“Higari will be finished with the cameras and have them installed at the locations we talked about by tomorrow morning. It will notify me when a mental Quirk is active and I will notify the teachers.” Nedzu informed them.

Aizawa blinked when his phone started to buzz in his pocket, his eyes burning from staring at a screen for far too long. He groaned when he saw the time as he fumbled for his phone. “Shit…it’s almost nine. Zashi we should get home.”

He sighed softly when he saw Izuku’s contact, sliding it to answer, “Hey, kiddo. We got caught up with something at school. We’re about to come-“

“Dad she’s gone!”

He stiffened at the panic in his voice, barely catching any other words as his voice descended into a mumbling, incoherent mess. “Kiddo….hey, I need you to… Izuku!” The torrent ended with a hitched breath on the other end of the line. “Take a deep breath, in….hold it….and out. You need to breathe.” He listened to the forced, even breathing as he tried to keep his own composure. He could already see Yamada trying not to freak out. “Alright, can you tell me what happened? Slowly?”

“Yui…Yui isn’t in her room and I can’t track her! The plan…it didn’t work and I think we made it worse cuz when I checked her room she’s not here and her phone, and wallet and her steel toe boots aren’t in the closet. I…Dad I fucked up-“

“Hey. It’s not your fault. We should have been home to help keep you guys calm. We’ll find her. We’ll be home soon. Stay there. We’ll discuss what to do next together. Okay?”

“Okay…okay, dad. I’ll wait for you. Please hurry.”

“We will. Hang on, kiddo.” He muted the call before looking at his husband. “We have to go home. Yui ran off. Izuku sounds close to running after her. Nedzu-“

“I’ll try to track her. You two go. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Izuku. You have to stay home-“

“No! She’s my sister, this is my fault and I’m going to find her! I’m not going to just stay here in case she shows up!” Izuku growled out.

Aizawa had to fight to urge to snap at them both. They’d been arguing the point for five straight minutes. Izuku was getting more frustrated with each passing minute. “Enough, both of you. Zashi… you stay here in case she comes back. Izuku and I will search.”

“Sho, he’s a kid-“

“Izuku, go grab your grapple brace and whatever else you need.” Izuku dashed up the stairs before Aizawa had finished the sentence. He met a worried chartreuse gaze. “Zashi. He won’t stay. At least I can keep an eye on him this way. And he might have an idea of where she’d go. We’ll find her.”

“Dad, I’m ready!” Izuku skidded to a stop, the grapple brace on his arm, along with his goggles and his taser staff strapped to his thigh.

“Izuku…you can’t be a vigilante-“

“It's only if we really need them. We don’t know where she is…I just want to be prepared.” Wide emerald eyes looked up at them, guilt and worry making them dark as his hands clenched.

Aizawa squeezed his shoulder gently before he looked at Yamada. “We’re going. Call us if she comes back.”

“I will. Good luck you two.”

Kami I can’t believe I said that to them! I made Hado cry! Fuck! Yui growled as her booted foot shot out to dent the dumpster she’d been leaning against. I couldn't just keep my fucking mouth shut, could I? I’m so stupid!

She moved on before the noise could attract any attention, hands shoved into her hoodie pocket as she navigated the alleys of Musutafu’s seedier area. Her feet had brought her here, it wasn’t safe but it was familiar, she knew the alleys and hidden little pockets like the back of her hand. She just needed some time to clear her head, she could collect herself and go to school tomorrow like normal.

Like they aren’t freaking out right now. You left without saying anything. Aizawa and Izuku and maybe even your friends are out looking for you. You just keep causing trouble- She growled as she shook her head, but her eyes still looked to the sky like she’d see them coming down from the rooftops. A body knocked into her, making her head snap down as she took a step back. “Hey, I’m sorry-“ Her words died in her throat when she got a look at the person she walked into.

The first thing she noticed were the gray hands that he had hanging onto his arms, shoulders and even one covering his face. Artist gloves, the ones that only covered three fingers, were on his own hands. Blue-ish gray, shaggy hair and pale skin from what she could see. She couldn’t really see his eyes in the dim of the night, the streetlight too far away to really help. She guessed that he was a few years older than she was but she wasn’t sure. He was pretty scrawny though, at least from what she felt when she ran into him.

“Watch where you’re going! Gah, brats today have no manners. So…irritating.” He hissed, one hand lifting to his neck and scratching at the dry skin. Maybe something with his Quirk? Or did he just need a better skincare routine?

