Tomura grunted as Kurogiri dropped him into the floor of their hideout. Before he even had a moment to even think, a familiar sigh reached his ears.
"I can guess based off of your bleeding appearance that things did not go well." Rina said as she wheeled herself from out behind the bar. "I told you that I should have accompanied you, Tomura."
Tomura growled not wanting to hear any of it as Kurogiri's body took a more human appearance.
"Shut-up, Rina." Tomura hissed. "Get something to stop the bleeding. I was shot in both arms and legs."
Rina rolled her eyes while not seeming to care about Tomura's curtain condition. In fact, she was unsympathetic completely. Though she did go back behind the bar to get the first-aid. Though she was sure he'd be better off with a professional healer or something.
"So how bad did things go?" She asked in a sarcastically conversational tone.
"All our underlings were wiped out!" Tomura spat. "Even Nomu was beaten. We failed! Those kids were so strong. And the Symbol of Peace wasn't weakened at all."
Tomura then inclined his head up as much as possible to look at the small TV screen they had in the bar. It was sound only—meaning those on the other end were completely unseen.
"You were wrong, Master, so wrong!" Tomura said.
"No, I wasn't." Master said calmly. "We just weren't as prepared as we should have been, and while you might could have changed the outcome, Rina, it isn't time yet for you to make your debut."
Rina frowned though said nothing against their master's words. It would have been pointless to do so in the end. She then came around the bar again while stopping her wheel chair at Tomura's side.
"I agree." A second voice chimed in. "We underestimated them. Thankfully we failed under that cheap League of Villains' name and not our own. And what about the creature the Master and I created? Where is Nomu?"
'Obviously not here,' Rina thought sarcastically.
She then had Kurogiri help her down into the floor, so she could try to mend Tomura's wounds as much as possible.
"Yes, why is he not with you?" Master asked.
"He was blown away." Kurogiri responded as he stood besides his two young colleagues.
"What?!" The second voice demanded.
'Doctor needs to chill before he blows a fuse,' Rina offhandedly thought.
She rolled up Tomura's sleeve to try and see what she could do to stop the bleeding. With how messy it was right now, stitches would have to be added later.
"It's was All Might's doing," Kurogiri explained. "Without coordinates to his precise location, I couldn't use my warp to bring him with us. We didn't have any time to search for him."
"This is a travesty." Doctor said. "After all we did to make him as powerful as All Might."
"Obviously Nomu wasn't as strong as the Symbol of Peace if he was beaten in the end." Rina spoke up. "So, is it really a loss? Just make the next one better or stronger, Doctor."
"Insolent girl." Doctor growled.
Rina snorted—unafraid of his anger or his tone. She's never been afraid of the Doctor or the Master. She knew how powerful the latter was, but she still did not fear him.
"She has a point." Master said. "It can't be helped now anyway."
Rina then looked to Tomura when he started muttering to himself. Nothing new really. He tends to mutter a lot.
"Power…" He murmured. "That reminds me. There was a kid there that tried to protect All Might. He was just as fast as him."
"Oh?" Master inquired sounding interested.
"If he hadn't gotten in our way, we might have killed the Symbol of Peace." Tomura hissed as his nails scrapped across the wooden floor. "That brat…that brat! And your sister!"
He tilted his head to glare at Rina as if it was her fault, and she gave him a deadpanned look in return.
"I cannot control what that brat does." Rina hissed at him in return. "And don't call her my sister. My little sister died years ago. This Ishida Ayano is nothing to me!"
The two glared at each other for a long moment until their Master addressed them. He told them to both calm down then addressed Tomura. Rina unhappily returned to cleaning Tomura's wound even as she seethed silently.
"Naturally you're upset, but this wasn't a futile mission." Master said. "We've learned many things. Gather the villainous elite. Take all the time you need. I must remain hidden in the shadows, which is why I need you to be my face. A symbol of your own. Shigaraki Tomura, next time you will show the world that it should be afraid of you."
"And what of Ishida Ayano?" Rina asked. "The longer we wait the stronger and more experienced she becomes."
Rina can already tell Ayano could become a big threat at the level she is now. If she has time to go, she really will cause them trouble.
"Yes, she does." Master agreed. "I see no reason in stopping her growth, however. When I finally take her quirk, I want it to be mature—and ripe for the taking. Then I will gift it to you, Sebone Rina, so we may collect the final piece."
Rina frowned though supposed she would just have to wait even longer before she could finally end that brat.
