah crap, he got Aizawa." 

Shirayuri's ears perked up, hearing a rather low voice that couldn't almost be considered a whisper. Turning her head, did she made eye contact with the number one hero, All Might. Well, he looked rather splendid in his yellow suit-completely different from his normal attire that she briefly sees him in. All Might blinked, Shirayuri stared. In a flash, did he hid himself further from her. Though he couldn't be seen, she could still smell his scent lingering.

What a coincidence, his quirk smelled similar to that of a green-haired male's. Though, the younger male's quirk scent was more faint. 

The Quirk Apprehension Test consisted of eight tests in total : 50-meter-dash, grip strength, standing long jump, repeated side steps, and more with the last being the same ball throw demonstrated by Katsuki Bakugo. Stretching her body, Shirayuri watched with full focus on each group going up before her. Taking a good look on their quirks if it was visible or said something that may give her a clue on what it was.

When it was her turn, Shirayuri got into position. Paying no mind to the others beside her, the moment she heard the sound of a gun being fired did electrical currents ran through her veins, her ukaku wings manifesting faster than a blink of an eye, ripping through her shirt allowing her to momentarily disappear and blitz towards the finish line, once she had crossed the finish line did her wings disappear.

Izuku Midoriya rubbed his eyes, in disbelief on what he had just seen. He hadn't even finished blinking, yet she had already crossed the finish line. Looking down, did he realise he hadn't even finish writing down her full name. Murmurs went around, unable to discern the phenomena they had just watched. 

"Shirayuri Kaneki, 3 seconds."

Mr. Aizawa hummed, noticing how unlike Lida who could be seen running did the girl momentarily disappear once the race had begun. He had felt the short burst of electricity, it seemed that the other students hadn't based on their expressions and visible confusion. Humming a bit, he's guessing that her quirk had something to do with electricity, enhanced human capabilities and...well, he couldn't give his complete answer now. 

Unbothered and feeling restless now, Shirayuri closed her eyes and cursed at her RC cells. They were excited, now practically screaming within her when a number of them formed her ukaku wings. With her heart beating in her chest and ears, did she quietly walked to a more secluded area of the field. Seeing a grasshopper on the ground, Shirayuri ruthlessly stomped on it with her sneakers.Using her shoe did she started ripping out parts of its body, spreading it across the ground, uncaring if anyone watched. 

Once there was nothing else but severed body parts and its insides all over the dirt, did she rub her shoe on another part of the ground and walked back towards her class. Rc cells more calm after taking the life of an innocent insect.

The rest of the tests were pretty easy, she didn't need to utilise her electro-kinesis nor require the brief appearance of her kagunes. Until it was time for the ball-throw. Following his words of U.A having methods that were unconventional, the ghoul almost let out a huff of annoyance when she found out that she was last for the Ball Throw. 

"Shirayuri Kaneki, why don't you show us how you set a new record for the Obstacle Course and ranked first for the recommendation exam." Mr. Aizawa stated in a monotonous tone, throwing the ball towards her. The sky rumbled, Shirayuri's face shifting into one of annoyance.

"There is no need to give others a strong first impression of me." Shirayuri spoke up for the first time since the morning, walking towards the standing point as others wondered where the rumbling came from despite the clear skies. 

"Then perhaps you shouldn't have saved yourself." 

Shirayuri's eyes widened. 

She was in a wooden house, it was dingy and humid. She had broken through her ropes not long after  unknown men had left her alone inside of a room. Perhaps it was their living room based on the decoration that fit one for less unfortunate individuals? 

Looking down, this wasn't her home. No, this couldn't be her home, it didn't felt like it. The place didn't have the warmth a home should have nor the people you love inside of its walls. 

Home

Home 

Home

Where was home?

Wasn't she just home? She was, she remembered waking up as normal, following the same morning routine, eating the same food and then preparing for her birthday party. It was her birthdate.  

Her eyes blurred.

Now, there was a knife in front of her. In her panicked state, did she pick it up by both hands and stood up. Her body was shaking, tears threatening to leave her eyes at any given moment. 

There was a man, his back turned towards her-focused at someone else. If she was more focused, she could clearly see the mangled bodies whose blood mixed with each others on the floor. 

Her eyes turned red, when she took a step forward did the wooden floors break under her. The knife was now held by her right hand after she had briefly thrown, allowing it to circle in the air for a couple of times before properly holding it with the blade pointing towards her elbow. She rushed forward, eyes and body burning as she stabbed the man in the back. The moment the knife entered through his back did she feel the slight vibration of his heart travel through the knife and to her hand.

She had stabbed through his heart. 

As if she was almost flying, she jumped back and observed the man in his panicked state right before he died, his soul disappearing from his eyes as she watched once again.

These were memories of mine.

Unfamiliar

Whereas Shirayuri was stuck inside of her own mind, her body reacted subconsciously. As if she was playing baseball, her leg was raised and her body prepared to throw. The moment the ball was no longer in contact with her hand did a shock of electricity travel through the bodies of everyone around her. Those with weaker bodies immediately crumbled to the ground, the seasoned pro-hero taking two steps back as he instinctively covered his face as the stronger students shivered in pain. 

Lida's eyes widened, feeling smoke coming out of his engines. Kaminari released a bolt of electricity that struck the ones nearer to him. Dark Shadow roared and came out of Tokoyami and Todoroki widened his eyes in disbelief when a fire burned on the palm of his left hand. 

How could that be?

Like a comet, did the ball soar through the sky, soaring faster and faster before it became too unstable and exploded into oblivion. After the explosion did an invisible wave once more spreaded withinschool grounds. Mr. Aizawa's heart skipped a beat, taking in the state of the students before looking down at the machine in his hands and the robot previously used. They were both out. 

'An electromagnetic pulse?' 

That shouldn't be possible, electromagnetic pulses shouldn't be able to caused the ball to explode and cause another blast because it was not a good conductor of electricity; it was an insulator. Nor was that able to cause quirk users to temporarily have their quirks go haywire. Shaking his machine a couple of times, it finally turned on yet was unable to show him Shirayuri's score. Knowing U.A's ball storage was almost emptied out again, the erasure hero decided to just write down her score as infinite. 

With a deep breath, did Shirayuri's consciousness return. Ah, so her first trigger happened on the first day of school after years of their absence. How convenient, and dangerous to everyone around her. Without another word, did she return back to her place, ignoring all the commotion around her. Unbothered she stood, as if standing inside of an unbreakable protective cocoon. The wind caressed her face, hair briefly blowing before falling gently back down to rest on her shoulders. Looking up slightly, the sky looked much clearer now than it was just a few minutes ago. 

All Might's jaw dropped, realising at the amount of potential his first ever class had. Additionally, why were there a lot of children from influential backgrounds? The Lida family, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Tsukiyama? Had each bloodline been raising their children to become heroes? I mean, that would explain why they stood out like a sore thumb. God, give him a break already. 

He really thought he had expected the unexpected the moment a scooter came out of Momo Yaoyorozu alongside a helmet and watched her ride it across the the 50-meter-field. Did it run on solar power? That would explain why she didn't seem to refill it with gas. 

Although his main focus had always been to find and train the next user for One for All, if he half-assed with the rest of his class filled with potential then he couldn't say he had done a good job. In fact, it would be a terrible job. Sacrificing 19 for the sake of one extremely powerful hero. No, he'll do his best to make sure each student becomes the best hero that they could work hard to become. 

'Who knew teaching can feel this exciting!' All Might smiled, feeling excited.

Final Results

1.   Shirayuri Kaneki             11. Ochako Uraraka

2.   Momo Yaoyorozu                     12. Koji Koda

3.   Shoto Todoroki                      13. Tsuyu Asui

4.   Katsuki Bakugo                  14. Yuga Aoyama

5.  Tenya Lida                              15. Hanta Sero

6.   Fumikage Tokoyami        16. Denki Kaminari

7.     Mezo Shoji                             17. Kyoka Jiro

8.    Mashirao Ojiro                 18. Toru Hagakure

9.      Eijiro Kirishima               19. Minoru Mineta

10.       Mina Ashido                   20. Izuku Midoriya 

Ranked based on average rank received on each test, Shirayuri hummed and sort of felt like a fucking hypocrite. Closing her eyes, did she remember stating towards her teacher not to give the rest of her class high expectations for her. Her hands curled into fists, head ready to face towards the sky, open her mouth to scream and collapse to her knees. Her pride wouldn't allow that though, fuck no, she has an image to maintain for the next three years in High School.

Even if she wanted to scream, no voice would come out.

No voice could hear her own, a cry of emotion as silent as a grave.

Looking down beside her, she saw a boy drowning in sadness and grief. Looking at the scoreboard before glancing at everyone beside her, she tried to match the expression to each score on the board. At number 20, did she finally look back down.This must have been Izuku Midoriya, the guy who ranked last overall. Others around them shot him looks of pity, some even clutching their hearts as if feeling his pain.

Placing her own hand where her heart should be, she could feel it beating, but, unable to feel anything. Was she supposed to feel something too? If so, she didn't feel any sympathy. 

'At least I should do something to stop him from further embarrassing himself, in the future, perhaps his actions would be retold in stories by the others as a funny or sad memory...there would be no escape then.' 

Kneeling down, her insides were a mess as her hand slowly extended out to touch him. 

"Hey." 

The words were stuck in her mouth, but, that one word did get his attention. Izuku Midoriya looked at her, face a bit red from crying alongside his bloodshot eyes. He sniffed his nose, tears falling down his eyes. 

"Stop crying, there are fates worse than scoring last and being expelled...I mean, you could be ambushed and then ripped apart, or in the case for most females- immediately did Uraraka collapse beside Shirayuri and cover her mouth; immediately understanding what the ghoul was about to say.

Like she had been gutted, as if there was thousands of insect legs crawling up parts her body did Shirayuri's kakugan activated. Her mind shifted from black and white multiple times as her body temperature dropped, screams piercing her ears while her mouth still remained closed and quiet. Horrified with the touch of the stranger and the bold behaviour displayed by the human did Shirayuri growl and pushed the girl with too much force causing her to fall to the ground. 

"Don't touch me." Shirayuri shot a look of disgust at Uraraka.

With her hands placed on her knees, did she heave herself up and left the field first. Leaving everyone else to register what had just happened. Mr. Aizawa followed the girl, trying to understand what happened. 

Midoriya was distraught, Shirayuri tried to comfort him, Uraraka disturbed and touched her, Shirayuri reacted like that and left. 

He heard the growl, sounding like a cornered animal being approached by people trying to help it but unable to differentiate if it wanted to help or further harm it. But, she wasn't being cornered nor surrounded. Unless you counted the other students around her, gathered and standing in their place. 

Well, this year would be interesting. 

"...Stop crying Midoriya, I lied, no one is getting expelled on their first day." 

All Might's jaw dropped, suddenly he had the urge to book an appointment for the ear doctor after what he had just heard? Shota Aizawa without a record of expelling students on their first day? Well- it wasn't exactly what everyone thought of it to be, there is more to his words than what is understood upon first hearing it-wait a second, was the white-haired girl from before staring at him again? All Might choked a little, deciding that he needed to sort things out elsewhere...

Her body banged itself against the metal lockers, eyes blinded by the force of her palms trying to grip and claw out her vision. Feet slid itself against the ground as her body did the same against the wall. With one swift move did her head too now hit the hard solid behind it. 

Her actions were loud, noisy to hear.

She was being too noisy in this unfamiliar, unsafe environment.

There was no one she knew around her, no one that was happy to take her under her wing. There were only strangers, individuals she was unfamiliar with and would rather find on her plate. Disgusting and similar in smell and taste to rotten fish. Her mouth opened, tongue coming out of it. saliva drooled a bit, escaping her mouth with some on her clothes or floor.  

Tense were her vocal chords, like a harpist stressed and slowly getting angry as it continued to try and play different strings on a harp that refused to create the melody they oh so desired to hear and play for seconds, minutes and hours without end. 

Memories of mine. 

Unfamiliar. 

Like a blanket, they were once again covered. Dragging herself towards the sink, the ghoul began washing her face to rid itself of impurities-dirt, sweat, and sebum. Mixed together to create a layer that would soon create acne. Allow dead skin cells to also mix would also worsen that. Shirayuri cursed herself slightly, wishing she had brought a small pouch to bring some skincare items.Lesson learned. Without anymore reason to stay, she left.

She didn't know that after less than 2 minutes of walking would she be stopped again. To something that didn't arose because of her. 

Shirayuri stopped in her tracks, eyes focused on the student in front of her. Shoto Todoroki. He had also changed into his school uniform, quietly she eyed him up and down-something that didn't go unnoticed by him. Without saying anything, Shirayuri walked towards him and brushed past the human, allowing herself to get more familiar with his scent. Perhaps his scent fluctuates with his internal emotions. As of now, he reminds her greatly of Christmas treats. If that was his cologne, good for him, it was slightly spicy but did wasn't overwhelming at all. 

"Your name is Shirayuri Kaneki?" His tone was slightly confrontational, eyes side-glancing her making the ghoul stop in her tracks. Shirayuri didn't make an effort to spin her body and maintain eye contact with him, far too annoyed by the actions of the other humans that occurred in the open field. 

"Yes." 

She assumed his eyesight must have been particularly damaged to a certain point judging by the scar on his face, not all humans possess the ability to regenerate to perfection; even then, sometimes regeneration for them has drawbacks and limitations that can worsen them. Lab-born one-eyed ghouls, though they regenerate and are much stronger compared to normal ghouls- was it worth it to shorten your lifespan every time you regenerate? Thank the king she was a naturally born one-eyed ghoul. 

Neither of them moved, staying frozen in place that drew the attention of whoever was in charge of watching the security cameras. It was Todoroki that made the first move, taking a step further, distancing himself away from her. She took another step too, a step forward further away from him.

Entering the class, Shirayuri's eyes widened when she was bombarded with a group of students crowding near the door. Wait a second, when were they much faster than her?

"You were so cool! What's your quirk?"

"How long did you train to be where you stand now?"

"That was awesome, one of the manliest quirks I've seen in this class!"

"Why do you wear an eyepatch? Is this temporary or a drawback of your quirk?"

"Are you and Todoroki siblings?" 

"Are you an idiot? Just because they both have white hair it doesn't equal to that!"

Shirayuri shook her head, answering only the last question. Ready to take another step forward, Shirayuri hesitated when she saw the same girl she pushed onto the ground by accident amongst the crowd, eyes wide and curious; there was a lack of hatred and anger that plotted for revenge. A lack of hatred and fire to something that had physically harmed her? A burning sensation that should've been at its prime the moment what had happened to her came in mind?

"It's hard to explain...though, it's complex to the point I have to train constantly to understand and use it better. I have sensitive eyes, my...quirk permanently affects my left eye." She answered them, pausing two times due to her inability to answer them to the best of her ability. Despite that, they seemed satisfied enough with her answer. 

"Making a big deal just by throwing a ball?" A voice sneered, the room going silent. Taking a few steps forward, it was Katsuki Bakugo with his hands in his pockets. Shirayuri said nothing. "To know how strong someone is, it's by how they perform during actual hero training not one-sided baseball." 

Both Bakugo and Shirayuri were now a few centimetres away from each other, most choosing to take a few steps back and watch the confrontation. Shirayuri took a deep breath, noticing the recent smell of smoke and sweetness emitted from the boy's palms. She saw his great anger, aggression towards Izuku Midoriya for something she was completely unaware of. They must had been in each other's terrible graces for a long time, a rivalry or hatred of sorts that go back years. 

So now why was she being confronted? Perhaps it was because she had tried to help the thorn lodged inside of his skin? 

Inconsequential actions may add to the great fire that is wrath-when cloaked in that sin does almost everything look similar to one another that its terming to even imagine-let alone be caught up on someone's else's moment of blind rage.

"Hit me."

Chapter Text

Hearing a notification, Tsukiyama switched tabs from the presentation being showed in a meeting with overseas investors to his home security system, showing him that Shirayuri had returned home. He hummed, zooming in to see that there were no residue of blood staining her clothes or exposed areas of her skin. Placing her bag near the bed, he frowned when he saw her immediately jumping on the bed and rubbing her face all over her pillows.

His eyes widened, watching her slowly began to nest. 

Someone had a bad day. 

This was something the girl had done many times in the past, remaining silent and keeping her emotions to herself, choosing to release them in the comforts of her closet, on her bed and even sometimes under it. As time passed, he and the loyal servants of the family have learned how to care for the girl during these moments- simply sometimes leaving her favourite cuts of meat served on silver platters with silverware and a jug of water alongside an empty glass. If eye contact was accidentally established, do not look away instantly, she will take it the wrong way mentally. 

Humming, Tsukiyama sent a quick text to Karren. 

Karren stopped her actions of rose cutting, placing down her scissors on the table in favour of taking out her phone from her pocket to read the text sent. Her eyes showed reflections of different colours before finally opening the message sent. Understanding what needed to be done, using her kagune did she grab a beautiful vase filled with roses and headed towards the kitchen. 

Karren Von Rosewald.

The youngest child of Emma Rosewald and her husband, sister to Nathanael and Arunolt Von Rosewald. They were a branch of the Tsukiyama Family that held dominion in Germany. Despite being born and raised in Germany, the female ghoul had chosen to study in Japan after graduating from high school and be in the care of her cousin-Shuu Tsukiyama. Unlike her older brothers, she had no responsibility in taking care of the business in their homeland giving her 'freedom' to a certain extent. She chose to become one of his assistants, though she sometimes call herself his secretary because it sounded so much more professional and cooler.  

Though she used to deal with more shadier businesses, ever since Shirayuri entered the picture, it seemed that her responsibilities had been given an extra weight. Despite that, Kanae didn't mind. To her, Shirayuri carried great significance to their kind and her cousin. Unlike her, she was more similar to her brothers who had a crown placed upon their heads once they took their first breath. Their first cry at life. The moment their eyes opened. 

Seeing her grow up, she could compare it to nurturing a rose.

From a little seed, given with the best money and love could provide, surviving from accidents as it finally bloomed. Ah yes, how the white rose of the queen was once painted red. Never again, never again would Kanae allow another incident like that to arose once more. 

Lucifer's Apple

By Ren Takatsuki 

In the garden of Eden

Do monsters roam free

Different colours paint the skies

Constructions of different sizes with varying purposes

In the heart, the light of Heaven

Does the Devil sit wearing his black clown bleeding venom

Opening his palm, did he offer an apple 

An apple red and innocent

Matching the colour of his eye

Todoroki sighed, closing the novel made by an author during the Sakoku Period. She was famous during her time for many novels, so famous that her works had to be smuggled out of the nation in order to be enjoyed by many others who heard tales of her stories. His father was once again busy, Fuyumi was in her room and Natsuo was most likely with his friends having a group study session.

How easy it was for him to walk up to others, communicate and befriend them. Then maintain good relationships with a busy schedule and their familial problems. Though he understands it a bit more, he hadn't suffered as badly as he had. How lucky of him. 

In times he was free from the strenuous periods of training, the half-red and half-white haired teenager would slink into his room and enjoy the entertainment provided by a good book he finds in shops or recommended to him by articles on the internet. Recently, he had been indulging in a work made by the author of the book he had just read. To his luck, she had published many works to the point it would take him a long time to go through all of them. In some pages, he could tell that she had a long desire to travel like a free bird, but sometimes describes herself as a crown within a golden gilded cage. In those rare moments of relating to another, would he feel pangs of hurt within his chest.

Without much to do, would the author constantly be living within her mind as if it was a second home. Believing to be the best thing fate had given her in the world during her time. 

From underneath his book shelf, did he take out another box. Briefly observing some of the covers, he searched for another story he could enjoy from Ren Takatsuki. His fingers stopped moving when his eyes landed on a cover. Interested, he took it out. Observing the rather unique art style, he read the title before turning the book to read its synopsis.

怪物

An endless cycle, unable to be broken. 

Fate intended the world to be this way. 

One unable to live without the other nor with the other, and the other will simply destroy itself. 

The line was drawn.

He was puzzled, perplexed with what he had just read. Todoroki's mind tried to piece the vague synopsis together, trying to understand what the book was about. Without a clue, he placed the book down on his table before closing the box filled with other stories; waiting patiently for the next moment in time they would see light once more. Leaving his room, Todoroki headed towards the traditional garden. He took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of fresh air. The cool sensation that greeted him once he took a step outside of the suffocating halls. He could feel the change in sounds for every step he takes. From the sound of creaking floorboards, to the crunching sound of friction made against pebbles. 

Tomorrow, is another day. Another day closer until he's eventually free. Todoroki looks down at his hand, his left hand. From an open palm did he turn it into a fist, what's the point of freedom if he never leaves his shadows and hold? 

No one said anything, surprised by the two words that came out of her mouth. 

Bakugo's face grew in irritation, Shirayuri's resting bitch face had no plans of leaving anytime soon. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and muttered a small sorry for her rather shocking choice of response. 

"Look, I just want to go home now. If you're planning to hit me do it during training. Until then, don't bother me." 

She said nothing to anyone else, leaving the grounds of the school, the ghoul searched for the nearest manhole and hid herself in the sewers. Basking in the silence and void-of-life feeling it provided for her. Her mind thought back on the interactions she had with different humans today. The brief exchange in eye contact with the brooding senior, short introductions with more than a handful of classmates and the ambush at the end of the day.

'The longest and most contact I had with humans in a day.'  The girl thought, tightening the hold she had on her bag pack. Perhaps they were closer in age and most of them seemed more friendly it made her feel less of the need to escape or paranoid. But still, there was that interaction that may severely affect how others look at her. Sighing, she hoped today didn't affect the views of others on the Tsukiyama family. 

Returning back to the present, Shirayuri mindlessly drank her coffee as she watched Paddington on Netflix. Placing her coffee cup down, her hand extended out to take a couple of coffee beans to mindlessly crunch and swallow. Her eyes widened, seeing the sight of the marmalade sandwich on the screen. The bread looked normal, yet she could imagine if she was to take bite it would be soft. The marmalade, vibrant and seemed...sweet. Combining the two together would be perfect, her hands would hold the sandwich as she leaned forward and took a hearty bite. 

A coffee been was crushed under the force of her teeth, bringing her back to reality. Taking a deep breath, she pushed away the bowl and cup in favour of tucking a soft pillow under her chin. She tilted her head so she can look at the movie from sideways. 

A couple of minutes later, she shifted her head to now lay on the other side of her head.

Not even a minute later did the teen now huffed, leaving her chin on the pillow.

Yeah, she was bored. 

Leaving her nest, Shirayuri walked out of her room and began wandering the walls. Instantly did her body shift to auto-pilot, her focus depleting the more steps she took.  

In an apartment within Musutafu city, further away from the Tsukiyama estate, Shota Aizawa sighed and relaxed his body on the couch. Although he exerted less of his energy unlike his new batch of students, on his way back home there had been an attack. Or at least, what was left of one. Like he had witnessed during the long distance test, there were quirks that allowed events to transpire in less than a second. 

Quirks, a gift by the Devil which God agreed and willed to take root within his creations.

Many believe that they make the lives of humans better and safer, many too also believe that they will cause the end of humanity as a whole. A day where law enforcement would crumble, heroes defeated and chaos engulfs the world. The hero let out another groan, rubbing his face when bits and pieces of the crime scene appeared on his face once again. It reminded the teacher of what happened to him. 

While he was busy fighting a villain, he had died, head crushed by falling rubble.

Did he truly hear his voice cheering him on as the battle ensued? Or perhaps death did in order to take his friend's soul peacefully without speeding up his own?

Looking up at the ceiling, he didn't know when he himself would die. Sometimes it can be observed for a long while, other times it could be so sudden he would question his entire life. If his death would near, then so be it. But first, allow him to at least enjoy a couple more moments with the ones he cares for. That includes his newest students. Believe it or not, he was interested in seeing the paths their journey for growth would take them. 

Some needed to be sharpened and refined, some were average, some seemed balanced and some were clear to be above average. Then there were the ones that were downright interesting to study and theorise about. 

Izuku Midoriya, ah, he would first start with him. Like a child that had just discovered his quirk, only able to release great outputs before suffering injuries that leave him utterly useless. It was clear after the ball throw that he refuses to give up, how he somehow managed to only transfer his power into his finger-causing it to swollen. He remembered the light within his eyes the moment he had finished throwing the ball, though there were tears present, they were bright and full of passion. 

Shoto Todoroki, quiet and refusing to use his left side ever since he entered the grounds of U.A. Aizawa had noticed the lack of fire ever since the beginning of the race during the Recommendation Entrance Exam. Though he doesn't know why, his wife being said to be placed inside of a psychiatric ward gives him a clue. Would he one day learn to use his left side and communicate with his class more? It was expected to constantly be active with other heroes in fight and missions, but he meant outside of hero work. If the boy truly wanted to grow more, he needed to let go of whatever is holding him back and use his quirk to his fullest potential-both of them. 

Katsuki Bakugo. He had passion and fire burning from within him, a quirk that was powerful and flashy too. He was set up for success, but what was stopping him from fully progressing further was his arrogant and egotistic ways easily seen during the first day and reports from his junior high. Now, he doesn't know how he will fix this problem so he would leave it to All Might and his classmates. But know this, he will support and defend Bakugo. He was no villain, hell, he would most likely began barking at someone's face if someone suggested he seemed like a villain. 

Shirayuri Kaneki. An adopted girl with no recollection of events after that incident and is aware of it...he doubts he even knows the truth depth of her quirk by just seemingly being satisfied with what can be found and trained at surface-level. Right, her quirk wasn't even properly registered. Similar to Todoroki, they were both quiet and rather stick to themselves. Yet, she may also have the desire to communicate with others when Aizawa witnessed her interactions but didn't know how to properly act nor speak without coming out as hostile. 

Aizawa's eyes widened, remembering the report about her from middle school. He hummed, perhaps there was a way to help the four students that stick out like a sore-thumb- in their case, a bad way.

The next morning

"You....want...me...to...befriend...a new student?" Tamaki shook in his place, back hunched, eyes looking ready to roll into his head as Nejire and Mirio shot him excited looks and thumbs up. "Body....freezing...eyes...blurry...mind...alive." 

Aizawa took a deep breath, oh God. Though Tamaki Amajiki still had rather obvious communication issues, it didn't affect him in battle causing him to become one of the strongest and top hero candidates in Japan. His quirk was versatile and extremely powerful. Even with what he had just mentioned, that didn't affect on why the erasure hero chose him. No, he chose him because he was most likely the best option for Shirayuri to get along with. 

One, he didn't ask too much questions.

Two, he didn't smile much.

Three, his design is more darker unlike Mirio and Nejire's. 

More easier on the eyes.

"Is there a reason you choose Tamaki Mr. Aizawa? Are their quirks similar? Is she similar to him in terms of personality? Ooh! Can we get a description of it?!" Nejire fired her questions, gradually growing closer until he glared and caused her to immediately return to where she stood with a smile and innocent look on her face. 

"That's another task for Amajiki, observe and get a more clear description of it," The teacher stated, he handed a brown file to Tamaki who stopped shaking and became serious, taking a hold of it and opening it for the trio to see. "This is what we have so far." 

Name : Shirayuri Kaneki

Age : 15

Quirk : Unknown 

Quirk  Traits :

- Extreme strength, speed, endurance and physical capabilities. (Drawback unknown)

- Produce Electro Magnetic Fields. (Drawback unknown)

- Generate a wave that would affect nearby individuals. (Drawback unknown)

-Affect the quirks of nearby quirk-users...forcing them to activate it? Results vary. (Theory)

- Has a permanent effect on her left eye (Theory; most likely true judging by the medical. eye patch)

The girl rumoured to set a new record, destroying machinery and disrupting different locations around the school in less than a total of five school days. There was a picture attached, her taking her official school picture.  The lifeless expression accompanied by eyes that show the results of journeying from Hell and back. Tamaki's face frowned, most of them didn't seem to correlate to each other. One second she can produce electro magnetic fields and then be fast enough to travel around 50 meters that fast? He looked at the teacher, who shook his head, in a day, he didn't once see the girl suffering drawbacks from different usages of her abilities. Nejire's eyes widened, smiling and pointing how the third description was similar to her quirk. 

"Just what are you?" Tamaki muttered. 

"A human." Nejire blinked.

Tamaki blinked back at Nejire, his eye twitched. Groaning, he slumped onto the floor and laid there face down. Mr. Aizawa said nothing, choosing to leave as two bright suns did their best to encourage the shy moon. It was strangely comforting, to see third-years have the same enthusiasm and child-like behaviour first years emit when they first became students at U.A. At least, before he crushed their hopes and smiles. 

The curriculum was different, different from the one in her old school. Of course they would be. Shirayuri looked down at her digital schedule, lucky that the first class was English. She didn't struggle much in the subject, she enjoyed reading novels especially thriller, fantasy, historical, speculative fiction and bildungsroman types. Long hours of Netflix exposure may also add up to this. 

She heard a scoff, looking up, it was Katsuki Bakugo that stood right in front of her just as she made a turn to walk towards their class. His eyes looked annoyed, hands in his pockets and clothes untucked properly despite the fact that school hadn't started yet. 

"Oh, it's you." The words came out of Shirayuri's mouth faster than her mind can stop her. Bakugo's eyes flared, taking offence in her words.

"What about it? Got a problem with me eyepatch?" Shirayuri shook her head, walking towards class. Annoyed, Bakugo fastened his steps and passed her before regaining his normal speed. Now, he was a few steps in front of her. Squinting her eyes at his action, she allowed herself to blitz forward and stand in front of the classroom, a generous distance away from him. Face contorting into one filled with annoyance, he was about to use his quirk when he growled and remembered mentally that quirk usage of hero-class was forbidden. 

In a fraction of a second, her face showed a look of victory as she walked into class. Paying no more attention to the blonde who just stood a few steps away from her. Bakugo huffed, clearly seeing that expression. 

 'I see others have already arrived, that's Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Lida and...' Her voice trailed off. 

Yeah, she hadn't memorised the first and last names of all her classmates. Lida's eyes widened, releasing that Shirayuri had arrived at class. With no one else to talk to, the male student walked towards the ghoul who almost raised an eyebrow on the way he walked towards her -so robotic. 

"Good morning Kaneki, are you excited for your first official class in U.A?" Lida greeted, this time extending a hand out instead of a full-on ninety degree bow first. 

Shirayuri hummed, walking towards her seat. Lida frowned, deciding to follow and sit down on the empty chair beside her, the one where Uraraka sat. 

"You seem rather tired, it's important to start your day with positive affirmations, a nice cold shower and a good hearty breakfast to feel motivated and ready for school. We are now U.A students, the best hero school you can find in Japan." He commented, Shirayuri deadpanned. 

"I have a very strict diet, if I break it, then it affects my quirk and body badly." She emphasised on the last word, the other quickly taking note of it. With this in mind, he coughed a bit and tried to find something else to get rid of the awkward tension settling in. His eyes widened, catching sight of something when she turned on her phone, more specifically, her lock screen. 

"A fan of Ren Takatsuki?" 

Shirayuri's eyes widened, quickly turning off her phone to stare at Lida. Her expression was one filled with bewilderment. 

"You're familiar with Ren Takatsuki? Or did I mishear you and instead I heard you say Sen Takatsuki?" Lida smiled, finally! He was getting somewhere! 

"Ren Takatsuki, though I enjoy the works of her descendant too, the late author has more works in all kinds of genres that really gain my favour."  He explained, Shirayuri nodded. 

"Yeah I feel the same, there are times when I just want to read different genres with the same writing style, you know what I mean?" 

"Oh yes I do."

Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Bakugo glanced, watching how the mention of someone idolised by the white-haired teen made them almost see a complete ninety-degree turn of her. She maintained longer eye contact, was more talkative and less sharp and passive with her words. Others glanced too, Kaminari who had just arrived was about to comment something when Mina shushed him in favour of quickly snapping a photo of the distracted ghoul.

She forgot to silence her phone.

Shirayuri stilled, remembering that she was still around other humans. Couching, she muttered an apology and pointed to Mr. Aizawa who had just arrived, questioning why some were seated while some looked like they were about to fight over a phone. Without another word to Lida, she faced the board in front of her; unlike last time, Todoroki's stares were ignored. 

Time Skip 

Lunch came along, served by a...professional robotic chef hero? Lida had somehow dragged her into having lunch together for the first time with Uraraka and Midoriya. Once again, did Shirayuri almost hesitate because of the round-faced girl. Having no grudge was possible, but suddenly offering to become friends? 

'This is weird.' 

"?"

"..."

"...?"

"...Coffee." 

The people behind her tapped their feet impatiently, Lunch Rush was waiting for her to order more. Shirayuri gritted her teeth at the sound of constant foot tapping, being much louder compared to the hundreds of footsteps being taken. So many footsteps, her senses were taking in all the whispering, conversations and actions around her. Without hesitation, Shirayuri prepared to turn her body and kick the student if it wasn't for Lida placing a hand on her hand gripping the now broken lunch tray. 

Lunch Rush placed a coffee cup on her tray, giving the girl a thumbs up as the taller boy immediately dragged her away from the now scared students that had observed the small display of strength mixed with irritation. 

"Oh Kaneki? You brought your own sugar?" Midoriya asked, eyes sparkling as he observed the plastic container filled to the brim with brown sugar cubes. The ghoul slowly nodded, plopping about three cubes into her drink before raising it to her lips. While maintaining eye contact, did Shirayuri observe the table around her, a sugar cube entering her mouth before being crushed under the strength of her molars. 

"Hmm." 

If secrets were to be revealed, would she be a sociopath, a psychopath or both since there isn't much difference between the two? In the eyes of the lives standing on the side with the greener grass, she was a monster. But where she stood, would others respect and fear her at the same time. Shirayuri closed her eyes, savouring the taste of the drink as a small chunk of the sugar cube broke apart and made an almost silent plop onto the coffee. It sinks like the titanic, before disappearing over the course of time. It was heavily affected by its surrounding circumstances and environment, causing it to be what it was now. Dust. 

What about her? 

"I am coming through the door like a normal person!" 

"Welcome to the most important class at UA High." All Might started, using his hands in an attempt to shush down the class filled with excited teenagers.  "Here, you will learn the basics of being a pro-hero. And what it means to fight in the name of good!" 

'Ah, so the professional name is now pro-hero. I wonder if some people here desire to become heroes for the sole reason of fame and its riches.' Shirayuri thought, resting her head between intertwined fingers. She scanned around the class, wondering if she can detect any language that may have stiffened when hearing the last of the number one hero's words. 

The true meaning of being a hero seems to have been lost in time, translated countless of times until the true meaning of it couldn't be found. Maybe it was someone who was willing to risk their lives for the sake of others? Ensure the survivability of their people, lower the crime and criminals that lurk in the darkness or just generally save people who need to be saved and don't deserve to go through traumatic scary events.

Her mind wandered and brainstormed on what a hero meant to her. 

Shirayuri looked at herself. 

Perhaps a hero was the complete opposite of her.

Someone whose morals were in the right place, willing to expose and bring themselves to their lowest just to make sure others can easily depend on them when the time comes. Their words soothing and striking relief in the heart of victims and watchers, someone who isn't in it for personal gain and...become a symbol of hope for humanity as a whole. She gazed at All Might, never seeing the smile disappear from his face as he continued explaining what they were planning to do. 

'To me, everyone needs a mask they can never take off.' 

All Might came into the world as if the heavens open their gate and released their best creation to the world once more. For decades has he been dedicating his live to save others with his signature phrase, flashy outfit and the renowned smile that never left his face. What a mask, able to take anything that is thrown at him. Shirayuri's hand touched her own face, remembering not to puncture it and horrify the other students around her. 

"Kaneki?" Uraraka called out, Shirayuri's face snapping towards the girl. 

The brown-haired girl flinched, a bit unsettled by the look on Shirayuri's face. Around them, others seemed to be holding brief cases with numbers. 

"I'm just tired." The lie rolled out of her mouth as if it was a natural occurrence, Uraraka nodded and patted the girl's back as she led the white-haired teen to where her own silver case was placed.Shirayuri looked down, not speaking anything up until All Might came up towards her. 

"Are you all right young Kaneki? Is there something wrong?" He asked, noticing how everyone else had left the class room. 

"Why silver brief cases..." 

The teen's voice was low, almost too low and hard to discern if the number one hero wasn't trained nor had countless years of experience. He didn't speak for a moment, trying to find a reason on why the brief case was silver in colour. 

"Because they're cool and fitting, if becoming a hero-in-training at U.A is a silver, then the moment you become a hero you will rise to become a golden star!" He came up with the reason on the spot, giving a small punch to the air. Unbeknownst to him, Shirayuri's face deeply contorted into a frown, a grimace showing after a few seconds. 

"Entertainment purposes I see, hunting is a sport." A chuckle was added at the end, All Might's face now perplexed. 

That was the last thing Shirayuri said before walking out the classroom, leaving All Might standing in place wondering if he had something wrong to push the teen into drowning her last sentence in a mix of emotions. 

It is normal, it has always been like that. For hundreds of years has the cycle been the same, unperturbed by the changes over the centuries. Even if there were major changes around the world, it remains the same. Similar in the animal kingdom, all life depends on primary producers. A larger number of herbivores are required to support a smaller amount of carnivores; everything remains in equilibrium. What does it feel like, to become an apex predator? A predator that had been on the top of the food chain for hundreds of years, with no other predator to feast upon it suddenly become the prey? 

Though they've always been hunted, how did it reach such a scale? When did humans become so bold to suddenly bludgeon an unsuspecting ghoul in public with no remorse at all? 

Numbers began dropping, around the world were they dwindling in such horrific ways. Perhaps as payback to how some of them too 'play' with their food. In a world suddenly drowned in chaos, were opportunities taken advantaged of ; of course they would, there were no rules if one was to be killed or hunted down because it was a matter of self-defence. 

Silver briefcases, they were held tightly and sometimes could you find broken bits of silver in almost every nook and cranny of any major city around the world you can think of. They shine, no matter the occasion or weather : sunny, rain, day, night, snow, etc. 

'Protect yourself, don't get caught or allow anyone to see you beyond the mask'

The mask was heavy, Shirayuri humming while her eyes scanned the red lines on different parts of the white mask. Turning it, she rubbed the material of the straps that would make sure the mask does not fall off or be knocked off her face easily. It was a white kitsune mask, taking the stance of a kitsune's face if it was growling. Its ears was up and only covered most of her face-excluding her hair that would be tied up and her ears. Underneath the upper teeth design, was the gas mask part of her mask. 

Looking at herself in the mirror, Shirayuri applied a layer to the ends of her hair making them look black, after that she lightly pressed and rubbed the hair above it. Taking a step back, most of her hair was still white until her vision trailed down as the white slowly shifted to grey and eventually black. Grabbing a makeup bag, the ghoul applied red eyeliner, making sure her previous black one and eyeshadow was replaced. Opening another container, Shirayuri placed on red eye contacts. 

"Wow, you really want to make your hero outfit completely different from your true self!" Shirayuri turned around, seeing a pair of floating gloves. 

Toru Hagakure, the invisible girl of class 1-A. Literally. 

"I like the concept of hiding our true selves, feels more safer don't you think?" Hagakure was a bit confused, figuring out that there was a deeper depth to the other's words but couldn't lay a finger on it. "I like dressing up too."

"Same!" 

Paying attention to the comfort of her feet while walking in the shoes, Shirayuri made sure that her outfit was comfortable and secure as she shot glances at her reflection in the mirror whenever she passed by a window. 

"Kaneki, I must say, you have talent in the fashion department when it came to designing your outfit." A white transformer praised her outfit, his eyes gazing down from her hair down to her choice of shoes. "Though, haven't you considered the thought that colouring your hair before every heroics class and career as a hero a bit too time consuming?" 

It was Lida's voice, the ghoul only recognising him through his voice. His entire outfit covered every inch of his body, down to his hair and to his toes. In his voice was not criticism, but more of worry. She responded to his message by briefly turning her hair fully white once more before allowing the tips to turn black once again. Lida opened his mouth to say something, but closed it once again.

"You know, you should really speak more about your quirk-like, it doesn't make you arrogant if you were to talk about yourself more." 

"Hmm, I'll take that into consideration." 

When Izuku Midoriya finally came out of the tunnel, Shirayuri pursed her lips and took in the final hero outfit designed by her classmates. 

What the fuck

Why does everyone look like they're either going to an anime convention or Coachella? Oh except for Ojiro and Todoroki both of them seem to be going to a  competition or tried to cosplay as Zuko stuck frozen in ice. 

How is Zuko doing now-

"Kaneki?" 

Kyoka Jiro

She was a girl with headphone jacks extending out of her ear lobes, from what she heard when the jacks are plugged into something. It was possible to release loud vibrations made from the sound of her heart beat; additionally, they were able to extend a few several meters. Her outfit matched her entire aura and persona. Without much care, Jiro pointed towards their opponents- Momo Yaoyorozu and Minoru Mineta. 

With a lot of time before their turn, the two laid their backs against the wall while observing the large screen from afar. The first team was villains Lida and Bakugo against heroes Uraraka and Midoriya. 

"Well? Are you going to say something recommendation student?" Jiro spoke first, arms crossed. Though Shirayuri would have squinted her eyes at the nickname given, it seemed Jiro just spoke that way to most people. She was calm, quiet at times. But there were moments where she enjoys teasing and being playful with others. 

The white-haired teen glanced at All Might, visible concern etched onto his face at the sight of Bakugo and Midoriya fighting. Others around them too, to the majority, this already was brutal. The way Bakugo's face looked, how he used his quirk and targeted after the green-haired boy. Uraraka ran away at Midoriya's command as the fight progressed. The way he was fighting and maintaining balance without his quirk was truly impressive too. 

Shirayuri's eyes widened, a smile breaking through her facade at the sight of Bakugo landing an explosion onto Midoriya-causing him to yell out in pain. The other students began murmuring, commenting at both of them. This Bakugo, unafraid to hurt others and allowed his cardinal sin to take control of him. 

"I'm bored, let's just watch some carnage shall we?" 

Chapter Text

"5 Minutes starting from now." 

The villains were given five minutes to prepare their traps, Shirayuri and Jiro looked up, easily able to detect the sound of heavy metal clanging against the floor. Momo Yaoyorozu, quirk allowing her to create almost anything with her lipids. Truly something impressive and powerful when paired with the right mind. She had both. 

"Do you think I can destroy their traps with my quirk? I think the door would be heavily barricaded based on the amount of clanging we hear." Jiro commented, looking at Shirayuri who glanced at her. She saw the earpiece, allowing their classmates to hear what they were doing. 

"Bad idea, those sound wave attacks may be hard to control and may damage the building. Also, the giant elephant in the room?" The other nodded her head, remembering how the weapon was described as 'fragile' 

"Heroes, you may enter." 

Without saying anything else, Jiro followed Shirayuri inside of the building. She frowned, watching how Shirayuri simply walked as if she knew where they were going. Her head was raised, as if she was an animal trying to pick up scents in the nearby area. Arriving at a door, her hands were inside of her pocket whilst she tilted her head and observed it. On the other side of the door, Momo clutched onto her metal pole as Mineta held two sticky balls in his hand. 

"I'm bored." Kaminari yawned, everyone else just watching in anticipation. Mina Ashido glared at him, opting to shove her elbow onto his side causing him to yelp and demand the reason she did that. "Nothing happened yet!"

Just as he said that, the sound of heavy metal earned the attention of everyone.

Jiro took a step back with wide eyes, looking at Shirayuri's raised leg that remained in the air after sending the metal door back towards the villain team. Mineta who wasn't fast enough, was crushed between the metal barricade and wall that cracked due to the force of impact. All Might's eyes widened, watching the boy's hand twitch as the rest of his body was covered. Momo remained focused, watching as Shirayuri took a step inside of the room. 

Looking around, there weren't other traps set up inside the room, as if the metal beams on the other side of the room was their only extra security. The rinkaku wrapped around her leg disappeared, serving its purpose under her clothes. Jiro peeped inside, choosing to stay near the side of the door. 

Momo charged, raising a staff that aimed towards Shirayuri's head. When she closed her eyes and ducked down as she aimed, Shirayuri raised her arm, turning her hand into a fist. 

KLANG!

Bodies were frozen, Jiro's mouth agape as Momo took a couple of steps back, face contorted into disbelief. Her hand dropped her metal pole, at least what was left of the long staff. The other half rolled down and briefly touched the ghoul's shoes. Kneeling down, the ghoul dashed forward and appeared right behind Momo. The taller girl's head about to turn back, unable to beat the time it took for Shirayuri to twist her body and kick the girl down to the floor. When her body briefly bounced up, teeth gritting with eyes closed, Shirayuri sent down another blow to the chest-knocking the air out of her lungs. The tension inside of the human's muscles disappeared, body too exhausted to continue fighting. 

"That's all?" She asked the two villains, walking towards the giant faux weapon. 

Silence was her answer, nodding in confirmation, her hand was placed on the weapon as Jiro rushed to check up on Momo. A bell rang, signalling the end of their battle. She was impressed of herself, not because of her strength or how she achieved victory without much help. But because of how she was able to hold back and maintain herself. Walking towards the metal door, she threw it away with one hand and observed the unconscious dirt-covered Mineta. In an attempt to confirm if he was alive, she placed her foot on him. Waiting a few moments, she blinked at the vibration of his heartbeat. 

"Kaneki? Are you all right?" Jiro now jogged towards her, placing a hand on her forehead making the white-haired teen's eyes blow out and take multiple steps back. She tried to growl and snap at her but was stopped due to the mask and the strap that binded the object to her face. 

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" 

With quick panicked breaths, Shirayuri rushed out of the building and hid herself in an alleyway. Feeling suffocated, she tried to claw off her mask but couldn't , eyes tearing a little at the rise in frustration within her-heating up her body more. With more precision and care, the mask was taken off. Allowing her to slide down the cement wall and hug her body close. 

"Don't touch her there, she doesn't like it." 

Bakugo glanced at Todoroki, seeing how the ice that had covered his entire left side had now disappeared. His gaze was solely on the screen.The others stared at the screen. The frozen look on Jiro's face, the perplexed and fearful look on Momo's face and finally Mineta's unconscious body being taken away by two medical robots. The camera changed scenery, now focusing on a resting Shirayuri who seemed as if she was deep in thought while looking down at the mask she had worn.

After some time, the four of them now stood in front of the entire classroom. Momo looking down with a forlorn expression, Jiro looking anxious, Shirayuri's face as hard as stone and a mummified Mineta. 

"The MVP of the battle is Shirayuri Kaneki, congratulations young Kaneki on the usage of your quirk and battle prowess." All Might and the others clapped, the number one hero placing a hand on her shoulder as a 'job well done' 

She did nothing to him, instead her head still focused on the ground, the same as her eyes. 

Similar to Bakugo, Shirayuri opted to go home as soon as she had packed up all her belongings into her bag. Ignoring All Might who arrived to encourage Bakugo alongside a now bandaged-Izuku Midoriya. On the way home, Shirayuri read the messages on her phone, deciding to take the longer route home on foot to give herself more alone time from those who care about her. 

Ear buds on, music filled her ears somehow making the scenery drowned in the light of the sunset much more beautiful. The orange ocean would be replaced with a black ocean, filled with bright stars to accompany the full moon.

Entering an area filled with street vendors, after passing by multiple stores did she make a turn towards a dark alley. Far from the attention of strangers, street animals lurking and the occasional regular humans passing through it like her. 

Hearing a couple of footsteps, she knew who it was.

"You know, you make my job so much easier." 

Her eyes widened, not because of the man behind her blitzing forward. But because of the octopus tentacles that almost hit her face passing her and aiming towards the man. Releasing an annoyed huff, he narrowly avoided the tentacles. Shirayuri's head snapped forward, gazing at the hooded figure with octopus tentacles for fingers.

"Targeting young students who are simply trying to find their way home? Not on my watch..." 

Without another word, his other hand shifted into a claw and he dashed forward. She watched frozen, the battle between the man that had long stalked her and someone she couldn't even recognise, yet had the mentality to save her. 

"What are you doing?!" She yelled at him, seemingly more mortified by the fact that someone else was willing to put their lives at risk for her. Someone else that had barely known her at all. A complete stranger. 

"Doing my job as a hero to save you!" Tamaki answered. 

Shirayuri watched closely while observing the progressing fight, to her surprise, he was handling the adult male pretty well. Shifting his body parts to animal parts on many occasions : oyster, chicken and octopus. Observing the size of his wings, she wondered if he could too fly with his wings. 

Click!

Her eyes widened, Tamaki too when he saw her rush forward and envelop her body around him. Just like that, the knife that aimed for him lodged itself into her back as bullets were fired-once again, the ghoul acting as his barrier of protection. The man's jaw drop, taking a step back, did he immediately ran away from the scene of the crime as Tamaki hugged the girl back as their knees weakened. A few heroes came to the scene, including the senior's hero work study mentor. 

"Are you alright? You can call me Fat Gum, you're safe now." A large man kneeled down, the other heroes chasing after the direction Shirayuri's hunter had disappeared to. 

"I'm fine, I was just surprised when a knife and rounds of bullets was coming at him from out of nowhere." She assured standing up, Tamaki's face contorted into a frown and forced her back to sit down.

"Sit." 

Shirayuri shot him a glance, "I am fine, no harm was done." 

Slumping her back pack off, the girl without hesitation buttoned off her blazer and revealed to them the back of her white shirt. Pristine and white, albeit with a couple of holes. Fat Gum's eyes widened, Tamaki saying nothing despite his mouth being open. "It's a part of my...quirk, I cannot be harmed by regular metal. Attempt to stab me with a knife or run at me with a sword, neither will leave a scratch. Simply breaking upon contact." 

The remains of the knife's blade glistened, broken bullets littering the ground. 

"What exactly are you?" A sidekick muttered, Shirayuri shot him a look, scaring him. 

"Just a lost girl trying to translate and define the world, the world giving no answers leaving her to simply roam and live a 'life'." 

Tamaki continued observing Shirayuri, watching as a purple-haired man came out of a limo and rushed towards her. Quickly did he bent down and scratch his expensive-suit pants against the ground. Both his hands tightly holding her arms as she looked down at him with a blank look on her face. Ingenium rushed up towards both of them alongside the police chief and another officer. His eyebrows furrowed, watching the worried face on the chairman harden. 

He didn't know what they were talking about, but Tamaki was sure that Shuu Tsukiyama was extremely angry at the words of the police chief. When Ingenium was about to speak, Tsukiyama raised his hand, stopping him. Without another word, like a bird, Tsukiyama made sure Shirayuri was leaning against him as he took her away from the scene, claiming she was exhausted after what had occurred. 

The reason Tamaki would say otherwise, 

The following day

"What do you mean Shuu Tsukiyama is disrupting the case and search for the man?" Aizawa hissed, All Might standing beside him wearing his golden suit. Both of them inside of the principal's office. 

Nezu nodded his head, hands resting on his desk intertwined together. 

"I'm afraid so, with his connections, as soon as he had caught wind of the attack-immediately was he able to bury yet another case." Nezu summarised, closing his eyes when the last words left his mouth. He opened it again after neither All Might nor Eraser Head had said anything.

"I understand that he wants to protect her privacy," Aizawa scoffs at All Might's words, muttering things that made the two other faculty staff members stare at him in worry. "But, this is going too far. You could even say he's protecting him instead." 

"Hmm...protect...hide...two words that actually blend well and are common to find in the same problem." Something lit up from within Nezu. "To hide is to protect, to protect is to hide away. Burying things away...to hide away a secret." The principal spoke in riddles, making both teacher's silent. Waiting for him to translate what he just said. 

Nezu smiled. Shaking his head, easily reading their minds. 

"It's simply none of our business, I'm not keen on having an organisation keep eye and plot our downfall for simply becoming too curious for our own goods," Nezu stated, leaving no room for arguments from the homeroom and heroics teacher. "Some matters are better left untouched and oblivious to the majority of humanity. We have seen time and time again what happen's when the arrogation of mankind reaches its peak and dare involve themselves on matters of the past." 

"Kaneki? Would you like to try some?" Uraraka asked, presenting her lunch towards Shirayuri. "I haven't seen you eat ever since we started having lunch together, and I'm getting worried." she confessed, preparing to give a portion of her food towards the girl

Lida agreed, deciding to follow in on Uraraka's actions. Midoriya too after realising the second sentence was true. Shirayuri raised a hand, asking them to stop. "Please don't. I eat plenty at home." 

"No need to be selfless, everyone needs sufficient nutrients within their body to maintain their quirk, strength and energy to continue studying." Lida argued. 

Just like that, a new plate was placed right in front of her. Filled with small portions of different types of food given to her by the trio. To her surprise, Lida had gotten up and ordered something else from Lunch Rush, a glass of cranberry juice. Their eyes looked at, high expectations within them. As if they had forgotten how she had mentioned her diet was extremely strict due to the con of being a one-eyed ghoul. 

Swallow, don't chew. 

She swallowed each portion, slowly but surely did the plate become empty as conversations continued. She didn't bother to participate in their talking, focusing only on the food. The smell was putrid, its taste more disgusting than fish at the brink of finishing its decomposition cycle left under the hot sun coveted by flies. Swallowing it tasted like slime, almost sticking inside of her throat before quickly being forced down. 

The ghoul gagged, body rejecting the food considered delicious and healthy. 

It was thanks to the pity God that she was able to stop eating, the school erupting in red alarms-symbolising that someone had broken into U.A. While others ran to find safety, she exited the halls and rushed towards the toilet. Kneeling down in front of the toilet, legs on the floor, hands gripping the side of the toilet. Shirayuri was preparing to vomit when Lida, Uraraka and Midoriya's faces filled her mind. 

They cared for her. 

They cared for her enough to worry about her health, waste their action and breaths to dote on her. Similar to how friends and her family would. They had no obligation to do such things, but they did instead. Shirayuri opened her mouth, but this time she aimed and punched her chest.

"Swallow...swallow...SWALLOW...SWALLOW!" 

Words were strained, her voice sounding as if she was in a great amount of pain. Standing up, she almost hit the door of the toilet stall and ran towards the sink. Turning on the tap, she began drinking fresh drinkable water provided to every single facility around the nation. Parks, garden and even other bathrooms intended for public use. It didn't do much to make her want to throw up right then and there, but it helped forced down what she had just consumed. 

"Why...why did I do that..."

'You're beginning to care for them, despite taking a vow to renounce your care for the cockroaches that crawl and cover the crevice of the upper world.' 

Shirayuri growled, clutching onto the sink in anger over the voice. "Don't twist my words, you and I both know that I never took that vow." The voice laughed, glowing as it danced around the room, invisible to her. 'Ha ha! Playing with you is so much fun! I feel like a puppeteer, controlling the strings of a porcelain doll dancing across the stage. Raising you high, high and higher! Before dropping you down onto the floor multiple times, until you break!' 

When she finally left the bathroom, the sirens had long stopped. Her briefly disheveled appearance gone with traces of the chaos that had unfolded within the bathroom. She was late to class. Being seen when everyone stared at her as Mr. Aizawa explained what they were doing today for their final periods of the day. He glanced at her, Shirayuri meeting his eyes back. The teacher looked back at the class, continuing to explain as if nothing had happened. 

"You alright Kaneki?" Uraraka asked, Shirayuri nodded. Sitting on her chair whereas Momo, Todoroki and Uraraka turned their heads and focused on her. She felt their gazes. To them it was nothing overbearing, but to her did their worried gazes felt like fire. 

'For someone born from fire and blood, do you crash and burn oh so easily.' 

The more she stayed, will the past come back and stir chaos. Her head was down, head filled with unclear things that occupied her entire attention. Even when she was walking out of the class, changing her clothes and waited for the bus to arrive...bus?

"Where are we going again?" 

Todoroki glanced at her beside him, realising that she was now back from her trip around her mind. "The Unforeseen Simulation Joint." her head moved up and down. Then she scanned the bus, every other seat was almost taken except...

Re-checking the bandages above her sports bra, she was glad that they didn't unwrap at all. Looking at herself in the mirror, none of the bandages had slipped out of place.

In the past, they would have. 

There was no special reason in why she wore bandages besides for aesthetic purposes and the feeling of it against her skin. 

She had calmed down a little, frowning a bit at how she had yelled at Uraraka for touching her. 

Her body froze, hearing flashes and a new source of light around the room. Disappearing before coming back. She quickly turned her back, finding someone she recognised from her class taking photos of her changing. 

"What do you thing you are doing?!" An angered growl left her throat, the ghoul making her way towards him. 

"Simply enjoying a masterpiece~" 

His voice made her feel disgusted, the girl feeling the innuendos that was carried by his words. She raised her hand, Mineta's eyes widening when the lights around the room began flashing around.

"Wait please! Let's talk this through!" He begged, falling on his ass and began crawling away. Shirayuri scoffed, walking towards him. 

"I'm not that merciful you fucking cockroach." She raised his hand, preparing to strike-or perhaps tear his head away from the rest of his body.

"Kaneki please! I'M JUST HUMAN! YOU CAN'T KILL ME UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE ARRESTED AND TAKEN AWAY!" 

Mineta whimpered, hearing an animalistic sound released from within Shirayuri. 

"If I see you even nearing me once more, I will rip your throat out." 

The lights returned back to normal, Mineta cowering on the ground. Shirayuris' nose wrinkled in disgust, smelling human waste coming from him.  His hands stopped covering his face, they both looked at each other. Quickly, did he rush his way outside of the girl's changing room. Slamming the door behind him, leaving the girl all alone again. 

Shirayuri ran a hand through her hair, a frustrated sound coming out of her before turning her hand into a fist.

Her kakugan activated, blood and electricity coursing through her veins as a light bulb exploded.  

"Pathetic, disgusting creatures." 

Todoroki glanced at Shirayuri, her eyes focusing on Mineta who realised she was staring at him. He began whistling, looking out the window before Mr. Aizawa snapped his gaze towards him and stated for the younger to stop. He was ready to open his mouth to say something, perhaps ask her what she had meant or if she was alright. It didn't seem like her to be daydreaming. Though she was quiet, she was observant and tended to be wary of the things going around her. But there were no words that were willing to come out, no sentences were structured at all for the duration that his attention was on her. Something that lasted longer than it should have. 

Excitement filled most of the class, finally exiting out of the bus to see the exterior design of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Shirayuri looked up, observing the giant dome-like structure it had for a roof. Of course, the building was large. Mina grinned, jumping a bit in her place. Her mouth opened, "I wonder how it looks like on the inside!" 

Shirayuri held her mask, playing on the straps as pro-hero Thirteen was revealed to be one of the extra teachers besides Eraser Head teaching them today. There was no sign of their actual heroics teacher around just yet. 

"Now then, let me show you all the interior of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint." Thirteen finished her introduction speech, everyone eagerly following her inside. Eraser Head stayed behind most, carefully observing the surroundings. The actual inside of the building was similar to Universal Studios Japan. With many different attractions and smaller domes with different colours to give a clue what was inside. For example, one was blue with water and the other was red and orange with fire-based decorations. "I know, it's as amazing as the amount of funds required to make it how it is today." 

"Thirteen, where is All Might?" Aizawa whispered, using the advantage of the class being distracted to converse with the other hero. 

Thirteen looked up at him, similar to Lida, she was entirely covered head-to-toe in her hero outfit. "I received a message from Nezu that All Might had overdid himself this morning on the way to U.A. Now, he's just resting in his office, recuperating." 

Aizawa placed his hands inside of his pockets, huffing a bit out of annoyance. Shirayuri glanced at them, hearing what they had just said. Uraraka walked up towards Shirayuri, the girl frowning as her eyes were seemingly deep in thought. About to place a hand on her shoulder, she stopped and thought back of the past. The following words left her mouth "Kaneki? Is there something wrong?" 

Mr. Aizawa glanced their way. 

"Have you ever thought of what dead bodies smell like left under the rain? I smell that now." 

His eyes snapped forward, observing a black and purple mist swirling in the middle of the building. Eraser Head took a step forward, seeing the new unfamiliar figures stepping out of the mist. The class looked at each other, confused over the appearance of others. Kirishima looked over at Thirteen, "Has the simulation started?"

 A blue-haired man, covered in hands looked around the place. Eyes locked at the crowd near the entrance of the building. He looked over at a cloudy figure wearing a metal brace on its neck and a suit. No one could see how he opened his own mouth through the stone hand that covered his entire face.

"Kurogiri, you said that All Might would be here...I don't see him." Irritation filled his voice, staring down at the other figure named Kurogiri. Kurogiri bowed down, shame feeling him a bit over the rise in Shigaraki's ire.

"This isn't a part of the simulation, Thirteen get the students out of here." 

While others ran towards the exit, Eraser Head rushing down to fight the first wave of villains and Thirteen escorting them away. Shirayuri stayed frozen, watching down at the villains down below. Villains, a title given to those who cause harm, hurt others and refuse to bend their knee to the law. Constantly coming head-to-head with heroes for their own reasons. How cliche. 

"I swear to God Kaneki!" Lida yelled, grabbing her by the collar and dragging her away. He huffed, briefly glaring at the back of her head before focusing back onto what was in front of him. "You worry me the most! And that's considering we're friends with Midoriya!" 

Her steps tried to match his speed, they bypassed a few people almost leading the way and growing nearer towards the giant doors when the same black figure traveled in the blink of an eye. They stood frozen, watching the once normal-sized being now almost as large as half of the door. 

"We are the League of Villains, an organisation dedicated to destroying everything that All Might has made and soon, him too. As you can see, there seemed to be a bit of a problem here...well, he'll eventually come once we attack his precious golden eggs." 

Bakugo took a step forward, Lida shooting him a warning glance that went ignored. Kirishima too stood beside Bakugo. "If you think we will allow you to take down All Might, then you have hell coming for you." Kurogiri stared down at Bakugo, irked by the lack of fear inside of his eyes and disrespectful words. "Then perish." 

His body surrounded all of them, as if being vacuumed into space, everyone began separating from each other. "Kaneki!" Lida yelled losing hold of the girl that got sucked away into the darkness. Her eyes widened, the last thing she saw before being enveloped in darkness was the panicked-filled look of Tenya Lida.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 

You can't just get rid of me. 

Remember me

For all of eternity.

There was a house, a loving family living within its walls. A young child, perhaps around 6-10 reading a picture book in the living room. Kicking her feet up in the air, laying on her stomach as her arms supported her head. Two silhouettes were behind her, one of a man and a woman. Everything was perfectly normal in their household, in a neighbourhood low of crime rates where mothers, fathers and children't have no need to constantly fuss over each other's safety.  Unlike the other houses, they followed a victorian-style design. Making it stand out in a good way. The colours weren't overbearing on the eyes, neither was it too dark that it gave off a scary aura. 

"Mama, I'm thirsty." She whined, voice much more high-pitched back then.

The woman stilled, glancing at Shirayuri with wide eyes. She nodded her head, her steps allowing the child to understand that she had done as she had demanded. Shirayuri glanced at her father, busying himself with his work on the sofa. Sunlight outlining his figure. 

She hissed, disliking the amount of sun reaching her eyes. Holding her picture book with her right hand, she raised a hand and tried to cover the light with it. There was too much light, it shouldn't be like that. It wasn't possible. 

Where was she? 

The light was covered, standing up, she glanced at the mirror and it was the outfit she was wearing previously. Her mask hanging from her belt. Walking up towards the mirror, she maintained eye contact with herself before quickly turning around. The room shifted, different decorations, picture frames and everything. Sniffing the air, she smelled food. Different from  human meat, yet didn't make her want to vomit.

As if her muscles remembered the place, she stood frozen at the kitchen door. The one busy room being frozen too, staring back at her. There was two guys that seemed to be twins, one had complete black hair while the other had complete white hair. In the room was another girl, with primarily white hair but on the top of her head had black hair. The girl gasped, dropping whatever it was she was holding at the sight of her. 

"Shirayuri?" 

The white-haired male stand up, face tense as he took multiple steps toward her. Intimidated, Shirayuri took a step back making his face shift into one of shock as he stopped moving towards her. 

"You're not supposed...they were repressed." 

Repressed? What did he-she froze. Having a clear idea on what he was talking about. 

"You're talking about my memories aren't you...in a place that was meant for me to understand more about the incident, my mind took me towards all of you." Shirayuri whimpered, feeling negative emotions emerged from her gut. "Why did you all never came back for me? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!" 

The girl reached out towards her, opening her mouth to speak. "Shirayuri, it's not that we-

"You're supposed to be my family! Why did you leave me!" 

The world broke around her, the young teen falling to her knees in agony. Her her throbbing as her mouth released all her stockpiled misery. She hated this world. She hated the fate that she was given, the choices she took that led her to where she was now. 

"God," Shirayuri smiled, spitting out one of the heaviest words humanity placed emphasis on. "I truly want to watch the world crash and burn." 

Her knees wobbled, the ghoul suddenly feeling moisture cover every inch of her skin. Looking around, everything around her resembled the city. Squinting her eyes, the sky continuously poured down water despite the absence of dark grey clouds. Shirayuri heard a war cry, turning her back ; there was a large man charging towards her with his weapon raised towards the sky. 

A strange looking being slammed itself against the charging man, knocking him into a wall as Fumikage Tokoyami came running towards her. "Kaneki!" he panted. 

"Tokoyami." Shirayuri nodded, processing the first time she talked with another one of her classmate's was when they were practically kidnapped, taken somewhere and now were most likely going to be killed.  "I think we're still within the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, is there any more of our classmates here? I can't...seem to track them." Tokoyami looked at her, shaking his head.

"The rain heavily affects your senses?" He asked, the ghoul confirmed.

"Severely, an equal drawback to a blessing I suppose." 

The slightest sounds were covered by the wind and rain, same with the scents of others. Slipping on wetter surfaces was inevitable, meaning she couldn't take full advantage of her surroundings with her speed. Though her vision was not as affected as her other senses, because she only has one kakugan; it was at a disadvantage with normal ghouls who had two kakugans. Two kakugans allowed normal ghouls to see in pitch darkness their surroundings, their only upper hand when placed in a juxtaposition with one-eyed ghouls.

"Now look at what we have here." One grinned, tapping his machete gently against his other hand. 

Both students raised their heads, hearing a scream of fear. They glanced at each other, so they weren't the only ones transported here. Dark Shadow returned to Tokoyami's side, prepared to fight the villains around them. 

"I think it's best if we separate here," Shirayuri whispered, Tokoyami shot his head towards her, wondering if she was insane. "The longer time we take, the lesser chance of survival whoever screamed has, if we're too late, the only thing greeting us once we reach the location is our classmate's dead bloodied mangled body on the ground." 

"It's best to trust the words of someone with experience." 

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow glanced at each other. Finally he relented. "Fine, we'll be back for you." 

With Dark Shadow protecting him, Tokoyami was able to escape scot free. With her alone with the villains, Shirayuri stretched her arms wide, bending down her body a bit, she allowed them to witness her kagune erupting from her back like a raging fire, kakugan out in the open to see. Electricity crackled, the wings briefly hardening and returning back to a flame-like state.

"You...you're a g-" Shirayuri gave him no option to speak, jumping up, did a few manoeuvres and landed back on the ground behind the man with ease. The others watched in horror, a red line appearing on their ally's face before the body sliced into two fell down onto the ground.  

"You all caught me in a bad mood," She stated, her back facing them. She looked forward, at the empty street constantly drizzled on by the rain. "It's been a long time since I've used my kagunes against humans."

Shirayuri jumped up and down, stretching her body. Eventually, her head turned towards them. 

"I'll make this as fast as possible, at least, so you don't overuse your vocal cords and alert my acquaintances." 

Koda and Tokoyami ran towards her, Shirayuri walking towards them with calmness in her steps. Dark Shadow stretched and searching around for any lurking ambushers. 

"Where are they?" The bird-headed boy asked, Shirayuri turned her head. 

"As fast as they appeared, they were swallowed up by something dark. Don't know why, but it's best that we do get out of here before our physical bodies worsen because of the rain." 

They ran towards the exit, Shirayuri wrinkling her face when one of her hands covered her mouth as she let out a burp. Tokoyami and Koda glanced at her, the ghoul allowing an embarrassed smile to appear on her face.

"Sorry, had a hearty meal right before we got here." 

Chapter Text

Rejection was something most people had experienced, those who had felt it could connect and relate to one another. What one can't relate nor resonate with others is how they handle that rejection. The words spoken from one mouth, could be very different from others. To some it was a sign to keep going, try harder or even give up. Rarely has one stated to take it by force. But if the last choice is the path one had chosen to walk upon. Then in this world, it's better to be prepared. 

Tomura Shigaraki, watched as his nomu wrecked havoc on the Erasure Hero after he himself had touched his elbow. His mouth turned into a grin, remembering how his skin cracked and turned to dust. 

"Tomura." Kurogiri called out his name, Shigaraki shooting him an annoyed look.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy watching this?" He huffed, pointing towards the nomu landing a punch on Aizawa's gut as three of his students watched from the water in horror. "All Might... he won't stand a chance..." 

"The others assigned in the Downpour Zone aren't responding, I checked. They have all disappeared Tomura." Shigaraki's face contorted in a frown, scratching his neck as Kurogiri pulled out a bloodied piece of cloth. Opening it, his scratching worsened when he saw a severed finger. "What the hell..." 

"A warning...? No...there's no heroes here other than that astronaut and Eraser Head...these brats wouldn't do something like this." Kurogiri nodded his head, agreeing with the words coming from his superior. 

At this stage, these brats would still be protected by their loving families and the image of heroes brainwashing them ever since they were young. No clue of the true horrors that were beyond the surface-level that they know of. Trauma? Fear? Willpower, the villain would scoff and flip a table. He and them walk completely different paths. 

His gaze lingered on the severed finger, as if he was burning it into his mind. 

An image flashed inside of his mind, of humans gathering around a bloody corpse-feeding on it like savages as quietly as they could. The imagery blurred and shifted, he stood a couple of feet away from a bewildered looking girl, staring at him as her hands froze mid-action; holding a knife and fork. In front of her was a platter, a bright red pair of lungs.

All of them had red irises with the same coloured veins swimming and stretching within the black ocean of a sclera. 

"They all plan to become heroes, this behaviour is unethical." Shigaraki spoke up once more, Kurogiri being worried for him after the blue-haired individual hadn't opened his mouth nor made a motion to act in a while. 

A villain overhearing their conversation held in his vomit.

'Unethical? this is fucked up, when I was their age I was simping for Jennifer Lawrence.' 

Why would someone who can't drink, drive nor be recognised as a legal adult kill someone, get rid of their body and leave a warning sign? Sure, some kids were fucked up, but this, attending one of the most prestigious hero's school? U.A would be dumb if they had all-

Everyone froze. 

Midoriya clamped his hand over Mineta's mouth, Tsuyu hold back her vomit, Shigaraki and Kurogiri stopped talking to each other, Nomu froze, Eraser Head corrected his vision as the other villains stood confused. The eavesdropper coughed, holding out his bloodied hand and revealing his neck wound. Blood spurting out of it as a large red sharp projectile revealed its full size and appearance before disappearing into thin air. He fell to the ground, looking as if he was being electrocuted before it stopped all of a sudden. Eyes now lifeless, a few fingers twitching. 

"Why the shocked faces?" 

Faster than lightning, the three students watched a blurry figure take down villain after villain. One had a hole through his abdomen, one had both their legs snapped and others each had a part of them either punctured or broken. What they all had in common was the fact that once they had been assaulted, they fell to the ground writhing in shock. 

Eraser Head coughed out his own blood, realising who was here at the very moment that was capable of such speed and attack. An enigma within his class that further confuses him the more they tried to understand them.

"Shirayuri Kaneki!" He called out her name. 

Midoriya held in his breath, the ones in the area watched as a figure revealed itself in front of Aizawa and the nomu. Kneeling down, did she touch the blood running down her teacher's face.

"Was I a second too late? Has someone died already?" Her voice was soft, maintaining eye contact with the older man who did his best to look at her. "I think...I don't want anyone to witness someone die in front of someone they know." Shirayuri herself was confused with her own statement, opting to brush a piece of hair threatening to hinder his eyesight. 

She grimaced, watching the nomu tighten the grip on the older man, Aizawa yelling out in pain making her glance at his twisted arm.

"Kaneki behind you!" Midoriya yelled out, almost getting out of the water if it wasn't for Tsuyu and Mineta pulling him back.

"You brat...where the hell are your morals?!" Shigaraki demanded out of her, holding her hand with four of his fingers, his pinky finger in a position ready to activate his quirk with one movement. 

He looked into her eyes, if he stared in deep enough, could he witness the brief appearance of the dragon's eye-something seemingly omnipotent and powerful that transcended the world and left no answers to infinite questions. On surface-level, Shigaraki saw the dead eyes that confessed to atrocious crimes that they justified and believed to be fair. 

"Your eyes..."

Her left sclera turned black, iris turning red before it glowed before him. Quickly did Shigaraki placed his last finger on her, watching as her arm turned grey and slowly start to crumble. He let go, watching as it slowly did its work. Eraser Head thrashed, same with Midoriya in the grip of others. Satisfied, he began running towards the students in the water. As he was about to touch the girl in the water, he heard a cry of pain followed with the nomu slamming Eraser Head's head back onto the ground. He slightly turned his back, seeing the man's eyes glow red. 

"Shigaraki!" Kurogiri launched himself at someone, trying to envelop and teleport them away-only for the figure to jump high above him and disappear in a burst of electricity. 

Shigaraki froze, looking down at something pooling as a liquid touched his legs. He stood in place, slowly turning his body, seeing Shirayuri hold one of the hands on his outfit. Holding the hand on the same hand he had just saw crumbling to dust. 

"Why you!" He rasped out, almost unable to catch his breathe as he ran towards her instead.

With Shigaraki and Kurogiri occupied with Shirayuri, Midoriya took a deep breath and ran towards the nomu. Tsuyu's eyes widened, realising what he was about to do. 

"Midoriya-" she saw his power coming in the shape of veins inside of his arm. "Don't!" 

Too late. 

She and Mineta closed their eyes, almost drowning because of the amount of uncontrolled power. When the wind was gone, she closed her mouth-trying to hold in a gasp. The nomu had tanked the attack, not even sparing Midoriya a glance with his eyes still focused on the ground. 

"How are you supposed to defeat something bio-engineered to kill the symbol of peace?" 

Shigaraki's words haunted him. The green-haired hero-in-training taking slow steps back from the monster. Looking at his right hand, he was surprised to see that it hadn't turned purple due to using his given quirk.

The area around them was struck with an earthquake. Everyone stilled as the doors of the building burst open, Mina gasped as others near the entrance were almost at tears with the arrival of hope. All Might took a deep breathe, his normal smile gone as he took in the sight of the place around him. It was a mess to say the least. Filled with villains who chose to live their lives trying to hurt others and wreck havoc. He grimaced, remembering briefly the looks of panic and fear that masked the faces of victims caught up in their attacks. 

"Don't worry," he started, his jump so powerful it generated wind force. He flew done and landed right in the centre of the place. Getting up from his kneeling position slowly, his gaze threatening. "Because I am here." 

Shigaraki let out a small laugh, signalling his head towards the nomu. "All Might...finally...you have *SMACK* Bitch! You're supposed wait until I finished speaking before continuing to attack me!" 

Shirayuri snorted, wrinkling her face in disgust. "And you're not supposed to show yourself until after the rigorous training montage."

"IT'S COMPLETELY NORMAL TO REVEAL THE ENEMY BEFORE THE TRAINING ARC!" 

"IT ONLY MAKES THE PROTAGONIST LOOK STUPID, THEY ALREADY KNOW THEY'RE MONKEYS!" 

"NOMU!"

Somehow when they were whisper-threatening to each other, personal hobbies were involved. Clashing like how they were now. Worse than two boy-band fans fighting on Twitter.The nomu released Eraser Head's broken arm, it turned its head towards All Might before making multiple cracking sounds around its body. Like it was preparing itself for a great match, this battle would be legen-

The blue-haired villain's eyes widen, feeling something go through his stomach and out. Shirayuri quickly pulled her hand out, shaking off the blood-allowing it to spread around other parts of her clothes, his and the ground around them. 

"Humans, it's that easy." 

Her smile was mocking him, Kurogiri's eyes widening, moving like the wind towards his now injured master. He spat out, "Shigaraki, we need to get you out of here." 

The man-child released a sound of frustration followed with a cough, he glared towards the teens rushing towards their fallen hero. The smallest and the frog-like one carrying them away alongside the green-haired one whilst Shirayuri took care of the other villains who never learned the first time around. 

"Kurogiri..." He muttered, right as the portal opened right behind him.

"Take note of them." His shaky hand was raised, to only fall seconds later. 

A portal slowly opened, Shirayuri's eyes widening at their attempt to escape. Quickly, she passed All Might and the nomu in order to catch up with them. All Might's eyes widened, running to catch her but was halted with the nomu grabbing him and throwing him away. 

"Young Kaneki, stop!" 

Shirayuri glanced back, she didn't want to stop. No, if she rushed forward, she can kill this man. A man that somehow had a high rank in this attack despite his seemingly childish personality. His quirk was impressive, but, perhaps if she can sever his arms and fingers-

She can kill him. 

She wants to. 

He had almost killed someone in front of her. 

Shirayuri's wings bursted from her back, they hardened as she jumped and prepared to slice the man that was halfway through the portal. She still had a chance, he could still die from losing half of his body. The possibilities that would arise after his death, how would everyone around her react? Would her uncle cover it up as he did in the past? What's the lengths he would go throw for her? If he was willing to let the world burn, then she'll continue to burn away the old world; building it anew from the ashes that litter everything.

An explosion landed on her side, causing her to double-back and land somewhere far away. Her eyes widened, watching as the portal finally closed as she glared at whoever had set off an explosion AT HER. 

"Here I thought Bakugo had mistaken me for a villain." Shirayuri stated as she walked towards a villain, covered in less blood compared to the rest of his friends. His eyes widened, body shaking his fear with the proximity of her face to his, especially her kakugan. 

"You irritate me." Shirayuri straightened her body, raising her foot and placing it above the man. Her mind was blank, her movements made her felt as if she was on auto-pilot mode, with no answer to the question on how to break herself out of it.

"Wait-" 

Frustration and anger evident in her voice, mixing parts of his brain with muscle and cracked skull. Shirayuri gritted her teeth, opening her mouth as her relentless attacks never ceased in strength and speed. " Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier, Fünf,  sechs und sieben!"

Midoriya crouched down, almost vomiting; glad that Tsuyu and Mineta were no longer around the blood-covered area. His face turned green, eyes panning till he found a trash can. Bakugo and Todoroki glanced at each other, wondering what the hell happened in the plaza area. Turning their heads, half of Midoriya's body was inside of a trash can as All Might and the nomu busied themselves. Shirayuri licked her hand, making brief eye contact with a surprised Todoroki. Quickly did she turn her head, embarrassed at being seen by the opposite gender while indulging herself. 

All Might panted, grabbing the nomu for the final time before using all his strength to throw it out of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, exploding a part of the dome roof as it broke through it. He was frozen in place, worried that his form would break if sudden movements were done. Feeling eyes on him, once again did he made eye-contact with Shirayuri Kaneki. Covered in blood, standing in place. 

Dull eyes, contrary to the eyes belonging to the other students filled with a variety of different emotions. She walked away, giving him a view of the back part of her outfit-torn in the top due to the rupture caused by her wing kagune. 

The number one hero's eyes closed, tired with the whole ordeal he went through with the nomu. He was worried. Worried that the fire within him would go out, long before Izuku Midoriya has some mastery and experience over One for All.

"All Might!" The voice of Kirishima called out towards him, followed by many others. Some were filled with energy, some were hoarse indicating that they were tired and had placed too much stress on their vocal chords. He glances at them, doing his best to raise his hand and assure them he was alright non-verbally. 

He surmises that his worry would lessen in the more time he spends with class 1-A, seeing how well the rest of the class looked. Not once showing signs of major injuries or breakdowns. 

These students...they truly were something. 

Tsukiyama raised an eyebrow, Shirayuri pushing away the plate of her favourite organs with her rinkaku. Karren took the tentacle-like appendage, holding it with one hand while her other hand slowly stroked it. Her face saddened, seeing how the kagune had dimmed, usually being a bright-red appendage surging with Rc cells. Shirayuri had a high privilege of consuming human meat everyday, it doesn't make sense for her kagunes to lessen in quality. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tsukiyama asked, touching her cheek gently. Shirayuri looked at him; a tired expression clearly written all over her. The older man smiled, leaning in closer towards her. "I see, you're tired...get some rest, there will be no school for you tomorrow." 

"There was no announcement of school being cancelled tomorrow." The girl muttered, feeling Karren's anger slowly affecting her aura. Tsukiyama nodded his head, confirming that he too knew U.A had no plan of cancelling the school day due to a villain attack. Even if it was within their premises and risked the lives of twenty juvenile students. 

"Fine, you may go to school." He relented, giving in after minutes of silence and unconscious stroking of Shirayuri's white hair. 

Disappointed with their choice of action, Karren leaned forward towards the young girl. She parted her mouth slightly and whispered the following words. "When placed in a juxtaposition, what truly is more dangerous? An enemy or a friend...? Simple, it's a friend, they are more aware of what harms you then your enemies do."

Tsukiyama kissed her forehead, Karren giving the girl a brief hug as the rinkaku kagune disappeared. The lights were turned off, Shirayuri snuggling into her bed as the door clicked shut. 

Her stomach rumbled, body growing anxious without any new energy source to consume containing Rc cells longer than usual. Shirayuri made no motion to get up, only choosing to stare at the bedside table where the organs were placed underneath a silver dome. Dome, dome, dome. 

It's half of an orb, and people like that.

Shirayuri positioned herself in which her backside rested against the mattress, eyes looking up at the ceiling.

"Why do people like breasts so much?" 

"Its tissue, nerves and fat bundled up together and covered in a layer of fat with two evidences of minor umbilical cord infections!" Shirayuri reasoned, laughing a bit at her ridiculous words. 

Tsukiyama and Karren stared at each other, wondering why someone who had just been attacked is having a lonely ted-talk session inside of their room-in the dark. 

"Should we call for a therapist?" Karren asked, preparing her phone.

"We're ghouls, we don't do therapy. When we have psychological issues, we fix it ourselves." Tsukiyama stated, his voice in a tone that made it seem it was the most obvious statement. Karren blinked at him.

"Don't talk to me like that." She hissed, Tsukiyama sticking out his tongue in return. 

The sky was dark, humans of all backgrounds still roaming the streets despite the changes in the environment. In the past, such a foolish act was still committed, but their safety was at least still guaranteed in numbers and the presence of doves. Only a demon that ran on bloodshed and chaos would reveal themselves and start a riot, eventually causing trouble and attention to garner onto the ward. 

"Luckily, in this day and age, the amount of crime is low due to the countless number of heroes?" 

Quirks.

There was something inside of those quirk cells that made humans desire to become heroes, there must be! It wouldn't make sense, a race that had a minority of humans desiring to become investigators now was filled with many younger generations squabbling and fighting with each other for the chance to become a big-time hero like their favourite saviours. 

"What do you think would happen if this certain Rc cell, was placed under observation alongside a quirk cell?"

A child's quirk can be the mix of both parents, similar to a chimera ghoul. This quirk can inherit both superior qualities and negate the negative drawbacks, or inherit one superior quality while receiving a more severe drawback. 

The other race mostly had its population inheriting one Rc type of their parents. Rare was chimera ghouls, in some parts of the world, were one-eyed hybrids considered urban legends despite existing right under their noses. 

A quirk cell and an Rc cell could not be compared to one another, their only similarity was appearing out of seemingly nowhere and changing the world. They had different properties, one sticking by its rules while the other was unpredictable and couldn't even be properly explained by researchers who spent their lives researching, experimenting and trying to understand the wall of cement in front of them.

The bite that changed everything. 

One action can change everything : a wrong turn into a dark alley, taking the wrong step and perhaps falling down or interacting with a supernatural being or opening. What's stopping a bite from sharing the same properties as the previous examples mentioned? In fictional stories, a bite of a werewolf was able to bind someone down to become their mate or change a human to become one of their kin.

For ghouls, a bite most likely meant death would soon befall on the victim. Similar to a vampire. Ghoul flesh and meat tasted rancid to other ghouls, but what if it was possible for a ghoul to not be disgusted by the taste of the same genus? The taste would not also be horrid, but physically altered the abilities and structure of the ghoul for the better. 

Their insides would twist and turn, veins feeling as if liquid magma was flowing through them. Would their vocal cords rip and bleed before healing itself and repeat the process till they stopped? 

Chapter Text

A ghoul with no use of their kagune is nothing more than a sitting duck , waiting to be slaughtered once more by more vicious individuals of the same kin and hunters tracking them down. The only thoughts inside of those humans are the extinction of their kind. A never-ending cycle it truly was, lasting throughout the decades despite how much the world transformed into something so unfamiliar and story-like. There had to be a being, perhaps someone on the scale of multiverse-leveled power looking at them, hands stretched allowing strings to wrap around their fingers. Was there a pair of dice on their side? Rolling to determine the events occurring within every time period? 

