"This time, for sure, we'll save her!"
"Tech! If she's even still alive," said the pro with the visor. "If all your guesses are correct, this leader of theirs probably sees the girl as the core of his plan and someone worth hiding. But there must've been some sort trouble because she got out! Not to mention our junior heroes here got a glimpse of her! If you were him, would you just bring her back to the main hideout? I know I wouldn't! We can charge in, guns blazing, but it's all for nothing if she ain't there. Any way to be sure where he's keeping her?
"He raises some good questions, Nighteye," said Ryukyu.
Sir nodded. "Indeed, that is the issue at hand. Beyond the unclear nature and scope of their plan, should we fail to end this decisively in one strike, they won't give us another chance. Which brings us to the organizations Hassaikai has contacted, as well as Hassaikai's verified properties! Through our investigation, we've compiled an extensive list! I'll be asking for each of you to check out certain groups and locations on your own. We need to narrow the list down!"
"Gotcha. So that's why us minor heroes are here too," said another pro, who I didn't recognize. "Take a look There's a connection between each hero's home territory and the list of locations. We were chosen because of our familiarity with the neighborhoods. "
Fatgum unexpectedly stood up and yelled, "You're mighty cautious for a former sidekick of All Might, doing things all roundabout like this! While we're twiddling our thumbs, little Eri's probably out there crying somewhere!"
"We can't do things the way All Might would," Sir replied. "We must rely on analysis and precaution to raise the odds of saving her as much as possible."
"It's no good getting worked up," said Deku's pro. "If we go big and mess this up, they'll get away. It'll only stoke their fires even higher. Just like how Stain's arrest was actually good PR for the League of Villains. Distributing quirk killing bullets to small-time street punks might even be a reason for that."
"YA'LL ARE OVER-THINKING THIS! ALL TALK AND NO ACTION LEAVES US DEAD IN THE WATER!"
Aizawa sensei raised his hand.
"Um, can I say something? I'm not exactly sure how your ability works, Sir Nighteye, but why not use your foresight to see what sort of fate awaits us? Going forward without that knowledge seems irrational."
"I can't do that." It was final. "My ability has limitations. Once activated, it has a 24-hour codlin period. In other words, I can only view one hour of a single person's life each day. The images appear in my mind panel by panel like a flashback. After using it, it's like I can watch recorded footage of that person's entire life. Think of it that way. But the entirety of the film plays out from a perspective close to the person in question. What I end up seeing is his or her actions and faint glimpses of the surrounding environment."
"That sounds like more than enough. We could still learn plenty. So why can't you do it?"
"Well, for one thing, what if in the near future what awaited that person was death? A cruel and merciless death, even. What then? I've trained my quirk to maximize the success rate of every action I take. I use it to all but ensure victory in battle. It's not meant to recklessly view situations with so many uncertainties."
"Seeing if we're gonna die sounds pretty darn useful! Then we could come up with a plan to stay alive!" said the hero with the visor.
"I'm not a fortuneteller. There's no guarantee that the fate I see can be avoided."
"I don't get it, Nighteye! C'mob, why dont'cha take a look at me? I'll avoid whatever life's got in store for me!"
"I can't!"
Final, once again. And a long silence.
"Why don't we get started?" said Ryukyu. "There's a child in need out there. That's what matters most."
"Confirm the girl's location and take measures to save her," said Sir. "Once we're as sure as we can be, let's bring this matter to a swift resolution. I thank you all for your help."
"Right!" said his sidekick. "I'll be passing out these detailed case files to each of you."
Later on, the four of us sat with the big 3, in a smaller meeting room, in silence. Deku and Togata had told us the depressing details of their run-in with the girl. Deku had wanted to save her, Togata had wanted to keep things under wraps.
"So that's how it is," said Amajiki.
"You must be hurting, man," said Kirishima.
"Deku…" I murmured.
I couldn't think of anything else to say.
The elevator doors opened.
"Holding an all-night vigil, are we?" asked Sensei as he joined us.
"Sensei!" cried Tsu.
