Hello! I'm back with another chapter! I'm so grateful for the response to the first one and I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it! Well, on with the story!
I do not own My Hero Academia.
Shouta's mind was foggy as he slowly returned to consciousness. He was further awoken by his throbbing shoulder and aching neck. Unable to stop himself, he let out a pained groan when he attempted to move.
"Shouta?"
It took more effort than he was willing to admit, but he opened his eyes at the voice. Due to the fact he was sitting upright and couldn't move his arms, he concluded that he was sitting in a chair and his arms were cuffed behind the back. He couldn't move his legs either. After shifting again, he figured that his ankles had been bound to the legs of the chair. From the looks of it, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
A surprisingly gentle hand cupped his chin and tilted his head up from its resting place on his chest. He met Hizashi's eyes and noticed the relieved smile on his face.
"I'm glad you're awake, Sho'. I was starting to worry I'd given you too much of that sedative. I convinced Yasunari to give me some time alone with you, but he was getting rather impatient when he kept checking in and you hadn't woken up yet."
"What's…wh-what's going on?" he slurred.
He blinked a couple of times, as if that would clear the rest of the fog clouding his mind. His friend's hand moved from his chin to his left cheek, his smile turning into a grimace as his feather light touch traced over what must have been a bruise.
"I'm sorry about this. I really am. Yasunari didn't originally plan to capture you, but you happened to be on patrol in the area and he couldn't let this opportunity pass. He knows you're stubborn, but he's confident enough to think he can get what he needs from you." Hizashi's eyes trailed to his shoulder, then back to the bruise on his face. "I…I didn't want to see you get hurt, but I'm afraid it's a little late for that."
More aware now, Shouta leaned as much as he could to the side to peer around Hizashi. The door was closed. The only other thing in the room was another chair across from his.
They were alone.
"Mic, what's going on?" he asked again, making sure to keep his voice low.
Hizashi sat down in the chair across from him. He crossed his arms and leaned back. His gaze shifted to the ground, unable to look his friend in the eye.
"You need to tell us where every security camera is or how to disable the entire system. I know you know how to do it."
The captive hero shook his head.
"You wouldn't be involved in this without a reason—"
"Shouta," Hizashi interrupted, a cold edge to his tone. "I just told you that I didn't want to see you get hurt, and you won't anymore if you tell us how to disable the security system in the dorms and which students are in which rooms. Yasunari told you which students our clients ordered, correct?"
This can't be happening. Yamada Hizashi would never endanger the students like this. This has to be a mistake.
"Asui and Iida surprised me, to be completely honest," he chuckled, his usual demeanor returning as he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think I can recall any past orders for kids with mutant quirks. Todoroki was a shock as well considering our clients usually stay away from children of well-known pro heroes, but I'm not paid to question our clients' decisions."
Rage surged through Shouta's veins at the mention of his students. He strained against the cuffs holding him to the chair, feeling the metal biting into his skin.
How can he talk about the students like this?
"Mic, this has gone on long enough. Tell me what's going on."
Hizashi took a deep breath, the grim smile from when he first entered the warehouse returning.
"Nothing."
Nothing.
Shouta slouched back against the chair when the answer sunk in. The blond stood, towering over the erasure hero. He placed his hands gently on his friend's shoulders.
"I'm sorry. I never wanted you to find out I was a part of the ring, and especially not like this." He tilted his head to the side. "I'm sure this has to be difficult for you to process."
"You're a hero…." It sounded so naïve to Shouta's ears, and maybe it was, but his friend of fifteen years couldn't possibly be a villain. "No hero would willingly work with someone like Yasunari, Mic."
Hizashi merely shrugged and shook his head.
"I don't know what to tell you other than I'm sorry."
This can't be real.
"Does he have something on you?"
We're alone. Why isn't he telling me why he's here? I could help him.
"I'm afraid not," Hizashi chuckled again. "I know you're racking your brain for some sort of explanation, but there isn't one. Ten years ago, I was presented with an opportunity I felt that I couldn't refuse. That's all. It seems to have presented itself again after all this time, and I'm going to take full advantage of that." He leaned in closer to Shouta. "No one coerced me. I made this decision on my own. You don't want to accept that. I understand, but that's reality."