Shirayuri retreated, spear in her hand. She looked up at her opponent 

The top half of his face was covered with a dark shadow, the gentle wind blowing their hair adding to their mysterious persona. Taking a deep breath, she got up once more and manage to use her weapon to defend herself against a hit, eyes widening when she felt something slice her cheek despite blocking the blow. 

"That isn't fair!" She argued, jumping back to observe the minor cut to her face. She glared at their face, the feint glint of a knife dancing through their fingers before being hidden away once more. 

"White lily, nothing is fair."  they retorted, watching anger cloud their opponent. 

"In the world, you need to play as unfairly as you can." With a turn of their legs, they dodged the rush forward, spears aiming to gouge out their abdomen. Narrowing his eyes, he threw her off-balance by using their own weapon to hit the back of her legs.

"Cheat as much as possible, life is not a game." 

The proud princess glared above with animosity, not evening opening her mouth to reply to the words of her training mentor. 

"A fight. Can be a matter of life or death, our enemies won't play by the roles- and how would playing by the rules guarantee our safety anyways?" 

Shirayuri stopped trying to fight, choosing to instead observe the adult. He was right, he almost always was. 

They stopped focusing on her, instead, choosing to look at the sun on the horizon. It was beautiful, the once beautiful blue sea turning into blackwater. Glancing at the weight of her spear on her open palm, Shirayuri allowed the weapon to roll out of her hand. Signalling that she had surrendered to her opponent. 

"The point of a fight, is to survive and go home." 

Multiple lights flashed at her, every single news channel that night reporting on class 1-A of U.A High School being ambushed by a group of villains that had been described to being 'well-planned'. Everyone was seen, the pictures of every single 1-A student and teachers on the scene being witnessed and broadcasted. Brief information was even revealed to the public about a few students. Did she stood out? Yes, for good reasons? In terms of morality and ruined clothing with red stains on her clothes? Tsukiyama knew he couldn't do much even if he forcefully tried harder.

When she read the comments of a few videos, there were those who asked if she was alright and questioned with replies answering that she was most likely saved by Snipe whose quirk did inflict more wounds and blood loss. Blood left by the shot villains splashed onto her. One questioned was left unanswered, why were her hands dipped red? why were her clothes more tattered than the rest? 

Turning off her phone, she went to sleep knowing she was one of the few who knew the answer to that question.

"Kaneki! Wait for us!" 

Shirayuri turned her back, her single eye focusing on the three familiar musketeers jogging towards her. She raised a bandaged hand, Midoriya's eyes widening at the sight of the white dressing. Lida was on her right, Uraraka and Midoriya on her left. 

"We didn't seem to catch you after the villain attack. Lida here was extremely worried." Uraraka pointed out, Lida taken aback at first by the mention before composing himself. 

"You were right behind me-well I was dragging you by the collar which is extremely inappropriate considering I am the class president and showing-Shirayuri raised a hand, stopping his incessant blabbering. 

"I'm fine, though the downpour zone placed me at a disadvantage. Tokoyami was an amazing ally who stood up and protected both Koda and I." The trio were surprised, she looked at them as if they were strange.

"What?" 

"I feel like this was the first time you praised someone." Uraraka pointed out, the other girl opening her mouth to argue but instead paused. Her face now frowning while trying to remember past experiences with others ever since she got into the school. No way...there must have been...at least said in the presence of another person and not within her mind. Nope, nothing. Giving up, she accepted the reality of the zero-gravity teen's words. "It's honestly not something groundbreaking." 

"Kaneki, do we have to point out your actions during the first day of school?" Lida asked, shooting an arrow straight into Shirayuri's heart. Imaginary blood coming out of her mouth, as if she had a kagune lodged into her stomach.

"Tokoyami's quirk is so cool...Dark Shadow is like a friend inside of him!" Uraraka exclaimed, eyes widening at the memories of witnessing Dark Shadow during the Quirk Apprehension Test and Battle Trials. "You got a friend in me~" 

You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

"Hey Kaneki?" Midoriya now stood beside her, a nervous look on his face as his hands tightly clutched his yellow backpack. 

"Yes?" Shirayuri faced him, breaking out of her head as Uraraka continued her singing. The song was a classic, evoking so many emotions within those who were familiar with it years after listening to it's beautiful melody. It's lyrics, it made her feel warm inside. 

"Midoriya is a rather mouthful to say...I would like-just-....can you call me Deku?" Midoriya spat out, words tumbling out of his mouth unlike when he spoke with Lida and Uraraka. 

"I see no issue." Shirayuri stated, head tilting when she felt Uraraka pounce at her from the side. "I wouldn't even consider you as a paperweight." 

Uraraka huffed, Lida and Midoriya laughing at the comment.  

The day was bright, the sky was awake and blue. Arriving near the gates of U.A, they all stopped at the sight of a crowd. A crowd similar to the one gathering in front of U.A when the public found out that All Might had become a teacher. 

"Don't you people have better things to do." A mummified Aizawa asked the crowd, helping escort some of their classmates who were struggling to find a clear entry. Present Mic was beside him once more, similar to what occurred only days prior.

"Yeah! Don't you people have jobs?!" The other man backed up his long-time friend, proud of his answer. Aizawa sighed, not even bothering to comment. 

"Look! Isn't that Tenya Lida from the Lida family and the adopted-

Hell no

Shirayuri grabbed the three of them and blitzed forwards, uncaring that she had used her quirks outside of school grounds and in front of teachers. Present Mic yelled, almost falling when he felt something pass beside him. Quickly turning his head, he squinted his eyes to properly see something Naruto-running to the school. Aizawa slowly turned his head to face Present Mic. 

"Somehow, you're the one whose eyes aren't blindfolded yet you didn't even detect that," Aizawa stated. Present Mic groaning and looking at the other with begging eyes. "For a pro, you surely don't look or act like one...washed up artist." 

"Don't do me like that Eraser Head! I thought we were friends yo!"

"You don't like large crowds Kaneki?" Uraraka asked, still dangling a few centimetres from the ground as the ghoul continued to hold her by her blazer. Lida and Deku watching them from behind. 

"I'm just not in the best of moods to be near such a large amount of people, my nose is sensitive." 

Tamaki observed them, using his quirk to be able to hear them from a good distance. His hands were in his pockets, ears perked up whilst his head looked down. One leg was on the wall, the other on the floor keeping him stable. 

• Bandages present around her wrist area.
• Sensitivity to large amount of people...most likely a quirk drawback, happens with enhanced senses. 

He re-read the message sent to him, frowning at the information received.  

• Weakness linked to Downpour Zone, USJ. 

He had been there before, his mind was blank at first. Trying to find memories correlating to that certain area in the past. A large building with a dome-shaped roof, a central area that reminded him of a theme park, a blue smaller dome-roofed building. A fake city, pouring rain, mist and lack of light. 

Tamaki had once tried to track his classmates posing as victims in that area. The moment the consumed animal's ability manifested and transformed parts of his body did it instantly left him with a headache, in that state; he had considered himself one of the weakest links on the team due to his incompatibility with the weather and adapt. He remembered Nejire being so loud and rather pushy that day...he had almost.

The senior's eyes widened, shaking his head to push down that memory. His hands tried to dig themselves deeper into his pocket, he needed to focus on the task given to him by Eraser Head. 

1. Hostile and rather hard to approach.
2. Lack of interest in eating seen in the canteen.
3. Extreme physical strength and senses.
4. Wears an eyepatch to cover one of her eyes.
5. Lack of medical information, past were found to be forged.

"Hostile...eating...insane strength and sensory...covered eye and forged medical information." Tamaki focused on the words highlighted inside of his head, they repeated like a mantra intended to summon great evil during a ritual. Something lit up inside of him, head snapping forward. Perhaps, he has a rather abstract idea that may link all the pieces of the puzzle together. 

Mirio watched as Nejire briefly chased after Tamaki, the 3-B student quickly walking towards the door of his class to observe. Nejire smiled and greeted Mirio now with a smile. "Good morning mighty sun Mirio!" 

"Where's Tamaki going?" Nejire replied by shrugging her shoulders, looking back at the now empty hallway Tamaki was last seen. 

"Do you think he's being more like James Bond or Sherlock Holmes? I mean if you think about it, he is currently on a top secret mission assigned to him by the higher-ups but now he has been investigating something for days! Now with him rushing past us, I feel like I'm getting more Sherlock vibes." 

Mirio thought about it.

"Nah, James Bond is way cooler."

Inside class 1-A, everyone in the class was seated. Some had smiles, some were neutral faced and some were just resting their heads on their hands or shoulders, too tired to talk with their friends. Kaminari looked more excited than the rest, leaning back to talk with Jiro and Kirishima. 

"I wonder what would have happened if the teachers hadn't showed up." Sero smiled nervously, a bead of sweat trailing down his face.

Shirayuri made a slicing sound and dragged her index finger across the middle of her throat, scaring Mineta even further who was hounded on by Bakugo. Todoroki glanced at her, Momo looked disturbed and Uraraka horrified. The use of synonyms was necessary. Shirayuri shrugged.

"My truth to speak." 

"Isn't your opinion a bit too gruesome Kaneki?" Uraraka nervously asked. 

"They had plans to end our lives while we were fighting to stay alive without killing them, everything about that attack was unfair and it should be. I'm not wrong am I Uraraka?" Shirayuri countered. Uraraka nodded, smile dropping from her face as she stood up and placed a hand around the ghoul's wrist.

"You're not. But this is a matter of having hope, optimism and sensitivity. What you said was true, but it was insensitive." The brunette explained, the other listening intently to what she had to say.

"Hmm, since we both do stand on different grounds. I understand, I'll...try to speak less about those darker thoughts."

Uraraka smiled, giving Shirayuri a pat on the shoulder before sitting back properly. Just in time for Lida to do the walk of shame back to his table after over-doing his duties, again. 

The bell rang, every student walking or had already been sitting by the time the first sound echoed throughout each class from the speakers installed. Like previously seen, Aizawa slowly made his way into the classroom, no one knowing how he was still able to see clearly. Maybe he kept his eyebrows constantly raised when no one was looking? Allowing him to see through the more widened slits of the bandages. 

"Mr. Aizawa? Are you alright? It is alright to be excused in order to rest after the villain attack yesterday!" Lida stood up, speaking the opinion that was on his classmates too. The older man glanced towards the younger boy, before scanning the rest of the class. Like reported, most of them was alright. No one sustained any major injuries. 

"Recovery Girl was being dramatic with the amount of bandages I needed, I'm fine." Aizawa replied, taking a final step before facing his class in his usual position, For a moment, there was only silence. He cleared his throat, preparing to speak what he had intended for the session. "In a few weeks, there will be a festival. The U.A Sports Festival."

Everyone knew about the event, who wouldn't? It was one that was broadcasted throughout Japan and even in specific channels where international audiences can too witness the fight of student against student. The U.A Sports Festival was big, something that would even become the fruit of conversations long before it begun and even weeks when it had concluded. It gave the people hope for the promising future generation of great heroes from U.A while simultaneously drowning a minority in envy and sadness over being rejected and unable to fulfil their dream to become one of them; a student at U.A's hero course. Being the most watched sporting event was terrifying, that was why there seemed to be disharmony within U.A before and during the day of the event.Not only the hero course students from each grade and class were allowed to compete, in fact, all grades and classes in U.A were allowed to participate and take advantage of the event for their own personal reasons. 

For the non-hero course students like General Department, it allows them to prove that they are worthy of being transferred to the Hero Departments based on how they progressed. Sometimes, students from the Support Department use the occasion to exhibit and pare their creations to support companies. Meanwhile, Business Department students generally have For the Business Department, well, they mostly just type away calculating or sell goods like snacks and drinks for profit. 

Once the Sports Festival is done. Professional Heroes from any agency can nominate the students that earned their attention. Still, these nominations can be dropped by the time the student reaches graduation, should the Hero lose interest in them for any reason undisclosed.  

"It's the perfect opportunity for all of you to showcase your quirks and capabilities. Take this opportunity, use it to build connections in the hero world, you all will need those in the future once you graduate." 

There were many things that could go wrong during the event. Her eyepatch falling off and revealing her kakugan, critically injuring someone to the point it becomes bloody on live television and a mass genocide being caused by a group of villains that planned to assassinate a few targeted individuals while their underlings target every single living thing around them. 

Shirayuri blinked, thinking of the last bad scenarios. 

Yeah, she's been watching too much Game of Thrones. Shivering, the red wedding was just horrific.

'But, I can' just put minimum effort into this event. Many people will be watching and judging. I need to at least impress the crowd.' She thought, agreeing to the idea of impressing the crowd.

She needed something to stand out from the hundreds of other students all competing at the same time as her, albeit they were slower and a majority being less-experienced. Leaning against her chair with her arms crossed, perhaps she can ask a few questions to her homeroom teacher once the last period ends. 

"Kaneki, let's do our best!" Uraraka cheered, causing the other to frown at the loud volume. Did she have to yell near her ear? "Honestly, I'm kind of scared to do a mistake but hey, they're inevitable." She quietly added, making her index fingers touch each other as she looked to her side, a now honest expression and smile replacing her previous face filled with raw determination. 

"Don't you find the U.A Sports Festival a bit redundant, there's barely been any interesting contenders in the past recent years. Like last time, the only worthwhile moment was when this blonde guy's pants fell down and exposed his lower half." Shirayuri asked, smiling a bit at the other's humiliation. Oh, that was funny. Lida squinted his eyes at her. 

"You really only find humor in the suffering of others, don't you?" Shirayuri shrugged, sticking her tongue out a little while looking up. 

Midoriya had left, All Might had called for him to eat together in his office. Uraraka and Lida found it interesting on how the number one hero had placed more attention on Deku, Shirayuri calls it nepotism. 

"But you yourself got into U.A because of your family having relations with a few heroes." Lida pointed out, Uraraka choosing not to butt in. 

"Yeah, you got me on that." 

'Leave it to Lida, the only one here brave enough to talk back with Kaneki.' Uraraka thought. 

She lined up behind Todoroki, Uraraka and Lida continuing their conversation behind her. She noticed, how the mention of All Might and Deku together turned the head of their classmate in front of her. His eyes showing curiosity, before seemingly allowing her to interpret that he was now in thought. 

"How about the pasta? Chicken cordon bleu? Or maybe even something sweet?" Lunch Rush asked, showcasing three different already made dishes in front of her. Shirayuri shook her head, disinterested. 

"I'll have a cup of coffee, as always." 

The hero sighed, another battle he had lost. He placed the drink in the middle of her tray, void of any other plates. 

He looked at her, well, she didn't know how but he did. "You should consider eating healthier, nothing wrong with eating in public." 

Shirayuri stared at him, "Are you implying that I have an eating disorder?" her voice sounded accusatory, causing the adult to shake his hands and head in denial.

"No no! That's not what I am trying to say!" Lunch Rush denied, looking at the students looking at the scene. "I'm just worried because you've never once asked for any other food or beverages other than a cup of coffee!"

"Let's go, you're causing a scene." Todoroki came closer towards her, huffing, Shirayuri followed him towards an empty table. He glanced at her then the seat in front of him, once again, she complied to his silent order.

"Surprised that you wanted to sit with me, we've never came far in terms of friendship." The white-haired ghoul spoke first, bringing the cup of coffee to her face. Taking a small sip with her eyes closed to savour the taste and warmth. 

"Unlike your so-called friends, my investment and effort of both time and energy to be your friend is not something I consider worth it." Todoroki stated, not even bothering to look up at her. 

"I never asked them to be my friend or put effort into our relations." She stated, Todoroki looked at her.

"I never said that you forced them to do anything." Her visible eye twitched, the other in front of her slurping on his noodles.

They ate/drank in silence, neither bothering to look each other in the eye as a few of their classmates glanced at them. Perhaps confused on why two individuals who barely talk or be seen together were facing each other and enjoying their second break. 

"Do you think that they're actually friends but don't seem like it because they're both introverts?" Sero spoke his theory first, the rest of the table eagerly waiting their turn to tell their theory while Bakugo (Who was forced to join the table because of Kirishima) got pissed the more they talk. 

"Or maybe...they're actually dating!" Mina excitedly gushed, kicking her legs, mistakenly hitting one of the legs of Bakugo's chair. This caused the blonde to rage, almost standing up and yelling at Mina if it wasn't for Kirishima. 

"If they're a couple, their chemistry is so dry I can't even see anything in the beaker." 

Finishing his lunch, Todoroki placed down his chopsticks and straightened his back. Eyes now fixated upon Shirayuri who did the same after placing down her cup for the final time. 

"For the daughter originating from a family dedicated to the arts, literature and music. Why did you choose to become a hero? Your father's opinion of you taking over after him has been public for a long time now." He stated, not missing how her eye twitched at the word 'father' 

"There's a simple line I draw separating hobbies, talents and career paths," Shirayuri started, looking at his eyes. His blue hue was different from hers, that bright colour of blue something so unfamiliar and unnatural. She shifted her focus to his other eye, the one that felt more like...familiar. "I'll confess to you now. I have no memory of why I want to become a hero. I am merely just a shell of what I used to be before witnessing the death of my parents." 

The answer felt right. That was the correct answer that no one was willing to share with her due to how devastating it was, a traumatic experience she was forced to experience at that age in a neighbourhood that was supposed to be highly secured with almost no crime rate at all. That was why in that moment, when her world become dark did she see herself as a young child. A young child minding her own business until her world changed. 

Shirayuri was left alone.

With neither of her birth parents to take care of her, no one else in her close family standing by her side. The only family willing to take her under their care was the Tsukiyama bloodline. They were the ones who were loyal to her, their family had a strong sense of loyalty throughout the decades. 

Shirayuri danced with her spear, finding different ways to master the weapon before focusing on other equipment she could utilise. As she did a spin with one foot, her spear was quickly thrown and impaled right onto the heart of a training dummy. 

"I don't have any emotions, I seem to lost my love and care for them because it brings me no sense of pain just thinking about how someone right in front of me had their heads sliced off from the rest of their body," crossing her arms, her back now leaned against the chair while her head looked up at the ceiling. 

"To pay back for their loyalty, I will help them expand and grow in power. I will make sure they too have influence over the hero industry like they do in many other industries." 

Todoroki said nothing, having been only listening to her for the past few minutes. 

"What are you going to do during the Sports Festival?" He asked. Shirayuri smiled at him, both of them seemingly have the same thing in mind.

"I'm going to win."

Time skip

When the final bell rang, Shirayuri and Jiro glanced at each other before she tilted her head towards the commotion that was slowly growing outside. Everyone else seemingly having yet to notice it or open the door. 

"Do you feel like...something bad is going to happen?" Jiro asked.

"When do I don't." The two sighed, noticing Deku, Lida and Uraraka being shocked at the large amount of students crowding the entrance to their class. Jiro winced, the different pitches and amount of people talking taking a toll on her hearing. Taking out her ear pods, Jiro smiled a bit and muttered a thank you once Shirayuri had handed it to her. Turning it on, Jiro set it to noise cancelling mode. Sighing in relief when her ear drums started relaxing. 

"I came to see the rumoured class A, but...you're pretty arrogant." One voice spoke up in the sea of silence after what Bakugo had told them. "Are all of you like this?" 

Shirayuri walked to stand right beside Uraraka, the brunette being rather intimidated by the figure in the middle of confronting all of them, specifically Bakugo. The features that made him stood out from the others was his flaring purple hair and tired eyes. His voice too sounded rather tired, reminding a few of them of their homeroom teacher. 

"I wanted to be in the Hero Course, but, my quirk was unable to help me during the entrance exam. So I landed right in the General Department, isn't it unfair how the entrance exam was set up so certain types of quirks thrive and squash the rest?" His question sounded as if it was a rhetorical question. 

The purple-haired boy glanced at everyone in the class, "But, the Sports Festival will give an opportunity to students in other departments to enter the Hero Department if they do well, but if a student from the Hero Course doesn't do well, well...I guess I won't say anything." He grinned.

Bakugo said nothing, forcing his way through the cloud while a few others from 1-A yelled at him to come back and apologise for his rude words. What was once an ocean of curiosity, turned into one of bitterness and motivation. Motivation to do their best, and take what they could. Shirayuri was the next one to leave after Bakugo, having better things to do than suffer under the judgemental weight and venomous words of lower-grade humans. An electrical aura was invisible around her, allowing her to easily keep away those who try to get close to her. 

"What's your name?" Shirayuri turned her head towards the purple-haired student with the tired eyes. He boredly glanced faced towards her, arms inside of his pockets. 

"Hitoshi Shinso."

"She hummed, nodding a bit at hearing his name. "Make knowing your name worth while, I'm interested and rather eager for you or someone else to replace the purple bastard in 1-A." 

Mineta's jaw dropped, he rushed out of the door and stood beside Shinso. Shinso looked down, wondering if this was who Shirayuri was referring to. 

"Kaneki, don't do me like that! Please, I promise I won't try my best to take pictures of you changing!" 

Shinso looked down at him in disgust.

"How the fuck did you get accepted into U.A?" 

Hearing knocking on the door of the teacher's room, Aizawa hummed. Present Mic stood up, walking towards the door to reveal to the teaching staff Shirayuri Kaneki. Wearing her backpack as she nodded at the Voice hero before entering. Midnight glanced at the time, most of the students would be leaving by now except for a few who would sometimes train after school. 

"You wanted to talk to me Kaneki?" Aizawa asked, still sitting in his office chair. The chair slowly spun, allowing the bandaged man to face his student. 

"I have a question regarding the use of weaponry during the Sports Festival, from what I witnessed during the previous year's Sports Festival. I'm guessing it's alright?" She asked.

Interested, this was new information. "You know how to use a certain weapon?" Aizawa asked, Shirayuri nodded taking out her phone to show him a picture. It was a picture of her wielding a spear. Aizawa took a closer look, eyes squinting at the way the blade was designed. 

It was a long spear, the base of the blade was wavy at first before slowly straightening and owning an arrow-like tip at the end. Acting as a socket was a long golden dragon around the blade as if it was snake. If he studied closely the dragon had two of its fangs lodged into the blade, as if it was biting it. The shaft was red, the other end of the long weapon having a keychain with three charms : a white and red fox mask, a snake and a crown. 

"That's a beautiful pole arm..."Present Mic whisper yelled to the other teachers, using binoculars to zoom in onto what was being shown. Weirded out, Cementoss glanced at Midnight who sighed. 

"Hizashi misinterpreted Shota talking to another pro-hero once, got that to spy on them until he realised that they were cousins." Midnight explained, Cementoss now even more weirded out by the snooping man. 

'Talk about protective.' 

"How long have you been training with a spear? On average, it takes 1000 days of steady practice to master such a weapon. I don't want you to humiliate yourself and ruin your confidence in front of so many people." Aizawa stated, concerned. 

"1000 days for the average human." Shirayuri answered, voice monotone. 

Her answer didn't answer his question directly, but, he'll just pass it off for now. It didn't really matter to him how Shirayuri chose to answer his question, what matters truly is if she could truly wield the halberd. Aizawa nodded his head, not pushing any further. 

"Alright, I'll print the form required for you to be able to use your spear during the Sports Festival. Once you and your guardian have signed it, either give it to me or Midnight as she will be the Chief Referee for your grade." Shirayuri nodded, smiling a bit at being able to use her spear. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the homeroom teacher. Who was surprised to see a shift in emotion. 

"Kaneki, are there any other hobbies or particular skill sets that you may be hiding?" Aizawa asked, the smile instantly fading from her face at the change in topic. Thinking about it momentarily, she stood on her toes briefly with her hands intertwined behind her. "Kaneki. In U.A, we won't no- we refuse to be like your previous school. In here, we will be in charge of taking care of you, within these grounds and for the next three years. You will be under our wing, not only the Tsukiyama family will have your back." 

"Learning is a process, becoming the best version of yourself isn't achieved by showcasing only the best out of you but also showcasing and accepting the little mistakes we make. If you're insecure or find that it is unimportant due to any reason. Don't be, if it makes you feel better, we can find a way to incorporate the things you like into your techniques and training." 

"You're not a soldier, you're not a warrior destined to shoulder the burden of society. You are a girl with likes, interests and hobbies that choose to become a hero for the sake of the ones you love else and the drive to protect others." 

His words were warm, it made her feel warm and her heart flutter. In truth, the Erasure Hero was grateful for how she protected him, Midoriya, Asui and Mineta during the attack just yesterday. Though his consciousness shifted from time to time, he was able to witness most of the fight between her and the villains. Shirayuri was fast and ruthless. Perhaps led on by the nightmare inflicted upon her, the desire to protect and perhaps cloak them from witnessing the reaping of a soul did it overwhelm and take over her. Her quirk was dangerous, but the moment he saw her wings. They were beautiful. 

Wings that had properties similar to flames and lightning, he didn't understand why she had them hidden when their actions were perfectly executed and matched how she willed them to act and behave. Aizawa watched how they shot out countless projectiles of different sizes at any time and hardened to be used as a cutting knife able to slice skin, bone and muscle as if it was butter. They were bigger than her, allowing it to look more fierce and more dominating than it originally was.

"Is there a particular reason on why you refuse to reveal more about yourself? Don't tell me it's because you're shy, your actions and ferocity during combat training don't align with that excuse." 

For the first time, did Shirayuri lift up and take off her eyepatch. For the first time were the teachers allowed to see a bright red iris surrounded by a white sclera. He felt and noticed it almost instantly, the depth within her left eye that was absent and more concealed within her right eye. The sins of cynicism, the desire to burn and slash, within him was he familiar of the cold-blooded red iris that entertained its sadistic self in the cruel treatment and pain of others.

"Horrific, isn't it? Would you say it's villain-like?" Shirayuri asked him, pointing towards the red iris that resurfaced buried encounters inside of everyone else within the room. Midnight walked towards Shirayuri, the ghoul now becoming more interested in the female hero. 

"Just because something so small was abused and used in horrific actions in the past, doesn't mean it's truly evil Kaneki. A monster is made, not born." Midnight reasoned. 

"The world would disagree, if I was to express myself freely. Then the next moment I open a door would I find a sharp knife lodged into my heart and head." 

Believing she overstayed her welcome, Shirayuri cleared her throat. "I'll be waiting for the form, thank you for today. I need to go home now, nothing is safe under the cover of darkness, especially a girl despite heroes littering every crevice of the surface." As she began walking away, most of the other teachers quickly began busying themselves with anything on their desk. When she was at the door, her body froze at the whisper of one sentence before walking away normally once more. 

Instead of going towards the ground floor, Shirayuri rushed towards the top of the U.A building. Without hesitation did she hug her legs and hid her face right at the edge of the building. Though it wasn't high enough for the ghoul to fall for her death, serious wounds would be inflicted both externally and physically. 

"Mr. Aizawa saw how twisted I was, yet he still finds beauty in my wings?" 

Her wings burst out of her uniform, dancing in the orange light of the setting sun. Their flames grew the more intense her emotions brewed within her, the edges disappearing into the night sky. She remained till the sky changed colours, in the cover of night did she reached high altitudes and embarked on her way home. Making sure no hero that was capable of flight was able to catch her. 

Landing right in front of the door, she opened the door and place them in the shoe rack for one of the servants to place away. Walking towards the training room, her bag was placed near the door alongside her blazer, buttoned school top and accessories. Taking a few seconds to manifest, her rinkaku kagune darted towards her spear. Doing a few light stretches, the rinkaku disappeared once the weapon was in her hand. 

"Now, from where we left off last time." 

There were two weeks given for everyone to train, there was no time to waste if they wanted to impress and show-off. Shirayuri's stomach rumbled, continuing to do so as every day since the attack had happened. Ignoring the sound of it, training continued as always. Morning and night, at home, the sewers and any place she could move as the ghoul pleases. Classes continued as normal, the heightened security slowly easing more of the students who were afraid it was too their turn to be attacked and perhaps suffer a less fortunate fate. 

One night, Shirayuri stood at the edge of a skyscraper. Gazing down at the buildings, lights and moving vehicles. The wind was harsh, blowing her hair while simultaneously lowering her body temperature. Taking a step forward, did Shirayuri allowed herself to fall with her eyes closed. 

"I'm beautiful in the eyes of some humans." 

"I don't have to completely hide away." 

"But I am afraid, for as long as I remain here, I have to remain afraid."

With one burst of ukaku kagunes, she glided in the air before. Flying away into the calm and the quiet. 

Chapter Text

Two helicopters circled the Tokyo Tower, their lights searching for the villain that may still be in the area. Eraser Head glanced at Midnight, a couple of detectives, officers and even top pro heroes at the scene of the crime. In the top floor, the giant fish tank was broken. The pile of dead corpses was still fresh, eyes still open in fear with different chunks of their flesh missing. The rest of their body was left alone, as if the villain's only purpose was to gut and take a piece of them; uncaring what happens to the rest of the body.

"The cameras were destroyed long before they could catch who was the perpetrator, the water too may have washed any evidence left behind." Detective Tsukauchi sighed. 

Whatever the villain's quirk was, it allowed them to travel at lightning speed, elusively get away from the police and heroes. There were barely any clues left in their path of destruction nor did anyone have a clear imagery of what they looked like. Tsukauchi lifted a sheet, his stomach dropping at the sight of the body. "Most of the victims are males, as usual." 

"Do you think the person who had done this was female?" Midnight asked, walking towards them. Hands rubbing her arms, the material of her outfit not able to help her retain body heat. 

"Everyone has preferences, overtime, as more attacks occur we will eventually find a pattern." 

"But we don't have more time, the more we waste, the more innocent people are slaughtered." Edgeshot appeared out of thin air, something being carried by a thread. Tsukauchi glanced down. 

"What's that?" 

-

"Two individuals are reported to be fighting in Shibuya, act fast, they may have connections to the previous fights at Ōta." 

Seen from a drone, the president of the Hero Public Safety Commission and other higher ups watched as a adolescent, female girl covered head to toe in black fought against a larger bulkier man. Zooming in on their faces, one of them cursed as the other sighed noticing how there were no key features for them to track them down. Both of them wore masks that covered every inch of their face. One was a hockey mask, whereas the other was a black and gold Anubis mask.

"Almost like heroes, their masks compliment their outfits." One executive pointed out. 

"Really, that's what your paying attention to? Their outfits?" 

"What am I supposed to look at then? Idiot." 

"Quiet, both of you." Their superior snapped, refusing to even turn her head and look at them. The two men froze, saying nothing else to each other. 

The larger man seemed to hold a weapon in one hand while the other was covered in...muscle? It extended from his back, enveloping one of his arms as it almost covered his neck and head.  The Police chief made sure to keep in contact with the forces on their way to Shibuya, keeping his eyes on the screen. His eyes widened, observing how agile the teen was on her feet. Experienced, could be compared and perhaps surpass a few heroes he knew the longer he watched the fight. 

"Sir, we're growing nearer." 

"Understood."

"Wait a second..." A voice spoke up, slowly standing up from the chair. "Why did they stop fighting?" 

The girl froze, allowing the man to take her by surprise and land a hit right on her head. Her back hit the ground hard enough dust blew away as the cement crumbled and turned to pieces. He grabbed her by the head, her feet thrashing as her fingers scratched uselessly against his hands. Minutes passed, someone ran out of the room before vomiting outside as a high-pitched scream echoed and bounced against the walls. 

Thump! 

A body hit the ground. 

He left the scene, leaving her for dead. 

The drone got in closer, hearing the sound of her coughing before she was able to pinpoint the location of the drone. In a blur of red, was it destroyed. Shattered to pieces as the ones safe in the building lost connection to the scene.

"Call for an ambulance." The police chief ordered, one of his men nodding and running out of the room as demanded. 

An ambulance wasn't required for the girl, no traces of her was found. What the police and heroes were able to record was the cars sent towards the scene were all shattered to pieces, most of their policeman alive but in terrible condition over the mysterious bright attack that happened almost instantly. A hand punched the mahogany desk, stressed and frustrated over another dead end. 

"How could they be so elusive, it's like a wild goose chase." One gritted, messing up his hair. 

"Calm down," the President of the  organisation spoke up, standing from her seat. Everyone gazed at her, eyes oozing with respect. "Justice will eventually catch up to them, 

"Alright class, this will be the final Heroics lesson you all will be having before the Sports Festival," All Might started, looking around his students clad in their hero outfits, satisfied at the drastic changes in Midoriya's. "One of the key points in becoming a good hero is communication, honestly, it's important in general if you don't want to be single at my age without a lover." 

The number one hero laughed, his head high before he realised how sad that actually was. His body stiffened, seeing a few shoot him looks of pity. He quickly cleared his throat. "A-alright now, I have chosen pairings for all of you and until dismissal. It will be a two-versus-two battle, the battle concludes once both of your opponents are either out of bound or pinned down for at least three seconds." 

1. Kaminari and Lida vs. Koda and Asui
2. Ashido and Aoyama vs. Yaoyorozu and Sero
3. Ojiro and Shoji vs.  Mineta and Hagakure
4. Kaneki and Todoroki vs. Bakugo and Kirishima
5. Jiro and Midoriya vs. Tokoyami and Uraraka 

Mina and Aoyama grinned while Bakugo rolled his eyes as Kirishima smiled, being more familiar with working with each other unlike the rest of the class. It seemed as if All Might had taken into consideration their relationships with other students and used it to make the lesson much harder. Shirayuri walked towards Todoroki, the latter still wearing his white suit wheres the other half of his body remained frozen. 

While the other teams discussed, neither of them made an effort to speak to each other. Looking around, her gaze lingered at Bakugo and Kirishima. The red-haired male choosing to be more open and talkative with the rather aggressive blonde despite having criticised and even referred to his actions and words as villain-like during the first combat training class.

"I suggest you take a step back once the round begins, stay away from my ice and then we can with ease." Todoroki stated, Shirayuri although having her little worries lighten up a bit, she did not like what he had just told her.

"You expect to take out both of them with a wave of ice? This is Bakugo and Kirishima, they'll endure it and push through as if it was glass." She stated, crossing her arms together. Todoroki looked a bit irritated, the expression much clearer once she had compared his ice to glass.

"And what are you supposed to do?" Todoroki retaliated. "Are you going to push them down or find a metal door to crush them with?" 

"I took clear advantage of my surroundings, what I did was efficient and fast without taking my time walking and grinning as I described how the sheer cold of cryo will separate skin and muscle." 

"Do whatever you want, in the end, let's see who takes down our opponents." 

The two had a stare-down, the rest of the class and All Might worriedly glancing at them. The adult took a deep breath, great, two students with dangerous quirks now have a strained relationship. The PTSD he received from watching Bakugo and Midoriya in his first class was too much.

"Young Todoroki, young Kaneki! I see you two are arguing, don't fret! Arguments are completely normal and are known to help understand and build relationships in peculiar ways! Though...please leave out any insults or end up using physical attacks, now that's worse than verbal ones in this day and age." He placed an arm around Todoroki's shoulder, hand floating above Shirayuri's shoulder.

"May I pat your shoulder Kaneki?" All Might asked, Shirayuri looked up at him. He was bigger and perhaps one of the largest human's she had ever met.

"No."

Unable to connect with her partner, Shirayuri chose to spend the time remaining meant for training to observe the other students. Todoroki doing the same, just much further away from her. Hearing a sound, the girl looked down at a grasshopper near her. She blinked at it, feeling as if it was looking at her before it scurried away.

'Maybe both of us are just incompatible, we clash too much and that just stirs more trouble.' Shirayuri thought, holding the kitsune mask. Her frowned deepened once more before she placed on the mask, hiding under the shade whilst waiting for her and Todoroki's turn to fight. Kaminari and Lida had contrasts that were as clear as day and night, Tsuyu and Koda were more silent and the observant type; their quirks are also animal-related. Who would win? Two who were more similar, or two who contrasted from each other?

"Kaneki, Todoroki, Bakugo and Kirishima, you may proceed." 

Once again did Shirayuri wore her P.E uniform, looking at her pristine white sneakers with three black stripes on each side of the shoe, she gently kicked her feet and brought them up a bit. 

"Oh? You wear bandages around your body?" Momo asked, closing her locker while observing the ghoul tightening the bandages around her breasts and chest in the girls changing room. Shirayuri glanced towards her, nodding her head. Looking at her locker, she froze at the quick detection of how her spear was not inside of it. Momo smiled, pointing towards Uraraka holding it in awe with the other girls observing it. 

"I wouldn't touch the blade if I was you, its purpose is to slice away your opponents or at the very least cut them." Shirayuri warned, Uraraka instantly retreating her hand from touching the dragon wrapping around it. "Because of the Sports Festival, I had to make sure it's weakened enough to plummet the death rate caused by Oberyn." 

Jiro blinked, snickering a bit. "You named your spear Oberyn? After the renowned charismatic, lust-hazed hero that disappeared?" Shirayuri confirmed her words, Jiro breaking out into a laugh. 

"Well, I think Oberyn is a beautiful name. He was a great hero that remained undefeated for a long time in Spain." Momo spoke up. 

"People do have a tradition to name weapons after who they were reaped from, just look at quinques."

It was unethical, downright horrifying to even understand know. How quinques were made, and how it became a catalyst in technological advancement it had done to get humans to where they were now.  But, success and happiness was not guaranteed without the suffering of others. Look at billionaires, if you truly believe they have done no crimes against humanity, then that's just foolish. Neither side blamed each other for the creation of quinques back then, both having their own justifications and ideas on why it was used. To humans, it allowed them to stand on more equal footing while ghouls founded their toys as interesting or something worth criticising in the middle of a fight ; perhaps as a way to taunt doves. 

Putting on her spear strap, the group of girls walked out of the changing room and into the waiting room of their class. A few others quickly heading towards the white-haired girl once they saw the weapon. Lida's face paled, slowly walking towards Shirayuri. Oh no, oh no no no-NOT TODAY-

"Please tell me you have permission to bring that." Lida pleaded, clasping his hands together before moving them frantically. Eyes shifting from the ghoul to the spear multiple times. 

"Why do you think I abandoned the class during the declaration of war two weeks ago? I went to the teacher's office."  She snorted, rolling her eyes at the obvious answer. Lida dropped his wariness, giving Shirayuri a deadpanned look. 

"Don't give me that face, you look like Dwight from the Office." 

Todoroki and Bakugo watched from the sidelines, seeing how Shirayuri had slowly started to change since the first day of the semester. More willing to be in the presence of others outside of class, joined Deku's group of friends and even be more open to her emotions. Even now, there was a glint of excitement in her eyes as Mina rambled on about the events that they all will do today.

"Midoriya," Todoroki took a step forward, Deku looking up at the half-red and half-white haired teenager. 

"Oh...hey Todoroki, is there anything I could do for you?" He asked nervously. 

It's not everyday that one of the strongest students in your class, known for his lone-wolf persona, background and quirk approach you for no exact reason. Especially with that expression, safe to say, Deku was intimidated. Shirayuri glanced at them, eyes shifting back to Momo who she was engaged in a conversation with about polearms. 

"Looking at it objectively, I think I am more capable than you." Deku made a sound, his shoulders raised as if he wanted to deny it, but consequently after much thinking did he slowly nod at him. 

 He and Todoroki weren't exactly close, but they didn't have any bad blood between them. So...what led to him declaring such a statement right before the Sports Festival. Though other students from different classes have claimed, or practically screamed that they would crush and beat them-the class wondered why Midoriya?  Bakugo looked there way, remaining in his seat as Todoroki continued on. 

"It's not an accusation, but, you are being favoured more than us by All Might." Once again was Deku surprised, saying nothing verbally, but the up and down movement of his head was enough to satisfy Todoroki for now. 

"All Might has his attention on you more than anyone else. In fact, both of your quirks are pretty similar." Todoroki added, his hands turning into fists, but few could notice it as they focused on his facial expression. Calm, scary...

"I will beat you."

A few moments of silence, Mineta choking on his nerves while most didn't want to be the one to break the awkward silence. Finally, did Kaminari spoke up. Nervous too. "Woah, is the strongest in the class declaring war?" 

That irked Shirayuri, more than it should've.

"If we're talking with the use of factuality now Kaminari," Shirayuri began, staring down at the other with a clear tone of dissatisfaction in her voice. "To declare war against a boy who can't stop breaking his own body after using his own is just disrespectful, especially when I'm here."

Todoroki looked at her. "This isn't about you."

"I got involved the moment it's clear in the minds of a few of you," Kaminari choked, choosing to take a step back from Shirayuri. "That I am not the most capable and strongest in this room...constantly overshadowing every person going against me. Yet, no one here seems to believe I am the strongest! face someone whose equal or more superior than you. That's how you get stronger, or are you secretly confessing that your quirk and strength overall is not as great as you once thought it was?" 

"Kaneki..." Lida warned, sensing Todoroki's anger reaching a point inside of him.

"Todoroki...Kaneki," Deku spoke up, slowly looking up at them with fire in his eyes. "Though you are both stronger, and more experienced than me. It won't deter me from trying my hardest during the Sports Festival, the top? I too will aim for it." 

"Braving to face the lightning's glow Midoriya?" Shirayuri asked him, raising her head. Midoriya nodded, saying nothing else to her. "So be it." The door opened, someone signalling them to now enter the arena. Mina chose to lead the way, followed by Midoriya, Mineta, Uraraka, Lida, Tsuyu and Bakugo. 

Glancing at the T.V in the room, she wondered how well she would impress.

"First-Year students may now enter!" 

"You all want to see these guys right? Although attacked by the enemy, they overcame it with hearts of steel, the marvellous new stars : Hero Course Class 1-A!" 

Who was the enemy, Shirayuri gazing at the filled stadium cheering for them as fireworks and banners filled the sky. Did someone came for the purpose of watching underage students go against each other and beat some to a pulp? Likely, in a large densely-populated location; it was possible to find all sorts of people. 

"They're not attracting much attention, but they are full of talent too, Hero Course Class 1-B!" 

The ghoul's eyes widened, staring at a girl who had one eye covered by her hair, back slightly bent and tired eyes. Warmth rushed to her face, Tsuyu placed a finger on her chin; observing her classmate closely. "You alright Shirayuri?" 

The white-haired girl looked over at Tsuyu, composing herself once more. "I'm fine, I just thought someone looked too familiar for my liking." 

"Next is General Course C, D, E."

"Have you ever wondered why the Hero Course only has two classes whereas the other departments have three?" Kirishima asked Bakugo, looking at the great amount of students pouring in. 

"Shitty hair, U.A's the best school for those wanting to become heroes. Why wouldn't they be extremely picky in choosing who to invest their time and effort into? In total, there are already 6 classes belonging to the Hero Course." 

"Mineta's here, I would say they can get desperate." Shirayuri muttered, eavesdropping into their conversation. Jiro snorted, a few others around her trying to hide their amusement. 

'Does someone's mouth have to be extra spicy today.' Lida asked himself, slowly feeling his hair turn grey. 

"Alongside Support Course F, G H." 

"I wonder if someone there has the potential to be like Tony Stark and suddenly join the hero course, wouldn't that be interesting." 

"There's already too much plot happening, not enough time and motivation for the author to fully build their character and arc whilst being pressured and burnt out," Aoyama spoke up, dramatically placing his hand on his head as if he was about to faint. "Oh my, what's worse than not existing is wasted potential~" 

"Who are you talking to?" 

Aoyama winked at the reader on the other side of the screen. 

"And lastly, the business course, I, J and K." 

"Imagine being powerful and yet you chose to join the business course, then you were transferred to the hero course, becoming a hero for a while before retiring to become a stockbroker at an investment firm." Uraraka glanced at Shirayuri.

"Wait...are you basically describing Kento Nanami?" She asked, forgetting how Lida and Shirayuri bonded by conversing about literature. 

"Hahah, was it that obvious?" She asked her, flashing a rare smile at the thought of the man. He was just so fine from the moment she saw his first appearance~

The suit, the hair and his voice actor. Oh his voice actor...it awoke things within her that she didn't knew she was capable of. If she was a cursed spirit, Shirayuri would constantly attack the man multiple times on separate occasions for the chance to look at him, perhaps talk with him and get close to him, and if, and if at one fight overtime hours begun. 

"What's the age of consent in Japan again?" Shirayuri asked, Uraraka looking at her with wide eyes.

"Kaneki no-

'Oh so that's her type.' 

"Daddy issues." Kaminari coughed, Jiro did the ghoul a favour by sticking her earphone jack into his head. 

Midnight, as this year's chief referred raised her flogger to demand the attention of the crowd and the students. Boys and girls of different age groups blushing at the sight of the seductive woman. 

"Quiet! Now, come to the podium. Student representative: class 1A, Katsuki Bakugo." Wide eyes looked towards Bakugo from all directions, most of them judgemental while those nearest to him were now terrified. He never had the best first impressions, even now he still had issues that needed to be dealt with. Bakugo made his way towards the podium, hands in his pockets with everyone anticipating what he was about to say.

"I pledge...that I will be number one." 

Class 1A turned to stone, then crumbled to the dust. Taken away by the wind to only the universe knows where. Jeers were thrown at not only Bakugo, but also his class. Lida took a step forward, berating at Bakugo from where he stood.

"Really?! At a time and event like this?!" Bakugo turned his body, giving everyone under a thumbs down. The action seemingly pissing off more people, even a few heroes were thrown off at the action. 

"At least be a good stepping stone for me." 

"You son of a-" 

Midnight raised her whip once more, though her hand was raised, a few others couldn't help but continue to look lower. "Now we will begin the first event," A hologram appeared behind her, already spinning. Shirayuri took a deep breath, suddenly dropping to the ground and covering her face making Uraraka panic before she quickly rose again. As if nothing had happened. Tsuyu gave her a 'wtf face'. The wheel stopped spinning. "Obstacle Race! As freedom is our school's selling point," Midnight made a sound with her mouth, licking her lips. 

"You all will be able to do as you please, as long as you stay on the course!"

Momo and Todoroki looked towards Shirayuri, already familiar with her advantage in races and averting obstacles. The ghoul stood on the tip of her toes, making a quick scan of every class participating, before focusing on the large door with the red paint; where the race would start.As everyone began rushing to the entrance, Shirayuri casually began walking. By the time she was just at the mouth of the opening, she noticed the ice and decrease in temperature from someone's quirk easily spreading and freezing the legs of participants. 

Todoroki

Jumping into the air, in a burst of electricity. Shirayuri revealed her wings. Everyone else too focused trying to break free as she blitzed forward and jumped from the back to being one of the group of students easily avoiding Todoroki's trap. A long pole extended from Momo's hand, Bakugo used his explosions and Tokoyami called out Dark Shadow. With her wings gone once more, Shirayuri landed with ease and ran to catch up with Todoroki. 

"Your moves are getting redundant," She teased, Todoroki refusing to even turn his head and acknowledge her beside him. She huffed, eyes focusing on the threats behind, beside and in front of her. 

"Class 1A Shoto Todoroki, immediately choosing to attack as soon as the race had begun! That's the son of a pro for you!" 

"Todoroki is quick on his feet, able to subdue one or multiple opponents at a time with his ice quirk alone. The rest of his class seemed to understand this and were able to dodge the ice in time." 

Todoroki released a 'tch' sound, briefly making Shirayuri's head turn at the momentary expression of annoyance. She shook her head, remembering she needed to focus on the race. Looking up ahead, she noticed the army of robots in front of them. Taking a deep breath, she surpassed Todoroki in a rush of electricity and re-appeared in front of a robot mid-air, twisting her body and kicking the artificial intelligence in the neck- severing its head from its body before using the rest of its body to jump from one to the other. 

"Class 1A Shirayuri Kaneki, look at the little effort it took! No wonder she was the top ranking student from the Recommendation Exam!" 

"My beautiful white rose!" Karren cried, holding a light stick while wearing a shirt with Shirayuri's face. Tears poured out of her eyes while Tsukiyama leaned back, drinking his wine from the comforts of their home. The servants were inside of the room too, wearing and holding objects of support. Many of their friends and families were watching the event too, showing their support for the only ghoul in the hero course. 

Her running was halted, observing the sight of a wave of giant robots in front of her. She hummed, so this was something that regular students had to take for the normal entrance exam. How interesting.

"If they went this far, I wished they prepared something a lot better." Todoroki stated, body temperature lowering dramatically. From the ground, Shirayuri took a step back as a wave of ice  covered a majority of the front-line of mechanical Godzilla-like creations. 

"The first one through the first obstacle is Shoto Todoroki from class 1A!"

Feeling her instincts tell her not to cross, Shirayuri chose to observe first her classmate cross through with ease. He had enough time to cross, unlike the rest of them who watched in horror as the robots began falling down. 

"God dammit, 1A are full of arrogant bastards!" A silver-coloured student from 1B yelled out. Punching the fallen AI. 

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu continued forward, grumbling about how similar their quirks were. 

"Eijiro Kirishima! His quirk, hardening! Kirishima's quirk allows his body to become super hard! He can become the strongest spear, or the strongest shield!" 

"Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! His quirk, steel! Tetsutetsu's quirk allows his body to become super hard! He can become the strongest spear, or the strongest shield!" 

"Our quirks are the same?" Kirishima cried out. "Standing out is already hard enough as it is!" Tetsutetsu began chasing after Kirishima. He too angered by the similarity shared with the red-head.

"Come back here!" 

While Bakugo surprisingly took the high ground, Tokoyami and Sero used their respective abilities to also avoid the enemy down below. While Momo took her time to make a canon, the girls of their class watched as Shirayuri took off the top of her uniform; opting to wrap it around her waist. To their surprise and relief, her breasts and arms were covered in bandages. Her shoulders and stomach were left bare. 

"No point in hiding this anymore."

"Kaneki?" Momo called out towards her, taking a step forward. "What are you- a gasp left her mouth the moment Shirayuri revealed her wings. For everyone watching the Sports Festival to see. 

They spread out, flickering like a great flame motivated by the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she and the robots grew closer in distance. Closing her eyes, she clapped her hand once. It didn't contribute to anything, but, she thought it would look cool on the big screen.

Her wings stilled and crystallised, as if out of nowhere did the ground and oncoming multiple waves of robots of different sizes crack and fall apart in an instant as parts came flying off to the back. Dust covered the entire field and blocked the vision of the cameras. The students behind her froze, trying to discern what she had just done. The audience themselves were none the better, a camera from above displaying the full-scale damage of the attack. 

Aizawa's eyes widened, remembering a smaller display of invisible force from the first day of school. Present Mic looked at the screen, then back at the mummified teacher in disbelief. His jaw dropped, glasses almost falling off.

"...Class 1A Shirayuri Kaneki...has taken down the wave of 0-point robots. Holy shit, Eraser Head, you really need to inform us more about your students and their quirks."

"Language, considering how censored last year's Sports Festival was. One warning from multiple companies threatening to take action was enough." 

Ukaku wings having done their job, disappeared once more. Shirayuri stumbling a bit before continuing to run and catch up to Todoroki, Tetsutetsu and Kirishima. Her stomach rumbled, demanding compensation after such a large-scale move. Alas, it could throw as many tantrums as it wanted, her mind and heart refused to become one and allow her to do as she pleased like in the past. 

'Not now.' 

'Never.' 

While Kirishima and Tetsutetsu stop walking when the commotion of the first obstacle reached their ears, Todoroki instead, continued to progress on further. He had a feeling he knew who was the cause of such an attack. Someone who was quiet, had little information about and caused multiple quirks at once to go haywire before bringing them down onto the ground. 

"So, you want people to revel at your power huh." He said to himself, observing the second obstacle in the race. 

Without slowing down, Todoroki was able to prevent himself from falling down by continuously using his ice on one of the tight ropes. Something he had similarly done in the past; sliding his way towards the next part as the wind swept his hair. Shirayuri breezed past Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, eyes focusing on the similar obstacle of the past. Without stopping or hesitation, she bent her knees and jumped high. Her wings spreading out once again to help her glide. Todoroki looked back, watching as she drew nearer and nearer towards him. Bakugo too, blasting his way towards him with many others just starting the second part. 

Seeing a side on the side of the next course, Todoroki almost cursed at the sight of the minefield in front of him. Shirayuri on the other hand, grinned at the easiness of the final stage of the obstacle course. 

Releasing her wings, Shirayuri took off into the air. Briefly turning her back, she shot multiple projectiles to the ground. Once they struck the ground did it cause a chain reaction of explosions that set a few students off-course while destroying their balance too. With determination, Bakugo and Todoroki continued on forward with Midoriya...well, whatever it was he was doing. 

"Kaneki causes another scene! Though Todoroki and Bakugo were unaffected, the rest seem to still be recovering from such an  attack!" 

"Kaneki has proven time to time again that she has great control over her physical body whilst remaining calculated and smart with her actions. There is still much to be learned and observed of her abilities."

As Shirayuri entered the dark tunnel, her eyes widened as her ears caused her pain. Someone had set off a giant explosion, looking behind her, Deku was flying on top of a giant scrap piece of metal comparable to the door Rose used from the Titanic (the same size she refused to share with Jack for no good reason), with his strength did he cause Todoroki and Bakugo to falter in their speed as the green-haired boy passed them.

"Look at Midoriya! He too set off his own gigantic explosion and caused Bakugo and Todoroki to trip." 

"Eraser Head what are you teaching your students?" 

"I taught them nothing, every one of them hear was fired by each other causing them to do their best and strive for the gold." 

"You heart that everyone, Eraser Head is a terrible teacher!" 

"I'm what?!"

With the last of her Rc energy supply, Shirayuri bursted forward and re-appeared after crossing the finish line. The crowd cheering for her as Midoriya, followed by Todoroki and Bakugo arrived behind her a couple of moments later. Her wings started to disappear, like a fire in the rain. Falling to her knees, she covered her face and breathed from her mouth. 

"The first to return to the stadium...Shirayuri Kaneki!"

The camera showcased her face, determined and focused. Smiling a bit, she looked up and brushed away a few hair strands from her face. Karren fell to her knees too, sobbing on the floor while Tsukiyama marvelled and broke another glass. "Shirayuri!!!" The German ghoul cried out, placing a hand over her heart as if she was in pain before throwing a white rose in the air. 

"Kaneki! You never told us that you had wings!" Mina breathed out, collapsing right beside Shirayuri as the other girls slowly joined the girl back in the arena. Mina looked behind Shirayuri."Oh hey, where's your spear?"

"There, I wouldn't have needed it for a race." 

Smelling the scent of Hagakure drawing nearer towards her, the invisible girl too plopped herself down near the ghoul. A feeling of pain swirled inside of Shirayuri's stomach, Mina frowned as the other girls took notice of the change in body language. One hand closed her mouth, while the other gripped her stomach. 

"Kaneki? What's wrong?" 

Her head shook, refusing to turn and reveal her face to the rest as she further crouched her body. Momo squinted her eyes, seeing the feint appearance of what seems to be scarlet red tattoo-like lines on the ghoul's back. The others too busy trying to convince Shirayuri to face up to notice the change in her skin. Deku and Todoroki watched from where they stood, Lida snapping out of his disappointment to jog towards their classmate.

"I'm...starving..." 

How long had she gone without human meat? A month? If the last time she ate was the morning of the U.S.J attack...that was two weeks prior to this day. Her insides felt like a mess, for refusing to consume and defy her biology whilst simultaneously acting as if everything was normal. Shirayuri had reaped what she had sown. Slowly getting up, Shirayuri quietly refused every hand that offered to help her while slowly walking towards the entrance that lead to the closest bathroom.

Midnight glanced at Shirayuri, the teachers observing her from the giant screen displaying the winner of the first year's obstacle course.

She sat on the toilet cover after placing it down, the bathroom devoid of any other life forms. Her stomach grumbled, vision shifting as her head swirled. Slowly, she lifted her right hand, moving her fingers freely. 

'Befriending humans, was one of the worst things you could have done. They don't share the mindset of you, thus they could never truly understand you like me. Your tongues are different, they have the freedom to eat whatever they want to. Shirayuri, an empty husk of her former self in an opulent school meant for humans to raise more doves. Deluding herself slowly into being a weak hermit ghoul.' 

"...Shut up." 

'Oh? Now you're willing to talk to me about this issue? How humorous, like a teenage brat it took actions for me to able to draw back your attention.'

"I am a one-eyed ghoul, naturally conceived. My body is meant to be able to handle human food." She looked up at the stall door, talking to herself. If anyone were to come in, they would think she was insane. An insane human that needed more observation and wariness to be around. But nonetheless, human. 

'But you're not just a regular natural one-eyed ghoul, aren't you?'

Shirayuri looked down at her hand, clear to her now what must be done in order to maintain her strength and make it to the end. To give up knowing she allowed inconveniences to bring her down; after setting her mind on such a goal was blasphemous, something that shouldn't happen. With a deep breath, her mouth widened as her heart palpitated against her chest, a voice inside of her head screaming for her to stop before she-

Began devouring her own hand. 

"No, I'm not." 

Chapter Text

"Huh? Where's the student who generated large waves in the race?" A pro-hero asked the other heroes around her, searching around to find a head of white-hair in the smaller ocean of students. 

"Oh? Shirayuri Kaneki? If I'm not wrong, she had went out of the arena to use the bathroom." Another replied, opening his mask to eat the popcorn he bought from one of the students in the Business Department. 

"I can tell that she'll be on high-demand after the Sports Festival ends and eventually become a hero herself." One commented, grinning. 

"Who wouldn't? Many would squabble to have such power under their wing, especially with that pretty face." Uwabami added her own opinion, placing one leg above the other as she sat with perfect posture. One hand looking at her phone where she was live. 

"Younger generations these days, slowly overshadowing the older generation with their more powerful quirks." 

Many who was in ear-range with the heroes listened in to their conversation, it was clear that Shirayuri had stolen most of their attention and interest. Not only skill-wise if they were to uselessly add. To the point that some even clapped and cheered for her when she re-entered the arena looking as if she hadn't just ran about 4 km, went against giant robots, crossed a man-made giant pit and flew above a minefield. Shirayuri flipped her hair, her head held high causing a few whistles and comments to be made. 

"You're back. Are you feeling better now? Ribbit." Tsuyu asked, Shirayuri nodded. The two walking closer towards the podium where Midnight prepared to announce the next event. She used her whip once more to demand attention. 

"42 participants have crossed the finish line in total, now for the second event..." The wheel spun once more, making a sound that honestly wanted to make Shirayuri pierce it once with multiple rinkakus and rip it apart in front of everyone before throwing it away. "Cavalry battle." 

"Participants will have to form teams of two to four members, the only difference U.A's cavalry battle has to normal ones is that we use a point-system. Depending on how you rank on the race, each team's points will be accumulated and determine the rank of each team. Starting from the 42nd rank, Aoyama who ranked last has 5 points. Each rank above the other will be added by 5...now, here's the juicy part. The first place rank is worth 10,000,000 points!" 

Murmurs went around the sea of students, everyone now looking at Shirayuri who used the opportunity to blink and give Midnight a deadpanned look. 

"That means, whoever gets to steal her headband...can remain at the number one spot until the round finishes..."

"Stealing is much more easier than defending, I shouldn't team up with her." 

"Wait, can her waves destroy us or is it limited to inanimate objects?" Her head turned to face Kaminari who asked the question, the man freezing when they made eye contact. 

"No, they're not limited to inanimate objects. I can control the size and intensity of my waves, meaning if I can or want to; I can kill you and your team fast enough before your brain realises it has been severed from the rest of your body." Deku who stood near her looked horrified, in disbelief while also being in awe over the waves.

"You're bluffing right?" Momo asked, looking at Shirayuri's eye. Shirayuri shrugged. "See or perhaps feel it for yourself, just by looking at your expression in the final moments will give me an answer." Aizawa listened in, his gut telling him something was amiss. All Might too, but it was too early to interfere and impossible to pull her aside right about now to question one of their students. 

"Right," Midnight grinned, excited for the blood battle. "It's a game where the inferior overthrow the superiors, good luck and you all have 15 minutes starting from now!" Shirayuri shook her head, disagreeing with Midnight's statement. 

The inferior most of the time do stay inferior, a rare few of them sometimes joining the superior in maintaining how the world turns. From the start, they were inferior for a reason. They lacked something that made them the small dot they were. 

Like one commented previously, it was easier to steal than defend her headband. Leaving the ghoul with little options for a team. Even if she were to team up with her classmates who were higher in the power-scale, this was an event that needed to draw attention and the interest of the audience. Fighting equals to drama, drama was a desire that everyone indulged and watched either consciously or subconsciously. 

Scanning the amount of students from the hero course, her eyes stopped scanning the moment they were set on one of the students from the General Course. Hitoshi Shinso, someone with the ability to brainwash people once they open their mouth to speak to him, something she heard and saw him doing when she too watched the race from behind. Their eyes were wide and grey, devoid of the light they once had before being controlled like a mindless puppet. To loss willpower to take action and the mindset to fight, what a horrendous fate. Humiliating the soul once a forced command was followed with ease and little hesitation. 

Shirayuri walked towards Shinso, the purple-haired boy with flame-like hair who had his hands in his pockets the times she unknowingly looked over at his direction. Or on his neck. Shinso looked at her too, now facing her. 

"So, you have a quirk that's more similar to Hawks? Gee, I see what U.A are looking for in the next generation of heroes. Clones of previous past heroes, but stronger." Shinso stated, placing a hand on the back of his neck. 

"If perfected once, why throw away when it could be better? Perfection shows no limit," Shirayuri shrugged, lifting up her eyepatch. Shinso's eyes widening at the sight of a black sclera, red iris and veins around them. A slicing sound was heard near his ear, making him realise that when he was focused on the movement of her hands did she use the moment to wrap both of them in a cocoon of wings. He squinted a bit, the intensity of the wings were more dangerous closer from what he saw. He glanced at the edges, seeing how they were crystallised and ready to slice. "I wouldn't say my quirk is more related to Hawks." 

"It's more of like a..."

"Ghoul." Shinso finished her sentence, Shirayuri grinning at his answer.

"Ding ding ding~" 

"Being treated as if you bear the quirk of a villain, when your quirk itself is a wonder. Insecurity and bullying caused by the jealousy of others. You grew to hate others with more hero-like quirks just because they are powerful but also pleasing to witness." Shirayuri whispered into his ear, a storm brewing inside of Shinso. "What's worse, when you can be considered better than some...because of the circumstances and how a certain biased system works, you couldn't become a hero course student." 

He released the hand from his pocket, dropping it to his side to form a fist. 

"Fight with me Hitoshi Shinso, with me by your side. I can guarantee that you will leave a mark at this festival and to the world of heroes, you won't be the one who has to envy and despise others." Shinso sighed, Shirayuri pulling her head back to meet his gaze. 

"How the hell did you become such a good manipulator." Shirayuri laughed, releasing both of them from the cover of her wings to find other team mates. 

Todoroki kept his eye on Shirayuri, similar to others both above and in the arena. He had ranked third, the position with many points right under Deku while allowing him to have many options to choose from because of his reputation. He chose classmates that would sync well with each other, while also have a high chance to secure the headband : Momo Yaoyorozu, Kaminari Denki and Tenya Lida. 

Momo can defend well, create any object they need, Lida has high stamina and speed with a built good enough to be a strong horse and Kaminari's quirk is perfect for when they need to stun their opponents. Once they were stunned, he would freeze them in place. It was perfect. Everyone had a role that didn't outshine each other; perfectly balanced and stable. 

"We'll opt to steal multiple headbands first, then we go for the 10 million points. Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, I'm counting on you both to later deal with Kaneki's quirk." Kaminari nervously nodded, Momo in deep thought. 

"How do you think," The three others in her team looked at her. "Remember Kaneki's ball throw? How she was able to release an invisible force that caused us pain whilst forcibly causing our quirks to be out of our control? I saw electricity before she released that wave..." Momo paused, face turning into a frown.  

"Electricity? Last time I checked from Google, electro does not make balls explode. The closest thing to produce such a display, was fire and even then I don't even remember if fire causes a second momentarily delayed explosion!." Kaminari added, scratching the back of his head. 

"Do you think, Kaneki may be the product of a quirk marriage? It would explain her heritage, skill and mysterious reasoning surrounding the death of her biological family...if her family does have a history of quirk marriages, it would explain the complexity of her quirk." Momo asked the rest of her team, face worried while her hands uncomfortably rubbed up and down her arms. 

Todoroki immediately tensed up at the mention of a quirk marriage, something that didn't go unnoticed by Lida. Kaminari was first confused, until Momo started to explain what a quirk marriage was to him. 

"They're similar to arranged marriages which happen to unify two strong families or companies, quirk marriages began during the 2nd and 3rd generation after the manifestation of quirks. The sole purpose of these marriages are to have a certain quirk or enhance a quirk that will be inherited within the bloodline, a child will either have their father's quirk, mother's quirk or even a new quirk that is a combination of their parent's quirk. They were soon deemed inhumane and frowned upon in society because of the purpose of these marriages. But, in secrecy especially in more influential and powerful families do these happen to retain their position or further grow." Momo explained, Kaminari's eyes widening at what she had told him. 

"Having children for the sake of power, truly atrocious." Lida shook his head, disgust written all over his face. He was grateful that he was born into a family of heroes that had no history of quirk marriages. 

"Nah, I don't believe Kaneki is a result of a quirk marriage." Kaminari disagreed, shaking his head while grinning and elbowing Todoroki. The following words spat out of the yellow-haired boy's mouth made Todoroki's gut wrench. 

He never knew. 

"Just look at both her and Todoroki, they're extremely similar! Personality-wise, background wise and power-wise! Todoroki's father is a hero, her father technically is one too with his family's generous donations and contributions for decades."

Lida glanced at Todoroki, an idea forming inside of his head as Momo and Kaminari continued their conversation. 

'Is...is this why you refuse to use your fire?' Lida thought, looking at every direction besides Todoroki. 

Aizawa rested, sleeping in his seat while waiting for the next event to begin. Present Mic hummed, flipping through papers of student profiles as a way to the past the time. Hearing three knocks upon the door, he quietly sat up and walked towards the door, a hooded figure handing him a folder instantly before walking away without a word. Confused, he gently woke up Eraser Head who groggily looked at him.

When Present Mic held the purple file. Aizawa immediately awakened, asking Mic to place the file in front of him and open it. 

Name : Shirayuri Kaneki

Age : 15

Quirk : Chimera

Description : as stated in the quirk's name, Chimera allows Kaneki to have the qualities of multiple mythical beings examples are tHe thunder bird, hydras and ghouls. It's a mutation type quirk, which explains why she has one eye constantly under the cover of an eyepatch. Covering may be due to fear or past events. 

Known abilities/facts about her biology :

- Keen senses and a high physical capability

- Lack of dietary options 

- Fire-like Wings  (allows flight, able to harden and act as both knife and shield, able to produce razor sharp projectiles)

-Electrokinesis 

-Extremely fast regeneration (based on the data accumulated since the first day of school, rate of speed unconfirmed)

- Wave generation 

- Extreme resistance to injury

-Unknown if she has the mutation to utilise a kakuja 

Grade Rank : unknown

Note : Keep everything a secret for now, it's critical that the rest of the world doesn't know that Kaneki is one of the last remaining chimeras quirk users on Earth. Her future is unclear if her true identity is revealed.

"We need to pull Shirayuri out of the arena to talk." Aizawa demanded, Present Mic looked at him, his eyes widening when he took a peek into the file. They both flinched when the alarm finally rang, signalling that the match was ready to begin. 

"Well, I guess we can only pray that nothing bad goes wrong during the cavalry battle." Present Mic sighed, preparing himself to start doing his intended role once more. Aizawa glanced at him.

"Have you read no book nor watch any movie where that dialogue is said right before a disaster?" 

They were doing well at first, until the match progressed. Bakugo was getting all the more heated up, Kirishima was his shield. Kirishima kept Shirayuri at bay as Todoroki went against Bakugo. When the ghoul landed a punch on Kirishima's arms, it did nothing. Nothing to harm him in his hardened state. Frowning, she wished that she was able to tear through his defence easily with her rinkakus right about now. 

She glanced at Todoroki, eyes widening when she saw the almost frozen state of the right side of his body. Bakugo too slowly becoming drained due to his  quirk, Kirishima's expression of confidence slowly began to turn into worry. It was clear to her, they were about to reach their limit soon. Glancing at the unfocused Kirisihima once more, Shirayuri twisted her body and landed a kick hard enough to send him out of the small arena and her falling to the ground from exhaustion. Something she was more prone to these days.  Seeing this, Bakugo refused to lose once more. To a stranger at that, a stranger after losing to the boy he had tormented for years because of his supposed quirkless status.

Gritting his teeth, he looked at Todoroki; determined to take him down. He glanced at All Might, ready to pull on his hand grenade. Hesitant, All Might slowly nodded quietly; giving him permission to use it. 

As he pulled on the trigger and sent it towards Todoroki, to the surprise of the class and Todoroki himself. It was Shirayuri who jumped in front of him to take most of the attack. She too was sent out of bounds...in a condition worse than Kirishima. Her head hit the back of the concrete wall, half of her face covered in her own blood as the shoulder part of outfit was burnt off, revealing scarred tissue and marks. 

With Todoroki distracted by the horrifying sight of Shirayuri's choice to protect him, Bakugo grabbed the other and threw him onto the ground-the other had his eyes wide, releasing no ounce of effort to thrash and protest; further angering Bakugo.

All Might quickly raised his hand, announcing the winner before rushing to the girl coughing out blood, a wound on her stomach that released blood when she placed a small pressure from her hand on top of the area.

Todoroki and Kaneki had lost. 

Aizawa rushed towards the infirmary, startled by the amount of blood that stained the floor, a bed, Recovery Girl's clothes and gloves and even the curtains to separate patient from patient. Recovery Girl looked at him, a sad and distressed look on her face.

"She insisted that she was able to heal and regenerate on her own."  Recovery Girl informed him, two smaller robots muttering about how they dislike humans as they began wiping away the scarlet stains.  "The young girl insisted that she requires no medical examination or rest here, worried for her sake, I messaged Nezu who allowed her to go home faster than the rest." 

Releasing a groan out of annoyance, Aizawa walked towards a clean chair. Resting on it as his mind went into deep thought about the situation.

How was one student capable of making so many issues revolve around her? Fraud, hiding, quirk and more that he couldn't think of at the moment. Like a parasite, she crawled her way in and took root within them. Aizawa took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. At least, at least she wasn't doing anything suspicious nor showed clear intentions of hurting others outside of supervised watch. 

"She had defended Amajiki with her body as I have once heard from Nejire and Mirio, no blood spilt or wound created by bullets...Imagine my surprise when I heard that she was injured by one of that Katsuki Bakugo's grenades, even Midoriya didn't spill blood then."

"...?" Aizawa looked at Recovery Girl. 

"Those were older injuries sustained somewhere else, I also believe her quirk is growing weaker without a sort of source needed to replenish it." 

What exactly was strong enough to break through a quirk that allowed the body to be extremely resistant and weaken the girl's healing ability? 

It seemed that Shirayuri's reveal of the danger of her waves was enough to deter almost all cavalry groups away, although she wouldn't kill them, that didn't mean she would push to heavily injure them and send their team to Recovery Girl's office. Class 1A themselves saw how she had sent the door towards Mineta during combat training, the calmness in her face when she observed how his hand that wasn't crushed by the door twitched. 

There were two other students in her and Shinso's team, Shinso using their quirk on them as no other student was willing to join the team with the 10 million headband and a General Course student. 

"You look healthier now, compared to how you look before the event began." Shinso commented, using his quirk to steal a headband worth 70 points from a duo cavalry team he froze. She glanced up at him. She looked at the numbers they were able to retrieve : 705, 70, 420 and 165. 

'Even if she was practically dragging the combined weight of me and the two others for a while now, she doesn't seem tired at all...maintaining constant speed.' Shinso thought. 

"Yeah yeah, you're still good looking," He rolled his eyes, cheeks dusted with light pink. "But, I don't know what happened that made you seem more...brighter? Energetic? Healthier? More intimidating?" He mumbled, observing how a certain team was high in the air thanks to a girl from the Support Course. Mei Hatsume was it? 

"One of the downsides of my quirk, extremely limited diet options." Shinso nodded.

"Ever faced discrimination when you enter a blood and organ bank? I get what you mean by extremely limited diet options, honestly I'm still surprised that someone has a quirk that's very similar to a ghoul...but of course, quirks can be anything and even be unrelated to the parents of the said special child." Shirayuri shook her head.

"I don't go to those places, us girls are never one to enjoy the company of others especially the opposite gender when we're eating." Shinso chuckled at the cannabilistic joke, making her surprised and rather cautious of this behaviour. How and why was he so calm?

"I won't discriminate against something beautiful that's considered evil and demonic, the world is unfair and what is considered the norm is determined by the people, society." 

"I bet you have high grades in Sociology." She commented, Shinso touching the headband on his forehead with their accumulated number of points. "It's an easy subject, as long as you read the book."

When Shirayuri was about to say something, she sensed that something was approaching them fast alongside other sounds a few metres away from what was coming towards them. Shinso noticed this, turning their head to find Todoroki's cavalry team taking a stop a few feet from them. The other cavalry teams coming towards them, ready to use their quirks. 

Shirayuri revealed her wings, going on the defensive as Shinso observed the teams. As a warning shot, Shirayuri shot projectiles towards Todoroki; Momo instantly creating a wall of cement with her quirk. Her eyes widened, seeing the sharp red projectiles pierce it before disappearing into nothing, flinching a little when a burst of electricity threatened to shock her. 

"Fascinating, they disappear on their own..." Momo spoke up, Kaminari looking nervously at their broken defence. Lida glanced behind them, face frowning as his teeth gritted at the distance closing in between their team and the other teams. 

"Todoroki!" Their leader looked down, understanding why Lida had called out his surname. Todoroki looked at Shirayuri, the ghoul focused with her eyes on him. 

"Yaoyorozu, Kaminari." 

"Shit, what do we do?" Shinso muttered, knowing what blanket had sprouted from Momo's back. Shirayuri turned her head up to look at him. Shinso met her eyes, strangely feeling calm at the absence of fear in them. 

"Put up your guard!" Kaminari grinned, the wind blowing through his hair as everyone grew closer and closer. "Indiscriminate Discharge! 1,300,000 volts!" electricity covered every inch of his body before affecting the area around him. As the other teams were shocked, under the protective layer did his team remain safe. Shirayuri's eye squinted at him, lips forming a smile as her wings revealed themselves in their crystallised form. 

When the cover was off, Todoroki was prepared to use his ice when his eyes widened," Lida, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari to the side!" A projectile flew past him, creating a scar on his cheek as his eyes widened. In that moment, did everything feel like it was in slow motion. 

"Black Rabbit's Devastation." 

Energy source from what was absorbed during Kaminari's attack, Shirayuri kept to her word and dealt judgement to those who chose to stand against her. Similar to how Todoroki's ice traveled in a line-like motion when he wills it to, the ground broke before spreading out once it reached all the other electrocuted groups, shocking them once more before destroying their balance. Sent to the ground, writhing in pain with some quirks attracting uncontrollably. Shirayuri laughed, ignoring the creeping sensation crawling up her spine. 

"You...are impressive!" For the first time, did Shinso laugh out loud, feeling adrenaline and excitement coursing through his veins. Hands in the air, cheering for the ghoul right under him. Shirayuri blushed a bit, how the normally calm Shinso was laughing and more open about his emotions.

"I can't believe it! Kaneki has absorbed the electricity from Kaminari's discharge and re-used it as her own while combining her previous race attack with it!" Present Mic announced, the crowd cheering at the newly discovered information. 

"Why didn't you tell me she could absorb electricity and re-use it!" Kaminari whisper-yelled, Lida glaring at him alongside Momo. 

"What makes you think we also know?!" Lida argued back, frustration growing in his mind. 

"Both of you, stop fighting." With his right hand, Todoroki trapped his and Shinso's team inside of a smaller arena made of ice. Looking at the time, they had less than 5 minutes in total to steal the headband. 

"Don't generate more of those waves, you can't overexert yourself like after the race. It isn't healthy." Shinso stated, looking down at Shirayuri who prepared to use her ukaku wings to generate more waves. 

"Alright, let's just try to avoid Todoroki's team as best as we can now." Shirayuri nodded, glancing at the other team to make sure they were planning nothing as they talked. "But if they do get close, I won't hesitate to release projectiles towards them."Shinso nodded, understanding. 

"Don't worry, you've done your best." 

All Might focused on Team Shinso, his suspicion on Shirayuri growing the more he observed her today. Feeling a notification on his phone, he was surprised that the message was sent from Eraser Head. Standing up from his seat, he excused himself and changed back to his much bulkier form. Walking along the halls, he took a step back when he met a man wearing a white suit and a mask. He flinched a little, hearing the sound of a finger crack. 

"Haha- good sir you almost-All Might froze, meeting the person's vision. 

Where had he seen such similar dead eyes before? The same ones that stare back into his soul, seen the underworld Hell and back? The person continued on walking, refusing to even greet the number one hero or shake his hand. The other's hands remained in his pocket the entire time. 

'Must be a member of the Tsukiyama family, Young Kaneki's parents have been deceased for almost a decade now.' All Might sadly thought, his heart wrenching a bit at the thought of constantly seeing someone unable to smile.  

In truth, constantly smiling was...hard, sometimes he himself felt bad and down by smiling for no reason. There were times when he just wanted to fall into his knees and encumber himself with sadness and the negativity of the world. But, he has to stay strong for the sake of others. If he couldn't be of service to the people and maintain the peace, All Might would confess, that he would feel like he had no purpose; useless. 

Having no  worth.

"Recipro Burst!" 

Shirayuri blinked, eyes widening as surprise took over her. Before she had realised what had happened or the stunt Lida had pulled on her, her headband, the headband worth 10 million points; had been stolen. 

"Amazing! Tenya Lida has released his own special move! Team Todoroki has officially stolen the 10 million point headband!" 

Annoyance filled the ghoul, Shirayuri hissing out, "Oh, it's on." 

"Kaneki-Shinso tried to cut in, the ghoul in too deep to hear his voice. In the blink of a moment, Shinso was now the one holding onto Shirayuri's spear, looking around in panic, Shinso can only panic as their team grew nearer towards Todoroki's team.  

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO USE THIS?!" 

He closed his eyes for the next few moments, swinging the weapon around much to the other team's chagrin and the crowd's amusement. Shinso only opened his eyes once he had heard the alarm went off. The Cavalry Battle was now over, he shot a panicked look towards the girl with hands inside of her pockets. Swallowing the saliva collecting in his mouth, he took a couple more breaths while trying to slow down the rate of his heart because fuck, he could really feel it. 

"You weren't, you were just supposed to panic as you swung the blade part around the team while I took the distracted looks of a team being charged on by an amateur with a weapon." Shinso looked at her.

"And? What were you able to accomplish?" He asked. Shirayuri pointed towards Lida who was now on the ground, writhing in pain while the rest of his team checked up on him. 

"I just needed to check his anatomy, experiment a little for being brave enough to use one of my tricks." She snorted, crossing her arms. 

"Being fast and attacking faster than your opponent could realise is not something you created!" Lida argued, yelling towards her. 

"You're petty, you know that right?" Shinso sighed, rubbing his face as Ojiro and that other kid he brainwashed snapped out of his control. Shirayuri stuck out her tongue. 

With the match finished, Eraser Head, All Might and Present Mic rushed out of their booths and ran to find Shirayuri. Not even bothering to respond to those who asked why they were running or where they were going. All they needed right now was answers. 

"Oh Kaneki? She just left the arena."

"That white-haired kid? She just passed me." 

"I think she turned over at that corner." 

"You were looking for me?" Shirayuri innocently asked them, Oberon laying on the table right beside her in class 1A's waiting room. The three heroes barricaded the only exit with their bodies, signalling to her silently that she wasn't allowed to leave. 

"You're a ghoul." Aizawa stated, taking a step closer towards her. Shirayuri looked briefly surprised, humming as she took off her eyepatch now that everyone in the room knew about her little secret. 

"I supposed people would have known sooner or later, of course, you were most likely the one who sent a spy-a senior student was it to follow me around? All Might would have just asked me directly if I was hiding anything and Present Mic...you aren't exactly the brightest." 

"Oh well I'm now offended." Present Mic touched his heart. 

"You knew about Amajiki? How?" Aizawa asked, Shirayuri rocking back and forth with the back legs of the chair, looking up at the sky as if she was thinking herself. 

"Let me see, lingering around an area I'm in wether it sometimes be in U.A, muttering, rather faster heartbeat in more public areas, his scent and perhaps any thing a living being does? To be honest, he helped did my reveal job easier, less work for me." 

Silence enveloped the room, no one knowing what to say. Shirayuri looked between all three of them, seeing the conflict in their faces. Shirayuri sighed at the silence, opening her mouth to speak the following words, "I was afraid too, afraid what would happen if the world knew Ghouls had never truly went extinct. Laws exist, we are technically allowed to live amongst humans. But, do you really think it's that easy? The world is corrupt, those in power holding chains that lead everywhere." 

"How many, how many still remain in this country? Do you know?" All Might breathed out, Shirayuri looked up at him.

"Only I and my family remain in Japan, from what I heard there used to be few remaining in other countries across the world but as failure to reproduce or any factor. They most likely died and chose to do so in secrecy." With his question answered, he nodded his head solemnly. 

"If I chose to not become a hero, if I look as if I can't be controlled. Will you kill me in one way or another?" Aizawa's eyes widened, how she could easily bring out that sentence out of her mouth. Lowering his shoulders, the Erasure Hero knelt down in front of Shirayuri. 

"If anyone wants to kill you, if anyone dares to threaten you, they will have to go through me first. You're not an animal Kaneki, from the moment you saved me I saw a true hero within you. Underneath all the scariness, all that power- I know that one day, you will be the symbol that shows how ghouls and humans can live in harmony with each other." Aizawa gave her a hug, Shirayuri with wide eyes slowly raising her hands to hug him back.

"Do you think organ and blood banks give discounts to students with student cards?" All Might glared at Present Mic for disrupting the beautiful scene. Present Mic raised his hands in surrender.

"What! Certain organs and blood-types are more expensive than a few others, I'm just saying in this economy, quality equals to higher prices." 

"Hizashi, quiet." 

Present Mic zipped his mouth, creating a sound and motion that made Aizawa groan. All Might took a step forward, Shirayuri looking up at him. 

"Thanks for making my job as a teacher harder." He stated, bringing up his hand near his face to show her a thumbs up. Aizawa rolled his eyes at the words of All Might. 

"Read a book All Might, this is why you don't make spontaneous decisions like the time you decided to go on an undercover mission as a mysterious figure lurking in an alleyway to 'get information' and end up having the police called on you multiple times." 

"How was I supposed to know that people would mistaken me for another bulky person who broke a building because two middle-school girls wouldn't answer my question?!" 

Maybe U.A wasn't so bad, she didn't know why the old her wanted to become a hero and specifically join U.A, but for any reasoning. If they could one day meet within her with no conflict. All she would like to say is :

Thank you. 

Shirayuri left the room not long after the three heroes left first, deciding to re-tighten the bandages on her body and fix her appearance. They had made a deal, after the Sports Festival finished. They would observe her skill and ghoul physique before determining a grade for her just so they could fully understand where she stood now, what she needed to improve and how. 

She froze in place, a scent that wasn't familiar to her that made her whole body tremble. Knees begging to kneel in submission. She took a step closer towards where the scent was originating from, then another step before breaking into a run, easily turning through the corners before passing Bakugo leaning on a wall, Todoroki and Midoriya. Deku looked at her surprised by the sudden appearance. 

"Where is he?" Shirayuri desperately asked, losing track of the smell. 

"Kaneki? Is something wrong? Why are you running?" Deku asked, taking a step towards the unusually panic-stricken ghoul. Her shoulders slumped, unable to find what or who she was looking for. Looking down, the three watched from their respective places as her hands turned into fists- anger filling her body. Quickly turning her body, Shirayuri walked back inside of the large building, ignoring Deku's attempt in getting her to speak. Todoroki looked to where the man that had passed him and Deku went, his body no longer being seen.

Chapter Text

There was a lunch break before the finals of the Sports Festival. While the others ate, Shirayuri walked back into 1A's locker room, choosing to fall asleep with her head on the table as she sat. One of her arms cushioned her head, the other stretching out with nothing to grip. Her breathing was light, even in her dreams could she feel herself inhale and exhale. The room was quiet, a pin drop can easily be heard if one to be dropped if Shirayuri's hearing wasn't already enhanced. 

She dreamt of the city nights spent as a soul trapped within a body with a complete different identity, wearing a wig and mask that matched with her regular outfit : a zip-up hoodie and track pants. How she jumped from building to building, watching down below walking passerby unbeknownst to what was jumping high right on top of them. Only after she was satisfied or nearly caught, did the young teenager escape back to her home estate or a nearby hiding shelter the Tsukiyama bloodline had in different locations within every ward and city across Japan. 

