Thank you SO MUCH for your patience and support yesterday! I hope you enjoy the drama!

Solemn silence filled the sleek gray sedan as Present Mic-sensei wove his way through traffic. Momo stared pointedly downward as she twisted the straps of the bag in her lap around her hand, threading the strap through her fingers to occupy her thoughts, thoroughly regretting her decision to let Iida-kun take the front seat as she sat squished between Kirishima Eijirou and Todoroki Shouto.

This isn't the time to get flustered, she admonished herself for the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes. You've joined this outing to the hospital as class vice representative and Ochaco-chan's and Tooru-chan's friend, nothing more than that.

Her heart wasn't with the program, however. It seemed foolish of her to be so concerned about sitting next to her- her… her c-crush (Mina-chan, why did you have to get into my head?!), especially considering the dire circumstances of their little expedition, but no matter how many times she scolded it, her heart continued to leap every time Todoroki-kun's arm brushed against her own.

She was beginning to feel a little ridiculous.

"Aaaallrighty boys and girl, here we are," Present Mic-sensei announced as he pulled smoothly into the parking lot of the hospital, his tone just as cheerful as ever, but his typical volume adjusted significantly.

"Thank you very much for taking the time to escort us, sensei," Momo offered as he scanned the parking lot for an open space, relieved that her torture was about to end.

"Nah, don't worry about it," the pro hero flashed her a quick smile in the rearview mirror. "I'm happy to bring you. Anywho, let's get parked and be on our way!"

"Right."

There was an unspoken tension in the air as the four hero students and their sensei filed into the hospital, Kirishima-kun taking point, Todoroki-kun second, Momo and Iida-kun walking side by side in third, and Present Mic-sensei covering the back. The four of them seemed an odd group at first glance, but they each had a purpose in representing the class: Iida-kun as class secretary and Tooru-chan's partner during the test of courage, Kirishima-kun as Bakugou-kun's best friend, and Todoroki-kun… Well honestly, Momo didn't know why Todoroki-kun had insisted on coming along. He'd just brooked no argument on the matter.

The entire class wanted to join them of course (Mina-chan in particular expressed her disappointment that the car was full), especially seeing how Bakugou-kun had been kidnapped and then apparently escaped on his own, but their teachers wouldn't allow it. With the recent training camp disaster, only small groups were to be allowed off campus at a time, and they had to be accompanied by a hero chaperone. Momo couldn't blame them; everyone was on edge after what happened. Honestly, even the formation she and her three classmates had wordlessly taken spoke of their unfortunate experience. With his ability to instantaneously become a literal human shield, Kirishima-kun had automatically moved to where he could most effectively defend the others, while Todoroki-kun, with his long range attack power and ability to create an instant defensive position took a point where he could just as easily defend or attack towards the back of the group as the front. Momo and Iida-kun, with their versatility and speed respectively, had just as instinctively taken the positions where they could most effectively defend the group from a flanking attack, and of course sensei's wide range attacks could defend them from anybody trying to attack from behind.

Part of Momo was pleased that they had absorbed their training so well. The rest of her resented the knowledge that the League of Villains had twisted their mindsets so thoroughly as to expect an attack even here.

Nothing came of their increased vigilance, however. There were no criminals in the lobby, no psychopaths lying in wait, only a slightly-frazzled receptionist greeting them with tired eyes and a weary smile, taking down their information as was standard protocol before supplying them with visitors' tags and directions to the rooms where their classmates were being treated. Their formation relaxed somewhat as they moved further into the building; there were always pro heroes wandering around hospitals in major urban centers like this; hero work was dangerous and often resulted in injury and no shortage of enemies seeking opportunities to strike when a hero was vulnerable. As a result, agencies would often send someone to watch over and defend their comrade until they had recovered. By all accounts, they should be safe here. Momo was still tense though, despite her repeated efforts to reassure herself.

(But maybe that was just her close proximity to Todoroki-kun.)

"Yo, what up Ectoplasm?" Present Mic-sensei called as they approached Tooru-chan's room, waving cheerfully to the other pro hero.

Ectoplasm-sensei or one of his clones stood quietly outside of Tooru-chan's room, his pale eyes scrutinizing them closely as they approached. "Good evening," he grunted once they were in speaking distance. "You have unfortunate timing. Hagakure-kun woke up when Uraraka-kun came by to visit, but she passed out again just a few minutes ago. Her doctor just came by to say she shouldn't have any more visitors so she can get some proper rest."

"But then, will she be alright?" Iida-kun spoke up immediately, his expression strained. Momo rested a gentle hand against his arm, taking note of the furtive glance Todoroki-kun cast him as well. She knew Tooru-chan's condition had been weighing heavily on her fellow class officer, and evidently Todoroki-kun had been aware of it as well. Honestly, Momo suspected that it was the primary reason why he insisted on being one of the students to visit the hospital, despite claiming that it was part of his duties as a class officer.

"I wasn't fast enough," he'd whispered over and over again the night before, trembling as tears poured down his cheeks when he first brought a bleeding and unconscious Tooru back to the lodge. "It was just like Hosu; I was helpless all over again! I wasn't fast enough and now-! And now…"

"Yes, she'll be alright," Ectoplasm-sensei nodded, his gravelly voice softening slightly. "The blood transfusion went well and Recovery Girl came by a few hours ago to heal the worst of her wounds. Now she just needs rest."

