Mockingbirds Don't Sing Lullabies

Chapter Five:One by One

"The UA High Festival will be in a few days. This means that you need to focus on your goal. I will give you these next few days to train on your own."

Bakugo only half listened as Aizawa left. With the Festival coming he would be given the chance to beat Harunei and show he was the best. His pride had been shot since that first day and over the past five weeks he had made it his goal to be better than her. This would be his chance.

Before he could stand Bakugo felt a hand grab his arm. He looked down and followed the arm to see Harunei's smiling face.

She leaned in so only he could hear her. "I want to talk to you. Meet me at your old playground tonight. Two hours before dark. That's 7 o'clock for your thick brain. Now I want you to act normal. Understand? Oh and come alone. I don't like disturbances."

"What makes you think I'll listen to you?"

The grin she gave him sent shivers down his spine. "Because I know everything about you. Including your family. I may be on restrictions relating to UA students but that doesn't mean I can't have fun with their families. Now act normal." She let go of his arm and joins into the conversation next to them. He got up and left.

Ash watched him leave out of the corner of her eye. Her name brought her from her daze. "Harunei, did you hear the question?" She turned to Todoroki.

"Oh just call me Nei. I'm not really one for formal hard to say last name thing.

"Ok. So Nei did you hear the question?" He looked a little uncomfortable after having to ask the question twice.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" She gave him a quizzical look. She was talking with Todoroki, Mina, and Sue about the Festival.

"I'm just joking. And yes,I have been to the Festival before." She let out a small laugh at the look of relief on Todoroki's face.

"When did you go? Was it last year?" Mina looked at her with a need for answers.

"No. I went when I was seven. The first time I had ever been to Japan." Ash averted her eyes

to the ground. Kurogiri had insisted on taking her and Shigaraki to the festival since it was her first year in Japan. She had watched with eager anticipation to meet each of the contestants but when she asked Kurogiri he had shot her down in seconds.

"Oh? How long have you lived in Japan?" Sue ribbited after the question.

"Since I was six. My parents died when I was really little and I jumped from foster home to foster home until my uncle in Japan took me in." When Ash was young she had called Kurogiri Uncle for the longest time. The first time he corrected her was on her eighth birthday. He had handed her a nine inch hunting knife and told her to learn to use it before she ever called him uncle again. She had mastered it in a week.

"Were your parents heroes? Is that how they died? In America right?" Ash held up her hand to silence Mina.

"No, no, and yes. My parents were just simple people. As to how they died." She looked up from the floor. "They were murdered. Brutally. The cops found their bodies drained of blood and

mouths mid scream."

Todaroki's head snapped to look at her, "What? Who could have done that?"

Ash couldn't help it. Her wicked smile returned slowly. "No one knows. That's what made their murder so odd." She quickly wiped the smile from her face.

"How could you not know? Wait what were their quirks?" She stood quickly and headed for the door. Ash looked back at Mina. "I'm sorry but that's enough questions for today. I won't tell you their quirks but if you do enough research you might find them."

Todaroki's brain began running. Blood drained and mouths hung open. He excused himself from the conversation and headed towards the computer lab.

He instantly began looking for murders in America nine years ago that involved blood draining when he came across something terrifying.

A string of murders over nine months had occurred during that year. Each person had their blood drained and mouths open in a scream. Two names kept popping up in the cases. Bloodbath and Screamer.

I wish Todoroki had stopped there. If only he hadn't clicked on

those names. What he was about to find would rock this world

into a new era. I cried that night. Oh Todoroki. Why didn't you

just stop? They would still be here if you had just stopped.