Oh No, They're Pretty and Powerful!
Trigger Warning: canon-equivalent violence, Bakugou's potty mouth
Sitting on the floor cross-legged, Sora closed her eyes as Ashido dusted eyeshadow on her lids. Tsu helped Uraraka with her hair while Hagakure repainted the black polish on Jirou's nails. Yaomomo looked silly with her hair up in curlers, waiting for them to cool down.
"Gosh, you guys are gonna look so pretty!" Ashido squealed.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see everyone's dresses," said Hagakure.
"Sorry we couldn't get you guys extra tickets," said Yaomomo, bowing her head.
"That's okay," said Tsu. "I'd rather sit and watch a movie anyway."
"Yeah! We're gonna have a girls' night!" Hagakure cheered.
"Can someone please get pictures? I want to see Todoroki in a suit!" Ashido added.
Sora giggled. "We can try, but I don't want to be creepy."
"True, true," said Ashido.
Sora's phone buzzed with an incoming call, but she ignored it. Her stomach knotted, but she pushed her feelings aside as best she could. Her dad had tried calling her all day, and she ignored every single one of his texts and calls. Tears pricked her eyes, and her chest hurt.
"Do you need to get that?" Ashido queried, nodding at Sora's ringing phone. "Whoa, are you okay? You look like you're about to cry!"
"Is it your dad again?" Uraraka asked, scooting closer to Sora.
"Yeah," Sora sniffed. "I keep ignoring him, but he just won't take the hint."
"Okay, so, Tsu and Uraraka said it was awkward with him, but like, what happened exactly? You said you guys got into it, but… Why are you ignoring him?" said Jirou.
"Yeah, even after a fight, if I ignored my dad's phone calls… Yikes. I'd be so grounded!" said Hagakure.
With a huff, Sora said, "Well, you guys have to understand that I don't live with my dad. I never really have. It's always been me and my sister."
"What happened to your mom?" Tsu asked.
A chill rippled down Sora's spine. The itch to tell her friends that her mother was a villain jumped to the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it. They'd probably ditch her if they knew the truth. They'd be suspicious of her for not telling them sooner, and the longer Sora kept it to herself… The more awkward it would be to tell them. Yeah, it was better to just keep it to herself. But some of the truth was better than nothing, right?
"My mom's… Not in the picture. It was dangerous to live with her, so Asi got me out of that situation."
"Not your father?" asked Yaomomo.
"He wasn't in the picture to begin with," said Sora. "Asi helped me find him, but… He wasn't really ready to be a full-time dad after not being part of my life for so long. So, it's just been me and Asi for the most part. My dad would come around every now and then, but he never stayed. It upset Asi a lot. She called him a 'Disneyland Dad.' He would be there for birthdays and holidays with lots of presents, and he was all great, but he was never around for the hard parts. The stuff that mattered more, you know?"
"Yeah," said Uraraka. "Is that why it was so awkward to see him?"
"Yeah. He hadn't called me in, like, a month. And then he just showed up to UA like everything was normal."
"Well, maybe he just wanted to surprise you," said Hagakure. "That doesn't seem so bad."
"He wanted to convince Asi to make me live with him and leave UA."
"What?!" chorused all the girls.
Ashido stopped doing Sora's makeup and shook her shoulders. "You're not leaving, are you? He can't just take you away!"
"What did you say to him, Raijin?" Tsu pressed.
"Yeah, we're all finally friends and having fun…" Uraraka pouted.
"I was upset," said Sora. "I told him I wanted to stay and that it wasn't fair."
"And your sister?" Jirou prompted.
"She told my dad off. He said some pretty mean things to her that night…" Sora cringed. "But she held her ground. I'm staying."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Ashido embraced Sora, who froze for a moment. Her eyes burned a little, and she squeezed Ashido back.
"So, you're still mad at him?" Uraraka asked.
"Yeah. I don't know if he's trying to apologize or not. I'm just not ready to talk to him."
"Well, you don't have to right away," said Tsu. "Take care of yourself, first."
"Yeah! Gosh, sorry if I sounded insensitive!" Hagakure added.
Yaomomo pulled curlers out of her hair. "It's sometimes easy to forget that people come from such different backgrounds than ourselves."
"I'm sorry that happened," said Uraraka, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. "But we're always here for you if you need us!"
"Yeah, I can beat him with my guitar if you want," said Jirou.
Sora smiled weakly. "Thanks, you guys. That means a lot."
"Actually, maybe not my guitar because it's expensive, but you get the idea."
Sora giggled, earning a soft smile from Jirou. The others quickly shifted the subject to the training camp coming up, but Sora's mind drifted to her father once more while Ashido finished her makeup.
"Why the hell were you looking through my stuff?" Asi hissed, snatching her bag away from Tadashi.
"If Vortex's people found me, then they might know where Sora is," said Tadashi.
"That doesn't explain why you were tying to go through my phone."
"What if Vortex is somehow tracking you?"
"If she were, then she'd have already sent someone after us."
"Unless she's biding her time. I'm telling you, Vortex sent people to look for me. I saw them looking for me."
"Why would Vortex even be looking for you?" Asi shot back. "You're not important to her."
"Maybe she believes Sora is with me," said Tadashi. "Maybe she is tracking you and thinks Sora's actually with me—"
Asi laughed. "She'd never believe that."
"Why not?"
"Because you've never given a shit!" Asi snapped. A few people at other tables looked over at them with disapproving scowls. Asi lowered her voice and leaned forward. "It has always been Sora and me. Every time Vortex has sent someone after us, Sora has been with me. A few times you've been with us, but I'm the common denominator here."
"Do I need to remind you that you are not her legal guardian?" Tadashi snapped coolly.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Asi glowered.
"Yeah, technically neither of you are," added Sora timidly. "Vortex is."
"But I could be, since I'm your father," said Tadashi.
Sora's brow puckered. "I don't understand. Why now?"
Tadashi squared his shoulders. "I think this whole UA thing was a mistake. I think Sora would be safer if we changed her name, created a new identity, and just moved away. You're right, Asi. You're the common denominator. I can take Sora, and she can start over—"
"How dare you? You've never been interested in being a father!" Asi cried.
"I don't want to leave UA or Asi," added Sora.
