Author's Note: So sorry for the delay, please note this chapter is unedited, I apologize for typos/grammar errors.

Song Inspiration: Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons

TWENTY-EIGHT | WHATEVER IT TAKES

Eraserhead walked into the conference room with Iida trailing behind him and dropped a file in the middle of the table, snapping both Shinso and Kirishima awake. They'd been trying to figure out a way to catch Seri's rapist and his connection to the Daizen 7. Everything appeared to lead from one dead end to another. The man who raped Seri was named Yata Kenzaki and he was as slippery as they came. He had multiple charges, but not a single conviction, which was both frustrating and impressive given his track record.

Shinso grabbed the file. "What's this?"

"A clue that'll hopefully guide us to Kenzaki," Eraserhead said, pulling out a chair next to Kirishima. "We found a pretty expensive looking watch on Shinji's body, I assumed it might have been stolen. Iida ran the serial number and we were able to locate its owner." Eraserhead pointed to the file and Shinso opened it up. "Yoshi Hirata, he's a businessman with three sailboats and two yachts."

Kirishima blinked. "Sounds insanely rich."

"He is," Eraserhead replied. "Iida sent a team out to pick him up. We need to question him. He might know something about Kenzaki or maybe even the Daizen 7."

"I agree." Shinso flipped through the file. "Do you think it's possible that Shinji just stole the watch from him somehow?"

"Were there no cases of a stolen watch?" Kirishima asked, looking to Iida, who shook his head. "Maybe, Hirata didn't know it was missing."

Shinso stopped on the picture of the watch. He wasn't someone who knew much about watches, but he did know they could get pretty expensive depending on brand, style, and finishing. He lifted the picture of the watch, examining it closely: black leather straps, diamond laid numerals, black face trimmed with silver. This wasn't a watch that would go missing and someone not notice. He turned the picture around to show the three across from him. "This is a Credor watch."

"That's right," Iida said, resting his arms around the back of a chair. "We checked the retail for that specific style. Seven million yen."

Kirishima sputtered. "I take it back, he had to have known. Maybe he hired Kenzaki to get it back."

"No," Shinso interjected with a shake of his head. That didn't make sense because when he went into Seri's memories, Daichi was the one who killed Shinji and Kenzaki never retrieved the watch. "There's something else going on here."

"You think they could all be in cahoots?" Kirishima asked.

Shinso put the picture aside and looked through the profile of Yoshi Hirata. Nothing out of the ordinary: standard business man with a lot of money, head a large company, worked with several nonprofits, honestly he seemed squeaky clean. That didn't mean that he was though, he might have just had the money and status to come across that way.

Iida's phone rang in his pocket. "Hello?" He nodded and waited for a moment. "Okay, thanks." He hung up and looked back at the group. "They got him and are on their way back, should be here in about twenty minutes."

"Shinso and I will handle the questioning," Eraserhead said, rising from his seat. "Kirishima, Iida you guys see if you can get a location on Kenzaki."

"You got it," Kirishima said and walked out of the room alongside Iida.

"Go get some air and something to eat," Eraserhead said to Shinso.

"I'm good."

"Consider it an order from your superior."

Shinso stifled a laugh and nodded. "Okay."

Five minutes later, Shinso found himself on the roof of the Ingenium Agency, standing at the edge while drinking a coffee and munching on an egg omelette. He already felt just a little bit more awake than he had earlier and his stomach had stopped hurting. Apparently, he and Kirishima had been working so long and hard they hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's lunch. At least nothing substantial.

White fluffy clouds rolled on by and the late summer breeze brought in more heat than coolness. Salt hung in the air, trapped by the humidity. Beyond the skyscrapers a small stretch of the ocean glittered in the sunlight. Shinso took another bite of his omelette then walked over to one of the picnic tables. He sat down, his mind still caught up on Seri, the Daizen 7, Kenzaki, and all the other crap that seemed to be hovering over them. They hadn't heard anything from the other teams, but Kamui Woods had been very clear that he wanted to limit communications through emails and phone calls unless it was absolutely necessary.

They arrived in Yokohama five days ago and while they learned some stuff, it wasn't nearly as much as he would have liked. Yes, they could confirm the Daizen 7 were involved with human trafficking somehow, but was it for their own purpose or were they suppliers. Given that in Seri's memory Daichi had taken Erika, he guessed they were doing it for their own purpose. It made him think that the Daizen 7 might have been seeking out people with certain quirks.

When he finished the interrogation, he wanted to go check on Seri. He hadn't seen her since the previous morning. Maybe she would be up for talking and telling him about how she ended up on the streets. Shinso sipped on his coffee then finished the last of his omelette.

The door to the stairwell opened and Eraserhead walked out, holding a cup of coffee. He walked over to Shinso's table and sat down across from him. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I'm not."

Eraserhead gave him a blank stare.

Shinso sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I just wish we knew more."

"You're not alone in this," Eraserhead said before taking a sip of his coffee. He rested his arms on the table and slouched forward, eyes squinting as the sun poked out from behind a cloud. "We got a whole team, all looking for the same thing. We only have a small piece, it won't seem like much until we put them all together."

