~Kanami's POV~

After getting bandaged up, Shoto suggested we go to the hot spring to catch up with mom and our older siblings. I politely declined and he reluctantly went without me. Dad stayed behind and played a few games of Shogi with me, which he lost most spectacularly. My gaze kept drifting in the direction Bakugo had disappeared, he still hadn't come back.

"Kana?" Dad asked and I realized it must have been my turn for some time now and jumped to move one of my pieces.

Dad frowned as he moved one of his pieces, "check?" He seemed confused that he'd been able to get a check. I shook my head and looked back at the board, studying it carefully. I'd been so distracted I had missed several of his moves. He glanced from me to the trail Bakugo had disappeared on a few times before running a hand through his crimson hair, "go on." he sighed.

"Huh?" I looked up at him in confusion.

"If you wanted a chance to talk to that...boy...without one of your brothers being overbearing...now would be your chance." He said quietly. He'd said the word boy with such disdain. I remembered hearing him mutter something about a delinquent to Shoto and realized he'd really wanted to call Bakugo a delinquent just then.

"I-." I hesitated.

"If I'm winning against you at Shogi, you're distracted. Get going." He waved me off as he reset the board.

"...thanks Dad." I smiled before escaping to the trail after Bakugo.

After a few paces I noticed some of the plants lining the trail looked as if something had moved through them, he'd gone off trail. Sighing, I stepped off the path and into the forest following his trail. My eyes scanned the path before me looking for any overturned leaves, broken branches, any indication that Bakugo had gone this way. I saw a small scuff on the ground that looked like it had been made by sneakers as if someone had tripped. There was an upturned root just shy of it.

I went in that direction. The path opened up into a large clearing with a single tree in the center. Bakugo was sitting on the lowest branch, facing away from me. I made a move to step out of the clearing to join him but paused as a strong hand wound around my waist and another reached up to cover my mouth before I was pulled back into the surrounding forest.

I prepared to throw my attacker over my shoulder when I realized I recognized the scarring on the hand over my mouth. It was Toya! I relaxed and stopped trying to resist as he pulled me into the forest.

He released me with a chuckle, "sorry for the scare, Bubbles."

I threw my arms around him in a hug, "you could have texted me or something, you know."

"Cell reception is garbage here." He held up his phone and I realized it had no service.

I glanced down at my phone and frowned, I didn't have service either. "What are you doing here, Nii-san?" I tested it out on Toya to see his reaction.

His teal eyes widened a little.

"Sorry, was that weird? Shoto didn't react well when I called him Nii-chan earlier either...too soon?" I blanched.

Toya shook his head, "no, it's fine." He paused before frowning, "why does Shoto get a -chan and I get a -san?"

"I thought it would come off disrespectful." I worried my bottom lip. So far two of my three brothers had not reacted well to me calling them Nii. Was I trying too hard?

"Hey, Bubbles," Toya gently dropped a hand atop my head, "why are you freaking out right now?"

"I'm n-not." I stammered.

"You are." He chuckled and ruffled my hair affectionately.

"Growing up I'd see other kids in shows, movies or anime spending time with their big brothers and it always seemed to make the big brothers happy when their young siblings would call them Onii-chan or Nii-san. I always wished I had siblings I could say it to." I averted my gaze.

"You do and you can. I'd imagine none of our siblings would have any issue with it, but I'm sure it will catch them off guard. Our family isn't really a close one, though I'm confident you're going to change that." He smiled, though there was a somberness to his smile.

"What are you doing here, Nii-san?" I asked, it felt a little more natural the second time and I noticed Toya's lips quirk up into a small smile. It made my heart feel a little lighter.

"Some friends and I are going to be going on a work trip soon and we wanted to practice using our quirks in a wooded environment to prepare." He said vaguely and with a slight dismissive tone.

"Friends?" I pondered, he'd put a weird emphasis on the word friends, there was a hint of disdain. Were they really friends?

"Don't worry about it." He gently ruffled my hair, his gaze flicked to the bandages on my elbow and knee, "what happened?"

"Rock climbing, going up was easy...getting down was a little more challenging, I probably would have had to use my quirk to save myself if Dad and Shoto hadn't caught me." I sighed, and that probably would have gotten me in trouble.

Toya grimaced at the mention of our father but said nothing, his gaze flicked to the clearing where Bakugo was, "you know that kid?" He pondered.

