"Are you sure this is the right place?" Shinsou asked.
"Yes." Yaoyorozu nodded, "This is the spot the receiver is showing."
"Looks... kinda rundown. You sure we're going to find him here?" Uraraka pointed out.
"Well... I guess this is their hideout. Or, at the very least... some sort of storage facility." Shinsou spoke up, "The tracker was placed on the Nomu, right? Not on the villains themselves."
"That is true..." Todoroki muttered, "Also... just because the Nomus, and maybe the villains as well, are here, doesn't mean that Midoriya is here too."
"We have very little to go on." Yaoyorozu admitted.
"The only person who excels in sneaking around is Shinsou, given that he's aiming to be an underground hero, but I will still stop you if I think it's dangerous." Iida stated, "Just because I'm your friend, I will not hesitate to call the police if you attack."
"Well... Kamino is huge." Shinsou sighed, "We should check this place first. It's our only lead so far."
The group cautiously made their way closer to the building.
"No reaction. The lights aren't on either. It doesn't look like anyone's inside." Todoroki stated. "There's not a lot of people... but there are a few."
"We can't do anything to stand out." Uraraka whispered, "What should we do?"
"Let's try the back. Maybe we'll find something." Yaoyorozu muttered.
They made their way into an empty alleyway, trying to figure out how to get around the building, when suddenly, a squawk reverberated through the air. Shinsou looked up just as something shot towards them like a bullet. He reached his hands out just in time, catching the object before it hit the ground.
"What was that?" Iida asked, "A projectile?"
Shinsou took a closer look at the object, when he saw a bird in his grasp, shaking its head. He recognised the white and brown feathers, "Ryuto?"
The hawk looked up at the mention of his name, letting out a tired sounding cry.
Shinsou carefully smoothed out Ryuto's feathers. The bird was trembling, his feathers covered with dirt, and he looked completely exhausted.
"Where have you been all this time? What are you doing in Kamino? What happened to you?" Shinsou asked, carefully cradelling the hawk in his hands.
Ryuto gave a weak warble, but there wasn't anyone around that understood him.
"Shinsou, take care of Ryuto." Yaoyorozu ordered, "We'll continue looking for Midori-"
Ryuto's head shot up at the mere mention of Midoriya's name, and started screeching, flapping his wings wildly. Shinsou feared that he would fall out his grasp, but one thing was clear; whatever the bird had been doing since he disappeared, it was clearly related to Midoriya.
"Ryuto, shush! Calm down, look at me." Shinsou spoke up, and the hawk tucked his wings back in and turned to face the purple haired boy.
"Midoriya. Do you know where he is?"
Ryuto's eyes lit up, and he nodded.
Uraraka felt hope bubbling up in her chest, "Is he okay?"
Ryuto paused, thinking, before he shook his head, though he seemed a bit hesitant as he did so.
Shinsou bit his lip nervously, "Alright. Can you lead us to him?"
Ryuto nodded, and leapt out of Shinsou's arms. He staggered slightly, before straightening out, flapping his wings as he zoomed off in one direction, the students trying their best to keep up with the hawk. They could barely see the avian against the night sky, but Shinsou managed to keep an eye on the bird, until they finally reached another section of Kamino, where it consisted of mostly old and broken buildings.
"Huh... this is quite a fair distance from there..." Yaoyorozu looked at the tracker, "This section has been marked to be torn down to free up space in a few weeks, and it's pretty near the main streets; they're just a block or two away. All the plumbing and electricity, as far as I know, has been cut off. Is this really their hideout?"
"I guess we'll find out." Todoroki muttered, eyeing Ryuto carefully as he flew towards one building in particular, "Ryuto seems to have found something."
Ryuto suddenly paused, as a figure walked out of the shadows.
"You." Todoroki growled, as Dabi smirked, putting his hands up, "Relax, kid. I'm not guarding the kid or anything. When it comes to Void, I'm on your side."
"What?" Uraraka blurted out, confused, as Dabi sighed, "Kid saved my life a few years back. I owe him this."