They were bought not long after multiple instances of violence had began to occur, so, to protect themselves and those they deem loyal and part of them ; all of those places were bought with connections to the underground to escape through the sewers and underground city within the 24th ward. Though, if she were to find herself in one of those places and not back within the Tsukiyama estate, she would receive a light scolding. 

Her dreams halted, eyes slowly opening at the sound of the door being opened. Inhaling, she calmed down a little when she recognised that it was the scent of Shoto Todoroki. Straightening her posture, she rested her head on her palm while moving her head and body to now face him. The other standing right in front of the door after closing it. 

Shirayuri yawned, Todoroki unfazed by her more relaxed and shift in behaviour since the beginning of the Cavalry Battle. He squinted his eyes, focusing on the ghoul's visible eye holding a certain look of craving within it. 

"How do you have so many abilities?" He demanded, remaining in place when he shot the question. Shirayuri stopped stretching her neck, looking at Todoroki with sudden interest over what he had just asked.

"Well because it's a part of my quirk." Shirayuri grinned much to Todoroki's displeasure, the look on his face giving her satisfaction over toying with him. Oh if she had her rinkakus, how she would have loved shoving him back and forth as he tried to stabilise himself before picking him up to purposely drop him. If she wanted to, she could stretch him a little if he was play dough. "And I thought you were one of the smarter ones, did being stuck in a team with Kaminari made you like this?" 

Todoroki frowned, taking a step forward. He spoke, "I don't know what happened to you, but you aren't acting normally." he was clearly judging her from the look on his face. "Answer my question, are you the product of a quirk marriage Shirayuri?" the white-haired teen pretended to think, crossing her legs with her index and thumb on her chin. 

Why are you so interested in knowing about events of the past, Shoto Todoroki? 

"No, I'm not. I just happen to come from a bloodline that came together how it was based on the circumstances and choices taken of my predecessors." Shirayuri replied, her two pointer fingers now in front of her, briefly did they collide with each other, entangling in a mess before her hands made a shadow butterfly. "Do you believe all the wrongs in this world are formed and thrive because of the inconsistencies and weakness of those with power? Many, even I sometimes blame the world for being a cruel place when in truth it's the fault of humanity." 

Humans ruin things, humans ruin what nature has always intended for the world. Breaking a wheel and replacing it with their own, only to constantly replace it every now and then without placing many effort in atonement. 

Shirayuri looked up, as if she was thinking about something. "You know, I truly despise my chosen family for abandoning me. I hate how easily my father chose to gave up on living beside me, I despise how weak my supposed mother was in her attempt to protect me, they betrayed me...now, they're buried 6 feet deep. Good riddance." She spat out, looking down at the ground now, as if their fresh bodies were laid out in front of her. Though blood covered the ground around them, none of it reached her.

"How do weak people birth strong individuals? Or did their environment made them stronger? Am I considered one or perhaps a hybrid of both." 

"Kaneki!" Todoroki yelled out, anger written on his face. Shirayuri's eyes widened, amusement now manifesting within her. 

"Oh? You're defending my parents? Why is that? The world moved on and had forgotten about them, you should do the same." Shirayuri stood up, walking to stand right beside Todoroki. He faced the rest of the room, she faced the door. "You have no right to know about my past, same as me about your own past. We're not friends, we have never considered each other anything than acquaintances coincidentally placed in the same class."

He looked at her, accidentally having a strong grip on the ghoul's shoulder.

"How much, how much of the past did you forget that made you like this? Who destroyed you?" Todoroki askedher, she blankly stared at him, searching for her own answers in a black ocean. 

"My own family." 

"What are they doing?" 

"And we're back! Ey-looks like Class 1A are doing some  fan service!" 

Shirayuri looked at Mineta and Kaminari holding their laughter, Momo yelling at them from where she stand...with the other girls in their skimpy cheerleader outfits with pompoms on their hands. Snickering a little, this would be a core memory to look back on once everyone went their separate ways. Taking out her phone, she took multiple pictures, Hagakure noticing this and even striking a pose much to Jiro's chagrin. 

"Now it's time for the recreational event! After this, sixteen players from the four teams that ranked the highest in the cavalry battle will compete in the final stage, a tournament one-on-one battle!" 

Starting from Todoroki's team that won first place, it showed the following teams that proceed to the next level. The screen changed, showing how the build up to the final battle will be like. 

"I would like to redraw." a voice spoke up, everyone shocked at the announcement Mashirao Ojiro made. "I barely have any memory of the cavalry battle, it was most likely that guy's quirk that stripped me of my consciousness." Ojiro glared at Shinso, then looking at Shirayuri disappointed. Deku too looked towards the direction of Shirayuri and Shinso, Shinso choosing to look away while the girl met his eyes. "This is about my pride, I can't go on knowing what...I was like during that time." Ojiro's voice filled with distraught, an internal battle going on inside of him. 

Midnight hummed, turning her head when another boy from the same team of Shinso and Shirayuri took a step forward to redraw himself from the tournament. 

"I like this! I accept their choice to redraw themselves!" 

In the end, it was Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Ibara Shiozaki that replaced Nirengeki Shoda and Mashirao Ojiro. The screen shifted, revealing the names of who will be going against who in the first round. 

• Izuku Midoriya vs. Hitoshi Shinso
• Shoto Todoroki vs. Hanta Sero
• Denki Kaminari vs. Ibara Shiozaki 
• Tenya Lida vs.  Mei Hatsume
• Mina Ashido vs. Fumikage Tokoyami
• Momo Yaoyorozu vs. Shirayuri Kaneki
• Eijiro Kirishima vs. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu 
• Katsuki Bakugo vs. Ochako Uraraka 

Shinso walked up towards Midoriya, the latter knowing full well when someone approaches him it was most likely going to be bad news by now. "I'm looking forward for our match." He said, turning his body to walk away once more. 

Deku wanted to reply, yet Ojiro was faster and glared at Shinso while quickly wrapping his tail around his classmate's mouth, watching as the purple-haired student walked away. "Midoriya, whatever you do. Don't give him a verbal reply. If you do, he will mind control you like when he and Kaneki approach me to ask if I was interested to be in their team." 

"Eh? This is getting repetitious." Shirayuri confessed, shrugging her shoulders while accepting her fate. Glancing towards Momo on the ground as the other girls cheered, the ghoul walked towards her and bent down, hands on her knees. Momo looked up at her, wondering what Shirayuri had approached her for. "Yaoyorozu, it seems that our paths cross once more. Your team had my team good during the last minutes during the Cavalry Battle, no doubt it was due to your intelligence and plan." She spoke, her voice sickeningly sweet that the other instantly noticed something was off. 

"I don't like going through failure twice, meet you on the battlefield Yaoyorozu." 

Without another word spoke, Shirayuri straightened her back and slinked away. Most likely to find a quiet, desolate place to rest until her match. The ones who made it to the one-on-one battles were either stocking up for their quirk, participating in the recreational games or trained. Back in the Tsukiyama estate, the man scrolled through his phone in glee, watching as different trusted staff members sent him messages of praise for raising the girl and support for Shirayuri. She did nothing but impress him continuously till he consequently broke another wine glass near the end of the cavalry battle. 

"Her technique is excellent, but it could be further exploited." Tsukiyama commented, a few individuals looked towards him with confused looks, those who had more understanding nodded their heads in agreement. "What? Did you think the kagune is limited to such a few abilities? I believe we're in for a feast, and I intend to witness it all." 

"How far do you think she can keep this charade before her secret is discovered?" Karren asked, stretching her body to pour herself a glass of water.

Tsukiyama thought about it, after a while he spoke, "I think more seasoned heroes do have a clue, it's just a matter on how they perceive her quirk. Quirks are unique, they could be silly to the point of utter randomness, they most likely do just think her quirk is similar to that of a ghoul." A few snickered at his words, agreeing wholeheartedly at the stupidity overshadows humanity's intelligence. 

Time Skip

Shirayuri yawned, Deku had won his match, Todoroki too and now a girl named Ibara from class 1B. Their matches were fast, but it was predictable. A couple of business course students were talking with a few of her classmates, making bets on who would win. Now, Hagakure and Mina were arguing wether Lida would win or Mei would win based on their current...match turned support weapon expo?

"Hey Kaneki," Mina leaned her head closer, whispering into the other's ear. "Want to accompany me to the waiting room, your match with Yaomomo is after mine." with nothing else to do, Shirayuri agreed. 

As they walked, the smile from before never left Mina's face. Mina looked towards Shirayuri and asked her, "Kaneki, do you like to play sports?" 

Thinking about it for a while, her mind recollected memories of her trying out sports prior. "I used to, now I rarely have the time to do most of them considering my schedule for training and assignments."

"Oh, what sports?" Mina asked once more. 

"Martial arts, I used to play volleyball with my family, soccer, acrobatics and when I was a younger child, I've seen pictures of myself in ballet-wear." 

"So many, you must have a lot of energy under all that facade to the point you have so many hobbies!" 

Shirayuri smiled a bit, "I do, to the point it gets unbearable to live when I can't push, release my strength or feel a rush of cells course through every part of my body." she stated, Mina instantly noticing the change in tone. 

"Unbearable? That must suck, but, how do you feel after exercising?" 

How does it feel to be free, in a large open area to use your abilities as you please. Surrounded by those trusted and similar like you, with no worry about the fears and dangers of tomorrow? It felt like a ray of light, the great horizon as you stand upon a great wall that had kept you hidden away for decades. 

"It feels...like I'm in paradise, something I don't deserve, but want to feel." 

"Onto the following match, all-purpose creation from the Hero Course, Momo Yaoyorozu! Harbinger of doom to those who stand against her, also from the Hero Course is Shirayuri Kaneki!"  

Present Mic glanced at Eraser Head with excitement in his eyes, watching as he somehow through his heavily bandaged hands take out Momo and Shirayuri's paper data as he did in Midoriya's and Shinso's match. 

"Yaoyorozu's quirk allows her to create any inorganic material from her body, anything she can possibly desire as long as she understands its atomic configuration. The amount of objects she can make, depends on the amount of lipids." 

"For Kaneki, her quirk is called Chimera: it is a mutation type quirk that allows her to possess different types of abilities that belonged to mythological beasts." 

"That's all? What's up with U.A these days?" a green-haired hero wearing a gas mask shook her head, jokingly acting as if she was truly disappointed and annoyed with the school. "That's a pretty vague description if you ask for my opinion."

Momo rubbed her arm, finally knowing the name of Shirayuri's quirk and its simplest definition. She frowned a bit, wondering how something that sounded and was powerful had little knowledge about it. Shirayuri crossed her arms, unbothered while staring back at Momo. 

'Perhaps, if I can just get close enough to her and find a blindspot, then maybe I can distract-START!" 

Her thinking was disrupted, Shirayuri kneeling down a bit to charge towards Momo in a speed slower that allowed others to see her movements clearly. Though her thinking was disrupted, Momo's first call was to create a shield. Seeing the shield, the ghoul twisted her body and sent the shield flying away instantly; Momo closing her eyes and creating another shield as the force of the kick sent her a few metres back. 

Seeing the distance, Shirayuri charged in once more and turned her right hand into a fist, leading the second shield created to have another large dent-unable to be used efficiently after the singular move. When Momo was about to create a weapon, Shirayuri eyed the glow coming from the arm and went in for another attack.

Jiro flinched a little, "Ouch, that looks painful." 

"Eh? Why isn't Kaneki just using one of those large waves again? Cmon, I made a bet that she would win the first round in less than a minute!" Kaminari whined, getting more nervous ever since he tapped on the timer button. Jiro glared at him, always annoyed from the times he spoke before he could use his head. 

"I guess Kaneki thinks by only using one of her most powerful attacks it makes her seem too dependent on it, by attacking and moving much slower, it gives the audience a clearer view of her technique and idea that she is much more versatile and experienced." Midoriya spoke up, looking up from his noted as he continued writing in his notebook while watching the match unfold. 

"Versatility, not bad." Ojiro leaned in, observing what Midoriya was writing. He squinted a bit, the writing a bit shaky without a table to write properly on. 

"A quirk that allows her to possess the abilities of mythological creatures? Wait does this mean she can become a werewolf? breathe out fire like a dragon or breathe underwater like a mermaid? What does count as a mythological creature, how far in the past must the creature be thought to be alive for her to be able to use its ability? Can she use multiple abilities in the same time?" the green-haired boy muttered, irritating his class with this annoying habit of his. Bakugo growled, slamming his hand down making the other flinch. "Ah sorry! Sorry!" 

"But is it limited to one mythology or all?" 

"SHUT UP YOU DAMN NERD!"

She needed to think of a plan. Fast. Creating shields only stalled time until she was eventually defeated, her eyes widened watching the ghoul jump up, did a quick spin and landed a kick in the middle of her chest. The force sending Momo backwards, tumbling a bit before she stopped, breathless. When she waited for the final attack, her eyes widened when after a few moments did nothing happen. 

Standing up, Shirayuri stood in place with her hands inside of her pockets. 

'Is she out of breath? Quickly!'

Standing up, the ravenette collected herself and made another shield and metal staff to only hear the sound of an alarm. Looking towards the sound of the whistle, Midnight raised her whip. 

"Yaoyorozu, out of bounds!" 

She looked down at her feet, the somnambulist hero's words being true. The crowd clapped and cheered, Shirayuri standing in place before walking towards the entrance from where she came from. "Kaneki proceeds to the next round." 

"A completely undeniable victory! Could Chimera be one of the best quirks to have?!" 

Feeling a heavy weight perch itself onto her shoulders, she couldn't move her arms as she looked down towards the floor. She hadn't thought fast enough, she wasn't able to collect her thoughts that consequently lead to her downfall. "That can't be..." she said to herself.

"I couldn't do anything..."

"Not a single thing..." 

Aizawa noticed the way Momo's head looked down, not making a single call to move until Midnight told her she can already leave the arena. She walked away still with her head down, still registering what had just occurred. Though the comments and praise All Might made during the first day of his battle trials class were annoying to hear after along a day of walking and teaching, he suddenly remembered this one comment. 

"Young Yaoyorozu, the way she speaks is truly something to admire. The way she delivers her answer, with her head high with no sign of snobbishness. If she didn't want to become a hero, I would surely vote for her to run our country or any diplomatic careers!" 

He already had enough students with serious problems that expand through several arcs, he does not need another one that would lead to a great battle. He'll think of a solution later, the next match was starting soon. 

"But really, if you do think about it attacking and defending is a natural instinct thus it can be considered a quirk especially for beasts. So, Kaneki being an excellent fighter is a part of her quirk just like the Ackermans unlocking their power through trauma." Kaminari argued, Sero and Mina disagreeing with him. 

"What? No way, even if attacking and defending is a natural instinct and is stated to be a part of her quirk, her moves are coordinated and refined with her mind being in sync, you can legit be a good fighter but lose because you have no brain...like you." Mina stated her opinion. 

"Nah, it's both of you. Both of you have strong quirks, and won previous combat trials. Yet the use of your brain haven't passed one percent." Sero snickered, watching the two glare at him in their ruffled-up state.

"Shut up extras, all three of you don't use your brain." Bakugo disturbed their conversation, Kirishima grinning and mouthing an apology towards them at the same time. 

Coming closer towards her, was the smell of smoke and ash. Someone with a fire quirk will walk past her, Shirayuri wrinkled her nose; though Todoroki too had a fire-quirk, his smell was not as overbearing and terrible as this. She focused more on the source of the smell, the stomps that come with it and the sound of breathing. Walking around like you want everyone to know that you have a long-time problem or have malicious intent was amateur behaviour. 

She saw the older man's flame, before his face. He turned his head and looked down at her with a frown in his face, Shirayuri opting to breezily past him with her hands inside of her pockets. Before she could make a turn, she stopped to hear his voice. "You there, I was looking for you." 

Endeavor : the flame hero.

He pointed towards her, "I saw how you instantly appeared near my Shoto during the Obstacle Race, easily passing him to land one single head-severing kick to each robot before going onto the next. Your wings are like Hawks, the ability to create projectiles without controlling them. You surprised me when I saw you generate those strong waves with ease before continuing on. It's not easy for a child like you to create that amount of kinetic energy." Endeavor stated, Shirayuri wondering if his voice sounded more accusatory or if he was complimenting her. 

"Your parents quirk truly were mixed well together."

Oh, never mind Endeavor was not complimenting her but her 'quirk'. 

"I hears about what other abilities you possess, to the point you were able to force Shoto to use his fire on the first day at U.A." Endeavour's voice sounded malicious, something inside Shirayuri telling her to escape immediately. "I want you to do that again, once my masterpiece has finished off that boy whose quirk is similar with All Might. There is a high chance that both of you would eventually clash, force him to realise that he needs his left side and know that he can't reject me." 

Shirayuri was taken aback, though strict and heartless parents were a social phenomena that can happen anywhere (especially in Asia since strict parents who expect the best of their kids became a running joke in the entertainment industry paired with a stereotype-sounding voice) to meet one like this, was just not something she had expected. 

"I'm not interested in getting involved in the Todoroki family problems, if he doesn't want to use his quirk then its his choice, you don't own his body or mind. Todoroki was given the right to speak, act and think as he pleases as long as it doesn't hurt others." Shirayuri stated, watching how the man's stare intensified with her defiance to follow his orders. "You're the NUMBER TWO hero," Shirayuri emphasised, holding up both of her pointer fingers and slowly united both of them together to stand next to each other. If someone was an idiot watching this, they would think she was making the number eleven instead. "You should know to hurt others both physically or mentally isn't something to be proud of, by the way Todoroki acts and the way you speak to him and now me. I can clearly see that you, Endeavor is a domestic abuser." 

The temperature around them rose, a clear sign that the hero was now angered with her words. Shirayuri laughed, taking a step closer towards the hero and challenged him with her own wings. "Go ahead and do your best to land a hit on me, you won't be the first pyro user to try and sear me alive." 

HIs flames did calm down, remembering that they were both still at a public location with students to adults that can pass the hall and display the scene at any moment. Saying nothing else, Endeavor turned his body and began walking away; the wings on her back disappearing once he was no longer in sight. With a disappointed sigh, she too turned her back and headed towards the location here classmates were in. 

When she did turn the corner, her eyes quickly rolled in annoyance, "What's up with you Todoroki's today? Popping out of nowhere, causing a big scene and involving others into your family drama." she asked Shoto Todoroki, someone looking at her with a suspicious look on his face. 

"Why? Why did you choose to also make an enemy of my father? Won't it benefit you if the old man thinks of you with high regard? Quirk-wise and behaviour-wise? Why...would you defend me and refuse to do what he asked you to do when it seems so simple." frustration was building inside of his voice the more he spoke, walking closer towards Shirayuri. "It's clear that we don't get along, you clearly dislike me-

"Dislike? Nah, I think of you as a necessary component to train my patience with humans. If I hated you I would have done something worse sooner." Todoroki shook his head, digesting her words after the ghoul cut him off. 

"Why did you stick up for my rights Shirayuri?" Todoroki asked her, eyes glinting with something that she couldn't recognise from the duration she knew of him. 

Shirayuri took a deep breath, trying to find how to convey the message and idea she wants him to hear. "Children born from malicious intentions have existed throughout history, some succumb to their fate while others rebel and break free. Just because he's your father, doesn't mean that he owns you or have to make you act, think and anything a certain way. Your quirk, both fire and ice belong to you. You make them what they are, how strong both quirks will become and what it stands for."

She looked at the location in where his heart should be, placing a hand there to listen to the sound of his heart beat. "Tell me, what do you want to become?" Shirayuri demanded of him. 

"A hero." he answered, nodding his head too as he answered.

"What type of hero?" 

"The best one, something that would far surpass my father." 

"Even if it means pushing yourself to the point of breaking?" Shirayuri asked, suddenly at his right side.

Todoroki gave her no answer for a while, his mind and heart being a wreck. 

"...Yes."

"Even if to surpass your father means you destroy your own vows of weakness? Ridding yourself of the thoughts that you would walk down the same corrupted path as him?" 

"Anything, anything to avoid becoming like him." Todoroki's hands turning into fists, Shirayuri feeling the changes on both sides of his body. 

"Then, would you finally use both your quirks together? Uniting them both to finally break from the wheel of chains that bind you?"

Todoroki glared at her, his sense of danger rising the more she whispers such words from one ear to the other while gently caressing his shoulders. 

"How...how are you doing this to me?"

Shirayuri laughed, continuing as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him with...both of her eyes? her eyepatch long discarded. 

"I'm insane Todoroki, you should know that by now. But, you are too for following me." 

Like a siren she draws him in, playing a game that has known well not to play. Bakugo groaned, disrupting their silence when he left the observation area the rest of their class was in. Disliking the seemingly intimate scene in front of him.

"When was Icy-hot and eyepatch dating?!" he loudly complained, grumbling as he walked past them. Ready to have his match against Uraraka. 

"The eighth and last match of the first round! He was pretty famous in middle school, with a face that isn't just like anyone else's! From the Hero Course, it's Katsuki Bakugo!" 

Sero snorted, Kaminari clutching his stomach laughing when the camera panned up to show the current look on Bakugo's face. Lida's serious look faltered, holding back his laugh while Shirayuri took out her phone. This man, his expressions were just perfect. 

"She's the one I'm rooting for! Hero Course, Ochako Uraraka!" 

Due to her hearing, Shirayuri was able to pick up what they were saying just like Jiro albeit with more focus due to the amount of sounds everyone was making. 

"Withdrawing isn't a choice!" Uraraka exclaimed, going in for a swift attack. Bakugo prepared his hands, keeping his eyes focused on the brunette. 

"Then die." 

From below, his hand went up and landed an explosion right in front of her. Shirayuri grinned, watching how Uraraka used the smoke as a distraction alongside her sports top, Bakugo pinning it to the ground while she attempted to strike him from behind. 

Not fast enough.

Midoriya and Lida flinched, watching how he sent Uraraka back to her starting position. 

'She's gotten smarter,' Shirayuri thought, comparing this match to the last time she saw her fight someone. Multiple times was Uraraka the one to attack first, Bakugo defending himself while also slowly tiring her out. 

"You have no mercy even against a girl, Bakugo." Tsuyu commented, Jiro moving her head back a bit the more she watched the battle progressed since the start. Kaminari and Sero glanced at each other, rather worried.

"Man, did you see how he instantly reacted? Those were some fast reflexes." 

"If that's the case, then more smokescreens won't be of any help." 

"She's at a complete disadvantage."

Shirayuri took a deep breath, crossing her hands together. The comments made about the battle were now getting on her nerves. More explosions were heard, the sound of cement breaking apart. Her eyes squinted, seeing that the place where Bakugo stood was now deeper than before, yet had no surrounding rubble around it. Opening her mouth to talk with Lida or Deku, she was interrupted by the sound of booing. 

"Humans are pathetic." Class 1A looked towards Shirayuri, seemingly the only person who disagrees about what they were talking about. "If Bakugo was to handle the fight with Uraraka in a much more gentler way, then all of you can quit becoming heroes. What I am seeing right now is fair sportsmanship, he's not looking down on her. He's doing the complete opposite, he's wary of her." 

Neito Monoma grinned, Kendo shooting him a look of warning. He tilted his head, showing that he too was listening to the angry words coming out from Shirayuri Kaneki to her class. "People who are too blinded by social phenomenons, have a hard time looking up rather than looking down." Monoma commented, causing his class to look up surprised. Uraraka grinned, glancing towards her classmates, Shirayuri the only one meeting her gaze. With a nod and a smile, Uraraka touched her finger tips together. 

"He blast through Uraraka's secret plan!" 

No one bothered to speak, watching how Uraraka got up and went in for another attack alongside Bakugo. But before she could take another step, she collapsed ; body drained of too much energy to continue. Sighing despite knowing the results, Shirayuri clapped at such a beautiful performance.

"I don't know about you guys, but Uraraka earned my respect." 

Lida looked towards her.

"So all this time you weren't respecting her?" 

"Shut up, that was a figure of speech." 

With the final fight completed, there was a fifteen-minute break to determine the pairings for the quarter-final round. Uraraka and Bakugo eventually came back, to the surprise of Uraraka she was the most showered with praise. 

"Alright everyone! We are back after that short break with the matchups for the quarter-final round!" 

• Eijiro Kirishima vs. Katsuki Bakugo
• Tenya Lida vs. Ibara Shiozaki 
• Izuku Midoriya vs. Shoto Todoroki
• Fumikage Tokoyami  vs. Shirayuri Kaneki 

Shirayuri blinked. Wait, how is she supposed to fight something similar to a demonic entity. She opened her mouth, her friends noticing her confused state. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at Tokoyami who also looked back towards her. Bakugo and Kirishima were up first, followed by Lida and Shiozaki, Deku and Todoroki leaving her and him last for this round. Taking Deku's notebook, she began flipping through the pages until she found the one about Tokoyami. 

"You know, its kind of scary that this is the most emotions Kaneki has shown in a day. Do you think our wish worked?" Uraraka asked, Shirayuri snapped her head towards her group of friends in confusion. 

"Technically its more like a ritual in the dark." Deku corrected, Lida looking at both of them panicked, as if he too hadn't joined in with them under the guise of 'responsible observation' 

"Revelry in the dark." 

Kirishima and Bakugo entered the arena, ready for the quarter-final round that will determine who will proceed on to the semi-finals. Like previously, Shirayuri watched the match with her classmates, observing the movements of both fighters but more specifically Bakugo. 

Shoto Todoroki

Katsuki Bakugo 

Fumikage Tokoyami

Standing up, she excused herself from the rest of her class and went to find Oberyn. The halls were empty and quiet, opening the door to 1A's waiting room, she instantly headed towards her locker and opened it to find Oberyn standing tall while leaning against one of the walls. Holding it, the ghoul took multiple steps back and did some warm-up moves. Her eyes focused on the blade and the dragon, noticing a difference in it. 

'Impossible.' she thought, frowning as she held the spear in her hand. 

It shouldn't have been possible for Oberyn to be tampered with, no one should know much on how to restock its poison supply. She brought the blade closer to her nose, in an attempt to understand the poison. Though it was a foolish move, risqué actions are taken more by those with the ability to heal themselves in seconds. 

Wisteria? No, doesn't smell as fragrant.

It's smell is less acidic for it to be  Blood of the Serpent King. 

Noble woman's tears? Nope.

Shirayuri suddenly dropped Oberyn, frowning, she was surprised to find the movement of her upper body to be much slower than usual. Her kakugan appeared, shaking her fingers did they finally return back to normal ; as if she hadn't been affected by the poison in the first place. 

"Medusa's fury..." 

It wasn't a deadly poison, unlike the infamous consequence to victims who dare open their eyes and gaze into Medusa's eyes. Medusa's fury simply paralyses the victim, the more the poison is within your body, the more it slowly turns you into stone. A small doses can paralyse parts of your body, small daily intakes can eventually lead to a consciousness mind trapped within the body before eventual death.The blade gleamed, the jewel in the dragon's eyes making Shirayuri continuously stare at it. A choice had appeared in front of her, something that half of her rejects going forward with, while her other side agrees to use it to their advantage. 

"For the final match of the  quarter-finals! One with the monsters in the dark, Fumikage Tokoyami from the Hero Course!" 

"Another from the Heroics Department, with tricks all up her aesthetically bandaged-sleeves. Shirayuri Kaneki!" 

"Oh? Kaneki is finally using her spear, this will be interesting." Uraraka commented, the bets continuing on behind her. With her hair tied into a low ponytail, Shirayuri used her right hand and pulled Oberon from behind her and threw away her strap somewhere out of bounds. 

"Start!" 

"Dark Shadow." Tokoyami called out, the monster born from shadows coming out of Tokoyami in high speed. Coming straight towards her. Shirayuri released her wings, using its bright light to hurt Dark Shadow as it crystallised. With her reflexes, Shirayuri threw her spear up in the air, with a flap of her wings did she too came up and kicked the end of the pole arm without a blade. Tokoyami's eyes widened, watching as the blade landed right behind him. Slowly did his hand briefly touch the scar on the side of his neck. Not too deep, but enough to make him feel it stung if he were to move his neck. 

Blitzing forward, Shirayuri appeared before Tokoyami and landed a kick right on his beak. Grabbing her spear, the ghoul began dodging Tokoyami's attempt to bring her down while also using the long body of the pole to defend herself from Dark Shadow's claws. 

In brief moments did she use the blade to do little cuts on both of her enemies, spinning around and distracting Dark Shadow to defend Tokoyami whenever he saw her aim and charge the blade towards his owner's head, heart or any part of his body. 

"She's aware of the bond Tokoyami and Dark Shadow have, no wonder in moments where Dark Shadow is open to attack she targets and focuses on hurting Tokoyami instead." Deku murmured, Uraraka nodding in awe. 

In a blink of an eye, did somehow Dark Shadow's eyes became red and created a deep gash right onto Shirayuri's abdomen-ripping off a few bandages. The crowd gasped, first time seeing a large amount of blood spilled. Shirayuri coughed out her own blood, one hand gripping onto her spear as if it was a crutch while the other covered her mouth from spilling more blood. 

As if their bodies controlled them : Lida, Uraraka, Deku and Todoroki's Bodies instantly stand up from their seats, surprised at the quick change from something normal for them to becoming a gruesome display.

Dark Shadow's attacks continued, even if Tokoyami pleaded and yelled for him to stop. Shirayuri using her wings to defend herself from his attempts of causing more injuries. 

"Fumi...I don't feel so well." Dark Shadow slowly began to wobble, Tokoyami's knees too began shaking. Shirayuri jumped back, holding her spear with its blade pointing towards them. Tokoyami's heart beat quickened, not long did he also collapse onto the ground with trouble breathing. The camera panned towards Tokoyami and then the blade slowly dripping some sort of substance. 

Next did it show Shirayuri's face, rather satisfied with what she had done. Next, it focused on her exposed abdomen skin, the crowd gasping at the flawless skin that had no injuries or scars left. 

"Amazing! In less than a minute did Kaneki recover and regenerate her deep wound!"

"So eyepatch can fucking regenerate..." Bakugo calmly stated.

"A kiss from Recovery Girl should do the trick, Medusa's fury is something that is easily curable especially in small doses." Shirayuri stated, kneeling to meet Tokoyami's gaze.

The next words surprised her, "What...what is Medusa's fury?" the ghoul frowned at this question, though not everyone has knowledge about poisons, Medusa's fury was something used by many in acts of revenge of all ages due to how easily accessible it is. 

"A poison, something many wouldn't consider deadly unless you go crazy in the amount you take like medical drugs." she answered.

"That...doesn't exist." 

"Fumikage Tokoyami is unconscious, Shirayuri Kaneki proceeds to the semi-finals!" 

Though she won, Shirayuri couldn't help but have her mind linger at Tokoyami's words. Standing up, she walked away from the scene, listening to the praise thrown and directed towards her from her class and heroes she didn't know the names of. Present Mic took a deep breath, turning off his microphone so the next sorting and break can take place. He looked towards Aizawa, watching a hologram that closed up on the injury possessed previously by the ghoul. It stopped bleeding, something from within also re-absorbing the blood that stained the skin around the large injury, then the muscle began to grow alongside the skin instantly.There were other tabs open, relating to ghouls. Hizashi could say this was comparable to a young boy being obsessed with dinosaurs, to one day meet them in the flesh. 

"This footage is being broadcasted all across Japan." Aizawa stated the obvious, Hizashi nodding at his words. 

"Of course it is, the Sports Festival has been the biggest sports event throughout our country since quirks ruined the olympics." Aizawa was worried, yet his state of worry was similar to that of a stern look. 

"Her parents were murdered Hizashi, there are enemies who know ghouls still exist and by live-broadcasting this, we're sending them to their graves. They know her name, what she looks like, her kagune and abilities." slowly did his head turned towards the blonde man. 

"Calm down Shota, don't you remember. Her parents bodies were examined by doctors and then cremated." Aizawa paused, forgetting the detail that suddenly turn things around as a new realisation dawned upon them.  They looked at each other ; speechless with their mouths and eyes opened. 

Her 'parents', they were both human.

Chapter Text

Katsuki Bakugo vs. Tenya Lida

Shoto Todoroki  vs. Shirayuri Kaneki

Those were the matchups for the semi-final round. Although she wished it was Lida considering his quirk had less area of effect and didn't have the mentality to hurt her, no one gets far by constantly fighting someone on the same platform or under them. Taking a deep breath, she looked at her own hands. Free of any scar and injury. Though she wanted to watch the fight between Lida and Bakugo, there was something heavy inside of her that made it unbearable to be with her class, surrounded by cameras and the sounds all around.

On the wall was the sign she searched for : Waiting room 1. 

Her right hand reached out for the door knob, an electric feeling coursing through her body that made her heart pound inside of her chest. Glancing around, no one was around her. She took a deep breath, an action she would come to regret. 

Meat. 

The sound and speed in which she slammed the door opened was enough to make most people believed it was ripped off its hinges. Her vision darkened as it focused on a singular box right on one of the tables. Walking towards it, another inhale confirmed to her what it was. Her vision shifted from the design of the package to a spot on the surface where scarlet-coloured liquid had dripped from the box.She opened it, eyes widening as her mouth watered at the sight of the cursed treasure. A single piece of liver, big, red and juicy. How long had she deprived herself of human organs? Something that smelled and instantly looked as if it had been freshly reaped from a body. 

"Stop depriving yourself of what you were meant to consume, to hold back means you are weak Yuri." 

Shirayuri looked around, the room had changed into an unfamiliar house. Looking down at her outfit, no longer was she wearing her P.E uniform, but instead a white blouse paired with a  short skirt. Walking towards a mirror, what was staring back at her? Why was it a black foggy silhouette? Shirayuri took a step back, watching as a a single left eye opened. It burned ominously. The more she stared at the mirror, the more it darkened ; eyes surrounding the silhouette beginning to appear looking in all sorts of directions before shifting its focus towards her. 

Shirayuri looked at her own hands, a strange marking tattooed right in the middle of her wrist that briefly glowed red like hot iron before fading and turning into a cool black. 

Crash!

There was the sound of shattered porcelain that destroyed the silence all around her. Shirayuri looked towards the sound of the noise, a woman with a short-hair cut looking towards her as if she had seen a ghost. 

"Yuri? My Yuri?"

She ran towards her, enveloping her into a hug that caused both of them to fall onto their knees. The white-haired teen did nothing, feeling a part of her shoulder dampening from the surprised wave of tears that fell from the woman's eyes. 

'What the hell am I doing?' Shirayuri thought, feeling her hands lift itself from beside her and return the hug. The gentle hand akin to a mother's touch placed itself right behind her head as the woman's head pulled back a little to kiss the side of Shirayuri's head. 

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry that Mama was never able to be there for you, not enough to save you and most of all, show you all the love I have for you."

'No...what are you saying? Why are you saying such words when I can't remember you.' her own tears began falling out, the unanswered questions of her identity and past catching up to her once more. In this world with no answers, why must she encounter yet another dead-end and continuously see flashbacks that make no sense to her. Only displayed to pierce and poison her beating heart. 

"The teachers don't seem to care much about you being a ghoul, you saw how they all behaved at the sight of a good fight and display of power. Show to them who they are Shirayuri." 

"Was this something you planned to do to my mother? Why aren't you showing the same expression you showed when you killed them in front of me!" Shirayuri demanded, hair as dark as the night. Her face entirely covered by the mask that greatly resembled the head of Anubis. 

The man further screamed, watching as Shirayuri had both of her hands gripping the side of one of his friends. Watching as the ghoul pierced through his eyes as  slow as she pleased, only to instantly crush his brain and skull in less than a second when the one under her was in the middle of screaming out in pain and agony. Shirayuri took a deep breath, leaning back onto the dead man's body. She had been sitting on his stomach when she had gruesomely momentarily tortured him to death. 

"I'll spare you for now, in the condition you warn all your connections to never bother and find me." she stated, watching as the man began typing furiously on his phone. Body shaking as he sat on his knees, gazing up towards her from time to time.

"I'm done, I'm do-before he could say anything else, she did a spin and kicked off his head. Blood spurting like a fountain for a few moments before the body fell to the ground, just like a tree. 

"Show them just who the One-Eyed Princess is." 

"The second match of the Semi-Finals! With both from prominent families in their respective leagues, it's a battle of the elites! From the hero course, it's Shirayuri Kaneki versus...also from the Hero Course, Shoto Todoroki!" 

The fire from all four corners of the arena made them look more fierce, Todoroki looking straightly towards Shirayuri who looked down on the ground. Lida hummed, squinting his eyes at a small change. 

"Is it only me, or did Kaneki abandon her eyepatch?" that caught the others by surprise, ever since the first day was the ghoul seen with an eyepatch covering her left eye. It became a sort of signature look when others talked about Shirayuri. How even if she only had one eye, did she amass great fighting prowess and speed. Aware of her surroundings as if she was an owl or had a pair of eyes on the back of her head. 

"I think stress is catching up to her, maybe she hasn't had her per-before Mineta could continue, Jiro stuck an earphone jack inside of his ear. Not even bothering to turn her head or make any sort of comment. 

"Start!" 

Todoroki started off by sending ice towards her, similar to his match with Midoriya. She jumped away, releasing her ukaku kagune to get away and charge right towards him. Noticing this, Todoroki created a barrier of ice to act as a shield. Shirayuri looked down at him, from the reflection of the ice did he notice the movements of fire replacing what should be an eye. Noticing the twist of her body, his eyes opened up further as Shirayuri released a burst of Rc cells that destroyed all of his ice and parts of the ground.  

As everyone was paying attention, they were able to quickly notice the difference in attack from her previous matches. Her kinetic energy appeared as a brief wave of blue before disappearing as the waves traveled and covered more distance, the volts she absorbed from Kaminari were yellow but now, it was a light shade of purple that soon turned into a blinding white. 

Todoroki moved back, maintaining his distance before stepping on the ground to send another wave of ice. Shirayuri responding by raising her wings and sending her own stream of electro towards him, the colour similar to her previous attack-purple and white. It collided with the ice, travelling within it before something triggered it to explode. 

"Amazing..." Uraraka muttered, a smokescreen blocking the audience from seeing both students. Todoroki looked around in multiple directions, anytime did he see movement in his peripheral vision did he turn his body around.  

The ghoul made herself know, charging herself towards him with dragon-like claws. Knowing she could claw and seriously injure him, Todoroki instinctively kneeled and placed a hand on the ground; a burst of ice appearing right under the ghoul, reaching high before slamming itself against her stomach. Shirayuri gasped, the loss of air inside of her body making it unable to escape the rest of his plan. Todoroki focused at her, creating a giant prison to trap her that was almost as big as the stadium. The crowd watched in awe, looking up at the large creation made by a teenage boy in mere seconds. The ice was thick, making sure it kept Shirayuri in. 

"Todoroki has trapped Kaneki inside an icy domain! Does this mark the end of the battle?!" 

"The same giant ice wall that trapped Sero, but this time...Kaneki is within it." Momo murmured, clearly worried due to the cold temperature and perhaps lack of oxygen that her classmate may suffer. Todoroki took a deep breath, hesitating to use his left side in order to balance his temperature. A drawback of such a powerful move, his body temperature decreases dramatically. Shirayuri looked around her, the face seen from the reflection of the ice unfamiliar to her. She walked around a bit, unable to hear what was happening around her due to the density of the ice. Unknown to them both, they both walked forward closer towards each other. Both of them breathing, eye to eye. Todoroki was the first to touch the giant wall that separated him from his opponent. Shirayuri touches the ice that traps her. A creation that was no different from a prison, it was a cage meant to trap her and cause her to lose. 

"May my humanity encumber me no more, I am a ghoul, and I will forever be one." 

Lida looked at his juice cup beside him, watching a ripple go through the still liquid inside. He heard a thump. Another ripple happening, followed by another before the thumping and rippling became much more know. Heroes looked at each other, most of them keeping their eye on the icy domain. Aizawa felt his heart drop, he knew this feeling all to well when something was about to go wrong. Karren glanced at Tsukiyama, no longer was his body leaning against the chair. Instead, he stood up and grew nearer towards the giant screen.

It was a bright day, it made no sense for a sudden change in weather but God was no ruler that planned to allow life to move leisurely.Lightning fell from the sky, in a strong current similar to a raging river did it flow to one specific location. Shirayuri, the single person trapped inside of a cage made by Todoroki. Entrapped by the beauty of the lightning, they watched as something grew from within and burst through-a roar so loud that it shook the building. 

Three-scaled tails slammed onto the ground, sharp claws made their appearance first before a dragon-like head with only one single eye in the centre made many freak out, a black sclera with a glowing red iris. Its armour was similar to the state of Shirayuri's crystallised ukaku wings, ranging from a bright red, purple and white. Around its head that connected to the single eye right in the middle of the base of the supposed face, it wore a crown, coursing through it was something that glowed red flowing within it that made many curious. To say it was big was an understatement. A business course student squinted his eyes, using his math skills to estimate just how large was the dragon.

"What did you get? I was only able to get the width?" his friend asked, showing her quick work. 

"I just estimated that it was at least three meters taller than the Jaw titan." he shrugged, the girl beside him shaking her head in disappointment.

"Actually, he's not wrong. It is about 8 meters." another with shiny glasses interrupted them, gently moving his glasses up and down. The boy got up from his seat, punching the air in excitement.

"Let's go!" 

"What is this?! Kaneki has become a large...dragon?! Does that even count as a dragon?!" 

"No, it's a titan." Bakugo rolled his eyes at the commentary. Kirishima looked at him.

"You watch Attack on Titan too? That's manly!"

"Shut up shitty hair."

"MY HAIR IS JUST LIKE YOURS!" 

The dragon opened its mouth, Todoroki squinting its eyes at the appearance of glowing light growing from the back of his mouth. When he realised what it was, he ducked for cover as the dragon breathed out fire, moving its head around like it was trying to find him. Instead of hitting Todoroki, the fire scorched the wall of the arena. Midnight taking a step back, preparing to use her quirk to knock it out. 

"Midnight..." Cementoss began, preparing to stop the fight. 

"I mean, Todoroki isn't hurt yet. If we-she stopped when the other hero turned his head and faced up towards her. 

"Stay out of this." the kakuja growled, taking steps toward Cementoss and Midnight. Instantly getting up from his seat, Eraser Head ran to find one of the entrances that lead to the field. Like a cat playing around, Shirayuri began chasing after Todoroki. Somehow manoeuvring her large body enough to prevent a part of her from disqualifying her for being out of bounds. 

Releasing rinkakus, the crowd gasped as multiple large tendrils came at Todoroki from different angles and held different parts of his body. Slamming him to the ground multiple times before pining him down; she opened her mouth near his face and prepared to burn away his head. Todoroki gazed at the fire, for once did he find such flames beautiful. Sweat formed on his face, but he made no motion to move at all. 

"Yuri, stop." 

Shirayuri's eyes snapped open, realising that she was now in a completely different environment than she was before. She gazed down, surprised to find Todoroki pinned down by a giant claw. As she was about to question on how they both got into this position, she felt as if something was ripping her body apart. When she cried out in pain, the dragon roared and moved back from Todoroki, shaking its head around as its tails waved in different directions. Hearing the roar, Dark Shadow emerged from within Tokoyami. Entranced by the sight of the kakuja. 

"Shirayuri!" Todoroki ran towards her, avoiding the warning calls given to him by Cementoss and Midnight. He followed the eyesight and movements of Shirayuri, how her ukaku kagune manifested and tried to cover its large body. 

'Too many people.' 

Steadying himself, Todoroki touched the ground. Nothing happening that built-up anticipation until the ground began shaking, the cement cracking as a giant wave of ice, a sharp-pointed one pierced the chest of the dragon, causing the kakuja to roar and began clawing, slamming its tail to remove the thick ice. There was an internal struggle happening within the dragon, without hesitation did Todoroki pierce in an attempt to break the armour enough for him to enter the beast. 

"What is this? Todoroki has entered the dragon!"

"What is he doing..." questions went around, watching the one-on-one tournament change into watching a raging dragon show. 

He climbed up from within, finally seeing Shirayuri's body that had muscle on her hands, feet and in the middle of her back. Around the side of her head was something that resembled a pair of horns or a crown. 

"Shirayuri?" 

There were markings he didn't knew the meaning of around her face, neck, collarbone and shoulder area. Those were the ones Todoroki could see from the mess of bandages and clothes. He almost jumped back, watching as her seemingly sleeping self seemed to slowly start to stir and awaken. Shirayuri blinked slowly, Todoroki focusing on both red irises with the right having a white sclera, and as always. The left eye kept its black sclera. 

Shirayuri looked defeated, also scared by how she was shaking. 

"I want my mother..." 

His heart felt a pang of hurt, watching as the girl cried for someone she can't see or reach. Todoroki thought back of when he was crying, when he was just a child barely even five. He and his mother laid on top of her futon, a light-blue coloured one. He was on her lap, clutching onto her shirt as he begged for him to make his father stop with the training. He didn't want to be like him and hurt her.

"Am I a bad person Shoto Todoroki?" Shirayuri asked him, rubbing the back of her hand against the skin under her eye. 

"No, no you're not." Todoroki stated, almost choking on his words. He had little affection for most of his upbringing, separated from his siblings despite living in the same household and taken away from his mother after the boiling water incident. Good people make mistakes, it what makes them human. "Just forget everything, even for just a brief moment." 

He hugged her, Shirayuri stiffening at the touch. Though no matter how much she thrashed and whisper-pleaded for him to let her go. He simply didn't. Consequently, she resigned to her fate within the safety of his arms and head resting on her own head; she moved her head a bit, taking a deep breath near his neck to take in his scent. 

The kakuja stilled, everyone watching with stilled breaths as it slowly started disintegrating. Until what was left were a couple of limbs and muscle. The steam slowly started to disappear more, within the smokescreen was Todoroki on the ground, Shirayuri lying on top of him; sleeping as if nothing had just happened. One hand was around her waist, while the other placed itself at the back of her head. 

"Todoroki, is she unconscious?" Midnight asked for confirmation, the boy refusing to spare her a glance. He looked down at the sleeping girl, the peaceful look on her face despite the markings that were imprinted on hr. 

There was so much of her that he didn't know, a quirk that dives deeper into anything he has ever seen or caught wind of.

Without hesitation, Todoroki raised up his hand that was on the back of her head to the sky. Looking at the crowd of faceless people from where he sat upon. He took a deep breath, knowing full well what would happen if he were to do this. Despite knowing that, he accepted. 

"I surrender." 

Midnight pointed her whip towards both of them, her voice was loud and clear, "Shoto Todoroki gives up! Shirayuri Kaneki proceeds to the finals!" 

"I told you they were dating! The amount of hours accumulated of him staring at her proves it!" Mina whisper-yelled, Sero and Kaminari groaning as they handed her the money agreed upon. 

"Stop making bets on your classmates! Gambling is a terrible habit that will only drain your wallets and bring shame upon your family! Shame!" 

"Shame, shame, shame~ the words chanted upon by Septa Unella as the bell in her hand rang with every mention of the word from her mouth. How it easily attracted the attention of King's Landing' peasants. How she jumped and shouted in glee as the queen dowager was thrown rotten fruits, insults and feces at." Aoyama looked forward, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. 

Dark Shadow looked at Aoyama, slowly blinking. The quirk slowly pointed a claw towards Aoyama and said," Fumi thinks you're creepy."

"Silence Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami hissed, forcing his quirk's head down. He bowed towards Aoyama, apologising. Aoyama looked towards Tokoyami, head still perched on his hands as he winked at him. 

'God he's too shiny, hurts my eyes.' thought the emo bird-headed student. 

When Present Mic called for yet another break.Aizawa made his way towards the infirmary, quickly opening the door. Recovery Girl glared at him for such a rushed entry that scared her. She opened the curtains, revealing both Todoroki and Shirayuri sleeping on their own beds. A couple of bandages were on Todoroki's arms and one on his face, other than that, he was alright. Shirayuri thankfully didn't cause another bloody mess in Recovery Girl's office. 

"The steam caused a few burns in different parts of his body, I suppose the situation was too much for him to take notice of his injuries." Recovery Girl mentioned, pointing the end of her staff towards the sleeping boy. 

"How about Kaneki?"

Recovery Girl looked towards the sleeping ghoul, no longer with imprints across her exposed skin. "Either she has immunity to her own quirks's body temperature, or her body is exceedingly good at handling high temperatures during that state." she gave him two options. 

"It's the second, there was once a ghoul with a kakuja that was shot point-blank in the face with flames that reached up to 4000 degrees celsius and showed no affect, continuing to fight normally." Aizawa and Recovery Girl looked down to see Nezu, smiling with his hands behind his back. He climbed up to sit at the chair beside Shirayuri's bed, smiling as he watched the ghoul. "The first ghoul I've met in my lifetime, a one-eyed ghoul at that...remarkable." 

"How do you know that?" Nezu gave Aizawa a creepy smile, looking at him with his black beady eyes.

"I am an avid fan of reading, a nice activity to do during free time." he turned towards Shirayuri.

"Hmm...female...juvenile...a one-eyed-ghoul, white hair, most likely a chimera ghoul with the ukaku and rinkaku type kagune judging by the kakuja..." Nezu spoke as he opened an eyelid, raised her arm a bit, touched a bit of her hair and even opened her mouth to inspect her teeth. "Molars, canines, incisors...no sign of a cavity or damage then again, teeth regeneration is also possible for them so missing pieces can regrow." 

Both other adults in the room turned white, looking at the bold actions of their principal.

"Why does it feel like we're about to dissect her." Aizawa muttered. 

"Huh, that's strange." Recovery Girl's words got the attention of both other faculty members. 

She was busying herself with both student's finished medical results, though she could have just used her quirk to speed up their healing process. By what she had just witnessed, if they were too exhausted, she would have killed them. That was the reason she stuck to traditional methods when caring for them. 

"I don't recall the human body having more than 78 organs, and second, why do both of you keep using the word ghoul and being so interested in her?" 

The homeroom teacher and principal slowly looked at each other before the nurse. "You tell her or me?" Nezu mouthed, Aizawa blinked and looked towards Recovery Girl who looked displeased. 

Her peaceful face turned into a frown, her body was sore almost everywhere. Slowly opening her eyes, Shirayuri noticed quickly how she was no longer in the arena. Seeing that she was now awake, she sat up on the rather comfy bed. Wow, even U.A made sure their infirmary mattresses were top quality. 

"Kaneki," Aizawa called out her surname, Shirayuri giving a hum as an answer. Recovery Girl gladly handed her a glass of water, Shirayuri taking a large gulp in one go to rid the dryness in her throat and mouth. "Is there any other thing you perhaps...I don't know, should mention to us? Nezu here thinks this is a fun observation game where you just spontaneously show off your abilities, throw us off-guard and then wait for more to happen without doing anything." 

"My mental health is shit." Shirayuri muttered, yawning a bit.

"Tell me something I don't know." the black-haired teacher grumbled, really tempted to just leave the room, find a quiet place and sleep inside his mustard-coloured sleeping bag. 

"No, there are times when I do black out and my abilities release themselves on their own. During the ball-throw and before," Shirayuri explained, taking a deep breath as she looked up at the ceiling. "I didn't even know I had a kakuja..." 

Aizawa suspiciously looked at her, "What do you mean you didn't know you can do that?" he asked, Shirayuri moving her head to look at him. 

"I didn't even know my kakuja existed, let alone breathed fire." Shirayuri placed emphasis on the last word. "Whatever everyone saw when I was inside of my kakuja, I most likely haven't done before." the homeroom teacher groaned, Nezu clapped whereas Recovery Girl checked up on Todoroki. Shirayuri paused a bit, only remembering it now. She asked her teacher, "Mr Aizawa, who won the match?" 

Aizawa took a deep breath, choosing to replay the events that occurred after she had blacked out when Todoroki trapped her within the giant ice formation. Shirayuri listened, eyes widening whenever he said something that surprised her. Unlike the rest of her face, it was her eyes that was honest. Showing how she was truly feeling inside, something that he hoped she would show to him and the rest of her friends more as time passes. When he was done, Shirayuri believed that it may also be time for her to explain to them her feeding habits before joining U.A. 

"I honestly just felt like a caged animal that escapes and returns from time to time, like a domesticated cat." Shirayuri shrugged, twiddling with her fingers. "My family always has high standards of taste, and I suppose it did rub on me. I soon came to know which type of human is better compared to others, how certain quirks affect the quality of my diet and my body." 

"If I may politely interrupt, why do you eat human meat almost everyday prior to the events of the U.S.J?" Nezu asked, interested at her last words. Shirayuri looked up, trying to remember. 

"As we eat everyday, some days are more for fun and experimentation. But when we are truly hungry and craze for it, we search for quirkless humans." this caught the attention of the three staff members. Aizawa focused his gaze on her, eyebrows furrowed. Choosing to ignore the part in which she confirmed that there were times she ate not for survivability, but also as an act of recreation. 

"Why quirkless humans? What makes them better for consumption rather than those with quirks?" the Principal pressed on, tail briefly swishing behind him. he didn't blink for a while, hyper-fixed at the close reach he was to getting an answer. 

"Well..." Shirayuri began, "It's simply because they still have Rc cells inside of their body." 

There was the sound of a pin drop, the trio of adults looking at each other. 

Both humans and ghouls have Rc cells, their numbers in both races were just drastic when placed beside each other. A normal human's Rc cells was in the hundreds, whereas ghouls in the thousandths. When the quirk phenomena began, ghouls started to notice how even after they feed on one human that could usually last a month was suddenly not enough. Frantic, it led to a widespread panic with more frequent attacks happening around the world. 

Eventually, it was revealed that Rc cells inside of humans with quirks had evolved to become quirk cells. A whole different cell that was incompatible for ghouls to consume and live on. Humans with no quirks still had Rc cells, allowing them to continue living and hunt as rarely as they should if they were to find and devour one. Though those with quirks are considered still delicious, they no longer have their true purpose. Rather, they make a good filler, snack or side-dish whatever you want to call it. 

"So the Tsukiyama family are ghouls..." Aizawa processed. 

"Or they can just be cannibals."  Recovery Girl snorted, feeling a migraine due to the ocean-sized information that flooded inside of her mind. "I'm too old for this, if you need your bandages change Eraser Head, come back here...Kaneki still needs rest until her match." 

When Eraser Head left the room, he was startled by Lida, Uraraka, Midoriya, Tsuyu and Shinso waiting near the door of the infirmary. He looked at their faces, none of them showing indication that they had heard what was being discussed inside. 

"Is Kaneki alright? We didn't see her or Todoroki after their match."Uraraka asked, moving her body a bit to the side to catch a glimpse at both of them. Eraser Head quickly shut the door behind him.

"Kaneki essentially lost control of her quirk, and Todoroki was crushed against the ground multiple times and almost burnt to death with his father watching, you tell me." Eraser Head grumbled, Uraraka wondering if that was a rhetorical question. Lida nodded, saluting to their homeroom teacher.

"Understood Mr. Aizawa, it is best to leave both of them alone for recuperation and tranquility of their minds! Class 1-A! Please follow me back to our assigned location, form a line with a distance of an arm's length from each other!" like a soldier, Lida once again returned to his class president mode. 

To wake up, with no clear goal in mind for the day. Was something strange, the first feeling to wake him from his slumber felt abnormal. With eyes gazing up for a while now, he turned his head to the right to see the sleeping peaceful face of Shirayuri. How her knees were brought up to her chest, holding tightly to the blanket and making sure none of it was used other than to bring her warmth and comfort. Every now and then, would she rub a cheek against the silk covering of the pillow. Taking a big inhale, and a small exhale. 

This was the girl he chose to surrender to, his classmate that he allowed himself to forfeit and step back for. In front of everyone that knew him from the past, his family...especially his father. 

The room was silent, the heroes and principal to return back to their posts and well, he wasn't sure where Recovery Girl went. There was no sound of typing, no footsteps or even much noise. Just plain white silence. 

Until it wasn't.

The door made a sound, signalling to him that someone had entered the room. A feeling of uneasiness brew within Todoroki, causing him to remain frozen and keep his eyes closed. It wasn't near him, but he was sure they were here for Shirayuri. The steps they took weren't enough to reach the medicine cabinet, his bed or anywhere else important. He was sure of it. 

"There is no need for you to push yourself my lily of the valley, I will shape this world for you and the others to live happy lives." a muffled voice stated, Todoroki cursing at being unable to do something that will most likely put them both in jeopardy. The mysterious figure must have looked up, that was what made Todoroki's heart race. "Society as a whole pays attention to the bad, more than the good. You suffer because of our bloodline, but soon that would cease to exist." 

"Keep your friends close, but enemies closer. I have little faith in most around you...but," there was a silence, something that made the only human inside of the room wish why there was a need for pauses in different scenarios. He's already worried of having a cardiac arrest dammit. "To those who love you like their own kind, enjoy your time with them."

With that, the figure stood up straight and walked out of the room. Todoroki immediately sitting up straight, hand on his chest while taking multiple deep breaths. Shirayuri was still sleeping peacefully, oblivious to what had stood right beside her. 

She had made it this far, revealed the cards she had known and didn't know. Shirayuri stopped walking, knees feeling weak as she draw nearer towards the entrance of the arena. Leaning against the wall, the one-eyed-ghoul slowly began to inhale and exhale. Briefly closing her eyes, she wondered what should be her game plan in order to secure a win against Bakugo. The person who declared to the world, that he would win first place. 

Her ukaku kagune can defend and act on the offensive side easily, but they were never meant to be used often as a shield. His reflexes were fast, and his attacks hurt. She thought of the edge of her hardened wings, how sharp they were...how sometimes their red colouring matches with the colour of blood. 

Red

Shirayuri came to a realisation. 

And it was not related at all to Taylor Swift's album. 

"It's finally the last battle of the First Year's U.A High School Sports Festival! From the Hero Course, Katsuki Bakugo! Versus! Also from the Hero Course, Shirayuri Kaneki!"

The screen shifted, showing a picture of both of them on the furthest left and right side of the screen. Bakugo had his hands inside of his pockets with his head turned to the side making him look like he was looking at Shirayuri who had one hand inside of her pocket and the other making a hand sign. Her face looked innocent and curious, but the hand sign made her family stiffen in their seats.

"You ready to be the stepping stone for me to become number one eyepatch?!" Bakugo yelled, the fire illuminating his blood-lust filled face. His posture was already prepared, hands ready to create explosions on the command of his will. Shirayuri raised her right hand a little. Her thumb pushing down her index finger, continuing to apply force until there was a resounding snap. Shirayuri looked at him, unamused nor bothered. 

"I'll have you as my doormat, rubbing the soles of my shoes against your skin once the battle is finished." Shirayuri stated, watching Bakugo's expression worsen. "Then again you would look ragged and old news by then, not worth of being a front door mat. The entrance to the basement sounds fitting for your place, the descent to darkness and the ground below surface-level." 

"You bi-"STAAAAAART!" 

To someone with high enhanced senses, the stronger a sound or sound can greatly disturb them. Putting his hands near each other, Shirayuri charged towards him with her record-breaking speed. When she was about to blitz forward, did she notice the great light coming fast from his hands.

"Stun grenade." Midoriya whispered, watching the blinding attack despite the rest of his eyes looking or closing their eyes. 

Covering her eyes did she came to a skidding halt, legs trying to find balance as Bakugo used this opportunity to grab her by the head. With his left hand digging into her scalp as the ghoul's hands now dug and deeply scratched into his hand, the blonde used his right hand to build momentum and roughly attempt to throw her out of bounds. 

Shirayuri shifted her body, eyes still closed as one of her legs finally found solid ground before the other. Her breathing was fast, vision blurry as she checked back to see the end of the boundary. Her Achilles' heel was about to touch it. In an attempt to take a step forward, Shirayuri sighed and looked at her other leg that became dislocated from the speed in which she was thrown. 

In a few moments with the camera focused on it, was the dislocated bone put back into place without much of a hassle, easily earning the cheers of the crowd at the sight of the instant regeneration. 

Wasting no time, Bakugo takes to the air and used his explosions to propel himself. Slowly did the spectators gasp in amazement as a dust tornado began to form, anticipation building up inside of everyone at the incoming attack. Glaring at Shirayuri who observed the change in situation, did his expression break into a grin. He charged towards her, ready to deliver one of his strongest moves to be demonstrated.

"Howitzer Impact!" 

There was one great light that bursted, before multiple larger ones followed. Lighting up the entire area and destroying parts of the ground, Midnight shielded her eyes as the camera focused on Bakugo before the explosion mid-air in slow-motion. 

"He didn't took any chances, releasing two of his most effective moves right beside each other. Clever." Monoma commented to Kendo, who was now watching Bakugo lay on the ground with his eyes focused on the large dust that covered a quarter of the arena. His eyes landed on a certain object on the ground, causing him to smile. "Ah, and just like a novel. Here comes the plot twist." 

It's such a shame truly. How much time and energy Bakugo was dedicating to their fight, how his strategy was working well in his favour. But this was not the time Shirayuri wanted to be seen on equal grounds with. There was Midoriya whose quirk was similar to All Might, growing at a fast rate from merely level one on the first day. Todoroki and how he had just accepted to use his fire and others she saw potential in. Bakugo was strong now, even surviving against him would look admirable and earn her praise, but he was not where she wanted him to be yet. 

The day she gets defeated by someone stronger than her, will she accept it with open arms. Then will she further train until she chased the prince/princess who brought her down onto her knees. 

There was a single red glow, that earned the attention of all before smoke raised into the air as Shirayuri revealed herself once more. With four red-scales sprouting from her back, did she manipulated two large rinkakus to charge towards the downed Bakugo and slam him down with them. Midoriya's notebook dropped to his lap, before slowly sliding off to the ground near his shoes. Two rinkakus kept Shirayuri mid-air, looking down at Bakugo that laid on the bottom of the crater made from the brute strength of her kagune. The rinkaku too had an amazing strike force, but the Rc cells causes the kagune to shatter if hit with just enough force. 

Bakugo coughed, body aching as he gazed up to find Shirayuri looking down. In his peripheral vision did red long extensions draw his attention. Gritting his teeth, he looked down at his palms. How some of his fingers twitched a little from using Stun Grenade and Howitzer Impact at such short notice. Shirayuri retracted one of her red-scales, Bakugo immediately jumping back as the kagune pierced the ground underneath him with ease. Rock and dust flew, the red rinkaku remaining in the ground as the other free kagune followed Bakugo's movements. 

Glaring at Shirayuri, Bakugo set his hands facing downwards and rocketed himself towards her in the air. Shirayuri released her wings, hardening them before sending down projectiles towards him. Multiple cuts appeared on his skin, slowly tearing and ruining his uniform. When one of his hands covered his eyes to avoid the projectiles that were close to his face, in his peripheral vision did he made sure there were still distance between him and the rinkakus as he made his way back down. 

His class flinched, everything happening in slow motion as the rinkaku that was previously within the ground burst from a newly-created opening and stabbed through Bakugo's gut with the tip only. Even if it was only the tip, did the sharp edge and width of the kagune cause blood to start staining his skin and uniform. Shirayuri took a deep breath, lowering herself alongside her opponent that coughed out little blood. The red tentacle pulled out, Shirayuri observing the hole on his body. She had chosen to aim lower to avoid the more serious organs that would do permanent damage. 

Shirayuri kneeled down, observing how Bakugo's chest moved up and down as he took ragged breaths. Eyes looking at the upside down world before the irises shifted to focus onto her now. 

"Don't worry, you made a good stepping stone for me to secure the crown." Shirayuri smiled, watching Bakugo attempt to lift his head and upper body to continue the fight. With her index finger only, she placed it right in the middle of her head and pushed his head down. 

Shirayuri turned her head to look at Midnight, nodding at her. Midnight got the confirmation she needed, with a grin did she raise her whip to the air. "Bakugo is unable to continue, Shirayuri wins!"closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and stared into the sky. Rinkakus and kakugan disappearing once her victory was announced. Standing up, she walked away towards one of the exits as robot escorts came to Bakugo's aid. 

"Kaneki! Congratulations on winning!" Uraraka yelled, making Shirayuri look up towards where her class were. Most of them were at the edge of the railing, looking down at her with smiles and cheers. Too tired to reply, Shirayuri briefly waved at her friends and slinked away into the halls. Tired out of her mind, uncaring of anything else, she didn't bother to look up at the students or adults that passed her. 

Tap tap tap

She wonders what gift she'll get from her uncle for securing victory. Maybe a new set of clothes? Or perhaps he would allow her to down a whole glass of blood wine during a party in her honour surrounded by staff-family? Whatever it was, she was eager to receive as a sign of encouragement to grow stronger and flourish. 

Tap tap tap

Ah, her body was beginning to ache more, even moving her legs ached. It's best to avoid adventuring into the night for a while, though she would be at risk for her territory infiltrated and stolen from her. The one-eyed ghoul was confident that she would be able to take it back. In terms of kagune and power, she was undefeated. She just really needed to focus more. 

Tap tap tap 

At least, she believed that no one was on par with her strength and biology. Someone passed her, a smell that haunted her as the world slowed down for both of them. As if she had gazed into the eyes of Medusa, her mind and body came to a halt while her soul left her body. The aura, the scent...everything.

Whoever that was, they were strong enough to make the cells inside of her body enter a state of frenzy.

"What do you want? I find it too coincidental that you kept haunting me; similar to a dark shadow." Shirayuri asked, turning her body to look at the back of the person. He was tall, seemingly wearing a mask, he wore a white suit paired with black shoes. By the style of the back of his hair, it was slicked back. 

"I am simply your guardian, always had been since the moment of your birth. All of my actions are simply a part of the grand scheme to keep you safe and happy." he said, voice making Shirayuri's heart throb in pain as a wave of familiarity washed over her. One of her hands clutched her throbbing head, refusing to comfort her aching heart. 

"If you've been protecting me since I was born, you're doing a rather shitty job." 

"..."

"I'm not perfect Yuri, but my intentions and loyalty to you and the family have never faltered." his voice softened after a minute of silence, Shirayuri scoffed.

"I doubt you're a Tsukiyama, the servants in the Tsukiyama estate too are more formal and appropriate with their words. But if you are talking about my biological family, the ones 6 feet under. Then you're wasting your time revealing yourself to me," Shirayuri's voice cracked a bit, remembering her old house, books and faceless adults. "I'm an empty shell now ever since witnessing the death of my parents, the years I spent as someone conscious of the missing parts of their past was unbearable." 

"How was I supposed to act? What am I supposed to say?...What do I do?" Shirayuri looked down.

"But now I understand, I understand that I must become a hero to pay back for all the care and effort placed into me by the Tsukiyama family. I must move on and build myself anew, accept that I may never have the answers to what was lost." 

Without another word, Shirayuri turned her back and began walking away. Just as a staff came running and calling out her surname, informing her that the awarding ceremony was about to begin. 

Todoroki and Lida had won third place, a chained and muzzled Bakugo stood on the second highest cement podium with Shirayuri on the highest one. All Might appeared before them, smiling in all his glory. Because Lida was absent, only Todoroki was given a bronze medal. When it was time for Bakugo's turn to receive the silver medal, the class sighed as Bakugo refused for the medal to be placed around his neck making All Might place the ribbon in his mouth.

"The first ghoul to reappear in front of humanity and showcase their power to the world in nearly two centuries...never was there a moment that you didn't surprise us, you've outdone yourself young Kaneki." All Might whispered, placing the medal around her neck as Shirayuri looked down at the medal made out of real gold. Wow, they didn't have a budget. Neat. "Continue growing stronger, the ones who know and I will support you with every step you take." 

Shirayuri nodded. "Thank you, All Might." she said, accepting the sudden hug from the number one hero. 

Shigaraki watched the Sports Festival from his small television, playing with one of the stone fingers of his deceased family members. That girl, she was something. The sound of knocking to his personal room made him annoyed, Kurogiri entered the room. 

"What? Can't you see I'm watching T.V?" he stated, Kurogiri avoiding an empty can being thrown at him by simply allowing the can to phase through him. 

"Your snack subscription box has arrived." Kurogiri announced, holding the box in his arms after opening a portal right on top of his hands-or whatever anyone wants to call it. Shigaraki raised an eyebrow. 

Planning can wait, for now, it was snack time.

Chapter Text

There was no school for the next following days, two to be exact. Those two days were going to be used for the Sports Festival for both second and third years. Fuyumi worriedly looked at her younger brother, who planned to visit their mother in the hospital after such a long time. Without another word, Shoto Todoroki left his house. Turning to the right as he passed his house. Only after a couple of steps did he stop walking, turning his head to see the house beside his. It was a beautiful house with a western design-to be specific, the classic victorian era. If parts of the house weren't made by grey stone, it was made with white painted wood boards.Near the houses were trees, hedges and bushes. On parts of the lawn were small lamp posts, a fountain and even small statues. If he remembered correctly, there was a wooden swinging garden bench hidden by the plants and just under a tree to keep the shade. 

Believing he spent enough time simply standing there, the half-cold and half-hot user continued on with his journey. 

Exiting out of her chambers, Shirayuri had agreed to meet up at U.A with her teachers for her rank. Walking down to the kitchen, she muttered a thanks to the staff when they prepared a quirkless human's liver served on a plate. Sitting down, she straightened her posture and began eating. Thinking back of the mysterious man right before the award ceremony, her mind going dark amidst her fight with Todoroki and other phenomenas. 

When Shirayuri had returned to the mansion, she had been greeted by Tsukiyama who walked up to her once the teen had exited out of the car. Hand holding onto her top after taking off the article of clothing inside of the vehicle. He hugged her close, uncaring if she her body smelled like she had been under the sun and how greasy her hair was from the sweat accumulated throughout the day. Her natural scent was hidden, buried underneath a mix of humans that didn't go well together. Though her guardian suggested for her to eat first, Shirayuri insisted on taking a cold shower first that night. Once she arrived at the dinner table, just as Tsukiyama had suspected. The girl entered a feeding frenzy, forgetting her table manners and eating with her hands instead. By the time she was satisfied, their food supply was half of what it had originally been. Tsukiyama smiled and shook his head, seeing how Shirayuri's head dropped as the sound of snoring was heard not long after the white-haired girl retreated to her room. Closing the door, the estate came to a halt as its residents slept through the peaceful night. 

Shirayuri didn't tell him about the man in the white suit and mask, though it was foolish not to. There was a small thought inside of her that desired to find out on her own. 

When she arrived at U.A, she was surprised to say the least to see a an old man with hair similar to All Might's, scent-wait a minute. Shirayuri shot a look at Aizawa, rather intimidated by how all the teachers assigned to teach 1-A was there. 

"Yeah, that's All Might." Aizawa confirmed her thoughts, hands inside of his pockets. 

"Following the CCG's rating assessment criteria in the past, it depends on the amount and rank of investigators required to be on or near the same level as the individual ghoul," Aizawa began, guiding the group to one of the buildings. "Other than individual ability, actual damage, activity, killing events and influence over other ghouls are taken into account." Shirayuri nodded her head totally scot-free of the last three criteria. The Erasure Hero raised an eyebrow. 

In thought for a while, a certain mysterious individual popped up inside of his mind the more he eyed the suspicious student. 

"Kaneki, are you aware of the Jackal?" he asked her. 

An unknown individual considered to be a villain by the police. Someone who roamed Tokyo at night, sometimes being recorded fighting against other masked individuals before disappearing-someone who was fast and sneaky enough to avoid and escape the police every single time. Although they haven't been linked to any murders or have any known victims, fights were a public disturbance especially with the use of quirks in public which was illegal without a hero licence.  Civilians weren't allowed to meddle and join the fights in the first place. 

"I was simply reminding rogue ghouls to stay in their place and remain hidden, they've been more rowdy and bolder recently. I was beaten to a pulp during the last confrontation so that didn't help." Shirayuri spoke up, confessing at the same time that she was the elusive Stygian Jackal. 

"So, you didn't kill anyone?" Aizawa asked, Shirayuri gave him a grim look. 

"Not even the gentlest ghouls are free from being stained red, if I didn't kill directly. Then I still kill one way or another. It's a complicated existence for my kin."

"I bet she's an alpha." Midnight whispered, being reminded of her novels. Aizawa glared at Midnight. 

"Nemuri, stop before Shota here enters protective mama bear mode." Present Mic whispered, causing the two to snicker. Aizawa's hair was about to raise if it wasn't for Shirayuri distracting him. 

"I suggest you humans shouldn't interfere with the Ghoul world," Shirayuri stated, walking faster than everyone else now that it was clear that they were all heading to Gym Gamma. "You're humans, ones with no ounce of Rc cells or true knowledge of Ghouls. Though we are very similar, things changed. Ever since the purges 150 years ago."

"But what if we want to understand, what if we want to help and stand beside all of you?" All Might asked, Shirayuri thinking about it. She stopped walking, a pain stinging her head as his words echoed inside of her head. 

"Cute, your words are adorable." the ghoul muttered, shaking her head as if that would be effective to rid the pain. "I am a one-eyed ghoul, I have more influence than you'll ever have in the Ghoul world than you'll ever have."

"Say, what do other ghouls think about heroes?" Present Mic asked, jumping forward with a grin. 

All Might closed his eyes, suddenly wishing that the voice hero hadn't said what he had just said. Snipe looked towards the ground, though he wore a mask, he had a clear 'oh fuck' reaction. Nezu continued smiling, just smiling as he watches the scene before him unravel.

"Well considering the first so-called 'heroes' were ones that were brave enough to fight and murder us in broad daylight and public, spread their propaganda and and assist doves to decimate our numbers, what do you think?" a single kakugan glared into Present Mic's soul, the other quickly stepping back with his hands raised in surrender. Seeing that, Shirayuri blinked and shook her head confused. Realising her language was too harsh, the next words spoken by her were more slow and professional. "Honestly, I wonder how it was possible for some heroes back then to identify undercover ghouls in public and have the willpower to fight and murder in front of others."

"Believe it or not most ghouls were peaceful back then, only a small percentage are blood-thirsty and dangerous. When the execution happened all around the world, those who refuse and couldn't fight were killed. But the strong-willed and those who refused to surrender to fate fought and survived till our disappearance. The strength of a quirk is determined by the two parents, works the same with us. The powerful breed and reproduce with those who share the same mindset, experience and even power as them thus creating generations of ghouls that learned to stay away, fight when found and survive."

Shirayuri decided to leave out how some even resorted to inbreeding to keep their bloodlines alive. 

"Our hierarchy is archaic, those in power are the ones at the top and have the power to do as they please under the eyes of the...leader." Shirayuri's mind flipped a switch at the word 'leader', suddenly remembering her encounter with the strange man. "Weaker ghouls don't have much to say if they want to survive, submit and follow a leader or live a hermit life that wouldn't guarantee much."

"What happens if an evil leader sits on top? I'm guessing right now by the current leader, they're a good one?" All Might asked, Shirayuri thought about it. No opinion coming up when she thought about the current leader of ghouls. As a response, Shirayuri shrugged.

"I haven't met our current leader, they remain in the shadows and lead from the darkness. And as for the first question, then we keep them as their leader until they're eventual death or defeat at the hands of another ghoul. But, if they are somehow killed by a human, then it's a fight for the throne until we have an eventual winner...most ghouls don't want to fight for the crown though, the more you know and involve yourself, will there truly be a moment of peace and happiness in your life?"

She stopped walking and turned towards her homeroom teacher. "I wish I can give you all the answers to questions you want to ask me or don't have the courage to ask. But bear with me, I will do my best to work beside all of you." Shirayuri nodded her head, being the first person to enter Gym Gamma. 

"So, what do you need me to do? A written exam while fighting someone? Another race presumably while being chased or fired at? Do I have to fight someone?" the ghoul clapped her hands together once, jumping up and down a bit at the thought of a fight against a professional hero. 

"We need you to go against All Might in a one on one fight and then followed by a medical examination by Recovery Girl later, simply that." Nezu explained, Shirayuri feeling all the colour draining out from her body and puddling at her feet. The teenager took a deep breath, followed by a breathless laugh. 

"Oh wow-ok then...! Erm, well...are there any rules?" Nezu shook his head, All Might suddenly changed into his bulkier form making the ghoul yelp and take a step back. Taking out her whip once more, Midnight glanced at both All Might and Shirayuri who prepared themselves to act once the signal has been given. Present Mic cleared his throat.

"Are you reaaaaddy! The number one hero, All Might versus from the First Year Hero Course, Shirayuri Kaneki!"

Her heart race, different thoughts and confusing sentences going through her mind in record-breaking speed. Her vision blurred and shifted, squinting her eyes, there was now a couple of glowing spots in her opponent's body. The area where the heart was, the area near the lungs and stomach. 

"You have no stomach and your respiratory organs are permanently damaged?" Shirayuri asked, throwing the teachers and All Might off guard. Marks appeared on her skin, the young girl walking closer to inspect the large form. Her hand reached up, the number one hero frozen when Shirayuri touched where his heart was before flinching when she poked where his wound was. Closing her eyes, did Shirayuri flinch and shake at a rush of feeling inside of her body. 

"You remind me so much of Midoriya, how you both lack a quirk with a quick regeneration trait yet it seems that both of you have the biggest hearts and kindness to give..." Shirayuri commented, All Might surprised at the mention of Midoriya. Perhaps, she was catching on to the secret. "My heart can be ripped from my chest, crushed, pierced yet regenerate as much as it can, but I doubt its quality can ever be as good as yours." 

"I wish...you kind of made me wish I have a more honourable reason to become a hero," Shirayuri laughed a bit, licking her lips after feeling how dry it was. "Let's get this over with already, try to avoid obliterating my body at once. I'm confident I can re-attach my head if decapitated but I don't know about instant full body regeneration or if I were to become dust." 

Though her words were clearly laced with hyperbolism, she can't help but wondered how it must feel like to be delivered a blow so strong it destroys kilometres of the surrounding area and turn her to dust. Wouldn't that be something.

"Start!"

All Might immediately charged, giving no time for the poor teenager to react as a heavy blow landed on her abdomen followed by great wind pressure. "Texas Smash!" All Might yelled, unable to clearly see Shirayuri from the wind currents and dust. He didn't want to incarcerate Shirayuri instantly, thus, he had chosen Texas Smash which he more often used to blow enemies away-similar to how he first dealt with the sludge villain in his first encounter with Midoriya. 

"This match was never fucking fair in the first place..." Shirayuri coughed out, kneeling to the ground with her wings up and one hand on the ground to stabilise herself. The ukaku kagune quickly hardened as fast as Todoroki's ice spread, sending out sharp electrified red projectiles in All Might's direction alongside kinetic energy. As All Might crossed his harms in front of his face to endure the attacks, four rinkakus sprout from behind Shirayuri and traveled underground. 

As silent as a mouse, did All Might notice rinkakus bursting from four sides and began fusing with each other. He watched as the merging quickly finished in time just as it slammed down at him while creating a cage similar to that of a gilded bird cage. 

'So the rinkakus can fuse with each other and create architecture...how diverse and useful...it is possible to not sustain great injuries and possibly death with these tendrils.' he thought, finger touching one of the makeshift bars. His eyes widened, watching how they act similar to blood vessels...they're not hardening. That was what he observed after a couple of seconds. 

'We'll need to work on that.'

All Might bended his knees, and with a single jump did he fly up to the sky and breaking apart the cage that attempted to held him down. Shirayuri's eyes widened, redirecting her ukaku attack towards him as her rinkakus all vanished. In the speed of light, did he charged down at her, shaking the building. 

"Thank God U.A has many sponsors." Snipe whispered, whistling at the damage caused in less than two minutes. 

"New Hampshire Smash." All Might looked down at Shirayuri, crushed down at the weight of his body. Shirayuri glared at him, both of her hands grasping one of his legs. Though the force was enough to break her bones and cause bleeding from her head. All Might refused to lower his guard, instead, he watched and listened. Listened as bones started breaking back into place and multiple beats. He looked at the opened scars and wounds, how little thin rinkakus similar to spider legs began absorbing the blood all around her body and ground as the wound quickly closed leaving no scar. 

"That fast?" All Might innocently asked, Shirayuri glaring at him from the ground at that comment.

"Adults...are...cruel." 

Shirayuri opened her mouth to gasp out, the other staff's eyes widening as Shirayuri dug her fingers deeply into All Might's leg while her head moved forward to take a chunk of flesh. All Might immediately took steps back, watching as she licked the blood off her finger tips. 

"Come at me, number one." Shirayuri breathlessly challenged, using two fingers to mockingly gesture for him to charge. 

"God this is both horrific and interesting to watch." Present Mic breathed out, recording the fight for the memories. Present Mic turned towards Eraser Head. "Do you think this fight is kinda similar to the one during the U.S.J incident, I mean that monster and Kaneki-"Did you really just compare a teenage girl to a bulky giant monster?" Aizawa hissed, glaring at the English teacher. From where they were standing, could they hear the sounds of destruction and chaos going on-even feel the large vibrations that threatened to bury all of them inside.

The roof cracked, too distracted by the match did Recovery Girl and Nezu didn't notice the large falling debris above them. Shirayuri's head shot towards the object falling down, rushing towards them and ignoring All Might did she release her wings and forced away the potential victims. The wings sparked from cracks of the debris, before it eventually faltered and broke the others from their focus.

Present Mic's body stilled, unresponsive and taken aback to what had just transpired in mere seconds. His closest friend felt the world slow down and darken, a spotlight being brought down to an oh so familiar figure that haunted him to this day.

Time Skip

"You alright young Kaneki?"

"I fucking...fought the titled most powerful hero in the world. It's both an honour and a death sentence...I accept both." words replayed by the ghoul after waking up before returning back to a passed out state. 

Shirayuri continued staring at All Might, as she slowly took bites from the liver provided to her. She laid down on ground that wasn't destroyed during the fight, which was hard since even the windows were shattered leading glass pieces to fall everywhere and a a part of the roof was gone. To most of the teacher's surprise, it was true that Shirayuri has little experience in using and utilising more complex parts of her kagune. There was no fire, there was no giant scaly dragon or markings that appeared at all. Nezu and Recovery Girl were thankful for the ghoul protecting them. 

"I get having high expectations on someone is nice, especially if the other takes it as a compliment and another form of motivation," Shirayuri began, lightly pressing on the organ she held. "But I rather you all not bring it up now...I'm not meant to be praised right now, I don't even think I want to hear encouragement...I kind of just want to be alone, on my bed, with the doors locked and air conditioner on." 

She wanted to go back inside her room, nest the day away and sleep. Her body ached, especially her lower back and shoulder area. Everything felt uncomfortable, like you just want it all to disappear but this wasn't the Sims 4. 

"Mwah." Recovery Girl kissed the teen's cheek, her quick accelerating the process of healing for Shirayuri's entire body. Shirayuri's body started convulsing, the teachers taking a step back as the ghoul looked as if she was sitting on top of an active jackhammer. After a few minutes did the events similar to a sugar rush stop and Shirayuri fell to the ground again-face first. 

All Might winced, feeling another glare from Midnight when she stood near the puddle of blood vomit after he landed a punch on Shirayuri. Seeing his eyes on her, the somnambulist user did an 'I'm watching you' gesture. 

He watched a rinkaku slowly manifest, slithering to the pool of blood and began absorbing it.

'Well that's unhygienic, but then again its a mystery how they avoid contracting STDS.' 

"Not my first rodeo with powerful opponents, said the same thing to Endeavor when I told him how I fought opponents with stronger fire flames." the teen conversed with Nezu, who sat cross-legged beside her alongside Present Mic while Aizawa stood and looked down at them. The man with long black hair seemingly having a nightmarish flash back when he saw the death of his friend when rubble befell him. 

"Never...do...something...like that...again."Aizawa said breathlessly, quickly kneeling down after breaking out of his trance to inspect different parts of Shirayuri's head and clean white hair.  Midnight winking as she held a bottle of dry shampoo in her hands.

"Since when did dry shampoo work..."Snipe muttered.

"This is the year 21XX, this isn't 2020 Snipe my dear." Midnight rolled her eyes. 

"Promise me you would do less of that, I can care less that you can survive decapitation, don't do something as risky as that ever again. You hear me Shirayuri?" Aizawa glared, pinching both of her facial cheeks and stretching them out. 

"I veh pwomiseh." Shirayuri got out. Following her words with other weird mouth sounds that made the homeroom teacher roll his eyes and release his hold. Present Mic leaned his body down, hands on top of his knees as he glanced between the child and the teacher.

"When did you get so soft Shouta." Present Mic grinned, nudging Aizawa who could only groan and roll his eyes at the statement. 

"You really know how to destroy someone's mood." 

Shirayuri and Todoroki glanced at each other, unlike usual, Shirayuri had chosen to ride the MRT to school. Todoroki, who stood beside her glanced at the ghoul who continued wearing her eyepatch, despite everyone being well aware of her red iris and black sclera. 

"How do you arrive at school on time, the time required to travel from Musutafu and Tokyo and back on car is rather long." he spoke first, Shirayuri tapped her foot. 

