"We were stuck waiting around for a while. And of course around that same time, you guys were doing really well cause of your experiences, and waiting for the whole raid...
"The work study group is moving really well," I heard Jirou say while we watched them, and Bakugou predictably screamed at Eiji, "YOU'RE HIDING SOME SECRET YOU LEARNED OUT THERE! BETTER SPILL THE BEANS!"
"Sorry, no can do," he called back.
We weren't allowed to t all, and they weren't allowed to talk about what was going on, about our villains. According to Midnight Sensei, after the pros had left,
"We have lots of pro heroes involved in this mission. While of course you may accompany us, the expectation is that you will have fairly minor roles when we finally smoke out the Mercenaries and confront them. What are your thoughts on taking this chance?"
"Of course we'll be there!" I told her.
"Absolutely!" Hagakure was probably nodding.
"Naturaillement."
"Mmm."
"Of course, I consider it my duty!"
"We are here as true heroes, and these villains must be stopped."
"I'm ready to make em pay!"
"Seems like a plan."
Midnight sensei nodded. "It's good to see such youthful enthusiasm. But remember, these are very talented professional villains. While you have had some contact with the League of Villains in the past, these mercenaries are not that type of antagonist. That is to say, they are not a known quantity. The League's goals are at least vaguely understood, but we are working in the dark here. Bear that in mind."
So we had to wait around, to get the green light to go beat up the villains, and it was hard to even complain, since we were under such a big gag order. And the others were too. Nobody in class 1-A was allowed to talk to each other about anything serious, so conversations felt like walking on eggshells.
It felt like an eternity later, but at last the call came in. We got the texts. The seven of us met up outside Heights Alliance, ready to suit up for action, take the train into town, and meet the other pros.
"We've got information. In cooperation with the police, we've investigated and discovered the Mercenaries' modus operandi. They respond to payments and villain requests. We've been on the lookout for signs of activity, and we've found Greed and Sloth on the move. We plan to follow them when they escape after a seemingly triumphant fight with the heroes."
"I'll be playing the dummy hero," explained Midnight, "teamed up with Gang Orca's agency. We will create the illusion that our plan was to use counter-sound and my somnambulist to knock them out, but convincingly lose to Sloth's body manipulation powers. The stealth heroes among us - "
She pointed to Jirou, Hagakure, Tokage and Shoji, alongside Majestic.
"Will be in pursuit of the villains to their base. You will each use a tracker and be teamed up in groups of two, with Mr. Musha accompanying his teammate Hagakure and Ms. Tokage, Jirou and Shoji with Majestic. You will each be assigned to one, Greed and Sloth. You will move in stealth mode and track them, with our group following at a reasonable distance. You will provide their location and we will hunt them down, take them out, and arrest them fr their crimes."
Hayashi waved some papers. "We've got the arrest warrants right here. Since almost all of them have been identified, and pinpointed at the crime scenes, they can be legally taken into custody for breaking the law. All we have to do is defeat them."
"We know their quirks," said gang Orca. "We know their tactics and their names. Once we're there we will assign targets, hopefully based on who is best suited to take who down."
"Teamwork!" I grinned at Hagakure and Aoyama.
"Yes, indeed. We will be exhibiting cooperation in the hightest order. Prepare, young heroes. We will make sure that the people are safe from these villains!"
...
Until they could find Eri's whereabouts, we were on standby. We were completely forbidden to talk about our internships with anyone. It was obvious though, that we were different from everyone else in class now - a weight, or something I guess, that made is just hard to understand.
We were moving better too. Everyone was noticing it.
"The work study group is moving really well," I heard Jirou murmur as we did wall-climbing exercises one day. Bakugou predictably screamed at me, "YOU'RE HIDING SOME SECRET YOU LEARNED OUT THERE! BETTER SPILL THE BEANS!"
"Sorry, no can do," I called back.
It was frustrating as heck, not being able to say anything to our classmats about Eri. I wanted to tell you, many times, but we'd had to keep wuiet, for the pros. It did feel really weird not talking to anyone else in Class 1A about our real issues.
Then, a few nights later, we got the texts, and the four of us gathered in Heights Alliance's common area.
"Didja hear?" Uraraka told us.
"Yeah," said Midoriya.
"The operation starts today," she told us. We all waited, as if for her go ahead, before leaving.
"SHE'S IN THEIR HEADQUARTERS?!" cried Fatgum. "YOU KIDDIN ME? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT WHOLE INVESTIGATION?!"
"We were able to obtain some new information," said Nighteye.
"HOW DID YOU DISCOVER SHE WAS AT HOME!?"
"Just the other day, a member of the 8 precepts ventured to the nearby department store and purchased a toy intended for little girls."
"HUH!?" said Fatgum.
"The hell!?" said the pro hero Rock Lock.
"IT COULD BE JUST THAT THE DUDE HAS SOME WEIRD HOBBIES, COULDN'T IT!?" said Fatgum. "THE WORLD'S A BIG PLACE, NIGHTEYE!"
"No," said Sir. "That man spoke in a way a hobbyist never would. He asked about 'where those Gunbatsu preyure' toys are and had to be corrected. I chose to go to him and use my foresight - and saw him going to Eri with the toy."
"That's what you used your foresight for!?" demanded Rock Lock.
"I told you the other day, didn't I? I only use it when I have the utmost confidence just to make doubly sure."
"Anyway," said Fatgum. "With that, looks like it's inally crunch time."
"Thanks to our stakeout we've got the exact timeframe in which they'll be at home down to the minute!" said Sir's sidekicks.
"And we've got the warrant as well," said Gran Torino. "All that's left
"Let's do this Midoriya!" shouted Togata, making wild arm gestures in his excitement.
Our whole team was suited up, and the general idea was "this time, for sure. We'll save her."