"Bakugo?" I asked curiously.

He nodded.

"Y-yeah. He's Shoto's classmate and he's really nice." I smiled.

Toya frowned at this, his expression revealed he was feeling conflicted about something. "Do you like him?" He pondered.

I felt my face flush with heat at this, "w-what?! I-... th-that's-..." I floundered helplessly.

Toya's frown deepened and he ran a hand through his dark hair with a sigh. "That complicates things." He sighed.

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"Don't worry about it, Bubbles." He pulled me in for another hug, "it'll be dark soon, don't stay out too late."

"You're leaving?" I tried not to sound completely disheartened but I didn't think it worked as his teal eyes clouded with guilt.

"Yeah, it'll be annoying if my friends get curious and start looking for me." He released me from his hold, "see you soon, Imouto-chan."

I couldn't help but grin at this. It did feel nice to hear.

He ruffled my hair one last time before disappearing into the forest.

I hesitated a moment before going back to the clearing where I'd seen Bakugo. I stepped into the clearing and glanced at the low branch Bakugo had been sitting on before. It was empty. I searched the clearing for any signs to point me where he'd gone. My knee started to ache as I made my way into the clearing, I glanced down and saw a little bit of blood seeping through the bandages.

Just as I was about to give up, I spotted a broken stick and some overturned leaves on a lower shrub that looked like someone had parted it to step through. I followed, moving slower than before to try to give my knee a break. The shrub opened to a steep incline, I saw some more overturned leaves and scuff marks on the ground indicating this was the direction he'd gone.

Why did I need to see him so badly? He clearly wanted to be left alone if he was trying this hard to lose himself in the forest. Would he be annoyed that I was following him? I really just wanted to make sure he was alright. His mother had hit him and the way they spoke to each other was alarming. No matter how tough someone was, it still probably hurt if a parent treated you that way.

I took a deep breath and slowly made my way down the steep incline. I'd probably have to crawl back up it, but that was a problem for later. This would be so much easier with my quirk. I glanced around, there wasn't anyone to see. I sighed, I didn't want to disappoint Dad. Slow, slightly painful way, it was then. I took careful steps to get down the incline. As I was nearing the bottom, I got confident and started to move a little quicker. The ground beneath me shifted and the layer of loose dirt on the patch I'd stepped on began to move, sliding rapidly toward the basin below.

An unflattering squawk escaped me as I nearly lost my balance and had to surf my way down the incline. Most of my weight ended up on my injured leg and my knee protested violently and once I hit the bottom refused to carry me any further. I hit the ground and rolled to avoid injury before letting out a soft whimper as my knee throbbed.

"That was graceful." I muttered to myself sarcastically before slowly pushing myself into a sitting position. I spotted Bakugo practicing combat maneuvers a little further away, he had headphones in so luckily hadn't heard my oh so graceful fall.

He turned and paused as he spotted me sprawled on the ground and removed his headphones. "What the hell?!" His crimson eyes narrowed before he stomped in my direction, his eyes widening as he spotted the blood seeping through the bandages on my knee, "what are you doing out here?" He paused once he got within reach.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." I offered him a smile, "but now you're making sure I'm okay, which is incredibly kind. I knew you were nice."

He stared at me for a long moment before snapping, "what the hell is wrong with you?!"

I tilted my head to the side, "I'm not sure?"

He sighed, "can you walk right now?"

I pointed then flexed my foot and my knee throbbed, "not presently, no."

"How can you be this clumsy just existing and so graceful when fighting villains?" He scoffed.

I looked up at him curiously, "you've watched me fight?"

His cheeks flushed with color for a moment, "what?! No! You were always on the damn news and that's nearly all my parents watch."

I cracked a smile. He said I was a graceful fighter. "Thank you for the compliment."

He scowled at this, "it was stupid of you to come out here when you're injured, I'm fine."

"Are you? I thought it must still be pretty painful to be treated that way by a parent." I frowned.

He looked thoughtful, "...your family is no stranger to it..." He turned slightly, looking a little embarrassed and trying to keep me from seeing his face, "I overheard Icy Hot at the Sports Festival, he talked a lot about your Dad and your older siblings, but he never mentioned you." He turned to me suddenly, fixing me with an inquisitive look, "why?"

"My mother had me in secret, no one else knew. Her best friend raised me." I said softly.

