Floodwaters reflected siren-lights as the police continued their search of the three missing students and the perpetrator of the attack. Policemen surrounded the property, firemen and heroes alike scoured the flood debris for any sign of the missing few.

Maru and Meiwaku were gone. And Eiji was an idiot and ran after them. Three students missing...

"Ma'am, please remain calm," A policewoman soothed, "We are doing everything we can to find your son."

"I just... How did this happen?! A summer camp should not be so dangerous!" She squeaked, tugging nervously on her flight attendant uniform.

"I understand that this is unexpected, even for Yueei's Hero Course. That is why we are doing everything we can."

"H-Hero Course?" She gasped out, her eyes looking wide and distant. "M-My son is in the Hero Course?"

But before the police officer could answer her puzzling question, somebody else became their number one priority. Bakugo shoved several extras out of the way and stomped right up to the man responsible for loosing his one and only son...

"Kota you mother f-"

Shinso stepped in between Bakugo and the visibly distraught Kota.

"Bakugo. Please calm yourself-"

"Calm?! You want me to calm down while my son is missing and this bastard lost him?!" Katsuki shoved Shinso aside and shook Kota by the collar. "How could you be so incompetent?! A dam breaking?! You sad-ass excuse for a hero-"

"Bakugo!" Kaminari ran up to his angry friend and pulled him away from the strangely quite and distant man. "Calm down, dude! If you gotta shout at somebody shout at me! But not Kota, okay?"

"He ran the camp, and he deserves to feel the full rage of a pissed-off Bakugo!" But before Katsuki could scream any more, he saw Kota stare blankly and soullessly at a stretcher in the ambulance next to him. Her body was barely breathing shakey breaths.

"Bakugo. Eri almost drowned. She was on top of the dam when it broke."

"..." Bakugo stopped and cooled down just a little as Shinso sighed,

"Kota's blaming himself for all of this. But he has spent the last several hours saving all the other students. This attack wasn't reckless..."

"...Attack? Are you saying this was planned?!" Katsuki growled. Oh, he prayed this wasn't that psycho chick...

"...We had twenty local heroes on staff... five are in critical condition."

"...Critical condition?" Bakugo gasped, "Where's Eiji?!"

"We're looking for him-"

"Are you, Eye Bags?! Get your ass out there and search for-" Immediately the man stopped in his tracks. Bakugo gasped as he saw a frail, slow figure drag his bare, muddied feet to the clearing.

"Eiji!" Katsuki ran. He never felt so relieved! He ran right up to the teenager and squished his head into his chest. The boy let his mud-covered frame be held by his dad as he slowly hugged him back. "Oh my God... You're okay..." Bakugo heavily sighed into Eiji's matted hair. But Eiji was not feeling so grateful. With a squeak in his throat, Baachu mumbled into his dad's tank top,

"I couldn't save them..."

"It's okay. It's fine-"

"They took Maru..." Eiji croaked, getting the attention of several policemen at the site.

"Maru?" Bakugo gasped.

"M-Meiwaku and that convict guy... Meiwaku didn't want to go, but I'm so confused." Eiji squeaked. Kacchan looked around himself, looking for Deku anywhere at the scene. He was probably already searching for his little girl...

"M-My Ba-Ba?"

A woman, somewhere in her late thirties, slowly and meekly approached Eiji. He gulped and came up to her with a trembling posture.

"Are you... Ms. Meiwaku?"

"Who was the man he was with?!" She trampled over his questions with her own.

"He was pretty tall, but scruffy and slimy-looking. His eyes looked teal low, and like... like a villain's eyes..."

"Did he have black hair?! Did he have a scar on his jaw?!"

"Yeah. Yeah he did!"

"Oh my God..." She deflated and put her hand to her heart, "It's him..." She felt faint and had to lean against Kaminari for balance.

"You know the attacker?!" Kaminari stuttered, making sure the police were hearing this.

"Yes! Oh God... It's my ex-husband!" Ms. Meiwaku croaked.

"Your ex-husband?"

"Yes! The escaped convict! Chigawa Nasuji!"

"All units, we have an idea on who the attacker might be! Male, yellow eyes, dark hair, scar on jaw—"

Ms. Meiwaku was not doing well. This was all too overwhelming for her poor heart. Bakugo simply watched as the chaos swirled around, his anger boiling up. Maru was kidnapped by this son of a bitch. She's a small little girl, and everyone knows she ain't weak, but he couldn't help but worry...

