The wind slashed sharply at her face. Every breath scraped her throat, leaving the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She didn't even know where she was going. The only absolute truth was that she couldn't stop.
Her torso sank lower and lower. Instinct overrode reason. As if balancing on two legs was a luxury she could no longer afford, she slammed her hands roughly into the dirt.
BOOM!
The moment all four limbs kicked off the ground, her speed ignited. Gloved fingers gouged the earth, and her steel-like thigh muscles screamed as they launched her body forward. This was not the sprint of Hero. It was the desperate dash of a hunted rabbit, a beast throwing everything away just to survive.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Shigaraki’s laughter burrowed into her ears. Pinning her long ears flat against her skull did nothing to block it out. Terror slithered down her spine, freezing her right down to the tip of her tail. Her short, round tail tucked tightly against her body, trembling violently as if trying to erase her existence from an unseen predator.
The laughter bled in like a toxic fog, embedding itself into the deepest folds of her nerves. Every step taken with her restored legs felt like tearing her scars open from the inside out. Each time her hands and feet struck the ground, a faint scent of blood rose with the dust. The mountain wind scorched her lungs. The air currents shifted along the ridge. Grass was ruthlessly crushed beneath her boots and gloves. The midday sun brushed across her back and shoulders, but even that light seemed to carry the metallic stench of a battlefield.
Shigaraki’s laughter echoed once more. It rolled down the mountainside like thunder, shaking the earth beneath her paws. The faster she dug into the dirt on all fours, the clearer the hallucinations became. No matter how fiercely she clawed the ground and launched herself forward, the laughter clung to her back like a phantom. In fact, it only rang louder from behind her eardrums.
"GAAAAAH!!"
Mirko screamed, fighting her own momentum to roughly heave her torso upright. Her speed didn’t drop. No, she couldn’t drop it. She ran precariously on two legs, looking as though she might lose her balance and topple over at any second. But instead of flailing her arms to steady herself, her hands shot to her head. She forcefully grabbed her long ears, which were standing stiff with terror. She pressed them down against her skull so hard it felt like she might crush her own cranium.
She just wanted to physically block out the sound. She would have torn her own eardrums out if it meant erasing that laughter. But it was useless.
—Running won't save you, Rabbit.
The laughter wasn't entering through her ears. It was echoing directly from the deepest parts of her neural network, creeping between the folds of her brain. Like a fog. Like mold. Devouring her mind.
Reality rippled like water. The air grew thick with the stench of ozone and rot. Distant flashes of lightning dragged her back to that day. Jaku Hospital. But she didn't stop. Because stopping meant collapse. Not the collapse of her physical body, but the total collapse of herself.
— If only you had hit a little harder.
— If only you were one step faster.
— Many heroes died because of you.
The sneer tore through her ears and carved into her heart. Mirko’s footing faltered. Her breath hitched. Something twisted deep within her chest. And in that moment, everything she had buried under the title of "Hero" began to crumble.
[Outside the Chapel]
The heavy door flew open with a screech of metal. Hawks dashed out first. His golden eyes rapidly scanned the surroundings. Shiozaki stumbled out right behind him.
Ahead of them, the priest and nuns were frozen in shock, hands clasped together. Down the hill, the villagers stared blankly at the road where the dust had yet to settle.
"Rumi!!"
Hawks’s shout tore through the narrow street. But Mirko was already gone. Only an empty echo lingered. Forgetting that he had lost his wings long ago, his phantom wings ached for the sky, only to be hit by a wave of frustration. He clutched his head.
"Damn it. She left her phone behind, too." A deep sigh leaked into his voice. "No signal, no way to track her..."
The priest’s voice came low and cautious. "The terrain over there is rough. It’s an endless mountain range... A search will not be easy."
Staring at the forest where Mirko had vanished, Shiozaki murmured in a low voice. "It is my fault... I left her alone. My vines... they must have triggered her trauma..." Her hands gripped her own vines before dropping limply to her sides.
Beside her, Hawks, still clutching his head, gave a slow shake of his head. "No... It's on me." His voice carried a sense of loss even deeper than when he had lost his wings. "I was right beside her the whole time, yet I had no idea her mind was crumbling this badly..."
The guilt of the two heroes mingled and sank heavily into the cold air. The wind swept by, dragging dry leaves across their boots. Somewhere deep within the dark forest looming in the distance—Mirko’s footsteps faded into silence.
"We have to find her. Fast." With trembling hands, Hawks grabbed his receiver and began making an emergency transmission. Right beside him, Shiozaki’s deep green eyes turned toward the empty counseling room. The door was creaking weakly on its hinges.
