Chapter 25
Third P.o.V
Bakugou and Tokoyami ran behind the others, the former carrying Hotaru's unconscious body. Bakugou had been uncharacteristically silent for a while, now. This raised some questions.
"Are you worried?" Tokoyami asked. Bakugou shot him a look.
"Why the hell would I be worried about her?" he spat. Tokoyami's eyes shifted to the girl in the blonde's arms. He noticed how tightly Bakugou was holding Hotaru, as well as how close he had her.
"I never mentioned Anzai," he said. Bakugou furrowed his eyebrows and turned away from his classmate.
"You implied it, damn it!" he snarled. Tokoyami was very aware of what he had done. As they continued running, Bakugou found himself to be mad for many reasons. He was upset that someone interrupted his training, Midoriya was trying to shelter him, and he was being told not to fight when he thought it was necessary.
The most significant reason for his anger, however, was the fact that someone had hurt Hotaru. Bakugou wished Tokoyami had stayed out of it just so he could have beaten the villain to a bloody pulp himself. No one would hurt his friends and get away with it. He looked down at the sleeping girl in his grasp and sighed. She looked so peaceful...
The thoughts of the blonde were abruptly put on hold when someone came out of the shadows. He had on an orange-ish colored coat, a cane, and a mask. At least, that's all Bakugou and Tokoyami saw before being compacted into tiny marbles; an apparent effect of the mystery man's quirk.
Bakugou was going to throw Hotaru to the others or onto the ground so she wouldn't get caught, but went against it when he reminded himself that she was bleeding out. Instead, he held her tighter to his chest as he was marbelized. He wanted-no-needed to protect her.
Later...
Hotaru slowly came to as she felt the cool night air flow around her. There was only one source of warmth which she seemed to be necessarily close to. She buried her face in it, nuzzling whatever the warm object was.
"Cute," an unfamiliar voice said. Confusion set in and Hotaru wearily opened her eyes. She widened her eyes when she realized she was suspended in the air, something-or someone-holding her up.
Fear and dread set in when she noticed the group of villains that surround her and a few of her classmates. Bakugou, now sweating from the adrenaline and shock that was pumping through his bloodstream, looked down at her.
Panic rose within him when he noticed the, now awake, girl in his arms. He looked towards Todoroki, who was closest to him. A lightbulb went off in his brain.
Before he could do anything, the hand wrapped around his neck squeezed slightly. It was a reminder that an escape attempt was futile.
With his eyebrows furrowed and attention was drawn back to protecting the young girl in his arms, Bakugou's eyes focused on Todoroki.
"Catch her, Damn it!" he shouted as he threw Hotaru. Todoroki narrowed his eyes, speeding up as much as he could. He was only about two feet away from her when a warp gate appeared. The same kind made by the warp gate villain from the USJ attack...
Through the portal came the same villain who marbelized Tokoyami, Anzai, and Bakugou. His mask was gone, but his face was still partially covered. His smile was still visible as he grabbed the now fully-alert, purple-haired, girl.
"Whoops. You were on the list, too," the marbleizing villain said.
'Shit!' Hotaru thought as she tried to squirm out of his grasp. She clenched her jaw as she watched Todoroki pivot on his foot to face her and the villain.
"Sorry about this but due to the intenseness of our situation, this is the only way to get what we want," the cloaked man said to Hotaru. Due to her fatigue, she was unable to escape his grasp.
She saw a villain with a patchwork face dragging Bakugou into a warp gate and widened her eyes. In that moment, she began to understand there was no hope for them. She was going to go with the villains and no one could save her. Her and Bakugou's fate was sealed the moment they arrived.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya shouted as he ran towards Bakugou.
"Deku...don't follow me," the blonde demanded before disappearing into the portal made by the warp gate villain.
Midoriya, overcome with grief and despair, fell to the floor. Hotaru clenched her jaw and fists while the villain that held her inched her closer to the warp gate.
"Do what he said, Midori!" the teen shouted to get the green-haired boy's attention. He looked up at her with wide, teary, eyes.
"Everything will be fine," Hotaru said with a forced smile before everything before her disappeared. Her smile faded as, through the corner of her eyes, she looked at the villain that held her.
"You're going to pay for this," she spat with a look of hatred aimed towards the man. He chuckled.
"You and Bakugou will both be thanking us for the opportunity when this is all over with. Trust me, Anzai," he said. Hotaru narrowed her eyes. The only thing on her mind was Bakugou's safety.
...
Hotaru's P.o.V
The villains had brought me and Katsuki to their hideout. We were both tied up, but with Katsuki they seemed to take more precautions. My narrowed eyes studied each villain.
Standing before us were the warp gate villain and Shigaraki, both of which I had seen at the USJ, but there were some new faces, too. I had managed to pick up most of their names; Mange, Spinner, and Twice.
One of the villains I had yet to know the name of, a girl with blonde hair tied into two buns on both sides of her head and bangs framing her face, looked towards me.
"You're so cute, Hotaru!" she said with a giggle. I could only guess that Shigaraki informed the rest of them of our names.
"Toga, back away," the warp gate villain said. I furrowed my eyebrows as the blonde pouted.
"Aw, come on, Kurogiri!" she whined.
'So warp gate's name is Kurogiri...'
"I'm Toga, by the way! Toga Himiko!" the blonde said with a toothy and fanged grin. I answered her with silence. She stepped towards me. I noticed Bakugou's scowl deepen.
