Oh boy, I bet ya'll hate me for waiting to update for so long. And frankly, I don't blame you at all.
I wrote this chapter over the span of a few months, going and coming back to it multiple times each month. It is only today that I finally bucked up and sat down to write about 3000 words to finish it.
Now, to address a common question that's been asked in reviews (Being, "Will Izuku become a titan-shifter"), the answer is simply maybe. I have decided on whether or not he will be one, but that's up to you guys to predict. I don't want to spoil it, but it may not be what you think either. Whatever position you settle on, be prepared to face the opposite of what you're expecting.
As in tradition with the other two chapters in this story, I'll be replying to all reviews through PM. Sorry to those who review as guests, but I don't want to spoil the story for others.
Warnings remain the same as the last chapter, they will remain the same for the rest of this story.
Disclaimer: I own neither of these properties. They belong to their respective owners and I'm sure that all of you agree that I shouldn't own them either.
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・SOUND = Onomatopoeia
'Words' = Thoughts of the current POV character
Words = Normal dialogue or narration with emphasis
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Last Chapter...
"Do I need to repeat myself?" the apathetic stranger seethed once more. This time, a look of murderous intent tore into Midoriya's soul, "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Midoriya did a full-body shudder and gulped nervously. The iron of the blade was too close for comfort and it was making Midoriya sweat like an absolute pig.
'Just what have I gotten myself into!?'
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Izuku
He sat face to face with the eyes of death. The leaden orbs were glaring back into his own, dangling the threat of annihilation right in front of his pallid expression.
The steel of the stranger's blade nipped lightly at Midoriya's tender skin, the sharp edge ready to slit his throat and end his life right where he sat. This was the moment of truth; Midoriya had only moments, maybe mere seconds, to talk the stranger out of killing him this very instant.
He swallowed the large amount of fear that racked his body and began to stumble out a nearly incoherent string of words.
"I-I'm s-sorry but I have no i-idea what y-you're t-talking about, s-sir!" he spluttered out, unable to hide the fact that he was sweating bullets and was about to pass out from the amount of tension that the stranger was creating.
The stranger continued to gaze at him, his face as still as stone while he examined his prey. A few minutes passed and neither party had said a single word since Midoriya's sad excuse for an explanation.
Finally, the stranger stood up, still keeping the blade against Midoriya's throat.
"Look brat," the stranger said bitterly, pronouncing the word 'brat' harshly. The man began to circle around Midoriya's cornered figure, "I don't care if you don't tell me what happened here."
"Huh?" Midoriya squeaked out, his face still red from the stranger's intimidating scowl.
"You heard me," the stranger spoke, his tone becoming more apathetic than threatening. The blade lowered slowly from Midoriya's neck, the threat of death easing away, "If you're not going to tell me, then you'll have to deal with the Military Police."
"D-does that mean–" Midoriya started before being harshly interrupted.
"But I'll give you a hint," the stranger uttered, his pupils contracting slightly, "They're much harsher than I am, and I doubt they would let you live if we bring you back."
"What do you–" Midoriya started once more, only to be interrupted by a sudden noise.
THUD. The noise emanated from the door to the bunker.
"Yo, Levi!" a voice sounded from the other side of the reinforced door, "You accidentally locked the door when you came in!"
"I swear on Wall Rose..." the grey-eyed man muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. The stranger slid his sword back into its sheath that was seemingly attached to him at the waist. The blade scraped against the sheath until it finally clicked in. The man then abruptly turned to face the door and walked towards it. He responded to the odd voice, "Only you're half-assed enough to walk through a closed door, Shitty Four-eyes."
With one forceful pull, the stranger had opened the door, revealing a beaming woman with somehow shiny hair and goggles stationed firmly on her forehead. She pushed past the stranger, rushing towards Izuku with inhuman speed. Izuku squeaked in unadulterated terror and curled into a small ball.
The woman instantly grabbed him by the arms and forced him to his feet.
"You... YOU! I-I have so many questions for you!" she squealed, shaking Izuku with intense vigor. She continued her hurried blurb of words and sounds, "Oh, oh! How did you survive out here!? What was your food source?! All the canned food is years old, likely expired... WERE YOU EATING TITANS!?"
"Hange," the stranger called, seemingly unfazed by the woman's 'scene'.
"Yes, Levi?" the woman responded in a sickeningly sweet voice, almost completely forgetting about the boy still being clutched by her arms.
"Put the brat down and breathe for a minute."