Tadashi reached across the table and placed his hand over Sora's. "Sweetheart, I know. But you're drawing too much attention to yourself there, and I think it would be best if you didn't become a hero. I think this is the perfect time to make a switch. Since Vortex's people looked for me a while back, they believe you're not with me. They'll find Asi, and since you drew attention to yourself with the Sports Festival, Vortex likely knows you're here. You can come live with me. We'll create a new identity, and we can travel the world together. It'll be fun. You can finally have a normal life."
Sora shook her head. "But I'm happy here."
Tadashi sighed. "Sora, sweetie—"
"No!" Sora snapped. Tears welled in her eyes, but her chest flared with anger. "I'm not leaving. I finally feel normal here. You know what wouldn't feel normal? Traveling the world with you! Changing my freaking identity. My whole life has been traveling the world because I've been running and hiding. But I'm finally happy. I have friends, I go to school, and I'm training my Quirk. I can use this Quirk for good, and you want to take that away from me!"
"Sora, I don't want to take that away from you," said Tadashi. "But do you even really want to be a hero? Or do you just want to spite Vortex? You don't have to make up for her misdeeds. You can just… walk away."
"No," Sora said again. "I don't totally know why, or how I'm going to do it, but I want to be a hero. I want to help people. Somewhere, there's a kid like me, used by a villain. I want to help them. And I'm staying. It's my choice, not yours, not Asi's. I want to stay at UA. I belong here. I'm not going to run and hide from Vortex forever."
"Sora, you're just a kid. You don't understand—" Tadashi tried, but Sora got up.
"I am staying here. You don't get to swoop in and pretend to be my dad when you've only done that when it's benefitted you. You're… You're too late to convince me that you actually care." Sora's voice cracked, and the tears finally spilled over. She swept out of the restaurant, fuming.
And then she smacked right into something hard. She collapsed on her butt, hard. The other person fell with a soft oof.
"What the hell?" they snapped.
Sora jumped up. "I'm so sorry!"
"Watch where you're going, moron," seethed the boy. Sora held out a hand and then frowned.
"Hey… You're that guy… from the Sports Festival. Shinsou, right?"
The purple-haired boy lifted his tired eyes up Sora's arm and met her gaze. "You're that girl who dropped out."
Sora's face burned. "Yeah… Kinda regret that now."
Shinsou stared at Sora's hand for a second before accepting her help. "Yeah, I helped you get into the finals, and you threw that away. Kinda stupid."
Sora frowned. "I didn't feel like I earned it if you did most of the work."
Shinsou's thin mouth quirked with a smirk. "Guess so."
"Sorry again for…" Sora gestured wildly at herself and the ground.
Shinsou shrugged. "No problem. Just… watch where you're going next time."
"Yeah, will do," Sora chuckled awkwardly and waited for Shinsou to walk away before continuing on.
"Hey, Earth to Sora!" Ashido cried, snapping her fingers.
Sora blinked. "Sorry, zoned out."
"Yeah, I noticed," Ashido giggled. "How do you like it?"
Sora looked at herself in the mirror. Shimmery eyeshadow decorated her lids, making her look like she wore stars. Her lips were a deep reddish brown, and her cheekbones stood out more prominently. Her lashes looked thick and long, making her eyes pop.
"I feel… beautiful," Sora smiled.
"My job here is done!" Ashdio sang. "Who's next?"
Sora brushed her hair and parted it to the side. On the side with less hair, she clipped it back with an embellished barrette. Then, she dressed in Asi's gown. She wore it to a company party back when she had a more stable job when they lived in London. That had been her favorite job, but of course, she gave that up for Sora, too.
The ankle-length gown boasted a shimmery royal blue that complemented her skin nicely. It was strapless, which was a little out of Sora's comfort zone—her scars on her back probably peeked out the top of the dress—but it really did make her feel beautiful. The bodice hugged her curves, and at the left knee, it slit to give her some room to walk.
"Wow, Raijin! That dress is amazing!" Uraraka cried.
"Yeah, that's so beautiful!" agreed Ashido.
"Is it too much?" Sora worried, wringing her hands. "Everyone else is wearing short dresses, but this is the only formal gown Asi had…"
"You're not the only one wearing a long dress!" said Yaomomo, twirling in her lime dress. It flowed like liquid green stars. It was shimmery, too, catching the light like oil on water. A pearl and diamond—probably real, knowing Yaomomo—decorated the belt that cinched her waist. Yep, that one was definitely fancier than Sora's, so she felt a bit better. The dress that Uraraka borrowed from Yaomomo matched the fanciness. The skirt was sparkly pink, and lace adorned the bodice. The sleeves hung off her shoulders. Jirou's dress was a bit more casual, with a dark purple bodice and hot pink skirt, and she put a jacket on over it.
"I don't know about this, guys," said Jirou, trying to flatten the poof of her skirt.
"Oh, you guys look gorgeous!" said Hagakure.
"Yeah, you guys really look amazing," agreed Tsu.
"Don't ashamed! Flaunt what you've got!" Ashido cried. "Let me get a picture!"
"No, no, no! No pictures!" squeaked Jirou, hiding behind Yaomomo.
"Yeah, we are running late," said Yaomomo.
"That's it, I'm not going," said Jirou. "No way."
"You guys go on ahead," said Yaomomo. "I'll convince her!"
"Come on!" Uraraka cried, grabbing Sora's hand. "Iida's probably going to flip out if we're any later!"
"He's probably giving himself an aneurism already," Sora snickered, running down the hall with Uraraka. She scanned her room key and stepped in the elevator, Sora following suit.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, Uraraka said, "I am kind of excited to see everybody dressed up."
"Yeah, it's weird not seeing everyone in uniform."
"I know! But… a good weird, right?"
"Definitely."
"Do I look okay?" Uraraka fretted with the front of her dress. "I'm kind of nervous!"
Sora frowned. "Why are you nervous! You look beautiful!"
Uraraka paused in her fretting and furrowed her brow. "You really think so?"
"Yeah!"
Uraraka's cheeks pinkened. "Thanks. Do you think Deku will think so?"
"Deku?" Sora lifted a brow.
The color drained from Uraraka's cheeks and she clamped a hand over her mouth. "ForgetIsaidanythingittotallydoesn'tmatterhahawhywouldIcarewhatDekuthinks—"
"Uraraka, I can't really understand you with your hand over your mouth," said Sora.
