It took a while, but Etsuko finally managed to inject Marble with one of her needles, immediately putting the dog to sleep. The woman's mouth has gone dry from repeatedly shooting out the needles. "Fuck..." The woman groans, rubbing her hand over her aching jaw. It was sore from repeatedly spitting out her needles.

"Thanks for nothing, man!" Etsuko started complaining to Haru before she even turned to check on him after being bitten by the dog.

What she sees when she turns around is enough to leave her speechless. Quickly, Etsuko slouches over and vomits onto the ground beside her, unable to stomach the disgusting, gruesome state of Haru's body.

He lies on the ground, completely limp, but still breathing. Both of his eyes were torn apart, effectively making Haru blind. Worst of all, Etsuko noticed one of her needles sticking out of Haru's body. She knew for a fact that she hadn't shot near him, meaning that somehow, one of her sedative needles punctured his injury precisely.

Etsuko scans around the room, finding that the mother and her daughter were still sleeping peacefully on the bed. They couldn't have been the ones responsible, her needles could send the largest elephant off to dreamland if they make contact with their blood; granted she required a much larger quantity of saliva for that.

Her eyes reach where she'd last seen the baby that Haru kicked. The infant was gone, and an uneasiness permeated the air.

Etsuko wonders where the kid could've gone, examining the body of Haru. The vial of blood she'd given him was gone, alarming her immediately. The door was wide open, so Etsuko figured that the child must've run out of the room after—and while she still has her doubts about it—biting out Haru's eyes.

Before Etsuko ran out of the room, she knelt beside Haru, placing a hand on her shoulder to give him words of reassurance, "Haru, I'll be back, I'll get you out here."

With that, she had no choice but to leave the man, rushing out into the hallway to find the infant. She couldn't have gotten far, she also couldn't leave the house because of her small size.

* * * *

Etsuko was right, Rimi didn't get far at all. As soon as the girl rushed out into the hallway to search for the child, Rimi was crawling out from beneath the bed. 'Good, Marble did a good job turning her attention away from the bed.' Rimi's mind was not one of a little girl's, but of an 11-year-old boy's who's fought more gruesome battles than a boy his age should've. He may not have been the smartest, but he knew all too well about deception, stealth, and most of all, killing.

Rimi grips the blanket, using what little strength she had to pull herself up onto the bed. Thankfully, the combined weight of her mother and sister kept the blanket suspended in place, preventing it from sliding off.

'I'll only have a few minutes before the woman comes back, and I know she won't be so forgiving to me just because I'm young.' Rimi has already gotten used to this small body. Her routine of climbing and walking has made her stronger, though not by a lot. However, she could certainly beat any other 8-month-old infant.

Rimi hadn't considered it before, but her growth must've seemed unnatural, but now isn't the time for her to think about her abnormalities.

When she reaches the top of the bed, Rimi crawls over to her mother and runs her hand along her hip, feeling around for her pocket.

Once she finds her pocket, Rimi reaches inside, hoping to find her mother's phone. She manages to find it, and after a bit of struggling, she gets the phone free. Without wasting any time, Rimi puts in her mother's passcode, which she's seen her put in many times, and made an emergency call.

She dials 110, and for the first time in her life, she manages to put together a proper word through her growing baby teeth. "Hep- h-help..." Through a bit of struggling, she manages to speak into the phone, and the operator on the other side seems to understand without the need for Rimi to explain further.

Rimi notices her mother starting to stir in her sleep, and she decides that she should try and wake her up. The toddler stands to her feet and pushes on her mother's shoulder. Rimi even goes as far as to smack her foot against her mother's face, trying to stir her awake. She can't hit her mother with enough force to harm her anyway.

Kimiko stirs again, this time, her hand unconsciously moves up to rub her face, apparently becoming annoyed by the smacking. 'Good, just a bit mor-' Rimi's body suddenly starts to lose its strength. The girl didn't even feel it, but a needle was shot from the hallway, striking her shoulder. 'Huh...?' The needle that struck her didn't knock her out but instead terminated her ability to move.

She practically falls off of the bed but is caught by the assailant, Etsuko, who grabs her by the arm before she can reach the ground. "Was this your doing, little baby?" Her voice still sounds just as sweet and sadistic as it had when she was standing over the crib, but this time, Etsuko held the girl with a more firm grip.

"I didn't think I'd come across a mutant around here," the woman said, falsely assuming that Rimi is a mutant-type quirk user.

Rimi hasn't actually unlocked her quirk yet, which may be a surprise to many who hear about it after seeing what she'd just done using only her wits. "Gosh, just holding you is making my hair stand." The woman brings Rimi back to her crib, leaving her dangling by one arm the whole way there.

Etsuki harshly tosses the baby into the crib, creating a soft thud on impact. "I can't let you get away with what you did to my buddy, there." If Rimi were just a bit more observant, she might've noticed a new needle sticking in Haru's neck. "I had to put him to sleep so he wouldn't have to worry about the blindless, you little beast. I need something in return for what you've done to my partner." In this darkness, Rimi can see the woman's massive, devilish smile shining red.

