Chapter 34
Sirens.
Hanta Sero followed Kirishima out of the building at a run, desperate to see what was happening.
"Sero! Kirishima! WAIT!" Iida called after them, but they didn't respond.
Outside in the clearing, ambulances and fire trucks had gathered. Drones roared past in the sky, blasting water onto the trees below. The two boys stopped short, their jaws dropping, stunned.
"Is…" Kirishima swallowed. "What's…"
Hanta looked wildly around the edges of the clearing. He saw Kendo, the president of Class B, dragging Tetsutetsu and a short blonde boy in a half-destroyed gas mask. He saw Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Koda, along with many more Class B students, coming out of a different end of the trail.
Aizawa was guiding out another group. Hanta's eyes widened. It was Kodai, one of the girls he'd met earlier. She was dragging behind her an unconscious Ibara Shiozaki.
Hanta ran over to them, and Aizawa spotted him. "Sero, get back," he said. "These students need medical attention."
He stopped, and met eyes with Kodai. "She…?"
The dark-haired girl blinked at him. "She's alive. They're all alive for now."
"Oh my god…" Kirishima said behind him.
Hanta turned. Being loaded onto the ambulance were Jiro and Hagakure, unconscious. And then…
"Fuck me," he swore, the words escaping him in front of Aizawa.
Shoji was being loaded onto an ambulance as well, on a specially-designed stretcher. He, unlike the others, was conscious, and groaning.
One of his arms was completely gone.
Hanta squeaked. "Aizawa-sens…"
"Get inside," their teacher said roughly, shoving past him and dashing over to Shoji's stretcher. "NOW!"
With another look at Kodai, Hanta slowly stepped back. He turned to Kirishima again. Behind them, Ojiro and Sato had just come running out. "Is it over?" Ojiro asked. "Did…holy shit." His eyes fell on Shoji.
Kirishima clenched his fists. Tears were shimmering in his eyes.
…
Fifteen minutes after the villains left, the emergency services had arrived and begun cleaning up the scene.
Of the forty heroes-in-training that had been present at the camp, fifteen had been rendered unconscious by the gas and needed medical attention. Another fourteen had received minor to moderate injuries. Seven were uninjured…the seven that had been inside the building.
That left four. Izuku Midoriya and Mezo Shoji had suffered severe injuries. And Katsuki Bakugo and Doko Katayama were missing.
Of the six pro heroes, four were relatively unscathed. Pixie-Bob had suffered a severe blow to the head and was in critical condition. And the only thing left of Ragdoll was a pool of blood.
Muscular, Mustard, and Moonfish were captured. The other nine villains that were spotted - Magne, Spinner, Himiko Toga, Twice, Compress, Dabi, Kurogiri, Tomura Shigaraki, and a Nomu - had all disappeared without a trace.
The summer training camp was over.
…
The phone wouldn't stop ringing.
Nezu glanced over at it again. Natural instinct said that when you hear a sudden noise, your eyes naturally follow it to the source. And yet, you could often train yourself to resist doing such a thing.
Somehow, though…each time the phone rang, Nezu would glance back at it. As if it was the first time he'd heard it.
He wondered which news station it would be. Or which police station. Or which grieving mother.
"I need some air," he told Snipe, and clambered down out of the chair, heading for the door.
"You can't go outside, principal," the masked pro told him. "They're all out there."
"I'm just going to stroll the halls."
UA was empty right now. Long, vast, silent. The ceilings were much higher than government standards mandated, for the sake of Quirk inclusivity, but as a being of shorter stature Nezu found it even more spacious.
He listened to the rhythmic pitter-patter of his pawed feet as he walked, his hands folded behind his back. Sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling hallway windows on his left. It was a beautiful day outside. Great weather all across Japan.
In the distance, the low hum of a thousand voices, a thousand angry voices, jostling and shouting at UA's front gate. Reporters. People armed with mics and cameras and the most dangerous tool of all, questions. Many, many questions. Some of them Nezu would have the answer to, but it was decidedly less than half.