Lowering her hand, Uraraka avoided Sora's gaze. "Right, um… Forget I said that, okay?"
Sora's heart clenched for her friend. "Hey, he'd be an idiot to not think you're beautiful, okay?"
Uraraka looked up, and her eyes glistened. "Thank you, Sora."
"You're secret's safe with me."
"Thank you. Really, that means a lot."
"Now, let's get ready to have fun and eat lots of gourmet food that we otherwise couldn't afford!"
Uraraka giggled. "Right!"
Sora's heart hammered as the elevator slowed its descent. In the blurred reflection of the elevator's glass walls, Sora looked like a much more adult version of herself. She preferred her jeans and sweatshirts, even if she felt pretty in the dress. But maybe it was too much? She even wore a larger size in her school uniform to hide her figure, and Mineta was going to be there… The thought of his eyes roaming over her like a horse on a salt lick made her want to puke. Maybe she could just go back up, and give her ticket and dress to Ashido, Tsu, or Hagakure?
The elevator halted, dinged, and the doors opened.
Shouto was mostly disinterested when Uraraka and Raijin arrived. Kaminari and Mineta had been fantasizing about seeing the girls in dresses for the past hour—Iida told them off three separate times for being disrespectful and Shouto agreed—but Shouto didn't really see what the big deal was. He barely looked different in a suit. Sure, the others looked nice, too, but it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Sorry we're late! We took a bit longer to get ready!" Uraraka said, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Best night ever!" Kaminari and Mineta cried, looking Uraraka up and down.
"Yaoyorozu and Jirou should be on their way down soon," said Raijin, stepping out from behind Uraraka.
Shouto blinked. His lips parted slightly. Whoa. Raijin looked… really pretty. Well, hadn't she always been this pretty? Of course, he had noticed before that she was attractive, right? But something about her dress, her hair, her makeup—all of it made it difficult to look away from her.
"Raijin, who knew you had such a beautiful body?" Mineta slobbered.
Shouto frowned. Something in his chest stirred at the way Mineta only blabbered about Raijin's body and beauty.
Kaminari slid up to Raijin, too. "Yeah, you're like a total hottie underneath all your baggie clothes! Who knew!"
Raijin crossed her arms. "Yeah, maybe the reason I wear baggie clothes is so I don't get over-sexualized by perverts."
Kaminari and Mineta barely paid attention to Raijin because Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and Melissa Shield had arrived.
With a roll of her eyes, she caught Shouto staring directly at her. Her eyes stretched slightly, and Shouto looked away. Crap. He hadn't tried to be rude by staring. He was just as bad as Mineta and Kaminari, damn it!
Heat crept up his cheeks and his stomach squirmed. Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to look anywhere but Raijin and the other girls—all of whom seemed uncomfortable with the attention Kaminari and Mineta showed them, which meant they probably didn't want any of it from any of the boys—but Raijin's sparkly dress kept catching his eye every time she moved. Oh. She was moving. Right toward him.
"Hey," Raijin greeted, smiling a little awkwardly.
"Hey," Shouto returned, not looking at her.
"Nice suit," Raijin complimented.
Shouto met her gaze. Was some attention good, then? Perhaps it was just the way Kaminari and Mineta acted? Uraraka seemed overly flattered by Midoriya's compliment, but was it an individual thing, or did all girls like it?
"Thanks," Shouto replied, furrowing his brow, his face heating up a little.
Raijin turned away when Melissa hurried up to her, complimenting her dress. A weird feeling in his chest tightened.
"Where on Earth are Bakugou and Kirishima?" Iida growled. "They're incredibly late!"
"Maybe we should call them?" Raijin suggested.
"Good idea," Iida replied. He tried both of their numbers, and then let out another soft growl. "It's no good. Neither of them is picking up their phones. Knowing those two, they're probably blowing off the party."
Suddenly, a woman's automated voice said over the intercom: "This is an announcement from the I-Island Security System. We have received a report that an explosive device was discovered somewhere at the Expo. I-Island will now be in high alert mode. Your safety is our top priority. Residents and tourists should return to their lodges and remain there until the threat is removed, or until otherwise instructed. Anyone remaining on the street after ten minutes will be in violation of the law. Please proceed to your designated areas. As a precautionary measure, all the main buildings will now be sealed off."
With that, all around the room, metal shielding slid down over the windows and doors, trapping Shouto and his friends inside the building with a deafening slam.
The automated message repeated for a second time, and then a chilling silence followed.
"Whoa, what the heck is going on?" Mineta cried.
Shouto frowned and pulled out his phone. In the top right corner, where the cell service bars usually displayed, the words NO SERVICE stared back at him. "I'm not getting any signal. It looks like the cell services are blocked."
"Are you serious?" Mineta whined.
By the elevator pad, Jirou messed with the controls. "The elevator's not working, either."
"What the heck is going on here?!" Mineta sounded more panicked.
"It's strange that the security systems would go in a high alert like this. That's not the protocol when explosives are discovered," murmured Melissa.
"Iida, let's go to that party," said Midoriya, walking toward Iida, who had his arms crossed and a pensive look on his face.
"For what reason?"
"Because that's where we can find All Might right now."
Everyone widened their eyes.
"Wait, All Might's here?" Uraraka queried.
"Oh, thank goodness, we don't have anything to worry about!" Mineta relaxed.
Midoriya turned to Melissa. "So, Melissa, do you know of any way we can get down there without the elevator?"
"Yeah, sure," Melissa said, gesturing behind Shouto, who turned toward the corner of the room, where a set of thick metal doors waited. "We can use the emergency stairs. They'll at least get us close."
"We'll follow your lead, then."
The group took the stairs down to a level just above the Reception area. Midoriya and Jirou scouted ahead since Midoriya knew All Might best and Jirou's earjacks could spy on what was happening while everyone else waited in the stairwell. Most people sat down while they waited. Raijin worried at a chunk of hair as she leaned against the wall. With all of her hair to one side as she messed with it, she revealed her bare shoulder to Shouto. He hadn't tried to look, in fact, he'd tried to look away, but something on Raijin's shoulder caught his eye.
Fern-like marks stretched out from underneath her dress and up her skin, reaching across her shoulder like vines. The skin there was a bit textured, puckered, and a slightly lighter shade than the rest of Raijin's complexion. But not much. With a jolt, Shouto recognized the marks as scars. What could cause such branch-like scarring?