"You know..." Toga leaned down and whispered into my ear. I saw her grab something hidden behind her back, then felt a cold object touch my cheek. I widened my eyes slightly.
"You'd be even cuter if we added a little blood," she said. I inhaled sharply as Toga made a long cut across my cheek. She then grabbed my face, making me look towards Katsuki.
"Now, doesn't she look better?" Toga giggled. Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows.
"Don't fucking touch her," he spat, venom laced in his words.
"That's enough, Toga," Shigaraki said. I watched Toga use the knife to take the blood off my face then strolled back over to her original place beside the other villains.
Another villain, named Twice, turned on the television. Everyone looked up to it, the villains seating themselves at the bar, off to the side of the room. I narrowed my eyes as I listened in on what the reporters were saying.
"The latest villain attacks on the infamous UA High have really has changed how people see the current generation of Hero's. There is more panic in the hearts of the people than there has ever possibly been," one of the news anchors said. My eyes widened.
With just that simple bit of information, I could already guess what the villains were trying to do. It frightened me how close they were to achieving their goal.
"With this so-called 'League of Villains' being able to launch a large-scale attack more than once, we must conclude that there is some sort of problem with the management at UA High. Even if my child wanted to become a hero, I could not possibly-" Shigaraki shut off the television. I clenched my jaw as he cackled.
"I'm really grateful for all the publicity we've been getting. Hey, don't you agree?" Shigaraki looked towards Katsuki and I.
"You're trying to ruin the rep of the entire heroic society?" I asked. Shigaraki paused.
"You're a smart one," he said before looking to the marbelizing villain.
"Compress, marble her. I need to have a private chat with Bakugou," he nodded. The other villain turned to face me. I frowned.
"Don't touch me," I said. The villain, apparently called Compress, approached me. When he reached his hand down to marbelize me, I bit him. I must have startled him because he stumbled back a few steps. I used his blood to use a blast of blue fire to burn my restraints.
"You idiot!" Twice yelled in what I think was his alter ego's voice. I bared my sharp canine teeth as I glared at the villains who went on the offensive.
"What the hell are you doing just standing around?! Go, Lizard Girl!" Katsuki shouted. I shot him a look.
"Not without you, dumb ass!" I said. Toga charged at me but I side-stepped and dodged.
"So not cute, Hotaru!" the blonde whined. I growled.
"Don't call me that!" I spat as I shot another blue-flamed attack at her out of pure spite. She dodged it, of course.
"We don't have go do this the hard way," Shigaraki said, clearly getting agitated.
"I'd prefer the hard way," I sneered. Ignoring the pain from my stab wound, I created a ring of blue fire around Katsuki and I, for safety.
"I'm not leaving you," I said as I began to sweat from the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I got to work on freeing my classmate from his restraints. I was filled with relief when they finally came loose and Katsuki stood up.
"Thanks," he said, looking to the League of Villains with a sinister grin. I nodded. Katsuki set off an explosion, smoke rising up around us. We used the diversion to head for the door.
"You clearly didn't think this through," I heard a male's voice say from behind me. Suddenly, I was yanked back by my hair. I yelped as I came face to face with the patchwork-faced villain.
"Get her, Dabi!" Twice cheered.
"Shut up," the man known as Dabi said cooly. I narrowed my eyes, clawing at him with all the strength in my body.
"Drop her," Katsuki hissed, small explosions going off in his palm. Dabi snickered he shook me around a bit, taunting Katsuki. I winced from the pain.
"You really want to attack me? You might miss," he said slyly. I could sense Katsuki's internal discord as he wearily lowered his hands. I felt tears form in my eyes.
"No..." I mumbled. We were so close! I saw Toga approach Katsuki from behind, slowly getting closer.
"Katsuki, be-" "Come on, now. Let her have her fun," Dabi said into my ear as he pulled my hair, holding me up higher. I winced as I saw Katsuki get tackled by Toga. She giggled as she sat on top of him.
"You two would be a cute couple!" she said with a fanged smile. I squirmed in Dabi's grasp, tears forming. We were so close to escaping!
"That's enough!"
Something purple popped up behind me and I suddenly hit the floor. Before I could see what had happened, Katsuki grabbed me and pulled me to my feet, standing in front of me protectively.
"We can do this peacefully," Kurogiri said.
"What part of this whole thing seems peaceful to you?" I asked sarcastically.
"You two are just pawns. You'll be part of a much bigger picture," Shigaraki said. I narrowed my eyes.
"What the hell is that?!" Katsuki shouted.
"You'll see..." Shigaraki seemed to smile underneath the hand covering his face.
"For now, though, it's probably best to separate you two," he hopped off his stool, removing himself from the bar. He looked to Kurogiri, who nodded.
"Right," he said. A warp gate opened behind me. I tried to move out of its way but I was too slow. All I saw was Katsuki reaching for me before I was thrown into a room. I hit the ground and swallowed the lump in my throat.
'Where the hell am I, now?'
"Hello...Anzai Hotaru."
I slowly looked behind me. Standing there was a villain of the likes I had never seen before. For an unknown reason, I began to shiver, a cold chill crawling down my spine.
I was shaking. Why was I shaking? I was overcome with a sudden sense of fear and dread. I felt a great deal of despair as the figure walked closer.
"Anzai Hotaru...We need to have a chat."
-_-
This chapter has given me such anxiety. I was worried that it didn't flow right, Bakugou seemed like an OC so I had to change some things, it was just a hectic few days of writing. I'm glad I got it out on schedule, though!
Special Thanks To...
animefairy299
Itsjustjas