The Shiketsu bomber was feeling pretty good about himself.
Everything is going according to plan, he thought as he put the top piece of bread onto his sandwich. He pressed the sandwich together to make it easier to carry, compressing the lettuce and cheese and turkey inside, and then wrapped it in paper.
The abandoned amusement park he was currently using as a hideout had several restaurants. This particular one was extremely basic, but also the only one that he could figure out how to hook up the generator. All the other places were long without power and all the food had been spoiled, so he was stuck making sandwiches, for now. It was better than nothing. It was not dissimilar to the only job he'd ever had before everything had gone to shit, which was working in a coffee shop.
He stepped out from behind the counter and walked over to the front door to leave the restaurant. It swung on its hinges as he pushed it, making a friendly little ding sound.
The wind was blowing outside. It was a cloudy night, but not too cold. The bomber even whistled a little tune as he set off down the asphalt path, spare bits of paper and garbage blowing past him, landing on sculpted bushes or benches. In front of a derelict bumper-car building, a stone fountain stood dry and cracking. Atop was a sculpture of a hero the bomber did not recognize.
He unwrapped his sandwich at the top and took a bite, chewing as he headed back to his sleeping spot. The cloud cover was so low that he could not see the Ferris wheel, even though he knew it was just up the midway ahead of him.
It was under the Ferris wheel where he'd found the squatters. They'd mostly had basic physical Quirks and had tried to threaten him, thinking him unassuming. Physical Quirk users always have to get close to you. They'd died quickly enough, and now he had the whole park to himself.
He liked Japan this way. Apparently there were rumors about him in the local area. A ghost haunting the midways. That was why no other good-for-nothing scum had come near him, he supposed. With the country like this, information spreads at just the right pace. He was being left alone out of fear, but no one on a larger scale knew about him, and certainly not any heroes. The nearest hero-controlled areas were miles away in any direction.
I'll need to make contact with my allies again. The more chaos generated, the better. The heroes would be on his trail since he left that card. But I chose them for a reason.
The entertainment district was a rat's nest. The heroes would have their hands full with problems to solve there even if they cared about getting through to finding him. And if he could drum up conflict between the Hojos and the Harbor…
Yes. It's perfect. He giggled and took another bite of his sandwich. He knew he was obvious; there were only a few other places he could possibly be targeting after Shiketsu, if the heroes figured out his hint. He wanted them to know, and he wanted them to be unable to do anything. Which requires distractions. For all his strengths, he could not afford to let them get even close to catching him…
"Hello there," said a familiar voice.
The bomber whirled, dropping his sandwich on the ground. Terror spiked his system. "No!" he hissed. "Not you, anything but you, please-"
Dabi only laughed, a blue flame dancing in his upstretched palm as he emerged from the shadows beneath the bumper-car building. "Nice digs you've got," the scarred man commented, looking around at the empty amusement park all around them. "Festive."
"How did you find me?" the bomber demanded, preparing to release his Quirk.
"Ah, ah, ah…" Dabi wiggled his finger as a warning. "My stuff can reach you far faster than yours can reach mine." His whole hand was aflame now. "Besides…you don't have your protection on you."
"You're not immune to your own power, either." The bomber eyed up the other man's burns. There were more since the last time they'd seen each other in person. Then again, the bomber knew that Dabi and the rest of the League had battled the heroes again while he himself had been locked up, so this was no surprise.
"To answer your question…" Dabi grinned. "Do I really need to? All For One has his ways. Did you think you would ever be truly hidden from him?"
The bomber's mouth had gone dry. He opened his mouth to speak and only a squeak came out. His legs were trembling. All For One. No. Nonononono. It was one thing for the heroes to stop him, but…
"What does he want with me?" the bomber managed to snarl. "I'm doing my own thing!"
"Oh, he sees that." Dabi shrugged, nonchalant. "Don't worry. He has no intent of infringing on your little operation, as long as you don't infringe on our plans." His grin returned. "He didn't even send me himself. I personally asked for your location, which I knew he'd be able to find. I wanted to speak to you."
"Fine then. What do you want?"
Dabi took a menacing step forward. "When you bombed Shiketsu, there were certain people sheltered there. Rei Todoroki, and her children Natsuo and Fuyumi."
"Y-yeah…so…?"
