Chapter 14

This could through a wrench in the plan. He had only anticipated his classmates and a few Pros to be present during the training camp. The last thing he expected was for a child to be present. When he first laid eyes on Kouta, Deku's mind started reeling. It was too late to come up with a backup plan and the villains assigned to Vanguard Action Squad had already been chosen. He had hoped not to involve any innocent people. Even though he had aligned himself with the League of Villains, Deku still had morals. He knew Dabi, Mr. Compress, and Spinner had strong ideals and would leave Kouta alone. Magne probably wouldn't care about a child. But the others were unpredictable. If it came down to it, Deku resolved to protect Kouta from his associates before making his escape, but he hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

The training camp was brutal. Not only was it physically taxing, but the mental strain it put on Deku was enough to push him close to the breaking point. He was too worried about Kouta's safety and how things would play out. He started to distance himself further from his classmates. He couldn't stand their gung-ho attitudes. Thinking back, it might not have been his smartest choice to isolate himself from the beginning, but it was too late now. He knew some of his classmates were wary of him, and others had started to become a little suspicious. Soon it wouldn't matter. He would be out of this mess—far away where he wouldn't have to pretend to keep up appearances.

The routine was early mornings, grueling physical training, lunch, more Quirk training, late dinner, sleep. Then they were up again at the crack of dawn to do it all over again. Deku couldn't wait to be done with it. When the day finally came, he was fidgety. And what made things worse was it felt like Kacchan was watching him. Ever since he had snapped during their midterm exam and Kacchan had seen the red in his eyes, he had been much more wary. But as the day stretched on, the tension seemed to melt away. Everyone was anticipating the Test of Courage at the end of the day. It was a classic past-time during summer camps. And everyone was keen on participating. When they had finished eating dinner and cleaning all the dishes, the whole camp was abuzz with excitement. Even the Wild Pussycats were eager to participate. After Aizawa-sensei dragged off the students who had failed their midterms to take supplementary lessons, the rest of the group were set to be divided into pairs.

"Okay, everyone!" Pixie-bob said. Of the Wild Pussycats, she was one of the most energetic. "Class B will be the first to do the scaring. Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names written on them in the middle of the route, so bring those back with you. Those of you doing the scaring are not allowed to make direct contact. Show us how scary you can be with your Quirks!"

Tora, the only male member of the Wild Pussycats stepped forward. With his large stature and enormous muscles, he did not seem like he fit well with a girly, cat-type hero group. "The class that makes the most people piss their pants with creativity and imagination wins!"

Pixie-bob brought out a box with a hole cut in the top. "Everyone line up! It's time to draw lots to determine your partners."

As everyone drew a slip of paper from the box, they all began to split into their pairs. Drawing the last slip, Deku heaved a sigh of relief. With five of their classmates at the supplementary lessons, it left the group with an uneven number. And Deku had drawn his own name. Luck was on his side tonight! He couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. With him by himself, it would make it much easier for him to slip away unnoticed. Half the class seemed happy with their partner while others desperately tried to switch. All the while Deku could feel Kacchan's eyes on him.

The groups started off, one after another. All the while Deku grew more and more anxious. Tonight was the night, but he didn't know exactly when they would be coming. But it was bound to happen soon. About twelve minutes into the test of courage, the faint smell of something burning wafted toward them from the woods.

"What's that burnt smell?" Pixie-bob muttered.

"Look over there." Mandalay, the leader of the Pussycats, pointed toward the treetops. "Black smoke."

"Is something burning?" Iida wondered.

"Could there be a fire somewhere?" Ojiro asked.

Before the Pussycats could react, a sudden explosion burst from the tree-line. Pixie-bob shrieked. Looming over her were two strangers, a man with red hair wearing sunglasses and another man with lizard-like skin loomed over Pixie-bob. The blonde woman lay motionless, blood oozing from a fresh wound on the side of her head. The two villains had seemingly appeared out of thin air.

"This isn't good," Mandalay grumbled.

"How are you doing this evening, U.A. High School?" Spinner, the lizardman said. "We are the Vanguard Actions Squad of the League of Villains!"

"The League of Villains?" Ojiro said, shocked. "What are they doing here?"

Tora and Mandalay stepped in front of the students protectively, ready to fight the villains.

Magne grinned. He was the one who attacked Pixie-bob, holding his heavy magnet just inches from her head. "Shall I crush this girl's head? What do you think?"

"Like I'd let you," Tora growled.

"Hold up, Big Sis Magne," Spinner said. "Don't be hasty. You too, Tora. Calm down. This all depends on whether having power over life and death follows Stain's ideals or not."

"So you're the ones his ideology brought!" Iida shouted angrily. Whenever Stain was mentioned, it made the Class Rep unusually heated.

"That's right!" Spinner sneered. "You with the glasses. You were the one who brought about the end of Stain in Hosu City. I apologize for the late introduction. I'm Spinner, the one who will spin Stain's dreams into reality!"

Tora stalked toward the villains. "I don't care, but you bastards…but you've hurt my friend. You can't just attack a woman like that and stand there laughing thoughtlessly about it!"

A voice suddenly echoed through Deku's head. It was Mandalay, broadcasting a warning to all the students and other Pros stationed at the camp. Everyone, be careful! Villains have appeared. Students, do not engage! Make your way back to the dorm, quickly!

"Tora!" she shouted. "I've broadcast the situation and alerted the others. Leave the safety of the other students to Ragdoll. The two of us will hold them back here!"

Tora nodded.

"Everyone, listen carefully! Do not fight," Mandalay ordered. "Class Rep, you're in charge. Now go!"

"Understood!" Iida said.

