Coco: Hey, everyone! How are we doing today? Are you ready for the next chapter. A lot is certainly happening in it today as we're getting to the action part of the Hassaikai Raid Arc. Ayano doesn't do much fighting in this chapter, but the battles should be begin in the next, so hope you're looking forward to it.
Also, before we begin, I just wanted to let you know I named the head officer guy Tanaka. He's pretty involved in this chapter and I didn't want to just keep calling him the 'officer'. Because I couldn't find a name for him, I decided to name him myself. Just wanted you to know so there's no confusion.
The next couple of days passed excruciatingly slow. Ayano had even been ready to call Nighteye and offer help in the search. But it didn't come to that because on the third night they all had finally received the message saying that it was time. And so, the interns along with the Pros involved in the investigation, gathered once more at the Nighteye Agency. And when hearing where Eri was this entire time, well, many of them weren't happy.
"Huh?!" Rock Lock exclaimed. "They're keeping this Eri girl in their stronghold?!"
"And by stronghold you mean?" Fatgum inquired.
"The headquarters of the Hassaikai." Ryukyu said. "It's their leader's residence."
Rock Lock huffed since he couldn't believe they'd actually keep Eri there after Chisaki had that run in with Nighteye's interns. Either they actually fooled Chisaki into thinking they weren't suspicious of him—which was extremely unlikely. Or he was just that confident that even if they did attack him that they'd lose.
"Tch, so you're telling me all that time we spent investigating was for nothing then?" Rock Lock asked.
"Not at all," Nighteye assured him. "We gained plenty of new information as well."
"How'd you confirm she was there?" Fatgum asked.
Nighteye silently pulled out a very sparkly box from underneath his desk to place on the table. Ayano frowned wondering what her mentor was doing with a toy made for little girls. Especially such a pink and sparkly toy. She wasn't the only one perplexed as the Pros in the room were giving Nighteye various looks of confusion and concern.
"A member of the Hassaikai visited a nearby department store the other day." Nighteye explained. "He purchased a toy favored by young girls."
Ayano wouldn't want something like that if she were still little, but she was never much into girlie, cute things when she was a kid. Probably due to growing up with two boys as her best friends.
"What?" Fatgum asked in confusion.
"That's…uh, pretty sparkly," Rock Lock said unsurely.
Fatgum just shook his head because that hardly seemed like enough evidence to confirm Eri was at the Hassaikai's stronghold.
"Listen, maybe the guy just likes cutesy stuff." Fatgum reasoned. "Different strokes for different folks, Nighteye. Want to tell us what you're doing with one though?"
"Yes," Nighteye replied without hesitation. "I was there when he made the purchase and overheard his conversation with the store clerk."
He then explained how the man was asking about the exact toy he had on the table, and as the man and clerk spoke, Nighteye interjected himself into the conversation to use foresight on the man. In doing so, he was able to see the man return to the Hassaikai's headquarters where he went to the room Eri was being held in. Thus, confirming the girl's location.
"You ended up using foresight anyway?" Rock Lock snapped in frustration as Nighteye was gesturing Ayano forward.
The girl blinked in confusion, but stepped out of the group of gathered heroes to reach Nighteye.
"If you recall," Nighteye began as he handed Ayano the toy causing her to frown. "I said I would use it when our path was more certain."
Rock Lock rolled his eyes as Ayano was turning the box over in her hands wondering why she was stuck with this thing. Did Nighteye think it was some kind of funny joke? Knowing him...probably.
"Whatever," Fatgum said. "This means we got the data we need, right?"
"Yes, and we know for sure when they're be there thanks to our stakeouts." Centipeder said.
Bubble Girl hummed in agreement as she struck a pose and glanced at the cue cards in her hand.
"We also worked with the police and already got a warrant to search the place," Bubble Girl said. "Next up—!"
"Is to barge in there!" Fatgum said.
"Aw, man, that's my line!" Bubble Girl complained.
Centipeder gave his co-worker a look of exasperation as she pouted openly at Fatgum. As the other heroes murmured about what would happen next, Ayano looked back to Nighteye.
"I don't want this," She said bluntly as she tried to hand it back to him.
"…well, that's unfortunate, isn't it?" Was all Nighteye said in reply while not taking the toy back.
Ayano's eye twitched and before she could insist, Mirio causing a ruckus near the back of the room caught everyone's attention. Ayano watched as the upperclassman shouted, they would be saving Eri in a way to get pumped up for what was about to take place. As many gave the blonde confused looks, Ayano smiled. She was glad to see he wasn't moping around anymore. She understands the guilt he has been feeling as she's been feeling it herself. But dwelling on it, wouldn't get them anywhere. Besides, Ayano made a promise to Eri, so she couldn't let herself be distracted by thoughts of the past.