Ayano stood with her classmates as the police and their teachers saw to the cleanup of the incident. She was exhausted. She couldn't wait to get home and rest. She watched as the villains were lead out to heavily armored buses where they'd be taken to prison. At least they wouldn't be on the streets anymore.
"Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three,"
Ayano looked to the detective who was counting them off. All of them were here except forIzuku who was taken immediately to see Recovery Girl along with All Might. Cementoss suggested sending her as well since she might have a concussion, but she had politely declined. She'd rather not got to the nurses' office. She was sure knowing her luck, she'd be stuck with Doctorine looking over her.
"Everyone seems to be unharmed except for that boy whose legs were all messed up." He said then looked to Ayano. "I hear you might have a concussion as well. If you'd like we can send you to the hospital."
Ayano frowned. She had no intention of going to the hospital over her head getting knocked around.
"I'm fine." Ayano insisted.
The detective sighed though still seemed a bit concerned. Ayano then frowned when feeling a very unhappily glare on her back. She turned her head to frown at Katsuki who was glaring at her.
'What's his problem?' She wondered.
She then sighed since she honestly didn't care now. She just wanted to go home. As she tried to ignore her aching head, her classmates spoke amongst each other.
"Ojiro," Toru said. "I heard you were a really good fighter from Kurafutoshi. I had no idea you were so strong."
Mashirao smiled though it almost looked like a grimace on his face instead.
"Konan is just talking me up." Mashirao insisted. "We mostly used hit and run tactics or ambush techniques. The Fire Zone wasn't really made for Konan, but she pulled through amazingly."
He smiled at his childhood friend as she spoke with Momo and Kyoka about their fight. Mina was nearby as well as she listened to her friends speak.
"You fought with Todoroki and Jinsoku in the Landslide Zone, right, Hagakure?" He asked his invisible classmate.
Toru nodded her head though nobody could actually see the invisible girl doing so.
"Yeah!" Toru said. "You wouldn't believe how strong those two are! They're amazing!"
She pointed at Shoto and Ayumi as they stood side-by-side with Ayumi nudging Shoto with a teasing grin on her face. He shot her a look in return that wasn't happy. The speedster continued to grin—unfazed by his unhappy look as she whispered to him. If anyone looked close enough, they could see that Shoto was blushing slightly.
"You don't say?" Mashirao asked. "Well, I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."
Ayumi started to snicker while Shoto frowned. He really needed to learn to watch his surroundings. If Ayumi hadn't pointed out Toru on the landslide, he would have frozen her. Then she would have gotten hurt. He didn't want to hurt one of his classmates. Especially not by a stupid accident. Though he wished Ayumi would stop teasing him about it. Yuga then popped up as he tossed his cape behind him.
"Aren't you wondering about, moi?" Yuga asked them. "Where was my sparkling light?"
He looked to his classmates who didn't even seem to notice he spoke to them at all. Though the smile didn't drop from his face as they practically ignored him.
"Interesting," Fumikage said to his classmates. "So, the people you fought were also low-level thugs."
"Yeah," Eijiro said as he hit his fist into his palm. "They messed with the wrong kids, huh?"
Yuga turned away from that group to try and get the others to speak with him.
"Did you miss me?" He asked.
Again, he was ignored as Hachiro, Hanta, Mezo, and Rikido stood in a group together.
"So, All Might put that hole in the dome after all." Hanta commented. "I figured."
"That took some hardcore power." Rikido added.
"Yeah, it was crazy." Mezo agreed.
"And some of our classmates got to see it up close and personal." Hachiro said. "I'm kind of jealous, but at the same time, it would have been too intense for me."
The others nodded their heads in agreement as Yuga forgot about them to turn towards Tsuyu. He placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Where do you think I was?" He asked her.
"Um, where?" Tsuyu asked.
He turned around striking a pose as sparkles seemed to be flying off him.
"It's a secret." He said.
"Then why did you bring it up?" Ayano deadpanned.
Yuga just winked at her in reply as she shook her head. She had such odd classmates.
"Let's go ahead and get these students back to the main campus." The officer from before said. "They're been through a lot. We don't need to question them right away."
Ayano wasn't sure about that. It'd most likely be best to ask them all now while they had everything fresh on the mind. But she wouldn't argue. Tsuyu hopped towards the detective.
"Detective, what about Aizawa-sensei?" She asked.