“Sorry. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Hah? You think you can hurt me, brat?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, glad she’d pulled her hood up to keep her face and hair somewhat hidden. She didn’t really want this creeper to see what she looked like and possibly recognize her. “Dude, you feel pretty bony. And I’m not exactly known for being gentle.” Bitterness laced her tone before she could catch it, crinkling her nose as she shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket as her shoulders slouched. Trying to appear nonchalant as her fingers wrapped around the handle of her multi-tool. She’d taken it on a whim, not really expecting to need it but as the saying goes, it’s better to be prepared.

He scratched harder at his neck at her comment, “Are you calling me weak?” She didn’t like the tone he took on, something tells me he’s not the sanest person around. Her eyes flicked to his hands, how his fingers twitched and his breathing picked up.

“Not at all. Just, I know I’m really solid and I’ve already hurt people. So like, just want to make sure I didn’t fracture your rib or something.” Yui tried to reason with him, just get him calm enough so that she could move on and try to figure out what the fuck she was going to do.

He watched her for a moment, long enough that Yui was tempted to just walk away when he spoke, “You’re strange, you know that?”

You’re one to talk. She bit back the quip, forcing an awkward chuckle out instead, “Yeah, I’ve been called that. If you’re okay, I’ll get out of-“ Her words cut off, one hand going to her hearing aid and adjusting it the sensitivity. That couldn’t be…

“Nee-chan! Where are you?!” Izuku’s voice called out, the realization how close he was making her stiffen as she looked around. The only thing in the alley was a door leading into a building, nothing for her to hide and if she ran, it would made her more suspicious. She wasn’t ready to face him yet, she didn’t have a grip on her emotions-

Yui did the first thing she could think of, stepping into the shallow alcove the door provided as she fisted a hand in the older teen’s jacket and yanking him in front of her, his hands snapping out to catch himself on the brick of the building. If Izu had his goggles, he’d be looking for her heat signature, this was the only thing her panicked mind thought to throw him off. He wouldn’t expect her to be with someone.

“What the fuck-“

“Shut up, handy man. Just be still and keep your voice down.” She hissed, trying to pinpoint Izuku’s voice, her nerves only getting more jumbled when she caught Aizawa’s deeper voice.

“Oh god, your pimp isn’t out looking for you, is he? Gah, stop touching me.” He whined.

Her grip tightened in his jacket, “Oh my Kami, I’m not a fucking whore.” Her lip curled in disgust at even the implication.

He lifted his right hand off the wall to scratch at his neck, “Irritating… I don’t care how you make your living. Just get your hand off me.”

“Fine! Just don’t move and keep quiet!” She whispered fiercely as she dropped her hand, trying to pinpoint where Izu and Aizawa were based on how far away they sounded.

Yui flinched as she heard the footfalls tapping a rapid beat, replaced by the ruffle of cloth in the harsh wind as they leapt the gap, their calls fading with distance. "Nee-chan!"

She let out a breath, feeling the twisting, crawling mass in her chest recede just a bit before looking up and finding her alcove accomplice looking at her with a raised eye.

"You warrant Eraserhead?" The scratching at his neck seemed to pause with the tone of skepticism. Fuck, it’s weird for a teenager to be running from a hero.

"I'm surprised you even know who he is," She hedged instead, not quite answering his question as she leaned back, pressing her back against the brick. "They're leaving the area... you can step ba-“ Her breath caught in her throat when she focused in on the hand that’d been reaching toward her face drop away.

When did he reach toward me? Why didn’t I notice?! Yui slowly slid down against the brick into a crouch, curled up with her face in her hands. Am I losing my edge? If I'm losing my fighting skills what do I even bring to the table?!

Yui startled at the sound of shoes shuffling. He'd backed up a few steps and was just.... staring at her silently. "W...what? This isn't a fucking show!" Her voice cracked as her entire body tensed, breath coming too fast and fuck, why was he staring at her like that?!

He just looked at her with a strange look in his eye, like Midnight had when she was watching Yui get all protective and then would talk about Aizawa doing the same for her or Mic. Like she was some sort of puzzle and he was sorting her into a specific box in his head.

She couldn't help but freeze though at the casual words spoken with an almost lazy disregard, "You're weak."

Dumbfounded she couldn't do much but stare up at him, then she thought her Quirk went out of control, but it was just the flush of heat spreading across her skin so hard that she thought her vellus hairs would combust.

Grinding her teeth, she squeezed her arms hard enough for the rest of her body to chime in with the rest of her injuries. A welcome distraction from the white-hot fury threatening to turn her into a roman candle. Her breath hissed out of her as she glared at the teen.

