Later in the evening, Pixie-Bob announces that they'll be participating in a test of courage.
"Class B is already in position in the forest!" She says, gesturing with one gloved paw to the dark woods behind her, "Your job is to pick up the tags with your names from Ragdoll who will be waiting for you at the middle of the route and bring them back here! The scarers aren't allowed to make direct contact- show us how scary you are with your quirks!"
"The class that makes the most people piss their pants with creativity and imagination wins!" Tiger adds, much to the distaste of Jirou.
Pixie-Bob has them draw lots to choose their teams, and with Kaminari, Ashido, Sato, and Kirishima having been dragged away by Aizawa for more remedial classes, Izuku ends up getting paired with Ojiro. The blond smiles kindly at him and waves him over with his tail.
"Midoriya-kun," he greets, "This seems exciting, doesn't it?"
Izuku nods. "Y-yeah! I don't think I've ever-"
"Oi, Tail!" A scowling Kacchan suddenly grabs Ojiro's shoulder. "Switch with me."
"Huh?" Ojiro blinks.
Kacchan jerks his thumb at a very unimpressed Todoroki and snarls, "I'm not fucking pairing up with Zuku's boyfriend!"
Izuku's eyes widen into saucers as his face burns bright red. Todoroki looks equally ruffled, glaring lightly at the back of Kacchan's head as Ojiro awkwardly apologizes.
"Er- I don't think we can switch partners…"
Pixie-Bob confirms that there is no switching allowed, much to the annoyance of Kacchan and the relief of Ojiro that he doesn't have to argue with the blond. Thankfully, Kacchan and Todoroki are one of the first teams to be sent off into the forest, saving Izuku from any further embarrassment. He has yet to talk to Todoroki about the… incident this morning. Actually, he hasn't really even been able to look at Todoroki for more than a couple of seconds ever since this morning. How could he? He's never been more embarrassed in his life! It's one thing to cuddle with a childhood friend, but with a crush…
And speaking of childhood friends, what the hell was Kacchan's behavior this morning? "Don't get too comfortable, IcyHot?" What the hell does that even mean? Unlike with Todoroki, Izuku isn't afraid of confronting Kacchan, especially when it comes to pulling his head out of his ass. Things between him and Todoroki are getting a bit too stupidly competitive for Izuku's liking. He'll be sure to give Kacchan a talking-to and figure out what's going on between them later tonight.
Ugh. He vaguely recalls Recovery Girl complaining about heroes being the death of her and finds himself wholeheartedly agreeing.
"Midoriya-kun? You alright?" Ojiro asks, pulling him out of his thoughts, "You're frowning."
"Hm? Oh, yeah," Izuku rasps, turning to him with a smile, "Just thinking."
Sero elbows him teasingly. "Don't get lost in your head. That's how you'll freak yourself out. Trust me, I know."
"Have you done this before?" Kouda asks. While he never talks as loud as his classmates do, he's certainly a lot more social than before thanks to his vocal training.
Sero grins. "Yeah, I did something like this once in middle school. It wasn't for a class, but I was with-" He cuts himself off, frowning. "Hey, do you smell that?"
Izuku blinks and glances around in confusion. "Smell what?"
Pixie-Bob notices too. She closes her eyes, nose twitching. "What's this burnt scent?"
"Is that black smoke?!" Iida's exclaim catches their attention. "Is there a fire on the mountain?" Izuku follows his gaze above the treeline to where plumes of dark smoke are gathering. They rise up from the forest, which seems to be glowing blue instead of orange, covering the starry night sky with pitch black clouds. Now that Izuku notices it, the stench of smoke is unmistakable.
There's movement in the corner of his eye. Suddenly, Pixie-Bob is glowing pink and levitating off the ground, flying backwards as if being pulled by something. "Wh-What is this?!"
"Pixie-Bob!" Mandalay exclaims.
Izuku doesn't see what happens next, it all happens so quickly. All he hears is a loud crack, then he's tearing his gaze from the black smoke filling the sky and seeing two large forms standing over Pixie-Bob's unconscious body on the ground. Blood pours from a crack in her skull.
Izuku's mind skids to a halt.
"Good evening, UA High school!" A reptilian-looking man greets enthusiastically, stepping over Pixie-Bob without a thought. He spreads his arms with a grin and puffs out his chest, announcing with pride, "We are the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!"
Izuku's heart plummets to the pit of his stomach. For a moment, everything seems to slow down as his brain struggles to catch up. The League of Villains?! Here?! But why?! They're not supposed to be here! This place was supposed to be safe, UA was supposed to make sure this place was safe -
"Midoriya-kun, get behind me," Ojiro hisses, moving in front of Izuku to hide him with his body. He raises his tail defensively. Sero and Iida move too, taking protective stances in front of Izuku.
They react so quickly, so immediately aware of what's going on that Izuku curses himself for his stupidity. These are villains in front of him, he can't afford to freeze up! This isn't even the first time he's been attacked. And it's not like he didn't know they were after him this time. Sure, this place was supposed to be safe, but they're prepared for this, he's prepared for this, he's-
"Shall I crush this girl's head?" The other villain, the one pinning down Pixie-Bob, suggests, "What'd you think? Well, what do you think?" She leers, pressing her magnetic pole down on the heroine's skull down threateningly. Izuku tenses.
They're prepared, right?
"Like I'd let you!" Tiger snarls.
"Wait up, Big Sis Mag!" The lizard man interrupts, "Don't be hasty!" To Izuku's surprise, he actually stands between the two, holding up a hand to each. "You too, Tiger. Calm down. It all depends on whether having power over life and death follows Stain's tenants or not."
Iida grits his teeth. "So you're the ones his ideology brought?"
"That's right! I'm-" He pauses and tilts his head, grinning. "Oh yeah, you with the glasses! You were the one who brought about the end of Stain at Hosu City!" His grin turns darker as he reaches for something on his back. "I apologize for the late introduction." In one swift motion, he whips his arm out, and with it, pulls out an insane amount of swords tied together with a few belts. "I'm Spinner, the one who will spin his dreams into a reality!"
Tiger promptly tells him that he does not care and berates them for hurting Pixie-Bob. Meanwhile, Mandalay orders the students, "Go, everyone! Listen carefully! Do not fight! Iida-kun, you're in charge!"
