Tomura took another swig from his drink as Kurogiri polished a glass behind the counter. The warp gate user glanced over at the clock.
"It'll be about time for the attack to begin soon, huh?"
"Yeah," Tomura said, feeling more subdued than normal. He carried so much hate for those kids, but as the time grew closer for that hate to be unleashed…he was strangely calm.
"Kurogiri…when we get the signal, I'll be going through to the camp."
"What? But you told the others you'd be staying back…"
"I lied. The plan has changed. Besides, they'll be more willing to trust me as a leader if I fight with them."
Kurogiri set the clean glass down. "Fight? Isn't the plan to just extract the asset and escape via my Quir…"
"Do you want Katayama or don't you?" Tomura snarled.
That took Kurogiri aback. "Katayama…is not one of our assets…"
"And yet you wish that he was," a voice boomed from the TV in the corner.
Both of them turned. "Master," said Tomura. "I have played the pieces, and now we wait."
"I hear that you're going yourself to the front lines, Tomura. Why might you be doing that?" All For One's voice gave no hint of his feelings, but both of them knew they would have to tread carefully.
"The children have displayed their strength to me twice now," Tomura replied, scratching at his neck. "If those three hadn't attacked me on the rooftops, I might not have understood. But it's not going to be enough if we go in, do some damage, and run away. They'll certainly give chase. What they won't expect us to do is stand and fight."
"Good," All For One purred. "And what else?"
"Are we truly gunning for Katayama AND Bakugo?" Kurogiri asked.
"That's right," said Tomura. "But the Vanguard Action Squad have a special order in regards to that. They are to make it obvious that they're going to capture Bakugo, but make no intentions known about Katayama."
Kurogiri nodded. "If he becomes aware that he is a target, he will alter his behavior. Lord knows he's hard enough to catch already."
"To tell the truth, Kurogiri, I am glad you have displayed this new desire," said All For One. "It leaves me with a certain opportunity that I may not have gotten until later."
Both villains in the room wondered what he was talking about, of course, but they both knew not to question him further.
"Tomura, your plan is a good one," their master continued. "I look forward to seeing it come to fruition."
"Those children have outsmarted me at every turn," Tomura snarled, gripping the bottle he was drinking from and trembling. "This time…we must make them think they've won until the very last moment. Give them no openings to try again. That's the only way we'll be successful."
…
The third day of the training camp had gone by. Kirishima, Sato, and Kaminari were all exhausted from staying up until two in the morning with remedial lessons. Doko had trained his teleporting-another-person ability with Setsuna again for a few hours, and had gone from a ten percent success rate to about thirty percent.
It was a matter of getting over his own fear of it, he was certain. And that would only come with practice and experience.
That evening, the students prepared their own dinner again. Pixie-Bob had made them aware that later on, they would do a test of courage. Mina had expressed a deal of excitement to him about that, although he wasn't quite sure what it entailed. All he knew is that they would be competing with Class B.
Right now, he was silently helping Midoriya with firewood. The two of them were both thinking about Kota, probably…but weren't saying anything.
"Midoriya," said a voice, appearing above them. Both boys looked up; it was Todoroki.
"What did you need All Might for?" the ice user asked. "I heard you ask Aizawa-sensei about him."
I guess I just don't exist, Doko thought sullenly, continuing to work on the firewood but still listening to their conversation.
"Oh, I was just wondering…about Kota."
"Who?" Todoroki asked in a straight-laced manner.
"Mandalay's cousin's kid. The boy in the cap." Midoriya looked around. "You know, the…oh, he's gone again."
"Maybe he went to that hideout," Doko put in helpfully.
"But anyway…that kid hates heroes," Midoriya continued. "He hates our whole Quirk-based society in general. And we…I couldn't think of anything to say to help him."
Sometimes it's better to say nothing at all, Doko thought. The kid would get older eventually, and perhaps develop a more nuanced view of all of this. There was no need to rush to convince him of anything, especially if he was still grieving over his parents.
"I was just wondering what All Might would have said to him," Midoriya was telling Todoroki. "What would you have said, Todoroki-san?"
Todoroki considered a moment. "I guess it depends. To have a stranger try and reason with you is just irritating, right? Actions speak louder than words. I…sort of learned that from both of you."
Doko and Midoriya both sweatdropped. "Sorry…" they mumbled in sync, remembering the sports festival.