"FUCK off." Yui spat out, her arm shooting out to connect with the wall. Another jolt of pain that helped ground her, though it didn’t stop her from spitting her words at him, “Like you know a fucking thing about me! Like you know what it’s like to have some asshat blackmail you just because he doesn’t like where you came from. To keep trying to pretend everything’s fine and failing and still worry the people you care about. To have everyone’s eyes on you so much you can feel it like ants are crawling under your skin. Having people look at you like you’re some kind of rabid animal that they’re just waiting to snap so they can put it down! To push everyone away because they shouldn’t be near you because all you do is ruin everything!” Her voice cracked as it rose too high, cutting off her words even as more tried to claw free. So much that she hadn’t been able to say to anyone and here she was, spewing her guts to some creeper in an alley.

“Pathetic.” Yui bristled at the indifference in his tone, fingers twitching with another urge to hit something or someone. “You’re just standing around, doing nothing while you let this npc walk all over you. And caring if people view you as a ‘rabid animal’- If that’s how they’re going to see you, why not be one?”

“Because it’s wrong-“

“You don't even believe that.” He put his pinkie out digging in his ear before flicking off some ear wax flecks. “You've got that same tone everyone gets when they think of the chaos they'll trade those hypocrites for.”

“Hey! Some of them actually stick to the creed they spout.” Yui hedged, she couldn’t help but think of Aizawa and Yamada. They believed in helping people, saving people before the fame or glory. There were good heroes-

“And the others?” He was uncomfortably close now, she could see the lines of dry cracked skin like a web across his face.

“The others will pay the price.” Yui said with a steely voice before the snake pit in her stomach squirmed with anxiety. Without Nedzu can I even still take down Endeavor? If I leave, will he continue on with the plan or will he abandon it?

He seemed to consider her before scratching his neck again “Haaaaaah irritating. C'mon.”

She blinked, his voice pulling her attention away from the spiral of doubt it had started to descend into. "C'mon?"

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah” He let out an even bigger sigh looking at her like he was deciding whether squashing a bug would be less annoying than letting her be.

Her shoulders hunched up at the look, "What?"

“Irritating....'” He reached up, violently scratching through his hair. “Sleep at the bar. I hear alcohol is good for those without courage.” He started walking away without looking to see if she was coming or not.

She sputtered at the invitation, though she found herself trailing behind him. "You know alcohol is a depressant, right?"

He stubbornly kept walking putting his head down as he scratched, “Irritating. Irritating…”

"If I'm so irritating, why are you offering me a place to stay?"

"Can't see if you're weak or not. You say weak things, but you don't fully believe them. Tomorrow is school right? I'll know whether you stayed weak or not. Whether you'll be another npc to wipe away or a piece to use." His skin cracked under his nail bleeding slightly, the deep red standing out against his pale skin. Like a vivid dot on his fingertip, a smear on his neck.

Her eyes narrowed at him, "I'm not a piece to be used, handy man. Been there, done that. Ten out of ten, do not recommend." She snapped out.

“The weak are used, and the strong play the game. If you didn't like it stop being weeeeeeak.” He rubbed at the blood on his neck ending the statement with a hiss before smacking the wall and walking a little faster. Taking a turn and disappearing into a bar with a slam.

Yui huffed out a frustrated growl before she followed after him. "Why the fuck am I following you?" She grumbled as she looked around the dingy bar. "Are you the bartender?"

"He's out. Got a useful quirk for making discrete deliveries." He just sat in the stool with his head down.

"So...." Yui kicked her feet before sitting on a couch, starting to feel how drained she was. How many nights had she stayed up now? Scouring footage to try and get any scrap of evidence against that weasel and still trying to collect all that information on Endeavor.

"I don't care. Till you deal with your problem I'm not convinced you're worth my time."

Yui bristled before curling up on the couch. Her back was facing the wall, the angle giving her an eye on the front door and the door they’d entered from. Her fingers curled around the multitool in her hoodie pocket but she still kept her right hand free. If she had to, she could use her Quirk on him or whoever else came in. She made sure her hood was still secure before her eyelids started to droop.

What am I doing here? In some bar on the wrong side of town, with some creeper I don’t recognize. Though maybe that’s a good thing. If he was a major villain, I’d probably recognize him…. Fuck, I’m probably going to end up back here again. Just another stray in the gutter. Yui squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will the burning to go away as she fought to keep her breathing even. I’m going to lose them at this rate…