Chapter 36: Betrayals and Reveals

Starla's P.O.V

I rushed over to Bakugo's room. After what he had just endured, I was certain he needed some comfort from someone who cares about him. I gently tapped on his door. "Who is it?" He asked. "It's me, Starla," I said, "I wanted to make sure you were ok." I got no response. I decided to go in and confront him. He was just laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. "You know I was never for what Sanjay did back there," I told him. "I know," Bakugo said, "Nerd and Round-Face told me you tried pulling away." I smiled knowing he knew the truth.

I came closer to him and started to reach my arms out. "What're you doin?" He asked. "Well I wanna hug you and make the pain go away," I begin to say, "But… I feel like I need permission from you." Bakugo couldn't help but laugh. "Ok goofball, you have permission to hug me whenever you deem it necessary," he said. I hugged him. It felt good to comfort him. I also thought about what happened earlier.

Flashback

I was walking to the gym where Sanjay was working out. He needed to know what really happened. He was at a punching machine, probably to work out on his arms. "If you wanna give a hard punch, you might wanna keep your fist in an arm," I said. He turned to see me. "Listen, I'm not gonna try and do what I did earlier again," he said, "If you see Bakugo, tell him I apologize." I walked up closer. "Well, I don't know how much research you did, but I figured I should tell you the whole story," I said, "Himawari Ridgeway, does the name ring a bell?"

"Should it?" Sanjay asked. "Well, she's probably around our age going to one of those other hero schools, and her parents would've supported her along the way," I started, "However, Bakugo's father who was robbing that specific bank, he pushed a police car out of his way, and it landed right on her parents car on their way to pick her up from school." Hearing the news made Sanjay shudder a bit.

"I didn't know about that, I'm sorry," he said. "Well I bet you didn't know Bakugo insisted on his mother taking him to Himawari's parents funeral," I told him, "Yeah, that's the kind of kid he really is. He was young, walked right up to his parents, and asked their forgiveness." Sanjay started to feel bad about what he did.

"Himawari was quick to forgive, but everyone else hated Bakugo's dad for what he's done," I continued, "And then he was locked away in prison. After that, people just made the decision to just…. Turn it all on his kid, saying that he would end up just like his father with his explosive quirk. I don't know what else they did, but I could tell it was awful." A tear came from my eye telling that story.

"So tell your pals to give Katsuki a break would you," I said, "Not a lot of people have. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I just want you to understand what he's been through." Sanjay sighed. "Now I really feel like I should apologize," he stated, "If you see him, could you tell him I'm sorry?" I smiled. "Got it."

I pulled away from the hug with Bakugo. "Doesn't it feel better knowing you have friends in high places?" I asked. "Yea," Bakugo said, "Though I think its my turn to feel awkward." "Why's that?" I asked him. "Well…. I heard most of what you said to Sanjay after what happened," he answered, "Including the last part. You said you… loved me."

My face became as red as a tomato.

"I'm sorry if I did anything to embarrass you or anything," I said hiding my hands in my face. "No, if anything you flattered me," Bakugo said, "I don't want you to apologize, I'd rather kiss you instead. But I don't feel right doing so without your permission. Could I kiss you?" I smiled and said, "I've been hoping you would." We shared our first kiss. "So that stuff you said earlier, did you mean it?" He asked. "Of course I do, you're a good person who will no doubt go down in history as a great pro hero." "Second to round face and the nerd," Bakugo laughed. We started heading to the location where Iida told us to meet.

Deku's P.O.V

I was walking hand in hand with Ochako to the main building where we were scheduled to meet. Iida noticed us. "Well, looks like you guys know how to arrive on time," he said smiling. I then saw Mineta, Kaminari, and Jiro arrive. "Looks like you know how to fuse punk with formal wear," Kaminari said giving a thumbs up, "Nice threads." "Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself," Jiro said. "Pretty foxy if you ask me," Mineta said whispering. Jiro stabbed him with her earphone jack. Starla arrived with Bakugo, and then Todoroki arrived with Momo. "Where's Aizawa?" Ochako asked. "He went ahead to the party to meet with All Might, and he even invited Ms. Joke to tag along," Momo told us. Ochako and I grinned.

Melissa and Han arrived. "Oh good you guys are here," Melissa said, "I was worried for a minute." Han patted Bakugo on the shoulder. "Feeling better?" "A lot," Bakugo said. "That's good to know," said a voice. We all turned to see Sanjay. Some of us were hesitant to even look at him after what he did.

"Look, the whole ridiculing Bakugo in public thing, wasn't my finest hour, I'll admit it," he begun, "I was just really pissed off that someone beat me, and I handled it the wrong way. And for that I'm sorry."

He then turned to Bakugo. "More importantly I apologize to you Bakugo," he said, "Forgive me for all this, alright?" Bakugo thought for a minute. "No, but meet me at the ring, then we'll talk," he grinned. "Well, let's get moving," I said.

I started to walk but soon felt myself unable to move. There was something wrapping around my legs keeping them from walking. Soon the others weren't able to move either. I managed to turn my head and saw someone. "It's him…." Momo said. The Aura Phantom was looking at us. "You're finally within my grasp," he said, "And now its time for me to take what belongs to me." He made his shadow go into my coat pocket and take the ring from me. He then placed it on one of his fingers. "Yes…." He said. Todoroki turned to Phantom. "Whoever you are, we have no beef with you or your employer!" He snapped.