"That's good," Iida-kun murmured, some of the tension visibly leaving his shoulders.

"Is it alright if we step inside for a moment though?" Kirishima-kun asked, holding up a small stack of brightly-colored paper in his hands. "Mina wanted me to leave a card."

"Can I do it?" Iida-kun spoke up immediately.

Ectoplasm hesitated, but eventually gave his permission, and Momo deferred to her classmate's wishes-as much as she wanted to check on Tooru-chan, she understood that Iida-kun's trauma over her injury was much more significant than her own. Kirishima-kun handed Iida-kun the appropriate card, and he slipped quietly inside. "Ectoplasm-sensei," Momo began experimentally, drawing the pro hero's eye towards her and interrupting a quiet conversation he'd struck up with Present Mic-sensei. "You mentioned that Ochaco-chan came by to visit earlier. Is she doing better as well then?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Evidently the break in her arm was surprisingly clean, although exacerbated by her reckless behavior during the night. Recovery Girl gave her an earful but was still able to heal it during her earlier visit, and then Uraraka-kun just needed time to rest. She should be discharged later this evening."

"That's good to hear," Momo sighed, noticing the flash of relief in Todoroki-kun's expression as well. (She did her absolute best to shove down the brief surge of jealousy she felt towards her brown-haired friend in that moment. Could she be why he'd insisted on coming along…?)

"How's Tooru-chan?" Momo asked Iida-kun as he exited the room, quietly closing the sliding door behind him.

"Well, I couldn't actually see her condition, but her breathing was even and unlabored," Iida-kun smiled tiredly.

"Thank goodness," Momo sighed, feeling some of the tension in her own shoulders slip away. Tooru-chan had easily been the most critically injured individual during the training camp incident. Honestly, it had been rather touch-and-go before the paramedics arrived, everyone working together to keep her from bleeding out. It was, hand's down, the most terrifying experience of Momo's life, even more so than the USJ attack; given the choice between fighting villains and watching a friend be hurt without being able to help, she would take the villains every time.

They went to Ochaco-chan's room next, on one of the upper floors of the hospital. Considering the severity of Tooru-chan's condition, she had been delivered to the emergency room first and thus had ended up some distance away from the rest of their classmates. Another of Ectoplasm's clones stood outside the door, although in his case he simply nodded to them and then knocked lightly on the door as they drew closer.

"Yes?" Ochaco's voice called from within.

"You have some visitors."

"Oh! Come in!" Ectoplasm opened the door for them and stepped back, allowing the four hero students to enter the room while Present Mic-sensei paused to chat with him. Ochaco-chan was rising from the hospital bed to meet them, still dressed in white hospital scrubs, her bright smile rather more tired than usual. "You guys have great timing, the doctor cleared me to be discharged just a few minutes ago."

"Aw heck yeah!" Kirishima-kun grinned, moving in for a fistbump. "In that case, wanna come with us to visit Lord Explosion Pomeranian?"

"Yeah!" Ochaco-chan grinned, reciprocating the gesture.

"It's a good thing I brought these for you then," Momo smiled, holding out her bag for Ochaco to take.

"Oh thank God; real clothes!" the brunette squealed as she peeked inside the bag. "You guys mind if I change before we visit? I'll be super quick; promise!"

"Don't let us stop you!" Kirishima-kun laughed, flopping into one of the chairs near the bed. Ochaco immediately closed the privacy curtain around the bed, fabric rustling as she rapidly changed clothes. Indeed, Momo, Iida-kun, and Todoroki-kun had barely found seats of their own before the curtain flew open once again, revealing their friend quickly tugging her pink t-shirt down around her hips, looking much more comfortable in black leggings with jean shorts over the top, clutching her tennis shoes and socks under her arm.

"That was quick," Todoroki-kun observed, blinking at her.

"Of course! I promised I would be, didn't I?"

"My sister promises to be quick too, but she still takes at least a half hour to change," he shrugged.

"Guess I'm just good like that then," Ochaco grinned, bouncing onto the bed to pull on her socks and shoes. "Thanks, Yaomomo! You're the best," she added, passing back the bag. "Anyway, how's everyone doing back at school?" Ochaco asked, her mood shifting to something more serious.

"Well, everyone's at least a little on-edge," Momo sighed, "but I think we're mostly all just relieved to have made it out alive."

"Yeah, especially Katsuki," Kirishima-kun added, frowning. "Do you know anything about how he's doing by the way? The teachers haven't been telling us anything about his condition or what exactly happened to him."

Ochaco hesitated midway through tying her first shoe, and remained silent as she completed the action and straightened up. "I did try to visit earlier," she nodded, grabbing the other one, "but he had a police officer and some other visitors with him, so I didn't stay. I do know that he's fine physically; I asked Recovery Girl about it. He had a badly sprained ankle, but that's it, and she was able to heal it pretty easily."

"Did you hear anything about how he escaped?" Todoroki-kun asked.

Again, Momo's friend hesitated as she curled her shoelaces around her fingers and took a deep breath. "No, nothing specific," the gravity-user murmured. "We'll just have to ask him when we get to his room." Todoroki-kun frowned, but by then Ochaco-chan had finished tying her shoe and was on her way towards the door.