"Midoriya, I know it's your style to poke your nose in things where you don't belong, even if you don't seem like the type," Todoroki continued. "Perhaps it would be best to just leave it."
Midoriya laughed and smiled uncertainly. "You're probably right. I am just a stranger to him, after all."
Doko continued to work silently. He felt like something of an outsider still. Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo…they all felt like they were part of something more meaningful than himself. Like he was just a side character.
Even after winning the sports festival and holding his own against the League of Villains.
"And, Katayama?"
Doko looked up. Todoroki was addressing him directly.
"Keep an eye on Midoriya, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, alright?"
"Hey!" the green-haired boy protested.
Doko and Todoroki exchanged a glance that was full of meaning. He'd almost forgotten that the ice-and-fire user, along with Mina, was one of the only two people in the class who knew his family situation. And in turn, he was one of the few that knew Todoroki's. He had gone with the boy to experience Endeavor in person, and had seen their relationship.
"Got it," Doko said, smiling.
…
"Sero, can you help them with the veggies?" Yaoyorozu asked him, nodding over to the picnic shelter.
Hanta narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Huh? Why?"
"Because Kirishima and Sato have these boxes handled…and you're not really doing anything useful right now…" the raven-haired beauty gave him a dry look.
"Argh! Fine! Just don't visually judge me like that again!"
Muttering to himself, Hanta stomped his way over to the picnic shelter, where…to his confusion, there were three Class B girls chopping up vegetables and putting them into salad bowls.
Two of them he'd never spoken to. A girl with sleepy eyes and short white hair, and another with blue eyes and black hair. And of course, Ibara Shiozaki. She was there too.
The vine-haired girl was the first to notice him. "Hello, Sero-kun," she greeted with a pleasant smile. "Come to help out?"
He scratched behind his ear sheepishly. "Yeah, my class pres said I was being useless over there."
The ghostly looking girl smirked and half-whispered, "Class A sure is energetic, huh?"
"Hmmph," the dark-haired girl replied.
"Oh, these two are Yanagi-san and Kodai-san, by the way," Ibara said, pointing at them in turn. "This is Sero-kun. He interned with Kamui Woods along with me."
"Oh, I see." Yanagi blinked her shadowy eyes. "You're the one with the tape Quirk. Who got blasted with ice in the sports festival."
Hanta sighed. This again, huh?
"That's not very nice, Yanagi-san," Ibara chided. "Sero-kun also defeated me multiple times when we sparred at Kamui Woods' place. He's quite impressive."
"Thanks, I guess," Hanta muttered, stepping up next to her and taking a knife. "Anyway, let me help."
They stood there in silence for a minute, Ibara and Hanta on one side of the table, and Yanagi and Kodai on the other. Just chopping up vegetables.
"These are high quality," Ibara finally said as she tossed some more of them in. "The…ahem, rescue team that we're working with certainly knows how to procure fresh food."
Yanagi snorted, and Ibara shot her a glare.
Hanta looked up in confusion. "What's that about?"
Yanagi pointed at Ibara with her knife. "Shiozaki has been refusing to say the word Pussycats since we arrived."
"It's not funny!" Ibara countered in a low, frantic voice. Hanta couldn't help but notice that her eyes suddenly shot to him for a moment, and then back. "Saying it is just against my principles! I know that they mean well, but…"
"Hmm," Kodai said. Hanta wondered if she ever enunciated words at all.
"What are you guys's Quirks?" he asked, changing the subject. "I mean, besides Shiozaki."
"My Quirk is called Poltergeist," Yanagi explained, and suddenly the knife was floating above her hand. "I can manipulate objects without touching them."
Kodai only blinked at him, and then touched the knife she was using. Suddenly, before his very eyes, it shrunk.
Hanta's eyes widened. "You can change the size of stuff, then! Those are both really cool! Man, you Class B people have some interesting Quirks!"
"Yeah, it's almost like the writer gave you guys all the generic ones because he came up with you first," Yanagi muttered.
"Huh?" Ibara and Hanta both asked at the same time.
"Nothing."
"Hmmph," Kodai commented, in a slightly different tone.
"So, Shiozaki…" Hanta rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, feeling like he was about to take a dive into something. "...You like vegetables, huh?"
"I know, it seems strange..." she commented with a relaxed smile.
"Like cannibalism," Yanagi put in quietly.
"...But I need to eat lots of plants to strengthen my Quirk."