"Yes, but I'm afraid the employer has beef with you," said another voice. Someone walked towards us. It was Mr. Yaoyorozu, and there was another person with him. It looked like Han only he was older. "Dad?" Han asked. Mr. Lee looked down in shame. "I'm sorry son," he said. David was also with them. "Papa?" Melissa asked, "Don't tell me…. You're working with them." David nodded his head and we were all shocked. "This can't be true!" Melissa said, "Why?"

"The professor only wanted to get back what was taken from him," Mr. Yaoyorozu said, "Isn't that right, Sam?" He pushed Sam forward. "Sam?" Han asked, "What are you doing?!" He held out some blueprints for a device. "These blueprints are for a device that can amplify one's quirk," Sam explained, "Unlike drugs, this device won't do any damage to one's body." "But despite all of that, it was confiscated under the fear that a villain would get their hands on this device," David told us, "So we hired someone to pretend to be a villain and steal it back for us."

"And they also made an offer for me to buy this island," Mr. Yaoyorozu said, "The one thing I need to complete the deal, is you Momo." Momo was shocked. "Me?" She asked. She was released as well as Han. "An arranged marriage plan," Mr. Yaoyorozu said, "With you and Han marrying, I can make this island into my own and bring my company back." Momo was shocked that her father of all people would do something like this. "Dad!" Han said trying to get him to stop this as his heart belonged to Melissa. His pleas were in vain."Never!" She said, "I choose Todoroki." "Well as of today that is my choice, and I choose to force you to marry him." Some guards arrived and took Momo by the arms pulling her away, and did the same to Han.

"Get your hands off of me!" She said. She struggled to break free but the guards wouldn't release the grip.

"Well, looks like she is attempting to resist," Phantom said, "Maybe she needs a bit of….. persuasion." He used his shadow to choke Todoroki slightly. "What she needs is to suffer, and lose the one thing she loves most," he continued, "This is what I love about pretending to be a villain. Watching those suffer as they might lose someone they care about." "Make it stop!" Momo said. "Silence!" Mr. Yaoyorozu said, "Pro heroes need to know when they've been beat." Todoroki was starting to lose consciousness.

All I could do was watch in horror at the events going underway. I couldn't even move to help him. Momo couldn't take it anymore. "I'll do as you ask!" She said, "Just make it stop." Phantom kept strangling Todoroki. "Make. It. Stop." Momo repeated herself. He released Todoroki and grinned. Momo turned to Todoroki. "I'm sorry," she said.

The guards pulled her away and took Han as well. He only looked at his father in disgust for what he was doing. Mr. Lee looked down in shame "Excellent," Phantom said, "And now to carry on with our next phase of the plan; to eliminate the symbol of peace. Only this time, no resurrections." I struggled to get close to him so I could punch him. Nobody threatens my future father in law! Phantom looked to us.

"Lock them up and keep them guarded," he said. We were taken to a room and locked away. Todoroki was staring at a wall thinking about the woman he lost. "How could this happen?" He asked himself. Bakugo approached him. "Hey, don't worry, somehow we'll figure a way out of this, and we'll get Momo back." Todoroki didn't even dare to look at his friend.

Ochako noticed that Starla wasn't with us. "Hey, where did Starla go?" Ochako asked. She saw a security guard who looked at us. The guard then winked signaling to us that it was Starla in disguise.

All Might's P.O.V

I was with Aizawa and other pro heroes at the party. "I wonder where Problem child and his crew are," Aizawa said to me. "They're probably running a little late," I said. Part of me had a feeling something was wrong. Someone approached the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the I-Expo reception!" He said, "I hope All Might can come up and say a few words." I looked to the crowd. "Looks like people have gotten use to your true form," Aizawa said, "But you look a little….. more muscular than before." "We're doing research to see why that is," I told him. I walked up to the stage. "Thank you," I said, "As you all have noticed, there have been a few crazy events that have happened over the past few years. Primarily All For One."

People were listening to my speech. "Despite me being out of the game temporarily, some brave students managed to team up and put an end to All For One's reign as the number one villain," I stated, "People have been concerned that the days of the symbol of peace have come to an end. However, I am here to tell you that as of today, someone else will be taking my place as the new number one hero." Aizawa grinned. "Get ready for some publicity Midoriya," he said to himself. Doors barged open and men with strange weapons arrived. Someone wearing a Kabuki mask was leading them.

"Don't bother trying to escape, cause we have control over the security protocol," he said, "I know we have heroes in here, but if you try anything funny, I'll make sure those security droids deem everyone on this island as a threat. All of I-Island is my hostage, including all of you!" He activated some kind of technology that binded most of the pro heroes including Aizawa. I too was wrapped in its strap. "IF you even try to move I'll kill everyone in this room!" The masked man said. "You fiend!" I snapped. He kicked me down. Something was flashing in my eye. I looked up to see Starla and Kyouka. It was almost like she was signaling me. I secretly told them both what was going on, and they told me that most of their friends were captured. "Find them and save them," I said quietly, "Quickly…" Starla nodded and they both ran.