Shouto tore his eyes away from Raijin's shoulder. He hated when people made a big deal out of his scar, so she probably didn't want others staring at hers, too. He resisted the urge to touch the edges of his scar.
Midoriya and Jirou returned, pulling Shouto away from his thoughts about his own scar and Raijin's. They both looked as if they'd seen a ghost.
"This is bad, really bad," Jirou muttered, sinking to the floor. Even Midoriya slumped to his knees, gripping his pants with a pained look on his face.
"The Pro Heroes are captured," said Midoriya. Shouto's eyes widened. Several of the girls gasped, and Mineta clutched his face. "Including All Might."
"All Might's been captured? Oh, this is terrible!" Mineta cried.
"What the heck are we going to do?" Kaminari agreed.
"We were able to hear All Might thanks to Jirou," said Midoriya.
"Yeah, he told us to run away and stay safe. The villains who have the Pros have taken the whole island hostage," Jirou added.
"What should we do?" Uraraka queried.
"Could we help in some way?" Raijin asked, her brow puckering.
"No," said Iida, clenching his fists at his sides, "we've received All Might's instructions loud and clear. He's our teacher. I suggest we follow his instructions and escape this place. Otherwise, we'd be going against his will."
Yaoyorozu cradled her hands against her chest with her brow pinched. "I'm afraid I have to agree with what Iida is saying. We're still only students. We can't fight these villains if we don't have our hero licenses."
"Why don't we get outta here and tell the heroes outside?" Kaminari suggested.
"It's not going to be very easy to escape," said Melissa, resting her knuckle against her chin thoughtfully. "The security here is on the same level as that of the Tartarus Prison, which is where they keep the most dangerous criminals in the world."
"Then I guess there's not much we can do except sit here and wait for this whole thing to be over."
Jirou jumped to her feet. "Are you really okay with that, Kaminari?"
"Well, what choice do we have?" Kaminari gazed up at her, his expression torn.
"Don't you think we should at least try and stop them?" Jirou demanded.
"Hey, come on, those villains have even got All Might trapped! There's no way we can stop them ourselves if the actual Pros are stuck!" snapped Mineta.
"You seem to forget that one day we'll be Pros," Raijin muttered under her breath.
Shouto glanced at his hand. The whole situation felt like Stain all over again. Sometimes, there weren't Pros around. They couldn't just wait for someone to save them if they were training to be the saviors. It didn't make any sense. "Aren't we trying to be Pros ourselves?"
Yaoyorozu turned to him. "Well, yes, but we're not allowed to work as heroes. You know that!"
Shouto curled his fingers toward his palm. "Does that mean that it's right for us to do nothing at all?"
"Well… It's complicated." Yaoyorozu buried her head.
A tense silence stretched among them, seemingly pushing everyone apart.
"I wanna help." Midoriya's voice was quiet and strained, but determined. Everyone looked at him.
"Really, Deku?" Uraraka didn't sound judgmental. More… hopeful? It was hard to place her tone. But Shouto lifted his head, too. Midoriya had a knack for inspiring others, something he respected. Something he didn't excel in.
"I want to save them!" Midoriya announced.
"You wanna fight those villains? Did you not learn anything from the USJ, Midoriya?" Mineta yelled, shaking his fists wildly.
"This is totally different!" Midoriya replied. "We don't have to fight them. We just need to figure a way out to rescue All Might and the other Pros without facing the bad guys."
"That's easy to say, but you know it won't be that simple," said Kaminari.
"I know, but I still wanna try! We can figure out what the best plan of action is and keep these criminals from winning. We can save everyone!"
"Are you sure?" Uraraka asked.
"I know where the security system is," said Melissa, stepping forward. "It's on the top floor of this tower. If these criminals have managed to get control of it, then the authentication locks and password have probably been disabled. We should be able to restart the system ourselves. We just have to stay off the villains' radar until we can get to the top floor, that's all. If we do that, the whole island will be safe again."
"Then it's possible," Midoriya breathed.
"Sure," said Jirou, walking toward Melissa, "but how do we keep on the low for that long?"
"The security system hasn't discovered us yet. That means the villains probably don't know how it works very well," Melissa explained.
Folding his arms, Shouto muttered, "So we avoid fighting anyone and try getting the place back to normal. It could work."
"Not bad, what do you think?" Kaminari grinned at Jirou, who smiled back, ignoring Mineta's shivers and cries of protest.
"Let's do it!"
Yaoyorozu rested her chin against her knuckle. "But many of our enemies are likely gathered there on the top floor."
Midoriya straightened. "If we're fast, we won't have to fight them. When the security system goes back to normal, All Might and the others will be released. They'll immediately jump into action and stop the villains; I know it!"
Uraraka jumped up. "Let's do this, guys! I don't wanna sit around here being helpless, not if there's something we can actually try! What's important is that we're helping people, even if we're not real heroes!"
Midoriya jumped up, his eyes bright as he held Uraraka's gaze. "That's exactly how I feel about this! Let's follow our hearts and be the best heroes we can be!"
"Midoriya," Shouto cut in, "I'm going to come with you, too."
"Me too!" Raijin added, stepping forward. Her dark blue eyes blazed with a fire that Shouto hadn't seen before. Most of the time, she reminded him of Yaoyorozu—insecure, shy, and hesitant—but at the moment, she seemed… Determined. Maybe training with her had helped her gain some new confidence?
"So am I!" Jirou agreed.
The others quickly added in their support, and Iida promised to supervise and threatened to pull them out of the mission if things got too serious. Once Melissa convinced Midoriya to let her join, they all hurried up the stairs. They needed to make it up two hundred flights, and needed to get there quickly. Melissa kicked off her shoes to keep running while Raijin gathered her skirt up in one hand as she ran, but the group managed to rush up several different flights of stairs.
Around the eightieth floor, they found their path blocked.
Panting, Shouto faced the metal gate. "Should we try and break through?"
"That would alert the security system," said Melissa, heaving for breath.
"Why don't we just go through this door?" Mineta huffed.
"No!" cried Melissa, but it was too late. "We better hurry; they probably know where we are now! There's another emergency staircase this way!"
Shouto gritted his teeth as he ran, following Melissa. Raijin dashed alongside him. Everyone stuttered to a stop with a gasp. In the distance, metal doors slammed shut at intervals in the hallway.
