Author's note: I have no idea where this came from, except I was thinking about how the people Lunatic kills generally deserve it, and I got to thinking about the episode where Lunatic tried to kill Ivan's friend...it seemed to be a bit out of left field, since Ivan's friend only killed accidentally, and I got to thinking, well, what if Lunatic was following him for a few days, waiting to see if he would repent? And then I got this idea. Hopefully it's not too out there *nods*

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i.

He watches.

He doesn't know-she's watching, too.

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ii.

Kotetsu's girl, nineteen now and almost twenty, she's small and frail with skin as thin as paper. He watches and he counts the marks of ash rising at her elbows, the darkness at the hollows of her neck. Her power flares outward in taut bursts, so much so that the NEXTs she tries to touch burst into a green-blue flame.

There is this: the explosion, the accident. The team of heroes, turning into ash.

There is this: her father's death and the rest of her loved ones, too.

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iii.

She tries too hard. The way she walks, that falsetto swagger. She squares her shoulders like she's seen too many superhero movies, hefting her grief around her like a shield.

He watches as she walks up to the bathroom mirror and takes a rusty knife to the length of her hair.

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iv.

At one point, there's the bar. The smoky light and the way the air seems to have weight. The ceiling fan churns and motes of dust flies in the air.

There is a plan, half-thought and convoluted; he can taste her desperation. The wildness in her eyes. Hands take the shape of her glass as she tosses back another shot-a dangerous habit, he knows first-hand.

Sometimes these things can be important.

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v.

"Kaburagi," she says, and offers her hand.

"Lunatic," he says, and takes it.

He feels her thumb press into the center of his palm.

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vi.

These are the days that pass in judgment. Murderers and rapists, the pedophiles and the perverts alike.

The file, when it falls on his desk, catches his eye.

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vii.

"I killed them," she says. Abruptly, eyes flicking upward meeting his.

"I killed. Them."

The file on his desk, earmarked at reports of blue-green flames that were not his.

"Child," he says, and his fingers brush against her cheek.

Sometimes they can't be saved.

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viii.

These are the things that go against his beliefs.

Her hands on his ribcage, the center of the mattress caving with their weight.

Her mouth is hot. It skates across his skin.

Somewhere before this, they had touched. But he cannot remember where.

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ix.

Years will pass, and he will remember the way their teeth knocked together as their mouths collided, how her body arched and her hands turned to fists in his hair.

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x.

A file falls on his desk.

Somewhere, a gunshot fires.

Somewhere, a girl falls dead, far, far away.

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xi.

Morning. Gray light like fog filters across the bed as he silently traces the grain of her skin with his eyes. Never has he wanted anyone as much as he wants this, this body covered in a multitude of small imperfections, the blue-green veins criss-crossing the stigmata of her sins.

He has seen how those eyes fill with self-hatred. He has seen this in himself.

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xii.

"So Lunatic was a chick," the man in the jumpsuit says, and he looks up from his papers and frowns, knowingly. "I never would have guessed."

"So it would seem," the judge says, and he sets his coffee down.

A/N: in case that didn't make sense (LOL), Kaede somehow got Lunatic's ability but she couldn't control it, and she ended up killing anyone who got near her, including other NEXTs she tried to touch. I also got the idea that his flames wouldn't be able to harm her because she has his power. So yeah. Dun dun dun XD