Trigger Warning:

- falling to death

- blood

- gore

Two days have gone by since … since the forest attack.

Two days since Bakugou has gone missing.

Since Selene has disappeared.

God, even thinking her name reminds me of just how I've failed her.

Midoriya's awake, so Class 1-A has gone to visit him in the hospital. At least, everyone who was uninjured or present go. I do, too. As my classmates specifically point out who is still undergoing medical treatment, I can't help but bitterly address the elephant in the room. Midoriya is upset, too. He regrets being unable to save Bakugou; I regret being unable to save Selene.

That's when Kirishima speaks up. "Then this time around, let's save them." Everyone makes a unanimous sound of astonishment except me. He continues onward. He explains how Kirishima and I stumbled upon on each other yesterday at the hospital, the feeling of futility consuming us. We roamed the hospital hallways until we came across an open room. Yaoyorozou, All Might, and the police were having a discussion, and we caught the gist of it: Yaoyorozou implanted a tracking device on a noumu present at the battle scene, and she created a location tracker of the device for the police and heroes. That's when our minds spun with a plan. That we could ask Yaoyorozou to make an exact replica of the location tracker for us, too.

The rest of the class follows, too, but they protest. Especially Iida. "This is a matter that should be left to the professionals!" he exclaims. "This is not a situation for students like us to be meddling, you idiot!"

Kirishima retorts as well, putting his and my frustrations into words. "Dammit, man, I know that already! But still! I couldn't do anything! Hearing that our friend was being targeted … and I couldn't do anything about it! I didn't do anything about it! If I don't do something about it here, then I won't be able to call myself a hero or a man!" Our classmates request him to keep calm, but we can't do that. Kirishima approaches Midoriya, the only other one who was devastated at the abduction. "YOUR HANDS CAN STILL REACH HIM!" Kirishima urges.

Midoriya doesn't respond, which Kirishima and I take as a sign of hope for now.

Iida, though, remains vigilant. "Do you mean to go and rescue Bakugou and Hanada yourselves?"

I answer the question. "Even though the villains marked us murder targets, they snatched Bakugou and Selene-chan away without killing them. Kirishima and I will go."

But my answer seems to send Iida into a frenzy. He shouts that at us that we're getting carried away and to stop messing around. But we're not. Shouji is more sympathetic, as he was present during the abduction, but when he states that our feelings should not guide our actions, Kirishima and I tense up. Like our feelings justify our frustration but not our will to take action. I have to disagree. More of our classmates express their dissent, but it is what Asui says that stings the most: "No matter how just your feelings may be, if you engage in battle … If you break the rules like that, then your actions are no different from those of the villains."

Her audacity … the comparison she makes between us and them … likening us heroes to villains … they hurt. A lot. There's so much I want to say to that. Screw the rules! I want to shout at the top of my lungs. Rules, rules, rules! I don't give a damn! No organization is perfect! Not even heroes! There's always an exception to rules, and this is one of them! Because of these stupid rules, the girl I love is being tortured in unspeakably abject ways. Who knows what torments she's facing? Because of these stupid rules, I was too late to save her. Had Mandalay's telepathic message come just even two minutes sooner, I could have saved her. I could have saved Bakugou, too. Her friend … my friend, too. These past two days have been a living hell for me. But because of these stupid rules, they are living in a hell worse than mine! The desire to roar all of that bubbles like a volcano inside me, but I manage to tame it with a searing glare. After all, Asui is not the antagonist here. It's the bastards that kidnapped my friends that are.

The doctor steps through the door and ushers all of us out. Kirishima stays behind with Midoriya for a little while to convince him.

When he comes out, we go to Yaoyorozou's ward to persuade her.

Nighttime falls. Both of us stand outside the entrance of the hospital. It's our rendezvous point, where we asked Midoriya and Yaoyorozou to provide their final thoughts.

Kirishima is getting nervous, though. "Yaoyorozou … she said she'd think about it. Think she'll come?" he asks.

