"So this is Mementos, huh...?" Akihiko surveyed their black and red surroundings with an expression full of intrigue and excitement. It was obvious to Shiina that he was eager to fight the Shadows in there.

Rather than going straight to Akihiko and Ken's apartment once the Sports Festival was over, Akihiko wanted to check out what the Metaverse looked like so Shiina decided to introduce them to Mementos after they stepped out of the train. Neither of the males had a thief suit, so she didn't bother to transform since it'd feel awkward being the only one suited up.

"This is as creepy as Tartarus," Ken noted, summoning his long spear as a precaution.

Shiina chuckled. "Relax, the Shadows won't attack us until we go downstairs." She jutted her chin towards the broken-down escalators.

Akihiko grinned and cracked his neck. "Well? What are we waiting for?"

It didn't take long for some Shadows to 'stumble' upon them. Unfortunately, they were all pretty weak and one punch from Akihiko was enough to kill them. Disappointed, the group set out to venture a bit deeper into Mementos where all the other stronger Shadows would be.

"It's basically everyone's Palace," she explained as she slit open the throat of a Pisaca. "The people you'll find here are corrupt but not as corrupt as those who have their own Palace. They're like... semi-corrupt, I guess."

"Wait, you're saying there are people here?" Ken asked in slight alarm.

"Shadow Selves, I mean." She clarified.

"Ahh," he relaxed. "So how exactly do you change their hearts here? Is it different than when you're dealing with a Palace ruler?"

She nodded. "Yeah. In here, we don't have to send a calling card. We just beat them up on first notice."

Both boys sweatdropped.

They entered the next area and Shiina immediately froze as she took in the familiar scenery.

"What's wrong?" Akihiko asked her.

"Look at the walls," she instructed. "You see those red spider web-like cracks? That usually indicates that there's a Shadow Self in the area. How do you feel about changing someone's heart?"

Ken's eyes lit up in a childish manner that he rarely allowed himself to express. "You mean we actually get to be like Phantom Thieves?"

She nodded, grinning.

"I'm in," he said automatically. "Sanada-san?"

"Me too," the elder man replied, already jogging ahead to find the Shadow Self.

"Ohh, I can't wait!" Ken said giddily as he and Shiina chased after him.

It took them just a few minutes to find the swirly black and red vortex that led them towards an empty area of the twisted subway. In front of them stood a yellow-eyed man with wispy shadows pulsing around him like a barrier.

"Is that him?" Akihiko whispered.

Shiina nodded and walked forward. "Hey there! Who're you?"

The Shadow person looked up at her idly. "Hmm? Me? It's not like it's any of your business, but if you gotta know, I'm Wakasa Yoshito."

Shiina racked her brain, going through a mental list of potential targets from the Phan site and gasped in realization.

"Oh! I know you! You're a scam artist, aren't you? You target lonely, elderly people... That's so sad," she giggled. "You don't have the guts to target anyone of your age, so you go after the weakest of the bunch. You're really pathetic, you know that?"

Akihiko stared at her. "Uh, kid, should you really be...?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Wakasa demanded, his distorted voice rising.

She placed a hand over her chest and introduced herself, "I may not look like it, but I'm a Phantom Thief and my friends and I are here to change your teeny, tiny, little heart."

His animosity faded away after hearing that. He appeared more enthusiastic now. "A Phantom Thief, huh? I hear about you guys a lot. You're a bunch of glamorous thieves, right? Behind the scenes though, you guys must be making lots of money. Tell me how you do it."

"How about I show you instead?" Her mask appeared over her face and she ripped it off. "Persona!"

Behind her, she could hear the telltale signs of Personas being summoned via evoker and grinned in excitement.

"Did you really have to egg him on?" Ken sighed as Wakasa turned into a foul-smelling Chernobog.

"That's the best part of all of this," Shiina snickered before ordering Tullia to cut through the Shadow.

Akihiko's Persona, Caesar, came forward next. It was a large, gladiator-esque entity carrying a sword on one hand and a globe in the other.

It swooped towards the swaying Chernobog and unleashed Ziodyne.

Nothing.

"Aw man, it's null to Electricity attacks, isn't it?" Akihiko huffed under his breath.

"Let me try next. Hamaon!" Ken shouted, and his Persona blasted the Shadow back with powerful light damage.

"Ooh, it looks weak to that!" Shiina cursed. "Damn. That means Curse attacks won't work on it."

The Chernobog straightened up and screamed, a massive heat wave riding off of it's thin body and striking everyone down.

"Just give it up! Two thirds of you are unable to fight me!" Wakasa taunted.