Hm…

"Oh! Ready to go already?" Present Mic-sensei blinked in surprise.

"No point in wasting the evening," Ochaco shrugged, leading the way down the hall.

"Well, alright then, moving right along! Guess I'll see you around, Ectoplasm! Again!"

"I suppose so," their other sensei agreed, and promptly melted to the floor. Obviously, one of his clones.

"Ochaco, are you alright?" Momo murmured to her friend after she moved to catch up with her.

"I'm fine, why?" her friend blinked back.

"You just seem… rather tired," the raven-haired girl explained cautiously. "And… I couldn't help but feel that you left… certain things unsaid earlier."

Ochaco sighed, but she didn't deny it. "Honestly Momo, I'm not sure how much I should say. Shouto-kun tends to get a one-track mind when he's looking for answers about certain things, but everything I 'know' is just my own conclusions drawn from a conversation taken out of context; I don't actually know anything! All I can say for sure is that Katsuki-kun was really upset earlier, and I… I'm worried about him."

"Worried in what way?"

"I don't know… I guess I'm worried that he's going to do something reckless. And worse, that he's going to try to do it on his own."

"What do you-?"

"No way. Mic, is that you?!"

"Energize?!" Present Mic-sensei grinned, turning towards a man with electric blue hair and a beaming smile. "'Eeyyy! It's been ages, how're you doing!"

Momo stared with a mixture of exasperation and amusement as their sensei seemed to lose all sense of urgency as he caught up with his fellow pro hero. She could tell that her fellow classmates were rapidly growing impatient however, with Todoroki-kun glancing with increasing frequency in the direction of Bakugou-kun's room, Ochaco-chan bouncing on the balls of her feet, Iida-kun shifting from foot to foot, and Kirishima-kun impatiently swinging his arms. For her part, Momo stepped to the nearby window and leaned against the sill, gazing absently into the slow-gathering evening.

And abruptly choking on air, eyes blowing wide in absolute consternation because the unmistakable figure of Bakugou Katsuki was climbing out the window of his hospital room.

"What's wrong?" Ochaco-chan frowned, appearing at her elbow before her own honey-brown eyes blew wide. "Oh crap. Crap crap crap! I was afraid something like this might happen!"

"Afraid something like what might happen?" Present Mic-sensei taking a sudden interest in the conversation. Momo and Ochaco both jumped, spinning around like children that had just been caught sneaking cookies from the kitchens.

"We- I- U-Um-" Momo floundered.

"GIRL PROBLEMS!" Ochaco yelped suddenly, her naturally rosy cheeks flushing even darker than usual as the two words burst out of her and every eye in the hallway turned towards her-including a couple of passing nurses, whose gazes were somewhat more sympathetic than the suddenly-flustered Kirishima-kun and their wordlessly gaping sensei and his friend.

"What do you mean, 'girl problems'?" Iida-kun frowned. "Is there some sort of common affliction that only impacts women…?" The serious boy trailed off, his own cheeks flushing red as he finally connected the dots. Todoroki-kun still seemed bemused, but he didn't attempt to ask any questions.

"I-I've been cramping all day, but I didn't have any, um, hygiene stuff and I didn't want to make a scene b-but then Yaomomo noticed that I was, um, you know…" Ochaco-chan squeaked, now thoroughly beet-red.

"O-Okay, no need to paint a picture," Present Mic-sensei interrupted her, looking a little pink himself. "Well, uh… hm…"

"Sensei, perhaps the four of us could continue to Bakugou-kun's room while you escort Ochaco-chan to the restroom?" Momo cut in quickly. "It's only just around the corner, and Ectoplasm-sensei is right at the door, so there shouldn't be any danger."

"Yes. Yeah, let's… do that," the pro hero agreed quickly. "Uh, Uraraka do you need any… stuff?"

"I can help with that!" Momo declared, seizing the opportunity to grab Ochaco's arm and pull her away from the group a little bit. "Why are we doing this?" she whispered urgently, quickly using her quirk to craft a thin cardigan and a few feminine hygiene products to keep up Uraraka's story.

"Why are we doing what?" her friend whispered back, tying the cardigan around her waist and tucking the other items into her pocket.

"This! Why are we making up cover stories instead of telling sensei about Bakugou-kun?!"

"Momo," Ochaco replied seriously, "if we alert sensei, Katuski-kun is just going to run away anyway. He's quick enough to outpace Mic-sensei and his quirk is strong enough to destroy most of Ectoplasm-sensei's clones in an instant. If he's gonna run either way, I'd rather he got away with some backup."

"Backup for what? What is it that he's so determined to do?"

"To save Deku."

Momo stiffened, staring at her friend. "Ochaco-chan, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying Deku isn't the person we've been led to think," the young hero replied seriously. "He saved Kouta's and Ragdoll's lives at the training camp Momo, and I'm positive he's the reason Katsuki-kun made it out of the League alive."

"You're sure of that?"

"Absolutely."

Momo paused, taking in her generally sweet friend's ironclad determination. "You plan to go with him whether I approve of this or not, don't you," she murmured, and couldn't find it in herself to be surprised when Ochaco nodded once. "Alright," Momo sighed. "In that case, I want to come too, if only to keep you out of trouble. Do the women's restrooms on this floor have windows?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect. You can get out that way. In the meantime I'll talk to our classmates, see if they're willing to come along as well. At the very least, I'll hopefully be able to give you and Bakugou-kun a head start."

