Encounter

Sato, Kirishima, Ashido, and Kaminari all looked utterly disappointed. You already know the reason behind it: they failed the practical. 

"Oh my god..." Ashido whimpered out in tears. "You, you guys... I'm totes looking forward to... to all your stories... oh god..."

"D-don't despair, you guys!" Izuku tries to comfort them. "You don't know, there could totally be some unexpected twist."

"Don't say that, Izuku!" You spoke. "You'll just jinx them."

"Those who fail the exam don't get to go to the forest lodge and will be stuck in remedial hell!" Kaminari vociferated angrily. "We failed the practical! Don't you get that, Midoriya, you bastard! Or did All Might beat the brains out of you!!?" The electric blonde poked Izuku in the eyes and the nerd cried out in pain.

"Chill out, Kaminari!" You scolded. "I know you're upset about failing, but that doesn't mean you get to gouge out your classmate's eyes!"

"Yagi's right, so calm down!" Sero agreed. "Besides, I don't know either, man. Thanks to Mineta we technically both cleared it, but all I did was sleep. So, like, as long as it's still not been made clear how we're being graded....."

"If you're gonna show us pity then why don't you give us more than that, huh!!?" Kaminari cried with tears in his eyes.

The classroom door suddenly bursted open and you all rushed to your assigned seats.

"When the bell rings, you should be in your seats." Mr. Aizawa states as he scans the classroom, making sure everyone is seated before entering and standing at the podium. "Morning. Now, about your end-of-term exams..." You glanced at the four who failed. Each one of them had a hopeless expression on their faces. Your homeroom teacher continued. "I hate to say that some of you have failed. And as such..." He smiles big. "Everyone's going to the forest lodge!"

What an unexpected twist!

"There were zero failing grades for the written exam. For the practical, Sato, Kirishima, Ashido, Kaminari and Sero all failed."

Kirishima raises his hand. "But we can still go, teach!?"

Sero sighed, then he hung his head down as he facepalmed. "It's true, looking back, he never said clearing the practical meant a sure passing grade. Damn, this is more embarrassing than the teams that didn't clear it."

If your seat was next to Sero's, you would've patted his back to console him. 

"For the exam, we "villians" left you a way to win while gauging how you faced the challenge we set for each of you." Said Mr. Aizawa. "It all hung on our individual discretion, of course. If we hadn't, then you'd all have run into a dead end before the challenges even really began."

"So, when you said that you weren't going to hold back..." Ojiro trailed off. 

"That was to drive you into a corner. The forest lodge was a training camp to begin with. So the students who failed are the ones who need it the most." Mr.Aizawa smiles mischievously. "It was a logical ruse!"

"A logical ruse!!?" You and your classmates shouted.

It's the Quirk assessment test all over again!

"It happened again! Mr.Aizawa! Aren't you worried that our trust in you will begin to waver if you continue such deception?!" Iida reprimanded, interrupting your excitement. 

"You're not wrong. I'll reflect." Mr.Aizawa replied. "But it's not as though it was all a pack of lies. Failing grades are failing grades. So you've all earned yourselves special remedial periods. And to put it bluntly, they'll be harder than it would have been had you stayed on campus."

The five who failed were no longer celebrating. They look like they received the date of their death.

After your homeroom teacher handed out the lodge guides, he left and class was officially over. 

"This is gonna be great." Ojiro spoke with a smile. "I'm so glad we're all going together."

"It says that the forset lodge is part of a training camp and we'll be there a full week." You said as you read the guide.

"We should probably find bigger suitcases." Izuku recommended. 

"Yeah, I don't even have a bathing suit." Kaminari adds. "Guess I need to but some stuff."

"Like night vision goggles!" Mineta points out, giving you a reason to kick him across the room.

Hagakure spoke up. "Ah, in that case, since tomorrow's free and exams have ended, let's like go shopping together! C'mon, everyone in Class 1-A!"

"That's a great idea, Hagakure!" You turned to your boyfriend. "You should come, too, Katsuki!"

"As if I'd do something as lame as that." Katsuki refused.

Frowning at his refusal, you were about to say something that will convince him to come when Kaminari suddenly drapes his arm over you.

"Well, since your not coming, I guess that means we get to have this little sunflower all to ourselves~" Kaminari teased.

Katsuki stomped over to you and Kaminari. "You better think again, Dunce Face! Get your damn arm off her before I blow it up! I'm coming, too!!"

The electric blonde backed away from you in defense as your boyfriend puts his own arm around you. While Katsuki wasn't paying attention, you mouthed "Thanks" to Kaminari and he winked at you and smiled.

You and everyone of Class 1-A went to the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, the mall that boasts the most shops in the prefecture, on the leading edge of today's youth! The only person who isn't with you guys is Todoroki because he's visiting his mom at the hospital. You were met by several people who recognized you and your classmates from the UA Sports Festival. Since each of you were looking for different things, most of you decided to split up and meet at the same spot again at around three when you're done. As you were finishing up your shopping, you noticed Izuku and ran up to him.