'I was too naive...' She bit her lip so hard it drew blood. 'Such a deeply festering wound... a mind so utterly shattered... to believe it could be healed by mere words of comfort. What a prideful fool I have been.'
The vines forming her hair rustled over her shoulders, mirroring her agitation. 'When the hallucination overtook her... if only I had reacted more calmly... if I hadn't just blindly tried to bind her...'
Regret became a thorn piercing her chest. As a sharp realization pierced her heart, her eyes snapped wide open.
"My vines..." Shiozaki turned her head slightly, looking at the green stalks draping her shoulders. "To her... they didn't feel like salvation... They must have felt like Shigaraki’s hands..."
"I promised to be her hope... but instead, I plunged her straight into a nightmare..."
The vines she had once regarded with holy pride now weighed her down, becoming the very guilt choking her neck. Slowly, she turned her gaze toward the dark forest where Mirko had disappeared.
'Even at this very moment... she must be wandering through that darkness. Trapped in an endless loop named despair...'
Shiozaki bowed her head, eyes closed. A long, heavy sigh escaped her lips. And then—her eyes snapped open.
After a fleeting moment of silence, the hesitation in her upward gaze was washed away completely. Only a steel-like resolve remained. She bit her lip once more and cried out inwardly.
'This is no time to drown in guilt.'
Holding a hair tie in her mouth, she grabbed her long hair.
Snap. A sharp sound rang out. The vines were severed cleanly. A small tremor ran through her fingertips as the cut vines scattered across the floor. The severed leaves fell like a sacrificial offering. Wordlessly, she tied her newly shortened bob with the band.
'I will never repeat the same mistake.' The wind brushed past. It was gentle, yet cold. 'I will save her. No matter what.'
Her eyes were filled with an absolute, unwavering resolve.
[One hour ago. A small cafe along the national highway. Second-floor private room.]
Golden morning light spilled through the window, gliding across the tabletop. Through the rising steam of coffee, Kendo, Komori, and Pony sat huddled together.
'Battle Fist' Itsuka Kendo sat with perfect posture. Her signature orange hair was cinched high, cascading over her shoulder. Her hands—strikingly large even at rest—stirred her drink with meticulous care. Her teal eyes remained calm, though a fine thread of tension pulled at their corners.
Across from her, 'Shemage' Kinoko Komori slouched, chin resting on her small palms. Her fluffy mushroom-cap bob cast a deep shadow, her thick bangs masking her eyes entirely. A heavy, damp sigh escaped her.
"Wonder if Mirko’s session went okay... shroom." Her voice was faint, like the rustle of wet leaves.
Beside her, 'Rocketti' Pony Tsunotori was a stark contrast. She was pure, radiant energy. Her long blonde hair glowed like spun gold in the sun. Behind her, a short tail wagged incessantly, and her large horns bobbed to a private rhythm. Her Prussian blue eyes sparkled as she beamed.
"It’s Vine! She’ll have Mirko back on her feet in no time! Good as new!" Her cheerful chirping, thick with her American accent, lightened the heavy atmosphere.
Kendo offered a faint, knowing smile. "Right. I learned a lot from her back when we teamed up. If anyone can reach her, it’s Vine."
Sunlight filtered through the lace curtains, bathing the table in gold. Their soft laughter drifted through the air. A moment later, Komori’s mushroom-shaped pupils flickered toward the window.
Down in the parking lot’s smoking area stood 'Vantablack' Shihai Kuroiro. His skin was an abyss of Vantablack, seemingly devouring the sunlight around him, leaving only his silver hair to shine like a blade. He held a cigarette, snickering to himself as his shoulders hitched—lost in some dark joke only he could hear.
Komori let out a long, wistful sigh. "I kept telling him to stay with us... shroom."
Kendo chuckled, tapping her spoon. "Guess he’s still not used to being around a group of girls?"
He had always been a creature of shadows, more comfortable in his own company, but he turned into a complete wreck around girls. Even as an adult, sitting face-to-face with his high-energy 1-B classmates was clearly an ordeal that made him break into a cold sweat.
Pony giggled, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Seriously, how did you two even start dating?"
Komori’s face flushed as red as a poison toadstool. She whipped her head away. "That's... a secret! Shroom!"
Pony’s horns bobbed as she grinned from ear to ear. "Mushroom and Black! You guys are literally the cutest!"