"Oh, I get it. My tape dispensers…" he tapped his elbow with the blunt end of the knife, and it made a clacking sound. "...are basically separate organs. They also need energy to run on. I've never actually run out of tape, but apparently it regenerates. If I overuse it, my skin starts to dry out."
"Gross," Yanagi whispered, although she was smiling.
"I don't eat animals, however," Shiozaki said. "Since they do not provide anything useful for my Quirk, and I would rather have them live on."
"Oh, so you're vegetarian," said Hanta. "I respect it."
"All creatures are God's creation, after all," she said. "They deserve our respect and our reverence."
"There she goes again," said Yanagi.
"Hmmph," said Kodai.
"Are you guys ready for the test of courage tonight?" Hanta asked, sprinkling some more veggies into the salad bowl.
"Oh yeah," Yanagi said, her ghostly grin widening. "I can't wait to scare your class. Hardly any of you know our Quirks."
"Fear is not something I wish to participate in," Ibara confessed, "but since it is an activity with friends, I'll comply."
"It won't be that scary," said Hanta. "Don't you worry about a thing." He patted her gently on the shoulder.
Ibara turned her face away toward the salad bowl. Hanta and Yanagi couldn't see, but she was blushing.
Only Kodai noticed. "Hmmm…" she said.
…
Dusk.
They had all gathered in the clearing at the edge of the forest. The camp was laid out like a hangman's noose, with a direct path between the facility and this clearing, and then a looped path that went deeper in the woods beyond the clearing.
"It's time for the test of courage!" Pixie-Bob announced.
"Those who failed, come with me," Aizawa said, pointing to Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sato. "You'll be taking remedial lessons right now."
"WHAT!" Kaminari wailed. "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"
"Failure begets punishment. That's how it is."
"EHHHHHH…" The three boys trudged away, following Eraser Head on the path back toward the facility.
"Okay, kittens!" Ragdoll chirped. "Here's how it's going to work! Class B will scare first! Class A will depart around the loop in pairs every three minutes! I'll be waiting at the halfway point with tags with your names on them! You have to bring those back with you to the clearing in order to pass the test!"
"Revelry in the dark," Tokoyami muttered.
Uraraka blinked, smiling nervously. "That's the fourth time he's said that today."
"The scarers are not allowed to make direct contact," Pixie-Bob added. "Use your Quirks to show how scary you can be!"
"The class that makes the other class piss their pants the most will be the winner!" Tiger boomed.
"Filthy…" Jiro grumbled.
"Now, we'll draw lots to determine the partners!" Pixie-Bob declared, holding up seventeen pieces of paper.
"Mannn…" Mina complained, bumping shoulders with Doko. "I was hoping we'd get to go together. I was looking forward to seeing you squeal and jump."
"I was looking forward to holding your hand all the way through," he shot back. "But hey, we could end up randomly together. It could happen."
It didn't.
The first pair was Tokoyami and Shoji. After that was Todoroki and Bakugo, then Jiro and Hagakure, then Yao-momo and Aoyama. Mina was fifth, paired with Koda. Then Tsu was in sixth, paired with Uraraka. Doko was with Ojiro in pair seven. Pair eight was Iida and Sero.
"Wait…" said Midoriya. "If three people are taking the remedial lessons, and there's twenty total…that means we are left with an odd number…and I'm…"
He froze, going pale. "By myself?!"
He turned away from the group, muttering to himself in panic.
"Midoriya…" Ojiro sheepishly tried to reassure him. "It's okay…it's random, and someone had to have this fate…"
"Oi, Tail," Bakugo snarled, appearing from behind. "Switch with me." He pointed back at his partner Todoroki, who he was clearly unhappy with.
Ojiro chuckled nervously. "You know my partner is Katayama, right?"
Doko blinked at Bakugo. "Hello."
The ashen blonde gave him a look, and then turned, spitting on the ground. "Whatever."
"I'm sorry…" Koda said quietly to Mina. "I know you p-probably wanted to go with Katayama-san…"
"Oh, that's alright!" The pink girl slapped the rock-headed boy on the back. "We're gonna have a great time, you and me! I thrive under fear! Don't you worry about nothin'!"
Koda shuddered, seeming even worse off than before.
"Revelry in the dark…" Tokoyami repeated.
…
Fifteen minutes later.
"Asui-kitty, Uraraka-kitty, go!" Pixie-Bob waved them off, the sixth pair.