"Electricity attacks ain't all I got!" Akihiko growled, storming forward with his Persona and delivering heavy punches on the Shadow's wobbly frame.

"Let's rip that thing apart Tullia!" Shiina grinned, gaining on the Shadow and cutting down the mutant blue mushrooms growing from the edges of it's robe before stabbing her claws into it's chest and slicing upwards.

"AAAAARGHHH!" He shrieked in agony.

"You're pretty easy prey," Ken sneered. "Then again, you steal money from the elderly so it's no surprise."

"Keep your mouth shut! You're nothing but a damn kid, what do you know about business?!" The Chernobog made a mad swipe at him with his sword, but Ken merely lifted his spear up to block the attack.

Ken angrily parried back. "You call scamming innocent people 'business'? You're nothing but some low-life crook!" He jabbed his spear at the Shadow's face, making it scream and stumble back into Shiina's path.

She easily wrenched the sword away from his hand, then kicked him hard on the chest. "Your move now, Akihiko!" She exclaimed cheerily as the Chernobog stumbled back again, this time towards an eagerly waiting Akihiko.

"W-who...?!" Wakasa spun around, prying his hands away from his bleeding face. He was instantly met by Akihiko's fist.

POW!

"I'm shutting your business down, Wakasa." Akihiko grunted, pulling his fist back once more and bringing it out to deliver one last painful punch.

Unfortunately, it didn't completely disappear. Instead, it was surrounded by a familiar bright glow.

Shiina dipped her head back and groaned. "Oh no, it healed!"

Akihiko grinned. "That's fine. That just means we get to beat it up some more! Caesar! Rakunda!"

Ken readied his spear and was about to throw it until the Chernobog successfully hit everyone with a Tentarafoo, rendering them all dazed and confused. Ken inwardly groaned as three different Chernobogs appeared, and he was unable to tell which was which.

Shiina tried to kicked at the Shadow's head, but managed to knock Akihiko onto his butt instead.

"Ow, that was me!" He grunted in pain, groping the walls to help himself up. "Good kick though..." He grumbled.

"Sorry!" She squeaked, unknowingly speaking to Ken.

Wakasa laughed gleefully. "God, you three are so stupid!"

"Hey!" Shiina barked, summoning her gun and cocking it.

Akihiko, who somehow managed to see what she was holding, hastily scrambled back. "What the hell, you have a gun?! Don't go shooting it, you're still confused!"

"Oh right..." She mumbled, the weapon disappearing. "Argh, I don't think straight when I'm confused!"

"Dumb bitches like you don't think straight at all!" Wakasa shouted, attacking them all with Heat Wave yet again.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot!" Shiina whined, trying to get back up on her feet.

Ken gave himself a harsh smack across the face and blinked as clarity returned to his vision. He smirked in victory. "Heh, finally." He pulled his arm back and shot his spear straight through the Shadow's head.

It was defeated instantly, and the affects of it's Tentarafoo faded away too (thankfully). The real Wakasa appeared from the murky darkness and he fell to his knees.

"Ugh..." He grunted. "I've been such a bastard. I-I was really taking money from old people. Oh, man..."

Akihiko's eyes widened. "W-whoa, I wasn't expecting a change of heart that quickly..."

"He truly regrets it?" Ken whispered to Shiina, who nodded in reply.

"You need to apologize," she told Wakasa.

He nodded furiously. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

"No, not to me," she rolled her eyes. "Apologize to all those innocent people you've taken advantage of!"

"R-right," he swallowed thickly. "I'll visit the houses of everyone I tricked. I'll apologize to them all before I turn myself in. I'll confess everything I've done to my parents too... I'll apologize for being such an idiot son."

At his last words, he was bathed in a bright light and quickly disappeared.

Akihiko and Ken went slack-jawed.

"S-seriously...?" Ken gaped. "That was it...? You just beat them up and—?!"

Shiina snickered at their funny expressions. "Yeah. I told you already, didn't I? 'We just beat them up on first notice' is what I think I said."

"Well yeah," he spluttered. "But I didn't think you meant it literally!"

"This was a nice experience," Akihiko said with a satisfied grin as they walked back to the entrance.

"Wasn't it? I wish Koromaru was with us though. I'm still curious about his Persona." Shiina pouted to herself. "Where is he anyways? Did you guys just leave him alone at home?"

"Nah," the older man shook his head. "I left him with a neighbor."

They were exploring Mementos for a bit too long because by the time they returned to reality, the night sky was already out and it was dinnertime. When they made it to the apartment, Akihiko told Ken to order some pizza ("Stuffed crust, please!" Shiina requested.) before heading over to his neighbor's place.

