Aizawa sprung up, alarmed from his seat, clutching his phone against his ear.
His usual calm, unbothered expression cracked with something close enough to panic.
"What do you mean she didn't arrive?" he almost snapped. Other teachers in the office turned to him, surprised by the level of tension and volume of his voice.
He noticed and quickly left.
"She's not here," they told him on the other side. The train came, but she wasn't on it."
Aizawa picked up on the confusion in their voice and made sure to keep his own calm. He leveled his voice, "Did you ask anyone?"
"I did, but no one saw someone who fit her description. I-I don't know where she is, Eraserhead."
An unsettling cold crawled up Aizawa. His mind raced with frustration and concern. This wasn't good. You were supposed to be on the train…but you weren't. He went over this with you countless times, even having you repeat it so you understood. Everything…was put in place. Nezu structured and carefully planned it out.
There was absolutely no way that she-
He silenced that assumption. Now wasn't the time to speculate. But then again, given the strategic meeting he, Nezu, and a few others had…could this be one of her…
"She's crafty. Her mind is always playing 3D chess."
He remembers Recovery Girl informing everyone with a slight, dire undertone.
Was this one of her moves, he pondered, trying to see.
It was a possibility. He should have chosen Recovery Girl for you.
But…Nezu decided against it, and for good reason. He didn't want his 'brother,' Hamato Yoshi, to suspect anything. The man already had, and considering he wasn't thrilled about his perversions finding out about Donnie being here, something Aizawa still wasn't sure how he did, it was best not to let him know.
You had to be somewhere. But where?
Midnight came out seemingly on cue with an answer to his unspoken question. Her eyes locked onto Aizawa. "Aizawa," she called urgently. He turned to her and saw it. Her usual playful twink in her eyes was replaced with a seriousness that told Aizawa everything.
Your head was ringing, and panic-muffled clamoring surrounded you. But all you think of was…
This ramen place you found would be perfect to go to, and you couldn't wait… I hoped you and Izuku could go there once you found him. Also, all the…the different places you discovered and-
"Get up! Aurora! Get up! Mi canarina! Get up!"
"Sister! Help!"
You gasp, your eyes snapping open wide, and find your world a sideways view and the sudden realization of the situation that occurred and is happening. People were running frantically through the streets, screaming and crying, trying to find cover from something. Unknown feet raced past you almost like a stampede, leaving dust clouds and kicking up debris. Some even strike you in the face. Slowly, you stand unbalanced as pieces of gravel and other things fall and hang from your clothes, your legs slightly wobbling to maintain your balance. You almost had it when someone ran by and unintentionally hit your shoulder, knocking you back to the ground.
The world became sideways again, with an unfocused vision that made everything seem blurry, and that high-pitched ringing in your ears continued.
You couldn't stay down. You still had to find Izuku. That was your focus. Slowly, you push yourself up and, with a shuffle, move forward, holding your head that feels like a sledgehammer is striking it. With each strike, something sounded like a crack within, a painful crack that felt like a splitting—a scream formulated in your throat, ready to go. Something made you swallow it, and the pain radiated through your body; everything suddenly went black and swallowed you.
"What the" Mashirao muttered, confused as his instinctive skin prickled with an inexplicable sense of fear that washed over him. It came on him suddenly, distracting him from his focus.
He pulled up the sleeve of his costume and stared at goosebumps covering his forearm. He wasn't in any danger he could think of; so far, his internship hadn't put him in any situation. So where did it come from?
His eyes narrow suspiciously with concern. This feeling…it seemed familiar and….something warm inside him, that same warmth he knew well and felt back during the Sports Festival when the matches were happening, and even further back during the U.S.J incident with villains in the Conflagration Zone when…
He gasped, realizing, and-
"13-1-25. Lights on."
Your eyes snapped open. There was no pain or anything except this odd…heaviness that melted away slowly as you stood. You staggered a bit but managed to straighten yourself and look around.
Something wasn't right. You blinked briefly, rubbed your eyes, and blinked again feverishly. Every time, it was the same thing….darkness and blazing dark, glowing golden lines…stretching out and intertwining from various directions.
Your body trembled, and you shut your eyes, rubbing them vigorously, hoping to stop it and see…see something. But it wouldn't go away…the darkness and golden lines.