The villain reached into his pocket, and fished out a key, before dropping it on the ground, speaking with a very sarcastic tone, "Oh no. I'm so clumsy. I dropped the key to the cell door and now I can't find it."
The students stared at the villain in confusion, as Dabi walked away, "I don't have the keys to the main door or his cuffs. The generator is around the back. Have fun."
"What was that about?" Iida asked, frowning, bending down to pick up the key, and Shinsou muttered, "We got lucky. One of the villains, Spinner, I think... thinks very highly of Midoriya, and didn't want to hurt him. Now, this other guy is working behind the League's back to save Midoriya."
Ryuto looked where Dabi had disappeared to, before he flew off again, and landed on the door handle. He pecked at the keyhole a few times, before he looked up expectantly at the group.
"He's in here?" Iida asked, "It's so... quiet."
Ryuto let out another warble, and flew to Uraraka's shoulder as Todoroki tested the doorknob, "No good. It's locked."
"Yaoyorozu, can I borrow two hairpins?" Shinsou asked, and Yaoyorozu took them out of her hair, "You know how to pick locks?"
"My dad taught me." Shinsou replied, inserting a pin inside the keyhole and fiddling the other about inside. A few soft clicks were heard, and Shinsou twisted the pins around, before he stood up and reached for the handle. The door opened, and all they saw was darkness.
They heard a meow.
"I can't see anything. Todoroki, can you make a small fire?" Yaoyorzu asked, and Todoroki nodded, complying.
Immediately, the fire in his palm lit up the room, and behind a multitude of metal cell bars, they made out a figure slumped lifelessly against a wall. He had a thick, secure blindfold on, as well as a muzzle, and there was a lot of blood on the floor.
Ryuto let out a chirp, and they saw something move. By the figure's lap, they saw mismatched cyan and mint eyes gleaming, and Shinsou bit his lip nervously.
"Reiko? So... this really is... Midoriya -" He reached out for the cell door, and flinched backwards as he felt the electric shock.
"That's what he meant by generators. I'll deactivate it. I've seen my father do it before." Uraraka clenched her fists determinedly, before running out. It took a minute or two, before Uraraka re-entered the room, "Alright, it's done."
"Shigaraki is a greenhorn, a new villain. There is no way he could have come up with all their plans on his own, not without help. The League definitely has a brain behind it. And his strength is comparable to that of All Might, and he's also crafty and cautious. If his safety isn't guaranteed, he will not appear. We must capture Shigaraki and arrest the others as soon as possible."
Tsukauchi paused, "This is a race against time. The press conference was in place to deceive the villains. Nezu is upset, the entirety of UA is, but they're not supposed to show it usually. I told them to let the cameras see how distressed they are, so the villains won't think that we'll rush in on the very same day."
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Yamada scratched the back of his head, "Doesn't this seem a bit too... straightforward?"
"We don't have a choice, Mic. Time's running out." Kayama grit her teeth, "We need to get Midoriya out of there as soon as possible; Shigaraki hates his guts, and the longer he remains in their grasp, the more he suffers."
Jeanist pat Yamada on the back, "I know you're all worried about your student. Have some faith. Heroes are supposed to be able to turn any situation around, aren't they?"
Shinsou stuck the key into the keyhole, unlocking the metal cell door. He flung the door open, and ran into the cell, squatting down beside the green haired boy, "Midoriya?"
Yaoyorozu felt like throwing up. The metallic smell in the room was nauseating, and in the flickering light from Todoroki's flame, she couldn't even tell if Midoriya was alive or dead. There was a lot of blood splattered all over the ground, most of it dried up, though it glistened slightly, signifying that it had just dried up recently.
"Is he..." Uraraka trailed off, not wanting to finish her statement. Shinsou gently reached for Midoriya's bloody neck, careful to avoid what looked like a couple slashes across his throat, trying to search for a pulse.
"I found a pulse... it's faint... but it's there." Shinsou nodded, "Midoriya, you awake?"
