Chapter 27

Hotaru's P.o.V

It was futile to try and sleep so I simply sat there. My head laid against the cold floor as I stared at the door. I had stopped worrying. Honestly, at this point, I stopped feeling. I blocked out any thoughts and just let my body lie.

I didn't know how long I had been sitting there but I knew that All For One would come back so I didn't want to test my luck. I clenched my jaw as I heard approaching footsteps. This is exactly why I didn't want to try and escape...

"Have you made a decision?"

He was back.

I narrowed my eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized I was once again frozen in fear.

"That's all right. If you don't cooperate then we can always go to the other recruitment," All For One said, turning back towards the door. I inhaled sharply, watery eyes widening. All For One stopped, probably knowing he had gotten to me.

"It's you or him. If we are forced to accept him as our own, then you will have no use. I can't say it will be pretty if that happens," he said. I bit my bottom lip to prevent myself from sobbing. After a small moment of silence, I spoke.

"Katsuki won't join you," I muttered, eyes hidden by my hair.

"Then we will use more force," All For One said calmly. I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth.

With all the strength in my body, I dashed towards All For One. I knew I couldn't go up against him, but I was furious that he would threaten my friend. My gut was right.

The large villain was ready for me and showed that by instantly punching my stomach. I flew into the wall behind me, spitting up a little bit of blood. I felt something crack inside of me. I gasped for air as my impact with the wall had taken all the air out of me. All For One stared down at me.

"It's useless. I will have one of you join our side, one way or another." he said. I narrowed my eyed. All For one stepped towards me, towering above me.

"You will choose or help him do so," he said with a stern attitude. I narrowed my eyes as I finally gained control of my breathing. I stared up at All For One as silence once again reigned in the room. I closed my eyes solemnly.

'What the hell do I do...?'

...

Third P.o.V

"It's so strange..."

"Why are heroes being criticized? The way they were dealing with things is just a little off the mark. Is it because of their job to protect?" Shigaraki started rambling again. Bakugou, clad in heavy iron restraints, frowned. He didn't want to listen to this freak talk about the flaws of the hero society.

"Everyone makes a mistake or two. Are they supposed to be perfect? Modern-day heroes are so uptight. Don't you think so, Bakugou?" Shigaraki turned to the boy who only narrowed his eyes.

"Once heroes get compensation for helping people, they're no longer heroes. That's Stain's teaching," Spinner said from his place against the wall.

"The strange system of turning people's lives into money or glory...The society that sticks tight to those rules...The citizens who blame the losers instead of encouraging them..." Shigaraki continued his rant.

"Our fight is to question; what is a hero? What is justice? Is this society truly just? We'll have everyone thinking about it," he explained. Bakugou felt his jaw tighten and his teeth grit together.

'They didn't have to bring Lizard Girl or me into this,' he thought.

"We plan on winning. You like winning, too, right?" Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. Bakugou clenched his fist as the man.ordered for Dabi to release his restraints.

"This guy's gonna fight, you know," Dabi rebutted.

"It's fine. We treat him like an equal, since we're scouting him. Besides, you can tell if you're going to win or not when you fight in a situation, right, UA student?" Shigaraki attempted to mock UA. All was silent for a moment.

"Twice, you do it."

"What, me?! No way!"

"Just do it."

"Man..." Twice sighed as he approaches Bakugou.

"As I told the girl, I'm sorry about the forceful methods we're using. Please understand that we are not just a mob trying to commit crimes. We didn't kidnap you by accident," Compress said as his comrade began to unlock the boy's restraints.

"Even though our situations differ, everyone here has been restricted and suffered because of people...rules...and heroes. I'm sure you also-" Shigaraki was cut off when Bakugou, finally free from his restraints, attacked. He set off an explosion right in front of Shigaraki's face, smoke filling the room.

"I listened to your endless talking and I still don't know where Lizard Girl is. Idiots can't get to the point so they're always talking for a long time. Basically, you're saying 'We wanna harass people, so please join us,' right?" he spat.

"Don't bother."

By this time, Shigaraki was visible again. The hand that covered his face was lying on the floor and his hair was forced to cover what the hand once had. He was dead silent.

"I want to win like All Might. No matter what anyone says, that will never change!" Bakugou shouted. No one dared to speak at that moment. Taking advantage of the quiet, Bakugou thought of a plan.

He needed to get out and find Hotaru. He remembered Shigaraki saying she was with his master. So he needed to find the boss. Whatever. He'd cross that bridge when he got to it. He decided to defeat a few of the league members then make a break for it.

"Just so you know, I'm still allowed to fight!"

"You know exactly what your position is, huh? What a smart boy!" Magne was right. Bakugou knew that the villains needed him, so they couldn't kill him.

"Even if he wasn't going to join us, he should have pretended we were winning him over. He's done it, now," Compress said.

