Chapter 15:
"Huh? No one else is here yet?"
Zach walked out through some trees side by side with a villain with spiky black hair. A little to their left, two other villains stepped out at the same time. The spiky-haired man on Zach's right started when he saw the girl standing in front of them looking around for her comrades, "You lunatic, did you get the blood?"
The fifteen year old with spiky black hair tried not to let his expression change, but that question made him uneasy. Blood? What are they-
"How many people's worth?" Dabi asked.
Himiko Toga turned to him and said proudly, "One person!"
"Just one?!" Twice exclaimed. The guy in a tight black costume with some gray lines going through it and a gray mask over the top of his face jumped behind Toga while throwing a finger up in shock. "Weren't you told to get at least three?!"
"It couldn't be helped," the girl said as she walked forward, right between Dabi and Twice towards the boy in the middle. She continued while smiling, "I thought I was going to die." She tilted her head to the side and smiled insanely at the boy in front of her who just kept glaring intensely at the girl's face.
"Anyway- Toga, aren't you a little too happy?" Twice leaned back confusedly at the expression on the girl's face. "Was there anything to make you depressed?"
She turned away from Zach and said with a dreamy look on her face, "I made some friends and found a boy I'm interested in." Her hands were to her cheeks and her voice was enamored.
They're, they're all insane! Zach thought, while trying hard not to let his face cover in sweat. Twice was reacting behind her as if she had confessed to her, telling her he couldn't and then shouting that he liked her too.
Dabi glanced down at the kid at his side, and then he said, "We found one who was more cooperative than we thought."
"Oooh," Toga spun back to the boy with spiky black hair. She leaned her face towards him, and Zach pulled back a bit at how creepy her eyes were when they got close. "Hmm," she started humming, her smile lowering down a bit. "I don't-"
Dabi lifted his head next to Zach, and Zach, Toga, and Twice all looked to him and then up in the air. Something was falling, and they all snapped their heads down as it crashed into the floor screaming.
Zach's eyes darted over to the largest villain still farther back on his left who started turning over, then back to the group who just crashed down, then around the insane people around him. Then they shot back to the group who just slammed down on top of a man who looked to be a villain considering Zach did not know him, he was wearing a mask, and his classmates were attacking him.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Twice started shouting. "I know these kids!" Then he pointed a finger and shouted in a lower and more confused voice, "Who are they?"
Midoriya, Shoji, Todoroki, Zach thought, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the three of them. This is, the worst possible situation! A foot stomped down on his left, and he darted his gaze over to see Ganeshi getting larger, a grin spreading over his face. "Mido-riya!" The large villain began, his trunk getting thicker.
"Give Kacchan and Tokoyami ba-" Midoriya's passionate yell cut off and his eyes opened wide at the sight of the people in front of him.
The other two on Mr. Compress looked forward as well with their eyes growing huge at the sight of what they dropped into.
"Mister, get out of the way," Dabi said, lifting his arm and covering it in flames.
What do I do?! Where is Bakugo? Tokoyami too?! I can't do- "Hey!" Zach yelled, as Dabi fired a thick blast of flames towards where Mr. Compress was just laying but vanished. Screams came out from Midoriya, Shoji, and Todoroki as the blue flames grazed them and they fell to the sides of the flames.
"Stay back kid," Dabi warned. "Or I'll have Mister get rid of you too," he said.
"Faces from Shigaraki's kill list!" Twice called out as he leapt up towards Todoroki who got away from the flames better than the others and did not yell out as loud. "That little beat up boy and you…"
Zach watched as Twice came at Todoroki only for ice to push him back. He's talking about Midoriya. There's a kill list and a capture list. The three who took down Stain. The two- or three including Tokoyami? Who don't belong? Is it because of Tokoyami's power? Did he let it out tonight, and since it's dark… Where are they? What did he mean by having that Mr. Compress guy 'get rid of' me? They have too many strong powers!
"Ganeshi!" Zach screamed, making the huge villain who just started moving forward turn back to him. "I'll kill you," Zach snarled, reaching for his right hand.
The girl Toga had charged at Midoriya, and when he leapt away from her, Ganeshi stepped towards him and pulled his trunk to the side. Dabi looked back and glared at the kid behind him, but Zach held his right glove tight with his left hand. "I swear to God," Zach yelled. "If you kill them- I will murder you!" Keep up the villainous persona while also saving them! I can't do nothing, but I can't go back on it now just to be a prisoner. Zach spun his head to Dabi and growled, "Condition one."
"Can't do it at a time like this," Dabi replied, and Zach bit down hard as he was not expecting any different a response.
He thought for a second that even stopping Ganeshi was not going to save Midoriya, but Shoji ran in and decked Toga away before she could stab her knife down into Midoriya's throat. She looked back and said she was going to cut up Shoji, and then the two of them heard the stomp behind them and glanced back to see the huge purplish-black villain behind them glaring their way too. Ganeshi turned away for a second, then he looked back at Midoriya, then he said in a low voice, "Get in, my way… Sazaki. And I'll, kill you, too," Zach's body tensed up as he heard how serious the villain was with those words. Whether or not the organization wanted him captured, that villain was not letting him live if he tried getting in the way again.
At that moment, a small blue marble on the floor shone light and transformed back into Mr. Compress. He sat up grabbing one arm, "Ow ow ow. I can't believe you flew so far to chase after me. Your ideas are far out!" The guy in the white mask covered in black lines wore a big yellow coat with a high collar popped on the sides of his head. He wore a black top hat with red just above the rim, and it had a feather sticking out too. He turned his head and looked towards a boy who shot him a glare as soon as he stood.
"There's the other one, you got him Dabi," Mr. Compress said in a congratulatory tone.
Other one? Three boys in the area thought at the same time. It indicated the targets were only the ones already here.
"I told you I did," Dabi said, sounding annoyed that the other man doubted him. "Where's Bakugo?" He added after, walking towards Compress without anyone stopping him. Twice was fighting against Todoroki, cutting apart his ice and keeping him on the ropes with his agility, getting Todoroki farther away from Mr. Compress and Dabi, and Zach.
"Zach!" Todoroki shouted over. "Run towards me!"
Zach looked towards Todoroki, then behind himself at Dabi and Mr. Compress. His eyes darted to the guy in the big yellow coat who was patting his pocket, the man seeming to be flustered as he could not find something. Is this-
"Midoriya, Todoroki, Zach," Shoji said, and the three boys all spun towards him. "We're running away!"
He didn't, Zach thought, his eyes growing even wider at the look on Shoji's face.
"I'm sure now, based on what he just did…" Shoji looked towards the two villains who were close to Zach, yet had a small gap between them. Zach had not stepped away from them yet though, his eyes darting around to check out the situation even while Shoji said how they needed to run. "I don't know what your Quirk is," Shoji continued to Compress who turned his head to the side to look back at him while he was speaking. "But inside that right pocket of yours that you kept flaunting, were these-" he held up two blue marbles that looked just like Compress did when he disappeared to dodge Dabi's first attack. "Tokoyami and Bakugo, right, entertainer?"
"Shoji!" Midoriya exclaimed.