The others wanted to know too since they all had seen his condition. It was terrible. The detective held up his phone to play a voicemail left behind to him by the doctor.
"The bones in his arms are splintered, and he's got facial fracturing." The doctor explained. "Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any serious brain damage. But his orbital form floor has nearly been destroyed. We have no way of knowing if his eyesight will be impaired once he's healed up. However, Doctorine will be arriving shortly to do all she can to save his orbital floor as much as possible, so we will have to prep him for another surgery."
The Detective turned off his phone to place it back in his pocket. Ayano frowned. That didn't sound good at all.
"Well, you heard the man." The detective said.
"Ribbit," Tsuyu croaked worriedly.
"Not his eyes." Minoru cried.
Ayano hoped they didn't already lose their homeroom teacher. If he really couldn't use his eyes, there was no telling if he'd be able to keep his hero license, which means, he'd no longer be able to teach them. He risked all of that…for them.
"Um, sir, what about Thirteen?" Mina asked.
"There's no need to worry there." He assured them. "Despite some pretty bad lacerations to the back, Thirteen is going to pull through—good as new."
This brought the students some semblance of peace as they let out sighs of relief.
"And All Might is also without any serious injuries." The detective continued. "He's in the nurses' office right now. Recovery Girl's power should be all the treatment he needs."
"What about Deku?!" Ochaco asked.
"How's Midoriya?" Tenya asked as well.
The Detective seemed confused at first, but he then smiled as he adjusted his hat.
"Ah, Recovery Girl is taking care of him too." He said. "He's fine. Now, let's get you back to class."
The others seemed okay with that as was Ayano. Today had been a hard one, but at least it was over. As the detective ordered his officers to look after the students, Ayano walked alongside Eijiro towards the bus. However, she paused when seeing Katsuki wasn't moving as he stared up at the U.S.J. Eijiro noticed as well as he came to a stop.
"Come on, Man, we're going back to class now!" Eijiro called out to Katsuki.
"Yeah, I heard him, Idiot." Katsuki said gruffly as he turned around.
He caught up to the two while slinging his arm over Ayano's shoulders. She blinked in surprise as she looked up at him in question.
"Kacchan?" She asked.
"You're an idiot." Katsuki said glaring down at her. "You pull that shit again, I'll kick your ass so bad, you won't be walking for a week."
She gave him a deadpanned expression in return as they two reached the door to the bus. She stepped up on it first while looking down at Katsuki.
"Katsuki, we're both on our way to becoming heroes." She said. "Risks will always be in front of us now. Risks we'll have to take to keep people safe."
He frowned at her since her risk today was completely unnecessary. He then looked at her in shock when she reached out to pat him on the head.
"But it really warms my heart to know you care so much about me, Kacchan." She said with a teasing look in her eyes.
"Shut-up, loser!" Katsuki snapped as he stepped up to get in her face. "I don't care what happens to your dumbass. You want to get yourself killed, go ahead!"
Ayano rolled her eyes at him then continued up onto the bus. Katsuki growled as he stomped after her angrily.
"You two should really get a room." Denki said smirking.
"SHUT-UP!" Katsuki yelled at Denki. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
Ayano shook her head at her classmates as Katsuki continued to yell threats at Denki.
'Well, at least, they're okay enough to argue with each other,' She thought.
Ayano let out a yawn as she started to leave the school building. When they had all returned, school was over. In fact, the sun had been setting. Everyone had been really quiet as well. No one made a sound the entire time they changed back into their school uniforms. After that, they were free to go, and while some said goodbye to each other, it was obvious the students were a bit shook from the events that happened.
"I suppose everyone wasn't as okay as they seemed on the bus." Ayano said to herself.
In fact, the closer they had gotten to the school the quieter the entire class became. Even Katsuki stopped trying to throttle Denki.
"Young Ishida," A voice called out behind her.
Ayano turned her head to see All Might in his true form behind her. He looked a little worse for wear, but for the most part looked alright.
"All Might-sensei," Ayano greeted. "Should you really be walking around now?"
He gave the girl a kind smile as he walked over to join her by the large glass windows that overlooked the front gate.
"I'm alright." He assured her as he pat her on the shoulder. "I just wanted to check on you before you left. I heard you might have a possible concussion."
"I'm fine, Sensei." Ayano said as she adjusted the strap to her bag. "I still have a slight headache, but that's nothing new."
All Might nodded. He was glad she was okay. Besides Izuku, she had been the only one with a semi-serious injury.