"The underground, devoid of human life making it easy to use my quirk to travel while also training my endurance and stamina." Shirayuri answered, looking down at her phone. The crowd shuffled a bit, appearing at yet another station before their stop. More people entered, causing Shirayuri and Todoroki's body to touch each other. Todoroki took a deep breath, the top of her head now under her chin as Shirayuri found herself once again near the boy's neck. "Apologies." 

"No need, I'm fine." he answered. 

Looking down on her phone, the uncomfortable emotions stirring within her made the ghoul turn the device off and place it inside of her pocket, opting to continue looking down to avoid Todoroki's eyes. 

"Wait...is that the couple from the Sports Festival? Endeavor and Shuu Tsukiyama's son and daughter?"

"Shoto Todoroki and Shirayuri Kaneki?!"

"Aww, they even go to school together!"

"Look at how protective he is, I'm jealous." 

"I'm in my twenties watching two teenagers fall in love and display public affection for each other, meh, at least I still have my dogs."

Shirayuri closed her eyes, Todoroki on the other hand being much more oblivious to what the people around them were implying. The white-haired teen distracted herself with her own thoughts in an attempt to drown out the people around her. 

'You're in school to learn, not slave yourself to an emotion called love and be chained to a human.'

'There's already so much to do, there's no time for love.' 

'You're not ready.'

Feeling a cool touch on her forehead, Shirayuri slowly opened her eyes to see Todoroki looking at her with a neutral expression. Though, his eyes do hint that he may be curious to what she was deep in thought about. "Stay focused, the next stop is where we get off." he reminded her, Shirayuri nodding at his words. 

'Had he always been this attractive?' Shirayuri thought, different answers sprouting from within the deepest part of her mind as if they were geysers. 

When it was their stop, due to the limited amount of space allowing them to walk out, Todoroki held one of her hands as he guided them out. Shirayuri looked down at her hand in his, smiling a bit at the warm touch of another. There were less thoughts of her classmates as roaming food sources, though it led her to a detrimental physical and mental state, the burden of her life seemed to ease by a small margin. No doubt it was because of the countless hours she spent with them in different states : hurt, sweaty, normal and etc. The faceless grey bodies with red glowing beating hearts seemed to disappear like a trend after it has peaked on the internet. Though the scent trails remain, with more self-control and a proper diet will she avoid being sent into a frenzy and enter 'hunting mode'.

Entering the classroom, Shirayuri abruptly bumped into Todoroki who shielded herself from something. Hearing the sound of an explosion barely missing her, the ghoul became wide-eyed as it became clear that Bakugo and Todoroki were mere centimetres away from each other-both in a state ready to fight each other. 

"Move out of the way you icy-hot bastard, I have unfinished business with this freak." Bakugo practically growled at him, even going as far as nearing Todoroki's face. In return, Todoroki moved his face to the side and nudged Bakugo away, not harshly but hard enough to make him take a step back. 

"Kaneki bested you fair and square, it's your own fault that you didn't notice that surprise attack." Todoroki cut back, the rest of their class watching from the sidelines still in shock that Bakugo had attempted to land a hit on their classmate when they had just arrived.He was quiet when he had arrived, saying no words to anyone including Kirishima. The moment the door opened, did he push back his chair causing it to create a loud noise and come at the two. "If you want a fight, I will give it to you."

"Tch," Bakugo placed his hands inside of his pockets, a look of mockery mixed into the look of anger on his face. "Why would I waste my time on a fight with a coward who surrendered for sex with a brood mare from a family filled with fucking incest?" 

Temporarily blinded by the bright burst of fire, breaths were held as Shirayuri released her wings and pinned Bakugo down to the nearest desk, a dragon-claw like exoskeleton covering her right hand used to hold the other down by his neck. Similar to her wings who were also out in their crystallised state. 

"I...I could care less if you choose to insult me, I could care less that your second-place ass stupidly thought that you could goad me into a fight by a surprise attack at this time in the morning. But, I will bring Hell to the world if harm comes to my family. Verbally and Physically, I WILL have order and bring it down upon you as if it was judgement day." 

"Insult my family again, I have no qualms in being the main perpetrator in the Bakugo Family Massacre." Shirayuri warned, walking back to her desk as she released her hold on Bakugo. After taking a few steps, did she release a rinkaku that slammed Bakugo down onto the desk and broke it. Lida sat in his seat, both hands turned into fists as Shirayuri defended her family. Family. 

When Todoroki sat down, his body stiffened at the words said by Shirayuri next to him,"Thank you, for protecting me before." Todoroki looked towards her, hands crossed as she looked away from him, looking at the direction of the door. "I know when to be grateful." Shirayuri quickly added, heart beating wildly when Todoroki had said nothing.

"I never said you never know when to be grateful, my thoughts on you aren't that negative Kaneki." 

If someone could see Shirayuri's face in this exact moment, would they see the blush on her cheeks and the panicked expression taking over. Closing her eyes when she heard his words and processed them. 

When Aizawa entered the class, he took a deep breath as he saw a stuttering Midoriya trying to tell him from his seat that everything was alright, Uraraka chirping in, Kaminari whistling, a pissed-off Lida, a brooding Shirayuri, a whistling Yaoyorozu and a...Bakugo with a nosebleed? 

"You all are aware of the rules, no use of quirks outside of Heroics Class," Aizawa began, his hair slowly rising as irises slowly turned red and brighten with each passing moment. "As the issue has been dealt with, and there were no supervisors to witness what happened. I'll let it slide, only this time." the class nodded, saying nothing. Disliking the silence, Aizawa sighed. "Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." a choir reciting the word said at the same time.

When the man's hair returned back down, he blinked his eyes twice slowly as the class waited for what he was going to say next. 

"Like I have previously mentioned in the past, your performance in the Sports Festival will help build connections and give you a boost in your future. Heroes lost interest in you over the course of your time at U.A? They simply pull out," 

Kaminari smiled and giggled a bit, Jiro rolled her eyes.

"Now, these are the results of all the drafts that 1-A have received," Mr. Aizawa stated, surnames and the number of drafts they received showing up one by one-they went from the highest to the smallest. 

Student | Number of Offers

Kaneki |4,999

Todoroki | 4,123

Bakugo | 3,556

Tokoyami | 360

Lida | 301

Kaminari | 272

Yaoyorozu | 108

Kirishima | 68

Uraraka | 20

Sero | 14

"Usually it's more evenly distributed, but these three had drawn a lot of attention." conversations began breaking out, Yaoyorozu sighing before glancing towards a seemingly sleeping Shirayuri and Todoroki.

"Both of you are amazing." she smiled, a bit of envy inside of her growing.

"I'm sure it's because of my dad." Todoroki replied, the two expecting an answer from Shirayuri but when they didn't, they turned their heads to focus on Shirayuri. 

"I think my organs regenerated in the wrong places."

Fuck she needed a chiropractor. 

"What happened?"

"I got smashed." 

A strange way to word the reason of her pain but ok. 

The homeroom teacher did not decide to warn the back of the class to stop talking and pay attention. 

"For those who didn't get any worries, don't worry as you will still be participating too. The following week there will be no school"Hell yeah!" Mr. Aizawa glared at Kaminari and Mina who immediately sat back down. "Before I become oh so graciously interrupted again today-"We will be finding your temporary hero names!" Midnight slid the door open, the homeroom teacher's eye twitching before slinking down to sleep, giving up on the situation. 

Shirayuri's head perked up, the somnambulist hero always having an affect on her due to the nature of her quirk. The smell she's able to inhale was calming, alluring and mature. Something that reflected a few traits the hero had. She eyed the body of Midnight, how thick it is and eye catching it was especially in that outfit. She heard the sound of panting, rolling her eyes when she got a clear idea on who that was.

'Here I thought I was a beast, he's practically a mutt in rut.'

Boards and markers were distributed, while some were staring at the blank canvas, others had figured out what hero name they wanted and began writing it down-some even as far as to decorate it. Shirayuri eyed the word 'Shoto' on Todoroki's board.

'Sho-to." there was a brief pause when she said his name, Todoroki tensed up, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the ghoul. Propping her head on one of her arms, she hummed a bit with her eyes closed before opening them with a small smirk on her face. 

"Why not Hail Fire? A play on word for Hellfire."

"You plan on making me a sidekick?" Todoroki asked, Shirayuri laughing at the thought. 

Hail was something formed only and ONLY during thunderstorms, its size depending on the size and severity of the brewing storm. Though both she and Kaminari could emit electricity, he wasn't the one sitting next to Todoroki, is he? 

"It's too similar to the name of my father's quirk." Todoroki denied her suggestion, causing Shirayuri to huff and roll her eyes.

"Stop associating your father with everything, at this rate everything you do and act will be too similar to your father. When you think of the name..." 

"Think of you and me." 

"I believe we will be finding our paths constantly intertwine Shoto, for all the times we talked in the past, I believe that." 

Todoroki said nothing, standing up and holding his name board without changing it. To the class, he showed his first name without a single expression and excitement. Something that made Midnight worry but remain quiet. Thinking of her own hero name, Shirayuri shrugged and decided to go with what her identity was at night and by the police department. 

"Stygian Jackal." she declared, the class blinking at her while Midnight internally panicked. Aizawa slowly opened his eyes and looked at her funny. 

Tsuyu blinked, "Why would you want to have the same name as a villain that made police warn the public and heroes alike to be careful when travelling at night?" she asked, Shirayuri felt an arrow pierce her heart. 

Jiro agreed, twirling one of her earphone jacks. She was the next to speak up, "It's scary when you realise they might be around our age, I don't know what they're fighting for but whatever it was, must be diabolical." 

Another arrow pierced Shirayuri, this time the ghoul hyperbolically coughed up blood. 

"Honestly, considering the mystery behind their quirk, experience and ability to escape. I think you should consider a much manlier name Kaneki, you know, something that won't paint you as a villain."

Shirayuri inwardly groaned, body white as steam came out of her body. 

'I'm a ghoul that eats constantly and active, I'm already a villain since the moment I began hunting.' 

"It's honestly just a name, what, are you going to feud over it like how people argue over the usage of the swastika? In Sanskrit, swastika means "well-being". The symbol has been used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains for millennia and is commonly assumed to be an Indian sign. When it was brought to the West by travellers, many from the 20th century use it in their products up until Hitler used it." Shirayuri crossed her arms, believing it was time for a history lesson.

"The Nazis use of the swastika stems from the work of 19th Century German scholars translating old Indian texts, who noticed similarities between their own language and Sanskrit. They concluded that Indians and Germans must have had a shared ancestry and imagined a race of white god-like warriors they called Aryans. For the Jewish people the swastika is a symbol of fear, of suppression, and of course extermination. It's a symbol that humanity  will never ever be able to think of normally again," 

Shirayuri's mind thought of the CCG, the cause of the extinction of Ghoul Kind in Japan. It was no different from the Nazis that hunt both evil and innocent, as long as they are a ghoul will they kill. The only difference the Commission of Counter Ghoul had with the Nazis were that they were successful. They did do as they intended. She thought of her dishonesty when All Might asked if any other ghouls roam the nation. They did, Shirayuri confirm that. But could she really trust heroes of all people who learned of her identity and share with them all that she knew? No, she would share some, but all seemed as if she was truly planning to mark the true end of their kind.

"It's honestly not even limited to India, there are historical evidences that the swastika has been used in European nations too. Jackal was the name given to the villain you're all talking about, I will be the Stygian Jackal. Another form of the title, but not necessarily it." 

"Additionally, I like animals, especially canines and reptiles." The smile that crossed her entire face didn't go unnoticed, now it was the class' turn to have arrows struck their hearts.

"Ahhhh! You're so adorable when you smile like that! This turns me on inside." Midnight gushed, pinching both of Shirayuri's cheeks. "Beauty and brains, what a deadly combo my dear, you should join me for extra training." Midnight used her seductive voice, eyes like cats staring down at her as if she was a mouse.The dragon inside Shirayuri stuck its head out, blowing out a puff of smoke from its nostrils before slinking back inside its cave. 

"Having the most offers must be hard to choose from," Tsuyu commented, eating her lunch beside Shirayuri who mindlessly scanned a few papers. Not wanting to waste her time going through the list, Shirayuri chose to only pay attention from the top 50 heroes. The agencies printed on the paper were based from the hero's true rank. 

"Not really, I'm not interested. I look at the name, the rank, Google them and then decide wether interning with them would be worth my time."

In truth, none to those who knew her secret wanted her to intern with a hero that doesn't know of her true identity. Though the teachers at U.A were accepting, when the past between ghouls and heroes were brought it-it left a rather sour taste in the mouth. Even some of them were worried that she would be wasting their time with them because they too were also figuring out on how to further sharpen and break her down like the rest. 

"How about Mirko, I've seen your physical strength without the use of your quirk. But perhaps it can be her level if you intern with her." Midoriya suggested. 

"Or maybe Endeavor? Maybe he can help you utilise your flames? Ooh! Or maybe Hawks, your wings are pretty similar! Maybe Best Jeanist can help make those weird octopus tentacles really think like his fibres! Ryuko is pretty cool too with her dragon form, Kamu Woods and you share similarities and bwbabwbabwabwbabwab." Midoriya continued on, Todoroki and Shirayuri sharing a look when he mentioned the flame hero.

"I'll pass on Ryuko, I rather not be stuck with Bakugo, Hawks...?" 

"Just find a hero that would benefit you the most either physically or mentally, what you are searching for will eventually appear in front of you." Lida spoke for the first time, focused only on his food. Shirayuri noticed the abundance in grapes and oranges in one of his bowls.

"You can consume oranges and grapes in solid form too for fuel? What a unique transformer." Shirayuri commented, taking one of the grapes.

"Kaneki, it's highly inappropriate to do something without con-a grape was thrown into his mouth. 

"I'm not going to go to jail over something as small as a grape. More severe causes on the other hand..."

It wasn't appropriate to bring up now. 

She had heard from the news what had happened to Ingenium. Tenya Lida's older brother. Her family had sent a gift basket for the hero's untimely retirement due to his newfound leg paralysis. Stain...she has had no encounter with that man despite their activeness in the dark and desolate locations. Thinking of Ingenium, its such shame he couldn't just amputate his legs and replace them with metal ones. Perhaps his pride was wounded and was afraid to be known as the crippled hero from the Lida family? That was a possibility.

"I'll go with Mirko, I'm rather interested if it is truly possible for me to deliver punches and kicks strong enough to send shockwaves that destroy the object or area inflicted." Shirayuri settled. 

"Fighting Stygian Jackal, do your best!" Uraraka raised her voice a little to express her support as she watched Shirayuri check-listed Mirko. Unlike most heroes, she doesn't have an agency of her own. She was a fierce woman, known for her bold personality that matched her speech. Bunnies were known for their soft fur, fragility and cuteness-but Mirko, she made her quirk turn a beast. Good for her. 

Tamaki watched from a table, easily hearing what they were conversing. Though his task was done, he was admittedly curious to see the last-living ghoul attempt in adapting to life amongst humans. He placed a hand on his throat, wincing at a memory.

He was pinned onto the wall, wings filled with sparks threatening to slide his throat from two different sports and unite at a point in the middle of his neck. Shirayuri continued wearing her mask, it effectively masked her true voice and didn't allow for key feature identification, just like her outfit. He had followed her into the sewers, lost and left agape when he found a ruined city at a ward he couldn't recognise. 

While he was distracted, Shirayuri charged down at him from behind and hit a pressure point. When he did wake up, he was first tied to a chair in what looks like an abandoned outpost. 

"You...so determined to tail after me, even after I decided to remain low for a while in an attempt to bore you." Shirayuri broke the silence, circling around him as if he was her meal for the night. 

"You're...the Jackal." Shirayuri nodded. 

"You killed people...cause chaos, what is someone like you doing in U.A?" despite his condition, he was now leading the interrogation. Shirayuri shook her head, walking in front of him and bent down to meet his eyes.

"I don't kill people, by now you know certain quirks have conditions that are inhumane and straight up frowned upon. Like my kind in the past, treated like animals and parasites when it's not our fault that we can't eat normal food." Shirayuri huffed. "Animals kill each other and humans don't bat an eye, how is it in this present time are natural occurrences treated like curses from the Devil? It shows that human idiotic errors continues to repeat no matter the changes that happen." 

Tamaki's eyes widened. 

No...

"I hunt for dead bodies, most of the time. Though there was a period in which I attempt to hunt down my family's murderers, mere dirty underlings that lick the dust off their master's boots, I have truly yet to scratch the surface. Senior, how cruel can you be to look down the last of her kind trying her best to live and survive?" Shirayuri asked, putting on a mask of pity, misery and suffering. 

"Tell me, did my innocent parents. Living in a comfortable house, working as normal people and having no crime registered deserve to die?" Tamaki remained quiet, Shirayuri pried further. 

"Did ghouls forced to fight, defend and provide for their families in the past deserve to be registered as dirty criminals? Did imprisoned ghouls deserve to be crushed to death multiple times in machinery in Cochlea after they served their purpose-organs harvested and once they have no more answers to questions forced to answer?" 

Her voice was rising in anger.

"DID INNOCENT CIVILIANS DESERVE TO DIE A DOG'S DEATH IN PUBLIC, FOR ALL TO SEE AND CELEBRATE?! WHO ARE THE TRUE MONSTERS, TELL ME," Shirayuri screamed at his face, desperation clear on her face. "WHY CAN'T WE LIVE LIKE YOU!" 

A rinkaku burst out from Shirayuri's back, in a speed fast enough did it break a cement wall with one single attack. Shirayuri took a deep breath, facing away from Tamaki with tears forming. This, this was the first time she met a human who knew her secret. Her identity, her crimes and true self. A flower that bloomed in the conditions and choices it was given, despised and looked down upon. Why is she acting like this? What happened to her composure, quietness, elegance and maturity she had always been acquainted with?

Why was the song inside of her heart changing its tune?

"Why...did you take my family from me..." hands on his thighs, he looked down at the teenage girl that cried on his lap. "Why couldn't I have been born normal like everyone else? Why am I still alive? Why...do I only feel sadness now, where's my wrath and desire to tear down humanity?" 

Tamaki didn't smile, looking down at her. 

"Because that's not who you truly are." 

How his mindset of the girl instantly changed when he saw her break down, how she allowed him to go without anything other than a couple of threats. There was a look on defeat on her face, thinking that it was time for the string of her life to be cut. 

"Kill me, just spare the innocent people who attempted to love me and continued to do so when I couldn't give them the same intensity and care." 

Tamaki looked down at his hands, how there were groups of people who support him whenever he makes public appearances due to the versatility of his quirk. One of his strongest and most-effective abilities were his octopus fingers. His mind flashed back to the rinkaku on her back. It was fuelled by human meat, his fuel was various types of food that came from animals. 

Truly ironic. 

Maybe, if there had been a peace treaty between humans and ghouls almost two centuries ago. Would ghouls dominate the charts, be adored and live peacefully with other heroes and humans. With determination clear inside of him, he knew what he must do now.

Chapter Text

Shirayuri was hysterical, screaming at the shadows blocking her vision of the light as they attempted to push her down onto the bed. Her kagunes have yet to mature and be able to manifest, leaving her defenceless like an abandoned baby in the wild.

"Yuri! YURI!" Tsukiyama screamed, forcing her head to his chest so she can listen to his heartbeat. 

It was common for her to wake up screaming, lost control and be lost inside of her own mind ever since the incident when she was just a child. Less than 10, but able to greatly comprehend situations most other kids interpret wrongly and with their innocence. No, she knew that her parents weren't badly injured. They were dead.

Daddy's head was chopped off, mama had an axe lodged into her brain before multiple attacks occurred as Shirayuri remained still. Frozen in shock, looking at the blood that gushed out, bones and organs exposed for everyone to see. Their eyes were devoid of life, no different from her eyes in the present. 

Now she was at the age where her kagune type had a chance to manifest at age 11, the maximum age being 14. It was without a doubt that she would heavily injure or even kill someone if she lost control and her kagune burst out.Even as she brought his clothes to tatters, he held her close as she cried her lungs out, tears staining the silk of his clothes. Servants and Karren were outside, for their safety. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Shirayuri sniffed out, sucking back the snot that threatened to leave her nose. "Please, don't leave me too. I promise I'll try to forget." 

She believed it was better to forget the root of her suffering, instead of accepting and moving on. A process she found in a much better light because it was much easier than healing and falling back for years to come. Soon, the anniversary of the incident would come-its 5th year. 

Time passed by so fast. 

Yet it did nothing to fix her. 

Tsukiyama sighed, allowing the clock to tick by as he enjoyed the feeling of the hot towels on his face, neck and shoulders. Gave him a sense of calmness after what had happened almost an hour prior. Luckily, Shirayuri was asleep now. 

"She's going to lock herself in her room, then binge-eat her worries away." Karren spoke up, placing an empty wine glass on the table in front of him. Slowly did she remove the cork and pour the man a glass. "This behaviour has been going on for too long, the more we allow this to happen, who knows what she'll do once she becomes an adult." 

Tsukiyama lifted the towel from his face, face frowning despite agreeing with Karren. 

"Lack of exposure to humans, clear signs of mental instability, unable to control her own strength..." the female ghoul began listing Shirayuri's problems, something that irked Tsukiyama badly. 

"Remember just who you're talking about Karren." Tsukiyama warned. Karren blinked, face calm as her body remained composed. "You don't think I know who'll she become if she continues down the path?" 

Reaching for her back pocket, Karren dropped an advertisement pamphlet in front of him. Tsukiyama's face immediately questioning her without any verbal response. Karren crossed her arms, tensing a little when she realised her inappropriate stance. Quickly did she intertwine her arms behind her.

"We can trust the staff in the hospital, though they are humans, they are more advanced when it comes to the importance of mental health." 

If there was something most ghouls can agree on, is that their professional way of dealing with mental health was rather...undeveloped. Especially when it came to physical therapy. 

"Don't forget to inject her with Rc cell suppressants, God knows what will happen if she loses control and goes on a rampage." Karren nodded, happy that her boss had agreed with her plan after such a long time.

"I'll prepare two syringes." 

Tsukiyama raised an eyebrow, rather alarmed. Karren nodded her head, confirming what she said was true. 

"One became not enough, it's clear with how much exposure she is to such a drug that her body is building tolerance to it...we learned of this when Aliza attempted to console and hug her after administering it." 

"Why wasn't I informed then? How can you keep such a secret from me!" Tsukiyama yelled, instantly standing up that made the chair create a horrible sound. Karren flinched when she heard the sound.

"Because Aliza knew Yuri didn't do that on purpose, she wanted to keep it a secret but the smell of blood and screaming that echoed the halls give us a good idea on what had happened." 

Tsukiyama let out an exasperated laugh, in disbelief over what happened right under his fucking nose. 

"Hide more secrets from me," Tsukiyama menacingly walked towards the female ghoul, his voice making it clear that he meant every word he's going to say next. "I'll send you back to Germany crippled beyond regeneration." 

Mishaps happen, but in their life and experience. All the mishaps that befall upon them threaten to cease their existence. To cease and disappear in the worst ways possible. 

The Tsukiyama family had a couple of medical centres where they were the major funding stream, one of them was a hospital located in Tokyo. Shirayuri's grip on her book was tight, anxiety rushing inside of her due to all the noise made. Talking, footsteps, the sound of driving vehicles, honking and more mixed with with different smells. Tsukiyama placed a hand on her shoulder, the young child immediately hugging onto his legs.

Her senses were overloading, having trouble adapt to such a busy, loud and different environment. She was used to things or services needed come to her, but now, all she can do is worry and suffer.When it was time for the session to begin, she shot a pleading look at Tsukiyama to stay but he refused. Holding her hands that clutched him and slowly forcing them to remain on the chair.

"Do you remember the event? If so, how much?" she asked, the young child looking up at the ceiling. Avoiding trying to look the human in the eye. Momentarily, did she nod her head, the only response to that question. 

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"I don't want to." 

Questions were fired at her one by one, until their time was almost up. For the most part, she was almost unresponsive. Unable to trust or open up to the doctor. When the session was done, Shirayuri without greeting the doctor instantly made a beeline to the door. Heart and mind racing to find her uncle and hug him. She froze, realising that he was no longer near the door like he had promised. 

"Poor little Yuri, lost her parents and now her guardians."

Startled by the voice, Shirayuri began crying and ran as fast as her legs could. The doctor calling out her name, yelling for security to find her. Men in uniform raced after her, further terrifying the little girl that swiftly passed different other patients and staff. Finding trees and grass through one of the glass doors, she changed courses and finally reached an outdoor area. 

The doctor panted, the security also tired as they called out her name throughout different parts of the garden. Shirayuri hid herself between the leaves and branches of a tree, hands covering her mouth so she doesn't even have a chance to peep out a sound and alert them. 

When the last of the guards left the area alongside the doctor to search for her elsewhere, did the small child began crying. Wishing that she had a source of comfort to drown herself in. Tears raced down her cheeks, some being absorbed by her clothes and some even dropping down to the ground. 

"Hello? is anyone here?" a feminine voice called out, a scent that she had detected when she entered the garden area. There was the sound of grass being stepped on, as the scent drew in closer and closer before it was eventually right under her. 

Shirayuri looked down, body frozen and mouth agape at the appearance of a woman. A woman with snow-white hair like hers and grey eyes. 

Grey eyes, what a beautiful colour to have. 

The woman looked like as if she was seeing a ghost, staring back at the child who held great resemblance to her. Hair-colour and eye-colour wise. She closed her once agape mouth, staring directly into the storm that rumbled inside of the young girl.

"Do you need help coming down?" she gently asked, stepping on the tips of her toes as her arms reached out to grab onto her. A sob broke out from Shirayuri, without hesitation did she jump into the open arms, briefly startling the woman.

Once she was safe in her arms, did the adult woman coo and lightly began to rock her slowly. Shirayuri continued crying, wrapping her arms around the gentle human lady's neck. Allowing her instincts to kick in, the woman began slowly walking around the garden-the two enjoying the calm and the quiet.

"Don't leave...please." the lady looked down to see a few tears leaving her closed eyes. Empathy and sadness reflected in her eyes the more she lingered around the child. 

"I'm not angry...I'm just sad. I want my mama and papa." 

The child nuzzled into her neck, the lady slowly holding it with both her arms in front of her. Shirayuri writhed, wanting to nuzzle her head back to the soft feeling but stopped moving altogether when the woman placed her forehead against hers.

"There there, I'm here now." 

Shirayuri's crying soon ceased, now, she slept in her embrace with a look of tranquility. 

Time seemed to pass by faster than they realise, soon Tsukiyama burst through the doors, heaving as he searched for his adopted daughter. The woman slowly opened her eyes, regaining consciousness after the two slept under a shady tree. He noticed how the grip on the woman's hands tighten a bit, consequently, he was rather surprise at the action.

"How...how did you calm down Yuri?" he asked, in disbelief over what he was seeing. The woman looked down at the young girl, brushing away a few strands that covered her closed eyes. A small smile on her face.

"She's just a child, all she needs is comfort. Where is her mother...or father? It's clear that she misses her dearly from how she mutters and begs them not to let her go in her sleep." Tsukiyama's hands turned into fists.

"She lost them young," he looked away. "We're here to get rid of her trauma from seeing them die in front of her. If possible, I hope there's a way for her to just forget about those two individuals" 

His words lacked empathy, matching his stone-cold face. Disdain was on his face when he though about the now-deceased humans. Because of that attack, and their inability to get away did everything went South. 

The lady stilled, realising that this was the child who survived a massacre in her own home. 

"You can't make her forget about her birthparents, it's clear that she holds them in high regard." she softly argued, Tsukiyama bit his lower lip, trying to maintain composure. 

"She's not supposed to hold them in high regard, they're not as important as her." Tsukiyama points a finger towards Yuri, continuing to sleep despite the growing debate between her guardian and the nice stranger. "It's important that she moves on, fix her mentality and journey down the path intended for her." 

"Her memories are completely messed up, the world is not how she's supposed to interpret and view it." 

The lady blinked slowly, disappointed in him. 

"I don't know what she was intended to do, but I do know and see before me is a young baby who needs gentleness, comfort and assurance." 

Tsukiyama scanned her appearance, deducing that Shirayuri might have latched onto her due to the white hair and grey eyes. He bent down, a plan forming inside of his head.

"Then how do you feel about being her substitute mother? Miss...?" 

The lady hold her breath, looking down at the child that strangely brought her comfort too. She twirled a bit of her baby hairs. 

"Rei, please call me Rei. I want her to call me that too." Rei inadvertently agreed. A tear of her own trailing down. 

"I'll make it clear from the start, I don't want her to think of me as her mother." 

Once the deal was solidified, Shirayuri soon latched on to the woman named Rei. There wasn't a week that went by without Shirayuri visiting the lady at the hospital. Especially during the weekends, how the two would spend more time together due to the lack of lessons Shirayuri had. Often times would Shirayuri bring books for both of them to read together. Whenever they were close, would Rei place a hand on her head and gently scratch it or wrap a hand around her shoulders. The actions never failing to make Shirayuri smile and embrace the woman back.

If they weren't in Rei's hospital room, they could be found in the garden or other areas of the building. Allowing Shirayuri to grow more accustom to the surroundings and slowly open herself up to others, much to her doctor's delight.The two watched T.V, Shirayuri curiously observing the people in masks and outfits. 

"Rei," the woman hummed, combing the young ghoul's hair. "Why do some heroes dress themselves in such bright colours? Darker colours are easier to camouflage and detect, brightly-coloured heroes are basically open bullseyes for their opponents." 

"Well Yuri, in this day and age. Heroes need to stand out so their fame and popularity will increase, though you can be a hero, if you don't stand out-then its hard for you to be chosen for important missions and find income." Rei answered, the child turning her back to stare up at her.

"If I become a hero, then I would wear black. Nothing can go wrong with black, especially good in hiding the colour of blood unlike brighter colours." 

She ignored the last part of her sentence, choosing to focus on her words. Rei looked down at Shirayuri with a small smile. "Do you want to become a hero Yuri?" she asked, the child taken aback a bit as if that question sounded so foreign to her. 

Strange, most children adore the thought of becoming a hero in the future. 

"Not a hero, I want to be a dragon." 

Rei tilted her head, smiling a bit. "A dragon you say? Since when were they so small and adorable?" Shirayuri giggled, sliding down to the ground as Rei began to tickle her. Though she attempted to push her away, to the surprise of the child, she wasn't slammed against the wall with brute force or had her hand stuck inside of the woman. 

"Tell me, what do you know about dragons?" Rei asked the young child, Shirayuri nodded her head eagerly.

The tranquility in the air was shattered, Rei almost jumping in fear when the child's left eye turned black with a red iris. There were black veins surrounding the eyes, her heart racing when she saw the lively burning passion inside of the blood-red iris. 

"A dragon is a fighter, who fights for the purpose of protection. A dragon loves, one way or another. A dragon destroys whatever stands their way and threaten the family. A dragon lives for a cause, a dragon sacrifices and a dragon will always be a dragon, no matter how much they reject their fire and scales." Shirayuri stood up and went to take a pencil and piece of paper. 

Rei watched in amazement, the girl's move working as if she was a professional to draw a symbol. 

"A horse will give you a kingdom, a boat will give you a continent. But a dragon, a dragon will give you the world." Shirayuri smiled at Rei for a moment, looking up before looking back down. Oblivious to the worry that was forming on the woman's face. "It's truly a shame." 

"What...is a shame?" Rei hesitantly asked, Shirayuri's expression turned cold. 

"Most dragons were killed during the era of extermination. I'm the last dragon, the last of my bloodline. I need to grow stronger so I can protect and provide." Shirayuri looked down at her hands, briefly did the world become dark and her hands stained with blood. 

As fast as the darkness had arrived, she covered the small child's hands with her own and made their foreheads touch. Shirayuri released a purring noise, Rei humming a small tune.

"Yuri, I hope you remember this. Although it's your own choice if you want to be a dragon, its not an obligation that must be fulfilled at all costs. You are not bound by blood white lily." 

Rei watched in amazement as the young child's strange eye returned back to its previous state. As if it was a clear sign that her message was successfully delivered to the first young child she embraced in years. 

"That's a good girl." 

Shirayuri looked down at the blue flower given to her by Rei, she had been eyeing it every now and then until Rei found out and happily gave it to her. As soon as she came home, she rushed pass the staff standing near the door and bolted towards the kitchen. Jumping up and down as she asked one of the chefs for a glass filled with water. 

She smiled, looking at the lonesome flower that was placed on her desk. Her head was resting on both of her arms, one side facing up while the other facing down. She watched her imagination change the flower, closing up before revealing a woman with no clear face dancing on top of the water, wearing a long dress. She had short hair. The water rippled, the woman disappearing and in her stead was four children that played with each other. 

The flower changed from blue to red, the children disappearing. Shirayuri stared into what looked like a piece of art. It was the upper body of a man, lean yet looked athletic. One of her hands reached out, with her index finger did she touch one of the petals.

Everything was dark, of course it would be. There were large hands belonging to a large burly man. She kicked her legs more frantically, feeling the man's thumbs rest themselves on top of her closed eyelids. At first it was uncomfortable, but it slowly turned into gruesome horrific pain. She screamed her lungs out, tearing out her vocal chords as the thumbs forced their ways into her eye sockets, forcing her eyeballs back as they were slowly crushed. 

She was now blind, that meant her other senses were forced to heighten in order to compensate for the lack of sight now. 

The man continued, her skull eventually breaking from the pressure with parts digging into her brain. 

When her skull broke, did her blood fly towards his face and outfit. Her body going limp as the hands that held her released their grip. There was the sound of footsteps slowly disappearing, refusing to end her suffering. With drugs inside of her system, did she truly believe that this was the end of the line for her.

But it wasn't.

It fucking wasn't.

She could feel it, the blood on the ground slowly making its way back inside of her head as parts of the brain began reforming as a new skull slowly began to form. 

Her body immediately straightened, cold sweat evident on all parts of her body as hands touched different areas of her head instantly. Shirayuri looked at the flower, seeing how it went from a deep blue to a scarlet red. 

"That's...not mine." she touched her head, trying to comprehend on where such a gruesome scene came to be. Uncomfortable, Shirayuri stood up from where she sat and quickly jumped onto her bed. Finding comfort in her thick blanket and soft silk sheets. The moon was bright and at its fullest, its light reflected from the sun entering her room through the windows. Shirayuri chose to interpret that the man in the moon chose to guard her in her sleep. 

In a different part of Tokyo, far away from the Tsukiyama estate. Two men walked into an alley, one had hands inside of his pockets while the other held a black briefcase with golden decorations. One had white hair, the other had black.

The one with white hair wore a white coat, a black sweater inside that matched his pants and leather boots. The other wore a white coat too, a white undershirt, black pants and leather shoes too. One had a blank expression, the other had a grin on his face as they continued walking down the alley. Void of any other humans, light sources a good distance from each other.

"I'm glad you started taking me out more," the black-haired man stated, the two stopping underneath a lamp post. The white-haired latter looked at him, waiting for him to clarify. "I can really feel my power now." 

Blue flames sprouted from his hands, burning away a few that tried to jump them from windows. The one with white hair opened his briefcase, from the ground did the user of blue flames smile and hear the sounds of pleading, cries and metal slicing through skin, muscle and bone.  

"Overusing your flames already? After all the hassle we went through Da-bi?" the so-called man named Dabi laughed it off, ignoring how he disrespected the name he chose to go by, the two eyed the burnt corpses just a few feet from where they stood. "Could've at least barbecued them, what a waste of corpses." 

Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Since when did you enjoy eating men out? Spec-tre~" whereas Spectre said it in a mocking way, Dabi raised his voice a bit to mimic the sound of a girl in a state of pleasure, grossing out his friend. 

"Let's just get this mission over with, if you can keep your mouth shut I'll find a way to get you more freedom." 

"Since the moment you fuckers entered my life, we both know I can never be truly free." Dabi retorted, rolling his eyes. 

"Now let's go kill your so-called rogues, I want to grow more powerful." 

He looked down at one of his hands, creating a blue flame that rested above his pale skin. Dangerous, amplified and worthy. 

He was worthy of bearing and now mastering the flames that threatened to kill him years ago.

He'll show his father now.

He will be forced to look at him. 

"Long live the king."

Chapter Text

Their class was now at the train station. Everyone preparing to go to different places for their internships. Shirayuri checked the news, seeing how most news reports about Mirko featured her taking down powerful villains in different cities around Japan. Checking her email and messages, through their first talk and their most recent one; it was clear that the rabbit hero wanted her to track the hero down on the first day. 

"Stain has recently been targeting heroes in Hosu, it's a good thing I found a hero who is stationed there." Shirayuri turned her head towards the source of the whispering, after seeing recent news, of course it would make sense that Lida would target Stain. He was the reason that his brother was paralysed; and now, he wants revenge. "Just you wait Stain, I'm going to kill you." 

"First murder at 16 eh? Leave your phone behind, wash your clothes instantly to prevent leftover blood stains, if you want to dispose of a body- I can help with that." Shirayuri appeared behind a focused Lida, the man freezing and instantly taking a few steps forward. He breathed heavily, staring at her with wide eyes. "It's a dog eat dog world, everyone would care if he died because he was a dangerous man." Shirayuri shrugged, walking forward to pass him.

"But if you die, your death will only burden us all, U.A and your family. What would your brother feel if he knew the reason you went after Stain? I bet he would never be happy for the rest of his life because of what you're choosing to do now." she whispered once more, feeling Lida shake beside her. "You're going to be playing with fire, even if you're sort of strong now for your age. You're nowhere near ready to take down Stain, especially on your own."

Todoroki walked towards Shirayuri, holding his phone as he waited for the train to take him to his father's agency. "What's up with him?" he asked, Shirayuri gently ran her thumb against her throat. "You're going to let him go after Stain?...How did you even know about this?" Todoroki frowned, the girl looked up at him, a sigh leaving her mouth. 

"I'm all too familiar with that feeling. The wrath inside of you from what was stolen, the pain felt when the people you love are killed or injured by the actions of others or your own. Surprisingly, it's not burning anger But ice-cold fury, a feeling that freezes your insides until your heart becomes stone and your mind can only comprehend one thing-to find and destroy the root of the problem while picking out the leaves, branches and body."

"You mean the bark of a tree." Todoroki pointed out.

"Not everything has to be related to trees." 

"You used the term root, leaves and branches." he pointed out, a small smile on his face when Shirayuri shot him an annoyed look. 

"Ok fine the fucking bark of a tree! God, you're exasperating," she exclaimed, looking at the time on her phone. "I need to go track down Mirko, its clear from the start that she won't go easy on me." 

Mirko :

Why walk and run when you can fly?

Mr. Aizawa recognised a familiar sound, turning his head to one side, he watched as Shirayuri bent her knees a bit before taking off to the skies. Already on her way to find the rabbit hero somewhere with little clue on how to find her. He wasn't surprised when she chose to intern with Mirko, mostly because he had no prior idea on who the ghoul would choose to intern with.  Perhaps it was one of the better choices considering it was a mutant type quirk. 

There were rules when you consider using your quirk. To use your quirk for self-defence was alright, but to use your quirk to fight or strike back was illegal. Mundane use was allowed. He watched her wings flap, its bright colours contrasting greatly with the blue sky. 

Ukaku kagune.

Rinkaku kagune. 

She was a chimera ghoul, that meant both her parents have different Rc cell types. In the little spare time he had, he investigated and tried to find clues on who they were. But of course, there were no records of them at all. As if they weren't born, raised or have entered the country at all. Shirayuri was Japanese, that he can easily tell. He glanced at an advertisement, showcasing a new event that was coming soon. The advertisement changed and then revealed all the sponsors. 

One caught his eye : Tsukiyama Group.

He and the rest of the teachers withheld going to the family because of their clear disdain for any events. Shirayuri's attack before being rescued by Tamaki Amajiki, the lack of information that was released about her after the U.S.J incident and somehow, somehow most videos that showcased the red tentacles, dragon and close-up shots of her kakugan were gone. 

'It's clear that they don't want the world to know Shirayuri's true identity, but at the same time, they allowed her to join the Hero Course, didn't do anything after she revealed her abilities on live television and even had plans to break into the Hero industry too...if I'm not wrong, their now in the talks with Hatsume Mei from the Support Department and reaching out to scientists on I-Island.'  Aizawa thought. 

If they planned to do something bad, that would jeopardise Shirayuri's chance of becoming a hero. Something that he wasn't keen on happening. Being a ghoul can greatly benefit the people and other heroes. With practice, her rinkakus can help rescue large amounts of people at a time, wings and scales strong enough to break through rubble and find trapped victims. Senses sharp enough to find trapped civilians, etc. 

It was a well-rounded quirk. 

Added that it went through a mutation that allowed the girl to create a kakuja she wasn't able to control and manipulate the power of the Thunder God : Raijin. 

'What exactly are they planning? What is their goal? Do they even know that Shirayuri's secret had been revealed to a handful of humans? Who were the people who killed Shirayuri's human parents and why did she live with them?' 

He thought of the description Tamaki gave of the figure that followed her. He took in a deep breath. Facing the direction Shirayuri had flown off to. There was a low chance that he would be able to keep an eye on her until the following week. 

'Who exactly is hunting you down?' 

She caught the smell of a rabbit. Mixed with musk making it smell mature and dominating. Slowing down her fight, Mirko grinned and looked up and down at the newly-arrived Shirayuri from where she stood on the edge of a skyscraper.

"Took you long enough, that's about...an hour and five minutes." Mirko shook her head, rather disappointed. Shirayuri frowned, crossing her arms. 

"You never gave me clues on how to find you, I have never met you and I lack the proper gear to properly track someone." Mirko laughed, walking closer towards Shirayuri. Eyeing how Shirayuri had yet to change into her hero outfit. Her blazer was tied around her waist, her skirt moving with the direction of the wind alongside both their hairs. 

"For a student it is true, especially since I believe to track someone you rely more on their smell?" Shirayuri nodded. Mirko hummed, placing two of her hands on her chin as she walked around the ghoul, observing her. "Lean, it's clear you work out, I see your muscles aren't defined like mine but they truly have great potential to do more harm than severing a head off, isn't that right Jackal?" 

Mirko grinned, sitting on the edge with her legs dangling. 

"Your homeroom teachers gave each hero a heads up on what type of student they will be interning with. Strengths, weaknesses, personality and potential. Long-haired man wanted me to improve your stamina, melee fighting and stuff like that. It's clear he wants you to depend less on your kagunes." Shirayuri said nothing, trying to show no reaction to the last word she had said. "I see you mostly choose to fight and mimic the ability of ghouls, smart choice." Mirko complimented, watching as Shirayuri sat next to her. The words eased Shirayuri, reminding her what Mr.Aizawa told the audience what her quirk was. 

"Always wanted to know how it feels to fight one, if on average they are seven times stronger than a human, I can only imagine how the more-trained and dangerous ones are like...especially their leader, tell me Shirayuri, when you think of the leader of all Ghouls, a race that has been at war with humans from the beginning and end of countless civilisations and eras. What do you envision?" 

Shirayuri looked towards the buildings, the people down below and the moving vehicles. 

"I see a man or woman, whose seen, gone and understands the horrors of this world and makes a choice that has to ensure one thing : the survivability of their kind, wether through hiding away or bloodshed. Bloodshed was once the only option for centuries, when humanity evolved drastically and developed quinques was war officially declared, yet the king also chose to rule from the shadows, making even many ghouls believe that he was a myth. Now, ghouls are a myth."

Mirko grinned, standing up from where she stood. Without warning she yelled as she jumped off the skyscraper,"Try to keep up!" 

"A rabbit saying that to a jackal?" Shirayuri snorted, leaping after her. 

Best Jeanist stopped combing Bakugo's hair, everyone in the room watching as yelling was heard and two figures flew past the window of the hero's office. "Ah, I see your friend chose to intern with Mirko. Are you two friends?" 

"Like Hell I would be friends with that inbred bas-

"Language Bakugo, that type of language is not accepted here or fitting for heroes." Best Jeanist cut off, quickly wrapping threads around Bakugo's mouth, sighing at his language. Bakugo thrashed a little, making the hero too wrap threads around his body. 

"Now now, that's not how to speak to a lady...one who outsmarted you too." Bakugo released muffled sounds of protests, the hero sighing and releasing him from his quirk. Bakugo took a deep breath. 

"She didn't outsmart me, no one fucking how her quirk truly works or what it was until the Sports Festival. She was underestimating me. Eyepatch fucking looks down at me." Jeanist sighed, placing a hand on Bakugo's shoulder.

"Did you ever ask her the true reason why it took her a while to show her quirk? Or did you attempt to attack her once you saw her again?" Bakugo said nothing, stiffening a bit when the hero seemed to know what he had done. Jeanist took pride that he got his guess correct, another step closer to understanding the young boy. 

"Sir, is that your daughter?" one of the board directors asked, pointing towards the building in front of theirs through the window. Running from roof to roof was Mirko, following closely was Shirayuri. Tsukiyama blinked. 

"Since when did we work with herbivores?" Tsukiyama snorted, shaking his head a bit in disappointment. 

Although he should have accepted the reality long ago that Yuri will be working with heroes, seeing her with with one right now, a powerful one at that was unnerving. A feeling of discontent settling inside of him. 

'This is what she wanted, this is what she had always wanted.' he repeated, rubbing his hands together. He let out a cough, muttering for both of them to continue with the meeting. 

Shirayuri followed the hero around for hours, running from one place to another. From one ward to the other, they didn't stop. Shirayuri didn't mind, keeping a constant pace as Mirko hopped around. There was a building, higher than what they were currently running upon when Mirko jumped so high that she landed right on top of one. Shirayuri released her wings, opting to fly as she wouldn't be able to jump that many floors. 

"This is my penthouse, bought it for the sole reason of jumping from the balcony." Mirko commented, coming out from inside with a briefcase. Setting it down on a wooden table, the ghoul watched as the suitcase clicked open from the right code and revealed two pairs of cuffs. "Got you a gift, try them on, they'll tightened further after you click the lock in place on the left one." 

She was suspicious of her actions, Shirayuri slowly placing them over her ankles and wrists and did as she was told; clicking the lock on the left one in place. Immediately did she wobble and feel a change inside of her. Mirko laughed, watching how the girl attempted to fly up but was held down by her legs as if they were anchors. 

"What the hell did you do to me?" Shirayuri demanded, revealing her rinkakus and kakugan, growing wary of the rabbit hero. 

"Teaching you, intern," Mirko grinned, poking the teenager's forehead, the action causing Shirayuri to freeze, look feral and draw her face closer towards Mirko to bite her face off. Mirko laughed it off, instantly retreating back as Shirayuri growled, eyes filled with hostility. 

"Woah there ok, I see you don't like being touched in the forehead." the hero not minding the action. "Don't expect me to allow you to take it off until the end of the week, now, let's get you settled in. 

Taking the wary student to the guest bedroom, Shirayuri found it surprisingly adorable with its moon rabbit theme. The bed and its covers was blue with white speckles making it look like the starry night, there was a crescent moon lamp with a rabbit fishing in the clouds, it was clear that a lot of thought was placed inside of the room. 

"Hawks used to constantly complain how uncomfortable my guest bedroom was whenever he stayed over, drunk overgrown bird-man showing no appreciation after I allow him to enter my burrow with alcohol." Mirko rolled her eyes, huffing at the memories. Shirayuri touched the blanket, eyes widening at its coolness and softness. "You have a personal shower over there, the kitchen is there, if you want to go to the gym its a few floors down and if want something from the indoor garden it's below us." Mirko clapped.

"We'll start easy today, give me 1000 pushups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, laps and then we'll do yoga." Shirayuri stared at her as if she was crazy. "Oh, and of course wearing those cuffs." 

"In the name of Lucifer Morningstar, free me from my suffering." she set her suitcase for clothes and other items down, crossing her legs as a means to sit and unpack her clothes. 

Opening them, she took out a sports bra, underwear, black sweatpants and a shirt. She wasn't a fan of wearing exercising clothes outside of black with the occasional white mixed into it. Uncomfortable with seeing her own sweat. She blames it on puberty for sweating a lot, also pushing her to not only wear more deodorant but even spray some refreshing perfume on her wrist, neck, chest and pants. 

Mirko sniffed the air, sensing the amount of perfume used.

"You know sweating is normal right?!" she yelled, preparing a bottle of water for their workout session.

"I refuse to exercise and allow others to smell me! Especially if it's indoors!" 

Mirko bit her lip, preventing herself from laughing as she shook her head. This kid, she was amusing. 

Somewhere in Hell 

"Achoo!" Lucifer sneezed, drawing the attention of the others in the room. After he composed himself, he looked above with an annoyed look. "I swear if it's another cult trying to summon me in their weird mother's basements with jars containing fake typical occult items and plastic bloody babies." 

"Remember the time you actually did go to one and you found a 6'2 guy cosplaying you with pants, wearing a goat's head and holding a staff." Angel-Devil snickered, drinking her cup of hot chocolate, the book she was reading levitating right in front of her. 

"I don't even know how I suddenly got a goat's head, or even get mixed up with Satan." the blonde man wrinkled his face, shaking his head. 

Earth, Musutafu, Japan

It didn't take an hour for him to reach his father's agency, thanks to the engineers that continuously keep-in-check the bullet trains that travel at such fast speeds everyday. Many people glanced at his direction, even with no expression did they find him attractive despite the scar on his face. His white and red hair maintained, free of split ends. 

He opened his Instagram, scrolling in his feed to see what the rest of his classmates were up to.

"You could've at least changed your profile picture from the default one, you follow no one except All Might, and I'm guessing these two are your siblings." Shirayuri rolled her eyes, fixing his instagram after Midnight did a lecture on how to properly run a social platform for heroes. "Here, thankfully, Ashido and Uraraka also stole my phone once and forced me to follow everyone in the class." 

He looked at his new instagram, she had posted a photo of soba he had taken once, his following list had increased drastically and she had taken a brief story of the class in their free time. He scrolled through his feed, seeing many photos of their classmates hanging out outside of school whilst taking and posting so many pictures of their adventures. 

"Do I...need to take pictures like this?" Shirayuri walked towards him, face nearer to his now as she looked at his phone. 

"If you want to, those photos give people the idea you have close friends. I highly recommend you to as we are all students from U.A, already giving us a good reputation." she answered, he looked back at his soba as his first post.

"Would you like to go to my favourite soba restaurant, I think that's a good place to take photos in." he asked, oblivious on why the class suddenly became quiet. Shirayuri blinked, not paying to the others. 

"Sure, don't expect me to eat though. I can't digest food outside of my diet." 

"Fair enough, let's go after school." 

His second post consisted of multiple photos. The first being both of them waiting at the train station for the MRT, Shirayuri holding his phone to take the mirror selfie. The second picture was him holding onto the metal pole minding his own business, the third was of her hand holding his as he guided her to the restaurant, the fourth now Shirayuri deeply focused scanning through the menu, the fifth her drinking coffee while looking away, distracted and the last of him enjoying his cold soba. 

This post garnered more attention than his first one, with more comments that he couldn't quite understand. 

"You didn't need to pay you know, I could've easily paid for my cup of coffee." Shirayuri stated, the two walking out of the restaurant. "Now I have to owe you something in return." she huffed. 

"From what Midnight commented on the post, she's going to give me a high grade because of you. I also appreciate that you chose to help me." Shirayuri shrugged. 

"It's not a big deal, I have to do the same now. I'm probably going to post pictures of me at Tokyo Disney Land, perhaps wear a white dress to resemble a princess there." Shirayuri laughed.  He looked towards her, never having gone to Tokyo Disney Land himself. 

"How about I accompany you to Disney Land then, I'll take photos of you in return for today and the coffee." Shirayuri curiously looked at him, slowly nodding her head.

"You look like a prince anyways, that will help get me more female engagements." she grinned, accepting his offer.

It turns out Disney Land did sell prince outfits, the two of them sharing a day on their weekends together. Trying on different rides, Shirayuri tasting the different coffees available, interacting with the characters. He grinned, remembering how he had stolen his father's credit card to buy so many things, including one of the themed rooms. It was Cinderella. 

"Do I even want to know how you stole your father's card?" Shirayuri asked, ironically wearing glass slippers to go with her dress for the day. a brief smile on his face allowing her to question him further before telling her to close her mouth and pose for the picture. 

For someone he used to think was in his way, was now the classmate he was the most fond of. 

Todoroki entered his father's agency, paying little attention to most of his sidekicks and others working around him. Sometimes he waves, sometimes he made a humming sound and there were times he didn't respond at all. Reaching the doors to his office, the older man was already in his hero-outfit, looking through papers as he stood right behind of his desk. He looked up, smirking when his son had finally arrived.

"Ah Shoto, you've finally arrived. So? What do you think of the office?" Shoto said nothing, continuing to hold his briefcase without making any motion to set it down or take a seat despite his father's gesture.

"I saw your hero name-Hail Fire wasn't it? And here I thought you were disgusted with everything remotely related to me?" Endeavor laughed, placing down the sheet of information provided by Mr.Aizawa. 

"Shirayuri made it for me, she created the name for me and only me in mind." Shoto answered, speaking for the first time in a while, the flame hero stopping when he heard the familiar name. All of a sudden, Shoto flinched as his father released a cry of pain. Hands instantly going to his head as if he was going through excruciating pain. The man took deep breaths, heaving as his pupils dilated a bit. 

"Now that I'm thinking about it, Fuyumi has mentioned to me in the past that you sometimes talk of a girl in your class. You're entirely convinced that that girl is the same one who used to play with you when you were children living in the house next door?" Endeavor breathed out, placing a hand on his chest to feel his heart rate. Fast. 

"She is that girl," Shoto gritted his teeth. "What other child went viral on the news for the death of her parents in their home in the same neighbourhood as ours, in the HOUSE next to ours with pure white hair." Endeavor thought about, something that made the other person in the room make a 'tch' sound with his mouth. 

"Shoto, I want you to listen carefully to what I'm going to say next." Endeavor warned, shifting in attitude. His flames flickered, dimming a bit before flaring out a bit. "I could care less if you choose to form a friendship with the chimera, she's strong enough to stand on her own. But the past needs to remain buried, especially hers." 

Shoto watched as his father walked towards a bookcase, scanning the shelves until he reached a document hidden between two books. His eyes widen a bit when he took out more documents that rested between books-all of them hidden in plain sight, camouflaged until he pulled them out. Endeavor placed them down on his desk, opening them one by one so his son could read them. 

• Abnormal Underground Activity  
• Massacre
• War for the Crown 
• Power Struggle
• Coordinated Openings 

"What...what are these?" Shoto looked up. 

"Keep this between you and me, but then I know you're more than happy seeing me assassinated for sharing this with you." He bitterly added, Shoto rather surprised by the words that left the man. Not used to seeing such a...defeated look. 

"I was one of the heroes assigned at first to investigate the murders and find the ones behind the crime. As we investigated the house, we learned that the basement had a hatch that opened to underground halls, these pathways led to the sewers with the longest one leading to the underground city in the 24th ward. When a group of heroes and policemen decided to storm the underground, we were ambushed. Ambushed by people so fast and physically strong that by simply punching an officer in the chest did the fist plunge through them." 

Todoroki vividly remembered the Battle Trials, the kick that broke down a metal door with beams intended to add weight. 

"All the police officers died, some heroes too. When the last of us were surrounded, did he show up." Endeavor took out a picture from one of the folders, showing something that physically caused him to shiver. 

Alias : Alias : King 

Name : Unknown

Quirk : Unknown 

Speed : Unknown 

Strength : Unknown 

Information : Unavailable 

Shoto stared, both of them feeling the familiarity and just who else had a black sclera and red iris located on the left. He

"This man could this be her father...?" Shoto muttered, Endeavor nodded. He closed his eyes, remembering the hellish memory all too clearly now. Has fate always intended for him to fully remember it now, to pass this down to his youngest son?

All of the officers were dead, the sidekicks too and three heroes. Endeavor was left, him and three others. While they were occupied fighting him, they failed to notice the decreasing number on their side. Feeling his quirk catching up to him, he didn't understand how one man can handle four highly-experienced heroes with years of fighting on their belt. He showed no sign of weakness, he let out no sound nor did he make any attempt in speaking until four of them were on their knees. 

Blades broke when it came onto contact with his skin. Bullets did nothing, no weapon could harm them or him.

His flames, they did no harm to the man. And if he were to use higher temperatures would that truly harm him? His eyes focused on one of the goons, watching as their previously decapitated arm slowly started to grow back. Their space was limited, but it was enough for them. 

They regenerate lost limbs at a fast rate. 

"To think...I sent away my youngest daughter to live in peace, away from all the struggle and you...heroes dare to storm her hideout, enter the tunnels and fight us." the leader hissed, the other masked figures in the room standing, looking at them. They were surrounded. 

He walked around menacingly, they watched in their place as the moment he snapped his fingers did the bodies began being dragged away into the darkness. Never to be seen again, used for reasons unknown. 

"I'm going to spare all four of you, on the conditions that follow..." 

Endeavor fell to his back, surprised by just how fast the man or whatever that was traveled to reach him faster than he could blink. He stared into his left eye, watching as the iris started glowing. Refusing to give up, he charged up his flames on his right fist and went in for a punch. Still, did the king refuse to move.

He didn't remember what happened after that. 

He woke up days later inside of the hospital, Tsukauchi keeping him up to date after he had stabilised. Just like the deal, the other heroes lied to the public, the police force and everyone. Endeavor said nothing, claiming that there was a big threat that made him lose consciousness in the middle of the fight. The other heroes agreed too, grieving on how they lost so much before the enemy was eventually dealt with.

The house had instantly been purchased by the Tsukiyama family who also adopted the girl, claiming that they would give her the life she deserved after what had transpired. Now, no one can access it. 

Endeavor without a doubt knew that those tunnels now had been sealed and destroyed.

"Everything became fabricated. They had ears and eyes almost everywhere, two attempted to bring out the truth only to be killed and have information about them all erased. The other couldn't handle what she saw and killed herself in the forest, her body was never found...their families? All of them dead, the same thing they threatened me with if I try to speak out, fight them and meddle with their business," Shoto felt his knees going weak, slowly did he walk towards the couch to sit. Seeing this, Endeavor grabbed two glasses and set them down, pouring water into both of them. 

"From what I can comprehend, there is a family something similar to an organisation that works and lives underneath the surface. They're struggling to become the head of the family thus leading to a war, her father sent her to the surface so she could stay safe but a murder happened, heroes and officers got involved and when they entered places they weren't supposed to...got wiped out including their families." he felt sick, Endeavor nodding his head. 

"Why didn't you tell All Might, is it because-

"I did it to keep you, your mother and your siblings alive Shoto. I have no doubt that All Might can take them down eventually, but with little information and what I saw and heard. I couldn't take that risk," Endeavor leaned back, thinking of his encounter with the man and his last confrontation with Shirayuri. "Everything felt blurry, like something is blocking me from fully reliving the memory of him, them and the underground inside of my head. Perhaps that was why I thought of her and your friend as separate individuals. But those red scales...and those eyes..."

"Suddenly, I saw him in her."

He remembered the way he treated her, the eye of the mysterious man being covered by a mere eyepatch. The white hair doing nothing to help jog his memory then. It only served to remind him of Rei, still in the mental hospital he placed her in. 

Endeavor cursed himself, needing to know what curse inside of him kept altering and messing with his mind, memories included. 

Red tentacles

Black sclera, red iris

"I don't know what their plan is, I also doubt that your friend knows about her true family too. Does she?" Shoto shook his head, remembering the times that she was vulnerable with him. 

"For the family's sake Shoto, do not under any circumstance bring up what I told you now to her. Their business is their business." 

Shoto looked down, hands fisting his pants when he accepted that Shirayuri's father was a dangerous villain, part of a family organisation that's had an on-going power struggle that perhaps lasts till now. His eyes widened, just remembering now the man Shirayuri attempted to chase, who also wore a mask, a white suit and kept his head looking forward. Like Shirayuri, his hair was white. Yet, he had a single grey eye from what he remembered. 

That must be him.

'He...was at the Sports Festival, twice did the two almost interact.' 

"There is no need for you to push yourself my lily of the valley, I will shape this world for you and the others to live happy lives."

"Society as a whole pays attention to the bad, more than the good. You suffer because of our bloodline, but soon that would cease to exist." 

"Keep your friends close, but enemies closer. I have little faith in most around you but, to those who love you like their own kind, enjoy your time with them."

The ongoing hidden war must be finishing, and it sounded like he was winning.

When the two exited the building with Shoto now wearing his new and improved hero outfit, he couldn't help but get a feeling that he was being watched. From a direction that he couldn't seem to put his finger on.

"So does this mean you still like her?" Endeavor asked, looking down on his son. "I mean, I have no qualms on her being your wife and both of you having children together. Just imagine the power they'll have."

"Shut up old man," Shoto hissed. "She's just a friend, she always has been to me, even if we never meet eye to eye or clash with one another. The sins of her father doesn't define her, nor will you continue to affect me." 

He'll be there for her, he'll support her the day that murderous man comes for her. Even if the world turns their back on her. He couldn't comprehend the strong feelings inside of his chest, but he'll let them be for now.

"Can...(pant)...we...(pant)...TAKE A BREAK?!" Shirayuri used the remaining voice she had in the moment to plead for both of them to stop, having been running on the treadmill for more than an hour. Mirko laughed beside her, running as she busied herself with her phone, also wearing cuffs on her legs and wrists. Double to what the ghoul was wearing. 

"Not until we reach the 1000th lap, don't tell me the first place winner of the Sports Festival is already tired!" Mirko teased, Shirayuri's kakugan appearing from the intensity of her annoyance. 

"I...was...the winner...in the First Years! Not third nor second year!" 

"Same thing just a difference on when your parents decided to-

"Can we not make sex jokes while we're both sweaty, the amount I'm sweating is already uncomfortable enough." Shirayuri pleaded, getting rid of her kakugan to instead show puppy dog eyes.

"Fair enough!" 

Watching them from the building across, two peeping toms observed the two exercising.

"So the Stygian Jackal was a teenage girl with body insecurities and a student all this time?" Dabi commented, taking a bite out of a hitokuchi churro the other bought for him at a nearby McDonald's. 

"What exactly were you expecting?" Spectre asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Honestly, anything other than a girl complaining of getting sweaty yet also choosing to be a hero." Spectre sigh, rolling his eyes.

"Yes ghouls do get sweaty, but once they run the sweat instantly dries off. Especially if we blitz, because of those cuffs, she is unable to blitz nor move as fast as she usually can." Spectre broke it down, Dabi nodding despite not really caring to what he said. 

"Why are we here again?" taking a bite of another churro. 

"I have caught wind that Stain has met up with the League of Villains, considering how the interaction between Shigaraki and the Jackal went at school...I thought to check up on her before we go find them." 

"She your family or something? If so, I got to visit her." Spectre took the binoculars from Dabi, causing the man to groan and stand up. "Cmon, I wanted to see Mirko a little more, have you seen her thighs!" 

"People like us, like her, have to stick together To-ya." 

"Family, Dominic Toretto would be proud." the other snickered, causing Spectre to slap the back of his head. 

When the treadmill began to slow down, Shirayuri tripped and fell to the ground. Groaning in pain, especially in her facial area. Mirko hopped off, bending down next to her to check up on the teen. "You alright kid?" she asked, raising the ghoul's arm to only drop it.

"I'll live..."

"Great!" Mirko cheered. "Now, let's do some yoga!" 

Chapter Text

Spectre glanced at the man using his flames to travel to the sky, enjoying the freedom limited to the man if he didn't use his quirk. Both of them just call it Blue flame. An emitter-type that generates the hottest flames humans will ever know of. 

"You know, I really hate how you force me to wear a fucking mask." Dabi snorted, Spectre maintained his neutral face, never bothered by the comments made by the rude teenager since he had been picked up. 

"Maybe if you hadn't run off once, got into a fight with a couple of heroes, burned them alive and then went back to me I wouldn't have chosen to give you one after thinking the hair dye and the high-collar coat was enough." Spectre calmly stated, remembering how he wasted a night staging an attack on a police station, murder all of the staff and heroes involved before making sure all files were destroyed that ashes weren't left behind. 

"But then I also wouldn't have known that you love me." Dabi teased, raising the other's blood pressure. 

"Tch."

"Cmon, you know you love me." Dabi pressed, shooting a flame near the other to draw his attention. The other thought he was a clingy piece of shit that really needed manners. 

"I hope you are implying as brothers." Spectre threatened, seeing their targets. Two figures on top of a building, a man covered by hands with blue hair and the other with a teleportation quirk. 

"I promised nothing." he grinned. 

There was remote silence between the two. Something that made Spectre satisfied and calm until Dabi had to fucking.Open.His.Mouth.Again. 

"You know, I didn't know you were emo until you handed me this mask. Here I thought you were just a depressed, overworked office-worker." 

Dabi hummed and increased his flames as Spectre began chasing him, filled with the intention and malice to slice his tongue off, better yet slice the top of his head off to only leave the tongue. 

"So like, do you want me to call you Jackal or Stygian Jackal?" Mirko asked, the two who decided to run all the way from Tokyo to Musutafu despite being called for an emergency attack. 

"I would honestly prefer being called Jackal, Stygian is fine too." Shirayuri answered, already wearing her mask. 

"You know, I find it ironic how you wear a fox mask when your name is Jackal. Also, can't you shift into a dragon? What's with all these animals?" Mirko pointed out her indecisiveness, something that instantly made the girl embarrassed and flustered.

"Alright fine! I don't know what animal I want to be! There's just so many, and then designs are a whole other layer of problems. The point is, it's better for me to just try it all now and then eliminate one by one." Shirayuri answered, looking in the other direction to avoid the look on the hero's face. Mirko thought about, finding the animal dilemma belonging to her intern rather adorable. 

"You know I realise something about you, and I think you will find this rather cheesy." Mirko said, giving the girl a genuine smile. Shirayuri turned her head towards her, curious on what she has to say. 

"Your strength, it's as fierce and powerful as a dragon. You're like a fox, solitary but form bonds that are similar to a family. You're also intelligent, knowing different techniques that would help you win a fight. Like jackals, whose brains led them to becoming trickster animals in folk tales I've read." Shirayuri smiled, laughing a bit at hearing Mirko's words. "What did I say? Cheesy." 

"It's cheesy, but appreciated." Shirayuri replied, feeling her mood brighten up.

"Remember, you don't have your hero license just yet. You're supposed to only assist, but not fight." Mirko reminded the ghoul, who wanted to complain but chose to keep her mouth shut and obey.

When they finally reached Hosu, there were people frantically running away, buildings were on fire and overturned cars littering the streets and sidewalks. "Mirko!" numerous amounts of civilians, sidekicks and a few heroes recognised and called out to the Rabbit Hero. Shirayuri's eyes widened, seeing a speeding car make a turn in an attempt to escape the place. In its way was a child. Shirayuri released her wings, ignoring the weight of her cuffed body as she enveloped the child inside of her arms before releasing a controlled electromagnetic pulse. 

The pulse reached the car far enough that it stopped just in time before hitting anyone. Shirayuri breathed out, looking down at the child in her arms. A woman ran towards her, the child instantly pulling away from her to hug the woman. 

"You saved my baby..." the woman breathed out, consoling the crying child. "Thank you hero."

Shirayuri nodded, looking around the place. "Do me a favor, don't stand in the middle of the road." she said, trying to find Mirko. 

"Lucky that it was a Tesla huh?" Mirko yelled, fighting...something that looked eerily similar to the monster back at the U.S.J with its brain exposed. There was an explosion beside them, Shirayuri seeing its muscles much more clearer. "Do you remember what the hell this thing's name is?!" Mirko asked, avoiding its attempts to grab her by hopping to different sides while delivering kicks. 

Shirayuri thought back about the U.S.J attack, all while helping the inhumane lot of people who keep tripping as they run. Fuck, why do so many people trip and trample over each other? "Nomu!" she yelled back, hissing a bit when someone's fist hit the back of her head when she was helping an elder woman up. 

Mirko's ears perked up, hearing the sound of flapping coming towards them. "Jackal, behind you! Above!" 

Shirayuri knelt down, sending kinetic waves towards the flying nomu to push it back, the creature attempting to get in closer despite having its hands and feet being detached by the force of the waves. It was distracted enough for Endeavor to come up behind it, pin it to the ground and burn its head off with his flames. Taking deep breaths, Shirayuri watched from the sidelines, using the time the two heroes fighting the nomu to clean up trash with her hands, place them in the bin and set cars back onto the streets neatly lined up. 

Walking into a store, she came back out with a hose and began spraying the fire near the heroes. 

Mirko and Endeavor looked down on the still nomu, finally dead. Shirayuri extinguished the last of the flames, using two rinkakus to roll it back up into the store she took it from. 

"You know, you can really see the power imbalance in heroes when handling nomus. I kinda had higher expectations especially since I saw how the first one caused All Might to bleed." Mirko patted the girl's head, snickering a bit at the nonchalant in her voice. Shirayuri looked around. "Anyways where's Shoto? Or did you leave him to do office work in your agency but considering how harsh his training is that wouldn't be the case." 

"Got a text, left for that." The flame hero answered shortly. Mirko perked up at this opportunity.

"Jackal..." the younger looked towards the hero, rinkakus wagging side to side. 

"Track." 

With that Shirayuri ran, almost tripping but continued on as if nothing happened. Endeavor gave the other a strange look. 

"Did you put cuffs that drastically increased her weight so she's much slower?" Mirko nodded, looking proud of herself.

"And you did that knowing full well you'll need to find her later in the deeper parts of Hosu, where less activity is going on and where Stain is left seen." Mirko's face remain frozen, still smiling. 

"She'll be fine, she took a couple of bullets before, she'll be fineeee." 

Before either of them can say anything else, Endeavor quickly used his own flames to propel blue flames coming down from the sky towards both of them. Mirko hopped away, spotting the attacker in the sky. 

"But you two won't be." Dabi commented, fire coming out from the bottom of his boots to keep himself in the air. 

Endeavor and Dabi's flames intertwined together, both of them stopping as it grew in size before exploding like a nuclear bomb. Destroying the glass of the many buildings around them. Dabi clapped both of his hands together, spreading them out to create four Chinese dragon shaped flames with mouths open to engulf both heroes on the ground. 

Mirko dodged two, surprised how after missing her did they move their bodies and followed after her. She allowed them to chase after her, forcing them to continuously extend their bodies further from their wielder. 

"Who are you." Endeavor demanded, Dabi looking offended under his mask. 

"Someone simply trying to surpass you." 

The hero attempted to get closer and take him down, Dabi maintained his distance, opting to attack from afar. He created a slashing motion with both of his hands, a move similar to Hell Spider that charged towards Endeavor, the other quickly manoeuvring through the flames while growing closer towards Dabi. Wrapping himself inside of a cocoon, Endeavor did the same. 

Mirko observed the two fight, two phoenixes coming at each other with such intensity. She looked behind, gone were the dragons that came after her. There was an explosion, followed by a heat wave. Its light was enough for the dark night to become daytime for just a few moments. 

Something white passed her, the feeling of a small piece of her cheek being cut. 

She stopped running, feeling the new cut on her cheek. Mirko looked behind her, seeing a tall man wearing a white coat, holding a black and gold lance. Like her intern, he had white hair. He tilted his head a little, making her snort seeing how his friend wore a mask and all he wore were glasses. 

Mirko charged towards him, leaping up with her right leg in front to land a blow on him. The lance shifted, becoming a shield, before her leg could reach the shield though there was another barrier that the hero needed to overcome-a barrier of electricity. Mirko continued on smiling, leaping back a little just to shift and attempt yet another hit on the man. 

Spectre changed stance, both of them now engaging in a fight. He didn't allow him to touch her, Mirko gave him no chance to deliver a hit with his lance. He shoved the lance to the ground, Mirko giving both of them distance as Jack's black beanstalk ruptured from the ground near her. 

'He shoved it to the ground, and it burst out?' she thought, noticing the similarities now. But she had to make sure. 

"Luna Rush!" Spectre opened his shield, the electricity handling the heroes kicks before breaking apart. The lance extended, instead of protecting him it engulfed a part of her right leg. The bracelet on his left hand shifted, from a piece of jewellery to a red katana with red sparks. Mirko looked at his face, studying his facial structure. The stranger's grey eye. 

Before either of them can say anything else, Spectre had already retreated back and blitzed away. Leaving Mirko to inspect her unharmed leg. 

She took deep breaths, before running back to the direction Endeavor was last seen at. 

When she got there, like him, he was still alive.

"Endeavor, what is Shirayuri's eye colour." Mirko interrogated the other, the man who was previously focused on the direction Dabi had left. He looked at her strangely, paying attention to the new scar on her face.

"Like a light blue...? If you're asking me for the shade, drop it." 

"As a child, cmon, you used to be her neighbour!" Mirko yelled, the flame hero also catching up on what the other was doing. 

"Grey."  

"We need to find our interns, Jackal owes me answers." 

By the time Shirayuri had found Lida, Deku and Shoto. Shoto was behind an ice barrier, both Deku and Lida were on the ground. He had his sword raised, preparing to rain it down upon Lida, when she surged forward and extended out her hand. In slow motion did the blade break into pieces. 

"Jackal..." Stain said in his oh-so creepy voice of his. Shirayuri turned her body for a roundhouse kick, a move that Stain easily dodged by moving back from. 

"Of course...Kaneki's skin is resistant to normal weapons." Midoriya muttered, slowly regaining his sense of movement while Shirayuri continued to distract them while waiting for a plan. From someone, ANYONE. 

"Did you get fatter or what? You move like a drunkard." The man commented, a comment that made Shirayuri's kakugan appeared.

Shoto and Midoriya's head reeled back, the green-haired boy sucking his breath at the comment while Lida slowly got onto his knees. 

"Bastard!"  four rinkakus emerged from her back.

Stain kept up with all four of her rinkakus, even when she was also attacking with her hands and legs. He was fast. Incredibly fast. Grabbing two of her rinkakus, the girl's eyes widened when he sent her back towards her friends, Shoto immediately creating a wall behind him as he caught her. 

"Stygian Jackal," 

Shirayuri looked towards Deku, a plan clear inside of his head. 

"Fire an electrical current towards him, make sure it's big enough to cover the width of the alley." Shirayuri nodded, replacing her rinkakus with her ukaku kagune. She knelt down, Stain opting to run on the wall instead of the ground. 

"Now!"

Lida ran on one side of the wall while Deku took the other wall, Stain took out two of his daggers. Shoto took a step forward, the electrical current continued until ice burst through the ground right underneath Stain. He focused instead on the ice below him, destroying it with his own pure strength. Lida kneeled, Deku reeled back his hand, feeling a flying ice sharp dig into a part of his leg. 

"Recipro Burst." 

"Smash!" 

One targeted the man's stomach, the other targeted Stain's face. Shirayuri grabbed Shoto to the sky as Lida and Deku retreated, the boy using his flames to push him down to the ground. Letting him go, Shirayuri did a roll and landed a kick right on his back, the force breaking the ground underneath them. 

"Luna Fall!" a move she had seen Mirko used during their first day together. 

Native sucked in a breath, almost feeling the pain Stain went through. "Oooh...four consecutive attacks in a row." 

Both of them surrounded the still villain, Shoto grabbing Shirayuri's hand when she prodded his body with her shoe. 

"Don't do that, you'll get your shoes dirty." 

With the help of native, the students tied the man up and brought him out of the alley. 

"SHOOOOTOOOO!" Shoto groaned, feeling his father hug him roughly. His face filled with disgust. 

"YOU BRAT I TOLD YOU TO YOU TO WAIT IN THE TRAIN!" Gran Torino smashed his foot against the boy's face, shocking both Midoriya and Native.

"JACKAL, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD A BROTHER THAT TRIED TO KILL ME AND ENDEAVOR!" Mirko yelled, huffing in front of Shirayuri, foot thumping rapidly against the ground. Shirayuri looked at her with a confused expression. 

"Since when did I have a brother?" 

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD GREY EYES!" 

Shirayuri blinked twice, the blue irises turning grey much to the surprise of everyone else. 

"There was once a lady at the mental hospital I used to go to that had the same eye and hair colour as me." Endeavor and Shoto looked at each other, painfully aware who she was talking about. Shoto immediately released himself from his father's grip. Shirayuri placed her hands in her pockets, kicking the ground. Deku looked at both Todoroki clan members and Shirayuri, wondering just how far their families had interact with each other in the past. 

"She gave me hope, she truly did." Shirayuri looked up to the stars, seeing if there were any that would fall down from the sky for her. "Then she destroyed me, all over again. I lost myself, went down a path and now I am me. That's pretty much all, not much to talk about." 

The wings on her back sparked, the flames everyone could see interpret a young child reading a story beside a woman, talking and then the same child crying inside what looks to be her own bedroom with destroyed furniture. With one leap, Shirayuri flew away, saying nothing to anyone else. The weight on the cuffs brought her down, forcing the girl to travel like Mirko usually does; high leaps into the air. 

"Jackal! I'll catch you all next time-Jackal!" Mirko ran after her intern. 

"Huh, no wonder she hated talking, interacting and even touching other humans for a certain amount of time." Lida commented, everyone distracted by the duo that left. Midoriya looked at Shoto, the other shaking his head. He also wasn't aware of the past between his mother and her. 

"We had an encounter with two villains before we arrived here, one with white hair and another with black. Mirko commented just how similar the white-haired one had with her intern." Endeavor explained to Gran Torino and the sidekicks available. On a call to get the police to the scene. 

"WAH!" 

Just like that, Midoriya was snatched away by another winged nomu. Stain shot up, grabbing his blades and leaping onto the nomu. Raising up his weapons, he plunged them into the nomu's exposed brain, sending it crashing to the ground without much struggle. 

In this world I lack understanding. I compensate by spending hours studying, in my best attempt to grasp it. I waste my days and nights training, to understand my own body better. My dream, the reason I become a hero was purely business. My wings, they used to spread and slice others open for victory and vengeance. There are so many paths that surround me, directions to places I can't even comprehend. 

My mind is a mess.

Even if sometimes I try to grasp and find stability, there are moments where I just feel so hopeless. 

I've heard the words before, how fate brings hardship down upon us because we can handle it.  I hope fate also gives me the hope to survive and smile after it. Do humans still consider a war won if you can't smile after it? How after serenity settles, you can't smile? 

Mirko looked at the young girl hugging her knees on the edge of the skyscraper her wings flaring out, slowly blowing in the wind. This time, it reminded her of a butterfly. 

"You ready to head back Jack? There's hot water ready for you at my burrow." Mirko asked, a smile on her face as she sat beside the ghoul. Without her mask, it was clearer to see the look of hurt on her face. Mood shifting easily after she told the reason behind her different coloured-eyes. 

"She made a promise not to abandon me, but she did." Shirayuri confessed, Mirko placing a hand on her other shoulder, giving Shirayuri a side-hug.

"Has she ever told you why?" Mirko asked, Shirayuri nodded.

"Uncle Shuu told me. I called her mother on accident, I was never supposed to, thus, I broke their deal...she pretends to be a replacement mother, a coping mechanism. On the condition I never call her mother." 

'Well now that's just a fucked up deal.' 

'For a rich family, is it really that hard to find a white-haired person with grey eyes that doesn't suffer any mental illness?" Mirko thought, rubbing one of Shirayuri's arms. 

The two decided to stay on the skyscraper for a while, enjoying the cool night alongside the moon and the stars. 

Shirayuri didn't bring up the woman of the past when she visited Shoto, Deku and Lida in the hospital, Mirko alongside her helping to bring the lunch packets they bought together. 

"Ah Mirko, Jackal. So good to see both of you." the Police Chief commented, the other heroes glancing at them. 

"We brought food! Jackal here says what you eat smells like rotting fish corpses." Shirayuri rolled her eyes, revealing the trio's favourite food on the tables beside their beds.

"Anything other than coffee and my diet smells rotten, maggot-infested or dead." the girl muttered. 

"I'll take my leave now," Tsurugamae parted with the others in the room, walking towards the door. "Oh by the way, was the other Jackal spotted in Hosu by any chance? I'm starting to wonder if all these black and white villains are a part of something." 

"Nope." 

"Nu uh."

"Saw nothing." 

Without another word, Tsurugamae turned his head and walked out of the door. Shirayuri finally forcing the spoon out of Deku's hand after force-feeding him. She looked down on his hands, holding two pictures.  

"What's that?" Lida and Shoto walked towards her. 

"Oh, Endeavor reported one of the two villains that attacked him and Mirko that night. They brought in a man with a quirk that allows him to sketch with bright precision and he made these two photos...everyone I guess hasn't slept yet." Lida apologised once more to Manual, after explaining to her their purpose. Midoriya handed it to her, Shirayuri feeling a chill go through her at the sight of them. Her kakugan activating much to the surprise of the room. 

"He also posts and makes art commissions online...he wore a white shirt though, the guy with the flame quirk. For some reason he decided to draw abs on him." Midoriya added, Shirayuri still scanning the pictures. Shoto focused on Shirayuri, focusing on her expression. Wondering if sirens were going off inside of her head. Shirayuri shook her head, kakugan disappearing. 

"Nope, never met them. But if they're dangerous enough to fight Mirko and Endeavor one on one before disappearing without injuries sustained, then it's best to investigate them further." Shirayuri commented, opening a flask she brought with her. Though the coffee was still hot, she'll endure the burn down her throat. It'll heal on its own anyways. 

From listening to the conversations, it came to Shirayuri's knowledge that Gran Torino's license had been revoked leaving Midoriya to return home earlier. Lida's arm was injured, thus he'll be going for surgery while Shoto is ridden with guilt that it's because of him people are injuring their hands. Endeavor left first, Mirko telling the ghoul that they'll began their training after she finishes patrol. Manual left too, also leaving for patrol. 

"Has Mirko teaching you her melee combat arts helped?" Shoto asked, Shirayuri hummed. 

"I learnt it, I just need to put it to good use." she thought about Stain and Mirko, how different both of them are from each other both mentally and where they stand. But also how similar in speed and strength they are in the one day she spent with them. "Todoroki, to you, am I a villain or a hero-in-training?" Shoto gave her an incredulous look, almost offended by her question for no apparent reason. At least, that's what she thought. 

"Why would you think of yourself as a villain?" he asked.

"My morality doesn't match with most heroes. I can just imagine this scenario, the most dangerous man in the world, finally being defeated. But what do the heroes choose to do? Lock him away, seal him until he escapes before going on a wild goose chase to fight and attempt to imprison them, again." 

"I would kill him, to ensure the safety of others and those I love. I would stain my body red if it meant keeping them alive, safe and happy." 

Shoto intertwined their hands together, an action that surprised her as he brought their hands nearer to their faces. "You're wrong Yuri." he said, gently rubbing a part of her hand with his thumb. "Because I would do the same." 

"What you just said proved to me that you have everyone's safety and happiness in mind, evil men and women wouldn't think twice before abandoning their comrades to save themselves. Stop thinking like this, just do what your heart tells you to. Don't be someone else because there will only be one Shirayuri Kaneki, a 1000 year hero." Shirayuri smiled, both of them smiling as their foreheads touched each other. 

Lida looked towards a smiling Midoriya, happy to see a friendship strengthen between the two. "What's a 1000 year hero?" he asked, Midoriya smiled. 

"Oh, it means a hero that can only be found every 1000 years. It usually means they excel in many categories while having their own unique flare, look and personality." Lida nodded his head, rather excited at the thought of that title.

"Then Midoriya, let's all try to be 1000 year heroes too." Midoriya smiled back, happy to see Lida was back. 

Despite the amount of beverages on the wall behind the bar, to Spectre, it all smelled like a graveyard for animals while simultaneously serving as a giant litter box. If a group of humans already didn't like the smell of alcohol, then its the same for him tenfold. Dabi wanted to go here, check out the infamous League of Villains after their sudden battles with two of the top-ranked heroes. 

Though the white-haired knew that it was better to spend his time continuing his studies, experimenting and researching in his lab. Even the most hardworking and passionate of souls need a break every now and then. 

"You...you remind me of that fucking brat that gutted me at U.S.J." Shigaraki hissed, throwing the glass he was drinking from towards the wall besides Spectre. The other remaining still in place. Showing no reaction. That further irritated the man child. 

"She almost killed me that day...if it wasn't for Kurogiri and that annoying brat with anger issues. Almost killed by a brat! Gah!" Shigaraki continued his tantrum, Toga dropping her smile as Giran leaned in to listen to her whisper.

"Should we come back later? He seems angry, does he need a nap?" Giran shook his head, mouthing for her to wait it out. 

"And why exactly should I let you two brats join the organisation, all of you look like a complete waste of time. Coming here only for Stain." Shigaraki hissed, looking at a blonde girl in uniform, a dumb smile on her face. Dabi who was checking out Kurogiri, and Spectre judging the man in front of him. With his growing annoyance, Shigaraki had enough. Stain this, Stain that! 

"You're all no good!" he ran towards them, fingers out to destroy them. 

