I do not own BNHA or its characters.

Thank you for your patience! This year, I got a new job across the country and moved. Which took some time. But Aoi and I are back and ready to go.

With that said, enjoy Chapter 3 of "Contained"

Co-written with Aoimikans

Breaking Through

Excited tension hovered high and thick in the temporary command center above Yavin Central Clinic. The dusty window blinds were drawn, blocking out the pale light of the moon and street lights below. Only the dim, green glow of an antique desk lamp lit the figures huddled around the commandeered office space.

A breath. A whispered conversation. A too loud rustle of paper. Nervous, eager energy rippled from every hero and officer in the room.

It buzzed in Toshinori's bones.

Not long now, he thought.

Surrounding the central table, officers outfitted in tactical gear reviewed the layout of the clinic. Officer Tamakawa hunched over his laptop, tapping at the keyboard and speaking quietly into his headset. Standing in the back corner, Aizawa curiously turned Power Loader's small device over in his hands, nodding when he pointed to one side of the device.

Toshinori's attention drifted to the whiteboard and the pictures taped to its surface. His claws dug into the reinforced pads of his gloves.

Mirai Shimeno. Souma Ogawa. Tayori Yamadori. Kousuke Shiga. Nozomi Shishiki. Taeka Yoyogi. Mamoru Tani. Kouichi Sunaba. Chris Kougami. Shin'ya Misawa.

Ten civilians abducted by the man known as the Good Doctor - Dr. Tsubasa. All for One's doctor. Creator of the Noumu.

"Your condition has piqued my interest. If possible, I would like to try creating a few others like you."

How far along were they for Bellamy to feel the fog as potently as he did? How many quirks were forced on them? How many changes endured? How much pain and trauma? Two teens were on the abduction list…

Determination settled deep in Toshinori's core. Calm. Still. Certain.

Regardless of the changes, physical and mental, he was here to save them. That was the first, most crucial step. Recovery would come after. It did for him. It would for them.

That left only one possible unknown. Whether or not he was there.

Toshinori looked down at his own copy of the building schematics, gaze lingering on the basement layout.

Back at the precinct, Bellamy traced the basement walls, "I'm positive they're using a quirk suppressant in the infrastructure. Lead lining, black market tech, or possibly a person with a specialized suppressant-type quirk, but a lining is far more likely."

Naomasa hummed, "Like the Iron Maidens we tested with you."

"Exactly. This elevator though," Bellamy tapped on the square beside the chapel, "There's some kind of crack in the lining when the elevator doors open. That's why I couldn't sense anything from the basement until I was already inside the chapel."

Toshinori straightened and scoured the building schematics, a tentative smile on his face, "Lead linings work both ways."

Naomasa looked up, "What are you thinking, Yagi?"

Toshinori ran his fingers through his hair. Finally nodding, he tapped a claw on the schematics, "It works both ways. Which means, this building is essentially a prison for anyone inside. Sensory quirks can work within them, but can't extend outward. Just like Bellamy couldn't feel anything from the space until a door was opened, anyone relying on sensory quirks inside would have a limited view of their surroundings. It's very likely -" Fog swirled behind his eyes, and Toshinori nudged it down, "… No, I'm certain that he won't be there."

"Oh," Bellamy winced and carefully leaned against the conference room table, "I see. All for One."

Naomasa rested a steadying hand on Bellamy's back, lips pursed in a grim line, "If there is even the smallest chance All for One is there… That complicates things. We can't afford another Kamino. Not now."

"No, we can't," Toshinori agreed quietly.

He had no illusions about his own abilities. Without One for All, Toshinori was less than a flea to All for One. An annoyance lucky to have escaped him. And Young Midoriya… He wasn't ready to face him. Not remotely.

"But I don't think All for One would willingly trap himself here for Tsubasa's experiment. Not for long." Toshinori pointed to his temple, "All for One relies completely on his sensory quirks. The guards at Tartarus said as much. There's no way he would remain in a building where he is essentially blind to the outside. Not when he has Shigaraki and likely other priorities to keep track of. Not on the whim of a subordinate, no matter how vital that subordinate."

"It's a gamble… But I have to agree," Naomasa shook his head, cheeks puffing out with a heavy sigh, "It's not in All for One's nature to put himself in this kind of corner. Not for something like this."

"That just leaves the Good Doctor," Wright chimed in from his seat at the conference table. He twirled a pen between his fingers, brows wrinkled in thought, "I imagine All for One keeps close tabs on an asset like him, especially if he is as diminished as you say."

Toshinori hummed in agreement, "I have no doubt. We already know he aided in the abductions given the amount of transmission residue found at the scenes - assuming he hasn't passed the quirk along. If Tsubasa was the one to treat him after our first battle, All for One has reason to keep him on a short leash. He's too valuable to lose. So, if All for One isn't inside the same building as the Doctor, it's safe to assume he's using Ragdoll's quirk to keep an eye on him. Search keeps track of locations and weak points. If the Doctor is injured during capture, All for One will know something is wrong."

"That's where our Iron Maidens come in," Naomasa, pointed to the rear of the building, "There's a service elevator that leads to the garage and the back exit. Once the building is secure, we can lower the Iron Maidens into All for One's blind spot and load the Doctor inside. He won't know he's been relocated until it's too late."

"In that case, we should evacuate the civilians using the front entrance before we move in on the Doctor," Toshinori said, "They should be nowhere near the building when we go in."

Naomasa nodded, "Once the evacuation is complete, we'll seal in the perimeter and set up two capture points in the front and back. Yagi - You, Power Loader, and Eraserhead will then break through this wall in the next building. Anyone guarding either the Doctor or the abductees won't expect you coming through the wall."

Naomasa snapped his fingers.

"Any word on the warrant?" he called, bent over the central table.

Officer Tamakawa covered his headset mic, "Still waiting on the judge's signature! She's reviewing Bellamy's and your statements as well as Wright's supply findings."

"Keep me updated. We'll need that warrant to move if the clinic owner can't be reached for a voluntary search." Naomasa returned his attention to the building layout, "Yagi, what do you see?"

Toshinori peeked through the window blinds.

The sun set hours before, and darkness settled across South Hosu. Directly below and bathed in the gray tones of Toshinori's night vision, the night nurse waved as the last patients filed out of the front. A flicker of light reflected off her keys as she locked up.

Good.

"They're closing the clinic for the night," Toshinori said, carefully righting the blinds, "Kansaki is still in the building."

Naomasa nodded and brushed his hands over the large print building schematics, "Our first priority is evacuating civilians and clinic staff. The warming center overnight cots are on the first floor behind the chapel. Any lingering staff may be in the office spaces here or in the basement with the rehab patients. Officer Tamakawa and I will evacuate them using the front lobby doors and escort them to the bus. Once they are safely out, Raid Team A with me will cover the front. Wright with Team B will cover the rear garage exit. Yagi, Eraserhead, and Power Loader will break through and enter through the adjacent basement wall. Locate the abductees, report your findings, and subdue or flush out anyone working under the Doctor." He rapped his knuckles on the board behind him, "Memorize these names and faces. Their lives depend on it."

Toshinori's earpiece crackled to life.

"Bus is in position. Medics on standby."

"Thank you," Naomasa replied, "Wright?"

"Team B is on standby," came Wright's reply.

"Warrant's signed!" Tamakawa called, turning his laptop to show Naomasa, "They're faxing it now!"

Naomasa straightened and adjusted his tactical vest, "Yagi, Eraserhead, and Power Loader. You three head downstairs. Extraction team will move in when you give them the all clear. Raid Team B, get into position. Team A, standby for my word."

Naomasa caught Toshinori's eye and smiled, "Let's bring them all home."

Humid winter wind rushed through the narrow street as Naomasa and Sansa approached Yavin Central Clinic's worn front door. Through the window, the lobby glowed a dim, dusty yellow. The back office was closed, but a bright fluorescent light shined under the crack in the frame. A shadow shuffled across the threshold, a lone soul in the dark.

Naomasa knocked on the locked lobby door.

Inside, the shadow stilled, and Naomasa knocked again sharply.

Megumi Kansaki opened the office door and paused, arms crossing in recognition. Her lips pressed in a suspicious line, she crossed the lobby and unlocked the door.

"Detective Tsukauchi…" she greeted uncertainly, pulling open the door, "You could have called if you thought of something else to ask."

Her gaze flicked from Sansa to the bulletproof vests they both wore, then to paper in Naomasa's hand. "What's going on?"

Naomasa held out the warrant, "We have a warrant to search the premises. I need your help evacuating the civilians in the building for their own safety."