The two girls disappeared into the woods, trembling and holding hands.
Doko looked at Ojiro. "We're next, huh?"
"Yep." The two of them had never spoken much, so this was about to be kind of weird.
Doko looked toward the exit path of the loop, which entered the clearing on the opposite side. "Tokoyami and Shoji should be getting back soon. The loop is supposed to be about twenty minutes."
"...Yep."
He sighed and returned to his thoughts, looking around the clearing. Fireflies danced at the cusp of the treeline. Broken logs and pine straw scattered all over the place. The sound of frogs and crickets, like a choir on the edge of hearing.
The others in the clearing. Three of the Pussycats, Midoriya, Iida, Sero, Ojiro, and himself. Quiet, he thought.
It felt like a strange moment. Deep below his stomach, his Quirk stirred.
Pixie-Bob suddenly sniffed the air. "Is something…burning?"
"Huh?" Mandalay glanced up over the canopy of the trees, and gasped.
The students followed her gaze. A haze of blue light was glowing over the distant treetops, and Doko could suddenly smell…smoke.
"A fire? On the mountain?!" Iida asked frantically.
…
Dabi pressed his hand against the tree, listening to the glorious sound of the flames crackling around him. "And now…their condemnation begins."
…
A man in a straitjacket lunged at Tokoyami and Shoji, sharp white objects zooming out of his mouth. "TOKOYAMI!" Shoji roared, shielding up in front of the smaller boy, and feeling an eruption of pain as the blades sliced through his decoy limb. Blood sprayed across the ground.
"...Tokoyami…?" Shoji turned, suddenly worried.
The bird boy was trembling. "Shoji…run…" he coughed out. "I'm gonna…it's gonna…"
Dark Shadow burst forth, massive and raging.
…
"You've scared everyone so far, Kodai!" Honenuki chuckled. "Bakugo and Todoroki's reaction was the best! What the heck was that oh? Hahaha!"
Itsuka Kendo peered out from behind her bush. "Do you guys smell something…burning?"
"Huh?" Honenuki suddenly relaxed. "Now that you mention it, it did suddenly get kind of smok…ooouuuuhh."
He collapsed to the ground, as a strange pink fog began to roll down the path.
Itsuka gasped, and breathed in, putting one fist over her mouth. "KODAI! DON'T BREATHE IT!" She reached out with her Big Fist Quirk and covered up Kodai, grabbing her away from the clearing.
…
It was too late for Jiro and Hagakure, who had just passed that scare point. When the gas arrived, they fell unconscious.
…
Further back on the loop, just past Ragdoll's halfway station, Ibara fainted.
Momo gasped. She and Aoyama had just gotten scared by the vine girl, Tetsutetsu, and Awase, and suddenly there some kind of gas rolling down the path. "Is this one of you?" she asked the two boys, who were backing up towards the bushes. "Does someone have a Quirk like thi…"
The gas arrived at her nostrils.
"No, it's an attack!" Tetsutetsu roared.
"Shit," Awase muttered under his breath.
Momo held her breath, and created a gas mask, putting it on herself. She made two more, and tossed them to the boys. "Help me!" She exclaimed. She quickly created several more masks. "Where are the rest of your classmates! We need to hurry and help them!" She leaned over, and put a mask over Ibara's face.
The steel quirk user and the welder both put on their masks. "Kendo, Kodai, and Honenuki are just down the path! We should get to them!" said Awase. "Who was behind you, Yaoyorozu?"
"Other than Ragdoll? Ashido and Koda…"
"Should we split up?" Tetsutetsu asked aloud. "Or…"
"No!" Momo interrupted. "We should get back to Ragdoll! She's the closest pro, she'll know what to do!"
"Here," said Awase, rushing over and helping her pick up Shiozaki. "You'll need help to carry her. Tetsutetsu, come on!"
The steel user seemed to consider a moment, and then he picked up several spare gas masks off the ground. "I'm gonna go alert Kendo and them. You two get back to Ragdoll!"
"Oi! That's not smart! We should stay toge…" Awase didn't finish. There was no time to argue; Tetsutetsu was already running away. "Tsk, he gets into one fight with villains and suddenly thinks he knows what he's doing. Say, Yaoyorozu? Where'd your partner go? The laser kid?"
"Huh?" Momo's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten about Aoyama.
Looking around, he was nowhere to be seen.
