Chapter 27

Training Camp (Part 3)

If Rei had thought that camp was difficult, she was now being put to the test in a whole new manner. It was now that she was thoroughly convinced that the concept of fatigue was mostly a mental game, and if one had a strong enough mind then they could be strong enough to overcome their exhaustion.

By all means, she should have been wiped out, should have passed out long ago. Not just physically, but emotionally from escaping a close encounter with another villain. During her run through the forest she had to convince herself that she wasn't any of those things, that she was fresh and ready to begin the next challenge. The adrenaline hadn't worn off yet, which helped in the effort. That, and the scent of burning wood in the forest kept her senses sharp and ready, mind on high alert as she navigated through the darkness.

She was fortunate that she had heightened vision in low light, able to easily navigate the forest and look for enemies on the prowl. They still had no idea how many villains were on site in the forest and lingering around, looking for their next prey. Face set in a permanent frown and scowl, Rei booked it as fast as she could with torn quadricep. She had to get back to the clearing where Mandalay had been.

She wondered what had happened to the others that had gone on the test of courage before the rest of Class A, those who had been on the moonlit dirt path in the middle of nowhere, as well as what happened to Class B, who had been hiding along the trails. She could only hope that nothing serious had happened, that they all had escaped unscathed and were on the way back to the main campsite where Aizawa-sensei and Vlad-sensei had been teaching the remedial classes to those who had failed the exam. A piece of her knew that her classmates were smart and resourceful enough to know how to survive and hold their own in a combat situation, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

It was the reason why she pushed on in spite of her injury telling her to slow down and stop.

Rei heard the sounds of fighting before she could see it, and she knew that she was getting close. Slowing down before she burst into the arena, she stopped within the treeline, looking out at the battlefield and taking in the scene before interrupting and drawing attention to herself. Tiger and Mandalay were still fighting against the two villains that had appeared before them, the red haired villain and the Stain imposter. Maneuvering so that she was far enough away to not be a potential target, she burst onto the scene. "Mandalay, can you hear me?"

The woman turned to glance at the person who had called her name, surprised to see a student back at the site. But Rei didn't give her a chance to admonish her, shouting out her message as she watched the battle carefully. "Kota is safe and back at camp. We found out that-"

"Mandalay!"

If Rei could tear his head off, she would. Bursting onto the scene with little physical awareness of the situation, it was none other than Midoriya who hurtled through the air, grabbing almost everyone's attention as he stole the spotlight. "Kota's okay!"

"You-"

Rei glowered, growling at her classmate and barking out his name sharply. "Midoriya!"

He didn't seem to hear her, instead barely landing on his feet and skidding away, Full Cowling still activated and bursting around his feet. "And here's a message from Aizawa-sensei to tell everyone with Telepath! Everyone from Class A and B, in the name of Pro Hero Eraserhead, you are granted permission to engage in combat!"

Rei had begun running around the perimeter, intent on reaching Midoriya so that she could drive him back to camp. He was clearly almost hysterical, eyes too wide and his movements too careless and sloppy. But as soon as he relayed the message from Eraserhead she nearly tripped, stumbling for a moment before continuing to run to catch up, her eyes wide. Aizawa-sensei allowed what?

"You, return to camp now! Those injuries aren't normal!"

"I'm sorry!" Full Cowling lit up once more, and Rei's eyes widened as she sprinted forward, running parallel to Midoriya now that he was beginning to run away from the fight. "Please tell everyone one more thing. The villains… at least one of their targets… is Kacchan!"

This time Rei let out a gasp in shock. Bakugou? Was at the center of this somehow?

What in the world was going on?

It was clear that Mandalay was confused as she shouted after Midoriya to explain, but he vanished into the forest. Rei darted after him, calling his name. It looked like this was up to her from here on out; her green haired classmate was clearly running on adrenaline from his injuries, and wouldn't listen to logic no matter how loud anyone screamed in his face. Mandalay and Tiger were still fighting away in the clearing, with no clear winner established yet as both parties seemed fairly beaten. No, this was up to Rei now, even if she herself wasn't suited for the task.

Someone had to take care of the broken idiot running ahead of her.

Midoriya was unable to think clearly. But as much as Rei was ready to send him back, she now knew what had kept him moving forward. If this attack had something to do with Bakugou and the explosive boy was in trouble, then Midoriya wouldn't stand for it, rivals who tore at one another's throats or not. The ball had already begun to roll down a steep hill, and until a resolution came Midoriya would continue to chase the trail as long as he had energy in his bones.

And as much as Rei knew that she should have gone back to the camp as well, she was metaphorically torn inside. Torn because she didn't want to leave Midoriya in the forest on his own, not when he was severely injured and could come across another villain at any moment now. Her honor and her conscience wouldn't let her do such a thing. Additionally, they had one thing in common right now; Bakugou was on their minds, and Rei would be damned if she didn't do something to help him out. Even if he didn't need her help, even if he complained about it later and chewed her ear off, she wouldn't leave him alone.

He was too precious for Rei, and she wouldn't let him struggle on his own.

"Midoriya!"

She could see his sparking body begin to slow down ahead of her, recognizing her voice as he came to a full halt and turned around. "Akatsuki?"

But Rei kept moving, brushing past him as she hobbled along, trying to keep her gait and pace as steady and fast as possible, urgency moving her along. Glowering at her classmate, she barked back at him. "If you're going to keep moving, then at least keep up with me!"

"R-right!"

He seemed surprised that she was moving alongside him now, and for good reason. Not a few minutes earlier she had been ready to tear his head off if he so much as moved another muscle. The look was still on her face, but now she looked to be scheming, a dark look over her face. "I hope you have a plan."

"I have to get to Kacchan-"

"That's not a plan, Midoriya!"

So astonished at Rei's sharp bite in her voice, the green haired boy fell silent as they continued into the forest. Deeper and deeper they went, running along as best as they can. The only sound for a while was the sound of their heavy breathing and their footsteps pounding against the packed dirt floor of the forest, as well as distant sounds of fire crackling and consuming the forest. Not an hour prior there had been shrieks of good nature in the spirit of camp traditions. Now they could only pray for the silence and crackling fire to be the only sounds filling the air, for fear of something happening to their friends.

Restraining her anger, Rei swallowed her frustrations at how little Midoriya was thinking. Clearly she would need to do some of the processing, now that he was too flustered and out of commission to be thinking straight. Looking forward toward their path, she spoke to him in a more level tone. "Listen. You've been told to go back to camp multiple times. If it comes down to it, if you prove that you're unable to think clearly, I'll knock you out and walk you back myself, and we'll both be doing some we don't want to do, understand?"

"Y-yeah."