"You can call me Eraserhead outside of school. Anyway, I was planning to talk with you all about ending your work studies today."
"WHAT?!" cried Kirishima. "Now? Of all times?"
"You heard about how the League of Villains might be involved in this. That makes this a whole different ball game. But," he added, turning to Deku, "Midoriya. You still haven't earned my trust back. But unfortunately if I were to cut you off now, it's all bout guaranteed that you would leap into action anyway. So I'll watch over you. Let's try to do things right this time, Midoriya." He knelt down in front of Deku, reached out and touched his fist to his chest. "Understand, you little troublemaker?"
"Mario," said Amajiki, "Keep your head up, man."
"Hey, I understand, Togata," said Hado. "You've got regrets, so you're feeing low. But that's just how it is sometimes! Got it?"
"Yeah."
"If it makes you feel better," said Sensei to Deku, "when you reached out with those hands to help ERi, even though you failed, I bet you gave her some hope. So pick yourself up."
HE stood, as Deku said, "Yes, sir!"
"I'll follow you to the end of the earth, Eraserhead!" shouted Kirishima.
"No need to go that far."
"SORRY!"
"Pipe down, Kirishima!" I told him.
"With that said," said Sensei, "The big three are on par with the pros, maybe even better. However, you four will have much reduced roles. Asui, Uraraka, Kirishima, you three aren't exactly here because you volunteered. What do you think?"
"Sen- I mean, EraserheaD!" I stood up. "After hearing a story like that, there's no way I'm backing out now!"
"If you're giving us permission , Eraser," said Tsu, "I'd like to contribute however I can. NO one should hurt a little girl and get away with it."
"Just looking at the first years in this meeting," said Amajiki, "I think it's clear that the pro heroes must respect them. Especially compared t o me, they show a ton of promise."
"You never miss a chance to take a shot at yourself, huh Amajiki?" said HAdo.
"If there's anything at all we can do to help that girl," said Kirishima, "we'll do it, Eraserhead!"
"I just needed to make sure you're all good. It's fine, as long as you understand this. The goal of this operation is to rescue Eri. We can't make it anything more than that. The lookming threat of the League of villains is our biggest concern. According to the police and Sir, they're not active partners in all this, which means there's a low chance of running into them when we start investigating. But on the off chance that were wrong about that, and the mission suddenly involves fighting them as well, that's where your role ends."
"GOT IT!"
Side B.
"Collaborate with the Hassaikai?!"
"Yeah. Don't make me repeat myself," said Tomura."Their big plan's actually got some bite to it! Toga and Twice, you're Yakuza, starting today."
"SOUNDS BORING - that's really interesting, Shigaraki." said Jin.
"They wanted Kurogiri too, but I stuck to my guns. Besides, he's about to get started on a much more important task. You'll be use the underground route to get there, and -"
Jin lost it at that. "The plans' got bite!? You mean cuz of that smooth-talking leader of theirs? Why'd you go and let that beaky bastard win you over? He's the one who killed big Sis Mag! And the one who blew Mr. Compress's arm to bits! He - he got me to carelessly lead him right to us! I'm only human, y'know, Shigaraki!" he added, and actually pulled his mask off. Then shoving it on, he added to me, "How about you, Toga? Say something?"
I stood up. "What do we mean to you, Tomura? Because for me, the League just makes me feel good. Stains was my real inspiration. I wanna live however I feel like in this world of ous. And the first step is figuring out if that's even possible, right Tomura?" I twirled over to him, and put my knife to his throat. "So why do we gotta do things we don't wanna do?"
He stopped of a moment, then actually took the hand from his face. I'd never seen his face before. I shook a little. It was rather beatific, like a scarred angel's.
"You're doing it for me, and you, and all of us. Those idiots are hoping to slow down the league, and win you two over because of how useful you both are. They're tunneling in from the toutside and trying to take over. I knew they were never about equality in this team-up. Twice, remember when you said someone had to pay? This is one way I'm gonna make that happen. I believe any guys."