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・After the insane woman was removed from Izuku's body and taken out of the room, the stranger whom the woman had called "Levi" tied his hands behind his back and started to guide him outside of the bunker-like room and to the surface. "Levi" was quiet throughout the whole walk to the outside, making the whole experience more awkward than it already was.
They passed through multiple musty corridors and rotted wooden doors, finally making it to a flight of stone stairs that were growing moss on the sides. From the bottom of the steps, Izuku could barely make out a circular door with glimmers of light shining through the cracks.
"Keep moving," Levi pushed, unhappy with the sudden halt in their trip to the surface.
"O-okay..." Izuku started to trek up the set of mossy stairs.
'I'm not sure why I'm here, but I'm at the mercy of these people. If I attempt an escape, I could be caught again. I'm sure they won't be as merciful as this time. If I do succeed, I won't know where to go... and if I somehow find a town or city, these people may be their military. Either way I look at it, it's my best option to just do what they say.'
The climb was consistently silent, the only exceptions being Izuku's and Levi's light breathing and the occasional drop of water that would somehow make itself through the wooden ceiling. Finally, after what seemed like twenty minutes of walking, the group of two stopped at the vertically placed door that had light seeping through the corners.
For the second time since reprimanding the insane woman, Levi spoke once again:
"In accordance with Military law, I'm required to tell you why you are being taken into custody by the Survey Corps." He let the words sink into Izuku's frazzled mind and continued with the explanation, "You were found inside of a Military Police outpost in Wall Maria territory, which makes you immediately guilty of trespassing upon military property. In addition to that, you are a subject of interest to the Survey Corps for being located outside of Wall Rose. You'll be questioned immediately upon entering the Trost District and your court hearing for trespassing will be conducted soon after, preferably without the knowledge of the public."
Izuku nodded in understanding, still standing by his resolve to peacefully follow this military's instructions.
"Do you have any questions, or are you just going to keep nodding?" Levi asked, waiting for a response.
"Yes, where are we exactly?" Izuku asked meekly, still wary of the man's attitude.
"We're currently inside the territory of Wall Maria, which is unoccupied by any humans," Levi said, giving Izuku a sharp look with the word 'humans'. He finished, "We are approximately 80 kilometers away from the Trost District."
"Uh, alright," Izuku said, let down by the answer. He had been hoping for more explanative information, but this would have to do for now.
"One question for you, brat," Levi stated, "I want to know who I've been talking to for the last hour."
"Oh! Of course," Izuku responded, slightly startled by the out-of-the-blue question. He gave a slight smile and said, "Midoriya Izuku, that's my name."
"Address me as Captain Levi from now on, and refrain from mentioning your name and charge to any other soldier who asks," Captain Levi ordered, "Understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
There was no choice but to be complacent to the Captain's orders, so Izuku made sure to be quiet unless spoken to. Even if his conscience is clear, he is a prisoner of this group. If he's done them wrong, then he has no choice but to follow their rules. It's the only thing a Hero would do, face their sins head-on.
Levi moved in front of Izuku and pushed the circular door. The door opened with a groan and sunlight immediately filled the dark underground passage.
"Get a move on, brat."
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Toshinori/All Might
Classes at UA were canceled for three days, Principal Nedzu and Detective Naomasa calling in the major heroes, and staff, present at the USJ incident in for a security meeting, as well as to inform them all of the specifics that happened during the attack. Knowing what the conference would be about as soon as he caught wind of the news, Toshinori took the event quite seriously.
Seriously enough that he was the second person to arrive, right after Nedzu himself. Toshinori knew beforehand that all the occupants of the room were trustworthy, to the point he knew that not one of them would spill a single word that was spoken in this room.
One by one, the room filled with heroes, the one exception being Detective Naomasa himself. Each hero took a seat, Detective Naomasa sitting at one end of the table with a large stack of papers neatly tucked in his palm. Finally, the last required member entered and the door shut automatically.
The room contained only six inhabitants: Principal Nedzu, Detective Naomasa, Toshinori himself, Blood King, Midnight, and Snipe.
"As all of the people required to be here are in this room, the door has been locked and will not be opened at any time throughout the duration of the conference," Principal Nedzu stated. He then directed a furry arm to the door on the side adjacent to the entrance and gave a small smile, "If anyone needs to use the restroom, that door will lead to the lavatories. Please do keep in mind that anything said in here will not be repeated again, so I highly suggest you use it now and refrain from using it again until the end of the briefing. This room is soundproofed, anything said inside is meant for the people in this room only. By being here, you are being sworn to the utmost secrecy. I hope you can follow this instruction."