"So think clearly, Midoriya. What is the plan? Bakugou and Todoroki started second in the test of courage, which means that they should have passed the halfway point and had started on their way back to the beginning. Prove to me you can still stand."

He thought for a moment before nodding his head. "This way!" Darting ahead and taking the lead ever so slightly, Rei allowed him to shift their path toward the right as soon as the walkway split. Behind him so that he couldn't see her expression, she smiled ever so slightly. Good. At least he had enough wits about him to logically predict Bakugou's position within a respectable margin of error.

He had passed Rei's first test, but there would be more to come. If at any point he proved himself to be less than coherent she would knock him unconscious and take him back herself, her legs and his broken arms be damned. She had told Midoriya that neither of them wanted that; they both wanted to reach Bakugou, for various reasons that were also somehow intertwined and similar at their cores. But if it came down to it, she would rescue her current and only classmate that she had on her hands. Logically, it was better to minimize casualties, even if it meant sacrificing some others.

She sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come down to that, but the thought lingered in her mind.

The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. It was a part of hero training. Try as they might, they couldn't save everyone.

But, in this moment, they could try, as long as the opportunity was still there.

So they kept running toward their destination, Rei keeping a careful eye on Midoriya without him realizing it. They would do what they could with the time given them.

Rei had heard it before either of the two of them saw it coming. Something was almost clumsily knocking around in the forest, colliding with trees and breaking down the environment around it. She at least knew it was a singular figure, as there wasn't any sort of fight going on, and she frowned in contemplation as she tried to figure out if it was a villain. Surely a villain wouldn't be so sloppy in giving away their position like this. But suddenly something began snaking out, weaving from the central position and traveling quite quickly toward them-

She saw it before Midoriya, but only a moment earlier. Leaping forward she did the only thing she could, her hand latching around his ankle and pulling him to the ground in one fell swoop. He landed face first, hands dangling uselessly at his sides and unable to support him as he fell with a yelp, but Rei was in a similar situation, as her momentum had continued flying forward and she hadn't had the time to bring her hand up to soften the landing. At least she had known what she was doing, turning her head to the side so she didn't crush her nose. The duo hit the ground just in time to miss a massive flying blurb fly over their heads, Rei unable to properly identify it as it retracted once more.

Opening her eyes and staring at the side, golden eyes widened as they landed on a familiar figure, her own eyes meeting another pair that she hadn't seen for hours. He lifted a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be silent as he crawled over toward them, scooping Midoriya up in his appendages and creating a sort of cocoon as they crouched in the underbrush. Midoriya was too stunned from the fall to feel any pain as Shoji scooped him up, only recognizing his surroundings after the trio had taken shelter behind a particularly large tree surrounded by dense brush.

At least Midoriya was coherent enough to recognize his friend. Green eyes lit up. "Shoji-kun!"

"Shh." Rei put a finger to her lips, mimicking the one Shoji had given her as she gestured for Midoriya to lower his voice. Green eyes widened but clearly listened to her warning, piping down immediately. Damn it, why couldn't Midoriya have listened to anything else that she said and gone back to Aizawa-sensei?!

"With those injuries, you shouldn't be moving anymore should you, Midoriya? You're only thinking of saving your friend. What are we going to do with you?"

"There's no use in telling him that, Shoji." In any other situation Rei would have found it amusing that almost everyone in their class could read Midoriya as light as day. But instead, Rei's eyes traveled down to their most recent addition to their group and their classmate's free appendage, noting the blood that was still dripping. Concern alit her features at seeing her classmate's injury, though it at least looked as though the bleeding was slowing down. "Besides, you're one to talk."

"Shoji-kun, what happened?"

"As soon as we heard Mandalay's Telepath, we went on alert. It was right after that that we were ambushed by a villain. Even though I was cut I covered both of us under the foliage."

"Your arm…" Midoriya finally realized that Shoji was bleeding, one of the usual limbs where an appendage typically sprouted cut short as a nub. Rei frowned, looking down at the limb. Even if he said that it wasn't a big deal, it didn't seem like that was the case. However…

"Even though it's not a shallow cut, it's not lost forever." Shoji went into more detail after seeing the concerned look on Rei's face. She lifted her head, looking into her classmate's eyes as he reassured her. "My Dupli-Arms can even duplicate my duplicated organs, and what was cut off was a duplicate, not the original. But, even that much was too much for Tokoyami."

Sighing in relief, Rei managed a shaky smile. "Well, at least you're okay. Small steps."

"But now Tokoyami is in the way of us getting to Bakugou. We have to figure out how to do something about this."

Just as Shoji finished his sentence, Dark Shadow let out another unearthly roar, shattering any stillness and echoing into the night. Flinching at the sudden loudness, Rei winced in agony as the shrill tones pierced her hearing. "So, any tips or ideas?"

Shoji shifted, the brush rustling around him. "It reacts to sound or movement, turning into a monster that lashes out with attacks indiscriminately."

"Shoji… Midoriya… Akatsuki…"

Peering over the bush and hazarding a glance at Dark Shadow, Rei could see Tokoyami's figure slowly being consumed by the hazy purple and static darkness, body twitching as he seized in space. "Forget… me… Find the others… Help them!"

"Tokoyami…" Rei's heart ached for him, golden eyes watching as he tried his best to contain the beast that was now unleashed and on a rampage. Ever few moments another tree would snap into pieces as Dark Shadow brushed past it, pushing it over as it meandered in the darkness with a deep resounding roar. The ground and the air shook, and Rei could only imagine how Tokoyami felt in the midst of it all.

The master had become the mastered. "Dark Shadow, calm down! Listen… to me!"

Time continued to pass. Every second they spent lying down in the suffocating darkness was another moment they lost to finding Bakugou. But could they truly move around Tokoyami and forget another classmate? Could their consciences handle trading one for another? Looking over to Midoriya, Rei could see the gears turning in his head, as well as in Shoji's own eyes as they shimmered with anger at the corner that they had been backed into. The two of them knew how much they wanted to ensure Bakugou's safety, but neither could they ignore the lurking and looming problem in front of them. Just as much as they wanted to help Bakugou, they couldn't bear to leave Tokoyami behind to shoulder this burden alone.

Shoji waited for Dark Shadow to turn away, wandering a bit further from their hiding spot before speaking again. "Dark Shadow is weak to light. Any sort of light, like a campfire or something would do."

A scowl formed on Rei's face. "During the test of courage, we weren't allowed to have any lights. Any sustainable source would have to be back in the direction of camp."