Kansaki balked, "What? Why? Is this about Dr. Tsu-?"

"Ma'am. It's important we evacuate them as quickly and quietly as possible," Naomasa urged firmly, "Will you help us?"

Kansaki stared at Naomasa, then took the warrant. She barely skimmed through the first page before shaking her head with a harried sigh and shoved it back at Naomasa, "Yes. Yes, come in."

"Thank you," Naomasa said and followed her briskly down the main hall. He squinted in the red-tinted dark. The emergency exit sign at the end of the hall, the only source of light, reflected on the warped tile floor, zipping ahead of their hurried steps. "How many people are staying overnight?"

"I'm the only one on staff tonight. We have about thirty in the warming center and fourteen downstairs," Kansaki's voice shook, breathless, "Does this really have to do with Dr. Tsubasa?"

"Evacuation first, please. The warrant has more information, but it's imperative we think of your patients' safety first," Naomasa pressed.

They passed the chapel doors and came to a stop in front of the warming center.

Naomasa rested a hand on Kansaki's shoulder, "Ma'am. To avoid unnecessary panic and for the sake of an ongoing investigation, please inform your residents that there is a gas leak in the next building and that we're only taking routine precautions."

Kansaki nodded hesitantly, "... Alright."

With a grateful pat from Naomasa, Kansaki opened the thin wooden door and knelt beside the first cot.

"I'm sorry. You need to wake up, young lady," she shook the woman's arm.

"Hm-what? What's going on?" The woman croaked, sitting up on the cot.

More groggy sighs and stirring spread through the room.

Naomasa raised his hands in the dim light, "I'm Detective Tsukauchi. No one here is in any trouble. We need to evacuate this building for your own safety. Please gather your things and follow Officer Tamakawa - quickly and quietly - out through the lobby. We have transport to take you to a nearby warming center."

Kansaki quietly gathered up the young woman's things and passed it to her, "Don't worry about putting the cots away tonight. Just follow the police officers, please. There's… There's a bit of a gas leak next door. We just need to relocate until it's all cleared up. Come along."

"Thank you," Naomasa murmured to Kansaki before holding the door open for the first civilians.

"This way," Sansa called softly, leading the way to the lobby, "We're going outside, across the street, and making a left. This way, thank you."

Naomasa counted each passing through the door while Kansaki helped the oldest few shrug on their coats. She ushered them out the door with a last look around the room.

"That's everyone," she said.

Sansa threw him a thumbs up from the lobby as the last civilian stepped safely outside.

"Are there stairs to the basement?" Naomasa asked.

"Stairs are just here," Kansaki pointed across the hall, "I'll get the lights."

"Keep them off," Naomasa cautioned, glancing at the dark half-sphere camera mounted on the ceiling of the stairwell, "Do you know if anyone else has access to the security feeds?"

Kansaki scoffed uncomfortably, "That's just for show. We couldn't afford real security cameras. Prop cameras work well enough to discourage most troublemakers." Her keys jangled in her hand, and she unlocked the heavy basement door. With a quiet grunt, she pushed it open, "Just in here."

Naomasa nodded, pausing briefly in the doorway. It was an older model, but definitely a high security, quirk-suppressant door.

The stairwell opened up into the basement rehab - a single, wide room with plain, tan walls. A rolling divider split the space in half and curtains hung from the ceiling around each small cot. It was quiet. Only the barest whispers of a few patients and the creak of a cot as someone shifted in their sleep broke the silence.

"Do not scare them," Kansaki warned softly and moved to the women's side, "It's time to wake up, ladies. I'm sorry -"

The woman nearest Kansaki slurred a sleepy question.

"No, it's alright. There's just a gas leak next door," Kansaki pet her shoulder soothingly, "We're heading down the street until things are cleared. Let's go."

Naomasa remained at the open stairwell door, examining the room. A pair of double doors drew his attention to the far side of the rehab. Paper signs were taped to each door's front. Private - No Entry they read in bold black letters. The two, thin windows inlaid in the doors were painted over in black from the other side.

There were no other doors or windows to the rest of the basement.

That'll be their front exit then.

"Why the Hell are the cops here?"

"Yuuga," Kansaki steadied the trembling young man, "He's here because there was a gas leak. You aren't in trouble. Everyone just has to go down the street for a bit. Isn't that right?"

Naomasa raised his hands placatingly, "This is a precautionary evacuation for your own safety. Nothing more. Exit this way, please."

He moved into the stairwell, relieved to hear Kansaki ushering the fourteen patients after him.

His earpiece crackled to life.

"The warming center guests are all loaded up," Sansa called over the set.

"I'm coming up with the remaining civilians now," Naomasa replied, holding the door open as they each shuffled into the hall, "Exit through the front door. My partner is outside and will guide you to the safe point."

Kansaki closed the stairwell door behind the last patient and ushered them to the lobby.

"Zip up your coats. It's cold out," she said, opening the door. A rush of cold air swept into room, rustling the old magazines and help pamphlets.

"They're on their way out," Naomasa murmured over his headset.

"I see them," Sansa replied, waving and beckoning to the group from across the street.

As the last of the patients filed out, Kansaki glanced back at Naomasa.

"I…" She sighed, "Good luck with that gas leak, detective."

"Thank you for your help, Ma'am," Naomasa inclined his head in a small bow.

Kansaki waved off the gesture with an overwhelmed sigh and let the door swing shut behind her.

Yavin Central Clinic fell silent.

Naomasa took a few slow breaths and watched Sansa lead the last of the civilians around the street corner.

"Building's clear," Naomasa announced, "Raid Teams A and B get into position. Heroes, you're up."

The office basement was a mess of forgotten, obsolete computers and boxes upon boxes of water-damaged documents. The humid stink of mold and mildew hung heavy in the cold air, cut only by the sharp smell of rusting metal pipes and plaster. Toshinori's nose wrinkled at the stench as he hauled another pile of soggy cardboard boxes to the side, exposing the water-stained drywall.

Aizawa knelt, pulling a serrated knife from his belt, and made quick work of cutting away a sizable chunk.

"Here?" he asked, brushing dust from the cinder block foundation.

Power Loader knelt beside him and scratched at the grout, iron claws scraping -

Scritch scritch -

Toshinori dropped the pile of cardboard boxes with the others. A sickening flush of goosebumps washed over his skin, and he grimaced at the sudden phantom ache in his claws.

"Yagi." Aizawa's even-toned warning sliced through the rising fog.

Toshinori scrubbed his gloved hands on his pants, claws tingling to the quick.

Now's not the time, All Might. With a firm shake of his head, Toshinori shoved the memories of sitting and scratching and scratching at that damn tile wall back into the fog. Not when people are depending on you.

He turned and crossed to the fresh hole in the wall, crouching beside Power Loader.

"This is the spot?" he asked with a grin, acutely aware of Aizawa's probing look and pointedly avoiding it.

"This is it," Power Loader pressed a softly beeping sensor to the cinder blocks, "The space on the other side of this wall is small. Probably an old supply closet. Chances of anyone being in there waiting for you is slim to none."

The Excavation Hero stuck an industrial looking device to the center of the exposed cinder blocks and etched a wide circle around it. Large enough to crawl through.

"Now, this won't be silent," he warned, unclipping a small metal remote from his belt, "But fortunately, this part of Hosu is prone to power surges and outages."

Their earpieces crackled and Naomasa called out, "Heroes, you're up."

Power Loader grinned wide beneath his mask and hit the switch. There was a distant bang!, and Toshinori's vision dropped to shades of gray.

Seconds later, something at the back of the office basement clicked loudly and began to whir.

The lights flickered dimly as Power Loader quickly activated the device on the wall. It whirred loud and in sync with the backup power generators.

"Digging and busting through walls isn't always stealthy," Power Loader snickered, pressing the device on the wall deeper in as the cinder block crumbled to dust onto the floor, "But that doesn't mean you can't disguise it."

Toshinori's brows rose and tail swayed, "Clever, Power Loader!"

"How long until it breaks through?" Aizawa asked, tilting back his head and blinking away eye drops before securing his goggles.

"Not long now," Power Loader scooped out the piling dust and brushed it away. The device hit dirt, then screeched - sparks flying and fizzling out. Small, uniform fragments of dull grey metal fell into the growing pile of debris before the machine clicked and dumped more cinder block dust. "That lining wasn't very thick."

Soon after, the whir petered out to a whine and ground to a stop.

Power Loader reached through the meter-wide hole and plucked the device from inside, "I'll leave the drywall to you, Eraser. Good luck, you two."