I admit, I'm a little agitated, too. But one of us has to remain calm, and that job falls to me. "Well, no matter how impatient we get, in the end, it's all up to her," I reason.

She comes a short while later. A band-aid replaces the wrap-around bandage she had across her head. Otherwise, she looks better. Midoriya comes, too. His arms are no longer caged in plaster and gauze. Kirishima asks for her answer, but just as she's about to talk, another voice pipes in. Iida's. The one who most strongly dissented our course of action. How he knows about the rendezvous … I guess he must have overheard somehow. All of us turn to look at him.

Unsurprisingly, he addresses me and Midoriya. "Why, of all people, you guys? The two of you, who scolded me for my own reckless pursuit. Who received a special pardon after that incident! Why are you guys trying to make the same mistake I did?" he grits out. "This is too much!" Kirishima expresses his confusion, but I know just what Iida is referring to: the battle with the Hero Killer. I was inconsiderate. Of course, Iida would notice the parallels between what he did and what we're planning to do. And that parallel would hurt him. I should have noticed it earlier. Through his teeth, Iida continues, "We're still under the protection of the school, and now is the hardest time for U.A. Who do you think will have to take responsibility for your actions?!"

Midoriya also knows what Iida is talking about. He tries to plead with him. "Iida, you've got it wrong! It's not like it's okay for us to break the rules-" Whatever he was about to finish with gets cut off as Iida lands a solid punch on his cheek. All of us are stunned. Guy just recovered from the hospital. Why are you trying to send him back?! I'm about to speak up, but Iida beats me to it.

"I'M FRUSTRATED, TOO!" he howls. "I'M THE CLASS PRESIDENT! I WORRY ABOUT MY CLASSMATES! IT'S NOT JUST BAKUGOU OR HANADA! SEEING YOUR INJURIES, LYING ON THAT BED, JUST LIKE MY BROTHER!" The last of his strength leaves him. He cries. "If you guys go through with this rashness, if something happens to you that can't be recovered from, like my brother … Are you saying my concerns don't mean anything?" He grabs Midoriya by the shoulders. "Do my feelings not mean anything?"

Midoriya helplessly calls out his name, but I take charge now. Iida's feelings are justified, but he's making bold statements without knowing the whole picture. That, I cannot tolerate. "We're not trying to confront and attack them head-on. Not at all."

Iida's listening. Kirishima finishes, "We're going to rescue him without combat. This is a covert operation! A way for us to fight without breaking the rules!"

"It's a loophole we found in the rules. And rules are all about finding loopholes," I point out.

Yaoyorozou declares are support. "I believe in Todoroki, but I came with the intention of accompanying you all as a failsafe. Should the unthinkable happen, I will prevent combat!" That's good enough for us.

And it seems Kirishima got to Midoriya as well. Midoriya says, "I don't really understand it myself, but after being told that my hands can reach him, I just can't sit around. I can't help but thinking that I want to save him!"

To my surprise, Iida relents and requests to join our amateur rescue team. He also decides to ensure that none of us actually engage in combat. No problem. The more there are, the better. Although, it's his next statement that dampens my optimism. He says he'll be a kind of watchman. "Watchman Iida," I mutter.

Yaoyorozou pulls out a replica of the location tracker from her dress pocket. It points to the Kamino Ward of Yokohama City in the Kanagawa Prefecture. We'll have to take a train to get there. And the shortest ride is two hours, departing from Nagano. For that long of a time, we order takeout before boarding the metro. Thankfully, my comfort food, cold soba, is available.

While we eat on the train, Midoriya asks us, "Did you tell the others the specifics around our plan?"

Without looking up from my bento box, I answer his question. "Yeah. After we did, they just tried to stop us from going."

"Uraraka had some pretty harsh words for us," Kirishima adds on. "'I'm pretty sure that Bakugou will just feel disgraced to be rescued by everyone. As for Hanada … she'll think that everyone sees her as a weakling because of her disability.' Those were her words, quote-unquote."

