So far, this wasn't the worst thing to happen to Shota while being kidnapped. Sure, he had been stripped down to his boxers in the middle of a freezing warehouse. And yeah, he had been getting the shit kicked and punched out of him on and off for the last hour, but the fact remained that the guys were still amateurs.

For one, they made no attempt to cover his eyes in the van or when they exited. He knew exactly where they were. And while they had stripped him of most of his clothes, they didn't notice the knife he had in his boot. Nor could they find his hero license.

They had searched through his wallet and found yen, old receipts, a candy bar wrapper for some reason, and old forgotten credit cards plus his debit card. All without his name on them. Shota was not an idiot. He kept his ID and his hero license inside a small pocket that was within the pocket of his pants.

They also kept arguing about everything. Shota just wanted them to either shut up or beat him into unconsciousness. Anything was better than what they were doing now.

"We should call it in!"

"No. Make a video!"

"How is he going to see the video, idiot?"

"Submit it to the website!"

"It takes like two days for it to be reviewed!"

Shota groaned and buried his face into the cold ground. His capture weapon had been thrown to the side as well, and if he weren't seventy percent sure he was concussed, he would have tried making his way toward it while they were arguing.

Then again, his ankles were cuffed together as were his hands. Moving wasn't exactly an option. So, he was resigned to lay there and listen to the idiots argue.

"Will you shut up?" Shota muttered. He groaned as he was kicked in the gut again. His meager lunch had been lost somewhere back in the van when they had taken turns punching him in the stomach. The evidence of that was all over Kat's shirt. And that other guy who really seemed to hate him. Raul? Something like that.

"Pick him up," Raul ordered. Shota groaned as he felt two men grab him by his armpits and haul him to his feet. "Do you know why you're here, hero?"

Shota remained silent, mostly because he was swirling blood in his mouth. He could be a petty bastard on a good day, but today was turning into a really bad one. And combined with the concussion that was locking away his most rational parts, he was feeling really petty. So as Raul leaned in close, Shota spat blood directly into his eye. The man squealed and staggered back.

The next punch to his sternum was well deserved, and he doubled over with a loud grunt. Kat spoke, "Stop it! We need him alive to draw out Present Mic."

What little breath Shota was gasping for left in a blur. He felt his body stiffen. Did these people know about his relationship with Hizashi? Were they using him to get to Hizashi or vice versa? If he had put his husband in danger…

"You know who Present Mic is?" Raul asked as he grabbed Shota's face and lifted it. "Let me tell you. He is the reason my baby brother is in jail, and I ain't gonna stand for it. That's why we're going to use you to draw him out."

"What makes you think he cares about me?" Shota asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. His body had tensed on him, but that could just be played off as pain.

"Because he's a hero, right? And no hero is going to let another hero be a punching bag," Raul answered. He smirked at Shota. "Besides, you have plenty of limbs for us to break if he doesn't comply."

Shota felt one of his deranged grins creeping onto his face. It seemed like these idiots didn't know how deep his connection to Hizashi was. They were right that Hizashi wouldn't stand by while another hero was being hurt. But if he knew that it was Shota they were threatening? Well, the entire city wouldn't be safe.

"What's so funny?" Raul asked.

"Um, sir," one of the smaller men interrupted.

"What, Ghao?" Raul demanded as he turned his head. Ghao held out a phone.

"Present Mic is taking calls now. We got him on the line," Ghao whispered. Raul tensed and motioned with his hand. Ghao started to hand him the phone.

"Put it on speaker!" Raul hissed. Ghao fumbled with the phone, and after a few moments, Shota heard his husband's voice fill the room.

"You there, Listener?" Hizashi asked.

"I am," Raul spat. "And hero, I would listen closely if I were you. We have another one of your pros here, and unless you do exactly what I say, I'll-

"Woah there, Listener. Why don't you take a deep breath and calm down?" Hizashi asked. His tone was still happy and very much under control. It wasn't a completely rare occurrence for someone to call into the station with a threat. So, the trace on the call would be starting soon.