"They're blocking our path!" Melissa cried.
"Behind us, too!" Yaoyorozu cried.
"We can get through that door and cut across to the other side of the hallway!" Melissa shouted, pointing at a blocked metal door in the next interval of the hall. The gates continued closing, one at a time. Theirs would block them in with no option out. Not if Shouto had anything to say about it, though.
He lunged forward. He could keep the gate from closing with his ice.
"Todoroki!" Iida yelled.
"I'm on it!" Shouto assured him, stomping his foot. Ice jetted forward and the gate close around it, leaving enough space for everyone to make it through.
Iida leaped through and with a guttural yell, kicked the metal doors open. "Come on, everyone! Let's cut through here!"
Shouto entered what appeared to be a massive greenhouse. Plants of all types blossomed in the room. The humidity only made his sweat increase, perspiring on his forehead and sliding down his face and neck.
"This is where we test the effects of Quirks on the local fauna and vice versa," Melissa huffed.
Jirou stopped. "The elevator! It's coming down!"
Sure enough, the thin elevator shaft in the middle of the greenhouse displayed the floor numbers over the doors, and they were decelerating.
"Everyone, hide!" Iida hissed.
Shouto sprinted with his friends to a nearby bush, where they scrunched together, holding their breath. Raijin sat beside him; her shoulder pressed against his. Furrowing her brow, Raijin remained extremely still. Yaoyorozu trembled beside Shouto, who clenched his teeth. They couldn't afford to be found now, not when they were so close and with so many people counting on them.
Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked. "Moron, we've been walking around for an hour, and we still haven't found this damn party! We should just go back to the room—"
"Nah, come on, we can find it! I'm sure if we just find someone to give us directions, it won't be a big deal," said Kirishima, grinning sheepishly.
Rolling his eyes, Katsuki led the way as they rounded the corner around another set of bushes. Were they just going in circles in this damn greenhouse?! His footsteps faltered a bit. "Is that an elevator?"
"Yeah, I think it is!" Kirishima agreed, gazing up at the cylindrical shaft that stretched from floor to ceiling in the center of the massive greenhouse.
Three people wearing bulletproof vests stepped out of the elevator. Katsuki's hair stood on edge for some reason. They probably weren't supposed to be in the greenhouse, but they'd royally fucked up their way getting to the dumb party. But the way these two guys were dressed… They didn't seem like normal security guards.
"Hey, we see you, stupid kids!" said the tallest of the guards.
Katsuki's lip curled. "What did you say, you bastard?"
"What are you two doin' here?" asked the shortest of the guards.
Narrowing his eyes, Katsuki marched closer to the guards. They weren't wearing security badges, either. "Huh, that's what I wanna know, too."
Kirishima cut in front of Katsuki. "Hey man, leave the talking to me, okay?" He turned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, we kinda got lost lookin' for this party. Can you maybe point us in the right direction?"
The guards looked at each other. The tallest one stepped forward. His hand grew in size, and he swatted the air. "Don't lie to me or you'll regret it!" After he punched, shockwaves headed right for Kirishima.
"Hey, watch out!" Katsuki shouted.
Before the shockwaves could touch Kirishima, a huge chunk of ice—the size of a small iceberg—surged forward. It barely even trembled with the force of the shockwave.
"This looks like…" Katsuki murmured, frowning. To the left, crouched on the ground, was Todoroki. His hair was mussed and his suit looked messy and ragged, as if he'd been running and… hiding in bushes? Why would he be doing that? And what the hell was he doing here?
The others jumped out of a cluster of bushes, too. What the hell was going on?!
"Todoroki?" Kirishima queried.
The villains on the other side of the ice started beating it, and the sound reverberated through the greenhouse. The booms were almost deafening, and the ice trembled. Shards of it rained down like shattered glass.
Todoroki crouched and placed a palm on the ground. Ice feathered toward the group. "The three of us can keep them busy down here. You guys go ahead!"
"Raijin!" Uraraka cried as Raijin jumped off the plateau that Todoroki had created before it got too high.
"What are you doing?" Midoriya protested as the ice continued towering upward, carrying the rest of the group up with it.
"Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu cried.
"I'll be fine! I'll catch up with you after I clean up this mess." Todoroki faced Raijin, who stumbled a bit because of her gown. "What are you doing?"
"There are too many of them for you guys to take alone," Raijin explained; her brow creased with determination.
Todoroki looked as if he might argue, but tightened his lips and nodded curtly.
"Wait, you guys are here, too? What the heck's going on, Todoroki?" Kirishima asked.
"You didn't hear the broadcast alert?" Todoroki growled. When Kirishima merely furrowed his brow with confusion, Todoroki scowled. "Never mind, then. Some villains have taken over the tower."
"That's what this is about?" Katsuki demanded.
"I'll explain more when I can, no time now," Todoroki replied.
The villain who created shockwaves earlier broke through Todoroki's ice wall, his hand webbed and enormous. Katsuki bared his teeth as he, Kirishima, Raijin, and Todoroki faced the three villains emerging from the ice.
"What's with this guy's Quirk?"
"Stay on your guard!" Todoroki warned.
"Shut up, I know that!" Katsuki snapped.
"So, you wanna pick a fight? Let's see how tough you really are!" The shortest villain morphed into a purple giant gremlin creature and let out a roar.
Todoroki swept his hand through the air, and a wave of ice lurched toward the gremlin. But the villain punched his way through it. The force of his punches launched Katsuki and the others off their feet. Katsuki used explosions to change his trajectory midair. While the gremlin had his back turned, Katsuki aimed his right palm toward it. As soon as his hand touched the gremlin, Katsuki let oof a powerful explosion.
The force sent Katsuki flying back, but he landed on his feet, well accustomed to the blowback of his own Quirk. A roar right behind Katsuki sent adrenaline surging through his body as he wheeled around. Before he had a chance to react, Kirishima shoved Katsuki out of the way, taking the blow instead.
"Kirishima!" Katsuki shouted as Kirishima blasted backward, straight through a wall of ice that Todoroki tried to use to slow Kirishima's momentum.
"Dodge!" Todoroki yelled.
Katsuki blasted toward the ground and shot upward and out of the way of the tall villain, who slashed at Todoroki's ice. Katsuki landed back-to-back with Todoroki. Raijin must've run to check on Kirishima.
