Chapter 8 - Renegades

"You got a letter in the mail, Yoshi-chan!" Nemuri shouted up the stairs as Yoshihara stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her.

She was wearing your average pyjamas set—a pink undershirt and black pyjama pants—and her hair was matted and all over the place. It was currently 6:30 PM, and the last thing she wanted to do was go downstairs.

After the meeting with the Midoriya's, Josefumi, and Karera, Kira had decided that it would be worth trying to catch up on the sleep she had missed, as the last time she got a full eight hours of sleep was before her training began with the titular mother figure she now had. What was worse was that she was actually getting a decent nap in, had it not been for the fact that Nemuri shouted up the stairs for her name.

She wasn't particularly in the mood to read whatever letter had awaited her at the bottom of the stairs, so much so that she was actively dragging her feet, hoping that she could just return to bed. If it wasn't important, she would ignore it and go back to sleep.

"Who's it from?" Yoshihara asked, her tone of voice rough as she yawned into her hand.

"It doesn't say who. It just says "urgent" on the front. It's also sloppily written to. Whoever wrote it is bad at writing," Nemuri said, causing Yoshihara to snap awake.

"Urgent?" the blond said, confusion in her tone of voice as an unsettling feeling began to form in her stomach. Was this connected to the feeling that had come over her after the meeting? Was it possible that someone had been listening to her? Was this a letter from Josefumi telling them that they had been compromised?

Rushing down the stairs and snagging the letter from the pro, Yoshihara moved over to the counter and proceeded to rip the top off of the letter. Within the piece of mail addressed to her was a singular piece of paper, of which she unfolded. When her eyes hit the paper, and when she finished reading what the letter had said, she seethed.

I know who you are, Kira Yoshihara, and I also know what the name Midoriya Izuku means to you. If you don't meet me in the forest just outside of Musutafu by 12:00 am tomorrow, I'll kill him. Consider this your only warning. I'll be waiting for you – yours truly: Anon.

Yoshihara's grip on the piece of paper tightened as her expression shifted into one of anger. Someone had been spying on her, someone who knew about Midoriya. "This bastard has balls, I'll give him that," Yoshihara thought, glaring at the piece of paper as Killer Queen appeared behind her. The cat and humanoid stand ripped the letter into little bits as the pieces fell on the counter.

She knew what she had to do, but getting to the location in under six hours would be impossible without some help. That walk alone would only leave her with a handful of minutes to deal with the bastard, and there were no trains that stopped at the outskirts of the city, only to another cities station, and that would take hours. Then, she had an idea, as Kira glanced over to Nemuri, who looked concerned.

"Yoshi-chan? Is everything alright?" The pro asked, raising an eyebrow as Yoshihara composed herself, taking in a deep breath. The last thing she wanted to do was act solely based on her emotions. She had seen far too many anime and read far too many Manga that showed the adverse effects of thinking with your heart instead of your head.

"Kayama-san, can you drive me to the forest at the edge of Musutafu?" Yoshihara asked as Nemuri tilted her head.

"Whatever for? Just curious of course. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," Nemuri said, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow as Yoshihara cursed under her breath. Of course, she'd hit her with that question.

"It's important, okay? I—" she paused, grunting to herself as she shook her head. "Look, whatever you do, you cannot get involved at all, whatsoever. I know you're a pro hero, but… a villain with a power that isn't that of a Quirk (I think) is going to kill my friend if I don't meet him in the forest. I need to be there before 12:00 AM, lest he kills my friend with his power!" Yoshihara blurted out as Nemuri recoiled.

"Yoshihara… what do you mean?" Nemuri asked, slowly, looking at her adopted daughter with a hint of worry in her eyes. The blond looked away, shame on her face as her shoulders slumped.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. You could try to understand, but the basic concept would illude you," Yoshihara said, walking over to the couch and sitting down.

"Well, you could still try and explain it. If your friend is in danger, I can always get Present Mic and Eraserhead to help me deal with this villain," Nemuri said, sitting beside Yoshihara as the blond shook her head.

"No. You'd be useless against them."

Yoshihara's blunt tone shocked Nemuri. "Useless… why would I be…." "Yoshihara, you aren't making any sense? My Quirk could just knock the guy out, and Eraserhead could erase his Quirk, and we can get him into a prison cell with Quirk deactivating cuffs. I don't see how I'd—" without warning, something tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to look over it, only to find nothing. "What was—"

"That was me. Well, no, not really. That was my Stand. You can't see them, nor can you interact with them. They're ghosts of sorts that are linked to the user's soul. Only Stand Users can fight and beat other Stand Users, while Quirks do not affect Stands, the same can not be said for the other way around," Yoshihara explained, sinking into the couch as Nemuri looked at Yoshihara with a shocked expression.