It was just a few doors down. He knocked on the door and waited patiently. A few seconds later a familiar white haired young man answered and greeted him with a grin.

"Oh, hey, you're late!" He exclaimed. "I was getting worried you left me with the dog."

"Nah, like I'd ever abandon Koromaru," Akihiko chuckled as the Shiba Inu excitedly bounded over to his side. He bent down to pat his head before straightening up. "Thanks for watching over him, Natsuo."

The young man shook his head. "No problem, dude."

— ❤ —

While eating through her third slice of pizza, Shiina (who already felt at home) was surfing through the channels of the television with Koromaru sprawled over her lap. She let out a loud gasp as she switched to a certain show.

"Oh wow, Kenny, look!" She said with a shit-eating grin. Akihiko saw what was going on and snorted into his drink. "They're doing a Featherman marathon tonight! We're just in time for the first episode too!"

Ken struggled not to throw his pizza at her. "I-I don't watch that anymore. That's a kid's show!" He said with a face as red as her hair.

"Tell that to your action figures." Akihiko sniggered.

"Sanada-san!" Ken exclaimed, betrayed.

Koromaru, who obviously felt bad for the poor boy, hopped off of Shiina's lap and bounded over to Ken's side, snuggling against his neck.

"You can watch it if you want," Akihiko said in a teasing tone. "I mean, it runs all through midnight, but it's not like you guys have any classes for the next two days."

"I'm not gonna watch some TV show the whole night!" Ken huffed, but Shiina and Akihiko both knew he meant differently.

"Okaaaay," Akihiko sang. "If you say so."

"You don't even want to watch the first episode?" Shiina asked innocently as it began to play. Ken's ears turned red as the familiar theme song sounded throughout the room.

"Nope. No thank you." He said through gritted teeth.

She sighed in false defeat. "Oh alright then..."

The rest of their night went that way. With Shiina and Akihiko occasionally asking Ken if he was absolutely sure he didn't want to watch the Featherman show and Ken snapping at them that he was a 100% certain and Koromaru was often used as a peacemaker between the three.

When it got late, Akihiko announced that it was lights out and showed Shiina to the guest room. "It's the smallest bedroom here, but it's closest to the kitchen and bathroom so I think you'll like it." He said as he opened the door.

Like everything else in the apartment, it had rich brown wooden floorboards and white walls. There was a queen sized bed in the middle of the room. Beside it was a nightstand that had a few plastic flowers on it. Next to the door was a closet with a sliding door. At the other side of the room was a padded windowsill that overlooked the streets and nearby buildings outside.

"You can wear that for now too since you don't have any pajamas on you," Akihiko jutted his chin towards the center of the bed, where a large shirt laid. The older man turned a bit pink in the cheeks and scratched the back of his head before explaining. "It's, um, one of mine. It won't fit you, but I gave you one of my largest shirts so you can cover everything up—ah, you know what? I'm just gonna... let you do your thing. Yeah. Uh. Goodnight. Bye."

She wasn't even able to say 'goodnight' back before he scurried down the hallway to the master bedroom.

"Goodnight!" She called out.

"Night!" She heard Ken call back from his room just across from hers. She heard Koromaru bark in reply too, followed by a muffled 'goodnight' from Akihiko.

After Shiina stripped down and threw on Akihiko's shirt (which was seriously huge), she turned off the lights and settled down in the comfy bed, not even caring that she wasn't able to do her usual nighttime skincare routine. Half an hour passed and she was still awake, snuggling closely with a pillow.

Her eyes flew open when she heard the floorboards creaking from outside. She listened patiently and smirked as the television was turned on.

Gotcha, she thought, slinking out of bed. Ever so quietly, she opened the door and fought back a snicker as she carefully walked towards the living room.

Lo and behold, Ken was on the couch watching Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory. She tiptoed over over to him from behind and once she was near enough, she grabbed his shoulders and said, "Boo!"

Ken choked on his scream and promptly fell off the couch.

Shiina was laughing with tears in her eyes.

"Shiina!" He hissed angrily, face turning tomato red. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I can't believe you!" She wheezed, clutching her stomach. "You actually sneaked off in the middle of the night to watch Featherman!"

He paled. "W-what?! No! I was just, uh...!" He fumbled around with the remote, hastily changing the channel. "You got me wrong, I just turned the TV on and that was showing! I wanted to watch something else!"

