Your fun training camp had come to an abrupt end.

Currently, you were stuck in the middle of a darkened forest, the path ahead of you being cut off by an ever-growing plume of smoke. The sensation of the girl's blade tearing through your skin had already confirmed your worst fears, but then came the message via Mandalay's telepathy.

"Attention all! We are currently under attack by several villains! As of now, the exact number of enemies is unconfirmed! All those who are able to should retreat back to camp immediately! If you encounter an enemy, do not engage!!"

You licked at your bottom lip, inhaling shakily. The back of your throat felt parched and dry.

"Villains," Uraraka quivered, her brown eyes laced with fear. "How did they—? I thought we took all the precautions to make sure they wouldn't find us...!"

You took a step backwards, smearing fresh blood along your arm. The blonde girl was looking over her stained knife with gleaming amber orbs.

"Too shallow!" she whined. "That's way too shallow! I can't suck any like this..."

"Jumping out on us, swinging a knife like that," you glowered. "That's real nasty of you, just hope you know."

"Awe, I'm sorry!" The girl giggled, still admiring the red flecks of blood dripping down her blade. "I'm Toga, and you two are just soo cute! Uraraka, and... [Name]!"

So they know our names. Probably from the Sports Festival, and whatever other recon they've been doing on us. If they know our Quirks, we're clearly at a disadvantage here...

You winced and positioned yourself in front of Uraraka. Amidst the bramble of trees and bushes, there wasn't much room for you to maneuver around the terrain. This Toga chick... she'd been able to conceal her presence up until the very last moment, and you'd barely been able to react in time. Something told you that she likely had the upper hand in close combat.

"I knew I smelled smoke earlier," you muttered, [e/c] orbs flickering to the side, "but I can see a ton of it now. These guys are probably scattered all throughout and were waiting until we ventured into the forest to pick us off..."

You'd been advised not to engage, and by all means, that was probably the wisest decision. Even so... you had to at least defend yourselves. If this girl had been able to use her stealth and creep up on you, there was no telling if you'd even be able to get away. There were more of them out there, too, and you had no idea where in the hell they all were, lying in wait for another victim.

Some of the students may have been fortunate enough to be near a pro hero during this attack, but you couldn't say the same for Uraraka and yourself. Getting to safety was all good and well, but there was no chance in hell you were abandoning your best friend, not when she was trembling so fiercely.

"It's two-on-one," you spoke, hoping your voice didn't betray your fear. "Whatever you may know about us, it's clear you're outmatched. Maybe you should play it safe and retreat, otherwise we'll be forced to go all-out."

Uraraka swallowed. "[Name]-chan—"

"But that's no fun at all!" Toga adjusted her mask, and it slipped down her face just far enough for you to see that her lips were pulled up into a crude smile. "You're so cute, [Name]! There aren't any other cute girls in my group like the two of you, so I thought it'd be nice if we could play together! But so little blood is no fun... usually with a big wound I can suck it all out like 'slurp, slurp', but with this machine all I need is a little cut to drain you dry. It makes my job so much easier! So that's why I'm gonna stab you now, okay?"

The villain hunched over, poising her right arm forward. She pushed off the back of her heel and veered straight towards you.

"She's charging!" you cried out. "Uraraka-chan, get out of the way—!"

You pushed your friend aside, gritting your teeth as Toga's blade neared your chest. She was grinning and laughing manically; at the very last second, you activated your light-speed and managed to evade her attack by the skin of your neck. Toga clicked her tongue and pivoted on her heel, ready to rush you once more.

"Students!" Mandalay was channeling you through telepathy again. "There's been a change in plan! As per Eraserhead's advising, you are now authorized for battle!"

"So we can—!"

"...and one more thing! We've discovered one of the villains' objectives! They are after the student known as 'Kacchan'! Got it?! If you are the one who goes by 'Kacchan', you must absolutely avoid engaging the enemies at all costs...!!"

What?

No.

No, it couldn't be.