Ochaco beamed and threw her arms around Momo's neck, hugging her tightly. "You really are the best, Yaomomo!"

Momo blushed, but smiled all the same. "We'd best be on our way before Bakugou-kun gets too far ahead of us."

"Right!"

"Ah, ready?" Present Mic-sensei asked with a slightly-strained smile as they returned to the larger group.

"Yeah, thanks, sensei," Ochaco smiled, sharing one last conspiratory glance with Momo before leading the way to the closest women's restroom.

"Come along, everyone," Momo beckoned to her classmates. "Hello, Ectoplasm-sensei," she added as they approached Bakugou-kun's door.

"Hello, students," the pro hero nodded to them. "Bakugou-kun's gone very quiet in the last few minutes. I think he might have gone to sleep."

"I'd still like to check on 'im if that's alright," Kirishima-kun spoke up, saving Momo the trouble of trying to come up with a plausible excuse. "The dude doesn't go to bed this early anyway."

"Very well, but be cautious. Bakugou-kun has been somewhat… volatile today."

"Bakugou is always volatile," Todoroki-kun murmured, and Momo wasn't certain if he'd meant it as a joke or a statement of fact. Either way.

"We'll bear it in mind. Thank you, sensei," Momo smiled, following Kirishima-kun's lead and stepping inside the room. She waited until Todoroki-kun and Iida-kun had stepped inside as well, then quickly slid the door shut behind them,

"Hey man, how're you doing?" Kirishima-kun called, fearlessly approaching the privacy curtain. There was, of course, no answer, but he didn't know about that yet. "Come on man, I know you're not asleep yet. This isn't the time to be sulking you grumpy Pomeranian-"

Kirishima-kun cut himself off, predictably, as he pulled back the curtain to reveal an empty bed, stripped of sheets, which had-in a somewhat cliche manner-been tied together to form a makeshift rope leading out of the window. "Uh…"

"What in the-!?"

"Iida-kun, remain calm," Momo interrupted sharply, putting as much authority into the command as she could. This would all be for nothing if he alerted Ectoplasm-sensei from the start.

"You knew," Todoroki-kun observed simply, his head tilted to one side, his heterochromatic gaze filled with curiosity.

"I did," Momo nodded. "Ochaco-chan and I saw Bakugou-kun sneaking out earlier. It's the real reason we were by the window."

Iida-kun took a deep breath, probably to reprimand her with all of the subtlety of a fog horn, when Kirishima-kun and Todoroki-kun simultaneously asked:

"He's going after Deku, isn't he."

"He's going after Wraith, isn't he."

Iida-kun froze mid-chop, everyone's eyes turning towards Todoroki-kun.

"Wraith? The vigilante? Why would Katsuki go after him?" Kirishima-kun frowned.

"Because Wraith is Deku," Todoroki-kun shrugged matter-of-factly.

"Wh-What?" Iida-kun stuttered, the wind completely ripped from his sails.

'I'm saying Deku isn't the person we've been led to think. He saved Kouta's and Ragdoll's lives at the training camp, and I'm positive he's the reason Katsuki-kun made it out of the League alive.'

"Oh my God," Momo whispered. "Ochaco-chan knows too, doesn't she? That's why she was so certain Deku had saved Bakugou-kun."

"Yeah," Todoroki-kun nodded. "In fact, I think she knows more than I do. That's why she's trying to buy Bakugou time, right?"

"Well…"

"Oh no," Iida-kun groaned suddenly, hanging his head. "She's going with him, isn't she. Dammit!"

"Yes, she is," Momo nodded, considering the best way to segue into the next part of this discussion. How could she convince them to come along, or at least to not sound the alarm-?

"Well, what are we standing around here for?"

"Excuse me?" the raven-haired girl blinked at Kirishima-kun's determined expression.

"Let's go," he said simply. "I don't know anything about this whole Deku/Wraith conspiracy thing, but Uraraka and Katsuki are both my friends, and if they believe in him, then I wanna help."

"I want to go too," Todoroki-kun stated simply.

Momo blinked, then huffed out an amused, relieved breath. "Alright then. Iida-kun? Are you with us?"

Iida-kun wasn't looking at any of them. Instead he stood with his head bowed, fists clenched stiffly at his sides, his spine ramrod straight. "This… This is illegal," he whispered.

"So were Wraith's actions when he saved us in Hosu," Todoroki-kun pointed out.

"So were my actions when I put us all in danger in the first place!" Iida-kun countered, his head snapping up to reveal an anguished sort of frustration twisting his expression. "If Wraith really is Deku, how do we know that he hasn't simply been playing us all along? That everything we know about him is some sort of cruel hoax!? Besides, we'd be six under-trained hero students going up against an entire organization of villains! What can we possibly do by charging in without so much as a plan?! I… I just…" Iida-kun faltered, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes. "I don't want to see any of you hurt the way my brother was."

"Iida-kun," Momo said gently, taking a step forward, "I have no intention of letting Ochaco-chan and Bakugou-kun charge in without a plan. That's the entire reason I'm going: to keep them in check."

"Me too," Kirishima-kun jumped in. "In a way, I feel like I'm the one who convinced Katsuki not to give up on Deku. I need to see this through."

