Uhhhhh so first off sorry I'm late by a day. I'm trying to cover my wall with Kaminari so like...yeah. Also, the manga is fuckin' killing me. Anyways, next update is September 13th.
"What evidence do you have for saying that he has a future?" the reporter asks.
Vlad glances at Aizawa, this is tough. Even though it's his job, the reporter is being so aggressive about every detail, and that's just about Bakugou! Hopefully, because Yuudai is a new student, they don't have too much information on him…
Aizawa moves to stand but the reporter keeps talking.
"And what about the other student? Kojiko Yuudai, his father was a villain wasn't he? To begin with, Kojiko-kun was raised by a villain and his history with the police has always been very rough, with multiple accounts of property damage, violence, and a bad habit of running away from home."
The reporter takes a breath before continuing, "He was accepted into U.A. under special conditions after being off the grid for nearly two years. What kind of trouble did he cause then? It's clear that he was going to be a villain from the start. Now that he's been captured by villains, who's to say he's not easy to influence? What evidence is there to suggest he is even capable of being a hero in the first place?"
Aizawa stands up, reels in all of his anger that he can, and bows.
"As an educator, I take full responsibility for Bakugou Katsuki's violent behavior. However, his actions at the sports festival originate in what he considers 'ideal strength.' He is trying harder than anyone in his pursuit of becoming the 'top hero.'" Aizawa raises his head, "If the villains saw that and thought they had an opening, then I believe they are being short-sighted."
Aizawa stands straight and relaxes, "And Kojiko Yuudai was not raised by a villain. He was raised by the pro-hero Art. During those two years that he went off the grid, he was not causing trouble or congregating with villains. Kojiko is a student at U.A. for a reason, he doesn't openly state why he wants to become a hero but he has shown that he has no interest in being a villain," Aizawa sits down, calmer, "His first instinct is to protect the people around him. He is not a villain."
The reporter looks down at his notes then speaks again, "That is not evidence, though. This isn't a question of how you feel. I'm asking whether or not you have a concrete plan in place."
"We are not just standing around idly," Nezu says softly, "We are currently investigating along with the police. We will definitely get our students back."
A few minutes later...
"Hey how come I have to cover up my yellow hair and Kirishima doesn't have to cover up his bright red hair?" Kaminari whispers, pushing the hair from the grey wig out of his eyes.
"Because your hair basically glows in the dark," Todoroki states.
Kaminari fiddles with a strand of his yellow hair, "Does it?"
"Your Quirk kinda lights it up sometimes," Midoriya comments.
"Quiet down," Iida whispers, "We're almost there."
The others nod in reply and they continue to walk down the sidewalk as adult-like as possible.
"This is the location the tracking device is pointing to," Yaoyorozu peeks at the worn down building from around a corner.
"So this is their hideout...It really looks like one!" Kirishima says quietly.
"I don't know if it's their hideout or not," Yaoyorozu corrects, "but from what I can see on the receiver, the villain has not left here for the past day," she faces the others, "Also, just because that villain is here does not mean that Bakugou-san or Kojiko-san are, too. We are here with very little to go on. Please think about that objectively."
Iida nods, "We don't have anyone who excels at sneaking around, like Jiro-kun or Hagakure-kun with us. If I think it's even the least bit dangerous, I will stop you immediately. Because I am your friend, I will not hesitate to call the police, either."
"Thanks, Iida-kun," Midoriya looks forward, "What can we do with what we have...? I've gotta think."
Midoriya begins to mutter away. He takes into account the rule that they can't fight the villains and try not to use their Quirks. They'd also need to figure out if Bakugou and Kojiko were inside the building or not. Also, taking into the account their group doesn't have a stealth or scouting person with them. For a brief second, Midoriya thinks what if there was a clone of Yuudai again. Would he even realize it was a clone? Would he not be able to distinguish a real Yuudai from a fake? A wave of guilt. Midoriya shakes his head, that wasn't important now. What matters now is the rescue, even if there was a fake Yuudai, he'd save that one, too.