Did he really figure it out?! Zach thought. If Bakugo's back- Zach's eyes darted towards Dabi who was looking straight towards him, while Compress turned fully to Shoji. If I move, he's telling the Compress guy to do the same to me. I could move, I could get out of here. Could I? My number one priority was saving Bakugo, but what about the other goals? Were they that flimsy that I want to run right now?! Was my conviction that small?!
"Oh, that didn't take you very long," Compress said. He lifted his hands at his sides and said in an impressed voice, "As expected of someone with six arms!"
Ganeshi stomped towards Midoriya's back, "I won't, let you, get-" A wall of ice blocked him off and made the huge villain lean back. He turned his head and pulled his trunk to the side.
Todoroki started running, and Midoriya and Shoji made to do the same. Midoriya looked back though and his eyes opened wide, "Run! ZACH!"
"You guys get out of here!" Zach yelled right back towards him, not moving his feet from his spot. All three of them stopped as he shouted it, and he leaned forward and yelled, "NOW!" They opened their mouths to yell various things back at him, while Dabi rose his arm on Zach's right to fire at the targets that just stopped moving. Zach thought Mr. Compress looked too composed though, and the entertainer told Dabi to wait.
"What are you talking about?!" Todoroki shouted back.
"We need to go!" Shoji yelled.
"Behind you!" Zach screamed at them.
The three spun around, and Midoriya's face covered in fear as he said, "A Nomu?" It came out from behind a tree, a weird purple device over its head but with the brain still sticking out of the monster.
"Let's get over-" Todoroki started moving a direction there were no villains, though looking back towards Zach as he did. What is he- Both his thoughts and words cut off and his feet skid to a stop as the dark purple portal appeared in front of him. Ganeshi slammed his trunk into the ice wall and the entire thing shattered outwards in so many pieces that the other villains had to dodge, including the huge portal-user who just appeared.
"Watch it Ganeshi!" Twice shouted, dodging with his great mobility all the ice shards. A portal opened up behind Kurogiri who just appeared in front of three students, protecting him from the ice.
Zach crossed his arms in front of his body as he turned to it, but then none of the ice hit him. He opened his eyes that he shut to keep them from getting cut, and his eyes widened as he realized why he felt warm heat of pain. Blue flames rose in front of him, and he turned to stare at Dabi with huge eyes. "We're nakama now, right?" Dabi asked, smirking at the kid who was saved while at the same time also cut off from his classmates.
"This guy-"
"Was at USJ!"
"Zach!" Midoriya yelled, looking away from Kurogiri's scary yellow eyes on the form towering over them.
"It has been five minutes since the signal," Kurogiri started. Portals appeared in front of every member of the League of Villains' Vanguard Action Squad. One appeared behind Dabi, and Kurogiri continued, "Let us go, Dabi. Take Sazaki with you."
"Zach! Run!" Todoroki shouted over, starting to run to the side of the portal user.
"Sorry, Izuku," Toga started, waving towards Midoriya as she walked into her portal. "I'll see you later."
Twice also dove straight through his portal without delay. Ganeshi growled towards Midoriya, his voice coming out inaudible though it sounded like he was trying to say something menacing behind his thick swinging trunk. He stepped backwards though, dropping on all fours while walking back into the vortex and letting it close behind him.
Compress turned around next to Dabi and he started walking for the portal behind them, while Zach looked over nervously, deciding what his course of action should be. There's a large enough gap that he would have to come at me if he wanted to force me through. I could dodge his flames from this distance too, and try tricking him with my hand again. But why does that Compress guy look so calm? He's leaving like he didn't screw up!
"Wait," Dabi said. "Our goal isn't complete yet-"
"Ohh, that?" Mr. Compress stopped right before stepping into the portal. "They seemed so happy that they rushed out here, so I thought I'd give them a present."
The three facing off near Kurogiri spun to Compress, and Zach looked over too to see the villain turning around fully and lifting his arms in an extravagant way. His voice rose and he continued, "It's a habit, one of the basics of magic. When I flaunt something…"
He reached up for his face and lifted his hat while moving away his mask, revealing his face underneath that had a darker black mask on over it that still revealed some of his light skin. "…it's because there's something I don't want you to see." Mr. Compress stuck out his tongue, revealing two small blue marbles sitting on it in his mouth.
He had them fooled the entire time. He had us fooled, Zach thought, while calming his expression and tightening his fists at his sides again. All bets are off. Two captured. The enemy's base. Their leader. Their trust. Zach started walking towards that portal, while Mr. Compress snapped his fingers. The two marbles that Shoji was carrying flashed light and transformed into chunks of Todoroki's ice.
These villains are good. Too good. Too much for Midoriya in his injured state, Shoji too, and just Todoroki to deal with. And even if I pulled off my glove, against all of them they'd definitely catch me. They'd definitely get away. They'd definitely take my classmates. "Let's go," Zach said as he walked towards Dabi. "But you should let those two go, they won't-"
"Get in the warp gate," Dabi said, interrupting the boy who just frowned but could not say anything else.
Mr. Compress darted his gaze from behind the mask to the boy he thought may be trying to trick him by walking up slowly only to attack, but Dabi stood in the way and he did not think the kid would be able to get him as Dabi watched his every move. So he had time to call out to the three who looked so befuddled by his magic trick. "Oh yes! During the first freezing attack, I prepared dummies and put them in my right pocket."
"Damn it!" Midoriya started running forward with his arms in splints, appearing to Zach like they were broken. Todoroki and Shoji ran up on his sides to get to Mr. Compress as well.
"If you discover that what was in my right hand was in my right pocket, then of course you'd rush happily over," Mr. Compress said, holding his arms out to the sides as he bragged about it and slid back into the portal. His lower body made it through, and Zach moved quicker towards Dabi who also backed up towards it, though not fast enough that he couldn't rush forward and grab Zach if he stopped.
"Waaaiiittt!" Midoriya screamed at the magician who had almost slid completely into the portal now.
"You next," Dabi said to the boy who reached in front of him, just outside the portal.
"Zach! Run!" Shoji shouted towards him.
Dabi put a hand down on Zach's shoulder, and he stepped back towards the portal, while Zach took another step forward without looking back.
"And now," Mr. Compress bowed the top of his body as if it were the end of an act. "That's all from me-"
A blue beam shot over Zach's left shoulder. Dabi started turning his head. Kurogiri's yellow eyes opened wide. The three students sprinting towards Mr. Compress and were almost at him lowered their bottom lips, and then all their eyes focused on two small blue spheres flying out of Compress's open mouth. Zach's eyes darted to the side, he pulled against Dabi's hand, and he darted his gaze over to the bushes where the blue beam just shot out of. Aoyama, you followed-
Mr. Compress coughed and the marbles came out of his mouth, and Dabi saw it. The hand closer to grabbing them was on Zach's shoulder, and he just felt the boy pull away. Shoji and Todoroki both reached their arms out, and when Midoriya tried to do the same he collapsed in agony and rolled head over heels. There were two students reaching out a hand each though for the marbles falling towards them. Zach felt the hand lift off his shoulder, No, he thought, his head turning back to Dabi whose gaze was singularly focused on one thing.