"I don't want to become a person who leaves a friend to suffer," Shoji continued, continuing to watch Dark Shadow's movements. In fact both Rei and Shoji's eyes were trained on the dark creature, only Midoriya slouched in the makeshift pouch that Shoji had made as his eyes glazed over in contemplation. Rei knew that he wasn't giving in still, the adrenaline still going. No, this was the face he made when searching desperately for an answer, for the best way out of a situation given the circumstances. So she waited as patiently as possible. "Midoriya, you forced your body to move this far because you were worried about Bakugou, right? If you think you can still move, I can distract Dark Shadow and open up a pathway for you and Rei to get through."

"No." Both boys looked to Rei, who shook her head. "I won't leave Tokoyami either, nor you. No matter how much Bakugou and…" Trailing off, Rei's eyes began to clear up then cloud over again, the ideas forming in her head.

"Tsuki-chan, do you have an idea?"

Looking back up to Midoriya, Rei nodded slowly. "It's not much of a plan, but maybe you can help. Bakugou's partner is Todoroki, right? We might not have a campfire, but with their powers and lights combined…"

Shoji's eyes lit up, looking rather impressed with the idea. "And they're closer than camp. It's a better idea that what we had, and it helps Tokoyami at the same time."

"Midoriya, how do we all get there and keep ourselves in one piece?"

It took him a minute to process things, but green eyes began to clear with determination. "I have an idea."

"Let's hear it."

As the villain draped in black and wrapped tightly in chains was lifted high into the night sky by the use of his quirk, held aloft by glittering steel beams that extended from his teeth, the echo of his cries for flesh and blood resounded through the air with an edge that could unnerve even the most wizened and practiced heroes.

Todoroki was trying not to panic, what with the villain high in the sky raining down metal blades on their position with both deadly accuracy and strength, all the while dealing with his test partner that simultaneously wanting to rain down the rest of the forest on their heads.

"Damn! I can't get near him, damn it!"

Todoroki's right side was already frosted over, and had been for a while. He had been carrying an unconscious member of Class B on his back, a burden quite literally on his shoulders while the metaphorical burden of having to both try and contain Bakugou's anger and quirk while fending off a lethal villain in the air. The problems were coming in from all angles, and he was beginning to grow irritable and desperate. He couldn't set the unconscious boy down, or else the villain would seize the moment and attack his body and turn him into a flayed corpse. But without anyone to alleviate him of his burden he was unable to use his flames in order to both restore his body temperature balance and to try and get a shot in at their target. And of course, Bakugou was no help in that sense either.

They were down to their last wits, and if Bakugou didn't blow up, then Todoroki himself was half convinced that he himself would.

"The only thing I can do is blast him with everything I've got-"

"You can't!"

"If the trees burn, then just cover them with ice right after!"

"If you do that, the blast will cover my vision as well! What'll happen if I can't stop all of it? Our opponent has the advantage in both number of moves and distance!"

Another moan sounded from the villain above, the sound mixing with a grating laughter that felt like nails being scraped across a chalkboard. The blades continued to hail down upon the ice barrier that Todoroki had created, stabbing away vicious and attempting to break through in order to slice into their flesh.

There had to be something else that they could do. But if they turned their backs, they would be blindsided and would most likely be crushed in an instant. Think! What else could they do, given their limited resources and time?

A crash resounded in the distance. Then another, and another, until the explosions began picking up in rhythm and drawing closer and closer to their position. Setting up another massive ice wall, both Todoroki and Bakugou stared in wonder as they saw trees and debris flying up and out of the way of someone's path. Someone, or something, was angry, and they were barreling toward the two at an astonishing speed.

Were they friendly, or more foes?

A voice could faintly be heard in the distance, yelling some sort of orders. Todoroki's eyes widened as he recognized the voice, watching the forest line for the inevitable emergence.

"Bakugou! Todoroki!"

It was Shoji, closely followed by Rei as the two of them sprinted recklessly at full speed, running from whatever it was that was chasing them. Shoji looked rather panicked, Todoroki never having seen the hulking boy's eyes so wide and visible even deep within the dark forest, while Rei only held a grimace on her face, eyes narrowed with her jaw clenched tight. But he could only look for so long at his classmates when his attention to the hulking purple and black mass that was chasing them down with a fury almost equal to the villain above his own head.

"One of you, please! Make some light!"

"FLESH!"

The one who reacted fast enough was Rei, who saw the glint of silver blades descending with vicious bloodthirst and had enough wits to grab Shoji's arm, yanking him in a new direction. But her concern was dismissed, as Dark Shadow finally found the opportunity to latch onto a real target. With his own talons and claws, Tokoyami's familiar pounced on the flesh-crazed villain, tackling him into the ground with a satisfying smash.

With the villain finally pulled out of the sky and sent to his feet, Todoroki set the boy on his back down, putting him a distance away. "Alright. I'll create a flame-"

"Wait, idiot!"

Bakugou put a hand in front of Todoroki, making him pause in his advance and attack. The half hot, half cold user opened his mouth to retort with something wittily, but Bakugou only gestured back to the center of the mass, pointing at something in the center. "Look there."

Rei and Shoji had continued to run around the perimeter, making their way to their other two classmates as quickly as possible. Frankly, Rei was amazed that they had actually managed to make it all the way to Bakugou and Todoroki's location with minimal injuries along the way. She and Shoji had done a decent job of distracting Dark Shadow while leading it in their direction, though there had been some close calls. But now their target was in sight, just a few hundred meter ahead. Hazarding a glance to the side, Rei's eyes widened as she glimpsed the villain rising to his feet.

No, that wasn't right. He was using his teeth blades to maneuver. The rest of his body was locked up by those bindings. A shudder of horror ran down her spine. What kind of monsters had been unleashed upon the students this night? First the muscular guy with his muscles that literally formed on top of his skin, and now someone whose teeth could extend into sharp, glittering, blades of steel?

The villain said something that Rei couldn't quite hear, but it was clear that Dark Shadow could. The beast roared as the villain's blades sliced through its head, though Dark Shadow didn't seem to feel it in the slightest. Instead he thundered back at the villain, voice deep and sonorous as it boomed through the night air and his body surrounded the man from all sides. "Don't beg, small fry!"

Scooping up the target in one fist he began smashing and dashing his body across the terrain, knocking his head and body into trees, rocks, and the ground as Dark Shadow violently raged. With a war cry he continually drove the villain's body into the ground, the man eventually going limp in its grasp from all the damage. Seeing as his target was finally out for the count, he chucked the limp corpse into the forest, the body ragdolling and hurtling through the air before colliding with a tree and sagging to the ground unceremoniously.

With another guttural shout Dark Shadow lifted his head to the sky, red eyes glittering in the black night. "I haven't had enough fun yet!