'Eri, we're coming,' Ayano thought. 'But first…'
She looked to Nighteye while quickly shoving the toy into his hands. She tried to hurry away from him after that, but his long reach allowed him snag her quickly by the back of her uniform to pull her back. The box was put back into her hands causing her to sigh.
Not long after the meeting at Nighteye's agency, Ayano, who was now in costume, stood amongst her classmates and the pros in front of the local police station. It was still early morning and Ayano was quite impressed when seeing the kind of task force the police had managed to put together.
"As you know, Nighteye was able to use his quirk on a Hassaikai member," Tanaka—the officer in charge of the raid—explained to everyone gathered. "Through it he saw underground facilities, and we believe them to be this Yakuza group's headquarters. We were also able to confirm that the girl we're trying to rescue is currently being in one of the rooms there. Although we were unable to map out the entire layout of the underground hallways, we believe the man Sir Nighteye saw took the shortest route to our target."
Which Ayano hoped meant they could get to Eri quickly, but she wasn't naïve. She knew getting to Eri wouldn't be easy. There would definitely be fighting.
"This is the best intel we have at the moment concerning the Hassaikai's stronghold," Tanaka continued. "It's the basis of this mission. Stay smart. These guys are dangerous, and we can expect them to use their quirks against us at full force."
He then nodded to one of his men who stepped forward with papers in his hands to give out to the gathered heroes.
"We're passing around a list of current Hassaikai members and their quirks." Tanaka explained. "According to our registration data bases. Commit this to memory."
As Tanaka kept speaking to the pros, Ayano stepped forward to take a paper for herself and her classmates. She returned to their sides while looking over the paper as Eijiro looked to Tamaki.
"Things are moving fast now, huh?" Eijiro asked.
"You're energetic considering how early it is," Tamaki commented after pulling up his hood.
He then flinched slightly when he felt a presence enter his mind. Though he relaxed along with the other students when realizing it was Ayano.
'I have the list memorized.' Ayano told them. 'Sharing it with everyone now.'
All the students looked through the list while almost feeling as if it was being imprinted in their brains.
'Some of these men have…intimidating quirks to say the least,' Konan said through the link.
'Yeah, it's making me nervous,' Ochaco added.
'No joke,' Tsuyu agreed. 'First detective work and now we're cooperating with the police. There's so much I don't know.'
It was a bit overwhelming that was for sure. Ayano was feeling a bit nervous herself. This wasn't a training exercise, and a lot was on the line.
"Um, you guys know you're not talking out loud, right?" Nejire asked them.
The girls jumped in surprise while realizing the upperclassman was right. They were still using the mental link to converse.
"Sorry, it's kind of become a habit to talk like that." Ochaco said as she scratched the back of her head. "We do it all the time with our classmates, and I guess the nerves are getting to us a bit with all of…well, this official stuff."
"Right, it is so official, huh?" Nejire said with a smile.
Though despite that, Nejire didn't seem nervous in the slightest. Ayano wished she could be that chill about all of this.
"It's true." Ryukyu said as she walked up to the students. "School doesn't always prepare you for investigations like this. It takes some time to adjust."
"She's right," Kesagiri Man agreed.
Their comforting words made the girls feel a bit better. Besides, they've been in sticky situations before.
"All the Pros seem like they're pretty chill, huh?" Eijiro commented as he and Izuku looked around. "So brave!"
"Hey, I haven't seen Gran Torino around this morning," Izuku said as he noticed the older pro was still missing. "You know where he is?"
"Apparently, he won't be joining us today," Nighteye said.
Izuku looked to Nighteye in surprise with a bit of concern building up in his chest. He hoped nothing was wrong with Gran Torino.
"Tsukauchi has been keeping an eye on the League," Tanaka explained. "According to him it looks like they're on the move. Fortunately, we have plenty of heroes here, so we can afford to send Gran Torino."
"I see," Izuku said.
He was a little bummed Gran Torino wouldn't be joining them. It would have been nice to work with him again.
"Maybe we can take down the Hassaikai and the League of Villains at the same time," Eijiro said to try and cheer up Izuku.
"Oh yeah," Izuku said with a smile then tightened his glove. "Let's go."
"Not yet," Aizawa, who seemed to pop out of nowhere, said.
Not just Izuku jumped at his sudden presence as all of his students straightened up at once. Ayano hadn't even picked up his thoughts. He was getting really good at hiding his presence all together.