There was another loud explosion closer to the mountainside…where Kouta often disappeared to. Deku cursed under his breath. One of his worst fears was coming true. One of the villains in the Vanguard Action Squad was going after an innocent child. He had a few guesses as to who it could be, but it didn't matter. He would stop them before they could do any real harm to Kouta.

Deku darted off into the woods. He could hear Iida and the other shouting after him, but their words fell on deaf ears. He had to make it to Kouta before anything disastrous happened. With his enhanced speed, it didn't take long for him to make it to the cliffside hideout that Kouta had been frequenting. When he spotted the villain that had caused the explosion, Deku's heart sank. It was the worst outcome. A hulking brute of a man was stalking toward the frightened child. Deku could see the attack coming, almost as if it were in slow motion. He leaped forward, snatching Kouta by the back of his shirt and yanking him out of the way just in time. The man's fist slammed into the rock, creating a deep crater where Kouta had been standing seconds earlier. Due to his momentum, Deku's smartphone slipped from his pocket and shattered against the rocks. He cursed inwardly. Now there was no way for him to contact the others and let him know his location.

"Oh," the man said, surprise evident in his voice. "It's you."

"It's going to be okay, Kouta," Deku said, glancing over his shoulder. Tears were streaming down the boy's frightened face. "I will protect you."

"You'll protect him, huh?" Muscular laughed. "That sounds like something someone who wants to be a hero would say."

Deku said nothing.

"I knew from the moment I saw you that I didn't really like you. We never got a chance to meet, but I could tell from your picture." Muscular licked his lips. "Midoriya, right? We were told to take you. So don't resist too much."

"Only if you leave the child alone."

Muscular laughed. "No can do, kid. I'm feeling a bit pent-up and I need to take my frustrations out somehow. I want to torture him thoroughly—have some fun! So come on, let's play!"

In s flash, the man appeared in front of them. Deku lifted his arm defensively. He could feel the bones in his arm cracking as Muscular's fist connected. Deku swung, but Muscular was quicker than he anticipated. The man kicked him hard in the gut, sending him flying backward. Deku slammed into the rockface, his head whiplashing back against the hard stone. He could feel the blood running down his head. He had hoped to make this escape quick, but it didn't look like he would get that luxury. He should have stayed to see the rest of the recruits. He should have known Shigaraki would allow a wildcard like Muscular among their ranks. It was his kind that Deku despised—people who had no morals, seeking their own gratification.

"Blood! This is great!" Muscular laughed, his voice filled with excitement. "This is what I wanted! This is so much fun!"

That muscle Quirk is way to fast…too strong, Deku thought. I have to focus! I've got to protect Kouta before I find an opening to escape.

Deku swung again. This time his punch connected, but didn't do any damage.

"You're pretty fast," Muscular said. "But not nearly strong enough."

He tossed Deku aside as if he were nothing. A sharp pain lanced through Deku's skull as he hit the rocks hard. Just as the man was about to strike, he paused. Muscular turned to look at the boy standing behind him. Kouta had thrown a rock, hitting him square in the back of the head. Though Kouta was still trembling, he stood his ground.

"Water Hors…Papa…Mama…" he muttered, his voice trembling. "Did you torment them like that too before you killed them?"

"Huh? You saying your parents were heroes, kid?"

Kouta was too afraid to reply.

"This must be fate!" Muscular shouted. "It's thanks to them that my left eye is artificial now."

"It's your fault…" Kouta's voice was trembling as he shouted, tears brimming in his eyes. "It's because of guys like you that it always, always turns out like this!"

"Kids are always trying to shift the blame. That's no good. I just wanted to kill and those two wanted to stop me. It was the result of all of us doing what we wanted. What's wrong is wanting to do something that you are unable to do." A wicked grin spread across Muscular's face. "Like your mommy and daddy!"

Deku leaped up with a burst of speed. He swung, aiming for a gap in the villain's musculature. His fist slipped through the narrow opening, trapping his broken arm in place. Now that Muscular couldn't escape, he would be free to dispose of him.

"Now what?" Muscular scoffed. "You gonna punch me with that weak arm of yours?"

He smirked. Deku let the heat course through him. He would not fight it this time. Instead he let the fire within him rampage. Tongues of black flame sprang from his broken arm, spreading quickly to the villain's muscular body. Musclar recoiled. He tried to pry the green-haired boy off him, but Deku would not let go. His eyes glowed red in the firelight. No matter what the villain tried, he could not put out the flames. He tried rolling, patting, anything he could think of. But they only seemed to intensify.

"Try as hard as you want but these flames won't go out," Deku said, lowering his voice so that Kouta could not hear. "They will only vanish if I will them to or when they have consumed their target."

Muscular screamed in agony as the black flames consumed him. He thrashed wildly, desperately trying to put out the fire. But it was futile. Eventually collapsed, having lost consciousness from the pain. Deku pried his arm free from the man's coarse, charred musculature. Only when he was sure the villain would not wake up did he let the flames subside. Kouta was staring at him, wide-eyed. He seemed unsure of what had just happened. Deku could tell by the look in his eyes that the boy wasn't sure if he should be afraid of him or not.

"It's okay, Kouta-kun," Deku said, smiling as the red in his irises faded. "I told you I would protect you."

"Is he…dead?"

"No. But I think he'll be unconscious for a while. And even if he does wake up, I doubt he'd be able to move." He held out his hand for the boy. "Let's get you back to camp where you'll be safe. Mandalay is worried about you."

Kouta swallowed hard, fighting back the tears that were still welling in his eyes. He took Deku's outstretched hand. Pulling the boy onto his back, Deku started back for the camp, where the Pussycats were fighting. Once Kouta was safe, he could finally put his plan into motion. He only hoped that it wasn't too late.

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