Much like the smile that 'the boy' had in her dream when murdering Madoka, this woman was taking joy in this situation, even in her own teammate's suffering. "I'd never seen something so brutal before, so it was nauseating. But, when I came back into the room, there was a new feeling of thrill!"

The woman reaches down, sliding the belt from around her waist. With her attention focused on Rimi, the child no longer felt uneasy, knowing that her mother and sister would be alright. She'd hidden Madoka's vial of blood beneath the bed, as long as this woman kept focusing on her, she might be able to last until the police arrive.

When the belt cracks against her the first time, she discovers that enduring this was just a distant fantasy.

She lost control of herself immediately, feeling a stinging sensation much worse than being punted across a room. The belt cracked against her small body, and her tears immediately began flowing. What villain whips a baby!? Then, it hits her, this is a villain. Maybe not a known one, but this definitely isn't a petty criminal either. The person in front of her is a bonafide villain.

'I can't believe I forgot what kind of world I'm living in—I'm not Izuku Midoriya, something terrible can happen to me at any time, the world of My Hero Academia is filled with dark subtext. Eri, a mere child, will probably be subjected to harsh torture only a short while after she is born. I could end up much worse if I don't watch my step—I'd much rather it be me than my family, though.'

As the toddler cries louder with each crack of the belt, Etsuko's eyes burn with greater intensity. "Louder, baby! You can cry louder, can't you!?" Etsuko couldn't contain herself any longer. With Haru unconscious, she has no reason to restrict her sadism, she can act however she wants as long as she gets the blood samples. "Maybe I should take your sample, we might find something interesting!"

Etsuko's dialogue was mixed with insanity and laughter, the scene of beating an infant with a belt being all too exciting.

Rimi wishes that she can endure this pain, but this is not her old body. This body is weaker and smaller, much less used to pain. It'd been so long since she last felt pain this great. She could endure a single kick, but repeated whipping is something used as a form of torture, prolonging the victim's suffering.

"It feels great to be on the delivering end, you know!?" Rimi couldn't figure out why this woman insisted on talking to a toddler. "And you know what's better!? After you sent me on that wild goose chase, you creative brat, I stopped by your kitchen and had a drink!" Rimi didn't know why, but this made her more nervous than before.

"You probably don't understand half of what I'm saying, right? Poor thing~" Her next action is contradicting her supposed remorse. Raising her fingers in front of her lips, Etsuko spat out several needles, each one hitting the toddler somewhere in her body. This time, it didn't paralyze her or make her tired. Excruciating pain took control of the girl's senses. Her ears were ringing, her eyes were burning, and her flesh felt like it was boiling!

However, before the toddler could even process her next scream, a breeze goes through the room. A gentle hand touches her head, and she feels all of the pain fade away.

As her eyes go up, Rimi sees the face of her mother smiling down at her. "Sleep for a little, dear." With her mother's orders, the mental fatigue of enduring the pain collapses on Rimi, and she drifts off to sleep again.

Etsuko was taken aback by the woman's sudden appearance but quickly recovered. She spat out a needle at the woman, deciding that she could have fun with her as well! Her needles only struck the wall at the far side of the room as the woman disappeared from Etsuko's sight. "Eh?" Her usual shit-eating grin is replaced by a look of bemusement.

Before she can finish turning to look behind her, a finger plunges itself deep into Etsuko's eye, and she screams in pain, instinctively pulling herself away from the woman as her hand reaches up to clutch over her eye. This only made matters worse. Instead of the finger sliding out of her eye socket, Etsuko's foolish decision caused her own to remain attached to Kimiko's finger; she tore her own eye out.

Once the pain set in, Etsuko's scream of pain turned into one of unexplainable agony. "Fuck! You fucking bitch! You fucking slut! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK YOU! FUCK YO-" Etsuko's insults come to a close when Kimiko grips her by the mouth, violently shoving her cheeks inward, preventing her tongue from moving.

The cold tone that comes out is unlike Kimiko's usual self. "I remember you, Etsuko... My dear little Etsuko, you didn't learn, did you?" Kimiko was no longer smiling like before, instead, there was a look of primordial anger. Etsuko tries to build up as much saliva as she can, but she isn't fast enough. Before she can even move her tongue, the sound of shattering glass overtakes her sense of hearing.

Looking around, Etsuko's eye widens at the sight of stones beneath her. Right before her head is about to crash into the stones, Kimiko redirects the girl and slams her into the grass, just a few inches away instead.

"When you were arrested the first time, I thought I'd taught you better—but this time, you break into my home? This time, you hurt my child, Etsuko!?" Kimiko remembers a younger Etsuko who was arrested for the first time. When she came into the office, the police instructed Etsuko to try and reshape some parts of her personality since she was just a juvenile then. Somehow, her personality looks to have worsened.

"H-Hough!" Etsuko tries to speak but coughs instead. She had not even realized that the wind was thrown out of her by this woman. Kimiko lets the girl gather her breath to speak, "How did you wake up!? You should've been out for a few hours!" Etsuko knew what she was getting into, that's why she opted to put Kimiko to sleep before even attempting to collect blood samples from her. Kimiko's quirk is dangerous to anyone in close vicinity, and her physical abilities make it all the more terrifying to confront in person.