"Thanks." Aizawa crouched and crawled into the hole while Toshinori dropped to all fours. Pausing at the end of the short tunnel, Aizawa pressed his ear to the last layer of drywall, then slipped his knife through. He cut chunks from the wall, quietly passing the debris back through before slipping into the dark space beyond.

"Clear," he murmured, his voice echoing back through Toshinori's headset.

With a flash of a grin and a thumbs up to Power Loader, Toshinori slipped through the tunnel.

"Minks are in the rat den," Power Loader murmured over the headset.

"All teams in position a-d on sta-d-y."

The signal cut in and out as Toshinori slunk farther in, and the hum of the backup generator quieted. He blinked, eyes adjusting to the dark, the walls fading to gray.

Aizawa was already on his feet when Toshinori squeezed into the closet space, finger held to his lips.

"Ouch! Goddamn - I told you these things were going to bust," came a muffled grumble from the other side of the door, "We should've got a gas one. This battery is done."

"Quit complaining and charge it then," huffed a second, gruffer voice.

"I would if the runt would hold the damn flashlight steady," the first snapped.

Aizawa slowly twisted the doorknob, opening it a crack and nodding to it.

Toshinori pressed close to the wall and peeked into the next room.

Three villains were bent over an emergency generator: a bulky, middle aged man, a fox faced woman with sparks running down her fingertips and into the generator's battery, and a put-out young man holding the flashlight. There was no one else in the room.

Toshinori held up three fingers.

Aizawa nodded and loosened his capture weapon, fabric slipping silently over his shoulders. His grip on the doorknob tightened.

Toshinori leaned back against his haunches, clawed feet bracing.

Flinging the door open, Aizawa's hair floated upward and eyes flashed red. Toshinori exploded out of the closet and collided into the largest of the three, twisted, and slammed him to the ground - knocking him out cold.

"What the -! Mmph!"

Aizawa's capture weapon wrapped tight around the remaining two villains' mouths. He yanked roughly at the leads, smacking their heads together with a dull thunk, and they crumpled to the floor.

"Restrain yours," Aizawa said, tossing a pair of cuffs to Toshinori.

"Out through the hole?" Toshinori suggested, cuffing and lifting the bulky man by the shirt collar.

Aizawa nodded once, hauling the two smaller villains into the closet.

"Power Loader. Three villains subdued. Keep an eye on them," he called quietly and passed each villain through.

Toshinori watched the door, "Whoever else is down here will wonder why the generators aren't running. We may have minutes before they figure something's off."

Aizawa stood, "Then we make good on the time we have." He reached into his utility belt and tossed a spiked metal ball into the generator. With a bright spark and a snap!, a fist-sized hole appeared in the melted casing, "Now we keep the upper hand."

Toshinori grinned, pupils flashing a faint blue in the dark.

A hall ran beside the generator room, empty except for a couple rolling carts shoved out of the way. Toshinori slunk through the doorway, low to the ground, ears pricked and twitching. Distant conversation and laughter hovered in the air, but came no closer.

"Two rooms looked large enough to hold ten people," he said under his breath, glancing back as Aizawa joined him in the hall, "Maybe a few submersion tanks like the ones found in the Kamino warehouse. If the Doctor is using them on the abductees -"

Toshinori froze, hackles bristling, and he pressed his tail against the side of Aizawa's leg.

He'd just heard…

There it was again! A sniffle and a muffled sob.

"Eraser-"

"I heard it," Aizawa jogged at Toshinori's side to the door at the end of the hall.

Toshinori stood and tried the knob. He cursed softly, "Locked."

"Keep a look out." Aizawa knelt, holding a small flashlight in his mouth. He fished his lock picks from his belt and slid them into the deadbolt keyhole.

Eyes fixed on the opposite end of the hall, Toshinori tensed at each tiny tick and tap of the picks.

The faded marks around his wrists itched.

We'll get you out. Almost there.

"Got it," Aizawa grunted softly as the deadbolt clicked and turned. Standing, he quickly tucked the tools away and cracked open the door.

Toshinori's hackles rose and he grimaced furiously, "Holy shit."

Sweat and the strong smell of antiseptic wafted from the open door. Chains shifted and rattled quietly, sending a chill up Toshinori's spine.

Someone gasped and whimpered inside.

Aizawa ran his tiny flashlight along the gap in the door, "No tripwires. It's clear."

Toshinori rushed into the room and knelt in front of the sobbing woman. She gasped and jerked away, yanking on her handcuffed wrist.

"Shh shh shh," Toshinori held up his hands, "I'm h- I'm a hero. We're here to get you out. What's your name?"

The woman hiccuped a relieved sob and grabbed onto his tactical vest, clinging.

"It's alright now," Toshinori rubbed her back, glancing around the room.

Over a dozen men and women were crammed together on the long bench running across the back wall and handcuffed to a bar above them. Heads hung low, they barely reacted to Aizawa as he checked their pulses and eyes.

"They're drugged," Aizawa lifted one young man's arm. Dark lines stained his veins and small bruises dotted his skin, a history of injections and IVs written in flesh.

"They -" the woman shuddered in Toshinori's arms.

Toshinori leaned back and brushed the woman's hair from her face.

"They said they'd help. I can't - I can't remember!" She sobbed, tugging on her chaffed wrist, "I want out. Please! I just want to g-go home."

"That's what we're here for…" Toshinori said, catching Aizawa's eye and gesturing to her cuffed wrist.

"Kyoko," she whispered.

Aizawa moved behind Toshinori and hummed. He pulled a small key from his pocket and with a twist, Kyoko's handcuff clicked and swung open.

"Kyoko," Toshinori rubbed her back as she wrapped both arms around him, "I'm going to ask you to be brave. We're going to get you out. There are police and ambulances waiting outside. But we need to make sure it's safe to move you first. Do you know how many villains are here?"

Kyoko shook her head, "I don't - I - Only a few come in here, but I can hear more talking outside."

"You're doing great," Toshinori murmured softly as Aizawa moved to check the unconscious man beside her. "Do you know if there are any others trapped here?"

Pressing her face into the crook of Toshinori's neck, Kyoko covered her mouth, "They took my brother and haven't - they haven't brought him b-back."

"Shh." Aizawa suddenly stilled.

Footsteps.

Shit! The hall!

"Alright. Which one of you shits melted the generator?" A loud, gruff voice yelled and the large silhouette of a man stepped into the open doorway, "Wait, you're not -! There are heroes here!"

"Damn it!" Aizawa spat, throwing his capture weapon wide. The lead caught around the man's middle, and Aizawa leapt, grabbed the man's hair, and yanked his head down. His knee swung up and slammed into the man's face, knocking him to the ground with a bloodied nose.

Distant shouts rang down the hall.

Kyoko seized, arms locking around Toshinori's neck, "D-don't go! Don't - Don't leave me here!"

"Close your eyes!" Aizawa warned, tossing something into the hall.

Toshinori shielded Kyoko's face and shut his eyes tight.

Bang! A bright light flashed against his eyelids, followed by surprised and angry yells.

"Take her to Power Loader and order in the extraction team," Aizawa called as the flashbang faded, hair floating and eyes shining red, "I'll hold them off in the meantime." And he raced down the hall.

"I'm taking you to another hero," Toshinori scooped Kyoko into his arms and carried her from the room, "We'll keep the villains away so the police can get everyone else. It's going to be alright."

Kyoko nodded against his neck.

Toshinori ran into the generator room and ducked into the closet, "Power Loader! Send in the extraction team! We found civilians. I'm sending one through now." He gently lowered Kyoko to the floor in front of the short tunnel, "Hurry through there. My friend is on the other side."

"Thank you," Kyoko cried softly, planting a relieved kiss to Toshinori's golden visor, and crawled through the hole.

"Extraction team is coming down," Power Loader said as he helped Kyoko out the other side, "Just keep the villains back!"

"Understood!" Toshinori called back. He turned on his heel and thundered into the hall, tail whipping behind him.

Three villains were unconscious at Aizawa's feet and another struggled against the leads wrapped around his wrists.

"I've got this one," Aizawa grunted, yanking the villain down and pinning him to the floor, "Get the runner!"

Toshinori leapt over Aizawa and raced down the hall after the fleeing, yelling man. A low growl rumbled in his chest, and his abdomen burned. Gut clenching, he opened his mouth. Acid sprayed from under his tongue. It splashed against the runner's shoes and across the floor. The man slipped with a yelp, and Toshinori pinned him to the ground.

"Stay down," he warned and cuffed the trembling man to a pipe on the wall. Pulling off and tossing the man's quickly melting shoes, Toshinori called to Aizawa, "This one's done."

Aizawa's hair fell around his shoulders, and he tipped back his head, squeezing drops into his eyes and blinking uncomfortably.