Iida straightens up. "Understood!" He turns. "Let's go!"
Ojiro starts to guide Izuku away with his tail, but the freckled boy can't tear his gaze away from the scene. "Midoriya-kun?"
The villains and the heroes are two seconds away from attacking each other, and he knows that once they start, they won't stop until the other side drops. It's already been made personal with Tiger's anger over Pixie-Bob's injured face.
It's like when you drive by a car crash. It's horrible, and he knows he should look away, should keep moving, but he can't. Except this car crash is only going to get worse. Because… because…
"Mandalay!" He calls out, voice tearing out of his abused throat, "I know where he is!"
She stiffens up. "Midoriya-kun…"
Spinner pauses too, glancing over. His eyes light up when they land on Izuku. "Midoriya!"
He makes to pounce on the boy, but Mandalay intercepts him before he can even get close. She nimbly dodges his cluster of swords and tackles him to the ground, swiping at him with her claws. The other villain lunges forward with her magnetic pole and Tiger blocks her attack with a powerful punch.
"Go!" He barks.
A hand grabs Izuku's forearm.
"Midoriya-kun, come on," Iida orders, dragging him away.
"Iida-kun, but-" Izuku digs his heels into the ground. "Kota-kun!"
"What?"
"He's in his secret hideout! He's all alone!" Izuku whips his head over to Mandalay, who's hastily dodging a series of vicious slashes from Spinner. "Please, let me go to him!"
"Don't distract her!" Iida wraps an arm around him and very nearly carries him towards the trees. "Come on, we need to get out of here!"
Ojiro puts a hand on his back, pushing him forward as they rush out of the clearing.
"Aizawa-sensei should be back at the facility, right?" Sero asks nervously.
"Yes, and Vlad-" Iida is cut off when a strange tickling sensation enters his mind. Ojiro, Sero, and Koda blink at him curiously, but Izuku feels it too.
Mandalay's telepathy.
"Go with him, Iida-kun! Be quick and don't fight anyone, but please, get Kota-kun to safety!"
Iida and Izuku turn to each other. Izuku can see the turmoil of emotions swirling in his friend's eyes, his sense of duty clashing with his frustration and worry. He clutches the other boy's hand and pours every bit of hope and pleading into his eyes as he gazes up at him. And yeah, maybe that's a little cruel, but he doesn't think twice about doing it because he knows from Uraraka that Iida has a weakness for his Bambi eyes.
After a moment, Iida's expression hardens and he orders, "Get on my back."
"Whoa, what are you guys doing?!" Sero exclaims.
"Mandalay's nephew is alone, we're going to go get him," Iida explains as he kneels down, allowing Izuku to climb onto his back. Straightening up, he says, "Go back to the remedial hall. We will be with you shortly."
Before any of them can protest, Iida takes off. Startled by the speed, Izuku clings on tight, digging his fingers into his friend's broad shoulders.
"Where am I going?" Iida asks.
Knowing his weak voice won't be able to be heard over the wind, Izuku puts his mouth close to Iida's ear and rasps, "See that mountain over there? There's a trail that'll lead up to a small cave."
The trees whip past them in a blur. In the back of his mind, Izuku is kind of amazed. This is how Iida runs all the time? It's really cool. How does he navigate? He must have amazing reflexes in order to not crash into things all the time…
"That ridge up there?" Iida jerks his head.
"The middle one!"
There's a good distance between the training field and Kota's secret hideout- Izuku thinks the boy likes it for the view- but thanks to Iida's quirk, they cover the considerable length of forest within a minute. Izuku peers up at the familiar mountainside as they approach it rapidly. Is someone there…? Wait, no, someone is there- his mind barely processes the giant, hulking figure looming over Kota before it's right in front of them. Iida tenses up beneath him, but he doesn't even falter, only pours on speed.
Everything becomes kind of a blur for a moment and Izuku has to shut his eyes against the wind stinging them. The next thing he knows, he feels himself being shifted off of Iida's back and the ground is beneath his feet again. Blinking his eyes open, he realizes he's still on the mountain, but a good few meters away from the giant villain. Iida stands defensively in front of him with Kota in his arms, the boy looking just as dumbfounded as Izuku is.
"Midoriya-kun," Iida says, not taking his eyes off of the villain as he hands Kota to Izuku, "Take Kota-kun and run."
Izuku blinks. Everything's moving so fast- he feels like he has whiplash. His mind hasn't even fully processed that there's yet another villain in front of him. Even the villain himself looks surprised at their sudden appearance.
Forcing himself out of his shock, Izuku takes a step back.
The villain's face splits into a grin. "Eh? What did you call him? Midoriya-kun?" His eyes- eye, he only has one, the other is a fake within a gaping wound stemming from a messy gash running along the side of his face- lock onto Izuku with a wolfish glint. "This is perfect! You were on the list."
Iida tenses up, raising his hackles as he glares at the hulking man. "List? What list?" He demands.
"List of kids we're after!" The villain blatantly replies, cackling.
Izuku's heart skips a beat. Even though he knew that the villains were here for him, actually hearing it confirmed is a whole other thing. A wave of panic threatens to rise within him- a hand on his neck, dragging him into a portal- but- wait a minute. His mind backpedals. Kids? As in plural?
In front of him, Iida grits his teeth and shouts, "If you think I'll let you take him-"
"Oh, yes, please give me a proper fight!" The villain snarls, eyes flashing, "I've been so bored lately, I've love to crush one of UA's precious golden eggs! I'll make sure to torment you thoroughly!" He rips off his black cloak in one swift motion and activates his quirk. Raw tendrils of muscle burst out of his skin, overlapping and binding to form thicker muscles.
A bolt of fear strikes Izuku. He takes another step back, clutching Kota tightly to his chest. "Iida-kun…"
"Go!" Iida shouts, right as the villain leaps towards him.
"Show me your blood!"
Iida darts forward and Izuku whirls around. He's hardly taken more than a few steps when he's nearly knocked off his feet, the ground vibrating violently beneath him. Kota cries out as he stumbles and he glances over his shoulder to see the villain's fist stuck in the ground where Iida had been standing not a moment ago. The speedster is already on the other side of the man, aiming a powerful kick to the back of his knees as he pulls his fist out of the rubble.