"I need to schedule a meeting," he mumbled, pinching his eyes together sleepily. He'd never felt more like Shota Aizawa.
…
Tsuyu Asui glanced at her phone, hoping in vain for a ding. For the light of a notification. Something, anything.
She opened the group chat. The last message sent was from Toru. See all of you at the bus!
That had been a few minutes before their departure for camp. Three days ago.
Tsuyu slid her finger across the screen, revealing the group information. A chill ran down her spine.
Mina Ashido - Online
Tsuyu Asui - Online
Hanta Sero - Online
Toru Hagakure - Offline
Doko Katayama - Offline
Mezo Shoji - Offline
Her tongue had mostly healed up, but she was still here in the hospital, sitting up in her bed. Mina and Sero had received minor to no injuries. Would they be somewhere in this building, or at home? It didn't really matter. From what she'd seen, neither of them would be in any state to speak in chat.
And then there were the other three. Unconscious, amputated…captured.
She didn't think messaging Mina directly would be a good idea right now. Giving her space was a better idea, right? Tsuyu knew she could be borderline irritating with her observations sometimes, often saying things that were too intrusive. I cannot afford to overstep my boundaries today. And in the coming days.
Maybe Sero would be easier. Sero was closer with Toru and Doko than he was with her, but…still, it was a place to start. She needed some kind of contact besides the nurses. Anything.
She typed out a message. Hey Sero, it's Tsu. Beforehand, their only direct messages had been a brief exchange when entering each other's contact information.
It took several minutes for him to reply. hello
Lowercase, no punctuation. That was usually Sero's style, but here it looked almost passive-aggressive.
Tsuyu: Are you here in the hospital or elsewhere?
Hanta: i'm here.
Hanta: we're outside Midoriya and Shoji's room
We're. Sero was with someone. Mina? Maybe Kirishima and Kaminari?
The next time someone came into her room, she'd ask if she was free to walk about the hospital. Tsuyu needed to know what was going on.
…
Snipe, Midnight, Present Mic, All Might. The only four currently available for a meeting. The rest of the staff were covering for…other things.
"We were naive," Nezu began. "Even though they have attacked us before, and attacked our students before…we didn't realize that they'd already declared war. And war takes more than one battle."
"To have incidents take place at such a persistent rate is a wake-up call," Midnight muttered. "But we were asleep for far too long."
"We let peacetime cloud our judgement," said Present Mic. "We thought we had more time than we did."
"I am a coward," All Might mumbled. "While the students were out there fighting…I sat in my home. I should have been there with them. I should have been there."
"We can't brazenly display our resilience like last time, when we followed up the USJ attack with the sports festival," said Snipe, looking around at his co-workers. "This is different. They have not just stolen Katayama and Bakugo. They have stolen the public's trust in us."
"And the public might be right. This is our greatest failure," said Nezu. He lifted up a newspaper, and a tablet with an online article. "All the articles are filled with criticism of UA. The villains knew this would happen. And even worse…they chose their targets very carefully. Bakugo and Katayama displayed their angry sides at the sports festival, and they have very aggressive, often uncontrollable Quirks. If the villains somehow win them to their side…it is over for us. That's the end."
"If we're on the topic of trust, I'd like to say something," said Present Mic. "We once suspected those two boys of being traitors. Those very two boys. Either the villains have had their eye on them for longer than we know, or…this was all just a cover to retrieve some allies safely."
All Might gasped. "Are you saying that Bakugo and Katayama have just gone willingly with the League?"
"Mic, that's preposterous!" Midnight snapped. "We have multiple eyewitnesses…"
"If anything, this just proves that we were MORE wrong about the two of them!" Snipe exclaimed.
"Can't you understand?" Mic pushed out of his seat, raising his hands up desperately. "Even if it's not either of them, this CONCLUSIVELY proves that we have a traitor amongst us, right?! No one knew about the training camp's location besides the Pussycats, us, and the students! The students can leak their location from their cell phones with one push of a button…"
"Sit down," All Might growled. "We aren't having this conversation."