Each person nodded solemnly, an unspoken contract signed and sealed by every nodding head.
"Detective Naomasa?" Nedzu nodded at the man in question.
Naomasa placed the stack of papers on the table, dividing it into six equal piles of paper. Once he finished separating the stack, he addressed the rest of the room:
"These papers contain the currently known information about the attack at USJ. All six of these stacks contain the same information, all under confidentiality of the Police Investigative Force," Naomasa passed the papers out, each stack held neatly together by a single paper clip. He then continued, "I'd suggest you memorize all information in these papers. After doing so, please dispose of them so that the information cannot be recovered. If any of the villains at the USJ manage to get their hands on this, then they would know exactly how much we know about them. This could create a major disadvantage for all heroes on the battlefield with this 'League of Villains'."
The room quickly grew silent after the sounds of shuffling papers died down, everyone had their necks bent, scanning through the important information. A few minutes passed until Naomasa spoke again:
"Alright, let's get started." He stood up from his seat and proceeded to walk to the front of the table, all eyes focused on him, "Our investigators have been looking into the group that calls themselves the "League of Villains". In fact, we're continuing to uncover new information this very moment." Naomasa frowned, "Unfortunately, we were unable to find anything on 'Shigaraki' and 'Kurogiri'. We searched our database for people with disintegration quirks and warping quirks, but nothing turned up. They're either not citizens, or they're using aliases to throw us off. Either way, information about the two will be difficult to find."
"So we really don't know anything about the two... damn." Blood King grumbled.
"We gotta track em' down," Snipe said, "I shot the Ring Leader a few times, but it ain't gonna buy us much time. I'd bet that once he's healed up from the wounds, they'll come back to bite us again. Maybe even during the Sports Festival, what a pain."
"It seems... in character, for him at least," Toshinori stated bluntly, "From the way he acted at the USJ, I'd assume the same thing too..."
Toshinori left the sentence hanging, seemingly lost in thought.
"Is something on your mind, All Might?" Nedzu asked, a hint of concern laced between the simple words.
"It's just," Toshinori paused. He squinted his eyes for a moment and continued, "The attack on the USJ was too bold, nothing a sane adult would even think of doing. The Ring Leader kept monologuing about his reasons for the attack and bragging about Noumu's quirks and abilities, but he never mentioned a thing about his own quirk. When we defeated him, he looked homicidal, murderous; like he was about to throw a tantrum and go on a killing spree." Toshinori then grunted, "I'll have to give him credit for that; bragging about Noumu was probably the quickest way to bait me into a fight."
"Well, think of it this way," Nedzu began, "It may be true that he was successful with dragging you into a fight, but strategically, it was quite foolish to reveal his quirks upfront instead of keeping them hidden."
"Hm," Naomasa nodded in agreement, still standing in the center of the room.
"Shigaraki made insane claims, all with a straight face," Toshinori stated, "But he also referred to Noumu as if he were a pet; as if he owned him. He's got the personality of a three-year-old; a spoiled little brat. It's almost as if he'd never been told 'no' before in his life. I'd say a 'man-child'."
"Yes, but he's a child with an incredible amount of power and an equally incredible amount of villains under his wing," Blood King butted in, bringing a valid point into the conversation.
"It's possible," Lady Midnight started, "No, it's likely that he never got the quirk counseling that people receive in Elementary School."
"Maybe so," Snipe agreed, "But either way, it doesn't really matter now. For him, Pandora's box has already been opened."
"There were 72 villains arrested in the aftermath of the USJ attack," Naomasa read off of the sheet with data, "Most were small-time thugs who usually lurked around back-alleys. What worries me is that this man-child got them all to go along with his crazy plan. With the way some of them behaved during the arrest, they really viewed him as a real leader." Naomasa sighed, "It makes sense actually. With all the heroes on patrol lately, villains have been under more pressure than ever. This is probably why they were so quick to back such an insane idea."
"Guess that makes sense," Blood King nodded, his face twisted into a thoughtful expression.
"There are plenty of people looking to get behind a cause nowadays," Snipe remarked, "It just took one mindless idea to spark such a bold movement."
"So what can we do to stop them?" Lady Midnight asked.