"Ma'am, can you tell us about your relationship with this man?" A policeman asked the poor mother. "Is there anything we should know that is not on the record?"

"My ex-husband... he's a dangerous man..." Ms. Meiwaku croaked, "I don't know what I'd do if he hurts my Ba-Ba again..."

## Eleven years ago...

"Sweetie. Wake up. We've got to go."

"Huh?" Basuji opened his tired eyes and gave out a tiny yawn, "Mumma? Wha?"

"Come on sweetie, follow me. Don't make a sound..." She whispered in hurried tones as she pulled out some clothes from his dresser and threw them in her backpack. The little four-year-old confusingly slid out of bed in his pajamas, his hair sticking out all over the place.

"Mumma?"

"Sh-sh-sh... it's okay. Just don't make a sound, alright?" His mom whispered as she gently brushed the hair from her little boy's face. Slowly, she opened his window and crawled out of it, landing safely on the ground a small drop below. "Ba-Ba! Quickly! Come down!" She whispered up to the window, her arms reaching up. The little kid looked down at his mother, the drop quite a ways down for a little child.

"Trust me, Ba-Ba... I'll catch you! But you have to hurry, before he wakes up!" She said with an ounce of fear in her eyes. Basuji slowly climbed out of the window, letting his legs dangle off the side of the house. With all the bravery in his little body, he let go of the windowsill!

"Aah-OOF!" He yelped a little too loudly, but it was alright: his mom caught him. They were outside, and they could escape.

"Come on, we're going to grandma's." Basuji's mom said as she dragged him by the hand.

"But you said you don't like grandma..."

"...I'd rather be anywhere other than there..." She mumbled, not daring to look back at their disheveled home. They hurried a little faster as they walked past some people slowly meandering into work. The sun just barely poked over the mountains, and the world had only now begun stirring awake. Basuji looked up at his mother's hand and meeped at the bandages around her bruised wrists.

"Did he hurt you again?" The little boy whispered in horror. His mother just kept walking at a quickened pace, staring at the road ahead.

"...He's not going to hurt us anymore." She whispered, "We won't have to see him ever again-"

"HEY!"

The woman froze in her tracks, her heart stopping. Spinning around, her eyes witnessed the pursuing man with absolute horror.

"HEY BITCH! WHAT THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Gasp!" Basuji's mom scooped up her baby and started running. The bystanders on the street gawked and gasped as they watched her run from this man.

"Hey! HEY!" Chigawa stomped closer to them, being much faster than the little woman carrying so much. "Juni! Get your ass back home RIGHT NOW!" He screamed as he snatched her wrist, making her drop her son.

"Ah! Let go of me! Let go!"

"Let go of her!" The four-year-old kicked and punched his mother's attacker. Grinding his teeth in annoyance, the man threw her to the ground.

"I told you what would happen if you tried to leave, bitch!" Chigawa grabbed Basuji and held him off the ground by his pajamas. The little boy kicked and scratched at the hand that shook him violently in the air.

"No! Stop! I-I'll go home! I promise, just please-"

"You are such a lying bitch! You won't go back! You've been sneaking out to visit your 'friends,' but I know you don't got any! Who are you seeing, huh?!" Chigawa screamed.

"No one! No one I swear!"

"Even this little shit is your damn lies! 'Morning-after pill' my ass!"

Chigawa pulled Basuji's shirt up.

"No! Wait! I'll do anything! Please!" Juni cried out, her entire body kneeling in submission. But the man was done listening to her.

"I've fallen for that shit one last time! Now look what you've made me do!" He growled.

Basuji gasped as the horrible man held his hand over his chest...

And scratched his nails across his skin.

"NO!" Tears immediately fell from Juni's face.

"Ehh?!" Basuji could feel everything inside himself start to shift. "Mumma-?"

Suddenly, his stomach started to boil. The intestines in his body writhed and wriggled against his will. His ribs stretched away from each other, and he could hear his sternum crack down the middle.

"Ah! Eahh! Ahh!" Basuji's heartbeat drowned out the sound in his ears as his body bubbled and convulsed. Chigawa threw him to the ground, letting him roll in agony. "What's happening to me what's happening?!" He cried as scratched at his warbling skin.

"NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Cried Juni as she reached out for her baby boy, but her husband yanked her back by her hair, dragging her fighting body away.

The four-year-old's thoracic cavity began to split— lines of red oozed out of the scratches his dad marked down his body. Desperately gasping for air, the little boy who barely understood what death meant wished for it. He couldn't scream, he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. Trying to comprehend the mere incomprehensible pain he was in, the boy watched as his body pulsated. It looked like something inside himself wanted to be on the outside...