Shoji's hand snagged the marble in front of him, and he pulled his arm away fast to bring his hand to his chest. Todoroki reached out, and Zach started lifting his hand, only for his eyes to dart down and spot Dabi's other open hand that had not been on his shoulder pointed at his chest. He froze, and could only watch as Dabi snatched the other marble from right in front of Todoroki's fingertips. The look of horror and frustration on Todoroki's face as his eyes shifted to the villain's face, as Dabi said, "That's sad. Todoroki, Shoto."
Todoroki hit the ground and skid and tumbled across the floor, having leapt off to dive for the marble. Dabi leaned back into the portal, and his eyes darted to Zach while he held Bakugo's marble in his hand. "You're move," he said, and Zach grit his teeth. He's seeing through me. I shouldn't have pulled back. Zach stepped forward anyway though. Even if he thinks he knows, I reached for the marble. I told them already I cared about my classmates, and I wanted to save Bakugo who I had already started to say wouldn't have wanted to join us.
"Release it," Dabi added to Mr. Compress, who was grabbing his face with a deep frown and pained expression after the screw-up he just made.
Compress's voice came out frustrated as he slid the rest of the way into the portal, "My show's been ruined." He snapped his fingers, and the marble in Dabi's right hand glowed.
The marble popped out of Shoji's hand too, and Tokoyami appeared in midair falling to the ground.
"No problem," Dabi said with a cocky smirk as he slid back as well, now with his hand around the back of Bakugo's neck as the boy with spiky bleached-blond hair appeared there.
Zach stared with huge eyes at the boy being pulled back through the portal. He thought about diving and trying to yank him back, and then he thought about the last time he reached only to give himself away. Sorry Bakugo, Zach thought, clenching his teeth and bearing with it despite the look of fear and anger on his classmate's face. Bakugo was not looking at him though, but straight at Midoriya who was running forward. "KACCHANNNN!" Midoriya leapt for the portal, ignoring all the pain coursing through his body as he saw only Bakugo's face left.
"Don't come, Deku," Bakugo's voice was so strained, hoarse like it was hard for him to speak because of the fear of being dragged into the darkness.
Midoriya kept screaming as Bakugo's face disappeared completely into the portal. Zach saw Midoriya falling towards the portal, ready to dive straight in. Zach sprinted two steps forward and he jumped up, grabbing Midoriya by one of his broken arms and slamming him down into the ground just outside the warp gate. He twisted Midoriya's arm. "AAAHHHHH!" Midoriya screamed in agony.
"Zach!" Tokoyami shouted over, shocked at what he was seeing and confused at the same time.
Kurogiri smirked though from where he was still watching over the area. Todoroki looked over with wide eyes as he lay on his side, his frustrated look from missing Bakugo and letting Dabi grab him replacing with shock as Zach twisted Midoriya's arm, while smirking ear to ear. "Where we're going, you can't follow," Zach said, tugging Midoriya's arm one time extra hard and making him scream again in such confused and utter agony. Zach then stood up and he stepped to his right into the portal, turning his head back once he was halfway in. He looked at his classmates, smirking like a villain, and then he pulled the rest of the way through. He stepped backwards into a brightly-lit bar, and the portal in front of him disappeared. He stared through it at the wall on the other side, his smile lowering down, a hurt look replacing it as he imagined how those four would think of him now. But Midoriya, you're on their kill list, Zach thought while starting to turn his head. If you had come in here, as you are now, he looked behind him and got a serious look on his face as he stared at the large group of villains behind him. You would have been slaughtered.
"Told you he'd come," Dabi said, smirking as he continued to hold Bakugo by the back of the neck. Zach turned towards Bakugo who stared him in the eyes with huge ones of his own. Zach stared straight into Bakugo's eyes, and he did not change his grim expression at all.
The one Dabi said that to humphed, and he glared down at the kid more than two times shorter than him. He almost touched the ceiling of the bar, a tall figure with dark brown skin and a swinging but shriveled trunk in front of his body. "You were, right," Ganeshi said, but he still glared in annoyance at the kid who came through on his own.
Bakugo kept looking at Zach, and he gasped out in as strong a voice he could manage, which was still raspy and afraid, "Why are you, here?"
Bakugo, what are you- I, I'd have thought you'd be fighting already! Get over it! You're not one to be afraid! Start attacking and let's destroy them! You're the strongest person in the class right? Zach's face stayed calm as he opened his mouth. Unless he knows he can't do a thing, because Dabi could kill him before he gets an explosion off. And it's a hostage situation too. If I'm not actually on their side, they can use Bakugo to keep me from doing anything stupid.
"Boys," an ominous, low voice said behind Zach. There was no one there a second ago, so Zach knew who it had to be. He turned his head to the side and got a bead of sweat on his face but tried not to look that afraid of the portal-user, Kurogiri. The door opened behind him, and Kurogiri continued while Zach turned even more, his eyes opening wide, "Allow me to introduce you, to Shigaraki Tomura. Leader of the League of Villains," Kurogiri moved to the side and the man behind him stepped forward.
And I think… I just may have… Zach looked at the insane man's face and the eyes, the eyes of the villain that he spotted at USJ which scared him so much. Those eyes looked into his, and Zach thought while covering in sweat, …Bitten off, more than I can chew.
The day after the attack on the U.A. training camp, the news was full of people criticizing U.A. They were calling on the management to respond, saying that there was something fundamentally wrong with the school to allow two students to be kidnapped, shouting for answers of what the school would do about the families of the victims.
"…Even if my child wanted to become a hero, I could not possible enroll them-" Shigaraki Tomura turned off the tv.
"Heh heh, I'm really grateful for all the publicity we've been getting," he said, while turning away from the television. The whole Vanguard Action Squad who were just being talked about on the news, along with the two boys who were captured were in the bar that Zach figured was the villains' main hideout.
The only thing he had not seen since getting back, was the Nomu he caught a glimpse of back before stepping into Kurogiri's portal. Where did they send it? He wondered while looking with the others towards a blond boy who was strapped to a chair with big steel boxes over his hands to keep him from using his power. Shigaraki turned to Bakugo after turning off the tv, "Hey, don't you agree, Katsuki Bakugo?"
Bakugo stayed silent, looking back at Shigaraki from the person he had been glaring at for the past ten minutes, and most of the last day. Zach figured part of the reason Bakugo was so mad, was that he himself had not been cuffed or chained up, despite some initial complaints from other members. Shigaraki said though that since Zach came on his own, there was no need for it. He had added that considering they lost three members, and almost lost Bakugo at the last second, it could have gone much worse if the other kid had tried fighting back too.