No, no, no, no, no—

"Katsuki-kun," you breathed out, just about ready to pass out from fright. Toga's blade was hurtling towards you, but your vision had all but gone white. You'd almost forgotten. Lately, things had been going so well, and you'd been so happy that you'd completely forgotten about it—the leading cause for all your previous misfortune, and the one thing that had prevented you from fully accepting this relationship.

The fading soulmate bond, and Katsuki's lifeline.

"[Name]-chan, snap out of it!"

You felt a hand violently tug you backwards, a split-second before Toga's knife sunk into the tree trunk. Your body collapsed to the ground, barely held up by Uraraka's arms. She hurriedly positioned herself before you in a defensive stance.

"We can't afford to zone out here!" she urged. "Please! I know what you just heard must've scared you to death, but we need to look after ourselves before worrying for the rest...!"

Toga yanked the blade out of the tree, turning back towards the two of you with a sadistic grin. You knew you couldn't allow yourself to fall here—not when your life and Uraraka's was at stake. But this was too much. How could you find it in yourself to think clearly when the universe was screaming at you that this was what your fading mark had been leading up to? Katsuki's inevitable capture by these horrid villains, and then, his...!

No. I won't allow it.

"How dare you."

Your eyes welled with tears, the tightness in your chest becoming unbearably painful. You stood up suddenly, breezing past Uraraka in spite of her frantic protests. Toga still held out her blade as a warning, but was now giggling with glee.

You repeated, "How dare you. How dare you show up here, after all we've had to work for, after how much shit we've had to deal with...! How dare you come here and try to ruin it all?!"

"Oopsie," she laughed. "I've gone and made cute [Name] angry!"

Toga flicked her blade through the air, already rushing in for another strike. Uraraka tried to tap you on the shoulder to make you float out of the way, but you brushed her aside and began running straight for Toga instead. The blonde had a manic expression all the while. She lunged forward with the blade extended outwards.

"...oh?"

Her amber eyes blinked in confusion upon realizing that her attack had missed, and you were, in fact, not right in front of her as she'd believed. It was difficult to use your powers this time of night, with the sun having long set and little to no light available. Really, you were just running off the energy you'd stored in your own body, but it didn't matter.

No amount of discomfort was going to keep you from protecting Katsuki.

"I'm over here, psycho bitch!" You kicked Toga square in the back, making her let out a gasp and stumble forward. Your little distortion of light had worked, somehow, and the girl's grip on the blade loosened, for just a moment.

In a second, you were upon her, straddling her hips and having kicked the knife aside. Particles of light flitted through your [e/c] eyes as you stared her down, expression unwavering. A faint glow imbued your body. Even as Toga tried to thrash and hurt you, the shield-like projection kept you steady in place.

"I don't know how much you know about us," you mumbled, "but surely you must be aware of the fact that my Quirk deals with light. But light is really just a form of radiation; energy. That's why I can store it within my own body, and channel it later on. Of course, it's much easier during the day when I can borrow some from my surroundings, but there should be energy pretty much anywhere. Including... in your body, right?"

Toga furrowed her brows. "Hm? That was a little too complicated for me, [Name] cutie—"

She gasped, feeling your hands grasp her by the neck. Your shield kept you from worrying about most of her attacks and movements, but you were pretty much bleeding energy at this point. You couldn't keep this up, not if you wanted to have a fighting chance of protecting Katsuki from the villains. It was the first time you'd ever attempted something like this, but...

Aizawa-sensei told me to have more faith in my abilities. When else, if not now...?

Your body began to glow with more intensity than before, fingers positioned at the base of Toga's neck. She'd been thrashing in place for a while, but slowly and surely, you could see the color draining from her face, and the way her movements dulled. She was weakening, and you were feeding off of her.

"Ha-ha," Toga chuckled; a broken, weary sound. "This feels so funny...! It's like my head is all fuzzy and I'm seeing stars...ugh. [Name], you little cheat... I thought you were all cute and nice, and that we were going to have fun together!"

You blinked dully. "Sorry, but I have no desire to have fun with you. Better luck next time."