But the scene had ended, and it was clear that it was time to wrap things up. With the villain taken care of, Bakugou and Todoroki rushed forward, flames and explosions brilliantly flashing and getting searingly close to the dark apparition. Dark Shadow shrieked rather pathetically compared to how it had been booming and menacingly taunting others just moments before, but it finally cowered and shrank down to its host's body. With a swirl and a flourish the beast was tamed, and Tokoyami was revealed to be crouching in the middle of the clearing, desperately catching his breath.

Both Todoroki and Bakugou continued to wield their quirks until Dark Shadow vanished all the way inside Tokoyami's chest, Bakugou in particular looking back at their classmate with a dry but tense look on his face. "I'm really a bad match-up for you."

"Sorry… Thanks for saving me."

A figure crouched before Tokoyami, making him look up slightly at the newcomer's approach. It was Rei, who was looking over him with a scrutinous gaze, brow furrowed in concentration as she looked him over. Even though he looked clearly exhausted from the entire episode, there weren't any other visible injuries on him. With a sigh of relief her gaze softened. "Are you alright now?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Thank you for trusting in us. It must have been hard."

Even with Rei's soft words of thanks, Tokoyami still looked clearly shaken. Looking at his hands, he trembled in fear, even with the villain now taken out and being back to his normal self. "I'm sorry, everyone. I was immature, and I let my anger take control of me and surrendered to Dark Shadow. The influence of the darkness and my anger spurred him on, and in the end I couldn't hold back and I hurt you, Shoji."

"'We can leave that for later.'" The entire group looked over to Shoji, who was both sympathetic yet tense. It was clear that this entire encounter had shaken everyone, and they had to remind themselves that they were still in the thick of things. But he and Tokoyami looked at one another, two close friends that momentarily ignored everyone and everything around them. "That's what you would say, right?"

Tokoyami acquiesced, and Rei offered her hands to him to help him stand up. All was well enough that ended well. But it was time to get back to business.

"Oh, right!" Midoriya peered over Shoji's shoulder, green eyes roving over everyone as he took the group in. "We've confirmed that one of the villain's targets is Kacchan."

"Bakugou? Are they trying to kill him? Why?"

It was a rather good question, and Rei looked back to Midoriya for an explanation. Even she didn't have all the answers, and neither had Midoriya spilled everything, from what she could tell. With all attention back on Midoriya, the boy on Shoji's back began to speak as quickly and as articulately as possible, but even he wasn't aware of how much his speech was beginning to slow and slur. The evening's events were beginning to wear on him. "I don't know. But I think the safest place is the camp where Aizawa-sensei and Vlad King are. The problem is the route…"

"Midoriya."

All eyes turned to Rei, who stood at the center of the group. Leveling her classmate with one sturdy look, it was enough to silence Midoriya as his face dropped for a moment before returning to watch her carefully. Golden eyes watched her classmate carefully as she continued to speak to him as well as everyone else that could hear her. "We need to return to camp. We'll have to take a direct path as best as possible."

Tokoyami nodded his head, though his eyes were concerned. "It might put us in contact with other villains, since we don't know how many there are."

"The other option is to follow the path, but that would lead us back to where Mandalay and Tiger are fighting two villains. It's a risk, but if we're careful we should be able to make it safely." Turning her gaze to look at everyone, she began taking inventory of what they had. Shoji and her were more than capable of being lookouts, what with their senses being the most alert and adept at identifying enemies from afar. Midoriya was down and out for the count, but they at least had Todoroki with his ice powers. "Tokoyami, if it came down to it, would you trust us to guide Dark Shadow?"

It was a terrifying prospect, and Rei could see the fear in his eyes that he desperately tried to hide as he plastered a brave face on as best as he could. Nodding once, he closed his eyes for a moment. "If it comes down to it, then I'll leave it to you."

"Then it's settled. Shoji and Midoriya will take point, along with Todoroki. Bakugou will walk in the middle, followed by Tokoyami and I. Shoji and I will keep eyes out on the forest and watch for enemies, but our goal is to avoid combat as much as possible while escorting Bakugou back." Turning back to Midoriya, she met his eyes, searching for his reaction. "Midoriya?"

At least he was still coherent and awake enough to comprehend their plan. Green eyes had hardened in determination, even if he wasn't physically much help. "To be honest, this is a strong group. We could probably take on All Might if we wanted to."

"Oi!" It was only time before Bakugou finally exploded after being left to the side of things, and his temper had finally flared. He moved toward Rei, who shifted her body to face him and meet him halfway. "What's wrong with you guys?!"

But the group seemed content to ignore him, Todoroki picking up the still unconscious Class B boy and falling in line behind Shoji, tossing a small look to Bakugou. "Listen to Akatsuki and get in the middle of the group."

"Don't protect me, you scum! I can-"

A slap resounded in the air, silencing Bakugou immediately. All heads turned in surprise to the duo who stood in the center of it all, slightly horrified that of all the times to pick, Rei had chosen now to slap Bakugou across his cheek. But Rei held her ground, leveling the boy with one of her infamous gazes, holding him under her watch and forcing him to fall silent as he gaped at the smaller girl that dared to challenge him.

Her voice was calm and steady, but held an edge of deadliness that laced her words. "I'm calling the shots now. Follow the group and try not to do anything stupid."

He at least had enough sense to not explode, but like his normal personality, he couldn't let anyone get away with giving the last word. With a scoff and shoulders squared in pride, he began stalking off behind Todoroki. "Pah! Don't tell me what to do." But contrary to his words he listened, bristling as he was from the entire situation and being pushed along by someone else. They were all tense, and they all knew it, deep down. Still, even in such a critical moment of stress, Rei's eyes softened as she watched him walk off, shoulders relaxing a bit.

They had found them, and just in time too. It had been a miraculous turn of events; if they had taken Tokoyami back to the campsite like they had initially thought, then there was almost no possible outcome where they defeated that sword toothed villain. Without Dark Shadow they would have been desperate, and potentially doomed. As Tokoyami walked past her, giving her a curious glance, she merely met his gaze and nodded. "Let's go."

"Akatsuki-san, are you sure you're alright?"

"Sorry?"

It was the first time that night that someone had asked if she was alright. Tokoyami's eyes looked up and down her body as they fell into step behind the group, trailing closely behind Bakugou. "Your leg was injured earlier this afternoon, wasn't it? To come all this way with Midoriya…"

"Midoriya is a threat unto himself." Rei scoffed, glaring daggers at the boy near the front that was riding on Shoji's back, Midoriya oblivious to her scowl and irritation. "I came because he apparently doesn't realize how severely he's injured."

"Neither do you, apparently. Are you well enough to make it back?"