Zach was still thinking back on that, wondering if Shigaraki had wanted him to react in a regretful way by bringing it up. He had just stood there and taken it without flinching, before asking why he would fight back against something he was okay with. That was when Bakugo started yelling at him. Bakugo was done yelling now though. After ignoring Shigaraki, he glared back at Zach again who took his glare in stride once more. I don't know what you'd expect me to do in this situation. It's not like you did any better when you could still move and use your Quirk. And if I start taking my glove off, there are bound to be faster people than me in here who can stop me before I kill even a single one of them. Plus… I have to capture them alive. Only kill, if they plan another attack that could hurt innocents, and even then, I should try contacting the police first. They'll be keeping a close eye on me though-
"Oi Sazaki, what are you thinking about?" Shigaraki asked, turning his head towards the boy staring silently at Bakugo, yet with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I'm worried," Zach said. "My classmates will try to find us," he turned towards the leader of the group. Shigaraki wore all black and he had a strange severed hand attached to the front of his face which made him look much scarier, but Zach was getting used to the appearance and did not sweat anymore while he looked at the creepy leader. Zach's hair was no longer spiked up, but messed up around his head, messier like Shigaraki's gray hair. Right now, I'm not a hero, Zach told himself, as if method acting. "They're all capable," he continued, "especially, Midoriya Izuku."
Shigaraki's grin lowered down at the sound of that name, his hands clenching on the bar in front of him. Why am I doing stuff like this? Just stay quiet and out of the way and try not to get put in chains like Bakugo! "He'll come here for sure," Zach said, "even though Bakugo told him not to."
"You," Bakugo began, his voice low and angrier than any time he had yelled at Zach so far. "You're really-"
"I'm not messing around, Bakugo," Zach said, turning his head and glaring out the corners of his eyes at the boy whose eyes widened as his look. Zach narrowed his eyes so he was barely looking through them, and he continued in a low voice, "You might be too stubborn to consider it, but I'm not." Zach kept glaring into Bakugo's eyes for a few seconds, then he looked away first and back to Shigaraki whose hands loosened up over the bar.
"Heh heh, heh heh heh!" Shigaraki's voice got higher pitched and he started scratching at his neck. "He'll come will he? That's good, great!" His mouth twisted up at the corners, "Even though I said it was okay to kill him, I wanted to be the one to do it," he scratched his neck harder, and he bit down behind his parted lips.
As much as he sounds like he really wants to kill Midoriya, he's angry. Midoriya, makes him really angry, Zach thought. Use that… later. Any more now, and he might kill me. Zach kept his mouth closed, but he felt like he had said enough to maybe convince the others around him that he really was not just messing around, or joining them so he wouldn't be a prisoner. He was trying really hard to show no signs of being a spy. He never mentioned a thing about their set up, he didn't ask about their numbers, or where the Nomu was that he could not locate. He didn't even ask where the bar they were in was, and when he had gone to sleep exhausted the night before, he had passed out on a couch while the villains were watching him.
He had been hesitant to sleep in front of the crazy people, but they had gone through a lot of trouble to get him and Bakugo. Plus, he felt more exhausted than ever later that night, which he blamed on the minor injury on his left arm and mainly the use of his new power. That was something else which confused him though, and as he stood there in the room with the villains who started talking to each other again, his eyes shifted over to Dabi without him looking directly at the man with spiky black hair and a weirdly patched-up body. The Ganeshi guy looks slow, like he forgets things easily. He needed our pictures to figure out who was who at the attack. He mentioned to Shigaraki that he helped get me, but he didn't talk about the details, probably because I decided to come on my own. Yet, even Dabi didn't mention my Quirk. So when Shigaraki asked, I told him it was Death, the power to stop hearts with my right hand. I didn't explain it in detail when he asked, telling him that he'd think I was just lying no matter what I gave away, and that I didn't want to tell them anyway. He actually laughed at that, instead of killing me like I thought he might when I first started speaking.
Zach leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling above him while letting out a small sigh. What personality to have? The tired kid who is just glad to get out of a society who hated him? Am I supposed to be relieved right now? Relaxed? He tensed up and lowered his gaze, checking if anyone was watching him. Or am I the student who switched sides on a whim, who might go back at any time and is nervous about the villains finding out about him. That's no good, but if I don't at least show signs of it, won't they think I'm messing with them? No student at a hero course would be as calm as sighing and lounging about after joining villains. It would be unnatural. Admittedly, maybe doing that and then instantly getting this more nervous and fidgety expression was the best move, because it shows I'm trying to fit in without making me look like a hardened criminal. Because I'm not. I'm just a student who…
"Oi, bastard," Bakugo's voice came out as a hiss, and it did not interrupt the other villains' conversation. Only Zach and the two others closer to him, and Shigaraki still sitting at the bar, looked over. Bakugo was leaning forward against his restraints, and his mouth twisted up into a crazed smirk while he glared Zach down in a way that had Zach as scared as he was of some of the villains in the room, and he actually leaned back nervously at the look. "You're dead!" Bakugo shouted, now interrupting the others as he roared it at Zach. "You hear me?!"
Either Bakugo found out and he's doing a great job at playing along… yeah no, that's not actually an option. Bakugo was smart on the written tests, but in situations like these he can't get past his emotions. Then again though, if Bakugo really had noticed what I was doing and was acting calmer about me being here, then I doubt I would actually be fooling any of these villains. So I should take this as a small victory, he thought it even though Bakugo's words hurt him, but he just sighed and turned away from the boy who yelled louder as if Zach turning made it so he couldn't hear as well. Zach rubbed the side of his head with his left hand, "You're too loud." Bakugo's shouts only got louder, and Zach saw the villain Magne as well as Dabi both grin at his response.
The reason Zach turned away as he said it was not to be mean to Bakugo though. He did not think he could get the words out in that tone, if he had been staring at Bakugo's face. Even as angry as he was in that moment, Zach could see what Bakugo was trying to hide from them so much. He's afraid, Zach thought, while his hands were steady at his sides. He's so, afraid. Bakugo, I swear. You're my number one priority here. I'll save you!
"Midoriya, I'm sorry I caused you trouble," Tokoyami said.
Two days after the incident at the training camp, Izuku Midoriya had woken up in his hospital room. His classmates all came in to see him pretty soon after he awoke, this time he expected for longer than the times he had been told he had faded in and out of consciousness over the past two days. "No, I did too…" Midoriya meekly replied, his arms both wrapped up in thick casts on his sides as he lay in his hospital bed. "Did everyone from Class-A come here?" He asked in a soft voice.
"No," Iida replied. He was up and moving around as the injury in the back of his leg had been healed by Recovery Girl without consequence after the incident. He felt guilty though and his expression showed it, that he only received such a minor injury with what he was about to say. His eyes stayed hidden behind his glasses while the others around him gained sadder looks on their faces, and he began, "Jirou and Hagakure are still unconscious from the villains' gas. Sero received a bad wound on his right arm as well as his stomach, so he is here at the hospital. As is Yaoyorozu, who received a heavy blow to the head and only regained consciousness yesterday. So, everyone but those four came…"
Iida trailed off, and then Uraraka added softly, "Fourteen of us."
Midoriya looked at the fourteen next to him with wide eyes, thinking about the only two not mentioned who were also not there with them.
"Because Bakugo isn't here," Todoroki said.
Kaminari turned towards him and added, "And Zach."
Todoroki looked back towards the blond boy with spiky hair, and he narrowed his gaze at him. "What's with that look?" Kaminari asked, leaning back before quickly steadying his gaze and leaning forward again. "He's been caught too!"