Izuku has to turn away or risk tripping on the loose gravel as he skids down the mountainside, but his heart does give a little leap when he hears a grunt from the man behind him. From the way that villain looked, he probably had some sort of muscle-enhancement quirk, but Izuku has experienced first-hand today just how fast Iida can be. As much as it pains him to flee and leave his friend alone with a villain, he trusts in his ability to handle himself. Right now, he's more helpful in getting Kota to safety.
Now that he has experienced Iida's running speed, however, his own running speed seems painfully slow. He dashes along the slanting trail that leads down to the base of the mountain, struggling not to stumble and break his ankle when the ground shudders like an earthquake beneath him over and over. It's always preceded by the sound of splintering rock and a shriek of rage, the most terrifying and yet reassuring sounds to ever reach Izuku's ears. They let him know that the villain isn't fast enough to catch Iida. Still, he makes sure to keep listening for a pained cry from his friend as he plunges into the thick of the forest.
It's hard to see in the pitch black darkness. One of the reasons why the test of courage was so appealing, but even then they at least had moonlight to go off of. Now, most of the moonlight has been blocked off by the dark clouds from the fire, which he'll need to keep an eye on, although that seems to be on the other side of the forest, but it can spread quickly-
Kota sniffles against his collar. Izuku tightens his arms around him.
"D-Don't worry," he rasps, voice hoarse, "We'll be alright. We're gonna get back to camp."
Tears press into his shirt. "He-He'll kill him…" He whispers. Izuku spares a quick glance down at him to see his expression utterly horrified, eyes wide and unseeing. "He'll… He'll… He's the one… He-He killed mom and dad!" His voice breaks.
Izuku's mind whirls, wondering what he could possibly be talking about. Kota's parents, their killer…
"Muscular?" He asks, unsure, but when Kota nods rapidly, he feels his blood run cold, "That's who that villain was?" He remembers now, the news story talking about how the Water Hose duo managed to permanently scar the villain that killed them prior to their demise.
Shit, he left Iida with that villain?!
Izuku yelps when he trips over a root and quickly regains his balance, continuing to run despite the burning in his legs.
This is crazy. They were supposed to be safe.
The wave of panic threatens to rise again. He shakes his head, struggling to clear it. He likes running, doesn't he? It's been so long since he's been on a long run, and he's on one now, so better use this time for thinking and analysis rather than freaking out, right?
Readjusting his grip on Kota, he forces his panic down and focuses on his footsteps flying over the ground. What does he know? The League of Villains is here. They have a Vanguard Action Squad now apparently, whatever that is. New people, new quirks. Don't know how many are out there. They're after Izuku, but they're also after others- there's a list. Of who? Students? Muscular said kids. Why would they target kids? Do they want to kidnap them? Kill them?
Footsteps thunder behind him.
He snaps out of his thoughts. The forest vibrates as the sound of crashing trees fills the air. Izuku barely has time to react before he's suddenly scooped up into a pair of arms and tucked against a chest, going faster than he's ever gone before. Iida dashes through the forest swiftly, carrying both him and Kota as the world seems to pass by them in a blur. Izuku makes the mistake of glancing over Iida's shoulder to see Muscular now nearly twice his original size charging after them like an enraged bull, knocking down full-grown trees like they're twigs. And the terrifying thing is- he's actually keeping up with Iida.
"This is fun, so much fun!" The villain laughs manically, "It's like playing cat-and-mouse! It's been so long since I've had a decent runner!"
He lunges forward with a swipe and Iida swerves left so hard Izuku gets whiplash. It's a good thing, though, because Muscular's hand slaps down on the ground where Iida was not a millisecond before with a reverberating boom. The villain doesn't even falter, just digs his fingers into the earth and uses it to launch him forward, continuing to chase them relentlessly.
"What did you say again? That you're gonna save him? That you're a hero?" Iida swiftly weaves through the trees like a fish in a stream while Muscular barrels through them like a steamroller, taunting and jeering the entire time. "So why're you running?! That's a weird way to save someone! Such a funny little hero!"
Muscular pounces again, narrowly missing them, landing on their right. His impossibly heavy weight smashing into the ground sends shockwaves rippling through the earth, causing Iida to stumble for the barest of seconds. The villain's wide, crazed eyes land on Izuku peeking over Iida's shoulder and he bares his teeth in a grin that nearly splits his face in half. The brief second of falter on both sides passes, Iida regaining his balance and Muscular correcting his course, but to Izuku it feels like a strangely long time.
Watching Muscular tear his way through the forest to chase after him reminds Izuku of watching the big T-Rex chasing after the jeep in Jurassic Park except a million times more horrifying because this is real life. He's about to tear his gaze away when he spots the villain bring his hand up to his ear and bark, "Yo, Dabi! I'm driving the healer over to your area! Be ready!"
Izuku's breath hitches. "Iida-"
The speedster suddenly falters. "Sensei!"
The next few seconds happen very quickly. Something flies past Iida, who struggles to slow down from his rapid speed and ducks behind a thick tree, setting down Izuku but not releasing his hold on him as he peeks out from behind the trunk. Stuck between Iida and the tree, Izuku can't see what's going on, but he can hear sounds of fighting, thumps and grunts and snarls. He tightens his grip on Kota and squirms in Iida's grip until he can turn and see what's going on.
Aizawa has a much-smaller-than-before Muscular pinned to the ground, quirk erased and bound in his capture weapon. Izuku only has a moment to admire how easy it is for him before he takes note of the situation.
"Tell me your purpose, number, and positions," Aizawa demands, holding his wrist behind his back.
Muscular struggles against the bindings, spitting and cursing. "I ain't tellin' you shit, hero!"
"Wrong answer." Aizawa proceeds to break his arm. Muscular screams and Izuku feels Kota flinch in his hold. "Your left arm's next," Aizawa says coldly, "Let's do this logically. I don't have all night."