"You boys know how to fight, don't ya?" said the tall villain with weird hands.
"Where'd you come from?" asked the gremlin.
Katsuki smirked. "Right! Like we'd tell a couple of weak-ass villains!"
"Why would we tell you anything?" Todoroki added coldly.
The two of them jumped into the battle. On the other side of the greenhouse, wind screeched like a locomotive and large crystals spiked around. Based on what Katsuki'd seen during their practical final exam, and based on the fact that she'd been training with Todoroki some, Raijin could handle her own.
Katsuki focused on blasting the gremlin, bouncing through the air and trying different angles to get the guy's weakness while Todoroki focused on the tallest villain with webbed hands who also somehow created shockwaves. His Quirk was hard to figure out.
At some point during the fight, Katsuki landed closer to Todoroki. Giant ice balls fell around them after the webbed hand villain swatted Todoroki's ice away. Wait… Not swatting… Grabbing.
"This guy's not making matter disappear," Todoroki realized. "He's displacing it!"
"Is that how his Quirk works?" Katsuki mused. Made sense. He hadn't punched the air to make shockwaves, he'd grabbed it and released it at a high velocity. He hadn't punched his way through Todoroki's ice wall earlier, he had grabbed chunks of it!
But the gremlin was recovering, jolting Katsuki out of his thoughts. "Don't learn, do you? We can't keep messing around forever. It's time to put an end to this! HOWITZER IMPACT!"
Using the sweat from his pits to coat his palms, Katsuki flew through the air with a smaller blast before using the remainder on the gremlin. The blast was so powerful that it knocked the gremlin right out of his mutated form, and sent him flying through the air. He didn't move when he hit the ground.
The webbed villain screamed the gremlin's name and grabbed at Katsuki, who jerked away, leaving the villain only with strips of Katsuki's sleeve.
"Bakugou!" Todoroki yelled.
"What the hell is this stuff?" The villain sniffed at Katsuki's sweat, now smeared on the villain.
"Sweat from my palms," Katsuki smirked. "It works like nitroglycerin."
Thank fuck that Todoroki was only dense when it came to social interactions. Using his left side, Todoroki swept fire toward the webbed villain. As soon as the flames came in contact with Katsuki's sweat on the villain, an intense explosion happened. Before the villain had a chance to recover, Todoroki encased him in ice.
Katsuki and Todoroki ran to Kirishima, who was stuck in the concrete wall. "Kirishima!"
"Are you okay?" Todoroki asked.
"Um… I can't move. Can you get me out of here?" Kirishima said, grimacing.
Katsuki frowned. "Are you that stupid? Just turn your Quirk off, you damn idiot."
"Oh. Guess I should've thought of that," said Kirishima, his skin softening as he climbed out of the Kirishima-sized hole in the wall.
Katsuki turned away from Kirishima. "Thank you."
"Whoa, where's that coming from? No need, man." He paused, looking around. "Wait, where's Raijin?"
Katsuki tilted his head. The sound of wind had died down. Maybe she was done with her fight, too.
"Come on," Todoroki said, jogging toward where they'd last seen Raijin.
The linoleum floor looked as if an earthquake broke it apart, leaving jagged pieces sitting up and strewn about. Flattened plants and soil littered the area. Some plants even stuck to the walls. Crystal spikes were lodged in the walls and floor, as if flung out like bullets. Some larger ones stuck out of the floor like stalagmites. One of Raijin's shoes hung from a weak looking plant. The other one was broken and lying in a pile of debris.
Not much further away was the villain, slumped over and unconscious. Raijin glowered down at him with her arms crossed, keeping her weight off her left foot. "Pervert."
Todoroki encased the villain in ice, holding him in place. "Are you okay?"
Raijin nodded. "Just waiting for my ankle to heal. Those damn shoes and this stupid dress are not easy to fight in."
"What happened to your ankle?" Katsuki asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Twisted it," Raijin said, sounding sheepish. "My shoes snagged on the dress. And I… kind of tripped."
Katsuki rolled his eyes, and a smirk toyed with the corners of his mouth. Idiot. "Well, one of your shoes is broken, so you don't need to worry about that—hey, what the hell are you doing?!"
Raijin had knelt on the ground, and was currently ripping her dress up to her thigh. Some of her hair fell in her face. Huh. She looked… nice, even after running around and hiding in bushes and fighting someone. Well, she'd always been not ugly. For some reason, it was only when Raijin revealed her more determined side that she seemed significantly more attractive. Like right now.
Todoroki looked away, little flames crackling and curling off his left side. Kirishima reddened and grinned sheepishly. Raijin straightened, shook her ankle that was now healed and crossed her arms.
"Don't make it weird, guys," she muttered.
"We should get moving," Katsuki said, clearing his throat slightly. Something about Raijin had changed recently. Or maybe it was a culmination of things, but she definitely wasn't the same pushover that she'd been when she first started UA. Or at least, Katsuki hoped so. Raijin had a lot of power, and it was stupid for her to be shy and timid. If she put the work in, she could easily be one of the top students, and it was irritating whenever she held herself back.
"Right," Todoroki said, leading the way toward the exit of the greenhouse.
"You ready to explain what's going on?" Kirishima cried.
Before Todoroki had a chance to explain anything, they found the doorway blocked by tons of security robots. The red-bodied security robots jumped from the higher balconies and rolled around corners like ants. Katsuki, Kirishima, Todoroki, and Raijin stood with their backs to each other as they faced the robots surrounding them.
"What are we waiting around for? Let's destroy these fuckers!" Katsuki bellowed, jumping forward with a powerful blast.
Todoroki sent a wave of ice toward his section of robots. Kirishima fought any that managed to break the ranks and get closer to the group. Raijin thrust her hands toward her section of robots. An enormous gust of wind blew about thirty of the bots off their stupid wheels. Raijin panted heavily, sweat dribbled down her forehead.
Katsuki blasted a dozen of the bots back. Todoroki destroyed more. Now way was Katsuki about to let Todoroki kill more robots than him. Gritting his teeth, he let out a growl and created a more powerful explosion that devastated most of the bots surrounding them. But the main doorway was still clogged with security bots.
Kirishima's shoulders rose and fell with heavy breaths. "Aw, man."