Laughter filled the air for a while. Then, suddenly, Komori pressed herself flat against the window, her palms squeaking against the glass. "Shroom! Look—over there!"
Kendo and Pony snapped their heads toward the parking lot where Komori was pointing. The sleek door of a white car was swinging open. Stepping out of it was 'Nejire Chan'—Nejire Hado.
Her mere presence seemed to brighten the dull gray asphalt. Her waist-length periwinkle blue hair swirled and cascaded, reflecting the sunlight like a waterfall.
"Ah— Nejire-senpai?" Pony gasped, her eyes going wide. Kendo's voice rose in surprise as well. "What brings Nejire-senpai all the way out here...?"
Komori tilted her head. "I thought she mostly patrolled the city center... shroom?"
As Nejire headed toward the cafe, she waved at Kuroiro. It was a high-pitched, energetic greeting, like pure sunshine itself. "Hey, hey, Kuroiro!"
Kuroiro, who had been pretending to agonize in the shadows, nearly choked. "Ghk! Cough!"
He practically inhaled his own cigarette smoke in shock. Shrinking back like a creature of darkness exposed to her blinding energy, he frantically stubbed out his cigarette and scratched the back of his neck in a panic. The three girls stayed glued to the window, watching the scene unfold. Outside, Nejire was chatting with Kuroiro, laughing under the bright sun.
Kuroiro could only manage a stiff, awkward smile while scratching his head. Heat clearly rose beneath his pitch-black skin, turning his cheeks a bright, flushed red, while his wandering white eyes darted everywhere but Nejire's face.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Pressed against the glass, Komori pouted and grumbled. "I know it's Nejire-chan, but... isn't his face way too red? Hmph... shroom."
Beside her, Pony bobbed her horns and giggled teasingly. "Oh? Are you jealous right now, Kinoko? You look super scary!"
Before Komori could spew out mushroom spores in retaliation, Kendo grabbed her empty cup and stood up, taking charge. "Come on, let's go downstairs and say hi."
Just as the three of them headed for the stairs to greet her—
Ding— The brass bell above the door chimed clearly. As Nejire threw the door open, a rush of fresh air and vibrant energy flooded inside. Her periwinkle blue hair fluttered in the breeze.
Pony wagged her tail and waved with both hands. "Hi, Nejire-senpai! It's been forever!"
Nejire's smile lit up the room. "Hey, hey! It's been forever since the return ceremony! So weird, right?" She greeted them with her arms spread wide. The hem of her dress swished as her laughter rippled through the air.
"I was out for a drive and looked up at the cafe, and guess what? I saw you guys right there in the window!" Her large, clear eyes, sparkling with her trademark curiosity, curved happily. She continued with a wide gesture. "So I just had to come in and say hi! Oh, wait, wait! I was just talking to Kuroiro outside... Huh? Where did he go?"
As Nejire tilted her head and looked around in confusion, Komori pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep sigh. "Sigh... He probably disappeared into the shadows again... shroom."
Nejire burst into bubbly giggles. "Ahaha! He’s still so shy, isn't he? Is he always like this?"
Kendo pointed to an empty seat and nodded. "So, what brings you all the way out here, senpai?"
Nejire didn't just sit down. She practically bounced into the chair, bursting with energy. "I came to see Shiozaki-chan! Yep, yep!"
Pony’s horns twitched with curiosity. "Oh— is it husband trouble? Is Suneater-senpai feeling down again?"
For a second, Nejire blinked, then laughed brightly and waved her hand. "Ahaha, well, that too! Tamaki worries about literally everything, you know." She playfully scrunched her nose. "But Shiozaki-chan is super good at counseling for that kind of stuff."
Then, she pointed a playful finger at Komori. "Oh, speaking of counseling! I heard Shiozaki helped out when Kuroiro confessed to you! Did she? Did she?"
"Th-that's... sh-shroom..." Komori's fingers twisted together into knots. She shrank down as if trying to melt into her chair. Beneath her bangs, her cheeks burned so red it looked like steam might start rising from her head.
Nejire burst into bubbly giggles at her reaction. "You know, there's more than one couple who owes Shiozaki! There's Shindo and Tatami... Kaminari and Jiro..." As she counted them off on her fingers, a sly, fox-like grin spread across her lips. Her gaze shifted to Kendo. "And finally, Kendo and Tetsutetsu are—"
Smack! Like a striking cobra, Kendo's strikingly large hand flew out and clamped firmly over Nejire's mouth. "Ahaha! Senpai, please, not here...!"