"N-No you don't," the man snickers, despite his agony, "You're wasting your time with me, Eraserhead. How long do you think your kids will survive? Think you've trained them well enough? I sure hope so! I hope they can at least put up a good fight, all that one did was run like a little bitch-"
Aizawa breaks his other arm. This time, Izuku turns Kota's head away and holds him tight against his chest while he quivers. He's reminded of USJ, when Todoroki more-or-less tortured the villains into giving them information. He gets that it's part of the job, but…
Thankfully, Iida seems to sense his discomfort. He glances down at Kota in his arms, then looks up at Aizawa pinning down the villain.
"Se-Sensei!" He calls out uncertainly. Even he seems uncomfortable seeing their teacher's dark side. Obviously, Aizawa can't take his eyes off of Muscular, but he does pause at Iida's voice, so the boy continues, "He's after Midoriya-kun and Bakugou-kun! He-He told me…"
Izuku glances at Iida sharply, taken aback. Kacchan? What could the League of Villains possibly want with Kacchan?
Aizawa is silent, glaring down at Muscular. Izuku isn't sure what he's looking for in the man's expression, but whatever it is, it's enough to make him pull back and deliver a sharp blow to his head, knocking him unconscious. Aizawa's hair flops around his face.
"Are you guys alright?" He asks, straightening up, "What happened?"
Now that the immediate danger is gone, Izuku feels like he can finally breathe. He's shaking with fear and exhaustion from running with Kota, but adrenaline keeps him up and standing. He and Iida step through the undergrowth over to Aizawa, both panting from exertion.
"Sensei," Iida gasps, "Things are terrible! Two villains attacked camp- one took out Pixie-Bob, but Mandalay and Tiger-"
"I know," Aizawa interrupts, "Mandalay sent out a Telepath. I meant what happened to you?"
"Oh, right!" Iida shakes his head, as if scolding himself. "Mandalay sent Midoriya-kun and I to retrieve Kota-kun from his secret hideout- he was alone and Midoriya-kun was the only one who knew where it was. This villain was already there when we arrived and he said that there was a list of kids they came here for and that Midoriya-kun and Bakugou-kun were on it-!" He cuts himself off and glances at Izuku. "Well, he didn't say that Bakugou-kun was on the list, but he asked me where he was, so I'm assuming he's on that list too."
Izuku's stomach churns with dread.
Aizawa nods, gaze roaming over Iida. "And your injuries?"
Izuku blinks and turns to Iida, only now noticing the dark bruises on his shins, the way he's favoring his right leg.
"You did it again, didn't you?" Aizawa asks, eyes darkening, "Have you forgotten what happened in Hosu?"
Iida glances down at himself before frowning up at Aizawa. "I had to defend myself, sensei." There's a slight edge in his voice.
Izuku's about to get a bit defensive too, if Aizawa's implying what he thinks he's implying. But instead, all Aizawa says is,
"I know. So you're going to take these two, you're going to go back to camp, and you're going to tell Mandalay that the students of class 1-A and B have my permission to engage in combat." Izuku's eyes widen. Aizawa clenches his jaw in resignation. "Now go. Vlad King should be in the remedial hall. You'll be safest there."
Iida nods, and then Izuku is once again being scooped up with Kota in his arms. They leave Aizawa with the unconscious villain and make their way through the forest at a speedy, but less desperate pace. Iida slows down to make sure they don't accidentally run into any villains by surprise, but they soon come across a familiar path and follow it back to the main clearing.
When they reach it, Mandalay and Tiger are still fighting Spinner and the large woman. Not only are the villains holding their own against the heroes, but Mandalay looks like she's beginning to struggle against Spinner. No doubt she's at a disadvantage in a drawn-out fight with her emitter-type quirk.
Izuku briefly wonders where Ragdoll is before recalling her position at the checkpoint. She's probably helping out students in the forest.
Iida skids to a halt behind the treeline.
"Iida-kun," Izuku croaks, wiggling out of Iida's grasp, "Help Mandalay! She needs to deliver Aizawa-sensei's message!"
"What? I can't leave you alone!" Iida protests, shaking his head, "The villains are targeting you!"
"If we shout to her, not only will it distract her, but it will bring the villains' attention to me too," Izuku argues, "She needs help, and you're the only one who can get close enough to her." He pushes himself out of his friend's arms and drops to his feet.
Iida looks torn, glancing between him and the battle raging on in the field. "What about you?"
"I'll bring Kota-kun to the remedial hall," Izuku says, readjusting his grip on the boy, "Don't worry, I'll give the clearing a wide berth. Meet me there, okay?"
Iida's jaw clenches. For a long moment, he's silent, but with a harsh huff, he finally caves. Putting a large hand on Izuku's shoulder, he lowers his head to look in his eyes and says firmly, "If you come across a villain, you run, understand? I don't care what Aizawa-sensei said, okay?"
Izuku's lip twitches despite himself and he nods. They part ways and Izuku takes off sprinting again with Kota clinging to his neck. He runs through the forest, diverging from the path to steer clear of the battle-filled clearing. The stench of smoke is still in the air and it's only getting stronger, but he isn't quite sure which way to turn in order to avoid the fire. He's also making sure to keep an eye out for whoever this 'Dabi' person he heard Muscular mention, though. If supposedly they were being driven towards his 'area', even if the chase was interrupted shortly after, then he might be nearby.
'Everyone in class A and class B! In the name of the pro hero Eraserhead, you are granted permission to engage in combat! I repeat! Everyone in class A and class B! You are granted permission to engage in combat!'
Izuku feels… slightly better knowing that his classmates are allowed to defend themselves now. He knows they're strong, they handled themselves well during USJ even though they barely had any training. But something about this situation seems a lot more serious than USJ. The villains at USJ were small timers, a mere rag-tag team of crooks. These villains are a lot more lethal.
His mind tingles again. 'We have discovered two of the villains' targets! Bakugou-kun and Midoriya-kun! Try to avoid combat and acting independently! Understand?'
Too late for that. Hopefully Mandalay won't get mad at Iida for letting Izuku run off by himself. Well, Izuku isn't technically alone, he's with Kota, who he has to protect. As for Kacchan- he should be with Todoroki, right? They should be able to keep each other safe. If Izuku hasn't heard his best friend's explosions by now, then that probably means they haven't come across any villains. Although, they would have to worry about the forest catching on fire- or, well, more fire- but even Todoroki's ice can be seen from a distance if he makes it big enough.