That's when he finally realized... Chigawa used his quirk on him...

"I'm gonna die I'm gonna die! Mumma!" He cried out with panic between his painful convulsions. Was he dying?! He was dying! He didn't want to die! He didn't want to! Why was this happening to him?!

"BA-BA NO!"

"Mumma! Help-!"

But his voice was cut short by a nauseating sound. A pipe cracking open a gourd. Molars scratching against bone. Mud splattered on pavement. That was the sound. The sound that silenced bystanders...

As they watched a child get turned inside out.

## The abandoned temple, present day

"Meiwaku! Hey! Wake up!"

"Gasp! Hngh?! Ha?!" Meiwaku jolted awake to someone lightly kicking his ribs. He shot upright again and looked across the room in a panic. It was fine. Chigawa was a couple meters away, watching the surrounding forest. No one was close to discovering their hiding place, which only filled Meiwaku with dread.

"Don't fall asleep, okay?" Maru whispered, her arms still bound up by rope. The lump on her head was as large as an egg, so they both had to keep each other from slipping into slumber. "Here's the plan: once he's distracted untie me and we can take him!"

"No." Meiwaku shot Maru's plan down immediately.

"What?! We can take him!"

"No. I don't get what makes you and Bak-Otaku think you two can win and save whoever you want." Meiwaku growled, trying to keep his eyes open as the sun rose. "I gave Bak-Otaku a secret message. I just hope he ain't to dense ta understand. We better hold up and stay clear of Chigawa. One touch from that bastard and we're dead."

"..." Maru snarled angrily at the man across the room. "What's this guy's deal, huh? What's he want with us anyways?"

"I don't know, but I'm scared to find out."

"Grr! Hey jerk!" Maru shouted, her head not thinking straight, "Do you know who I am?! Do you have any clue who I'm related to?! My da-"

"Shh!" Meiwaku aggressively slapped a hand over Maru's rambling mouth. "Whatever you do, DO NOT tell Chigawa who your dad is..." Meiwaku murmured through clenched teeth. "He is scared of one man and one man only, and your dad is NOT it. If he hears your parents're two heroes in the top ten then all he'll see is a dollar sign over your head!"

Maru's eyes widened as she began to understand. She nodded, and he let go.

After verifying that they weren't followed, Chigawa approached the two hostages with a growl.

"Don't try pulling any shit over me."

"What do you want with us?!" Maru yipped, "Whatever it is, we'll stop you!"

"That's cute." Chigawa said, very unamused. "I don't give two shits about you. But Basuji!" He turned to the teenage boy with a fake smile, "I haven't seen you in years!"

"Hasn't been long enough." Meiwaku ground his teeth together.

"I had to come all the way to see you! Can you blame me? You and your mother never visit!"

"Take a wild guess why that might be!" Meiwaku stood defensively. Angrily, Chigawa stepped closer to Basuji when Maru interrupted with a, "Hey!"

"Huh?"

"Who the heck if this guy, Meiwaku?! How do you know him?!" Maru was so confused. Shivering in spite, Meiwaku mumbled,

"This bastard is Chigawa. He's... my mom's ex."

"Oh don't completely disown me, Ba-Ba." Chigawa snickered as he loomed over Maru, "I'm the kid's dad."

"..." Meiwaku seemed very angry about that.

"Meiwaku?! Your dad is a criminal?!" She gasped, only making her classmate hide his face. He hated being related to this man.

"Hey now, I'm more than just a convict..." Chigawa shook his head and tisked at Meiwaku's behavior. "I am just like anybody else! I have hopes and dreams, and I've even fallen in love." He gave a terrible, slimy smile at Meiwaku.

"People 'in love' don't beat their spouses!"

"Oh? And you know love? I'm surprised anyone as ugly as you could understand-"

"It all came from your side, you vile son of a-"

Whack!

Chigawa smacked a hand across Meiwaku's face. But Meiwaku didn't budge from his spot.

"You disrespectful-! Look. I know love. In fact, my first thought outta prison was of your mother. I'd like to ask for her forgiveness!" He smiled. It was fake. It reeked of hidden intentions. Meiwaku could see it from a mile away.

"Bullcrap."

"I mean it! All I need from you... is to tell me where she's at."

Meiwaku halted. So that's what Chigawa wants. It was so obvious. But what did he want with Meiwaku's mom? Immediately the overprotective son could think of three or four things that bastard might do, and he wasn't going to give him an inch.

