Her eyes fluttered open under the pale light that glowed in the room. Her body felt heavy as if her arms were made of lead, and her head was swimming in an ocean of pain.

Her eyes felt heavy too, and all she wanted was to go back to sleep, but she couldn't, her body wouldn't let her.

Slowly and with tremendous effort, she rose from her bed, except she couldn't.

Blood red chains had bound her arms and legs to the bedposts. She struggled against them in a futile attempt to free herself. The chains only tightened in response.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The voice sounded strained, tired as if it was forcing itself to stay awake.

She glanced to the side, staring at the white-haired boy that was sitting on a couch opposite to her.

Tired red eyes glared at her as if they were staring right into her soul. This man was familiar, but where she had seen him, her tired mind couldn't place.

She struggled again trying to sit up to get a proper look at the man.

He reeked of death as if his entire body was just a rotting corpse, but disturbingly enough it didn't seem like it was only coming from him. The room itself smelled of the sickly sweet scent of decay.

The shadows around her seemed to be moving in place, and in a few spots, she swore she saw glowing blue lights. She wanted to ask him something, anything, but her voice wouldn't leave her throat.

He stood suddenly walking over to a shelf near the side, grabbing a can of preserved food and a bottle of water he made his way back over to the girl.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, and if you answer them honestly, then I'll give you some food and water. Deal?"

She had little right to refuse in this situation. She nodded slowly, unsure of what he was going to say.

"Alright, first question, were you apart of their gang?"

She shook her head, no.

"Good girl, here."

He extended his arm slowly, the bottle of water resting in his palm. She snatched it quickly draining half of the container in one go.

"Now, do you feel any pain anywhere?"

She tested her voice once more it was hoarse, but at least now it came out.

"No, No, I'm fine."

He smiled for the first time throughout the entire experience, and she felt the chains loosen around her body.

"What did they want with you?"

That was probably the hardest question to answer if she told the truth, would he accept it? If she told a lie, would he even notice? She decided to try the second choice.

"I stole food. They couldn't let a thief getaway."

The chains tightened in an instant, and another wrapped itself around her throat, cutting off her airflow. She tried to grab at them, but they sliced into her fingers, dripping slick blood down her hands. It only tightened more.

"Answer me." Those words were firm but not angry as if he expected her to lie to him.

The chains loosened just enough for her to be able to speak, she laid there panting for breath for a few short seconds before the question was repeated.

"It was the truth when I said I stole food." She felt the chains begin to tighten once more. She blurted the rest out quickly after that, desperately trying to appease the man.

"I was caught in the process by their boss. A-And then he tried to..." Her voice cut off, she may have been a psychopath, but there were somethings worse than death.

He remained patient though staring at her as he loosened the chains further, giving her enough slack for her to bring her knees to her chest.

"I fought back, or at least I tried his quirk 'Iron Grip' wouldn't let me move."

He knew the quirk; after all, he was the leader of a pretty big gang in the area. Iron Grip made the person unable to move so long as they were both physically weaker than himself, and he was making direct physical contact without barriers.

It was a powerful quirk when you combined it with his near monstrous strength. And it was the reason he earned the nickname the Iron Titan. Midoriya was convinced it was to rip off a children's movie though.

"H-He had to move his hands away t-to... A-And I stabbed him. I always carry a knife around with me."

She hardly noticed when the chains fell away altogether.

Gentle sobs left her as his eyes softened once more. He understood that pain, he had experienced it before as well.

He still had nightmares about the experience.

He approached the girl slowly, raising a hand to place in her shoulder.

The look in her eyes told him all he needed to know. One arm wrapped around her, pulling the girl into his chest.

She stiffened for a moment before he felt her relax against him.

The gentle sobs turned quiet, the girl succumbing to exhaustion as he laid her back down.

Well, it seemed he had work to do.

Mike "Iron Titan" Adams had been visiting Japan when everything had gone down, He had even been there to see Endeavors betrayal — watching as his flames made contact with the world's symbol of peace.

Watching while being trapped under the rubble from the fight.

At that moment, he had never been more scared in his life, and he never believed he would experience anything scarier.

Oh, how wrong he was.

It was the screams that had woken him up first, and for a moment, he found himself back to the day All Might died.

The body of a woman laid in his bed, long blonde hair hanging from he head, At one point she had been beautiful. So beautiful that he couldn't stop himself from "acquiring" her.

