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You slowly climb down the ladder, the sound of silence meeting your ears. It makes you nervous; maybe you shouldn't have left Midoriya alone in the cellar.

Instead of finding him a sobbing mess like you expected, he's laying on the bed in the corner, fast asleep.

You sigh in relief. He's okay. He's just napping.

Doubt creeps up your spine from all of the murder mysteries and dramas you've read. What if he's dead? Passed out, maybe?

You creep over to the bed, eyeing his chest as it slowly rises and falls. He's laying on top of the blanket, as if he just sat down and accidentally fell asleep. 

You take it from under him and lay it over his scarred body. 

He sleeps. Finally, the world slows down, just for this broken boy who has been through too much.

You wish it could stay like this forever. Calm. You want him to be okay.

You sigh, climbing back up the ladder to let him sleep. Midoriya. Izuku. Deku. Who is he? You don't care. As long as he's okay for now.

"Hey, kid," you say, calling out to Shinimi, "are you feeling better? You should probably drink some water."

He looks at you, nodding. "I guess. What are you, a nurse or something?"

You answer as you grab him a water bottle. "Actually I'm a journalist."

He tilts his head, taking the water from you. "Really? What's your quirk?"

"I can heal myself."

"That's cool."

"I guess."

He twists the cap off, staring down at the water in disbelief. He takes a drink, gulping down half the bottle in mere seconds. It dribbles down his chin, dropping onto his plain, gray shirt.

"Wow," he sighs, "I haven't had cold water in so long."

You furrow your brows, your voice soft. "Seriously?"

He shrugs. "Yeah. Ponds were always my last resort, but they were the worst."

You look at this boy, whose name you don't know, whose hair is messy and clumped from dried blood, and whose heart you barely know.

He's a killer. You've seen him kill two other kids now; so why do you feel so sympathetic? 

His eyes are humble and his hands are calloused. His face holds anything but pride, and his hands are gentle, even as he closes the cap to his water bottle.

You don't want to call him Shinimi, since that's the name the crowd gave him. You don't know the story behind it, so you don't utter the name.

"What's your quirk?" You say instead, curious as to how he . . . defeated . . . his foes so quickly. 

You recall them falling to the ground without even a touch from the teen.

Shinimi looks down. "It's kind of hard to explain."

You smile sincerely. "We've got time to kill."

His cheeks redden, and he looks at you for a moment. "Alright," he starts, "I can control epinephrine, which is the chemical your brain releases when you're angry or scared or frustrated."

You nod.

"It's like this," he explains some more, "when someone is angry or scared, I can control their body by connecting with that chemical in their brain."

You blink. "That's . . . crazy. Crazy cool, I mean. Wow."

"It comes in handy, I guess, but only in fights."

"Why do you . . . " You sigh, not sure if you should ask or not, "Why do you fight?"

Shinimi looks at you again, as if searching through your head and trying to figure out if you're an ally or not. He must see something there, because he answers genuinely. 

"I fight because," he whispers, "there's nothing else to do. I fight in hope that, when I reach the top and someone takes notice, I'll finally have . . . somewhere to be."

"Even at the risk of getting caught and arrested?"

"I think I want to be caught," he admits, "I want someone to realize what I'm doing, and either stop me, or take me in."

You stare at his face. It's sad. 

He meets your eyes, blushing. "S-Sorry, that sounded so dumb. I don't know why I'm telling you this, you're just . . . easy to talk to."

A small smile dances across your lips. "That's okay. We can work together now. You're not alone."

Something passes across his eyes then, a sort of hope or acceptance, you can't tell. What he says next catches you by surprise.

"Do you believe in fate?"

"I don't know," you answer him. 

You remember the time you healed Midoriya. Maybe . . . ?

You hold out a hand to Shinimi, smiling. "Okay, just trust me for a sec. I'm gonna try something."

He nods, and you place your palm on his forehead, activating your quirk.

Below the bandage, skin reforms, and blood dries. His wound heals. 

You jerk your hand away, staring at your palm. 

What is happening?

❧