"I'm not an idiot. Not way on earth am I doin' that."

"Seriously kid, do I need ta remind ya what I can do? Or should I spell it out for ya?" Chigawa yanked Maru back by the curls and dragged her across the old floors.

"Tell me where your mom is... or I'll force the bitch's brains out!"

Meiwaku and Maru gasped, absolutely frozen in fear. What could they do?!

Silently, they prayed that Baachu understood the message Meiwaku sent...

## The police station

Eiji paced back and forth, having just given the best testimony he could. But he was so stressed he could barely speak right. He wrung his neck. This anxiety was making his throat so tight...

"Hey bub," Bakugo walked over slowly, "You did your best. It gave us a clue on who took 'em."

"But... I couldn't save them."

"But we will." Bakugo puffed his chest out. "Now I want you to stay low. I can't have another anxiety attack about you being taken. Just stay where it is safe."

"...I don't even know where I'd go if I did try and save them..."

"Good. Now I gotta go to a meeting-"

"Dad?" Eiji stopped Katsuki in his tracks, "Do you think... Meiwaku helped kidnap Maru?"

"...What does your gut say?" Bakugo asked seriously. Eiji contemplated a while before answering,

"That Meiwaku would never do something like that to my best friend. But I saw him close the tunnel and take her away!"

"Yeah? So?" Bakugo scoffed, "Do you know the full story?"

"No, I don't. He wouldn't do something like that."

"Then trust your gut. Don't doubt your friend, even if everyone tells you to." The man said with experience from the other side.

"Yeah... I'm just..." Eiji rubbed his arm and felt a little hopelessness creep in, "What happens if Maru gets hurt or...?"

"Hey, bub. Look at me. The police are assembling a team of heroes to find her. They're the best of the best, 'kay? That bastard ain't getting away with snatching Maru!"

"..." Looking at the floor in defeat, Eiji mumbled, "Dad... She's my best friend, and I don't know if I'll see her tomorrow... And that's the scariest thing..."

Sighing, Bakugo couldn't think of anything else he could say to comfort his son. A tap on his shoulder drew his attention.

"Hey bub, you stay with your class. I'll be back in a bit."

"Mhmm."

Bakugo sighed heavily as he turned the corner. He didn't like anything about this situation one bit, but he was going to do all he could to save Maru. And that other kid too, of course. But Maru is Deku's kid; Bakugo watched her grow up with Eiji. Sure, she might be a little spoiled, but Bakugo felt a sense of ownership over her. No villain bastard was going to get away with kidnapping her!

Katsuki entered the police meeting room with authority and sat next to Chargebolt and that annoying copy cat Monoma. The police chief cleared his throat and flicked his cat-ears before beginning,

"Alright, before we begin I must address our priorities, and that is for the students to come back safely, meow." Everyone agreed. "But in order to do that we need to know where they are being held and what situation they are in."

"Do we have a single clue about their whereabouts?" Monoma asked the chief.

"Murur. No. But once we do, we will need to find some way of communicating with the kidnapper. Meow."

"Communicate with the kidnapper?" Bakugo growled, "What? So we can ask him how the weather is?"

"To understand what his demands might be, meow. And perhaps negotiate a trade for the children."

"Negotiate?!" Bakugo slammed his fists on the table, "We do NOT negotiate with terrorists! Once we find out where they are we need to take him out!"

"I'm sorry, Ground Zero, mew. But this escapee has a fairly deadly quirk that could pose as a danger to the—"

"Then, fuck, get Deku in there or something!"

"We won't allow him on the mission. It is too personal for him." The chief made Bakugo's blood boil. This is why he hated working with the police. They loved their goddam rules!

"...I gotta take a piss." He growled before stomping out of the meeting room. He needed to keep himself from blowing up that stray.

## Down the hall

Not knowing what else he could do, Baachu waited until everyone in the hallway had left, and sat on the floor. His best friend. His rival. It was like... he was all alone without them. Maru and Meiwaku were always going to be there! But they weren't.

What if he never saw them again?

"Hey Baku- erm... Hey Eiji."

"Huh?" Eiji looked up wearily at the squarely-built silhouette, "Oh... Hey Tasen."

"Hey man. You're... kinda in a rough spot, aren't you?" Tasen said as he sat next to Eiji.

"A little, yeah."

"Hey, I don't know how I can help, but remember— I'm sticking with you through it, okay?"

"...Kay."