A clunking sound rang out, as Midoriya attempted to move his arm. Shinsou gently grabbed his hand, "Stop, don't move, okay? I'm going to try and take off your blindfold and muzzle, alright?"
There was no response from Midoriya, but Shinsou still reached out, carefully trying to undo the mess of knots and loops that kept the thick blindfold on Midoriya's face. Shinsou growled, "They're dead knots, and they're too tight. Midoriya, can I cut the string?"
Shinsou saw Midoriya nod slightly, and the lavender haired boy slipped a penknife out of his pocket, and began gently sawing away at the string.
Iida opted to survey the room. There was a camera in one corner, but he wasn't sure if it was working or not, but besides from that, the room was pretty much barren.
Shinsou finally sawed through the string, and gently removed the blindfold. He passed it to Uraraka, who placed it gently on the ground. They didn't want to make any loud sounds that would startle Midoriya and set him off.
Midoriya weakly opened his eyes, and blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light from Todoroki's fire.
"Alright, I'm going to try and take the muzzle off now. Just... stay still..."
Shinsou rested his knees on the ground, trying to ignore the fact that his was kneeling down in Midoriya's blood. He reached up, much more stable this time, and slowly undid the buckle, carefully slipping the contraption off Midoriya's face.
Almost immediately, Midoriya lurched forward, gurgling noises erupted from his torn and battered throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and coughed, before he lurched forwards again, spitting out some more blood.
"Midoriya! Are you okay?" Uraraka asked, although the answer was pretty obvious at this point.
Shinsou wanted to help Midoriya, but the problem was that he didn't know where Midoriya was injured.
Midoriya's harsh coughing fit finally died down, and he leaned back, breathing heavily. His was bleeding from the chest, and Midoriya lifted his hands to try and rub the blood off his mouth.
"Midoriya. Stop. You're just going to make it worse." Uraraka mumbled, carefully grabbing Midoriya's hand and guiding it back to the ground. "Shinsou, can you pick the cuffs?"
"I don't see a keyhole." Shinsou shook his head, as Midoriya weakly slumped against his arm. The lavender haired boy felt his heart stop as he realised just how cold Midoriya's limp form was. Shinsou carefully shifted himself so that he could sit down beside Midoriya, and let the green haired boy rest his head against his shoulder.
"You're cold. How long have they left you like this?" Shinsou seethed.
Iida bent down and gently pressed his head against Midoriya's forehead, trying to avoid the blood that was currently dripping down the boy's face.
"He's burning up, though. He's sick, too." Iida muttered, as Midoriya coughed out more blood, "We need to get him help, fast."
The fire coming from Todoroki's arm flickered, as the boy growled, "I can try to melt the chains."
"And you'll hurt Midoriya if you do that." Uraraka shook her head, "We need to get some help from the pros."
"But we can't just leave Midoriya here like this." Yaoyorozu stated, as the ground rumbled.
"Hello, this is Pizza-La, Kamino store."
Dabi facepalmed. Really? This was the best that the heroes and police could come up with?
The wall behind him exploded, as Yagi burst into the room with a punch.
"They brought All Might?" Iguchi gasped, as Nishiya elegantly swung into the room with his quirk, binding the villains and pinning them to the ground.
"A tree? Are they stupid?" Dabi grumbled, activating his quirk, only for Torino to zoom in and kick him into a daze, "Don't be impatient! It'll be in your best interests to stay put."
"You can't run anymore, League of Villains!" Yagi declared, "Why? Because we're here!"
Kamihara slipped in and letting Kayama in.
"You bastards! If Void were in the same room as us, you would have killed him!" Iguchi angrily snarled, struggling as Nishiya tightened his grip on the lizard man, "That's hella irresponsible!"
"Wait... Midoriya... isn't here?" Kayama surveyed the room carefully.