"Requiem, paralyse." 

Toga flinched, still smiling whereas Dabi smirked. In a blur of white, Spectre's lance turned to his shield form and pinned Shigaraki to the wall. Kurogiri stood in his spot, unmoving. Shigaraki said nothing, touched nothing and only met the eyes of the person in front of him. In this time, was his life in another's hands. 

"You were saying?" the red iris glowed, when Spectre pulled back did Kurogiri began heaving heavily as Shigaraki collapsed to the ground. 

"We wasted enough time Dabi, let's go get some coffee." 

"Wait, wait wait! Don't leave yet!" Giran pleaded with the two, following after them after they exited out of the room. 

Shigaraki soothed his throat, scratching it after a few moments. "I'm really starting to detest brats with white hair." 

Mirko and Shirayuri looked at the camera, after spending almost all of the days in the week repeatedly training, patrolling, observing and running around to different cities across the nation. Mirko surprised the ghoul by showing her which brand deals are the best to take, types of content she posts for different platforms and how to differentiate a good deal, a bad one and a deal that looks good but isn't. 

Shirayuri continued to wear the cuffs, even in her sleep. She slowly did get used to them, sometimes even forgetting that they were on.

"I didn't know you like Adidas too," Shirayuri smiled, remembering their photoshoot with the brand a few hours prior. Now, they were doing another photoshoot with another of Mirko's favourites, a brand that sells the softest silk pyjamas with the most unique designs. "Also wow, these are soft."

"I know right, I used to get so much comments after I complain about uncomfortable outfits sent to me by brands to try for free and hopefully promote." Mirko huffed, remembering how itchy one was that it lasted even after putting on a different outfit she trusted. "If you get PR, don't throw it away, it's free goods." Shirayuri nodded, listening to the hero's words. 

"When was the last time you ate by the way? I'll go find some liver for you if you want, or do you prefer a different cut?" Shirayuri froze, looking around to find that everyone else was to busy and minded their own business. Mirko nudged her with her leg. "Hey it's fine, they know better than to comment with me around. Now, let's finish this and get you filled up." 

"..."

"..."

"That came out wrong." 

Both of them broke into laughter, the photographer rolling her eyes and waiting for both of them to finish before asking them to get back to their previous stances. 

When it was time for Shirayuri to fly back home, Mirko bent down a little and plucked one of Shirayuri's hair. Smiling down. 

"Keep shredding your classmates Jackal, don't you ever stop and slow down for others." 

The two hugged each other, both of them taking a deep breath when they pulled back. With a final nod, Shirayuri flew up high, both of her suitcases in hand as she reached higher altitudes. Mirko looking up at her proudly when she spotted that the ghoul has yet to take off her cuffs. 

"I am one damn good mentor." 

"Same." Hawks commented, appearing beside her with booze. He grinned and shook one of the bottles. "Well what do you say?" 

Chapter Text

It was time for a morning meeting. Nezu sat where he can overlook everyone with ease. Eraser Head's face hadn't stopped looking annoyed, of course not, three of his students went to fight the hero killer and another was sent to find them all by herself with cuffs that stripped her of her advantages in battle. Then he was sent two photos of two potential villains he didn't know of with one of them looking like they could be directly related to a student of his. 

"I wonder what you did last year to have so much to handle this year." Present Mic commented, poking his friend with a pencil when he wasn't responsive. 

"Expelling students, destroying dreams and overall being a buzzkill at parties." Midnight answered for him, "He's basically Hades at Olympian parties." 

All Might cleared his throat, trying stop the growing tension between the three, "Alright now, it's understandable that Aizawa has been stressed a lot. Especially with the injuries sustained and damages caused this morning." All Might spoke up. Thirteen gave the number one hero a confused look, some of the other teachers too. 

"What damages?" 

"Bakugo destroyed a few of his friends tables with his explosions after they commented on his deflated hair, Kaneki caused an entire section of the school to suffer a blackout after releasing an EMP wave thing, and then a fight broke out in the chaos of the darkness after Dark Shadow and a few other quirks responded to that wave." Nezu answered, the other teachers just having heard of it now. 

"Should we give her an Rc cell suppressor in the mean time? Maybe her body is slowly releasing stress from the strenuous activities of last week." Thirteen suggested. 

"Drug her even more? We all should be aware of the consequences from drug abuse by now." Eraser Head snorted, Present Mic heavily agreeing with him. 

"Do we really want more missing holes inside of her memories that can lead to more dangerous and frequent attacks? If we do give her a collar to suppress her powers, she'll just think its oppression and go rogue." the voice hero let out a nervous laugh, not really keen on being near a not-in-the-best of state individual with a quirk that can kill him. 

All Might snapped his fingers, "That's it! I'll make the class release all their energy and frustration in Ground Gamma for today's class." the other teachers looked at each other, slowly nodding their heads in agreement. 

"Just don't make any of them release too big moves, today's budget is going for the repairs." they all collectively sighed. A wave ripped through them, the lights blinking before the one in the centre of the room, the main one exploded into countless little pieces. 

"Kaneki..." Aizawa groaned, slamming his head on the table.

"Oh it wasn't her this time, that was Kaminari who tried to mimic what Kaneki did." Dark Shadow appeared from underneath door, Lida rushing in soon after him panting. 

"No...use of quirks in the hallways! Why are you even here?!" Dark Shadow shrugged.

"Yuri asked Fumi to tell Zawa that this one wasn't her fault, in return, she makes him black coffee." 

Flashback to the same morning...

Sero, Kirishima and Kaminari laughed, pointing towards Bakugo's head as they clutched their stomachs. Everyone was beginning to arrive, one of them none other than Fumikage Tokoyami who was already annoyed by being stuck in the elevator giving him time to think more about his useless week with Hawks. Shirayuri was at the back of the class alongside the other girls, clearly frustrated that her kakugan wouldn't disappear alongside the strange marks she got after...traversing the sewers? 

"What the hell is wrong with me today?" she muttered, placing a hand on her growling stomach. After prepping her face, the white-haired student began applying foundation with a beauty blender that she had borrowed from Mina. Momo held her cosmetics bag, face flustered after it was revealed that she brought her make up kit to school.

"I know it's unbecoming of a vice president to bring cosmetic products to class, but, there are times where I just really need to touch up, erase and re-apply." 

"Honestly I get it, my mom even got me a few cosmetics so I don't feel left out." Uraraka assured the taller girl, Hagakure was helping Shirayuri by applying the foundation at a few marks at the back of her head. 

"Wait Kaneki can just hide this with her hair-eh, already too late." Hagakure spoke to herself, pausing before continuing with her actions. 

"What's up with the fight this morning, I got stomped on by so many girls and their boyfriends." Mineta groaned, Deku tending to his wounds alongside an angry-looking Lida. 

"So Kaneki, what did you do with Mirko?" Tsuyu asked, Jiro twirled her ear jack and Mina looked serious for some reason. 

"Mirko asked me to observe her movements when we confronted gangs in order to take them down, most of my week was just spent training. Except during that night out at Hosu, she sent me to track down and find those three boys over there after she fought a nomu, almost got attacked by a flying nomu but Endeavor killed it." 

Both of their jaws dropped, eyes widening at the brief summary.

"That's so cool, does this mean I'll get to see you run around on all fours like Mirko sometimes?" 

"I would gouge your eyes out the moment you see me run on all fours like a dog." Shirayuri gave the pinkette a deadpan look. 

"Women are naturally born with hidden Devil-like traits."Mineta muttered, body temperature dropping drastically that made both Lida and Midoriya share a look. 

"Oh Todoroki, Midoriya and Lida! What was it like to confront the hero killer? What was it liked to be saved by Endeavor?" Hagakure asked, Todoroki remembering back to the deal they made with the police chief. He looked at the three others who knew the truth, all of them nodding at him to speak. 

"We were grateful that my father was able to save us, it's no doubt that Endeavor is a great hero." 

"Well," Kaminari began, sitting on his table much to Lida's chagrin. "There was a blackout, someone got spooked by Dark Shadow appearing and bumped into a few others. It's a Monday so everyone's rather tense in the morning. Verbal arguments got worse and shoving got involved after someone yelled about you being a pervert, then you got grabbed and then more grabbing happened. Kaneki came, eye being all like that, someone tried to attack her causing a rather terrifying growl to come out...(deep breath) a wave broke out that caused people to fall and then lose control of their quirks. All of a sudden, everyone was fighting each other." 

Just like that, Kaminari released his own electricity, the yellow-haired pikachu glaring at Shirayuri who glared back, her own wings out to absorb the volts he let out before they could cause damage to the class. 

"No no no, this one was entirely on you." She hissed. 

Flashback finished~

"Wait, so does this mean, you left Yaoyorozu to fend for herself in a class with growing tension from how you left it?" Lida paled.

"Why the hell am I still here?" Eraser Head asked himself, cursing as he stood up before rushing out of the room.

Entering his class, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realised the class wasn't partially destroyed in the free period. Counting the heads, his face turned into a frown when a few boys were missing from their seats.

"Mr. Aizawa, can you help us down?" Kaminari asked, the teacher looked up, seeing Sero, Kaminari and Kirishima taped to the ceiling. 

"So after Lida and Dark Shadow left, I sorted things out with Kaneki and then-the homeroom teacher raised his hand, asking for silence.

"Let's just get you down, after this, all of you are taking your books out and studying for your midterms. Is that clear?" 

"Yes Mr. Aizawa."

Time passed by rather quickly, all of them now changing in respective locker rooms for All Might's class. Momo walked towards Shirayuri, placing a hand on her naked shoulder. Shirayuri flinched, shoulders raised before lowering them down. She stopped putting on her outfit, allowing Momo the opportunity to see her back. 

Momo felt her gut wrench, noticing how those markings were nothing to what she saw during the Sports Festival in the match against Todoroki. No, those lines were thin, but these looked like the stripes of a tiger. The only difference weren't that that they were only one colour; no, she can see so much veins inside of them, veins coursing in a rate so intense it makes her feel scared.

"Kaneki, what are those lumps on your shoulder and waist area...there's so many." Momo asked, the comment making the others in the class worry. The marks started glowing, an action that made Shirayuri cover her body.

"Being a chimera is a complex thing, look, the point is I have cells that work differently from all of yours. If my cells are different then that also goes for my body, those aren't tumours or anything like that; they're my additional organs. Because of them, I am me." Shirayuri explained, her hair shifting from its normal colour to a shiny black. 

"Can you tell us a little bit more about them? Maybe that can put us at ease, we're really worried about you." Shirayuri paused, never really getting passed those types of comments. 

"If it's damaged, then I can't release my wings or red scales. The more I get hurt, the stronger I get alongside these organs." she smiled at them, a smile that didn't do much to comfort them. 

"That sounds horrific." Tsuyu stated, watching how Shirayuri packed up her belongings and headed out of the locker room. 

She got a  flashback, a flashback of ghouls she didn't know being forced them countless machines crushing them, destroying their bodies faster than their bodies could handle. At the end of the process were their fluids a mix of everything that was crushed filled inside a bottle for reasons unknown. 

She didn't really know what was the point in these flashes, were they asking her to destroy her trust in heroes and humanity? But she came so far now, and, there were bonds and memories with some...

To throw everything away all seemed to be a waste of time. 

"I know, it's rather sickening to live life like this, but I have to live. For my the sake of my family, I live for them." 

"Ahh I'm always so jealous when she brings up her family, they're so lucky to have someone that constantly talks and thinks about them." Mina sighed, Tsuyu nodding her head in agreement. Momo sighed, agreeing to drop what they just and talked about. 

"You know, I think school is getting really all of us, how about we all hangout after the finals to relax?" Momo suggested, wondering if she could ask her parents to empty out a restaurant for all of them. So they wouldn't be disturbed in public, yeah, that sounds like a good idea!

"Heck yeah!" Mina punched the air, Jiro evilly smiled beside her.

"That is, if you pass your exams Mina." 

Sero, Mina, Midoriya, Lida and Ojiro were the first batch of students to go up. Shirayuri tilted her head, focused on Midoriya more than the others. There was a difference in the way he utilised his quirk compared to the last time she saw him use it, especially with how he now emitted green sparks around him. She glanced at Bakugo, clearly annoyed with another improvement from him.

'Of course he would be annoyed, his rival had yet again improved while he spent a week with combed hair wearing jeans.' Shirayuri thought, wondering if she should go irk Bakugo. They weren't close, she can't even say that they were on good terms with each other based on how they last spoke to each other. 

"With how fast Midoriya is going, afraid that he would one day be faster than you?" Shoto asked, making his presence known beside her. Shirayuri laughed at the thought, now facing the other. 

"Maybe he will one day be faster than me, until then, I'm not giving myself wrinkles or stress about it. I have bigger things to worry about than male teenagers." she answered, watching as Midoriya slipped and was now last place. 

No other words were exchanged, the two opting to watch the races instead. 

"Young Kaneki and Midoriya, can both of you stay back?" 

That was what All Might had told them after Heroics Class had ended, their class had been in one of the industrial grounds for today's lesson. It was a race to reach a certain coordinate, Shirayuri who had excelled in races to everyone's surprise won but at the cost of colliding with a wall at the end and having rubble collapse on her after failing to control a burst of electricity and blitz. 

Similar to Midoriya, there was a change at the start of the race. How she used to never use her wings and relied on running, Shirayuri instead took a great leap, doing a roll once she reached a structure and began parkourinrg through the grounds. The more parkour she did, the more her lines grew until they were a bright red. The camera closed up on her face, the class finally noticing the change in her right eye-how the blue changed from grey to now a scarlet red.When Bakugo was catching up behind her, Shirayuri finally released her wings and blitzed forward-the once yellow electricity now a scarlet red. 

"I'm guessing that those marks are a buildup of unreleased energy inside of you, I'm guessing you fought at a rate drastically less than you normally do?" Shirayuri nodded, All Might humming. 

"Are you feeling better Kaneki? That looked like a rather nasty collision." Midoriya asked her, Shirayuri nodded her head, waving it off. All Might looked at their interactions, heart beating wildly at what he was about to do. But, both of them needed to look out for each other. Especially with him still out there. All Might placed both hands on their shoulders. 

"There's something I need to tell you young Kaneki."

When the era of quirks began, civilisation as a whole around the world stopped moving forward. No, there was too much chaos anywhere for the government to handle. Protests rising everywhere, though many loved the new changes there were also many who didn't receive quirks or had them that detested these supernatural abilities. Laws lost their meaning, morality was gone. Once strong bonds were shattered; human standards crumbled to dust. 

In this time of chaos, did one man rose with a quirk that could change everything.

He had the quirk to take the quirk of another for his own, quickly did many go to the man to have them take his quirk others would come to the man and beg him for a quirk for their protection or other reasons. Because of this, he became famous and loved-becoming a leader for them in this era. 

He had strength, he had the influence, he had everything he needed to do as many crimes as he wishes. Not long did it take him to become the most powerful man in Japan, he was the ruler of all evil. 

"His name is All for One."

Midoriya looked at Shirayuri, the girl with her head down, hands fisting her skirt the more All Might spoke to her in his smaller form. Yet, All Might continued on, continuing on with the story. 

The birth of One for All came from the same man who became the symbol of all evil, a level of irony that the three in the room couldn't comprehend or laugh about. All because All for One pitied and thus gave a quirk to his useless brother. A useless quirk for a useless waste of a man; but still a man nonetheless, one with a strong sense of justice to right the wrongs of All for One. 

"I thought I killed him," both of them shot their heads towards All Might, Shirayuri being the most surprised of the two for what came out of him. Him, All Might, someone she least suspected to kill despite being the number one hero. 

He just...never strike her as someone who was capable of doing so, even if forced. 

"But he's still alive, now being the one leading the League of Villains." All Might looked towards the setting sun, Shirayuri moving to stand beside him while Midoriya watched their backs. 

"I did my research...I spent a long time finding answers, and I did, I'm sorry Kaneki." 

"All Might?" Midoriya called out, confused.

"I'm sorry that I never killed the man who was responsible for the genocide of your kind, I'm sorry that you never got the justice you deserve after he killed your parents." 

Shirayuri and All Might turned their heads, no longer looking at the setting sun. Her eyes had emotions he couldn't define, her mouth devoid of a small and yet, Shirayuri placed a hand on his shoulder. Midoriya felt his stomach drop, holding it as sweat rolled down his face and under his clothes. There was a side of her that wanted to comfort All Might, but nothing came out. She looked away from him, licking her lower lip as she tried to process her thoughts together.

"You're a ghoul." Midoriya said breathlessly, looking at Shirayuri, All Might nodded. 

"Not the last one, there's still a handful of us left. The Tsukiyama family are ghouls too."  Shirayuri added, Midoriya's eyes blinking as if he was dreaming. He should have passed that phased right now, of course, a quirkless boy being one of the few to know of All Might's true form and quirk before his quirk was passed down onto him.

Midoriya looked towards All Might something of a look of guilt on his face, was he guilty that he wasn't able to save her parents? Shirayuri glanced between Midoriya and All Might, just wondering how long has this...

"You want Midoriya to do what you weren't able to do right, help put an end to All for One?" no answer, she knew she was right. That was why he was so quiet, because only now did he inform the young boy of a villain like him. Shirayuri glanced at Midoriya, remembering all the times she watched him fight, his innocence and heart to do the right thing. There was a reason that Stain reportedly save his life. 

'Perhaps...he saw All Might in him.' Shirayuri thought. 

"I'll kill him myself, I'll right what was wrong and continue to chase down the face of a man I don't know as I've did years ago." 

Seeing All Might needing time to himself, Shirayuri quietly dragged Midoriya out. All Might sliding down the wall once they left. There was a turmoil in all three of them, glancing at a photo frame, his heart ached at the sight of it being a photo with his first master. God, he could remember her voice as clear as ever. Even if it was all those years ago. 

"All Might. I'm counting on you." 

She was pointing at him.

Deku looked at a quiet Shirayuri, her face not showing any emotion. When she stopped walking, so did Deku. 

"How am I supposed to kill a man not even All Might can kill?" her body was shaking, tears of frustration beginning to grow on her face. Deku's hand shot to hold hers, the quick touch making Shirayuri flinch and look at him. 

"By being true to yourself, growing stronger and knowing that you're not walking alone." Deku began, "If he's All Might biggest enemy...then he's all of ours. Kaneki, please tell me why you're crying."

"Because I'm wondering why he's left me alone for years now, he killed them in front of me Midoriya, he was able to kidnap me then but yet, why am I standing in front you now?" 

Midoriya didn't answer, instead, he gave Shirayuri a hug. Shirayuri hugged back, stray tears falling down onto the boy's blazer. It was comforting, his shampoo and scent making her insides melt. She moved her head a bit, trying to get more of the scent. Deku pursed his lips, eyes wide, really hopping that Shirayuri didn't find him appetising. 

"There was once a tale, that the Earth became what it is now because of the four ancestral deities born from the harbinger of light, the first Morningstar before he fell. There was the Falcon of the West, Wolf of the North, Dragon of the East and Lion of the South. The wolf was said to lead the other three, dealing and handling how the world should be shaped, it was him that howled towards the sky and created the atmosphere. The Falcon controlled the elements, observing the formation and movement of the mountains, rivers and grounds. The Dragon of the East became the spine, the source of all living creations on Earth." Shirayuri read, Shoto listening to her with his head on her lap. Without her awareness, her hands played with the strands on his head. An action that didn't bother but instead calm the other. 

"The job of the Lion didn't come after humans came to be, through him was social interactions, norms and laws were made. It was also him who chose the appropriate punishments for different crimes," Shirayuri continued, flipping to the next page. "Eventually, when humans didn't need them anymore, they vanished. Towards the Hidden World, land so large that it spread out to all continents after the Pangea. The land closer to the North was an icy wasteland, the West the home for those born and breath fire, the centre filled with abundant nature that stretched and evolved beside the thunderous East."

"I heard that in the book, Adriel Morningstar wrote on the theorised creation of ghouls, uncaring to those who argue if she was wrong." Shoto pointed out, Shirayuri nodded.

"When travellers from Europe came back to the Middle East with weapons and chains in tow, they enslaved and plundered countless villages. One boy ran, being chased by men who took their horses for their own and came at him with arrows and poles. When he reached a large cave, where many in his village claim that once they enter will die. If one was to escape, it wouldn't be long before crystals would form and destroy their eyes before taking their life. He chose death instead of slavery. Entering the cave, he found a sleeping dragon wrapped around a tree of red crystals harder than the iron worn by the men chasing after him. The dragon had countless eyes, all of them opening and staring at him." 

"The dragon asked." 

"Why have you come here boy? Has the thought of death infected your head and led you to surrender? If so, shall my mercy heed your plea and allow you to die of quick dragon fire." 

The boy fell onto his knees, tears running down his face. The dragon's head inched closer, paying more attention to the arrows sticking out of him, an eye missing from its socket. 

"I have nothing else to lose, I have nothing but this misery of a soul left. Everything has been taken from me for my home and people have been taken by men in coats of armour, pointing their weapons with looks of animosity in their eyes. They have come for gold and spices." 

The dragon tilted its head, unable to remember when humans have matched such a description. Before it can say anything else, a spear went through one of its eyes, the dragon roaring in pain, with its strength did it easily spew flames that caused those who chase him to cower and run away. Offended by the arrogation of man, it looked at the boy who looked at him with eyes of awe over such power. 

"Then you and your people shall do the same, come closer towards me young boy. I shall be your spine, allow you to stand straight and allow justice to rain down upon your enemies." 

"The tree bursted from the cave, releasing spores that infected villages for kilometres. The once frail boy would soon be the man that killed more than a thousand full-grown soldiers, uniting those similar to him together and creating an empire that would last for centuries to come. With a black crown on his head, the dragon of the East shrinking to become his spine and source of power. This was how the era of Ghouls came to be," 

"Once all was said and done, many chose to stay and live amongst humans. But the king himself and his family retreated to the ancestral home of the four deities, for they have ascended humanity and their kind alike." Shirayuri finished, taking a deep breath at the wave of fiction. 

Shoto had invited her to study at his place after they had received their midterm results. But their textbooks and notes had yet to be open. 

"Shoto, would you and Shirayuri like some refreshments?" Fuyumi asked, holding a tray of water. Shoto nodded, the older woman to their surprise bringing not only water but two cups of coffee.

"Are you sure you're alright Shirayuri? Shoto told me how you froze at the sight of the house next to ours." Shirayuri hummed, not sparing the house a glance.

"There's no point in me being a hero, if I allow my trauma of the house prevent me from passing it in order to study at Todoroki's place. Honestly, I was never aware that I used to live beside you Todoroki." Fuyumi and Shoto shared a look, something that made Shirayuri heave.

"Ah, it seems that perhaps you two do have memories with me, but to me now, both of you are strangers." 

Fuyumi smiled, shaking her heads as if indicating it's alright.

"Memories can always be made Shirayuri, I'm just glad Shoto has someone to spend time with. He sometimes talks about you to me, you know." Shoto choked on his water, glaring at Fuyumi who laughed at the action. 

"Also, both Shoto and I share the same last name, perhaps it's better if you call him Shoto." Fuyumi smirked, the ghoul took a sip of the coffee, it wasn't the best, but she appreciated the effort placed into it. Calling Todoroki Shoto on the other hand. She looked at Fuyumi, her eyes silently begging for her to agree and call her younger brother by his first name. 

"You aren't wrong, I hope you don't mind...Sho-to." 

The owner of the name coughed, eyes widening at how she said it. Fuyumi closed her mouth with her hand, trying to hold in her laughter. Shoto quickly stood up, walking towards his bag and clumsily taking out his notebooks for both of them to revise. 

"What's up with him?" Fuyumi laughed at Shirayuri's question, the confused look evident on the girl's face over the boy's sudden clumsiness. 

"He really cares about you Shirayuri, so much he's worried he's losing his cool ice-prince look in front of you the more I spill about his actions." Fuyumi explained. 

"Alright so...which subject do you want to begin with first? English? Chemistry? History?" Shoto sat down near them, pencil on his ear as he began placing down his books. Shirayuri picked up his maths book, briefly scanning the pages.

"Math, it's best if we study the harder subjects first before the easier ones." Shirayuri stated, Fuyumi standing up to leave them be. 

By the time both of them finished, Endeavor had long returned home, Fuyumi had went to sleep and the moon was high in the sky. 

"Fuyumi last sent me a message saying you can just stay over, I don't think Natsuo will mind us using his room." he suggested, Shirayuri shook her head. 

"I just need to be home before midnight, if I pass that curfew then I'm going to get eaten alive." Shirayuri huffed, putting her shoes back on, her school bag beside her. 

"You sure you'll be alright? Can you send a message once you're safe home?" Shirayuri looked at his eyes, finding the worry inside of them rather adorable. She sent him a thumbs up, opening the door to his home before walking out. 

Exiting out the main gate, she stopped walking at the sight of a man depicted in one of the two arts that attacked Endeavor whereas his partner attacked Mirko. Unlike last time, this time, he wore no mask. He had black hair, but blue eyes.

"So, you're Shoto's girlfriend?" Dabi asked, walking towards Shirayuri who took steps back. 

"Hardly, we're just friends." the other rolled his eyes at the comment, finding that ridiculous.

"A boy and girl just being friends? If they're not fucking they're just in the friend zone."

"Rather foolish to reveal yourself in front of the home of the number two hero, don't you think?" Shirayuri asked, stalling time to send a message to Shoto behind her back. Dabi of course, noticed this. 

"Hardly, I just need a few seconds to burn you alive." 

Dabi's hands shot out with flames from them, an action that made Shirayuri evade and kick one of the back of his legs. Dabi flinched falling to the ground as Shirayuri wrapped her arms around his neck and kicked his other leg before sending him to the ground, they struggled for a bit, Dabi's attempts in using his flames stopped the more she pressed down on his windpipe.

"I rather like this move, especially on enemies that are much heavier than me." she commented, kakugan appearing on her left eye. 

"What do you want from me? If you're seeking for death, I...am not in the mood for it." 

"Fuyu-Fuyumi gave you food to bring home...I wanted to steal it." Shirayuri released her grip, looking down at the man panting for air. He looked up at the sky, a look that didn't match his previous words and expression. Rolling her eyes, she took out the packed food Fuyumi had asked her to bring home and dragged him to a more secluded area.

"Who exactly are you?" Shirayuri asked, watching as Dabi gobbled the food down. He glanced up at her, allowing her to memorise his face better than before. She tilted her head, suspicious of something. Dabi smirked, seeing that she may be catching on with him.

"You could say I'm also a Todoroki." he said, moving his left hand above his head, Shirayuri looked at the blue flames. Hotter and a colour that was obviously different from what Shoto and Endeavor could control. Shirayuri released her wings, sharp and flaring out aggressively.

"Don't lie to me, how are you a Todoroki yet you smell like a ghoul." she demanded, Dabi almost choking from how much he tried to contain his laughter. He failed, leading him to fall onto his back and continue laughing. He eventually did stop when the edge of a rinkaku pointed in-between his eyes. He huffed, muttering how much of a buzzkill she was. 

"I'll tell you what I really am after you do a few things for me." Dabi ignored her hissing fit, taking the last few bites of the delicious packed meal. 

"Keep Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shoto out of harm for me. I want him to be in peak condition on the day of my return, taking down the masterpiece my father ignored me for," Dabi stated, looking out to see if anyone was lingering around. "I'm not interested in fighting a depressed man who has nothing to lose and die how I died." Dabi rolled his eyes, perhaps thinking of that day right about now.

"Familial issues? Yeah, you're part of the Todoroki family indeed." 

With that out of the way, Shirayuri placed the empty pack back into her bag. Dabi placed his hands inside of his pockets, observing the young ghoul. Shirayuri yawned, tired from all the studying. He walked towards her, leaning down to observe her eyes. 

"I wonder just how far is the power imbalance between you and him truly is..." Dabi muttered, words that confused Shirayuri. His palms lit up with blue flames, Shirayuri changed her stance. 

The sky rumbled in Musutafu, heroes and civilians looking up and expecting a thunderstorm. 

The next activity in Heroics Class was similar to the Battle Trials, but this time a team of 2 heroes have to defend a monolith against 5. The point of the exercise was for them to critically think how can they defend, attack and work beside each other against villains that outnumber them. Like a video game, the monolith has an indication that shows its health. The first round was King Explosion Murder with none other than the Stygian Jackal against Pinky, Tentacole, Creati, Earphone Jack and Invisible Girl. 

"Are you seriously just going to leave me alone and hunt them down?" Shirayuri asked, crossing her arms while standing beside the monolith. 

"You have four fucking tentacles, wings and regeneration. You'll be fine." 

"The point of this exercise is for both of us to work together, I have no doubt that I can handle it on my own. But, I want the perfect grade." Bakugo rolled his eyes, turning his body towards her. 

"I'm not going to work with someone who easily betrays the trust of others for a spectacle." 

Shirayuri's eye twitched, Bakugo leaving as she inwardly screamed and kicked the ground around her. An action that worried the rest of the class that watched them. 

"If you're going to be like this, so be it, I can stand on my own." 

Neither of them knew how to approach each other, or perhaps say the right words that won't irritate the other. But, they did care about each other. That was what the class could see, Bakugo taking down Jiro who was preparing to attack Shirayuri from an angle with amplified sounds of her heartbeat. Shirayuri fighting Tentacole, Pinky and Creati at the same time. Though she was first restraining them, when Creati quickly sent a message to Hagakure to bring down the trap on Bakugo did Shirayuri knock them out by slamming the trio to the wall and fly after Invisible Girl by tracking her scent.

"Bakugo!" Shirayuri flew towards him, accidentally setting out a trap that was made for her. 

Her eyes widened, watching as large metal beams were on their way down towards her. Bakugo also came to her aid, evading his own trap and grabbing the ghoul by the back of her outfit, his other hand facing the falling beams. Similar to the Sports Festival did Bakugo release an explosion that caused strain in his hand. 

Looking at Hagakure in the corner, observing them, Shirayuri released two rinkakus that collided with her invisible body and crumbled the wall behind her, setting rubble down to darken her mind for some time.

"Were you fucking daydreaming when you were flying?" Bakugo muttered. 

"Shut up." Shirayuri breathed out, an alarm breaking out signalling the end of their round.

"Well, that's one way for them to get along." Deku smiled, scratching the back of his head. 

While Bakugo walked away, Shirayuri released her rinkakus to pick up the unconscious bodies of her classmates. Wincing a bit when she saw that some of their outfits had tears in them from the rinkakus. Perhaps her grip was too tight then. 

"Young Kaneki, can you help take them to Recovery Girl?" All Might asked, she nodded and headed towards the infirmary. 

"Sometimes I'm so jealous when I see Kaneki fight, I want to be like her." 

"Her quirk is so cool, I wish I can do half the things she can do with them." 

"Having a versatile and powerful quirk as a hero I just know will grant a high rank, popularity and followers. I wish I can live such a comfortable as a hero but with my quirk, that's going to take a while." 

She stopped and listen to their comments, they didn't know better and that was alright. There was no need for her to correct them, she didn't need their pity and sympathy for the circumstances she was given with. When the bell rang, Shirayuri made a beeline towards a different section of the school. An area she visited every now and then to borrow a book to read. 

Greeting the librarian, Shirayuri walked inside the library. There were already students from different departments also studying for the final exams. When they heard her footsteps, did they look up and recognise her. 

"Shirayuri Kaneki from the Hero Course..."

"Her quirk is so strong yet terrifying." 

"She looks so thin that you wouldn't think she's that powerful." 

"Just ignore there comments, its nothing new for a few students from different classes to make compliments with an underlying meaning." Shirayuri turned her head, noticing Tamaki Amajiki read between two bookshelves, head down as he read holding the book. Shirayuri hummed, already used to most of the comments. The ones about her weight or anything related to that stung though, it had always been hard for her to reach a normal average weight and grow muscle easily unlike her friends. It was their metabolism, making sure their bodies were in its best shape to fight and escape. 

"Are you studying for the exams too, senior class men Amajiki?" Shirayuri asked, Tamaki nodding his head slowly. 

"Your tests are still easier. Two against one teacher, in your senior year it'll be a solo fight against two teachers and robots...a plan you'll have only 5 minutes to think about, execution needs to be perfect if you want to pass."he muttered, his words earning her attention. 

"And what do you mean about two against one teacher, hadn't the first year's final exams always been against robots?" Tamaki glanced at her, before freezing and looking back down. His body now shaking even worse. 

"Villains are becoming more dangerous, many ready to return and do crime because of Stain empowering them. So now, the school has chosen to have much harder tests. They'll pair you off based on your personalities, quirks and relationships," Tamaki stated, closing his book to take another. "All teachers will be fought, they'll be weakened though, with cuffs that you once were also rumoured to wear during your internship."

"Hmm, that means there's a chance I will be fighting All Might." Shirayuri made Tamaki face him, lifting his chin up she smiled a bit and pinched both of her cheeks. "Finally you did something useful." 

Tamaki's ears turned red, steam coming out of his ears as he collapsed onto his knees and passed out. Shirayuri panicked, everyone now looking at both of them. 

"Amajiki?" 

"Senior class men Amajiki?!" 

Chapter Text

It was yet another morning in the Tsukiyama manor. Karren took a scalding hot shower, thinking of her daily schedule as she mentally prepared herself for the day ahead of her. Her clothes were hung outside of her closet, fresh and newly-ironed to perfection. Walking out of her room, she knocked on the doors of her cousin and then Shirayuri who groaned in response to being woken up. 

"Yuri, don't forget, your final exams are today. School starts in 30 minutes." Karren lied, it was 4:30 in the morning. But if only a certain teenager didn't made her worry by coming home late...

There was the sound of a thump, followed by heavy drinking of water that made Karren roll her eyes. Shirayuri's banged against the door, cursing as she slowly opened the door-lake of awareness still clear on her face as she headed towards the main bathroom. Entering the bedroom, Karren sighed and assess the mess inside. Utilising her kagune, she easily made the bed in less than a minute, tidied her bag and books before setting her uniform on the bed. Though Shirayuri was capable herself, there was nothing wrong with helping the younger every now and then. 

"Traitor." the white-haired girl muttered, entering the room once more wearing only a towel. 

Karren raised her hands in surrender, exiting the room with a smirk on her face.

It was 5:05 in the morning by the time Shirayuri exited out of her room, with her belongings for the day. Entering the kitchen, Tsukiyama looked up from his phone, greeting the younger ghoul who hummed in response. Tsukiyama looked up from his phone to look at Shirayuri, then back at his phone. This action repeated until Shirayuri looked at him, an eyebrow raised to question him. 

"Do you need anything uncle?" she asked, chewing the piece of meat inside of her mouth more slowly.  

"I've been thinking, you're old enough now to know more about your birth parents." Tsukiyama stated, leaning forward onto the table. "Yuri, you weren't born from the two people that you saw died in front of you. I know it must be very confusing, why on Earth would I bring it up now when I had all the time in the world to tell you for the past few years since you left that mental hospital." he let out a sigh, a look of guilt on his face.

"But honestly, were you ready? I had my doubts after you went around the dark alleyways searching and going on your little 'rebellious phase' even before your kakuho had fully developed for you to utilise your kagunes without injury," he paused, remembering a memory. "Your mother used her kagune a lot at an extremely young age to fend for her and her younger brother, the consequences of her actions finally came up to her when she up till now can only produce one wing unlike you."

"Does my real mother have short black hair, with blue eyes?" Tsukiyama dropped his phone, looking at her with wide eyes. 

"Yes...she does." he confirmed, wondering how she knew. 

"I sometimes get these weird dreams, or daydreams because they sometimes do happen in the daytime. There was a time I saw a white-haired family seemingly minding their own business cooking in the kitchen, I thought I once met a woman who hugged me." he listened intently, taking it in word by word. 

Tsukiyama stood up, without a word did Shirayuri follow him. For a few minutes did they walk through the halls without a word, the younger placing her hands inside of her blazer to calm herself. They finally stopped, in front of a door in the East wing of the house. 

Shirayuri knew what this room was filled with, she was told before. It was the room where they hold priceless artefacts, both from ghouls and humans throughout history. Using a key inside of his pocket, both of them entered the room. Once they entered, Shirayuri took a step back, her heart pounding rapidly at the feeling of familiarity that struck her. There were paintings, stones, weapons, works of art and many more. Each one so unique that they greatly contrasted to whatever was beside them. 

"Shirayuri, are you aware about the history behind your spear?" Shirayuri shook her head, only remembering using it to spar against her old teacher. 

"That spear was created out of the kakuho of a seasoned warrior who held great knowledge in poisons and fighting. He was an amazing fighter, a beloved man from Spain until his arrogance got the better of him during a duel before the throne. It was said that after his kakuho had been reaped out, the still-moving organ fused itself with his pole arm in order to continue fighting even after death-hoping justice will be served. Something that he didn't get for his beloved family members that were exterminated during a coup d'état." Tsukiyama explained Oberyn's background. 

"Do you know why I allowed you to keep the spear after you broke into this room?" he asked, Shirayuri shrugged.

"Somehow, after so much time, you made the kakuho inside this spear secrete poison. All this time, the spear has to manually be refilled, no, somehow a young child like you made the spear accept you." Tsukiyama knelt down, a smile on his face, the look on his face would one mistaken as a worshipper seeing the presence of an angel in front of him. 

"All these years, kept away from your ancestral roots and knowledge. You were still able to access these abilities and communicate through dragon." Tsukiyama excitedly stood up, taking her hand and bringing her closer towards the stash of weapons. 

Who was dragon? And why was uncle Shuu talking about 'dragon' as if it was some higher life form or entity? 

"Can you do something simple for me?" he asked, Shirayuri nodded her head. Though she was scared, uncle Shuu was a man she had placed great faith and trust in over the years. 

"Close your eyes, and say anything. Not just any sentence, but a sort of incantation that you instinctively have to say with either of your hands out-seemingly reaching out for something." he said, pausing a bit. "I know this sounds weird, but have some faith in me. In this."

Doing as she was told, Shirayuri extended her hand out. Her eyes were cold, uncertain on what she was supposed to do next. Her mind was dark, her face frowned when she felt markings start to sting across her body. 

"Falcon of the West : mind expansion."

"Is everything ready?" Dabi asked Spectre, taking out a cigarette and lighting it with his pinky finger.

Spectre nodded, wincing at something. Dabi raised an eyebrow, wondering how the hell a mosquito would have pricked through the other's skin. Spectre looked around, seemingly trying to find something before finding it. His eyes widened, drawing out his lance. Dabi looked around, finding nothing.

"What's up with you?" 

There was the sound of birds flapping, before a screech. 

Her eyes snapped open, Tsukiyama grinning at the new weapon she was now holding. Shirayuri looked around, realising that she was now back back inside of the manor. Far from where she previously was. 

"Yukimura 1/3, it was a sword that was created by your father's mentor before it was passed down to him. Now, he passes it on to you; like he had always intended." Tsukiyama explained, Shirayuri closed her eyes, focusing on the blade.

"Yuri, what are you doing?" Kaneki asked, picking up his youngest daughter. 

He had heard that she had escaped her caretakers again, even if she was less than 5, had the young girl easily deflect the guards and entered his office. He raised an eyebrow when they first came to him, crying on their knees. When he had entered his office, his stomach dropped when the toddler was climbing his book shelf in order to reach the resting sword. Unlike other blades he owned, Yukimura 1/3 were three blades in one.

The moment she touched the blade, did she began to fall, Kaneki instantly catching her as the blade fell onto the ground splitting into its dual-wielded form much to Kaneki's surprise. 

"Fascinating," he looked down at his toddler, innocently smiling at him as if she hadn't just tried to injure herself with a QUINQUE. "Who's my little trouble maker, who's going to be the reason your mother is going to deafen me? You are~" Kaneki cooed.

"KEN KANEKI!"

She stilled, touching her head at that memory that was hers. Locked away for years, and now, it has resurfaced. 

'So that man, is my father?' she thought, pausing on the memory to see what he looked like then. 

It was clear that she got most of her features from him, from his eye colour straight to her hair colour. The gentlest look he gave her made Shirayuri's heart flutter, yearning for the love shown to her as a child. 

'Why did things have to end up this way?'

"Uncle Shuu, where are my other siblings now? Are they nice people?" Shirayuri asked, a look of worry on her face. Tsukiyama nodded, remembering when he last saw them.

"Very nice kids, though Kishou can be a little bit cold and dense, Arata and Ichika are sweethearts." 

Those are their names : Kishou, Arata and Ichika. Shirayuri smiled a bit, noticing how her sister's name and hers are both related to flowers. 

'Kishou is a bit cold and dense?' Shirayuri thought back to the picture shown to her. The heartless look he was drawn with. 

She remembered Mirko telling her the encounter she had with the unnamed boy with glasses, how he didn't look no older than most U.A students in their last year of high school. Yet he was skilled, skilled enough to first rush past her while creating a small cut on her cheek. The two engaged in a fight, unlike the younger ghoul, Kishou relied more on his weapons instead of his kagunes. 

His weapons, quinques without a doubt. 

"He's going to kill us all, uncle Shuu, I think he joined an evil organisation and he's plotting something." Shirayuri pleaded, now facing the older man who shook his head, refusing to believe that her 'older brother' would do something like that. 

"Yuri, everything is under control. Dragon is perhaps overwhelming you, it is a powerful ability wield by less than a handful...especially after the Washuu massacre, go to school now. You can't miss your exams now." 

With that, the conversation was closed. Shirayuri walking out of the room with Yukimura 1/3 now in hand. About to reach the gate of the manor, she looked back at the servants, Karren and Tsukiyama greeting her. She waved back, ukaku wings out before taking flight. 

Looking down at the busy street down below, the teen could see her silhouette attracting the attention of a few civilians. They glanced up, recognise the uniform and wings before waving at her. She paid them no mind, doing her best to maintain average speed to reach U.A long before the bell would ring. Her harden wings glowed and reflected the sunlight, its crystallised feathers gleaming; filled with pride. 

As she flew, she could hear the sound of wing flaps coming nearer towards her. Heart racing, Shirayuri did a quick spin and release a few projectiles in the direction of the sound, doing so as a warning shot to leave her alone. 

"Woah there, no need to ruffle your feathers over me," Hawks raised his hands in mock surrender, the two of them stopping their flight to converse. "But then again, I always do ruffle everyone's feathers, especially girls." Shirayuri shot him a look of concern. 

"You are aware that I'm 15, right?" she asked, Hawks blinking at the comment. At first he looked bewildered at her statement, then he blinked and realised what led to this point. When he realised this, his worry disappeared and a relaxed look washed on his face.

"I see no cops around." he pointed out, Shirayuri ready to pull out Yukimura 1/3 inside of her bag. The number 3 hero laughed a bit, assuring her that he wasn't here to hurt her. He reached out and nudged her shoulder, signalling for her to continue flying. Shirayuri complied, albeit, he now noticed the marks that appeared on her neck. 

"Isn't flying nice? One with the wind and skies, free to let it go?" he asked her, flying around the ghoul making Shirayuri roll her eyes. 

How did she wake up in 4:30 in the morning convinced that she was late for her exams, had a talk with uncle Shuu to find out her birth parents are alive, he passed down her sword that had been intended for her, received a flashback and warning about an attack only for the warning to be dismissed? Also, she was taking this more well than she thought. 

"You know Jackal, from what Tokoyami told me. Both of you and another student were transported to another area of the U.S.J. But here's the thing, he left you alone so that he could rescue the other student. After both of them came back, all of the villains were gone and then you left after briefly talking to them...after that, you got into a fight with Shigaraki in the middle of the place and almost killed him." Hawks retold the story, Shirayuri sighed tired of past events. Turning her back, she began flying all the way to school. The hero pouted, continuing to fly beside her. 

"A red iris and black sclera, rinkaku and ukaku kagune, fast regeneration...forgive me when I said I had to do my research on U.A's rumoured S-ranked ghoul."

In a burst of electricity, Shirayuri brought down both of them down to the nearest rooftop. Her wings pointed towards his neck, crackling with electricity as he looked at her face. He couldn't see the upper half of her face, covered by darkness until she opened both of here eyes, the red glowing iris staring into his soul with such ferocity. 

"How many...knows?" 

There was the sound of something being unsheathed, without hesitation did Shirayuri grab the middle of Hawks' feather blade. Both of them maintained eye contact, the hero glancing as Shirayuri tightened her grip on the large feather. Her grip grew tighter and tighter until it broke into two. 

"Well in truth, I got interested after seeing that senior follow you around. It's harder to detect feathers, y'know?" Hawks grinned, Shirayuri raising an eyebrow at him. "Alright fine, it was a strong guess especially after seeing you during the Sports Festival and how Mirko commented your ghoul-like abilities. What you think you're the only one who sees ghouls every now and then?" he huffed, feeling the weight above him leave as Shirayuri stood up. 

Shirayuri pulled out Yukimura 1/3 causing Hawks to once again roll his eyes at the weapon pointed at him, "Alright, now I'll really stop confusing you. If I wanted to harm you, I would have done that sooner and with reinforcements. The fast, furious and power-type fighters are always the hardest to bring down." 

"And the talkative and fast ones are always the most satisfying to kill." Shirayuri commented, placing back Yukimura 1/3. 

"S-rank was just a strong guess if I were to be honest, matched you the most. SS and above seemed too high whereas A rank seemed to be downplaying your abilities from what I've witnessed." 

Stop, stop...she just wanted him to stop talking. 

The world needed to shut its mouth, needed to lose the ability to produce sound for just a couple of minutes.

Unease, stress and anger all brewed inside of her. Cursing at herself for being so reckless, allowing more than a handful amount of people to know her true identity. Being disgusted at the times she was so lax and even dared to hint of her status as a one-eyed ghoul. Even if she was half-human, people will only see her as she truly is-a ghoul. A ghoul with a history of violence, murders and revenge to her name.

"Maybe I should run away...go back into hiding..." the hero's eyes widened, surprised by the words that left her mouth as she looked down at the people below her.

"I mean, you can do that. But after all the effort placed into U.A? One of the biggest candidates for your year's Big 3. The girl who got the gold, a quirk so versatile it's the object of envy for everyone...I may have snuck a few feathers in gossip places just to get the latest news to discuss with Mirko." 

"Everything is just becoming more dangerous, I know, ironic considering I chose to become a hero. But with the new information of my brother, All for One being the reason for the genocide of ghouls and now that he's most likely hunting me down after what I did to Shigaraki..." Hawks whistled, patting the younger's back. Well, that was a lot of new info he had learned. So the villain that attacked Mirko was indeed her brother, and not something the rabbit hero had joked and ran along with. 

"Wouldn't it be safer to stay with U.A then? Life isn't going to get any easier if you leave and abandon your newfound family." Hawks softly voiced to her, Shirayuri looked at him, worry overtaking her mind. 

"Then what about my adopted family? Who's going to keep them safe?" she asked, kicking the ground. Hawks hummed, plucking a few of his feathers telekinetically in order to draw the teen's attention. The feathers danced around her, one even tucking her hair back behind her ear. "They're going to be attacked, I saw it!" 

Her raised voice was immediately silenced by a hand on her mouth, Hawks shaking his head. When her shoulders dropped, a sign of defeat, he gave her back the option to speak while also getting the chance to pinch her cheek. 

"They've been alive longer than you, they'll survive one more day without you." Hawks assured her, ruffling her head. "Now, you should really be on your way to school. Don't want to be late now."

Not wanting to argue any longer with a hero, Shirayuri complied with his words. 

"Thanks Hawks, until our paths cross again." she parted, releasing her wings once more and taking flight. 

By the time Shirayuri arrived at school, most of her classmates had already arrived. Most of them revising and going through the notes that they had already taken. Momo raised her head, smiling and gesturing for her to join their study group. Shirayuri mindlessly nodded, placing down her bag and took out her notes. 

They all studied together until the bell rang, Midnight walking in holding a brown file causing everyone to scatter back into their seats. Hearts beating rapidly in their chests, Uraraka glanced at the ghoul, looking at how she covered her ears with her hands.

"Are you alright Kaneki?" Uraraka asked.

"There's so much heartbeats, I wish some or all of them just stop." 

The last of the written examinations were finished, everything was blurry to her after the job was done. Her purpose at the moment had been fulfilled, and now, she's left to her own thoughts. Auto-pilot helped her walk around and do things, her head nodding every now and then when she felt a question was thrown at her. The material of her eyepatch was soft, hiding away what everyone new was under it. 

She was tempted, tempted to do what uncle Shuu had taught her this morning. Somehow, somehow was she able to see something far away from where she stood. Was it because they were siblings? Or maybe because she was linked to all other ghouls because of the One-Eyed King? Or maybe, it was because of Dragon. Just like what he had told her this morning. 

She looked down at her palms, observing the lines. When had and why did she ask the Falcon of the West to give her its eyes? Since when can the Falcon do that, and does that mean that it existed alongside the Dragon, Wolf and Lion?

Why, was she special?

Why is her family special?

"Kaneki, aren't you going to change into your hero outfit? The others have already left." Shoto asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

How is he brave enough to touch a ghoul? Someone who can decapitate and sever limbs with just a little too much force, someone who relies on humans for her survivability, does he know? Does he know about her as a ghoul and perhaps her past? He is the son of the number 2 hero, a man who can easily get connections due to his high rank. Shirayuri smiles a bit, knowing that it's just that smile. 

Her smile dropped. 

Dabi.

He was related to Dabi. Though Dabi didn't hurt her, at least caused serious injury when she first met him. Not every attack goes for the kill, sometimes they linger and stalk you before they attack, attacking you when you're unaware or unprepared. His flames, they would have no trouble overwhelming her with her heat and cause an overload of senses to go off when added with the factor of its light. 

Would she even have time to learn how to use her kakuja by then? Would having a kakuja do much to stop him? She didn't know, she didn't like that the answers were unclear. but one thing was clear for her: 

He was a man who wanted to hurt her family.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Shirayuri slapped his hand away, the others in the room shocked over the aggression and fear inside of her voice. She leaned back, a look of fear inside of her eyes before she fell down from her seat and ran away. Worried, Uraraka and Momo who were left chose to ran after Shirayuri. 

Shoto looked hurt, looking down at his slapped hand in disappointment

"Perhaps she was in a bad mood, it's not your fault Todoroki." Midoriya walked towards his friend, trying to console him. The green-haired boy attempted to place a hand on the other's shoulder, but the other also rejected it, walking away to also change and avoid the others. 

The ghoul didn't say much after Momo and Uraraka found her, finding solace in one of the bathroom stalls until they begged her to just endure the practical test and then she was allowed to instantly fly back home. After putting on her outfit, she also instantly placed on her mask, something to show that she wasn't interested in conversing with the others. Sitting in the back of the bus, her hands were crossed while the movement of the vehicle slowly lulled her to sleep. 

"I don't understand...why do I have to leave you all?" a younger her asked, glancing at her two fake parents standing near her real ones. Her real father lifted her up, moving her up and down in his arms to console her from crying. He couldn't handle her then. 

"There are bad people coming, bad people who wants to hurt us and you. Until they have been dealt with, until I erase whoever wants to hurt our family, I need you to live amongst the humans, continue to grow and find something you're going to be passionate about." he said, her mother walking to pinch one of her cheeks. 

"I want to be a hero then, just like you." Shirayuri blinked, a look of determination now on her face.

Kaneki's eyes widened at the statement, glancing at Touka who looked just as surprised. 

"The young lady must have a warrior's spirit, my king." fake mother commented, a small smile on her face. 

"Is it too young to tell her the difference between you and an actual hero?" Touka whispered, a look of worry on her face. 

"I think she'll have that reality crushed sooner or later, for now, let's just roll with it." Kaneki whispered back, glancing between Touka and the toddler before escorting the three of them out of the room. 

"Tell me Yuri, what do you think makes a hero?" 

"They don't give up so easily."

"For instance, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu will be going up against me." Mr.Aizawa's words made her return her attention the world around her. She glanced at Shoto and Momo, seeing their complex facial expression at the thought of going against Mr.Aizawa, someone whose quirk allowed him to prevent the use of other quirks. 

'It was clear the teacher's had everyone's weakness in mind when thinking of the pairing.' she thought, wondering who will be her partner. 

Shirayuri looked at all the teachers in front of her, all of them will be going against two students each for their final exam. They wore cuffs, something to worsen their movement and reflexes to give them a higher chance of winning. 

Pairings were given out, conversations breaking out between each other. To her surprise, Kirishima was talking to another student that none of the class had recognised. The others who now stood with their partner : Tsuyu was with Tokoyami, Momo with Shoto, Hagakure with Shoji, Kodak and Jiro, Sero and Mineta, etc. Midoriya worriedly glanced, shaking as Bakugo looked extremely annoyed. Ah, they were partners. A classic. 

She glanced around, confused on why no one had approached her. Taking off her mask, she took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

"Kaneki, you're not getting a partner. For your final exam, you will be taking it alone, against All Might. We can discuss this further after I have dismissed the class." 

It didn't take long for Nezu's words to reach everyone's ears, the one-eyed ghoul once again becoming the centre of attention for her classmates. She closed her eyes, already feeling the pain coming her way as she nodded. Accepting her fate. 

"Kaneki is really fighting All Might by herself?" 

"That's like such an  honour! Or perhaps a really hard exam that's leaning on the border of being completely unfair." 

"Good luck Kaneki, if I were her, I would already be suffering a break down." 

That was why Kirishima had a partner that wasn't in their class, it was because the teachers chose not to pair them up. Her friends glanced at her as they walked inside of the building, some giving her looks of encouragement but the majority were looks of sympathy. She looked up at the sky, blue with clouds. 

"Why couldn't I just be given a partner, why not just pair me up with Kirishima?" 

"Well you see Kaneki, when we were discussing on which student to pair with and then a teacher to exploit their weakness," Midnight paused for dramatic affect, intertwining her fingers together. "We couldn't find a clear weakness to exploit from you, quinques have long since been destroyed and unable to be made without...the core material and well, All Might is the only one here capable of giving you a hard time." the R-Rated hero explained. 

"Don't worry, Shota and I chose to compensate you by grabbing you some organs for you to eat!" Present Mic assured her, holding a cooler. 

"Have you been holding it all this time?" Eraser Head sighed, seeing the other nod his head proudly. 

"Cmon, you know you want it. 28-year-old male, pescatarian, college professor-I got his liver, heart, a couple of other organs and when I asked the nurse for add-ons she got me a litre of his blood!" 

"You're getting too excited over this, and it scares me, it truly does." Thirteen commented, her and Snipe taking a step away from the Voice Hero. 

"Cmon, it's no different than having a dangerous carnivore to take care of!" 

Feeling weirded out, Shirayuri slinked inside to wait for her match. Because she would be facing against All Might, she had to wait for Midoriya and Bakugo to finish theirs before having her turn. Giving her enough time to observe the matches of everyone else. 

"Ah Kaneki, how are you feeling?" Recovery Girl asked, sitting down to observe the matches. 

"Healthy as always, how have you been Recovery Girl?" Shirayuri asked, standing beside the elderly lady.

"I could say the same, I heard Present Mic has prepared some food for you for after your match?" Shirayuri nodded, the old hero humming in satisfaction.

"Hizashi used to be so scared of you, now, it seems he's eager to see you grow more. I hope no one has been giving you a hard time, or faced any unfavourable treatment from any teacher." Shirayuri shook her head.

"No one has been mistreating me, I'm grateful that none of the teachers think of me as an animal that needs to be put down."

"Why should they think of you an animal? Besides organs, Rc cells and a couple of other things inside of your body, you're just a teenage girl. You breathe oxygen, you need sleep and release dook dook." Shirayuri paused, looking at Recovery Girl with a flabbergasted look. 

"Did you just say-" Shirayuri closed her mouth, kneeling down and covering her ears.

"Kids these days," Recovery Girl huffed, "So afraid to talk about their dookies when it's healthy." 

'But it's just so weird to bring up.' Shirayuri closed her face with her hands, feeling uncomfortable inside of her own skin.

"Kaachan please, it's better for both of us just to escape him!" Deku pleaded, doing his best to reason with Bakugo. 

The number one hero wasn't going easy on them, causing large amounts of damage to the fake environment. With his strength and experience, it didn't take much for him to force through Bakugo's attacks and attack him with full-force. Sheer luck was what allowed Deku to grab the other and hide them away, allowing them to rest and talk once more. 

He was hellbent on winning, that was what the ones watching, Deku and All Might knew. 

Deku flinched, watching Bakugo attack the wall beside him. 

"Listen up nerd...I'm not going to say this twice." 

All Might jogged, glancing around in order to find both Bakugo and Midoriya. The sound of wind coming towards him, turning his head just in time as Bakugo sent an explosion towards his face. Unbothered, he reached out to grab and pin down the boy when Midoriya wearing one of Bakugo's gauntlets rushed in and released a strong explosion. 

Recovery Girl raised an eyebrow, watching All Might coughed out blood as the other two ran towards the exit, "Well, that was interesting to watch." she commented. 

Shirayuri paled, watching All Might collect himself from the attack and continue pursuing after both Bakugo and Midoriya. Feeling herself ready to vomit, she did her best to walk towards the nearest bathroom in the facility. 

She allowed for the sink's water to run, sweat rolling down the side of her head as she thought of her plan. Remain underground, All Might isn't a tracker, if she remains underground and maintain good speed, she will be able to escape without much of a fight. Remain undetected, out of sight, out of mind.

'But a fight, a fight with the number one hero is inevitable.' 

Because she would be on her own, it's less likely for him to find her in such an area. But she's also ON.HER.OWN. No support whatsoever if she gets caught.

Her kakugan activated, surprising Shirayuri who gazed into it. 

"..."

"What you're just going to do that and not explain yourself?" she huffed, rolling her eyes at the previous action. 

Midoriya hissed in pain, Bakugo beside him unconscious as Recovery Girl did her best to heal him. All Might sat on a chair, looking at both of them in worry. 

"Honestly, I think there will be future complications problems regarding your body especially your spine even after I'm done with healing you." Recovery Girl sighed, glaring at All Might causing the number one hero to wince. Deku paled, doing his best to glance at his back if it wasn't for the pain in his neck. His whole body ached, unable to feel parts of his body or control it properly. 

"But...there is this thing that I have been working on with a few others..." Recovery Girl's voice trailed off, leaving her seat to open a white refrigerator. The two other conscious humans in the room looked curiously at what Recovery Girl brought out : a liquid inside of a small container, slowly did she take out a sterile syringe and allow it to take some of the liquid. 

"It's been on the works since the Sports Festival, my colleagues in I-Island have been working hard day and night to study and observe it. Though it shouldn't be released to the public anytime soon, it's been tested on enough humans to ensure that a tiny dosage does no harm and does its purpose." 

"And what purpose is that exactly?" All Might asked suspiciously, looking at the old lady with a feeling that he should be in full-awareness. 

"To simply regenerate and fix the body to its best state, have you ever wondered how ghouls return to their prime condition and become stronger after gruesome and extreme fights?" 

She walked towards Midoriya, syringe in hand. 

"It's your free choice to take it, I'm just saying there is a high chance for your body to return to its prime state even after all the injuries you sustained ever since you got that quirk from All Might." Deku gulped, glancing at All Might who looked away from him. Body slightly crouched as he placed his hands on the wall. Both of them well aware where this supposed groundbreaking medicine truly originates from. 

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. 

There was still so much he needed to do, he also promised that he would do whatever it takes to help All Might put an end to All for One. All he ever wanted, was the greater good for everyone. 

"Please...give it to me." 

Uraraka ran, Aoyama beside her who clutched onto his stomach. Reaching the observation room, the others turned their back to see the newly arrived duo. Slowly walking towards Lida, gestured for her to stand beside him. 

"Did...I...miss the fight?" Uraraka breathed out, glancing towards the large screen. It was now showing no one's fight, only a desolate fake city free of destruction and any living beings. 

"Hardly, Recovery Girl just left to go tend to Bakugo and Midoriya. I think we'll have to wait a couple more minutes before Kaneki's match begins." Lida assured her, panicking when Uraraka laid on the ground, exhausted. 

"I don't think I can watch this." Tsuyu rubbed her hands together, feeling uneasy.

"I know, seeing Bakugo and Midoriya's fight was just..." Momo closed her mouth, trying to prevent herself from vomiting. 

The door opened, the ones inside of the room already turning their heads to see who had just entered.

"For heroes-in-training, all of you need to strengthen your stomachs. Not good for your teeth to continuously vomit." Recovery Girl chided, coming back to the observation room. Midoriya limped, walking back towards the observation room much to the other's surprise. He looked down, refusing to face anyone as he went to stand near Lida and Uraraka. 

"Eh Midoriya?!" 

"That fast?!" 

Midoriya said nothing, glancing up a bit, stiffening with surprised eyes when he met the gaze of no one other than Shoto Todoroki. Shoto took a step forward, feeling something was wrong.

"I've been in the works with a couple of scientists from I-Island, we've developed a new experimental drug with Kaneki's unique cells that allows much faster regeneration, if you're asking me, its much more complex and heals better than mine." Recovery Girl explained, Midoriya nodding his head, allowing himself to test the new drug. 

"At the price of not being able to use your quirk for a few hours, the dose is really small but the process makes you rather prone to thrashing, screaming and mentally confused." Deku awkwardly laughed, remembering how he had to be pinned down. "At least my spinal cord is completely healed."

Warmth left the body of the half-hot and half-cold user, looking at Midoriya as if he was a complete stranger. His mind went back towards Shirayuri, remembering her terrified gaze and voice at the thought of being touched. Did she also knew? Is that why she also refused his touch? Because of the idiotic choices of others that she thought she could trust but couldn't? 

Even now he has to suffer the consequences of others? After finally slowly realising that using his left side wouldn't turn him into the man of his nightmares?

"Does Kaneki know about this, you using her cells as a drug? She's not something you can just take from and experiment with." Shoto interrogated the older woman, gritting his teeth in annoyance. "How could anyone agree to experiment on DNA belonging to an underaged girl whose family clearly doesn't want her to go to the doctors, a normal school and even be in the limelight?" 

"She consented to having herself medically checked, when suspicions rose. I sent the samples to a well-guarded and extremely private lab where no one else can get it. Don't fear, All Might himself trust the place." Recovery Girl assured him, something that didn't calm the boy. "It was honestly surprising to say the least, when it was first tried on a couple of willing humans. It was able to re-grow a person's arm before the person attacked the nurses tending to them forcing him to be sedated."

Shoto couldn't even laugh at the disbelief that filled him, "She only consented to have herself checked! I don't see her making a contract of evidence agreeing, or hearing of one made in the past for this. Is having all limbs really worth losing your mental sanity over? I don't think so." he argued. 

Feeling the tension rising, Momo decided to step in, hoping to bring down the urge for Shoto to fight with an old seasoned hero.

"Honestly, this sounds like a huge leap in medical discoveries and the future of medicine." Momo smiled, eyes looking excited. She looked around, trying to see if anyone else would agree with her."Imagine the endless possibilities this drug can do to the sick, injured and possibly disabled. Could you inject it to a paralysed person in a much larger dosage and expect a full-recovery? With further studies, it can be possible to fix problems in the nervous system." the girl who could create non-organic objects added. 

'Rc cells, they must be talking about using Kaneki's Rc cells considering that's what differentiates ghouls the most from humans...they're getting greedy, abusing the fact that they have a willing ghoul on their hands.' the temperature of the room lowered, frost building up on Shoto's hand. 

He had been studying too, disgusted at the information he found. Slowly repeating itself. Were they aware they were making the same mistakes in the past that led to ghoul's hiding themselves? Or were they masking the guilt by saying its for the greater good?

"Might I remind you, the DNA of your friend is swimming around, being passed around and experimented on without her knowing." he countered, shooting a glare towards the ravenette before focusing back on the hero. 

"I don't normally talk to my father, but, if push comes to shove I will get him involved and make sure you, and those other scientists are brought to justice. One way or another." 

With that, the room watched as Shoto left the observation room, he passed Midoriya the other shivering at how the other looked down upon him. Aoyama looked away, Uraraka looked uneasy alongside Lida.

"To use the DNA of someone unaware to create something meant to better humanity sounds contradicting." Lida coughed, "Honestly, sounds like something you'll hear out of a villain who convinces themselves and others that what they do is for the right cause." 

"I want all of it destroyed." Nezu said, in a voice void of amusement. He looked at the other teachers, a look of animosity on his face the moment he became aware of such a thing. His hands were crossed, tea cup long spilled onto the ground below him. A once whole piece of ceramic now shattered into smaller pieces with sharp edges.

The other teachers who had no clue and were in the room nodded their heads, forced to be expose to a wrath that they shouldn't be facing. But it was all a matter of victim of circumstance, perhaps to install a mentality that what one of their colleagues did was playing with fire-one so dangerous and great that it would burn them and leave ashes in its path of destruction.

Moving away from the room, Shirayuri breathed in the smells of nature. Enjoying the fresh air on her walk towards death in the form of an exam. Her costume was clean, shoes polished and mask void of dust, especially in the lenses. Just follow the plan, no distractions or give any time for All Might to seize an opportunity. 

"Kaneki!" Shirayuri's eyes widened, turning her back, wondering why Shoto Todoroki of all people was travelling towards her in the speed of a racing car. She was about to enter her final examination test zone when the other practically swept her off her feet.

"What the-Shoto-her own voice was cut when flutters appeared inside of her stomach, confused at the gestures done by the ice prince of U.A.

His hands wrapped around her waist, he looked down at her surprised eyes with guilt, sorrow and...other emotions that it was hard to comprehend all together. One of his hands moved up  to the back of her head, before moving right underneath her chin. Without hesitation, he kissed her.

The rest of the class who were awaiting the match dropped whatever they were holding, a few of the teachers taken aback at the sudden kiss. All Might was wondering why his ear piece was suddenly filled with squeals of delight and confused mutterings.The girl who didn't know how to fucking kiss remained frozen, allowing Shoto to continue on because holy fuck this was her first fucking kiss. 

When Shoto pulled away to catch his breath, she thought the rollercoaster of emotions were enough to go down when he said the next words that threatened to make the ghoul fly straight towards the atmosphere. 

"I'll keep you safe, I'll make sure nothing makes you sad or pains you. Shirayuri Kaneki, I may not match your strength and power now. But I will grow stronger, I'll make sure that whoever goes after you with intentions to harm you are exterminated. My One-Eyed Princess,  marry me." 

Chapter Text

Shirayuri looked at Shoto, looking at him as if he was an insane human who got hit in the head. She sighed, slowly pushing him away from her. Dejected, he did as she moved. Shirayuri placed a hand on his cheek, moving his down head to look up and face her.

"I don't understand why you all of a sudden said all that to me, but I am rather honoured knowing someone like you wanted to marry me. Saves me the trouble of finding a mate." she smiled a bit, trying to become the more rational of the two. She licked her lips, glancing around the place before speaking.

'Holy shit he wanted to marry me, shit, I'm only fifteen, why the fuck did he ask that.'

"Shoto, I'm not ready for love. Marriage is especially out of the question, unless it was arranged and I don't need to go through the hassle of picking, doing and making sure of this or that-but anyways! If this is your way of saying you want to date me, well, I'll consider if I pass this exam. I heard how entering a relationship can be academic suicide." Shirayuri shivered a bit, fearing the possibility of having to repeat a grade. 

"Don't people get married because they want to share the burden a person they care about has gone through or will go through?" Shoto asked, his eyes.So.Fucking.INNOCENT. 

"Shoto, if everyone got married, especially multiple times to people willing to share and hear their burden-the world will be filled with polyamorous relationships and marriages. Also, that's always why families exist so unless you're willing to do incest too." 

His mind was slowly returning back to its normal state, realising what he had just done, his left arm immediately burst into flames while his other hand slowly became one belonging to an ice statue. Shirayuri held in a laugh, watching the other slowly start to emit steam.

"Right...I'll see you later, while you...should really collect your mind together." 

Walking inside, Shirayuri glanced on more at Shoto Todoroki- a human who had single-handedly washed away all the stress of today in a single kiss. Useful. A good method in ridding her body of stress and anxiety. 

"Holy shit." Shirayuri muttered, running towards the nearest trash can to kick it down only to fix it back after realising she was being watched. 

"Somewhere a version of me is out there being rejected by 2 mid-looking guys, and then there's me rejecting one of the most handsome boys at school at the age of 15." 

"What has my life become?!" 

Jumping up and down a little, she looked up exasperatedly at the sky, walking around while throwing her hands up from time to time. Looking at her reflection from a window, she took a deep breath and began fixing her hair. 

"Shirayuri Kaneki, your exam starts now." 

All Might began walking around, noticing the peace and quiet around the place. He huffed, realising he had spent a couple of minutes running around chasing after sounds only to find them gone when he arrived. Smart, with her previous experience going against him, the best solution Shirayuri had come up with was to confuse but also avoid him at all costs. 

She was a fast traveler, something that increased after training with Mirko. The more speed she gathered, the stronger her kinetic pulses would equal to.

"You're at a level much higher than others Kaneki, no doubt due to your motivation to remain at the top," All Might stated, standing still with his hand turned into a fist. "But, you're going to have to do better than this to beat me!" 

With that, All Might delivered a strong punch towards the ground. The ground breaking, creating a large crater around him. Shirayuri's eyes widened, forced to abandon the underground after it began to collapse due to the shockwaves created by All Might. 

"There you are!" as if he was teleporting, he came behind her in mid-air, the ghoul forced to harden her wings as he landed a punch on her wings.

Not built for brute force, the class held in their breaths as Shirayuri's wings shattered-plummeting her to the ground as All Might sent yet another punch. Shirayuri hissed in pain, ignoring the fist keeping her on the ground to take of her gas mask. All Might's eyes widened, seeing the glass that had broken and pierced her eyes. 

Shirayuri stopped struggling, remaining still as All Might took no chances and kept her pinned down.

"Is that all you've got?" he taunted, counting that 10 seconds had passed by with no attempt to move.

The class looked at each other, some shooting worried glances while others made bets. Wondering what would be the outcome of the fight. Another 10 seconds passed by without complaints. 

"Those...who bother to speak too much...in a match...will never truly prevail..." Shirayuri breathed out, taking her 5 seconds to say the sentence.

All Might raised an eyebrow, 1 second. "Cmon now, are you going to walk out as a failure?" he asked her, 4 seconds.

"Who said anything about losing?" All Might flinched, watching her left kakugan open. A few shrieked watching as Shirayuri took a bite out of his hand before piercing parts of his abdomen and shoulder with 4 rinkakus. The number one hero hissed, feeling the kagunes dig into his muscles as Shirayuri got back onto her feet.

"I see, so she concentrated her regeneration on one eye instead of two minutes to regenerate them both at the same time." Recovery Girl pointed out, a few nodding at her words mindlessly. 

Grabbing onto two of the rinkakus, he crushed both of them forcing Shirayuri to return the other two to persevere her Rc cells. Rushing towards her with a punch, Shirayuri once again released her wings, "Black Rabbit's Devastation." 

It became a matter on which force was stronger, a mixture of Rc cells and concentrated kinetic energy stream against One for All. Despite the force pushing him back, All Might continued on forward, returning back to his feet. Slowly but surely did he made his way towards the hero-in-training. When he was near enough, Shirayuri quickly stopped and manevoured her body to create a slice on his face before blitzing away.

His body shook, having a hard time controlling his large physique after Black Rabbit's Devastation. He's read of that move before, his heart begged him to think twice before saying the following words-but, he was a teacher. He needed to prepare his students physically and mentally. 

A little lie every now and then didn't hurt anyone...

"I'm familiar with that move, it's a signature of your family for decades. They were great fighters, but it was clear that they never had any intention of allowing you to dirty your hands too." he began, Shirayuri with her hearing having a hard time breathing, almost crashing into a building as she flew away. 

"To think, because of you, because they wanted you to live a happy life outside of their crimes it was the cause of their deaths. Shirayuri Kaneki, you're the reason on why innocent civilians die." 

"Stop it." Shirayuri smiled, slowly reaching her breaking point. 

All Might slowed down as he flew towards her, grabbing the girl by the back of her outfit before sending her flying towards the middle of the building. He watched, watched as a part of the building collapsed with force and sent the floors above the collision to be sent to the ground.

"Perhaps you will be most useful dead than you were alive, isn't that what happened to your family after they've been killed. Turned into weapons to kill more of your own family?" 

"Maybe I am more useful dead than alive." Shirayuri confessed, laying near broken glass and cement. 

Her hands grip the floor, a fire slowly growing inside of her as All Might's words echoed inside of her head. He wasn't wrong, even after decades have passed, will her body merged into a quinque will still be used as long as it was maintained and unbroken after a fight. The silver suitcase would gleam, polished every now and then. 

"But," Shirayuri laughed a bit, feeling her bones snap back into place. "You're going to have to tear me limb after limb for days on end without rest, before I let you turn me into such a disgusting weapon." 

"Close your eyes, and say anything. Not just any sentence, but a sort of incantation that you instinctively have to say with either of your hands out-seemingly reaching out for something."

Will this work? 

"Close your eyes, and say anything. Not just any sentence, but a sort of incantation that you instinctively have to say with either of your hands out-seemingly reaching out for something."

She didn't exactly have many options.

"Close your eyes, and say anything. Not just any sentence, but a sort of incantation that you instinctively have to say with either of your hands out-seemingly reaching out for something."

Still attempting to escape, with a burst of electricity, she watched as All Might flew after her, both of them engaging in a flight chase around the fake city. She flew high, he flew after her, glancing down at an open manhole, perhaps she can use his size against him down there. Shirayuri entered the manhole with ease, a few wincing when All Might forced himself down the manhole. 

Wolf of the North

Falcon of the West

Dragon of the East

Lion of the South

There was no coincidence that she had called out for the Falcon, heart palpitating, Shirayuri easily heard the sound of destruction trailing, growing closer right behind her. She closed her eyes, unable to think or conjure something inside of her head the more she stalled for time to think. If only she had the quirk of another to assist her, Eraser Head with his erasure, Thirteen with her black hole or perhaps...Midnight! Her somnambulist quirk would come in handy right about now. 

"Dragon of the East : sublimation." 

Wait what-before Shirayuri could process what she just thought of, All Might caught up with her and send a punch that forced her to break through the ground. He flew up behind her, using yet another smash in the middle of her spinal cord sending her to the ground; creating yet another crater.

Shirayuri groaned, All Might just a few metres away from her. He laughed a bit like a villain, watching Shirayuri rip a part of the fabric on her clothing. Sighing, she lifted it up to the air and began waving it around. Coughing out blood, she groaned once more as the number one hero picked up her cuffs meant for him. 

"And that...hero...is how...I...the..."All Might's voice trailed off, his head feeling light. Shirayuri snapped her head up, wincing when a new pain emerged from the back base of her neck. Risking it all, she slowly got up, ran towards the hero and kicked one of his legs. When he was now kneeling with one leg, Shirayuri jumped and wrapped her arms around All Might's neck, her arm with the ripped clothing right under his nostrils. All Might yelled, preparing to slam her to the nearest wall if it wasn't for his quick developing light head. A rinkaku burst from her back, grabbing the cuffs from him. 

"And...I'm...DONE!" 

"No way..."

"No fucking way..."

"Holy shit."

The camera zoomed in, everyone focusing solely on All Might's cuffed hand. Feeling tension leaving her body, she released her grip from All Might and fell to the ground ; unconscious. 

All Might, wobbling, tried to give a compliment and praise for the young ghoul only collapsed to the ground in front of him. Completely drained by two matches. Everyone could easily hear the hero snoring peacefully, as if he hadn't gone on a second rampage burning through U.A's funds. 

"...I felt like All Might forgot we were supposed to give opportunities for the students to win, this is like the second time I saw him attempt to break a student's spine." Thirteen commented, taking off her helmet to enjoy some snacks she brought.

"You're worried about that? I'm honestly wondering how he can fall asleep just like that." Snipe commented, stealing Thirteen's snacks. Much to the other hero's annoyance. 

Walking back towards the bus, Shirayuri stopped when she saw Nezu, Midnight and Eraser Head block her only open way of entering the bus. The R-Rated hero had a worried look on her face, Eraser Head had his hands inside of his pockets.

"Shirayuri, how are you feeling?" Nezu asked, Shirayuri looking away.

"Tired, I finished that little gift basket Present Mic left for me." Nezu nodded, shaking his head, saying nothing else. 

"Are you going to go home now? I heard that the other students wish to hang out at a certain place before they go home, you know, release their emotions." 

"Yeah, I need to go ask a couple of questions to my uncle. I'm eager to get some shut eye before I have to fly back home." without saying anything else, Shirayuri entered the bus, instantly being bombarded by her class-many asking questions about the fight, how she's feeling or how she did it. 

Sitting beside Shoto, she took in a deep breath. Enjoying the comfort the bus seat brought to her even if it was only mildly comfortable. Much better than broken pieces of cement, rubble and metal. She closed her eyes, ignoring the teasing the class brought onto her and the human beside her. Shoto facing the window, ears red. 

Shirayuri wonders what her life would had been if she wasn't abandoned by her real parents as a child. In her memories recently attained, she was shown that they love and care for her. Her father going as far as giving her fake parents to replace them so she wouldn't feel lonely all by herself. He also left her a sword, a blade that was said to be used by him before he passed it down to her. Not her said siblings, her. She has no doubt, that he was the man she chased after during the Sports Festival. A scent she hadn't properly smelled before, but felt so familiar and welcoming. 

The gate was open, destroyed. 

That was what she observed as soon as she had landed right outside of the manor's gate. She blinked, wondering if there had been a car accident that led to this. 

Shirayuri ran, passing by the bloody footprints left behind. 

Storming inside, the teen girl choked on her breath the moment she saw corpses, corpses of people that had raised her for years on the ground. Most of them dismembered, eyes lifeless and open. Sniffing the air, for a long time did she enter each room of the manor trying to find anyone that was still alive. anyone. 

"Uncle Shuu?!" 

"Karren?!" 

"Aliza?!"

"Yuuma?!"

"MAIRO?!"

"MATSUMAE?!"

Shirayuri tripped, falling to the ground with a hard thump. Looking behind her, her heart broke at the sight of Aliza's decapitated head, blood staining her skin and hair. Closing her eyes, gritting her teeth, the air inside became unbearable for her. Running outside, she gasped for air, holding back the urge to vomit out what she was currently digesting. 

There was the sound of foot steps, someone who looked a few years older than her with white hair and grey eyes. He had strong resemblance to her real birth father. 

"Are you Kishou, my real brother?" she asked, hands pressed against the spot where her heart should be. 

This, this was their first true meeting. Someone she was related to, by blood. Though their meeting is less than appropriate, downright traumatic. She'll push that aside, for family will she momentarily push everything aside to try and connect with him.

"Look I know we barely met, but please, I don't know what-Shirayuri yelped, feeling Kishou grab her by the scalp, weakly did she grab onto the hands that hurt her head, tears finally rolling down her face properly. 

'His hands are warm, yet so rough.' she thought, pathetically scratching his skin, leaving no marks behind.

"So, you're the traitor that wanted to become a hero?" Shirayuri's eyes widened, glancing up at her older brother with panic in her eyes. His eyes were emotionless, looking down at her with discontent. 

She was forced back to remember her entrance exam, her first day of school, everything since the moment she joined U.A. But the more she watched those memories unfold, most of them were of her chatting away and conversing with her classmates and revealing her secrets as a ghoul to the teachers. She was considered a traitor because of this. A traitor by her own flesh and blood.

"What do you mean traitor? I'm doing this for everyone-she stopped speaking, heart racing the moment he held up his lance, bringing the edge closer to her left eye. Instinctively, she closed both her eyes shut as he threw her onto the ground on her back. 

"It's funny, its truly humours how you think it's possible for us to live in peace with such a pathetic race. They never learn from their mistakes, all they do is betray others and continue making selfish decisions. The world is wrong, it has always been since so-called 'heroes' became the trend and dilute what a true hero is." 

The way he spoke so venomously of heroes scared her, it made her wonder what he himself went through to develop such hatred. Did he went through the same trauma as her? It's just because of that he walked a path that wasn't the same as hers but still beside her? Had he always been so near? Within reach?

"Then tell me, tell me so I know. What is a hero? Maybe we can help each other." she begged him, hand reaching out for his touch. "You're my brother, we're family... we can have connection that both of us can understand, talk and listen -

Slice!

Everything was white, the world becoming quiet the moment Kishou sliced her arm off. She looked down at her hand on her lap, then up at Kishou who pointed his lance back at her. He, he wasn't listening to her.

"A hero is someone who corrects the world for their mistakes, they do all the dirty work and deliver justice to anyone who threatens imbalance when it isn't required. Everyone becomes equal, no longer will someone be mocked, forgotten or treated unfairly for the circumstances they were born with, for how they act after what is inflicted upon them by society and what they consider normal and acceptable." 

"Perhaps I should drill that inside of your head, just like how I drilled that to theirs." Kishou knelt down, touching her forehead, Shirayuri stilled watching a memory of Kishou piercing his lance into Karren's head.

Exhausted, Shirayuri could only pass out. Uniform slowly being ripped apart, she was dragged by the back of her blazer inside the manor. No longer a safe place for her to hideaway, all the happy memories made inside being washed away by the nightmare falling down upon her. 

Two hours? It felt like more.

Five hours? She slept a couple of times in-between, should be more. 

Seven? No.

Nine? The sun was rising through one of the  windows.

Sixteen? The sky was turning orange. 

Twenty? Possibly. 

More than twenty-four? Most likely.

The room was silent, Kishou's breathing low enough for her not to detect it. By the end of the first day, she was wearing nothing more than her school blouse and skirt. Her vest and blazer long ripped to shreds. She stared down at the ground, refusing to cry anymore. 

There was nothing to cry about anymore. 

There was nothing, nothing that she can think about to wail for. 

Fate, wrath, pity, cruelty
freedom, chaos, choices, betrayal

She cursed fate for being this way, her heart filled with wrath that wasn't burning hot but ice cold, the same heart that had an ounce of pity for how Kishou became, the man whose cruelty reached limits she had yet to know of.Freedom was beyond the door and window if she were to escape and fly away, but the thought of leaving her once-home felt so wrong. Every thing she knew and loved was thrown, sent into a plunging chaos that dragged her along.

Her choices led to her fate, and her heart was her ultimate form of betrayal. 

She was a traitor. 

It was strange how reunions between siblings can be so heartwarming in movies, but how cold and hurtful it be in real life. There wasn't any music playing in the background of course, the one where it seems composers have poured their soul and tears into them. But she had imagined, it would be warm, warm from how tight they grip onto each other's body to try and make up for all the time spent separated from each other. 

Her arm had regenerated, so has the scars and other forms of injury fixed itself. 

She hugged herself, slowly realising that she had lost all those who had truly understand her. Kishou had took them all away from her, for reasons she can't even understand nor would he tell her. 

Nezu gazed at the used syringe he held, observing the leftover contents inside of it. None of the other teachers said anything, nothing as he got another sample and placed it under a microscope. He did some tinkering, before raising his head and glancing behind him. 

"Eraser Head, come take a look at this and tell me what do you see."

He gazed inside of the microscope, heart missing a beat when he saw multiple cells of the same kind moving around. His stomach dropping when he saw how they looked like curled up foetuses-the type that you would find inside of the mother's body barely a few weeks in. 

For something that looked so disgusting, it was able to do a lot. 

"Could you imagine, these little things swimming around destroying quirk cells until the patient is 'quirkless' in some cases, they start over producing within the body until Kagune-like structures grow out of them? Akin to a tumor."

Recovery Girl was let off with a warning and a deduction in pay, far too important for U.A to let go because of a bad choice that would lead to dire consequences. 

He paused to think, would the drug have helped return All Might to his prime state? Giving him back his stomach, destroy the time limit that reduces the amount of people he can save and the battles he was able to join? Maybe if it continued to be researched, it could. But there was a chance, a chance that he could also get ahold of it, that was also assuming if he wasn't aware of Shirayuri's existence. Impossible. 

Mr. Aizawa entered the class, glancing at the faces of his students. He scanned from the first row all the way to the back. This was the third day that Shirayuri hadn't arrived at school. Nezu had called for Tsukiyama, but the man didn't call back, only sent the principal a message that Shirayuri had contracted a virus alongside him and now the manor was under lock down. Sighing, he asked the rest of the class "I hope that some of you have sent messages to Kaneki of the work she's been missing out on, though it isn't much, I'm sure she'll appreciate that her friends communicate with her at times like this." 

Mina glanced at the others, raising her hand. "But sir, Kaneki hasn't been replying to anyones texts for the past few days. I even spammed called her a few times but it always goes to voice mail." 

'Tsukiyama's refusal to answer a call but send a message, Shirayuri's absence but refusal to communicate with her friends.' a bad feeling stirred inside of him. He looked at his class, most of them unaware of their friend's true identity, crimes and background. 

'How could I've been so foolish, to think she would just be unable to contact for the reason of being sick.' Aizawa mentally cursed himself, trying his best to prevent causing a scene in front of his class. 