"Wait… does that mean the entire time you were training with me and not using a Quirk… you were fighting Quirkless on purpose?" Nemuri asked as Yoshihara nodded.

"Yeah. At the time, I only had control over my Stands arms. I couldn't summon it fully, and by the time I did, it was around the time when I crash through the 19th story window to attack the guy who had been assaulting me with a Stand of his own," Yoshihara explained as Nemuri shook her head in disbelief.

"And that other villain that attacked you…?"

"Yeah, that was a Stand User as well…." Yoshihara said, shifting her expression to one of upset as she now stared at the floor.

The number of revelations that Yoshihara had dropped on Nemuri caused the pro to look at the blond with concern, and a tad bit of anger seeing as the girl didn't trust her to tell her this information. However, she had to give the girl the benefit of the doubt, considering that these villains had powers that were unable to be affected by Quirks, it only made sense for her not to tell her, but at the same time….

"So let me get this straight: For the past week or so you've been dealing with these so-called Stand Users, getting injured to the point of near-death each time, and telling me that these villains had been dealt with by other pro's when in reality you've been the one dealing with them, in a sense acting as a vigilante, all under my nose and lying to me about it?" Nemuri asked as Yoshihara shrunk into herself, nodding.

Nemuri let out a long, exaggerated sigh, rubbing the sides of her temple as she contemplated everything that had been said to her. Her adopted daughter had gone out of her way to lie to her about doing vigilante work, got injured to the point that she had come close to death on multiple occasions, and now wanted to do that again to save her friend?

She had to commend her bravery, even if it was vaguely disguised stupidity in Nemuri's eyes, she wanted to tell her no. She wanted to tell Yoshihara that she was putting her foot down and prevent her from risking her life again.

She wanted to do all of this, yet she couldn't.

"Alright. I'll drive you to that forest. But no more of this nonsense until you at least step foot in U.A., got it? At least then if you get injured you'll have more people to help you out," Nemuri said, getting up from the couch as Yoshihara snapped her head up to look at the ravenette.

"I thought you were gonna—"

"Punish you? Like hell I would kiddo. I know it's a bad idea, but if what you say is true about Stands and how Quirks can't really fight against them, then it would be impossible for my friends and me to save your friend. Besides, if you've been doing this for the past week now, I think it already goes to show your potential at being a hero in the future," Nemuri said, a soft smile on her face.

The ravenette walked over to the coat rack near the elevator, put on her brown trench coat, and gave the blond a determined smirk. "Well, you coming or what? I doubt it matters if you get changed into anything, it's not like anyone's gonna see you all that much. Besides, I have a plan."

And with that, Yoshihara's expression switched from shocked and surprised to determined and confident.

No one messed with her friends. Ever.

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A black sedan pulled up to the edge of a heavily forested area, the front lights on as Yoshihara stepped out of the car, looking back at Nemuri, who nodded, giving her the all-clear. "Remember, try and be safe. If anything goes wrong, you know what to do," the ravenette said as Yoshihara struck a thumbs up.

The blond-haired girl turned to face the forest, a chill running down her spine as she stepped into the grassy domain. She glanced at her phone, it was 8:35 PM. Whoever awaited her within the forest was about to get the ass-kicking of a lifetime.

Nemuri provided her with a plan, a plan she wanted to see through to the end. This villain wouldn't know what hit him.

Stepping deeper into the forest, far enough to where when she looked back, all she could see was more forest, she entered a clearing, a valley of trees surrounding her at all angles. A pit formed in her stomach as the sounds of owls hooting and rustling bushes filled her ears.

Taking in a deep breath, she let a wave of calm surround her before letting it all out. She gave her surroundings a tertiary glance before finally clearing her throat, and speaking out to the forest-like void.

"ALRIGHT, ASSHOLE, SHOW YOURSELF!" Yoshihara shouted, clenching her fist as, suddenly, she felt a searing pain in her shoulder, blood squirting from the sudden wound as she screamed out in pain.

"AAAGGHHHH!"

Clasping her wound, she looked around her as she gritted her teeth. "The fuck was that?!" Yoshihara thought, her eyes darting from place to place.

