Hello! I know it's been a long time. Too long, in fact. And I said I'm going to upload monthly. Yet I haven't done so, but I do have my reasons. Health issues alongside last year of college aren't the easiest. I'm fine now, and things are cooling down, so I have more time and energy to write. Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't uploaded new chapters for months. And I hope you've stayed well and healthy!

Chapter 3: Yuya

"I don't hear them anymore," Jiro said, whispering, and pulled her jacks off the door. "I think we're safe for now."

"This is one hell of a situation," Awase muttered quietly.

"Yeah," Jiro nodded, though Awase couldn't see it because the room was too dark. Because of the blackout, they couldn't turn on the lights. After Aizawa had saved them and got caught with Sero and Kendo, she had hidden in the backroom with Awase. They couldn't close the door behind them right away, but when they had left, Awase had used his quirk to weld the door shut so no enemies could get to them.

It wasn't very hero-like to let the masked men take their friends and teacher away, and neither liked it. Jiro knew that it was the smartest thing to do in that situation, and this is what Aizawa would've wanted. Even if it hurt to let them go, now they could at least try to come up with a plan to help them. "But where do we start?" she asked herself.

"Let's take a look outside," Awase said and undid his welding, so he could open the door. He opened it just slightly enough for them to get out. They crawled slowly to the counter and peered over it. There was nobody in sight, but their line of sight was narrow. They had to go to the windows if they wanted to see more.

"It should be okay for now. I'll go first," Jiro whispered and sneaked past the counter and across the small room. She avoided glass shards on the floor. Though she didn't see or hear anybody, she still didn't want to create any more noise than necessary. There could still be enemies close by. The door was open, but she went to the window that wasn't broken.

She stopped at the window and leaned carefully forward so she could see as much as possible. This was the first time she saw the mess. Glass shards, metal pieces, fallen chairs, and people's belongings were scattered all over the place, and she even noticed bloodstains on the glass, probably from some unfortunate victim. It made her cringe in anxiety as she scanned the area.

"I can't believe everything turned into this in just seconds," Awase said next to her. "Where do you think they took the others?"

"I don't know," Jiro muttered. "Maybe back to the theatre?"

"I wonder if they're okay. That explosion did some nasty work," Awase swallowed. "How did they manage to take down every hero?"

"Numbers?" Jiro suggested. "And they had some kind of weapons too. They shot Kendo. I hope she's okay."

"She's strong. She'll make it," Awase said but sounded a little uncertain. Of course, he'd be worried for his friend, though he tried to hide his fear, and Jiro felt the same.

Deep concern for her friends and teacher clouded Jiro's mind for a moment, and she almost didn't notice multiple footsteps coming from the theatre's entrance. "Hide!" she whispered and pulled the boy down, away from the window. "They're coming!"

"You better keep everything in order while I go around the ship. Those people are incapacitated right now, but there are still pro heroes among them," said a sweet female voice, but Jiro couldn't identify her. Still, she had a feeling she'd heard it before. "Three of you come with me. The rest of you keep watch. Do you have your earplugs?"

The question was weird, and Jiro wondered what she meant by that. Why earplugs? She heard positive replies from men and resisted the urge to look outside to see the enemies. Instead, she looked at Awase, who gestured as if to ask if they should be concerned about their hearing. She shrugged.

"Good, put them on. It's time to go look for the lost ones," the woman said happily.

"If we find any passengers, we should take them to the restaurant on the sixth floor. There's still space," said one of the men.

"Sure thing," the woman said. "Let's go. Cover your ears now."

Awase pressed his hands against his ears, and Jiro did the same. She wasn't sure what would happen, but if the villains had to protect their hearing, maybe they should too. At first, nothing happened, but then she heard something. She'd listened to the same voice in the theatre lobby, and it was strangely charming. It made her want to go to the source of the voice, and she took her hands off her ears. She could listen to the beautiful voice forever. What did the person with such an incredible voice look like? She wanted to know. She had to know. But the magical aura started to fade little by little, and something preventer Jiro from following the voice.