"We'll just have to dig deeper for more information. It is thanks to you heroes that we have the time to look further into this case, after all," Naomasa continued, "It's from this point forward that we'll expand the investigation and look for the perpetrators behind this attack. There's also the matter of preventing future incidents from occurring."
"This is incredibly important, especially due to what happened to one of our students during the attack," Principal Nedzu frowned. He then turned his head to face Naomasa, "Any news of his current status, Detective?"
"Unfortunately, no," Naomasa adorned a pitiful expression, making eye contact with Toshinori for a brief second, "We've been unable to locate Midoriya Izuku. We're sure that he was the only person kidnapped at the scene, but it's still overwhelming to think that this group of villains was able to take a student so easily. If you're still willing to go through with the Sports Festival, Principal, I'd suggest that you double up on the security. This incident could easily be repeated, if not done on a larger scale than before."
"The safety of our students is a priority, I'd suggest canceling the event altogether. Who knows what the student in their clutches is enduring right now..." Blood King trailed off.
"I disagree, actually," Nedzu spoke, his paw grasping his chin in a very thoughtful manner. Everyone else in the room seemed shocked at the statement, with the exception of Snipe, the mask covering up the emotions of the man inside. The rodent-man continued, "Perhaps this is the intended purpose of the attack, to discourage us from holding the Festival. By canceling it, we would be making a statement of surrender, that we've caved to the effects of their campaign. If we continue with the Festival, we'd be showing them down, continuing on without submitting to their cause. However, there is one major downside I see in continuing the Festival..."
"I understand," Toshinori sharply spoke. He then continued, to explain the issue with his coworkers, "In wake of the disappearance of Midoriya Izuku–" he winced slightly at the thought of his successor, "– the public would detest us for continuing the Sports Festival instead of putting our efforts towards searching for him. His disappearance isn't something that can, or should, be kept from the public. The backlash would be absolutely incredible if we were to continue on with the event."
"I still suggest that we cancel the Festival this year, the threat of another kidnapping is too great to ignore," Blood King remarked, his expression guarded, "I couldn't live with the guilt that one of my students was kidnapped on my watch; I'm absolutely sure that the rest of you share my sentiments."
"What if we make the Festival into something else then," Lady Midnight started, her eyes clouded with thought, "If we make the Festival into a tribute for the kidnapped student, then we'd remove the risk of public backlash and still send the intended message to the League of Villains."
"A tribute?" Snipe chided, "He's not dead, Kayama."
An awkward silence filled the room, Lady Midnight looking slightly guilty at Snipe's comment.
"I believe that I've come to a decision," Nedzu started. He raised his head and continued, "It is due to the events occurred at the USJ that I will decide to cancel the U.A. Sports Festival this year. The risk of another kidnapping is too great, and the risk of public backlash is a credible threat. Perhaps this was the reaction they were hoping for, but this may benefit us in the long run. Not to mention, the Festival would showcase the quirks of our students. The kidnapped student has a fairly powerful quirk, very similar to Toshinori's. I reason that since they kidnapped one student with a powerful quirk, they'd aim to kidnap more students with powerful quirks. If we were to go on with the Festival, we'd be allowing this group to analyze each and every one of our students, an easy way to pick and choose their next victims."
"We'll have to buff up the security around the school's perimeter as a precaution," Blood King said. He shook his head, "We're treading into new territory; no knowing what can happen next."
"Wouldn't it be unfair to the students?" Lady Midnight questioned. She diverged, "I mean, they won't get a chance to be scouted by heroes or make their debut on the hero scene. It could potentially ruin their futures."
"You could say the same exact thing about Midoriya," Toshinori said bluntly, his response dry.
"They'll have chances in the future," Nedzu reassured them, "As for now, the students will have to be offered internships based on their academic performance. Our main priority is to keep the students safe, and that's final."
"Then it's settled," Detective Naomasa stated, "The police force will increase our efforts in investigating both the League of Villains as well as the whereabouts of Midoriya Izuku. You're all responsible for increasing the security of the school's entrance and perimeter."
"I believe we've all come to an agreement, the safety of the students is paramount," Nedzu stated. He then ruled, "I'd suggest that you keep most of the information said today away from the students. Of course, I'll send out a syllabus of what is alright to mention. Meeting adjourned."
The heroes began to get up, organizing their newfound papers and a few starting towards the door. Toshinori took the time to read over the papers one last time, memorizing some of the key details. He then neatly folded them and placed them deep inside his suit pocket.
He was the last person in the room, aside from Naomasa. All the others had departed with haste.