Distracted, Izuku trips over a stone and nearly falls on top of Kota, catching himself at the last second. Muttering an apology under his breath, he ignores the burning in his legs and keeps running through the undergrowth. He had to step off the path in order to give the clearing a wide berth, but now that he thinks about it that might not have been a great plan. It's dark, the air is steadily getting thicker with black smoke, and he only has a vague idea where the remedial hall is from here.
He gives himself a quick shake to clear his thoughts. He can worry about Todoroki and Kacchan later once Kota is safe. They'll be fine. They have to be fine. He needs to focus on himself right now-
Someone steps out from behind a tree.
Izuku skids to a halt.
They spot each other at the same time. The man is tall, dark-haired, covered in purple scars that are seemingly stapled to his skin, and Izuku does not recognize him. He freezes.
The villain takes one look at him before his face peels into a grin. Izuku's blood runs cold.
"There you are, Midoriya Izuku."
They found him.
There's a villain right here, right in front of him, only a few feet away, and he's frozen in fear. There's no heroes around to save him. Panic rises within him, threatening to overwhelm him, drown him, and for a moment all he can think is 'this is it, he's going to kidnap me, he's going to take me to Shigaraki, to All For One, I'm never going to see my friends or my mother or All Might ever again-'
The villain takes a step towards him.
Izuku drops Kota.
"Run," he croaks, not taking his eyes off the man, "Get out of here."
Kota trembles at his feet. "Wha-What?! I-I can't lea-"
"Go!" Izuku kicks him away, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to get him moving. Kota startles, only hesitating for a brief moment before turning and disappearing into the bushes. The villain, thankfully, doesn't go after him.
"Smart kid," he drawls, taking another step towards Izuku. Fear jolts through Izuku and he stumbles backwards. The man pauses, head tilting slightly as he smirks, eying him up and down in a way that makes his skin prickle. "You've been quite slippery, you know? Why don't you make this easier on yourself and come quietly?"
Izuku gulps, but… something about his suggestion and his taunting voice seems strangely familiar. His mind flashes back to his training with Shinsou this morning, that unconcerned look that pissed him off so much- this guy looks just like that, with his lazy smirk and hooded eyes. He's hardly threatened by Izuku at all!
Indignation sparks in his chest, slicing through the numb fear like a knife. Come quietly, huh? In response, he curls his trembling fingers and raises his fists, shifting into a fighting stance.
The villain's smirk widens. "Suit yourself."
He spreads his arms to the sides and activates his quirk, letting plumes of blue flames erupt from his hands. They flicker off his skin, tendrils flying to the nearby trees and shrubbery. Wood crackles and pops under the intense heat and Izuku tenses up, watching the flames crawl down to the bushes. With the undergrowth in this particular area being so thick, he has no doubt that it will take just a few minutes before this part of the forest is engulfed in flames. He needs to get out of here.
"So," the villain says, arching a slim brow, "How 'bout now?"
He takes another step forward and Izuku takes another step back, glancing around at the approaching flames uncertainly. What can he do here, what can he do here?! This guy has a fire quirk, which means he's a long-distance fighter, which means Izuku would be at a disadvantage in a fight against him. He'd be burnt to a crisp before he could even get in close enough to land a hit. So what should he do, run? It would be good to lead him further away from Kota, but the villains are after him, not Kota, so running might do more harm than good, especially if it leads him farther away from the heroes, plus this villain would probably burn down the whole forest chasing him-
As if to prove his point, said villain throws a ball of fire at his feet, causing Izuku to yelp and scramble away. The man laughs.
"Aw, c'mon, kid, don't make me grab you," he says, grinning as he raises a hand flickering with blue flames, "I'd feel bad if I hurt a healer."
Izuku flinches back, then pauses.
Wait a minute.
"L-Leave him alone!"
The flames suddenly go out.
The villain blinks. Slowly, he turns to look at his hand, which is now soaking wet. Then, he glances over his shoulder.
Kota stands behind him with his hands thrown out, wide-eyed and scared stiff, but glaring at the villain with more hatred than he's ever glared at the heroes with.
And Izuku… Izuku is ashamed. His heart clenches with fear, with guilt for causing such pain and terror for his friends and heroes, for making them fight and bleed for his sake. For making a five year-old boy tremble before a villain to protect him. Shame bubbles in his chest, but underneath it, something burns, scalding hot and absolutely furious.
He launches himself at the distracted villain, delivering a roundhouse kick to the back of his turned head. Kota yelps and scrambles out of the way as the man collapses where he was standing a moment before.
"Kota, run!" Izuku shouts. His voice sounds like he's gargling broken glass at this point, but he barely notices the pain thanks to the adrenaline coursing through his body. "Get back to the camp!"
"But-But what about you?!" Kota cries, rushing over to clutch at his leg, "They're after you! My quirk- I can get you through the fire!"
Izuku shakes his head and grabs Kota to look at him seriously. "Kota-kun, please, I need you to run! They're after me. You've seen me training, remember? You know I can handle myself, but I can't protect the both of us. Go back to the remedial center and find Vlad King. Send him after me, okay? Can you do that for me?"
Kota nods tearfully as the villain stirs behind him. Izuku tenses up. "Go!" He pushes the boy into an unburned section of the undergrowth. Kota quickly disappears and Izuku turns his attention back to the scarred man as he slowly picks himself off the ground, rubbing the back of his head.
"Damn!" He chuckles, turning to grin at Izuku, "Not bad for a healer!"
Izuku falls back into his fighting stance, eyeing him warily. "They don't make 'em easy to catch at UA."
"You don't say," the villain drawls, taking his hand off his head as he stalks towards him. "Shigaraki-kun still won't shut up about what happened at the mall." He throws a ball of fire at the bushes on Izuku's left side. Izuku flinches away. "I guess I can see now why you piss him off so much now."
There's a lot of foliage on the ground that catches fire easily too. Izuku staggers backwards to avoid the flames that crawl towards him. The villain continues advancing on him, sending a stream of flames to an untouched tree on his right, setting it ablaze and causing him to stumble away. The thing is, though- he avoids him.
"C'mon, kid, don't make me grab you. I'd feel bad if I hurt a healer."