Raijin jumped in front of them. Thunder rumbled in the room, trembling the windows. Katsuki'd seen her use her lightning before. The thunder that crashed with it had been as loud as Katsuki's explosions, and could potentially be louder, depending on Raijin's abilities. At least, that was Katsuki's guess. There was still so much about her that was a mystery. It was annoying.
Raijin raised her hands and white lightning burst from her palms. The lightning arced over the bots, frying them instantly. As soon as the lightning stopped, thunder boomed and Katsuki's ears rang, and his chest vibrated with the intensity of the blast. Raijin heaved for breath, and dropped her arms at her sides. Her hands, up to her forearms, was blackened and charred. Raijin swayed and dropped to her knees.
"Raijin!" Todoroki called, rushing forward. Katsuki and Kirishima ran up to her.
Raijin grimaced, clenching her teeth as her hands shook. "I'm fine… It'll heal…"
Kirishima widened his eyes. "No wonder you don't use your Quirk like that much."
The charring retreated after a few minutes, though her hands still appeared damaged. Raijin stood shakily, still wincing and panting. "We need to catch up with the others. I'll heal as we go."
Katsuki nodded and led the way out of the room. "Alright extras, explain what's going on."
"Extras?" Raijin chuckled, though her voice still wavered. She kept up with them as they jogged, but it was clear that using her lightning had weakened her. It seemed Todoroki wasn't that adept at training with her, since she still wasn't good at using her most powerful ability. Stupid Icy Hot. Of course he wouldn't be as good of a training partner as Katsuki would. "I think we've passed that level, Bakugou."
Katsuki rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth quirked. "Whatever."
The muscles in Sora's hands remained contracted tightly. The burns didn't really hurt when she was super charred because it often burned through her nerve endings. However, whenever her cells regenerated, the pain that swept through her hands and arms was enough to make her eyes smart. She bit down to keep from groaning as the charring fell away, leaving branched scars that faded with time, too. Her own Quirk damaged her body but never left lasting scars, thankfully.
Flexing her now-healed hands, Sora picked up the pace. She probably shouldn't use her lightning for the rest of the evening, or else she might pass out, and then she'd just be a burden to her friends. They didn't meet anymore security bots on their run—which meant that the bots were probably targeting the rest of their friends—and without Melissa, it was a bit harder to navigate where they could've possibly gone.
Bakugou and Kirishima ended up breaking through an entire wall to give them a shortcut. They entered a chamber filled with industrial fans that lined the walls up to the ceiling. The chamber was open to the air, with pillars holding up the walls of fans. This high up, the wind whistled and the air was much cooler than on the ground far below. Uraraka stood alone, facing countless bots. Above her, Midoriya floated toward a balcony with Melissa clinging to his back.
Bakugou and Sora charged forward. With a yowl, Bakugou blasted the first line of bots out of the way. He really was impressive with his powers. Sora swept the next row clean off the tower with a gust of wind.
"You guys made it!" Uraraka sounded relieved as Todoroki stood in front of her, blocking her from the bots.
"I'm glad we're weren't too late," he said. Bakugou blasted several bots toward Sora, who used her wind to lift the bots up. She tossed them off the side of the tower. Hopefully no bystanders were down below. Her wind and the heat of Bakugou's explosion, however, spun Midoriya and Melissa off-course.
"Bakugou! Angle one of the fans toward Midoriya!" Todoroki shouted, running and taking off his jacket.
Sora's cheeks burned, but she pushed the feeling away. Bakugou roared at Todoroki for telling him what to do, but blasted a fan to angle it in Midoriya's direction. While they worked together, Sora, Kirishima, and Uraraka faced a new barrage of bots.
"Release!" Uraraka cried, touching her fingertips together. Somewhere out of sight, Midoriya and Melissa probably plummeted to the floor without Uraraka's Quirk activated on them. The bots surrounded Uraraka and Kirishima. Sora jumped in front of them.
"Stand back!" Sora yelled. She spun around, and a tornado formed, sucking up a dozen more bots. They fell off the tower.
"Watch out!" Kirishima yelled.
Metal slashed through Sora's dress and cut into her lower back. She cried out and dropped to the ground.
"Raijin!" Bakugou bellowed, dropping in front of her and exploding back several bots. A wall of ice caught several more bots that charged toward Sora and Bakugou.
Todoroki rushed over. "Can you stand?"
Sora winced and sat on her heels. "In… In a second…"
Her regeneration worked much slower since she'd been using her more powerful abilities, but the slice in her back began closing. The tingling sensation in her wound intensified and the wound throbbed. Blood oozed out and caked Asi's dress and dribbled down Sora's back. While she healed, the others fought off the rest of the bots. As the dust settled, Todoroki helped Sora to her feet.
"Where are the others?" he asked Uraraka.
"They stayed behind to hold off some of the bots," panted Uraraka.
"We should go find them," said Kirishima.
"Right, this way!" Uraraka said. She led the way to a server room a few flights of stairs below. Debris and smoke filled the room, but the servers remained in-tact. The remaining bots in the room had lowered their defenses. Iida, Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Kaminari, and Mineta were getting to their feet shakily.
"They just… stopped attacking…" Yaoyorozu breathed.
Loud metal clangs in the distance made Sora tilt her head. Her eyes stretched. "The security system is back to normal! Melissa and Midoriya must've made it!"
"We should catch up," said Iida. "There's no telling what sort of trouble Midoriya's gotten into."
"No!" cried Yaoyorozu, startling everyone. "If the security system is back to normal, we should find All Might and tell him where Midoriya is!"
"You're right," said Iida.
"Let's take the elevator," said Jirou. "I'm tired of all these stairs."
Sora nodded, still wheezing. The fresh wound on her back had mostly closed, though it felt like a long papercut. Running with it only kept it from healing quicker. The group found the nearest elevator and took it down to the ballroom designated for the reception.
Bakugou sighed and shook his head. "You moron, this is where the party had been all along?"
"Sorry, man," Kirishima laughed. "But hey, if we'd made it, we would've been captured with All Might!"
"Whatever," muttered Bakugou. He nudged Sora roughly. "How's your back?"
"Almost healed," Sora replied, frowning. Since when had Bakugou cared? Maybe he was taking her up on her offer to start over? "Thanks."
"Tch."