'Sensei…is a very scary man,' Ayano thought.
He could tell when she was prodding around his mind and he could completely close it off to her when he wanted. Not many people could do that with such ease. It was scary.
"Eraser Head, sir!" Izuku exclaimed.
"I'm teaming up with Nighteye Agency for this," Aizawa said. "Do you understand me?"
Izuku's eyes widened while remembering what Aizawa had said to him before at the agency.
"Yes, sir." He said with a nod.
Aizawa nodded as well before turning to Ayano to give her a stern stare. One that had her stiffening.
"I've got my eye on you as well, other problem child," Aizawa told her. "Understand?"
"…yes, sir…" Ayano said with her shoulders slumping slightly.
Tanaka then called for everyone's attention once again with the Pros and students lining up in front of the police.
"Now, Heroes, things can get violent quickly out there." Tanaka reminded them. "If you encounter a hint of suspicious behavior or resistance, call for help immediately. We're up against gangsters who have avoided capture up until now. It is imperative that each of you carry out your respective assignments and stay sharp in there."
He then gave the heroes a salute with the large group of officers behind him doing the same.
"We will commence the operation at 0830 hours," Tanaka said. "Heroes, move out!"
As 0830 hours rolled around, Ayano stood outside the Hassaikai HQ. She stood with Mirio as they, the cops, the pros and other interns waited for the okay to head inside.
"Once they've read the warrant then you're free to move," Tanaka told the gathered pros. "I'm counting on everyone to act swiftly."
Rock Lock almost rolled his eyes at the man as he was itching to get things moving.
"What's with this guy?" Rock Lock asked agitatedly. "Here acting like we don't know our jobs."
Fatgum gave the shorter man a look of exasperation though he was quite used to Rock Lock's attitude by now.
"You know that isn't what he means, Rock Lock," Fatgum said. "Give it a rest."
Rock Lock just hummed in reply causing Fatgum to sigh. Rock Lock then looked to Fatgum.
"The real problem is that these yakuza thugs are good at hiding in the shadows," Rock Lock reminded Fatgum. "They see all these heroes and police they might just disappear."
In front of them Tanaka, prepared to hit the bell to signal their arrival, but as he was about to do that, Ayano stiffened.
"Wait, someone's coming!" She warned as she moved forward. "Get back!"
She put up a wall quickly before the words were even out of her mouth, and it was a good thing to as a large hulking man smashed his way through the gate. She gritted her teeth as he hit her wall, which cracked slightly at the impact. Many officers gasped at the sudden attack as the heroes readied for action. Despite the situation, Ayano glanced over her shoulder at Rock Lock.
"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" She questioned.
The man gave her a look of annoyance as she looked back forward when the attacker pushed more against her wall.
"What do you want?" The yakuza member—Katsukame Rikiya—said as he took a moment to back away from Ayano's wall. "It's too early for visitors."
"Oh man, are you kidding me?" Rock Lock exclaimed. "How do they know we're already here?"
"No time for questions," Mr. Brave said as he pulled out some of his hair to form a sword. "Let's go!"
Ayano was about to make a pathway for the pros to filter through to get by Katsukame, but the man was faster than she gave his large form credit. He struck her wall again and this time shattered it. His fist was about to make contact with Ayano, but Aizawa snagged her in his capture weapon to pull her out of the way in time.
"That's good," Katsukame said as he rolled his neck. "Waking up a little."
He then pulled back his arm, which seemed to double in size. Ryukyu, who knew what was coming, stepped forward and prepared to counter the attack.
"Brace yourselves!" She ordered then grew into her dragon form just as Katsukame threw out a fist.
Katsukame and Ryukyu clashed with the backlash of their collision enough to send some people falling backwards. The dust around them cleared to reveal Ryukyu managed to stop Katsukame's fist.
"Listen to me!" Ryukyu called out. "We shouldn't split up too many of our forces yet. The Ryukyu Agency will take care of this villain."
She then gave a shout as she pinned Katsukame to the ground thus making a path for the others.
"The rest of you go!" Ryukyu ordered.
As the interns of Ryukyu's agency prepared to help the dragon hero, others started swarming through the open gate. Ayano activated her board as Fatgum hurried everyone along. She followed everyone in as Tanaka read out the warrant, he had in his hands to the Hassaikai members present.
Of course, that didn't stop the Yakuza from attacking. As one turned the leaves off a bush to sharp projectile weapons to hurtle at the police and heroes, Kesagiri man moved in quickly to stop him. The others kept moving forward as they couldn't let anything slow them down so early on in this rescue.