Izuku's mind works rapidly as he dodges another attack. Maybe he wasn't just teasing? Maybe he can't hurt him? Maybe he's not allowed to hurt him?
"If you want me to heal your Sensei, then there's something about my quirk you should know. It doesn't work if I'm injured."
If All For One is after him, then these villains need to somehow kidnap him without injuring him! Right? But- he hastily dodges a blazing fireball thrown over his shoulder, ducking behind a boulder.
"Hiding? A little cowardly, don't you think?" Comes the villain's languid voice, "Geez, you're starting to make me feel like the bad guy here."
Izuku gasps for breath, struggling to think. Okay, that was close. Maybe he was wrong? But Muscular got pretty close to him too.
Muscular…
"Yo, Dabi! I'm driving the healer over to your area! Be ready!"
"Hey!" Izuku squeaks from behind the boulder, "Are you Dabi?"
"Hm? Who wants to know?"
Okay, so if this is Dabi, then why doesn't he just grab him? Why bother with the flames? All he's doing is risking Izuku's injury and potentially ruining the chances of All For One getting healed. He'd have a much better chance of kidnapping Izuku without injuring him if he subdued him without using his quirk. Oh, what Izuku wouldn't give to have Shinsou's quirk right now! He could just brainwash this guy into giving him all the answers-
A jet of blue flames suddenly burst on all sides of the boulder, startling Izuku. He flinches, curling into a ball to avoid the flames licking at him with their searing heat. There's no time to ponder about the mindset of villains! He needs to get back to the heroes!
Izuku pushes himself off the ground and flees. Dabi takes off after him. Now that he's fairly certain the villain won't hurt him, Izuku isn't as concerned about turning his back on him as he is about finding a way out of the forest before it burns down. Dabi catches on quickly and sends a stream of flames ahead of him, setting the brushwood in front of him ablaze. Izuku has to skid to a halt and change directions or risk stumbling into a fiery death.
Sweat drips down the back of his neck as he runs, frantically trying to think of which is the way back to camp. He veers left, but that gets thrown up in flames too. Dabi's footsteps pound relentlessly behind him. As Izuku runs through the forest, he slowly starts to realize that he can hear sounds of fighting, screams and shouts from other students, but he can't tell where they're coming from. Blood roars in his ears and his legs shake with exhaustion, but he can't stop running. Dabi is deadly fast and he keeps cutting off every path back to camp, forcing him deeper and deeper into the forest. Another turn leads to another unburned path getting set ablaze within seconds, and Izuku feels fear swelling in his chest as he quickly swerves away.
The undergrowth whips his calves as he runs, Dabi chasing him for what feels like ages. He soon starts coughing; the black smoke from Dabi's fire is filling the air, getting thicker as the fires grow. His head is starting to spin from the lack of clean oxygen as he forces himself to run on wobbly legs, entering a clearing of scraggly-looking trees that are already on fire. The bright flickering light of the flames makes his eyes hurt as he glances around, desperately searching for an unburned area he can run through.
Spotting one, he dashes over to it, only for it to be engulfed in flames a moment later. He doesn't need to glance over his shoulder to know that Dabi is still following him. Panic rises in his throat, but he swallows it down. There's another unburned area, he sees it! It's kind of close to Dabi, he probably won't make it in time before the villain burns it too, but-
Izuku skids to a halt in front of the unburned path. Everything around him is engulfed in flames. The path remains unburned. He pauses for a long moment, then slowly looks back at Dabi.
The villain stands, poised, a few feet away, watching him with cold, calculating eyes. A hunter's eyes.
And Izuku understands.
Dabi is not the one meant to capture him. No, no- he's the pursuer. Izuku is the prey and Dabi is the wolf that's meant to separate him from his friends and herd him to where his packmates lie in the shadows waiting to pounce.
Izuku steps away from the path.
Dabi's lip curls. "Clever little thing, aren't you?" He drawls, "Shigaraki-kun said you might figure it out."
Izuku's eyes land on his ear and- his stomach turns to ice. There's an earpiece. Just like Muscular. He was probably communicating with them the whole time. God, Izuku's an idiot for running!
He takes a step towards Dabi. "You-You can't hurt me," he rasps, "You need my quirk to work."
Dabi sighs through his nose, as if he's disappointed. "So it's gonna be like that, huh?" Izuku stares at him blankly. "Yeah, we need your quirk to work. So how 'bout we just wait here patiently for my friends to arrive, okay?"
Fear spikes through Izuku. "It-It's no use!" He stammers, "I-I've been sparring for the past two days- I'm-I'm covered in bruises- It won't even work!" That's not actually a lie. There's a reason his quirk hasn't been activating on contact when his friends have been touching him.
Dabi's eyes narrow. "You look fine. Nice try."
Izuku isn't sure why he said that, there's definitely some visible bruises on him. He glances down at himself, at his bare arms and legs. No bruises. His eyes widen. What?! No way! He's been sparring- and, honestly, kind of getting his ass kicked- for the past two days! How does he not have bruises?! His quirk didn't activate when Iida carried him even though he was injured. Maybe it's just the weird lighting or the heat-
Heat. The hot springs. The long soaks he's been taking everyday after sparring, the one he just did before dinner. Heat boosts circulation and increases blood flow, which would reduce inflammation and pain. Which helps in the case of the students not waking up incredibly sore every morning, but for Izuku right now…
The damage is still there, he reassures himself. Heat doesn't heal broken capillaries. His quirk didn't activate with Iida. But still, his stomach churns with anxiety. There's a traitorous voice in his head that's whispering, 'but what if...?'. There's a villain right in front of him. More are on their way right now. He could be taken to All For One, could be forced to heal him, and then… and then…
He can't even bring himself to imagine that future. He won't allow himself to imagine that future.
So, he bares his teeth and raises his hand to his mouth. Dabi's eyes widen.
A second later, he's right in front of him, grabbing his wrists in both hands and yanking them away from his face. "Oh, you're a little shit, aren't you-!"
Izuku headbutts him in the nose and hears it crunch.
The moment Dabi lets go of his wrist, Izuku strikes him in the solar plexus. Hard. Yup, he's a little shit alright.