"Go to hell, Present Mic. I won't calm down!" Raul snapped. "Now listen before I kill your fellow pro. Do you want that death on your hands?"

"I'm all ears, Listener. Just keep the hostage out of harm's way, okay?" Hizashi said. No change to his tone. "Why don't you start by telling me who your hostage is?"

"Easy," Raul sneered. His gaze moved toward Shota. "What is your name, hero?"

They... didn't know his name? They didn't know who he was or his relationship with Present Mic? At all? The phone was shoved in Shota's face. He looked down at the phone and then back up at Raul. Not a word left his lips.

The hours were waning until it would be Hizashi's birthday. Unless it was already? He has lost track of time, but Shota promised to make the day as stress-free as possible. Finding out that his husband had been kidnapped and used as a punching bag would have the opposite effect.

As the phone was shoved into his face once again, Shota raised his gaze in defiance. A punch to the gut tore a groan from him. Raul spoke with frustration leaking out of every pore, "Stubborn bastard. Have it your way. Just know that I can't wait to make you scream."

"Why don't you tell me why you want me specifically?" Hizashi suggested.

"You put my baby brother in jail," Raul spat. "That's why you're going to meet us alone. No police."

"No police," Hizashi agreed. Shota closed his eyes as he tried to remember who would be at the radio station with Hizashi. Well, everyone would probably be there to celebrate. Hizashi had a few sidekicks who helped with the radio station when they weren't helping him patrol. So which sidekick would be there today? Or would it be all of them?

He hoped it wasn't Vision Ray. The kid was nice enough, but he had asked for an autograph from Shota twice now. Shota tried not to show his disgust. The worst part was that Hizashi encouraged it! The traitor really wanted him to give away his signature.

And if Vision Ray rescued him? Shota would be obligated to give him the stupid autograph. Knowing Hizashi, he would let Vision Ray carry Shota out of the building, just so there would be no excuses.

Jiro was also supposed to be helping out at the radio station twice a week. Was today one of her days? The last thing he needed was for his class to learn about this and try to do something stupid like rescue him. It was bad enough that Hizashi had to do this on his birthday.

The lingering pain in Shota's gut told him a hospital visit would be in his future. Or worse, a trip to Recovery Girl. Maybe Hizashi would just let him ignore the injuries. Just this once. After all, how was he supposed to give his husband the birthday he deserved if they were stuck in the hospital or if Shota was passed out on a cot in Recovery Girl's infirmary?

"Don't go passing out on me, hero."

Shota blinked and realized that he was being talked to. His gaze drifted up to Raul as he opened his eyes. The phone had been pulled out of his face and was closer to Raul now. If Shota spoke low enough, Hizashi wouldn't be able to hear him. Hopefully.

"Stopped paying attention," Shota said. He let a smirk fall on his face. "You talk too much."

Was it worth getting punched in the jaw for the comment he made?

Yeah. It kind of was. Especially at the look of fury that came to Raul's face.

"Your cat hits harder than you," Shota commented.

"You think you're so funny, hero. Don't you?" Raul questioned as he shoved the phone into another man's hands. "Alright, Present Mic! You have less than an hour to get here. Every ten minutes, I break a limb. Starting with this asshole's jaw."

"How are you going to hear me scream if you break my jaw?" Shota asked. Really, he just couldn't stop himself. That concussion had taken out the filter between his brain and his mouth that kept him from saving anything really bad around students or their parents. Maybe, this was all that repressed stuff coming out.

The two men holding Shota up had different reactions. One of them tensed, and the other muttered under his breath that it was indeed a good point. Raul focused on him with a look of pure rage, and Shota just could not help himself. He grinned.

And Raul launched into him.

