Everything escalated within the blink of an eye. One second, Ai was waiting with Midoriya for their turn through the forest. The next second, gas and fire emerged within the distance, and Pixie-Bob was face first on the ground underneath villains Big Sis Magne and Spinner.

"How are you this evening, UA High School," Spinner asked. "We are the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!" The last exclamation shook Ai to the core, though not as much as Spinner's stare, which was aimed directly at her. However, she had no time to think further as Mandalay and Tiger engaged in combat.

"Go, everyone," Mandalay instructed the students. "Listen carefully. Do not fight!" As their group began retreating, leaving the heroes behind, Ai couldn't help but look back at Pixie-Bob's unconscious figure. I can help them, Ai thought. She turned at the same time as Midoriya, to which Iida had screamed for both of them to continue running. They knocked her out most likely because she can control the terrain. But so can I- Just as her hands were about to reach the ground, Ai felt her body lift up into the air. A red aura outlined her figure as Big Sis Magne erupted with giggles.

"Oh no you don't," she exclaimed. However, before Ai fully reached the villains, she was caught in an embrace. Midoriya charged himself up and grabbed her out of instinct, quickly leaving the scene and racing up the mountains.

"Midoriya-kun," Ai said, holding onto him from the front side like a sloth as she felt the rough wind rush against their figures. "Where are we going?!"

"Kota-kun is in trouble," Midoriya said, keeping one arm wrapped around her as his other arm and legs desperately jumped through the landscape. His eyes widened as soon as Kota's hideout came to view, and his grip on the back of Ai's shirt tightened as he grit his teeth. "Ai-chan, I'm going to have to let go now." Upon her nod, Midoriya threw Ai on the cliff just above the hideout as he leapt forward, grabbing Kota before the villain, Muscular, had a chance to strike. Both of their landings had simultaneously broken their cellular devices, rendering the students unable to call for help.

Ai's hands were trembling as she crawled forward from the ledge, watching as Midoriya's body emerged with One for All: Full Cowling. "It's… It's going to be okay, Kota-kun," she heard her best friend say. His focus was directed at the approaching villain as he stood. "I'll definitely save you!"

Muscular's body was disturbing to watch as the muscle fibers appeared outside of his body. "You're the one called Midoriya, right?" Ai's blood ran cold when she heard his next statement. "We were told to take the initiative and kill you." His movements were fast. Within seconds, Muscular gave a punch that both broke Midoriya's arm and slammed him against the wall. "I almost forgot." His gaze shot upwards. "If you two know, tell me…"

Danger. It was coming fast, and Ai could feel her quirk instinctively rush through her body as she gripped the ground. There was barely time to shield herself as Muscular jumped up and slammed his fist down into Ai's overlapping forearms. The cliff broke underneath her was Ai was shot down onto their level, the vines that she had gathered breaking upon impact, though saving her from any broken bones. The landing knocked the wind out of her, giving Muscular the time to approach and lift her off the ground by her hair, feet dangling.

"Now that I've got you, Shuzenji," he said, a grin on his face, "where's that other kid called Bakugo?" Ai groaned as her hands went up to grip Muscular's fingers. His head tilted to the side as he stared at her. "I'll take that as an, I don't know?" To his surprise, Ai amplified the cells at her hands, giving her the strength to tear away from his grip and dropping just as Midoriya leapt from his spot.

"Smash!"

Midoriya landed in front of Ai, arm fully extended while both of their eyes widened at Muscular, who suffered not even a scratch. "What," he said, "that's your quirk?" His twisted smile weighed heavily on their hearts. "You're pretty fast, but not nearly strong enough!" He was too quick. All Ai could do was witness as he pummeled Midoriya into the ground. Even as she stood up to run to her friend's aid, Muscular was already behind her. His backhand sent her flying into the wall, but just as he thought, he began cackling as she peeled herself off, unhurt albeit covered with dirt. "They told me you had cell regeneration." Ai gasped when his shadow immediately casted over her. "But can you heal yourself fast enough?!"

Ai brought her hands up as soon as he punched. The impact brought pain and a lot of screaming. Midoriya and Kota stared wide-eyed at the scene that unfolded before them. The fibers from Muscular's quirk retracted along with the rest of his arm. Ai began hyperventilating as he dropped to his knees in front of her, the rest of his body soon turning gray.

"No," Ai gasped, reaching out with a shaky hand. "D-Don't die!" Her fingers gripped onto his crackling shoulder, reversing the effects of the cell decay. She didn't anticipate that he would attack with his other arm. Muscular shoved his fist into her stomach and crushed her back into the wall as his deteriorated extremity returned to him.

"This is exactly why heroes are worthless," Muscular spat at Ai's unconscious body. "You should've just killed me."

"Ai-chan," Midoriya screamed, regaining Muscular's attention.

The villain stood from his spot, a low chuckle escaping his lips. "My orders aren't to kill her." He turned to face Midoriya as his quirk reappeared around his figure. "But you're up for grabs!"

Midoriya against Muscular was a quick and ruthless fight, but the premature hero prevailed. Midoriya almost fell over due to his injuries and exhaustion, but his own wellbeing was the furthest thing from his mind. "Kota-kun," he said through gritted teeth. "Please… wake up Ai-chan."

Kota managed a nod as he ran over to Ai's still body. He pulled her out from the dome within the mountain's wall, resting her head on his lap. "Oy," he said, sniffling as he shook her shoulders. "Wake up! You said you were going to protect us, didn't you? You said you were going to be a hero…" Kota bit down on his lip as Ai was still motionless. Midoriya walked up to them, dropping to his knees.