"Right, all of you. Get on with your day, don't annoy your teachers and prepare for the camp ESPECIALLY those who failed the practical exam." without saying anything else, Aizawa walked out of the classroom, breaking into a sprint once the door was closed.

He needed to go to Nezu, fast. 

"Nezu," Mr. Aizawa broke into the principal's room, Nezu turning his chair with a curious look on his face. "Contact any available hero who knows and send them to the Tsukiyama manor, now." 

Kishou looked down at his phone, reading the message sent to him by spies he placed around the neighbourhood. He glanced down at Shirayuri, looking at him with tired and lifeless eyes.  In those eyes, the small amount of care that she had to open up for him in a time of crisis was gone. Replaced by a wish for vengeance, revenge over what was stolen from her. Good, very good.

"Took your beloved heroes long enough, it took them 3 days to realise you were gone. Rather unprofessional, don't you think?" Kishou asked, bending down to caress her cheek stained with blood. Her regeneration took a toll, sometimes unable to absorb the blood that stuck onto her body like normal. He glanced down at his lance, knowing the cause was from the quinque. 

"A fake message from uncle's phone, saying the manor contracted a virus and was now under lockdown. For experienced professionals, they're idiots. Now, they're going to die." Kishou stated, about to walk out of the room smelling strongly of iron when he felt a light grab on his leg. Shirayuri glared at his leg, using her strength to attempt at stalling him. 

"A rather stupid move to be selfless now, don't you think? Yuri," Kishou moved his lance. "There are times when you need to be on your own and be selfish to grow stronger, now, you only have yourself to protect and move forward." 

Shirayuri hissed, feeling the edge of the lance slice at her right eye. Her sight went blind in her right eye, now depending on her left at that moment. 

"I'll come back for you, if you're still the same as you are now. I'm going to finish you off." 

He walked towards her bag, pulling out Yukimura 1/3. He glanced at Shirayuri, attempting to stand up despite being too exhausted too. In the past few days, the hours he spent talking and harming her. Kishou observed the conflict going on inside of her through her eyes; the window to the soul. Unlike the spear with its poison, Yukimura 1/3 could emit electricity just like his lance, if Shirayuri could learn to transfer her pseudo-electrokinesis into the weapon when in use, that would be extremely useful. 

'Imagine how powerful we could've been together.' Kishou thought, grabbing the blade. He filled it with his own electricity, walking towards Shirayuri before raising it above her chest. He gazed down, watching her glare at him with wrath. Perfect. In a single move, he pierced down the blade through her heart. Taking a few deep breaths once the deed was done, finished, he walked out of the room. For the last time. 

He looked down at his goggles in one hand, knowing his quirk was useless against ghouls. Though Midnight had urged him to stay at the back for support, he had refused. He glanced at Mirko who was contacted by Nezu who brought along Hawks, Endeavor, Present Mic, Midnight and Thirteen. 

'All Might and his raw power, Endeavor was clearly brought because of a past incident, Hawks...it's clear he knows, Mirko's strength and the others because of their quirk.' Eraser Head thought, glancing towards the sky.

"We take this secret to our graves, I'm not risking having my family killed like those cops, their families and other heroes." Endeavor muttered, making it clear since All Might had called him with a message about suspicious activity at the manor. 

When Endeavor arrived at the scene, he was clearly fuming. Glancing around a bit before taking a step onto the property. All Might walked up towards him, ready to give a handshake that was immediately rejected.

"Hasn't the Tsukiyama family made it clear that they dislike any attention outside of business? Now exactly why the number one, number three and six hero are here at the same time?" Endeavor demanded. 

"We aren't even sure if the Tsukiyama family is alive Endeavor, no one from the company nor the subsidiaries have been responding to us. So, we're going straight to the source." All Might responded, the other glancing towards the quiet house. No servant coming out to greet them. 

"We know you were there investigating young Kaneki's old house all those years ago, we're just confused on why after all this time, you're the only one left alive with nothing to say." the flame hero said nothing, eyes focused solely on a window as if he could feel someone staring down at him. 

"How long have you known?" 

"Like during the Sports Festival." All Might replied. 

'So, whoever organised this must have a direct relation to him and that girl. To have this much support at a young age and experience, I can only wonder what he's experienced until now.' Endeavor thought. 

The sky was clear, yet there were no birds flying around. Complete silence, everyone outside of the main doors. Mirko's ears twitched, before anyone could say a word the doors broke open causing the heroes to scatter. The ground broke at the concentrated attack, projectiles sent towards them. Eraser Head glanced behind him, realising it was an attack from the front followed by one from the back. 

"Behind!" 

Dabi grinned, happy at the sight of Endeavor. Using both his hands, he released his own version of hell spider, with the end flames taking the shape of a dragon's head similar to how he attacked Mirko. Figures in masks and white coats similar to Kishou followed right after, releasing quinques unique to each other. Eraser Head activated his quirk, quickly coming to the realisation that only the one who utilised his flames was the only one affected by his erasure. While Mirko rushed inside first, Endeavor chose to focus and deal with Dabi instead, just like during the Hosu incident. 

"Support!" one of the white coats yelled, releasing an ukaku kagune before kneeling to the ground. Another nodded, jumping onto the kagune before aiming for Eraser Head. 

Taking off his scarf, Aizawa mentally cursed while doing his best to focus on his attacker and at Dabi. 

Mirko's eyes widened, seeing the decaying corpses of the staff and dismembered body parts lingering almost everywhere. She took in a deep breath, concentrating in trying to find her intern. Her ears attempted to pick up anything, any breathing sound or foot steps but there was nothing. She stopped, lifting her head up to pick up scent. Her ears perked up, finding a strong scent trail of blood and sweat coming from the end of the hallway. 

She ran, jumping as she twisted her body to break down the door. The force of her kick breaking it down easily, splinters being sent towards multiple directions. 

"Shirayuri!" 

Instantly she kneeled down, a breathe stuck inside of her throat the moment she saw the sword plunged into her chest. Pulling it out, she winced a little at the electrical currents entering her body. Once the sword was out, she watched as the wound and exposed muscle started wriggling slowly, perhaps giving the rabbit hero a signal that she was still alive. 

Without hesitation, Mirko gathered her in her arms about to take her away when there came the sound of lightning from outside followed by a dragon's roar. The building rumbled, the woman's hold tightening around the unconscious teen.

Seeing Dabi's quirk get erased, the white coats changed their focus from Hawks, Present Mic, Midnight and Thirteen to shield Dabi. Eraser Head immediately took a step back, watching from different directions did the shielded Dabi release controlled flames that chased after different heroes at the same time. Eraser Head moved his head, dodging a beam of electricity sent to him after one of the weapons transformed. 

"Ah, I remember you." 

The Erasure Hero looked up, watching a dragon emerge from the roof of the manor. It's single eye looking down upon them, wings raised to appear more menacingly. It opened its mouth, gazing solely at Endeavor. When it was about to fire, coming down upon its head was All Might with a Detroit Smash. The dragon broke through the roof, All Might following it as it let out a cry. 

Inside of the kakuja, Kishou hissed, glaring at All Might. The number one hero, the strongest hero in the world. He smiled a bit, being given the opportunity to fight against him. It would be brief, but the experience counts. 

Mirko jumped high, landing on the ground outside holding an unconscious Shirayuri. The dragon briefly shifted its attention, glaring at the rabbit hero releasing large projectiles towards All Might who covered his face. 

Without looking back, Mirko ran, running until she makes sure she was far enough from the property. 

Watching from far away, Shigaraki kicked a rock. Kurogiri beside him observing the fight. The large kakuja jumped from the rubble towards the ground, sending out eight total rinkakus that slammed Thirteen, Midnight and Present Mic. Three rinkakus combined together and went after Endeavor, the flame hero using his flames and fist to endure and come face to face with the kagunes. 

"White hair, what about it that makes it so superior." Shigaraki hissed, remembering how his master too had white hair. Annoyed by Kishou's power, Kurogiri opened the portal as the rest of the league continued to watch. Toga developing a new crush on the white-haired one-eyed ghoul, Mr. Compress enjoying his popcorn while Spinner gawked. 

"Careful now my friend, we don't want flies to enter now." Mr.Compress glanced at Spinner, using a gloved hand to close the other's mouth by his chin. 

Kishou raised his wings, releasing an electromagnetic pulse to stop communication devices between the heroes. Endeavor and All Might glanced at each other, nodding their heads. Glaring at both of them, Kishou created an electrical barrier to protect himself as the number one and number two came at him for a combined double attack. 

"Jet Burn!"

"California Smash!" 

The sky rumbled, darkening as purple lightning appeared in the middle of the electrical barrier and attacks of both heroes. The shockwave sent both heroes back whilst destroying the barrier and a part of Kishou's kakuja. A helicopter that caught wind of the fight was coming in, one of Kishou's men noticing and signalling the one-eyed ghoul. He sighed, knowing things won't end well if they were documented. 

"Falcon of the West : mind expansion." Kishou concentrated, markings appearing on his face and body, his eyes closed as he spoke. "Arata." 

The sky rumbled, lightning outlining the darkness for a couple of seconds before disappearing. 

"I think a storm is brewing." the pilot muttered, watching the sky turn grey fast. The news reporter and cameraman sighed. Hearing the sound of thunder. Before the news reporter was able to signal her colleague to record anything he can in the small time frame, there was the sound of a screech as the helicopter collided against something, destroying and killing the three inside of it as from the smoke-a one-eyed bird emerged. 

Its body seemingly made out of crystals, colours similar to the family's ukaku kagune. 

Aiming down towards the ground, from its back it released rinkakus to gather the white coats and Dabi while generating wind force to keep the other heroes at bay. When it was done, it flew away. The dragon following after it. All Might was about to follow it when both large kakujas released electricity bright enough to temporarily halt their movement and disappear once their eyes opened. 

Rain started to fall, wiping out the leftover flames. Washing away the blood that had spilled from anyone that was injured.Midnight kicked the ground, frustrated that most of the attackers had worn masks that made her quirk useless. The manor before them, unable to support itself anymore crumbled to the ground. 

Hawks hissed, glancing at the remnants of his feathers after he was chased on different occasions by Dabi. 

"Can't we consider making quinques again if ghouls would be a threat, you know rebuild the CCG or whatever their name is?" using his remaining feathers, he gathered Present Mic, Thirteen and Midnight; unconscious after being attacked by the rinkakus.

"Then is that another declaration of war? How will the public react? We have little information about present day ghouls, might I remind you, even if the CCG was rebuilt-it's going to take a much longer time to get the funds needed to support it, find willing individuals, train them." Endeavor argued, rejecting Hawks plan. 

"Yeah, you're right...too much work anyways." Hawks muttered, remembering another plan the Hero Public Safety Commission has for him. 

"So now, we have to deal with the League of Villains and a group of rogues that are clearly after the only willing ghoul becoming a hero." Eraser Head muttered, glancing at his long-time friends. Surprisingly, no one was killed. 

"Why do you think they didn't attempt to kill us?" Hawks asked, remembering his little fight with Shirayuri, how her face spoke so casually of fighting and killing. 

"That's because it's clear their main goal was to attack various locations belonging to the Tsukiyama family, massacre and wipe out the clan, their employees and anyone they pose as a threat." Mirko returned, her face grim. "They actually tortured a girl, she's still unconscious." 

The conscious heroes looked at each other, wondering how they were supposed to continue after today. After all, everything needed to be a secret. That was what he wanted. Rain continued to pour, appearing not long after the fighting was done. Thunder rumbled, the sight of two kakujas similar to each other making it clear that whatever family feud was happening was clearly resolved.

"Imagine creating a family problem that got many people outside involved." Eraser Head sighed, glancing towards Endeavor. At least the Todoroki problems were at a smaller scale. But this, to him it was ridiculous.

"I wonder how they will react once they know Recovery Girl and a couple of scientists experimented on her DNA and made a drug out of it." Endeavor's head immediately snapping towards Eraser Head.

"THEY DID WHAT?!"

When the last person left, everyone relented to keep things under wraps, seeing what happened to the news reporters who attempted to record the fight instantly killed with no mercy. Mirko had taken Shirayuri towards the nearest hospital, strictly telling them to just disinfect the wounds and don't do any tests, even if the nurses and doctors begged for the reason. 

"Listen, just do what I say or we're going to have a problem."  Mirko grabbed onto one of the doctors, the rest inside of the room quickly doing what they were told. 

Now, Eraser Head kept guard. Watching the sleeping Shirayuri from outside, the nurses had washed her body, rather horrified at all the injuries sustained but understood that the girl could slowly heal on her own after her cuts started absorbing back the blood through little streams before closing it, leaving a scar to heal and disappear on its own. 

It won't be long before it would be brought to light the massacre that unfolded, with no money to keep it under wraps because Shirayuri was the only one left alive. 

She was an orphan again, this time truly alone in the world. 

Her brother attempted to kill her, his followers following his command with no hesitation or care for their own life. 

"The Tsukiyama's family relations in Germany have also disappeared, the companies and main estate destroyed from the inside. That was what I got from our connections in Germany. Police sent to different subsidiaries, all ransacked too with casualties." Nezu walked towards the hero, holding out a coffee from the nearest Starbucks. Eraser Head took it, his body needing the energy after today. 

"15, she was only 15 when she lost her family for the second time. This time even being tortured by her own brother for three days before having a sword plunged straight into her own heart." Eraser Head muttered.

"8 when her fake parents were killed, kidnapped by their murderers and somehow returned back home." Nezu added, leaning against the wall beside the other teacher in the hallway. 

"How old do you think she'll be when she's forced to fight her own brother and even be pushed to kill him after the war he began would end with one of them dead?" Eraser Head glanced down, the bags under his eyes darker than normal. 

"I feel like that'll happen before she turns into an adult, I have a strong feeling of that." Nezu guessed. 

The storm refused to seize outside, rain violently pouring down as Shirayuri peacefully slept, black thin veins around her left eye being noted by those who observed her. Flashes of lightning light up the sky, followed by the sound not long after. Perhaps this was symbolic, to the many trouble that would continuously fall onto society and heroes. 

Chapter Text

"Three days ago, it was reported that the Tsukiyama manor had suffered a break-in. Leaving all of the staff dead, and the members of the Tsukiyama family missing with officials believing them to be dead from the dismembered body parts littering around the property. Not just the manor, board members and several staff of different subsidiaries owned by the conglomerate family were also found dead. It was just recently that heroes stormed into the property, finding an unconscious Shirayuri Kaneki as the sole survivor of the massacre. She's being treated at the Tokyo Hospital from sustaining many injuries, including a stab to the heart." an anchorwoman, face void of emotion as she read her lines behind the camera.

The anchorman beside her took a deep breath, finding it hard to speak.

"In these dark times, we can only wish recovery for the young girl who lost her family. Information about the assailants have yet to released." 

"Midoriya, isn't that your friend?" Inko Midoriya asked, Midoriya dropped his notebook, eyes frozen at the screen. He slapped both hands against his mouth, running towards the bathroom to vomit out the contents inside of his stomach. His whole body trembled, one hand holding the side of the toilet while the other was near the handle. 

Midoriya closed his eyes, a dark silhouette smiling appearing on his mind when he thought of what had happened. 

In the Todoroki household, two siblings were enjoying dinner with the TV playing on the background when the news broke. Shoto dropping his chopsticks while Fuyumi sucked in a breath, instantly scrambling to find the remote and increase the volume; in disbelief over what she had just mindlessly heard.

There was the sound of footsteps, Enji Todoroki finally coming home after another day of working as a hero. Shoto focused on the TV, then at his father who was still wearing his hero outfit. He glanced down at his father's gear, a few parts broken with familiar shaped sharp projectiles.

"You....you were there...again." Shoto broke the silence, Endeavor slowly nodding his head. 

"I was." 

"And you didn't arrest anyone, again." Endeavor slowly nodded his head. 

"I didn't."

A blue-haired young adult held her navy-coloured umbrella, walking in the middle of the zebra cross when she stopped.  Glancing up towards the screen, the news being broadcasted everywhere. It was being talked about everywhere. Opening her phone, she searched for a certain number before placing the device against her ear; continuing on walking. 

"The news is everywhere, she's currently resting in the hospital...him? He's been recently seen with another organisation called the League of Villains." she whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was spying on her. 

"Huh, my king...you want me to check on her?! I mean, she is a cute child but-the blue-haired woman stopped talking, allowing her superior to finish with his words. She let out a deep breath, making sure she had already pressed the mute button before. 

With the call finished, she continued on walking. 

A bar that once reeked of only alcohol and perspiration was now mixed with the smell of cheap perfume, cologne, a small dose of sleeping gas and meat...raw meat, the type of smell you'll find in the meat section of markets. The white-haired ghoul glanced at the largest man inside of the room, the other looking down at him with a sadistic grin. 

He finds himself once more at the bar, the purple screen at the corner still with its camera off. Shigaraki rolled his eyes, a few approaching him to congratulate the other on the plan he had formed and executed well. Dabi slapped an arm around his shoulders, his stupid grin worsening Kishou's foul mood. 

"And that is how you attack and execute your plan well, learn a thing or two would you?" Kishou mocked Shigaraki, the other slamming down his glass onto the floor. With all five of his fingers prepared, Shigaraki ran towards Kishou, this time, the other remaining still. Kurogiri immediately acted, creating a portal to stop the other from turning Kishou to dust. 

"Shigaraki!" 

"You're really getting more on my nerves, I could care less that you join the League of Villains. I want you dead." Shigaraki spat out, scratching at his neck. 

Kurogiri's annoyance grew, about to argue back when Kishou spoke first before him."Let him be Kurogiri, he won't accept that I did him a favour and gave that sister of mine who almost killed him a taste of her own medicine," Kishou's kakugan activated, glaring at Shigaraki with mockery inside of it. 

"I wouldn't mess with her if I were you, what's more dangerous than an active chimera is one who has no sanity." Kishou warned the new members of the League, a muscular man wearing a cloak laughing at his statement. 

"Ghouls," Twice sighed dreamily. "How savage and beastly they are!" he contradicted his first word. Dabi raising an eyebrow at this change in behaviour. Kishou remained unphased, nodding his head at Twice's comment. 

"What's up with BPD over there?" Dabi asked, pointing his thumb at him. 

"He has Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorder, there's a difference." Toga argued, wrapping her arms around the taller, masked man. The masked man's eyes widened, face turning a bit red underneath the cover. A small flower bloomed inside of his stomach, slowly growing fond of the strange girl he had just met. "It's disrespectful to mislabel someone." 

Dabi rolled his eyes, "God you sound exactly like those loud ass people who get offended when mislabeling someone. It's.Not.A.Big.Deal." he snapped back. Slowly did Toga and Dabi grew closer to each other, ready to butt heads. 

Mr. Compress leaned down a little, whispering to Mustard. "Honestly, I find it hard to process that ghouls had been thought to be extinct for almost two centuries and suddenly I'm in the presence of one with knowledge that this same one attacked his family, tortured their own sister and massacred the other few remaining." Mustard nodded, looking up at Compress. 

"Honestly same but now I'm just curious." 

It didn't take long for Shirayuri's face to fill the news, this time, far from positive. There were countless theories, all created by strangers who had nothing better to do with their lives on why something like that could occur. U.A released a statement, stating that they grew suspicious of Shirayuri's absence but had no clue on the attack when or why it happened. The other heroes gave their statements too, saying it was just a coordinated villain attack where Shirayuri was lucky to be alive. 

"Considering Shirayuri Kaneki is a strong-fighter, we firmly believe that was one of the reasons she was able to endure and survive." that was one of Nezu's statements, the principal of U.A himself. 

When they asked for who had attacked multiple locations, the top heroes gave their statements : stating that it was a newly formed villain organisation similar to other villainous organisations of the past.  

"We don't know much about them, police are doing their best to find their backgrounds but information about them is extremely limited." 

Many wondered how they were able to pop out of seemingly nowhere, no records of them whatsoever to find. Faces covered leaving detectives even more baffled. One started a theory that went rival on a certain platform, claiming that they were ghosts and how it was possible. They claimed if quirks were able to appear out nowhere, many so different from each other, what's stopping the gates of Heaven and Hell from opening?

A part of the public expressed their distaste at the top heroes that were on the scene, claiming they care more for the rich more than the majority of the people. It was Mirko who fought back while the other agencies didn't respond, PR teams worried for the backlash that would come.

"MY intern was missing from school for days, I'm not going to waste any more of my time with such stupid comments. We heroes serve and protect those who can't protect themselves. No matter the background, we risk our lives to protect and keep you all safe." 

She woke up the next day, answering no questions the nurses asked her. When the doctor checked on her, she allowed them to, just, she was refusing to speak at all. When they asked to check her eyes, she allowed them to, the doctor noting how the left refused to match with the right eye. 

"Where's my sword?" she asked, startling the nurse who was checking her pulse. 

"It...it was taken by the police for evidence." the nurse replied, flinching when the young girl focused all of her attention on her.

"Tell them I want it back, I'll answer their questions. But I want my sword back." 

U.A had decided to give her a few days off, sending her a message hoping she would be alright and informing her about the summer camp. The ghoul just read the message, texting nothing back before focusing on getting her sword back. It didn't take much but a few hours for a police officer to arrive and ask her questions. Her arms crossed, back against the pillows while focusing on the lap and occasionally the outside world through the window. 

Detective Tsukauchi glanced at the teen, wondering what was going through her mind at the moment. He looked down at the answers provided, all of them the truth. His quirk allowed him to detect if the person he was questioning was lying or not, due to his training, it allowed him to easily tell who was lying and who wasn't. 

"Do you know anything about your attackers?" he asked, preparing to write.

"They're individuals with their own set of goals and ideals, they view the world differently than most and are hellbent on getting their point across no matter what it takes." once again, she wasn't lying. 

"How about the man who...tortured you, what do you know about him?" Tsukauchi let out a cough, not wanting to trigger the girl. Shirayuri raised an eyebrow, clearly judging him when he paused mid-sentence. 

"He's skilled, he knows what he's doing and clearly nothing like Shigaraki. Everything he does is with confidence, no hesitance whatsoever. The hours I spent looking into his grey lifeless eyes, I want him dead but you heroes clearly would lock him up and give him life sentence, nothing else." 

He placed down his notes, noticing the clear aggression growing inside of her voice. Walking out of the room, he came back in with Yukimura 1/3. Like she had wanted, the blade with its sheath was placed on a table near her. 

"It's an impressive blade, when inspected, the inspector was able to see the strange coating around it and energy it was stockpiling inside. They had trouble activating it so props to you for understanding how to use it." Tsukauchi spoke up, smiling at the young girl. 

"Could you tell me more about it? I have some time left before I need to go." 

He didn't want her to feel alone, her friends attempted to visit her, yet the doctors and nurses believed it was best for none of them to bring her any more stress. Based on a session briefly done by a psychologist, they couldn't detect anything wrong with her. No one would believe that. Shirayuri insisted she was fine, even hoping she would be allowed to leave before the summer camp. 

"It's in its dormant form, when its dormant it means there's no currents going through it and the blade isn't glowing. Doesn't make it any less dangerous though, It's supposed to pair well with my pseudo-electrokinesis from what uncle told me."  Shirayuri moved her hand a little, barely getting any closer to the sword but Tsukauchi's eyes widened when the blade responded and light up. 

"When can I be discharged, I have things to do." she muttered, showing her annoyance by lifting up her left hand only to drop it down. "Training, I need to begin training again soon." Shirayuri added, hoping that the first sentence didn't imply anything that would make the police place suspicions on her.

"I hope you're not planning to push yourself, you should allow your body to rest." Tsukauchi voiced his thoughts, Shirayuri giving him a judgmental look. How dare he, a man she knew for less than a few hours thinking he knows what's best for her?

"Even if I do rest, I get agitated and then I'll have the urge to kill. Unless you can find me detained goons that could have been involved  and allow me to kill them, then I won't start pushing myself and actually rest." Shirayuri said, wishing that she could just get out of the bed and attack him. But, nope. Different parts of her body felt like they were being chained down with large chunks of metal. 

Tsukauchi wonders if she knows how sarcasm works because she didn't seem like she wouldn't kill if given the opportunity to. The detective was about to talk back, but with a knock on the door, Shirayuri pointed towards the door. Rudely telling him to leave the room, nodding his head, he whispered a goodbye before leaving the hospital room. 

That night, Shirayuri was discharged.

In the morning, when Eraser Head went to visit Shirayuri alongside Nezu and All Might in his smaller form. The nurses at the reception had informed them that Shirayuri had left the night prior to their visit. Exiting out of the hospital, they can only wonder where she had left to. 

"Do you think we should let her know of what became of some of her RC cells?" All Might asked, glancing at Nezu and Mr. Aizawa beside him. He adjusted the mask on his face, having found himself a rather rough case of coughing.  

"Eventually, but, to rain down everything upon her right now would only prove to be detrimental." Nezu stated, watching as a people in gear ran past them, most likely sidekicks chasing after the hero they were working for. 

Aizawa minded his own business, looking down on his boots when he bumped into someone. The person dropped their phone, the erasure hero quickly kneeling down to get it for them. "Allow me to get that for you." he said, giving it back towards the young lady. 

"Thank you!" she said, he made eye contact with her noticing how much excitement was inside of them. The excitement was similar to that of a child, or maybe a person travelling to the future and being amazed at all the advancements made in a certain amount of decades or centuries. Unlike Shirayuri, her grey eyes were filled with life, as if her world lacked the darkness his young student would constantly think of and encounter. "It's nice to meet you in person, Mr.Aizawa! I'll be going now." 

All Might and Nezu paused, noticing what the stranger had called him. 

"Is she an ex-student you expelled?" All Might asked, pointing towards her back as the distance between the four grew. Eraser Head shook his head, closing his eyes. Grey eyes, top of the hair black and the rest of her hair being white. 

"No way...there just has to be no fucking way." Mr. Aizawa hissed, quickly turning and running after her. Nezu jumped and climbed onto All Might's shoulder, the other quickly chasing after the long-haired, sleep-deprived teacher who was filled with determination and energy. 

"Isn't that Shirayuri Kaneki?" 

"It's her, poor thing, aimlessly roaming the streets." 

"Don't get close to her, you don't want to get involved with unlucky people like her." 

"All that power, unable to protect her own family." 

"Sometimes I forget she is 15, poor girl." 

It wasn't long after she turned 13 that Tsukiyama handed her a debit card, allowing her to spend the family's money for items she want. He gave her a fixed allowance every month, if she burned through that amount within one or two weeks, then she had to be forced to wait until the next month for more money. At first, it was a problem but as she grew older, she learned to be more careful and even learned to save in order to get more expensive items. 

She was still in her hospital attire when she came out, leaving her to enter the nearest mall in search for clothing. 

Hands inside of her pockets, she ignored the conversations going on about her as she passed. Those who recognise her either gave her a look of pity or fear, afraid to get involved with someone who survived a massacre. 

Strangers, her friends, teachers and the world are wondering : how is she feeling? 

Sadness and agony was brief, taken to her too soon ever since she was forced to question everything about her life until that point by her brother. Anger followed, filling her veins the more she saw the only person inside the room when she was about to lose her consciousness and him having the honour of being the first person she would only see after waking up. Depression and self-loathing arrived after the ice inside of her veins melted, the memory of not being able to convince her uncle to let her stay at home the day of the massacre. She saw the warning, but the warning was trampled on without a second glance. 

She briefly blamed uncle for not believing her, but he was dead now. So there was truly only her left to blame. 

The whole reason she wanted to become a hero was gone. The motivation to grow stronger as a warrior too. There was no family to protect, return home to and spend time with. There was no more true reason for her to become a hero. 

"Are you sure about that?" 

Shirayuri stopped walking, no longer familiar with the environment around her. She looked around, finding herself in a strange location. An 8-years-old child came closer towards her, strikingly similar to the taller and older girl in the place. 

"What do you want from me?" Shirayuri asked, standing a few metres away from the child. 

"I'm just trying to simply remind you that there is a reason to keep on fighting." younger Shirayuri shrugged, they turned their heads towards the child's right direction. 

"I'll come back for you, if you're still the same as you are now. I'm going to finish you off." a mind-constructed version of Kishou stated, a fake Shirayuri near his feet, lying down. Shirayuri blinked, watching as Yukimura 1/3 pierced into her heart. 

"You need to keep on living. You need to defeat Kishou." 

"You want me to go after him, chase him down while simultaneously growing stronger?" 

The child nodded its head, the scenery around them shifting. This time, it was a memory that had long been buried once inside the older, only appearing once and that was during the first day of school. 

She was trembling, glancing at the knife left on the table by her parents' murderers arguing with each other while another left the room to grab something. Although she was not supposed to release her kagune at such a young age, she did. Releasing a single rinkaku to slowly slither and take the knife while the kagune also destroyed the ropes. When that was done, another murderer had left the room to go after his partner-in-crime. 

The one left in the room sighed, looking at a corner while Shirayuri slowly came up from behind him. The fear in her face contorted to become a look of concentration, kakugan appearing as she twirled the knife and sliced at his Achille's heels before going for the neck. 

Another rushed in the room, the rinkaku from before sharpening itself before plunging into the mouth of the man and coming out from his bottom. When she attempted to retract back her kagune, it took a couple of shakes before the body dropped down onto the floor. 

Instinctively, she hid behind a table she overturned, waiting and waiting before the last one came. When he was checking on the bodies did she strike, coming at him with a scream and plunging the knife into his heart. 

She stared at the bodies, her stomach rumbling at the sight of them. Fresh meat. Her mouth opened and collected more saliva the closer she walked towards them. Kneeling down, she opened her mouth wide and succumbed to what her mind was telling her to do.

"To devour others is in our blood, we are considered abnormal even for ghoul standards." younger Shirayuri softly spoke, unfazed by the scene both of them had just witnessed. 

"It wasn't enough," Shirayuri said, looking down at the younger her. "Even after all that, it wasn't enough. You-we! still wanted to fight and kill." when she finished, she took a deep breath, raising her shoulders before dropping them. 

The child tilted her head, older Shirayuri kneeling down to let the younger version of her cup one of her cheeks. "We're on our own, we've been absconded slowly but surely." younger Shirayuri mumbled. Relenting to her younger's wish, older Shirayuri closed her eyes and leaned her forehead, younger Shirayuri doing the same until she felt both of their foreheads touch.

"I'll live, I'll live for myself, I won't surrender to my fate. I will show the will to move on forward and fight."  

She'll have faith in herself.

"Shirayuri Kaneki?" 

The called-upon figure looked up, wearing a pair of sun glasses while leaning against a sofa in the middle of a coffee shop. Right in front of her, on the table was a venti ice coffee. The person standing near her table was a human, with beautiful styled blonde hair and purple eyes. In other words, she was an attractive young woman who had no business wasting her time with her. 

Shirayuri raised her glasses, glancing up and down at the woman. She was nicely dressed, as if she was expected to soon enter a thriving business and work directly under the chairman or CEO. Then perhaps even enter in a relationship with them sooner or later. 

"Huh, you look much healthier than I expected you to be." the beautiful lady commented, Shirayuri rolling her eyes at the useless waste of a breath for a sentence. 

"My body is littered with scars, I feel like I got poisoned and thats why my insides are all fucked up. I'm sorry we can't all be perfect inside and outside all the time princess." Shirayuri retorted, placing stress on the word 'princess'. 

Akira pursed her lips, realising that she wasn't really making that good of an impression on the teen. 

"My name is Akira Mado, I'm an associate of Shuu Tsukiyama...I'm sorry for your loss." Akira introduced herself, Shirayuri gestured for the older woman to sit down in front of her. Akira complied, "thank you." she said, finishing her turn to speak. 

"Why exactly did you trouble yourself to find me? No one is rather keen on being close to me at the moment." the younger asked, stirring the contents of her plastic cup with the straw. She glanced at a random direction, a few people stiffening, spitting out or dropping something when she looked their way. "I bet the staff themselves are playing rock, paper scissors trying to get one to serve me before. In America, I bet they wouldn't care because their lives depend on tips left behind by customers." 

Akira hummed, closing her eyes. Her posture was straight, hands on her lap. "I'm unconvinced on what others claim to say and spread about the 'Cursed Child', I find it ironic. How you were so adored and loved once and then all of a sudden, you're subjected to excessive amounts of hate, fear and scrutiny." Akira voiced out, Shirayuri only shrugging her shoulders, acting as if she wasn't annoyed by the quick change of humans. They truly love jumping from one thing to another, one day a certain easily obtained pet can go viral and influence many to get them. And then eventually, they'll be pushed away by cooler and newer trends that don't involve much care after posting about them on social media. Some will keep them, but the majority will give them away or send them to shelters where they'll die a lonely death with no master to care and cry for them. 

She finds it beautiful, a raw moment when a loving pet owner curls up with their dying pet. Their faces red, tears streaming down their face. Such raw emotion, the bond formed with another creature vastly different from them. Perhaps she'll experience that one day if she gets a pet of her own, but until then, she'll leave it to videos posted on Youtube allowing her to see for herself the strong bond between a human and their beloved pet.

"Look, I don't know what you want. But if you're an associate of my uncle, then you must know?" Shirayuri asked, veins appearing around her left eye. Akira's face continued to remain neutral, giving the other no clue on what she was feeling on the inside. 

"Long live the king." Akira whispered, in a voice so low that only the ghoul could pick up. Shirayuri's eyes widened, almost growling at the other. She was about to reach out and grab the other when Akira dropped something on the table between the two of them; right at the centre of the table, was now an earring. It was a simple piece of jewellery, meant for only one of her ears to wear and adorn a beautiful bright red crystal. 

"How much do you know?" Shirayuri hissed, unable to understand the point of dropping such an accessory before her.

"I've known your father even before he became the king, similar to him, you also suffered from a loss of memories. He was able to retrieve them much faster than you were, but, I'm not comparing." she said, leaning forward. "It didn't take him long to hear about what happened, he sent me to watch over and guide you. Tsukiyama entrusted me in being the replacement chairman for the company until someone else steps up. If I'm not wrong, he's busy trying to find replacements for the members that were killed during the massacre." 

Did her father even bother to enter a state of mourning, halting activities for a period of time to give respect for Tsukiyama and his fallen subjects? Were they that replaceable? Even after years of loyalty, silence and compliance to his wishes? She wanted to be surprised, but her heart felt too bitter. 

"So my birth father acknowledges me, stalked me for a bit during a public event, but doesn't even bother to rescue me for a span of three days when his other biological son hurts me both physically and mentally? I'm starting to rather hate the idea of even meeting him, let alone be near him." Akira's mouth opened, raising a finger to say something but paused. Shirayuri laughed a bit, seeing the composed woman left speechless for a second. "Does he even love me, tell me that miss Mado. The only thing in my mind right is bull-shit."

She grabbed her coffee cup, aggressively slurping the contents before stopping right as a brain freeze was about to develop. Akira judged the girl for such an action, wondering where had her manners went after so much effort was placed into her. 

'She's acting like a brat.' Akira thought, thinking it but knowing well enough not to say it. 

"I'm not asking you to accept me. Your anger and ire for your family is understandable. But I am someone that takes my job seriously, and its in my responsibility that you don't do anything stupid, make choices you'll regret and run away before appearing as someone with a new identity, ideology and persona." Akira said, in a voice that refuses argument. Shirayuri let out a laugh of disbelief, wondering why others only come to her when she decides to stay alive and be on her own. 

'Ironic, truly ironic.' 

"Do whatever you want, I'm not interested in wasting my time with you at all."

Akira looked towards Yukimura 1/3, seeing it placed in the umbrella corner. No doubt the staff asked the younger to place it there in order to not scare the other customers. 

"Do you need help understanding and using a quinque, especially one a little complex like Yukimura 1/3?" 

Of course she does.  She was given that blade the same day of the massacre, the blade supposedly 'choosing' her as its new master. Shirayuri crossed her arms, the other really striking her at the right chords. Flying solo didn't mean she has to completely be on her own, right? 

"...Fine, just because I want to inflict the same pain and scars Kishou did to me." Shirayuri relented, looking away from the human.Akira allowed a satisfactory smile to bloom on her face. Raising her head a little as a sign of satisfaction and victory.

Akira-1 | Shirayuri-0

"What was the point in bringing out the earring anyways?" she asked, Akira smiled a bit. 

"I simply thought that it would add dramatic effect, I agreed to do it after your father's secretary heard of my new mission and messaged me about it. Nice girl, she can be rather dumb at times but she's passionate. Though her crush on your father-a married man with four kids is too obvious for her own good and reputation." Akira explained, Shirayuri holding the earring closer to her eyes for inspection.She thought back of the time she saw three others inside of a kitchen, all surprised to see her. She couldn't remember much of their faces after that ended. She thought of them for a mere moment, then brushed them away. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng obvious?" 

Akira nodded.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng obvious and obsessed." 

"Damn, is my father handsome then?" 

"Do you think you're attractive?" 

"When I'm not judging my body, not on my period or looking at a mirror." Shirayuri smiled, Akira frowning at that statement. 

"Never mind then."

They walked out of the building, Shirayuri noticing how the other walked a few inches behind her. She slowed down her walking a little, both of them now right beside of each other instead of the younger being in front. 

"Your brother has a team, a squad filled with individuals he picked himself to help and bend to his will. Their loyalty is never questioned," Akira whispered, Shirayuri nodding her head. That would explain why only Mirko was able to get to her. Despite having top heroes around at the time, they did their job by distracting, stalling and making sure the heroes did no serious harm to Kishou. Even if he was in his kakuja, there were three heroes with large area of effects abilities that could easily turn the tide of the battle. Once on rather similar footing before both Endeavor and All Might having the high ground. "You should start forming your own team too, preferably with those you trust and have fighting experience."

Shirayuri shook her head, knowing what Akira was suggesting.

"I'm not going to spill more of my identity and involve my classmates." Shirayuri said, shaking her head too at the thought of them fighting against her own kin. 

"They got involved the moment you joined U.A. There's no point in trying to protect them." Akira countered Shirayuri, the other shoving her hands inside of her pockets. Walking for a while without uttering another word.  

"I just want to be on my own, for a period of time." she confessed, looking up towards the sky. 

Akira looked down, relenting to Shirayuri's plead. Eventually, she will have to form her own team to fight by her side, but for now, will she watch the young student search for invisible answers in the scenery she constantly gazes upon. 

True to her word, Akira remained by Shirayuri's side whenever training was about to begin. When training was over, would they have a briefing before Akira would dismiss Shirayuri. After that, the older woman would lock herself up in her office doing work or leave the apartment to work somewhere else. When Shirayuri asked, Akira responded that it was matters regarding control and positions within the companies to keep them afloat and steer away their stocks from falling in a downwards spiral. 

Laying on the bed inside of her new room, it wasn't as soft as the one inside of the manor but the apartment seemed more of a hiding spot rather than one to live in. 

She raised one hand, releasing a sigh at the sight of the visible scars. 

Kishou, that named made her feel sour. Because of him, because of him, she can't find herself willing to trust others. The heroes she had spent time slowly opening up to, her friends and new people that approach her. Was this also her fault too? For allowing him to get in and enter her head? 

"Get up." he demanded, pointing his lance at her. He was a few feet away from her, if she was to quickly get up and rush towards Yukimura 1/3, then maybe she can do a bit of damage on him for payback. It's been a day, no one outside having noticed the disappearance of her or her family. She glanced at him, hair strands covering parts of her vision. 

"We're going to fight, and if you win, then I'll let you go alive. But if I win...let's just see." Kishou told her, walking towards Yukimura 1/3, he grabbed the weapon and threw it until it landed  a few centimetres away from her. "I'm sure you're familiar with a Duel Before the Throne. Long before it evolved and the rules shifted, it has always been a battle between swordsman. But other weapons are allowed too."

"A Duel Before the Throne was what also killed Oberyn Martell. Shame, the man who only wanted to avenge his sister met his doom that day." he finished, watching as Shirayuri slowly got up. She said nothing, focusing on fixing her stance and hold. 

"You have courage. Willing to enter a swords fight with practically no experience." Kishou praised, changing from his black and gold quinque to a different sword. A white one now. "But that also makes you a fool."

She instantly sweat up, breathing heavily after witnessing such a nightmare. Her hand shot out to grab the bottle of water beside her bed, gulping it down instantly. Water dripped down the side of her mouth, wetting her clothes and blanket a bit. When she was done, did she place the bottle on her lap ; deep in thought over what had just happened to her. 

Strange. 

How she can't and suffered long to remember the past. But all these recent nightmares, stayed and imprinted themselves onto her. Unable to find herself sleeping anymore, she grabbed Yukimura 1/3. The moon was high in the sky, its light shining down upon the area around her, allowing her to train in peace on the rooftop. As she practiced what Akira had told and guided her, she couldn't help but changing and adding new attacks that matched her previous style. She swung, jumping and then followed by a kick. She swiftly moved her hand, attacking mid-air with a flip before landing with her left foot in front of her right foot. 

Her balance briefly faltered, a little pain on her left leg but that didn't deter her training. Her kagunes were useless to her at the moment, parts of her body where they burst out severely scarred. 

Shirayuri dashed forward, attacking while kneeling down. Perhaps that would come in handy when attacking enemies bigger than her or when they swung. 

"Sometimes Kishou infused his attacks on me with electro, if he can do that, then I can do that too." Shirayuri thought, remembering their duel.

One of his attacks, they marked her right in the middle of her stomach. Until the mark disappeared, it was as if all his attacks that hit her were heightened. Especially the ones infused with electricity. She didn't know how he did that, but she intends to find out and do the same. There was one thing she was willing to appreciate about him, it was his power. How he was so strong when he also looked so young. In fact, he reminded her of Amajiki; the socially-incapable upperclass man of hers. 

Hours passed by, lost in the trance of her mind the more she continued on. 

She knelt down, dashing forward. A brief imagery struck her mind and vision, showing the blade inside of Kishou. There was blood coming out of his mouth, his head covered by flowers. Flowers bloomed from all parts of his body, white before turning red and falling to the ground. All around her were flowers, the sky and the ground. Shirayuri dropped Yukimura, falling back onto her ass with wide eyes ; dark circles evident. 

There was light, much brighter coming from one of her sides. She glanced at the new light, rising above the horizon slowly. 

It was time for Dawn. 

With the embers of hate, a fire rises within her. She swings her sword filled with revenge.

The glow of hatred clear inside of scarlet red eyes.

This was destiny, her willpower causing her to reach this point. 

Burning, flames so hot that they singed and destroy the wings on her back. 

They were her new wings.

From the small world she got out, entering the bigger world. 

Heart beating with trepidation.

From the small world she set out, entering the bigger world. 

Heart beating with trepidation.

From the small world she walked out, entering the bigger world. 

Heart beating with trepidation.

What do you think she will learn beyond the small world and through the horizon?

Chapter Text

She looked at herself in the mirror, wearing her school uniform. 14-years-old Shirayuri smiled at herself, finding herself dashing wearing her school's uniform : a blazer, a white blouse, vest, short skirt and high socks. Her hair was tied into a high-ponytail, a ribbon that matched the colour of her blazer and skirt. Grabbing her back, she dashed out of the room, down the stairs and into the kitchen. 

"Yuri." Touka greeted her daughter, walking towards the teen to kiss the middle of her forehead and fix her tie. 

Ichika was helping their mother with breakfast, the men who also lived inside the house still preparing to go to their respective locations. For the head of the house, it was his office where he worked as the ambassador between Ghoul and Human relations whereas Arata and Kishou needed to pass their respective exams in different departments. 

Speaking of the devils, Kaneki smiled and greeted his wife and daughters. Arata and Kishou in their U.A uniform walked in, the younger of the two reading through various papers whereas the other held a briefcase with a green-coloured number on the side. 

"How exactly am I going to be the heir of a conglomerate when I'm also going to be constantly be stuck dealing with your scandals." Arata hissed at Kishou, switching different papers in record-speed; speed-reading. 

"I didn't ask you to become my future manager, there is also no need in being friendly in a line of work that requires damage to the physical body and mind." Kishou replied, sitting down right beside Shirayuri who watched the twins bicker. 

There was more to being a hero than rescuing victims and taking down villains, Kishou was exceptionally aware of that. But it never seemed to go through his head that he had to maintain a good image and not brink human villains down to the brink of death all the time. The Kaneki's social circle, the teachers and the entire student body remembering what Kishou had did to the big three of U.A. 

"How exactly did a First-Year beat up three Third-Years?!" Kishou's glasses shined. 

"I worked hard." he brought his cup of coffee to his mouth, drinking it in peace. He stopped focusing on a fuming and stressed Arata, all of his attention now on the baby of the family. "Don't be like Arata, avoid being him at all costs unless you want to depend on energy drinks and waste your nights stressing and crying out to papers and your computer screen." 

"Why you-"Boys, stop fighting. It's too early in the morning." Kaneki cut them both, though his voice was strict, his eyes were gentle and filled with fondness. Arata and Kishou nodded, settling down to focus on eating. Papers aside, briefcase under the table. 

"Yuri ah, what do you want to become in the future?" Ichika asked. 

Ichika planned to become a psychologist, Kaneki and Touka refusing to allow her to replace him because they had always promised to not allow their firstborn to involve herself in violence unless she wants to, as she grew, Ichika strongly refused to fight others unless it was completely necessary. Kishou was a strong contender to becoming a top hero in the future, and replacing their father as the next leader. Arata was chosen by Uncle Shuu to lead the conglomerate once he's ready because he had no children of his own. Her siblings considered it a good thing that she wasn't chosen or determined for anything, 

Shirayuri looked at Ichika, the person in the room with the highest EQ. Kishou, the strongest of the four siblings who was mentally prepared for anything. Arata, the most hard-working and smartest in terms of academics. She wasn't the best at anything, but becoming a jack of all trades didn't sound bad at all. 

"I'll find out one day." Shirayuri answered. 

Yurina Sakamoto :

Yuriiiii, when are you coming to school :(

Kazane Suzuki :

school starts at 8:45 Nana, look at the time on your phone 

Hitomi Hamada : 

I want to sleep. 

Yurina Sakamoto :

You all have no energy 😐

: You 

I'll be there eventually 

Yurina Sakamoto : 

Are your brothers dropping you off 👀❤️

: You

For the last time, they're not interested. Stop trying to get with my brothers dammit!

Kishou glanced down, wondering what has Shirayuri expressing so many emotions in the span of under a minute in the middle of an MRT. Reading the chat, he pursed his lips and stopped himself from smiling. Arata glanced at him, moving his eyes down. Kishou briefly moved his head up, Arata grinned at the signal, also leaning a bit to read the chat between Shirayuri and her friend group. 

It had become a routine for the twins to drop their younger sister at her school before departing for U.A, unlike the rest of them, Shirayuri's kagunes finally matured and manifested when she was thirteen-a year ago. Though she has understanding on how to defend herself and run away efficiently, she was a B-rank at best. Which wasn't bad for her age! But would she survive being attacked by their father's enemies and doves? Nope. Not a chance. 

Kishou placed his head on top of Shirayuri's, Shirayuri humming a tune when she felt the new pressure. Though it was the responsibility of the adults to train her, they wanted to wait a bit longer and allow the younger to enjoy her 'childhood and innocence' more. He rolls his eyes at the thought, she has Twitter and Wattpad downloaded on her phone. 

"You're small, no matter what anyone tells you, that can easily be an advantage." Kishou stated, starting their first secret training session. A few weeks ago, he had just gotten his provisional hero license. The 2nd year observed how the middle schooler held her breath, wearing her school's own P.E uniform like how Kishou wore his respective outfit. 

"Smaller forms are more swift, can have better precision and deliver more attacks, considering that we are both ghouls, for our kind, thats what makes the strongest of us thrive...like me." Kishou explained, taking a few steps back, motioning for her to do the same. 

"We'll begin easy. We'll begin by stretching, slowly easing your body to get used to training and increase your flexibility. I don't want you to use your kagunes until I can clearly see mastery in what I have planned for you." 

"Stay safe you little brat." Arata grinned, messing up her hair. He bent down a little, kissing her cheek. 

"If anything happens, I'm one call away." Kishou reminded her, placing two fingers in the middle of her forehead before kissing the same spot. Shirayuri smiled, standing on the top of her toes to hug them both before rushing inside. 

"God, I wish that was me." three girls sighed together, Kazane observing the scene closer than the other two due to her quirk. 

Entering the classroom, Shirayuri placed down her bag on her seat before walking towards her friends; phone in her hand before she slipped it inside of one of her blazer's pockets. 

"Can't believe we're graduating soon." Hitomi commented, remembering what today has in store for them. 

"I'm actually glad, Seinan Gakuin has always been so ruthless to us with their work, tests and activities." Yurina huffed, kicking her legs a little. She sat on one of their classmate's tables. The two others sitting down while Shirayuri extended her arm out to grab a chair. 

"Say Yuri, what do you think in becoming a hero with me?" Kazane asked, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "I think our respective abilities will make us a fine duo." she added, Shirayuri shrugging. 

Yurina rolled her eyes, leaning forward to gently nudge one of her shoulders, "You just want to be affiliated with the strongest family of ghouls and easily build your hero career." she teased.

"Oh please, I wanted to become a hero after I got noticed by Hawks that one time I decided to illegally observe him while he was surrounded by hordes of fans. Do you know how scary it was for him to notice the bird then me hiding behind a tree." Kazane hissed. 

"Then you got approached, he complimented your quirk and your face was as red as his wings." Hitomi added to the story, much to Kazane's embarrassment. 

It was a rather strange incident that led the four of them to becoming friends. It started with Yurina trying to create and manipulate rainbows on the palm of her friends without the supervision of an adult, the rainbow lost control and hit Shirayuri's water bottle, infusing the water inside with the rainbow. Scared for the wrath of the other, Yurina remained quiet as the rest of the class continued on with their Physical Education class. 

The others were testing their quirks much further away from her. Hitomi projecting what Kazane sees, whereas the coach had Shirayuri run a 50-meter-distance and run through obstacles before crossing the finish line. 

When it was time to drink water, Yurina gulped as Shirayuri nonchalantly unscrewed the cap and began gulping down the water; only to widen her eyes and began vomiting out the water she had just drank. It was disgusting, different colours from someones mouth pouring onto the ground. 

Then it became worse when it mostly turned red and undigested parts of meat came out of her. With the class knowing identity as a one-eyed ghoul, and what they consume. Well screaming happened followed by a massive panic that caused everyone to disperse in different locations. 

When he found out what had happened. Well, it wasn't pretty for anyone. She remembered vividly how the storm set down upon the school when he had arrived, lightning flashing in the sky as Shirayuri's parents arrived. Yurina got detention for not disclosing that Shirayuri's water had been tampered by her. 

Shirayuri, Hitomi and Kazane felt guilty at the whole ordeal. The ghoul thinking she could have sniffed and checked before drinking whereas Hitomi and Kazane actually witnessed the scene but didn't tell the teacher. They met at Yurina's favourite bakery, the two helping Shirayuri choose what Yurina may like when it was clear she had no understanding on flavours outside her...pallet. 

"I thought natural born one-eyed ghouls are able to eat? Why can't you and your brothers eat normal food like your sister?" Hitomi asked, adjusting her glasses. 

"My sister was conceived before my father sat on the throne. After a certain party, his body had a significant change that affected all of his children after. It comes with several good things and bad things, me being unable to enjoy human food is one of them." Shirayuri replied, remembering to the things she was taught by her father after she asked why Ichika was eating food that smelled disgusting.

"Do you ever feel sad or jealous of your sister because of this?" Kazane asked, curious. 

"I can't exactly feel jealous or envy something I never had a positive experience with. Even the sight of food that looks delicious to all of you makes me feel sluggish. You all can imagine and perhaps even taste the individual ingredients combined together, I can't." 

When the three had handed over the goodies to Yurina, the child burst into tears that caused them to panic, instantly dragging her away in order to avoid being misunderstood by any teacher. 

"How do you know strawberry is my favourite?" Yurina asked in wonder, mouth still full. Shirayuri blinked, Hitomi and Kazane behind Yurina signalling her to say something. 

"Lucky guess." Shirayuri replied, Yurina giggling at the answer.

"Perfect guess!" 

"Do you guys want to go the mall later? I feel like we should have a last-minute shopping and hangout session before we graduate soon." Yurina asked them, checking her nails to see if they were too long. "Maybe I can finally try and get my nails done like all those teen girls in American movies." she added, rather excited at the thought of that. 

"Sure, I've saved enough to get a new pair of glasses." Hitomi agreed, getting old of her current red ones. 

"I kinda want to start training after school ends. I really want to join either U.A or Shiketsu." Kazane voiced her thoughts, remembering just how far in terms of understanding and mastery she has over her quirk. "But, I guess skipping one day of training won't be so bad." she sighed, seeing the look of disappointment on Yurina and Hitomi's face. 

"I'll join then." Shirayuri agreed. 

Far from Seinan Gakuin Junior High School, Kaneki took a deep breath as he entered his office once again. Sitting down on his chair, he turned on his computer before revising what needed to be done today. He stopped muttering his work when he saw a familiar picture of a man and his biodata. 

"Shikorae..." Kaneki muttered. 

He was still out there, roaming. He had consumed a part of dragon; forever changing him physically and...well his mentality had always been abnormal, but it became worse after that. Shikorae was one of the reasons he refused to allow his children to outside on their own. Shikorae possessed an ability that was similar to what they had, it was the ability to copy the abilities and other kagunes of other ghouls. The only difference was that they could easily access this whereas Shikorae needed to devour RC cells of other ghouls. 

Kaneki closed his eyes, wondering what would happen if Shikorae was able to get their RC cells. 

How was he supposed to face his family when he or one of his children fell into his hands and take a part of them. Using their kagunes to create chaos. 

How would the world treat them?

it was a miracle that their race survived long enough until he got his shit together and united Ghouls and Humans with the help of others. 

Father :

Where are all of you? 

Ichika :

Still at uni, class is as usual. 

Arata :

Stuck waiting for Kishou to finish with his class 😒

In the library waiting, revising.

Mother :

Ichika, you're going home with Yuri right?

Ichika :

Of course, her school isn't far from the university at all. 

I feel bad that she's going to have to wait a long time...the middle schoolers go home way faster than us. 

Arata : 

Yeah, always hated being stuck in place with nowhere to go lol

...

Why don't you go treat her for something at the nearby mall, all the kids are going there these days because of the sales. 

Ichika :

Oh right! 

It's been a while since we last hung out for no apparent reason.

@Kishou 😒

Kishou :

...

Most of us don't like the smell of trash in the air 

Ichika :

>:0

And most of us don't spray so much AXE

Kishou :

I have no clear idea where you receive the idea that I use Axe.

How dare you. 

: You

I'm at the mall near the university,  accompanying my friends. 

You know, Polaris Mall.

Ichika :

Traitor 😭

Father :

Sudden but ok, remember what I told you when there's trouble. 

: You

1. Try to avoid using your kagunes.

2. If there are heroes, let them do the fighting.

3.Kagune usage and fighting is a last resort.  

4. Don't get closed to people you don't know. 

5. Stay alive. 

6.  Do NOT eat anyone, corpses included.

7. DON'T be a hero, father is still trying to clear his name and sins. 

Arata :

Kishou be like : 🤡

Kishou :

Arata : 🧌

Arata : 

Merlin 🥹

Kishou : 

Dobe of Dragon, no, that's the troll from fucking Frozen.

Mother :

Kishou, language. 

Arata :

Mom be like : 🩴

Mother :

Arata.

"Shirayuri, which one do you think looks better?" Hitomi asked, holding two books. Shirayuri blinked, noticing how both books have the same title, aesthetic and author; the only difference was that one was paperback while the other was hard-cover. "Yeah the hard-cover costs more, but just look at the size and the design!"

"Honestly I would go for the paperback. Easier to bring around, even if hard-covers are said to last longer. It's all about how you preserve them." she answered, taking a book off the shelf and reading its synopsis. 

Absconditus Corvus 

"Maybe it was through the sympathetic thoughts of the cryo archon that she carefully handpicks who deserved to be blessed with a fragment of her power, if there was to be a criteria in which a mortal was to be handed out a vision-It would be that a wielder of cryo have no sense of belonging nor been given a chance at love." -Ren Takatsuki. 

Follow the journey of a famous tengu author who goes undercover in her own home country after sneaking back inside after the establishment of the Sakoku Decree. In the midst of trying to keep her identity hidden, continue working and keep her vision from being stripped; she gets involved with the rather suspicious commissioner of the Yashiro Commission. 

'I think I'll add this to my Wishlist. There's still a few books that I need to finish reading.' she thought, thinking to that one book she had bought after the trio highly recommended it to her. They were...rather passionate that she read it. Kingdom of the Wicked was it? Yeah, and the books after it. 

Yurina giggled, observing the new colours on her nails after having them done. She had briefly left them for about an hour and half till a full hour, but she came back skipping towards them, instantly showing them the new looks on her fingers.Hitomi got her glasses, Kazane found a great deal on a pair of new shoes while Shirayuri just tagged along, only eyeing a few items she found cool but didn't buy.The interest in buying items were lost after a few minutes of wandering around, there was just something that made her uncomfortable; and it wasn't the amount of people around.

There was so much talking, so many sounds of actions being done at the same time. Hell, there were even echoes that rung in her ears. Shirayuri's kakugan activated, Kazane quickly noticing the change in her friend's left eye. "You alright Yuri? Are your senses overstimulated again?" Kazane asked, worry evident on her face.

"I...want to go home." Shirayuri whispered, Hitomi placing back the books she was holding. 

"Aww, but there's still so much to look at." Yurina pouted, suddenly dropping her excitement when she turned her head and noticed the kakugan. "Alright, the exit is over there." Yurina pointed, the four of them walking out of the shop quickly. 

Usually, a kakugan appears at their own will, when they use a special ability or when excited. But when Shirayuri, Kishou and Arata's kakugan activate out of the blue, to those who know, it was like a warning siren. 

"I see you." Shirayuri stopped, shivers going down her spine when she heard the voice. She tugged the hands of Yurina and Kazane she was holding, quickly letting go of Yurina to reel in Hitomi closer to them. In an instant, she forced them all to their knees and released her crystallised ukaku kagune. An explosion was heard, people panicking and running about. Her wings emitted electricity, forcing strangers to run around them instead of into them; preventing them from getting stepped to death.

"We have just received news, Polaris Mall is under attack by SS-Rated ghoul known by the alias Jail. Currently, the number of casualties are unknown but heroes are rushing to the scene to put an end to his rampage."

No

NO 

NO!

This was not going to be a day where he will lose a person he cares about, people come and go but Shirayuri was not allowed to die before him. Kaneki rushed out of his office, ignoring the calls for him. Stopping near the elevators, he instantly pressed the arrow facing downwards, watching as it slowly came and cursed whenever it stopped at a floor above him. Abandoning the elevators, he ran towards the emergency stairs and jumped. 

"My princes <3~ One-Eyed! I seeeeee you<3~" Shikorae giggled, in one of the largest kakujas she had ever seen. Shirayuri widened the span of her ukaku kagune, refusing to allow the crazy man to see her friends and use them against her. He smiled, tilting his head to an impossible angle. "Pretty~ Cool! I see them, F-R-I-E-N-D-S." 

Shirayuri's eyes widened, watching as rinkakus shot out of the kakuja and took her friends at the speed of light.The heroes at the scene yelling for them to run away, but their orders were too late.

A helicopter flew above them, broadcasting live to the entire country what was happening at the moment. Shikorae gleefully looked up, waving around his hostages while Shirayuri remained frozen in place, eyes wide. 

'What am I supposed to do? Does he want me to attack him, should I run away?" a million thoughts ran inside of her head, eyes glancing at the bodies that had already been killed and were merely lying around. They're waiting, waiting for the fight to be over, have their bodies collected by family and be buried or cremated. 

But some people aren't fortunate enough to have family...

"Shirayuri get the fuck out of there!" 

"Yuri, please run!"

"Run!"

Her family, they were screaming at her to run away and stay safe. But here she was, she was merely standing around in the middle of a fight. 

"Fight." 

Suddenly, she lost all her fear. She watched as Shikorae destroyed the surroundings, taunting and teasing her friends by acting as if he was going to throw them or torture them. He laughed, a man that has lost all sanity, he was at a point of no return. The world won't lose anything at all if he was to die today, right about now.

"Fight."

If he didn't die, she and them would die. Would she be considered a disgrace for dying today? Would her corpse be buried or cremated? If he escaped with her dead body, he would devour her whole and use her against her family. No, she doesn't want to be used as a weapon...

"Fight."

"Damn all of this!" Shirayuri yelled, stomping on the ground. The ground cracking below her. 

Shikorae stopped laughing, viewers stilling at what was happening as the villain lifted slowly one of his rinkakus. It was half of its original length, Kazane was gone. The camera panned towards Shirayuri, holding the frightened teen as her wings glowed as bright as flames. 

"Tentacle is g-g-goneeeee? :o, w-where?" Shirayuri blitzed forward, avoiding to attack him and instead focus on rescuing her friends. Hitomi and Yurina extended one of their hands out, Shirayuri grabbing them as two large projectiles sliced two rinkakus in half at the same time. ">:( no NO NO! DIEEEEEE!" he screeched, lunging towards Shirayuri. His rinkakus were faster, the one-eyed ghoul choosing to throw the two of them far away from her just as she was slammed down onto the ground by the rinkakus. 

"YURI!" 

The rinkakus lifted themselves, dragging her by one of her legs towards him. Shikorae grinned, now face-to-face with the youngest One-Eyed Princess hanging upside down. "Why the frown :( upside down :)" 

A rinkaku wrapped around her throat, threatening to dislocate her head and turn her 'frown' to a smile. 

"Shirayuri!" Ichika yelled, attempting to run after her sister and rescue her if it wasn't for Best Jeanist wrapping his threads and binding her. "Let me go you denim freak! THATS MY SISTER!" Best Jeanist remained unfazed. 

"And that...is a dangerous villain, isn't he the biggest ghoul threat to the TSC? Leave this to heroes." He stated, watching as Endeavor, All Might and other top heroes at the scene.

"Ur going to die die die :D then I eat EAT EAT!" Shikorae grinned, replacing the rinkaku with his own hand. His smile only becoming bigger. A mouth appeared right under her, its fangs large with a tongue sticking out. 

All Might observed the villain, unable to find an opening to attack him without hurting Shirayuri. Endeavor stopped too, refusing to use his flames due to the close proximity between the victim and the villain. They were just too close, his rinkakus fast enough to instantly kill her if they moved at all. Their sidekicks remained at the scene, waiting for the command of the respective heroes they were working for. 

"Isn't that..." Ryukyu talked with the other heroes, flapping her wings and watching from above. Her heart was pounding inside of her chest, knowing the severity of the situation. 

"Kishou Kaneki's younger sister, one of the students that's currently under work studies with me." Endeavor confirmed, All Might glancing towards him. 

"Kishou...one-eyed ghouls right?" the flame hero glared at All Might, the other confused on why the other was annoyed at an innocent question of his. 

"Someone isn't being a good representative of humanity, you work with their father from time to time." he hissed, changing positions. 

"Oh right..." All Might shivered, sometimes feeling uncomfortable being in the same room at him.

He was a man with so many sides, large investments of time just to understand and sync well with him. He adored the people he cared about, especially his family. Though he united humans and ghouls together, his words, body language and expressions can be rather contradictory. Sometimes, the number one hero forgets that they were both the same. Two citizens of Japan that were once quirkless until they encountered someone that would change their lives forever. Their paths were both different, both meeting and fighting their own enemies. But in the end, they fight for the people, no matter who they are. They fight, for the sake of a better world.

'He may be terrifying, but he's a man I greatly respect. I can't allow him to lose someone he loves.' All Might thought, fixing his stance. "God, he can be rather scary at times." he shivered a bit. 

Shikorae looked towards the camera broadcasting everything from above, Shirayuri's family frozen in horror at his following words. "Long live the princess..." his voice felt dry, as if he hadn't been drinking for a long time. 

Shirayuri closed her eyes, "Let...me...GO!"her kakugan glowed, Shikorae becoming enamoured and drawn towards such a bright and dominating light. Visions flash inside of his mind, memories of the past that didn't belong to him or the young teenager. The sound of footsteps echoed inside of his ear, multiple silhouettes with different kakuja armour appearing before him. In front of them, oh how he can easily recognise him, their current king. 

The smile disappeared off the male ghoul's face, feeling a burning feeling on a part of his face as Shirayuri disappeared before him. Her wings were out once more, the reason for his scar and the loss of the rinkaku that wrapped around one of her legs. 

">:O die DIE DIE!!!" 

Seeing Shirayuri fall, All Might flew at lightning speed to catch her as the other heroes went in to attack Shikorae. He let out a terrifying roar, releasing kagunes from different RC cells he had consumed over the years with the help of his followers. Shirayuri felt the word slow, the kakuja slowly turning its body and focus back its attention on her. 

"nOT gonna lose, NOT GOING TO LOSE THE CHANCE!" 

As if the attacks did nothing to him, he only regenerated and chased after All Might and Shirayuri, releasing ukaku kagunes to match his speed. 

Unable to handle her emotions anymore, a tear trailed down Shirayuri's face as she sniffed a bit, the brightness of her wings dimming down.

'I don't want to die...I still have so many things to do...I still have to become someone, someone that would be useful to everyone around.'

"Let me take over." 

Shirayuri closed her eyes, nodding her head. Her mind went blank, bright rainbow markings that would normally appear red on Kishou made All Might turn his head in curiousity.

"Hold me by my collar." Shirayuri commanded, All Might trusting the ghoul's plan seeing Shikorae catch up with them. 

Her wings became larger, no longer similar to that of her mother's. They glowed bright, with different colours in different parts. Shikorae gleefully smiled, giant hands reaching out to touch her as Shirayuri opened her mouth. 

"Crumble." 

It was similar to Black Rabbit's Devastation, an attack that would easily destroy whoever and whatever was in their path. But unlike the signature attack of Black Rabbit, whatever she had just released was quiet. Decapitating multiple parts of Shikorae at the same time before turning him to dust. Like she had said, he crumbled to the ground. Nothing more than a large pile of ashes now. 

All Might quickly stopped, landing on the ground and placing down Shirayuri whose marks and wings slowly disappeared. She glanced around, taking a deep breath before passing out. 

"What the hell just happened, what did he do to my younger sister?!" Ichika demanded, practically yelling into Best Jeanist's right ear as he continued to hold her down, his other threads no longer holding onto parts of the giant kakuja. 

"Lady...the question is what your younger sister had done." 

Kaneki took a deep breath, finally arriving at Polaris Mall. Tracing Shirayuri's scent, he practically collapsed beside her and placed the younger's head on his lap, touching her cheek before observing her vitals. His kakugan appeared, scanning parts of her body to see if any damage was taken. He sighed in relief when no signals were given to him. He held her close, cursing a bit when he realised what she had just done was broadcasted for everyone to watch. 

"You're safe now, you're safe...I would destroy everything before allowing anyone hurt you, and our family." Kaneki whispered, caressing her hair. Paramedics ran and began checking on the bodies of others, though he did hear a few steps coming closer towards them, he needed to hold her a bit longer. Ichika sighed, collapsing to the ground from all the panic that had consumed her.

Kaneki took a drink of the blood wine in his glass, hearing the sound of the door to his home office opening. Kishou entered, eyeing a sword that was resting on the wall. He sat on the seat in front of his father, making himself comfy. Kaneki tilted his head towards an empty glass, Kishou nodding before pouring himself a cup of blood wine. 

"How is she?" 

"Sleeping, has been since the attack at noon. Now it's almost Midnight, it's clear that that move took a toll on her body." Kishou answered, glancing at the clock. Kaneki pursed his lips, deep in thought. 

"I wished...I wished...and I'm sorry, that you, Arata and Yuri were born like this. Destined for fates filled with fighting, running and violence." Kaneki said out of the blue, it was selfish of him. Selfish that he wanted more children alongside the love of his life, all four of them being products of their love no matter what anyone says. 

"Have we ever voiced our dislike about our lives? No, even if we talk about the negative aspects of being a Ka-Ne-Ki." Kishou stated, mimicking how Endeavor said the family's surname from time to time. "I get it, you wanted us to have peaceful lives...have you seen the world we live in? I rather be powerful and fight alongside my family than be a quirkless human that anyone can easily forget about." Kishou glanced towards the roof.

"I...father, we love the feeling of power. Being able to stand on top, having access to abilities that not everyone is gifted with. Yes, it's a large responsibility and an arduous road to live a happy life. But Arata and I, Shirayuri are up for it."

Kaneki glanced at his oldest son, remembering how he felt the moment he saw the white hair on the newborn child. When he opened his eyes, he smiled at the sight of a grey eye and red eye. 

"Whatever happens, no matter who you and Yuri will face. I want both of you to continue and support each other." Kaneki stated, raising his finger. "Continue training her, I'll even allow you to teach her how to wield different quinques. Please Kishou," Kaneki begged.

"Protect your sister, no matter the cost. Whatever needs to be done, all I need is for her, you, and everyone in this family to be safe and happy. Promise me that Kishou." 

Kishou nodded, standing up to bow to his father. Kaneki rejected this, walking around his desk to hug his son. His beloved son, who always has a stoic look on his face, whose name was tribute to his own mentor and father figure. 

"I promise." 

Chapter Text

Akira Mado was a strong and intelligent human. Like her father, she was fascinated with quinques, how they function and utilising them during combat. One of her personal favourites was Amatsu, a quinque taken from a chimera ghoul; it was able to easily shift from a dagger and a whip. At her age and experience, she moved the blade around as if it was merely nothing for her. 

'I can't keep up with her father, but I can with her.' Akira thought, continuing to spar with Shirayuri who used Yukimura 1/3. 'That's not good enough. She needs to be miles away, surpassing me to the point I can only last a few minutes in a fight.' 

If she has trouble defeating her in a fight or took too much time, Shirayuri could abandon the thoughts of going against Kishou. Kaneki took a step back, going for a leg sweep which Akira avoided with a jump, she caught the younger's trick when the blade aimed towards her mid-air. Amatsu shifted from its dagger form into a whip, wrapping around Yukimura 1/3. 

"You almost caught me," Akira commented, Shirayuri using Yukimura's dual-wield form now to slip and release it from the whip. Akira smiling a bit when she saw how the blade turned into two. In total, Yukimura 1/3 could split into three parts. Two were meant to be used together, while one had always fought its fights solo. "Better, much better than the beginning of the week."

"I've been training, my desires to fight and release energy have only worsened while my body's healing is still slow." Shirayuri informed Akira, the older woman nodding at her words. 

She's been making sure the fridge was always filled with meat, but by the time she returns back from work at night. It would all be gone. Unlike the scars that littered Shirayuri's body, they remained. She wasn't sure if it was psychological or not, but she considered it bad news from the lack of kagune usage by the teen. 

"Want some?" Akira asked, once their training session had concluded. Shirayuri eyed the bottle of wine she was extending out, taking it from Akira's hand and sniffing the bottle. Yeah, that was blood. "Tsukiyama loves this. It's one of the few alcoholic drinks your father drinks, never tried it for obvious reasons." she added, Shirayuri raising an eyebrow at her words.

"You're giving an underaged teenager an alcoholic beverage?" 

"It's not like you're going to report me, go indulge yourself from time to time. You need it."

Shirayuri left the bottle inside of the refrigerator, mind lingering on the blood wine as she showered, only momentarily forgetting about it when she checked her schedule. Soon, it was time for her to once more depart for U.A. There would be a training camp for both class 1-A and 1-B. A Quirk Training Camp dedicated to further train their bodies, and especially everyone's respective quirk. Shirayuri thought about the scars all over her back, the times her kagunes had failed her before. 

Succumbing to the urge, Shirayuri walked out of the guest room and into the kitchen. Silent as she uncorked the bottle and poured herself a glass, only filling it until almost half of the glass. She shook the glass a little, watching the red liquid slosh around. There was a slight red stain on the once dry areas of the glass. The glass was raised, lips barely touching as she tilted until the liquid touched her lips. 

She let it in. Feeling the blood wine coat her tongue and down her throat. 

Shirayuri pulled back the glass after a few seconds, tasting the leftover remnants. Deep in thought over what she had just tasted at such an amount. 

'It's honestly just rotten blood that went through a process similar to human wine I suppose.' Shirayuri thought, grabbing the bottle once again. 

It was such a pretty bottle, the night was still young and it was a new experience to ride a high road. Another glass was poured after that, Shirayuri smacking her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she thought about the past. Her life was fucked up, but, if she stopped becoming a hero, this would be one hell of a bestseller story. An original story, one that can be adapted to a nice movie. Though filled with gore and are Dead Dove worthy. Doesn't stop certain shows, books and movies from being popular. 

Akira laid in bed, wondering if she may slowly cause the teenager to become an addict. She could hear the other person inside of her home stumble towards her room, lock the door and collapse onto her bed with a groan. 

'Kaneki, there are times when I'm glad you did what you knew was best for your family. Sometimes I'm not. Spending these days with Shirayuri, these are the times I wish you would have never separated and sacrificed your happiness.'

What tears apart a family that has remained on top for centuries? Known for their power and ferocity? The family members themselves, the cause of their own downfall. Always, it has always been about power and succession, all about strength with no thought of the pain, loss and grief that comes with war. What he wished would never befall onto his own family now continued on inside of the cycle; an endless loop where the word escape ceases to exist. 

Hearing a knock on the door, Akira glanced from the movie she was watching. Grabbing the remote, she paused the scene and walked towards the door, Amatsu right behind her back just in case. Checking through the peephole, she was surprised to see...

"Uchiha Sasuke?" Akira asked, confused on why he was at her doorstep. Tamaki shook his head, hands inside of his pockets while he nervously glanced down. 

"Sorry for destroying your happiness...I'm not...Uchiha Sasuke...I'm a student at U.A High School, Third Year, Shirayuri Kaneki's senior...Tamaki Amajiki" Tamaki nervously introduced himself, shaking inside of his boots. 

'Cute.' Akira thought. Unable to recognise his name. The only humans she knew Shirayuri interacted with from the information given was : Shoto Todoroki, Ochako Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya and Tenya Iida; there was recently Tsuyu Asui too who joined their small group but she wouldn't say their bond was as close as the others just yet. "You want to visit the One-Eyed Princess?" Akira asked him, voice clear that she was interested and curious. 

Tamaki slowly nodded, unsure what was with the title all of a sudden. But he guesses it had something to do with her single kakugan and lost family. Akira glanced behind her, in the direction of Shirayuri's room. Gesturing for him to enter, seeing that the knob of the door didn't make no turn to open; Tamaki shut the door behind him and observed the apartment. Akira gestured for him to sit, and he did. 

His hands briefly rubbed themselves against the sofa, finding it soft and comfortable. 

"Meow." Tamaki looked down, smiling when a cat began rubbing its head against his legs before walking away to sit and most likely sleep upon the mat on the door-a cat-themed mat. 

"Yuri! Your senior is here!" Akira looked back towards Tamaki. "I'll get both of you something to drink, and  some snacks." she said, Tamaki nodding as a reply. 

He didn't know why, but he was expecting a much colder and hostile greeting? An aura told him that even if he was inside, he shouldn't last long in here or never even entered in the first place. 

Tamaki heard a door open, breath held in his throat when Shirayuri slinked out of her room in a black hoodie and cotton shorts. Her hair was a mess, face a bit red as she hiccuped a bit. Tamaki wrinkled his nose, easily tracing and finding out that the teenager had been drinking...something mixed with blood? 

'Right, she's a ghoul.' 

"I thought ghouls couldn't digest food outside of humans?" Tamaki asked, Shirayuri roughly sitting on a chair near him. 

"Yeah well, rotten blood going through the same process as normal wine contradicts the fact." Shirayuri replied, thanking Akira who came back with two glasses of water. 

"Do you want me to make some hangover ghoul soup?" Akira asked, Shirayuri eagerly nodding at the question. 

Hangover ghoul soup was a soup made specifically for ghouls with hangovers, overindulging in blood drinks the night prior. Unlike a normal hangover stew or Haejang-guk, its soup with beef broth and chunks of meat usually from different parts of the body. Depending on the ghoul, the chunks of meat can be different. Tsukiyama prefers leaner cuts, Karren prefers ones with more fat and Shirayuri loves the liver so Akira chose to take out the liver, place it on a chopping board and began cutting. 

Tamaki wince a little, hearing the sound of the knife cutting through liver. That was a human's liver she was cutting.

"No need to pretend to be brave cowardly lion, go find some strange liquid to drink and fill yourself with confidence." Shirayuri raised her hand, creating a fanning motion towards the direction of the door. 

Tamaki frowned, making no movement to head towards the door. Shirayuri's eye twitched, disliking how he wasn't listening to her words. 

"Don't be like that Shirayuri, you can stay." Akira gently scolded Shirayuri, glancing and making eye contact with Tamaki before focusing back on her knife. 

He checked her scent, almost finding it hard to comprehend that a human was cutting a human liver with calmness. The world is strange, perhaps they live under a fake sky and they were actually in one of the nine circles of Hell. Oh God, which major sin did he commit the most?? 

"So what do you need from me?" Shirayuri asked, the sound of cooking going on in the background. Tamaki gulped, hearing the sound of a stove being turned on. 

"I'm just here to check on you, your friends are worried. The teachers too." Tamaki said, taking out his phone. "The adults are more aware that you don't want to see any of them, you want to be on your own." 

"Yet you're here." Shirayuri pointed out, a small but unsettling smile on her face that made Tamaki's heart skip a beat.

"Sometimes, there are those who just needs to brave through the lightning's glow." he stated, perking Shirayuri's interest with his words. 

"Great, I don't think I won't slowly signal you to leave by being rather threatening with my words." she laughed, a light feeling inside of her chest after a long while. Tamaki nodded, glancing as Akira came back with a bowl of soup. His eyes widened when she held another plate with raw cut pieces of liver and chopsticks. 

"Shirayuri is a binge-eater, she eats a lot in one sitting." Akira said, setting the food down. Shirayuri smiled, Tamaki eyeing the normal looking canines inside of her mouth. 

It was strange to think how Eijiro Kirishima shark teeth whereas Shirayuri has normal teeth. The red-head being an omnivore whereas the white-haired was a carnivore."When was the last time you got some fresh air?" Tamaki asked out of the blue, Shirayuri glancing at him before focusing back on her soup. 

"I get fresh air everyday, if you mean outside as in park or whatever. Then I suppose last week." she answered, Tamaki nodding his head.

"You know, for someone who I heard gets easily flustered and anxious. You're strangely calm and collected around me." Shirayuri pointed out, placing down her spoon to use the chopsticks; she used them to take a piece of sliced liver and devour it in its raw state.

Tamaki grimaced, still feeling uneasy. He shook his head, mentally telling himself to focus. "I was given a mission to observe you. Though it has long-passed, I will continue to observe you from afar, and also do my duty as a hero to protect you. Both mentally and physically even if I...constantly fail." he explained, one of her eyes twitching at his words.

"Are you somehow trying to say you're not a hero that views the world as black and white? Because as far as I see it, that's how most heroes and humans my age view the world." she stated, stirring her soup. 

"You have no reason to trust me, I very well understand that." Tamaki bent down his body a little, making eye contact with the ghoul. "Over my dead body that I'll allow you, someone with so much potential to waste yourself away. Blinded with revenge and misery, underage drinking and smelling of alcohol. When was even the last time you showered?" he questioned, Shirayuri glancing at the clock. 

It was late morning right about now. 

"...Like...yesterday." she gave him an answer, voice hinting that she was a bit embarrassed by her words. Tamaki sighed, looking down at the ground with his eyes closed before looking back at her with opened eyes. 

"Take a shower and wear some deodorant, we're going out later." 

Shirayuri turned her head, glancing at Akira who hid her mouth with one of her hands. "Do I smell that bad?" she asked. 

"...A little." 

Tamaki waited in the living room, watching as she left her empty used cutlery and plates on the table. With nothing to do, he took the plates and headed towards the kitchen, Akira observing how he gently cleaned the plates before putting them away to dry.

'He's good for her.' Akira thought, watching the white-haired teen walk out of the bathroom wearing a towel and into her room. Now smelling fresh and looking much like her old self. 

Inside of her room, Shirayuri looked at the clothes Akira had bought for her. She looked at her closet, thinking back of what Tamaki told her before. The memory was still fresh inside of her mind, clearly remembering what he sounded like and relaxed he was. Shy and nervous Tamaki was cute, a more-serious Tamaki Amajiki was rather attractive. Her kakugan activated, grinning a little when she remembered what his quirk was. 

If he were to consume a ghoul, she wonders how his cells would react and how they would manifest on his body. Would he just be super strong, fast and all that? Like a half human? Or would the cells devour his quirk cells and change him into an abnormal one-eyed ghoul? Possibilities could be anything. 

"Sometimes, there are those who just needs to brave through the lightning's glow."

She took out a short skirt and white blouse, matching his pants and shirt. Brushing her hair, she hummed to herself a small tune as she continued getting ready for the remaining hours of the day. Coming out of the room, Tamaki had a small smile on his face before focusing back on Akira Mado. He bowed in respect, thanking her for treating him well inside of her home. Shirayuri parted with Akira, slipping on her shoes before opening the door to see the bright sun and blue skies. 

Both of them walked through the place, with no clear intention in mind. Shirayuri glanced around, enjoying the tranquility in the area. Looking at Tamaki, he seems to be enjoying it too, watching two butterflies fly near each other. A flock of birds past them, the cats on the walls resting finding their new object of interest. 

"I like this." Shirayuri commented, though she has grown used to rowdy, dense environments with lots of people. Locations with minimal people, sound and smells that don't fight against each other brought peace into her cells. Was it the absence of worry from losing control and society? A bird flapped its wing, flying past her to catch up with its flock. She glanced up, looking at the bird blocking the sun from her eyes for just a brief of a second. 

Tamaki chose not to disturb her peace, watching as she continued to be entranced by different things around her as they continued on walking. What was she entranced about? Or was she deep in thought about something peaceful or positive? 

'She's just enjoying herself in her own way, I'll just keep guard to make sure nothing happens.' he thought, he also briefly stopped when she also stopped to observe the clear water canals. Eventually they reached a more busy area, most of the people walking quickly avoiding the two of them once they recognised Shirayuri or observed the scars littering her exposed skin. Shirayuri paid no mind, even taking a few steps to the side to distance herself from Tamaki who quickly noticed the change in distance between them. 

"Are...you feeling alright? Do you want to go back?" Tamaki asked, glancing up from continuously looking down since the number of people around them continue to grow. 

"It's a shame to go back now, I want to keep walking." 

That surprised Tamaki, though he thought he should be glad that she was out and seemingly enjoying herself. People can be unpredictable. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn't plotting something without him knowing. 

Somewhere else, Shoto lingered by the edge of the pool as everyone else busied themselves. He opened his phone, still no new message from a certain someone. Ever since that day, it's like she had disappeared from the face of the Earth; contrary to what those who have seen her say and post on Twitter. She still continued to ignore the messages of worry and her wellbeing from her class. Though he had tried to ask his father where she had gone a handful of times, Enji Todoroki just shook his head and refused to answer. Fuyumi looking disheartened whenever she witnessed him yelling at their father for more information about anything. 

He closed his eyes, thinking of the moment he had impulsively kissed her. Taking away her first kiss for good. Something one side of his brain tells him to beg forgiveness for, while the other just smirks and releases a sigh of relief and happiness at the knowledge. Though Shirayuri didn't seem to be bothered then, Shirayuri was a person with layers. Someone you can't figure out at first glance at all, perhaps even the type of person you are acquainted and had known for years AND STILL get shocked whenever someone else brings out information you don't know that should have been obvious or something.

Was she, disgusted by the fact that she was kissed by a human? A race that she devours and preys on since she was weaned from her mother? Shoto wouldn't be so surprised at the fact she looks down at humans, he wouldn't even doubt that she would win a fight against the class and call it child's play. A memory played inside of her head, the first battle trial. A new feeling arose, the sight of satisfaction at seeing Mineta being crushed by the metal door-maybe from how he was familiar with the smaller boy's perverted endeavours in sneaking a peek at what was under the female population's clothes. 

"Since when are frogs this fast underwater?!" Mina yelled, getting chased around by Tsuyu. Momo sighed, shaking her head at Mina's comment, creating pool items for them to use. 

"Maybe pay attention more in Biology and you'll have the answer to your question." Tsuyu commented, a rare smirk of pride in her face as she leaped and landed on Mina, both of them sinking for a while before coming back up. Mina gasped, taking in a large intake of air as Tsuyu released a brief sound of laughter. Mina glared at Tsuyu, turning their game of tag into a game of who can splash the biggest and hardest waves at one another. 

"Hey Todoroki." Midoriya waved at him, he said nothing back, focused on his phone. This prompted the green-haired boy to sit beside him, dipping his legs into the pool. He smiled a bit, watching the rest of their class talk near the pool or play with each other inside. "How are you feeling?" he asked, leaning back a little, hands on both sides of his hips. 

