Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your Easter in some fashion as we start to wind down the rest of April! Right now, I'm content with how things are currently progressing in terms of story-writing. "Reality" CH. 4 is almost fully drafted, and I'll be moving on to more "The Challenge of a Lifetime" soon.
But enough about that. It's time we get back into "Through the Rough" and its newest arc! Enjoy this little setup chapter!
It was later that day when Izuku and Gran Torino received a text from Holy about the time of the raid mission. They arrived to the location around sunset, blinking in surprise to find the other heroes and students that were gathered there. Aside from those of the I.U.A., which consisted of Justice, Eraser, and Holy, heroes like Endeavor, Hawks, Mirko, and Kamui Woods were present. And with them were their interns.
"Oh, Midoriya," Shoto chimed in, getting the One For All inheritor's attention as he noticed the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user approach him.
"Todoroki!" he greeted, "So I'm guessing your dad was called in too, huh?" he assumed.
"Yeah," Shoto replied with a nod, "I'm not surprised given who we're trying to rescue here..." he admitted as he looked around at the heroes and interns they were with, "Iida isn't here though..." he noted while narrowing his eyes. Izuku gave off a worried look.
'He must be under house arrest with Manual for now...' he inwardly noted, wondering how the class representative was doing.
"Yo, Midoriya!" Setsuna called out, getting his attention as he saw her approach alongside Itsuka and Momo.
"Oh, T-Tokage!" he stuttered in greeting, blushing a little, "Uh... what's up?" he inquired, only to find her bowing her head to his surprise.
"I wanted to say sorry for the other day..." she apologized sheepishly, "That pic you got from Rebecca..." she continued, standing up and sheepishly grinning, "Totally my fault..." she confessed.
"H-Huh?" Izuku stammered in confusion.
"What picture?" Shoto inquired.
"Huh..." Itsuka sighed as she approached, "Basically, Setsuna used Bluegarden's phone and sent Midoriya a... kind of inappropriate picture..." she told him.
"And I made sure to delete it!" the One For All inheritor quickly exclaimed in confirmation while blushing a bright red.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter anyway..." the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user noted as he walked away.
"Are you alright, Midoriya?" Momo asked of Izuku after a moment, getting his attention.
"Uh, yeah..." he replied while sheepishly scratching at his right cheek, "Um... where's Rebecca?" he wondered aloud, blushing a little.
"Right here," the Leaper Quirk user replied as she walked over to his surprise, "I wanted Setsuna to explain things and apologize to you, too..." she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, I see..." her best friend realized, rubbing the back of his head with his gloved right hand. They shared a chuckle, followed by seeing Momo and the others walk off, leaving them to face each other alone. Their expressions shifted into nervous ones as they awkwardly fidgeted in place. "So... um..." Izuku began, blushing a little, "was... that picture... um...?" he started to ask.
"...Yeah... it was me in there..." Rebecca responded as her own blush grew.
"I-I deleted it, by the way..." the One For All inheritor stuttered assuredly.
"I heard..." the Leaper Quirk user replied, giving off a small smile, "Thanks..." she said in gratitude.
"Listen up, everyone," Justice chimed in, getting their attentions along with those of the other heroes and interns, "Our mission this evening is simple," he pointed out to them, "We'll be infiltrating the facility and recovering Hermit Mio, along with apprehending Tensai Nagai," he explained, "I know the amount of heroes here seems excessive, but we can never be too careful when it comes to things like this," he mentioned seriously.
"There's also the potential of Nomu roaming about," Eraser mentioned, "After what happened recently in Hosu, we believe Nagai may be working alongside the League of Villains," he told the group.
"That Müller bastard can wait," another voice chimed in, causing the others to perk up and look over to see Sister and Witch approaching... along with a costumed Katsuki.
"K-Kacchan?!" Izuku stammered out, while Rebecca and many others gasped.
"He's here on orders from Mister Number Three there," Sister noted as she motioned toward Justice with her head, "Don't worry, I doubt he's gonna get much action tonight..." she mentioned cheekily.
"Tsk..." Katsuki scoffed. He looked over to Izuku, sharing a glance with him. Unlike before, they were staring at each other indifferently, rather than the freckled boy getting intimidated by his rival. Rebecca noticed, giving off a worried look.
"We'll split up into teams," Holy decided, regaining the group's attention, "Two heroes per group with their interns," she added, "And unless you kids are given permission, no fighting," she mentioned to the interns with a wink, "Though like Ivry said, there might not really be any action..." she pointed out to them. With that, the arrangements were set. Katsuki would still be with Sister and Witch, Shoto and Endeavor would be alongside Homura and Mirko, Kleene, Ibara and Kamui Woods were to venture with Fumikage and Hawks, Justice and Eraser's groups would be altogether, and finally...
"...Huh?" Izuku uttered, looking around to see that he and Gran Torino would be with Holy, Rebecca, Momo, Itsuka, and Setsuna.
"Ooh, lucky us~..." the I.U.A. Hero remarked, causing the freckled teen's face to flash a bright red.
"Huh..." Sorahiko sighed in frustration.
"Midoriya doesn't seem to be too keen on his group..." Homura noted from afar, "Ah, I shouldn't have said that out loud..." she admitted, sheepishly covering her mouth with her left sleeve.
"Where the hell's Jaga?" Mirko wondered as she put her hands onto her hips, "Don't tell me that old cat's worn out after everything he's done already..." she muttered out.
"I would assume he's just unavailable for the moment..." Endeavor answered with narrowed eyes, "Besides..." he continued, looking around, "with the forces we have now, I don't think we have much to concern ourselves with," he affirmed, seeing the plentiful amount of heroes amongst them.
"Endeavor's right," Hawks chimed as he flew over them, getting their attentions, "I think we're gonna show these guys quite a time tonight," he mentioned assuredly.
"Let's bring down the hammer of justice," Justice insisted of the group, glaring ahead at the laboratory building.
"You finally ready, Doc?" Seth asked as he and Diego watched a figure step out in front of them.
"Oh... most definitely..." Müller responded, sneering excitedly. He wasn't human anymore. He was now a tall, lean cyborg with a grotesque appearance, having tridactyl feet and three tendrils instead of a hand on his right arm. He retained his human head, losing most of his hair, with only a few strands of long hair and a bushy mustache. His eyes also retained the crazed rings from before. On his back was the kanji for 'Genius'. "Now I understand why Master Code failed with Jamilov..." he realized, "He didn't have the perfect body built for the task..." he concluded, "So now, it all falls onto me and my genius O-Tech!" he declared, "Come at me if you dare, heroes..." he challenged, "You won't know what hit you..." he inferred while chuckling.
Elsewhere in the building, Hermit remained dormant as she was hung upon a wall with her arms outstretched and bound by cuffs. Her body was littered with wounds that bled a little. But it was only a matter of time before she would be saved...
And that ends another setup chapter! Sorry if these seem so short! I thought they'd honestly be a lot longer than I remembered... But the action finally starts in the next chapter, so stay tuned!