Shouta's brow furrowed.
None of this makes any sense. Hizashi wanted nothing more than to be a hero. There's no possible way he could have gotten involved in this ring, especially not ten years ago.
"Mic, I know you—"
"Not as well as you thought you did." The grip on his good shoulder tightened. "But one thing hasn't changed: I was your friend, Shouta. I have always truly cared about you. That's why I warned you it's in your best interest to cooperate. I don't want to hurt you, but I have a job to do. I'll do whatever it takes to get the information we need."
"Why don't you go get the students yourself?" Shouta asked, unable to keep the bite out of his tone.
The hands fell off his shoulders.
"I suggested the idea. The students trust me, so it wouldn't be difficult to get them alone." The words made the homeroom teacher sick to his stomach. "The only problem is Nezu kept me away from the dorms. I don't know anything about their security. We have men working to hack in and disable the system, but it's taking much longer than they anticipated. Yasunari doesn't want me to lose my position at Yuuei, so I can't risk being seen on the security footage or by other faculty and students."
He's right. Only a few teachers were involved with the dorm construction and security design. Did Nezu suspect something after Kamino Ward? Maybe even before then?
That wasn't the only question on his mind.
If Yasunari wants Hizashi to keep his position at Yuuei….
The grip on his chin returned and tilted his head up.
"I can see that mind of yours working. I know what you're thinking, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. You have the information we need, so start talking."
The erasure hero looked deep into Hizashi's green eyes. He had a feeling he wouldn't like the response, but he spoke up anyway.
"Hizashi, think about what you're asking me to do."
He was rarely one to break professionalism, but he didn't have much of a choice. He had to see if he could snap his friend out of it.
"I have."
He specifically requested time alone with me. He's had the opportunity to tell me what's going on, but he hasn't. He understands what he's asking me to do even though….
"Then you should already know I won't cooperate," he quipped right back.
Hizashi released his grip on his chin. He took a step back from the captive hero and crossed his arms. A tense silence surrounded the two friends until the blond gathered the nerve to break it.
"Do you remember Ouji Takara?"
Hizashi's abrupt question caused his brows to furrow, but he nodded. Of course he did. How could he forget her? Takara was the girl Tensei rescued the night of the raid. Her mother was the only witness to any of the kids' abductions.
Unfortunately, the only witness had her throat slit when she got off work early and returned during the home invasion.
"Yasunari doesn't leave witnesses. I know you want to protect them, but we will retrieve our clients' orders one way or another. Think of it this way: you'd be saving some of your students. If you tell us where their rooms are, we can be in and out quickly. There'd be less of a chance of those not on the list waking up and interrupting us. They'll be left alone."
Shouta closed his eyes, as if that would block out Hizashi's words.
"You're asking me to help Yasunari abduct my students."
"I'm telling you how to save the others," Hizashi corrected. "Think about this logically, Shouta. None of your students would just let us take their classmates if they woke up while we were still there. The stunt your students pulled to save Bakugou is proof of that. Yasunari doesn't want us to kill potential products if we can help it, but we will if they interfere. You don't want that to happen, do you?"
Shouta opened his eyes, but remained silent. That was his only option until someone realized he was missing. He inwardly smirked at the thought.
They probably think they're lucky I was patrolling their industrial park on a Saturday night. Classes aren't in session tomorrow, after all. They probably think they have at least until Monday morning before anyone realizes I'm missing.
Hizashi sighed. The slight smugness welling inside the erasure hero faded as soon as the blond reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black device with metal prods on one end. His eyebrows rose when the taser sparked to life.
"Hiza—"
His friend jammed the taser into his stomach. Whatever he was about to say got caught in his throat and his muscles cramped up where the metal prods made contact. The rest of his body seized up as electricity pulsed through it. He remained tense for a few moments after the taser was removed before slumping over, his raven hair falling in a curtain around his face. Something warm and wet dribbled down his palms. Only then did he realize he must have been straining against the cuffs hard enough for the metal to finally break skin. The stinging in his wrists confirmed that assumption.
