–
News of Aizawa's discovery spread like a wildfire. Pro heroes and students alike searched diligently into the following morning. Bushes were ripped from the ground and trees were shaken from their already torn roots, adding to the damage the hurricane had caused.
A second group maneuvered up and down the river, swimming swiftly through the now calm waters. A few hours after Midoriya's disappearance, the hurricane had moved on, allowing search teams to tackle the depths of the river. In its path remained a tense silence only broken by the calls of worried heroes.
"Midoriya! Midoriya, where are you!" Midnight called out. She and some of Ectoplasm's clones weren't too far behind Aizawa. Hound Dog, Gran Torino, Cementoss, and a handful of other heroes were searching the forest for Midoriya. They'd been split into nearly a dozen groups to cover a wider radius. Despite this organization, Aizawa had gone off on his own.
He's got to be here, he has to be. Aizawa flew through the brush, switching between tree top travel and on ground by foot.
The only sign they'd seen of him was the red hero belt Aizawa had found. Out of frustration and stress, he picked up the pace and dashed ahead of Midnight's group before taking a sudden left turn down a leaf covered hill. Her calls to the infamous problem child were swallowed by the dense greenery.
Bushes full of thorns and bugs surrounded him. Vines littered the ground, crawling up and down the limbs of rotund tree trunks. When he heard the sound of rushing water, he gasped. One final push through a cluster of thick branches, and he rolled forward from the treeline and onto a flat slab of stone. He stepped forward toward the edge of the rock before kneeling down and examining the water.
Is this still the Hiromi River? He had strayed far enough from the other search teams, that he wasn't certain this was the same body of water. He was at the edge of a set of small, descending waterfalls, and he had landed beside the first of three. The water pooled into a lake in the center of the forest.
As he stood, he brought up an arm to cover his eyes. The sun was rising into the sky, covering the forest with streaks of bright, golden light. The water flowed, glistening under its shine. Under different circumstances Aizawa might have found peace in a space like this and relished in its serenity.
The calm atmosphere was doing nothing to aid the ever growing knot in his stomach. The quiet allowed him too much room to think, to question every imaginable factor of the situation. Questions of 'what if?' flooded his mind. Anxiety crawled through his chest, making itself comfortable in the form of a hard lump in his throat.
Focus, dammit! He couldn't get distracted by his emotions. Not now, at least. Not when one of his kid's lives was on the line.
He moved down the rocks, careful to avoid debris left over from the hurricane. Trees the height of buildings lay toppled across the forest floor, many of which fell across the river, forming tiny bridges between the opposing banks. The voices of his colleagues and students grew louder behind him.
With no trace of Izuku Midoriya's presence, disappointment continued to fill him. He had made his way down to the last of the waterfalls, checking under anything and everything he could. He was about to cross to the other bank before a voice called out to him again.
"Shota! Have you found anything?" He turned to see Midnight's hand waving from the top of the hill. Her group, as well as Hound Dog, was making their way toward him. He turned slightly over his right shoulder to holler up to her, shielding his eyes again from the morning sun.
"No, I haven't seen––" He froze.
Out of the corner of his eye, something had sparkled beneath the water. Without a word, he kicked off his shoes, threw his belt and capture weapon onto the stones, and dove into the water.
If he hadn't been awake before he certainly was then. Despite the cool temperature of the water he swam at lightning speed to the bottom. Thankfully, it wasn't a very large lake. Being near one of the edges gave him the luxury of having less depth to cover.
His hands rested for a moment on the cold, slimy stones before he started digging around for what he had seen. After a minute passed and he had an idea of his general surroundings, he swam back to the surface.
"Shota! What the hell are you doing in there?!" Midnight's voice sounded closer than before.
"Three's something down here!" He didn't wait for a response. Taking in a generous gulp of air he dove back under. He stopped just beneath the surface, eyes darting back and forth to see if the object would shine again.
There! Something up ahead on his right side glittered again. The object came clearer into view now that he knew what he was looking for. Tangled within patches of weeds and beneath dozens of rocks lay a thin, gold necklace.
It must have fallen in during the storm, but it could be a lead. He started shifting the rocks around, pushing them with his hands and supporting them against his shoulders and back.
Large, thick wads of grass and weeds floated all around him, sticking to his face and neck. His arms and legs continuously caught on the plants, forcing him to pull until the grass tore enough for him to keep moving.
Keeping a grip on the necklace was a feat in and of itself. He wanted to hurry and take it with him back to the surface, but it was too fragile for him to rush its removal. The pace he took was painstakingly slow.
His chest was tight and his lungs burned with the need for air, but he was so close! He pushed the last rock, which also happened to be the heaviest, off the gold chain and before he pulled it toward his chest. Clutching it tightly, he turned and kicked eagerly toward the sky. That is––if he hadn't gotten caught on something.