"I know."

"It's harder when there's kids."

Shinso looked at him and nodded, completely agreeing. Seri, Shinji, Erika. They were just kids living on the street, trying to get by. It was good that heroes like Iida went out of their way to get those kids off the streets. Oftentimes, villains were born because of misbeliefs that were cemented in them when they were young. Shinso didn't want that to happen to Seri.

"We're gonna help Seri, and that is something to be proud of." Eraserhead pulled his phone from his pocket and stood from the table. He took another swig of his coffee then nodded to the door. "They just got here, let's go get some answers."

Shinso nodded. "Hopefully he has some."

They made their way down the stairs and to the second floor. The conference room wall was entirely made of glass. Yoshi Hirata sat on the inside portion of the room in the middle seat of the table. He had one arm resting on the table while the other was propped on the armrest of his chair. Given his tropical print button down, it appeared he was about to head out on one of his many boats.

"You wanna take point?" Eraserhead asked before they reached the door.

"Sure," Shinso replied and opened the door. He grabbed the file on Hirata out of the paper rack on the counter with the coffee maker and basic office supplies by the door. Before sitting at the table he bowed his head to Hirata. "Hello Mr. Hirata, I'm Mindjack and this is my partner Eraserhead."

"Pro heroes? Must be a bigger problem than I thought," Mr. Hirata said, sitting up a little straighter. He put his hands out on the table, no wedding ring to speak of. His hair was slicked back, somewhat thin, no gray streaks, but the crows feet at his eyes and the deep smile lines around his mouth indicated his true age. "Did something happen with one of my companies?"

"No, this has to do with something else," Shinso explained as he pulled a picture of the watch out and slid it across the table to Mr. Hirata. "This watch was registered to you. Recognize it?"

Mr. Hirata leaned forward, his brow furrowed as he picked up the picture. "Yes, this is mine. Why do you have a picture of it?"

Shinso pulled out a picture of Shinji and laid it out in front of Mr. Hirata. "Do you recognize this boy?"

Mr. Hirata nodded. "Yeah, this is Shinji. He cleaned my boats for me every weekend. A hard worker for a kid and man he loved boats. What is this about?"

Eraserhead leaned back in his seat. "Well, he was unfortunately murdered."

Mr. Hirata's face paled. "What? Are you serious? By who?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Eraserhead replied, glancing at the pictures on the table. "We were hoping you could tell us about Shinji. How did you meet him? When?"

"I met him a couple of months ago, he was out at the marina, looking at the boats. We started talking and I offered him a job."

"You did know he was living on the streets right?" Shinso asked.

"I did, which is why I offered him the job." He placed his hand on the picture and shook his head. "He was a bright kid. It's terrible that he's gone, I wanted to help him out. Maybe there's more I could have done and this wouldn't have happened to him."

Shinso and Eraserhead exchanged looks. Mr. Hirata's shoulders drooped as he sat back in his seat, eyes going distant, and arms loose on the arm rest. Shinso bit the inside of his cheek and leaned forward on the table. "Why did he have your watch?"

"I have no idea," Mr. Hirata replied in a soft voice, staring down at the table. "I showed it to him once, told him it was broken."

Shinso nodded and shifted in his seat. "Do the names Yata Kenzaki or Daichi Shinoda sound familiar?"

"No, should they?"

"They're the ones responsible for Shinji's death," Eraserhead explained, his eyes locking with Mr. Hirata's. "He never mentioned having any issues?"

"Well sure, but nothing that would have ever suggested he was going to be killed. Did he owe money or was it drugs? I know there's a handful of kids in the area who are in over their heads with some of the gangs in the area."

"Did Shinji ever talk about or introduce you to his friends Seri and Erika?" Shinso inquired. He believed that Mr. Hirata's intentions were good, but he had a gut feeling there was a little more to it.

"He never spoke about his friends, but one time I did see him run off with a couple of girls after he finished his shift. He told me it was his friend's birthday and with his paycheck he was going to buy a big feast for them."

"How long ago was that?"

"About three weeks ago."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"No, I really didn't know much. He was a really good kid," Mr. Hirata said with a sad sigh as he stared at Shinji's picture. "He could have had a bright future. I never had any kids, but I would have liked to have a son like him."

Shinso nodded. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Hirata. If you think of anything else, please do hesitate to let us know."

-xXx-

Seri had opened up a little more. Before whenever Shinso entered her room, she avoided eye contact with him and would hardly say a word. Now, she greeted him with a soft hello, but then fell silent again. The nurses had told him she was eating a little bit more than before and that she had even requested to have some books to read. Shinso had been so relieved she was doing more than sitting in her room staring at the wall for hours at a time.

They ate lunch together. She didn't really talk and he didn't say much to her either, but that was okay with him. He was just happy to see she was taking steps in the right direction. When he finished his drink, he gathered his trash and dumped it into the garbage can by the door. The whole time they were eating, Seri seemed to have something she wanted to ask him, but never got the nerve to say it. He checked the time, he told Eraserhead he'd be back around one. Thankfully it was just a ten minute walk back to Iida's Agency. Which meant he had about fifteen more minutes to spend with Seri.