"I was expecting more than common thugs here," he said lowly.

"So did I…" Toshinori murmured, watching the end of the hall as Aizawa pointed the first extraction officers toward the drugged civilians.

"Raid Team A engaging hostiles. Keep pushing them, heroes!" Naomasa called over the headset.

"Will do," Toshinori called back. Distant yells echoed through the walls, and Toshinori kept his ears perked. Alert. "Eraserhead, how's the evac?"

"Still in progress," Aizawa said, "See anything down there?"

"Nothing so f-" Toshinori's hackles stood on end, fog shifting behind his eyes. What?

An ear-splitting scream sliced through the air and cut off with a distant crunch. A second, inhuman screech sent a spike of cold nausea through his gut, and his hackles grew rigid.

Noumu.

"Eraserhead!" Toshinori warned, bracing as something crashed and cracked loudly just on the other side of the wall. "Shit!" He lunged at Aizawa and pinned him to the ground, only just avoiding the fist bursting through the drywall.

The noumu roared and its arm squirmed and shrunk, slipping back through the hole in the hallway wall.

"Heteromorph quirks," Toshinori growled as the wall dented outward with a loud thud.

Aizawa nodded with a grunt and rolled to his feet, "I'll speed up the evac. Make it quick."

Toshinori barked a startled laugh and grinned, "I'll take that as a vote of confidence!"

The wall cracked and crumbled forward. From the cloud of dust and chunks of wood and drywall, a dripping wet noumu stumbled into the hall. Its arms dragged over the rubble, too long and limp. Its gray chest heaved and tongue lolled out of a gaping, too wide mouth. The noumu slowly turned. Empty eyes set into its exposed brain rolled and fixed on Toshinori.

The noumu shuddered and loosed an outraged screech.

Yikes. Toshinori bounced up, planted his feet against the opposite wall, and rocketed off. Slamming into the noumu, he tackled it back through the crumbling hole. The noumu tumbled to the floor. Fold-out tables and chairs tipped and scattered in its wake.

Toshinori rolled and leapt away. Tail swinging wide, he dug his claws into the cheap wood of his table perch, "Over here, noumu!"

Wheezing, the noumu staggered to its feet and grabbed the leg of a fold-out table. The noumu's arms stretched and swelled, skin rippling over its engorged shoulders and back.

Muscle augmentation? Toshinori thought, then braced.

With a roar, the noumu lifted and flung the table.

Toshinori barely ducked in time, brows jumping as the table shattered against the far wall, raining splinters across the floor. And strength?

The noumu lunged forward, arms swinging and fists slamming down.

Toshinori dodged back -

One arm suddenly lengthened and clipped his shoulder.

Shit. Toshinori grunted with a wince and reared up. Gut burning, he spat acid on the stretched, disfigured arms and grimaced at the burst of rancid smoke.

The noumu screeched, arms shriveling down. Its acid-sprayed skin bubbled and twitched. Flat teeth bared, it roared furiously and charged.

Toshinori's skin prickled down his spine, mane standing on end. He pivoted. His tail sliced through the air, whipped outward, and struck the noumu. Wet heat gushed across his rigid tuft, staining it black in the dark.

The noumu stumbled back with a pained screech, flailing its bloodied, smoking arms.

Toshinori crouched and leapt. Twisting midair, he landed on its back. Claws dug into squirming flesh and tail wrapped tight around its neck. He kicked down the noumu's legs, claws raking its skin.

"Lay down," Toshinori tightened his grip as the noumu bellowed and pulled at his tail. With a pained grunt, he jammed his feet against the back of its knees, "You're done. Lay down."

Wheezing, the noumu stumbled forward. Its eyes slowly rolled back. Its knees buckled, and it crumpled to the floor.

"There you go." Toshinori panted. Climbing off the noumu, he unravelled his tail from its neck. A twinge of pity twisted in his chest when it shuddered and stilled, "Just sleep it off. I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner…"

"Hey," Aizawa carefully stepped over the debris, toppled tables, and chairs. His gaze fell briefly on the noumu, "You alright, Yagi?"

Toshinori straightened with a grunt and rolled his bruised shoulder, "Yeah, just a little out of fighting shape." He bent and pulled the noumu's arms together, cuffing the shrunken wrists, "How are the civilians?"

"Extracted safely," Aizawa said, glancing around the wrecked break room, "Team A is stopping all runners in the basement level. They haven't seen the abductees taken through the front."

Toshinori tapped the side of his visor, "Raid Team B, do you copy?"

"I hear you," Wright's voice crackled softly over the feed.

"There's at least one activated noumu down here," Toshinori said, nudging the noumu onto its back. Relief flooded him, "It doesn't appear to be any of our abductees. Prepare an Iron Maiden for transport."

"Copy that."

"Yagi…" Aizawa's voice drifted from across the room.

A pale green light bled in from a gaping hole in the far wall and reflected off the water pooling on the floor. It rippled as Toshinori stepped carefully into the large room, scattering light across the walls and ceiling.

"It's like Tiger's report," Aizawa said, inspecting one of three large submersion tanks.

The water glowed a soft green, the tank powered by separate generators. Two noumu floated inside the intact tanks, brains exposed and bodies warped. One appeared to have an aquatic heteromorph quirk, gills and large silver scales, while the other was covered in patches of granite.

The third tank was smashed open, still spilling warm water. Opposite it, a bulky man lay slumped against the wall. His bony plate armor was cracked down his arms.

"That explains why the noumu was soaking wet. Must have woke up in a foul mood and smashed its way out," Toshinori checked the injured villain's pulse, and after finding it, cuffed him, "Not that I blame it. I would too."

"It looks like there were four more tanks," Aizawa crouched down and held up one of the many tubes laying on the floor, identical to those attached to the other tanks.

Toshinori hummed, "They'll be moving out the back." He tapped his visor, "Wright. Second large room is cleared. Two noumu submersion tanks are still here. No sign of the abductees. They may be moving them as well as four submersion tanks. Most likely headed your way through the service elevator. We'll keep flushing them out."

"We'll keep a sharp eye," Wright replied.

"Copy th- …" Toshinori paused and shared a look with Aizawa, "No one's come through the rear of the building yet?"

"Nothing on our side, no."

"Something's off," Aizawa echoed Toshinori's thought, jogging out of the room.

Toshinori darted after him, tapping his visor, "Tsukauchi, how many have come out your way?"

"Less than a dozen," Naomasa called back.

"Shit!" Toshinori spat, dropped to all fours, and raced ahead, "There's a third exit! Eraserhead and I are sweeping the north side. South side is clear."

A knife wielding woman ran out of a room ahead, then froze, staring at the knife in confusion. Toshinori rushed past, tail sweeping her legs, and knocked her to the ground.

Aizawa kicked the knife away and pressed his knee into the woman's back, pulling out a pair of cuffs, "Keep going! I'm right behind you."

Toshinori streaked ahead, barreling through three more thugs and knocking them to the ground. He slammed through a pair of double doors -

BANG! The gunshot rang in Toshinori's ears, and he lunged at the armed guard. Getting in close, he grabbed the man's arm, yanked it down and away, and smashed his fist into the guard's throat.

The guard dropped the gun with a choked cough, eyes wide staring up at Toshinori, and Toshinori slammed him into the floor.

"Where did they take them!?" Toshinori demanded, acid burning in his chest.

The guard wheezed defiantly, but glanced at a section of new tile in the floor just in front of the service elevator.

Toshinori flipped the man over and cuffed him.

"Eraser! Armed guard down!" He shouted back down the hall, spotting the bullet hole in the wall beside the door frame, "There's a way out under a false floor! I'm going in!" He tapped his visor and ripped the false floor open, staring down the ramp into a carved out tunnel, "Power Loader! Track my signal. We're cutting them off."

"I'm on my way!" Power Loader answered.

Toshinori dove into the tunnel, claws tearing into the stone floor. Strings of construction lights hung along the walls, the light gleaming off a trail of water and footprints.

A leaking submersion tank, he realized.

Toshinori thundered through the tunnel, deeper and farther from the clinic. He passed offshoots and carved out rooms, catching flashes of boxes, computers, cages, weapons cases -

The path curved, and he spotted the escaping group. Four submersion tanks. A dozen hostiles. Two armed. Three guarding five blindfolded civilians.

Toshinori's tail whipped up, slicing through the string of lights and plunging the section of tunnel into darkness.

"Ah!"

"What!?"

"Calm down and -!"

Toshinori grabbed the leader by her jacket and flung her into the two armed guards. They fell with a shout and their guns clattered to the floor. He kicked the guns away and pivoted, tail whipping around and slamming into two more thugs.