Before she knew it, Kira could hear the sound of something rushing towards her. Instinctively, she dodged out of the way from whatever attack had been thrown at her. When she had gotten out of the way, three holes appeared in the ground in the spot where she had just stood a few moments ago. Her eyes widened, blinking as she gripped onto her shoulder.

"If I hadn't moved… those things would've hit me?! Where the fuck is this guy?!" Yoshihara thought, sneering as she glared in front of her. "Enough hiding, show yourself you fucking coward!" the blond shouted as a burst of demented laughter filled the air.

"Kshshshshsh! And here I thought you wouldn't show up! I guess it goes to show just how gullible you truly are, Kira Yoshihara!" A voice echoed throughout the forest, coming from every possible angle. Yoshihara took a step back, glancing at her wound as she let go of it. Blood spilled down her shoulder as she took deep consecutive breaths in hopes to slow the bleeding.

However, as she continued to stare at it, the area around the wound began to slowly turn a sickly purplish colour. Kira's eyes widened as a laugh-filled the air.

"W-What the fuck did you do to me?!" Yoshihara spat, her eyes trained on the trees as her eyes scanned the immediate area.

"Confused, aren't you! Well, it doesn't matter what you are! I sent you that letter because I knew at the mention of Midoriya Izuku, you'd come running to save his life from certain death! I'm sure you're also confused about what hit you, but I—"

"So, my assumption was right. You don't have a Quirk. You're a Stand User. Why else would be hiding," Yoshihara spat, summoning Killer Queen as she sneered. "I don't know where you are, but once I find you, I'm going to blow you to hell!" Yoshihara shouted as the voice went silent, before coming back a moment later.

"Well, this just got interesting. I look forward to finally meeting you… if you get the chance!" Then, out of nowhere, several objects came flying towards Yoshihara, and as Killer Queen got ready to deflect them, they impacted her body, shooting her in the abdomen, chest, and left leg.

The teen bit back a scream of pain as each area the wounds shot through began to bleed like crazy, with a purplish hue around each wound beginning to form.

"This bastard… he shot me three more times. The damage these things do isn't much, but what concerns me is why the area affected is turning purple…" Yoshihara thought, glancing over to her shoulder as she attempted to move forward, only for her left leg to give out on her.

She blew out a huff of air, her eyes landing on her shoulder. When Kira saw it, her eyes widened. The purple began to spread to her upper shoulder, and parts of her skin began to fall off.

"W-What the hell?!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Yoshihara screamed out as Killer Queen scanned the tree lines. Yoshihara took Killer Queen's line of sight and watched, trying to see where it was the shots were coming from. It didn't help that the area in the trees was pitch black, making it harder to see.

"Damn this bastard, where is he?!" As Yoshihara continued to use Killer Queen's eyes to see, the Stand compacted a ball of dirt and grass together and held it, ready to throw it at any time. "Come on, asshole, show yourself!"

Then, there was movement in the branches above. Without hesitation, Killer Queen launched the ball of dirt toward the movement, and as soon as it got closer, the ball fell around due to a variety of slashes. However, as the ball began to break apart, Killer Queen pressed its thumb down on its hand, causing the ball to blow up.

"Ack—you asshole!" The voice of the Stand User echoed out as Yoshihara smirked, pumping her fist in front of her as she mouthed 'boo-yaw' under her breath.

"Gotcha, fuckface, now you're gonna tell me just what the fuck you want from me?" Yoshihara snarled, attempting once more to stand up, only to fail. Her leg wound had gotten just as bad as the one on her shoulder.

"Grr… you think that's enough to defeat me?! I won't let some puny explosion to even so much as graze me! All that did was slightly annoy me, you hear, nothing! Absolutely nothing! DIE!" The voice shouted as several more flying objects came at Kira from two different angles.

Killer Queen dove in front of her, punching rapidly to knock away as many of them as possible.

SHIBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBO!!!

In the end, Killer Queen was able to deflect three of them, however, one was able to slip past the cat Stand, and it pierced Yoshihara just barely underneath her neck, and barely missed her heart.

"AGGGGHHhhhh!!!" Yoshihara's scream died out as she coughed up blood, a small pool now surrounding her from the collective blood loss from all of her wounds. She choked ever-so-slightly, coughing more and more as Killer Queen yanked a small purple needle-like object from her neck.

It was small, nearly half the size of an actual nail. No wonder why Killer Queen had been having a hard time hitting them away, they were the size of half a peanut! "What the hell kind of ability does this bastard have?!" Yoshihara thought, snarling as her breath hitched. "But fuck does it ever hurt…."