He returned to the stool beside her bed and sat down, giving her a small smile when she glanced at him. She pressed her lips together and stared at her half eaten tray of food. Her eyes flicked back to him, mouth opening then closing. Shinso cleared his throat and rested his hands on his knees, hunching over slightly. "Whatever you want to say, you can. It's okay."

Seri took in a deep breath and let it out before looking back at Shinso. "The doctor's said I could leave in another day or two, but that they want me to come back twice a week to speak with a psychologist."

Shinso nodded. "Do you not want to?"

"No, I just don't know how I'm supposed to do any of that. I can't pay for any of this." Seri looked to the window, staring at the fluffy clouds floating across the sky. "I don't have a home. I don't have my friends. I have nothing."

"You have me," Shinso said with a smile. "I'm going to help you."

Seri scoffed. "How? You're going back to Kyoto soon. I heard that guy you were talking to yesterday."

She was right. He would be returning to Kyoto soon. When he looked back at her face, Shinso sighed as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Nothing he said was going to make her feel any better, cause she was right he was going to leave one way or another. While he tried to find the right words to say someone knocked on the door. Shinso turned around when it opened and saw Kirishima in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt," Kirishima said, stepping into the room. "I found out some interesting information."

Shinso nodded and held up one finger. Kirishima saluted him and left the room quietly. When the door closed, Shinso turned back to Seri and leaned over, placing his hand on the edge of her bed. She didn't look at him, didn't make a single sound. He didn't want to make promises he couldn't keep. Doing that would only make things harder for her, so he would do the next best thing even if it wasn't what she wanted. "Listen to me," Shinso said in a calm voice, hoping she'd look at him. "I don't know what will happen, but I do know that you don't need to worry about the expenses of your medical bills. Right now, the only thing I want you to worry about is how to be happy again. Okay?"

Seri was a fifteen-year-old girl. She didn't deserve any of this. He hated knowing that she and many other kids knew such darkness at an early age. The worst thing that happened to him at her age was being denied the hero course at UA, and even at that he eventually got into UA's hero course. Life had been so unfair to Seri, and Shinso was going to make sure that she would have everything she needed to have a better life.

After a couple of minutes, Shinso rose from his seat and walked to the door. When he pulled it open, Seri said his name and he turned back around. She wiped away her tears and swallowed. "Please, bring Erika back."

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she comes home." He stepped out of the room and closed the door. Kirishima stood on the other side of the hall and approached him. "What did you find out?"

"I talked to Eraserhead, he mentioned Hirata didn't know much, well I found out from some locals down in the fish market that Kenzaki has had a few deals in warehouse seventeen. Looked into that and guess who owned it?"

"Hirata?"

Kirishima nodded. "Could be a coincidence, but I doubt it."

Shinso clicked his tongue. Hirata lied and he'd pay for that. "Did you get a warrant?"

Kirishima reached into his back pocket and pulled out the sheet of paper, giving them permission to enter the premises and search it. Shinso waved for Kirishima to follow him down the corridor past the nurse station and to the elevators. They passed scurry nurses and patients walking with their IV bags. Voices came over the intercom, crying loved ones and doctors flipping through patient charts. The place was more or less organized chaos. Shinso hated hospitals. The elevator bell dinged and a crowd of people shuffled off, while he and Kirishima boarded.

"What's supposed to be in the warehouse?" Shinso asked when the doors shut. He leaned back against the wooden rail and stared at his blurry reflection on the stainless steel door.

Kirishima stuffed his pockets in his navy blazer. "Furniture and home decor."

A furniture warehouse would be exceptionally large, meaning it would be easy to hide things. Shinso glanced at the number dial as they approached the ground floor. They could go right then and there, but something in his gut told him to wait until nightfall. They brought Hirata in, he would have alerted Kenzaki.

The elevator doors opened. Shinso and Kirishima walked across the lobby and straight out the sliding glass doors to the drop off area. They stopped by some benches under the carport. "We need to get Hirata."

"You don't think we should head over to the warehouse?"

Shinso shook his head. "No, because they won't have anyone there. Kenzaki has to be holding them elsewhere, he's shipping through Hirata that we can be sure of, but it's too high risk with the employees there everyday to house anyone."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"We need to cut a deal with Hirata," Shinso said. "He'll go free, but if he so much as gets a parking ticket he'll face years in prison."

"You mean we look the other way."

Shinso stuffed his hands in his pockets. He didn't like the idea much himself, but the reality was that Hirata was a middle man, Kenzaki was the mastermind. They had to cut the head off the snake. If they captured Kenzaki they would have intel on the Daizen 7, who were the real issue at hand. It would be a domino effect. And no matter what, Shinso had no intention of letting Kenzaki ever see the light of day again after the horrific things he had done.