Halfway to the ground, Shota realized his mistake. He felt that mistake as all of his body weight landed on top of his cuffed hands. A crack vibrated throughout his body, but there was no time to focus on it as Raul forced Shota's upper half to twist, forcing his face more into the ground. Two hands grabbed his left arm.

Shota felt his body tense, and his eyes screwed shut. The heavy weight on him was unsettling, but he quickly reminded himself that the weight was sitting on his front and not his back. And while Raul might break his arm, he wasn't going to shatter it like the Nomu did.

This was not the USJ.

Shota quickly focused on regulating his breathing and staring ahead. The awkward position was only straining his body more. And those bad memories were threatening to drift to the surface. Shota closed his eyes. Things were going to be fine soon.

Because Hizashi would be there.

"Want to make another smart ass comment?" Raul demanded. He twisted Shota's arm and rested his elbow against his knee. Shota grunted out a response. There was an odd pressure beginning on his shoulder, and the twisting of his body was uncomfortable. He already knew that Raul wasn't even going to break his arm cleanly.

His point was immediately proven as Raul snapped Shota's elbow down on his knee, driving his full weight onto the limb. And Shota tried not to yell. Because the last thing he needed was for Hizashi to recognize his yell and worry even more. Or come rushing in and make a mistake. Not that he wasn't a professional, but-

Another crack followed by a popping sound tore through the room, and Shota couldn't stop the second yell. His arm felt like it was on fire in some spots and numb in the other. He felt blood on his arm and felt nauseous.

"Dude, his bone is sticking out!"

"Why would you do that?!"

"Should we help him?"

"No one moves a muscle," Raul snapped as he stepped away. Shota stared at his arm. His elbow was broken, and it seemed to be a clean break. Not so much for his forearm though as white bone was sticking out from it. Shota's head flopped on the ground. Shock was going to hit him sooner or later.

"Present Mic, did you hear that?" Raul demanded. "Hurry up, or I'll do much worse."

A snort left Shota. He couldn't help himself and would just blame blood loss, the concussion, and the shock. These guys were such amateurs that it was painful. They couldn't even be creative! If they knew anything about him, they would have just threatened his eyes.

"You laughing still?" Raul hissed. Shota bit back a groan as his head was roughly jerked back as a hand grabbed his hair. Raul glared at him, but there was uncertainty in his eyes. In all of the faces of his captors. Shota felt another feral smile twist his face. The hand let go of him. "Freak!"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Hizashi said. His voice was still controlled but also more serious. Shota frowned. That was a lie. Hizashi's studio was only ten minutes from the warehouse, and there was no doubt that Hizashi had already been heading their way. Maintaining a calm facade the entire time.

Present Mic would be there soon. If these guys were lucky. If they weren't, Hizashi Yamada would realize who their captive was, and they were going to quickly regret tricking Shota in that alley. And speaking of that alley, Shota was going to have a talk with this Kat lady about the misuse of such an amazing quirk.

"I'll break another bone every five minutes," Raul warned. He waved with his hand, and one of his cronies awkwardly hung up the phone. "Everyone get ready and find a position. We'll jump him when he walks inside. And get that freak out of my sight."

Two men hauled Shota to his feet, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that a whimper of pain got stuck in his throat as one of them touched his broken arm. The man seemed to shrink back as his hand touched the exposed bone, and his face paled, "Ah shit, man. I'm sorry. Oh, that looks so bad."

"Just hurry up," the other complained. Shota tried to keep his head lifted. The warehouse had been mostly cleaned out, so there were only a ton of shelves. No back exits from a casual look around. There were windows about seven or eight feet up. His capture weapon was discarded somewhere in the room. Along with his shirt and pants.

The two men dragged him toward the corner further from the exit and let go of him. Shota slumped against the wall and let himself fall to his knees. The two men stared at him before exchanging looks. Thankfully, they decided to turn and leave as soon as possible.