"Don't let him near the tanks!" someone snarled.

The floor rippled under Toshinori's feet, slick and clinging. He jumped and landed on the wall, gloves sticking.

There. He spotted the mole-quirk woman with her hands pressed to the rippling floor. Pushing off the wall, he dropped onto the woman and knocked her out. The floor returned to normal.

"Who is he!? Ah!"

Grinning fiercely, Toshinori wrapped his tail around the stout man's leg and flung him into the wall.

Metal glinted in the air as a villain in the front of the group lunged forward, arms shifting to blades. Toshinori dropped under the arms and struck his gut and groin. The villain doubled over with a wheeze, and Toshinori flipped him onto the floor, knocking the rest of the air out of him.

"Damn it!" The scrawny one pushed through the civilians and, fumbling, pulled a lever on the leaking tank.

One of the civilian guards gasped, "No! You idiot!"

Shit! Toshinori leapt and kicked the man away from the tank - Too late.

Water rushed from the base of the tank, pouring out onto the floor and down the tunnel. The huge noumu inside twitched, swollen muscle tensed under patchy fur, feathers, and scales. Its chest glowed orange from the inside out, light traveling up behind its ribs and into its throat and muzzled maw.

A fire breather.

"Get him!" the scrawny one sputtered on the floor, pointing at Toshinori, "Get him!"

The noumu growled, shaking its head, and pounded on the tank glass.

"I said get him!" the villain screeched as Toshinori rushed to the abandoned civilians - their guards already booking it down the tunnel.

Toshinori pulled off their blindfolds and urged them back toward the clinic, "I'm a hero. You need to run that way. Follow the water trail back. Another hero is waiting for you -" Glass crashed behind him - "Go!"

Toshinori spun, bracing as the noumu pushed itself out of the tank.

The noumu shuddered, teeth bared as it ripped off its muzzle and panted fiery breaths.

"Yeah! Burn him! Wh- No! The fucking hero!" The scrawny man scrambled back, eyes wide as the noumu snarled at him.

No!

"Hey!" Toshinori shouted, driving a foot into the noumu's lower back, and hopped away, "Over here big guy!"

Four eyes swiveled in their sockets and fixed down on Toshinori.

Very big guy, Toshinori grinned wider, hackles going rigid.

The noumu loosed an enraged roar, fire spilling over its tongue -

And the roof collapsed with a loud, shattering BOOM!

Street light spilled in from above and Power Loader, seated in his excavation suit, looked down from the surface.

"Yagi!" He called, "You alright down there?"

Toshinori stared at the wheezing, unconscious noumu pinned under the street rubble and the scrawny villain whimpering and curled against the tunnel wall. He laughed breathlessly, hackles relaxing, and gave Power Loader a thumbs up, "Yeah! I'm alright. You saved my hide there!"

Ropes unraveled into the tunnel and members of Raid Team B rappelled down. The scrawny man was swiftly cuffed and transported to the surface.

Toshinori pointed behind himself, "Eraserhead is headed this way. Five civilians were with this group, but I sent them back toward the clinic. The three guarding them fled further down the tunnel."

"We'll sweep the area. Good work, Yagi," one of the officers said with a wide grin and patted Toshinori's shoulder.

Naomasa's voice rang over the earpiece, "Clinic secure! Raid Team A will join the tunnel sweep."

Toshinori sighed in relief, resting his hands on his hips, and finally caught his breath.

Everything ached. His shoulder throbbed where the first noumu struck him, and his chest burned with residual acid. Sweat clung to his hair and down his back.

We're not done yet. Toshinori popped his back with a grunt and waved to Aizawa as he jogged toward him.

"I ran into those civilians. They're with the extraction team now," Aizawa said.

Toshinori nodded, "Good. Good."

Aizawa frowned, scanning the tunnel system, "None of them were the abductees."

"I know," Toshinori murmured, a jittery unease settling heavy and square in his gut. "But the tunnels are fairly expansive… They could still be down here."

Aizawa hummed neutrally. Then he sighed, running fingers through his hair, "We better get looking."

"Yeah."

"Runner! Runner!" The young officer waved Toshinori over and pointed down the tunnel, "Just took a right!"

Toshinori bounded after the runner, kicked off a wall, and tackled him to the ground.

"Got him! Hey now, quit squirming," Toshinori held him firmly down as the officer caught up.

"Man, you're fast," the officer huffed, cuffing the squirming man.

"And you have good eyes," Toshinori said, standing and handing the man to the officer, "Keep up the good work."

With another runner in custody, that made thirty-one total villains in the clinic and tunnel system beneath.

Toshinori rolled his shoulder with a soft grunt. It was bruised, but not dislocated. And it could wait.

"We found another dead end," Naomasa called over the headset, a heavy breath betraying his exhaustion, "That's another section clear. How are things on your end, Yagi?"

"We caught a few stragglers," he said, stalking through another branching tunnel. Ears perked, he checked the first carved out room. More crates.

Taking a nearby crowbar propped against the wall, Toshinori pried off the top of one crate and brushed aside the packing foam.

"I found more black market gear," he said, picking through the mixed bag of body armor and utility belts, "It looks like this is where the gangs in the area are buying their supplies. Ryukyu will be thrilled by the find, I'm sure."

He set the crowbar down and rubbed the back of his neck, massaging the tension on either side of his short spikes, "How are the rescued civilians?"

"The group you and Eraserhead found in the clinic made it to the hospital to detox and get fluids in them. The five you found in the tunnel were all medically trained hostages. They claim they were forced to monitor the noumu in the tanks under threats of violence. We'll take them in to get more information."

"It sounds like they were in the same situation as Isamu," Toshinori said. He gave the small room a last look before heading back into the carved hall.

"It does. Fortunately that means we have a line of questioning we can follow. We'll see how many similarities there are between noumu production sites. The more we know, the better." Naomasa paused, "Any sign of the abductees?"

"Not yet." Toshinori crouched as he wandered down a smaller tunnel, "But there are still areas we haven't searched."

His tail twitched and curled uneasily.

There were only so many rooms left. They should have found the abductees already.

"I found another drug storeroom," Aizawa interjected, voice crackling over the headset, "More knock-off Trigger, opioids, methamphetamines, and cocaine. It's possible the Doctor is profiting off the gangs of Hosu."

Toshinori frowned, "And using the addicts he helps create to make more noumu."

The tunnel sloped slowly downward and ended in a closed vault doorway -

Wait.

Toshinori paused, brows furrowing. A line of faint light leaked into the tunnel, stretching across the floor.

The large metal door was just barely open.

"I found another room," Toshinori said, ears perked, brushing his fingers over the vault door. It was thick with a five-spoke hand wheel at its center. And heavy, if the gouge marks along the floor were any indication. A camera was fixed on the outside, pointing down at him. "It's higher security than the others, but it was left open."

"Abandoned during the raid, most likely," Aizawa commented, "Be careful regardless."

Toshinori checked along the open space and hinge. No triplines or traps.

He cautiously pulled the vault door open, letting the light from the single computer on a lone desk flood into the tunnel beyond.

Toshinori's brows pinched in confusion, murmuring, "Just a computer?"

Then came a familiar smell. Spoiled sweat, sick, rubbing alcohol, latex - Scratching at the wall, pacing, chains rattling -

The rattling of chains shifted, and someone wheezed.

Toshinori shuddered, chills racing up his spine. Fog swirled heavy behind his eyes. Heart thundering, Toshinori's gaze fixed on the back of the room.

Police! Police are coming! The words vibrated on the floor, grains of sand shivering with excitement across the tiles.

"Taeka!" Mirai knocked rapidly on the wall of her cell, heart pounding, "Wake up! Souma, look!"

Souma knelt beside her and ran a hand through his short, auburn hair, "I knew it. Knew they'd find us."

Mirai sagged drunkenly back against the side of her cot, smiling as she listened to Nozomi read the sand for Taeka.

"They're coming to save us?" Chris asked, voice pinched and wavering. He pressed his broad hands to the wall, trembling, "Are they really?"

"Yeah. Yeah. They're coming to save us. All of us," Mirai laughed, closing her eyes, "We're going home."

Then they'll fix us. Everything will go back to normal.

Souma knocked softly beside her.

Mirai sat up, "Yeah?"

"Your quirk. Can you see them coming in?" Souma asked, hands close to his chest and lips pursed.

Uncertainty dropped like ice into Mirai's chest, "... Why?"

Souma rubbed his hands against his thighs and heaved a trembling puff of steam, "I just need to know they're really going to come."