Those words bothered me, too. "In any case, listen," I order. "No matter how you look at it, what we're trying to do is driven by our own egos. If you want to turn back, it's not too late." Bakugou and Selene have some of the biggest egos, but Uraraka is wrong. When push comes to shove and becomes a matter of survival, both of them will put aside their egos.

Kirishima affirms what I just said. "If I wasn't sure about this, I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place! They're not the kind of people who will want to just let the villains have their way."

"There's no way I can turn back," Midoriya replies with conviction. Good.

We arrive at Kamino Ward.

Yaoyorozou commands all of us to wear disguises because it's a covert mission. We all look like clowns after dressing up. My clothes are a decent ensemble: white dress shirt, navy trousers and waistcoat, and a belt. But it's the wig that really screams "CLOWN!" But if looking like clowns helps us blend in, who am I to complain? I'm more curious why we had to purchase costumes when Yaoyorozou literally could have created them with her quirk. When I ask her as much, she spouts some gibberish about the economy and citizenship. It makes no sense, but I tell her I get it anyway.

Just then, the massive screen TV in the center of the Ward lights up, broadcasting the press interview of Principal Nezu, Aizawa-sensei, and Vlad King-sensei. They're making a public apology. And it seems genuine, given that Aizawa-sensei has shaved his stubble and pulled his hair back. Principal Nezu announces the failures that U.A. committed in taking care of its students, but it's not enough for the press reporters. Hell, there were even protests by the public outside U.A.'s doors earlier today. Everyone blames the heroes and are treating them like criminals. I'm enraged, too, but it's not that they didn't try. They did their best. We did our best. But that's no viable answer to the questions. Our teachers are barraged with questions that only have disappointing answers. The rest of the crowd around us express their displeasure. The atmosphere becomes heavier. It almost feels like our disguises aren't hiding anything, and the crowd is staring right at us.

I know of my failures. They haven't let me sleep a wink. But I'm still trying. We're all still trying.

But it's not my place to talk. We're going covert. And if - when - we rescue Bakugou and Selene, everyone will know that heroes never back down after a fight. We retaliate with vengeance.

After an hour of following the pointer on the location tracker, we arrive at we presume to be is the villains' hideout. According to Yaoyorozou, the villains have stayed here all day, but that doesn't equate to Bakugou and Selene being here, too. For all we know, they could be kept captive in some other facility. Iida reminds us one last time to not engage directly. Midoriya mumbles a plan, and I hatch a scheme in my head.

I glance at the structure the location tracker leaded us to: a large warehouse, kind of decrepit, weeds overgrown all around. All of us try to walk around the perimeter. But when some drunk guys start bothering us, I suggest we go elsewhere to talk. Ultimately, we decide to try getting through via the back of the warehouse. It's cramped space - we have to walk in single file - but no one can disturb us now. With that in mind, I toss the wig far away. A barred window is in our direct line of sight, and Midoriya proposes to peek into it.

"Will you be able to see when it's this dark?" I wonder.

That's when Kirishima pulls out a pair of night goggles from his ensemble. It's agreed that he and Midoriya will scan through the window, and Iida and I will support them. Midoriya is a little heavier than I anticipated.

Kirishima is the first to use the goggles. "It's pretty dirty inside, but I don't see anything especially- WHOA!" He nearly stumbles back.

"What is it? What did you see, Kirishima?" I inquire, alarmed at his sudden change in behavior.

"Inside. To the left," he directs as he passes the goggles to Midoriya. "Look!"

"N-N-N-NOUMU!" Midoriya hollers.

None of us have any time to react after that revelation. Because the warehouse comes crashing down like a sinkhole sucked it in. Except, it's not a sinkhole. It's Mount Lady and a whole team of Pro-Heroes. Yaoyorozou climbs up the concrete wall to get a better view. She tells us that they're rounding up all the noumu.