"Snap out of it already!"

Jiro startled and stared at the worried Awase in front of her. She was confused as if she'd just awoken from sleep. "What?"

"Are you with me?" Awase asked her.

"Y— Yeah. I guess," Jiro said, still confused. What had just happened? She tried to move, but her left hand was stuck in something. "What?"

"Sorry, I had to stick you to the floor," Awase said and released her from the cold floor. "You were so determined to march out there. You didn't hear a word I said."

"It's okay. Thanks," Jiro looked at her reddish hand. From the looks of it, she'd been pulling herself pretty hard. It was sore, and she was glad she hadn't ripped her skin off. "I just heard this lovely voice. I thought I was dreaming."

"Maybe it's the woman's quirk," Awase wondered, frowning. "I managed to prevent myself from hearing it, but you do have much better hearing than me, so of course, it has a more substantial effect on you."

"So, can she like hypnotize people around her with her voice? That's a troublesome power," Jiro muttered and gritted. She'd almost walked right into the enemy's arms without hesitation. That was a problem. The woman could easily find the people that were still hiding if they were exposed to her voice. It'd be impossible to defend against that quirk if you didn't know about it.

Awase nodded. "You're right. What should we do? I don't think it'd be a good idea to go to the theatre. It sounds like there are more villains there. Any ideas?"

"We could try to find Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Monoma. They could still be free," Jiro noted, looking around. "But we should get something to protect our ears in case we'll run into that woman again."

"Then we could come up with a plan. I guess that's the best option that we currently have," Awase agreed and stood up after checking that there were no enemies in sight. He dodged the glass on the floor and walked to the counter quietly. Then he grabbed a small guidebook about the Sunset Lullaby that had information about basic information about the ship, its safety rules, events, and all locations. Then he returned to Jiro and sat down with her. "Here's the deck plan. We can find every place with this. Hopefully."

Jiro flipped through the pages containing the locations of every shop, restaurants, cabins, pools, pretty much everything. It was nice to have a map, but the cruise ship was big, and they were trying to find four people who could be anywhere. And they didn't have any proof that they weren't already captured like the rest of the students. On top of that, they had to avoid villains. What a situation. She sighed. "Okay, let's get this started."

They were about to descent to the seventh floor when Bakugo stopped. He listened for footsteps but heard nothing. They hadn't encountered any villains after the first two, but there had to be more of them. If he remembered correctly, more cabins, a restaurant, and a children's playground were on this floor. That meant that there could be passengers on this level and enemies as well.

He clenched his right fist; the numbness was gone. They'd better be careful not to get hit by those needles because if only a little amount of the poison weakened his control over his arm, a direct hit would do so much more. He continued down, and Midoriya came right behind him.

"There's nobody here either," Midoriya whispered, looking around the hallways. It was dark here, too, except for the light that came through the window. "Let's go check the restaurant on this floor. I want to know if people here are okay."

Bakugo nodded slightly and headed right from the window. He saw and heard nobody, so it was probably fine. The restaurant was on the other end of the ship, and they were somewhere in the middle. It was a straight line with a couple of corners, so it wasn't difficult to get there, but the linear corridors were perfect for the villains. The two students were easy targets for guns, so they had to move quickly, or they could get trapped.

As they got closer to the restaurant, they reached the end of the corridor with cabins. Next was a small resting area with dark sofas and tables. Beyond them was a children's soft castle-like playground. It should be filled with noisy, laughing children, but now there wasn't a single soul to be seen. There were no signs of struggle, only some random toys on the floor, and bags on tables and benches, probably belonging to the children's parents. At first sight, it didn't seem like villains were just ordinary thieves because they hadn't collected the passengers' belongings. But he also couldn't judge them just yet.

"It doesn't look like there has been fighting in here, which is good, but I hope no-one's hurt," Midoriya said as they walked through the play area.