As the villain goes down with a wheeze, Izuku grabs him by the wrist, spins him around, and pins him chest down onto the ground. He finishes with a quick kick to the back of the head which he hopes will actually keep him knocked out this time. Instead, something weird happens.
Dabi melts.
Izuku startles, suddenly finding himself standing in a puddle of mush instead of on top of a scarred villain. What the fuck?! Wasn't his quirk fire? Does he have multiple? Is he some sort of Nomu?
Well, whatever he is, he seems to be gone now. His fire, however, isn't. Izuku coughs, head spinning from lack of clean air. He stumbles away from the puddle of Dabi, trying to find a way out of the flames. He obviously can't go the way Dabi wanted him to go, but the villain blocked all his other paths. He didn't, however, bother to burn the way he came from.
Izuku runs along there for a while, eyes streaming from the smoke as he hastily dodges blue flames. He hastily fumbles for his phone to call someone, but it must've fallen out of his pocket at some point when Muscular or Dabi was chasing him. So he just curses to himself and keeps running. He listens for the sounds of footsteps behind him, keeps his senses on alert for any signs of being pursued, but he doesn't find any. The forest is strangely silent around him, quiet except for the crackling of the Dabi's flames. He isn't quite sure where he's going, if he's nearing the camp or just going deeper into the woods. Inhaling so much smoke has left him rather disoriented, but gradually, the air around him starts to clear up. Some of the smaller shrubs and grasses have been burnt black already, leaving no kindling for the flames to burn and therefore, no more fire. An escape path.
His coughs and hacks echo loudly in the forest around him. Izuku winces, both at the pain in his throat and at the volume. He's long since stopped running, even though he knows he should be doing everything he can to get back to the heroes as quickly as possible. But he's lost, he's confused, he doesn't even know where he's going. And he's too exhausted to run anymore. His legs quiver with every step.
Suddenly, the tree branches rustle. Izuku freezes, adrenaline shooting through him once more. Somehow, his body still has some to spare.
For a few tense moments, he stares up at the trees, eyes wide, pupils dilated, muscles tense, waiting for whatever else this hell of a night has to throw at him.
Then,
"Zuku!"
Kacchan's voice calls from the bushes.
The bushes.
Izuku stares at his friends- Kacchan, Todoroki, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Shoji, Tokoyami- for a brief moment as they burst through the undergrowth and rush over to him before he whips his head back towards the trees. In the second that he looked away, a man has come to stand on one of the branches.
"Well, well, well," the masked villain croons, "It's my lucky day! Both my targets have come to me at the same time."
As soon as Kacchan hears his voice, he skids to a halt and whirls around, glaring daggers. "DIE!" He screeches, launching himself at the villain with an explosion. He aims another one at his face, but the man nimbly jumps over him and taps him on the back. Izuku watches in horror as his childhood friend vanishes into a small blue marble.
"Bakugou-kun!" Uraraka cries out in horror, "What have you done with him?!"
"Nothing bad," the villain replies casually, flipping the marble in his fingers, "I merely took him with my magic." The mask turns towards Izuku and he gets the distinct feeling of eyes landing on him. He tenses up, but before he can do anything, there's a wall of ice in front of him.
His friends are still some distance away, but Todoroki's ice reaches him in seconds, providing a barrier between him and the masked villain. Izuku stumbles backwards, hearing the familiar creaks and groans that let him know that Todoroki is sending out even more ice attacks. Meanwhile, Uraraka rushes to his side and clutches him tightly, keeping her eyes on the fight, which he can't see very well thanks to the wall of ice. There's the sound of rustling branches, and then silence.
"He's gone!" Shoji hisses.
"Damnit!" Todoroki curses, "He's fast! He was able to dodge my ice!"
"Bakugou-kun? Did he-?" Uraraka asks.
"He took him," Shoji says.
Izuku's stomach plummets as ice cold fear washes over him. No. Not Kacchan, not Kacchan, they're after him, why did they have to take Kacchan, leave him alone!
"We-We have to get him back!" He croaks.
Todoroki's eyes widen, as if he just realized that he's actually here. "Midoriya!" He exclaims, rushing over to his side, "Are you alright? What happened-"
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Izuku interrupts, pushing him away when he looks like he's about to start fussing, "We need to save Kacchan!"
"You need to get somewhere safe, Midoriya-kun," Uraraka says, grabbing his shoulder, "The villains are after you too. We can't lead you straight to them!"
"But Kacchan!" Izuku cries.
"I'll go after the villain," Todoroki says immediately, "Tsuyu, come with me please. You too, Tokoyami, if you feel you have enough control over Dark Shadow now."
Izuku glances sharply at Tokoyami, who he now notices isn't looking so good. Despite his panic, worry tugs at his healer heart. "Are you alright?" He also realizes that Shoji is carrying someone unconscious on his back. "Who is that?"
"A class B student," Shoji replies, "Got knocked out by the gas."
"I lost control over Dark Shadow briefly, but I am willing to fight again tonight." Tokoyami turns to Todoroki. "Let's go. There's no time to lose."
Todoroki nods and looks at Izuku seriously. "We'll save him. You get back to camp."
"Wait, wait, is splitting up a great idea?" Uraraka asks nervously, "We don't know how many villains are out there. You don't even have a plan!"
"Like Tokoyami-chan said, Ochaco-chan," Asui ribbits, "There's no time to lose. We can't afford to hesitate. The villain is getting farther and farther away as we speak. Todoroki-chan, Tokoyami-chan, and I have the best chance to retrieve Bakugou-chan from him since we are long-distance fighters. Shoji-chan can hear any other villains that may approach you and Midoriya-chan while you get to safety. It makes sense."
Todoroki is starting to look impatient. "Yes, yes, it's a good plan. Can we get going now?"
Izuku reluctantly nods- because what else can he do?- and they part ways. The Bakugou Rescue Team takes off running, but before the Midoriya Escort Squad gets moving, Uraraka offers to take the unconscious student off Shoji's back so that he can use his limbs more easily.
"Don't worry, I can lighten him up with my quirk," Uraraka says, already sliding the boy off his back.
Even though there's no visible wounds on the student, the sight of someone unconscious sends a flutter of unease through Izuku. "Actually, can I look over him real quick?" He asks, "Just set him down for a moment. I won't take long of course, it's just- hell knows what was in that villain's gas."
