A day had passed since the students had faced the members of Dark Shadows, a guild that, for some reason, they knew came from another world and whose master wanted them for something.
Because of this, as the master stated, every time the students went somewhere, whether it was training, on a mission or for simple tasks, some mage from the guild would accompany them or with another student.
While for Katsuki it was a nuisance to have someone following him everywhere, for the others it wasn't, as they saw it as an opportunity to spend time with the other members.
Despite the fact that so far they had received no sign of any member of that dark guild, they didn't let their guard down at any time. Some believed things like that they didn't dare to attack them out of fear and others knew that this was the calm before the storm.
At this moment, Izuku and Ochaco were sitting at a table alone, because Katsuki, Tenya and Shoto were with other matters. Izuku saw Ochaco with a worried expression and couldn't blame her. The thought of being targeted by villains or even dying was terrifying for anyone. But he didn't want his friend to be with such a negative expression all the time, he had to think of something to cheer her up and something crossed his mind.
"Ochaco." began Izuku getting her attention. "What do you say we go on a mission?"
"Huh? To a mission? Are you sure?" asked Ochaco.
"Why not? I think it would be fun." said Izuku trying to convince her.
"B-But what about Dark Shadows? They could attack us at any time." said Ochaco remembering the main topic.
"If we worried about them all the time, then we wouldn't be able to move on. Trust me, I won't let anything happen to you." said Izuku.
Ochaco blushed slightly at the green-haired boy's determination. Then she remembered all the many times she and her classmates faced villains and still, despite the possibility of being attacked again, they would carry on as if nothing had happened.
"Yeah. It can be fun. Besides, if you're with me, I feel safer." said Ochaco, causing Izuku to blush.
"Y-Yes." said Izuku.
Later, the two found themselves in front of the mission panel, looking for one that agreed with the situation.
"Let's see, we have to pick a very simple mission that's not too far from here." said Izuku.
"Hey. How about it?" asked Ochaco picking up one of the posters. "It says here that a bunch of thieves have stolen a very important object and they need help to get it back. And according to this, it's right in this town."
"Now we would just need the master's permission." said Izuku.
When they went to see the master and told him about their mission.
"I don't know if it's a good idea for you to go as things are." said Makarov.
"Please, master. We can't keep worrying all the time about what might happen." said Izuku.
"Besides, the mission is here, in Magnolia, and it's just a robbery." said Ochaco.
Makarov stopped to think about it. It was true that they had been tense and preoccupied since that battle, very rarely had he seen them having fun the way they had before. Perhaps he was right, and they needed that to cheer them up.
"Alright, you can go, but if you run into any of them, don't fight, stay under cover until reinforcements arrive, understood?" asked Makarov.
"Yes." said the two in unison.
With the master's approval, the two friends left the guild to fulfill their mission.
"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" asked Lucy.
"As obvious as yours with Natsu." said Erza.
"Between me and Natsu there's nothing!" exclaimed Lucy with a red face.
"And between the two of them neither." said Cana sarcastically.
"Aw, they're so cute. I wonder if they'll ever get to confess." said Mirajane.
"I hope so. They make a cute couple." said Erza.
Unbeknownst to anyone else, Charle was upstairs, watching everything that had happened. Suddenly, she froze in shock as strange images came into her mind, a vision.
In those images she saw a giant rock hand in a very dark place, a blue portal, a man in a white suit smiling triumphantly and at his feet, stood Ochaco who seemed to be in pain.
Charle let out a slight gasp as her vision ended.
"W-what was that?" wondered Charle having a bad feeling.
Izuku and Ochaco were walking through the city streets in the direction of where they requested the mission. But while their goal was the mission, there was something else on their minds, something that surprised them quite a bit.
"Wait, I'm walking through the city with Ochaco." thought Izuku blushing.
"Oh my god. I'm alone with Deku." thought Ochaco blushing.
"It's almost..." thought Izuku.
"Like we're..." thought Ochaco.
"On a date!" they both thought at the same time with faces as red as tomatoes and stopping.
They both turned their gaze to each other and soon after quickly looked away.
"W-Well, let's move on." said Izuku very nervously.
"Y-Yes. You're right." said Ochaco just as nervously.
The rest of the trip turned out to be uncomfortable for them, as that idea wasn't getting out of their heads at any time, which made them not speak to each other because of their shyness.
Finally, they returned to normal when they found themselves in front of the house where those who requested the mission lived. Izuku knocked on the door to knock and when they opened the door, they saw a young couple.
"Who are you?" the man asked.
"Hi. We're from the Fairy Tail guild. We came because you sent a request." said Izuku showing the pamphlet with the information.
"Please come in." said the man seeing that they were the ones waiting.