Rei knew she was shaking from head to toe at this point, body ready to give in at any point now as a particularly strong convulsion wracked her body. She was doing little better than Midoriya at this point, as he had been back when they were fighting the muscular she had finally relieved herself of the weighted bangles that Pixie Bob had given her, using them to chuck into the forest in order to divert Dark Shadow's attention when things got tight with Shoji's limited abilities. In the rush of everything she had almost forgotten about them, and had kept them on since she hadn't really had a good time to take them off. With at least a few pounds off of her body she was feeling light enough to be able to endure the trek back to the main camp.

If she hadn't have taken the bangles off, she was certain that things would be a different story. She would be face down in the forest somewhere, at the mercy of the villains.

There was still work to be done. It was the adrenaline that kept her moving at this point, keeping her from admitting her weakness from the rest of the group and making her shake her head. "I'm fine. The sooner we get back, the safer we'll be."

The look Tokoyami shot back at her spoke louder than any words could. He clearly didn't believe her, but they were limited on options. Turning away from their strategist he continued on after Bakugou, Rei taking up the rear and scanning the forest line as best as she could. The group had begun to run, and as Rei kept her eyes peeled she noticed the look that Bakugou had sent backwards over his shoulder.

Nerves. For the first time that she could remember, he looked unnerved. No one else appeared to notice, set on ignoring the irritable boy as they concentrated on keeping their senses aware and open to everything. But just for the smallest of moments, for a fraction of a second, Rei could see the panic that had set into his core that he was desperately trying to keep hidden.

Rei couldn't bring herself to smile. She was exhausted beyond measure. But in lieu of what she couldn't do, she instead gave him a solid look of determination, nodding her head ever so slightly in acknowledgement and solidarity. She had to keep herself together; Midoriya was already falling apart at the seams, and the group was now relying on Rei to keep them organized and in line. They could fall apart after they crossed the finish line, when the night was over. But until then, Rei had to keep it together.

For herself. For the group. For Bakugou.

Seeing her confidence seemed to boost his attitude a bit, turning forward as his shoulders were set solidly onto his back. He had no idea how much it had helped her in return, a bit of strength restored inside of her. Yes, they would make it back. They could do this. They hadn't come this far simply to come this far.

The trees rustled in the wind, Rei's ears picking something that moved unnaturally. It was easy enough for any other person to dismiss the sound as a part of the wind jostling the branches around, but she was no normal person with average hearing. Lifting her head, she saw a flash of color.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

She was taken before she could set off the alarm.

"The boy that you're talking about…"

The reunited students of 1-A turned slowly as a new voice rang out. Uraraka supported by Tsuyu, they watched as the remaining three boys stood in front of them, in between them and the new villain that had appeared. Bakugou had vanished. And now, in his place…

They should have known that their luck would have run out at some point. It was sheer luck that Midoriya, Shoji, and Rei had decided to bring Tokoyami and a raging Dark Shadow along with them in Bakugou and Todoroki's direction, a risk of hurting their classmates counterbalanced by the fact that Dark Shadow had managed to easily take down the bladed toothed villain. It was a bit of navigational luck and overall good timing that their group had appeared in time to save Uraraka and Tsuyu, the villain that they had been fighting wisely disappearing back into the forest and retreating from the overwhelming numbers. It was luck that they were still standing, that Midoriya was still conscious.

Five sets of eyes turned upward, a new figure looming high above their heads in a particularly tall tree, dressed in brightly colored clothes and a trenchcoat, a mask hiding their identity. Surely underneath the mask he was smiling, pleased at the turn of events. "I took him with my magic." In his red gloved hand he tossed a cerulean marble that sparkled strangely even in the darkness, pulling everyone's attention to the gem. "This talent isn't someone who should be on the hero side. We'll take him to a stage where he can shine more."

No one had let down their guard. They had worked hard to ensure that no one could slip through their defenses. Midoriya's anger began to boil over, body shifting even underneath Shoji's protective cocoon. "Give him back!"

"'Give him back?' What a strange thing to say. Bakugou doesn't belong to anyone. He's his own person, you egoist."

"Give him back!"

Even if Midoriya couldn't move, it didn't mean that others couldn't. A massive dagger of ice erupted from the ground, stemming from Todoroki as he aimed to knock the villain out of the tree and spear him through. The man only leapt out of the way in time, sailing through the air with one hand on his hat and another secured around his cane. "We only want to show him that the path he's on now with its fanatical values is not the only one he can take." Landing on the top of a clump of tree boughs, he bowed his head. "Kids these days are made to choose their paths based on their values."

Compared to the other villains who had all shown some signs of being less than mentally stable, this man was rather the opposite. His logic was sound enough, though rather twisted in its own way to embellish and embrace the way of the villains versus the glorified path of heroes. But it was wrong, all of it wrong.

Shoji turned his head, looking around and suddenly gasping at his realization. "It's not just Bakugou! Tokoyami and Akatsuki are gone too!"

The group startled, even more disconcerted and horrified that three of their numbers had been snatched so easily. The most strange had been Rei. How had this villain slipped past her guard?

Todoroki's eyes narrowed dangerously, glaring daggers at the magician. "To go out of your way to talk to us, you're underestimating us."

"I was originally an entertainer, did you know?" The villain seemed to ignore Todoroki, tossing and balancing the marble in his hand that help a captured Bakugou within, the gem flashing and drawing everyone's attention while reminding them of their failure. "Unfortunately, it's a bad habit of mine. Taking Tokoyami was an improvisation on my part. But as for Akatsuki-san, well…"

In his hand, there suddenly appeared two additional marbles almost identical in color. One for Tokoyami, and another for Akatsuki.

With a single blow he had managed to steal away half their numbers and capture the king.

Everyone bristled at the way that he so casually rubbed his victory in their faces, dancing just barely out of their grasp. But in his smooth talking manner, he continued to verbally parry with the students. "Moonfish, the man with Blade Tooth was a criminal on death row who had his appeal dismissed. This Tokoyami was so easily able to crush that cutthroat with a violence of his own, so I decided that he was good too."

"And Akatsuki? What has she done? She would never!" It was a question that no one wanted to ask, but it burned in everyone's chest as Todoroki thundered on anyway. Akatsuki was undoubtedly dark at times, but she was good. Cutthroat, but gentle. Did they see her as useful as well?

She wouldn't go with them, would she?

But to their surprise, the villain only shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately, I only take the orders as they come. Someone higher up than me has been looking for her for a while now. I was barely able to snag her before she alerted the rest of you, you know?"

"You bastard! Don't take them!"

"Midoriya, calm down!"

Todoroki was the first to move, quickly handing over the other student he had been carrying to Uraraka and separating from the group as he ran forward quickly. In the flash of an eye an ice wall tore the forest open, surging even higher and wider than the one that had been summoned at the sports festival. Frost covered his skin as he exhaled, breath icy and fogging up even in the warm night.