"Hah! Take that! You'll die for sure now! I outrange you, and because of that, I can continuously take pot-shots at you until you bleed out! Weak vermin like you don't belong at U.A.! And because you're taking up MY spot in the recommendation exam, once I get rid of you, there will be nothing stopping me from becoming the most popular hero to date! I'll surpass All Might, and you'll die here, alone and forgotten!"

As the boy finished his taunt, Yoshihara felt her fear spike. Die? Alone? Forgotten? No, that couldn't happen. Not here, not when she was so close to finally digging herself out of the hole she had found herself in. She refused to die here.

But the enemy was right. They outranged her, and even if she did throw a dirtball in their direction, their Stand would just rip them to shreds before it could explode.

The wounds all around her body continued to crack and decay her skin, so much so that the areas where the wounds were the skin had deteriorated had gotten so bad that it began to show muscle. Blood continuously seeped from her body as she began to feel light-headed. She was running out of time.

"No… I have to… do something…" Yoshihara thought, looking over to Killer Queen.

And then, she remembered the plan, and a devilish smirk appeared on her face. "This asshole thinks he has me cornered when in reality it's the other way around!" Yoshihara thought, staring up at the tree-line, her expression switching to a neutral one. The last thing she wanted to do was to give her plan away.

"Gone silent on me now? Well then, I guess that means I can just finish you off! Who knew that this would be so easy! I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you who I am. But I'm NOT coming down there, that would be stupid!" The voice said as a boy no older than Yoshihara stepped out from the darkness above within the trees.

His grey hair was short, almost in the style of a crewcut as he wore a shit-eating grin on his face. His eyes were bright orange, and he wore a black denim jacket, a spiked collar, and a red v-neck shirt underneath. His pants were a dark grey, and his shoes were pitch black. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, and his posture was lazy, leaned back against the tree as he faced her directly.

Then, there was his Stand.

It was a humanoid Stand, taking the form of a hunched-over, lean, physically boney monster.

It had pointed spikes protruding out of its back, and large, five-fingered claws the size of steak knives, with the tips seemingly shaved off, though one of them had been growing back. Its legs were long and spindly, and its feet were completely flat with no toes to speak of.

The stand looked to be the same height as its user, though it had been hunched over, so there was no way of telling. It had a large overbite in terms of its jaw with jagged teeth, and it had no eyes to speak of, only black empty sockets.

"S-So… you're the bastard who threatened to kill my f-friend," Yoshihara stammered out, her skin slowly going pale due to blood loss as the Stand User smirked.

"Yup! And to think that was all it took to draw you out! I hadn't expected you to be a Stand User and a weak one at that! And you know what, because I'm so confident you'll die, I'll tell you my name as well! Names Taro! Taro Tatsugi! This is my Stand Renegades! I'm sure you probably don't care, but it doesn't matter, now does it, cause your gonna die! Renegades poison isn't exactly the strongest, but the more of it that's in your body, the more lethal it becomes, so just stand still, all I gotta do is shoot you five more times, and your misery will be put out, along with you!" Taro spat as Renegades aimed one of its fingers towards Yoshihara.

The blond levelled a glare towards Taro before smirking, catching the boy off guard.

"Why are you smiling, eh! You're gonna die, so why are you giving me that look!" Taro shouted, confusion on his face as Yoshihara slowly began to stand up.

"You know… people like you… really piss me off," Yoshihara started, rising from her crouched spot on the floor as she dug out her phone from her pocket, showing that she had been on the phone with someone throughout the entire fight.

"W-What?! Who were you talking to?! I told you to come alone!!!" Taro shouted, taking a step back on the branch as a hand gripped his shoulder. The boy spun around, coming face to face with two red, beady eyes staring at him.

"Boo," a man spoke as a strange bandage-like material wrapped around Taro, squeezing and restraining him. The man's long black hair rose high, the stubble on his chin seemed to have the same effect, though not as badly. His black bodysuit and grey utility belt completed his outfit, along with the black sneakers.

"It's people like you, who do whatever they possibly can to attempt to be heroes that sicken me. I have to hand it to the problem child, when I first heard her explanation, I was worried I would be dealing with a crazy kid, alongside a crazy woman that I call a friend. Turns out, I was wrong about them, and now, you're going to jail for the attempted murder of a minor," the pro hero Eraserhead said, taking Taro's spot on the branch as the boy stared in horror.