"Keep your voice down," Iida began. "This is a hospital-"
"But he's going off treating Zach like-"
"Like he left with the villains," Shoji finished, and Kaminari spun with wide eyes as the larger boy right next to him spoke up. "Of his own free will," Shoji finished.
"You guys don't know that," Mineta began arguing softly. "He, he said some things yeah…" Mineta did not know why he was arguing, his face covering in sweat as he thought about the last things Zach said to them before the blue flames rose in a line and cut them off.
Midoriya just lay back and stared up with a horrified expression, the final seconds before the portal closed on Bakugo replaying in his mind. What happened after that was haunting him too, but the look of fear in Bakugo's eyes as he disappeared into the portal, it made his heart clench up in pain. "All Might once said, 'I can't save the people I can't reach.'" The others all stopped arguing and looked towards the boy whose gaze had shifted to the windows as he spoke in this soft voice. "That's why he will always save those he can reach. I… was in a place where I could reach… I had to save him… to save them," he added, as the tears welled up in his eyes. "That's what my Quirk is for… It's exactly like Aizawa sensei told me," Midoriya's vision was starting to get blurry with all the tears in it.
His tears spilled out as he heard how Aizawa told him on the first day of school that he'd become useless after saving just one person. He had saved Kota, and then he let the other two go by right in front of him. His tears spilled down and he whispered while sobbing, "My body… wouldn't move… It was all I could do to save Kota." He clenched his eyes shut and his voice got higher pitched, "I couldn't save someone right in front of me."
"Then," Kirishima began from the spot right next to Midoriya's bed on his left side, in front of most of his classmates. "Let's save them this time."
Todoroki darted a look right at the boy he had already talked about this with, but not in a lot of detail. "Them?" Todoroki thought, his eyes dark. He thought of how he had missed Bakugo, how he had hit the ground and looked back so frustrated. Zach, was in reaching distance. He could have just reached out and grabbed Bakugo, but instead, he tackled Midoriya. He hurt Midoriya even worse- but his eyes, when he slid through they were the opposite of Bakugo's. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he was just smirking the whole time.
"Actually, Todoroki and I were here yesterday too," Kirishima was keeping calm as he spoke, his expression straight as the words came out. "On our way to your room, we passed by Yaoyorozu's and saw her talking to All Might and a police officer. She told them, that she had attached a tracking device she created to one of the villains. Then she handed them a receiver so the heroes and police would be able to go after the villains."
Every person in the room other than Kirishima and Todoroki stared at the pair in shock. Iida leaned forward though without taking long to figure it out, and he asked with sweat on the sides of his face, "So you're saying, you're going to have Yaoyorozu make another receiver?"
"What if it does?" Todoroki asked.
The tension in the air was thick as the members of Class A were all sweating and looking back and forth between Todoroki and Iida. Iida's teeth bared and he was shaking, thinking about the consequences he faced for going after Stain after his brother had been attacked. It was all the more frustrating that it was Todoroki suggesting this, who was there with him, and he finally snapped, "It is as All Might said!" He was shouting and continued even louder, "This is something we should leave to the pros!
"Who's being too loud now?" Kaminari muttered, though he was leaning back from the tense conversation himself. He looked back and forth between Iida and Todoroki, then past Todoroki to Kirishima whose head was bowed and fists clenched hard at his sides.
"This isn't the place for us to act you idiots!" Iida finished shouting.
Kirishima clenched his eyes shut and he finally yelled back, "We know that!" He turned and he reached up, grabbing his chest with such a frustrated and furious look on it though. "But, I couldn't do anything!" Kirishima clenched his hand over his shirt even more, curling a fist in the fabric. "I tried," he gasped out, his voice becoming hoarse as he did. "I tried to protect Zach, but I-"
"He didn't want protecting," Todoroki started.
"Shut it!" Kirishima yelled, making Todoroki spin to the boy behind him whose head bowed.
A few of the others in Class A got confused looks, while most others got uneasy ones on their faces. Uraraka and Asui glanced behind them at Mineta who let out a soft whimper, and they saw such a conflicted look on his face that was afraid and at the same time guilty.
Why, am I so afraid of him? Mineta thought, clenching his teeth angrily that he felt this way about a classmate, one he had seen, do something amazing.
"He, I was," Kirishima grabbed his chest even harder and he gasped for air. "I died," he whispered. "I tried to fight the villains, but I couldn't do a thing!" Todoroki, Asui, Shoji, Uraraka, and Midoriya were all staring at Kirishima in confusion. Tokoyami had heard something strange from Kirishima earlier, something he did not believe at the time but was finding hard to keep denying at the look on Kirishima's face. "And then that guy, he, he killed me."
Kirishima whispered it and his hand loosened on his shirt, a look of pure fear on his face. "I imagine those seconds, falling forward. It felt like seconds at least, as my vision faded in front of me." His breath was staggered and his eyes shaking as he looked down at his chest where he just let go. "I knew the flames should have been on my back, and I was so confused at why they were blasting out in front of me, out of my chest." The others who had not seen this were opening their eyes wider and wider, while even the ones who were there were tightening their fists or getting watery eyes as Kirishima described it from his perspective. Kirishima gasped for breath, then he continued in a higher voice, "My vision got darker… and I had realized what was happening- as the pain filled my whole body, and then the pain disappeared." Kirishima lifted a hand to his face and put it right over his eyes, then he dragged it down his face, his stern, serious face. He continued in a firm voice while staring straight ahead yet so far-away, imagining what he saw next, "Then, I opened my eyes, and Zach was leaning over me. I- I don't know, what he did. He- he used his hand…" Kirishima bit down hard and he shouted while looking into Todoroki's huge eyes, "So don't talk about him, like he's a villain!"
"I don't get how he did it," Kaminari whispered. "That's not…" he trailed off as he noticed a lot of others turned towards him since the room was silent. He cursed and held his tongue, then he decided to keep going anyway, "That's not how, he told me his Quirk worked."
"He told you?" Shoji questioned.
"After USJ," Kaminari replied. "Only me and Yaoyorozu knew, I think. But, but he said it only-" he paused, as he once again felt like he was betraying his friend's trust. He could not hold himself back though, and he finished, "He said it could only kill. It was like he shouted at the villains back at the training camp," Kaminari continued, looking down at the floor as he was confirming what Zach had already told him. "His Quirk, it's name is Death."
"He wasn't lying about that?!" Mineta exclaimed in panic, as that was one thing that scared him more than the others yet he thought was most likely to be a lie. "But what about Kirishima-"
"I don't know," Kaminari said, clenching his fists and shaking his head as he looked down. "But Zach wasn't lying when he told me. He said, he thought he would rather die, than use his Quirk again. And then when he was using it on Kirishima, I saw it on his face…" Kaminari lifted his head and looked Kirishima's way, before adding, "He didn't know if it would work. He was- terrified. And when you, opened your eyes," Kaminari shook his head again but actually lifted the corners of his lips a little. "I feel like, for the first time in his life, he thought his Quirk might not be a curse. He was shocked it worked. And he looked, so happy," Kaminari reached his hands up to the sides of his head and he rubbed them around in his hair after saying all that. "But then we just let him walk away!" He shouted in frustration.