"Uh huh," she said with a very familiar shit eating grin on your face. "You wanted to watch a promotional episode about cosmetics? I thought that was my thing, Kenny."

"Huh?!" He whirled around to face the screen and grimaced. She was right. Some lady was trying to sell some sort of powdered foundation. He slowly turned back to Shiina, feeling defeated. "Fine... I was watching Featherman."

"You're such a nerd," she cooed, hopping over the back of the couch and landing beside him. "Come on, switch the channel back. I wanna see why you and Futaba obsess over it so much."

Ken did as he was told. "Futaba watches it too?"

"She has a whole set of figurines in her room," she snorted. "You probably have the same edition too. And more."

"I don't." He said hotly.

She quirked a brow.

His shoulders slumped. "Okay, I do. Now shush, the commercial's ending."

Shiina watched the show with intrigue. She could see why people would be interested in the show. The original Featherman was created before the time Quirks existed, so it was interesting to see how the newly formed superhero group gained their powers unlike in today where people were just born with them.

"You know," Ken spoke up as the credits rolled in and the ending song played. "The Phantom Thieves kinda remind me of the Phoenix Rangers."

"What?!" She gave him a bewildered look.

He laughed. "I'm serious! You have superpowers that everyone else doesn't have, you work in a group, your clothes transform, and you fight bad guys. You guys are exactly like them!"

He had a point. She crossed her arms. "Okay fine, but the Phantom Thieves are way cooler."

"I disagree."

"Because you're biased!" She snapped.

"So are you!" He retorted, snickering.

"Well the Phantom Thieves have Morgana." She said in a matter-of-factly tone. "He's a talking cat that can turn into various vehicles. And what do the Phoenix Rangers have? Nothing. We're clearly more superior."

He shook his head. "I still disagree."

She disagreed with his disagreement.

The next episode began, starting off with the opening song as usual (Shiina was beginning to like the catchy tune). "Who's your favorite character?" She suddenly asked.

"The Red Hawk. He's the leader," Ken replied. "You?"

"Pink Argus." She smiled. "She's the only Ranger there with style. Plus, I like the color."

Ken's expression grew amused. "You know, the actress who plays the Pink Argus—Takeba Yukari—is a Persona User too. She's a reserve member for the Shadow Operatives."

If Shiina was drinking something, she would've spat it out. "Pink Argus is a Persona User?!" She gawked.

"The actress, yes."

"You're joking."

"I'm serious. Go over to the bookshelf. You see that white picture frame over there?"

Shiina got up from the couch and walked over to the bookshelf. She saw a photograph that seemed to be taken several years ago. It was a group picture of a bunch of teens, one child, one dog, and one adult. Everyone looked startled—most likely because of the guy on the back who looked to be falling over. She saw Ken and Koromaru at the front. Behind them was a tall, dark blue haired male that had his head turned. On his left was a younger Takeba Yukari and beside her was Akihiko.

"Whoa, Akihiko doesn't look so buff here!" She awed. "And awww, Kenny, you never told me how cute you looked when you were a kid!"

She heard him groan and realized that he was now standing next to her. "Don't call me a cute kid, Shiina..." He massaged his temples.

"But you were! And Koromaru too! Who are these people anyways?"

Ken looked at the picture and smiled sadly. "That was the Extracurricular Execution Squad club or SEES for short. This was before the Shadow Operatives were created. The girl in the middle is Yamagishi Fuuka. She works as our tactical support. The red haired girl is Kirijo Mitsuru, CEO of the Kirijo Group and leader of the Shadow Operatives. The man behind her is her father, but... he was killed by Ikutsuki."

Shiina opened her mouth to say something, but didn't know what to say...

Ken hurried on. "That's Sanada-san and Takeba-san. Behind them is Iori Junpei. He's a reserve member too and is currently working as a baseball coach for the little league."

He stopped talking there, but there was still one more person left in the picture. She spoke carefully, "And... the blue haired boy behind you? Who... who is he...?"

He swallowed and took a while to answer. "That's... Arisato Minato. He's the one who sacrificed himself to save the world. His soul is forever trapped to fight against Erebus over and over again in order to prevent The Fall from happening."

"The Fall?" She asked, having never heard the term before.

"The end of the world, you can call it." He murmured. "Over a decade ago, the Kirijo Group did a number of experiments dealing with Shadows, which eventually caused a huge explosion that lead to the creation of the Dark Hour and Tartarus. Gekkoukan High School was built over the destruction, which was why it became Tartrus during the Dark Hour."

"Why would they experiment with Shadows...?" Shiina asked, feeling troubled.