"Sorry, tricks and running away are my only redeeming features!"

Five sets of heads shot up to look high above the ice, watching as the villain fluttered through the air and began to run away over the tops of the trees. Sliding his hand into his pocket he tucked the gems away, muttering something else to himself that was distorted from the distance before lifting a hand to a headset and shouting directions. "Vanguard Action Squad! Targets successfully collected! It was just a short while, but with this our mission has come to a close. As arranged, head to the retrieval point in the next five minutes!"

Sailing away through the night sky, Midoriya and Todoroki protested in vain, Shoji and the latter taking off down a new path as the girls followed behind. But the villain above had a much clearer path than the stragglers that pursued him from below, the forest much more dense with bushes and other obstacles to clear. Slowly as the seconds passed they began to lag behind, the distance growing greater and greater.

"Damn it, that masked guy's fast!"

"If only Iida-kun were here…"

"Damn it!" First Bakugou, then Akatsuki. Midoriya knew he should have trusted his gut instinct. The entire time he had been uncertain, lacking the additional facts to give him a clear picture, but now that they were chasing down their three classmates held hostage he wished that he had been honest with Akatsuki. He hadn't wanted to scare her, just in case he had been overthinking as he sometimes tended to do, but it had been foolish.

He should have trusted her more, just as she had probably been trusting him to be honest.

"Say, kid, answer me this. Do you know where a Bakugou is in this place?"

Muscular was standing before him menacingly, a grin on his face. It was in that moment that Midoriya realized that the villains weren't just here to create chaos and to kill; they had a mission, and that involved Bakugou somehow. He was a target, and Midoriya had to relay that information as soon as possible and get to him to ensure his safety.

But the villain took Midoriya's silence as uncertainty. "Oi, do you not know? I'll take your silence as you don't know. Then, how about that cat girl? Or multiple cats? You know them too?"

Midoriya's thought had been that they were looking for the Pussycats, or at least one of them in particular. But his faith had wavered as soon as the villain recognized Rei as soon as she had entered the scene. That villain had recognized her face, though he was too much of a solo player and too vested in his own self interests to carry on with his mission. He had stated that he had come to play and stretch his wings, and in those following moments Midoriya had pushed all thoughts of Rei to the side. There were too many compounding factors and veiled truths to be able to tell if the villain was actually looking for Rei or had mistaken her for someone else.

But now the truth was out in the open. Rei had been another intended target. Gritting his teeth, he couldn't believe that they had just let this villain take both Bakugou and Akatsuki as well as steal Tokoyami on a whim. And now they were paying for Midoriya's momentary insolence.

The villain was getting further and further away.

What would Rei do?"

"We can't… give up… We have to catch up… and get them back!"

Shoji's eyes were trained upward, catching glimpses of the villain high above. It wasn't a terribly difficult task, even as the branches obscured his vision in some areas, given the fact that the villain was gaudily dressed in bright and ostentatious clothing. "But at this rate, he's just getting farther away!"

A plan, he needed a plan.

Think! What would Rei do if it was him up there and her down here?

"Uraraka-san, make us float! And then Asui-san, throw us as far as you can with your tongue. Shoji-kun can use his arms to adjust our trajectory as needed. And Uraraka, measure the distance with your eyes, and when the timing looks right release us!"

It was a bold plan, and rather dangerous among other things. But there was merit to it, and it was the only way to catch up quickly to the escaping villain. "I see," Shoji mused, head turning to Todoroki as the two of them contemplated the plan. "Like a human bullet, huh?"

"Wait, Deku-kun! Are you seriously going to keep moving like that?" Uraraka's concern was felt by everyone, and Todoroki narrowed his eyes as he took charge.

"Midoriya, you stay behind. With that pain, you're in no state-"

"I don't feel any pain right now!"

Todoroki's eyes widened, a bolt of fear running through his body in concern for his friend. But Midoriya didn't seem to realize it, so consumed in catching up to the villain that he muttered half to himself as he tried to motivate himself. "I can still move… Let me move!"

The team collectively stopped to prepare themselves, Uraraka tearing off her shirt and quickly gathering materials to create temporary splints for Midoriya's broken arms. As soon as the trio of boys had figured out the logistics of how to hold on to one another in the air, Tsuyu bundled them up and Uraraka activated her quirk, none of them willing to waste any more time.

Silence, as everyone looked to one another, finding the strength to continue moving, just as Midoriya said.

As long as they could move, they couldn't afford to not move forward.

Steeling herself, Tsuyu gave one last word of encouragement. "Make sure you save those three." She gave no time for them to respond, yanking with all of her might as she launched the small group into the air, sending them hurtling through the cold night air with a shout of startlement. Through strained eyes that tried to fight the wind and blink quickly to keep their eyes from drying out, they could barely watch as they closed down on the villain's figure, colliding with full force just as Uraraka released her quirk and the now group of four was sent hurtling back into the earth.

They fell from the sky like comets hurtling to meet the hard ground below. Now in contact, the boys each grabbed a piece of the magician as they forced him into the ground. They collided back into the earth with resounding force, Shoji and Todoroki slamming his shoulders down while Midoriya used his feet to drive himself into the back. Dust and rocks flew upward, no longer bound to the earth.

But as the dust began to dissipate and settle back down, they found themselves in an entirely new situation.

"Hey, hey, hey! I know these kids!

"Mister, get out of the way."

The magician vanished from their grasp, leaving the three of their grasping at thin air. There was barely any time to react to the blue flames that hurtled in their direction, a concentrated stream that split the three apart as they leapt to the side. Midoriya screamed mostly in shock at the sudden closeness and the searing heat of the flames as he bent over backwards, trying to escape with only a moment to spare.

They were on their own, and quickly found themselves being attacked and in the one-on-one battles of their lives.

The final battle had begun.

Chaos. The scene was complete and utter chaos. Todoroki was hard pressed to fight against another flame user, while Shoji did his best to return to Midoriya's side and help him defend against the blonde girl that had attacked Uraraka. Madness had descended as wits and improvisions were made, blood and sweat mingling together as time passed and various injuries began taking their toll.

With the students engaged, the magician pulled himself out from the divot that had been created from his landing, dusting himself off and making his way toward the only other remaining villain. Reaching into his right pocket, he dug around for a little while, fingers delving into the corners and creases in search of the familiar marbles that he had won, but unsuccessful. "Huh?"

"Midoriya! Todoroki! We're retreating now!" Shoji looked at the villains carefully. "I don't know what your quirk is, but inside that right pocket of yours which you kept flaunting were these-right, entertainer?"