Iida is immensely relieved as we bring Midoriya and Kirishima back down. As Kirishima expresses his awe at the heroes' cleverness, Iida pants out that we have nothing to do here and to leave. Even Yaoyorozou feels the same because we overhear that All Might is in on the mission.

I'm about to speak up when an unfamiliar voice booms from the wrecked building. "I'm sorry, Tiger. I thought she had a useful quirk long ago. Since the opportunity fell into my lap, I decided to take it. Ever since my body became like this, my stock has fallen quite a bit." Survival mode kicks in. We all hide behind the wall and slump to the ground, sweat dripping from our foreheads. None of us talk. That voice. It's the first time I've ever heard it, but it's so menacing. My heart beats at the speed of lightning. My breath comes out in ragged pants. This man is death incarnate. A promise of a gruesome demise. A part of me can't even believe that a villain this malicious can possibly exist. He's worse than a serial killer psychopath. Images of my own death flash in my mind. And then images of Selene. This is the man keeping my Selene. All the fears I had for her multiply infinitely.

And then, the most magnificent but frightening explosion ricochets in all directions. The sensation even passes through the concrete wall, smashing a good portion of it, jolting all of us forward and slamming us back. I hit my head hard, but I know that everything got decimated in an instant. All the Pro-Heroes must be knocked out, if not dead. The five of us are paralyzed with fear. We can't bring ourselves to get up. That's how scary this terrorist is. Not even my dad ever scared me this much.

I try to force myself to move. For Bakugou. For Selene. They've had to endure the torments of this guy for two days. And it's my fault. I have to make it up to them. Get them out. Alive. Unharmed. But from what I've just witnessed, expecting them to be unharmed is too much. That's when a voice I've longed to hear echoes. A voice of fiery wrath, pride, and adamant. Bakugou's voice. "Ugh! Smells like shit!" he complains. For the first time, his cussing sounds like a blessing. I'm relieved to know he's still his usual self. "The hell is this?!" But why isn't Selene saying anything?

The terrorist apologizes just as the sounds of more villains appearing follow. "You've failed again, huh, Tomura?" the terrorist asks. Just from that name, it's evident that the entirety of the League of Villains is here. Selene must be here, too. "But you absolutely cannot get discouraged. All you need to do is try again. I brought your comrades back for you. And this boy, too, because you deemed him to be an 'important piece.' Selene is also here because she is invaluable. Try as many times as you'd like. That's why I'm here.

"Everything is for your sake."

She is here. We can save her. There's a chance we can save both of them. They got out of my grasp once, I won't let it happen again. And when I do, I'll do right by both of you. Bakugou, you'll get a proper rival out of me. And Selene … my moon … sweetheart, I'll stop pushing you away. You're the best thing in my life, and I'd be a fool if I let someone like that go away. I promise to be there for you. Whenever you need me. Whenever you want me. I know I've hurt you, and I'll make up for it a thousand times. Never again will I let you disappear.

I rise to my feet, ready to face on the manifestation of death. But Iida reaches over and pins Midoriya and me to the wall. He's staying true to his word: he is preventing us from fighting. Now I get why he insisted on holding us back. We needed that so much. Because we were about to go headfirst in the crisis. And most likely die.

All of a sudden, All Might appears. He pops out like a shooting star and whooshes toward the decimated landscape. Another wave of force bursts, destroying more of the wall protecting us. Even sending debris our way.

But it seems the terrorist was unaffected because he talks smoothly. "The bar isn't more than five kilometers away from here. It took well over thirty seconds after I sent the noumu for you to arrive. You've gone soft, huh, All Might?"

"You're one to talk," All Might retorts. "What's the deal with that industrial mask you've got on? Don't you think you're trying a little too hard? I won't make the same mistake I made five years ago, All for One." All for One … so that's the terrorist's name. And it seems like both of them have a long pending beef. "I'M GOING TO TAKE BACK YOUNG BAKUGOU AND HANADA! AND THIS TIME AROUND, YOU'RE GETTING LOCKED AWAY FOR GOOD! YOUR LEAGUE OF VILLAINS PUPPET TOO!"