"Can you prove that you yourself are innocent?" Snipe asked him, more calmly. "Or anyone here, for that matter? If we just start accusing each other, we'll do the villains' job even faster. We'll destroy OURSELVES. There's too many threats coming from every which way right now."
"If it helps the situation, I trust all four of you," said Nezu, in a softer tone. "Although I cannot prove my own innocence either. But, in regards to student safety, there is an idea I've been cooking up for a while. It's about…"
A phone call is here!
A phone call is here!
All Might stood, reaching into his pocket. "Cry your pardon. I have to take this."
"We're in a meeting, turn off your phone!" Mic complained.
Midnight sweatdropped. "Such a lame ringtone…"
"Sorry…" the number one hero muttered, sliding out the door into the dark hallway. Inside, he could hear the muffled voices continue the meeting. Something about dorms.
What kind of Symbol of Peace can't save his own students? What kind of hero?
He picked up the phone call, taking a deep breath. "What is it, Tsukauchi?"
"We just got the statements from Aizawa and Vlad," the detective answered. "And…we think we might have figured out the League's whereabouts."
All Might spat blood, his heart skipping a beat. "Really?!"
"Two weeks past, one of my subordinates was searching the wider metropolitan area around that training facility that the Katayama boy tipped us off about. He spoke to a bystander who said he'd seen a man with a scarred face enter a supposedly vacant building. His description of the man matches both Aizawa and Vlad's description of a villain at the attack, one who shot blue fire from his hands."
All Might clenched his fist.
Tsukauchi continued. "Needless to say, once we get more evidence, we'll storm the place. This is top secret right now, but I'm telling you because we need the cooperation of multiple pro heroes if we want to get this thing done cleanly and quickly. Will you lend us your strength, All Might?"
.
"...All Might?"
Toshinori Yagi grew into his muscle form, a grin spreading across his face. "When I meet those scoundrels again, I will tell them I had a wonderful friend. And then I'll tell them I am here…to take back my students."
…
Kaminari slid the door open and peered into the room. "Oh, he's awake!" he said, opening the door the rest of the way.
Thirteen Class A students came in as a group. Laying flat in the right-side bed with both his arms in casts was Izuku Midoriya, his eyes blinking dazedly.
Across the way in the left-side bed was Mezo Shoji, his stump wrapped in gauze, who looked up at the ceiling with dead eyes. His mask lay on the bedside table, revealing a lipless, gruesome mouth, dry and cracked.
He'd been awake the whole time, and had been forced to wait in an empty room with just the sleeping Midoriya as his companion.
The students began to crowd Midoriya.
"You're awake!"
"You haven't seen the news, but the media has been swarming the school."
"We brought you a melon!"
"Shoji-chan…" Tsu, Tokoyami, and Todoroki all gathered around his bed, while the rest of the class began talking to Midoriya. They had an umbrella of noise to separate them.
"Guys…" Mezo coughed. "Bakugo and Katayama. Are they…"
Tokoyami glanced back at Mina, who was standing near the back of the group silently. She wasn't saying anything. Her face was a paler pink than Mezo had ever seen it.
"Shoji," Todoroki said, his face seeming…lost. "Why did you jump in front of me. Why did you do that?" His voice broke.
"I…I don't know," Mezo groaned, laying back in his bed. "My legs…just moved on their own."
…
"Jiro and Hagakure are still unconscious from the gas," Iida explained to Midoriya. "And Yaoyorozu is still bedridden. She overused her Quirk and needed to be put on the drip. I don't think she's woken up, either. They're the last ones besides the two of you. Asui was just released."
"My tongue still stings a little, but it'll be okay, ribbit," Tsu muttered.
All fourteen Class A members present had gathered around Midoriya's bed. Shoji was able to stand, so he'd joined the conversation as well. He hadn't put his mask back on, and a few of them glanced over, seeing his mouth for the first time. He didn't appear to care very much.