"Shut it, nerd! Someone's coming," Bakugo said, glancing around the playground. He assumed the approaching persons were more villains, and he'd gladly take them head-on, but maybe they should utilize the fact that the enemies weren't aware of them yet. That meant that they could sneak around knowing that they weren't hunted. He'll get his chance to make the villains pay eventually, but now they should play it safe.

Midoriya was probably thinking the same, as they both hid in the colorful play castle, crouching behind solid walls, out of the enemies' sight. Some parts of the walls were made of nets, but nobody could see them without coming so close that they could touch them. Not the best hiding place, but it had to do.

"Are you sure he went this way?" asked a man's voice.

"No, but we should check here anyway," said another man, sounding just like the first man. "The others went the other way."

Bakugo heard at least four pairs of footsteps coming closer. They were already looking for someone?

"Wherever he is, he shouldn't have gotten far. Stay sharp."

"Let's go through this room. There are plenty of hiding places."

It was confusing to listen to the same voice talking. It was like one person was doing dialogue by himself. Either it was one person speaking or twins who had very similar voices. Bakugo shook his head. What was he thinking? He glanced at Midoriya, who looked just as confused as he was. They both got tense as the villains got closer and closer, quietly roaming through the room. They were ready to jump out to attack the enemies when they heard a door shut somewhere.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes. Let's go!"

Bakugo and Midoriya relaxed a bit as the villains ran off.

"We should leave before they came back," Midoriya whispered and stepped out of the play castle, and Bakugo followed him. "They went to the way we came, so we can go to the restaurant without them blocking our path."

"There will definitely be more of those bastards up ahead," Bakugo gritted as they jogged forward. There wasn't carpet anymore, so their steps weren't as silent against the hard and shiny floor. He could hear quiet talking ahead as well as muffled crying. Now they had to be close.

Now that he thought about it, they haven't talked about what they would actually do. They didn't have any plans. It was clear that the villains had somehow taken over the ship even though there were pro heroes. Pro heroes and tons of hostages. The villains had most likely secured all the places with lots of people, including the theatre. That probably meant that all the students from both 1-A and 1-B and their teachers were caught. It annoyed him greatly, and not only because it left the two of them to deal with this situation, but he also knew how frustrated the heroes must feel at the moment.

What would he and Midoriya do? What should they do? He knew he's strong, and he knew Midoriya's strong too, but they were on a ship full of villains with the means to deal with heroes. Clearly, the villains weren't stupid, and for everything to be able to go down so fast, they must've planned this carefully beforehand. What were they after?

"You okay? Kacchan?"

He must've spaced out for a second because he hadn't noticed that they'd already reached the end of the hallway, where the restaurant was visible. He crouched behind a long and tall plant box next to Midoriya, who stared at him worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Midoriya quietly repeated his question.

"Shut your trap, idiot! I'm fine, so shut up," Bakugo snapped but managed to keep his voice low, earning a slight frown from the boy. He ignored it and looked around. Their hiding place wasn't perfect, but the plant box made a good cover, so the people at the restaurant wouldn't be able to see them, and there weren't lights on. It was much brighter here than back in the cabin hallways because the sunlight coming through a wide glass wall produced enough light to see clearly. Outside was the central park with flourishing flowers and plants, though some were torn and scattered, probably because of the explosions.

There were muttering among the hostages. He could hear them clearly, but a decorative fence around the place prevented him from seeing the hostages. He saw a couple of masked men, though, standing close to the fence, facing away from the hostages. He listened to people trying to calm others, saying that everything's going to be okay. Some tried to stay positive, and some were sure they were going to die.

"Where are the heroes?" asked a young boy's voice. "Are they going to kill us?"

"Don't worry. It's going to be okay," replied an older woman. "The heroes will save us."

Bakugo listened to the short conversation. The woman didn't sound confident at all. He glanced at Midoriya, who looked at him with sadness in his green eyes. The boy seemed to be suffering, and honestly, it was hard to just stay hidden when people were struggling right next to them.

"Be quiet," one of the masked men ordered, and in an instant, the group went silent.