…
Himiko Toga watched from the shadows as the two girls entered her version. The brunette who could float things, and the frog girl.
She grinned beneath her mask, heart racing. It was time to start the fun!
…
"Huh?" A pink glow suddenly shimmered around Pixie-Bob's body. The students, Tiger, and Mandalay whirled.
"What is thi…AAAH!"
Pixie-Bob was suddenly yanked across the clearing, glowing pink…and then slammed into the ground. A massive white pole was pressed onto her face, making her stay down.
The one holding the pole was a large individual wearing a red shirt and shades. They were accompanied by a lizard-mutant in a…Hero Killer outfit. That's what that is.
"These pet cats are in the way," the one with the pole said gleefully, crushing Pixie-Bob's face into the dirt.
"Villains," Ojiro gasped.
"Why, you!" Tiger roared.
"Let go of her!" Mandalay screamed.
"How? How did they find us? No one was supposed to know," Sero said, his voice cracking. "No one was supposed to know…"
Somewhere, the traitor glanced at their watch.
"Pixie-Bob!" Midoriya shouted, running towards the villains, but Tiger held up an arm and stopped him.
"Oh no," Mandalay muttered.
Doko and Midoriya exchanged a glance. And then…they turned toward the direction of the mountain, where a lone boy liked to hide alone.
Kota! They thought together.
Mandalay quickly sent a message via Telepath. We are being attacked by two villains! It is possible there are more! Everyone who can, retreat back to camp! Do not engage them unless absolutely necessary!
"Greetings, UA High!" The lizard man said, throwing his arms out with gusto. "We are the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!"
"Them again?!" Ojiro exclaimed in disbelief. "Why?!"
"Shall I crush this pretty little kitten's head?" the other one snarled, pushing their pole against Pixie-Bob. "What do you think?"
Tiger stepped forward. "Like we'd let you, you bastards!"
"Hold up a second!" the lizard guy interrupted, stepping in-between them. "Let's not be hasty, Magne. Same to you, Tiger. Does it follow Stain's tenets to take this woman's life?"
"Stain?!" Iida cried. "You follow the Hero Killer's ideology?"
"That's right! Oh, you're the kid with glasses who helped bring him down! Well, sorry for the late introduction, but I'm SPINNER!" He unsheathed a massive sword made of smaller swords. "I'll bring Stain's dreams to reality!"
"I don't care," Tiger growled. "Mandalay! Let's fight them!"
The auburn Pussycat whirled on the five students. "You five, get back to camp! Run! Do NOT fight anyone you see!" Tears were streaming down her face. "Class rep, take charge!"
"Come on!" Iida waved at them and began to run down the path. Ojiro and Sero began to follow. "Midoriya? Katayama? Get moving!"
Doko and Midoriya exchanged a glance. They both nodded. "Mandalay!" Midoriya said, the two of them standing side by side.
"We know…"
"...where Kota is!"
…
"Koda-kun?!" Mina called, spinning in a circle. "Koda-kun, where'd you go?!"
Her partner had just disappeared once they'd spotted the fire. Somewhere behind her, Mina knew, were Ochaco and Tsu. Ahead were Yao-momo and Aoyama. And in the center of the loop, something was happening. Gas was rolling out from the trees, covering the paths. It was all she could do to stay clear of it.
What is happening? Is this part of the test of courage? Or…
Suddenly, Mina stumbled upon a wooden stand, at a turn in the path. Then she realized where she was.
The halfway station. Where Ragdoll was supposed to be, with their name tags.
The stand was empty. No Ragdoll.
Mina heard a snarl from the underbrush, and her blood ran cold. That's no Class B student.
"Ashido-san!"
Mina turned, and saw Yao-momo and a boy from Class B running toward her. "Oh my God," she sighed in relief. "What's going on?"
"It's an attack!" said Yao-momo. "Did you not hear Mandalay's Telepath? Also, where's Ragdoll?"
Mina shook her head. "I don't know! Koda disappeared too! He was my partner!"
"Shit," said the Class B boy, whose name she now remembered to be Awase. "Both of your partners went missing?"
"Guys…" Mina gulped. "I think there's an enemy in the woods back there."
They all froze. More snarls and growls were brushing their ears, coming out of the shadowy trees.
"Here," Momo squeaked, handing Mina a gas mask. "Put this on. Awase is showing me where the rest of the Class B members are hiding. We're going deeper into the gas."