Todoroki-kun nodded in agreement.

"…Fine," Iida-kun muttered. "I'll go too. But understand this: if I perceive things as getting out of hand, I will force you to retreat in an instant!"

"Dude, that's fine with me, but good luck convincing Blasty," Kirishima-kun smiled, baring his sharp teeth. "So? How're we doin' this?"

Momo was already tugging her shirt out of her skirt, her skin gleaming faintly and a little more of the tightness around her middle receding as she created a sufficiently long rope ladder. "Go ahead and pull in the sheets; there's no need for them to get soiled. We're going to have to move quickly if we're going to catch Bakugou before we lose him completely-"

"No worries; I've got that covered," Kirishima-kun interrupted, pulling out his phone. "He still has his location turned on; I can track him with our 'Find My Friends' app. Oof. We'd still better hurry though; it looks like he's headed to the train station. If his train leaves, we may never be able to catch up."

"Alright then. Let's go and I'll text Ochaco-chan to meet us."

They had to wait a few minutes after reaching the ground before Ochaco managed to catch up, panting from having sprinted around the entire hospital. "Hey guys!" she grinned. "Ready?"

"Ready. Is Present Mic-sensei occupied?" Momo asked, nodding to Kirishima-kun to lead the way.

"Erm, more like he's pretty well convinced that I'm occupied…?" Ochaco replied, scratching her cheek and blushing again.

"What do you mean?" Todoroki-kun frowned.

"Girl problems, man," Kirishima-kun sighed, setting the pace at a quick jog. "Don't ask."

"Okay…?"

The six hero students managed to make good time, reaching the train station just in time to catch sight of a familiar head of ash blonde hair stepping inside. They hurried after him, and Momo took responsibility for paying for the tickets-five for Yokohama City, once they saw which train he was boarding. Pretty soon the train was underway and their group was faced with a quandry: how to approach an unwitting Bakugou-kun while he glared irritably out the window into the rapidly-gathering dusk.

"Hey Katsuki-kun. Fancy seeing you here," Ochaco-chan smiled, plopping down next to him.

Ah. So she had chosen the direct approach.

Bakugou-kun flinched, his chin slipping off of his fist as he twisted in his seat to stare at her with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "Round Cheeks?! What the hell are you doing here!?"

"Good to see you too," Kirishima-kun smirked, sitting across from him.

"Weird Hair? Half'n'Half?! Ponytail?! Four Eyes!?"

"Do you actually know any of our names?" Todoroki-kun asked curiously, taking the fourth seat in the cluster.

"I- You- What the hell-!?"

"Bakugou-kun at a loss for words. I never thought I'd see the day," Momo smiled, sitting across the aisle with a disgruntled Iida-kun. "We saw you sneaking out of the hospital."

"So you decided to follow me?! How the hell did you even ditch your chaperone!?" the blonde frowned, sounding a mixture of exasperated, angry, and begrudgingly impressed.

Ochaco and Momo exchanged looks. "Girl problems!" the brunette giggled while Momo sighed and Iida-kun and Kirishima-kun just groaned.

.oOo.

Bakugou-kun had made it very clear that he didn't approve of them coming along, but if it was a matter of letting them join him or getting the police called on him, he would (reluctantly) take the former. Thus when they stepped off the train in Yokohama City, he didn't immediately try to make a run for it, but instead beckoned for them to follow him along a series of streets towards the address his mysterious informant had sent him.

"Should we get disguises?" Momo mused at one point as they passed by a thrift store.

"Tch, like you could ever get me in some kind of lame outfit," Bakugou-kun immediately shot down the idea, marching towards a side street. "Anyway, we ain't got time for that. Let's just keep moving."

"I'm still not comfortable with the idea of approaching a League of Villains's base of operations on a stranger's word," Iida-kun frowned.

"I already told you they're legit," the blonde grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, because of your mystery code, but you have no way of knowing that. If Deku is truly Wraith and has been playing us all this time then one of his associates could easily pretend to be a member of the Vigilan-"

"Four Eyes, I swear to God, if you bring up that argument one more time I will knock you unconscious and leave you behind. Now let's move."

Privately, Momo agreed with Iida-kun, but she knew better than to antagonize her classmate over the matter as they made their way deeper into Yokohama City. The journey was, for the most part, uneventful-although there was one instance when a couple of lecherous drunkards jeered at her and Ochaco-chan. Thankfully all the boys, even Bakugou-kun, hurried them away from there before things could escalate.

"Hey Bakugou, over heeerrr… yooouuu didn't tell me you were bringing friends," an oddly familiar voice called out to them, suddenly hesitant.

"Wasn't by choice; they frickin' blackmailed me," Bakugou huffed as he walked towards a narrow alleyway. "Now where's Izuku?"

"Ah, all in good time, Blasty; first of all, what's all this?"

Momo blinked, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the alley until she could make out a young woman dressed in a bright orange and white jumpsuit with a matching mask. Somewhat more importantly, this young woman also had dark skin, ombre hair, a long, fluffy red tail and a pair of twitching fox ears.

Ochaco gasped, her eyes blowing wide. "Sac-?!"

"Clover!" the fox girl squawked, covering up the rest of the word. "It's Clover! My name is Clover. Definitely not whatever you were about to say! Haha, nope, definitely not!"