The energy you'd lost was coming back in spades. You wondered if you kept going... would you kill her? Raid her of all her body's sustenance? Yes, she was a villain, but somehow, you didn't exactly want to find out.

The ebb and flow of light slowly died down. You glanced back over your shoulder. "Uraraka-chan, we need to tie her down with something. To bring her back to the pros and question her."

"E-eh?! You want to bring this crazy person with us?? Who knows what she's going to do?! It's too dangerous!"

"Then we at least need to keep her stuck here," you frowned. "That way, she won't be able to help with the attack, and someone can come collect her later. I can't afford to waste any more time with this wack-job, anyways. I need to find Katsuki-kun."

"[Name]-chan..."

Toga was still trying to sway in place, but it was pretty much useless. Whatever energy she'd been harboring in her body had all but been extinguished by you. If she stayed in this state, she was hardly a threat. Uraraka crouched down beside you, staring at the villain with a stiff jaw.

"I know you're worried about Bakugou-kun, but please don't think of doing anything too reckless."

"I'm going to protect him. To make sure that nothing bad happens."

"This is about the soulmate bond, right? I know that, but—"

Rustling in the bushes. You retained your grip on Toga's shoulders, but snapped your head back in a hurry, knowing far too well that it could be another one of them.

"Uraraka?! [Name]?!"

To your great relief, the voice was a familiar one. A cluster of students emerged from the bushes—Shouji, carrying an incredibly broken and battered Izuku on his back, Tsuyu, and Shouto, carrying what looked to be a Class-B student, who was apparently unconscious. You looked back to Uraraka, who had turned completely pale at the sight of her injured friend.

"Deku-kun," she croaked, "what on earth happened to you...?"

Izuku winced. "I'm fine, please don't worry too much about me. [Name], you... you're bleeding, too. Are you okay?"

"We just ran into a bit of trouble, but it's nothing." You gestured to the fallen girl beneath you. Your classmates looked her over with stiff jaws. "She just attacked us out of nowhere, and—"

"Sorry, cute [Name]!"

With your grip having loosened just so, Toga swept your legs down from underneath you, making you stumble backwards. You thought she didn't have any energy left, but it was apparently enough for her to force you back and scurry off into the darkened forest. You gritted your teeth, punching your leg in frustration.

"She must've been acting more weak than she actually was and waiting for an opportunity to escape. Shit..."

"Forget about her," Izuku said. "I'm just glad the two of you are okay... oh. I know, you should come with us! We're guarding Kacchan and heading back to camp."

"Excuse me?"

The group looked back at you in confusion. Uraraka swallowed thickly and bit down on your bottom lip. You narrowed your eyes.

"You say you're guarding Katsuki-kun... so where is he, then?"

"What do you mean?" Izuku stiffened. "He's right behind us... there..."

They all turned to look back, but Katsuki was nowhere to be found. It was just the five of them, the same five you'd seen emerging from the bushes. You felt your chest tighten to the point of being unable to breathe.

"You lost him?!" you cried out. "You had Katsuki-kun with you, but you let him get away?!"

"No!" Izuku exclaimed. "I swear, he was just with us a moment ago! I have no idea what happened...!"

Your blood was boiling. You knew this wasn't the time for you to get angry and turn on your allies, but the fear sweltering deep inside of you made it difficult to stay calm.

The fading soulmate bond, and now this. Shakily, you reached down at your shirt and stole a glance towards the blurred writing. It still had a little ways to go before disappearing altogether, but if this was happening now—

"...looking for him?"

An unfamiliar voice cut across the deafening silence. You paled almost immediately, [e/c] orbs lifting to settle onto the figure of a masked man perched atop an overhanging tree branch. He chuckled lowly; two marble-like objects were being juggled in between his gloved fingers.

"If you're referring to Bakugou, I've taken him, you see—with my magic. He's not a resource that belongs on the heroes' side. We're going to put him on a stage where he can really shine."

No.

No, no, no, no—

"Give him back!" you screamed. "Give him back right now!!"