His hero costume was yanked back against his throat, forcing out some of the few, precious bubbles of oxygen he had left. He turned over his shoulder to see that the side of his costume was caught on a large branch, jammed into the pile of rocks, whose roots spiked out in several different directions.
His eyes widened. He had already been under the water for too long. He tried backtracking and pulling at his uniform, before he decided to break the portion of the log his shirt was attached to. He pressed his feet against the log, and pulled up until the branch snapped, freeing him from its clutches.
The force of his movements caused him to cough. His mouth opened just enough that water flooded in and filled his lungs. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the burning in his throat and chest.
He kicked up weakly and was quickly grabbed by two sets of hands. He was yanked upward so fast he flew out of the water, where he was caught by two more sets of hands.
He was set down onto what felt like stone before he rolled over to spit out the unwanted water he'd swallowed. He coughed harshly, feeling his eyes start watering. Still clutching the necklace close to his chest, he rolled onto his stomach and supported himself with his open arm.
"We've got you Shota, just breath buddy," Mic patted his back.
Once his coughing had subsided enough, he grabbed Mic's arm without warning. Present Mic jumped at the sudden, unusual motion. Midnight was kneeled by his side at that point, and Hound Dog wasn't far behind.
"Shota, what––"
"Look!" Aizawa growled. He pushed the necklace towards Present Mic, watching as the man's jaw dropped. He took it, holding it carefully in the palms of his cupped hands.
"You found this under the water?" Aizawa nodded.
Hanging on the small gold chain was a round, metal orb. It was also made of gold, and couldn't have been much larger than a child's marble. Despite its whereabouts, there wasn't a scratch to be seen anywhere on the necklace.
"It was stuck under a ton of rocks, grass, and a huge tree root. I know a hurricane just passed through here, but I have a hunch something else brought this here." He removed the last of the wood fragments and other aquatic substances from his hero costume and threw them onto the grass.
Hound Dog had moved down to their group by then. He held his nose in the air, sniffing intensely before walking forward and putting his nose against the necklace. He moved past Aizawa, sniffing the wooden fragments before he started growling and barking passionately.
"You think so? Are you sure?" Ectoplasm asked, almost sounding hopeful. He nodded and barked furiously. Aizawa's trio looked up at them.
"What? Does he smell something?" Midnight asked.
"Hound Dog says he can smell Midoriya on that necklace and the branch you were caught on, Eraser." The three gasped, only two of them smiling at the lead.
"Seriously?! This is great, Shota!" Mic raved. Aizawa didn't show it, but he was ecstatic for the lead. Midnight smiled warmly before returning her attention to the necklace.
"So that's what you dove under for," Midnight's voice was quiet and filled with fascination. "Wait, look at the side of it," she gently tugged it from Mic's hold, turning it over in her hands to reveal the faintest line along the center of the orb.
"Maybe it's some kind of pocket watch? Or, what are those other fancy necklaces that open, uh…" Mic trailed off.
"A locket, right?" Aizawa suggested. Midnight nodded.
"Yeah, that's what it looks like." Midnight sat down, crossed-legged and started trying to pry it open. "Geez, this thing is shut tight," she grumbled.
"Maybe it's locked?" Mic suggested. Aizawa looked on, eager for her to open it. Suddenly, a faint click had every hero there holding their breath.
Please, please, let this help us find Midoriya. Aizawa bit the inside of his lip. He, Mic, and Midnight surrounded the necklace, with their colleagues looking on from above.
"Here we go…!" Midnight whispered.
Midnight slowly opened the orb, revealing a shimmering aura within the necklace. Upon its opening, a bright light burst from inside the orb. The heroes squinted, some covering their eyes from its radiance.
The light grew, spreading upward and around them in twirling trails. The swirls of light flew and spun around in and above the water. Other streams of gold flew toward trees and plants, flying around their stems and trunks playfully.
Before they knew it, flowers were starting to bloom right before their eyes. Birds flew from the depths of the forest, chirping musically around them. Deer, moose, rabbits, and other forest creatures walked forward toward the trails of light. The forest was coming more and more to life all around them.
"It's beautiful," Midnight remarked, tears in her eyes. They were all gazing around, smiling at the sight of it all.
Aizawa was starstruck by its beauty. He stood and cautiously reached his hand forward to touch one of the streams of light. When the tip of his finger grazed one of the thin streams of gold, the light poofed away like glitter. He stepped back, unsure of the results. The glitter swirled together before their eyes, forming a beautiful golden bird.
The bird looked like a cardinal and had a long, flowing tail behind it. It hovered for just a moment before darting directly upward above their heads. Specks of golden dust sprinkled the air where the bird had traveled. It flew around their group, examining all of them, before hovering in front of Aizawa where it had first appeared.