Three bright marbles twinkled in Shoji's hands, Todoroki and Midoriya lighting up at his fast play and cleverness with cries of their own in thankfulness. Securing their targets they turned sharp on their heels and began running back into the forest, Todoroki hastily putting up a wall of ice as large as he could make it in such a short amount of time between them and the villains, making it difficult to see their escape and pursue them.

They had barely made it a few paces away when a hulking creature emerged from the shadows, all too silent and all too familiar. Hearts jolting, the group immediately made a harsh turn away from the Nomu, now trying to put distance between all the villains that were before them.

But all too soon, they found themselves caught.

A flash of purple and black haze manifested before their eyes, extending high above their heads and bringing their escape to a halt as they stared up into yellow eyes that were flattened into unamused slats.

It was like reliving the USJ incident all over again.

With the students frozen like deer in the headlights, Kurogiri turned his attention to the rest of the Vanguard Action Squad. "It has been five minutes since the signal. Let us go, Dabi."

"Wait. Our goal is not yet-"

"Oh, that? Those three seemed so happy, that they rushed out of here, so I thought I'd give them a present."

All eyes turned back toward the magician as he turned back to face the trio. The prestige was upon them as a haughty air came back to the man. "An old habit. One of the basics of magic. When I flaunt something, it's because there's something that I don't want you to see." The mask was pulled away, and as the villain opened his mouth on display the realization struck Midoriya in particular.

There, in his mouth, sat two small gems.

With a snap of his fingers the balls in Shoji's hands dissipated to reveal three chunks of ice, the items suspended in air for a moment before dropping to the ground with a thud. Todoroki in particular looked enraged, recognizing the fragments. "It was my ice?!"

"That's right. During your freezing attack, I took three dummies and place them in my right pocket." He watched in amusement as the trio high tailed it back across the clearing in a last ditch effort to catch the villains before they vanished into the warp gate portal, still much too far away to do anything. "If you discover that what was in my right hand was in my pocket, then of course you'd rush happily over."

"Give them back!"

"And now, my role is over-"

A beam of light flashed across the clearing, smacking the villain in the face just as he folded over slightly in an exaggerated bow, taking advantage of the clear sightline from whoever was hidden in the bushes. But for anyone in Class 1-A, they immediately knew who it was, no matter if they remained hidden or not.

Aoyama couldn't have picked a better time.

The marbles fell out of his mouth, and Shoji and Todoroki leapt forward to grab them out of the air.

Shoji's hand firmly grasped one, pulling it close to his chest as he changed his direction last second to loop back away from the warp gate.

Todoroki's hand reached forward as he took one final bounding leap into the air. But his catch was deflected, another hand and a burned arm flicking out and taking hold of the prize.

Blue eyes flickered in veiled amusement at his victory. "How sad… Todoroki Shoto." Turning to his partner, Dabi looked on in boredom. "And the third?"

With a bowed head, the entertainer began to take his exit, a grimace on his face at the outcome of events. Complete victory had been within his grasp. "The girl is my glove. My show's been ruined!"

"Confirm both of them now."

Wiggling the wrist of his glove, the entertainer flashed the third and final marble before snapping his fingers to release the other two, retreating back into the portal. Sure enough, Tokoyami appeared in front of Shoji, while Bakugou's confused face made an appearance as Dabi's hand clenched around the back of his neck.

Dabi smiled. "No problem. Confirmed."

Pulling against Bakugou's throat, the boy was dragged back into the portal against his will. Red eyes locked onto the figure of a green haired boy who desperately dashed towards him, shouting his name, nearly in tears.

"Don't come, Deku!"

The world went fuzzy and dark.

They had lost.

Apparently, Vlad King called emergency services, and within fifteen minutes after the villains had left, fire trucks and ambulances arrived.

Of the six pro heroes, one was in serious condition after receiving a hard blow to the head, and one lost a lot of blood and went missing.

Of the forty-one students, fifteen were unconscious and in serious condition from the villain's gas, and eleven others had minor or major injuries. Thirteen were uninjured.

And two were missing.

Discombobulated was the only word Rei could use to describe how she felt.

In one moment she had been running through the forest behind Tokoyami and the rest of their party. The next felt like someone had suddenly plunged her into a sensory deprivation tank; she hadn't ever been in one, but she could only imagine what it felt like to feel like one was floating among the cosmos in a dark and unfeeling world, where no one was able to hear you and neither was one able to comprehend or make sense of anything. Not a sound, not a scent, not a sight within any distance.

It was different from when her mind had been possessed by Shinso. At least in that moment she had felt as though she was floating through a blurry world, where everything was hazy and filled with a swirl of colors that felt like someone had dirtied a glass window and smudged her vision. And this was also different from the time at USJ where that warp gate had teleported her into a different section of the training ground. That time, she had felt like she had been suffocating for a moment as she was squeezed through a tiny tube, getting sucked through a straw and spat out into a new location. It was only for a moment, but in that place Rei was convinced that she had died.

Then in the next moment, she found herself somewhere new.

She was suddenly standing in front of a bar, wooden floors and walls well shined and polished beneath her feet and so different from the forest floor that had just been beneath her moments ago. Strangely enough there was a strong scent of astringents and cleaners, making her recoil from the harsh toners on her nose and stagger from the sudden change. The lights were few, but bright enough to make a difference from where she had just been inside a dark forest with no light at all, eyes wincing and making her squint in an effort to get a clear read on her surroundings.

Something was wrong. Immediately going on high alert, she dodged out of the way and leaned to her left, turning around and facing the person behind her. Grabbing the hand that had extended out to grab her own, she snatched the wrist and pulled hard, catching the person off guard and sending them flying into the bar with a cry of surprise. He was strangely covered in a tight black and gray suit, comically stuttering forward unexpectedly, but Rei was in no laughing mood. Behind him stood a stoic black haired man with glittering blue eyes, their gazes locking in a heartbeat.

In the instant that his hands lit up with flames Rei activated her own claws, sliding into a defensive stance for a moment. It was close quarters fight. She had just a moment to get within range before-

"Stand down, unless you want to die."

She bared her teeth in a feral manner, swiveling around to turn back to the bar and whoever had addressed her. Freezing, she let her expression drop as soon as she met the stranger's gaze, realizing that he wasn't so much of a stranger as she had thought him to be.

Slouching at the bar, with fingers drumming on the counter impatiently, was Shigaraki Tomura, the primary perpetrator of the USJ incident.

And behind him at the bar was a glowering, towering warp gate, yellow eyes flashing and daring Rei to disobey.

Four enemies was way too many to take on. Turning her gaze to the side, she realized that it wasn't the end either. A small blonde girl that looked to be around Rei's age stood near the door, rather exuberant and sporting a maniacal grin on her face as she watched Rei turning in apprehension. Next to her stood a man dressed to the nines in formal attire, brown eyes boring into Rei's own gold carefully, though he wasn't able to contain all the irritation in his own expression from leaking out for some reason.