What if - Mirai swallowed roughly. If she didn't see them… What then? What could she tell them?

"Please, Mirai." Souma pleaded, scaled brow pinched, "I'd rather know now."

Biting her lip, Mirai nodded slowly and closed her eyes.

Vertigo yanked at the base of her skull as she watched speeding images from over her own shoulder. She pulled back, slowing the images down, and hissed at the migraine that immediately flared behind her eyes.

Her future self hugged herself and nodded.

She bent over the sand.

Sat back up.

Shifted in a blur.

Stood.

Mirai's head throbbed.

The door opened.

Two officers stepped inside -

Mirai opened her eyes with a gasp and hugged herself. Tears pricked her eyes, and she nodded, grinning despite her splitting headache.

"Yes. I saw them."

Souma sagged back against his tub and sent the water sloshing, "Thank you."

At Mirai's feet, the sand whipped up and reshaped, and she bent to read the words.

Shin'ya is really tired, but said they were down the hall!

"The sand says they're down the hall," Mirai called, sitting up so Souma could read it for himself.

"Hello! In here!" Nozomi called, pink and bright blue dots blooming across her skin, "We're in here!"

"Heeeey! H-" Chris winced. His voice cracked as he curled on his abdomen.

Taeka pressed a paw against his cell, "Hey, it's okay. Rest up." Her wings - nearly the length of her body and covered in golden brown and gray speckled adult feathers - shuddered and tucked tighter. She breathed slowly out, "It's… it's hard. I know. But they'll be here soon. They'll -"

The doorknob clicked.

Mirai stumbled to her feet, "Yes! We're in here! We're - Oh, thank god."

A nurse pushed the door open wide, waving two patrol officers inside the room.

"Well, when Jedha Central updated the north wing, they opted to build a new morgue rather than tear down the old one for renovations," the nurse explained casually, stepping aside as the officers walked into the room, "As of right now, this wing is used for storage and emergency triage overflow. It got some use during the Kamino Ward incident, but not too much more since then."

"And who has access to this wing?" The taller of the two officers asked. Her eyes scanned the room and… passed right over Mirai.

"No. What?" Mirai's hands shook, and she pat the glass, "Hey, we're right here…"

The nurse shrugged his shoulders, "Most of the doctors and a couple of staff in charge of keeping track of medical supplies. And the cleaning company, but I don't think they clean around here much. Dust everywhere," he scuffed the toe of his shoe across the floor and through the thin line of sand.

"Hey! Stop - Stop messing around!" Chris shook and pounded on his cell door, "This isn't funny!"

The shorter officer brushed webbed fingers over his slimy, bald head, and poked around the back table, "You haven't seen anyone back here that shouldn't be here right?"

"They can't see us…" Taeka whispered, breath coming faster - too fast, "Why - Why can't they see us!? We're right here!"

Nozomi covered her mouth, skin paling, and whispered, "In the hall -"

Looming large in the doorway, hunched and peering into the room, was the Doctor's noumu.

Mirai froze as it swayed directly behind the taller officer, "No…"

Mirai pressed her hand against the solid air at her side and pat along the invisible wall, fingers trembling.

The doctor walked in a wide arc around the bed, brushing his thick mustache as he examined her. Then he glanced back at the creature, "Drop the illusion."

The creature twitched, and just like that thick glass walls appeared.

"No no no… No!" Mirai kicked the glass door, "Fuck you! Fuck you - you - son of a bitch…" She wheezed and furiously wiped tears from her eyes, "It has an illusion quirk. It… They can't see us. They can't - They don't know we're here…"

Gasping, Souma rushed forward and pounded on the door. Steam poured out of his mouth as he waved frantically at the amphibious officer standing barely an arm's length away.

"They can't -? But we're right here! Let us out!" Taeka clawed at the leather cuff on her ankle, then reached for her bucket and hit the door with it over and over - Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Please! Please, just - just see us! We're right here!" Taeka dropped the bucket as the officers turned back to the door.

"Next room?" the nurse asked with a polite smile.

"Don't leave us here!" Chris begged and coughed, clutching his middle, "Don't -!"

The taller officer nodded, passing the noumu without batting an eye, "I appreciate you helping us out."

"They can't hear us," Nozomi whispered. She sat heavily on her cot and pulled her long braid over her shoulder, fingers trembling.

Mirai gasped and dropped to her knees, patting the sand, "We have to tell the others. Maybe they can -"

The sand didn't move.

"What? Why isn't it -?" Mirai gathered the sand in a blank slate, frantically writing, They can't see us. Can your sand touch them?

The sand was still.

Breaths coming in panicked puffs, Mirai wiped the slate clean again, Hello? Can you see this?

Nothing.

The door shut with a dull clack.

Sand slowly slipped from between Mirai's trembling fingers as she stared at the closed door.

"What the fuck?" Taeka's voice cracked, quiet. She shook her head, paw pressed to her abdomen. The feathers on her wings and fur down her back stood on end, and she slammed her claws against the door, "What the fuck!? Come back! Come… Come back…"

A shudder racked her, and she stumbled back, blinking rapidly as her pupils narrowed, "They left… they left…"

Chris crumpled on himself. He covered his face and bared his teeth in a sob, "They were right there… right there. We were going home. W-we were - I want to see my mom."

"We're… We're going to be okay, Chris. They'll come back. Don't…" Nozomi covered her mouth, skin pale white and gaunt, "They don't know we're here…"

Chris cried, voice breaking, "Mom! Get me out! Please!"

Mirai's heart lodged in her throat as Chris sobbed and hid in his armored shell.

Light caught the small amber, blue, and green stones glittering in patches on his once leathery armor. And the armor - it looked… more like granite now.

No… Mirai pressed her hand hard over her mouth and nose, chest heaving with a dull, suffocating hiccup. Tears ran down her fingers and wrist as she held her breath. Drowning. No...

Souma knocked softly at the wall between them.

Mirai gasped, arms numb and trembling.

"Breathe." Souma signed, eyes dull, "Breathe. We still have a plan."

Fuck the plan! She wanted to scream. To yell and cry and - It was unfair! So fucking unfair.

Mirai nodded slowly, chest jerking with each half-aborted, angry sob.

"Okay…" she nodded again, head throbbing and lungs burning.

"Okay. We stick to the plan. I'll run."

Toshinori was back beneath Rishi. The stench of sick, long dried blood, and spoiled sweat clung to the walls. Heavy chains hung from the back wall. A pole and IV drip stood as a silent sentry, gleaming in the low light.

Fog coiled thick and suffocating. The walls of the tunnel were too close. Too constricting.

Out. Toshinori's heart pounded, and his hands shook. I need -

A soft moan dragged Toshinori from the fog. Out of Rishi.

The man chained to the back wall of the vault wheezed, slumped forward over his lap. Iridescent bubbles slowly rose from his bare back and floated to the ceiling, gathering in an uneven cluster.

Cursing, Toshinori shook off the lingering fog and rushed forward, laying his hands on the young man's blue-ringed, bony shoulders.

"It's alright. We found you." Toshinori gently pushed him up, frowning at his feather-light weight. He wasn't one of the abductees. His face was too thin, covered in stubble, and his black hair was left unruly and overgrown. As haggard his appearance… He couldn't be much older than twenty-five.

Toshinori brushed aside the young man's sweat-soaked bangs, "It's al-"

He reared back. Cold shock twisted his gut.

Slowly, gently, he leaned the man against the wall.

"Shit." Toshinori sat heavily on the ground, pulling off his visor.

"Shit…" He tugged off his glove and tossed it to the ground. Running his hand down his face, he let out a slow breath and swallowed the rising nausea.

A harsh, knotted line of skin ran across the young man's forehead and down behind his ears. The scar was still inflamed and scabbed in places. His eyes roamed aimlessly, horizontal pupils unfocused. Vacant.

Toshinori kneaded his forehead, ears drooping. The fog settled heavily behind his eyes again. Cloying at his senses. Pulling.

He shuddered and sighed, forcing the fog back, and rocked to his feet.

"I'm sorry we came too late for you," he murmured, carefully unbuckling the simple leather shackles and laying the young man's hands in his lap.

Still no response.

Why were you left behind? They were taking the other noumu. Toshinori frowned, lips a hard line. He brushed his hand over the young man's head, What makes you different?

Scanning the bare, concrete room, his attention narrowed to the lone computer desk. "And why would they lock a computer inside a vault?"

What more were they trying to hide?

Tail giving a wary twitch, Toshinori pulled out the rolling chair and sat. The dimmed monitor lit up as he clicked the mouse. The desktop was bare aside from a few scattered programs and emptied folders.