"Is there any hope for him?" Toshinori suddenly asked, his eyes staring at the empty table in front of him.
"There is, Toshinori," Naomasa replied, "We'll get him back, there's still much more to be uncovered."
'Still more to be uncovered, huh. I hope you're alright kiddo, we're working as fast as we can to get you back... wherever you are.'
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Izuku
He was roughly hoisted from the ground and thrown onto something akin to a wheelbarrow. The 'wheelbarrow' was attached to some horses, leading Izuku to believe that the vehicle was something akin to a truck. To him, it seemed odd for a military to use horses of all things to travel, especially when planes and cars were at most other military's command.
He quietly sat in the wooden structure, waiting for the vehicle to lurch forward and take him to God-knows-where. The carriage was stationed at a small camp, filled with people in green capes that had an insignia with wings. Most of them ignored him while some others passed by to shoot looks of curiosity, disgust, or pity at him. There was one person who sat on a tree stump right next to the carriage, occasionally staring at him with a smug and arrogant smirk on his face. The man looked as if he were middle-aged, greying hair and some older characteristics on his face. He also had a cravat in his hairstyle, similar to how the Captain from earlier had his, but this man's hair was much curlier.
Izuku reasoned that he was probably the person assigned to keep watch on him, in case he tried to pull anything funny.
After what seemed like hours and hours of silence, Izuku finally submitted to his own curiosity and spoke to the guard.
"Erm, excuse me, Sir?" Izuku asked the person guarding him. The seemingly elder man picked his head up from the sword he was sharpening, whetstone in hand, and gave Izuku a pointed look.
"Yes, brat?" the man spat, his teeth locked together in a perpetual sarcastic grin, "I'm obviously not busy sharpening my swords, so of course I have time to talk to you. Go on, speak."
"Uh, well," Izuku meekly spoke, stunned by the response that the soldier gave, "Who are you people? I've never seen a military with this type of uniform..."
"You're kidding, right?" the man gave a little laugh, the sound slowly dying as he realized that Izuku was quite serious. He finally spoke, "Well, damn. The real question is how you haven't heard of us. You're sitting in the middle of a military camp-out, we're the Survey Corps to be exact. We scout outside the walls when others choose to hide behind them. Damn cowards."
"I don't really understand..." Izuku trailed off. The man gestured for him to continue, "Well, what exactly are you going against? What makes going outside of these 'walls' so dangerous?"
"Guess you don't know basic history, kid. I'll enlighten you then," the man stopped for a moment to clear his throat. He gave a cough before starting, "I'll give you the run-down version, it's the minimum you should know. A few hundred years ago, humanity thrived on the planet. Our civilization grew, new settlements popping up all around. It was during this Golden Age that a new species suddenly appeared; the Titans. They–"
"Oh!" Izuku interrupted. The man gave him a harsh look of disapproval. Izuku gave a nervous chuckle, "You must mean those huge humans in the forest."
"Kid, those things are not human," the man growled, "If you could only know the things they've done, the people they've killed..."
The man sighed, seemingly spacing out from the conversation. Izuku politely coughed and got the man's attention back.
"Oh, right," the man seemed to take on an annoyed tone, "I was talking about basic history. Well, the Titans suddenly appeared one day, no warning. They began to attack our towns and cities, devouring as many humans as possible. It's estimated that we lost more than half of the population before the walls were constructed, the sacrifice of our ancestors. Ever since the three walls were built, humanity has been hiding inside, away from the onslaught of the Titans. And brat, that's exactly why being outside of the walls is dangerous. You're lucky that you haven't been gobbled up yet, regardless of how long you've been living it up out here."
"Erm, thanks?" Izuku responded. With the way the man worded his sentence, Izuku couldn't tell whether or not his survival abilities were being commended, or being reprimanded for not scrambling to the safety of the walls quicker. Either way, he was mildly confused.
"Anyways, the monarchy pays us to go explore outside the walls. We're one of the three main branches of the military, the most respectable one in my opinion," the man commented. His face twisted into a disgusted scowl, "The two other branches are cowards, hiding behind the wall since they can't face a real Titan. Unable to do the job they were trained for. It's a real waste."
"Alright, well, thank you, Sir. For telling me about this group, I mean," Izuku spoke in shambles.
'I... I have a lot to think about now. So much new information, it's as if I were thrown into another time period or something.'
"Eh, what's your name? I was ordered to guard you, but I didn't think to ask," the man suddenly questioned.