Shota rested his head against the wall, and his eyes darted around. No one was watching him, which made sense. There was only one normal way out of the building. Shota had been taking a beating, and his arm hurt like hell.

Still not the worst kidnapping he's experienced.

Shota waited another minute, and when no one looked his way, he shifted his foot so he could grab the lockpicking kit secured in his boot. As he tried to grab it with his right hand, he found his fingers wouldn't grasp the kit. He couldn't make a full fist.

Great.

Screw it. Shota was tired, and his body hurt. Hizashi would be there in less than ten minutes. So, Shota just let himself crumble to the ground and buried his face against the ground. Hizashi would be there soon. That was all that mattered.

"This one says he is your biggest fan," Jiro whispered. It was the second time she was screening calls, but Kitzl was right by her side to give final approval before the call was passed over to Hizashi. And it wasn't like that many deranged callers called in now, but they always had to assess the tone just to make sure nothing nefarious was going to happen. Typical radio stuff really.

Jiro answered the call, welcomed the listener, and asked what they wanted to speak to Present Mic about. Some of the callers were people who needed a word of advice, and Hizashi was happy to respond. Others were people who just wanted to gush about talking to Present Mic. There were a few angry callers here and there, but they were usually sussed out by how they spoke.

"Biggest fan, huh?" Hizashi said with a smile.

"It was cute. He kept stuttering," Kitzl said.

"Wonder if it's Midoryia's older brother," Jiro said. That got a smirk out of Hizashi. He heard the phone transfer over to his new caller.

"Hello, Listener! Welcome to Put Your Hands Up. My assistant says you are my biggest fan," Hizashi said with a smile.

"Yes sir," the caller answered. They sounded like a teenager. "Um, one moment."

"Listener?" Hizashi asked. It wouldn't be the first time someone said that while talking to him. Those that were big fans were always freaking out that they actually got to talk to him. Someone had fainted once or twice. "Everything okay?"

Hizashi heard whispers in the background. It was followed by the shuffling sound of a phone being rapidly tapped on. Hizashi frowned, "You there, Listener."

"I am," a new voice spat. One full of hate. "And hero, I would listen closely if I were you."

Hizashi looked up at Kyo and made a slashing motion. Kyo nodded and instantly switched the radio over to a new playlist. Hizashi focused on the voice talking to him as Wila turned toward a laptop, already tracing the call. This was not the first time that a villain had called in, so they had a protocol.

"We have another one of your pros here, and unless you do exactly what I say, I'll-"

"Woah there, Listener," Hizashi interrupted. He kept his tone happy and under control as he stood. Jiro was staring at him with wide eyes. Hizashi kept his headset on as he started to grab his hero gear. "Why don't you take a deep breath and calm down."

"Go to hell, Present Mic. I won't calm down!" the villain snapped. "Now listen before I kill your fellow pro. Do you want that death on your hands?"

Hizashi frowned as he finished putting on his speaker. He moved his finger toward Nemuri and made a motion for her to come. She nodded. His finger moved to Vision Ray and did the same. His final motion was to Jiro, and she still stared at him with a scared look.

"I'm all ears, Listener. Just keep the hostage out of harm's way, okay?" Hizashi said as the others started to get ready. Wila made a motion to show the call was being traced and that the police had been notified. "Why don't you start by telling me who your hostage is?"

"Easy," the man said with a tone of hate. There was a small moment of silence. Then... "What is your name, hero?"

Hizashi found himself dumbfounded for a moment. They didn't know the hero's name? Had they not bothered to check for their license? Or was this just an intimidation tactic? No response was given on the other end, but Hizashi just waited patiently. When the hero spoke, there was a chance Hizashi would recognize their voice. Or at least be able to narrow down who it was.

Hizashi grabbed his phone and looked at the Hero Network. There were no alerts from heroes. It made his gut twist more because Shota was supposed to be on patrol right now. What if it was him? What if these guys managed to lay a trap for Eraser Head and knew about his relationship with Present Mic? This would be all Hizashi's fault.