"That explains why you're less annoying." He grumbled.

I couldn't help but laugh at this, "thanks, Bakugo."

His eyes widened and his cheeks reddened again, "I wasn't being nice!"

The sky began to darken and the visibility within the forest dropped drastically. My heart started to race. The trees around us creaked unsteadily in the wind. A shiver ran down my spine, some of the creaking sounded a lot like the taut swinging rope I'd been dangling from in the dark.

"Kana?" Bakugo called me softly but he sounded so far away his voice lost behind two arguing voices I could hear so clearly yet so jumbled in my mind.

There was a sudden sharp burning pain in my lungs and abdomen as the forest grew darker and with it my panic grew. I felt like I was back in that dark room hanging from a hook. My lungs burned. I couldn't breathe.

"Kana?" A warm hand dropped atop my head pulling me from the dark room.

I found myself sitting on the ground in an equally unsettling dark forest looking up at Bakugo as he knelt in front of me. His warm hand resting atop my head. It was comforting. I realized I must have been spacing out for quite some time since the sky was now nearly completely dark, stars blanketing the midnight painter's pallet.

"Sorry. I kind of spaced out." I tried to shrug it off with a smile.

"Let's go." He turned his back to me, crouched low and waited.

I paused, unsure of what he was doing.

"Get on!" He snapped.

I jumped and scrambled onto his back. Once I was securely on his back with my arms wrapped around him, I finally started to feel calm. He was so warm.

He didn't struggle nearly as much as I would have without carrying someone to get back up the steep incline. Once we reached the top he spoke softly, "you lied before."

"Huh?" I asked curiously.

"When the losers asked if you'd been scared, you lied." He noted.

I bit my lip, tightening my grip around him as I thought back to that night, "I was scared. Sometimes I still am."

"Why? They're dead." He noted.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He stopped walking, "you didn't see the news?"

"I was kind of comatose for three weeks afterwards and-." I had lost Milan and was in my own little world of grief and despair.

"And?" Bakugo prompted.

"I lost my-." I trailed off as tears welled in my eyes, "-real mom."

Bakugo stayed still, delaying our return, "the woman who raised you?"

I nodded. "She saw the broadcast, she was away for work and tried to rush back...the plane went down...she didn't make it."

Bakugo was quiet.

"How did they die?" I asked shakily.

"Fire."

An image of Toya flickered across my mind. He wouldn't do something like that...would he? Hot tears welled in my eyes. Why?

"Kana?" Bakugo spoke my name softly.

"I didn't know." I whispered.

I knew the question we were both thinking but neither of us voiced it aloud. Why didn't my family tell me? Bakugo started walking again, seeming deep in thought. We made it back to the campsite and I found my mother and older siblings worrying. Bakugo gently set me on my feet and turned to walk away.

I reached out and caught his hand in mine, halting him until he turned to look at me. I released his hand and offered him a smile, "thank you, Bakugo."

"I didn't do anything worth being thanked." He grumbled and walked away.

I couldn't help but smile after him before turning and gingerly making my way to my worrying family. Natsuo caught me in a hug and swept me off my feet being the first to reach me.

"What happened to you?!" He panicked and shot a scowl at our father as if my injuries were somehow his fault.

"I'm fine, Natsu-nii." I figured I'd try it out on the third brother and see how it went.

Natsuo's jaw dropped for a moment, thrown off at first before his face lit up a little. His face was having a battle over which emotion to display. He went through shock, delight then back to worry in a very short span of time. "Bleeding through bandages is not how I would describe someone who is fine." He stammered, landing on worry.

"Are you alright, Kana?" Dad asked, earning a scowl from Natsuo and a slightly more muted scowl from Shoto.

I nodded.

Dad accepted my response, "let me change your bandages." He motioned me toward him.

"Why did she need bandages in the first place?" Natsuo growled.

Everyone was tense and staring at Dad like he was at fault. Before things could escalate, I spoke softly. "Why didn't anyone tell me the Vigilante Killers died?"

My family all tensed and looked at me wide eyed.

Mother spoke first, "you had gone through multiple traumatic events back to back, I thought it was best you not know."

My siblings averted their gazes guiltily.

Dad looked conflicted, "let's get you cleaned up and rebandaged." He spoke softly.

Fuyumi went to grab my bag and handed it to me without a word, also looking guilty. They all knew. Every last one of them and none of them told me.