"I used my quirk on myself, obviously." There were two things that Etsuko realized about Kimiko. The first is that her quirk could reshape her into a completely different person if she were careless, but the second is that Kimiko using her quirk on herself has unsuspecting consequences—she loses herself. The Kimiko who Etsuko met as a juvenile is not the same Kimiko that's standing in front of her.

"You're insane..." Just as Etsuko knew a few things about Kimiko, there were still a lot of things about her that she didn't know.

For instance, Kimiko's incredible physical abilities never surfaced before she used her ability on herself.

Kimiko's foot comes crashing down onto Etsuko's stomach, digging in deep, but not enough to cause too much internal damage. "I'm a mother, Etsuko, not insane." Kimiko corrects before grabbing the girl by her hair.

One may wonder why Etsuko hasn't tried fighting back, and the answer is rather simple; she cannot. Any thoughts Etsuko had of fighting back or physically resisting Kimiko disappeared, they vanished the moment Kimiko put her hands on her.

"My daughter is amazing, isn't she?" Etsuko tries to look around at her surroundings, but the darkness of night, and her lack of an eye, make it difficult. "I saw what she did to your pal, Haru, it's incredible to think that he's already used to moving around in that body."

Etsuko looks up at Kimiko, confused. "He?"

Kimiko comes to a complete stop on her way to the front of their house. Etsuko can't hear it properly, but she was certain that Kimiko sighed and said something under her breath. "I think I slipped up there," she says, tossing Etsuko's back into the wall.

Kimiko crouches in front of Etsuko as if she were annoyed about the extra effort she now needs to put in. "Look me in my eye, Etsuko," she commands, staring at the girl who tries to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

She eventually gives in and hesitantly lifts her eye to look at the woman. It only takes a glance for Etsuko to understand her mistake. Just by looking at her astral eyes did she finally realize, this is not Kimiko Yonamine.

What stood in front of Etsuko is the renowned legend who retired from the police force after physically and figuratively 'breaking' hundreds of villains. During the time of her reign, she collected many titles, but one stuck out because of the sheer silliness of its nature: Goddess.

Etsuko called anyone who used that title insane since it is a name that some villains came to fear just a bit less than 'All Might'. Now, she understands where the validity behind her name comes from. By looking into her eye, Etsuko feels like she's in the presence of a creature beyond the boundaries of humans.

"You're only an extra, so I don't think I need to be considerate about your participation in the story." Kimiko lifts her hand and then a vial appears out of thin air. It was the vial of Madoka's blood that Rimi had hidden. Kimiko slips the vial into the girl's pocket before she stands, taking a moment to stretch. "My daughter's going to become a hero soon, so she'll need practice against a low tier like yourself."

"Now, I'm going to do a bit of 'mental surgery', so I'd appreciate it if you could sit there like a good girl and let me work, understand?" The power behind Kimiko's words is not something that Etsuko can simply refuse. Every cell in her body demands that she obey, thus the girl nods.

* * * *

An indefinite amount of time has passed, and Etsuko has 'escaped' under Kimiko's terms.

Now Kimiko stands in front of the body of Haru who remains asleep. She takes a look at the man's injuries, questioning if she should do something about them. 'No, I don't think it's necessary for me to meddle with such trash.'

The woman approaches Rimi's crib, looking down to see the blood that covered the girl's face. 'It'd have been better if you hadn't experienced something like this so early, huh?' Kimiko did not need to read Rimi's mind to know how she felt about this whole thing.

Any feeling of security that she might've gathered in the last 8 months should've swiftly been torn apart right before Rimi's eyes.

Sighing, Kimiko can't hide the frown on her face while thinking about Rimi's situation. 'This is supposed to be your gift, but it looks like the world of choice is more dangerous than intended. It's fitting for your atonement,' she thought, turning her head to Madoka who was still sleeping on the bed. In the distance, she could hear police sirens approaching the scene, at last.

Kimiko places her hand down on top of Rimi's head, surfing through the girl's memories. She can already feel her mind urging her to stop, the voice in the back of her head that thought the same thing as her. 'Forgive me, darling... You're going to need to forget some things for me.'

Under Kimiko's influence, Rimi forgot everything that Kimiko needed her to. Kimiko's sudden burst in speed, Madoka's blood being stolen, and a few other things. To add the finishing touches, Kimiko waves her hand over Rimi's head, cleansing the girl of the blood caking her face.

'Lastly,' Kimiko raises a finger gun to the side of her head, thinking about something. 'Yep, I've thought of a good scenario. Until next time, my adorable daughter.' As if she were going on a long vacation, Kimiko says goodbye to Rimi. Suddenly, her finger motions as though a shot were fired, and the unnatural colors in Kimiko's eyes change.

She looks around in confusion for a minute before spotting the man unconscious on the ground. Kimiko shouts, turning around and taking Rimi into her arms.

It was like the entire sequence of events just now hadn't occurred. Kimiko was a completely different person than the deity-like version of herself that was put on display in front of Etsuko.

It allowed a question to surface: who, or rather, what is Kimiko Yonamine?