"The warper isn't here either..." Kamihara muttered, before he blinked, "Don't tell me -"
"Holding a press conference right after we kidnapped a student... did you really think we were that stupid to fall for that?" Shigaraki cackled, standing up, "You won't find your precious little Void here... we didn't want to keep his broken, bleeding body here, after all!"
Kayama gasped, "What did you do to him!?"
"Oh... wouldn't you like to know." Shigaraki smirked, "Justice... peace... I'll destroy this garbage heap that you put a lid on with such vague ideas. It was for that reason I set All Might apart... until Void came into the picture."
"Get to the point. Where is he?! What did you do to him?!" Kayama demanded, stomping up to the villain, but Shigarakia merely laughed, "Void leaked our first attack on UA, killed my Nomu in the second, and then took down that powerhouse Muscular..."
Torino and Kamihara blinked. This was about Midoriya... so why were they talking about that mysterious vigilante? And didn't Sosaki say that Midoriya was the one that beat Muscular, and Nishiya did mention that Midoriya killed the Nomu that was designed to take out All Might -
It finally clicked.
Midoriya was Void.
It seemed that Kayama had some knowledge about this, though Yagi looked as confused as they were. It was highly likely that Nezu knew as well, given his relationship to his cub, but this wasn't the time to be wondering about that.
They had to get the pup back, then they'll get their answers.
Shigaraki smiled, "He always was a pain, you know. Why would I want to give him back when I can make him suffer more?"
A portal erupted out of nowhere, depositing a few Nomus in front of the heroes. Before any of them could react, more portals appeared, sucking all the villains right out of Nishiya's grip and out of the room.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Nishiya yelped.
"It wasn't your fault. We didn't do anything either!" Kamihara growled, evading a Nomu.
"Endeavor! We need backup!" Nishiya turned around, only to find that the police force on the streets below them were swarming with Nomus that were being deposited via portal.
"Warehouse Team, are you there?" Kayama yelled, dodging a strike by a Nomu.
"Aim for the exposed brains!" Yamada screamed, ripping a knife out of his belt, "Eraser, I fucking love you for teaching me to use a knife."
"Yeah... we got the warehouse and Ragdoll. Mission accomplished." Hakamata's voice reported.
"Is Midoriya with you?" Kayama asked, driving a knife into the exposed brain of the closest Nomu.
"No... isn't he supposed to be at the hideout?"
"Shit..." Kayama growled, "Midoriya's not here, and he isn't at the warehouse either! Tsukauchi!"
"What a mess. Tsukauchi! Expand the evacuation area!" Enji growled, as he roasted two more Nomus.
"All Might, you mentioned some guy with a face mask... he's here." Hakamata continued, and Tsukauchi hissed; they must have more than two hideouts.
"All Might! Go to the warehouse! He's there, Jeanist said so! Also, keeps the comms open! I'm calling for backup!" Tsukauchi yelled, tapping his earpiece twice, barely managing to dodge out of the way of a Nomu before Yamada killed it.
"Endeavor... are you okay?" Yagi asked, and Enji hissed, "What on earth are you looking at to ask a question like that? Do you need bifocals? If you need to go, then just go, dammit!"
"Yeah. I'll leave it to you!" Yagi nodded, before he leapt into the air.
Takeyama smirked, as she brought her foot down on the warehouse, completely obliterating it. She grabbed a wriggling Nomu in her hand, and crushed it. Chatora had already found Shiretoko, and had already checked the entirety of the building; as predicted, Midoriya was nowhere to be found.
Hakamata and Sakamata restrained the rest of the Nomus, as the police force came charging in.
"Urg... are these really alive?" Takeyama grimaced, "Isn't this too easy, Jeanist? Maybe we should have been on the Hideout Team instead of the Warehouse Team."
"Don't think about difficulty and importance together." Hakamata, ensuring that the Nomus were firmly bound with his denim fibres, "Riot squad, get ready. Be careful, they may still be here. Please continue to give it your all."
"Yes sir!"
Hakamata tapped his earpiece, hearing Kayama's voice coming through, "Warehouse Team, are you there?"