"WHAT!?!?!?!"

[Flashback]

Nemuri and Yoshihara pulled up to a bar near the outskirts of Musutafu where a man in a black tracksuit and a massive scarf stood, leaning against the building. Nemuri and the blond stepped out of the car as the man let out a sigh.

"Alright, Nemuri-san, this better be good, otherwise I'm going back to bed. My patrol doesn't start for another few hours, so dragging me out here better be worth it," the man said as Nemuri waved him off dismissively.

"Oh Shouta, you know full well that I would never call you during your little nap time with your boyfriend~," Nemuri said as the man coughed into his hand.

"Nemuri, please, no teasing right now. Tell me, what is it that you want?" Shouta said, glaring at the woman.

"Okay, okay, jeez. You see, Yoshihara's friend is in danger. Someone wants her to go to the woods alone for whatever reason they may have. If she doesn't her friend will die. However, this guy apparently has a power that Quirks can't affect. Then, I thought of you. With your binding cloth style of attacking, once the guy reveals themselves from their hiding spot, you can wrap 'em up and prevent them from attacking. So… what do you say?" Nemuri asked as Shouta looked over at Yoshihara.

"And what makes you think I believe that. What other powers out there exist that aren't Quirks? If you don't mind me asking, could you show me what it is?" Shouta asked as Yoshihara rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well, the thing is, people without these abilities can see them. But, they can feel them," Yoshihara said as, suddenly, Shouta felt something tug on his hair. He looked up, then back to the girl, who had a smirk on her face.

"Alright, try that again," Shouta said, his eyes blaring red. "My Quirk negates other Quirks, so—" before he could finish, something closed one of his eyes by force, which caused him to shake his head, the girl still smirking. 'Alright, I believe you. Can't exactly use a psychic Quirk when I'm looking at you with my Quirk turned on," Shouta said, sighing. "Let's go save your friend."

[Present Day]

"Y-You! You think this stops me! Ha! You're stupid, you really are daft! And you call yourself a pro hero!? Don't make me laugh!" Taro gloated, a strained sneer on his face as Renegades appeared behind Shouta.

"Eraserhead! You're going to be an example as to just how strong Renegades is!" Taro declared as the Stand reared its arm back, unbeknownst to the pro. Then, without warning, the Stand punched the pro in the head, blood spewing out of the shaggy-haired man from the impact as the Stands claws dug into his skin, tearing into his skin as his head slammed against the trunk of the tree.

The pro hero choked on his breath, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he slid against the bark, blood staining the tree. Renegades removed its claws from Eraserheads head, shaking the blood off of them.

Yoshihara's eyes widened as the man fell unconscious, the bindings unfurling, letting go of the enemy Stand user. The boy was moments away from falling down to the ground, only for Taro to grab onto the tree branch.

Shouta fell down, hitting the ground with a sickening crack echoing out throughout the forest. Yoshihara coughed up blood, her pupils shrinking in response. "Shit… I forgot about… the poison!" Yoshihara thought, falling back to her knees as her legs gave out on her. "No! No, not now! I-I can't die here!"

"I have to say, you scared me for a second. I truly thought you had me beat, bringing a pro hero into restraining me, but yet again, like a fool, you underestimated me and Renegades! It seems like my Stands poison is attacking your red blood cells, seeing as your skin is decaying. Maybe I should just leave you here to die a slow and painful death. Oh, and just so you don't call for any more help~!" Taro said as Renegades stuck out its index finger, aiming at the phone in Yoshihara's hands before firing the tip of its nail.

The nail shot through the phone, destroying it completely as it began to rotate at extreme speeds, tearing the phone apart within seconds.

"W-What?!" Yoshihara shouted in surprise, coughing up more blood as Killer Queen began to fade.

"You're losing your life force, and once your Stand completely disappears and crumbles away, I'll win! Once my Stand's poison fills your veins, you'll begin to deteriorate internally, and when that happens, nothing can stop me from killing you!" Taro shouted, pointing at Yoshihara as his expression became manic.

"I win! You lose! Dynamite and a Laserbeam is over!" Taro shouted, laughing manically as Yoshihara clenched her hand into a fist.

She felt pain all over, blood-drenched her clean pyjamas, and the wounds on her shoulder, abdomen, left leg, and lower neck had decayed to the point where all you could see was muscle. She should be dead, she should've died by now, yet her heart continued to pump, and her rage was more than enough to keep her going. She looked towards the ground, shadow covering her eyes as Killer Queen's arm began to crack, as did its shoulder and abdomen.