Suddenly, a shadow silently fell over the two boys.

"Iida Tasen. Bakugo Eijiro. I have a favor to ask of you two." Approached Shinso, "The press is demanding that we give them a statement about the attack. But we would like to have as many Pro-Heroes in the meeting as possible."

"Yeah?" Tasen cocked his head, "You want us to search with you guys?"

"...No. I'd like you two to participate in the interview with me."

"Oh..." Eiji sighed. He peeked into the other room where dozens of people gathered with cameras. "I don't know. I'd rather try helping with the search—"

"This is the best way you can help." Shinso-Sensei said as he handed the two boys some papers. "Here's the questions they will ask. If the ask something that isn't written you can refuse to answer."

Eiji looked at the paper skeptically, but Tasen understood what they had to do.

"Eiji and I got this, don't we? We'll do this for our friends, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Good. Follow me. The press is already filling room B."

And room was surely full! They couldn't see the other wall there were so many people! Staring ahead at the lenses and eyes gazing directly at him, Eiji whimpered,

"I just remembered something, Tasen..."

"What's that?"

"I have some crazy social anxiety..."

"...Oh snap man."

"We are live in three! Two! One!" The cameraman shouted before Eiji could opt out. A line of reporters stood and strung a line of questions, and of course, they were all scripted and they had a planned response for each one: Were there any signs of danger before the attack? Did they see the dam break? Simple things.

"Did you get a good look at who the attacker was?"

"I didn't see anyone, no." Tasen answered again so that his sweaty friend didn't have to. "Eiji did, though."

Immediately Tasen could tell saying that was a huge mistake. Shinso glared daggers at him as the reporters went absolutely feral after Eiji's firsthand witness!

"Young man! Young man!" A reporter shoved himself to the front, aggressively making his question known, "You saw the two students get kidnapped?!"

"Erm... Yes, and I—"

"How did the kidnapper manage to take the two top students in your class?! Compass Lass and Meiwaku Basuji?!"

"He... knocked out Compass Girl and tied her up."

"What about your other classmate?! Meiwaku Basuji?!"

Shinso didn't like where this was going. These questions weren't scripted...

"He was walking—"

"So he assisted in the kidnap?!" The reporter had a devilish look in his eye. Eiji gulped defensively and tensed up immediately.

"I d-didn't say that—"

"Could he have been in cahoots with the kidnapper?"

"No way—"

"Even if the kidnapper is Meiwaku's father?!" The reporter shocked Shinso. How did that information get leaked?!

"...Meiwaku's dad?" Eiji gawked wordlessly, unable you comprehend. "He's the kidnapper?" Tasen gasped as well. None of the kids knew about this! And now they were all hearing it for the first time on live television!

"Do you think Meiwaku could have any ulterior motives in kidnapping a cute little girl?" The reporter was playing dirty now.

"N-No! He's not like that!" Stuttered Eiji.

"But in middle school he was described as aggressive. Has there not been *one* moment where you have thought twice about Meiwaku's integrity?!"

Before Shinso could stop this nonsense (and much to his dread), the screeching noise of a chair shoved backwards demanded the room's attention. Tasen stood with his fists on the table.

Eiji sweat nervous beads; Tasen and Meiwaku didn't get along! What was he going to say?

"..." Inhaling sharply before slicing the air with his hand, Tasen declared, "Meiwaku is a friend of mine, and he respects others an incredible amount. I don't doubt for one second his integrity! I know it's your job... But jumping to conclusions over speculations of motive is disrespectful and dishonest!"

"..." That wasn't exactly the scoop the disappointed reporter was looking for. But he had no dignity left, so he continued with the awful assumptions. "If your friend is so trustworthy, then how come he lied several times in his Yueei application?"

"...Ha?"

"That's right! He lied about his medical record, he kept his relationship with this convict a secret, and worst yet, he lied to his own mother!" The reporter sneered, "According to the police record, he told her he was accepted into the Support Course!"

"...Why would he do that?" Tasen mumbled with wide eyes.

"Meiwaku has a record for lying! Now I'll ask you again, are there any chances he may be in cahoots with the escapee?!"

"No comment." Shinso interrupted, shoving the two teens off the stage as questions came flying at them like bullets.

"What do they want with that defenseless girl?!"

"No comment."

"Does this pose another season of danger for Yueei?!"

"No comment."

Finally, Eiji and Tasen were able to escape the vultures. But it was too late! People were jumping to conclusions like crickets in a field fire!