Kendo let out a loud, awkward laugh, but her ears were burning just as red as her orange hair. Keeping the Wonder Hero's mouth shut, she scratched her cheek with her free hand, desperately averting her eyes. Nejire blinked in surprise, then started giggling so hard the vibrations tickled Kendo's palm. Komori bowed her head to hold back her laughter, while Pony clutched her stomach and slapped the table.
"So fresh! Kendo's face is totally fresh!" Sunlight poured in, and laughter softly filled the room.
But gradually, the lively chuckles faded away. A soft, melancholic jazz melody drifted in to fill the empty space. Nejire stared silently down at the clear jasmine tea in her cup for a while before slowly raising her head. The playful sparkle in her eyes completely washed away.
"Actually..." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and lowered her voice. "I came to ask Shiozaki for a counseling favor... for a certain hero."
The flow of the air shifted in an instant. The warmth of the sunlight seemed to cool. Pony lowered her gaze as she set her cup down, and Komori froze with her cup pressed against her lips. Kendo took a slow, deep breath. A heavy silence stretched out among them. There was no need to say the name out loud. It hung in the air like a weighty, undeniable truth.
"She's someone... really precious to me," Nejire said quietly, cupping her teacup with both hands as if seeking warmth. "But lately... it feels like she's screaming on the inside."
Breaking the tension, Kendo asked cautiously. "...Are you talking about Mirko?"
Surprise flickered across Nejire's face. Her eyes widened as she asked back, "Huh? Wait, how did you guys know...?"
Kendo gave a solemn nod. "Shiozaki is in a session with her today. Right at this very moment."
Nejire's fingers twitched to a halt. The sunlight quivered on the surface of her jasmine tea. She let out a sound that was almost a sigh. "I see..."
For a long time, no one spoke. Only the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock echoed through the quiet cafe.
The four of them headed back up to the second-floor private room. A faint warmth still lingered around the cups left on the table. Outside the window, the clear sunlight approaching midday poured in, filling the room with a bright glow.
Komori spoke first. Her voice was low and damp. "Do you remember Mirko's first mission after her return? When she took down the Onima gang with us... shroom."
Nejire nodded, her usual smile completely erased. "Yeah, I saw it on the news. They said it was a flawless operation."
Komori paused for a moment, looking down at her lap. "The media hyped it up as the 'Rabbit Hero's Spectacular Return.' But..." Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper. "There's something that wasn't reported."
Komori twirled a strand of hair around her finger, pulling it tighter and tighter. "That day... it was only for a brief moment, but Mirko didn't look like a hero."
"Everything went smoothly up to the second floor," she continued, lowering her voice. "Mirko went up first to block the third-floor exit where the Onima brothers were, and the three of us pushed in from the front. Just as we had almost subdued the remnants... a wall exploded, a villain came flying through... and Mirko charged in..."
Komori couldn't finish her sentence and clamped her mouth shut. A heavy silence weighed down on them. The next to speak was Pony. As she lifted her head, her blonde hair swayed limply. Her usual playfulness had been completely wiped away by terror.
"Those eyes..." Her voice trembled faintly. "They weren't just red. They were burning." She hugged her knees and buried her face in them. "Like a beast staring down its prey." She paused for a moment, shuddering before whispering the word again. "A beast."
Kendo's teal eyes darkened as a deep shadow fell over them. The memories replayed in her mind like fragments of a broken film. The metallic stench of fresh blood. The sound of crumbling concrete. And—the sound of Mirko's kicks tearing through the air, aimed not at subduing, but at destroying. A bloodlust so thick it froze the very air.
Kendo clenched her fists tightly on the table. "If we hadn't stopped her... that villain would have died."
The air in the private room grew suffocatingly heavy. Kendo looked down at her own hands. The very hands she had reached out to Mirko with that day.
"After we barely managed to calm her down... I tried to comfort her. I just placed a hand on her shoulder." She closed her eyes. A pained expression flickered across her face as the memory resurfaced. "She slapped my hand away. Violently."
Komori flinched, and Pony shook her head as if trying to forget.
"Then she froze in an instant." Kendo's voice trembled with the memory, fading into a whisper. "Her eyes went wide, and she just stared at her own hand. She looked terrified. The hand she had just used to strike me away. As if she couldn't believe she had raised a hand against a comrade..."
A heavy, shaky sigh escaped Kendo's lips. "She stood there trembling... then dropped her head and muttered, 'I'm sorry'... And then she just walked away without looking back. Her ears... her tail... everything was drooping limply."