"You made… one fatal mistake… Taro…" Yoshihara managed to spit out between heavy breaths. Taro raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face.

"Oh really, and how exactly did I make a mistake, eh?" Taro spat, Renegades aiming a shot for her head. "It doesn't matter what mistake I might have made in the past, I got a shot lined up for your head, then, you'll drop dead. But I suppose I could let you finish what you're gonna say, not that it matters," the grey-haired boy taunted as Killer Queen came to Yoshihara's side, raisng its right arm, confusing Taro.

"Eh, what are you doing, dipshit? Are you really going to waste the last moments of your life looking like a goof?!" Taro spat, glaring down at Yoshihara. Killer Queen extended its index finger, and when it did, Taro raised an eyebrow. "Oh! You're going to mock me, aren't you! Ha! Not happening, Renegades, Fi—"

Before Taro could finish, a bubble appeared on Killer Queen's finger. The bubble in question had a skull insignia on it, a skull similar to that of the skulls on the sides of its shoulders. The bubble began to spin, though it was invisible to the naked eye, and as Yoshihara looked up at Taro, the boy flinched upon seeing her face.

"You underestimated me and Killer Queen," Yoshihara said, her eyes devoid of life and emotion as Killer Queen launched the bubble off its fingers as Taro's eyes went wide.

"WHAT THE HE—"

As soon as the bubble made contact with Taro and his Stand, the bubble exploded, releasing loud shockwaves that blew leaves off of trees and the branch off of that particular tree that Taro had been hanging onto.

Suddenly, the pain that she had felt from the poison in her system faded away, and the purplish hue around the wounds went away as well, though the actual wounds themselves didn't disappear.

Yoshihara watched as a singular, bloodied hand fell down from the area where the tree branch was. Moments after it hit the ground, it slowly began to disintegrate away into nothingness. Her eyes were stone cold, no emotion to be seen lurking within.

There was no sadness, no rage, no joy, not even remorse. Pure, nothingness.

The blond-haired girl began to slowly pick herself up, Killer Queen helping her as she limped over to Shouta, inspecting him. Placing two fingers on his neck, she breathed a sigh of relief as blood continued to drip from her wounds. He was alive, at least for now. They both needed to get medical attention, fast.

"Have to… get to… Nemuri…" Yoshihara thought, adrenaline controlling her every move as she used Killer Queen to drag Shouta out of the clearing. Pain seared through all of Yoshihara's body as tears fell down her cheeks.

A part of her brain screamed at her to stop moving, but another part screamed at her to keep moving. She was scared. The last thing Yoshihara wanted to do was to close her eyes, fearing that if she did, she'd die. Her eyes trailed to Shouta, who had a broken leg, and maybe a fractured skull.

Only one thought pounded against her head, and that thought was to get to safety, to get to Nemuri, to get someone to help them.

She had never fought to the death before, at least with someone who had a Stand power as powerful as Renegades.

As soon as the thought of Renegades came into her mind, she only now had realized what she had done. "I killed him… but at the same time he tried killing me, so I don't care. Just as long as no one finds out, I should be fine." Yoshihara thought, continuing to drag Eraserhead behind her with the help of Killer Queen.

Her limp kept getting worse as she walked, and there were times when she had to stop to fix her leg or brace it. Eventually, Yoshihara could see the entrance to the forest, and when she did, relief washed over her.

She didn't know how long she had walked for, but as soon as she felt that sense of relief, she felt her adrenaline spike, and she picked up speed.

When Yoshihara came out of the forest, Nemuri nearly screamed bloody murder."YOSHIHARA!" Nemuri screamed as the blond smiled, blood still dripping from her wounds.

"I… I did it… Izuku is now… safe…" And then, without any warning, the blond fell to the ground, her Stand disappearing entirely as the pro hero rushed over to her daughter, screaming profanities as she called the emergency services.

"Yoshi… please, don't die on me, please!" Nemuri cried, holding the blond's body up to hers as she could feel her soft, gentle breathing on her chin. Tears freely fell from her eyes. She didn't care that Yoshihara was bleeding, or if it would stain her clothes. All she cared about at that moment was ensuring that Yoshihara was safe.

Nemuri ripped parts of her clothing apart to stop the bleeding, doing all that she could to keep Yoshihara alive until the ambulances arrived.