-xXx-

Sea gulls cried above as Shinso and Kirishima walked down the dock of the marina to Hirata's sailboats. The mid afternoon sun was relentless, shining down ruthlessly and reflecting off the water. Metal clinks sounded as the wind rustled through the sails and masts. A few people walked past them, staring with intrigue, because they certainly didn't appear to be out for a day on the water.

When they reached the last stretch of the dock, Shinso locked on to the target sailboat: Stormbreaker. According to Hirata's secretary he was going out with a couple of colleagues. If that were true, it was awfully quiet in the area. He stopped walking and held his arm out to stop Kirishima, something wasn't right.

"What's up?" Kirishima whispered.

Shinso tilted his head. A couple of men stepped off of Stormbreaker, they seemed more of less emotionless. Robotic even as they ambled along the dock. Kirishima and Shinso stepped apart as the men wandered past them. In a way, it was as if the two men weren't even aware of their presence.

"That was weird," Kirishima said, watching the men continuing on.

"I think Kenzaki's here," Shinso said. "Be ready."

They approached the boat with caution. Yata Kenzaki had a quirk, but no one was sure what it was. If Shinso had to take a guess he'd assume it was something similar to himself. Kirishima moved in first, which was the best way forward given his hardening quirk could protect them both if Kenzaki had a different type of quirk. Hirata definitely didn't have a quirk, he recalled that in the file he read back at the agency.

Kirishima stepped onto the boat, glancing around. No one was on the main deck. Shinso stepped on board next and tapped Kirishima's shoulder, pointing toward the cabin entrance. Kirishima loosened his tie and removed his blazer, laying it on the rail beside him. They snuck toward the cabin entrance, Kirishima leaned against the right side while Shinso stood on the left.

No sounds came from within, which was both worrisome and weird. Surely, Kenzaki wouldn't have killed Hirata, that guy was his meal ticket. They had to go in and see for themselves what was going on. Shinso looked to Kirishima and nodded toward the door. Without a word, Kirishima hardened the skin on his body and stepped in front of the door. He kicked the door in, bracing for impact, but nothing happened.

Shinso's brow furrowed in confusion. He stepped into the doorway, peering over Kirishima's shoulder. The cabin was sizable, but aside from the main room, a closet, and bathroom there was really nowhere to hide. Shinso reached for the closet door and yanked it open.

Nothing. Just a couple of lift vests and a few shirts. He shook his head. It didn't make any sense they should have been on board, unless they'd left before they ever arrived. Or maybe Hirata never came, but that didn't make sense either. His secretary said that he went to the marina to sail with friends. The friends had come from his boat, acting bizarre so something had to be happening.

Kirishima whistled, nodding toward the bathroom door. Shinso gave him the go ahead. Kirishima shoved the door open and looked inside. He clicked his tongue and stepped back out, shaking his head. Shinso huffed and ran his fingers through his hair, how could they have gotten past them?

"Damnit," Shinso cussed, walking back out of the cabin. His phone vibrated in his pocket. Eraserhead flashed on the screen. He tapped the green answer icon and put the device to his ear. "Hello?"

"Kirishima and Iida are missing, they haven't reported since our interrogation with Hirata."

That couldn't have been right, Kirishima had mentioned speaking with Eraserhead. He had said that Eraserhead had mentioned they hadn't found anything out from Hirata. The person who had been with Shinso for the last half hour wasn't Kirishima? He licked his lips, and turned around as the doppelganger came out of the cabin. Shinso had to be cautious. "We'll head right in. Give us ten minutes." He hung up before Eraserhead could ask or say anything to him.

"Who was that?" Kirishima asked, walking over to the railing to grab his blazer.

"Eraserhead," Shinso replied, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. "He wants us to head back to the agency. Iida found a new lead."

Kirishima pulled on the blazer, keeping his back to Shinso. "Don't you want to go check out the warehouse first?"

"Do you think we're going to find anything?"

"Well, yeah! I told you that's where—"

Shinso narrowed his eyes as the imposter Kirishima's eyes glazed over. Mind control complete. He wasn't going to waste anytime questioning. The world around them faded away, the sun, the sea gulls, the sailboats, everything disappeared as Shinso entered his captives mind. He had come to realize the mindscape of those he entered often resembled their psyche. In the case of this imposter, they were in what appeared to be an abandoned home office or maybe library.

The only source of light came through three large windows across from him. Before the middle window, a man stood with his arms clasped behind his back. Light brown hair cut close and a gauged piercing in his ear: Yata Kenzaki. He turned to face Shinso, smirk on his face then he let out a boastful laugh.

"Took you a while to figure out it was me," Kenzaki said as he walked toward a large pile of books in the middle of the room. He picked one up, then sat down in a dingy looking beige colored chair. His hands brushed across the cover, the words Daizen 7 scrawled across. "You were willing to cut a deal with Hirata, but that wouldn't have done you any good."

Shinso walked toward the book pile, glancing to the rickety wooden chair across from Kenzaki. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and took a seat. It creaked beneath his weight, sounding as thought it would snap in half. Thankfully, it never did. Shinso glanced around the room. Pale blue walls littered with stains and fractures, the floor covered in a thick layer of dust, and aside from the windows there was no other way in or out of the room.