"Maybe -" Toshinori clicked into Trash. His brows jumped as files upon files popped up, "Someone was in a hurry."

Restoring them, he settled forward and clicked through the veritable treasure trove of evidence. Supply orders, weapons schematics, drug production and supplies, black market contacts…

Patient Records.

A nauseating knot squirmed high in Toshinori's gut. He glanced back at the young man and clicked into the folder. At the top was the text document Quirk Supply and below it a list of folders: N-081, N-082, N-083_failed, N-084, N-085_deceased, N-086, N-087, N-088, and N-089.

Failed? Toshinori's hackles bristled. He opened the folder and played the first audio file.

There was a soft rustling. Harsh breathing. Then -

"N-083. Height: 170 centimeters. Quirk: Blue-Ring Octopus. Most noticeable trait is the blue ring patterns across his skin. Venom is delivered through a bite. Testing shows the venom is severely diluted. A shame. Fatal doses of tetrodotoxin would make him more valuable outright."

Toshinori's tail lashed, and his chest burned. Valuable?

The Good Doctor - Tsubasa hummed in the recording, "It's possible the neurotoxins are recessive and could be strengthened with a little creative thinking and the right mutation. I've added Bubble Breath. We'll see if that at least gives the toxins range."

There was a soft rustle and a click as the next audio recording automatically played.

"N-083. Bubble Breath created an unexpected but interesting mutation. Rather than gaining the ability to breathe bubbles from the mouth, bubbles made of a toxic film form on the patient's skin. Prolonged, direct exposure causes nausea, respiratory arrest, muscle paralysis, and - without treatment - heart failure. Fortunately, Sensei was able to retrieve N-085's quirks before it passed. N-083 still lacks range. A gas-emitting quirk may work. I may be able to acquire something like that."

Dr. Tsubasa sighed heavily in the next track, "Mismanagement. It has been so difficult to find good help. So little common sense. Can't follow a simple rule -" His tongue clicked sharply, "N-083 imprinted on one of the nurses charged with its care. It's not unheard of during this developmental stage, but it is… irritating. This is why they are not allowed to speak around the noumu. Passing control only lasts so long, and even then the imprinted noumu's drive to protect its new master is almost nonexistent unless directly ordered by the primary. Reprogramming is time consuming…"

A pen tapped. Once. Twice.

"I wonder…" Dr. Tsubasa murmured, "How long would an imprint last if the master is taken out of the picture?"

Stop listening, a small, tense voice whispered at the back of Toshinori's mind.

The next recording played.

"Curiosity got the better of me," Dr. Tsubasa said cheerfully, "I had the nurse killed. N-083 reacted as expected and killed the man responsible. With how it cradled the nurse in the end, if the wound wasn't fatal, its toxins would have eventually finished the job.

"Given time, it should forget. This may turn out to be a more efficient way to deal with accidental imprints. If I'm lucky. We will see."

You don't need to know this. Give it to evidence and leave it alone. The knot tightened in Toshinori's gut, and his ears drooped. The boy -

"Killing the nurse was a mistake," Dr. Tsubasa growled, "N-083 refuses to eat. Refuses to drink. Refuses to imprint. Drugging it and forcing it through withdrawal hasn't aided its reprogramming. More quirks changed nothing. Sensei's voice couldn't reach it. It's no better than a sack of meat."

"Yagi."

His claws dug into the table.

right voice

His balance was

Where was the boy? Safe?

off.

right voice

"I took a look inside, but its brain had nothing new to offer - no clues." Dr. Tsubasa sighed, breath grating in frustration, "The death of its master locked the imprint in place and caused it to remain on permanent standby. Unresponsive. What good is that? N-083 is a total waste. I've ordered it be kept alive until the quirks can be extracted. After it is culled, the quirks can be transferred to -"

The recording closed.

"Toshinori."

His heart beat too hard i n

hi s ch est .

There was a hand on his shoulder.

"Toshinori," Naomasa turned him from the computer screen.

"Oh," Toshinori let out a trembling breath. He came back to himself in slow increments. Rubbing his arms, he smoothed down the goosebumps rising across his skin. His fingers tingled numbly.

"Are you -?"

"I'm alright," Toshinori said immediately, holding up a hand. He ran his fingers through his hair and straightened, "I'm alright, Naomasa."

where is the right voice?

Clearing his throat roughly, Toshinori nodded to the computer, "It looks like Dr. Tsubasa left behind records of his experiments. As well as records of everything that went through this hideout."

"That's helpful," Aizawa drawled beside the young man - N-083 . He brushed his fingers off on his suit after checking the man's pulse and rose with a grunt, "Here."

Toshinori caught his tossed visor.

"You took it off," Aizawa said and pointed to his ear, "We couldn't contact you."

"Ah," Toshinori turned the visor over in his hands pensively and slipped it back on, "My apologies."

Naomasa's radio crackled to life on his vest and echoed in Toshinori's ear.

"Southern tunnels are clear," Sansa called, crestfallen, "No sign of the abductees. Yori's forensic team is ready to take over."

Toshinori nodded.

The abductees weren't here. They had the wrong place.

"We still have work to do," Toshinori sighed, scrubbing the back of his head.

Tired. He was bone-deep tired.

And Naomasa's hand hadn't left his shoulder.

They heard. His gut twisted in knots. They know…

Toshinori looked back at the young man. The Doctor's failed noumu.

That could have been me. His claws brushed over the faded shackle scars on his wrists. No. He's the same as me. The same as -

Toshinori's hackles bristled in realization.

"We need to find the abductees before they imprint on the Doctor," he stood, giving Naomasa's arm a grateful squeeze as his hand slid from his shoulder, "They're already going through Hell. They don't deserve to be tied to that villain for the rest of their lives."

"We'll keep looking, Toshinori," Naomasa pat his back and bent, clicking through the computer, "The Doctor was creating more noumu here. There are bound to be leads to wherever he's keeping them. Yori and their forensic team will find whatever more he was hiding."

"Let them know to dismantle this magnet strip," Aizawa said from the vault door, feeling along the opening, "They took steps to destroy the files if the computer was removed."

Naomasa nodded, "I'll let them know. Toshinori?"

Toshinori picked up and pulled on his tossed glove, flexing his fingers under the thick material. Then, with a tired grunt, he knelt beside the young man.

"It's alright now," he murmured, carefully tucking him against his chest. He hooked his arm under the man's knees and lifted him.

Brows jumping in alarm, Naomasa cautioned, "The toxin -"

"I'm taking him up to the ambulance," Toshinori interrupted. He adjusted the man in his arms, avoiding directly touching his skin, and leaned away from the rising bubbles. "He doesn't need to be here anymore."

He was so light…

Hand dropping to his side, Naomasa nodded. He picked up his radio, "We're coming up with another… civilian. He's in bad shape and can't control his toxin quirk. Prepare a bus accordingly."

"Here," Aizawa tilted back his head, blinking as he put away his eye drops. His eyes flashed red, and his hair lifted from around his face.

The bubbles on the young man's bare skin popped, and no more formed.

"Thank you," Toshinori said, tail swaying low.

It was a long walk, climbing up to the surface. The raid teams were already out of the tunnels, replaced by a steady stream of Yori's forensic field techs. Cameras flashed as they photographed each labeled room, casting distorted shadows across the tunnel walls.

"There's a computer at the end of this branch," Naomasa told the lizard-faced Yori when they passed, "Eraserhead found a strong magnet strip in the doorway that will need to be removed before you take out the hard drive."

"We'll take care of it," they replied, waving a couple techs over and leading them to the vault.

Where Power Loader collapsed the roof, debris had been swept aside. The fire-breathing noumu had been collected and put in an Iron Maiden. A ramp was lowered in through the opening in the ceiling and fixed securely at the top.

Toshinori took it up a step at a time, claws clicking and gripping the grooved metal.

A cold breeze rushed past as Toshinori stepped onto the street. The young man shivered in his arms, and Toshinori held him close.

"You're out," he said, patting the man's back. No more chains.

At the back of the lot, a medic waved him over to a parked ambulance, "Over here! We're ready for him."

Aizawa clicked his tongue, hunching into his capture weapon.

"Keep your visor on, Yagi," he nodded toward the line of police tape, eyes flashing red. A group of photographers walked the barrier, snapping photographs, and a young late evening reporter turned from her spot near the ambulance and gestured toward the line of police vans.

Toshinori's tail flicked as the reporter and camera turned to him, and he carefully covered the young man's face.

"Is this the last one?" the medic asked.

"Yes," Toshinori stepped up and into the ambulance, and laid the young man on the gurney, "Careful. The bubbles that come off his skin are toxic."