The silence was broken by a grunt. The villain hissed out a breath, "Stubborn bastard. Have it your way. Just know that I can't wait to make you scream."

"Why don't you tell me why you want me specifically?" Hizashi suggested because if they knew about his relationship with Shota, this would be where they flaunted it. They would threaten Shota to get to him. Hizashi hoped it was a random hero.

"You put my baby brother in jail," Raul spat. "That's why you're going to meet us alone. No police."

"No police," Hizashi agreed. Wila rushed over and handed Hizashi a piece of paper with an address. Hizashi signed out orders to get the car started as he began to walk out of the room. Nemuri followed right behind him while Vision Ray and Jiro trailed slightly behind.

"If I even see a police officer, we'll kill this asshole," the villain warned. Hizashi scowled as he muted the call from his end as the villain went into a rant about how Hizashi ruined his life and the life of his younger brother.

"What if it's Shota?" Hizashi whispered. Nemuri looked at him.

"It's not," Nemuri stated.

"He's patrolling tonight! He-"

"He's not," Nemuri interrupted as she stopped Hizashi and put her hands on his shoulders. "He lied to you about being on patrol because he wanted to surprise you. I won't say anything else, but I do know that he is not on patrol tonight."

Hizashi felt the tension leave his shoulders, and a breath left him. Okay. He could do this. There was no need to worry about his husband. Instead, he needed to put his full attention on rescuing this hero. They had the location, and it wasn't far. Vision Ray rushed toward the car to start it.

Hizashi umuted the call from his end and realized the villain was still ranting.

"-thousands cut. What do you think about that?" the villain questioned.

"Listener," Hizashi began because he hadn't been paying attention. The villain scoffed.

"Don't go passing out on me, hero," the villain ordered. Hizashi frowned. How badly injured was the hero? Hizashi heard someone talking, but he couldn't make out the voice or what they were saying. He did hear a punch, though.

"You think you're so funny, hero. Don't you?" the villain questioned. There was a noise like the phone's microphone being dragged against fabric. "Alright, Present Mic! You have less than an hour to get here. Every ten minutes, I break a limb. Starting with this asshole's jaw."

Hizashi frowned as they got into the car. He sat in the backseat with Nemuri. Jiro sat in the passenger's seat, though she looked a little nervous. Hizashi tried to give her a reassuring grin. It was Nemuri who leaned forward.

"Don't worry, Jiro. You're doing good," Nemuri said. "And don't feel bad about that call. It was screened by a veteran of the radio. Things like this happen at least once a month."

"Yes, Midnight," Jiro said as she bowed her head. Hizashi heard a scuffle from the call, and he had no clue what was going on. It caused a scowl to come to his face as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"Want to make another smart ass comment?" the villain demanded. Hizashi opened his mouth to argue that he hadn't made any kind of comment, only to realize that the villain must have been talking to his captive. Okay. So which hero would sass off to a villain while being captured?

It was either a newer hero who didn't know any better, or it was a veteran who didn't see these people as a threat. Or were there multiple hostages and a hero was trying to keep the spotlight on them to make sure they were the only ones hurt?

A muffled yell made Hizashi tense. He heard another sound, a loud crack, and there was a much louder yell this time. Hizashi clenched his fist. Vision Ray was already racing down the road.

"Dude, his bone is sticking out!"

"Why would you do that?!"

"Should we help him?"

Three different voices. All concerned about the hero? Were these guys new to the game? Or just not used to this violence?

"No one moves a muscle," the main villain snapped. This was the leader, but how strong were his followers? Would they listen to him when the action started? "Present Mic, did you hear that? Hurry up, or I'll do worse."

Oh, they were hurrying alright. And Hizashi was going to punch this asshole in the face. He glanced up and saw the streets flying by. They would be at the warehouse soon, but they would still have to get information and make a plan. Pro hero or not, the hostage was injured. A mistake could lead to worse injury or death.

"You laughing still?" the villain demanded. A few moments of silence passed. "Freak!"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Hizashi said as he tried to keep the attention on himself. He allowed a more serious tone to enter his voice, but he still kept himself under control.

"I'll break another bone every five minutes," the villain warned. The phone hung up a moment later. Hizashi released a breath.

"There are at least four men there. If not more," Hizashi reported as he looked around at the others. "I don't know who the hero is, but one of their bones is broken badly enough for the bone itself to be sticking out. Three of them seemed disturbed by the fact. The one that was talking the whole time seems to be the leader."

"We have to move fast but efficiently. We'll have you drop me off a block from the warehouse. Earphone Jack, you will stick with Vision Ray for reconnaissance. We need to locate where the hostage is in the building and how many people are around them. If all goes well, Midnight will slip in the back while I keep them distracted in the front."

"Double penetration is a good plan," Nemuri said, shooting him a look. Hizashi glared at her before looking ahead.

"Stop here," Hizashi ordered. Vision Ray pulled the car to the side, and Hizashi got out. "Everyone loops into channel two. We have to be quick and precise."

As the car took off, Hizashi started in a jog toward the warehouse. He knew this area well as it was one of his patrol routes, and he remembered the kid that he arrested for a robbery a week ago. The kid had been using his quirk, a gun-related one, to hold up a convenience store. It had been all too simple of a matter to disable him and arrest him.

He must have been a repeat offender if he was still in jail. Or maybe he had fired off his quirk before Hizashi got there. But, it seemed like this villain blamed him for it, so he now had to handle this problem. He just felt bad for the hero who got dragged into it.

Turning the corner, Hizashi saw the warehouse in front of him. Glancing upward showed no cameras around. Most importantly, no lookouts on the roof. He made his way forward and saw no one at the front of the warehouse. Okay. Definite trap.

"I'm here," Hizashi said as he activated his earpiece. "No one in the front. No scouts."

"We're pulling around the back alley," Vision Ray replied in a soft voice. His quirk allowed him to place a hand on a solid surface and see the other side of it in black and white snippets like photographs. All he had to do was blink multiple times like he was on too many drugs. The images were hard for him to make out if the room was too dark.

And Jirio could use the earphones that hung from her ear to plug into a surface and hear things happening around it. She had been training hard to make out different noises and track where they were coming from.

Those two were the ultimate scouting duo. Nemuri chimed in, "No one is watching the back either, but I don't see a back door to slip into."

His best friend was going to kill him before the villains had the chance.

"What can you see, Vision Ray?" Hizashi asked. He waited patiently for his sidekick to start scouting the building.

"There's a lot of shelves blocking my line of vision, but I think I count five or six people on your end of the warehouse. All waiting by the front door. There seems to be some kind of animal darting around the shelves as well. Someone prone, the hostage perhaps, is in a corner of the room, but it's too dark for me to make out many details."

"I'm getting seven heartbeats altogether," Jiro added on. "But all the heartbeats sound like that of a human. Not a smaller one from an animal."

"One of them must have a quirk that lets them take the form of an animal," Nemuri said.

"Six criminals and one hostage," Hizashi said as he stared at the front door. "Any windows?"

"About seven feet above us," Vision Ray said. "All the windows are intact, but I think I could boost Earphone Jack up there."

"We need to get these people out of the building or create a distraction so they don't hear the glass breaking," Nemuri said. Hizashi listened to them quietly. Shota would kill him if he knew that Jiro was out here. Sure, she had her license and had been part of the internships, but he only agreed to let Jiro support during any crimes. Not be the one going into the lion's den.

This would just have to be their little secret.

"I'll draw them out," Hizashi decided. "Midnight, can you assist me once the chaos starts?"

"Of course," Nemuri answered. "And what chaos."

Hizashi grinned, "You'll find out soon enough."