By the time the ambulances had arrived, the bleeding had mostly stopped, but the paramedics weren't taking any precautions. Both Eraserhead and Yoshihara were loaded into separate ambulances while Nemuri sat in her car, fear coating her bones and soul as she gripped at her chest.

"Stupid. Stupid Nemuri! Why did I let her do this! I should've just gotten my friends together to deal with the villain, not let her do it!" Nemuri thought, tears still falling from her eyes as she watched the ambulances speed away.

Turning on the engine of her car, she followed them to the hospital, the only thing on her mind being: "Please, please be safe Yoshihara… Don't die on me."

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Stand: Renegades

User: Taro Tatsugi

Ability: Renegades Can fire rotating nails out of their hands that cause a skin-eating virus to plague the victim's body. The more of these nails that hit the victim's body, the worse it gets. If ten nails get shot at the victim, the virus will eat away at every bit of flesh it can until the person is nothing more than a skeleton. The less the victim is shot, the slower the process is, but if it's the other way around, then the process is almost instant. The Poison can only enter the body through ranged attacks, not close range, as it requires the speed and rotation that flying through the air causes for the poison to activate in the nails.

Stats:

Destructive Power: A

Range: A

Speed: A

Persistence: C

Precision: B

Developmental Potential: E

Status: Utterly Defeated

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When Josefumi had heard about what had happened to Yoshihara, he was none too pleased with the fact she hadn't called him, or Karera for help. The pompadour-haired teen sat in the waiting room, tapping his foot on the floor waiting to see the doctor.

"That damn gutsy girl, she could've gotten herself killed!" Josefumi thought, growling under his breath as he glanced over to Nemuri, who had also been waiting for the doctor to come out to tell them the news.

"Why didn't you try and stop her?" Josefumi asked, a snark to his voice as Nemuri snapped her attention over to the boy. The woman looked at him, fury in her eyes as Josefumi nearly recoiled.

"What does it matter to you?" Nemuri snapped back. "You were the first person to ever attack my daughter, and somehow became her friend. I don't even want to talk to you, but let it be known that I didn't know how dangerous these Stand things were until she came out of that forest. Now mind your own business."

And with that, the black-haired woman returned to staring down the emergency room doors.

Yoshihara had been put into critical condition by whomever she had fought, and it was a miracle she was still alive and breathing by the time she got to the hospital. Karera was going to come with Josefumi, but she didn't because she had other stuff she had to do.

Josefumi went to get up to go to the front desk to ask if Yoshihara was okay when the waiting room doors burst open.

"Kira-san!" Izuku cried, looking over at Josefumi before rushing over to him and grabbing his shoulders. "Where is she! I-Is she okay?!" Izuku said, staring into Josefumi's eyes as the teen gently pushed the boy off of him.

"I don't know. She's been in surgery for about an hour now. The Stand that attacked her had some kind of skin decay ability. She was shot in the neck, leg, abdomen, and shoulder. She's lucky to have even survived the trip to the hospital," Josefumi said, remorse in his voice as Izuku tried to hold back tears.

Inko stood in the doorway, worry on her face as she looked at Nemuri. She walked over to the woman and sat beside her, who merely glanced at her.

"Are you Izuku's mother?" Nemuri asked as Inko nodded silently. "I see… did you know that the person who attacked my daughter had threatened to kill your son if she didn't go in and stop him?" Nemuri continued as Inko bit back a gasp.

"No…." Inko replied softly as the ravenette smiled.

"Well, at least you aren't stressed out like I am. For all I know, my daughter is dying in there, and I'm not even her biological mom. Speaking of which, I wonder why I've never met her… oh, who cares, she's probably a deadbeat. Ugh, here I go rambling to get my mind off of things. I'm sorry about that, truly," Nemuri said, rubbing her eyes as Inko smiled softly.

"No, no. We all have our ways of dealing with stress. Mine just so happens to be stress-eating. At least your habit doesn't hurt you directly," Inko said, suppressing a laugh.

The pro hero spaced out, looking at the doors intently. She wanted to just run in there and see what was happening to her adopted daughter, to know if she was alright. Instinctively, she knew she'd be okay, mostly because Medi-lady was there, as well as a few other people with healing Quirks, but still.

Everyone sat in the waiting room as patient after patient came and went, some also staying for surgery, families crying about the loss of loved ones, births happening. It was all a rush of emotions.