"Izuku! Hey!" You called out, grabbing the boy's attention. 

"Oh, hey, Himawari!" He waved to you. "Are you done shopping? That was quick!"

"I'm almost done. I'm still looking for a couple more things." You noticed that Izuku isn't carrying any shopping bags. "Did you not find what you were looking for, or..."

"Oh! Uh, well, I was with Uraraka earlier, but she suddenly ran off somewhere."

That was strange of her to do.

"Whoa, it's a couple kids from UA, badass!" Said a guy in a black hoodie walking towards the two of you. "I want an autograph." The stranger drapes an arm over Izuku. "You were the one who got beat to hell at the Sports festival, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Your friend nervously replied.

"And you..." The hooded stranger drapes his other hand over you. "You're the cutie who took third place, nice!"

You laughed nervously in discomfort. "Haha.... Thanks."

You were surprised that people still remember you from the sports festival, but you were more surprised at how bold this guy was. Having his arm over you is making you uncomfortable. 

"Aren't you one of the students who ran into the Hero Killer in the Hosu incident, too? You're practically famous."

"You sure do know a lot." Izuku replied.

"What can I say, I'm just a huge fan. I also know that this cutie... is the daughter of All Might."

You gasped at what the stranger said and looked at Izuku who has the same shocked expression as you.

"H-how did you know that...?" You interrogated, fearing the answer. 

"I just found your cool locket. You know, after running into you both again, it makes me think that this might not be a coincidence." You felt the suspicious stranger wrap four of his fingers around your neck. "No. No. This feels like it's destiny. Oh, right. From your perspective, we haven't met since the attack on UA." You dropped one of your shopping bags as you recognized the person that led the attack on you school. Your blood ran cold as you looked into the eyes of Tomura Shigaraki. "Why don't we spend some time catching up? Izuku Midoriya and Hikari Yagi."

You ignited your hand to attack him, but you immediately stopped when he squeezed your neck.

"Don't even think about it." The villian whispered. "Don't make a scene. Also, pick up your bag."

You had no choice but to listen to him. Shigaraki has all but one finger touching Izuku's neck. You picked up your shopping bag with a trembling hand, and the moment you stood back up, you became trapped again. "Good. I'm just an old friend who ran into you at the mall. Calm down and wipe those looks off your faces. All I want is a conversation with you, that's all. A friendly chat. Oh, and of course, if you try to run or fight me in any way... well, it'll be quick." You held your breath as you felt the finger not touching you move. "The moment all five of my fingers touch your neck, you'll start crumbling, from the skin of your throat on down... and within a minute, you'll both be nothing but dust."

Izuku spoke with shaky breath. "I-if you do that, then a hero... f-from the crowd... will come catch you...!"

"That's right..." You shakingly whispered. "You won't escape...!"

Shigaraki grinned. "Of course, but look around you! Eventhough any one of these people could brandish their Quirks like a weapon at any moment. Why do they gather? Why do they laugh? The laws, the rules, they're all based upon people's individual morals. So at heart, they think, "Oh, there's no way anybody would do such a thing." Y'know I could kill 20... No, maybe 30 people before getting captured..."

You and Izuku went pale. You can't let this guy kill any of these innocent civilians. 

"Okay... fine..." You breathed out. 

"What... do you want to talk about...?" Izuku questioned.

Shigaraki chuckled. "That's the spirit. Now, let's take a seat and then we can talk comfortably. Relaxed." The villian led you and Izuku to a bench and you sat down with him still grasping your throats. "To tell you the truth, I hate mostly everything, but the number one thing that's pissing me off right now is the hero killer."

"I thought he was with you guys..." You whimpered. 

"I never agreed to him joining, but he's one of us according to society." He corrected. "And that's the problem. Near everybody seems to be gaga over the Hero Killer. The UA invasion, the nomus we released in Hosu... all of it's been swallowed up by that bastard's fame. Why is nobody looking at me? No matter how much he puffed himself up in the end, he was just destroying what he didn't like, same as me. Between the two of us, what do you think is the difference?"

"You came all this way to see us... just so you could hear the difference between you and the Hero Killer...?" You hissed. "In that case, the difference between you and the Hero Killer is that you're a man-child who attacks for no reason, and he's an idealist who was inspired by All Might's heroism and thought the best way to spread his ideals was by committing murder. You two are not the same."

"She's right." Izuku states. "For her, me, and the Hero Killer... we started out... by watching All Might. And, back then, I was saved by him... at the very least, he didn't destroy because he wanted to. And he didn't give up so easily like you did. His methods were wrong, but he tried to live according to his ideals... that's what I think."

You looked up at Shigaraki's face and your body filled with dread.

"Ah... that's like a weight off my chest." Shigaraki responded. "I see it now... all the dots are connected. Why he makes me so angry, why you both irritate me so much... Everything makes sense." A wicked smile forms on his face. "It's all because of All Might. Yeah, yeah. That's it. That's the most rational explanation." Shigaraki laughs. "I didn't see it, even though it was right in front of me the whole time. What was I worrying about so much? It's simple. He's why these morons are able to smile thoughtlessly!" You felt his grip on your neck get tighter and you and Izuku started to have trouble breathing. "They feel so safe because that garbage pro is smiling thoughtlessly, too, as if there's no one in the whole world he can't save. Oh, I'm glad we had this chat. I feel better. I can't thank you two enough. I don't need to change my ways after all."