"I won't do something I don't want to even if I'm faking it. Plus, I need to find Lizard Girl before anything happens," Bakugou said.

"She's probably a broken doll by now," Magne let out a dry chuckle. Bakugou furrowed his eyebrows.

"We know how...fragile...the girl is," Compress said.

"I'll kill every last one of you if there's so much as a scratch on her," Bakugou hissed. Shigaraki mumbled something then began to raise his hand.

"Shigaraki, don't!" Kurogiri called. His nerves were settled, however, when Shigaraki simply put his arm in front of the others, signaling for them to stay back.

"No one touches him," he said before grabbing the hand off the floor and putting it back on his face.

"That guy...is a valuable piece. I wish you would have listened to me a little. I thought we could come to an understanding," he said calmly.

"Understanding? No way," Bakugou wasn't one to back down from a fight.

"Then you've left me no choice...Master, lend me your power," Shigaraki turned to the television set behind him. The screen was simply static, but a menacing voice came through. Bakugou didn't recognize it.

"As you wish, Shigaraki Tomura."

Little did he know that that voice had a tied up Hotaru right next to him. The girl had a cloth in her mouth to stop her from biting anything or making noise, her arms were chained up behind her, and she dangled about a foot off the ground.

"You see, girl? It's you or him," All For One, the man behind the voice, had said. He was able to see what was happening via his monitors. Hotaru narrowed her eyes. They were dull and almost lifeless. She tilted her head so she could see the screen.

The teen watched as Shigaraki ordered Compress and Kurogiri to make Bakugou 'sleep' again. She couldn't help but think that this all could have been prevented if she had simply spoken up.

Where was Kiyo?

Where were the heroes?

She had no answers to the questions that flooded her mind. She closed her eyes and lowered her head as Compress began to approach Bakugou. It was quiet except for Compress' complaints about having to do so much work.

"Hello, this is Pizza-La, Comino Store."

Hotaru slowly opened her eyes. Did the villains really order a pizza? She knew Shigaraki was childish but...seriously? She was just about to close her eyes again when she realized she had heard the voice before. Realization dawned on her when she finally remembered where she heard it from.

'Kami...hara?'

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the monitors. She blankly stared at them, witnessing the action.

"SMASH!" It was All Might! All Might had broken through the wall of the Villan League's hideout, the sudden action catching the villains off guard.

Another hero, Kamui Woods, came through the opening All Might made and bound all the villains. Right behind him was a small man who gave Dabi a swift kick to the face, knocking him out and keeping him from burning Kamui Woods' restraints.

"Just what I'd expect from one of the most competent heroes around, Kamui Woods! And the veteran faster than the eye can see, Gran Torino!" All Might praised before turning back to the Villains.

"You cannot run anymore, League of Villains," he said with a deadly tone.

"Why? Because we are here!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes. After hearing it so many times during class, the catchphrase kind of lost its spark for her.

"When one is on the offensive is when one neglects defense the most," a familiar hero appeared. Hotaru felt a warmth in her chest. Kamihara was as calm as always.

"We're not the only ones here from the Pizza-La Camino store," he opened the door to reveal at least a dozen men with guns.

"Outside you're surrounded by skillful heroes, like Endeavor, and the police," he added. Hotaru felt a smile form on her face. Bakugou would be safe...

'That's all that matters.'

"They're early than I thought...and they took the boy..." All For One assessed the situation. He stood up and buttoned his sleeve.

"However, I still have the advantage," he turned to Hotaru, "It makes no difference if they took the boy because they won't have him for long." Hotaru narrowed her eyes, looking down towards the ground. The room became silent, the only noise coming from the monitors.

"Hey, Shigaraki, can I ask you where your boss is?" Hotaru heard Gran Torino ask. She felt the warmth leave her chest as it was once again replaced with dread.

"The boss has Lizard Girl," she heard Bakugou say with a sudden sense of urgency. Her ears perked up. Had he really been worried about her?

"Lizard...You mean Young Anzai?" All Might questioned. Hotaru looked towards the screens again. She saw Bakugou nod, drawing Kamihara's attention.

"We find the boss, we find her," he said as he forced Kurogiri into unconsciousness.

"This...unsatisfying...Don't be ridiculous...Don't be ridiculous," Shigaraki seemed to have snapped.

"Where are they right now?" All Might asked. Hotaru held her breath as All For One walked over to her. He took the cloth out of her mouth, so she was able to talk.

"All Might...will fight," Hotaru's voice was raspy thanks to her dry throat. All For One grinned, lifting Hotaru's head up so she was forced to look directly at him.

"That's what I'm counting on."

-_-

Sorry for changing the story's title on you guys. It bothered me that I didn't think the story would be good enough to actually have a title that I thought about. For now, I'll just leave it as is but it might change again.

Thanks, Loves!

Special Thanks To...

Breezen922

LordGrims

keliawb

fernando.ffn619