"So…thirteen of you came…" Midoriya breathed, his voice hoarse. "Wait, does that mean…"
"Bakugo and Katayama are not here," Todoroki said, quietly.
Mina winced, hitching her breath sharply, and everyone looked to her in panic. "Todoroki…" Kaminari hissed. "Have some tact, man…"
She took a step back, biting her trembling lip. She looked away from the group. Tears pooled in her black-and-gold eyes.
Midoriya sank backward into the bed. "Kacchan…Katayama…"
All of them who'd been there saw it again in their mind's eye. Himiko Toga wrapping herself around Doko's shoulders, the two of them backlit by the glow of Kurogiri's portal. Her arm lifting up the sedative, and then bringing it down. The two of them disappearing backwards.
And Bakugo, saying don't come for me.
"All Might always says he can't save those he can't reach," Midoriya whispered. None of the class knew if the words for them or just for himself.
"But I could reach them. I could, and I didn't save them. Do you all remember what Aizawa said to me, on the first day? That I'd break my body after saving one person, and be useless after that. Well…l-look what h-happened. I s-saved Kota, and was completely useless after th-that. They were right in f-front of me, and I d-didn't do anything. I c-couldn't save them."
Kirishima blinked. "Then let's save them this time."
Some of the class gasped. Sero, Todoroki, and Mina remained silent.
Midoriya blinked. "Wh…what do you mean…"
Kirishima exchanged a glance with Todoroki and Sero. "The three of us came here yesterday, although you were still asleep. We wanted to visit Shoji but they wouldn't let us in."
"Besides…" Sero muttered. "We couldn't just sit at home." Todoroki nodded.
"And then we found…" Kirishima stepped aside, coughing. "Hey, Ashido…? P-Pinky, you wanna tell him?"
All eyes fell on Mina, who was still turned away.
The pink girl sniffed and wiped her face. She turned and looked Midoriya dead in the eye.
"Yao-momo isn't awake to confirm," she nearly whispered, forcing everyone to lean in closer, "but I'm pretty sure that when we were running away from the Nomu, she had Awase from Class B attach a tracking device to it. The stupid p-portal guy took all of the villains out of the forest, including that thing, which means wherever it's gone is probably the villain base."
"So, when Yaoyorozu wakes up, we will know exactly where to look," Sero finished.
Tsuyu gasped to herself, looking back and forth between Sero and Mina. They didn't tell me. We were the three in the group still able to chat, and they went to Todoroki and Kirishima instead.
...They didn't tell me.
A cold, oppressive tension fell over the room.
Tenya Iida clenched his fists. "...When Yaoyorozu wakes up, you're going to have her make you a receiver?"
"And so…what?" Todoroki asked him calmly. "What if we are?"
The class rep clenched his teeth, making a tsk sound. He was trembling with fury. Tsuyu and Tokoyami backed up away from him, nervous.
"Todoroki…you and me of all people know…that we CANNOT do something like that. This isn't a time for us to act out and get into more trouble, you IDIOTS!" Iida roared. "We MUST leave it to the pros!"
"We KNOW that, damn it!" Sero roared back, trembling himself. "But…we heard on Mandalay's Telepath…that Bakugo was being targeted…and we were still stuck inside that damn building…"
"You didn't let us do anything then, Iida," Kirishima growled. "And now two of my friends are gone. They might be dea…"
Mina made a pained noise behind him, and he stopped himself.
"Iida is correct, though…" Tsuyu mumbled.
"You guys have to calm down," Kaminari told them, putting a finger to his lips. "We're in a hospital! I understand that you feel strongly about this stuff, but…"
"Not acting once can be called a fluke," Kirishima interrupted. "But not acting twice?! That's when I have to stop calling myself a hero, and stop calling myself a man!"
"But we are not heroes yet," said Iida, suddenly deathly precise and quiet. "What help could we possibly offer the pros that they do not already have? Yaoyorozu will give the tracking receiver to THEM when she wakes, not you. We have nothing to gain from going out there on our own."