"We should leave for now," Midoriya whispered to Bakugo's surprise. "There's nothing we can do right now."

"Not yet, anyway," Bakugo stated shortly. The freckled boy was right. They shouldn't start a fight without a plan. "Let's go back." He checked that the villains were looking away from them before sneaking back the way they had come from. There was nobody in their path, so they picked up phase, making sure they didn't make too much noise.

In the middle of the corridor, he heard multiple footsteps coming towards them from the playground area. The two stopped and glanced at each other. There wasn't any place to hide in the hallway, so the only opinions were to run or fight. Of the two options, it was obvious which one he'd choose. He glanced at Midoriya and nodded towards the incoming enemies. At first, Midoriya looked a bit uncertain but nodded too. They continued forward, speeding up, but didn't run. The villains would come around a corner, so they could still take them by surprise, but whatever happened, the masked men with the hostages would hear them.

"What was that?" one of the villains asked, and everyone stopped, Midoriya and Bakugo included. There was a sound like someone had closed a door.

"It came from back there."

"I thought we checked every room."

"Come on, let's go."

And so the enemies hurried back where they came from. The two boys relaxed, glancing at each other. Suddenly Midoriya pointed into the opposite hallway from where they were, just across the playground area. Bakugo looked into the dark corridor and saw a figure waving at them, trying to get their attention. The figure was a boy with short, dark hair, but he couldn't see well into the darkness. Was he the one who the villains were after?

"Let's go to him. Before the villains come back," Midoriya whispered. He peeked behind the corner to make sure that there weren't enemies and then sprinted through the open space, dodging toys on the way, Bakugo following close behind.

They crossed the room, went past the soft play castle, and into the dark corridor. As the two students got close to the boy, he put his finger on his lips so they would stay silent. Then he smiled, turned around, and waved his hand, telling them to follow him. Bakugo and Midoriya decided to follow him without question, but the boy's easygoing aura made Bakugo frown in suspicion.

He glanced back to check if anyone was coming after them, but they seemed to be safe for now. The way the boy led them through the corridors made it seem like he wasn't just a casual passenger. They ran past the stairs where he and Midoriya had come down, and after they'd passed several cabins, the boy suddenly pressed his hands and face against the wall like he was trying to go through it by sheer willpower. Then he opened the cabin door next to him and silently urged the two boys to go in.

Bakugo wasn't sure if he trusted the kid, but they could as well go inside so the villains wouldn't find them just yet. The cabin wasn't big; there was one double bed, a TV, a sofa next to a closet, and a mini-fridge beside a small table. The cabin had a small balcony like every cabin on the ship. Their class had its own suites, so the balconies were way more prominent too.

The boy closed the door carefully behind them. "Luckily, thanks to the blackout, all the doors are open. It's easier to hide from the villains," he said, pressing himself against the door like he'd done outside the cabin. "But don't steal anything."

"Of course we won't," Midoriya hurried to say.

The young boy was right. Now that there wasn't power, the locks wouldn't work, and it'd be so easy to steal passengers' belongings. The room they were in didn't have much in it. It was pretty clean, but there probably was stuff in the closet. Bakugo had no interest in them anyway. "Who the hell are you?" he asked instead.

The boy turned around to face them. He wore camo shorts with a dark t-shirt, and his striking blue eyes matched his jet black hair. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking others?"

Bakugo didn't like the first impression he got from the kid and was about to say something, but Midoriya was faster.

"My name is Izuku Midoriya, but you can call me Deku," Midoriya introduced himself. "And this is Kacchan— I mean Katsuki Bakugo," he told the boy before Bakugo could say something rude. Bakugo had to admit it sounded weird when Midoriya called him by his full name.

"I'm Yuya," the boy named Yuya said. "So you're Deku, and... I'm going to call you Kacchan."

"Nice to meet you, Yuya," Midoriya said with a smile, but his expression turned severe right away. "I'm glad you haven't been caught. Are you alone?"