She took a slow breath to steady herself. Her voice sank even lower. "I went to visit her at the Public Safety Commission Hospital later..." Kendo slowly shook her head. "Mirko was just staring blankly out the window. When I walked in, she slowly turned her head to look at me, but... that fiery, confident smile of hers was completely gone. There was nothing wrong with her body, but her eyes were sunken, and those ears that always stood so tall were drooping all the way down to her shoulders, trembling faintly..."
A long silence, shared in sorrow, stretched between them. Nejire slowly set down her teacup.
"Everyone knows Mirko as a solo hero. And sure, she prefers working alone because of her personality and fighting style, but... her camaraderie is stronger than anyone's."
Her voice was soft, yet it carried a heavy truth. Nejire lifted her gaze to meet Kendo's eyes.
"Once she forms a team... she's the kind of hero who would jump into the fire first for her comrades."
Nejire clenched her fists in her lap.
"For someone like that... to realize she hurt a friend with her own hands?" Her voice trembled faintly. "That must have been a terror worse than any villain."
The sorrowful silence stretched out once more.
"Yeah... I knew something was wrong." Nejire stared into the gently rippling, clear tea, piecing together fragments of memory. "They called it a successful mission. But after that... she said she needed treatment and barely showed her face..."
Nejire took a slow breath. Her gaze drifted toward the window as if replaying the past.
"I think... it started even before that." Her finger traced the rim of her teacup, feeling out an uneasy memory. "I... felt it during the return ceremony."
"Since then?" Kendo furrowed her brows.
"She raised her fist at the very end... amidst the cheers and camera flashes." Nejire's voice grew faint. "It was just for a split second, not even a full moment... but she rubbed her temples and winced."
Komori and Pony let out small gasps. Nejire bowed her head, letting her bangs shadow her eyes.
"It was instantaneous. The blink of an eye... but that expression wasn't normal." She clenched her hands on the table. "She didn't just look tired. She looked like her head was splitting open."
Sorrow flickered in her eyes. Pony spoke up, her voice quivering. "At the party that night, too..."
Everyone looked at her. Pony curled into herself slightly. "I was right next to her. She raised her glass for a toast, smiling brightly like she always does, and then suddenly..." Pony shuddered. "Her eyes just went completely empty." She stared into the thin air, mimicking what she had seen. "She blinked, and the light in her eyes just... died. Like she wasn't even there anymore." Her voice was thick with fear.
Nejire slowly nodded, taking over."I saw it too. A second later, she laughed it off like nothing happened." Nejire trailed off in thought. The thin steam rising from the tea swirled and vanished, like smoke she couldn't catch. "...Back then, I just thought it was a side effect of her physical treatment..." She whispered, the realization settling heavily over her. "I had no idea it was this serious..."
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. Kendo exchanged a short, sharp look with Komori and Pony. The two girls glanced around before giving a single nod. It was a silent agreement to step into dangerous territory.
Kendo took a slow, deep breath. Her hands enlarged, rising smoothly to form a dome-like barrier around them. With a low hum, the semi-transparent wall isolated them from the rest of the cafe. The outside world went quiet. The laughter of other patrons, the clinking of cups—it all vanished.
In the isolated silence, Kendo's voice dropped into a hush. "Do you happen to know... exactly what kind of treatment Mirko received?"
Nejire's eyes wavered. She studied everyone's faces with a tense expression for a moment before finally nodding. "Rewind."
The air froze. It felt as though the temperature inside the barrier had plummeted in an instant. All four of them stopped breathing.
Kendo lowered her hands. As the barrier vanished, the cafe's ambient noise rushed back in like a crashing wave.
Komori, startled, pulled her mushroom cap down low. "We can't talk about this... too loudly. Shroom..." Her voice grew even smaller. Pony, her face pale, took a slow, deep breath and nodded.
Rewind. A Quirk that rewinds the time of living things. A power that defies the laws of nature—and the power that had turned a young girl's life into hell. Only the top heroes and a very select few high-ranking Public Safety Commission officials knew the truth.
Nejire let out a trembling breath. "The day after the party, I told Hawks about Mirko's strange behavior. He said it was best that I knew, since we fought together in the 'Coffin in the Sky'... He told me they used Eri's Quirk to rewind Mirko's body."
She lowered her gaze, staring into her clear jasmine tea. "Eri's safety was on the line, so I didn't pry. Work got busy... and I kind of pushed it out of my mind." The thin steam rising from the teacup veiled the slight tremor around her eyes. "When I heard she was hospitalized after her return mission, Tamaki and I went to visit her several times. We just wanted to comfort her. But we were turned away every single time. They said she needed absolute rest..."
