A/N: New chapter and sooner than my last update. Trying to make up for lost time after taking months to release a chapter. Going to try to stay consistent to post a new chapter between 2-3 weeks, sooner being better. Thanks for being patient, now go at it with this chapter. As always, My Hero Academia and its characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Jump Comics.
Chapter 4: UA Lockdown
Safety: the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury. A simple but powerful word any hero would go out of their way to instill its meaning upon those who can't defend themselves. And yet in the present time, Shoto Todoroki felt far from it.
What was supposed to be the top High School in Japan to train and inspire heroes now felt like being trapped in a cage with a dangerous animal. UA has undergone a complete lock down when word of a villain is roaming about the very halls the UA students and facility use to travel and learn various subjects from classrooms or visit the common areas to mingle and grow friendships among peers. Instead of the tranquil of night calming the school's halls, the tension of darkness hangs over the building as the search for the villain continues.
A school with such high regard and security to let a single villain slip inside is impossible to grasp. And yet here the UA staff and students stand, hunting down the said villain in the middle of the night armed with little knowledge and feelings of unease. The school can't take the full blame of this incident. Todoraki felt this villain is at another whole level. Bypassing security without being detected, obtaining the school records without setting off an alarm, this villain is very capable. Even as far as on level with the terrifying Tomura Shigaraki. And for this villain to go as far to kidnap his fellow classmate's mother like some game is unforgivable. But for the villain or his accomplice to be possibly within these school grounds could be their ticket in saving Izuku's mother.
"Todoroki, you alright?"
A voice snapped the fire and ice hero out of his thoughts. Todoroki clears his vision and finds himself in a dimly lit hall of his school. He quickly glances up to spot Iida Tenya waving at him to catch up with his team at the end of a of the UA campus. A small sprint later Todoroki closes the gap and joins back with his assigned team.
The wielder of fire and ice confirmed to his fellow classmate he simply worried for Izuku's well-being, in which his classroom president replied to be more careful with such thoughts if separated. Especially in times like these. Though Todoroki agreed to Iida's point it wasn't far off to say the same goes with everyone else with his group. If anything, Iida and his fellow group member Asui Tsuyu displayed the most worry for their classmate Izuki Midoriya. The other team members Jirou and Kaminari haven't shown as much worry, rather frustration from the fruitless results of searching for the villain. If anything, the combination of frustration and worry mount to a tinge of despair for the heroes. The worrying will have to wait as the group's leader, UA Teacher and Pro Hero Snipe orders everyone to follow him to another portion of the school in search of their target.
Earlier that evening the UA staff rallied all the students of Class 1A and any other student still within the campus to form teams with a UA staff member leading in search of the intruding villain. With several teams assigned and formed, the school can be thoroughly searched with the intruder having no chance of escape. But hours later of searching no luck from either team with any lead, and the growing worry continues to fester in the heroes' minds.
Todoroki's group end up in a corridor of UA that connects to several general education classrooms and a set of double doors that lead into the school's main cafeteria. The lockdown focused a majority of the school's power into the security system leaving the halls dimly lit. The enveloping shadows could be overlooked, and possibly ambush points for the villain as Snipe points out. The team has been cautious during the search but nothing posing a threat appeared otherwise during the search for the intruder. With no word of a visual of the intruder, Snipe rests his hand on his chin and ponders for another method of tracking the villain. The pro hero sizes up his team for a solution until Todoroki brought up his suggestion.
"Sensei Snipe. With your permission, I would like to try something to narrow the possible location of the intruder."
"What do you have in mind young Todoroki?" Snipe asked.
"Jirou, your ear jacks still haven't picked up anything right?"
"As it always been this whole night. This villain is sneaky." The ear jack hero Jirou Kyouka replied to Todoraki, a hint of frustration in her voice for the hours of fatigue draining her.
"Here." Todoroki said as he directed his group towards his direction.
Near the group a lone water fountain is mounted against the wall of the hallway. Todoroki approached the fountain and began to take a sip after pressing down the apparatus that releases the refreshing liquid.
"And how is rehydrating going to help us?" Kaminari commented, confused on Todoroki's actions.
"Hm, interesting." Snipe pointed out as he notices the fire and ice hero raising one of his hands near the stream of water.
Todoroki focuses and used his quirk to freeze the stream emitting from the water fountain. At first the group remained confused until Snipe clarified to the group that Todoroki is freezing the school's water system through the fountain.
"Genius, I wouldn't think of that." Snipe commented, impressed by Todoroki's ingenuity.
This further confused the students on how freezing water would solve anything. Snipe went on to explain that this will help Jirou's senses with the water frozen within the school's walls and grounds. Some sounds can bounce and be amplified off of ice and frozen surfaces if it's near metal. And in addition of the metal piping and plates that put together specific rooms in the school, Jirou could narrow the search even further thanks to Todoroki's plan. Snipe quickly radios the other team leaders to remain still, avoiding unnecessary noises as Jirou went to work in tracking the villain. The female hero remained focus, almost sweating from tuning into her senses of hearing to the maximum point of exhaustion when:
"Got him." Jirou replied, a small grin forming onto her lips.
"Great job Jirou!" the group cheered towards the ear jack hero. She simply nodded to her team's praise before turning to Snipe and confirming the location of the intruder.
"Based from my knowledge of the school's floor plan, the intruder is holed up in the school's kitchen." Jirou informed the group.