I cannot see anything, but I from that outburst, I figure that All Might is charging forward for an attack. But All for One is prepared. "That won't do," he mocks. "There's so much for us to do. How difficult for both of us." Another blast ricochets. A series of buildings are crushed to smithereens from All for One's blow. For a second, I worry that All Might is dead. Bakugou screams his name in desperation, But All for One denies the possibility that he might have died. "Get out of here, Tomura," he orders the plaster-hand obsessed maniac. "And bring the kids with you. Kurogiri, get everyone out of here." I hear some fizzing. I take it a warp gate has appeared because All for One tells all the villains to leave. All Might comes back with a vengeance. "I want you to remember, Tomura. You can still grow so much more."

All for One and All Might face off again. Every time one of them lands a blow, shockwaves are generated. I just hope that All Might is in the lead.

Then a voice I've really come to hate speaks up. Marble bastard. "Shigaraki, let's get out of here while that pipeface is keeping All Might busy! Take the pieces with you, too."

"Assholes," Bakugou mutters.

This is a dire situation. With All for One keeping All Might occupied, the League will abduct Bakugou and Selene again. Grunts and shouts between Bakugou and the League erupt, meaning that he's engaged, too. Neither he nor Selene can escape. More importantly, none of us can fight. A rule I'm starting to detest with every passing second.

The five of us are plotting a way out of this, but Midoriya is the first to pipe up. "There's a way! A way for us to avoid combat! A way for us to rescue Kacchan and Hanada, and for us to get out of here, too!" I'll take whatever. I ask him what he's planning. "But whether it succeeds all comes down to Kacchan. Hanada hasn't said anything at all, so it's logical that she's still unconscious. This plan … if it's me doing it, it will probably fail." He turns toward Kirishima. "It's got to be you, Kirishima. You are the key to making this successful." He addresses all of us now. "Kacchan has been staying on guard with these opponents. He's been creating distance from them while fighting. The time to act is the moment he is more than two steps away from the villains."

Iida approves. "It may be a gamble, but considering the circumstances, the risk to us is relatively low. Above all, if we succeed, then it'll all be worth it."

I'm in. Kirishima is in. Yaoyorozou opts to stay out. So we listen to the rest of the plan. Iida, Midoriya, and Kirishima will group together, in a formation similar to when Midoriya and I were chasing after marble bastard. They'll propel themselves with Midoriya's full cowl move and Iida's recipro burst. They'll shatter the rest of the wall with Kirishima's hardening, and at that moment, I summon an enormous ramp of ice for them to fly off of. Since the villains don't know that five spectators are present, we'll use the element of surprise to catch them off guard. They don't have the advantage in midair like we will. All for One and All Might will be engaged, too. And Kirishima will call out to Bakugou to join them in midair. He and Bakugou have formed a relationship of trust that none of us have.

I watch my friends intently, waiting for my part. The moment the wall shatters, I drop to a knee and create a whirlwind of frost and ice. The instant I raise my arm, a spear of ice protrudes from an angle, reaching tens of meters into the air. Finally, I get a view of what is happening out there. Bakugou spots them just as they rush up the bridge. He dashes toward Selene some distance away. If it weren't for her gleaming white hair, I wouldn't have seen her. She is unconscious, like Midoriya suspected. Limp. A part of me is glad that she isn't witnessing any of this. But another part is concerned that the reason she's inert is because of all the torture inflicted on her since she was kidnapped.

Bakugou yells at her. "OI, HANADA! NAP TIME IS OVER! WAKE THE HELL UP!" She doesn't, which worries both me and him. He huffs before tossing Hanada over his shoulder. He secures his grip on her before charging back toward Iida, Kirishima, and Midoriya. Kirishima extends his hand and exclaims at him to join him.