Where you blind? Because your eyes were burning. Was this blindness?
Your hand stretched out, while the other clasped over your eyes as you tried to stifle a whimper, to grasp or feel anything solid or feel something, but all you grabbed was…nothing. Nothing but air. Your mind races, thoughts tumbling over each other trying to figure out and understand, but importantly….where was someone? Anyone?
You continued feeling around, your feet tentatively moving about. Each step you could feel yourself make was uneasy, and your heart shriveled.
So you did the only thing you could think of: "Sister! Sister! Papa!" You cried out and switched to calling out to, "Everyone…Leonardo! Raphael! Everyone!"
Far off, but still, within the distance, Shigaraki and Kuogiri watch you moving cautiously atop the water tank on the building, the young man, with less interest. "Bug Zapper looks stupid," he said gleefully, almost tempering his childish anger. He smiled behind the hand covering his face.
"Be kind, Shigaraki," Kurogiri said calmly, "it's to be expected. Remember how you once were."
He scuffed and frowned sourly, "It still looks stupid. I hope it falls off." The thought made his smile return, "If it does, I get everything!" He points at you, "Kurogiri, warp it off and let it fall."
Kurogiri refused, "No. That wasn't our objective. We cannot proceed with that. She would be most displeased, and so would he. You don't want her upset with you again."
"So! It'll only be for a bit. It'll get over. Then, we can go back to everything else. Warp it! The bug zapper is useless anyway."
"No. We must assess and report back. Development is important, remember?" He reaffirmed, "Though it is unfortunate the other one isn't here."
Shigaraki scratched an itch under his chin, knowing who he was talking about, "I don't care about either of them. They're gonna ruin everything, especially bug zapper! This is taking too long! It's doing nothing! The bug zapper is broken again. It's broken."
Kurogiri kept his composure and continued his keen observation of you; you still hadn't emerged. His eyes narrow slightly, taking note. "It seems stronger than expected. Where are they?" His eyes flicker from you to the sky for a moment, caring little for the destruction happening in the city below. "It seems she needs an intervention." He thought of Shigaraki's words and modified them just a little.
"Wait here," he instructed and warped over to you. He kept his distance, even though it would be fine to approach you in this state.
"Sister! Papa! Anyone! Izuku-chan!" you call, your voice cracking.
Kurogiri heard the desperation in your voice. It was almost like a child…like before. He stepped forward from behind and shoved you off into a warp gate just as you shouted for a name that surprised him but he cared little for.
Something struck Splinter. The pen he held snapped in half, and his whiskers stood on end. Something was unsteady in the air. Looking at the red ink staining his hand, watching the liquid trickle down slowly, drop by drop, he was sure.
But what?
He stood urgently from his desk in his room, ready to go, when one of his students appeared, needing his assistance. "Umm, Mr. Hamato?"
The air was warm and comforting still, with only the occasional rustle of leaves breaking the calm and-
"Izuku-chan!" you shouted, jolting up and awake. Your hand outreached before you, gripping nothing but…silence and cold night air that slipped through your fingers.
Your eyes fix on the sensation for a moment before looking down and noticing something else: a blanket of broken tree branches covering you from the waist down with a few twigs embedded in your slightly torn school, which you thought little of. You start patting your hands about you to your hair and pluck out loose leaves and smaller twigs.
Once you have dusted and plucked everything off, you glance around and find yourself in a park. There is a water fountain in the center, with benches evenly spread around and post lamps providing decent light for the paths interconnected and conversing with the fountain. No one was around, and you could see in the direction you looked as you walked towards the fountain.
Some Master Splinter often said it should be a cause for alarm, and it usually would. A threat could easily lurk in the same shadows, so one must be vigilant and keep one's senses sharp. And he was, by all accounts, right. However, your only focus was one person; he clearly wasn't here or within this radius.
You couldn't sense him or feel his presence. But he had to be somewhere in this city; otherwise, why would you be here?
"I need to find Izuku-chan," you mutter to yourself with soft worry, staring at your reflection that mirrored your words. "I must." You scoop up some water, splash your face, and fly off.
Unaware of a shadow figure watching you.