"It was very brave of you to jump in to help Young Midoriya." All Might said.
Ayano looked down at the ground as her hands gripped the strap of her bag tightly. All Might blinked at her saddened expression wondering if he said something wrong.
"I suppose." Ayano said. "I just…I couldn't allow myself to freeze up again. I did when Katsuki was in danger…and if you hadn't gotten to him in time…"
Ayano trailed off as she bit her lip so hard it nearly drew blood. All Might looked at her softly as he moved to gently pat her head in a consoling manner.
"I understand." All Might said. "Sometimes when the people you care about most in this world are in danger, the fear gets the better of you. Not fear for yourself, but the fear for that loved one. It is nothing to be ashamed about. It just shows how caring of a person you are. And despite your fears, you continued to fight on. You helped get your classmates through a challenging time and you helped me. And next time, you won't freeze. I just know it."
Ayano looked up at All Might as he continued to smile down at her. Ayano felt some of the tightness in her chest lighten as she own lips twitched up.
"Thank-you, Sensei." Ayano said bowing her head to him.
"Anytime." All Might said. "I know you probably want to get home as soon as possible, Young Ishida. However, I was wondering if I could trouble you by asking you a question."
Ayano nodded her head wondering what her teacher wanted with her. Though she was sure it head to do with what happened today.
"Shigaraki Tomura pointed out the name you have isn't your true name." All Might said. "What did he mean by that?"
All Might had a guess of what it meant, but he just had to make sure. He didn't want to jump to conclusions.
"I suppose he was referring to the fact that I'm adopted." Ayano said. "Though I don't know why that interests him, or how he even knows. My adopted parents only changed my surname though."
"And what was your surname before the adoption if you don't mind my asking?" All Might asked. "Did they ever tell you?"
"They didn't." Ayano said. "I managed to find my birth certificate though when I became a bit older. The surname on it was Sebone."
All Might's eyes widened as he stared at Ayano in shock. And he was just lucky she didn't have the energy to focus on reading minds now since his was filled with thoughts he'd rather her not hear.
'So, she really is her daughter.' All Might thought. 'The daughter of the Rising Hero: Phoenix—my old friend Sebone Etsudo. I can't believe I'm seeing her again after all this time!'
All Might continued to stare at Ayano who was looking at him in confusion. Her brain was too fuzzy to clearly hear his thoughts, so she had no idea what was running through his mind now.
'To think I didn't truly connect the dots until now.' All Might continued to think rapidly. 'She's the spitting image of her mother and with a similar quirk. How could I be so stupid?! And then there's this issue with the psychic that had attacked Ayano. Psychic quirks aren't common at all by Etsudo's entire family is full of them. Her children and her parents. Is there some kind of connection?!'
All Might came out of his thoughts when Ayano gave him a small tap on the shoulder.
"All Might-sensei, I'm not sure what you're thinking—for a change—, but if you don't want me to hear it once my head stops spinning, try to distract yourself with other thoughts." Ayano suggested. "I know whatever you're thinking concerns me—but if you feel like keeping it to yourself is the best option, you should practice keeping your secret thoughts under wraps from people like me."
"Uh, right," All Might sweat-dropped. "Thank-you, Young Ishida."
She nodded her head then bid him a goodnight. After that she left All Might to his racing thoughts.
'I need to figure out what happened on that night fifteen years ago,' All Might thought to himself. 'And…I need to find those other two kids. Maybe it's time I finally call on him.'
The next day the entire school shut down for a day. Most likely to go over what happened and discuss new security details. That and the school wanted to give the students of Class 1-A time to recover from the fight. Ayano had sat around her house that morning with dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't slept well at all last night. Her head still reeling from everything. Though after staring at the ceiling for hours, she decided it was time to get up. She had gotten ready then left her apartment to take the familiar walk to the hospital.
"Ayano-chan, welcome back." The nurse—Hirogiku Fuyumi—greeted from behind the front desk. "It's been some time since we've seen you."
"Yes, I suppose I've been caught up in school work." Ayano said.
The woman gave Ayano a kind smile as her eyes softened. Fuyumi was one of the few who never thought pity for Ayano. Her smiles and words were all genuine to what she was thinking. It was probably one of the reasons why Ayano thought so highly of her.
"We're all very proud of you around here, Ayano-chan." Fuyumi said. "Too think you're now old enough to start your training into becoming a hero. It does make me feel old."