"Worried, agitated and stressed out." Shoto replied, Midoriya nodded his head; understanding the reason why. 

Midoriya looked up at the sky, absent of grey clouds and lightning. He had come to associate lightning, grey clouds and thunderstorms with Shirayuri, Kaminari to him was more of like a burst of energy. When he blinked, his eyes flashed back to the moments her ukaku kagune was activated. Sharp, dangerous and fast. 

"We can only wait until she's ready to accept us back into her life, don't run towards her Todoroki, chasing after Kaneki seems like a pretty bad idea...so, just be patient, she'll come back eventually." Midoriya smiled at him, paying attention to the rest of their class next. Both of them could hear conversations of holding a swimming race.

Shoto looked down towards the water, looking at his moving reflection. 

"I'm going to win." Shoto decided, standing up. Midoriya got up too, also eager to join the swimming race. 

Now, there was one of the traits Midoriya had associated with Shoto Todoroki early on with their relationship. It was his desire to reach the top and surpass others with his own skills and ability. 

"I kinda want to try styling my food more like how humans do theirs, getting it simply served on a plate or a cold cut platter gets redundant as time passes." Shirayuri expressed her desire, walking as she spoke. 

"I know what a cold cut platter looks like...why can I just imagine the different sliced pieces and parts on top..." Tamaki shivered, instantly scrapping the brief mental imagery he had inside of his head. 

"You're wasting your time hanging out with me, I'm slowly corrupting you." the white-haired ghoul said, completely unrelated to what they were just talking about. Tamaki didn't seem nor looked annoyed. 

"Honestly what you're slowly doing to me is just normalising gore, cannibalism and things that make my stomach churn." he replied, shrugging. 

"If that isn't a form of corruption, then I don't know what that the definition is." she shot back, Tamaki humming, saying nothing else so they both could drop the topic of corruption before politicians were brought up and end up on a hit-list. 

Thought to those who eavesdrop would find their conversation strange or downright horrifying depending on their morals. Tamaki and Shirayuri seemed to have found some ground to stand on where they both talk to each other 'normally' without any bickering, irritability or snide comments. (Mostly from Shirayuri's part)

"If I let you devour a part of me, I wonder what you would transform into." Shirayuri thought, knowing the complexity of her autonomy to levels she was still trying to understand and grasp out for now. 

Tamaki's face reddened, eyes being covered by his hair as steam came out of his elf-like ears. He stopped walking, shaking in place as if he was in the middle of Antartica with wet clothes on. Don't forget, wet socks. 

"Minor...red alert....red alert."

Shirayuri flinched, standing on edge as Tamaki dashed towards the nearest wall and collided the frontal part of his body against it; creating cracks with the force he slammed his head against the wall. His hands were inside of his pockets, continuing to shake as his whole body receives the jitters. 

"...Senior class man Tamaki?" 

"I'm...fine." said by the guy who tried to take a step forward only to fall onto his face and release sounds of whimpering. Filled with second-hand embarrassment, Shirayuri grabbed one of his arms and dragged the older into an alley. Laying him on a wall, she kneeled down and lightly slapped his face multiple times on both cheeks, Tamaki wincing as his cheeks turned red from the 'light' forces. "Ow...ow...OW! OK STOP STOP THAT ACTUALLY HURTS!"  Tamaki exclaimed, raising his voice to volumes Shirayuri had never heard; indeed she stopped, to his relief. 

"God and here I thought those light sounds I heard indicated that the slaps wouldn't hurt THAT much...dear Lord, who are you? Yor Forger?" Shirayuri squinted her eyes at his words, looking seemingly offended.

"Did...you just assume I have no control over my own strength?!" She yelled, gripping onto his collar now. "OK FINE SHE'S A HOT GOOD-LOOKING WOMAN AND NORMALLY HUMANS WOULD CONSIDER IT A PRAISE TO BE CALLED SIMILAR TO GOOD ANIME CHARACTERS BUT CONSIDERING THAT I HAVE WATCHED ONLY THE FIRST SEASON AND TOO LAZY TO WATCH THE SECOND, I AM GOING TO BE OFFENDED!" 

'What does watching only the first season have to do with the comment I made?' Tamaki cried out inside of his head, the back of his head threatening to collide and maybe even break against the building. 

To make up for her rough actions against her senior, Shirayuri treated him to a drink and snack at a nearby cafe. She looked at all the types of bread with different toppings and fillings, only looking his way to ask what he wanted to order.

"Just order me anything you find delicious." he muttered, the cashier awkwardly staring at the two of them. Uncomfortable by whatever they had between them. Shirayuri rolled her eyes.

"Idiot, how can I possibly know what piece of bread and drink tastes good other than coffee? And you're supposed to be one of the best hero candidates in Japan?" Tamaki slammed his head against the counter, groaning while the cashier let out a cough. 

In the end, Shirayuri bought him a rose-shaped cake with a butterfly on top of it and a cup of coffee. Tamaki smiled a bit, seeing that the butterfly on the cake was blue; something he had seen prior. Shirayuri's arms were crossed, back straight and mind filled with satisfaction over the little detail Tamaki noticed, relaying a memory of his. Maybe it was his quirk, but he loved animals as much as he eats them. Butterflies seemed to be a personal favourite as that was when his reactions and face were the calmest. 

"Do you know the story of the Crimson Witch of Flames?" Shirayuri asked, Tamaki watching as her right hand turned up; palm facing the sky as her other hand laid underneath, touching the elbow of her other hand. "She was a woman that lived in Germany, her story thats flames has long simmered into nothing left but embers. She had a lover, a knight that was sent off to war during a crisis. As the crises prolonged, she had lost everything-her hopes, future and lover. The love she had for all were gone, now left was burning hatred and wrath that fuelled her on as she went to deal with the crises with no one or anything else but her shattered heart. " 

The Crimson Witch of Flames lost a part of her that day

Tamaki watched, mouth open as Shirayuri became unaware of her own kakugan activating. In the red iris he saw a woman wearing a mask, flames and monsters surrounding her before the scene shifted to a red flame butterfly flying during what seemed to be a snowstorm. 

"She had changed, after consuming liquid fire that changed her whole body. No longer could she be considered human, especially after humanity, the people turned their backs on her. The story continues, but I'm not really interested in telling you more about it...it's just, rather a killjoy." 

"There's really no special reason on why I told you this, I just remembered the tale because of your liking towards butterflies." Shirayuri shrugged, taking her own cup of coffee from the table and brought it closer to her mouth to taste.

"What do you think of her?" Tamaki asked, his voice soft.

Shirayuri looked down at her own cup of coffee, looking at her scarred face.

Sorry...to have you shoulder the grievances of the world. 

Since you could endure my bitter cold, 

you must have the desire to burn? 

Then burn, 

burn away the old world for me

"I admire her, she needs no sympathy over the past." 

Tamaki walked her home after they were finished with their respective snacks and drinks. He looked at her, noticing that she was focused primarily on the ground not on what's above or in front of her. In the span of a few hours, the rise and drop of her emotions were obvious to the eye. It was like a light switch in Wonderland, you flip it into something else but when you flip it back expecting to see what it was prior to the first flip-it's something else completely!

"I heard that there's going to be a masked festival in a few weeks, since I guess you have an interest in masks...do you perhaps...want to go together?" he broke the silence, opening his phone, tapping on it a few times before showing her a poster for the event. Nejire had sent it to a group chat consisting of only him, her and Mirio, begging for them to go together. He didn't think they would mind if she joined them, they would be especially ecstatic that he himself invited someone if either of them asked why she joined them. 

"I'll think about it." Shirayuri shortly answered, reaching back to her temporary home. 

"I'm not someone who should say this," Tamaki voiced out, just as she was about to enter without a goodbye. Shirayuri halted with her actions, "But please limit the amount of alcohol you consume. I'm not going to stop you, but just know that you'll come to regret it sooner than you would expect." he stated, Shirayuri finally entering once he stopped talking. 

Once inside, she leaned against the closed door. Sliding down to the ground, Maris Stella purring and rubbing at her feet before deciding to sleep right beside her.

"Stupid human," Shirayuri muttered, opening her phone and seeing all the unread messages reaching the hundreds. Having long surpassed 100. "Wasting you're time with me, worrying about me."

"Stupid, stupid humans." 

There was once two butterflies, travelling the world together side by side. Their love for each other carried by the wind to the world, landing on different types of colourful flowers. No predator or bad weather darkened their world for as long as they had each other. It was perfect. Until it was time for a new moon to replace the old, that was when the two butterflies needed to separate and now fly on their own. 

One moved on forward, eventually reaching a place where the other butterfly couldn't go. The other moved on forward, carrying their love with it wherever it go until its love became too much and engulfed it in flames. With grief inside of it, it showed the will to move on forward and endure the now cold and bitter world.

When Tamaki arrived at the doorstep of Akira Mado, asking if Shirayuri was available, the older woman shook her head in disappointment. Shirayuri was not available, too busy with other things that were more important than spending time with him. 

"Come back another time." Akira told him, her last words before closing the door.  

He took a breath, easily identifying and finding the smell the smell of rust. Tamaki slowly nodded his head, agreeing to leave the place that reeks of the smell.  

Chapter Text

"Following the massacre of the Tsukiyama conglomerate, villain activity is steadily rising in Tokyo with fights breaking out in different wards, multiple missing people disappearing within a day and great injuries done towards heroes and other law enforcers alike. Until more information is brought up, it's critical to travel in groups and avoid being outside at night at all costs." 

With her incapacitated, they were growing bolder. That was what Shirayuri thought, feet on the table with her arms crossed. Akira was gone once more, leaving her all alone with Maris Stella on her lap. The cat purred, feeling the young teen gently pet her as she slept. The feline had accompanied Shirayuri too, on the bed watching the ghoul pack her belongings for the upcoming Summer camp with her class. 

She wonders what Kishou was doing at the moment, was he training too or plotting yet another scheme of his? The thought alone making her uncomfortable, almost breaking a few items she was holding when whispers filled her mind. 

She was still resting, devouring almost everything edible for her in the fridge and lying for hours on the bed before doing some training to keep her body in shape and stabilise the cells inside of her body. There were thousands of them, working together to make sure she survives and remain intact. For a long time had they been focused on the areas where her kagunes would sprout, those areas extremely critical before other parts of her body. 

Shirayuri had attempted to release either of her kagunes the previous night, finding out that she could release a single rinkaku and one ukaku wing before being too exhausted and de-materialising them. 

"Do you think I should go for a walk?" Shirayuri asked the cat a random question, Maris Stella blinking slowly, her tail swishing behind her. 

Still sitting on the couch, she leaned her head back so more of her head rested on it, looking up at the plain ceiling above her. She blinked a couple of times, just motionless. Doing nothing, simply doing nothing but breathe and stare. She thought back to Tamaki Amajiki's insistence in getting her out of the place, attempting to somehow get her back on right track. One side of her wants him to leave even if violence is required to make that statement, another just wants him to waste his time and continue bothering her and another was a mix between the two. It can verbally tell him to leave him alone in a gentle way but if he insists, then he's allowed to stay.

With her new phone beside her, one that was bought after what had happened to her old one-she checked the time. If she were to go for a long walk, there would be more than enough time for her to go home before the sun sets and the moon rises to take its place. 

"Yeah...a walk would be good." Shirayuri muttered, standing up from the couch to change into much more suitable clothing. 

Outside, it was just as before. Animals and tranquility in the environment with more houses, more humans and activity in places with more shops, restaurants and more. A shop that sold technology had multiple televisions blare out the news of the attack at I-Island, how All Might saved the day once more. She stopped walking, glancing at the sight of a few of her friends in tattered formal wear.

"Ah, so that's what Bakugo looks like in formal wear." she said in a voice low enough for only her to hear, funny how the one time she saw him in such an outfit was also when it was ruined. If he had inherited personality traits from either of his parents, she could imagine the screaming match they would have over the ruined outfit; neither side refusing to back down.

When the TV switched scenes, she could briefly see her appearance in the reflection. Feeling her emotions drop at the sight of herself. Shirayuri, with no more reason to stay still continued on with her walk. Hearing the sound of fast footsteps, Shirayuri moved to the side as a puppy ran past her while being chased by two dog-catchers. Interested, she watched the pup skilfully jump onto different objects, evade nets they swiped at it and even sabotage them by causing the dog-catchers to slip and fall or bump into strangers. 

"Ow!"

Sorry ma'am!"

"Watch where you're going!" 

"Sorry sir!"

"MOMMY!"

"GET YOUR NET OFF MY BOY!" 

Shirayuri let out a laugh, watching the mother of the boy take off her slipper faster than All Might could fly and began whacking the dog catcher who accidentally placed a net on her son. The puppy looked towards Shirayuri, not moving an inch before slowly approaching her. Tilting her head a bit, Shirayuri took a few steps towards it and extended her hand out. The dog also tilted its head, mimicking Shirayuri's actions. When its snout was about to be touched by her fingers, it sniffed it a couple of times before closing its eyes and closing in. 

"Lady careful!" 

The pup growled, a dog-catcher coming in between both of them with a net. It changed courses and bolted in a different direction, Shirayuri grabbing the arm of the dog-catcher as his friends continued to run after the dog.

"Why so adamant about catching it? It's still a pup." she questioned, annoyed at losing the chance to bond with a dog. The dog-catcher shook his head, disagreeing with her words. 

"That so-called pup is dangerous, a monster. Rest assure we aren't going to kill it, just put it inside a chamber where it can be watched, taken care of and receive medical treatment from time to time." 

"So a dog pound?" the dog-catcher said nothing else after she said those words, opting to rather rejoin his group. 

Checking the time on her phone, it seems that she still has some time before night falls. Looking at her outfit, a hoodie paired with joggers. It was just the perfect fit for her sudden scheme. 

The pup continued to run, panting as the dog hunters refused to give up. Determined to catch him, detain and place him inside of a cage. It didn't want that, it wanted to be free and roam the world. A world where it hoped it can somehow develop a bond like other pups. Making a turn into an alley, its eyes widened and it came to a skidding halt at the sight of a metal fence. Hearing laughter behind him, it bent down its body and raised its behind, growling at the hunters.

As the pup was just a young one, this was no different than Simba attempting to roar and fend off the hyenas. 

"We've got you now..." one said, raising his net. 

Out of nowhere, a single rinkaku shot out from above and wrapped itself around the dog-catcher. From his abdomen, it stretched out and now wrapped around his arms, like a puppeteer Shirayuri grinned and began using the single dog-catcher to attack his comrades. The pup barked, noticing Shirayuri from above. Joining the fight, it jumped up and bit one of his chasers' butts causing a squeal to come out of him. 

Shirayuri hissed, feeling liquid start to trail down her body. Placing her arm on the skin under her hoodie, when she reeled it back out to see what it was; she sighed at the sight of blood knowing her time limit was up. For the final act, she just raised the dog-catchers up by the singular rinkaku and slammed them both back onto the ground-effectively knocking them out and destroying her kagune. 

Jumping down, the little pup barked at her. Eyes filled with joy for its saviour. Kneeling down onto the ground, she extended her hand out, the pup happily sniffing her hand before nuzzling it gently, tail eagerly wagging behind it. The little pup reminded her so much of the dog from Lady and the Tramp she couldn't help but coo at its beauty. 

"You're so beautiful, how are you a little monster? A term that has always been affiliated with me?" she asked herself, the dog continuing to look at her. 

A stray little dog, alone and chased by those who want to detain the little being. 

"Well, monsters should stick together." Shirayuri stood up, the little pup jumping into her arms, seemingly understanding whatever it was she was saying. Walking out of the alley, holding the little thing in one of her arms, her other hand reached out to take her phone and find the nearest clinic. 

"You adopted a dog?" 

"Yes." 

"How did you find it?" 

"It was being chased by dog-catchers, I couldn't help but want to help it." 

"...What did you name it?"

"Maximilian Romeo Jack Hachiko Kaneki." 

"You are very much sober and aware that the dog has like a crazy long first name with most of them coming from different countries?." 

"Indeed I am."

A noble named mixed with pirates? So that was why the little pup had a bowtie on its neck and a pirate hat. In honest truth, the older woman didn't know what to call the puppy. There was Max, Hachi, then there was Romeo and finally Jack. God, she hoped the little thing wouldn't be confused with all of its names. She found it cute though as minutes passed, wondering if those names were to pay tribute to characters in fiction. She was very well aware of Hachiko. Her heart ached, remembering the story of the loyalty the dog had to his owner even after his owner passed.

'If that isn't love, I don't want it.' 

Somewhere Koutarou Amon dropped whatever he was holding. 

Akira raised an eyebrow, watching Shirayuri cut pieces of meat as...Maximilian sat down right beside her, tail wagging and tongue out. When she was done slicing the meat into multiple long pieces, she placed them all inside of a bowl mixing it with kibble and placing it down. Maximilian instantly gobbling it up. 

'So it was just served human meat mixed with kibble.' Akira observed, watching Shirayuri stroke Max as he ate. 

When he was done, the bowl was completely empty. Maris Stella approached the pup, sniffing at it before hitting it a couple of times with her paw. Max was about to growl and pounce when Shirayuri shook her head, the pup stopped, gazing at its new owner curiously as she reached out and began stroking the cat; Maris Stella purring at the sensation. Curious, the little puppy watched from where it sat, observing the two interact with each other.

Akira sighed, walking away to report this new change.

Time passed, Shirayuri woken up by her slumber due to aches on different parts of her body. Sighing, her abandoning the comfy bed awakened Maximilian Romeo Jack Hachiko Kaneki (Never watched Amazing World of Gumball? Darwin Raglan Caspian Ahab Poseidon Nicodemius Watterson, III? His name is longer so don't judge me for choosing that name >:( - Shirayuri Kaneki) the pup followed her, wagging its tail when Shirayuri reached out and grabbed for Yukimura 1/3. 

"Continue sleeping if you want, I need to do some training." Shirayuri glanced at the pup, the pup only staying at the sidelines as she did some stretching. 

When he's more accustomed and their bond is much stronger, she'll find him a trainer. But for now, it's her Ghoul side that needs training. 

It was morning. Hours before Shirayuri had to leave and stay with her class for a week in a summer camp watched over by heroes. Maximilian growled, Akira holding the pup as Shirayuri continued to get ready, walking around to make sure nothing was forgotten. When Shirayuri was about to leave, Akira took a step forward.

"If anything happens, don't be a hero. Fly away." Akira stated, Shirayuri turning her back to face her latest protector. 

"If anything happens, especially with unfinished business. I will make sure to finish what I have started." 

Shigaraki crossed her mind, all the fucking nomus ever created and yet to be, the piece of shit who invented nomus, All for One, rogue ghouls, Kishou and so much more. One day, one day will she rain down upon them and be linked to their downfall. Akira's face remained blank, only showing worry when the door closed once more and Maximilian jumped off her arms, scratching at the door, barking to go out and chase after Shirayuri. 

Almost all of class 1-A waited right beside the two buses. Most of them acknowledging and having conversations with class 1-B. Monoma smiled, about to say something when Kendo threatened to knock him out. He raised his hand in surrender, telling her to not knock him out in order for him to witness the arrival of the 'main character'. Kendo gave him a confused look, before realising what he had meant. 

Jurota Shishida sniffed the air, noticing a change. When he took in the new scent more, his stomach threatened to expel his breakfast as he fell onto his knees. His closest friends rushing to his side as his heart beat increased. He looked at a specific direction, making his class to look at the direction their friend was looking at. Reiko Yanagi's eyes widened, cheeks turning red before coughing and looking away.

"So scary..."

"That's her." 

"Shirayuri Kaneki..."

"Her eyes..." 

"I wonder what's going on through her mind." 

"She looks scarier to approach than normal, and I've known her since the Recommendation exam." 

Class 1-A glanced towards the direction of Class 1-B wondering what they were suddenly whispering about. A figure passed Aoyama, the blonde instantly shivering behind Shoji whose eyes widened when he looked down to see someone with white hair pass him. The said someone looked up at him, Shoji's sight blurring as if he had just looked down upon a flood of corpses and blood. 

"I hope I'm not late, I had to make sure I look presentable." Shirayuri spoke up, earning the attention of her class. Unlike Class 1-B, they chose to be more quiet and whisper nothing about their fellow classmates. Out of fear? Out of respect? No one could really tell the difference. It was confusing to know the etiquette of meeting someone who had just went through another traumatic loss, lost contact with for a period of time and came back acting as if nothing had happened. 

Although it was clear to them that she wore the full set of U.A mandatory uniform. It didn't really help hide her scars and create thoughts in the mind.There were different thin cuts on her hands that made it easy for others to believe there were more trailing up. There was a large one on her neck, a single one that made it clear that her neck had been slit once. Skin that was never marred with bruises and injuries for long, looked as if she was a seasoned warrior entering and exiting the battlefield. But to those who own those scars, they were horrid, a sign of weakness and showed her vulnerabilities. Her body looked thin and frail even with the amount of humans she devoured, she had no muscles like strong combatant heroes. In the middle of her right eye, there was a thin slice scar. But what really drew their attention longer than the scars all over her skin was her eyes.

It was once blue, then it became grey and now they were a scarlet red. Though her left eye was more well known for its red iris, now both irises were red. Something in both of them that deeply unsettled those brave enough to gaze into them. Mr. Aizawa ran, he ran fast towards the two classes, the buses and Kaneki. As soon as he heard that she had arrived and spotted with her class, he had dashed out of the teacher's room. Shirayuri glanced at the arrival of her homeroom teacher, saying nothing to him. 

"N-now now everyone! It's really rude to stare, I'm sure Kaneki is v-very uncomfortable with all this attention on her." Iida stammered, shaking his hands around before slowly approaching Shirayuri. He took a deep breath, although he couldn't relate to the deepest depths of her emotions. The pain he felt almost losing his brother was enough for him to attempt and comfort one of his friends while the others maintained their distance. "Hey...you ready for camp?" he awkwardly asked her. 

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't waste my time here." Shirayuri replied, walking inside of the bus first. 

She just lost her family and that's what's you're worried about?!" Jiro expressed her anger and disgust at him, voice filled with it. Her hands curled into fists, earphone jacks pointing at Kaminari. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" she demanded. 

"Well it's better than continuing to state the obvious near someone with great hearing!" Kaminari yelled back, clutching his injured arm. 

This was one of their more serious fights, unlike the usual banter the two would engage in whenever the opportunity arises. 

"Enough! All of you start boarding." Eraser Head scolded, breaking up the argument between Jiro and Kaminari. Both students immediately stopped and apologised, Jiro huffing and boarded the bus too, ignoring Kaminari. 

Shirayuri chose to sit at the back of the bus, occupying one of the seats beside the window. Though Iida sat beside her, wanting to make sure she didn't sit beside anyone that would whisper her questions and send her into a flying rage and kill them all in an accident. She paid him no mind, looking only outside the window. He watched as her face grew agitated the more they climbed higher overlooking a vast forest.

"Most camps are deep in the forests, being able to fly will give you a great disadvantage over most of us." Iida attempted to start a conversation, Shirayuri continued looking down at the forest. She thought about her kagunes, how she had attempted to attack Kishou on different occasions with the strength she gathered slowly from her times of rest only for him to shatter them with ease using his quinques. 

They used to be so powerful, able to defeat her classmates with a single attack of them onto their abdomens. Those were her rinkakus. Because of them, she defeated Katsuki Bakugo and won the Sports Festival. 

Her wings, her pride. It was because of them she became so well-known during the Sports Festival too. They destroyed everything in her path, in a single day she watched them shatter like glass because of a single punch and disappear after sending out projectiles. 

Kishou made her realise, she wasn't as strong as she appears to be. As the others claim and know her to be. No matter how many times or different amount of people told her, their words would be far from the truth. They weren't the force to be reckoned with. 

"They're frail...just like me." 

The bus came to a halt, Mineta instantly running out to find a bathroom. When Shirayuri was about to step out, Iida offered his hand to help. She passed the offer. Once outside, Shirayuri began scanning around, noticing the scents of a young boy yet to hit puberty and two other women. Strangers. 

"Lock on with these sparkling gazes!" the one with a red-themed outfit began, winking at them. Shirayuri cringed. 

"Stingingly cute and catlike!" the other continued, Shirayuri took a step back. 

"Wild, wild Pussycats!" they struck a pose, the young boy right beside them had a blank look on his face.

"So, all of you will be staying at the foot of the mountain. Right about there." The one in red, also known as Mandalay pointed to a certain area. The class surprised at the distance between them and the coordinate. Shirayuri glanced at Mandalay and Pixie-Bob noticing the rather...suspicious looks on their faces. Walking away from her class, she opted to stand beside Eraser Head.

"You're paying attention to your surroundings." Mr. Aizawa stated, quickly picking up that Shirayuri knew something was wrong.

"My emotions are unstable, I might get too annoyed after being tricked by one of U.A's unconventional methods, develop hatred, leave the school and opt to becoming a murderous villain instead." Shirayuri said, saying it so normally as if she hadn't just told him that becoming a villain was something she was fine with.

"...Kaneki." Aizawa sighed, about to say something when Shirayuri cut him. 

"If I have never known the soreness of farewell and pain of sacrifice," she closed her eyes, head tilting up. "I wonder what would be engraved in both my mind and heart. But as they both are, they match the hostility and blood thirst of my blood."

"Becoming a villain, hunting them down and murdering them for revenge will only ruin you."  Mr. Aizawa turned to face her, to her surprise, his face looked as if he was pleading for her to abandon the path she had set upon. 

"If I become rogue. Would you expose me, join in the hunt to take me down and use the products created and extracted from my body after scientists get their hands on me either alive or dead?" she asked, he gave her no answer. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised, what was taken from me during the medical examination was smuggled for scientists to observe and experiment on."

"There are heroes that cause me to desire purging humans, I don't hold any sort of negativity towards you just yet Eraser Head." she commented, unable to deny that he was on her good side. 

"Even if you become rogue, how exactly can I see a true villain in someone who has always shouldered the pain of the world, still attempt to do good and only continue to lose more?" 

Walking away from Eraser Head, she stood on the edge of the cliff and jumped down without releasing her kagunes; an action that caused Mandalay and Pixie-Bob to glance at each other for confirmation. 

"That's her alright." 

"Akira Mado, her newest guardian informed me that she is unable to conjure more than a single wing and red-scale. Even if they appear, they're fragile and nothing like we had witnessed before." Eraser Head told them, standing near the edge of the cliff too. "We're not going easy on her. Not at all. I want you to train her like you've always intended, if you want to make it harder then do it. I have no doubt she'll leave U.A once she finds evidence of us treating her as if she is handicapped." 

Mandalay's eyes widened, surprised by the strictness in his voice. "Are you sure Eraser Head?" she asked, unsure if she should follow with his words. 

Mr. Aizawa nodded his head, watching a flying dirt beast suddenly have two red glowing blades pierced its head and creating an 'x'. Before it could roar, the blades released electricity and destroyed it. Mandalay and Pixie-Bob blinked, instantly agreeing and forgetting their argument. 

Shoto, Midoriya, Bakugo and Iida led the way down the mountain, being the frontline as the class followed after them. The amount of monsters was jaw-dropping, so many in large sizes that made a few of them with time-limited drawbacks have to rely on others until they could re-use their quirks. Shirayuri grinned, finding the environment perfect for her. More closed-in spaces allowed for her to easily travel and run on the walls, floors and sometimes jump up and dodge attacks on the ceiling; the trees, rocks, and monsters were just sublime together. 

It had been so long since she actually fought someone, those dog-catchers didn't count. 

"Kaneki, have a hair tie!" Momo yelled, creating a hair tie before throwing it towards Shirayuri. The other nodded, catching it before tying her hair into a high-ponytail. While she was tying, Shirayuri observed the fights going on at the same time. 

The four at the frontline were handing multiple at the same time, the others were divided into teams of either three or four taking down one at a time. 

'This is not going to do,' Shirayuri thought, remembering what would occur if fights were too long. If this was a real fight, against an army of villains coming towards them from seemingly everywhere. The class would eventually be overwhelmed and suffer loss. Shirayuri grabbed all three parts of her quinque, charging them up before throwing them in the direction of three dirt monsters.

When they were thrown, as they made their way to pierce through their heads and explode. She ran, running to make sure she caught them mid-air before briefly charging and throwing them once more. Her single ukaku wing released without command, increasing her speed as Shirayuri repeated her actions, repeat and repeat. 

"Aim for the heads, don't waste your time with their other limbs. If they can regenerate, you're wasting time!" Shirayuri yelled, running past Momo who nodded. She re-filled her canons, aiming them now at the heads instead of the chest area. 

The heroes watched from above, amazed from time to time whenever Yukimura destroys a dirt monster; especially if the beast was flying. 

"Truly bizarre, how a sword can easily destroy one of my beasts with a pierce through the head when a handful of students require teaming up together before completely destroying them." Pixie-Bob pointed out, tail swishing behind her. "Those four boys caught on and also began aiming for the heads." she added.

"I thought all quinques were destroyed." Mr. Aizawa looked down, surprised to find those words coming out of Kota. His expression made him look as if he was angry, but he wasn't. He was just calm. "She brought along with her a white briefcase that transformed, a sword that divides into three and glows. Traits of a quinque." 

"Quinques have long been destroyed, there are no ghouls to harvest them from." Mr. Aizawa stated, Kota looking up at him; disagree clear on his face.

"But she isn't a complete ghoul." Kota pointed out, "She's a One-Eyed-Ghoul, half-human. The books say it's possible for a human to turn into a ghoul, what stops a half-one from being born?" 

Something struck inside of Eraser Head, Kota's words echoing inside of his head. His vision blurred a bit, shaking before stabilising when he dared to witness the glow of lightning from Shirayuri's quinque. He opened his phone, quickly calling Nezu.

"I need you to get me a list, a list of all the missing children and teenagers that have the possibility of being ONE of Shirayuri's parents. Too vague? Narrow it down to white hair or grey eyes...hell even her last name." Aizawa stated, pausing a bit. Remembering how Shirayuri used to dye parts of her hair black as a part of her hero outfit before stopping. "Black hair too."

"How have I never thought of using her surname? Fuck." he cursed at himself once the call ended, Shirayuri had a different surname before the incident. Tsukiyama changed it to Kaneki then after that. If their plan was to keep her hidden with fake parents, once it was foiled, there was no reason for her to continue living with the fake registered surname. 

As the rest of the class ate what was cooked by the Wild Wild Pussycats, Shirayuri sighed and took a nap on the table. The others scarfing down their food with vigor; delicious food of different varieties bursting with flavour every time they chew and swallow. The aftertaste was amazing, lingering on their tongues before more filled their mouths and stomachs. it was like a feast. 

"You're not going to eat Kaneki?" Pixie-Bob asked, holding a plate with food. 

"Why would I eat anything that smells disgusting and most likely taste disgusting?" Shirayuri replied, Pixie-Bob about to teach the girl some manners when Mandalay approached her. 

"Just ignore the comment, U.A was generous enough to provide her with...the only food she's able to consume." Mandalay whispered, Pixie-Bob's eyes widening, remembering the amount of meat stored in the basement. Quickly, did the blonde hero head downstairs. 

After a while, Pixie-Bob came back. This time, she brought along a glass filled with red liquid and sliced cuts of meat. Shirayuri's eyes widened, looking up at Pixie-Bob. 

"U.A provided us with these, I didn't know your quirk heavily restricted you with only being able to consume raw animal parts." she whispered, feeling sympathy for the teenager. Shirayuri nodded, realising Pixie-Bob didn't know. 

Shoto, who sat in front of her watched in surprise at how fast Shirayuri was devouring her meal. Glancing around from time to time before continuing to eat. 

"How do they find meat so soft yet so crunchy." Shoto swore he could see tears in her eyes when Shirayuri said those words, savouring the taste. 

When everyone had finished eating, class 1-A head towards the hot springs. A place where they could relax, rid the tension inside of their bodies and talk about their day without interruption from the heroes. Shirayuri submerged herself until her nose was in the water, staring at her eyes in the reflection of the water. 

"There's no need to be insecure about your body Kaneki, we're not going to judge you." Momo assured her, misinterpreting her actions. Shirayuri shook her head, body rising until her chest. Her breasts still covered by the water.

"I couldn't care less what all of you think about my scars, just let me be." Shirayuri told them, leaning back onto a rock to lose herself in her thoughts.

There was the sound of Iida's yelling from the other side of the wooden wall, the hot spring meant for the opposite gender. Shirayuri gritted her teeth, releasing a rinkaku that broke through the wooden wall where Mineta was, grabbed onto him and immediately forced him down back into the hot springs. 

"Gah! She's drowning me!" Mineta screamed, trying to reach the surface but to no avail. 

"Give it a few seconds..." Shirayuri muttered, crossing her arms as Mina started laughing. The other girls giggled, Momo worrying if this counted as attempted murder and if she could find a strong lawyer for Shirayuri.

"Thank you Kaneki!"

Eventually the rinkaku disappeared, Mineta floated around the hot springs with his body spread wide made a few worry. The others paid the pervert no mind. Kota who was acting as the guard to prevent 'perverts' from sneaking into each other's hot springs shook his head at the sight of Mineta. He turned his body, wanting to report it to Mandalay but accidentally slipped and fell off the fence. Midoriya quickly used his quirk to get to him before he could plummet to the ground. 

"Hey Kaneki, I have a question." Tsuyu swam towards Shirayuri, wondering inside of her if she should ask or not. Shirayuri's new red eyes focused on Tsuyu. If her grey eyes were like storm clouds before it rained, blue eyes that reflect those who have been through hell and back, then this new colour to Tsuyu, was like a sign of an upcoming disaster. "Why didn't you answer any of our calls and messages? Why did you come back as if nothing had happened?" 

The other girls looked towards her, Shirayuri taking a breath. 

"I didn't want to talk to humans, I don't want to talk or hear about heroes. You all are planning to become heroes in the future...with everything that just happened, I can't help but blame and hate heroes for not being able to rescue any of my family's employees and my family members themselves. Not a single one of them lived." 

With the new hole on the wall, it was clearer for both springs to be able to listen to the ghoul's words. How they were calm, yet cold. 

"But don't you want to become a hero too?" Hagakure asked, Shirayuri laughed a bit.

"I've lost my sole reason to become one," tears trailed down Shirayuri's face, the other girls instantly coming to her side for comfort. "What kind of person am I, constantly failing to protect others and being the reason for their early deaths." 

When the other slept, Shirayuri snuck out of the room; bringing along Yukimura 1/3 with her. Her cells should have been satisfied, satiated with defeating more than a dozen dirt monsters in a single day. She leaned against the wall, feeling a certain pulse from her heart cause her to almost falter to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she shoved the feeling away and got outside of the building. 

The stars were out, barely any clouds or pollution to hide them away. Shirayuri hummed, remembering watching a documentary about multiple organisations with members that have quirks dedicated to stopping pollution, helping the environment and reducing waste. Because of them, the world was much healthier with humanity thinking less of the negative impacts that befall the Earth before the emergence of super powers.

Unsheathing Yukimura 1/3, she got into stance and began practicing. Her training and limited noise gaining the attention of Mr. Aizawa who was patrolling the area alongside the other heroes.

"Shirayuri Kaneki." Ragdoll assured her team, also accompanying Aizawa during his patrol.

"Let her be, God knows what will happen if she doesn't release the violence inside of her cells." he stated, slowly attempting to draw the four heroes away from his student. For their safety. He hadn't observe her long enough to see how she would react to individuals she didn't already have any sort of acquaintance with.

"Interesting..."Ragdoll continued, not moving from her spot.

"What is it Ragdoll?" Tiger asked, watching in fascination how two more blades emerged and swiftly change weaponry. Walking towards his long-time friend and team mate. Eraser Head avoided eye contact with Mandalay and Pixie-Bob. 

"Whenever I use my quirk to observe others they appear as green-star like vestiges. But for Shirayuri, she appears as red." Ragdoll told them, curious about the newest discovery with her quirk. "Funny, my grandfather used to tell me how most of his family used to work as ghoul investigators during the first generation of quirk-users." 

Eraserhead stilled, slowly turning around to face Ragdoll. 

"They were able to quickly climb up the ranks, because of search, it was easy for them to differentiate humans from ghouls because ghouls were a completely different colour." Ragdoll realised just how much her words affected the erasure hero when his hair rose, eyes glowed red and had his hands on his scarf. 

"She's using her quirk at the moment, chimera allows her to mimic the biology and abilities of mythical beings. Ghouls fall under that category. I'll punish her for using her quirk without permission, but under any circumstance do not say to other heroes especially higher-ups of Shirayuri Kaneki suspected as being a ghoul." Mr. Aizawa slowly told the four other heroes, the others nodding. 

"Geez Eraser Head, chill a bit. Ghouls have been extinct for so long now, it's like you've just met many blood thirsty and angry ones that will destroy Japan." Pixie-Bob huffed, watching black long hair fall down and the guy take out eye drops. 

"I'll calm down the moment villain organisations focus and target on my underaged students who still have a lot to learn about themselves." Aizawa told them, it was a mystery to everyone in the world, especially Japan why students of class 1-A continuously encounter villains wether it be together or on their own. 

Many members of Class 1-B yawned, one girl even almost falling flat on her face if it wasn't for Kendo quickly grabbing onto her. 1-A was nowhere in sight, only their homeroom teacher Vlad King in front of them. 

"Right, follow me." Vlad King told them, the class following their teacher. "In Semester 1, Class A got all the attention. But in this semester, class B will do just that. Understand? Us, not class A." 

A few students looked down, a heavily feeling at hearing the words of their teacher. Tetsutetsu gritted his teeth, turning his hands into fists while looking up at the sky with closed eyes. Different reactions were given when they finally saw how U.A planned to develop and strengthen different quirks at one time. 

Bakugo was diving his hands into boiling water before releasing large explosions onto the sky, Shoto was submerged in water and changing the temperature with a slap on the side, Sero was on top of a mountain screaming as tape continuously came out of his elbows. His knees were on the ground with his mouth hung open and eyes blank white. Kirishima and Ojiro were just sparring with each other, actually normal. Iida running around with what seems to be a belt of meat on his body, normal to some extent....Kaminari...was connected to a battery and well, getting used to larger amounts of electricity. Koda was screaming, embarrassment coursing through the veins inside of his body. Aoyama was being the beacon of light as he is, a portable toilet near him just in case accidents happen. Inside of a dark cave, Tokoyami was trying to control Dark Shadow in a darker environment; Dark Shadow being much more powerful in the dark rather than light, though at the cost of losing control. Uraraka was thrown about, inside of a large bubble trying to hold in her vomit. Tsuyu was climbing with her tongue, unhygienic but training is training.

Oh hey, a mukbang session with none other than Momo eating with one hand and making dolls with the other. Jiro drilled her earphone jacks into a mountain, Mina had her hands against the mountain too. Mineta was picking out his balls from his bleeding scalp, Shoji was searching for a naked Hagakure eating chips and then there was Midoriya doing a Zumba session with Tiger. 

"Wait, where's the last-Kendo was about to point out the absence of the last student in class A before she was cut. 

"SHIRAYURIIIIII!" Iida yelled, voice filled with terror as he ran past class 1-B and Vlad King.

Running after Iida was a giant kakuja, red liquid dropping from its mouth as it ran after him. Unlike the last time she transformed being a one-eyed dragon, this time, Shirayuri was told to attempt and shift into a 'mythical beast', control it and attempt to steal the meat hanging off Iida. Seemingly a Kirin with the signature one glowing eye and colouring. Replacing a roar, was the sound of hissing as it stomped after its meal.

"She's not in control, is she?" Vlad King shook his head watching as the kakuja developed rinkakus and began attacking the ground Iida could run upon. 

"Not at all!" 

Pixie-Bob grinned, creating different obstacles for Shirayuri to cross or destroy in order to reach Iida. The kakuja instinctively jumping over, moving to the side and even releasing wings to briefly jump high and glide down while simultaneously releasing projectiles. She even created more than a dozen dirt beasts that allowed Iida to briefly rest as the Kirin kakuja faced those beasts either head on, with kagunes or its tail and feet. 

"What where you're fucking running and throwing you blind beast!" Bakugo knelt down, dodging a projectile that threatens to sever his head as the kakuja past him. 

By the time the day was about to end, Iida's engines were flaming hot from constant use. Pixie-Bob and Shoto using their respective quirks to trap the kakuja as Mr. Aizawa walked towards the armor encasing Shirayuri with Yukimura. Shoto watched curiously, the others too tired to care head to a certain direction to start making dinner.

After getting used to Yukimura, Shoto watched as the teacher sliced through the body and slowly take out Shirayuri. Sleeping, the scars on her body no longer as marks replaced them. Accompanying those marks were horns; horns far different than what Mina, Pony from 1-B and others in the First Year Hero Course possess. Theirs was thick, Shirayuri's were thin like twigs. Their purpose was not for fighting, but clearly something else.There were muscles connecting Shirayuri to the kakuja from her spine, lines that were on both sides of the spinal cord in the colour red visible. They were red, with Rc cells coursing through them. From time to time did the 'legs of the spine' glow before darkening and glowing again.

"Almost looks like she has a centipede for a spine." Pixie-Bob pointed out, a small smile on her face. Neither Shoto nor Aizawa could comment or smile back. Shoto instantly realised something, a memory flashing back inside of his head. A happy one, one where he was on her lap as Shirayuri read to him a story. One hand even massaging his scalp before stopping and just allowing her hand to rest in between his hair strands. 

"The tree bursted from the cave, releasing spores that infected villages for kilometres. The once frail boy would soon be the man that killed more than a thousand full-grown soldiers, uniting those similar to him together and creating an empire that would last for centuries to come. With a black crown on his head, the dragon of the East shrinking to become his spine and source of power. This was how the era of Ghouls came to be," 

"Once all was said and done, many chose to stay and live amongst humans. But the king himself and his family retreated to the ancestral home of the four deities, for they have ascended humanity and their kind alike."

Dragon.

Spine. 

Ancestral home. 

Abnormality. 

Ascension. 

In one night did the remaining surviving ghouls disappear off the surface of the Earth, unable to be found until now, even those who stayed behind. 150 years later, one made the first public appearance unknowingly to the public of her true biology. More of them appearing in a short period of time with changes that happened around the world, far different from what the 21st century could believe was real. More was coming, with different intentions and a king to follow and act in favour of his ideology. The King was underground, watching and observing. 

In one night, did Shoto Todoroki finally understood the true meaning behind the One-Eyed Princess. In one single night, did Shoto Todoroki also find out about where they were hiding all along, and it wasn't near human activity at all. Eraser Head said nothing, allowing Shoto to accompany him to take Shirayuri to the Wild, Wild Pussycats infirmary for recuperation and observation. 

The chapter has finished, but if anyone is confused what Shirayuri's markings and horns look like, its like Dragon Rize as I've said. 

Chapter Text

The Vanguard Action Squad stood on top of a mountain, most of them still masked as they waited for the time to strike. Dabi sighed, taking a deep breath of the mountain air. It had been a long time since he had been on one. The last time the area set in flames. He looks down at his hands, believing the permanent changes in his body was fate. He was never intended to be just human. 

"I feel like that mask reminds me of someone." he muttered, Kishou glancing at Toga who noticed and eagerly waved at them. At first, they were rather skeptical of her ability in battle. But then, seeing what others were wearing and the lack of weaponry (Except for Mustard and Toga, they get high grade for using alright weapons) they thought she was one of the better ones. 

"Why are you joining me in judging them? You don't even use weapons yourself."  Kishou hissed. 

Another day, another time for Dabi to annoy the darkness out of Kishou. As he likes to point out, there was no light inside of him at all. Yeah, it took Kishou having a duel with Muscular in order to prevent him from chasing after Dabi around the bar. At some point, they had accidentally broken into Shigaraki's room and busted down one of his walls. Shigaraki was not amused. 

"Who is there to recognise for you? You have no one." Kishou pointed out, Mustard pursing his lips and took a step to the side, Mr. Compress doing the same. Moonfish just looked around, fucking blindman, what is there to look at for him? 

"Flesh...flesh...flesh." Moonfish muttered, creeping out the black and white duo. 

"You wanted this." Kishou muttered, Dabi nodding his head up and down eagerly with a shit-eating smile on his face."I should have fucking disfigured you..."

Toga, who was still paying attention to them squealed. Jumping up and down, Twice at first insulted her childish actions for a few seconds also joined her, even taking out his phone for the memories. #FirstAttackAsAGroup❤️#LeagueofVillains #VanguardActionSquad

"I see..." Mustard looked up at Mr. Compress. "We have fujoshis in our squad." 

Mustard cringed, shaking his head at the sight of Toga and Twice. 

Tired by the antics of humanity's rejects, Kishou walked away to find some peace from everyone. Especially Dabi. Changing directions, Kishou headed towards the group of patrolling heroes wandering about. When he was about to grow closer, he cursed himself a bit when he remembered the quirks of the team consisting of four. Muttering a sort of incantation under his breath, Kishou took a deep breath. 

A masking technique, allows him to go undetected by quirks and abilities that instantly find life forces around them like search; at the price of being unable to access his kagunes. Kishou didn't mind, he had enough mastery in his quinques to fend for himself.Following the heroes for a bit, he listened in to their conversation to know what may have happened during the last two days. It was the blonde, Pixie-Bob to speak first.

"You know, there's really something that sets this batch of first years than the past ones." she said, the heads of the other heroes turning towards her.

"I think we all are well aware of how much they've been targeted by now." 

Pixie-Bob nodded her head, agreeing but that wasn't the point!

"Sure that's true, but I just feel like the bonds these class have are much more special than the past. I noticed during the first day that they divided themselves into groups and made sure to sync well with their members in order to take down more of my beasts. The last class before them chose to fight one by one or two by two." Pixie-Bob explained. 

"Their teamwork is pretty admirable, I also saw that during the Cavalry Battle." Tiger praised, Ragdoll and Mandalay agreeing with him. 

"Trauma can sometimes act like a binding agent amongst those who experience the same events." Ragdoll said, remembering the sentence from an article. 

"I hope you're implying that they're growing stronger together and not wondering if more trauma would bring them closer than ever. I don't want to see any one of them break, any one of them." Eraser Head voiced out, looking down at the ground. 

No longer interested in their conversation, Kishou headed towards the direction where the students were sleeping. He briefly released his ukaku kagune, releasing a controlled electromagnetic pulse to take out the cameras. Peering into one from the windows, he was disappointed to see that it was full of students from class B. Walking around for a bit, when he did find the room filled with class A. 

Just as he had planned, after training. Shirayuri chose to sleep the furthest from her class, in a corner of her own. Her body was facing the wall, all curled up in her blanket sleeping with a frown on her face. The girl who was wary of the touch of others, refused to interact with her class unless approached or require no verbal communication. That same girl that was slowly but surely influenced by her friends to start opening up, smile and be human. 

Look at her now. All alone with humans around her, wisps of her ukaku kagune threatening to conjure and be used if provoked during her sleep. Even right about now, she wouldn't let all her guard down. There was no more reason she has to have hope and place her trust in heroes, especially those who knew her secret. 

She has Akira now, but how could she fully open up and trust someone who waltzed into her life just like that? 

His senses picked up the sound of the heroes coming back from their patrol, when he was about to leave, he first observed and listened carefully to one of the Wild, Wild Pussycats. 

"Whenever I use my quirk to observe others they appear as green-star like vestiges. But for Shirayuri, she appears as red."

"Funny, my grandfather used to tell me how most of his family used to work as ghoul investigators during the first generation of quirk-users." 

They were able to quickly climb up the ranks, because of search, it was easy for them to differentiate humans from ghouls because ghouls were a completely different colour. Kishou took a deep breath, he needed to focus on the mission. Not at the cat hero's oblivious words. 

Somewhere Shirayuri inside of her own mind shivered out of nowhere, sitting underneath an iron tree cross-legged she couldn't help but look up from the game of chess and look at her opponent. It was a man, who seemed to be around his forties. His attire was simple, a black-button down long-sleeved top and black pants to pair with the outfit. He looked relatively normal, nothing out of the ordinary. 

She just didn't know why he was here, the teen had no recollection of memories with him inside of it. 

"Your move." he said, looking up from the board then at her, a small smile on his face. 

A red glowing butterfly slowly flew and landed on one of her pieces, Shirayuri blinking twice while trying to comprehend what was happening at the moment. 

"I don't know who you are...but instead of getting a vague answer on your identity, why are you here?" 

The man chuckled, rather amused at her question. Well, he was slightly expecting for a 'who are you?', it seems that she, like her father. Indulge themselves in so much novels to the point that when sometimes situations that arose are similar to the countless ones they read now are on auto-pilot. What to avoid asking, how to save time, how to get the most out of the encounter, what to do and what should you do after. 

"I'm here to make sure you survive and live another day, the League of Villains is growing stronger. And of course, because of what you did to Tomura Shigaraki, he, his master and whoever sides with them are after you." he explained, Shirayuri slumping her shoulders at what she listened to. "Kishou did some real damage to your body, even he was expecting the scars to fade faster. The downfall in your utility to use your kagunes? Bad." he shook his head, the scars that were once gone were now re-appearing.

"Is the damage psychological?" he asked, Shirayuri remained silent. 

"I'm not really one to lend a hand, I prefer just observing but..." the man sighed, placing his hands on his knees. "You've proven to me that the fire inside of you still burns with all the shit thrown onto it. Think of this as a reward, and a warning...a warning that you must not let yourself fall this deep ever again." 

He reached forward, Shirayuri holding her breathe as he placed two fingers on her forehead. A rush of colours covered her vision, the dream land becoming a domain of blind white as the man also turned into a great source of light. 

"Shirayuri Kaneki, I liberate you from the scars and injuries that litter your body. This is my message to you in these coming centuries."

"Dragon will always remember." 

Shirayuri's eyes snapped open, taking in a deep breathe that startled those who had already awakened. Momo almost dropped her toothbrush, Lida greeted her a good morning, Shoto dropped his book causing him to lose the pages and Bakugo was about to cuss out when he noticed something different.

"Kaneki, your scars are gone." Momo pointed out, slowly walking towards Shirayuri who started checking her skin. By the sound of her voice she was amazed, eyes wide with sparkles inside of them. 

Gone, they were all gone. That was what everyone awake, and soon everyone will know. 

"Your eyes are still a beautiful shade of red though, they bring out the life inside of you. Contrasting greatly with your complexion and hair." Momo commented, a small smile on her face as she created a mirror for Shirayuri to gaze her reflection. 

"Yaoyorozu...you've heard the myth or existence of the One-Eyed King before?" Shirayuri asked, placing a hand on her chest. Feeling her heart beat race. Momo nodded her head, opting to sit down cross-legged near Shirayuri. 

"Can you tell me what you know about dragon?" the ghoul asked the human before her, the ravenette placing her hand on her chin as she thought about what she was just asked. 

"A dragon is usually a large reptilian beast that takes different forms, has different stories and mannerisms based on the origin of dragon you choose to read about. In Eastern folklore, like China for example, its body resembles more of a serpents without wings whereas the European take of dragons usually have four claws and wings." Momo explained, taking a deep breath to recall what else she knew about dragons. Shirayuri shook her head, disappointed with the answer she was given. 

"Alright, thanks Momo." she sighed, beginning to tidy up the futon she slept on. With the conversation closed by her, Shirayuri began to prepare her items before heading towards the showers. Glad that she was one of the first ones of many upcoming shower users.

Her stomach rumbled, remembering the girls of class A inside of the Hot Springs. It was like a giant pot of stew, though the temperature wasn't high enough to cook or kill them alive, after all that grime was rid of their bodies-they smelled and looked appetising. 

Groaning at the hunger growing inside of her, Shirayuri turned up the waters temperature. Making those outside and inside of the bathroom concerned with the amount of steam coming out. 

"You alright in there?" Momo called out. Taking a few steps forward, wondering if she should enter the girls' bathing area. It wasn't like she would see Shirayuri naked, there were curtains and too much steam inside. 

Shirayuri shouted back, "I'm fine, hot showers are the best, especially in the morning. Additionally, we're training endlessly for hours later. Might as well increase blood flow and rid stiff muscles." 

She didn't know if that was true or not, but anyone would believe shit if it was spoken casually or with confidence. Unless that shit is like really obvious. Then you're just going to look like a fool. 

Unlike the previous day, the teachers (the obvious ones being the Wild, Wild Pussycats) were exhilarated to see the vanishing of her scars and the re-emergence of the use of her kagunes. Shirayuri had to take a step back when Pixie-Bob dashed towards her claiming that she was now hers. They were both female but, can't really argue with cats. They can be dumb, like real dumb at times.

Cue that one moment Shirayuri had fed a stray cat at the Tsukiyama estate, found it to be pregnant, continued to feed it even after it entered her room and messed around. Before getting pregnant again! What made her angry wasn't even the fact that it got pregnant again when the feline had a litter of three; NO! It was when the cat refused to pay Shirayuri extra attention when it was HER that fed it. 

"We're going to be building their durability, and by that..." Pixie-Bob's voice trailed off, a look of mischief on her face that made Shirayuri look around, her class training their quirks almost everywhere. 

Her time training for the day was divided into two. One for her rinkakus, the other for her ukaku kagune. For her rinkakus, Mandalay had told her to land different attacks on boulders of cement prepared, observe which part suffers the least damage and which part used to attack causes the kagune to shatter the most. Comparisons were hard to make at first, but she had slowly get used to it as time passed. 

AS FOR HER UKAKUS, they had never and she had always stated never meant for long fights and shielding. If she wanted a shield, Shirayuri should have had a koukaku type Rc cell inside of her. At first it was Kirishima and Ojiro, a trio sparring with each other before a couple of minutes passed and the ghoul was ambushed by no one other than Tiger. 

When Tiger had managed to send her flying to the bark of a tree, effectively causing the tree to be destroyed. Bakugo was assigned to use his explosions on her crystallised ukaku wings after dipping them in hot water. Shirayuri swore she saw the look of the grinch on his face. Pure evil. 

"Could you wait until I finished regenerating them?!" She yelled at Bakugo, focusing on fixing the parts that had been broken because of his explosions. 

"Maybe try fucking spending your time finding a solution instead of complaining, villains sure as hell wouldn't listen to your chipmunk complains!" Bakugo yelled back, Shirayuri's jaw dropping a bit at his complaint of her voice. Her wings sparked and flared, reacting to the shift in her emotions. 

Bakugo dipped his hands once more inside of the hot water, then brought them out to make his palms face Shirayuri. When his explosion was sent out, it travelled fast. Noticing the previous release of electricity in her wings, Shirayuri concentrated and thought of an electrical barrier. Something similar to a dome, to protect her from all angles. It would purely be made out of her pseudo-electrokinesis.

Ragdoll who was watching alongside Eraser Head jumped up and down gleefully, a big smile on her face as she clapped her hands in excitement. Mr. Aizawa nodded his head, remembering the same barrier used once to defend against a combined attack of Endeavor and All Might. He didn't know what happened during the night, but he was glad to see that Shirayuri was slowly reusing her quirk. 

Shirayuri bent down, firing her own concentrated attack at Bakugo for payback. This caused Bakugo to trip and fall back onto his back, spread out like Patrick Star. Shirayuri snickered, "Aww wee lamb fell onto his tooshie?" she asked, voice mimicking what human parents would use when talking to their human babies. 

Bakugo growled, the growl of humans never really impressing any other species to this day. Shirayuri extended her hand, making a motion for him to come at her. Eraser Head was about to step in and bind both of them but watched as Bakugo roughly re-dipped his hands inside of the water and fired explosions more frequently. Shirayuri using her new move while counting how many attacks it would take before it breaks. 

The hours passed by, the cat-themed heroes noting how almost all of the students were now sluggish as they continued to train under the sun. Momo had stopped eating, but continued to do her best to create Russian dolls. She was already tired of eating the same thing over and over and OVER since the previous day. Yes it was small, but it was no excuse. Glancing at a box filled with the same treat, Momo shivered in fear and disgust; already ready to throw up everything she had eaten. 

"All of you, stop slacking off. Aoyama, Uraraka. If the criteria for passing is 30 points, both of you earn a 35." Mr. Aizawa said to the two, both of them flinching at his words. He glanced towards Shirayuri, the girl sending him a death glare if he were to comment on her."Remember Kaneki, you passed because All Might overused his quirk and you bought enough time playing hide and seek and tag." 

'One day I will hunt you down for that comment, kill every single person related to you by blood and law in front of you after torturing you for days and nights. I will watch your mind fall to a point of no return before removing your head from the rest of your body, wear your spinal cord as a skull and enjoy myself looking down at humanity while drinking your brain fluids and blood through a reusable metal straw.'

Shirayuri blinked, looking around confused,"When did you come back?" she asked the sky. 

'Baby, I've always been here. I honestly just didn't want to disturb you during your angst phase after that massacre.' 

"Kaneki, stop hallucinating and talking to the mental version of yourself." 

'What the fuck?! When did he know about my existence?!' 

Mr. Aizawa observed the students around him, watching their training. As he had for the past few months, since the first day. "Whatever you all do, always keep in mind. Where you came from." he stated, Bakugo and Shoto turning to look at the older man before the water under them- looking back at their reflection. Shirayuri looked at her crystallised wings, heart arching when she saw the faces of others that weren't her. 

Where I came from?

She thought about it, feeling sweat fall down from her head and onto the ground. 

She came...she came from a world different from what most of humanity knows, acts and believes. There wasn't much sun, yet the temperature was normal most of the time. For her, it felt normal. There were houses, buildings and architecture similar to what she has seen humans create. Thinking of the past can be a bit of a blur, but even with the fuzz she was glad that there was culture. Traditions, works of art, social events and marks made from imagination, cultivation and passion. 

In truth, Shirayuri didn't know much of her true home. She knew it was most likely in Asia, the Eastern parts. But what it was truly like was a mystery.

Maybe it was in Japan's territory but had strong influences from other nations close or far. Could it be a rural village? Perhaps. Wherever it was, for a long period of time it was able to keep itself hidden. In a place that was complicated to travel in and travel out of. 

"Don't forget everyone! Later tonight, we're going to have our very own competition! Class A against Class B in a scare-off, the winning class gets our merchandise and personal signed letters from us!" Pixie-Bob announced, a few groaning at the thought of more activities. Midoriya had a happy smile on his face before it was wiped away by Tiger landing a punch on his face. 

"Oh so my night vision can finally come in handy." Shirayuri sarcastically declared, a certain green-haired person instantly rushing towards her.

"Really?! How good is your night vision? Just how far can you see? Does it differ from your normal vision? Are you blind to certain colours in the dark and can you see body heat?" Midoriya hurdled multiple questions towards her at once, Shirayuri sighing at his actions. Her dome expanded, now protecting both of them from Bakugo's explosions. He seemed to be more annoyed now that their training was disrupted by the green-haired boy.

"Deku, you remind me so much of a lamb. Thriving until its eventually time for slaughter." Shirayuri confessed, placing both hands on either of his shoulders.

'In a way, that's what All Might has been doing to him since he gave him One for All. Raising and training him eventually for slaughter by the hands of All for One.' she thought, raising one hand to pinch his cheek. Filled with life and colour, veins underneath the skin. Shirayuri wondered what he would smell like before he received One for All, no active quirk cells inside of his body. Also dormant and small but stomach-filling was his Rc cells. 

"My vision is heightened even if there are different levels of light, even after going through all disgusting things you can imagine. If I'm particularly focused or rather...wild, then I guess you can say I can look into your body's anatomy; find your weak spots, vital organs and the veins that carry my desired drink." Shirayuri explained, kakugan appearing. Her vision briefly changed, finding a white light surrounded by other smaller colours from his chest area. "I suggest you stop talking to me and resume training, I would hate to be the reason of your death...until I eventually move on." 

With that, Shirayuri gently shoved him away and focused on Bakugo. 

"Mr. Aizawa, can I take a bathroom break...and take the one in the building." Shirayuri asked, grimacing as Aoyama left the portable bathroom, again. The teacher nodded, Shirayuri abandoning Bakugo who heaved and gripped two different parts of the barrel filled with water. 

Entering the building, Shirayuri stilled when she heard what seems to be a news broad cast playing on a device. 

"Tonight, we have terrible news. A home of a family of three had just been broken into, leaving two loving parents dead and their child kidnapped. The victims are Haruto Sasaki and his wife Tsubaki Sasaki. It is unknown where Shirayuri Sasaki currently is, but many of our amazing heroes are working hard in finding them."

There was silence, before another video was played.

"Three days ago, it was reported that the Tsukiyama manor had suffered a break-in. Leaving all of the staff dead, and the members of the Tsukiyama family missing with officials believing them to be dead from the dismembered body parts littering around the property. Not just the manor, board members and several staff of different subsidiaries owned by the conglomerate family were also found dead. It was just recently that heroes stormed into the property, finding an unconscious Shirayuri Kaneki as the sole survivor of the massacre. She's being treated at the Tokyo Hospital from sustaining many injuries, including a stab to the heart."

Another round of silence, once again was it shattered. 

"Following the massacre of the Tsukiyama conglomerate, villain activity is steadily rising in Tokyo with fights breaking out in different wards, multiple missing people disappearing within a day and great injuries done towards heroes and other law enforcers alike. Until more information is brought up, it's critical to travel in groups and avoid being outside at night at all costs." 

"In these dark times, we can only wish recovery for the young girl who lost her family."

There was no more reason for people behind screens to no longer spread the first video without facing judgement from Shuu Tsukiyama. He was a dead man. She stood in the middle of the doorway, Kota sitting on the ground with his back against the wall. An iPad being supported by his knees while watching the tragedies that happened in her life. What a smart kid, much younger than her and already chose to stop watching Cocomelon in favour of more mature content.

"Why would you want to become something that caused the extinction of your kind? Heroes that have repeatedly failed you for decades until now." Kota asked her, Shirayuri impressed with his intellect but that was a consequence of experiencing the world at a faster rate than others.She didn't know how he found out, but, she has a few ideas.

"I wanted to become a hero because that was how I thought I could help my family. Lo and behold, once again they died at such an improper time in my life." she replied, walking closer towards him.

"I admit, it was pretty difficult in attempting to treat all humans as equals. Sometimes they're more just walking meals in my eyes."  Shirayuri commented. "Binge-eating, a disorder I've faced since the moment I was born, how? I was born this way."

Sliding down until she sat cross-legged beside Kota, she glanced at him while playing with her fingers. He glared at her, Shirayuri signing at him to say something.

"I hate this world. All the violence that comes with it, everyone-heroes, villains and! (deep breath) because of quirks...everyone kills each other for a chance to appear on television as the next big thing, wether that be villains or heroes themselves." Kota's voice cracked, Shirayuri nodding once. 

Minutes passed by, Kota saying nothing else whereas Shirayuri thought about what she was going to say.

"You want to know something?" Kota glanced up at Shirayuri, heart racing a bit at the sight of the emerged Kakugan. "I kill because I have to." she stated, Kota looking at her all bewildered before his face slowly started to contort in anger. 

"The world is complex Kota. Things happened, and now, we are who we are. I had to do the things I had to do no matter where my morality stood because the situation calls for it, my ideology and heart calls for it. And because of that, I cannot deny. I am not someone who has the right to lecture on how you should live, think and believe. But I am a parasite that will latch on if you caught my eye, and you did." 

Kota snorted, Shirayuri smirking after breaking his silence. 

"At some point, you'll understand yourself the things that happened in the past. Until then, if you need someone to release your anger upon. Find Midoriya and punch him in the groin. Or, if you need someone to rant about this dark world, track me down. It seems much more easier to find me these days." Shirayuri paused a bit, remembering something. "I wonder why you're opening up to me."

Kota looked to the ground. 

"I thought I found someone I could relate to, a person that wouldn't add weight to my heart at the things I dislike and they're fine with." Shirayuri hummed, understanding his answer.

Like finding matching interests, these two grew close from losing their parents at a young age. Trauma bonding, the only difference is that Shirayuri didn't know what to feel or what to comprehend knowing who she thought were gone, still roamed the earth. 

Deku, in truth, had a hard time believing that a ghoul wanted or was capable of becoming a hero. To him, it seemed hypocritical. Saving others while also killing humans in order to fill their stomachs. Because they had been deemed gone for decades, and his obsession with heroes- he never did take the time to study them. Sure, he had teachers that would briefly talk about them. For as long as he could remember, he believed that they were just humans with a quirk similar to one another. A cult-like organisation.

Don't wake alone at night, a ghoul might just come and get you!

Choose your friends carefully,  they may be a ghoul in disguise. 

Always hang out or go on food-related dates. They can't eat like us.

When Shirayuri revealed that she was a ghoul, in the presence of All Might. He felt as if a cold bucket of water had been spilled, drenching him whole as goosebumps caused his skin to rise. For a long time, Shirayuri was easily able to deceit most of them, causing misinterpretations to arise with her words and engrave inside of their minds. She was no human, the world knows her as a human with a quirk named Chimera. 

How often does she eats? He didn't know.

Why did she eat what they gave her? He didn't know. 

Why is she so aggressive, ruthless, merciless-

Does Todoroki know? Does he know of her true nature? Could she be plotting to devour him at some point, as a way to get back at heroes through eating the number two hero's son? Ghouls and heroes do hate each other, can Shirayuri be linked to the attack on U.S.J? Tokoyami and Koda did say they separated from her after the villains seemed to disappear that once surrounded her and Tokoyami. 

Deku thought back of all the times she had used her ghoul abilities, far surpassing almost everyone he had seen her go against. Those memories were now laced with fear. He drew in a sharp breath, remembering her match with All Might. 

"Could she be a part of the reason behind the Tsukiyama's massacre?" Midoriya asked out-loud, helping cooking tonight's curry. He glanced at Shirayuri, Iida scolding at her to join and help them prepare and cook but she shook her head. Todoroki turned his head towards Midoriya quickly, face in disbelief over such a question. 

"Why exactly should I help cook something that smells like dogs shit?" Shirayuri asked, Tetsutetsu about to step in over her comment when Setsuna whispered something into his ear and made his mouth go 'ooooh' 

"At least cut the vegetables?" Iida asked exasperatedly. Relenting, Shirayuri jumped down from the tree and headed towards the chopping boards. Releasing four rinkakus, each one grabbed a knife and began chopping under Shirayuri's watch. When two were done, she made one of them sort the sliced vegetables bowl by bowl as the last free one placed them further away from the uncut ingredients. 

"Huh, I never once imagined your red scales being used so...domestically." Tsuyu commented, thinking of all the chores that could be done all at once.

"Honestly, I get it. Hard to imagine the same scales that went through Bakugo, destroy infrastructure and manipulate into other devices be used so normally. But that's one of its beauties. How something so dangerous, can also be so normal." Shirayuri replied. 

"That was a cheap attack eyepatch!" Bakugo yelled, slamming the knife down onto the chopping board as Uraraka flinched and looked at him in terror. 

"No need to overexert yourself anymore, I'll help you with these." Todoroki whispered, meeting Deku's eye contact briefly as he came back from lighting the stoves. 

"Alright then, I'll do the carrots, you'll do the potatoes." 

He stood by her side, both of them slicing at the same pace. When Todoroki lost his grip and sent a potato flying, Shirayuri raised her knife and sliced the remaining potato into French fries. When they dropped back down, she grinned at him. Todoroki smiling back as he set the fries aside for another potato. 

When the curry was done, Deku watched as Uraraka attempted to feed a spoonful of curry towards the ghoul. Shirayuri about to say something when the curry was shoved into her, yeah. She released her wings and flew away, the sound of vomiting echoing through the air for a couple of moments. Uraraka and some others laughed a bit, Iida looked away from the teachers with an embarrassed look on his face.

The orange sky was eventually replaced, Deku looked up at the sky full of stars. Once again, was he alone. With no one to be his pair. Uraraka and Tsuyu had left together, Bakugo and Todoroki minutes prior to them. When Mandalay was checking the absentee list, she has asked around where was Shirayuri; but, the white-haired teenager was nowhere to be seen. Pixie-Bob walked up towards her team mate and explained that she had last seen Shirayuri inside of the building where U.A had provided her with food. 

"Our little binge-eating kitten must be filling her stomach now with something more edible, I would after eating a spoonful of that curry." Pixie-Bob shrugged, a small smile on her face remembering the curry the students made. 

Binge-eating : the consumption of large quantities of food in a short period of time, typically as part of an eating disorder.

"A young woman all alone in the dark, what a death sentence." Shirayuri announced, a few students looking around to find Ragdoll missing. Vlad King was nowhere in sight too, but he can be located inside of one of the buildings for those who are given extra classes. 

"Strange, I sent her a message a few minutes ago and she has yet to return." Mandalay sighed, Deku getting worried over those words. 

"Aight, I'll go first." Shirayuri declared, the others still in the open field watching as she entered the forest on her own. 

Without another word, Shirayuri entered the forest with her hands inside of her pockets. Mr. Aizawa sighed, the girl's rudeness and disobedience to the rules getting worse. It was a good thing that there was still a curtain of sympathy around her, such actions can be forgiven because of what she went through. If that veil didn't exist, that would have damaged her reputation as a hero. 

Though she didn't mean to be rude towards the teachers and disrespect them at the moment. There were more important things that had to be dealt with. And that was what the night had in store for them. Holding Yukimura's dual-wielded form in different hands, they glowed red as the smell of blood become more clearer towards her. There was the sound of rumbling coming from the sky, accompanied by flashes of lightning.

"Hello, brother." 

Chapter Text

The plan wasn't only to take Bakugo, but also a pro-hero at the scene. She went by Ragdoll. That was why Magne had taken out first before going after the rest of the hero's team and students. In the short time that the rest of the Vanguard squad came to know each other, it was clear that Magne would do anything to make sure the job was done in her own special way. No matter the blood spilt. 

"I thought I would be finding my brother, but instead I found his scent on a whore." 

Magne watched a figure emerge from the shadows, it was a girl. Her red eyes were filled with disappointment, another contrast to their fiery colour was the coldness that emanated from them. She held two different swords, it reminded her of one of her own squad members. She very well reminded her of one of her own squad members. Though she would have loved to have done an early pummelling, Magne knew better than to go against her when Kishou was around. 

"Shirayuri Kaneki, she's mine to fight and kill. Fight or even attempt to kill her, I'll kill you first." 

When it came to matters regarding Shirayuri, Kishou was vocal. When Toga had whined about wanting to try ghoul blood, Kishou gave a small vial of his blood while saying she should at least try the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with her whole body intact. Toga gleefully agreed, tasting it and morphed into him. At first, in front of everyone else she began acting like Kishou but stopped and clutched her stomach in horror. 

Muscular laughed but the others watched in mix of disgust and horror over one of their youngest members vomiting her insides out, thin tendrils and wings breaking through her back slowly as if she was a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. Kishou watched from the sidelines the gruesome scene, drinking a red liquid from a glass as even Dabi cringed and looked away. In the end, Toga was taken somewhere-by then, a small crystallised tree growing out from the side of the face.

When she did come back, Kishou finally brought up the critical information he left out when he handed her his blood.

"I was curious about how my Rc cells would do inside of your body. It seems that they had transformed at some point inside of your body when you transformed into me, accepting your quirk cells trying to digest them in order for you to shape-shift and had a last minute change." Kishou started, Toga looking at him in disbelief. "They attacked back, and soon began destroying your quirk cells. Perhaps you'll become a half-human or suffer from Rc cell over secretion disease, possibly of death with Rc cells of mine? Rather high from what I experimented on different humans." 

Kishou was manipulative, intelligent, merciless and uncaring for human life. Looking down at human life as if humanity was just a source of food and test subjects. But even then, Magne begrudgingly accepted that Kishou had the decency to not be so open about it. Toga wanted a part of him, she was given it. 

The blade gleamed in the dark, as if it was signalling to its owner that it was excited to draw her blood. 

"Rather old-fashioned for women to pull other women down, don't you think?" Magne asked, holding her giant weapon with one hand, preparing to pull Shirayuri in and knock her out if she tries anything. 

Shirayuri took a deep breath.

"Now, I can be transphobic right about now and bring down your entire identity. But I'm not, not because I respect your existence-Shirayuri stopped talking, blitzing past Magne to take the unconcious body of Ragdoll. "But because I don't waste my time fucking around like my brothers. 3 murders and 29 attempted ones? Pathetic, what a waste of a villain the police force is unable to catch. Stain, for some reason walked so leftovers could skip." she finished, disappearing from the sight at the next blink of an eye.

Magne's jaw dropped, oh so she didn't target her gender but instead her history as a villain? 

"I-Come back here you-" huffing, she kicked the ground before walking towards the place the other students and heroes. 

Two electromagnetic pulses were released, destroying communication devices from both sides leaving them to find each other and re-group to discuss tactics. 

"Villains are attacking the place, I need everyone in the forest to immediately head back! Do not engage!"

The pulses didn't bother Mandalay at all, continuing to send out her messages to the U.A students and teachers. Shirayuri hummed, disobeying her teachers yet again. Looking down at Ragdoll on her back as they swiftly moved from tree branch to tree branch, Ragdoll's quirk intrigued her the most out of all the members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats. It was dangerous, a search quirk that can easily find and spot the weaknesses of others. Heading towards the higher points of the forest, Shirayuri was surprised to find a shirtless Deku taking out a larger man with...muscles outside of his body. 

oh...oH...OH

The muscles grew in size, covering almost his entire body and allowed him to move at superhuman speeds with tremendous raw strength inside of him. It was hot, raising the temperature of her insides and made the one-eyed ghoul feel hungry. So hungry at the thought of ripping up those exposed large muscles and devour them. Sniffing a bit, Shirayuri laughed when there were no strange scents at all coming from the muscular man. 

Watching the fight unfold, Shirayuri watched in interest as Deku punched the older, bulky man into the side of the mountain; knocking him out. Kota in tears running towards Deku, wondering if he was alright. Deku smiled the best he could, his lips moving to tell the young boy that everything was alright. With that, they took off. Leaving Muscular all alone...with a hungry ghoul. 

Muscular groaned, pain inside every ligament of his body after being defeated by such a small boy. He was the one with more experience, more ruthlessness and fighting experience. But here he was, laying down in failure. His fate coming towards him in the shape of prison bars.

"Do you feel deja vu? A large villain being taken down by a much younger and inexperienced boy to only die at the hands of someone passing by?" Shirayuri asked, walking towards Muscular. Wings out and flaring. His vision and awareness were suddenly brought back, heart beating a little at the sight of the single kakugan and kagune menacingly glowing at him. 

"You interested me...how Izuku Midoriya had a hard time dealing damage towards you only to take you out with a single punch at the climax of the battle." Shirayuri commented, releasing a rinkaku, the kagune wiggling a bit before slamming the ground once and returned pointing towards him, as if it was staring down at the defeated sight before it. Muscular watched the liquid muscle inside of it moved, glowing a dim red in the night.

Before he could blink or say anything, he screamed out in pain as the rinkaku pierced his left shoulder. His exposed muscles stopping the kagune from severing off his left arm entirely from the rest of his body. Shirayuri gave him a look of excitement, pulling back the rinkaku to see the blood dripping from the tip of the red scale. 

"Fascinating...what should have sliced like a knife going through liver was stopped by your quirk. A quirk that doesn't change your scent much from quirkless humans...I even dare to say your dormant Rc cells are higher than average and nutritious." she said, proving her thought by trying the blood dripping down her rinkaku. Just as the girl had theorised, she was correct.

"Everyone in Class A and B, in the name of Pro-hero Eraser Head. Permission to engage in combat is hereby granted!"

Muscular screamed out, placing great stress on his ability to create sounds as Shirayuri drove her rinkaku into his empty eye socket. Excited by Mandalay's unexpected message, her cells gleefully partied as Shirayuri began devouring the large man. Starting by targeting different parts of him, growing tired of his screams of agony until the carnivore ripped his throat open. All was quiet until then, Ragdoll remaining unaware to the sight right in front of her. 

"Are you not going to join the fight?" Kurogiri asked Shigaraki, both of them remaining in the hideout. "It's been a long time since we've lost communication with our team. Remembering what happened last time..." he whispered the last part, Shigaraki picking up a different card. 

"We have someone else like that brat, someone much better to sedate and take her down. That idiot should do his job." Shigaraki replied, glancing at the purple screen.

Kishou moved his lance a bit, getting rid of the blood stains after engaging in a brief fight with Tiger before Magne took over. From where he looked down, he slowly glanced up at the sight before him ; cowardly students and a teacher who believed he with a blood quirk of all abilities can defeat him. 

"I wonder which one of you is the closest to my younger sister, so I can perhaps force feed you to her the next time we meet." the mysterious man broke the silence, face blank and oh so familiar to someone they know and held in high regard. 

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Vlad King demanded, remembering the last encounter he had with Kishou. Unable to fight him then, only watch as others do. 

"Kishou Kaneki, ring a bell?" 

Mina gasped, Kirishima shaking his head in disbelief as the other students looked at him. Vlad King took a deep breath, remembering the same person who formulated an attack at the Tsukiyama mansion and different other locations in one night. Dabi was hold down by Eraser Head, who was struck confused when after slamming his foot down on the other didn't turn to mud like the one outside when he first came out. Dabi looked up at Eraser Head, a sick smile on his face. 

"What are you trying to do..."Eraser Head gritted out, choking Dabi a bit with his scarf. "Why are you so hellbent on destroying your sister's life? All she wants is to live a happy life, a life where she can't stay alive just for the sake of living but also flourish in? Tell me, why do you want her to draw more blood than she is forced to?" 

Kishou glanced at Eraser Head,"I rather have her destroyed and broken from no other but our own family." he said, watching them all as he dug something out of his pocket. Vlad King and Eraser Head held in their breaths as test tube with a red liquid inside clanked onto the floor. "Did you know U.A was experimenting on Shirayuri's DNA? Creating a drug out of the stem cells that make our biology so unique without her or her family's consent?" 

They said nothing, looking down as they clearly heard about the incident that happened and what led to Shoto kissing Shirayuri. Kishou's kakugan threatened to appear, only turning his iris red briefly before returning to its normal grey.

"Thankfully, father was able to track them all down. I bet you can picture what happened to the researchers and every single person involved in I-Island once our gaze is set on someone." Vlad King released his blood, pining Kishou to the wall without hesitation. Four rinkakus were slowly sprouting from his back, crawling out from the available space and wrapping around the hero's crystal blood and limbs.

"Answer my question," Vlad King threatened. "What do you want?"

"Correcting." Kishou vaguely answered. 

"The One-Eyed-King, he's set on correcting the mistakes of the past. As the One-Eyed-Prince, I walk the same path. Helping, risking it all for his goal to come true." Kishou spoke, eyes never leaving the man before him. "He'll make the seven continents listen, fix the wrong thoughts inside the collected brain of societies combined and make them all listen." 

"The right time has came, the home of the strongest hero seems like the perfect place to announce everything little by little." 

"So the defeat of heroes, All Might and destruction of our current society are the obstacles in front of you..." Dabi nodded, Eraser Head hissing at him to shut up as he tried to focus on both villains.

Their plan is deeper than the two heroes originally thought, a few things being disconnected from one another. Missing key information that would piece everything together and make sense. 

"Ken Kaneki, that's the name of your father?" Mr. Aizawa asked, Kishou looking at him with wide eyes. Ah, he was correct. "Last seen as a child, went missing from his aunt's place. The searches ceasing after a year. The only boy interviewed and interacted with on a daily basis Hideyoshi Nagachika also disappearing not long after..."

"Tell me Kishou, if your father had been groomed to do this. Allow us to help and also save you, if you want, we can make sure both you and Shirayuri can live a life with minimal fighting, hiding and running." Kishou scoffed, Eraser Head trying to be soft with his stance, hair up and red glowing eyes at him. 

"I came here to destroy the trust these students have in Shirayuri, that's why I was here in the first place.' 

He focused on the students once again. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, what makes you think Shirayuri won't be like me or the rest of our family? She doesn't even care much about being a hero, doing it just to promote the brand of her adopted family. She has no reason to stay now." 

Breaking through Vlad King's blood, he sent the hero back and went to attack Eraser Head who jumped back. Dabi created a wall of blue fire, allowing them to escape. Leaving the question in the thoughts of those left in the room. 

'One of the villain's motives have been discovered, a student that goes by Kacchan. Kaachan should avoid combat, and act alone. Do you hear me Kaachan?' 

"Bakugo..." Kirishima looked down, adrenaline rushing inside of him at being able to do nothing.

"Thankfully, father was able to track them all down. I bet you can picture what happened to the researchers and every single person involved in I-Island once our gaze is set on someone."

Somehow, Kishou's words echoed inside of his mind. Remembering how Kishou Kaneki escaped with no injuries at all. Another surprise than how Vlad King and Eraser Head just stood there and talked to him. They could have focused on taking him down too! The sky rumbled as in the darkness, its silhouette seen when lightning flashes, was a dragon taking to the skies and looking down at the sight of the battles below it. "Dammit!" Kirishima expressed his frustrations. 

The dragon watch down, watched with its stomach full a group of students flying and colliding with a man wearing a yellow trench coat, mask and hat. All to save one student with a brash attitude and harsh words, Katsuki Bakugo. Sealed away inside of a cyan marble; a quirk owned by the man in the yellow trench coat. A coat the same coloured as mustard. 

One of their targets were Bakugo, the League of Villains were still an organisation created by All for One. To lose Ragdoll in an attempt to save Bakugo would be stupid and something Shirayuri would regret. So, she'll leave his unclear fate in the hands of those below. 

"Did they not get that damn pussy cat?" Shigaraki voiced out, annoyed to his bones as Mr. Compress came crashing down after his high with three underaged students on top of him. The others blinked, Shigaraki looking at them before glaring at Kishou. "Were you at least able to take down that bitch?" 

Grabbing something from his pocket, Shigaraki closed his eyes and only opened them when something soft hit the hand on his face and dropped onto the ground. He looked down, Toga shrieking, Twice closing the girl's eyes, Magne releasing a sequel, Mr. Compress feeling his stomach about to regurgitate whereas Dabi fell to his knees and began laughing. Pointing at the opposite of a phallus in its usually described state when using that word. 

"So she actively avoids dick." Dabi snickered, elbowing Kishou who slapped his arm. 

"She got to Muscular first, then pretty much abandoned everyone else" Kishou looked up at the storm, slowly letting out rain to rid the fires in the forest. 

"Accept the white-haired emo they said, it'll balance out both sides they said, he'll learn to respect and trust you they said." Shigaraki muttered, watching as Mr. Compress trick the students and take out Bakugo. Tired with the night, Shigaraki gripped onto Bakugo's throat and slowly entered the portal. 

"OH WHAT THE FUCK!" that was the sound of Magne and Spinner as projectiles from the sky came down upon the villains, the three students looking up to see Shirayuri's kakuja attempting to support them. Most created thin scars and ripped their clothing, one going through Magne's shoe and foot.

"Did you get Bakugo or not?" Shirayuri asked, knowing the answer but asking anyways to not appear as if she had been watching and entered last-minute just because. Shoto shook their head, watching as Shirayuri detached herself with ease and blitzed forward faster than any of them. Drawing out Yukimura, she dashed forward towards Kishou who parried the quinque with his own. The two siblings once again face to face with each other. Kishou stepped back, surprised when Shirayuri-instead of attacking him dashed into the portal. The glow of her wings temporarily blinding whoever was on the other side. 

With a scream, Shirayuri pinned Mr. Compress to the ground and drew her blade up. Releasing her pulses that disrupted the call on a purple screen, the electricity and bodies of humans inside. A malfunction in their quirks as Kishou yelled and shoved his sister away. Instead of attacking him, she attacked his team. Shattering the bones inside one of Mr. Compress hands, pining Toga to the wall by her projectile before grabbing onto Bakugo by the collar and back into the portal. 

"Kurogiri do not close that portal, get that bitch out of here now!" Shigaraki hissed, his hands shaking after feeling those pulses inside of him. Kurogiri who was more resistant slowly nodded.

On the other side, the newly-arrived Uraraka and Tsuyu watched as Shirayuri was thrown out of the portal without Bakugo. Deku who was previously crying, remained sobbing on the ground as Shoji and Shoto ran to either side of Shirayuri. The female ghoul blinked, looking at them with a look of incredulity. 

"I had him in my grasp, for a moment I saw darkness and the next thing I knew...I was thrown out." 

Ragdoll groaned, slowly gaining consciousness. She placed a hand on the part of the head she was hit on, hissing in pain. Her eyes widened at the state of students around her, wondering what had happened after she was mysteriously drawn in by a magnetic force. 

Of 40 students: 15 were in critical condition because of the gas, 10 had either major or minor injuries, 14 were uninjured and 1 was missing. Of the 6 Pro-Heroes: 1 was left in critical condition after sustaining a major head trauma and 1 also suffered a head trauma. 