They wanted to paint Meiwaku as a villain...

"You two are forbidden from talking to the press ever again." Shinso groaned and pinched his eyes.

"But they-!"

"I said you should refuse to answer."

"Actually, you said we *could* choose to..." One glare from his sensei shut Tasen up pretty quick.

"Stay here. And I'm serious." And with that, Shinso entered the chaotic room once more, absolutely dreading the chaos he had made for himself.

Standing there shaking in anger, Eiji mumbled incoherent swears and pulled at his hair.

"Eiji? You hanging in there?" Tasen asked with concern.

"They're making Meiwaku the bad guy!"

"They're reporters. It's what they do-"

"But he really didn't want to go! His eyes looked at me... and they were screaming for help!"

"Yeah. You and I know he didn't want to go."

"Like, all of it is just a little off! You wanna know what he said before he imploded the tunnel in!? He said to me, 'Bye bye, Eijiro!' But that's so wrong!"

"I don't get what you're saying here."

"He called me Eijiro! But ever since the first spitball he flew at me he's only been calling me Bak-Otaku! And bye bye?! Why was he baby-talking—"

Eiji gasped. Secret message. It was a secret message all along.

"Baby talk... bye bye..."

"Bye bye?" Tasen didn't quite put the pieces together yet, but Eiji had made his full conclusion. He immediately ran down the hall!

"Huh? Hey Eiji!"

But Baachu was not waiting. He and Tasen ran into Ground Zero outside the restrooms and panted,

"I know where they are!"

"Huh?" Bakugo gawked cluelessly.

"Bye bye Mr. Temple... Uncle Denki said that on our way to camp! And the last thing Meiwaku said to me was—"

"Bye bye..." Tasen gasped behind Eiji. "Oh my God! He was giving you a secret message! He told you right where they were going!"

"The abandoned temple off of the highway! They have to be there! That's the only place they could've gone!"

As Eiji and Tasen jumped for joy at this revelation! But Bakugo looked off down the hall at the meeting room. He knew where Maru and Meiwaku were before the police did...

"Good job, bub. And... other kid. I'll take this to the authorities."

"Would the police like to hear Eiji's direct testimony?"

"...No. I got this. I need to talk with Deku."

Bakugo stomped in the opposite direction of the police meeting room.

"Uncle Deku?" Eiji murmured, "Hey Tasen... I don't think the police are gonna hear about this."

"Huh? What gives you that idea?" Tasen asked in a similarly hushed tone.

"Talking to Maru's dad? He probably isn't allowed on the mission. Which means the police were going to be too slow."

"What?! Maru's dad?! You aren't talking about the number one hero are you-"

"I'm not waiting for the police to make up their mind, either!" Eiji declared.

"Bro?! Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"..." Eiji didn't respond. Bad sign. As he walked away Tasen understood what was happening.

Eiji was going to do something incredibly stupid.

## Office room C

Kacchan slowly opened the door to the dark office.

"Deku?" He approached the hero in his uniform. Midoriya's back was turned toward Bakugo. He sat in the shadows at a lone table, his hands folded in front of his face. "Deku? Look, I understand where you're at cuz I've been there. You're probably angry as fuck at the fucker who took Maru and—"

Deku turned around revealing his teary face.

"K-Kacchan I-! Waaaaahh!" He immediately bawled into Bakugo's tank top. "M-My sweet little baby girl oh Kacchan! They told me and Ochaco we can't get involved! B-But my Maru is must be so scared... Kacchan! What do I do?!"

"Get off, Deku!" Bakugo pried the clinging, crying man away. "I was aboutta tell you, I know where Maru is."

"Gasp!" Deku leapt into the air with hope. "Has a team been sent out yet?!"

"..." Bakugo breathed heavily. Was he really going to break the rules to do what was right?

...

Was that even a question?! Hell yes!

"Deku. You and I both know there isn't a team better than us."

"...Huh? Kacchan's admitting we're a good team-? Wait! Are you saying...?"

"Ditch the rules. You and I go after her ourselves. As soon as if gets dark we— gah! Stop hugging me!" He couldn't pry Midoriya away this time.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you Kacchan!" Deku cried, "We need to leave right now!" He lifted Bakugo above his head like he weighed nothing and ran out of the room.

"Deku! Put me down!"

"It's faster if I just carry you there!"

And, looking like idiots, the two heroes dashed out of the police station at a speed that would make most hurl. Bakugo was suddenly starting to have second thoughts.

They were going to do something extremely stupid, weren't they?