The medic nodded, fitting a mask over the young man's face, "We'll sedate him until we can get him set up in a specialized room."

Another medic tucked a blanket around the young man and waved at Aizawa, "Thank you, Eraserhead. You too, hero. We've got him from here."

Aizawa's hair fell around his shoulders. Grimacing, he blinked his bloodshot, tired eyes.

Stepping out of the ambulance, Toshinori shut the doors behind him. He watched as it pulled away from the lot and drove away.

We were too late to save him… Toshinori rubbed his fingers over the ache in his chest. It was never just the abductees. How many more are out there?

"The rest of the hostages arrived safely at the hospital and are getting treated. Good… Good." Naomasa sighed, walking up to Toshinori's side. He pocketed his phone and ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know about you two, but I could go for a hot shower and a drink."

Aizawa grunted in agreement, sagging against the side of a police cruiser.

Huffing a laugh, Toshinori looked down at his suit. Drywall dust, dirt, and smears of blood clung to his new hero suit and the hair of his tail tuft. "I could go for a shower, yeah."

"My place is closer," Naomasa looked across the lot and the forensic techs filing down the hole in the back road. He glanced back at the gathered photographers and shot Toshinori a tired smile, "I'll drive."

Hot water streamed over Toshinori's bowed back, following the arch of his spine and soaking into his ridged mane. Steam rose around him, clinging to his scrubbed skin. The lingering suds dripped from his tail and pooled around his feet. He stared down at the shower floor, swishing his tail tuft in the pooling water, and watched the red tinged suds rinse down the drain.

Closing his eyes, Toshinori took a slow, rose-scented breath and shut off the water with a sigh.

"Aizawa, you're up," he said, stepping into the hall and toweling his hair dry.

Aizawa rose from Naomasa's couch with a grunt. He set aside his half-empty bottle of beer and held out an unopened second.

"Just tea for me," Toshinori grinned, draping his towel across his shoulders. He took the bottle and flicked his tail toward the bathroom, "Grab the hot water while it lasts."

Aizawa shrugged with a half-hidden smirk and headed back to the bathroom, shucking off his hero suit and tossing it into the washer in the linen closet on the way.

Toshinori slipped the bottle back into the fridge with a soft clatter, "Do you still have lavender chamomile, Naomasa?"

"Top left," Naomasa called from the couch, bent over a stack of paperwork.

"Thanks," Toshinori reached into the cabinet, rolling his shoulders when his damp ridged mane stuck to the inside of his undershirt.

The hush of the shower drifted down the hall, and the kettle on the stove rumbled slowly to a simmer.

"Reports came back from the patrol officers," Naomasa said, "The Heteromorph Emergency Care Center was cleared. As well as Jedha Central Hospital and Umbara Clinic. That narrows the s-" he yawned wide, "search down."

Toshinori shut off the stove with a fond smile. He poured the steaming water into an old coffee mug and watched the tea bag float to the top.

Stirring in honey as he walked, Toshinori snorted and plucked the legal pad from Naomasa's slack hands.

"H-hey!" Naomasa grabbed for it, huffing when Toshinori lifted it out of reach.

"Overwork." Toshinori tutted in English, smiling. Setting the pad down on the coffee table, he sat beside Naomasa. His tail wormed its way between the couch and Naomasa's back, curling around his waist. Leaning back and stretching his legs, Toshinori sipped his tea and sagged into the cushions, "Know when to rest, Naomasa."

Naomasa laughed, "That's rich, coming from you." But he sank back into the couch, leaving his notes alone, and took a swig from his beer bottle. A pleasant pink flush spread across his cheeks, and he blinked slow and sleepy.

Toshinori chuckled softly, tapping his mug with a claw. Ripples drifted across the amber surface. Tiny bubbles gathered around the sinking tea bag.

"We'll need to save our strength for the next time," Toshinori murmured, closing his eyes and listening to the distant hush of the shower.

"Yeah." Naomasa nodded to himself, "We did a good job today."

"Mmhm…" Toshinori hummed.

"Hey," Naomasa gently elbowed Toshinori and gave him an earnest look, "We did a good job today. We saved people. You saved those people."

Toshinori smiled ruefully, "Yeah."

But not all of them. Not yet.

"We shut down a black market hub, an active noumu site, and stopped Dr. Tsubasa from using any more of those people," Naomasa continued, patting Toshinori's tail with each accomplishment, "Not a bad night."

"Not a bad night..." Toshinori conceded with a sigh and gave Naomasa a soft squeeze with his tail, "Thank you, Nao."

Naomasa looked at him for a moment, something unsaid in his faint frown. Then he nodded and leaned his shoulder against Toshinori's, fingers brushing absently through the hair on his tail.

The hiss of the shower cut off with a metallic squeak, and Toshinori looked up from his tea.

Down the hall, the bathroom door opened. Aizawa stepped out in a damp baseball t-shirt and sweatpants, scrubbing his hair with a towel.

"Thanks for the clothes, Tsukauchi," he murmured, tossing the towel in the wash before sidling into the living room. He paused, staring at the two on the couch for a moment before thumbing over his shoulder, "Up. Shower's free, and I have homeroom in the morning."

Naomasa snorted and pushed himself off the couch with a grunt, "Alright." He hooked his arm around Toshinori's tail and tugged, "You too, Mr. Overwork."

"Hey now-" Toshinori gulped down the tea and stood with a chuckle, tail wagging in Naomasa's grasp, "I'm up."

Aizawa flopped onto the vacated couch with a wide yawn and pulled the spare blanket over his shoulders. Clicking off the lamp, he grunted a "Good night" and shooed them away.

"Goodnight Aizawa. Ah-!" Toshinori barely stifled a laugh, hastily setting his empty mug down on the coffee table. He stumbled backward as Naomasa pulled him by his tail to the guest bedroom.

"What's gotten into you?" Toshinori chuckled, twisting around and untangling himself, "And here I thought you were exhausted."

"I am," Naomasa huffed. Then paused.

"Toshinori." His brows furrowed earnestly, and he scrubbed a hand through his hair, searching Toshinori's face.

He knows. He heard, that small panicked voice whispered at the back of Toshinori's mind.

"What we saw down there… in the vault. What that computer -"

"I know. It's fine," Toshinori hastily said, a smile plastered on his face.

"It wasn't. It's not." Naomasa said. He sighed heavily, "It'd be a nightmare for anyone. But for you?" He shook his head and pat Toshinori's chest, hand lingering, "I saw what that room at Rishi was like - What it smelled like. That vault… For you to go in there and get that young man out, after everything -"

Toshinori swallowed tightly.

"You were amazing."

Eh?

"You know that no matter what happens, you have everyone's support. U.A.'s, your students' and peers', Midoriya's, and mine," Naomasa added. "If you ever need anything-"

"I can call you." Toshinori bowed his head, "I know."

The weighty anxiety clamped around his heart bled out in a slow breath, and he leaned into the warmth of Naomasa's hand on his chest.

"You really are incredible," Naomasa murmured, gripping Toshinori's shirt, "You were the bravest I've ever seen you be, today. I want you to know that."

Toshinori smiled lopsidedly and scoffed softly, "Well -"

Naomasa tugged Toshinori down by his shirt, and the earthy smell of wheat and rose, honey and chamomile mixed in a breath as Naomasa's lips brushed the corner of Toshinori's own.

Then, Naomasa stepped back, brows still furrowed and face pleasantly flushed. He pat Toshinori's chest again and nodded.

"Oh," Toshinori blinked down at Naomasa, wide-eyed and dumbstruck. He brushed his claws over his cheek, over the tingling skin. His hackles fluffed. Oh.

Naomasa suddenly stiffened, sucking in a sharp breath. His eyes widened in realization.

"Excuse me," he stammered, mortified. He turned on his heel, a deep red blush spreading down his neck, and retreated to the bathroom.

Toshinori stared after him, ears flicking. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and his tail gave a cautious wag.

That's… new. He huffed a quiet laugh, thoroughly overwhelmed, and switched off the light.

The rush of the shower drifted down the hall as Toshinori settled into the guest bed, laying back against the familiar pillow.

"Ah! Shit- Cold!" came Naomasa's muffled shout.

A bark of laughter bubbled out of Toshinori, and he shook his head.

"Not a bad night."

So guess what y'all! We not only have the Toshinoumu tumblr page, we now have a series discord server! Come join us, chat with us and other readers, share and enjoy each other's art, and get day to day updates about chapter progress.

Find a link to our discord on the Toshinoumu blog! You can find tons of theory and meta posts, as well as fan art on that blog. You can also find this series on Ao3 and tumblr.