Another reason Ayano felt so relaxed around Fuyumi was that Fuyumi a neighbor of hers when she was growing up. Ayano vaguely remembers Fuyumi's early years of training to become an R.N, and now she practically ran a whole floor of a hospital on her own.
"I know Ko-kun would be proud of you as well." Fuyumi added. "Please, be careful though with your training. I know you sometimes push yourself too far."
"Yes, thank-you, Hirogiku-san." Ayano said bowing her head.
Ayano then signed the visitors log before heading for her brother's room. She slid open the door to his room while blinking when she saw Izuku and Katsuki inside. Izuku was sitting at Ko's bedside while Katsuki was leaning against the wall with his hands crossed. Izuku smiled when he saw Ayano.
"Ayano, hey," He greeted as he stood.
"Izuku, Katsuki, I wasn't expecting either of you." Ayano said.
She closed the door behind her while wondering why her friends were here. They've visited Ko before, but usually with her. She didn't know they sometimes came to see him on their own.
"Well, it looks like all of us had the same idea." Izuku said. "Kacchan and I couldn't sit around our homes either. And I don't know…coming here seemed like a good idea. I remember something Ko used to tell us. That being a hero could be scary. That we have no idea what it really took to be pros. We had no idea what pros faced every day. I didn't realize what he meant until yesterday."
He looked back to Ko while reaching out to place a hand on his arm to give it a squeeze.
"And I suppose I just kept thinking how lucky we were to have the sensei arrive when they did." Izuku continued. "And I just…wondered what would have happened to us if they hadn't shown up when they did."
Ayano could understand that. If their teachers had been a second later, she might have been put in a hospital bed just like Ko. Any of them could have ended up here or worse.
"Yeah, we all have a long way to go." Ayano agreed as she moved to the edge of Ko's bed. "But now we know how far the gap is and have an idea on how to fill it."
Izuku nodded as Katsuki remained silently against the wall as he stared at Ko.
"I won't end up here." Katsuki said as he finally spoke. "I can promise ya that."
"I will hold you to that, Katsuki." Ayano said smiling ever so slightly. "You and Izuku both. Either of you end up here, I might have to scold you."
Katsuki rolled his eyes as Izuku smiled. Things might have gotten scary yesterday. All their lives had been on the line, but they made through it. And they're all ready to move forward.
"Oh yeah?" Katsuki asked. "And what about you, huh?"
"If I end up here, you can kick my ass just like you promised you would." Ayano said. "Don't think I'll make it easy for you though."
Katsuki smirked at that as Izuku looked between his wo childhood friends. The air between them has changed for certain.
'Do those two…like each other?' Izuku wondered.
He then stiffened when Ayano looked right at him. He was certain she heard what he thought. She sighed shaking her head.
'You're so terrible at keeping your thoughts safe.' She thought to him. 'I thought I taught you and Katsuki better than that.'
'Sorry,' He replied.
Ayano then crossed her arms over her chest as she stared down at her brother's still form. She just smiled at him softly. She moved to take the chair at her brother's side with Izuku getting out of her way. She sat down while keeping her hands in her lap.
"Niisan, you always said U.A was a bit crazy." Ayano said. "Though after our brief time there, I'd say that's an understatement."
She continued to speak with her brother as Izuku joined in on the conversation. Katsuki just watched from behind. He watched as Ayano spoke though wasn't paying attention to what she was say. He could tell that even though she was smiling, she wasn't okay.
'That idiot and her dumb act.' He thought as he frowned. 'She's so damn easy to read.'
He frowned more as his hands clenched into fists against his ribs. What Eijiro said yesterday rang threw his mind.
—FLASHBACK—
"Ya know, you sure know how to read Ishida pretty well." Eijiro commented.
"That moron is easy to read." Katsuki said as he glared forward.
"Not really," Eijiro disagreed. "She's always so calm and collected. Anyone just can't read her emotions or intentions so well either. But without her even speaking to you directly, you seem to know exactly what she has planned or what she's doing even if you can't see her."
"What's your damn point, Spikey-hair?!" Katsuki demanded.
Eijiro grinned as the two of them finally made it out of the building. They just needed to get out of the zone now.
"You two are really close." Eijiro said.
"Just what the hell are you implying, bastard?!" Katsuki demanded.
—END OF FLASHBACK—
'Stupid, Kirishima' He thought heatedly. 'Guy has to have a few screws loose in his head. Like hell I care about Ayano like he was fucking implying.'