"They sure led with a brawler." Rock Lock said. "These guys ain't scared."
"Quickest route," Fatgum shouted. "Let's go! Get to the girl!"
"We have more resistance heading our way," Ayano warned as she swung wide around the group. "Get ready!"
As soon as she said that more men came pouring out from the building to try and stop the heroes and the police. Luckily a group of police, Kesagiri Man, and Mr. Brave alongside a few of the other gathered heroes intercepted the bulk of the oncoming thugs to give their heavy hitters a chance to keep moving forward.
"Hate to just barge in like this," Fatgum said as they made it through the threshold. "But we're kind of in a hurry. I haven't seen any signs of suspicious activities yet."
"Yeah, bro, same here," Rock Lock said. "But, hey, we're in it now, right? We got no choice but to see it through."
As they kept moving forward, Ayano spread out her mind to try and search for Eri's mind. Or even Kai's thoughts.
"Is it possible someone leaked our plans for the raid?" Tamaki asked. "Must be a reason why they came pouring out like that."
"No, if there had been a leak, I think they would be fighting more cohesively." Tanaka said. "Groups like this are used to working together."
"There's nothing that matters more to these guys than their bonds with their boss and their brothers." Aizawa explained. "Being part of the underworld only makes loyalty that much more sacred to them."
So, they should expect fierce resistance from any yakuza members they come across. If they're all so loyal to each other, Ayano doubted any of them would just give themselves in.
"All those people outside, but we haven't caught sight of the top brass yet," Aizawa continued. "They're probably underground hiding. Getting ready to flee."
Ayano frowned because it didn't feel that way to her. She could hear the voices below—though for some reason they weren't clear thoughts, which was worrying to her—and many of them weren't moving around a lot. They were staying in one location as if waiting for something or someone. And the fact she couldn't get a clear read on their thoughts was troublesome as well. But she kept this to herself as she had a feeling she knew what was causing her telepathy to be muggy.
"How's that supposed to be loyalty?" Eijiro demanded. "Forcing their henchmen to fight for them while they run away isn't manly at all."
Fatgum nodded in agreement to Eijiro's words as they ran farther down the corridor. However, when Nighteye came to a stop in front of ledge built into the wall that held a vase of flowers, everyone else stopped as well.
"This is it. There's a device here that opens a hidden passage," Nighteye said as he removed the vase to start pushing in wood panels. "You press down the floorboards in a certain order, and then…"
Nighteye trailed off as the hidden passage he mentioned began to open up. He stood up while moving back and holding out his arm in front of the others except for Centipeder and Bubble Girl.
"It's like a ninja hideout." Bubble Girl said. "How cool."
"Thank goodness for your quirk, Sir," Centipeder said then looked to Ayano. "Ayonic, any resistance?"
"Three," Ayano replied. "Coming in fast."
Centipeder nodded while telling Bubble Girl to get ready just as the door opened completely. And like Ayano said, three men came barging out the door to try and attack the heroes. Centipeder sprang into action and wrapped up two of the men in the blink of an eye.
"Bubble Girl, you handle the third," Centipeder ordered.
Bubble Girl didn't have to be told twice as she moved in and used her bubbles to blind her opponent. He cried out in pain and as he was distracted, Bubble Girl took him down and pinned him to the floor.
"We'll make sure these guys don't follow," Bubble Girl assured Nighteye. "You go on ahead."
"You heard her," Nighteye told the others.
"We'll catch up when we can," Bubble Girl promised as the group moved on.
Nighteye led the group down the stairs to the hidden headquarters below the main house.
"We're almost there, hurry!" Nighteye ordered as they rounded the stairs to the right.
However, they were brought to a halt when seeing a wall was in front of them. Ayano frowned because that shouldn't be there. Nighteye was never wrong about these sorts of things.
"It looks like a dead end," Tanaka said. "So, what now?"
"So much for your foresight, Nighteye!" Rock Lock quipped.
Ayano gave the man a look, but kept her mouth shut as they had more important things to do.
"Hold on, let me go take a look," Mirio said as he took off his helmet and stepped forward.
"Lemillion, if you go through, you'll be naked," Eijiro pointed out with a look of concern.
Tamaki quickly assured Eijiro it would be fine as Mirio went forward to take a look through the wall. Tamaki explained that Mirio's costume was made of a special fiber created by his hair, so it worked like his quirk when activated. As Mirio took a peek through the wall, Ayano continued to spend her mind throughout the hideout to see what she could find out. Though the thoughts weren't clear, she had an overall grasp of where everyone was.