"He really, brought you back to life?" Uraraka whispered, staring over at Kirishima who turned back and nodded. "I never heard, of a Quirk that amazing."
"Why was it called Death though?" Todoroki asked. Kirishima turned and glared angrily at the boy next to him, and Todoroki continued, "I'll admit, I was wrong. I thought he had completely… but, he still," Todoroki turned to Midoriya, and he continued while Midoriya looked up in his eyes, "He stopped Midoriya from trying to save Bakugo." Kirishima's fists clenched hard, his face scrunching up as he imagined his best friend in the class who had also been taken. "He was right there, with the villain who took Bakugo, and he just walked through the portal with them."
"Th-There must have been a reason," Ashido started, holding up her hands like it was obvious.
"Like what?" Todoroki asked while turning to her. "All the other villains were through, and we were all around him. He could have stopped, stayed behind, but he just smirked at us and walked through."
The others' expressions all darkened again, and then Ojiro began in a soft voice, "I don't, want to believe it." The others looked over at him, then he continued, "But what Zach said, when he was leaving the camp…" the others who were there all looked away or bit down hard, and the ones who had not been felt uneasy about their reactions. "It all sounded, like things he would really say. He, talked about how people looked at him after the Sports Festival, how we looked at him after USJ…"
Kaminari and Ojiro both clenched their eyes shut, as something came into both of their minds at the same time. "Ojiro, Kaminari, back up or my hand will kill you," Kaminari's fists clenched but they started shaking this time, fear filling him as he thought about Zach's tone, how serious he was being at the time. But, he was just warning us, Kaminari thought as he opened back up his eyes and released his fists. Because that's his Quirk, it kills people. So when he took off his glove, to try and save Kirishima… he didn't know if it would work, but he did know if either of us were too close, his hand might have killed us. Even then, even when he was at his scariest, he was just trying to save us! Kaminari bit down and his face scrunched up, That's three times now, you idiot. Let me save you, one of these… Kaminari's gaze lifted back up from his feet and over to Kirishima and Todoroki.
"Despite how we all might feel," Iida said, his own body shaking like he had his own opinions on the matter but was holding them back. "The point remains, we must leave this to the heroes."
"Iida is right," Asui mentioned, though softly as she could see how frustrated her classmates around her were all feeling.
Kirishima's head bowed and he started shaking. "Iida, all of you, you're all correct," he snapped up and shouted, "I know that!" He turned with a desperate look though and held out a hand over the bed, "But! Midoriya, your hand can still reach! Let's go save them! They're both your friends too, right? We can go save them!"
Midoriya stared at that hand, but it was not as if he could move either of his arms, so no one knew what Midoriya's answer would be.
"So, let me get this straight," Ashido began, sounding a little confused about what Kirishima was suggesting here. "You guys are planning on getting another receiver from Yao-momo, then you're going to try and save Bakugo, and Zach, yourselves?"
"Yeah, that's right," Kirishima replied.
Iida shouted at how they were going overboard, then Shoji, Tokoyami, and Asui all joined in in agreement. As Asui was finishing up though, a boy behind her who had kept quiet the entire time started walking forward, though he kept hesitating after every step. "…If you're saying you'll fight again, that you'll break the rules," Asui sounded regretful as she said it, but she finished off, "Those acts are the same as those of villains."
They had had their permissions to fight the villains revoked. It was against the rules for them to try anything, yet they were still considering it, and no one could blame them. "B-But," a small voice said, and everyone looked over to see the timid boy in the back lean away at their gazes. He was usually one of the more eccentric people in their class, outgoing and smiling and 'shining" or 'twinkling.' Aoyama Yuga lifted his head, and his voice was soft and nervous, but he had to say it anyway, "We all told the police what happened. C-Considering, the stories, that Todoroki told," Aoyama continued, looking towards the boy with half red hair and half white who looked back in his eyes. Aoyama kept his gaze for a few seconds, before looking towards Shoji, "And, some others too, and even myself…" he lowered his gaze. "If we leave it to the heroes," he continued, "and to the police…" a few others were realizing what he was saying and their eyes were getting wider. "Then, won't they treat Zach- like a villain?"
"That's right!" Kirishima yelled, spinning back to Todoroki who was still looking hesitant. He still had a look after Aoyama said that which showed he did not totally think the police would be wrong if they thought Zach had turned. "You all said these nasty things about him, so the heroes are going to treat him like a villain!"
"And what if he is?" Asui questioned. Kirishima spun to her in surprise, but she added, "I didn't see Zach at all. But from what everyone's saying, I think there's a chance either way."
"The only way to know for sure," Todoroki continued after her. "Is to ask him ourselves," he finished, while Iida clenched his fists tighter at what Todoroki was implying with that.
"No," Aoyama said. "I already know," the others all looked back to the boy who had started this in the first place. "I- I was there too," he said, looking back at Todoroki who had been talking about the final moments before they left into the warp gate. "But, I had followed them too…"
Two Days Earlier…
"Mr. Compress finished up really fast too! Took him long enough!" Twice shouted, waving back and forth and pointing his fingers up in the air, even when his personality changed
"He did a good job," Dabi agreed, then he looked down to his left at a boy he was keeping close to him as they moved. They were walking through the forest towards the rendezvous point, and they were almost there.
"I wish… Midoriya…" Ganeshi started.
"We'll get him next time! How did you miss him?!" Twice exclaimed, jumping in front of Ganeshi and bouncing about.
"We're leaving right after we get there?" Zach asked. "Is it the warp guy?" He wondered.
Zach?!
Dabi was looking around as Zach asked the question. "Don't be nosy kid," he warned, looking down at him harshly.
"Just want to know how we're getting out of here. I don't want anyone else to see me," Zach added.
"This whole area was supposed to be filled with gas to keep this area hidden," Dabi replied, frowning as he looked around again. "Things never go as plan," he said.
Someone defeated a villain? Aoyama thought, hiding behind a bush in terror. He had two unconscious girls next to him, Jirou and Hagakure, and Yaoyorozu had told him to get them back to camp. He was too scared to move though, yet behind him… They're taking Zach away. If the others are fighting, I should- Aoyama leaned to the side and looked out towards the voices he heard.
In that instant, Aoyama saw the man next to Zach looking straight towards his bush and into his eyes. Zach spun, while Aoyama ducked back. Aoyama held his breath and covered his mouth with his hands. We met eyes! No, n-no… I should still- Zach needs, he could hear footsteps approaching his bush, and the other two villains still walking farther ahead. Then the footsteps stopped, and he heard a low voice on the other side of the bush. "Condition one. You don't touch them, and I'll come."
Wh-What?
"Hmph, alright then, but you better not go back on it."