…
Hanta's heart raced as he followed Iida and Ojiro back toward the facility. They'd left the Pussycats behind at the clearing to fight, and Katayama and Midoriya had gone off to find the little boy…
And here they were, running to safety. Hanta felt…irritated. Held back.
It was written on Ojiro's face as well. The tail quirk user had faced off against many members of the League all by himself at USJ, but now he was being told to run and hide.
What's going on? How many of them are there?
"Just a little further," Iida told the two of them. "Just around this corner, they'll…" He stopped short and gasped.
Their teacher Aizawa had pinned a villain just outside the door to the facility, wrapping him up with his capture weapon. He looked up and saw the three boys. "You three? Where are the rest?"
Iida opened his mouth to explain, but then the villain wrenched himself upward, pushing Aizawa off. Hanta gasped as he saw that the guy had gruesome scars on his face. He was dressed in a black cloak, and covered in piercings as well.
"A great teacher and a great hero, huh Eraser?" The villain taunted in a quiet voice. "Now I have to ask…how far are you willing to go to protect your students?"
Then, he dissolved into mud.
"That wasn't his Quirk?" Aizawa muttered aloud, shocked.
"Aizawa-sensei, the Pussycats are fighting more villains at the clearing! What should we do?" Iida asked.
"Get inside! The three who failed and Vlad King are in there! Once inside, don't come back out!" Aizawa raced toward the trees. "I must go do something."
Hanta, Ojiro, and Iida exchanged glances. "Let's go," the class rep told them, and they raced into the building.
In the classroom, Kirishima, Sato, Kaminari, and Monoma from Class B were waiting, along with Vlad King. "Sero! Ojiro! Iida!" Kirishima stepped forward, worry written all over his face. "What's going on?"
"It's the League of Villains again," Hanta explained, barely able to keep the disgust out of his voice. "There's at least three of them. Two fighting the Pussycats at the clearing. Another just escaped Aizawa somehow."
"I'm going to help!" Vlad King said, rushing out of the door. "You seven stay put!"
The boys were left with each other. Hanta, Ojiro, and Kirishima all stewed to themselves, angry.
Everyone told us to run and hide. But we don't know what's going on out there. Our friends could be dying.
…
Yuga Aoyama cowered in fear below a bush as he listened in on the conversation between the two villains.
"Whaaaat, Dabi? You lost? Talk about small fry! Or maybe, you should think of it as you being good, but the pro being REALLY good?"
"Make another one of me, Twice. We need to distract the pros from going deeper into the woods while we extract the assets."
"Sending a small fry in over and over again won't do anything! With that being said, I'll get right to it!"
These two are not right in the head! Yuga thought in terror. Where had Mademoiselle Yaoyorozu gone, anyway? How had he gotten stuck right by the one creating the blue fire, and his quirky companion?
All he knew was that he couldn't move, at any cost. They would see him, and they would kill.
…
Koji Koda stepped toward the hollow, trembling in terror.
He'd been overhearing the whispers for the past few days. Awful things, coming out of deep in the woods. He'd been camping before, and had picked up on the chatterings of some fairly gruesome creatures, but this was different. They were too intelligent, and numerous.
Koji had done his fair share of research on animals. There was really only one sort of creature that he could be dealing with here.
I know I shouldn't have run off and left Ashido on her own, but this is the only thing I can think of! If it's truly the League of Villains attacking us again, then I have to try…and see if they'll be willing to help our side…
He'd been walking further out into the woods than the main loop for about ten minutes now. Their whisperings were growing louder and louder.
Smell gas?
Gas.
Fire.
The sapien savages. They're up to it again.
Perhaps tonight is the night when we strike?
And lose the pack? No.
Koji stepped into the hollow, trembling.
One closes in. A lost boy.
I smell him too.
Fool. Shall we make an example out of him?
There's no other sapien around to see.
Please! Wait! He jammed his eyes shut, because he knew if he looked directly at them, he'd get too scared to continue.
It speaks! It can speak to us!
What is this sorcery?
Kill him! Insolent boy, kill him now!
PLEASE HEAR ME OUT! Koji shouted. WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We should hear him out, I say.
You're not the alpha.
Can I not make a suggestion at least?
I still want to eat him.
Just…calm down a moment.
Koji sighed, forcing his breath to slow. This was the logical outcome of his Quirk, wasn't it? What good was it if he could only speak to friendly animals? Birds…bats…bugs…the real help would come from here. And only here.