But the damage had been done. Even with just the beginning of her name, it wasn't hard to connect it to the girl's unique appearance.

Yoshino Sachi.

"Fox Ears. Why not. Of course freaking Dunce Face would unwittingly make friends with a vigilante informant," Bakugou-kun snorted in exasperation as he made the connection as well. "Of. Course."

"Nnngh, Phoenix is so gonna kill me," Sachi-kun moaned into her hands. "Oh who am I kidding; he was already gonna kill me; now he's going to obliterate me. I'm so sorry, Shou; there won't even be bones left to bury!"

"Wait. Wait wait wait," Kirishima-kun began, looking just as bewildered by this turn of event as Momo felt. "You're a vigilante."

"Yep."

"You're also Kaminari's friend."

"…Yep."

"Aren't you the friend that runs a vigilante conspiracy blog though?"

"Yep," Sachi-kun sighed, obviously giving up trying to keep her identity a secret. "Long story made short, I ran the blog even before I joined the VN. Anymore though, I use it to spread information and misinformation as the higher-ups ask me too. Well, I still do my own theorizing on the side, but I always have to get it approved before I actually post it. Helps avoid the risk of contradicting myself or accidentally posting anything that's just a little bit too close to the truth."

"Ugh, enough with the life story!" Bakugou-kun snarled. "Where is Izuku?!"

"…Come with me," Clover beckoned to them, something hard and serious overtaking her demeanor and transforming her from the light-hearted young woman Momo had met in Kiyashi Ward. "See that warehouse?" she asked when she reached the end of the alleyway, indicating what, by all accounts, appeared to be a completely abandoned building walled up in the middle of Kamino Ward.

"Yeah…?" Kirishima-kun frowned.

"That's the League of Villains's Nomu warehouse."

"Nomu warehouse?!" Kirishima-kun choked, the horror in his expression reflected by everyone else in the group as well. "How many of those things has the League got?!"

"Dozens. Maybe more that Deku didn't know about," Clover shrugged, something serious overtaking her demeanor and transforming her from the light-hearted young woman Momo had met in Kiyashi Ward. "This location has been on our radar for awhile, but we've never had the firepower to safely take it down. As a matter of fact, we still don't. But now that Deku's been compromised, we don't really have a choice but to try. That's why I reached out to you, Bakugou," she added, her hazel-gold eyes softening as she glanced back at them. "If our intel is accurate, Deku's probably somewhere inside that warehouse. Seeing how you already know about all of us, I felt like we owed it to you to at least give you the chance to help save him."

"We can't!" Iida-kun protested immediately. "It's illegal!"

Clover quirked an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

"I-I won't try to stop you and your Network," Iida-kun grumbled sullenly. "After all, it was your kind who saved my brother and friends when I acted recklessly. But you've made your choices, and we've made ours. We intend to be licensed heroes; that carries with it a duty to uphold the law. We cannot use our quirks to engage in combat!"

"You misunderstand," Clover grunted, straightening up. "This isn't a combat mission. If Deku's here, then the League and possibly even the architect backing them are likely here as well. Like I said before, there's no way we have the firepower to stand up against that on our own. That's why this is a stealth ops. Get in, find Deku, and get out. That's all."

"I'm in," Bakugou-kun growled immediately.

"Me too," Ochaco added, and Todoroki-kun gave an affirming hum.

"You really believe that you can accomplish something like that?" Momo interrupted, her hand curling over her chest.

"Aw come on, give us a little credit," Sachi-kun grinned, winking at her. "There's a reason vigilante justice in Japan has done so well the last few years, rememb-"

"Guys, look out!"

Momo cried out in surprise as a fearsome yell sounded in the next street, followed by a loud BANG! and a series of roars and animalistic squeals.

"What the hell just happened?!"

"Is that… Mount Lady?!"

Momo gasped in surprise at the sight of the gargantuan pro hero literally crushing the entire warehouse underfoot and seizing three or four Nomu with her bare hands before they could get their bearings.

"Hang on, the pros are here too?" Sachi-kun blinked in surprise, peeking back around the corner. "I mean, I knew Deku had you give them his notebooks, but for them to plan a raid on the same place on the same night as us?"

Momo peeked too, watching as dozens of police and several pro heroes flew out of seemingly nowhere, including Gang Orca, Endeavor, Edgeshot, Best Jeanist, and-

"Crap, All Might and Eraserhead are here!" Kirishima-kun hissed, ducking back into the alley as their sensei's iconic shout of SMASH! rang through the evening air. "Oh man guys we are so busted!"

"I mean, we kinda knew that back when we ditched Present Mic-sensei at the hospital," Ochaco-chan frowned.

"You did what?" Sachi-kun snorted.

"Where the hell is Izuku?" Bakugou-kun hissed, still watching the scene unfold. "If he's in there, shouldn't they have found him by now?"

"Ugh, are these gross dudes even still alive?" Mount Lady grumbled, sticking her tongue out at the less-than-pleasant appearances of the Nomus. "This was way easier than I thought it'd be."

"Don't let your guard down. We still haven't checked further inside," Best Jeanist scolded her. "Bring over the transports! Let's get these creatures contained!"

"My, my, my. What an unwelcome interruption."