"You don't need to panic," Kenzaki said, sinking back into his seat, plumes of dust lifted into the air. "I can't do anything to you, this is your quirk after all. We may be in my mind, but unless I can physically touch you there is nothing I can do to you."

Shinso still remained silent. He believed him to a certain extent because he was right, they were in this mindscape because of his quirk. Should he choose to pull the plug they'd be back out in the real world. Besides, it appeared Kenzaki wanted to make a deal. Although, Shinso had no intention of letting him go. He helped the Daizen 7, he raped Seri, and now he'd done something to his friends. Nothing he offered would spare him the pain and suffering he deserved.

"Hirata was under my control, when he said he knew nothing about me. He wasn't lying," Kenzaki said with a smile. "My quirk allows me to alter people's memories. I can also create projections, which is how I was able to look like your friend and create those men on the dock."

A powerful and dangerous quirk. Especially if he had little to no limitations beyond physical touch.

"Enough about that," Kenzaki said, holding up the book he'd picked up from the pile. "I want you to cut me a deal."

Shinso bit his tongue. If he said no, Kenzaki would surely keep all the secrets to himself.

"I have two major things I can bargain." Kenzaki leaned forward, grabbing another book from the pile. He lifted it, holding the title side to Shinso: Red Riot & Ingenium. "I know you don't plan on letting me go, you clearly have a spot for the child."

"Her name is Seri."

Kenzaki nodded, eyes downcast. "Do you plan on killing me when we get out of this?"

"Heroes don't kill, even when they should."

"Even heroes fall victim to villainy."

Shinso stood. "What did you do with my friends?"

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Kenzaki said and tossed both books back into the pile. "If you put me in Anubis or Tartarus, the Daizen 7 will see that I am dealt with even though I am only a pawn. They spare no one that is captured."

The room started to shake and Kenzaki laughed. Plaster fell from the ceiling, pelting Shinso. The glass in the windows fractured, then shattered, clattering to the floor. Shinso stumbled as the tremors grewer stronger. He glared at Kenzaki, realizing he was the one doing it.

"The Daizen 7 is lead by Mr. Fujimori, who by all means believes himself to be a god. You and your heroes will never stop him." Kenzaki rose from his seat and walked to the window. The field and forest that had once been outside had changed into a gray, storming sky. "Your friends are on an old battleship that is going to be destroyed." Kenzaki jumped out the window.

Shinso ran to the edge, but the building collapsed around him. He closed his eyes and released his quirk. The sound of buoy bells tolling and metal clinks from the sails echoed in his ears. Shinso let out a breath and opened his eyes. Kenzaki stood before him still wearing Kirishima's clothing. He had a gun, aiming it right at Shinso.

"You have half an hour," Kenzaki said, his eyes flicking beyond Shinso's shoulder. He smirked and put the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger. His body fell to the ground in a heavy thud, blood pooled around him, soaking the deck of the ship.

Shinso staggered back and shook his head.

"Hey, Shinso," Eraserhead's voice broke through the ringing in his ears. "Are you okay?"

A swarm of cops and heroes from Iida's agency stormed the docks and deck of the sailboat, surrounding Kenzaki's lifeless body. Shinso crouched down and raked his fingers through his hair. It wasn't what he wanted to happen. At least not the way he wanted it to happen. Eraserhead dropped down beside him, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to find Kirishima and Iida," Shinso said, his eyes locked on Kenzaki's corpse. "They're on a ship, that's going to be destroyed in less than half an hour."

-xXx-

Four hours ago, Kirishima and Iida had been in the fish market, questioning people about Kenzaki then they ended up being drugged and electrocuted. When Kirishima woke up, he found himself in a large, empty metal room with high ceilings, and a single hatch door. Iida had been with him too. Both were groggy and confused, but one fact was clear enough, they had to get out of wherever they were.

The problem was, they opened the managed to loosen the hatch door only to be sprayed with cold sea water. The door flung open from the pressure, knocking both of them back, sending them across the floor and crashing into the hull of the ship. Water came in like white water rapids, not slowing for a second. Kirishima cursed and rose to his feet, eyes wide as the water flooded the room. He reached over for Iida and helped him to his feet.

"This isn't good," Iida said, his glasses lost in the water. He glanced up to the catwalks a good twelve feet above their heads. The water had already covered the floor of the room, reaching past their ankles. He pointed toward the front right corner of the room. "Look, there's another door. When this room floods enough we can climb up and open it."

"What happens when we open it and more water floods in?" Kirishima asked. He didn't like to be the pessimistic one, but given they were in a large metal box with cold water rising at incredible speed, he had to be realistic.

"We really got hope that isn't the case." Iida glanced at the water. It was at their calves now. He shook his head and turned to Kirishima. "And if it is, at least we'll drown faster."

"This wasn't Kenzaki alone," Kirishima said, pressing his back against the wall as he stared up at the catwalks. "That woman from the Daizen 7."