After that, the two students entered the house and sat on a couch, with the couple sitting on another couch opposite.
"So what can you tell us about that stolen object?" asked Ochaco.
"It was a gift I gave my wife for our first wedding anniversary." said the man.
"We usually take it with us whenever we celebrate." said the woman.
"But days ago, on our 5-year anniversary, a trio of bandits jumped us and stole it. I feel it was my fault." said the man.
"Honey, I didn't know it was going to happen. It's not your fault." said the woman trying to comfort her husband.
"Don't worry. We'll make sure to get it back." said Izuku.
"Thank you both very much." said the woman.
"Where exactly did they robbed?" asked Ochaco, hoping it wasn't far from the city.
"On the east side of the city, near the border with the sea." said the man.
"What does that object look like?" asked Izuku wanting all the information available.
"It's a small heart-shaped object with two handles forming a larger heart. It is a unique object in the world." said the man.
"Good, then we'll get going." said Izuku getting up at the same time as Ochaco.
"We'll be right back with the recovered object." said Ochaco as the two students left.
"Thank you very much." said the pair.
The two students arrived on the east side of the city, where they could begin their mission.
"How are we going to find the thieves? This place is too big." said Ochaco.
"Well, if we think about the modus operandi of typical thieves, they could hide in the crowd like normal people and hide what they steal in their house, but they could have also hidden their loot somewhere else that..." started to mutter Izuku.
"Deku." said Ochaco snapping the green-haired boy out of his state.
"S-Sorry, I was thinking about what to do." started Izuku rubbing the back of his head. "I know, what if we ask the locals? Maybe they know something." said Izuku.
"Good idea." said Ochaco.
For an hour, the two students were scouting the area, asking anyone they came across. From what they had gathered, there had been quite a few robberies lately around the area and the thieves hadn't been found.
After that, the two students decided to stop and rest on a bench.
"Phew. This is turning out to be harder than I thought." said Ochaco.
"You're telling me. I didn't think there would be any more robberies around here." said Izuku.
"How are we going to find the thieves now?" asked Ochaco.
Before he thought of any ideas...
"AH! Help! Stop the thief!" shouted a woman.
The two students looked ahead quickly to see a guy covered by a cloak running down the street with a bag in his hand.
"He must be one of the robbers!" exclaimed Ochaco.
"We have to follow him! Get on!" said Izuku bending down, allowing Ochaco to climb on top of him.
Covering his legs in blue lightning, Izuku increased his speed enough to be able to keep track of the thief while making sure he didn't see them.
After a while of running, they finally chased the thief to a presumably abandoned warehouse. They stayed half a distance away from the warehouse to remain hidden.
"So that's where thieves hide." said Izuku.
"That means that's where the object we're looking for will be." said Ochaco.
Walking cautiously, they entered the warehouse and stood behind a couple of boxes. Peeking out, they saw a lot of valuable objects, from handbags to necklaces and gems.
There they also saw three people covered in cloaks, looking at the loot they had.
"All right, boys. With all this loot, life will be easier for us." said the man who, most likely, was the leader.
"Yes." said the other two at the same time.
Seeing that this was the right time, the two students came out of hiding.
"Hold it right there!" said Izuku drawing the attention of the three thieves.
"Who are you?" asked Ochaco.
"Hehe. Who are we? We are..." said the leader as he and the others took off their cloaks.
"The Jiggle Butt Gang!" exclaimed the three at the same time, showing that they were three men in gray latex suits and very big butts as they struck a presentation pose in which they showed off their fat butts.
The two students went blank, not knowing what to think about that.
"Hahaha. See, guys? We're so awesome that they're speechless." said the band leader.
"That's right." said the two lackeys.
Izuku had to snap out of his state to focus on the situation.
"I don't care who you are. We won't let you leave." said Izuku.
"That's right. Return what you stole right now." said Ochaco.
"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do if we don't want to, huh?" asked the leader.
"You are nothing but children." said the first footman.
"That's right. Kids who don't stand a chance against us." said the second footman.
The response they received was when Izuku opened his mouth slightly, revealing that it was filled with blue lightning. At the sight of it, the gang began to panic as they hugged each other.
"Lightning Titan's Shout!" shouted Izuku shooting his blue lightning at them, causing an explosion that sent them shooting into the sky.
"YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF US!" shouted the gang members as they went higher in the sky until they disappeared in a brief flash.
The two students stared at the hole that caused the attack and in the direction those thieves went.
"I-I seem to have gone a little overboard." said Izuku.
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling we'll see them again." said Ochaco.
The students rested their gaze on the pile of stolen items in the storage room.
"The object we are looking for must be there." said Izuku.
"Then let's look for it." said Ochaco.