"Currently, yes," Yuya stated, leaning against the cabin door. "I'm surprised you haven't been caught yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bakugo scowled, crossing his arms.

"Nothing particular. I didn't think there were people still free, giving how carefully those men are going through the ship. First, I thought I was the only one who hadn't been caught, but then I saw one guy with a pretty wild hair, and now you," the boy explained.

Midoriya blinked. "What kind of hair did this person have?"

"His hair was red and white. I saw him from afar, but his hair did stand out."

Half 'n half, Bakugo thought. So he had managed to escape. Was he the only one, or were there others? If there were, it'd make things easier...maybe. Anyway, they should find him.

"Todoroki?" Midoriya gasped in surprise. "Where did you see him? Was he okay? Was there anyone else?"

"You know him? He didn't seem to be hurt, but I didn't see him from up close, so I can't be sure," Yuya frowned in thought. "I saw him on the fourth floor. I didn't see others besides him. You said his name was Todoroki, right? What's his quirk?"

"Yes. His name is Shoto Todoroki, and he's our classmate. He can use fire and ice. But why are you asking that?" Midoriya explained, sounding a bit confused.

"I knew it! He's the Todoroki. From the U.A. Sports Festival!" Yuya seemed suddenly excited. Then he glanced at Bakugo. "That must mean you're the Bakugo. You can create explosions, right?"

"Sure can," Bakugo replied but didn't like the tone the boy spoke.

"And you won the tournament. I bet Todoroki could've won easily if he had used his full power. He was kind to give you the gold medal," Yuya said disappointedly and let out a deep, bored sigh, which made Bakugo's eye twitch. After a short pause, Yuya continued. "The last match was a letdown, really. But the battle between Todoroki and Midoriya was the coolest! Though you didn't give a good picture of yourself," he pointed at Midoriya, who had an awkward smile on his face as he patiently listened to Yuya criticizing him.

Bakugo was fully ready to do...something he probably shouldn't do, so he just swallowed his anger. Why did the only person they met had to be this kid? "You done?" was all he could say without too much venom in his voice.

"I'm not," Yuya stated to Bakugo's frustration. "I—"

"Let's end this subject here," Midoriya cut him off, and Bakugo was almost grateful for that. "We should focus on what's going on here right now. You said he was on the fourth floor, right? When did you see him?"

Yuya looked a bit disappointed because Midoriya had interrupted him, but replied anyway. "Not too long ago. He could've left already, though. I was looking down onto the shopping area from the park. You can get a good view from there."

"But isn't it pretty dangerous to be there? The villains could see you easily," Midoriya said worryingly.

"Only if you're not careful," the boy rolled his eyes like Midoriya had said something stupid. "Those guys have to do better if they want to catch me."

Bakugo sighed, turning to look out of the glass door to the balcony. What's wrong with this kid? He was so overconfident for his own good. "How can you be so sure of yourself, you brat? I highly doubt you can outrun those bastards once they see you. One hit from their guns, and you're done."

"You're one to talk. I've never seen a person more egotistical than you," Yuya spoke back with a teasing smile.

"And you've got some guts," Bakugo grinned, taking a step closer to the boy. Yuya didn't even flinch before the older boy, whose intimidating aura would've scared the hell out of those with fainter hearts.

"Please, both of you, stop," Midoriya pushed his friend carefully aside. "You should stay with us for now. We can protect you."

"I think I was the one who saved you back there," Yuya noted. "I don't really care what you're going to do. I'm going back to the park to check to take a second look down there because I'm searching for someone. You do what you want. I can take care of myself. And I'm probably safer without you around."

Midoriya clenched his fists and gritted, clearly struggling with mixed feelings. Then he shook his head and took a deep breath. "What's your quirk? Is it somehow related to you pressing yourself against the door?"

"Kinda, yeah," Yuya nodded. "I can see through stuff, but not living things. The range is about three meters. I don't necessarily have to get into physical contact with the thing I'm looking through, and it's not like I'm seeing through everything all the time, just when I want to. Pretty handy in a situation like this when I have to be sneaky."