Please, he said again. My friends and I…we need your help.
I want to know how he's doing it.
It's his attribute! His meta ability, or whatever! All the sapiens have them these days!
Strange. I don't like it. He should be removed from the Earth. The meta abilities do not fall under the natural order.
They do now.
Who are your friends, boy?
We are…training to become the guards of the human world, Koda explained, trying to make it so they would understand. Protecting those who need protecting. We came to these woods to train with professionals.
The fools who dress in the feline costumes. Everyone knows cats are inferior.
They encroached upon our land years ago and claimed it as theirs. Just because some sapien exchange or law decides it? Do the sapiens think they own the stars too?
It's not my place to talk about that, Koji continued, gritting his teeth and keeping his eyes closed. I know you probably don't want to help them. But listen, there are other…sapiens out there right now. The ones causing the fire and the gas. They are attacking us, and they're destroying your home to do it!
Sapiens attacking sapiens, huh?
I say we let the bipedal filth kill each other, and rule over the scraps. The forest will be ours once again.
Why should we help you, boy? Just because you speak our language?
Listen. He's about to try and make a deal that they'll leave after this. Just watch. They always try to make deals, these sapiens. They're untrustworthy to a fault. They'll claim to leave, and come crawling back in a few months with some new "law."
Fine, I won't make a deal then, Koji growled. Why, you ask? Why you should help me and my friends? BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
The pack went silent.
More silence.
Koji opened one eye, shaking all over. Yellow eyes glowed at the edges of the hollow. Not one grew closer to him, though. They were not attacking.
Let us go, then, said the alpha. Guide us in the direction of your enemy.
…
Kota? Kota, are you there?
The terrified boy backed slowly away from the hooded figure, who'd just come around the corner on the rocky mountainside. Should he run into the cave? No, that was a dead end. Down the mountain? No, stuff was burning down there. What was happening? What to do? What to do?
Mandalay contacted him again with Telepath; he hated when she did this. I don't know where you are, but please…please, Kota…hurry back to camp…I don't know where you run off to, so I can't save you! Kota, I'm sorry…
"I searched for somewhere with a nice view, and found a face that isn't on our list," said the cloaked figure. "Nice hat you got there, kid. I'll trade you for this lame mask. They gave it to me because I'm new and couldn't get the other shipment in on time."
Kota whirled, and tried to run.
The cloaked figure leaped over him, against the hillside, and then blocked his way. "Come on, kid…" he lifted his bare arm out of the cloak, and his muscle fibers suddenly bulged out of it, growing around his skin. "...Let me get a shot in to feel better, at least!"
In that moment, the cloak billowed off his face, and Kota's body froze solid.
It was him. The one who'd killed Papa and Mama.
The villain sent his fist downward toward Kota…and two flashes appeared out of nowhere. One green, one purple.
Kota went flying back, held in someone's arms, as a shockwave burst from the clashing of two fists. He coughed and sat up against the edge of the cliff, looking up as the dust cleared.
It was the green-haired boy from before, holding the villain back with his own strength. Green lightning surged from his body, while the villain's gruesome muscles bulged. "You were on our list," the villain commented with a smirk, looking down at Midoriya.
Kota looked to his left, at the person who'd grabbed him. It was the grey-haired boy, Katayama. The teleporter, the one who Mandalay had claimed saved him from falling.
Her words flashed back to him in that moment. One day, someone will save your life. And you'll be able to call that person…your hero.
"It's going to be okay, Kota-kun…" Midoriya grimaced as the villain knocked him away. The two hero students now stood side by side, between Kota and the villain. "We'll…"
"...definitely save you!" Katayama finished.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Chaos, chaos! Things going wrong everywhere! I tried to give a sense of the geography of the area, and where everyone is, since neither the anime or the manga did a great job of that. The forest fight is my favorite sequence in the whole story, and I really wanted to give it a sense of scope and clarity.
I know this chapter kind of goes in a lot of directions and doesn't really arrive at any destinations, but there will be more payoff next time. You can probably reasonably predict some of the things that are going to go down, but I do hope I have at least a couple of surprises in store…
Changes are making themselves known. Shigaraki's plan is different! Instead of being locked in the building, Mina is out and about in the thick of it! Doko has gone with Izuku to fight Muscular! And what's Koda up to? Find out next time. I'll see you all then.