"And everything to lose, if we don't go," said Mina.
They all turned to her. A chill traveled up Tsuyu's arms.
"Everything," she repeated softly.
"Listen, I know you're right Iida," Kirishima said. "But…Midoriya!" He turned to the green-haired boy in the bed, offering him a hand. "It's not too late! Your hand…can still reach!"
Midoriya looked at Iida and Tsuyu, and then to his left, to Kirishima and Sero and Todoroki and Mina.
"We can go save them!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Bakugo AND Katayama!"
"The villains said we were targets to be killed," Todoroki said. "But they did not kill the two of them. If, somehow, they have other plans for them…"
A series of horrid thoughts flashed through Tsuyu's brain. Bakugo and Dokkun on the side of the League, brainwashed, and her being forced to fight them. Or, even worse…two Nomu that vaguely resembled them.
"The four of us are going," said Sero, gesturing to himself, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Mina. "At least, that's who we have so far."
Iida clenched his teeth. "You fools. Already some of our class are close to death, and you want to up the numbers?!"
Sero's eyes widened. "That's not…"
Iida hissed and raised his fist, taking a step forward.
"Hey, hey, WHOA!" Shoji suddenly stepped between them, raising his five arms up in a shielding manner.
The class murmured.
"Shoji…"
"It's okay, man, take it easy…"
"I understand all of your frustrations," the multi-armed boy said. "I understand it better than anyone." His stump twitched. "But…this isn't a time to act on emotions. That's what makes us different from villains like Shigaraki. We can afford to wield logic on our side."
"Not to mention, Mr. Aizawa rescinded his permission to fight from the training camp…" Aoyama commented. Everyone turned to him, surprised. Some of them had forgotten that he'd fought at the battle at the portal's edge.
"Aoyama's right," Tokoyami muttered. Koda nodded, too.
Tsuyu decided to speak. "We're all shocked over Bakugo and Dokkun's capture. But acting out like you say you're going to…breaking the rules, going to fight anyway…those are the same actions that a villain would take."
Sero snarled. "Don't you DARE compare us to…"
"Tsu," Mina interrupted him, her voice breaking. "You're not…on our side?" Her golden eyes swam with sorrow and betrayal.
Tsuyu could practically feel her heart break in two. "You guys didn't tell me about this," she muttered. "You've been working on it since yesterday and kept it a secret."
"It's easy for the four of you to say," said Kirishima, looking between Tsuyu, Tokoyami, Aoyama, and Koda. "All of you were out there. You got to play a role. You were able to fight at least."
"That's right," said Koda with a sudden steel. "We failed even harder than you did. And we're still able to take a step back and gather ourselves."
Everyone gasped.
"I lost control for most of the night and then was captured shortly after," Tokoyami mumbled. "I barely did more than you, Kirishima."
"I cowered behind a bush for most of it," Aoyama echoed.
The silence fell again. No one knew what else to say.
They were at an impasse.
Suddenly, the door slid open again, causing Aoyama to jump from the break in tension. "Sorry to interrupt…" a sleepy-eyed doctor said in a lazy tone. "It's time for Midoriya and Shoji's exams. If you could all clear the room. Also, get back in bed, Shoji."
"Wh-why don't we go?" Ojiro suggested sheepishly, smiling to the others. "I want to check up on Jiro and Hagakure, as well."
"Good idea."
"Yeah, let's get outta here."
"...Sorry, Doc…"
They all began to file out.
A lot was going through Izuku's head in that moment, but for a second his eyes zeroed in on Uraraka, who had been silent the whole time and was tailing the others.
She was frowning. Her eyebrows were down. She looked…furious about something.
"Feel better, Deku," she whispered as she left. "I'll see you soon."
…
Detective Tsukauchi made more calls. The pro hero team began to assemble.
The number two hero, Endeavor. The number four and five heroes, Best Jeanist and Edgeshot. The number ten hero, Gang Orca. Gran Torino. Kamui Woods. Mt. Lady. And from the Pussycats, Tiger.