"Oi Dabi! Is it okay not to call back that Nomu guy? It only reacts to your voice…"
Present
Aoyama's lips were trembling after he described what had happened, and the rest of the class stared at him with wide eyes. The ones who were back at camp with Zach cursed themselves for what they thought when he left them. "If you try, you'll die. And I won't bring you back this time." A lot of them thought that was the moment he was cutting off ties with them, that he was splitting off. Yet this happened afterwards, and only just before the others saw him at the villains' extraction point.
"Even then," Aoyama whispered. Then he lifted his gaze and spoke louder though still in a shaky voice, "Even then, when he was with the villains, he was protecting us."
Todoroki frowned and he glared down at his hand, the hand that had just missed Bakugo. If he had had even an extra second, a single moment to make things different he would have. Yet Zach had all the time he needed. He doesn't have as strong a Quirk- at least that's what I would have used as an excuse. But he could have saved Bakugo! Why, wouldn't he?
Midoriya bowed his own head. "Where we're going, you can't follow." His eyes opened wide as he stared down at his arms wrapped in their full casts. I've only, been thinking about Kacchan. Todoroki was right, I thought. As much as I didn't want to, I thought Zach… but, but what if he- Midoriya stared at his arms. What, would I have done, even if I could reach? He stopped me from reaching Kacchan, and I was so frustrated… but why did he do it? Was it because he's being a villain? Aoyama saw him just before that, and he saved Aoyama's life. He didn't grab… Midoriya wanted to reach up and grab his head, as he thought about Kacchan's eyes again as he was pulled into the portal. Then he thought about the smirk he saw as he opened his eyes that were squinting in pain, staring up in shock at the evil-looking ones of his other classmate. I don't know. I don't know, what to think. I don't know, what's the right thing to do!
The doctor came into the room while they were all still confused and upset. No one knew where they landed on the sides of the argument, but they had to leave so Midoriya could get an exam. As they walked out though, Kirishima told Midoriya that they would be going that night. They were not going to wait any longer for something to happen to their classmates. He said that if Midoriya was well by then, that they wanted to invite him along too.
Midoriya spent the entire day at the hospital. He went over checkups with his doctor where he learned some dire medical news, about how a few more times of straining his body like that and he'd have to live without his arms. He talked with his mom who told him she did not want him at U.A. anymore, and then he left the hospital at night when Kirishima told him he and Todoroki would be waiting. Yaoyorozu was leaving at the same time, and they went outside together.
Iida confronted them in front of the hospital, going as far as punching Midoriya in the face while shouting about how they could not do it. He said he was as frustrated as them, as the class rep he was worried about the others, but he was also worried about Midoriya whose injuries he saw could get as bad as his older brother's which crippled him for life. Midoriya bowed his head at that, not knowing what to say when he had received similar news earlier that day. Before either of them could continue to each other though, Todoroki spoke up, "Iida. We don't expect to face them head-on and win either."
Tenya Iida lowered his hands from Midoriya's shoulders and looked behind him at Todoroki in confusion. "We'll extricate them without fighting."
"In other words, covert action," Kirishima said. "Like Zach's already doing," he added, and Todoroki glanced at the boy next to him to see Kirishima's expression getting more serious after he originally said it with a smile. "He'll help us get Bakugo out. He's just waiting for an opportunity, like we're going to do. That's the way we students can fight while toeing the line on the rules."
"I trust Todoroki," Yaoyorozu began. "But, so that I can stop them if anything happens, I plan to accompany them as well."
Kirishima's head lifted with hope on it, "Yaoyorozu!"
Iida looked more upset though as he said her name, then behind him a voice spoke out, "If that's all it is, then I'm coming too."
Iida spun around and Midoriya lifted his bowed head. The other three all looked back towards the entrance to the hospital's path where a blond-haired boy was walking towards them from the street, after leaning against the wall there for the past two minutes and listening to them argue. Kaminari Denki stepped out and Kirishima's eyes opened wide again, while Iida whispered, "Kaminari, you too?" He sounded so frustrated, but Kaminari just shrugged at the class rep in a half-apologetic way.
"I was hesitant, because I don't want to fight," Kaminari said. "'Cause Tsuyu is right, and I don't want to be considered a villain. But, if I can save Zach, or just do something that can help save him," Kaminari lifted a fist and he smiled despite the sweat coming down the sides of his face. "Then I have to get him back," Kaminari said.
"I, don't know myself," Midoriya whispered, and Iida spun back to him. He lifted his head after hesitating for a few seconds, and he said firmly, "But I want to save them. I can't stop thinking about it."
Iida looked around at them all, and then he cursed in his head and bowed it. "We just can't come to an agreement," he whispered in a pained voice. "In that case," he rose his head and looked at Yaoyorozu whose idea he was going to take for himself. "Take me with you."
The whole group stared at him in shock. None of them expected the person most opposed to their involvement would get involved himself, but the resolve in his voice to come along with them was not something they could argue with. So they nodded their heads, and then they all started walking towards the street together. "Hey," a voice said on the left of the group right before they were going to pass the wall and get on the sidewalk. Their eyes opened wide as the voice came from the shadows to their left, yet they could not see anything there.
They all turned, and two eyes opened in the darkness while a mouth opened to show a frowning face. His clothes turned back to their normal colors and he stepped out of the shadows. "Kuroiro, Shihai," Kaminari whispered, seeing the third member of his cavalry battle team from the U.A. Sports Festival. Kuroiro stared into Kaminari's eyes for a few seconds, then Kaminari had to look away as someone else walked out from behind Kuroiro who had been hidden there. Then Kaminari started glaring in an angry way and even baring his teeth.
"Monoma," Todoroki said, his eyes narrowing at the blond boy who leaned back at that look in the powerful teen's eyes. Monoma already had a lot of sweat on his face, looking hesitant and unsure of whether or not he would be able to show himself in front of all these Class A students. He stood there though and accepted their looks.
"Class B," Midoriya whispered. "What are you-"
"I-" Kuroiro started, clenching his fists at his sides. "I was unconscious, from the start," he said. "I- I woke up, just to hear all everyone had gone through." He sounded angry, and his mouth curved farther down to give him an even angrier look. He paused for a few seconds, then he looked down at the floor. "Did you ever- have you ever… Actually, nevermind." What did he want to tell me? I knew it was bothering him, but I let him drop the conversation easily because I did not want to talk about something personal!
Kuroiro lifted his head back up and he continued while staring at the six students from Class 1-A, "I heard from Awase in my class that he had stuck a tracker on a villain. I found out it was Yaoyorozu who gave it to him," he looked at the girl in the group in front of him who looked hesitant at his stare. "But, it was when I heard what he said when he was taken…" Kuroiro's fists clenched harder at his sides. I should have noticed! "I decided to come with him."
"You mean, him?" Iida wondered, looking at the boy who apparently was already going to come even without Kuroiro to help him.
"I don't-" Monoma began, smiling and starting in a cocky voice. He lost it immediately, as he was going to say how he did not care about Bakugo, but there were things he needed to settle with Zach. Instead he just slouched and leaned back at the looks of the Class A students. "It's my fault," he whispered. "I was, a sore loser," he added. "And I did something, really bad. I wanted his forgiveness, before he walked away I shouted for it because I wanted to hear it before he left. But then, then he said, that it was my fault. Even though I already knew. Even though, I tried apologizing," Monoma lowered his gaze to the floor, and he shook his head around as he thought about it. "His feelings of anger, at the hero society, at the public and how they view him, it's because of what I did."