The word kitchen echoed in everyone's mind as they turned towards the double doors sitting further down the hall from their current position. The cafeteria isn't far from where are, and so is the kitchen. The intruder is close. Snipe rallies his team and leads the group towards the cafeteria while radioing in the other teams to converge towards the school's cafeteria. There was only two ways out of the kitchen and both routes are blocked by his team and the school lockdown. This is where they'll catch the crook.
The team of heroes burst into the cafeteria with their weapons and quirks at the ready. Like the other rooms before during their search, a vast quietness looms around the heroes' surroundings. Beside the still silence, a fog of tension chokes the air as the kitchen is in sights of Snipe's Team. With caution the team enters the kitchen. Not often a student or an UA staff member besides the school's chef Lunch Rush found a need to enter the kitchen. Even for UA staff member Snipe, the kitchen is almost new territory for him.
The center portion of the kitchen is dominated by a steel table with several pots and pans hanging by their handles lining the outer rim of the central table. Past the table in the back of room are a four burner stove, two fryers, and a large grill top that remains spotless thanks to Lunch Rush's attention to keeping a clean kitchen. For all intents and purposes, the kitchen remains untouched with not a single soul in sight apart from the search team. Jirou directed her team towards a lone shelf against the far back corner of the kitchen, stating there's a lot of movement happening behind the wall. There's no door that led to a backroom or any other door from the outside hall that could lead to such a room that Jirou claims the intruder is holed up.
What would be another dead end led to another interesting discovery. Todoroki was the first to notice something off with the kitchen in regards Jirou's claim of the intruder's presence being near. A rather faint glow was emitting from the shelf Jirou pointed out earlier with the source of the movement. With the help of his classmate Tenya, Todoroki shifted the metal shelf aside for a further inspection of his suspicions regarding the glow. The wall behind the shelf appeared eroded, the wallpaper wearing and tearing away from years of neglect and age. However, this portion of the wall felt out of place as the rest of the wallpaper still appeared intact or in better condition. The hero's curiosity got the best of him as he reached out to the suspicious section of wallpaper. A single tap to the wall from Todoroki's hand caused the wallpaper to curl inward, revealing a lone latch of some kind sticking out of the wall. Upon further inspection the latch connected to some kind of secret door.
Snipe intervened between the door and Todoroki, noticing the latch to be booby trapped from the silver string wrapped around the metal latch. Snipe fishes out a knife and orders the students to stay back as he slices the string. The suspected trap triggers the moment the string snaps. Two pieces of rectangular metal suddenly closed together with a loud clang. If anyone tried to turn the latch without noticing this trap he or she would surely lost their hand.
With the trap deactivated Snipe presses down onto the latch. The wall loosens and swings inward like a door. The team of heroes enters another dimly lit room. The new area was lined with several large hard drives, personal computers, and monitors. It appeared to be some kind of computer lab or IT room. Based from everyone's knowledge, the school's IT room is located on the east side. This room has been recently added. More importantly, why such a room is hidden inside the kitchen of UA?
The team didn't have a moment to think when the sound of rapid keyboard typing tenses up the group of heroes. In the middle of the room, one of the computers is occupied. A lone figure dressed in black hooded sweater stood in front of a monitor typing almost ferociously against the keyboard. Each keyboard stroke sounded as though the keyboard was about to give in and break. Snipe didn't hesitate and raised his firearm toward the unknown stranger.
"Step away from the computer." Snipe ordered the hooded figure, the hero keeping his firearm trained at the stranger.
The stranger stopped its typing and staggers back slowly away from the monitor before lifting his head to face the group. The students gasped in horror at the appearance of the hooded figure. It was a young man almost around their age. Or what appeared to be a young man. His face appeared malnourished and his hands clammy like a corpse. If anything, the hooded man looked like a close resemblance of a zombie. Appearance alone startled the students but it didn't come close to Snipe's realization on the intruder.
"Tsutsutaka Agoyamato?"
The name didn't ring any bells to the students but Snipe appeared visibly shocked even with his mask blocking his facial expressions. Upon closer examination of the intruder, the students slowly come to understanding Snipe's shock as they recognized the intruder. Tsutsutaka Agoyamato is a student that attends UA. The heroes remember him mostly for casting his grievances and frustration to Class 1A last year during the school's summer festival. But after their performance, Tsutsutaka praised Class 1A and thanks them for uplifting UA's spirits from the rough year the school endured.
But as of now, the student before them turns out to be the accomplice that has been assisting the villain who has captured Izuku's mother. The suspected student shambles into his jacket and holds a handgun towards his side.
"Mr Agoyamato, drop that weapon!" Snipe shouts, his pistol at the ready. "Do not make me do this!"
Tsutsutaka didn't respond and continued to stare aimlessly at the ground, weapon at hand. He slowly lifts the gun upwards towards the ceiling before caving his arm in, the barrel of the pistol positioned on the side of his head.
Snipe didn't hesitate and fired his weapon at Tsusutaka's arm in hopes to disarm the suicidal student. The bullet hits its mark as the projectile pierces the student's shoulder. But to everyone's shock the rogue student didn't budge. Blood gushed out of the wound Snipe created and Tsutsutaka showed no signs of physical pain. His face however quivered in terror as his lips barely opened muttering the words:
"Help me…"
Another shot fires off, breaking the silence in the kitchen. The students lift the heads from cover to pray things took a positive turn in their favor. However, the second bullet that fired didn't leave Snipe's gun. Reality kicks in as the students and teacher gaze in horror of Tsusutaka's body lying face down in a pool of crimson blood. The weapon clutched in the corpse's hand emitting smoke from the barrel.
A/N: That concludes this chapter. More to come in plot development in the next chapter. Thanks again for sticking around and hope to hear from you in the next chapter! -Poshil