Hearing those words, a heavy stone sank into the corner of Kendo's heart. It was because she knew the real reason Mirko had refused visitors.
Nejire's fingertips anxiously traced the side of her cup. "But... when Ojiro went to visit her, he said that during their conversation, Mirko suddenly started trembling in extreme fear." She lowered her voice to a whisper, as if terrified to even speak the words into existence. "Like she was hearing someone's voice."
Someone. That word made Kendo's breath hitch in her throat.
Nejire-senpai, Komori, and Pony assumed it was just hallucinations and auditory illusions born from severe PTSD. But Kendo knew. She knew that inside her own head, Mirko was fighting a brutal, solitary war against the cells of history's worst villain.
'If only it were just 'something'.' A grim memory flashed through Kendo's mind. A secret briefing she had been summoned to a week ago.
The grave faces of HPSC President Hawks, Best Jeanist, and her teacher, Aizawa.
"We are telling you this because you were the team leader for that operation." Best Jeanist's voice, far more subdued than usual, had filled the room. "Mirko is not suffering from simple PTSD. Rewind didn't just bring back her body."
Then, Aizawa's exhausted voice had echoed in her ears. "The one who broke her, the one who tried to break this entire world..." Aizawa's left eye had flashed dangerously. "His phantom was brought back, too. The cells of Shigaraki left in her flesh were activated as a side effect of Rewind. They are overwriting her neural network."
Hawks's voice that followed had been cold and absolute. "Keep the activation of Shigaraki's cells strictly classified for now. We have no definitive solution at the moment. Spreading rumors will only cause unnecessary panic and chaos among our comrades."
Kendo tightened her grip on her cup. Her knuckles turned stark white, squeezing so hard the ceramic creaked.
Shigaraki Tomura. The name alone was a curse that chilled her marrow.
Kendo bit her lip, forcing her face into a mask of composure.It was partly because of the gag order from her superiors, but more than that—she couldn't bear to place this suffocating burden on Komori and Pony.
The truth was far too heavy, and far too cruel.
Unaware of Kendo's internal turmoil, Nejire continued in a faint voice. "So I made up my mind... I decided to ask Shiozaki for help."
Her eyes turned toward the window. "If it's Shiozaki... she'll be able to reach her..."
Sunlight poured across the table, but it couldn't chase away the cold shadow that had settled over their hearts. Within that golden light, they clung to a single, fragile prayer.
'Please, let someone reach her.'
Their silent wish dissipated into the empty air along with the steam from their teacups. None of them knew. They had no idea that at this very moment, .that fragile prayer had already crumbled into dust.
Mirko's legs, which had been sprinting relentlessly, finally staggered.
Her breath tore from her throat in ragged gasps. Her chest heaved as if it were about to burst. Heat flared all the way to the tips of her ears, and her heartbeat echoed down to the very end of her tail, making it quiver violently. Just how far had she run? Her body, forged to its absolute limits, was screaming, but her mind was numb to the pain. What was crushing her wasn't muscle fatigue. It was something rising from a deeper place—from an utterly depleted mind that had nothing left to give.
"...Hah... Hah..."
Her red eyes looked up at a broken signboard swaying in the wind. Faded paint. Collapsed walls. Rusted rebar tangled with weeds. She recognized it instantly. Jaku General Hospital. Mirko's breath hitched.
In that moment, something old and cold writhed inside her. The place that had taken her arm. The place where Shigaraki had opened the gates to hell.
"...Here..."
The word cracked as it left her mouth. Shards of glass in the ruins glinted, catching the dying light. As the wind swept by, metal fragments groaned and shrieked. The sound burrowed into her ears like the moans of fallen comrades.
Mirko's fingers brushed against a wall. The second the cold touch of concrete grazed her palm—a high-voltage shock of memories slammed into her whole body. The roars of the Nomu. Shigaraki's laughter. The stench of blood crushing the air. She choked on her own breath.
"Why... of all places..."
Mirko's voice scattered into the wind. It felt as if someone had intentionally lured her to this exact spot. And then—a chilling voice echoed. Scratching at the insides of her ears and her skull.
'You came back. Finally, Rabbit.'
The shadows of the ruins wavered. Dust rose from the ground. The light flickered like a dying bulb, and the world held its breath. The gray walls writhed and shifted shape as if they were alive. Metal fragments defied gravity, floating up into the empty air. The stench of blood and dirt twisted together.
And within that chaos—laughter echoed.