The voice was relatively soft all things considered, and yet it carried to them easily, along with a sense of dread that shook all seven of their group to the core. "Oh God," Sachi-kun whispered, her knees seeming to buckle slightly as Momo caught distant sight of a man in a business suit wearing some kind of mask. "Oh God oh God oh God!"

"YOU!"

"Time to get rid of the pests."

"Guys-!"

"JEANIST GET BACK!"

Momo couldn't quite hold back a scream when a shockwave blasted outward from the warehouse, the wind pressure alone enough to send her staggering backwards and slamming into something simultaneously much more solid and much softer than she had been expecting before the shockwave knocked her to the floor. She heard her classmates' similar cries of alarm, yelling from the pro heroes, and the general CRASH! and BOOM! of falling debris.

All at once, everything went still.

Shaky and confused, Momo managed to raise her head, vision swimming strangely, distantly aware of something warm wrapped around her waist as she tried to push herself upright.

"Yaoyorozu? Are you okay?" a low voice murmured close to her ear.

"T-Todoroki-kun?" she mumbled as she twisted back to look at him, her cheeks heating up despite their predicament. He blinked heterochromatic eyes at her, looking dusty and dazed but not injured. "Y-Yeah. I'm… I'm okay," she nodded, and he did the same. The two of them stumbled upright, Momo distantly noting that Sachi-kun was already up and helping the others to their feet, her quirk having somehow managed to protect her from the worst of the blast.

"Wh… What just happened?" Ochaco choked past the dust in her throat as the fox girl pulled her upright.

"Oh my God," Momo whispered, eyes wide as she viewed the destruction across the city.

This was a residential district.

There were people among all that debris.

"Well now, color me impressed!" that man with the smooth, terrifying voice from before chuckled, causing Momo to rip her eyes away from the destruction. Was… Was he floating above the crater over there? But then who created that shockwave? Wait, where are all the Nomu? "Between the two of you Jeanist and All Might, you managed to protect all the other pro heroes from injury! But of course, no one can properly maintain their grip when they've been knocked about so."

Momo gasped and Bakugou-kun flinched as black liquid suddenly exploded all through the area, each and every one of the Nomus that the pro heroes had captured somehow reappearing at all angles, roaring and screeching in an unholy cacophony and eliciting cries of shock and fear as those pro heroes that were still conscious swung around to face them.

"DAMN YOU, ALL FOR ONE!" All Might-sensei roared as he launched into the sky, causing another shockwave, slightly less powerful than the first, that sent Momo to stumbling back once again.

"Oh? Are you going to kill me a second time, All Might?" 'All for One' chuckled in a disturbingly amiable tone.

"I WON'T REPEAT THE MISTAKE I MADE LAST TIME. THIS TIME I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE TAKEN TO TARTARUS TO ROT, ALONG WITH THE REST OF YOUR DESPICABLE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS!"

"Indeed? Well, you've sure got your work cut out for you, even with dear little Izuku's help."

A massive explosion rang through the air, and they all couldn't help but cry out in shock and fear as All Might was flung through the air, thrown with such force that he wasn't even able to correct his trajectory and was instead flung through multiple buildings on the opposite side of the crater, leaving a swath of destruction in his wake.

"What an amusing combination," All for One hummed. "Air Cannon, Spring-Like Limbs, Kinetic Booster times four, Strength Enhancer times three. Perhaps I can add a few more strength enhancers next time. What do you think, Izuku my boy?"

Another glob of black liquid appeared beside All for One, however unlike the Nomu, when the figure inside of it solidified, he promptly collapsed, hitting the ground hard with a grunt that quickly devolved into a series of harsh coughs. Momo's hand curled into a fist over her heart, obsidian eyes wide with horror as she stared at the figure, barely conscious, gasping for breath, his bare back literally matted with a dark substance that she instinctively knew to be blood, arms trembling as he gathered them beneath him and slowly raised his head, revealing unmistakeable green eyes glazed with exhaustion and pain.

"Izuku!" Bakugou-kun cried, lurching forward, only for Iida-kun to drag him back, white-faced with absolute terror. "Lemme go, Four Eyes!" the explosive blond spat at him, but there was no venom in his voice, only panic.

"We can't Bakugou!" Iida-kun cried desperately, his voice cracking in a hundred places. "We can't! That man took All Might on bare-handed; there's nothing we can do against that level of power! We'll only be in the way, make things worse!"

"Dammit, I can't abandon him, not again!"

"Bakugou-!"

"It really is such a shame, even after all of your careful planning," All for One sighed, something sickly sweet, almost rotten, in his tone. "You know, I always knew that you would likely betray me one day, although I remained hopeful; your talent really did catch my eye all those years ago. But ultimately you proved far too stubborn for me to sway you."

Momo's heart skipped several beats, horror pooling in the pit of her stomach. They were right, she realized finally. Bakugou-kun, Todoroki-kun, Ochaco-chan- They were right all along!

"Ah well, I suppose we no longer need you to tell us what information you've passed along to the heroes; it's become quite clear now. Consider this my final gift to you, my boy: a chance to see your failed handiwork before I end your pitiful existence once and for all."

Midoriya Izuku uttered a sharp cry of pain as a series of black and red tendrils flew from All for One's fingertips, two of them stabbing into his shoulders, another two into his legs and dragging him upright in front of the monster.