Without much thought (or hesitation), Aizawa put his arm out flat ahead of him, where the bird proceeded to land.
"You're awful friendly. I wonder why that is?" His tone was gentle, speaking softly as he would to a small child. The bird tipped its head curiously before it cooed at him. His brow furrowed ever so slightly, trying to understand if the bird wanted something, or if it was just doing normal bird things.
"It seems to like you, Sho," Midnight noted. The bird moved gracefully from his forearm up to his left shoulder with its long shimmering tail draped over his other.
"Yeah, not sure why, though."
"Are we going to address the hallucinogenic antique Shota just found in the bottom of a lake?" Ectoplasm asked. Mic and Hound Dog snorted from laughter, and Midnight sent him a scolding glare. The bird continued to coo at Aizawa. He continued to give the bird a puzzled look, before it raised its tail.
Golden spirals rose in the air in front of him. Aizawa held his hands in front of him, expecting the tail to fall and was surprised when it held on its own. The other heroes gazed on in amazement, eager to see what was going to happen.
The spirals moved forward, forming something of a mirage like image in front of them. They twirled and meshed together as an image started coming into focus. In the golden illusion was a forest. The same forest they were standing in.
"Kioshi! What on Earth are you doing, sweetie?" An older woman was tugged along by a small boy wearing denim overalls and a bright yellow t-shirt with a dinosaur on the front. Midnight, among others, smiled at how cute he was.
The small boy continued tugging at the woman and led her toward a stream. His face was scrunched up nervously, and he pointed frantically ahead at a large log at the edge of the riverbank.
"Wait, hold on––is that…?" Midnight asked. They could hear voices and other sounds coming from the light.
"Oh my, what's this?" The woman kneeled down beside a boy in a green suit. He was unconscious, with his bottom half still floating in the water. His arm was trapped between the branches of a thick tree root, jammed into the mud at the water's edge.
He was covered in scrapes and mud, sporting a nasty gash across the edge of his forehead. Even with the gold lighting being the only source of color, the boys flushed cheeks were clearly evident. His brow creased in discomfort and he let out a pained groan.
"Midoriya," Aizawa whispered.
"This won't do, we've got to get him back to the house." The woman tapped the branch and Midoriya, who lit up in a light blue shade. She floated him out of the water and onto the grass behind them before pulling a knife out of her pack to remove the branch.
"He's hurt, how long ago was this?" Mic asked.
"I have no idea, but at least someone found him." Midnight said.
The woman cut enough of the branch away that she could tug Midoriya's arm from the branch's grasp. Midoriya whined, throwing his head to the other side. Upon removal, they could see the woman carefully inspecting a nasty section of black and blue skin through another tear in his costume.
"You're really beat up, huh kiddo," she laid her hand against his forehead and grimaced. "We've got to get you settled in and taken care of. Who knows how long you've been out here," She carefully moved Midoriya up and onto her back.
"Feeling brave, Kioshi?" The little boy nodded with determined features. He picked up the bag she had set down before the duo made their way away from the river.
The golden image started to disappear. All of them reached out, reluctant to once again lose sight of their student. Aizawa looked up at the bird, raising his hand and rubbing its head gently with a calloused thumb.
"So you were trying to tell us something," he smiled gratefully at the creature. "You must have known the little boy, is that it?" The bird chirped happily. He could hear his colleagues gasp. "Then that means you can help us find Midoriya. Right?" The bird flew up and spun gleefully through the air.
"When did you become the bird whisperer, Sho?" Midnight elbowed his arm, smiling at him. He shrugged, unable to hide the smile that crossed his face. Even he couldn't contain the excitement and relief that welled in his chest knowing that Midoriya was safe.
The gold spirals around them began receding. Untwirling from tree trunks and leaving the water of the river, returning to the golden orb from whence they came. The bird hovered ahead of them for a moment longer, wrapped its tail around the orb and pushed it toward Aizawa. He let the creature push it into the palms of his hands.
"We'll find them both. Midoriya, and Kioshi." The bird chirped a final time before hovering in front of him and returning to the orb. The golden circle closed with the same click it opened with, and the forest was silent once again. Aizawa held the orb against his chest protectively before turning to his colleagues.
"So, what's our plan?"
"We'll rendezvous at UA with Nezu and the rest of the staff. We'll form our search plan and teams around this necklace. I think we can all agree that this is as good a lead as we're probably going to find for now." He received unanimous nods from the rest of the heroes. Aizawa gathered his things before their group left for the school.
Don't worry Midoriya, we're going to bring you home. He was filled to the brim with a new found determination to find his student, and his mind remained locked onto the necklace.