"We believe there are multiple hideouts," Tsukauchi says over the speakers, "From our investigations, we know where the kidnapped victims are located. We'll send the bulk of our forces there and prioritize getting the victims back. At the same time, we will gain control of the other location we believe is their hideout, cutting off all paths of retreat to arrest all of them at once."
"Toshinori," Gran Torino grabs All Might's attention, "if they're recruiting the likes of me, then-"
"There's nothing to 'the likes of you' about you, Gran Torino," All Might says, "With such big developments, that guy will definitely move."
"All For One...you know that-"
"Yes," All Might says without hesitance, "He will probably have already spoken to Kojiko-shonen. But I believe in that boy and he will not become a villain so easily."
Gran Torino nods approvingly.
"There's no reaction even though we've gotten this close."
Kirishima looks over his shoulder, "The lights aren't on, either. It doesn't look like anyone's in there."
"Maybe they're all asleep, it is pretty late. They're probably not expecting anyone to stop by at this time," Kaminari clicks on the box of juice.
"To hide a tree, use the forest..." Todoroki states, "I guess they're hiding as an abandoned warehouse."
"Let's get away from here for now," Todoroki says, walking away as a couple of drunks hit on Yaoyorozu.
Kaminari crushes his juice and tosses in the trash, "There's not too many people around here."
"But there are some," Todoroki crosses his arms.
"We can't do anything to stand out. What should we do?"
Midoriya looks at the building, "Let's try going around to the back. No matter how little information we have on this place, it's all we've got."
The tiny gap between the walls is barely big enough for them to squeeze in. Yaoyorozu mentions thinking she might get stuck, a minor concern. Midoriya states this is the best path because no one can see them. They stop at a window on the building's side.
"If it's dark I can try to light things up a little," Kaminari volunteers.
"That's a little dangerous," Kirishima sweatdrops.
Kaminari rubs the back of his head, "Right..."
"I can make a night vision scope-" Yaoyorozu starts.
"Wait, Yaoyorozu," Kirishima pulls out a night vision scope, "Actually, I brought one with me..."
"Wow, why?"
"You can get some crazy stuff on Amazon, lemme tell ya," Kirishima says then his brow wrinkles, "I only bought one, but...when I thought about how I could help, I figured we'd need it."
"But isn't that super expensive?" Midoriya whispers, "I did research on them online when I was thinking about my costume, but if I remember correctly, they cost around fifty thousand yen..."
"Who cares how much they cost? Stop talking about it!" Kirishima insists.
"Okay, then Midoriya and Kirishima, you two look through it," Todoroki suggests, "Iida and I will carry you on our shoulders."
It takes a few tries to get both of them steady enough to use the scope without any danger.
"It's just dirty..." Kirishima says quietly, "I don't really see anything..." Kirishima suddenly almost falls back, Kaminari puts his hands at the back of his legs and back to steady him.
"Kirishima-kun?!"
"Hey!"
"What's wrong? What can you see, Kirishima?" Todoroki asks urgently.
Kirishima shakely holds up the scope, "In the back on the left...! Midoriya, look in the back on the left!"
Midoriya takes the scope and looks where Kirishima tells him. His breath catches in his throat. More Nomu...at least eight Nomu sitting in tanks.
Kaminari jumps up, "Is it Kojiko? Bakugou?"
Midoriya shakes his head, "No..."
Kaminari frowns and then his eyes light up, "One second!" He puts his hands together and uses his Quirk a little.
"Kaminari-san, what are you doing?" Yaoyorozu whispers, concerned the light will give them away.
"When I bought Kojiko's present I found one that he could use near me without injuring himself because of my Quirk," Kaminari disperses a bunch of small waves of static which makes everyone's hair stand up a little, "Instead of a regular metal that might conduct electricity, it's made of material that takes in electricity and changes it into light and heat."
"Your present for Kojiko-kun?" Iida whispers, "The ring?"
Kaminari nods and then looks up to Midoriya, "Look again. If Kojiko is in there, his ring should be glowing right now."
Midoriya bites his lip and focuses on looking for the glow rather than at the Nomu.