"I'm sorry, but Captain Levi told me that I avoid giving any other soldier my name," Izuku said, wincing slightly at the heartbroken expression the man was sporting.
"But... but I'm basically his second in command!?" the man seemed as if he were about to start crying, "How could he withhold such important information from me, me? I thought he would at least include his most valued sol–"
"OH MY GOSH, YOUR TONGUE!" Izuku cried as the man's mouth suddenly burst with blood. The maroon liquid began to slide down his chin as he gingerly stuck his tongue out, bite mark completely visible.
"Don't worry about him," a new, female voice said. Izuku turned towards the woman, she had dark blonde hair and brown eyes and was carrying a box full of what seemed like propane tanks to Izuku. She spoke once more, "Petra Ral, I work under Captain Levi. The dunce next to you is Oluo, he does that on a normal basis."
"Don't patronithe me, Ral," Oluo spoke, his outward tongue creating a small lisp in his speech, "It'th not even my fault, that brat made me talk to him! Thinthe you're here, you can watch him while I get thomething to thoothe my wound."
With that, the man got up and walked away in a strut, his tongue still loosely hanging out of his mouth and his eyes watery. Petra sighed:
"Well, I suppose getting these gas tanks to the supplies cart is on hold," she gently placed the box of gas tanks on the soft soil and sat down on the same stump that Oluo had just occupied moments ago, "He tries too hard, honestly."
"Huh?" Izuku asked, "He tries too hard at what?"
"To be like the Captain," she jeered, "I'm sure you noticed it too."
Izuku supposed that it was true, to a certain degree. The man tried to keep the same condescending tone that the Captain had scared him half to death with. The act was definitely not on spot however, the man's arrogance and sarcasm were obnoxiously loud. Nothing at all like the personality that Izuku faced underground.
"I guess," Izuku mumbled, still disoriented from the sudden wound that the soldier received. He looked up into the sky, clouds seemed to be gathering high above. It seemed like it was about to rain. Perhaps it would wash away the excitement of today, give him a little more energy to function.
"Hey, kid," Petra suddenly butted into his thoughts, "Is something wrong? You look a bit gloomy."
"Honestly, it's just been a really long day," Izuku gave her a tasteless laugh.
"Well, don't worry. You seem like a nice kid, regardless of what we're arresting you for, and I'm sure you'll get out of this without too much trouble," she gave him a grin, "Hell, by your reaction to Oluo's injury, you seem to care about a guy that you didn't even know. Speaks volumes about your character."
"Thank you, really," Izuku had a goofy smile plastered on his face, "But you didn't have to praise me or anything."
"Maybe, maybe not. I personally think that you're going to get off easy for whatever the hell they're charging you for. I might even see you wearing one of these–" she gestured towards her outfit, "– when this is over."
"That's a bit of a leap, isn't it?" Izuku said, still flattered by the woman's praise.
"It's your choice," she said, leaning back a little bit, "If you got the resolve, then I'd suggest it. If not, then you can do whatever you want. Just remember; our cause is one that you need to devote your life to. Nothing more, and nothing less."
"Alright, I gotcha," Izuku replied, a new thought on his mind.
"I see Oluo staggering back here now," she observed. Izuku looked where her head was pointed and saw the strange man approaching them, seemingly chewing on something vigorously. Petra hoisted herself up and retrieved the supplies that she dropped earlier, "I'll see you later, whenever that may be."
The young woman walked away in a hurry, carting the box away to another one of the strange carriages. Oluo finally arrived and plopped himself down onto the stump. He continued to chew whatever was in his mouth and shoot occasional dirty looks at the young hero.
Izuku sighed as a light drizzle began, coating his already torn and abused gym outfit in water.
'That woman, Petra, she thought that I should join this group. It seems like a good group of people serving a good cause but, my obligations are elsewhere. First things first,
I have to find All Might, everyone else as well. No matter what it takes.'
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・Like? Please do leave a review. I can say that this chapter probably took over 10 hours to write, especially due to my level of writer's block, and it doesn't take more than 5 seconds to give some feedback on what I've written.
If you want to, you can leave predictions in your reviews. Just know, I refuse to answer them with 'yes' or 'no'.
Also, I need some help from you guys. You see, I'm starting a new story soon and I need some feedback on a poll I put up on my profile. It would mean a lot to me if you took a minute to read the poll and leave an answer.
Thanks for reading, see you all in the next chapter!