She had been caught.

Her gut dropped. She was alone, in a room packed to the gills with villains who were more or less sane. Fighting was only an option if she had a death wish, so her shoulders slouched as she lowered her fists and retracted her claws. She remained tense, ready to defend herself, but did her best to show that she understood her position.

Shigaraki's face was obscured by a gloved hand, but the scoff he released wasn't. "Maybe you're not as dumb as I thought you were."

"Shigaraki."

The warp gate admonished him, or at least attempted to. It didn't seem to have any effect on the blue haired boy, who Rei was certain would be rolling his eyes as his subordinate's tone. Instead he drummed his fingers on the surface of the bar, looking in Rei's direction. Well, she was almost a hundred percent certain he was looking at her. Even if she couldn't see his eyes, she could feel his gaze, making her want to shudder.

The room was tense, the air thick. The silence stretched on, save for the drumming of his fingers. All too suddenly the motion then stopped, Shigaraki sitting up in his chair.

"Sensei, is this really the person you wanted?"

Sensei?

So Shigaraki wasn't the mastermind behind everything? It was both an odd notion and yet entirely believable. Evil tended to be obscured by the shadows, and a masterful puppeteer would surely be able to disguise himself in the darkness.

When the voice crackled through the television screen, Rei couldn't hide the shudder than ran down her spine.

"Well done, Shigaraki."

Stiffly Rei turned toward the television, eyes wide with fear. There was no visual input, instead a static screen on display even as the voice came out clearly. A camera sat perched atop the screen, surely capturing the image of the room so that the person on the other end could see in. It was like a one way mirror, and although Rei knew that someone was on the other end, it wasn't enough to assuage her fear of exactly who was sitting on the other side.

All she knew, from her gut reaction, was that this person was even more dangerous than Shigaraki himself.

"Akatsuki Rei, isn't it?"

Standing up straight, Rei swallowed hard, her mouth all of a sudden painfully dry. "That's me." Her voice cracked as she licked her lips, though her tongue felt like a cotton swab and only made the motion worse.

"Why don't we have a chat?"

In one moment her mouth and throat was dry. In the next it felt like she was drowning. Suddenly she coughed, eyes widening when a gray ooze suddenly flew out of her mouth and began to envelop her. She could faintly hear one of the villains complaining, distantly saying something along the lines of, "after all that trouble?" but soon even her hearing failed her as she disappeared into the muck. Within moments it felt like she had suddenly been submerged in a vat of mud, the substance covering every inch of her body and suffocating her from the outside in.

Then it was over. Hacking and blinking the bizarre sensation away, Rei staggered as she tried to keep herself from falling over. Her hands flew to her mouth, certain that she was one step away from vomiting after going through that experience. What was that?

"I apologize. The sensation of being transported is, admittedly, less than pleasant."

That voice. It was the same as the one she had heard in the other room, although now it was one hundred percent less static-y and uncomfortably close to her. Freezing for a moment, she slowly looked up in front of her.

Horror flooded her system.

This was not a man.

This was a monster.

The suit and the hands were the only indication that the person in front of her was human. But Rei's eyes were drawn upward to his face, or rather, where the man's face was supposed to be. Instead there was a navy mask, supported by thick black and silver wiring, like a cage placed over an animal.

An animal. It seemed fitting.

Seeing as how Rei was too stunned to respond, the man continued, clasping his hands behind his back. "But you, you're a fighter, aren't you? In spite of the odds, you've never crumbled, never swayed. You haven't changed, even after all these years."

A cold sweat began to form on Rei's back at his words. After all these years? "You've been watching me?"

"Nerves of steel, too." He continued, as though she hadn't spoken, but something about his demeanor told Rei that he was listening carefully. "A perfect fit for the job I have for you."

She should have fought. She should have rejected his offer. She should have acted as any good hero would have done, should have spat in his face and turned on her heel and run. But instead she simply stood there, paralyzed in fear. Later, she would try and convince herself that she had realized it was futile. But the truth was there.

The man extended a hand down toward Rei, as though in good will. "Won't you join me, dear Akatsuki?"

"Who are you?"

Even though his face was obscured, Rei could practically feel the smile radiating from behind the mask.

"I am called All For One."

AN: You know, I was feeling bad because a lot of my future chapters are really short in my opinion. Then I read that Jolkien Rolkien Rolkien Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring is only 187,790 words, and we've LONG PASSED THAT PHASE BUDDY.

So in a nutshell, some future chapters will be a little shorter than normal. Am I apologetic about it? I used to be. But then realize that I've written a shit ton in the past six months, so no, I'm not apologetic anymore. I've done my best with them, and they're decent chapters. It's not like I'm half assing them. I did consider condensing chapters to make them longer, but it didn't make a lot of sense to have one chapter be 15k+ just because I was worried about aesthetics.

Also, I saved some of my bloopers from when I was writing this chapter. Yeah, I was not having it when I wrote this first draft. These are some of the best things that I wrote, mostly because I couldn't find the right words, so I just put whatever was in my head into brackets to be revisited later. This is actually a really good writing tip: if you ever get stuck, put whatever crap you have into your head into brackets in order to keep writing, so that you don't get stuck running in circles. This trick always works for me, since I sometimes struggle finding the perfect word, so I put a synonym inside the brackets to revisit later. This makes things really easy to spot when editing, as you can probably tell. Also, it ensures that you can keep writing and move on! Flow is very important, since I want to spit everything out as soon as possible. You can't edit if you don't have anything on the page, so it's better to have tons of crap instead of a few, very specific lines that you'll later decide are crap.

But first, thank you for the reviews...

Anseo: Oh, yes. (evil laughter) Hopefully this chapter also explains the weights. They probably could have come off earlier, but I think that Rei would probably have been so consumed in trying to get places that she essentially forgot about the weights temporarily since they became a part of her. Chucking them into the forest to distract Dark Shadow also seems very satisfying lol. Thanks for the review!

ShardAura: Yay, I'm so happy that I can provide something so binge worthy! I know that feeling really well :D I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

Please enjoy some of the "wrong" writing that I did when I wrote this (bloopers):

1) "She gave no time for them to respond, yanking with all of her might as she [YEETED] the small group into the air"

2) "Chaos. The scene was complete and utter chaos. Todoroki was [in a build battle JUST BUILD YOU BOTS], while Shoji did his best to return to Midoriya's side and help him defend against the blonde girl that had attacked Uraraka. [fight description blah blah blah]"

3) "Securing their [payload] they turned sharp on their heels and began running back into the forest"

Edit (7/27/19): Significant changes to ending to reflect later changes (for post hiatus)