But out of everyone in that room, Izuku was feeling it the most. Yoshihara Kira was a close friend to Izuku, even though they had only known each other for three and a half days, when Izuku found out she had to go to the hospital for emergency surgery through Josefumi, he leapt out of bed and dragged his mother to the train to see his friend.

"Can Stands really be that strong that they can just decay people like that? Can Quirks do that as well? Is there a Quirk that exists out there like that?" Izuku pondered to himself, staring at the floor. Two hours had passed since he had arrived, and still not a word from the doctors or the surgeons.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Izuku asked the pompadour-haired teen beside him as Josefumi shrugged.

"I don't know. I've dealt with my fair share of Stand Users that had been strong enough to put me in the hospital for months. She could be here for months for all we know, but I—"

Josefumi wasn't able to finish his sentence as, right before their eyes, Yoshihara walked out of the double doors that separated the waiting room and the rows upon rows of surgery rooms, still wearing her pyjama's that had dried blood all over them. She was using a cane to walk, a cane that had a cat-motif, mind you, and a soft smile on her face.

Beside her was a doctor, who had a hand on her back.

"Yoshihara!" Izuku shouted, jumping up from his chair as the doctor put a hand up.

"Hold on, stop! Don't touch her. She's very, very fragile right now!" The doctor said, sighing. His hair was bushy, very bushy, it almost looked like a hat in some regards. He had very pale skin, and his eyes were blue. He wore a white doctor's coat with blue surgical clothes underneath with a bear pin on the right lapel.

"My name is Dr. Tomioka, full name Toru Tomioka if you really needed to know," Toru said, taking his hand off of the blond as she walked over to Nemuri. "Ms. Kayama, just so that you are aware, she has a bottle of pills in her pocket that she must take for the next week if she is to heal fully. She has to take two a day for a week until the bottle is empty. If you require a refill, depending on if the pain is still intolerable, you have one refill prescription," Toru explained, walking up to the pro hero and giving it to her.

"Thank you, Dr. Tomioka," Nemuri said, bowing.

"Oh, no problem. To be fair, had it not been for my ability, she would be dead," Toru said, a blue aura surrounding him as he rubbed the back of his neck. A metallic figure appeared behind him, its head looking like a microphone with a bowler hat atop it. It wore what looked like a jacket, and it had a cane in its left hand. It also wore a strange scarf around its neck with a strange pattern.

"Wait, you're a Stand User?" Josefumi asked, raising his eyebrow as Toru shrugged.

"Honestly, Wonder Of U is a Stand that only really works when other people are in danger. It misdirects Calamities away from other people and directs them towards animals like birds or bears. There were several times during the surgery that Wonder Of U activated to prevent her from dying," Toru said as Nemuri nodded.

Only then did Nemuri realize just how close she was to losing Yoshihara. Had it not been for the fact that the doctor had been a Stand User with such an incredible ability, Yoshihara would've died, multiple times over, according to Toru.

Nemuri looked at Yoshihara, the urge to put her into a bear hug was unnerving. She'd have to do that when she was fully healed.

"Thank you, Dr. Tomioka, seriously. You have no idea how relieved I am to finally have a Stand User actually help this time instead of hurt," Yoshihara said as Toru smiled.

"I mean, to be fair, I've always wanted to be a doctor. That, and my Stand doesn't really have many offensive capabilities. So helping people just seemed like a better idea than hurting," Toru said, looking at the time. "As much as I would like to stick around and chat, I'm a busy man, and I have more patients to tend to. I hope we never meet again, you know, 'cause that would mean you'd have to have another surgery," Toru said, a joking tone to his voice as everyone waved goodbye.

When Yoshihara felt the cold breeze of the night hit her skin, she shivered. The hospital was warm, and a part of her just wanted to stay there overnight so she didn't have to deal with the cold. She turned to Izuku, who looked at her with a lost puppy expression.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Kira-san, I wish I could hug you, I truly do, but… doctors orders, haha," Izuku said, no stutter in his voice at all, which made Yoshihara smile.

"Thank you, Midoriya-kun," Yoshihara said, letting out a sigh. "You can call me Yoshihara if you want. I think we're past the point for formalities," the blond said, a slight hint of teasing in her voice as Izuku's face went beet red.

The night ended there, and Josefumi had said his goodbyes and left in a Speedwagon Foundation issued vehicle. When Yoshihara got home to the suite, the blond immediately went to her room to sleep.

God knows she needed it. After all, in the next four days, the recommendation exam was going to happen, and Yoshihara needed to be ready by then. Because after that point, there would be no going back.