"Anything?"
Midoriya shakes his head. Kaminari frowns and gathers more static in the air.
"Now?"
Midoriya takes another look.
"There's something!" he exclaims softly.
"Really!?"
Midoriya nods, "There's a tiny reflection off of one of the tanks, he must be on our side of the building."
"So he's there?" Kaminari asks.
Midoriya opens his mouth to reply.
"Hey!" Kirishima shouts suddenly and looks down the alley.
"That's..." Midoriya gasps as a car is lifted up.
The car comes crashing down into the building and a wave of dust, debri, and wind nearly knocks them over. Midoriya hangs onto the wall and Kirishima falls onto Kaminari.
"Ouch..." Midoriya rubs his back as he stands.
Iida holds his head, "Wh-what happened?"
"Lemme get on your shoulder, I'll check," Kaminari says to Iida.
Yaoyorozu and Kaminari get on Iida and Midoriya's shoulders.
"Mt. Lady and Gang Orca!" Kaminari exclaims quietly, "Even the number four hero, Best Jeanist!"
"Tiger-san is there, too!" Yaoyorozu observes.
"What about Kojiko-kun?" Midoriya asks, "Can you see him?"
Kaminari looks over to the left, where Midoriya thought he saw the glow, "I can't tell."
"Shhh," Yaoyorozu puts a finger to her lips, "The heroes are talking. We should get down and hide."
Kaminari nods and Iida drops him off his shoulders. The group listens closely. The heroes found Ragdoll, apparently, and also captured the Nomu that were in the tanks, but what about Yuudai?
"Hey!" Mt. Lady exclaims, "Isn't that-"
Best Jeanist pulls the piece of fabric that he sees poking around the corner to him.
"No way! I thought both of them were supposed to be at the other hideout," Mt. Lady says quietly.
"How's his condition?" Tiger asks, holding Ragdoll close to him.
Best Jeanist briefly looks over Yuudai's body. There's a few splotches of blood on different parts of his uniform and some holes. Though the wounds underneath seemed to have already scabbed over, Best Jeanist didn't know the extent of the damage underneath the boy's uniform.
"He's unconscious, maybe a concussion but there's also a few stab wounds," Best Jeanist replies and hands Yuudai over to Gang Orca.
"They found him," Iida whispers, "Now, let us fall back immediately. There's nothing left for us to do now."
Kaminari nods with a sigh of relief.
Midoriya looks back at the building, "Since she mentioned All Might and the other hideout, does that mean Kacchan is there?"
"If All Might is there, then there's even more reason to rest easy," Yaoyorozu smiles, "Now, hurry!"
"Right."
The six of them start walking. Midoriya stops, hearing a new set of footsteps.
"Sorry, Tiger. She's always had a good Quirk," a hollow voice says.
The heroes look up towards the voice.
"It was the perfect opportunity, so I took it."
Gang Orca narrows his eyes, "Are you with the League?"
"A light, someone..."
"After my body turned into this, I also depleted a lot of what I'd stocked up..." a foot appears at the edge of the shadows.
"Stop! Don't move!" Gang Orca sets down Yuudai and prepares.
All For One keeps walking, as soon as he steps into the light, Best Jeanist takes control of his clothes and binds his legs and arms together.
"Wait, Best Jeanist, what if he was an ordinary citizen?!" Mt. Lady exclaims.
"Think about the situation," Best Jeanist tightens the threads, "That instant of hesitation could decide the fight. Don't let the villains do anything!"
All For One's body swells and a light engulfs the heroes. Debri and dust go flying as an explosion goes off. When the dust clears, the six students can't feel their legs. Frozen in place, luckily hidden behind a piece of wall that wasn't blown up.
"Tomura finally started thinking and making decisions for himself...I wish you wouldn't have gotten in his way," All For One sighs.
Their minds can only see the image of their own deaths, all thoughts of the heroes being swept out of their heads by All For One's presence. They can't even breathe, they're so terrified.
"I finally got my last redo," All For One looks down at Yuudai, who's lying against a piece of broken concrete, "Don't get in our way."