"You don't get to kill my mother and siblings. Only I get to do that." Dabi's fire reflected in his blue eyes. "So stay away from them. Stay away from the hospital where they are now. If we hear even a hint of you planning to hit it next…" He drew a finger across his throat.
The bomber sighed, feeling a little relieved, but also annoyed. "Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. Whatever. They weren't my targets and I don't care about hospitals. Just. Schools. So unless they get moved to UA or something…"
"That might be a possibility. It is serving as a shelter." Dabi tilted his head. "I'm guessing we have more access to intel than you do…squatting by yourself in this…place. So if it so happens that my family gets moved to one of the hero schools, we'll let you know. And then that school is off your target list indefinitely. Ya hear?"
"Yeah." The bomber straightened himself up. He made me drop my sandwich. "I hear."
"Alright then." Dabi retreated into the shadows, and the bomber saw a glimmer of that shiny black goop that meant AFO was using his teleportation power. The eldest son of Endeavor vanished.
…
Izuku couldn't sleep.
He must have counted the stains on the narrow, sloped roof of the mutant room a dozen times over. They remained the same. The room remained the same. He wanted to shift to a position that wasn't flat on his back, but he was worried about taking up any more space, or any different amount of space on the large bed. Right now, he and Iruka Kitsune were perfectly spaced apart, and not infringing on one another despite being on the same bed.
The tall girl was on her side with her back to him, her body rising and falling with her breathing. She seemed to be fast asleep. At least she's comfortable. If he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep, then he at least wished he could get up and go get some air. Maybe hop away from the shelter and solve a crime or two. Just quickly and then come back. But he didn't want to disturb her, and this bed wasn't exactly quiet when one shifted on it.
So he was stuck.
He let out a low, frustrated sigh, his hands folded over his chest. He hadn't thought it had been that loud.
But then, Iruka said, "So you can't sleep either, then?"
Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin. "I'm sorry!" he panic-whispered. "I didn't realize you were…"
Iruka giggled, and turned over to face him. The bed squeaked. The sliver of pale moonlight from the window touched her pointed, odd face. Her eyes twinkled. "I'm the one who should be sorry. You're being very respectful and I'm still too nervous to sleep. Not because I don't trust you! Just because…I don't know…I get anxious about this sort of stuff." Her eyelids lowered sadly.
"W-well…I mean clearly…so do I."
"Hehe. You're so strange." Iruka blinked, which had the effect of making it look like she was batting her eyelashes. She has nice eyelashes. They were the same pale blond as her hair, which was laying around her face on the bed in pretty waves. "I remember seeing you in the UA sports event, actually."
"Huh? You saw that?"
"Everyone did. That ice guy was terrifying; he had stomped everyone in his path and you were mad at him. I just think it's funny what people are capable of being brave about and what they aren't."
"Ha! I guess my parameters for that are pretty unusual. I'm way better at fighting than I am at talking."
They both shared comfortable laughter for a moment. Now Izuku was smiling, and so was she. He wasn't exactly sleepy yet, either, but he didn't care.
"Where did you go to school before UA?" Iruka asked.
"Ermm…a place called Aldera. In Musutafu. I lived there my whole life."
Her eyes widened. "Oh, wow. You must have been around UA all the time. No wonder you became a hero."
"Ha…yeah…what about you?"
"I went to high school in Chiba."
"Oh! Some of my classmates were - are - from there." Ashido and Kirishima. He didn't want to think about Class A right now. "When did you graduate?"
"I, uhh…didn't get to." Her smile faltered a little. "Since everything happened."
"Oh! You're the same age as Hado."
"Yes." She giggled again, putting a hand primly over her mouth. "How old did you think I was?"
"Uhh…my mom told me it's impolite to bring these kinds of things up, so…"
Thankfully, she laughed at that, too. Izuku felt strange. For a moment, he retreated into his head to seek guidance from the past users, but they were being completely quiet.
"What do you like to do, Kitsune-san? I mean…what were you thinking as a career?"
"You know…" Her eyes grew distant. "I got really tired of people asking me that."
"Oh! I'm sorry." Izuku reddened. "It's just…I wanted to be a hero since I was really young, so…"
"I wish I could have been so driven. I wanted to be a ballerina as a kid, but…well. Physical activity doesn't exactly agree with me. I have really low stamina from being so big, and my back really started to hurt after I…hit puberty." She blushed, and Izuku kept his eyes firmly on her face.
"That kind of thing didn't occur to me," he muttered.
"Yeah…I have to eat a lot. Being this tall messes with your metabolism. With food being so scarce now, I haven't had the best time…but anyway! I didn't answer your question properly. In high school I enjoyed working with computers, I guess, and I liked history a lot, but…I was really unmotivated to pursue jobs related to that stuff. I don't know. History isn't really popular anymore. It's all super old or super recent. There's a whole period of like a hundred years where we barely have any records, which I guess is pretty interesting to me, but…I wouldn't know where to begin to find an actual good-paying job to look into that."
Izuku looked down at the surface of the bed. "You mean the dark age that ended just a generation before us, right?"
"Mmhmm." She nodded.
"That was because of All For One. The guy that I…that we heroes…have to fight. He was ruling the world from the shadows during that time. That's why records are so poor." The world almost fell apart. It was why, today, they had basically the same level of technology that they'd had all the way back in the 2000s.
"Oh. I see." Iruka gulped. "That's kinda…kinda scary. And he's the one who caused trouble this time, too? Are we beginning another dark age?"
Izuku took a deep breath. "If we are, then I intend to cut it short. Very short."
He'd been dead serious, but for some reason, a grin crept across her face.
"What?" he asked her, chuckling now. "Why are you smiling like that?"
"It's just…" Iruka sniffed. "That actually made me feel much better, Deku. Thank you."
Oh. There was that strange, nice feeling again. He really needed to stop staring at her. "Just call me Midoriya, Kitsune-san. Deku's my hero name."
"Alright, Midoriya." She was looking at him oddly. It almost made him uncomfortable, except Danger Sense, like the past users, was being totally quiet. "Does that mean we're friends, not just hero and civilian?"
It's dangerous to become my friend. But nonetheless, he'd never had many friends, and he was pleased to make another. Especially when she's cute. "Of course, Kitsune-san. I'm sorry we can't hang out more. But I have a job to do, and you'll be as safe as you can be at UA. I'm out here ensuring it."
"I'm glad…" She still just kept staring at him. Then…she blushed. "I'm sorry. I don't think this has helped either of us get to sleep at all."
"Haha, that's fine."
"Can…can I ask you something?" Her voice was shy. "Umm…sorry. It's really…really, um, never mind."
"What is it?" He scooted a little closer, concerned. It doesn't sound like she's had the best time, either in her life before the war or now after it. He was worried about her and wanted to help. "You can say it, I promise I won't…" It was strange being on the other side of a situation like this. He was so used to having to trust others with information or requests that he thought were too much, that he would never even once consider rejecting someone else if they did the same. "I promise I won't think any less of you, no matter what it is."
"Well, it's just…I don't know if it's fair to ask, but…" She tapped her hands together nervously and averted her gaze. Her body was tensed up, which had the added effect of making her curves stick out a little more. "Do you think I'm…attractive?"
Erm. Shit. He opened his mouth. Shut it again. Shock had short-circuited his brain. Is this a trick question?
No, obviously, you dolt! That wasn't even Nana, that was himself. A little help, guys? What the hell do I say? Total silence from the ghost brigade. Lovely.
"Uhh…y-yeah. Yeah, I do," he managed to say. "You're really pretty, Kitsune-san. And cute. I guess if you consider those two things as separate. Then you're both."
"Ah." Her breaths were visibly growing more rapid, as she just stared at him. "That's…ah. I've. Never had someone say that to me before. Like you just said it. Haha. That's…thank you."
She gulped, continuing to breathe and stare, and Izuku didn't know what to do. He could feel his own heart beating almost as fast as when he was fighting the worst villains. Why am I like this?! He was thinking of her, but also Nejire and Camie and Jirou and Uraraka and Tsuyu and how he didn't want anyone to get hurt. Where does all this fear come from?
"I guess…that's only the first question…" Iruka's voice was very small. "Since you do say that you think I'm…attractive…would you mind if we…I don't know…" She looked away from him and put a hand up over her face. "I'm sorry, it's stupid…"
"It's not stupid-" He could see her shaking, and felt terrible. He took her hand away from her face and squeezed it gently. "Kitsune, please. It's…it's okay."
"It's just…I've never erm…been…done anything…romantic with anyone before. Or intimate. Nothing at all, really. And, I just thought…since we may not see each other again for a while, and we're here together in this room…that we could…"
"Kitsune-san…" Is she so attached to me already? He didn't really have the greatest understanding as to why anyone would want to do intimate things with him, but it worried him to see her like this. "You know that…while you're in the shelter, I'm going to be out here risking my life. I can't really…start anything with anyone…not to say that you aren't a great girl, I meant what I said before! But…"
"I know. I know that." She sat up, taking a deep breath and seeming to regain some confidence. Her hand intertwined with his; they were now gripping each other. "I'm not asking you to make any commitments. But…I just thought…since it seems like the end of the world…and I've never gotten a chance to do anything…and since you do think I'm cute…I mean. I think you're attractive, too."
Izuku was convinced his ears had gone nuclear, and still not a single peep from any of the past users. "Well. I can't say that I've ever done anything with anyone either," he told her honestly. I never thought I would. But…he had to admit to himself…it would be nice to have something like that…just for once…even it was just a night. Especially if a nice girl like Iruka was asking, and…
She will be safe. She will be safe in UA. She's not a hero, All For One will never find out I did this, he will never have a reason to go after her. What I can do right now I can do for herself and for myself. Just for tonight.
"What is it exactly that you want to do?" he heard himself mutter.
"Oh, well…" She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. The next sentence came out very fast. "I'm super nervous, so, can we just make out for a while or something?"
When he didn't respond immediately, she opened one eye and then covered her face again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm being so weird, please, you can leave if you like."
"Kitsune-san, no." He made her lower her hands for the second time. "I…what you suggested…I'd like that."
He had unintentionally already begun leaning closer. Iruka's eyes darted down to his mouth. "Y-yeah?" she breathed.
"Yeah," he agreed. His mind had been frustratingly blank for the last few minutes, but as of this moment, he willingly succumbed to it.
They kissed.
Izuku didn't know what he'd expected. It was his first kiss on the lips, but he imagined that most of them weren't like this. Iruka had a snout, and her mouth was somewhat small, and her face had fur on it. Nevertheless, she smelled nice, tasted nicer, and when she hummed a little and put her big arms around him…that was nicest of all.
He had no qualms with simply holding the kiss as they scooted into one another a bit more. Her chest, covered only by a pajama shirt, pressed against his. That felt really good. They broke lip contact, mutually inhaled, and turned their heads to kiss again.
They lost track of time. Slowly, steadily, the kisses deepened. Iruka's tongue probed his mouth. Her tongue was definitely shaped differently than his own, but that was not a problem in the slightest. They opened their mouths, and each time they moved she tugged and bit on his lip a little, even nipping it a few times, as if begging him. Izuku really enjoyed that. He sighed, and so did she.
He wrapped his legs around her, and she pushed one large thigh into him. One of his hands went firmly to the back of her head. He ran his hands through her pretty blonde hair and then gripped it, tilting her head up to move her snout of the way so he could kiss her better. For a split second he was worried he'd accidentally been too forceful, but then Iruka moaned and gripped his t-shirt with both hands, her mouth opening very wide to welcome his. Their tongues ran over one another.
She leaned back onto the bed. He went with her. Now they were kissing horizontally, and he could feel her heartbeat. Their breaths were growing more rapid, but they plateaued, not growing too desperate or too quick, remaining steady, just enjoying each other physically at that pace. "Mmmm…" Iruka hummed. She was so soft and squishy to be on top of. In fact…
"Turn…over…" he suggested, between kisses.
"Hmm?" She seemed slightly alarmed. "But I'll…*kiss*...hurt you…"
"I'll be fine." He had to activate his Quirk a little, but once he did he had no problem flipping their positions, lifting her in her entirety with ease.
Iruka let out a cute yelp of surprise as she was plopped down firmly on his lap, and her hands immediately went down to his chest. She leaned in and blinked at him. "Are you sure?" she whispered.
"I said I'm fine." She was obviously completely covering him, his legs only going down as far as her upper thighs, but once again…soft. Squishy. He could handle it. Izuku smiled, leaned back against the bed, and cradled her face in his fingers, just beneath her little mouth. "Come back," he asked.
She exhaled and went down to him in a rush. As they resumed making out, he took a moment to appreciate how her breasts felt on top of him. Warm. He was definitely a little turned on, and he was guessing that Iruka was, too, but…just to do this, just to be like this with someone for a little while…he had never imagined it would feel this nice. And he was perfectly content like this, just to make out with her.
Izuku felt safe.
He wasn't sure if it had been an hour or two, but eventually they'd swapped so much saliva that they'd nearly made each other numb. At some point, in a love-induced stupor, they'd rolled over on their sides and were now pressed together like that. Izuku, feeling Iruka's fatigue, softly abandoned her lips and went to kiss her neck instead. Just a little bit. She nibbled on me some, I should return the favor. Based on her moans, he was doing good. That was nice.
Sort of operating on autopilot, Izuku moved himself up and down her much larger body, kissing and caressing it. He didn't take any of her clothes off, but he attended her with care, as much as he imagined was normal and appropriate for a lover. He kissed her breasts and her tummy and her thighs, though he didn't dare go near her crotch. Iruka gasped and breathed and murmured things he couldn't really hear, but she never stopped him.
Finally, finally, as the moon was long set and Izuku guessed that the sun was probably going to replace it soon, the two of them returned to mouth kissing for just a few more minutes, a few more sweet minutes, and then mutually collapsed into one another, completely worn out.
"Thank…you…" Iruka murmured. "Izuku…I loved that so much. That felt so nice."
"I thought so too…" He didn't even care that she'd used his first name. He may as well do the same. "You're amazing, Iruka…so lovely…" Their heads were over each other's shoulders, so he gave her one last quick peck on the cheek.
"Let's go to sleep now…just hold me until it's time to go…" She was already dozing off even as she spoke.
"Of course." When he went to sleep, basically smothering himself against her…he had no dreams. Izuku Midoriya was totally at peace.
…
"Alright, everyone!" Gang Orca clapped his flippers together. "Let's not do anything stupid."
It was a crisp, clear morning. The streets immediately around the shelter were quiet. The early, low sun cast long shadows across windowsills.
Tamaki Amajiki looked up the street, the direction they had to go. All uphill from here, literally. UA was a two-hour walk away, in the higher-elevation area of Musutafu.
Impossible to see the place from this distance, but he could see other parts of the city on rolling hills, looming ahead. It was almost an entirely urban journey. Which meant plenty of areas for villains to hide.
He swallowed and turned back to the convoy, which was really only a convoy in name only. They had two police cruisers: one at the front and one at the back, and a small truck in the middle for carrying supplies, but those were the only vehicles. Most of the civilians were on foot. They were either behind Gang Orca, who was taking point for the heroes, or in front of Mandalay, who was at the back with the supplies.
Tamaki and Nejire and the rest of the heroes were on the flanks. Nejire was with him on the left. Across from them on the right was supposed to be…
"Where's Midoriya?" he muttered. They were still waiting for the truck to be fully loaded, and a few straggling civilians to come out of the shelter, but Midoriya was the only missing hero.
Nejire bit her lip and looked back toward the shelter. She was floating slightly off the ground to scan the whole convoy, and seemed to come up with nothing.
"I dunno where he is," she said, loudly.
Mandalay overheard them. She frowned and glanced over her shoulder. "He didn't run off, did he?"
"No ma'am, he wouldn't do that," said Nejire. "At least, I don't think he would."
Mandalay stepped out of position. "I'll go look for him-"
"No, that's okay. I'll find him real quick," the blue-haired girl interrupted. She cast a sideways glance at Gang Orca, and Tamaki knew she was worried he might yell at them. We've got to leave any minute.
Nejire floated off toward the shelter. Tamaki's nerves were definitely showing on his face, because the woman with the night-sky body, Nova, leaned out from the small crowd of civilians and smiled at him. "Something wrong with your friend?" she asked curiously.
"Err…no. Everything's going to be fine," he told her. You're supposed to reassure the people. If they see you afraid, they'll be afraid. He tried to think of what Mirio would do. "Just a quick double check that it's all in order. Making sure we're extra ready to go." He gave Nova a thumbs-up.
Nova nodded with a dubious, almost mischievous expression. "I see. Well, I'm glad you're here, Suneater."
"It's no problem at all." He almost called her ma'am but that seemed weird. She couldn't have been that much older than him. "Soon you'll be behind UA's walls, and then…"
"Then I'll be able to tell you all that information about the entertainment district you want out of me?" Nova suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.
"N-no!" Tamaki protested hotly. "I mean, that is what you said you'd do, but what I care about is that you'll be safe. I mean. As a hero." He blushed.
"As a hero," she hummed, repeating his phrase. "And that's it?"
"That's it," he insisted. "Now, please stay close with the others. Stay in the center of the street. We heroes will cover your sides."
Nova stepped back and did what she was told, giving him his personal space again, but she kept grinning. "I'll stay at this spot in the line, then," she said. "That way, you're the one…covering my sides, Suneater."
Tamaki groaned and pulled his hood down over his face.
…
"It sounds like they're leaving now," said Iruka, somewhat in a panic.
"Here, let me help with that." Izuku reached across the bed and gathered up her things, helping her pack her backpack. They were both dressed now. While Iruka had changed in here, Izuku had left their room to get back into his hero costume, and then come back, rushing once he realized that they'd both slept in.
Dammit. When was the last time he'd let himself rest that long? And the past users had just let him get away with it! That was so unlike them.
"Thank you," she said as he handed her a big water bottle, which she tucked into the side of the bag before zipping it up and putting it on.
Izuku backed away from the bed. Iruka stood up straight with her hands on the bag straps, looking down at him. Outside, they could hear the sounds of vehicle engines and chattering people. Footsteps raced by in the narrow halls outside the room.
The two of them stared at one another. There was a mutual sense that they were about to lose their brief night of privacy, however golden it had been.
"They'll want me patrolling up high," Izuku told her. "Or far ahead. I won't be near where you walk. And besides, once you guys get within a block of UA. I'm turning around and leaving. I…can't go too close. For reasons I can't say. I hope you understand."
Iruka nodded. "I understand. So…is this goodbye for now?" She seemed very composed.
"Ah…I suppose…"
"Well." She rocked back and forth on her toes. "Could I just have one more kiss?"
No, we need to hurry, his nerves and mind said. "Yes, of course," his heart and mouth said.
He activated Float and went up to her face. They kissed more desperately than they'd had last night, both of them inhaling deeply as they pressed into one another. Izuku pushed Iruka against the wall, and for a moment their hands were roaming all over one another passionately. He could feel himself getting lost there. How could she still smell so sweet after a night's sleep? Dizzying.
He pulled himself away and landed on the floor. Float's working even more smoothly than usual. Iruka did not get off the wall immediately, but stared at him while deep breathing instead, her legs slightly bent together. Then, she gathered herself.
Izuku coughed and smoothed his hero costume out, trying to calm himself down. "I'm…I wish things could be different."
Iruka smiled. "If things were different, we might have never done this at all. Don't worry about me, Izuku. I'm a big girl."
He gave her a look, raising one eyebrow.
And then they both chuckled. "After you," he said, stepping over and opening the door for her.
…
Nejire came up the stairs and there they were, the two of them. Midoriya-kun just behind Iruka-chan.
"There you guys are!" She tapped her wrist, though she didn't have a watch. "C'mon, c'mon, sleepyheads! What, did you guys stay up all night? Iruka-chan, your collar is all disheveled." She floated forward with her Quirk and fixed it for the tall girl. "There you go. Hey, why are your faces kinda red? Midoriya-kun, you didn't sneak out last night to get into fights, did you?"
The green-haired boy opened his mouth, but then it was Iruka who spoke up. "No! Nejire-chan, I made sure he didn't do that. I apologize that we're late, but Iz…Midoriya needed to sleep. So I let him sleep."
"It was more like she…ahem…made me sleep, to be honest," said the boy, scratching his neck sheepishly. Then, both of them laughed. "Sorry, Hado."
"Sorry, Nejire-chan."
On the inside, Nejire saw this as all very suspicious. If there was any more time, she might have pried a bit further into what had really gone down. Did they fool around? No, there was no way; she was one floor beneath them and hadn't heard anything. These walls were thin and there was no way a girl like Iruka could fool around with a boy and stay quiet! And with Midoriya, no less…
Her conflicted and suspicious feelings aside, it was true that Midoriya had needed sleep. So if that was at least true, then she'd focus on that. "Okay. That's fine. Come on, you two," she said out loud, and hurried them down the stairs. "Let's go, let's go! Deku, Gang Orca said he wants you on far perimeter, scouting."