"Behold, All Might! Witness the death of the child you've failed to save for a second time!"

"No!" Bakugou-kun cried, finally ripping himself free of Iida-kun's grip and rushing towards the fight.

"YOU BASTARD!" All Might roared as he flew back into view, but Momo knew in her heart that even he would be too late to save Midoriya.

They had failed.

"Get the hell away from him you son of a bitch!"

Outtake:

Hizashi was fairly certain he had never felt so uncomfortable in his entire life, loitering outside of the women's restroom at a hospital while people cast him strange looks and trying really hard not to think about the implications of his student's faint groans within while also trying to make sure that she was still okay.

Girl problems were apparently no joke.

Okay Hizashi just calm down, it's a natural thing. Yeah. Don't think about how horrendously weird this is or how people keep looking at you like you're some kind of pediphile because you're standing here listening-NOT listening!-to a fifteen-year-old girl dealing with standard woman issues and OKAY let's stop thinking about this! Yeah, uh, what do I wanna play on the radio show this weekend?

Thankfully music had always been a pretty convenient way for the hero to distract himself from less-than-pleasant thoughts. It wasn't long before he had his phone out and he was scrolling through his playlists, humming a few lines to himself now and then as he contemplated various combinations and themes that he could explore.

It wasn't until some twenty minutes later that Mic abruptly realized that he hadn't heard Uraraka's voice for quite some time. Not to mention, who spent twenty minutes in the bathroom? Were girl problems supposed to be that… Time consuming? Should he… check in on her? Somehow? Obviously he couldn't just walk into the girl's restroom, but it probably wouldn't be too weird of him to just… ask, right?

"Hey, uh, Uraraka? You alright in there?" he called uncertainly.

Utter silence greeted him.

"Uraraka? Uraraka, are you there? Hey, Uraraka!"

Still nothing.

Oh no. Oh no oh no, what's wrong; something has to be wrong this is bad this is really really bad!

It took all of the blonde's willpower not to simply charge into the bathroom screaming, instead grabbing a female nurse that (thankfully) happened to be walking by. "Uh, miss! My student went into the bathroom awhile ago and now she's not answering me. Would you mind stepping inside and checking on her for me?"

"Oh not at all," the blessed woman laughed. "This happens more often than you would think, actually. Just a moment!"

Hizashi tried to take reassurance from that. If this was a relatively normal occurrence, then Uraraka was probably fine, right? She probably hadn't just been kidnapped out of the blue; after all, there was no way the League of Villains should know where she was, right?

Right?

"Erm, sir?' the nurse frowned, poking her head out of the bathroom.

"Yes ma'am?"

"There's no one in here."

"What?!"

Hizashi rushed past her, dashing into the bathroom in a panic. Sure enough, the stalls were empty, and the window had been opened. No no no no no!

Without another thought, the pro hero raced towards Bakugou's room. He hadn't heard a thing; if Uraraka had been taken, could they have possibly taken the other students too?!

"Mic, what's wrong?" Ectoplasm frowned as he dashed down the hall.

"No time!" Hizashi cried, flinging open the door.

Empty.

The room was completely empty; their students were gone.

"No no no this can't be happening!" the pro hero muttered, lacing his fingers into his hair in agitation. Ectoplasm took in the situation in an instant, creating three clones to search the room for any sign of clues.

"Oh no," one of the clones suddenly groaned,

"Yes, I agree," another nodded.

"What happened?!"

In response, the first clone held out a small piece of paper that had been left on the bedside table, upon which Yaoyorozu Momo's neat hand-writing was easily recognizable.

Apologies, sensei, but we learned of something that must be taken care of. Please don't worry about us; we'll be back soon. -Yaoyorozu Momo

"Shit," Hizashi groaned, slumping onto the bed as the second clone pulled a rope ladder in from the window.

"Nezu's going to be furious," Ectoplasm muttered.

"Forget Nezu," Hizashi moaned into his hands. "Shouta is going to murder us."

Extras:

If Kirishima had noticed Bakugou first:

"What the actual hell."

"What's wrong?"

"Is Blasty 'I-Can-Literally-Use-My-Quirk-To-Fly' Katsuki actually escaping from a hospital window… with a bedsheet?"

"I mean… I guess his quirk is a little loud…?"

.oOo.

If Todoroki had noticed Bakugou first:

"Hey guys?'

"Yes, Ochaco-chan?"

"Has anyone seen Shouto-kun?"

"…Huh. Well now that you mention it…"

"Hold on, who opened the window?"

"Is that an ice slide?"

"…"

"Well."

.oOo.

If Iida had noticed Bakugou first:

"Bakugou, what on Earth are you doing?! This behavior is highly unbecoming of a future hero, not to mention disrespectful to the many doctors and nurses that have dedicated their time and energy to your treatment! Return to your room this instant and wait for the doctors to give you a proper checkup and then discharge you when they have deemed you healed!"

"…"

"Way to alert the whole freakin' hospital, Four Eyes."

.oOo.

Alternate Clover/UA Students interaction:

"So what can you tell us about Wraith?"

"Hm? What about him?"

"Deku, whichever. They are the same person, aren't they?"

"Oh, has that been confirmed?! Hah! Vindication!"

"Huh?"

"I knew it, I freaking knew it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Take that Shou; you so owe me a thousand yen!"