Sora bit back a small smile. Somewhere, deep inside that explosive exterior that kept people away, Bakugou cared about his classmates. Even angry Pomeranians cared about their people. Sora giggled under her breath and Todoroki lifted a brow at her. The elevator dinged, and Iida led the way into the party. But All Might was already gone.
"We must've just missed him," reasoned Jirou.
"You mean we could've been up there fighting already?" Bakugou growled. "Let's go!"
"We don't have to interfere anymore if All Might has it handled!" Iida protested.
"We're already in the thick of it, Iida," said Sora. "I don't think any of us could sit the rest of this out now."
Iida sighed and pinched his nose. "I suppose you're right. Let's go!"
They took the elevator back up, but found the debris of a fight in the main security area.
"This way!" Yaoyorozu yelled, pointing toward a service staircase. They emerged on the roof, where All Might and Midoriya were in the middle of a fight with the main villain. Metal pillared toward the villain, who levitated high above them. He must've been using some sort of Quirk enhancer, because the power radiating off him didn't seem natural. In fact, they couldn't even see the villain. Metal from the tower peeled off and floated toward the mass that was the villain. Metal pillars stabbed out, trying to crush All Might and Midoriya. All Might caught one and held it back, but several more pillars charged toward him.
Bakugou and Todoroki jumped into action immediately. Todoroki froze the pillars hurtling for All Might while Bakugou used several rapid-fire explosions to destroy the pillars. Bakugou grimaced and gripped his wrist. No doubt he was overextending his Quirk's abilities but using so many powerful blasts in such rapid succession. His sleeve blasted away.
"How could you let yourself be beat by such a lame-ass final boss?" Bakugou roared. "Get up and fight back!"
Todoroki used his left side, burning away half his shirt. "We'll help as much as we can."
"Iida, let's kick those hunks of metal right outta the sky!" Kirishima stampeded forward.
"Yaoyorozu, take care of things down here!" Iida followed after Kirishima.
"Right!" Yaoyorozu agreed.
Sora focused her energy on a section of metal pillars on the mass that was the villain. Creating sleet, she pelted the metal, leaving dents. With a tremendous gust of wind that left her breathless, she forced the metal backward. Parts of it burst into pieces.
All Might surged forward, punching metal out of the way. He yelled something as he went, but he was too far away to understand. Just as he reached the villain encased in the metal mass, tendrils of steel grabbed his wrists and ankles, suspending him in the air. The villain's body glowed high above.
A shockwave rolled off the metal mass. A pillar knocked Sora clean off her feet.
"Damn it!" yelled Bakugou, who got swatted out of the air. A metal pole smacked Todoroki aside, who crashed into Sora. Bakugou landed beside them in a crumpled heap. Above, metal paneling from the tower created a ball around All Might, completely covering him.
"All Might, no!" chorused Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and Uraraka.
Metal spikes stabbed through All Might's cage.
Sora's breath hitched as Melissa screamed. No. No way All Might was dead. Not the most powerful hero, her teacher. No way.
Midoriya leaped, glowing with green electricity. No, not electricity. Pure power. With a strangled yell, he punched the metal cage, and it exploded. Debris rained down upon them. For a moment, everything was quiet. Sora couldn't even see where Midoriya and All Might landed.
But then, All Might and Midoriya stormed forward, both glowing with power. Somehow, Midoriya kept up with All Might as they prepared to assail the villain. Bakugou grinned.
"You're insignificant!" shrieked the villain. Metal chunks formed a shield and ammo for him. "You don't know when to lie down and be crushed!"
Metal balls and squares sailed toward All Might and Midoriya as they ran forward. Bakugou leaped into the air, his palms glowing.
"You're the insignificant one who doesn't know when he's beat!" Bakugou bellowed hoarsely, and intense explosions burst from his palms.
The heat of the blast warmed Sora's face. Bakugou fell back to the ground, breathing heavily. The stench of burnt rubber and gasoline peeled off of him, and he looked rather flushed. Sora's face warmed again, though the heat of Bakugou's blasts had faded significantly. What the hell was wrong with her?
Metal pillars spiked through the air, aiming for All Might and Midoriya as they continued their charge for the villain. Todoroki crouched on the ground and palmed it. Frost spread out around him. "I won't let you stop them!"
With a sweep of his hand, and iceberg launched forward, blocking the metal spikes. Sora's stomach twisted. She couldn't afford to get sick right now!
Another barrage of steel pillars stormed toward All Might and Midoriya. Sora mustered up the rest of her strength and created air currents so powerful that when she clawed the air, and the currents mimicked her movements, they bent the steel away from All Might and Midoriya.
Her head spun and her vision darkened around the edges. Shit. She didn't have enough oxygen. She swayed a little, but someone steadied her. "You should sit down, dumbass."
Uraraka squatted beside Sora. "Look out!"
The shockwaves of Midoriya's and All Might's fight with the villain nearly blasted Sora and her friends off their feet. Sucking in deep breaths, Sora's head and vision returned to normal. Though, she needed her glasses but left them in the room. She hadn't expected to overuse her Quirk so much. She could barely make out the fight, only seeing streaks of light.
"Destroy this guy!" Todoroki and Bakugou yelled in unison.
The others cheered and offered encouragement, but Sora still needed to catch her breath.
Eventually, the metal mass exploded. The boom left Sora's ears ringing. And then, silence yawned as the dust settled.
"They did it," breathed Iida.
"They beat the villain! We're saved!" Mineta cried.
The others cheered, and Sora got to her feet shakily. A soft smile graced Todoroki's lips as he gazed upward, looking scuffed up and exhausted. Even Bakguou wore a soft smile, despite the bruises, cuts, and blood covering him. Both of them looked worse for wear, but still… The way the neon lights of the tower hit them, and their soft smiles… Sora's heart tightened, and her face heated.
Oh.
Oh, no.
They were both pretty.
Lots of action in this chapter! Sora's finally feeling more secure in herself, and the boys… Well, they're not exactly the most emotionally intelligent people (Sora isn't really, either, tbh).
Next chapter will have more fluff with the aftermath of this fight, and the rest of their break before the training camp arc! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I certainly enjoyed the tiny moments (there will be more in the aftermath since they weren't really focused on each other in the middle of a battle, lol).
Thank you for the feedback! I love hearing from you guys, and you're all so sweet. :')
I hope that you've all had a good holiday season, and let's hope that 2021 won't kick our asses as much as 2020 did.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter!