Chapter 17- Feeling the Rhythm Inside of My Chest
"That masked guy's quick!" Todoroki said in a deadpan, his right side already flaming up.
"If only we had Iida!"
Meanwhile, Mr Compress continued to bounce over the treetops towards the meet up spot. He was contemplating the hero course's performance while gracefully leaving them in the dust.
"We can't…give up…Gotta catch up… and get them back!" Midoriya gritted his teeth and looked up at the group, who were at a loss at what to do. "Uraraka! Make us float! Quickly! And then, Asui- throw us with your tongue as hard as you can! With as much strength as one of my punches- make us really fly! Shoji can correct our course with your arms midair, and Uraraka, keep an eye on us! When it looks like we've closed the gap… release us!"
"Hold on, Deku. Your wounds…" Uraraka pointed out.
"You stay behind," Todoroki realised, "You're in too much pain to-"
Midoriya interrupted. "Forget the pain. I can move… quick!"
"Deku, at least use this…!" Uraraka shouted as she began to take off her jacket.
Sora regained consciousness slowly, gradually opening his eyes to a turquoise sky. He groaned as he shifted his feet slightly, so they were straighter. His head was throbbing like his heart beat, and he felt jarringly wrong in his body.
He sighed, much more used to much weirder things, before he properly looked around at his surroundings. And what stood out to him… was the blue sky. It seemed to be the only colour, and there were no clouds in the sky. It was peaceful.
"Aw man, wasn't it night before? People must be worried 'bout me." Sora frowned.
He knew this place was not the camp, there was not enough trees for that.
Could it be the Final World?
The Worlds promptly said no to him, as he was jostled, and was spun around, upside down but still facing the same part of the sky. Sora looked down and saw the sky was underfoot, too.
"Don't tell me… am I in a ball?!" Sora yelled to no one in particular.
"Huh? Only you three so far?" Toga smiled as she walked over to Dabi, Twice and Seeker.
"Hey Crazy." Seeker greeted, still leaning against a tree trunk.
"Aw, you gave me a nickname! You do like me!"
"Shut up."
Dabi brought the subject back on track. "You get some blood? From how many people?"
"Just the one. Too dangerous to get anymore."
"Didn't they tell you to get at least three?! But you're happy?" Twice leaped over to Toga.
Toga hummed a tune. "I met a boy I'm into… and made a friend."
"Urgh, shut." Seeker groaned, opening his eyes finally.
Just as Mr Compress arrived at the scene.
Just as several Class A members slammed him to the ground.
"I know those brats! Who are they?!" Twice announced.
Seeker straightened up as he began to stretch. "Trouble."
"Dodge." Dabi warned before the chaos began.
The area was filled with blue fire, and heat attacked both sides. Vanitas could only hear panicked noises and the roaring of the flames and could only see bright blue in the pitch dark. Small sparks were white as they fluttered up into the dark sky, and the multitude of hues danced from the outside of his mask. It was beautiful.
It ended far too quickly for Vanitas' liking, and he melted back into his cold Seeker persona, his work persona. Twice was already trying to attack Todoroki, a man on Shigaraki's hit list. Toga was blushing like the mad girl she was, introducing herself to a broken Midoriya by launching attacks on him- although he seemed to be pretty out of it already. So that left Seeker Shoji.
He glanced around quickly and summoned his keyblade absentmindedly. In the middle of the chaos Shoji came into view, grasping something in one of his hands. Seeker ignored that and charged at his back, striking down in a one-handed grip.
Somehow, Shoji heard him and created a disposable hand on his back, which Seeker cut off instead. Shoji then knocked Seeker back with another surprise hand, away from the main action.
"Time to run, you two!" Shoji yelled as he ran back to his fellow classmates. "I'm not quite sure what your quirk is, but from the way you were showing off before, I know that these blue balls from your pocket are Bakugo, Tokoyami and maybe Sora too. Right, entertainer?"
"Shoji!" Midoriya cheered.
Mr Compress laughed and clapped his hands. "Well done, indeed. So quickly too! There's no finer pickpocket than one with six arms I suppose!"
Todoroki created a large pile of ice behind the two allies as they began to run away.
"You fool…"
"Just wait."
Seeker brushed the dust off his shoulders and summoned Void Gear back into his hand. He created two flood unversed and quickly sent them off to the students, very much mad now.
"Huh? Pointed Hearts?!" Todoroki frowned as one tried to launch itself onto him.
"So, the famous villain no one caught is with the League after all."
Mr Compress looked at a pocket watch stored previously in his large pockets. He snapped it shut as he looked behind him.
"If you'd please, bring back the monsters. Our ride is here."
A black warp hole appeared right in front of the students, making them pause in their tracks in fear.
"The warp guy…"
"It's been five minutes since the signal. Let's go." Mr Compress made to leave.
One by one each League member left, except for Dabi, Mr Compress and Seeker. Each gave farewells in their own way, as the students were still in shock.
"Wait, the target-"
"Yes. As you appear so pleased with yourselves, I let you have fun with the act. It's a bad habit of mine. One of the tenets of magic states that flaunting a particular object is inevitably part of the trick. The balls you got? That ice attack was the perfect chance to prepare a few decoys. I put them in my pocket for later," Mr Compress monologued. "Upon noticing the objects in my right hand enter my right pocket, you would naturally be excited enough to give chase."
"You are so lucky." Seeker said in a monotone voice before leaving as well.
Mr Compress bowed. "And this is where I leave you."
A laser shot out from one of the bushes, revealing a hidden Aoyama. The blue balls were shot into the air, and everyone still remaining ran to grab a ball. Midoriya was hit finally with the pain of his injuries and fell to the ground, and Shoji created another arm quickly to grab the remaining blue ball.
Shoji grabbed one. He missed one. Todoroki missed another.
And Dabi grabbed both.
"How sad for you. Shoto Todoroki." Dabi smirked before turning to Mr Compress. "It's them. Go ahead and release them."
Mr Compress grumbled as he undid his quirk. "Where did that laser come from? It made a mess of my show!"
In Dabi's hands, almost in the warp portal, stood Bakugo and Sora, both looking dazed. Tokoyami was in the air and fell down in a clutter.
"No harm done." Dabi smiled cruelly as he began to enter the portal.
"Kacchan!" Deku screamed.
"Stay back… Deku." Bakugo calmly spoke.
Sora did one shake of his head before launching into action. He elbowed Dabi, the grip on him loosening enough for him to spin around. He shot a blizzard back and activated flow motion to try and grab Bakugo's hand while moving away from Dabi's grip.
"Too slow." Dabi disappeared into the dark mist, taking Bakugo away with him.
Midoriya screamed.
Girlboss: Is everyone ok?
Girlboss: most of us are back at camp
Yaomomo: Hi this is Awase here, Class B. Yaoyorozu is out for the count but otherwise a-ok.
Yaomomo: We're on our way back now
: OMG
: who isnt at base ight now
Girlboss: Jiro, Yaoyomo, Uraraka, Tsu, Midoriya, Tokoyami, Shoji, Bakugo I think from 1A
Girlboss: A lot of 1B aren't back
Girlboss: Sora isn't back either
Revelry in the Dark: This night is a frightful one…
I'm Levitating: We… we lost Bakugo…
Shoji: The villains took him
Soba.: We're on our way back. Sora and Midoriya are upset.
Girlboss: No…
: this has to b eh a joje
: aprank
Manlyman: No way. Bakubro is so strong
: LORDEXPLOSIONMURDER
Manlyman: Keep on fighting dude! LORDEXPLOSIONMURDER
Girlboss: LORDEXPLOSIONMURDER WERE GONNA BEAT THOSE VILLAINS UP SO LEAVE SOME FOR US
Sora switched off his gummiphone and put it back into his jacket pocket. His mind was filled with regrets and scenarios which meant he could have reached Bakugo. But however he thought about it, he felt he could not do more.
Midoriya felt even worse about it than him. He was barely lucid at this point due to his injuries, but tears were piling underneath his wide eyes. It took Todoroki to drag him before he moved again. He was quiet as they walked back to camp, and his head was down. Tsu and Uraraka joined them at some point too, but they shared the forlorn look too.
"There was nothing else we could have done. It sucks but it's true." Sora spoke up after a long silence.
"We're still hero students after all." Tsu pointed out.
"We'll get him back." Todoroki stated with a little emotion on his face.
"…Yeah…" Midoriya whispered, will broke.
Sora looked at his hand, where he could feel the power of the keyblade underneath his skin, and within his heart, waiting to be called. If he used the keyblade, would Bakugo still be kidnapped? He wished with everything in his heart that he was the one who got kidnapped, instead of Bakugo…
The group stopped suddenly, and people readied themselves. Leaves crunched underfoot nearby, with the sound of clapping too. A figure came out of the darkness, dressed in a black coat and the hood down. The zipper swayed slightly as the figure kept on clapping obnoxiously.
Sora held his hand out to the side as Xigbar smirked at him.
"What a performance, keybearer. You managed to escape even with Seeker on their side. I am impressed."
"Keybearer?" Uraraka frowned.
"I know you are working with them! Give back Bakugo right now!" Sora growled.
"Hm… how about no? I've got an agenda to finish after all. And someone always has to clean up other's messes." Xigbar grinned manically.
In one fluid motion, Xigbar dodged around the students and easily grabbed Sora's hair. As time seemed to flow normally again, Sora tried to kick and squirm out of the grip. His face was full of desperation and fear.
"It was real fun talking to you kids, but alas, still on the clock. Must make sure things end up the way they should. Adios!" Xigbar saluted with his free hand before stepping back into a corridor of darkness.
Emergency services began to show up ten minutes after that. Out of the forty students, fifteen were in critical condition, due to the gas attack Mustard had created. Eleven had other injuries of varying degrees. Thirteen had got off without a scratch, and one was missing. Out of the pro heroes, one suffered a serious head injury, while another could not be found, except for a large blood splatter. Only one of the two other visitors of the camp was still present.
On the other side, two of the villains were apprehended. Mustard was sent away for emergency care, but it was unlikely that he was going to make it through the night. As for the other villains, they had vanished without a trace.
All in all, the Summer Camp that everyone had been looking forward to was an absolute disaster, just like Sora was worried it was going to be.
All the teachers bar Aizawa and Vlad assembled at UA the next morning, in the staff meeting room. Some were in their usual hero costumes whereas others were wearing casual clothes. But what everyone shared was a heavy look in their eyes.
"We established the training camp to prepare for the battle against the villains, and then they attacked it. The irony of it is embarrassing. This whole 'villain revival'- we took it too lightly. They've already begun their war. The war to destroy our hero society." Nezu broke the silence with a carefully neutral tone.
"Even if we'd taken it more seriously, could we have prevented this relentless flurry of attacks?" Midnight pointed out. "Most organised crime has been eliminated since the rise of All Might, so all that's left is the best of the worst."
Present Mic sighed. "Basically, we got too complacent in this peaceful era. Otherwise, there'd be no need for preparations when we realised what was happening."
"I'm just mad about how useless I was… I was relaxing in the bath while they were out there fighting for their lives!" All Might muttered to himself in self-loathing.
"I reckon we can't pretend to be undaunted no longer… like how we went and held the sports festival just after that other attack," Snipe added his two pence. "Lettin' a student get wrangled is one serious failure for UA. Wasn't just Bakugo and Sora those varmints stole. They took away the public's trust in us heroes too."
"And the media's having a field day censuring UA," Nezu jumped up pulling some newspapers onto the table. "We can assume that they intentionally targeted Bakugo because that crazed, violent image of him at the sports festival was widely disseminated. If they are actually able to win him over, then this educational institution is finished. However, there is no reason prior to this that we know of that made Sora a specific target too."
"Could Sora have dealt with one of the League members before they had become a villain? A mishap when he lived on the streets?" Midnight theorised.
"We really don't know an awful lot about the little listener, after all."
"No matter what reason the League may have with Sora, we have to focus on getting both of them back. We unfortunately have no way of knowing what will or what already has happened to them until we get them back safe." Nezu stated.
"Speaking of not knowing, this seems like the right time to bring something up. It's absolutely clear at this point. We have a mole."
Bakugo tried to move his arms again as he stirred from his rough sleep. After he tried to explode several members after they had gave him the offer of joining them, they had put him in restraints. They had chatted for a long time, long enough for him to fall into an uneasy sleep. But now, small wisps of light shone into the bar from high windows, revealing Shigaraki's disgusting face behind one of his creepy hands.
"Good. You're awake. Now, if only the other was too…"
Bakugo's eyes widened as he looked to the side where Shigaraki was glancing to. There, on the ground, was a beaten up and bruised Sora, face scrunched up in pain even while asleep- or unconscious, it was hard to tell which option was more likely.
A bead of sweat rolled down Bakugo's face as his attention was dragged back to the rest of the villains. Toga was dancing about happily as she was throwing knives at a dartboard, while Kurogiri stood at the bar, cleaning glasses and making an awful squeaking sound. Spinner, Twice and Magne sat in one booth, doing their own thing while Dabi and Seeker sat in another. Seeker kept on glancing back at Sora's body though, his emotions unreadable behind that mask of his.
Shigaraki was sitting on a stool in front of Bakugo of course, and he was talking about some garbage nonsense again. Bakugo had tuned out from the first few times he had begun to go on that spiel.
Shigaraki suddenly stopped talking as Sora stirred, groaning slightly as he peeled himself off the floor. Seeker's body language screamed of glee, even though he walked with a careful and slow speed.
"Hello little brother. Is it time for us to play again?" Seeker calmly spoke, his voice sounding slightly scrambled.
Bakugo was chilled to the bone.
Xerayn's notes 17:
A shorter chapter today because it just felt right to finish it here. These few chapters are as close as we're gonna get to mha's canon, so they are a little hard to write without becoming repetitive. I also was not in the mood to write for the longest while, so that didn't help either.
A few things I want to point out here: Midoriya is not fully conscious when he meets with Vanitas (or Seeker at that time). So he doesn't actually recognise Vanitas, nor will he remember very clearly any of the events that happened. He's just going to remember when he tried to reach for Bakugo but couldn't.
Also, when Vanitas speaks in bold, he's speaking with part of his darkness coming through his voice, if you get what I mean. And when his mask is on, his voice is distorted slightly too. So his voice is not recognisable as Vanitas
Finally, truth be told, I forgot to upload the last two chapters until recent, so yes it was a double update. I post this on ao3 too, so I have to change my formatting for this, which can be a drag at times. But I am so thankful for all you guys' support, it seriously motivates me to keep on writing :)
And with that, I bid you farewell until I next update!