I can feel Bakugou's smirk all the way here. "You idiots," he grins. Uraraka was wrong. Bakugou is elated at being saved by his friends. He launches one of his most powerful explosions to date single-handedly. Easily, he reaches the level that the group are hovering at. With each meter he covers, things start to brighten up. They'll be safe. We'll have rescued them. This nightmare will come to an end.

But I hope too soon. Because the instant Bakugou and Kirishima clasp hands, Selene slips from his grasp and falls the dizzying height. The four of them stare in horror. I do, too. Yaoyorozou covers her mouth and gasps. My friends shout and scream at the sight. They fight between going back for her and transporting Bakugou to safety. As if on instinct, my body moves of its own accord. NO!. NO! NO! Please. God! NO! The consensus we reached about the plan disappears. Rules like no combat and no interference become nonexistent to me. There's only one thing that I can see … that matters to me the most: the love of my life falling to her death. With a blaze rivaling a forest fire, I race toward her. I have to make it in time. I have to cushion her fall, even if I get hurt in the process.

But I don't. I don't make it in time. Her body lands with a sickening thud on the flattened dirt surface of the ground. Was that her skull I heard crack?! I drop to my knees just two meters away from her. Shock, terror, devastation, fury, misery, and a hundred other emotions overwhelm me. Blood pools around her. Her white hair is stained crimson. Her nightgown is torn and tattered. I reach a hand out for her. And then All Might and All for One aim for each other again. The force from them making impact is incomparable. And the most destructive. Boulders rain from the sky. I scurry forward to pull her out of the way, but I miss. Massive, jagged blocks of concrete land on her. Bones crunch. All I can see is her upper torso. Her arms are twisted in morbid angles. Her legs … which bore the impact of the boulders … they must be contorted gruesomely. Is that bone, I see?! Another wave of nauseating emotions shudder through me. I bend over on my palms as I heave. My nightmares came true. And this one will be forever etched into my mind.

Get a hold of yourself, Shouto. Get up. Move. She's alive. Even if she fell seven stories, she has to be alive. It must be this vain despair that pushes me to throw each boulder off her. Distantly, I realize that my fight or flight response must be kicking in hard. Only that can explain the superhuman strength must be flooding through me. I don't care about the battle happening just next to me. I don't care if my friends made it safely. I don't care how many rules I've broken or if news helicopters are flocking the scene right now. Something hot and liquid drips down my face. Roars of anguish escape my throat. Dust and debris fill my fingernails and scrape my fingers. I don't care about any of that.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please be alive, Selene. We've come this far, don't leave me now. Sweetheart. Love. I imagine a future for myself. Hundreds of thousands of versions. And you are in every single one of them. You once told me it was okay to be selfish. I'm being selfish now. Come back. You deserve all the happiness in the world and more, and I want to be the one to give it to you.

At some point, I've pushed enough rock away that I can pull her out now. Very gently, I bring my arms under her limp figure and lift her onto my lap. And for a moment - just for a moment - I let all the emotions consuming run free. I cradle her the way one would cherish a lotus. Reverently. Softly. Lovingly. I sit on the ground and rock her back and forth. With the last vestiges of chokes and sobs, I regain my senses. The battle around me does matter. Whether my friends made it out safely does matter. The consequences of my actions will matter. I can hear my friends screaming at me to escape with her. She'll live. She has to live. If we can get medical help in time, she'll live.

I sniffle back the rest of my tears before getting up on my feet. With Selene's fragile state, I can't risk using either my left or right side. There's only my physical stamina. I run toward Yaoyorozou. Thank God my flight response is still high as ever. This is the fastest I've run in my life. I've almost made it across when another smash resonates and a rock hits the back of my head. Hard.

My vision distorts and blurs.

I stumble, making the biggest mistake.

Selene falls out my grip.

I reach out to her.

Her fingertips barely brush mine.

And everything turns black.

Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The links to the chapters are here:

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-83/

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-84/

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-85/

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-87/

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-88/

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-89/

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-90/