"Yume," Iida said.

"Yeah, did you see her too?"

Iida nodded. "It was so fast, Kenzaki got with a fucking tazer then that woman."

Kirishima nodded. His memory of it all was blurry and unclear, but he knew for a fact that Kenzaki didn't do this alone. And given they were probably somewhere far off the coast on what appeared to be a decommissioned warship, the teleporter had to have put them here.

"I just wonder why they didn't kill us on the spot."

"Apparently, torture is their thing," Kirishima said as the water reached just below their knees.

"Given what they did to the other pros, I would agree with that."

"The real question is: does Shinso and Eraserhead know we're here?"

"I hope so, because I think I know what this is."

"A sinking ship?"

Iida let out a deep breath. "One of my workers, volunteers with the aquarium and she had been talking about how a ship was going to be destroyed to make a reef."

Kirishima licked his lips, the taste of salt filled his mouth. "You think this is that ship."

"Yeah."

"What time did she say it was supposed to happen?" Kirishima inquired, looking at the watch on his wrist: 2:42 PM.

"3:30."

Kirishima nodded. "We have less than an hour."

"It'll take about twenty minutes for the room to fill to the point we can climb onto the catwalk."

"I don't really feel like risking it." Kirishima looked to the catwalk and to the door in the corner. "How tall are you?"

"Six foot one, why?"

"How much can you lift?"

"250."

"Remember in third year, for the school festival, Mina had us learn to do those cheerleading circus stunt things for our act."

Iida nodded stiffly.

"You're gonna lift me up there, I'm gonna start working on getting our way out."

"Let's do it."

Kirishima grinned and looked up at the catwalk. The water had reached just above their knees. They walked coming just below the edge of the catwalk. The water current was strong, but Kirishima trusted Iida to hold his ground. He only needed a few seconds to jump for the floor of the catwalk. He'd pull himself up and pray that water didn't pour in from the other hatch.

"Okay, you ready?" Iida asked, turning to face Kirishima.

"Stay as steady as you can," Kirishima said and Iida gave him a thumbs up.

Iida bent his leg out to act as a step for Kirishima, who kicked off his shoes. He stepped onto Iida's thigh and then grabbed his outstretched hands to remain balanced as he climbed onto his shoulders. Iida stood tall and Kirishima reached toward the catwalk, but there was still a good seven or eight inches between them.

"Can you reach?" Iida asked, glancing up.

"I'm gonna have to jump." Kirishima licked his lips, preparing to take the leap, he needed to grab the floor and the rail post. He took in a deep breath, bent slightly at the knees and launched himself upward.

He hooked his fingers around the rail post while his other hand gripped the edge of the platform. Kirishima lifted himself up, reaching for the first rail then continued his climb until he reached the top and planted his feet on the catwalk floor. He let out a breath of relief and climbed over with ease.

"Now find us a way out!" Iida hollered up to him.

Kirishima leaned over the rail and gave Iida a thumbs up. "I'll be back, don't drown!"

Time was ticking. Chances were they were out in the middle of the ocean, so even if they got out, they still had to figure out how the hell they were going to avoid getting hypothermia. As it was, Kirishima didn't feel 100 percent and he imagined Iida was in the same position. He ran over to the door and grabbed hold of the rusted ring. It was wedged tight, not willing to budge in the slightest. Kirishima shook his head, and slammed his fist together, activating his hardening. He was getting out. He was going to save Iida. He was going to survive.

With every ounce of power and will he could muster, Kirishima gripped the ring and pulled as hard as he could. He didn't give up, he wouldn't! His muscles screamed at him as he yanked harder, using the entire weight of his body to pull the ring. Gritting his teeth, Kirishima's hardening took over his entire body as he tugged the ring.

The ring moved, loosening from it's locked position. Kirishima let out a breath of relief and released his quirk, grabbing hold of the ring, spinning it round and round. When it came undone, he flung it open. No water this time. Kirishima clapped his hands together as if to pray then stepped inside the narrow hall. It was nearly pitch black inside, but he could make out a ladder and it led to the next floor, with yet another hatch.

Kirishima sputtered, hoping that the hatch would open easier than the last. He climbed up the rungs and gripped the ring. He turned. It was stiff, but moved and got easier with each revolution he made. A loud clunk sounded and Kirishima pushed the hatch upward. Dim light came into the room from the portholes. He crawled out of the floor hatch and peered around the space.

Pirate and mermaid props were scattered around the room while large glass orbs hanging from nets dangled from the ceiling. He walked forward, a chain link fence separated him from the open room of strange movie props. His eyes scanned the walls and corners, looking for another way out. He hooked his fingers through the fence, spotting another hatch across the way. A few wires were sprawled across the walls.

"Shit," Kirishima breathed. "C4."

Several blocks of C4 was wired all around the bulkhead. He clicked his tongue and looked to his left. The door to the chain link fence had been chained closed with a padlock. Kirishima made a fist, hardened it and slammed down on the padlock several times. It snapped free and he pushed the gate open, stumbling out into the decorated room. He needed to find something he could use to get Iida out.