Bakugo had to admit it was quite useful, but no way he'd say it out loud. No wonder he hadn't been caught yet.

"That's a great quirk! It would be useful in rescue situations. It has potential," Midoriya's face brightened. "You said you're searching for someone. Who is it?"

"My little sister, Aya," Yuya said, and his expression turned a little gloomy. "I want to make sure she's okay. I'm sure she is, but I have to be certain about it. So that's why I'm going to take another look at the shopping area before heading down."

"We'll come with you," Midoriya stated with a reassuring smile, and Bakugo glanced at him, frowning. "I think it's safer if we go together, and we need to know if our classmate is still there."

Yuya stared at him for a moment. "I guess it's okay."

"Great! We should get going then."

Bakugo watched quietly as Yuya stared through the cabin door. It looked silly, but whatever. The dark-haired boy turned to them and put a finger onto his lips and with his other hand pointed right. Then he rose four fingers up, indicating that there were four villains incoming. The two older boys exchanged glances. The cabin was small, so there wasn't any place to hide. All they could do was to stay quiet, and the blonde was starting to grow tired of it.

Soon he heard multiple people coming closer and eventually passing them without a hint of stopping or checking the room they were in. The villains continued their way, and the steps started to fade. Yuya had his face against the door once again.

"Okay, I don't see them anymore," Yuya said. "We're free to go. You better follow me."

"Your quirk is really useful," Midoriya muttered as they exited the cabin.

Yuya headed right to the way the villains had come from. They moved further away from the restaurant. Bakugo had an idea where Yuya was leading them. He'd only visited the park once when the four idiots had dragged him there. It was a pretty place, he had to admit it, but it was in a bad state now. Midoriya kept looking over his shoulder to make sure no-one was following them, while Yuya stopped in every corner to check that their path was clear. He didn't need to peek around the corners because he could just look through the walls.

When they got to the park's entrance, he noticed that the glass doors to the park were also shattered into pieces, and the floor was covered in sharp shards. He couldn't see anyone outside, but his field of view was limited because there were tall fences and bushes in the park, creating blind spots.

"I'm going," Yuya whispered and dodged the biggest shards on his way out, and the two students had no other choice but to follow him. The kid turned immediately left and walked to a wide hole that had once been an invisible floor, but all that was left was a deadly drop onto the fourth floor. Yuya crouched right on edge but didn't step onto the broken glass attached to the ground. He looked down, and Midoriya joined him.

Bakugo took a look at his surroundings one more time before he, too, looked down. He saw nobody at a quick glance, but then he noticed a couple of the masked men taking three youngsters with them. He saw them just before they disappeared from his view. There was no sign of Todoroki or anyone else he knew.

"Where did you see Todoroki?" Midoriya asked Yuya.

"It was one of the stores on the left side," the boy said and pointed at an ice cream kiosk. "That store opposite that ice cream kiosk. I don't see him now, though."

"And there wasn't anyone with him?"

"No, I didn't see anyone else."

There was a barely visible thin layer of ice in front of the kiosk. Bakugo frowned at the sight. Did that idiot really leave such an obvious sign for the villains to track him down? The ice was like an arrow to point at where Todoroki was, so just for his own good, he'd better not be there anymore. He thought Todoroki would've been more careful, but guess not.

Midoriya looked at Bakugo. "Should we go—"

"It's dangerous to be so close to the edge."

The three boys turned around, startled. A tall man with crimson hair and a dark red coat walked towards them. Next to him were two masked men like bodyguards. The crimson-haired man had a calm expression as he stopped, leaving a reasonable distance between them, not coming too close. Compared to the other villains, this man was unique. And a unique person among the masked ones meant that this villain had to be important. That's what Bakugo's senses told him. And he wasn't wrong.

Chapter 3: End

Christmas is coming! Yay! That means presents and delicious food. And more time for writing. I'll try to upload one chapter before the end of the year if I can. Until next time! Merry Christmas!