"If you're only coming, because you feel guilty," Todoroki began.
"I'm not!" Monoma exclaimed, lifting his head fast as he shouted it. He froze and darted his gaze back to the hospital in worry that someone had heard him. Then he turned back, and he continued softer, "I, I don't deserve to go to U.A. anymore. Everyone knows it, even I started to accept it after… But, I can still be a hero. There has to be a way for redemption. But if I don't try to help, the person who I've hurt," Monoma lowered his voice even softer, hating having to say this to people at all, let alone people from Class A. "Then I can never be a hero," he finished.
"Can we really do a covert op with eight people?" Kirishima wondered, as the group was larger than he thought it would be at first.
"You have to," Kuroiro said. "Because each of us would still go, whether or not we are allowed to stay with the group."
Todoroki frowned as he was considering denying them entry. Eight people. Kuroiro's Quirk seems good for this, and Monoma can Copy it if I remember right. Kaminari… could cut the lights if we need it, and one of them could run in and get them out of there, or both of them even. "Let's go then," Todoroki said, while imagining how the people who joined them at the end could help. Iida though, as fast as he is, he won't rush in there to save them. His Recipro, he'd be more likely to use it to drag one of us away, if we come up with a plan he sees as too risky, too high a chance of us getting in a fight.
"Let's do it," Kaminari said, nodding along after Todoroki started moving. He turned to Kirishima when the red-haired boy got to his side, and the two of them walked onto the sidewalk together before turning with Todoroki. Midoriya moved too, and Iida followed behind with a nervous look like he had something to say to the boy he had punched before. Yaoyorozu patted down her pocket to check again for the tracker, and the two boys from Class B stepped up behind them. Their group of eight was ready. They were going to save their classmates.
A/N Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed! The start of the Bakugo rescue operation episode made me come up with the idea for this story, a couple of Saturdays ago. Got another couple of big chapters coming up. Leave a review below telling me what you thought of this one or predictions for upcoming ones! Alright, review responses:
Awesomeness chapter 14 . Jun 26
Will Zach's quirk go beyond just "Death" at some point? I feel like the problem is that since he can't train it, it uncontrollably kills people. SO... if he could bridge that gap to actually train his quirk or some other method where his control grows to a certain point. Maybe he'll be able to knock people out instead of out right killing them.
Another thing I thought that was cool was that people that he kills with his quirk he can bring only those people back to life. Hence Lifebringer... maybe something you want to work with.
Not going to post the whole review here, (there was a lot XD ), but I'll respond to most, as best I can without spoiling. So I won't say whether or not he'll be able to train his Quirk further, though he is still discovering things about it since he's been so hesitant to ever use it. Also, it's actually the exact opposite of that second thing. He can only bring people to live who he "didn't" kill, hence why he was able to save Kirishima who Dabi killed, but not the animals he tested his powers on. A couple of people actually mentioned Rogue, and I actually forgot all about her admittedly, but her power is pretty similar. Then again, I only remember her power killing anyone she ever touched, and I had no idea about the being able to absorb their powers thing. That's a pretty cool idea though, and who knows... I like the stats and ideas, but again his power can't bring back what he himself has killed. The bird that crashed into his bathroom window he could, but the guinea pigs/ bird he bought from the store he could not, and he thinks there's a time limit too. Weapons, more powers, what else could happen- I won't say, 'cause no spoilers! Haha but thanks for such a long review and I'm glad you're enjoying this!
Guest chapter 14 . Jun 25
Is this guy like Rouge from X men?
Sucking out people's life force through skin contact and borrowing their powers for awhile?
Again, I'm surprised I never knew about this Rogue power. I'm just thinking of her from the first X-Men movie I think where she kills people she touches. But it's a cool idea and who knows, could show up? Thanks for the review!
BlueGrey chapter 13 . Jun 25
Really enjoying your work so far, you have a fantastic writing style!
Looking forward to seeing Zach's first real talk with the villains though, it'll be interesting to see both how the villains will try to coerce him as well as the heroes give him reasons to stay with them after all his hardships
Can't wait for the next chapter!
Thanks a lot! Zach joins up with the villains in his own secret covert operation that no one else knows about, which is causing him a bit of problems already as we see no one really knowing what he's doing. Hope you enjoyed!
zerom1v chapter 14 . 13h ago
How brave! But at the same time it's a bad move. All for One can take his quirk away from him, creating more deaths, even that of All Might. I hope THAT doesn't happen.
Katsuki will have his head, believing he is actually siding with the Villains.
I wonder how things will turn out. Great chapter!
Zach moves in, and the first thing he thinks is how screwed he is once he makes eye contact with Shigaraki, agreeing he might have made a bad move there. No All For One yet, but Katsuki- yeah he's a little pissed off XD. Thanks for the review!
Guest chapter 13 . Jun 24
Can't help but feel that Zach should probably give up. I love the fast updating but Zach's a terrible protagonist. He just doesn't DO anything worthwhile. He's basically a background character to all major events. Like he'd be immensely useful against Nomus (which aren't people so he could avoid his usual wangsty crap) but he hasn't had a single interaction with them at all.
Disappointed you feel that way. Though the next chapter after the one you reviewed on put him in the spotlight of the next major event. He hasn't been that main in the other arcs admittedly, but it's his story and not Boku no Hero, so throwing him in the spotlight of what Boku no Hero focused on was never the main point of this. I'm sure he felt like he was in the middle of every event, though this time, he really is... Also, Nomus are totally people. I mean, he's thought about it more with them since he kind of considers them monsters, but they're still humans who were just altered into those monsters, so the point remains that he would be killing someone. Well, I hope you liked the last chapter where he got some more spotlight, and hope you kept reading!
Roxas Itsuka chapter 14 . Jun 25
Awesome chapter. Knew the League was going to come for him. Interesting how Zach's quirk is actually control over death. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Thanks! Shigaraki showed his interest back at the Sports Festival, and now the Vanguard Squad has come! Glad you enjoyed, and thanks for the review!
LordOfTee chapter 14 . Jun 25
This is good, it shows how Zach was to afraid of his quirk to see through its capabilities but that one moment where it really mattered he was able to save someone from the fate of death
Glad you saw that. Zach's been denying the power for so long that his half hopes that it could actually help were just buried down, but when it came time he decided it was worth the try again, and well, Kirishima's alive thanks to it! Thanks for the review!
bloodyhound17 chapter 14 . Jun 25
This part I'm slightly confused on so his right hand is death, and his left is life? Or something like that?
Nah, he uses his right hand for both. It's why he told Kaminari and Ojiro to get back as he moved for Kirishima, because he had to take off his glove in order to save Kirishima. It like, flips death and life? If that makes sense to you. Thanks for reviewing!
Colinpop5 chapter 14 . Jun 25
ohhhhhh shit
XD Haha, shit's about to go down. Thanks for the review, and thanks everyone for reading, faving, following, and reviewing to this story!