Tears welled up in your eyes and you started to sweat from the fear of the situation. You tried to pry his hand off of your neck.

"Whoops, don't struggle, now. Unless you want to die. You want all these people here to crumble as well?"

You were scared out of your mind, but you didn't stop your efforts to free yourself and Izuku. 

"Say, Yagi, how do you think daddy All Might will react when he sees the crumbled remains of his own daughter in a pool of blood? Will he be undeniably heartbroken knowing that he wasn't able to save and protect his family, or will your death not affect him at all and he'll just smile as if your death meant nothing to him?"

Your heart was beating so rapidly that you're pretty sure the boys could hear it. Is he really going to kill you? What can you do to get out of this? If you do anything, he'll kill some of the people in the mall, but if you just sit and wait, he'll kill you and Izuku!

"Deku? Himawari?"

You turned your head slightly and saw Ochaco and Katsuki staring at the three of you. 

"K-Katsuki... Ochaco..." You whimpered out.

"He's not... a friend of yours... is he...?"

Katsuki immediately recognized Shigaraki. 

"Bastard...! You better let them go or else I'll fuckin' murder you right here, right now!" Katsuki demanded as sparks appeared from his hand.

You were relieved to see your friends, but you were also worried that Shigaraki might kill them if they made a move.

"Kacchan, it's nothing! We're fine!" Izuku quickly claims in a panic. "Don't come any closer!"

Shigaraki lets you and Izuku go. You both held your neck as you gasped for air.

He puts on a fake smile. "Oh, so you had company?? Sorry, my bad! I didn't know! Right then, see ya." Shigaraki gets up and begins to walk away. "And don't even try to chase me down."

Katsuki and Ochaco ran to you and Izuku. You were coughing and clutching on to your throat as you trembled in Katsuki's arms.

"Hold on.. Shigaraki!" Izuku gritted out. "What is All For One after?"

"Dunno, but you should focus on taking care of yourselves." Shigaraki answers. "Because, the next time we meet, it'll be because I decided to kill you."

The villian disappears into the crowd, and Ochaco and Katsuki reported the incident. After that, the shopping mall was temporarily closed. Despite joint efforts by local heroes and police, Shigaraki was not found. That very day, you and Izuku were led to the police station,  and were questioned about the events that had transpired. The event was named "The Hero Incident". The police then created a special task force.. in response to the League of Villians' actions. Investor Tsukauchi questioned you both about the prime suspect, Tomura Shigaraki. You told him everything you could: your conversation and his appearance...

Izuku's mom, Inko Midoriya, and your mom, Kami Yagi, rushed to the police station the moment they heard what happened. Izuku's mom was in tears after hearing that her son was confronted by the same villian that attacked the USJ. Your father was also at the police station and it turns out that he's good friends with Investor Tsukauchi. Katsuki stayed by your side the whole time you were in the police station.

"Are you sure you're okay, Hikari?" Katsuki asked you for the second time. 

"Yeah. I'm okay..." You answered softly. 

You then hung your head down as you caressed your neck, remembering the dreadful moment when you were at Shigaraki's mercy. Katsuki noticed your action and gritted his teeth.

"I should've just beaten the crap out of that fucker when I had the chance!"

"He literally had us by our throats and he threatened to kill innocent civilians if we try to fight back or run. There was nothing we could do..."

Katsuki grabs you by your hand that's touching your neck and pulls you into a protective embrace. The same embrace that comforted you when you were trembling and recovering from Shigaraki's hold on you and Izuku. 

"Next time I see that bastard, I'll murder him."

You giggled at his words, but at the same time, in a strange way, you found comfort in them.

"I hate to interrupt, but Izuku and his mom have already left." Your mom intervenes. "We should probably do the same."

You nodded to your mom and you stepped into the backseat with Katsuki. As your mom drove, you decided to ask her a question. 

"Hey, mom." Your mom was still focused on the road, but she was listening. "Were there times when even you and dad couldn't save someone?"

There was a brief pause before she answered you. "Yes. Many times. Even now, somewhere in this world... there's someone who desperately needs help. It sucks, but we're only human. We're unable to help others who are out of our reach, so that's why we have to stand tall and smile. The people, the heroes, even the villians in this world... your father has always done what he can as The Symbol of Peace to light a fire in their hearts."

"It's not like he has a Quirk that allows him to go anywhere around the world who needs his help." Katsuki speaks up. "So, yeah. There are a bunch of extras out there he can't reach, but that doesn't mean he'll lose against whatever bastard is causing trouble."

You smiled at your boyfriend and held his hand. "Yeah, you're right."

Katsuki turns his head towards his car window, hoping that you didn't notice the blush on his face.

To Be Continued...