He spotted a life preserver hung on the wall with some rope hanging free from it. Kirishima ran over and rolled up the rope, hanging it off his shoulder, then raced back to the hatch. He climbed down the ladder, went through the narrow hall and slammed into the railing. Iida treaded water in the middle of the room.

"Did you find a way out?" Iida shouted.

"Not yet, but I did find some rope," Kirishima replied and tossed the rope out toward Iida. He swam over to it and grabbed on. Kirishima pulled, Iida up. When he reached the rail, Iida climbed over and fell onto his hands and knees, panting. "We have to get off this ship, it's packed with C4."

"Well, I was planning too even before I knew about the C4."

"Thought it might add more sense of urgency," Kirishima smiled.

Iida laughed. "How much time do we have left?"

Kirishima glanced at his watch and sighed. "Half an hour."

"Let's hope that we can get out of here in less than twenty minutes, cause if no one is out there to get us, we need to swim as fast and as far as we can before it blows."

"Then let's get a move on," Kirishima said, holding his hand out to Iida. He pulled him to his feet and waved for him to follow, walking down the catwalk toward the open hatch. Iida followed close behind and pulled the hatch closed before running to the ladder and climbing up.

As massive as the ship was, all the corridors were tightly packed. Kirishima guided Iida into the decorated room with the C4. He pointed out the hatch on the other side of the room. They ran over to it and started to twist it free. It creaked open, showing a long corridor of metal and nothing else. Aside from a few portholes they had no other source of light.

They ventured down the corridor. Getting up to the top deck was their only option. Unfortunately, neither of them had any experience of being on a ship, so they were wandering around blind. When they reached the end of the hall, it branched off into two opposite directions. Iida pointed to the right and they followed it down, passing empty rooms and a few more hallways.

Finally they came to a set of step stairs with another sealed hatch. They climbed up and twisted it, but it was stuck. Kirishima cursed under his breath. It was so hot inside the ship, he felt so heavy and exhausted. He peeled off his blazer and chunked it onto the floor behind them. It landed with a wet smack on the steel grated floor. Iida leaned against the rail and shook his head, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"We need a fulcrum," Iida said, glancing back down the hallway. "I'll be right back."

Kirishima glanced at his watch: 3:06 PM. He bit his lip and took off his watch. Staring at it was only making him more nervous. He stuffed it into his pocket and looked down the corridor as Iida jogged back over, holding a metal pipe.

"This should give us more leverage." Iida stuck the pipe between the ring bars and handle. "Together now."

Kirishima nodded and grabbed the handle, pulling up while Iida pushed down on the pipe. They both groaned and strained, forcing the wheel to move. After a good twenty seconds of forcing the ring to turn, it clunked. Iida let out a breath and tossed the metal pipe aside as Kirishima spun it round.

Together, they pushed the hatch up until it came completely open and thunked on the ground. Kirishima went through first and groaned as they came into a large room with pipes and old machine covers covering everything. He glanced toward the ceiling, portholes stretched along both sides. It must have been one of the engine rooms or something. Catwalks stretched all over the place, but there didn't seem to be anyway out.

Iida walked down one of the catwalks and took a left. "Over here!"

Kirishima ran down the catwalk and found Iida, standing at the mouth of an open hatch. It was dark, but at the other end there was some light. Iida entered and Kirishima followed him down, his hands pressing against the bulkhead of the ship. They reached the other side, which was a large L-shaped room that was completely empty.

It was just another dead end. Kirishima raked his fingers through his hair. They were running out of time, if they didn't get out and into the water soon they'd be dead. And sure, they might be dead in the water too, but at least they would have a little more time. He had to believe that both Shinso and Eraserhead would find them.

"We should look elsewhere, maybe that other hatch in that other corridor will lead us out," Kirishima said, looking to Iida, who was running his hands along the wall on the other side of the room. "What are you doing?"

"There are stairs on the other side of this wall," Iida said, tracing some large bolts that made a stair like pattern. "We can blow this up and climb out."

"Are you crazy?" Kirishima said. "If we blast that thing there's a chance we would be killed in the process. There's not much of a hiding place around here and we don't exactly have a lot to work with."

"That C4 back in that main room, we can take one, plant it on the wall and use the wires to set it off." Iida rose to his feet and looked back to Kirishima. "We don't have time to be running all over the ship to find a way out. We know there are stairs on the other side, this might be our only chance."

"Be nice to be Bakugo right now, huh?" Kirishima said with a laugh.

Iida nodded. "Let's hurry."

They raced back to the decorated room. Iida got to work on collecting some wire and a block of C4 while Kirishima searched for a power source. He rummaged around the decorations and checked the nooks and crannies in the wall. Something metal glinted in the light leaking in through the porthole. Kirishima walked over and smiled. A flashlight. He hit the power button and it came on. They now had a power source.