His face fell. "They wanted to find a way to use their power. They discovered about the Fall through a prophecy stating that Nyx, the personification of death, will descend upon the world and destroy humanity. Soon, they learned about Death, the herald of Nyx. These scientists grew even more twisted and continued their experiments in hope to resurrect Death in order to summon Nyx. In the last stages of the experiment, Takeba-san's father—one of the lead scientists—didn't agree with what they were doing and interrupted the experiment. The god, Death, was then separated into twelve parts—or Shadows."

"That was the cause of the explosions... and the creation of the Dark Hour and Tartarus." Shiina realized, and he nodded.

"That was why SEES was created. To hunt down the twelve Shadows. We thought doing that would get rid of the Dark Hour and Tartarus for good, but we were misled and betrayed by Ikutsuki... By killing those Shadows, we were actually reuniting the pieces of Death, which helped bring about the end of the world. Then Death himself came to Gekkoukan high school in the form of a boy named Ryoji."

"Death came to your school?" She gawked.

"Er, not my school. I was still a middle schooler, remember?"

"Oh yeeeaaah..."

"Anyways," he chuckled a bit. "One of the SEES member, Aigis, who's an Anti-Shadow weapon—"

"—Wait, she's a robot?"

"Yes. A decade ago from that time, she actually fought Death herself and sealed him inside Arisato-san when he was just a child," Ken's eyes drew towards the blue haired boy in the picture. "Once Ryoji regained his memories as Death, he gave Arisato-san the option to kill him, which would allow SEES to forget the Dark Hour and live peacefully until the end of the world. Obviously, we chose not to kill him. When the Fall came and Nyx began to descend, Arisato-san was the only one able to fight against her. He locked her away, but had to sacrifice himself to do so."

"Why does nobody remember Nyx coming to our world?" She asked curiously.

"After Nyx was sealed away, everything returned to normal with everyone's memories wiped. Aigis was the only one who remembered everything we went through that year. During Gekkoukan's graduation, we regained our memories and went to schools roof top where we found Aigis with Arisato-san. And he was... dying. He looked peaceful. Like he was asleep," he said softly, unable to pry his eyes away from the picture."

"And now his soul is eternally fighting against Erebus." She finished.

He nodded in confirmation. "Erebus must never make contact with Nyx, else the world will fall again because humanity is always wishing for death."

— ❤ —

When Akihiko woke up early in the morning, he freshened up and headed over to the kitchen to give himself some breakfast only to be surprised by the sight he saw on the living room couch.

Shiina and Ken were sleeping together on the couch, snuggled closely and sharing a warm blanket. Akihiko couldn't help but smile at the sight. Who knew their little Kenny would grow up so fast? He sneakily took several pictures before turning off the TV (which they had accidentally left on).

"I gotta send this to the group chat..." He chuckled under his breath, scrolling through his messages and looking for the chat that Junpei had named 'The SEES Candies' (Mitsuru didn't approve of it, but she wasn't in charge of conversation).

[Yukari: Is that... Ken? With a girl? OMG  😆!!!]

[Junpei: OOOOOMMMMGGGG he finally lost his virginity?!?!?!?!]

[What? No!]

[Junpei: Oh darn]

[Junpei: r they at least dating? Kenny's got himself a good catch, I'm so proud of him🤧 🤧]

[They're just friends]

[She's actually Kiberi Shiina, the Persona User and Phantom Thief I told u guys about]

[She's Ken's classmate too]

[Fuuka: Isn't she also the daughter of Endeavor?]

[Yeah. We had her stay over. Long story short, her dad's not happy with her performance during the Sports Festival so her brother Shouto told her she needed a place to hide]

[You know. Since her dad's a bitch and all]

[Yukari: Poor kids. I hope her brother's ok at least]

[Junpei: Yeah it's a good thing you let her stay over, Endeavor seems like a crazy bastard!]

[Mitsuru: Akihiko. Why are you taking pictures of two sleeping teenagers?]

[Aegis: Yes, your actions are quite concerning.]

[Lay off me it's not like that!!]

[Mitsuru: I hope this doesn't become a habit.]

[IT'S. NOT.]

Akihiko shook his head at his friends antics before resuming preparations for breakfast. When he was done, he returned to the living room and yanked the blanket away from the pair.

"Wakey, wakey!" He said in a loud voice. "Wake up you two! I got breakfast!"

Shiina just groaned while Ken's eyes opened. It took him a while to register the fact that he had his arms wrapped around Shiina. With a loud yelp, he scrambled away from her only to topple off the side of the couch.

"Nice one, Ken," Shiina said with a lazy snicker.