The villain scratched his head. "Give him back...? What an odd thing to say. It's not as if he belongs to anyone. He's his own man, you know."

"G-give him back," you whimpered, tears blurring your vision. You swallowed hard, a warm haze filling your head. "You better give him back... do it now or I kill you."

Uraraka's expression faltered. All of your allies were staring back at you wide-eyed, watching as the aura around you darkened and contorted to the point of being unrecognizable. This wasn't you. It wasn't like you to be so hateful, and filled with these violent, murderous thoughts. But you weren't lying. If you didn't get Katsuki back in one piece...

You got the sense you could turn into a very different kind of person.

"[Name], move out of the way—!"

Breaking your trance, Todoroki stomped down on his right foot and sent a flurry of ice rippling up the tree trunk towards the villain. It was too late, though—the man nimbly jumped aside, taking to the air.

"Shit!" Shouji cursed. "It's not just Bakugou; Tokoyami's been taken, too!"

Todoroki narrowed his eyes. "There was no need for him to even confront us in the first place. He's just mocking us right now."

"Sorry for my bad habit," the villain mused. "I'm an entertainer at heart. Taking Tokoyami was just a bit of ad-libbing in the spur of the moment. In any case..." He pressed a gloved hand up against his ear. "Attention, Vanguard Squad! The target has been successfully captured! As planned, meet at the evacuation point within the next five minutes!"

You felt yourself go weak behind the knees. Even with having siphoned Toga's energy from earlier, a sudden hollowness seized you.

"N-no way... they can't... already be done here..."

"It's okay, [Name]! We'll get him back!" Todoroki passed the injured Class-B student off to Uraraka, rushing forward to unleash another pillar of ice. "You're not getting away, you hear me?!"

"Ha-ha, we'll see about that!"

The masked villain continued to bound away, springing deftly across tree-tops. From this distance, there was almost nothing you could do. Todoroki was your only ranged fighter, and Izuku was broken and battered to the point of pretty much being out of commission.

You were useless, even in a time like this; even when Katsuki was being stolen right in front of your eyes. How could you be so weak?

"Uraraka-chan." You stopped suddenly, jerking your friend back by her arm. She looked you over, brown eyes wide. "Make us float," you said quietly. "And then... Tsuyu-chan can fling us as hard as she can using her tongue. I can offer a little protection with one of my shields, but other than that there's not much I can do mid-air. Even so... I can't possibly give up here. I need to be there—for Katsuki-kun."

"[Name]-chan..."

Uraraka nodded fervently, but then glanced over to Izuku with a worried expression. You knew what she was thinking, but you also knew that this was Katsuki's former childhood friend, and there was no way he'd be willing to stay behind, no matter how severe his injuries were.

Todoroki frowned. "You shouldn't come, Midoriya. With your injuries, there's—"

"Forget the pain," he grimaced. "I can move... quickly now! I shouldn't... have taken my eyes off Kacchan to begin with! I'm sorry... [Name]-chan..."

You felt a tear roll down your cheek and slink off your chin. You hastily wiped it away with the back of your hand, forcing a smile.

"I don't care about that anymore. No one's to blame, except these wretched villains. I just have to get him back. I need to."

They all nodded their heads in agreement, and then you were being huddled together with Todoroki, Shouji, and Izuku. Tsuyu unfurled her tongue and wrapped it tightly around your torsos. Uraraka had just finished making all four of you weightless.

"We're ready," she breathed out. Her gaze flickered towards you, a small smile following suit. "Go save him... [Name]-chan."

"I plan to."

Tsuyu took a step backwards, getting ready to fling you up and into the air. You heard the small "ribbit" slipping out of her lips, moments before you were soaring through the skies un-aided. The masked villain had been nearly out of sight earlier, but you were gaining on him now—and fast.

He glanced back over his shoulder. "What the—?!"

You were veering back to the ground now, and your bodies were headed straight on a collision course with the villain's own. You inhaled deeply, particles of light flitting before your eyes. A small, glowing sphere encased the bodies of you and your allies. You all braced yourself for impact.

"...ouch!"