"Of course," Shoji says, head swiveling around. Izuku eyes his bleeding arm and makes a mental note to check that out later too.
He's just dropped to his knees beside the unconscious student when suddenly there's the sound of rustling leaves a few meters away. On either side of him, Shoji and Uraraka startle.
"Bakugou-kun?!"
They both dash over to the source of the sound behind him. Stunned, it takes a second for his mind to catch up, but when he does, he whips his head around to look over his shoulder, still kneeling on the ground. Sure enough, Kacchan is standing in a cluster of bushes, looking just as confused as Izuku is as Shoji and Uraraka run over to him.
When he and Kacchan make eye-contact, however, his friend's gaze slides over his head and locks onto something behind him before his eyes widen in horror. In the next second, the blond lunges forward, exploding out of the bushes in a fit of rage, but it's too late.
Something lightly taps Izuku on the back and his entire existence shrinks into a small blue world.
"ZUKU!" Bakugou snarls, flying past a confused Shoji and Uraraka as he aims an explosion at the masked villain. The man dodges, jumping up onto a low-hanging branch of a nearby tree, hastily dodging again when the enraged boy follows. Bakugou chases him all the way up into the thicker branches of the trees, ignoring the cries of his classmates stuck on the ground, and lets out a series of explosions that nearly incinerates all the leaves on the branches.
For a few long moments afterwards, silence fills the air, as well as smoke from the burned wood and leaves. Bakugou stands with his back against the trunk, teeth bared and hands crackling with small explosions, but he can hardly see through the smoke screen he's created.
A hand touches his head and his world turns small.
From the ground, Shoji and Uraraka watch in dismay as the masked villain jumps out of the smoke-filled tree, two gleaming marbles in hand. Footsteps pound behind them, and Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Asui reappear.
"We heard Bakugou's explosions, what-" Todoroki skids to a halt, glaring up at the villain. "Shit."
"My, my, what language," he says chidingly, "Don't be so crude, we won't treat your friends badly. Afterall, they have so much talent! We're merely just taking them to a stage where they can shine more."
"Give him back!" Todoroki snaps.
"'Him'? Oh, you have a preference, do you?" The mask croons, "It's not nice to play favorites, you know." Todoroki grits his teeth as he laughs. "But if I had to guess which one of these lovely boys would be your favorite, it would be, hmm…" He raises the marbles closer to his face. "Eenie, meenie, miney-"
Todoroki interrupts him by sending a massive wave of ice at him. The villain hurriedly dodges, slips the marbles in his pocket, before pressing his finger to his earpiece, "Vanguard Action Squad! Targets successfully collected! It was just a short while, but with this, our show has come to a close! As arranged, head to the retrieval point in the next five minutes!"
He turns and begins racing across the forest, bouncing from treetop to treetop. Todoroki, Tokoyami, Shoji, Asui, and Uraraka chase after him desperately, but it quickly becomes clear that they have no hope of keeping up with him. So they come up with a plan; Uraraka makes them float, and Asui uses her tongue to launch Shoji, Todoroki, and Tokoyami into the air, the former clinging to the two latter. They crash into the masked villain and pin him to the ground in the middle of a clearing.
"Compress." Todoroki glances up to see Dabi preparing to roast them alive. "Get out of the way."
"Roger!" Compress grunts before turning himself into a marble. Dabi immediately sends a wave of blue flames at the three students. Todoroki and Tokoyami manage to dodge to the sides, but Shoji, who was in the middle, gets partially burned.
"Shoji!" Todoroki exclaims when his classmate screams in pain. He moves to rush to his aid, but a villain dressed in black-and-grey intercepts him, dodging his ice and slicing through it with his measuring tape. Meanwhile, a teenage girl not much older than them goes after Shoji, wildly swinging with her knife and giggling the whole time.
Compress reforms with a wince, rubbing his shoulder. "Ow. I can't believe you flew so far to chase after me. Your ideas are far out," he grumbles to himself.
"Oi, Mister," Dabi calls out, idly holding off a screeching Dark Shadow with one hand gushing flames, "Where are you hiding the brats? I thought you said you had them?"
"Of course."
He reaches into his pocket, only for it to be empty. Shoji yells at Todoroki and Tokoyami to retreat, showing the marbles in his grasp. The students proceed to flee, but Kurogiri arrives, blocking their path.
"It has been five minutes since the signal. Let's go."
Dabi is reluctant, but Compress reassures him. "They seemed so happy that they rushed out here, so I thought I'd give them a present. It's a habit, one of the basics of magic." He turns to face the students and takes off his mask, revealing the marbles on his tongue. "When I flaunt something, it's because there's something I don't want you to see." With a snap of his fingers, he releases the ice in Shoji's hand. Todoroki, Tokoyami, and Shoji stare at him in dismay only for a brief moment before charging, but the villain is already stepping back into the portal.
"And now, that's all from m-"
Aoyama's laser suddenly blasts out of nowhere, shattering Compress's mask and knocking the marbles out of his mouth. Shoji and Todoroki both lunge at the same time, the former's fist closing around one marble, the latter reaching for the other, only to have it stolen at the last second by Dabi. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow attempt to take it from him, but a wave of flames forces them back.
"Confirm it now," Dabi orders Compress, "Release this."
Gritting his teeth, Compress backs into the portal and snaps his fingers, releasing the marbles. Bakugou appears in Shoji's grip- he comes out swinging this time, nearly punching his classmate- while Midoriya appears in Dabi's. The villain grins and wraps his hand around the back of Midoriya's neck. The boy stiffens.
"Too bad we couldn't get both," Dabi says, "But at least this one's more useful." He begins dragging Midoriya through the portal.
"Midoriya-kun!"
"ZUKU!"
Todoroki and Bakugou both lunge for Midoriya, the latter propelling himself forward with explosions. Even as he rapidly closes in on the other, he knows he won't make it in time. He locks eyes with his friend, his best friend, the one he's been protecting since childhood, and what he sees makes his heart stop. It isn't fear that he's about to get kidnapped or anguish that he might never live to see another day.
It's relief. There's relief in Midoriya's eyes, relief that he's the one being taken and not Bakugou.
It makes him want to throw up.
The portal closes.