He threw a pillow at her, which only made her laugh harder. After everyone was wide awake, they started eating together with Koromaru eagerly eating from his food bowl beside the table.

"Slow down there, dude," Shiina said as she watched Ken greedily gulp down a full glass of milk.

"He's lactose intolerant too," Akihiko shook his head. "Yet he drinks it all the time."

"I just want to get taller," Ken said once he was finished.

"How much taller do you wanna get?" Akihiko questioned. "You're already five foot eleven. Are you trying to reach six feet?"

"Six foot one," Ken corrected. "I want to be taller than you."

He snorted. "Good luck with that, kid."

"Just two more inches," Shiina sighed with false sadness. "So close yet so far."

Ken rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"Man, I just can't believe how much you've grown," Akihiko said with a reminiscent smile. "Remember when you were a little runt? You were barely just five feet and look at you now. Second tallest of the team."

"I saw the pictures," Shiina chimed. "He was just adorable."

"Wasn't he?" Akihiko grinned in agreement. Even Koromaru let out a bark of confirmation.

Ken's ears turned pink. "So has Endeavor calmed down?"

Shiina snorted. "Nice change of subject, but to answer your question: I don't know. I sent Shouto a text but I haven't received a reply. I'm planning on going home anyways."

"You sure you want to?" Akihiko asked with a twinge of concern. "I mean, you're always welcomed to stay longer. None of us really mind."

She shook her head. "No, I should go home. The longer I stay away, the angrier he'll get."

He pursed his lips and mulled it over. As much as he hated it, she had a point. "Okay. I'll drive you back once you're ready."

They left once breakfast was over. After changing back into her clothes, she bid Ken goodbye and gave Koromaru a warm hug. As promised, Akihiko drove her home but didn't stop there.

"You sure you don't want me to go in with you?" He asked, sounding somewhat apprehensive as he eyed the house gates.

"I'll be fine from here," she assured, opening the gates. "Thank you for letting me stay and for driving me."

He shook his head, "It was no biggie."

She waved goodbye before stepping passed the gates. When she made it to the front door, someone had already swung it open.

"Shiina," Shouto greeted, breathing out a sigh of relief. "You didn't answer my messages."

"Huh?" She checked her phone and sweatdropped. He had sent her a few messages during the car ride here, but she was so busy chatting with Akihiko that she hadn't notice. "Sorry, I didn't realize it. Where are you going?"

"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to visit mom with me." He said, and Shiina almost choked on air.

"Mom?" Her voice nearly cracked. "You—you want to visit... her?"

"I want to visit her with you." He corrected. He noticed her obvious hesitance and frowned. "Do you want to come...?"

It had been ten years since she had last seen her mom and they rarely ever communicated before that. Shiina had Endeavor's features and her mother would often flinch just from the sight of her red hair alone. Once Shouto's 'training' began, Rei devoted all her time with her youngest son in hopes to keep him safe from Endeavor, completely leaving her other kids behind (though Shiina knew it wasn't her fault).

When was the last time her mom had smiled at her? Or talked to her without that weary expression on her face? If she visited her, would she flinch like she always did? And oh god, Shiina had once supported her abuser. What if she resented her for that?

Shiina looked down, unable to meet her brother's eyes. "I can't. I'm sorry."

He nodded, eyes full of empathy. "I understand. I'll be going now. Be careful, though. That man is still in the house."

She was hoping he'd be gone, but it was too late to back out now. She nodded in response and entered the cold place called home. She quietly walked to her room, all too familiar with having to stay silent. Before she could even reach the hallway, she heard a tiny gasp and whirled around.

It was Fuyumi.

"You're... back." The older woman murmured.

"Endeavor's still pissed, isn't he?" Shiina muttered knowingly.

She nodded. "He's furious with you. He was especially mad that you decided to run away."

"I didn't run away," Shiina snapped, glaring so fiercely at her sister that she flinched. Shiina's glare faltered to a guilty expression. "Sorry. Look, I didn't run away, okay? I thought Shouto explained it to you... He wanted me to stay somewhere else to keep out of Endeavor's radar. Where is he right now anyways?"

Fuyumi opened her mouth only for her voice to fall to a squeak and for her expression to turn into a frightened one. Shiina stiffened when she felt a scorching heat at her back.

He's right behind me, she thought, slowly turning around.

She had never seen Endeavor so mad before. She was pretty sure the only time he was ever this pissed was when her mom physically scarred Shouto and look where she ended up: stuck in a mental institution for ten years, never able to leave.

"You..." He said darkly, staring at her with pure abhorrence. "How dare you show your face back here after that pitiful performance in the Sports Festival..."

"..." She gulped inaudibly. Unable to trust her voice to speak, she settled with giving him a defiant glare.

"Do you see yourself as brave to return here?" He snarled. "After that shitshow you and Shouto performed and the pitiful rank he earned—"

"—I didn't think you'd have a problem with his ranking." Shiina interrupted, grinning devilishly. "After all, he got second place. Just. Like. You."

She was so stiff with fear that she could barely react when his hand shot out and she was thrown against the coffee table, shattering it upon impact. She could hear Fuyumi scream with terror as she tried to sit up, little bits of glass piercing into the skin of her palms and broken pieces of wood jabbing at her, when her throat was suddenly grabbed by a steaming hand.

A laugh bubbled out from her lips. "Strangling me again?" She choked out. "That's gotten old—haacckk!"

"Dad, please stop, she can't breath!" Fuyumi shrieked.

That's kinda the point! She wanted to snark, but the hand around her throat was tightening its grasp and she could no longer speak. She could feel and smell the heat he was emitting and her eyes widened in terror at the realization that he was burning her neck.

Suddenly, she heard the front door being smashed open, followed by the loud BANG! of a gun. Fuyumi instinctively dove down to cover her head, but the barrel of the gun was only aimed at the one who pulled the trigger.

"You sick son of a bitch—!" A voice that sounded a lot like Akihiko snarled. She forced herself to stay awake a bit longer to watch as a massive black hand harshly collided with Endeavor's face. The hand released her and she greedily sucked in more air. Her hand reached out to touch her throat, but she winced as she was reminded of the pieces of glass still stuck to her.

"Shiina!" Fuyumi quickly went to her side and pulled her away from the wreckage.

"Caeser, Diarahan!" Akihiko ordered, pointing at Shiina. He couldn't bring himself to look at the burnt remains of her throat.

Fuyumi watched in speechless awe as the black and white entity floated over to Shiina and began healing her wounds. The burns disappeared from her throat and her hands stopped bleeding. She looked as good as new.

"You call yourself a hero?!" Akihiko spat at Endeavor, dodging to the side to avoid his flaming fist. "What hero strangles his own daughter?!" He aimed low and punched him straight in the gut.

"Ziodyne!" He shouted. He wanted to use a weaker attack since he didn't want to destroy Shiina's house, but Caeser could no longer use Zio. A bolt of lightning shot out of from nowhere and struck Endeavor down, paralyzing him as well.

Shiina cleared her throat as if to test it out. "Akihiko, I thought you went home?" She asked, as if there currently wasn't a fight going on in the living room.

Akihiko turned away from Endeavor's shocked form and replied, "Met up with your brother outside the gates. He told me that your dad was still here so I decided to stay a bit longer to make sure you'd be okay. Good thing I did too... The second I heard the screams, I hopped the gates and came here." He gave Fuyumi a sheepish and apologetic look. "Sorry about the door though. I'll, uh, send you a check for that."

"That's fine..." She said breathlessly, still trying to regain her scattered thoughts.

Akihiko walked away from Endeavor until he was now standing in front of the two girls. "How's your throat?"

Shiina gingerly touched it and felt smooth skin. She smiled and nodded in confirmation. "It's all good now. Thank you."

He smiled in relief and dismissed Caeser. They all turned their attention back to Endeavor, who was quivering with (literally) restrained anger. He couldn't even move his eyes up to glare at them and was reduced to kneeling and glaring at the floor.

"What should we do about him? Should we call the cops?" Akihiko asked unsurely.

Fuyumi shook her head. "It's no use," she whispered, her eyes glazing over. "One of my brothers tried... It didn't go well."

"Endeavor's just like Shido," Shiina muttered to him, ignoring the confused look Fuyumi wore. "He has too much sway with the police. Plus, they probably wouldn't even believe that the Number Two Hero would ever do something so villainous. Not even when all the proof's staring back at them right in the face."

Akihiko scowled in disgust at how corrupt hero society had gotten, but nodded his head in acceptance.

Endeavor's fingers suddenly began to twitch and with a groan, he slowly regained usage of his limbs. The three of them tensed up, and Akihiko's hand inched for his evoker. Endeavor stood up and gave Shiina a look of pure loathing. He murmured something under his breath, but she could barely hear it.

"...out..."

"What?" She said.

His face contorted into a mad rage. "I said GET—OUT! GET OUT AND LEAVE! AND DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK!"

All three of them stood stunned. Fuyumi was the first to speak up.

"Dad," she croaked. "You... you can't... please, you can't—"

Endeavor raised his hand and Fuyumi stumbled away from him. "THIS IS MY HOUSE!" He bellowed. "THIS IS MY HOUSE AND I AM IN CHARGE HERE! WHAT I SAY GOES AND I WANT THAT GODDAMN ABOMINATION OUT!"

Akihiko stepped forward and by the looks of it, he was about to rip Endeavor a new one until Shiina interrupted.

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth as tears violently obscured her vision. "I'll leave! I've been wanting to get out of this hellhole anyways!"

"Then pack your shit and go." Endeavor said darkly.

Shiina stormed away, heading straight for her bedroom. She felt Fuyumi try to pull her back, but she easily shouldered her away. Hopefully Akihiko could watch over her.

When she made it to her bedroom, she opened the door with a loud bang. She yanked her suitcase out from her closet and began shoving whatever she could fit in there, angrily throwing her things around as her skin heated up. She felt like she couldn't breath, like there was still a burning hand wrapped around her throat. This body was too small for her, she wanted to rip through her bindings and just scream and destroy and—

She was back in the living room with her suitcase in hand without her even realizing it. Fuyumi was begging her to stay and begging Endeavor to change his mind, and Akihiko was trying to tell her something but she couldn't hear it from her own mental screams and the violent ringing in her mind.

All the noise went away when Endeavor called out her name and said the words that made everyone freeze.

— ❤ —

"How is Shiina?" Rei asked softly.

Shouto tensed up. So far, his sister had yet to be mentioned. He knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but he still wasn't prepared for her name to be brought up.

"Is she still...?" The question was left hanging.

He shook his head. "No. We've made up a few months ago. She's... had a change of heart about me."

A relieved smile stretched across her face, and he could see her eyes brimming with tears of joy. "I'm so glad to hear that," she whispered. "I knew the two of you had a strained relationship. From what Fuyumi was telling me, it kept growing worse over the years... She told me that the two of you rekindled your relationship, but I wanted to hear it from you."

"We've gotten a lot more closer since then," he began. "She also started attending UA. Did Fuyumi tell you that?"

She nodded. "Yes. She explained to me about... her sudden manifestation of her Quirk. I have to admit, it sounds peculiar... I don't think anyone in my familiar ever had that."

Because it's not a Quirk, he thought. "It's most likely a rare mutation." He said instead. "We went against each other during the Sports Festival. It was a tie, but she was very strong." He decided not to tell her that they were both trying to lose, because then that meant having to explain about Endeavor and well... nobody wanted to talk about him.

"Really?" She blinked in surprise.

"Yes. Her Quirk allows her to do many things... She can put people to sleep, brainwash them, confuse them, not to mention how strong her attacks are," he finally realized his ramblings and shut his mouth. He thought his sister's Persona was cool, could you blame him?

"Amazing," Rei chuckled. "I'm glad she's gotten stronger now. But does she really want to be a hero?" She asked knowingly.

Shouto turned quiet. "No... He made her."

She winced. "Ah... Yes, that's what I suspected... Do you know when she will visit me, Shouto? If she ever does?"

"She'll visit you, mom," he assured. "She's just... afraid like I was."

"Understandable. I wasn't the best mother to her."

"No, you were," he objected. "You're the best mother we could've ever asked for. It's not your fault that he..."

She smiled sadly. "Thank you Shouto."

Shouto ended up staying in the hospital a lot longer than he expected. A doctor came in and had to tell him that visitation hours were passed over now much to his shock. Before leaving, he made sure to hug her, embracing her gently as if he was hugging fine china. He was still in a good mood by the time he arrived home, but the good mood vanished immediately the second he saw the front door was missing and the inside of his house was turned to wreckage.

The living room coffee table was reduced to splinters and little bits of glass. When he squinted, he could see tiny droplets of blood on them. There were scorch marks on the wall, as if something had blown up and he could smell smoke (fire) in the air and what he guessed was ozone (lightning?).

Fuyumi was on the floor in the middle of it all, sobbing her eyes out.

"Fuyumi," he rushed to her quickly. "What happened? Are you hurt anywhere? Did someone break in? Where is Shiina?"

Her sobs grew louder at the mention of her name and something in his chest twisted.

"Fuyumi," he said carefully. "Where is Shiina...?"

Fuyumi struggled to get her breathing in control. "He kicked her out—!" She gasped. "She packed up her things and left... But dad—he—! He disowned her!"

— author's note —

Natsuooooooo

I'm so evil 😇😇😇