"I know I warned you, but I'm still sorry I had to do that to you."
The erasure hero slowly lifted his head when Hizashi spoke. The blond's lips were quirked into a thin line and the man winced at the sound of his ragged breathing, but that only lasted for a moment. Cold and determined green eyes bore into his own.
"You can't think your way out of this and are only delaying the inevitable. All Might won't be there to save you and the students this time around. Yasunari will get what he needs out of you. The interrogation will only escalate from here. Please, Shouta, don't make this harder on yourself than it needs to be. Tell us what we want to know."
"No."
His head flung back as he was tasered yet again. He couldn't stop a groan from escaping through his clenched teeth. Panic flared through him when Hizashi didn't remove the taser and he felt his chest tightening.
I can't breathe.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Hizashi pulled the taser away. He could feel his stomach muscles spasm while he tried to catch his breath. He barely registered the sound of the door opening.
"Looks like you got started without us, Yamada." Shouta ignored his body's protests as he righted himself from his prone position to see Yasunari and a couple other men walk into the room. "I thought he would consider talking to an old friend, but it seems that didn't work out as I'd hoped it would." Yasunari approached him and bent down so the two were eye-level. "Don't worry, Eraser. We'll get you to talk eventually."
Shouta swallowed, knowing what was coming next would be nothing short of unpleasant, but he still shot the ring leader a glare that would freeze hell over. His earlier thoughts echoed in his mind.
Kan will know I'm missing soon. He'll alert the rest of the staff. They'll know something's wrong.
I just have to hold out until then.
*break*
A pale hand reached toward Tsuyu, but he was frozen in place. He willed his body to move as the hand touched her face, to just push her out of the way.
But nothing happened.
The man above them let out a frustrated sigh when the skin didn't decay. He watched as the twisted man turned to look over his shoulder.
"You really are cool, Eraserhead."
His jaw dropped when he saw his teacher's bloodshot eyes wide open and staring directly at the villain, despite the crushing grip on his head. His blood ran cold when he saw the giant hand lift his teacher's head and slam his face into the ground. His mouth was open, but no scream came out. The erasure hero's lifeless body lied limp beneath the mutant on top of him. Nothing could stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks.
"Sensei…."
Izuku bolted upright and gasped for breath. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, realizing his shirt was drenched in sweat. He got up and rummaged through his dresser for another one. Once he'd changed, he laid back down.
He couldn't close his eyes.
He blankly stared up at the ceiling and willed himself to fall back asleep, but he couldn't. Slowly, he sat back up and ran a hand down his face. Checking his phone, he saw that it was almost four in the morning. He sighed before getting up and leaving his room. He yawned as he entered the elevator. Within seconds, he was on the first floor. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way to the kitchen.
"Midoriya?"
Izuku actually jumped, but managed to stifle his startled yelp.
"Shinsou?"
He didn't expect to see anyone in the kitchen at this hour, but especially not his newest classmate. The purple-haired teen was rummaging through one of the cupboards. He saw Hitoshi's eyebrows slightly raise when he found what he was looking for.
"What are you doing up?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Hitoshi deadpanned.
He set a box of tea down on the counter. That's when Izuku noticed the kettle on the stove.
"Fair enough, I guess," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I couldn't sleep."
"Nightmare?"
Izuku froze. Hitoshi had turned his back to him to tend to the boiling kettle, but he didn't have any doubts that his classmate was truly listening.
"Y-yeah. How did you…is that why you're up too?"
Hitoshi shook his head.
"Not tonight. I woke up a couple hours ago and couldn't go back to sleep."
"I suppose that makes sense," Izuku said, bringing a hand to his chin. "After all, you just transferred into the hero course and moved into the dorms. I know all of us had to adjust to sleeping in the dorms when we first moved in. You're also probably stressed because you have so much to catch up—"
"Do you want any tea?" Hitoshi interrupted, too tired to deal with his classmate's rambling.
"Oh…sure."
Hitoshi grabbed two mugs from another cupboard. Silently, he filled them with the steaming water and dropped in the tea bags. He set the mugs on the table and the two sat down.