After all, he had a love for blonde hair.

Now she was but a shadow of her former self. Hair matted, and body covered in bruises. She had broken long ago.

So much for her becoming a hero.

He snorted as he walked outside, it was probably just some random thugs causing mayhem n his territory, he would sort them out later.

His eyes traveled to the woman in his bed once more; perhaps he had time for one more...

The bloodied head of his second in command rolled down the hall towards him.

And then it washed over him.

Fear.

Raw concentrated fear sent left his legs shaking.

He could hear scrapping coming down the hall as the screams finally stopped.

And then his assaulter came into sight.

Hair white like snow and blood-red eyes staring into his very soul.

"Arise."

That word sent shivers down his spine.

And before his eyes, he watched as his second rose from the ground, black shadow like wisps swirling around his body as he took a step forward.

In his desperation, he charged forward, all he had to do was make contact with him. There's no way a brat this small was stronger than him.

The smallest twitch of a movement and his vision went red.

He stumbled forward, no longer able to keep his balance.

And when he looked down, he saw the reason for it.

His legs lay a full foot away from his body, severed with a single swift strike.

The blood-curdling scream that escaped his lips left his throat tearing.

He crawled, trying desperately to get away from the man; if he could just make it to the main room, he could regroup with his men. One allowed him to reattach limbs. Yes if he made it, he would be fine.

The man seemed content to let him crawl, following behind him in a leisurely stroll.

Midoriya had to admit that it was mildly amusing to watch the man crawl away from him. So desperate to be saved that he forgot the fate of his men.

Was that dark?

That was probably too dark.

"Is it because of my quirk? I've never had thoughts like that before."

He pondered it aloud, the shadows in the room bending and shifting to make way for him. He watched the newest members of his army stand, staring at their once boss.

Did they pity him? Hate him? That was a question for another time.

He watched in amusement as the man tried to open the door in front of him.

Reaching forward, he opened it for him, allowing the man to crawl into the main room.

The look of dread on his face as he witnessed what had become of his gang sent an incredible feeling of glee through his body.

'Yeah that's definitely too dark, I'll have to see if I can find a psychiatrist.'

"Are you done running away now?"

Mike felt his body freeze at those words.

His body shifted, watching as the man raised his scythe once more, bringing it down on his right arm, severing it with one clean blow.

His left followed shortly after.

He didn't even have time to scream before he was lifted by his neck, now staring face to face with the man responsible for whipping out his entire gang.

"There we go, you're so loud, you know."

The whimpering that escaped his mouth sounded so pathetic to him. But perhaps he could appease the man.

"Now, now don't worry, I'm not going to kill you."

The filling of hope that filled his chest was almost sickening.

"There's someone else that deserves that honor."

And just like that the fear that he had felt when he first met the man returned.

"Have a safe trip, Mike, try to stay alive until I get back."

He handed the body to one of the shadows, who burned the flesh closed, cauterizing the wound before taking off towards his base.

'Might as well search the place. You never know when you might find something useful.'

He headed out looking around the gangs base, before finally heading into Mike's room.

What he saw left him gagging.

The woman who once laid on the bed sat crouched in the corner, cowering away from him. As if she expected him to hit her.

She didn't even look up; she probably thought he was Mike returning from the fight.

He approached standing five feet away from her.

"Stand up."

It was a command, not a request.

Her eyes turned up, staring at the man who had approached her; this wasn't Mike.

"Stand up."

His eyes glowed with hidden power, and she felt herself cower once more.

"If you want to live, stand up."

Her eyes traveled along his body; everything about him seemed dangerous. She wanted to shove herself further into the corner.

But something told her this was her last chance.

She stood, shaky legs forcing her to stumble and fall.

But as she looked up, she saw him waiting patiently.

She stood once more, stumbling forward as best she could.

Every step felt agonizing. Every breath hurt, every moment felt like she was taking to long, like her chance would disappear if she waited too long.

With one last step, she collapsed into his waiting arms, pulling her close to him as he asked one question.

"What's your name?"

She would fall unconscious any second she knew that but would he abandon her if she couldn't answer?

With one ragged breath, she let her answer slip from her lips.

"My... My name is Yu... Yu Takeyama."

For the first time, she saw him smile, a warm, kind smile that left her heart fluttering.

"Well then Yu, how about we get you out of here?"

All she could do was nod before she slipped once more into unconsciousness.

"Sleep well, Yu."