They both started digging through the pile like two dogs in search of some bone. They were like that for a few minutes until...
"Hey. I think I got something." said Izuku grabbing something with his hand.
"Me too." said Ochaco with her hand grabbing something.
In a joint effort, they pulled the object they were clutching out from under the pile, revealing that they were holding the two handles of the object they were looking for, but what was more surprising was that the object was glowing.
The two stared at the light hypnotically, for to them, the light was welcoming and warm. It was when they diverted their gaze to each other that they realized the situation.
Ochaco reflexively moved a little away, letting go of the object in the process and causing the light to fade.
"T-that's good. We found it." said Ochaco.
"Yeah. We'd better return it to its owners." said Izuku.
"Wait, what about the items those guys stole?" asked Ochaco.
"We'll notify the authorities on the way." said Izuku.
The two students went back to the couple's house and returned the item they lost to them.
"Oh, thank you so much. You don't know how grateful we are." said the man.
"How can we return it to you?" asked the woman.
"No need, ma'am." said Izuku.
"Just having helped them is enough for us." said Ochaco.
"How humble. Still, we'll return the favor someday. Is that okay with you?" asked the man.
"As you wish." said Izuku before turning to leave.
"Take care." said Ochaco following her friend.
The pair stood in their driveway watching the two students walk away.
"What lovely children." said the woman.
"Do you think they would have discovered the secret of this magical object that was created for lovers?" asked the man.
"I don't know, but it would have been interesting for them to know that this object only glows when the two people who hold it at the same time share a mutual and true love." said the woman taking one handle of the object while her husband held the other, making the object glow in the same way as before.
Izuku and Ochaco walked back to the guild much happier than before.
"You know? It made me very happy to help that couple." said Ochaco.
"Yes. It made me remember why I want to be a hero, to help people and make them happy." said Izuku.
"I know you will be a great hero, Deku." said Ochaco.
"You will be too, Ochaco. I am sure." said Izuku.
Ochaco had heard that from her parents and classmates but hearing it from him made her feel more confident, happier.
Suddenly, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, which made her stop and turn her head out of curiosity. That's when she saw the man she met during the play's mission walk into an alley.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" asked Izuku.
"There's something I need to check on. I'll be right back." said Ochaco running quickly, leaving behind her friend who was very confused. Ochaco entered the alley and there he met that man. "It's you!"
"Huh?" said the man turning around. "Ah, you're that girl from the play the other day, aren't you?" asked the man.
"Yes. In the end I don't know if you came." said Ochaco.
"I couldn't make it. I had very important business to attend to." said the man.
"Really? Do you need help with those matters?" asked Ochaco offering kindly.
What she couldn't see was the sinister smile on the man's face.
"Actually, I think you can help me with a little matter I have pending." said the man.
Meanwhile, Izuku stood outside the alley, waiting for his friend to finish with whatever she was doing.
"I wonder what's taking so long." thought Izuku.
"AAHH!" it didn't take Izuku a second to know that this scream belonged to his friend.
As fast as he could, he entered the alley, only to stand and watch in horror at what was happening. The man had a grip on Ochaco with one hand around her body while covering her mouth with the other.
"Ochaco!" shouted Izuku.
"Oh, I see there's one of your friends. I could take you too, but Master Shadow has made it explicit that he only needed one of you." the man said.
That made Izuku and Ochaco's eyes widen in horror as they discovered that the man was one of Dark Shadow's lackeys.
"Drop it right now!" demanded Izuku as blue lightning flashed across his body.
"Hahaha. I'm sorry, but that won't be possible." said the man just as his shadow turned into a hole through which he began to sink. "See? It's time to go."
"Ochaco!" shouted Izuku running with all his might as he stretched out his arm hoping to catch her at the same time she did the same to him.
Unfortunately, just as they were an inch away from touching, Ochaco and the man who had her captured plunged completely into the hole that disappeared soon after.
That caused Izuku to end up crashing into the wall and falling to the ground. When he got up, realization caught up with him and he leaned against the alley wall with his hands as a certain memory flashed through his mind.
"Trust me, I won't let anything happen to you."
He had promised her that she would be safe, that nothing would happen to her, and he couldn't keep that promise.
"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Izuku was shouting as he pounded his fist against the wall as tears streamed down his face.
It was then that another memory flashed through his mind.
"I know you'll be a great hero, Deku."
No. Now was not the time to cry, now wasn't the time to feel hopeless. His friend was in danger, and he couldn't just stand there mourning. He pulled himself together, wiped the tears from his face with his arm and with an expression of pure determination he hurried out of the alley, ready to go to the guild to warn the others and possibly form a plan to rescue Ochaco.
"Ochaco, I swear I will save you. Whatever it takes." thought Izuku.