"Thanks," Izuku mumbled. He took a sip and his eyes widened at the taste. "What kind of tea is this?"
"It's called lemon balm. I usually don't like tea, but this is an exception. Mostly because it helps me sleep and I don't mind the taste."
"I see. I don't think I've ever had this before. Who showed it to you?"
"Aizawa-sensei." Izuku's eyebrows shot up so high they almost disappeared into his hair at the response, causing the closest thing to a genuine smile he'd seen on his new classmate. "I know. He noticed I was sluggish during training one day awhile back. I've had trouble sleeping as long as I can remember. Normally I'm fine and can handle it, but it really caught up to me with all the extra training. Once I told him that, he gave me a few bags to try. He suggested drinking it within an hour of going to bed and it would help me sleep. When I told him that I liked it and it helped, he brought me three boxes." He chuckled and raised the mug to his lips. "I wish he would take his own advice, though. Who knows when the last time he got a full night's rest was. It seems like he needs it more than any of us."
Izuku softly laughed as well, but abruptly stopped when the two heard footsteps coming from the front door of Heights Alliance. Given the time, they knew their teacher could be coming back from patrol at any moment. The footsteps paused in the common area before making their way toward the kitchen. Both students' eyes widened when Vlad King stood in the entryway.
"Did either of you let Eraser back into the dorms?"
Izuku and Hitoshi looked to each other. The green-haired teen didn't miss the way his classmate tensed at the question. He turned his gaze back to the blood hero.
"No, sir."
"Are any of your other classmates awake?"
"No, sir," Izuku answered again. "Not that we know of, anyway. If they are, they haven't left their rooms."
Kan nodded and shifted in place, his hand reaching into his pocket.
"All right. He probably just got caught up at the police station then. I'll give him another call." He turned to leave the kitchen. "You two should probably go back to sleep."
"Yes, sir," they both mumbled.
The two didn't speak until the front door to their dorm shut. Izuku looked down to the mug in his hands, his eyebrows drawing together.
"I wonder why Aizawa-sensei would need one of us to let him into the dorms. He has an access card like the rest of us—"
"Not while he's on patrol." Izuku's head shot up at the response. Hitoshi tightened his grip around his own mug. "King-sensei stops by during training on occasion to drop off his access cards to both the main campus and the dorms before going on patrol. I was confused at first, but Aizawa-sensei told me it was his idea and he does the same thing. If something were to happen to either of them while on patrol, they don't want to give villains a way to get on campus or in the dorms. Given the attack at the USJ and the training camp, I don't blame either of them. They meet each other at the gates to the dorms after their respective shifts to let each other back in."
Izuku's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates while his classmate spoke.
Aizawa-sensei and King-sensei had to do that press conference after the training camp. Anyone targeting Yuuei would know that they teach here and think they could get access to campus from them.
He couldn't help but smile.
Aizawa-sensei is truly taking every precaution to make sure we're safe.
The thought of his teacher brought him back to their current situation, and his smile faded almost as quickly as it had formed.
"But Aizawa-sensei hasn't returned from patrol…." he muttered.
He didn't miss the way Kan was trying to hide his concern and he knew it was solely for his and Hitoshi's peace of mind. Unfortunately, they knew their teacher well.
"He's almost never late," Hitoshi said, "and if he is, he'd make sure to call King-sensei."
"There's still the chance he just had a busy patrol. He'll probably be back soon."
Hitoshi took a sip of tea, not looking convinced in the slightest. If Izuku were completely honest with himself, he wasn't either.
Even if Aizawa-sensei was busy and stuck at the police station, he would make the time to call. He wouldn't just not show up.
Izuku looked back down to his mug.
He's okay. He has to be. There has to be some sort of reason for why he hasn't returned or called.
Despite the tea and Kan's suggestion, he had the feeling that he and Hitoshi would still have trouble sleeping the rest of the night.
Well, there's the second chapter! I feel like this chapter brought on more questions than answers, but everything will be answered eventually! I loved writing the lowkey Dadzawa and Shinson. He cares about his purple son. Don't fight me on that.
Anyways, until next chapter!