"Heard," the boy responded, pulling his hood up over his face. Back into that mode he goes. Nejire didn't think he noticed, but after he put the hood up, Iruka looked back at him with a pensive expression. Then she turned and ducked out of the shelter, and the moment was gone.
…
"WE'RE OFF!" Gang Orca ordered, and they all began to move.
Izuku rocketed up into the air, bounding ahead of the convoy. A view he'd long gotten used to filled his vision: a sea of grey rooftops under a blue sky. At his current top speed, he could make it to UA in just a few minutes from here. It would take the convoy a couple of hours, though. Slow going.
Izuku hopped from one roof to the next, taking care not to speed too far ahead. He chewed the inside of his cheek. He could hear the front police cruiser on the street below and behind him. It was rolling at maybe fifteen miles an hour.
The street ahead of it, and ahead of him, was empty save for trash and debris. If there's any bad collapses, I'll clear them out. Izuku supposed that made his presence necessary. Nejire or Gang Orca also had clearing potential, but neither of them could go as fast as him.
At the apex of his next jump, he thought he saw movement way off the north, at least seven blocks away. Out of the corner of his eye. His head darted in that direction and he almost instinctively followed it. No, what am I doing? He had a job to do here. Focus.
He glanced back at the convoy. Gang Orca was easy to see, as was Nejire in bright blue on the side of the civilians. Of course, Iruka was the most obvious, towering over the others that walked around her.
She's a big target, he thought, worrying. Maybe it's good that I stay after all, just to make sure she's safe.
He was slightly ashamed of himself for getting attached to her. Is it really okay to be intimate with someone like that and then just…go our separate ways? She kept reassuring me she'd be fine, though.
Not all distractions are bad, Izuku Midoriya.
Izuku nearly flubbed his next jump. "Nana!" he hissed, actually out loud by accident. Where have YOU been all this time?
We were letting you have your fun! She's cute as all hell, Ninth. You should be proud of yourself like a normal teenage kid would be. That was Banjo.
You guys let me make a fool of myself!
What do you mean? asked Yoichi, sounding honestly puzzled. She liked you. You weren't acting like a fool.
Yes, but…I shouldn't have done that. Now I feel…argh. I messed up. I can't have feelings like this when I have a job to do.
But you were thinking of ditching the convoy, said Nana, and he could hear the accusation there. After you promised that catty woman and the blue-haired girl that you'd help. If it's Miss Foxy that's keeping you here, locked to your promise, then that's better than nothing.
You cannot get in your own way, Midoriya. En's voice.
But what does that MEAN? Because I feel like I got in my own way by even ending up in this situation-
Danger Sense activated a half second before the bullet came whizzing toward him.
Izuku dodged sideways, all his instincts honing in immediately on the peril. The bullet whistled down toward the street, loud enough for Gang Orca to pick it up with his whale Quirk, and then came looping back up toward Izuku.
"DEKU!" Gang Orca shouted. "What is that-"
The civilians' voices rose in alarm, and three of the frontmost heroes got into battle positions, activating their Quirks-
"STAY THERE!" Izuku shouted, circling the bullet, picking up speed, putting more and more power into One for All as it pursued him through the air. They bobbed and weaved in a strange dance. It's faster than me. "THE SNIPER'S AFTER ME, IT'S ALWAYS AFTER ME!" Dammit! Now of all times!
He leapt away toward a side street, off track. "Deku-" Nejire shouted toward him.
"I'LL LEAD IT AWAY!" he promised, back over his shoulder. "KEEP GOING!"
He climbed rapidly above the building canopy, twirling in midair and taking in as much of the surrounding area as possible in an instant.
The bullet gave chase. Was the sniper the type to possibly aim for the others to get him distracted, or would she just focus on him? I don't know you, yet, he thought, but I will! He intended to find this woman this time. And you'll…
Izuku banked a corner so tightly that the bullet struck the building instead, shattering the concrete, but failing to reach him.
…take me to who you're working for!