Iida carefully pulled one of the smallest blocks of C4 from the wall and placed it on a wooden crate. He pulled out the connectors of wires and started to pull them from the wall. They didn't have much to work with, roughly twelve feet of wire, which wasn't near enough distance between them for an explosion, but they had no other choice. They would be dying in an explosion one way or another.

They made their way back with their supplies to the large L-shaped room. Iida placed the C4 on the wall, one section over from where the stairs had been imprinted into the wall. He untangled the wire while Kirishima held the light over for him to see better.

"How are we going to detonate it. If we stand twelve feet away with no form of protection, the blast will kill us," Kirishima said.

Iida nodded and glanced at Kirishima, then tapped his Red Riot belt buckle. "We'll use that, hope you have good aim."

The wires were untangled and Iida held his hand out for the flashlight. Kirishima handed it over and took a couple of steps back. He reached into his back pocket, grabbing hold of the watch. He pulled it from his pocket and almost looked, but put it away. It didn't matter how much time was left, if they didn't get out of this room, they were going to die on the ship.

"I'm in love with Mina," Kirishima blurted out.

Iida held the battery of the flashlight in his hand and looked back at him.

"Like madly in love with her, head over heels, absolutely crazy in love with her. And I never told her."

Iida put the battery on the ground and pulled out his multitool from his back pocket. "You'll tell her when we survive this."

"What if we don't?" Kirishima asked in a soft voice.

Iida cut some of the plastic covering on the wire and wrapped it on the battery. "We will because we have too."

"Is there something you need to say to someone too?" Kirishima asked.

Iida put the battery down and stood. He turned to Kirishima and licked his lips, staring down at the ground. "Mei Hatsume and I have a casual thing going on between us. A friends with benefits type of thing, been doing that for about four months now. Two weeks ago, she told me she was pregnant."

Kirishima's eyes widened and then laughed. "Wow, congratulations."

Iida smiled. "Yeah, so I don't just have something to say. I have someone I gotta be."

Kirishima pulled off his belt and began to unlatch his buckle. Iida pulled the wires out, keeping them separated, then carefully attached them to the brick of C4. Sweat dripped from his face. He wiped it away, knowing that a single droplet could potentially set it off. The circumstances weren't ideal, but they both had something to live for.

"We'll hide behind that post," Iida said as he pushed the exposed wires close together, but didn't allow them to touch. It was live now, if they connected they were going to explode. Kirishima ran back to the pillar.

The distance by no means was great, but it was better than twelve feet. Kirishima would stand in front of Iida and use his hardening to help protect them both, hopefully it would be enough.

Iida walked over to Kirishima and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now we detonate it. Are you ready?"

"Get behind me," Kirishima said, gripping the buckle tight in his hand. Iida nodded and stepped behind him. He had to move fast. Slide the buckle across the floor, then hardened his entire body. His eyes landed on the two wires, a mere inch between them. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, pulling his arm back. In one swift motion, Kirishima slid his buckle across the floor, crossed his arms and hardened, bracing for impact.

BOOM!

-xXx-

"There it is," Eraserhead said, pointing straight ahead to a ship out in the open water. "We only have six minutes."

"That's not enough time, they could be anywhere on that ship." Shinso clutched the headset to his ear, peering out the open door of the helicopter as they zoomed toward the ship. "Take us around it," Shinso said to the pilot, who obliged, moving it low and began to circle the ship. He scanned every opening and stretch of open space he could see. The ship was massive, they'd never find them in time.

Eraserhead searched as well. "We don't have time to search."

"They're gonna find a way out," Shinso said. He trusted that Kirishima and Iida wouldn't have just stayed inside waiting to be rescued, neither one of them was that type. They were pro heroes, they would fight to survive and get out.

They circled around a second time. Shinso caught movement near the flight deck. He pointed. "There! They're on the flight deck!"

Iida had Kirishima thrown over his shoulder and staggered out onto the flight deck. Blood stained his shirt and the side of his face, but over all, he was up and moving. The pilot brought them in and landed, keeping the motor going at full speed. They had to clear off in less than two minutes.

Eraserhead and Shinso both unbuckled their seat belts and pulled off their headsets. They jumped from the helicopter and raced over to Iida. Shinso helped him, taking Kirishima from his shoulder while Eraserhead put Iida's arm around him.

"Come on, we gotta move," Eraserhead said, leading them away, acting as a crutch for Iida.

Shinso held Kirishima's legs and made his way to the helicopter. Once Iida was on board, Eraserhead turned back and pulled Kirishima inside, laying him on the ground. Shinso jumped in and slammed the helicopter door shut. He grabbed the headset and ordered the pilot to fly out of there.

They rocked as the chopper lifted off and soared into the sky, putting distance between them and the ship. Shinso looked back and the ship burst into a flurry of metal, flame, and smoke. They had made it just in time. He sighed in relief and looked to Kirishima and Iida.

Eraserhead pulled a headset down and handed it to Iida, who put it on and smiled. "We knew you guys would find us."

Shinso nodded and glanced down when he felt something bump into his knee. He smiled when Kirishima craned his neck and held his fist up to him. Shinso bumped Kirishima's fist. "I got your back."