"I'm sorry, Ai-chan," Midoriya whimpered. "I couldn't protect you again." The USJ incident raced through his mind, but he was quickly brought back to reality when something wet hit his cheek. "K-Kota-kun?!" Upon the activation of the little boy's quirk, he used it to splash puddles against Ai's face. She eventually began coughing up both blood and water as Kota helped her sit up.

"W-What…" Ai gripped her stomach and groaned, glancing around to see her best friend's condition along with Muscular's passed out form. "Midoriya-kun…"

"We can't stay here," Midoriya said. Ai struggled to move to him, but she didn't have enough energy to heal them both. Her hand grasped his cheek, recuperating his arms to the point where they still ached and bruised but were no longer broken. Soon, Kota hopped onto Midoriya's back, and he carried Ai within his arms. "Gomen-ne."

Ai was quiet for a moment as Midoriya began moving with them. How did he defeat Muscular? His quirk… They hadn't had a conversation about it ever since before USJ. "We have a lot to talk about," she finally said.

Midoriya merely nodded. "Hai."

The three were able to meet up with Aizawa after he had rushed into the forest. He took Kota into his arms and assessed his students' injuries. "Shuzenji," he said, watching as Midoriya placed her down. "Can you walk?"

"I can manage," Ai stammered, continuing to grip her stomach as she straightened herself. Her mind was racing as her body ached, making the words that Aizawa and Midoriya exchanged fade into the background. It was only when Aizawa took Ai's hand that she regained her senses.

"Let's go."

With a nod, the student and teacher with child in hand began running. Aizawa didn't move as quickly as he wanted to, being mindful of Ai's current condition. However, when Mandalay relayed Midoriya's message to everyone, their jog quickly came to a halt.

"We have discovered two of the villains' targets," she informed them, "they are the students: Kacchan and Ai-chan!"

"Shuzenji," Aizawa said, though he paused when he noticed her dismayed expression and her trembling hand.

"Am I…" Ai looked up at her teacher, her eyes brimming with tears. "Am I the reason everyone's getting hurt?" Aizawa had no time to respond before Ai dropped into a coughing fit. Her hand fell from his grasp as they covered her mouth, limiting the spray of blood that escaped her lips. Kota was restless in Aizawa's hold, and the momentary stray of his attention was all that was needed.

Out from the bushes came a sprinting figure. He scooped Ai up before Aizawa could react, and with the blue flames that shot out of his body, the teacher immediately went to protect the boy in his arms. As soon as the fire dissipated, the two were gone.

"Let go of me," Ai exclaimed, though she had to grip onto the villain's shirt as the pain from Muscular's attack rushed throughout her body in waves. He was quiet as he continued into the burning forest, and it was in that moment that Ai noticed the grotesque qualities of his appearance: regular and burnt flesh, held together by staples. "Who are you?" It hurt to talk, and Ai spoke through gritted teeth. "What do you want with me and Bakugo-kun?" His silence was unnerving, and Ai clenched her fist as she brought her nearest elbow up and slammed it into his jaw. The villain dropped her, and Ai quickly crawled away from his staggering figure.

With the last ounce of strength she could muster, Ai slammed her hand down onto the ground, uprooting branches around the villain's body and pulling him down. The impact of his head against the floor broke his figure and left it a brown, melting mess. What the… Before Ai could process what had happened, the world shrunk. She lost consciousness just as quickly as another villain took her life into the palm of his hands.

"One down," Mr. Compress said, grinning at the blue orb in between his fingertips, "another to go."

There were five minutes to get to the meeting point once the villains had given the signal. Tokoyami, Bakugo, and Ai were secured by Mr. Compress, whose body was soon shoved into the ground by three students that came down from Uraraka's quirk. It was chaos once Kurogiri opened his warps. Aoyama had managed to shoot his navel laser against Mr. Compress's jaw, knocking the blue orbs out of his mouth.

Shoji, Midoriya, and Todoroki rushed forward. Shoji secured one orb, later to be confirmed as Tokoyami's body. The pain from Midoriya's injuries made him trip backwards, but Todoroki continued, jumping and reaching one of the two orbs in front of the half-burnt villain: Dabi. Once Mr. Compress released the students, Dabi held onto Bakugo's neck while his other hand gripped Ai's right forearm. Todoroki held onto Ai's left hand, her body suspended between the both of them.

Blue flames emitted from Dabi's grasp and Todoroki's eyes widened upon the sound of Ai's scream. "Let her go, Shoto Todoroki," Dabi said, "or I burn the rest of her arm off." Dabi's other grip continued to squeeze down on Bakugo's neck, a warning for him not to act as well.

Both Todoroki and Ai's hands were trembling, and his hold only tightened when he felt her begin to pull away. "I'll be okay," Ai said, giving him a quivering smile despite the tears that trailed down her cheeks. From the seconds that she came back to consciousness, she knew that her friends were overwhelmed. She couldn't watch them get hurt any further, or even worse… Todoroki felt his heart stop upon her next words. "Let go, Ice King." Her fingers slipped through his, and he was frozen in his spot. The only remnant of the disappeared warp was Midoriya's screaming figure as he landed next to Todoroki.

On that day…

The students who were aiming to be heroes…

Completely lost to the villains.

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read and giving your opinion (: You can also find this story by searching its title on these other platforms, or going to my profiles:

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