"The hallway's just been blocked with this wall," Mirio reported as he removed his head from the wall. "Unfortunately, breaking through it isn't going to be easy."
"I knew this Chisaki could tear crap apart and put it back together, but damn." Rock Lock said.
"So, he's trying to slow us down," Ayano said as she stepped forward. "Which would also explain why I feel the minds of the Hassaikai members staying in one place. As if lying in wait."
Rock Lock and Fatgum looked to the girl as she stared forward with her eyes glowing slightly.
"In fact, even though I can't make him out completely, but I feel Irinaka nearby." Ayano said then looked to Eijiro and Izuku. "Red Riot, Deku, the wall, please."
"Oh yeah, this guy is an idiot to think a dumb wall will stop us!" Eijiro said as he activated his quirk.
"Yeah, let's go!" Izuku added.
The two boys shot forward and with one strike from each of them, a large enough opening was made. Ayano nodded in satisfaction to their work before turning to the group. The police and some of the pros shifted when seeing as if some kind of pressure entered their minds.
'Everyone is connected,' Ayano's voice came through the link she made. 'Now if we're separated, we can still communicate.'
'Good,' Mirio thought. 'Now, we need to keep moving forward.'
Ayano nodded in agreement as they had little time. She could already feel Chisaki on the move and with Eri. The group went through the opening made by Eijiro and Izuku, but didn't make it too far as the entire hall started to move and shift around them.
"What's going on?!" Eijiro exclaimed.
"Everything's twisting." Izuku said looking puzzled as well.
Ayano frowned as she sensed Irinaka's presence expand greatly. It was as if he was all around them instead of just in one spot anymore.
"This is someone different," Tanaka said. "Maybe Irinaka. Chisaki's quirk can't do something like this. Irinaka's quirk Mimic lets him enter objects and control them as he would his whole body. He must have gone into the concrete of the walls down here and made this a living maze."
Which made navigating through the base much harder for them. They didn't have the time to be slowed down like this.
"It shouldn't be possible on this scale!" Rock Lock retorted. "He's not supposed to be able to control anything larger than a damn refrigerator!"
"Remember who we're dealing with here." Fatgum said. "Dollar to donuts, he's using a performance enhancer. I was ready for about anything, but I didn't expect the whole building to turn against us! Still controlling something this big has got to be wearing the guy out. Eraser Head, can't you stop him?"
"I can't do anything without seeing his real body," Aizawa replied. "Ayonic, can you pinpoint him?"
Ayano, who was holding onto Konan and vise versa, shook her head with a frown on her face.
"No sir, when he entered the wall, his mind spread out," Ayano said. "It's like it's all around us, so I can't tell where the source is coming from."
Nighteye frowned because that wasn't good at all. They needed to try and find a way to get through this obstacle. The longer they were stuck here the farther Chisaki would get away.
"With the passageway shifting and changing like this they can create as many escape routes as they need to." Tamaki said as dread started to fill him. "We have to think quickly if we want to catch them. No, who are we kidding? They're going to escape with the girl and we're all going to die down here."
His thoughts just turned darker at this point, but before he could fall completely into the abyss, Mirio grabbed his shoulder.
"Tamaki," Mirio said getting his attention. "No way that's gonna happen, understand? You can do this, Suneater. Besides, this is just a stop gap. They can warp the path forward if they want, but as long as we know the direction of our goal, I can still reach it. Ayonic!"
Ayano turned towards the upperclassman as he moved over to her side. He knelt in front of her.
"Show me the way," Mirio said.
They know the direction of Eri's room thanks to Nighteye's intel, but it was highly likely Chisaki was on the move with her right now. And he could take a number of pathways to try and escape. Mirio didn't want to waste time heading in one direction if Chisaki took a different path. Ayano who looked into Mirio's determined expression, nodded her head in understanding before reaching out to place her fingers on his temples. As a path entered his mind, he watched intently as Ayano took him through the halls and around corners before his eyes landed on Chisaki, Eri, and the man who was carrying the girl.
"That starts from her room," Ayano said as she removed her fingers. "It's all I've seen so far through their minds; I will try to keep you updated if they suddenly make a turn. Be careful, Senpai."
Mirio nodded his head before he took off running while not pausing for even a second when Izuku and Nighteye called out to him.
"Speed is what matters right now!" Mirio called over his shoulder. "Those guys know it too, which is why they're stalling for time. I'm going on ahead!"
Mirio soon disappeared out of sight and as he moved forward, Ayano was ready to get passed this obstacle as well. But before she could even think of what to do next, the floor underneath them opened up. None of them even had time to comprehend what was happening before they fell around to the floor below where more danger was waiting.