…
Momo blinked slowly awake, feeling groggy. An awful taste filled her mouth. Her spiky hair tangled over her eyes. When she shifted in the bed, she came unstuck, like she'd plastered herself to the mattress with sweat.
Ugh…she thought, wiping her face clear. What…what happened?
She was laying on her side, facing the window. She was in a hospital, that much was clear. Next to her was a blinking machine. She was on a drip.
She must have used up a severe amount of her body's stored fat and calories. I shouldn't have made that sled. And then, I used up all my reserves to keep dragging them…
Not to mention the drain on her adrenaline and nerves from being constantly, slowly pursued by a monster.
The monster.
The tracking device.
Momo made to sit up, but felt a sharp pain in her side and slowly rested back down again, dizzy. Owww…
She needed to speak to the pros, and soon. Had anyone come to visit her while she was asleep?
Momo turned over, finally facing the other side of the room. What she saw made her suddenly stop short, and gasp slightly.
Sitting in a chair next to her bed was Denki Kaminari, watching her.
He was alone.
"Erm…" Momo coughed. "Hello, Kaminari…"
"I'm glad to see you awake," he said. He seemed…more subdued than usual.
That worried her.
"Kaminari, what happened? How long have I been out?"
"A few days," he said. "The media's up in a storm about UA."
"...Because of the attack?"
"Yes. Besides your injuries, Shoji lost an arm, and Midoriya broke both of his. Katayama and Bakugo were captured by the villains."
Momo took that four-hit punch to the gut all at once, her mind knocking back into oblivion. Shoji…Midoriya…Bakugo? Katayama? All of them?
She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Then that makes it all the more pivotal that I finish my duty. Kaminari, can I trust you with something?"
"Sure," he said.
She slowly reached toward her chest and used her Quirk, a sparkling pink glow growing around her neckline as she pulled out the tracking receiver. "I attached a tracking device to one of the villains, Kaminari. The pros need to know where to go if they want to capture all of them…and rescue our classmates. This receiver is connected to that device. Please get it to the pros. Anyone who will talk to you. Please, do it as quickly as you can." She handed the device to him.
Kaminari took it slowly and turned it over in his hand, scanning it with his yellow eyes. "This device points to the villain hideout?" he asked.
"Yes, well…wherever the Nomu went, it will. That is likely their hideout, would it not be?"
He stood. "Yao-momo," he said.
Momo's eye twitched. She felt a strange feeling, deep in her gut. "Y-yes?"
"Tell the others I'm sorry."
He sent a small shock of his Quirk through the receiver, and sparks flew across it, making it go dark. Smoke rose up from the top of the box.
Her eyes widened. "You broke it! Kaminari, why…"
He suddenly pushed his hand against her forehead, and activated his Quirk again. Momo gasped, electricity coursing through her, causing her whole body to shake. Smoke rose up from her skin. She opened her mouth to scream, and he put his other hand over it, forcing her quiet.
Momo blinked, suddenly fighting her eyelids, her world going dark. She was passing out again, passing out from the pain and shock. Kaminari drew his hands back. "K-K-Kami…" she tried to force out his name, but she felt her whole body going numb. Why? Why?
He took steps back from her bed. "Goodbye, Yao-momo."
Through her fading vision, she saw something dark open up behind him, in the wall of the hospital room.
A portal. A purple warp gate.
Kaminari stepped backward through it. He was gone.
She was slipping away, seconds from losing it completely. I must…I must…make another…
Right before passing out, Momo Yaoyorozu used her Quirk one last time, to create another tracking receiver. Just one more. Her hand rested it on the bedside table, and then her hand flopped to the edge of the bed.
Her world went dark.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
If you've been paying attention, you'll know that Kaminari was the only Class A member whose POV I never wrote. I delved into the mind of all nineteen others at SOME point or another, but never his.
Sorry about the lack of Doko in this chapter. Next one will focus almost entirely on him.