"Shirayuri...saved me." Ragdoll breathlessly realised, remembering how Shirayuri was roaming by her own in the forests before she was knocked out. It had to be her, that was what Ragdoll determined as she ran towards Shirayuri after being momentarily examined by the paramedics, ignoring the yells as she fell onto her knees and hugged the ghoul. Releasing tears at the thought of getting kidnapped from what people were whispering around. 

"There's a traitor among us, isn't there?" Present Mic said, a grimace on his face.

The faith in U.A was shattered, criticism bombarding them everywhere with U.A's biggest failure in preventing the kidnapping of a student. Midnight glanced at Present Mic, disliking the idea of that possibility. It was possible, but to progress through these difficult times, such thoughts shall be put aside. Even if a remote location that should never have been easily leaked fell onto the hands of villains. 

"The apple doesn't fall far from a tree." Vlad King whispered, instantly angering Mr. Aizawa who attempted his best to hide it.

"To even consider...Shirayuri after everything, you would be insane. She saved Ragdoll, risked her life for Bakugo for you to criticise her." 

Vlad King angrily stood up, slamming his hand onto the ground. "She is a ghoul! She is the daughter of a man responsible for the death of many, civilians and sibling to Kishou Kaneki who injured Tiger, attacked Endeavor, Mirko...US!" Vlad King expressed his fury, remembering the conditions of all his students.

"Eraser Head, Nezu. She's trouble, has been since the start. If she was a human, she would have long been thrown into Tartarus or death row." Eraser Head also stood up, sending his chair screeching back as Nezu was deep in his own thoughts. 

"We can't deny the special treatment she receives." Nezu admitted, the other teachers nodding in agreement while Aizawa remained quiet. "A level of complexity so new it pushes us to the brink of insanity."

"What...are...we supposed to do?" Midnight slowly asked, crossing her arms and leaning back. Refusing to take part in taking down someone she sees as a student. 

No one knew the answer. 

To a lot of people, Shirayuri had long-past being depicted as a hero, but not tainted enough to truly be seen as a villain. 

"Ah, I see you're feeling better." 

Waltzing the last into Midoriya's hospital room was Shirayuri. She wore a maroon short-sleeved silk button down shirt, a black vest that matched well with her long pants and shiny shoes. There were fancy designs hidden in the dark colour of the vest, a dark gold that contrasted with the shiny gold design on the collar of her shirt, ribbon bowtie with a golden border and a red golden accessory with a red jewel in the middle. Right below the red jewel was a purple smaller orb shaped jewel that connected to three smaller orbs and finally a tear drop shaped diamond. As a belt was a golden chain with three accessories that hung right at her hip : a silver dragon's head, a silver tree and another red jewel. 

For accessories, her hair was free and a singular golden earring that had a short chain connecting a red jewel to it. Seeing her dressed up left a bitter taste to those who were met with Kishou. 

"Managed to walk into the Tsukiyama main building and demand them to slowly take down most articles targeting us, U.A and the heroes at the scene. Hefty, but it was the least I could do after...failing to rescue Bakugo." Shirayuri stated, face looking saddened by the situation before them. Iida placed a hand on her shoulder, he himself having read multiple news articles to see what the media was reporting and the thoughts of normal civilians. 

The attack on the remote summer camp was salt and relit the news of the Tsukiyama massacre, Shirayuri's loyalty and ties placed into question. There was even an online petition to have her removed from U.A because she was 'cursing' them. Though he himself was there when Kishou attempted to destroy their faith in Shirayuri because of her family and actions, Iida ignored them all and will continue treating Shirayuri like normal. The sins of a bloodline should not stain the lives of those born after catastrophic events. 

"Why...why didn't you tell us your brother was a villain, a villain that attacked the camp that night." Kirishima asked Shirayuri, the eyes of everyone and a surprised Midoriya gazing at her. Awaiting an answer.

"I didn't even know I had a brother until he killed my adopted family and tortured me for three days straight." Shirayuri answered, feigning a look of hurt on her face as Iida and Shoto came to her side to show their support. "If you think I would betray all of you, I wouldn't have wasted my time protecting an unconscious Ragdoll from being kidnapped and risk being kidnapped myself when I rushed in to save Bakugo." 

Iida's eyes widened, mouth dropping.

"You ran inside one of their portals to save Bakugo? Why would you do that?!" Iida yelled, earning attraction outside into the crowded hospital room. 

"My wing pulses can disrupt quirk usage momentarily, it was possible even if the portal was closed. Iida, it's all about timing, power and speed. Considering that they have never experienced that before, I had an advantage...until he arrived, blinded me briefly and threw me out." Shirayuri recalled her failure. 

"Kirishima, everyone's been through enough. The last thing we need is to be divided." Iida voiced his thought, pleading with his class not to point fingers at each other. 

"If you want me to risk my life and assist you in saving Bakugo, I'll do just that." Shirayuri stated, surprising the class while making Kirishima's eyes widened, a smile slowly starting to emerge. 

"Really? Weren't you like-

Flash back

"So you want me to help assist you and Shoto in adventuring towards a location that was tracked by Momo after she and Awase placed a tracking device on a chainsaw nomu?" Shirayuri asked, checking up on her friends at the hospital after being sent home after the police, fire fighters and ambulances arrived. Kirishima nodded, Shoto standing beside him.

"You can regenerate, fly and you're one of the strongest from our class. We have a higher chance in succeeding with Todoroki who also agreed." Kirishima added, trying his best to convince another one of his classmates.

Shirayuri fully faced Kirishima now, looking him dead in the eye.

"Are you selfish enough?" she asked, placing her hands inside of her pockets. Kirishima looked confused, shaking his head to deny it.

"Then don't go after Bakugo. You need to be selfish when you know the consequences to your actions. If you die, your family will be forced to bury your body at this age, never hear, see or touch you again. By going after Bakugo, you will be heavily placing your life at risk. Even with me, I cannot guarantee you making it out alive or in one piece."

"I'm a selfish person Kirishima," Shirayuri looked towards the window. "I'm selfish by not being able to fully open myself to all of you, selfish for all the lives taken because of my hunger and fuel to live and selfish for just being a parasite that also acts as a harbinger of misfortune. I'll protect you and Shoto if the situation becomes too much, but by protecting I mean grabbing onto both of you and escaping from the area." 

"I'll act as your shadow, until then, I need to be alone now." Shirayuri finished, walking out of the room.

"Kaneki, think about what you're doing!" Iida yelled, his words hitting the recently closed door to the room. 

Not long after did a doctor enter the room, shooing out the rest of the students to talk with Midoriya. The green-haired boy took a deep breath, not knowing what to expect from this conversation. 

"Most humans don't have cells inside of their bodies that heal broken parts to its previous state without trauma. But, you've always been full of surprises since I saw your medical records Izuku Midoriya," the doctor began, showing him an x-ray. "That attack you did on the now deceased Muscular should have ruined your arms, to the point that if you use them about two or three more times you would no longer be able to use them...but...the little amount of Rc cells inside of your body had somehow activated and healed them. Not fully, but enough to make sure they're usable and won't lead to a state of no longer being able to be used."

Deku's eyes widened, remembering the drug that Recovery Girl had given him. Shirayuri's back appearing on his mind, facing a bright light that made his heart skip a beat.

"If you had more, then it's possible for you to become a half-ghoul. When that happens, for every injury you get. You and your body will only grow stronger because that is the nature of these Rc cells, especially in ghouls."

"Is there any drawbacks to these...Rc cells healing my arms?" Midoriya asked, worried about the consequences of such a result.

 "From when we last checked, after you were healed; they became dormant once again. Perhaps only activating only when critically injured inside of you. What's strange is when we took a sample of your blood and placed it beside someone else's blood under a microscope, they began attacking them. They refused to attack the cells inside of quirkless humans." the doctor let out a sigh. "What a strange newly discovered phenomena." 

"So they dislike quirk cells? Or...?" Deku asked, heart racing inside of him. 

"We can't say that just yet seeing you're alright." the doctor pointed out, oblivious to the existence of One for All. Midoriya nodded, swallowing the saliva that was piling up inside of his mouth. 

"If a drug made from Rc cells was created...one that allowed for humans to regenerate lost parts and rid the trauma inside of their bodies, what do you think of its existence and use?" Midoriya asked the doctor, the doctor looking up for a bit. Thinking of an answer. 

"In my honest opinion, everyone would adore it. The media, people and companies until corporations realise it was too useful to the point it destroyed careers and profit. Society would suffer a regression, this is something that can make and break us. And by the looks of what it did to the samples under the microscope, if it was turned into a weapon. Then it can be administered to rid quirks when injected in larger amounts."

"That type of drug is the literal definition of too much of one thing is bad for you, and that was only one small dose."

Shirayuri looked down at her moving classmates, having been following them from above since they had left the hospital. There was an unexpected hassle at first, but it left Iida joining them in this suicide squad. There had been a box left at Akira's apartment doorstep, one that was filled with her old masks. The one she wore right now was the one she wore as the Stygian Jackal, hair being blowed by the wind as she continued to observe down. 

Although she should have been wary at the mysterious package, when she had smelled it. It didn't bother her at all, it was strangely comforting. The note inside too. 

In the end, you'll know what type of person you want to be and how you want others to see you. No need to rush and find yourself an identity, go at the pace you desire. 

Iida looked above, taking a deep breath at a well-known villain looking down upon them, Shoto noticed this and looked up to. Both of them meeting the eyes of the Stygian Jackal that nodded at them. 

"Alright! Let's get disguises!" Momo declared, clapping her hands together as she unusually excessively sweats. Shirayuri tilted her head in interest as the prudent girl took the group inside of a discount store. Sitting on the edge of the building, Shirayuri took out her own phone, deciding to scroll to the Instagram of Adidas to see what they had in store. Seeing a cute black-haired boy who happened to have a scar on the left side of his face, Shirayuri liked the post. Finding the boy who slightly resembling Todoroki wearing glasses attractive. 

"Oh wow, he also has a fire quirk." Shirayuri said out-loud to herself, just scrolling through the model's instagram. 

When they did come out, Shirayuri was close enough to hear the bullshit the boys were primarily saying. She snorted, seeing their outfits.

"Look! A lady with a huge rack right over there!" Iida yelled out in public, Shirayuri recording everything for blackmail purposes in the future. Laughing a bit, she made SURE to get these moments wether it be any one of them inside of the Bakugo Rescue Squad.

In the location of where the League of Villains currently reside, Bakugo stilled at the sound of the door beside him opened. He took a deep breath, already knowing who it was from the white hair and grey eyes that he could see. In one hand, he clutched a primarily black shiny briefcase with a golden border. 

"You're eyepatch's fucking brother." Bakugo hissed, Kishou ignoring and walking to stand at the back of everyone else who was in fighting stance.

"What gave it away?" Kishou said in a sarcastic tone, surprising Dabi at how much more 'open' Kishou was being to someone he had 'just' met. 

"Calling me Shirayuri this, calling me Shirayuri's whatever. Makes my blood boil, mention her again and I'll shatter and rid you of your arms. Can't be number one if you lose your limbs now, can you? "

"We're trying to recruit him, not scare him." Mr. Compress said in a mix of whisper and hissing. 

"You already have these three musketeers as the most unique circus mess in the League." Kishou glanced in the direction of Toga, Twice and Dabi. 

"Enough!" Shigaraki yelled, stomping his foot on the ground making Kishou hold in a snort. He took a deep breath, shocking most of them when instead of attacking the now-freed Bakugo did he order them to not attack him.

"You know, I really thought you and I could understand each other." Shigaraki looked back, the others slowly turning back too to face the screen that had always been on with a 'camera off' 

"Master, lend me your power." 

Shirayuri felt her heart skip a bit, almost risking falling to the ground as the group drew in closer towards the location. Deciding to join them, the ghoul slowly descended down and joined the rest who weren't expecting them to join all of a sudden. 

"Kaneki, is it dangerous?" Iida quickly asked, Shirayuri slowly nodding their head.

"This place, I smell corpses the closer I flew down." She whispered, Kirishima gasping as Deku and Shoto helped him see what was inside of the building. 

"Kaneki's right, this place is filled with nomus in tanks." the red-haired confirmed. Shirayuri sniffed again, further making Iida ready to grab everyone and recipro burst every one of them there. 

"Ah, I smell perfume, denim, orca and other things now." 

Deku instantly smiled, looking at everyone excited. "The pros are here!" he exclaimed, Kirishima instantly placing a hand on his mouth, making sure none of the police forces or heroes could hear and spot them. Oh that would be another large problem upon them. One they had accepted, but slightly hoped wouldn't happen. 

A pickup truck was raised by a foot covered in purple, Mt. Lady raising it up high with a grin on her face. 

Shirayuri wrapped 5 rinkakus around all of them, another one digging into the ground as the wind from Mt. Lady's kick destroyed a part of the warehouse. One of her wings emerged, protecting herself from the rubble as the rest used their hands. When the dust cleared, and the heroes began rounding up the nomus did Shirayuri feel her cells began to shake. Collapsing to the ground, she closed her mouth in an attempt not to vomit. 

The presence, the presence, the presence

She senses him.

"To think, how much more perfect this would have been if a little princess hadn't hindered the kidnapping and stealing of Ragdoll and her quirk." 

"Protect."

"PROTECT."

"PROTECT THEM SHIRAYURI!" 

Forcing all of them together, in a huddle were they wrapped around by rinkakus tightly as an electrical barrier protected them. The eyes of the other student were about to focus and then ask her what was wrong when he showed them what he was capable of by just raising his hand. The yellow barrier became purple, changing when the power of All for One was released. What was left of the tall wall hiding them merely covered a few inches above their heads. 

'He's here, he knows what I did.' Shirayuri's thoughts raced, holding onto Shoto's hand as all of them stood after the barrier disappeared, shaking from head to toe. Behind them were the sounds of 'fighting', Best Jeanist being gutted alive by All for One. 

"Bakugo's here." Shirayuri said in a whisper, hearing and sensing familiar scents. "With the rest of the league." she added, Deku slowly nodding his head at the confirmation of Bakugo's presence. He thought Best Jeanist had just been...well, finished.

"All for One!" All Might yelled, coming down from the skies. One of All for One's hands meeting the punch of All Might. 

A great fight was about to emerge, and none of them knew how to escape with Bakugo. 

Kishou took a deep breath, his quinque out as he stared at the Symbol of Evil: All for One. He was the sole reason his kind was driven to almost near extinction, he was the reason they lived under and made life unbearable. All for One made lives that wear meant to be shared together in happiness unbearable. Memories that could have happened were a blissful dream in his sleep. 

"One-Eyed Prince, don't look at me like that. We all do what we have to do to meet our goals, you're not that different from me." All for One said, All Might glancing at the sight of the two focusing on each other from where he stood.

"Were you...the man who traumatised my sister and tried to steal Dragon from her?" he slowly asked, taking a step forward.

This Kishou was unfamiliar to most of the league, the students and especially Shirayuri and All Might. Shirayuri's jaw dropping at his strange state as All Might saw something else from what others see before them. 

"I did her a favour, I also had someone else do you a favour. Because of me, both of you have been awakened. One way or another, I will get my hands on Dragon." 

Shigaraki paused, usually knowing his master to treat his followers with respect. Especially the more capable ones who joined on their own without him asking for loyalty. He was much colder, the blue-haired man unfamiliar with what they meant by Dragon. 

"Oi, stop. You look weak." Dabi gripped Kishou's arm, hissing at him to get it together. 

Kishou took a deep breath, nodding his head before kneeling down to respect All for One. 

"You really have a lot of nerve, All for One." All Might stated, charging at him. 

All for One had forced a few tendrils into Kurogiri, using his quirk to create a portal. While Compress prepared the unconscious members that were knocked out, Shigaraki remained focus on All for One. 

"He...wants my quirk?" Shirayuri said, grabbing onto Shoto as her mind continued to race, unable to focus on anything. 

Two people died because All for One wanted her Dragon, more died because of her when they wanted to deliver her to him. The bodies, they all kept piling up and piling as she sat on top of the pile. Looking at the rise of the sun, dawn, awaiting for the next bodies to join the heap of carcasses under her feet. Whereas Shoto and Iida were trying to calm her down and snap her back, Midoriya focused on Bakugo defending himself and the ongoing fight of All for One against All Might that will only continue to worsen. 

If they don't get out, All Might could...

No, All Might had to defeat All for One. With a look of newfound confidence, Midoriya looked at his friends, "Guys, I have a rather crazy idea." he declared. 

The rest looked at him. Iida holding his breath, Momo nodding, Shirayuri heaving as Shoto represented the others, "Lay it on us." 

The fight briefly paused, the helicopter in the sky broadcasting to the entire world a giant ice creation resembling the one Shoto Todoroki made during the Sports Festival. The fight he had with Hanta Sero. Riding above it was something or a group of people surrounded by green electricity. Rising high, distracting everyone Kirishima extended his hand out towards Bakugo. "Come on!" 

Grinning, Bakugo released an explosion that propelled him toward them. Releasing another to shorten in distance and grab onto Kirishima. Shirayuri nodded at Shoto and Momo, about to grab both of them and blitz away. All for One began his escape of the League, forcing all of them into the portal despite Kishou and Shigaraki's resistance. Because of this, All Might landed a punch and pinned him down. Right fist slowly crushing the scarred head of All for One. 

"Nana Shimura, she was an embarrassment to me. As the one who created One for All." 

The number one hero's fist increased in force, anger boiling at how easily the man below him said the words of his late master. Out of nowhere, All for One sent All Might flying towards the helicopter once more, once again did Gran Torino come to All Might's aid and send him back down. 

"Society's trust in heroes slowly crumbling...I wonder if it's alright now to land the final blow." All for One said, his arms spread out. "I despise you All Might. The same as you despise me. You destroyed everything I built. And for that, I will, I will fix all the mistakes I should have done years ago." 

Rivet Stab once again emerged from All for One's fingertips. All Might prepared his stance, they shot out but did not target him. Rivet Stab pierced through what was left of a wall. Slowly retracting back holding three oh so familiar figures. 

"Todoroki! Yaomomo! Kaneki!" their friends who were watching cried out, tendrils wrapping around the waist of the two humans but Shirayuri...

"Children shouldn't be watching here any longer, go, regroup and witness the death of your Number One Hero." All for One calmly said, Shirayuri releasing choked sounds as Rivet Stab dug their way further into her body, wrapping around her ghoul organs and spinal cord. 

Horns and familiar markings began being tattooed all over Shirayuri, kakugan as bright as ever while both eyes began crying out blood. Releasing out choked sounds, migraines worsened the mess inside of her mind as white took over her vision. 

Rivet Stab slithered, sharpening and preparing to do the same and torture Shoto and Momo when Shirayuri released her rinkakus and wrapped around them. Focusing on the safety and well-being of the other two.

"Dragon." All for One stated. "Copy Kurogiri's warping." 

The sky rumbled, a cloud of dark mist coming down and to the shock of the world did it appear similar to Kurogiri's quirk. Once it was opened, All for One forced all three of them inside; the three students disappearing as Rivet Stab retreated back albeit a few bloodier than the rest. 

"A ghoul's ability passed down from generation to generation, what a selfish power." All for One said. "Only being able to be accessed by true members of Dragon's Bloodline. One day, one day I'll access them with no hassle and crush this world." 

In one night will the world shake everywhere once more. 

The trio fell from the sky, Bakugo and Deku immediately releasing their quirks. Bakugo grabbed Shirayuri, Momo and Shoto each were being held by one of Deku's hands. Returning back to the ground, Momo and Shoto were still in shock as Bakugo ripped parts of his shirt to press down on Shirayuri's injuries.

"Yuri!" Akira yelled, falling to her knees beside Bakugo. 

"We need to get you all out of here." Akira gritted out, feeling the crowd starting to close in. Men and women in suits rushed out of black cars of the same brand, shoving their way into the crowd to get to the students and exit the scene immediately. 

"Did I just hear what All for One said correctly?"

"A ghoul?"

"I thought they went extinct."

"No way."

"All this time..." 

"Shirayuri Kaneki is a ghoul."

"What's the big deal, so dramatic over the little things." All for One scoffed, as if the reveal of an identity was nothing new. All it mattered was how it affected the main protagonist, for such a trope to affect the man before him...

What a perfect opportunity.

All Might stilled, hearing the sound of a voice crying out behind him. He glanced back, seeing a woman right behind a large piece of rubble. All for One, if he had a face, a look of excitement would be present on his face. Once again was his hand raised, sending an air cannon towards both of them. 

The world watched, different reactions taking place all at once when the dust settled. A smaller, weaker All Might far contrasting his large form. 

"This is your true self right? How small and pathetic." All for Once said, hands out as if he was saying prayers to a lord he worshipped dearly. He took in the sight with joy. Such thin arms, lack of thick muscle. Bony cheeks and sunken eyes! Oh how these past nights have been nothing but entertaining to him ever since his humiliating defeat and escape. 

"Even if my body wastes away...even if you expose to the world how I truly look." All Might told the world, "My heart and I remain together as the Symbol of Peace!" 

Shirayuri smiled a bit, seeing the white light in the man's fist as Bakugo carried her inside of the car. The world seemingly slow motion to her. Had heroes slowly gained her interest the more she saw them in action before her eyes? Had they always been so raw with their words it makes her writhe from the inside? No wonder everyone adores him, she had always been too stubborn and stupid to admire him more than his power. 

"It's not something you can steal! Not even a peace of it!" 

All Might, I should have appreciated you more. 

"All Might...please, save us." the woman once again cried out, face wet with tears as she reached out towards him. 

All Might stopped, gasping when he felt a surge of newfound power inside of him. Blood seeped back inside of him, around him could he hear the sound of the people cheering him on. They all told him he could do it, they all told him to win and defeat evil. 

"Of course miss, I'm sorry for the slight delay." 

Returning back into his prime form, the sky rumbled and sent down white lightning towards All Might, instead of harming him did it recharge his energy and put a smile on his face as he looked up. When the lightning stopped, a white large wave was released from where he stood. Everyone watching as a white large wolf ran towards the North, a white long dragon flying East, a falcon of the same colour heading West with its wings spread and a male Lion running South as it released a roar that shook the ground. 

"Time to die full of regrets All Might, I'm getting tired of all these extra tricks done by parasites." with a newfound giant fist, All for One jumped high and targeted the number one hero. All Might meeting his fist the same as when they first encountered each after since the last time they fought. He was quickly being slid back, only stopped by digging his feet into the ground as a white aura began covering him. One step forward at a time. 

Using his other hand, All Might sent a punch towards All for One once hit did the punch sent another impact to him. Bursting in energy as the skin hit began to sizzle and crumble a bit. With his bloody and purple hand, he prepared for a punch. 

"This power has been passed over from generation to generation by many, praying that it will work for the good of all. That all their hopes would become one. You're up next, let's do our best, Toshinori."

Master...

"Goodbye, All for One," All Might told his oldest enemy. "United States of Smash!" 

Dust and debris were sent flying everywhere, a tornado that almost caused the helicopter to come crashing down before everything became silent. The white light surrounding All Might dimmed, once more slowly healing him and returning loss blood into his body in the shape of spider legs. He raised his hand, the world releasing unshed tears at the defeat of All for One. 

Shirayuri released her remaining strength to hug Shoto with the top part of her body, crying at the acceptance of her mind and body that All for One had been defeated. All Might had did it. He had done it. 

The sun began rising over the horizon. Reporters, paramedics, heroes and many more at what was left of Kamino Ward. The brief power inside of All Might was beginning to fade, alongside the small flame of what was left of...the symbol of Peace slowly raising his hand once more, pointing this time. Looking at nowhere but the ground. 

"Next, it's your turn." 

Shirayuri felt a shiver down her body at All Might's words, feeling the movement of the car and the sound of the engine. She looked up, seeing the faces of her friends in her peripheral vision. 

"My hero." 

Chapter Text

Rei watched, watched as her youngest son stood in the middle of helping make tonight's dinner as Fuyumi and Natsuo went back and forth with each other, arguing about something that they'll move on from in a couple of minutes. When she had first been taken out of the mental facility, she wondered what she would be doing next. Back in the house that was inside of her nightmares for years until they ceased. 

Fuyumi was the first to approach her, following after her was Shoto and Natsuo where they embraced together as a family of 4. Enji kept his distance, looking away whenever they accidentally encountered each other inside of the large estate. But, she would always notice how he changed the flowers inside of her room. 

'I wonder how Yuri is doing, this year has been exceptionally hard on her.' Rei thought, looking down at the tea Fuyumi had made for her as dinner was still in preparations. To Shoto's delight, it wasn't curry.

Or whatever it was that their class tried to make that end up looking and having the texture of curry while tasting mediocre with the barely enough spices inside of the dish. 

"What an incredible revelation, U.A's first year Jack-of-All-Trades Shirayuri Kaneki is actually a ghoul! A One-Eyed-Ghoul at that, based on what ghoul researchers told us and the internet after the cat got out of the bag." an anchorman stated, a smile on his face as he delivered the news. He turned towards his partner, an anchorwoman whose quirk allowed her to have snacks for hair. 

"I know right, I hardly believed it for myself until I read a thread on Twitter explaining everything." she laughed, creating a nudging motion towards her partner. "The reveal has taken the internet by storm. Only becoming much more rampant as it spreads across the world after the news of All Might's victory against All for One slowly starts to lower from the trending topics." 

"Today we have a special guest with us today, ghoul researcher Sasaki Heizou and Yoshida Shinzo that will be telling us more about ghouls, their nature and habits." the anchorman continued, the camera now revealing two guests beside the reporters. A much younger scientist with a smile on his face waving at the camera as the other just nodded and stared at the anchorwoman. 

The anchorwoman nervously smiled, reminding herself that this was on air and she can't allow her snakes to stretch out and bite the man; causing temporary paralysis. She tapped her foot wildly, knowing full well only the top part of her body can be seen.

"Thank you for having us here, although both of us studied and grew up when ghouls were still declared gone. I couldn't help but study them and grew interested during my time in school." Heizou stated, reaching out to briefly shake the hands of the anchorman and anchorwoman. 

"You can't exactly eliminate what you knew nothing about. Generations of my family used to study and create quinques for the CCG. Quinques are weapons that are made from the organs of most of the time dead ghouls that we used to use so we can stand on more equal footing if you don't know." Shinzo stated, Heizou pursed his lips nodding along to what the person beside him said. 

"Could you tell us more about ghouls, something that you can't usually find as the answer in Google and most articles." the anchorwoman asked, intertwining her fingers together while waiting for either to speak.

"As we are here because of this Shirayuri Kaneki, I would just like to clearly state that not all ghouls will be as powerful or versatile as her. She is a chimera ghoul that you already know but its clear that she has a special ability in her blood that allows her to use abilities that aren't in the range of normal ghouls like her electricity manipulation and manipulation of a villain's quirk that allowed them to warp." Shinzo stated, Heizou nodding his head much faster this time. "Ghouls are known to be aggressive and hostile, but they're similar to wolves in a way. If they hold deep bonds with each other, then I can guarantee you that they'll go above and beyond to make sure the circle of people they care about is safe and can live a somewhat comfortable life." 

"I believe we should not label ghouls as humans with quirks at all." Heizou said softly, earning the interest and attention of the millions of civilians, heroes and international viewers that were watching. "They are their own race, though it's believed that they too were once human in some theories. I think it's better for them to be classified as a different species in the same genus rather than them being human." 

"In my honest opinion, I don't think it truly matters if they are considered human or not," Shinzo declared, Heizou glancing at him to continue. "Many will still hunt them down for their kakuhos to create powerful quinques. Quinques, they are much more advanced and powerful than you think. My family had created so many different variations that I still have records of them all. From what the police have on a sword that was once taken and quickly retrieved back by Shirayuri Kaneki, she possessed a sword that could glow red on her command and split into three variations. No doubt that that sword is a quinque, a high-rated one at that." 

"Like ghouls, quinques have ranks too."

"Could you tell us, what is Shirayuri Kaneki's ghoul rating?" the anchorman asked, Shinzo nodding his head.

"When it comes to rating, everything is taken into account. This Stygian Jackal...no doubt also being the one the police force and heroes has also been chasing for a long time. Despite being only 15, Shirayuri Kaneki is clearly an S-rate ghoul. These ghouls usually need to be confronted with a few special class investigators, even if you're one of the best it doesn't guarantee your safety against these type of villains." 

Heizou coughed, Shinzo glancing at him. 

"You said villains." Heizou pointed out. 

"Because that was what the investigators fought in their time, villains. Those rare ghouls caused massive destruction and panic long ago, many died at their hands no matter who you were." the other ghoul researcher answered, his voice sounding like his words were obvious enough that no argument is required to go against them. 

"We...are in the topic of discussing Shirayuri Kaneki, by using that word you're going to cause a misinterpretation that would damage her reputation and cause people to fear her." Heizou argued back, both researchers irritated.

Rei sighed, bringing the cup of tea to her lips. 

"For so long have people only wanted her just for her quirk." she murmured, voice loud enough so her children could hear her. "I remember how Shuu Tsukiyama spoke and said to me when I first met her, still a young child traumatised and longing for her family." 

How she said those words so casually and easily, when the separation from that little girl she knew devastated her badly. It was strange, to fall back into an auto-pilot routine after growing used to a much better, warmer routine where the clock seems to go by faster. 

Fuyumi stopped her chopping, slowly raising her head up as three heads turned towards their mother, a small smile on her face despite the melancholy in the room. 

"You've met Shirayuri?" Fuyumi asked, Rei nodding her head. 

"She was a child that came to my mental hospital, we met on her first day by coincidence." Rei started, gesturing for them to sit down in front of her. The older woman smiling when she remembered the ghoul when she was smaller. "Shirayuri sort of latched onto me, you can easily tell its because of my hair colour and eyes. I think what sort of solidified her attachment to me was when I placed my forehead against hers." 

"You played as her surrogate mother, a deal proposed by Shuu Tsukiyama?" Shoto asked, deeply invested with the past of his mother and friend he had high respect and care for in a way that was different from his other friends. Rei nodded her head. 

"I stopped seeing her when she accidentally called me mother," Rei took a deep breath, watching the warm colours inside of her head turn grey. "That set her back, destroyed her trust and willingness to be around I understand humans now and she remained in the safety of the Tsukiyama mansion since then." 

"It-it was cruel of me, to do that but I just couldn't handle it." her voice cracked, Fuyumi and Natsuo instantly rushing to her side. Her breathing began to quicken as Shoto reached out to touch her hand from the other side of the table.

"Mother," Shoto called out, Rei looking up to her youngest son. "Don't blame yourself for quitting when you know it was going to damage you more. When the dealbreaker appeared, you did as you had promised when the contract was made. This deal wasn't healthy in the first place despite the seemingly positive affects, anything could have happened." he assured her, Rei slowly nodding her head. 

"I don't want the world to be so cruel on her, I sometimes can't help but see myself in her." Rei muttered, the other three nodding their heads in understanding.There was a time when she too used to soar as close to the skies as possible, her quirk in constant use despite its drawback. In the past, she manipulated her ice differently from how Shoto uses his right side now. Like kagunes, there was one thing that limits full use of potential : creativity. 

Elemental powers bend to the will of the user. 

Maybe one day, when she was ready. Will she also train her youngest son to use his ice the same way she used to use hers. The same way and technique that made her friends believed she would be a great hero, once again see her riding the skies and seeing her younger self in him. Free as a bird, a face that looked free of many problems. Just following a daily routine before the day ends and he has to return home. 

"I wonder how Shirayuri is doing now, any news Sho?" Natsuo asked, looking towards his younger brother. 

"Well..." Shoto began. 

The Bakugo rescue squad and Bakugo himself were taken to one of the subsidiaries owned by Shirayuri's previous guardian, Midoriya, gasping with wide eyes as they went down. Right behind Akira as they exited out of the elevator. The ghouls in suits did their job and stood right behind the students, Shirayuri still in Shoto's arms who refused to let her go as she slowly healed; perhaps her body still in shock after comprehending that a usually dormant ability was forcibly used for the first time, one that was more complex than normal quirks. 

Shoto looked at Akira, Akira glanced back to meet Shoto's gaze.

Half of his hair was red, he had one eye that was turquoise. The other half was white with a grey eye. If she had no prior information of Shoto Todoroki, then Akira would have guessed that he was a distant relative or cousin of the Kaneki family. 

"Enji Todoroki's youngest son?" she asked for confirmation, already knowing but asking anyways to break the ice. Shoto nodded his head, not really surprised after everything that happened in less than a week. "You remind me of your father." 

Shoto's hands turned into fist, Midoriya gulping at the comment as Shirayuri glanced back at Shoto after giving a warning glare towards Akira. The adult woman only humming and focusing on the task at hand. 

"Are you going to kill us? At least, that was what happened to the families, police officers and heroes that discovered those tunnels years ago." 

The attention of the strangers in the room were now on them, Momo holding in her breathe as Iida stepped forward to assure them that they don't know much about whatever was going on. Nervous clear in his voice, his palms getting sweaty. 

"Depends, if he wants you dead. He'll have you dead." Akira answered, leading them to a medical bay. Shoto and Yaoyorozu were given a check up, Shirayuri a glass of blood that helped quicken her regeneration. Akira walked towards a cupboard, opened it and took out a small glass jar. A glass jar containing yellow sugar-like cubes. Shirayuri took a few, plopping them into her drink.  "But then again, the Iida, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki families are rather influential and stubborn when it comes to what they want. It would be a hassle to exterminate all of them and destroy everything they've built." 

"Money, such a powerful motivator, don't you think?" Akira asked, receiving no answer from the students. 

"For a human who spends enough time with ghouls, don't you think threatening to kill their family members is too much?" Shirayuri asked, focused on Akira who bore the same look on her face as her. 

"Death is nothing new Kaneki, really thought you would have been used to it by now." Akira stated, her works irking the students who clearly refused to agree. 

"I wouldn't say I've grown use to it, rather. All it brings to me now is a sense of numbness, my mind accepting that nothing can bring them back or if the actions I do in memory of them will they feel a sense of happiness in the afterlife." Shirayuri stated, entering a staring contest with Akira. 

A few seconds passed by, Kirishima slowly sliding towards Shirayuri while keeping an eye on Akira. When he got close enough, he tilted his head and said in a whisper,"Kaneki, does your protection last or has it ended?" Kirishima uttered, pretty much pointless considering the silence in the room. Shirayuri briefly released her wings, flapping them a bit before dematerialising them. Kirishima nodded, "I'll take it that it's still ongoing, I'm afraid Bakugo here will say something offensive." 

Bakugo was about to curse out the red-haired boy when they began walking again. Drawing closer to the smell of...coffee? 

Walking through a hall, they reached yet another door. Akira opened it, taking a step to the side so the young students could enter first before her last. Looking around the room, there was a figure before them with dark-blue hair. The man stiffened a bit, before slowly turning around to face them. His attire consisted of a black hoodie with purple attribute, sweatpants and sneakers. Hair a bit disheveled, as if he had rushed in or stressed out. 

"What the hell were you thinking?" 

Two kakugans appear, Shirayuri remaining in place as her friends took a few steps back. Momo gasped, watching as wings similar to Shirayuri emerge from behind his back; the man clearly trying to intimidate them. 

"Is that her father?" Kirishima whisper-yelled, Shoto squinting a bit.

"I highly doubt that, I was kind of expecting much...more? He also looked more terrifying in the past." Shoto commented, the other humans (minus Akira) in the room snapping his attention towards him. "Oh cmon, my father is the number two hero. I knew things were up ever since he continued to keep his mouth shut and just after the Sports Festival asked about Kaneki." 

The dark-blue haired-man scoffed, looking down at Shirayuri as if he was about to laugh. His smile annoyed Shirayuri, showcasing a grin that she can only imagine and see in toothpaste billboards. 

"Kaneki? They still call you Kaneki? No trust in them?" he asked, making Shirayuri look behind.

"We each refer to one another mostly by our surnames...it took me a long time to open up and accept them but the walls eventually came back up when that motherfuck-she was cut off by the older man. 

"Do you use that tongue to speak about your family?! My sister?!" Ayato scolded, Shirayuri rolling her eyes at the older man’s words. 

"My family?! What family?! They abandoned me! One came back who's supposedly my brother, killed all those I considered family and tortured me!" Shirayuri yelled back, anger brewing at the audacity of this man to criticize her. Ayato gritted his teeth, knowing that the situation was much deeper than the girl knew. But still, she wouldn't be saying these things if she knew. 

"Kishou did what he had to do so you could have more peace before shit hit the fan." Ayato stated, an angry frown on his face. Trying his best to keep calm despite the anger clearly radiating off him. 

"Newsflash! It. Had. Long. Hit. The. Fan." Shirayuri sneered, her own kakugan revealing itself alongside her wings and two rinkakus. "Never knew others were so fond and accepting of domestic violence." Shirayuri briefly mocked, Iida about to speak up and re-phrase what she had said when Ayato cut him.

"You call just a few slices and unfair fights domestic violence? I devoured my blood sister's kagune!" he shouted, Shoto grimacing at the image he had envisioned when the older man yelled those words. Iida, Momo and Kirishima placed a hand over their mouths, Midoriya bold enough to come in-between a fight between two ghouls. One hand was near Ayato, the other near Shirayuri. Akira wondered who would strike first out of anger and make Midoriya a one-handed-human. 

"Alright...let's calm down now. Kaneki, is this how you want to remember meeting a lost family-Deku paused his plea for both of them to calm down and talk it out , everyone slowly understanding what he was about to say. Akira let out a soundless whistle. Iida stiffened, closing his eyes as if accepting whatever comes next. Bakugo kept quiet, replaying inside of his mind the words of All Might to the world. 

"I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that ."

"So wait, now she's currently in the care of her uncle and ally of her father who has a high position in wherever the hell ghouls are hiding?" Shoto nodded, confirming Natsuo's words. The other taking a deep breath, shaking his head in disbelief. 

"Is there anything else that you want to tell us?" Fuyumi nervously asked, coughing a bit.

"How her father knows all of us and threatened to kill us if father ever revealed the existence of ghouls. I encountered him once during the Sports Festival, and father has been in a few scuffles with Kaneki's murderous older brother." Shoto informed them, revealing what he knew since it seems that their encounters with the Kaneki family are more frequent than they think.

"Should you really be telling us this?" Natsuo asked, looking around in worry. 

"I don't think I should, father told me that there's a high chance that he will be targeted and killed if word gets out. But, we're family." Shoto replied, Fuyumi and Natsuo nodding their heads.

'Sho, you sure have interesting taste in friends.'

'Well, we're fucked.' 

'I wonder what Shirayuri's birth mother is like.' 

"Touka Kirishima, now Kaneki was a strong woman. She raised me, cared for me and never stopped loving me even after my rebellious phase as a teenager." Ayato told her, Shirayuri looking up at him with curiosity. Both of them stood at the balcony of the house, a house Ayato had taken her that was meant for Shirayuri's family to live in together once Kaneki's conquest was finished. "You're just like her, no matter what you think. Your kindness was once repressed because of your misfortunes until life with humans softened you up alongside the influence of others." 

"Does she love me? Even now?" Shirayuri asked, heart both wanting and rejecting an answer. Ayato briefly looked away from the sun to look down at the child, how she was a splitting image of Ken Kaneki. Yet as he stared at her eyes now, he could see a much younger vision of his sister.

"You are a treasure to your parents, did you know your mother even refused to use a special formula when she looked so exhausted from time to time? Even in times of exhaustion and near-collapse, Touka insisted on feeding you, cooing and looking down with such gentle eyes that I honestly wished I could be a newborn baby once again." Ayato recalled, remembering how Kaneki was always behind her, holding her close to him. "Touka wanted to name you Kei, a name with three letters just because you looked like your father so much. Well Arata and Kishou did too, but they both agreed to name their sons after their father figures." 

"Kei?" Shirayuri asked, the name rolling off her tongue quite nicely. Ayato nodded his head.

"Ever since she found out she was pregnant, you were referred to as Kei. They only registered your name as Shirayuri just because Touka didn't want to hear it coming out from the mouths of their enemies, Shirayuri was one of the names on the list; a small one they had made." he told her, Shirayuri nodding along to his words. Ayato stiffened a bit, remembering how hostile Kaneki got when one of their enemies even attempted to say her name. 

Even in the presence of their allies, Shirayuri was regarded as Shirayuri. Only when the family was together, Ayato and Hinami thankfully included was Shirayuri called Kei. Oh, also Hide he had that honour alongside Tsukiyama. 

"Kei Kaneki," Shirayuri said, repeating it a couple of names as Ayato smiled and looked down at her with familial love. She was so big now, no longer the little child he had always remembered her as. Even when he saw her dominate her class during the Sports Festival. "Honestly, I prefer shorter names." Shirayuri confessed, Ayato laughing at her words.

"Did...Kishou use to call me Kei?" Shirayuri asked, hesitation in her voice once again.

Ayato shook his head.

"Never doubt your family, Kishou spent the most time with you before the separation more than Arata and Ichika despite how you four are usually together too. Ironically, he called you Key instead of Kei. No one didn't really correct him because well...his smouldering intensity was a powerful ability itself." Ayato snickered, remembering how Kishou's glare became a sticker. A glaring toddler with chubby cheeks. "Wherever Kishou is, just know he always has the family's best interest in mind."

Shirayuri thought back of how much Kishou wanted her to change, drilling the idea into her mind since that day.Kishou...he was a vagabond, wandering about while being dishonest for the purpose to fulfil his mission. He lies for the greater good, he wanders about with no home to come back just yet.

"Knave." Shirayuri stated, Ayato who was watching television with Max curled up beside him looked at her in surprise. Extending out towards them was a picture of a hero outfit, its colours was a mix of black, white, grey and a hint of red. 

"You want to change your hero name to Knave?" Ayato asked, not really arguing with the idea. Maximilian barking as if he was approving the change. Shirayuri replied with a few nods of her head. 

"Why Knave? It sounds good but its meaning..." her uncle pointed out.

"I doubt that I'm only going to be a hero that dabbles only in fighting crime. With my abilities, I could be a sort of spy and assassin too." Shirayuri answered, making Ayato halt a bit.

"Don't tell me it's because you've recently been watching Sp-Shirayuri cut her uncle from speaking any further, quickly becoming flustered 

"They 'inspired' me my dear uncle, humans always say look up to heroes." Shirayuri stated, waving her new hero outfit around. 

"No mask?" Ayato asked, placing his hands over his heart as if it was a shocking revelation. 

"No more animals, legit. I can't just choose one." she quickly added, Ayato pointing towards the scarlet butterfly that inspired her after remembering the time she spent with Tamaki. The teen released incoherent noises of protest, causing Ayato to snicker. "Also, besides gas poisoning and inhalation of other substances. My identity right now isn't really secret." she pointed out. Ayato released a click sound, murmuring how he's going to find a solution for head gear. 

"We'll talk about additional changes later, I want to talk to you about a certain elephant in the room." Ayato started, making sure they're both sat now as he said those words .

"Your parents sent their approval for you to still be a student at U.A's now boarding school." he said quickly, Shirayuri slowly processing while giving him the same look. Her face morphing to shock when everything he said had been processed.

"I'm not going to ask why, but how." her voice trailed off at the last word, her index finger up. 

"Well..." 

If there was one thing Mr. Aizawa needed, it was not alcohol to deal with his stress for the past few days but sleep. But how could the staff at U.A sleep? After the fact that All for One had exposed Shirayuri's true identity and forced his quirk to activate Kurogiri's quirk through the one-eyed-ghoul, no one knew what was possible. Thinking back of Shirayuri's fight against All Might during the final exams, that would be one explanation as to why he was knocked out similar to Sero. Accidentally activating whatever Dragon was and accessing Midnight's quirk. 

They had arrived much earlier than they usually would, all to avoid the numerous amounts of press that would hound the infamous U.A barrier in order to get any single piece of information from them. He shivered a bit, remembering how someone once grabbed onto Midnight and tore a part of her outfit, causing her to go into panic and release her quirk. It was just in time that he caught members of the press just as they were about to drop onto the road, causing cars to swerve and create an accident. 

"Where is the logic in that?!" he yelled out loud, early in the morning. The other teacher's inside of the room flinched a little from shock, rare to see the sight of such an exasperated and tired Eraser Head. 

"Did we run out of coffee already?" Snipe asked, looking at his tin can mug. He sloshed the contents a bit, watching as some of the liquid seemingly crawled up the wall of the tin can mug because of his hand movements.

"Contrary to what we first believed, because the reveal was on the same day as All for One's detainment and his reveal of interest in harnessing the Dragon; the positive voices of the civilians especially anyone who looks up at you accepts her." Nezu entered the room, a cup of tea he was holding with a smaller All Might following behind him.

"Have you seen the amount of threats directed towards her?" Mr. Aizawa asked, face filled with disbelief. "There are comments much more colorful than her own threats!" 

"She'll be safe, with the defeat of All for One. This will weaken the League of Villains, if we strike when the iron is hot. We can get rid of the League for good." Nezu stated, making a motion for All Might to set him down on a table to easily meet Eraser Head's eyes better. 

"In a few days, U.A will officially be turning into a boarding school. You and All Might will be going from house to house and asking for permission from the parents to allow them to stay within the grounds." Nezu stated, something that all the staff had already known. 

"..."

"Is there something I should know?" Mr. Aizawa asked, pleading that it was no more surprises. Nezu smiled, All Might coughing nervously as he muttered something about hiding Recovery Girl. Midnight raised her head, interested with the tea. Present Mic used his binoculars, for a reason that clearly wasn't backed up by logic. 

"Not at the moment." Nezu replied, kicking his legs. 

"..."

":D" 

":D" Eraser Head looked over at Present Mic.

"Don't do that." 

"D:" 

":')"

"Bro, I just want to say. Thank you for staying beside me after all these years bro." Present Mic sniffed, wiping fake tears with a handkerchief as the elevator took them towards the floor of kaneki's office inside of the building. High up, far from the ground with little escape. Unless they jumped and risk certain death or be captured mid fall by rinkakus and still be killed. Either way, the area was much too small for Present Mic to use his quirk without destroying glass and potentially harming civilians down below. All Might was small might. 

It turns out, that not only was this building serve as one of the Tsukiyama family's subsidiaries but also served another more secret purpose. 

Miwa glanced at the three of them, smiling when the floor finally stopped and a ding was heard.

Leading the three of them further from the elevator, to the heroes' surprise. A woman sat on the main office seat, observing a necklace with charms only she herself knew the symbolism behind each and every one of them. Acknowledging their presence, she straightened her back and looked at them; a bit more focused at looking at Eraser Head. Silence filled the room, no one saying anything. 

"My queen, you look as beautiful as ever." Miwa stated, bowing in respect.

"I'm wearing a mask Miwa, no need to say that when neither of our guests can agree or disagree with you." Touka stated, Present Mic beginning to blubber out words when she gestured towards both of them.

"Nonsense! Everyone is beautiful, you're the mother of Kaneki! You must be drop-dead gorgeous!" Present Mic said out loud, following his words quickly was the sound of something breaking and growling. He flinched, Eraser Head quickly scanning the room. Noticing a second floor; this was a double-storey office. 

"Apologies," Touka coughed, turning a bit red. "My husband, as amazing as he can be. He's rather jealous of Eraser Head for treating Yuri as if she was one of his own. We know a lot, more than you heroes believe. We thank you Shota Aizawa for caring for our daughter." Touka smiled at Eraser Head.

"As for you All Might, we are glad that things couldn't have ended up worse when the number one hero found out about the existence of ghouls. Though, I must say, you made the right call by rejecting the drug made from our daughter's cells." Touka's voice placed stress on the last part, All Might nodding his head quickly in agreement. 

"Was it necessary to kill them though?" he slowly asked, this time Touka not answering the question.

"Curiosity kills the cat, I'm sure you've heard of it. They dared to almost weaponise my daughter, when the villains had attacked I-Island in one night, I took the opportunity amidst the chaos to destroy the laboratory, evidence and what else I deem as a threat to my child." waves were sent tingling the spines of Present Mic, Aizawa and All Might only stiffening as goosebumps fell over them.

'His voice...' Miwa shivered, Touka glancing at the young adult briefly. Her eye twitched a little, going unnoticed by a few who quickly switched their attention from Miwa to the other woman in their vicinity. 

"We're here, to only ask about young Kaneki and your approval to allow her and live in the dorms of U.A. We won't be questioning your past decisions, actions or anything else at all." All Might stated, speaking as if he was still in his larger form. 

"Finally, another intellectual hero." 

While the others remain tense, hearing her husband's voice never failed to bring out positive reactions from her. 

"We're well aware of U.A's plans to shift into a boarding school, though I would rather have my daughter continue to pursue something she had already spent a lot of her time and energy on. I'm rather concerned about how she'll be able to eat. Yuri used to get excited at what she finds interesting...and eats a lot in private." Touka coughed, Present Mic heavily agreeing considering he was the one who had to go back and forth from places that provide...food. 

"We'll speak with providers to make sure she remains satisfied, we had gotten a few calls that were willing to accept providing more portions than normal in exchange for sponsorship." Aizawa stated, a satisfied? reluctant? hum echoing for a few moments. 

"How about that Recovery Hero of yours?"

"His majesty almost personally made his way towards U.A himself! That was one of the rare moments I've seen him be so eager near a hero-based organisation since I began working for him." Miwa piped up, realising she had made a mistake of speaking up before bowing and apologising. 

"Is she a normal secretary or?" Present Mic asked, pointing towards the young adult. Touka raised an eyebrow, without words telling him to figure it out for himself. Present Mic nodded, looking away embarrassed. 

"If you wish for her to be trained by any of your own trusted mentors, please do tell us. It's so we will be able to inform the rest of the heroes." All Might informed the couple, Touka nodded in understanding. "Personal training should only be at night, it gives time for students to rest, play and do their work."

A moment of silence. 

"Shirayuri, her heart is in the right place. Her ways of execution (Aizawa pauses, wondering if that was the right word to use. Whatever, he shakes his head) has always been attention-grabbing. If she wishes to participate in activities in your realm, please allow it to fall under the rules that belong in the land. I'll personally train her to become an underground hero if you want." 

Touka's eyes perked up, tilting her head a bit like Shirayuri whenever something intrigued her. "Underground hero?"

Aizawa nodded his head, time for his cue to convince. All Might focused on Ken Kaneki, paying him no attention-having it all on Eraser Head who spoke to the wife of the One-Eyed-King as if he was talking to a normal parent with a child in one of the top hero school's in Japan who are also prone to being attacked by others of their own age group and villains well past the age where they can be recognised as an adult. He still wonders how Bakugo's mother spoke so casually...

'Were you the one who gave me the power to fight All for One? I've repeated the video countless of times and I just know in my heart that you were the one who helped me.' All Might thought, despite all his actions Ken Kaneki wanted peace and for ghouls and humans alike to live together on the surface. 

When they were about to leave, Kaneki walked down the stairs. Two heroes eyeing carefully as Kaneki normally walked towards All Might; judging him from everything he does clear in the king's eyes. The number one hero extended his hand out to shake, Kaneki shaking his hand back. 

"This means Endeavor is the new Symbol of Peace?" All Might nodded, answering Kaneki's question. Disappointment evident on his face. "Even if you are now what I see before me, I would still choose you over him. (scoffs) I had an old man sitting as the head of the Washuu clan for decades before his head was sliced off." he hissed, disgust evident on his face. 

'So, he's related to the Washuu clan, the founder of the CCG are also ghouls? Interesting.' the three heroes thought. 

"I was expecting that you would stand right beside me. When I re-debut myself in human society officially and demand the people and the governments to change the laws that hold no depth to them and how they view ghouls." Kaneki asked, one of the more nicer words he had to say to the three staff members of U.A since their arrival. 

"How do you think the world views ghouls now? How they view young Kaneki?" the former Symbol of Peace asked, Kaneki guiding him towards the glass windows so they both could gaze down on the busy street. In a blur of red, did Hawks past them-off to his next location. 

"Exotic, a new discovery." Kaneki spat out. "All I can see is how they view my daughter as a tool, a weapon and an object from the heavens meant to be taken apart and be used to solve the problems of humanity."

All Might nodded. Understanding where the father of said child was coming from, "And how do you want everyone to see her as?" 

Kaneki's facial expressions morphed from anger to gentleness, the difference and quick change scaring the hero a bit. 

Kaneki staggered into the house, parts of his body and clothes stained with blood. He held Yukimura in one hand, heading towards the guest bedroom to sleep alone. No other life force in the halls except him. Entering the guest bedroom, did the father of four take off the top of his shirt and threw it somewhere. Collapsing on the bed before covering his eyes with one of his hands. The other gripping onto the bed and the silk sheets that cover it.

The door he had closed gently slowly creaked, Kaneki knowing who it was based on the smell of baby powder. 

"Papa?" 

He gave no response. 

Kaneki gritted his teeth, not wanting to taint his daughter by touching her with his blood-stained hands-physically and metaphorically. They were dirty, not even the times he was forced to regenerate them were enough to rid the sins he did on his own  will. A plushy of a bunny was thrown onto the large king-sized bed, hitting his leg. Shirayuri kicked her small legs, laying down beside him as if she was making a snow angel. 

Her small hand placed itself on his stomach, slowly rubbing in circles like she was attempting to comfort him. 

"I pray to the Wolf so he could cast down the light of the moon onto my papa so he could see the path in front of him,"

"I kneel before the Lion so he could give him the willpower to continue on forward, as strong and powerful as the first king."

Kaneki stilled, slowly turning his head to face his daughter with tears already about to trail down. 

"I look up towards the sky, hoping that he would too fly and be as free as the Falcon." 

"My father is the dragon, the dragon that would shape the world as he pleases and conquer every obstacle in his path. My loyalty and strength to him." 

"For my kingdom, for my family." 

"Show me the sight of victory when I look at him." 

"Kei...my little Kei." Shirayuri who had yawned and began to sleep, briefly felt her father hug her small body. Holding her close as he began crying. Crying for what he had lost, experienced and was given. 

"Indescribable," Kaneki shook his head. "You'll never understand until you feel it yourself." 

That night, there was a dry thunderstorm. No rain, no coolness but instead was heat. Shirayuri stepped out of her room's balcony, gazing up to see the show of light, clouds and the rumbling in the distance. Everything traveled at its own pace, some with a pace that was either too slow or too fast that it drives the teen insane. 

She had a new hero outfit in the making.

U.A would become a boarding school.

Her real parents were out there God knows what. 

Does she wish to drive her blade into Kishou, or will she forgive him for all the suffering he caused her? The devastation that drowned every single one of her cells when she thought she had lost her everything once again. 

"Ha..." Shirayuri said, not really knowing what else to say. Body heating up from the troubles mixing against her. 

"Arf!" her little pup barked, taking a few steps out the door of the balcony. Gazing up at Shirayuri with a serious look. Growling a bit, the little pupper's teeth latched onto her pants and attempted to drag her back inside. Shirayuri theorising that the sound and light was alarming her pet. Max's teeth only released itself from her pants when Shirayuri brought the once-stray to her chest, holding the puppy as if he was a newborn baby before entering back inside of her room. Using one rinkaku, did she cover the storm in the distance using the curtains.

Outside did the lightning got brighter, the sound grew and temperatures rise. People panicked, wondering what it was as lightning struck a tree; setting it ablaze instantly. As the people on the ground ran in different directions, Iida's intern hero : Manual attempting to bring out the flames did no one see the fight in the clouds and another flash showcasing a dragon about to breathe out fire. 

Chapter Text

It was almost 10 in the morning when Mitsuki Bakugo's voice screamed and traveled through the house belonging to a family of three. The youngest member of the family waking up with an angry look on his face before yelling back at her all the way from his room. A man sat down in the kitchen, listening to the screaming match going back and forth between his wife and son while drinking his morning coffee; looking at the latest trends to help draw inspiration from him. 

In the end, Bakugo had aggressively taken a shower, brush his teeth and head out towards the grocery store. The neighbours sighed, already being used to their loud neighbours. 

At the store did Bakugo begrudgingly headed to each specific aisle, find what he was looking for, watch out for offers or discounts before checking the quality and expiration date. His mother had always been hard on him when it came to getting things done, the process was gruelling but he can't deny that the experience did help prepare him. 

He knew how to get shit done, his mentality was as strong as...whatever is considered strong but not too overpowered in this world. 

"The hell are you doing here?" Bakugo hissed, eyes looking down at Shirayuri now beside him. 

Both of them were wearing hoodies, the only difference was that while the ghoul wear shorts, the hot-headed human beside her wore pants. His grip tightened on the plastic handle, Shirayuri's returned grey eyes surprised at seeing Bakugo too. 

"I have things to buy." Shirayuri answered, casually looking down and showing him her basket. Bakugo peered down into her basket, finding normal groceries. Was he expecting something unexpected? Most likely. Now that he didn't, it was still surprising. 

"You're a ghoul, you can't eat shit." Bakugo rolled his eyes, face wrinkling in disgust when she picked her items from brands that had products that's quality didn't match what was promised. Shirayuri shrugged.

"I'm a One-Eyed-Ghoul, from the limited knowledge of my kind, usually we can since we're a hybrid of both human and ghoul." Shirayuri stated, watching as Bakugo grabbed the list in her hands and begun scanning through it.

"Stop fucking with me, we both know you're that special case that can't." He rolled his eyes, briefly growing silent as he re-focused his attention on the things Shirayuri needed.When he saw all the items on her list, he took out everything out of the basket and re-did Shirayuri's job from the beginning. Shirayuri just followed,  "I just have a unique...case." She defended herself when Bakugo suddenly looked at the list then at her with a judging look. 

"Of course you have to be more fucking special." the blonde rolled his eyes, both of them now walking towards the area with fresh fruits and vegetables. 

"It's honestly not something to take pride in." Shirayuri countered Bakugo's...sarcasm mixed with a lace of compliment? She wasn't sure. Bakugo looked towards her when Shirayuri wasn't looking at him, finding no arrogance on her face at all. 

"I thought ghouls only hate the taste of food outside of their diet and coffee," Bakugo muttered to himself, seeing Shirayuri lost at which vegetable to pick out from. Most looking the same and fresh. Taking a random tomato, she gave it a light squeeze. Bakugo noticing how it was softer and less firm than how most tomatoes should be, then she brought it close enough in front of her. Normally people did this to check if it's rotten or not. Normally.

This was a rare moment for many who have grown accustomed to how Shirayuri usually acted. How someone who usually seems to know what they're doing is suddenly like a small child curiously picking, touching and smelling objects.

"Idiot, tomatoes need to be firm. Trying to kill someone with your cooking?" with that said, Bakugo began choosing from the pile of tomatoes and only stopped when he saw a good enough amount. Shirayuri followed, watching him repeat the same steps sometimes differently with other fruits and vegetables. 

"Avoid these."

"Watch out for that."

"That's not ripe."

"Are you colour-blind?!"

If everyone lived in a pineapple under the sea, then Shirayuri would have been one of the residents that would actively enjoy whatever was on the Chum Bucket's menu. This time, without bribery. When the two got to the cash register, the cashier jumped in her place a little. Eyes widened and mouth agape as her vision focused on the ghoul before her. Bakugo rolled his eyes, slamming the first object down on the counter making the adult flinch quickly doing her job. 

Shirayuri mindlessly watched the items being swiped, occasionally hearing a beeping sound. 

When it was time to pay did she did place the card on top of the screen showing the total amount and paid for her groceries. Easy, efficient and not time-consuming at all. There was a time when she despised using physical money after learning how much easier it is to handle her money digitally. But uncle Shuu did warn her about places that didn't cater to people who rely on their phones to simply type in, scan or whatever is required. 

Uncle Shuu lingered on her thoughts, never fully taking over until she and Bakugo were outside of the building. Now mindlessly walking towards their respective directions together side by side. 

Uncle Shuu...

"Why couldn't I be just like you..." Shirayuri said, Bakugo who walked beside her halting a bit. Shirayuri looked down towards the ground, a crestfallen look on her face.

He was most likely alive. 

Her real parents were alive. 

She has siblings, also alive.

Kishou does what he does to protect her, he's on the 'good' side.

She has to forgive him. 

How, how do you find it in yourself to forgive someone who physically and mentally abused you? Took seemingly everything for it to be fabricated and part of a grander scheme of things that her family knows about but leaves her out. They do that, to protect and let her live a life that she should be grateful for? 

Life was tiring, sometimes the idea of ending it all just seems so attractive. There were many ways, so many to choose from-

"You're doing alright, you know that." Bakugo commented out of the blue, snapping her out of her thoughts. This time, he was the one looking down at the ground. "Try not to think about the past so much."

"You're handling things better than you perceive. I get it, it's tiring and the world is just filled with so much bullshit you wonder if the old man up there is as perfect as those preachers make him seem like," Bakugo looked up, placing his hands inside of his pockets. 

"I heard rumours going around that you're in the works of creating another hero outfit." Bakugo switched subjects, finding the grocery store to be the worst place to discuss such a heavy topic. Shirayuri raised an eyebrow, Bakugo scoffing at her facial expression.

"Idiot, my parents are the best fashion designers you'll even be graced to work with." He hissed, praising his parents in a way he would never do around them. 

"Really?"  Shirayuri dragged the word out, easily irking the other. "I'll have to compare them to Mr. Klein-

A female dog shot her head, now awake. Wondering why she suddenly awoken when there was nothing chaotic going on around it. After looking around, did the canine rest its head back down and continued on with its nap. 

Somewhere else, two men continued on with their business. Running errands, contributing to their goals. And overall, keeping themselves company in their limited social circle. Dabi hummed a tune, dragging yet another body towards Kishou who had locked himself up inside of his laboratory/room. Everything was messier than usual, the black-haired adult wrinkling his nose at the remains of some of his past meals. 

"What are you doing here?" Kishou whispered, not even lifting his head to look at his ally of a few years now. Dabi dropped the body, Kishou's left iris turning red despite his sclera still being its normal white colour. 

"Lunch time." Dabi stated, tapping a piece of metal three times to mimic the sound of a cow bell and a stick. Kishou gave the other a side-eye, hating the sound of clanging metal. 

"You should go reunite with your family, All for One is gone for the time-being and its been some time since we have been in contact with the remaining members of the League," Kishou informed him, observing the device he was currently modifying. 

"I'll do that, when I get to see your sister again. That'll be a problem since the new rules U.A had set in motion." he answered, Kishou slowly turning his head to face the other.

"When were you in contact with the rest of my family? That should not be-Kishou was cut off, Dabi placing a hand on the table right beside his left side while his other hand shushed the ghoul right in front of his mouth. Their faces inches apart.

"I was taught by mentors above the average Joe." was the flame user's simple answer. 

"Stop, just stop." Kishou muttered, shoving Dabi away; due to his strength and currently unstable state did Kishou use much more strength than intended. Dabi winced, feeling the spot where Kishou had shoved him ache. Ouch, okay then.

"I think I'm going to return down for some time, I can't bear to spend more time up here." Kishou confessed, Dabi slowly nodding his head. Usually playfulness and teasing disappearing when Kishou began to share how he was feeling. 

He had never been someone to openly share his feelings, until he reaches his limit and breaks out; spilling everything at once in a way that was so unlike him; loud, angry and sometimes sadness. 

"Will you still go through with this?" he asked, Kishou gazing up at him. Both already knowing the answer.This was just how Kishou worked. How he had always worked, function and moved on forward. 

"I cannot reject father's will."

Walking out of Kishou's small domain, did his last words rang through Dabi. Through the hallways did Dabi occasionally passed by members of Kishou's squad. Personnel hand-chosen, observed and even trained under Kishou Kaneki : the prodigy, the crown one-eyed-prince and the highest valued contender to be the next one-eyed-king. 

Kishou looked like the king, his facial expressions matched the king. Everything, almost everything about him reflected the current king and what the people and he wanted.

Father's will.

Kishou, was in a way, everything that Dabi was not to his own father. He had no resentment for Kishou, no, he was grateful for Kishou for forcing the human beyond his limits. Tearing apart before building anew the physical body of Toya Todoroki now called Dabi. 

"I want your loyalty," Kishou simply asked. "In return for fixing you. Training and aiding you since you were found. I ask for your loyalty to me and those I pledge my loyalty to. Fight alongside me, will you Toya Todoroki burn down the old world for me?" 

No, he won't just burn the old world down. He'll unleash Hell upon the old world. The human grinned a little, humming a tune when he did remember the times Kishou was too serious about his loyalty and what he was fighting for. 

Meeting All for One proved to unsettle Kishou more than both of them had expected, but, life can never be planned. There will always be jumps and hurdles of many sizes and height to overcome. 

After Dabi disappeared, the quality of Kishou's focus did not improve at all. Instead, it only decreased. Gradually decreasing until he can no longer concentrate; forced to sleep and rest before repeating. He was in limbo, a state where he was caught between two forces with him in the middle; unknowing what will be the fate that would oh so graciously be bestowed down upon him.

He was mentally exhausted. His body would still continue on forward, despite the pleas and wishes for his mind to stop. Why would his body stop? After all those gruelling years of pushing itself to the limits, why stop when it can move on forward until it reaches oblivion-no more nerves or senses to alert anything. 

The smell of a fresh kill remained inside of his laboratory, accompanied a little with the smell of flesh exposed to heat. This told Kishou that Dabi perhaps had gone out and gotten him something fresh. Something that hand't surpassed a day at all. 

"Fuck it." Kishou muttered, dropping whatever it was he was holding before walking towards the body.

Scanning the corpse in front of him, Kishou wondered what method had Dabi used in order to kill the person. His normal style of attacking was simply turn humans to human crisps-but now. Flipping the body, Kishou noticed a large wound that looked as if Dabi's fist came into contact with the human and used his flames to slowly melt and sink into the man's body. Wincing a bit, Dabi clearly got creative.  

"Barbecue it is." Kishou talked to himself, taking off his spectacles so they wouldn't get stained by the red liquid that would soon stain the floor. Sometimes they would squirt, something that made Kishou annoyed especially when he was wearing white. 

When he was done with his food, Kishou gathered them all up. Organising them neatly inside of a box he had tucked away under one of his tables. Once they were all gathered, did he walk out of the room. 

"Captain Kaneki."

"Squad leader Kaneki." 

"Your excellency, the one-eyed prince." 

He merely nodded once when he was greeted on his way, finally reaching the incinerator room. There, did he dispose of the bones and closed one of the many small metal doors. Once done, did he left the eerie lifeless room. Leaving the flames to lick at the remains of who was once alive. Tired by the suffocating walls, Kishou headed out of the base. Exiting out with ease before entering the deserted streets. 

Releasing his wings, he took off towards the skies. Where he was less likely to be spotted above the clouds while maintaining a good spot to observe down below whatever it was his eyes had their attention on. If he were to met a bird or hero, will he have a short conversation with them before continuing on his way.

He briefly saw a large screen, a news reporter talking about something clearly related with his younger sister the moment he saw paused videos of her during the Sports Festival. She was doing better now, at least. Much better than how he had left her after their first meeting. Her eyes were back to normal, her attacks were less sloppy and she had even slowly start to gain control of her small pseudo-electrokinesis domain. 

Electro.

What a fine element. 

So many possibilities to use with it when it was laced to the other abilities they had access to. It was like a young kid inside of a candy store or perhaps a toy store, excitement going over the peak when it gazed to look at its parent and see their nod of approval; gesturing for them to choose as they please. 

His thoughts soured a bit, remembering how All for One had accessed and abused Shirayuri's ability. 

"Never, never let anyone outside of your family to even have control of your abilities. This ability...like the Old Gods, do they go against the laws of nature." 

The Old Gods, descended down and moulded the world like the parasites they were to fit them. After they had completely reconstructed the Earth, did things go back to normal. A new normal that included them inside of the new cycle of life. Ghouls, they were a part of the new order. The new cycle of life, not the first. They never existed until the descend, reshaping and inhabitance of the four. Ghouls were parasites, Kishou believed that. 

You can never change the past, no matter what other unexpected events happen especially after the emergence of quirks. Will they remain, their roots have reached down long enough to eternally integrate themselves into the Earth. 

Judgement day had happened, a new world with new principles had been born from the fire and blood. 

Will it happen again? 

Kishou looked up at the sky, the sky was bleak with a few stars appearing in the parts where the clouds don't cover them. The moon was high, full and round; a milky colour that sort of soothed Kishou. Continuing to gaze up, even before the question was asked now had Kishou known the answer for years.

It was the middle of August when Shirayuri began packing, bringing all of her needs to her new place until she graduated. Luckily, Max was allowed to be brought along. In the condition of him being her sole responsibility. She was responsible for cleaning his excrements, training, feeding, walking, etc. Shirayuri didn't mind, Max seemed to understand her better than humans. 

"You're smarter than some of my classmates, even physically more capable than some of them." Shirayuri cooed, toying and raising with Max's ego. The pup sat, its snout facing upwards with its eyes closed. Clearly filled with pride. 

"Should I be concerned and pack these into your luggage?" Ayato popped into her room, dangling in his hand a whole pack of contraceptive pills. Beside the pills and condoms. "Wait, have you even experienced a mating-he yelped, feeling Akira step on his foot. He glared, cursing the older woman as she also stepped into the room. 

"She's a dragon ghoul, their chances of conception has not been measured like normal ghouls." Akira stated. "Not that the other kinds are any good in conception, you breed as good as pandas." She said the last part under her breath, looking away. 

Ayato looked down at her, "Are you mocking my ability to produce children?" he demanded. Akira turned her head towards him and gave him a bored look.

"What I said was factual, isn't it?" She said. 

"Just so you know her father got my sister pregnant after one time." Ayato argued, Shirayuri already bothered by the talk that had always been or has traditionally been a discussion between parent and child-blinked, wondering why that information had to be brought to light inside of this specific room. Oh well, a former criminal/uncle and whatever Akira was was good enough for her situation. 

"Well now I'm weirded out." Shirayuri reminded them of her presence. 

"Let's just drop it." Ayato muttered, realising he was wasting his time. He placed the contraceptions back inside of his pocket, now helping move Shirayuri's belongings out of her room. Shirayuri had sent a private message to Mr. Aizawa, asking details for the room size. Gave her enough time to estimate how much she should bring and what to leave behind. Additionally, there were social factors that needed to be taken account. 

Perverts and those who barge into rooms. 

With that in mind, Shirayuri set forth towards U.A early in the morning. Arriving first at the building where her class would be staying inside. Shirayuri hummed, looking down at the panel right beside of the door. Indicating that the room waiting to be entered before her was hers. Looking behind, she noticed the name of Shoto Todoroki. Her and Shoto's rooms were right in front of each other. Neat, she's heard of his growing collection in high quality manga and novel collection. Owning special versions that she herself had trouble getting her hands on. 

The first time she got jealous of his collection was when he casually read one of Ren Takatsuki's books beside her. The special cover that was limited to the nation it was based on. Her body shivered, touching the book for the first time when Shoto had noticed her eyes on him. He didn't mind her shivering, passing it off as normal excitement for her. 

Entering the room, Shirayuri quickly deduced one thing. 

It smelled, words used by her, "Ok fine, I'll try to work with this." 

Turning on the AC, Shirayuri released her rinkakus and began working. Spotify playing on the table as the room began its one-day-renovation process. 

By the end, the bed had a canopy that easily allowed her to close the curtains. Beside her study table was a vanity and dresser, that had been filled with her outfits separated by what article of clothing it was whereas her skincare and makeup had been separated and placed where she usually organises them in the past. Beside her deodorant was her perfume-chosen and gifted to her by Kanae when she was younger. 

According to Kanae, the perfume heightened her mysterious and noble aura, its abstract scent matching well with the abstracts within the one-eyed-ghoul. In her eyes, Shirayuri would be seen as the true essence and definition of feminity without being too overbearing but delightful. The perfume centered around flora was composed with the may rose and jasmine being its base, citrus was added to the formula which were more commonly found in perfumes unlike the aldehydes that create a unique presence in the concoction, finally, the cherry on top was the touch of bourbon vanilla that wraps everything together. 

In honest words, Shirayuri didn't really understand what Kanae went on about. Another maid told her that it just smelled like expensive baby powder. A comparison that made Kanae almost throw a tantrum. 

"To speak like Aoyama and Kanae is truly a gift of its own." Shirayuri muttered, in the process of observing the finishing touches to the tribute of the Big Four. After she had replaced the main source of light in the room with a chandelier that resembled the roots of a tree with multiple small lights hanging off it, around the three in the shape of a circle was the four gods seemingly chasing each other. It looked creepy bouncing off the white lights, that led her to add the curtains. She didn't mind, helped made her nest look much smaller and protected. 

A few centimetres above her dresser was a television, large and wide enough to take the remaining space on one of her walls. The rest were either used by other decorations like books, etc. 

She made use of the space right under her bed, dividing the space into four sections : one for clothes, books, objects related to school and an empty one for future use. Yukimura 1/3 was safely hidden inside of a guitar case Shirayuri chose to lay right near her door. 

In the space between the balcony and her bed, Shirayuri placed a long but narrow mirror. Right under the mirror, was a bedside table with her charger laying on top of it. Humming a bit, her rinkakus organised and added the large square rug right at the centre for extra comfort. 

She huffed a bit, realising that the carpet also obstructed the clear view of her now mismatched floor boards of three different colours : black, white and grey. That's alright, it only took about an hour to complete with 8 rinkakus and a few YouTube videos explaining how to install floor boards. 

"I see you're here early Kaneki." a voice said, Shirayuri looking back to find Shoto holding a box. His dorm room still closed. He glanced at all eight of her rinkakus, before the rest of her room. 

"We'll see..." he muttered, opening the door to his room. 

In the end both of them through hard work had completely transformed their respective dorm rooms. Closing both doors when finished before walking down to explore Heights Alliance before the arrival of the other students. 

To their surprise, underneath the building was a basement with a metal door. When they walked closer towards it, hands slowly pressing themselves against the metal surface. It was cold. It was clear that what was beyond the door was a freezer.

"To prevent clutter, basements were added to help store belongings." Mr. Aizawa's voice echoed, the sound of foot steps being heard. Shoto and Shirayuri jumped a little, too focused on the door to notice the man. "U.A has plenty of students whose quirks rely on food or have strict diets. Freezers are to help accommodate and help us store the needs that we will provide and replenish every week," he continued, casually passing both of them before opening the door easily. 

Shirayuri's food source was hidden inside of large story boxes Aizawa pointed at, both of them noticing how to access them required a code. 

"What blood type, part or whatever it is you look for in humans is given at random. Don't be picky or eat too much before the weekly reset." he stated, not making eye contact with either of his students. "...If you get hungry, come to me and I'll find a solution. Don't go hunting, your reputation as of the moment is extremely fragile." 

To Shirayuri, he didn't sound normal. The erasure hero didn't sound sick, but he also didn't sound like his usual self. 

"Mr. Aizawa, are you all right?" she asked, the older man finally meeting her eyes. 

"You, Todoroki and Yaoyorozou got caught by the most dangerous man in the country while trying to rescue Bakugo. In live television broadcasted around the world did he reveal your identity as a ghoul and used a mysterious power that you also clearly don't know much about. Kishou is still out there, and now I have to make sure you stay safe and train you to make sure you survive in this world." Aizawa stated in one breath, taking deep breaths by the time he was done. The two processing every word he had just said. "God, my head hurts knowing it'll be harder for us to trust anyone outside of U.A." He rubbed the sides of his forehead. Shirayuri looked away, pursing her lips at the thought too. 

"I want you to work beside us, all of you. Don't go acting on your own," he said, looking towards Shoto's direction. He then turned to look towards Yuri, "You don't need to walk alone anymore, or think about that."

"There was an ambassador of a country that contacted me, they pushed for information in order to push the idea of your extermination," Shirayuri slowly nodded her head, Shoto's mouth left agape at the information. 

"They see a harbinger of death, I I can't-never-I'm-"cutting his own words, Aizawa stepped forward, took a deep breath and placed both hands on Shirayuri's shoulders. 

Shirayuri shook her head, looking at him as if she understood all the messages sent to him that wanted her gone. Gone from U.A, gone from the world. Even if the governments claim that ghouls would be accepted, society was still mixed with their abrupt and rather shocking way of returning. Or perhaps, Shirayuri was truly the last of her kind? With all the information being spread around, the more rational people find many hard to believe whereas the delusional would believe anything without hesitation like mothers in the past who used Facebook as their main source of information and news. 

"Your number of offers greatly reduced for a period of time, until they started increasing. Kaneki, you're receiving internships offers and messages asking for you even from other nations." Aizawa told her, Shirayuri shaking her head at the piece of info. 

Power.

"Not interested, adapting and trying to fit in in a place I don't know sounds redundant and troublesome." Shirayuri stated, the other two comprehending that that was what she had done after becoming a student at U.A. "Mr. Aizawa, why do you look bothered? Did something happen to make you look more like a mess outside than normally?" she asked, Shoto glancing at both their teacher too. 

Could he perhaps had an encounter with...?

"A lot of things are catching up with me, other than that. Todoroki, Kaneki. I am completely fine." he assured them, placing a hand on both their shoulders before briefly giving a brief small squeeze.

"Now, both of you should join your friends upstairs. They're also unpacking."

Midoriya looked around, finding Todoroki and Mr. Aizawa exiting out of the building side-by-side. The rest were outside too, after Mr. Aizawa warned if they didn't drop whatever it was they were doing inside of their new rooms and bolt outside he would increase their homework. Yaoyorozu looked a bit crestfallen, surprisingly being one of the last students to leave. 

"I could have punished all of you, especially those who went after Bakugo. I would have expelled them." Mr. Aizawa started, his face serious as the looks on the faces of Class 1A dropped. Gone the excitement of living with their friends. "None of you have your provisional hero licenses, but some of you. Some of you acted as if you already had them," 

Glances were exchanged, eyes paying attention to the two students that were exposed at the scene. 

"Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Eijiro Kirishima, Iida Tenya, Izuku Midoriya and Shirayuri Kaneki. Acted on your own, almost got killed and had your secret exposed to the world by the hands of the same villain that led the exterminations of ghouls in the past." 

Shirayuri walked out of Heights Alliance, ignoring the looks of others to stand right beside Momo and Shoto. The girl beside her instantly gripping the other girl's hand. Kaminari gave Kirishima a disappointed look, the others surprised that Iida, Kirishima and Midoriya were also there. 

"All of you knew," the teacher breathed out, briefly looking up at the sky to not see their faces. "All of you knew. And if All Might hadn't retired, all of you with the exception of Tooru Hagakure, Kyoka Jiro and Katsuki Bakugo would be expelled." 

There was silence, no one know what to say. Mr. Aizawa controlled his breathing, though he could continue to scold them now. Him continuously scolding them would not drive the lessons into their skulls. 

"To those who went and save Bakugo, I want you all to think about what you did, and follow the proper procedures next time." With that, Aizawa slinked his way inside. 

"Ha...so you're the Jackal villain too." Sero faced Shirayuri, standing a few feet away from her. 

"You're a cannibal?" someone hesitantly asked, the ghoul refusing to look at any thing else but the building in front of her. No, she did not want to see their faces at all. What they thought of her now, or anything. 

"Why...did you lie to us?" Mina asked, taking a step forward towards Shirayuri. 

"I think the reasoning behind why she kept her biology a secret is clear enough that it does not need to be said." Shoto stated, speaking in behalf of Shirayuri. Shirayuri glanced at him, wondering why he spoke up for her. 

"You knew, since when?" Kaminari joined in, a look of surprise on his face.

"I know because I was given the opportunities to figure it out. And since I knew, it did not affect me at all. Kaneki did what she had to do in her situation to keep everyone she loves safe and live a peaceful life. A good life like every single one of us deserves." 

"Do...you ever feel disgusted with what you have to eat?" 

That question was the one that Shirayuri answered herself before Shoto. 

"I have no idea on what food other than human meat and blood taste like. To me, humans taste and will forever be divine to devour." Shirayuri answered for the first time today. "I live a life where I am struck with the need to constantly eat, craving for flesh, muscle and blood. Especially if it's still warm. Anything else, it's simple enough to taste once. Your food is inedible for me, I cannot eat anything else unless I want to severely weaken myself, get sick or even die." She looked down at her hand, hands that easily dig and rip out bone and flesh. 

"How can I say I'm disgusted when anything related to my source of food satisfies me in ways I can never truly describe." Shirayuri shook her head, another way to answer the question given to her. 

"You're really a ghoul..." Jiro breathed out, eyes wide. Shirayuri nodded, not enthusiastic about going back and forth about her past, identity and whatever happens when a great secret is revealed during a story. 

"That...is honestly such a cheat. I have a tail that I don't know if it can regenerate and here's Kaneki who can produced many colourful ones, summon them anytime and just create more if they're destroyed." Ojiro commented, referring towards her rinkakus. The white-haired girl looked at him in surprise, Ojiro and Shirayuri weren't that close as compared to the others they usually spend their time with. 

"I agree, you know Kaneki. Since we're all living in the same place now, you need to tell me a few tips to up my pain tolerance. Regeneration is a painful process for me, yet you make it look so easy." Shoji spoke up, the dupli-arm that acted as his mouth speaking for him had a smile on it. 

"Kaneki, would you like to spar together? I wonder what similarities do our other halves possess." Tsuyu slowly walked up towards Shirayuri, more hesitant than the previous two to speak with her. Bothered by something that the more observant students on their class can't put a finger on. Was Tsuyu afraid? 

"Ah Kaneki, are you only limited to two Rc types? There's a possibility that you can mimic other kagunes right if you put your mind to it! I'm not sure about the nature of Rc cells but I heard they're pretty amazing." Mineta said, surprising most at how he said a normal sentence to a girl without any notorious plan or pervertedness inside of it. He looked around, about to yell at them for looking down at him when he realised-wait, I am the class pervert. 

"I can be nice too you know!" he yelled instead, jumping up and down as if he was being controlled like a character in a video game. 

Aizawa glanced at his class, slowly opening up more and accepting Shirayuri for who she truly was. Was it their bond that made them turn a blind eye to the heinous actions she committed in the past? Maybe. 

Uraraka stiffened, Iida whispering to her if she was alright. Uraraka whispered back, saying something that made him stiffen too. 

"Uraraka, Iida, are both of you alright?" Midoriya asked, the class turning towards them. 

"Yeah...just remembering the times we gave and saw Kaneki eat the food we gave her when we thought she was eating too little." Uraraka nervously laughed, Iida immediately bowing towards Shirayuri; yelling out his apologies for forcing her to eat such vileness and making her sick. 

"It's honestly fine, let's go inside now. Mr. Aizawa looks bored over there waiting for us." 

With that, they spent the next hour touring, learning and understanding the rules of living inside of the dorm. No loud music past a certain time, no one was to roam outside without special permission approved by Nezu and as they are class 1-A : Mr. Aizawa. There will be a schedule with a rotation on who is in charge of preparing the meals, everyone is required to cook no matter how bad it tastes. Groceries, cleaning duties and everything else you can think of. 

When that was done, Mina had proposed for everyone to do a dorm room competition. Whoever had the best dorm room, wins. 

Instead of joining them, Shirayuri chose to leave Heights Alliance and find Tamaki who had asked her if she was alright with the abrupt major change U.A had done by transforming into a boarding school. 

"I honestly don't mind. The territory is much larger, I can train easier and all that." she stated, walking right beside him. Tamaki glanced at her, noticing her reply was mostly linked to training and not how she truly feels. 

"Are you sure you don't mind? To me, you look tired from being passed around from one person to another for the sole reason of your protection." he stated, an arrow striking through Shirayuri.They continued walking, enjoying the beautiful environment around them. There were barely anyone else around, most busy unpacking their belongings or with their other friends.  

"I want to settle down someday." Shirayuri confessed, Tamaki nodding his head in agreement. "I want to find a mate, I want to experience being a bride. I want to be a mother and start my own family." The ghouls wonders what type of mother she would be, but what she was sure was that she wanted to be a good mother. A good mother that would be there for her children until her last breath. 

Tamaki breathed out a sigh of relief, "I'm glad I got to hear more domestic wishes of yours, I was worried I may have to...Talk No Jutsu you out of a path of revenge." The indigo-haired boy coughed out the last part of his sentence, face flushing red.

"Did you...just make a Naruto reference?" Shirayuri gently asked him with a smile, never expecting such words to come out of her shy senior.

"Ma-maybe I did." Tamaki bent his body further to the ground as they walked. 

After a few moments of silence did Shirayuri once again break it. 

"...Want to watch Naruto together then sometimes?"

"...I would like that...very much."

Chapter Text

Hello everyone! It's been such a long time since I have published another chapter for this story. In fact, it isn't long yet until I graduate from high school.I recently got accepted into the top university in my country and I can't help just to feel so blessed, now, I actually have time to write again before eventually I am hit with another curveball lol.

I'm thinking of just creating a whole new story but less angsty for Shirayuri, the Tokyo Ghoul characters and my other original characters at this point to be honest. Remembering the story now, it's just perhaps too angsty and dark? 

I hope a few of you who see this comment and tell me what you think