"Yeah... we got the warehouse and Ragdoll. Mission accomplished." Hakamata replied.
"Ragdoll? Please answer me! Ragdoll?" Chatora cradelled Shiretoko in his arms, and Sakamata walked up to him, "Is that your teammate? She's breathing, so that's good."
"But her condition... what did they do to you?" Chatora sighed.
"It was the perfect opportunity, so I took it."
"Tiger, get your teammate to the medics, fast, and come back to help."Sakamata whirled around, hissing at the voice that was approaching from the shadows, "Are you with the League? Someone get a light! "
"Got it." Chatora nodded. They had already called for an ambulance earlier, and the vehicle was already waiting, a stretcher already taken out and ready. Chatora gingerly placed Shiretoko's limp body on the stretcher, and the medics expertly carted the stretcher onto the ambulance.
"After my body turned into this, I also depleted a lot of what I stocked up." The voice continued, as the ambulance sped off, and Sakamata growled, "Stop. Don't move."
The figure that emerged from the shadows continued walking, and Hakamata quickly activated his quirk and forced the fibres of the man's clothes to weave together tightly, restricting his movements.
"Wait! What if he's an ordinary citizen?" Takeyama asked, and Hakamata merely replied, "Think about the situation. That instance of hesitation could decide the fight. Don't let the villains do anything."
Suddenly, a shockwave blasted outwards. Hakamata tried to do his best to keep this newcomer restrained, but the masked man was just that strong, and merely sent everyone flying a fair distance back.
"Is Midoriya with you?"
"No... isn't he supposed to be at the hideout?" Hakamata growled, pushing himself up. The shockwave wasn't that strong, and Sakamata and Chatora were already pushing themselves up, and Takeyama had barely been fazed, "All Might, you mentioned some guy with a face mask... he's here."
"Well, I'm out of practice." He flexed his fingers, as red electricity crackled around his arm, before a much larger shockwave tore through the ground.
Hakamata quickly grabbed Sakamata, Chatora and Takeyama, yanking them out of the way as the ground exploded beneath them.
"As expected of the Number Four hero, Best Jeanist." The masked man merely stood where he originally was, "I thought I would have blown everyone away. To be able to manipulate everyone's clothes and pull them to the side in an instant... that quick decision making and skill... you must have nerves of steel. This is strength from a huge amount of practise and practical experience... Just like Void. I don't need your quirk... it doesn't fit with Tomura's disposition."
Yagi burst through the sky, a punch aimed at All for One's torso, "I'll have you return everything, All for One!"
All for One reached up and grabbed Yagi's fists, attempting to block the hit. He was sent skidding back, but managed to hold off most of the damage, and watched as the rest of the heroes tried to hold their ground as another shockwave rippled outwards.
"Will you kill me again? You're a little late, you know? It's a little more than five kilometers from the bar to here. It was easily thirty seconds after the first part of the plan was enacted before you arrived. You've gotten weaker, and more forgetful as well."
Chatora pushed himself up, and hissed. Midoriya was Void... he knew that much at the very least, from Iguchi's interaction with Midoriya at the training camp.
But Midoriya wasn't at the League's hideout, like they expected. He wasn't at the Nomu Warehouse either.
So where on earth were they keeping him?
"Where is Midoriya?" Chatora growled, helping Hakamata up. The Fibre Hero raised his hands, ready to restrict All for One again as the denim of his hero outfit unraveled, though he knew that they were hopelessly outmatched without Yagi.
"At least... someone seems to remember the child... the child that should have died a long, long time ago." All for One chuckled.
"What are you talking about?" Yagi snapped, readying his fists, as All for One laughed, "Oh, you really don't know, do you? Then again, I doubt the boy knew about it himself."
All for One reached his hand out, "Just how much do you know about Midoriya Izuku?"
"What are you talking about?" Yagi growled, very much confused.
All for One cackled, "Do you want to know why he isn't dead yet?"
The villain didn't even wait for a reply, as he watched the heroes readied themselves for a fight.
"Because he wants to die."