Angel: I'm actually glad that this chapter is the last one before next Friday because of the suspense of it. Kinda weird how that worked out.
Compress revealed a turquoise orb in his fingers. "I captured Bakugo with a simple slight-of-hand magic trick."
Izuka jumped across a gap using her star, looking up as Compress was heading straight for her. She held out a hand. "Mercury Blast!" She fired some flames right at him, and once they cleared, he was gone. She gasped as he appeared right behind her and grasped her shoulder.
"Didn't you hear what I said? I guess you aren't as strong as I thought," He spoke as her eyes widened. The flying star zoomed away from her as he dragged her away into the flames and then she was in an orb after emerging.
"Damn it, this guy's quick," Shoto snarled as Ochaco, Mezo, and Tsuyu could barely keep up.
"We can't give up. Not now!" Izuku cried out from Mezo's back. "We have to catch him...and get our friends back, my sister!"
"Make sure you've got a good grip on them," Tsuyu flung Mezo, Shoto, and Izuku into the air as hard as she could. All of them yelled as Mezo hung onto them both, heading in fast towards Compress. He looked back just in time to see what was going on.
Dabi gasped as he looked up. Compress yelled as Mezo, Shoto, and Izuku were on his back. They all crashed into the ground together, creating a lot of smoke.
"Whoa, whoa, what's this?! Oh hey wait, I know these kids." However, Twice hadn't encountered them while Dabi and Himiko looked towards them wide-eyed. "Who are they?!"
The black smoke continued to fly into the stars.
While we were trying to protect Kacchan and Izuka, our classmates had their own problems back at camp immediately following Mandalay's message.
Considering everything going on, I honestly couldn't blame them for the stances that they had about the whole thing looking back.
The six remedial students along with Tenya, Koji, Mashirao, and Minoru were still at camp themselves, which they weren't too happy about. "Come on!" Eijiro protested to the teacher. "You heard what she said, didn't you? I can't let them get my friends!" He snarled while clenching a fist. He was much closer to Katsuki than Izuka, that was very apparent. However, he didn't care because he saw all of his classmates as friends. And if it weren't for Denki or Katsuki, he'd consider Izuka as a third close friend. Mainly because of how Katsuki felt regarding her safety. He'd deny it, but Eijiro knew deep down that if she got hurt, Katsuki would NEVER let it slide. "You gotta let me go find them, please!"
"Not a chance," Vlad King denied as he was blocking the way out.
"But why not?!" Eijiro screamed at him angrily.
"Come on!" Mina approached him from behind. "Cool it, Kirishima."
"Excuse me!" Tenya spoke up, waving a hand. "We don't know how many villains there are. Shouldn't we have as many fighters as possible?"
"You can't seriously wanna face the bad guys!" Minoru looked up at him in fright.
"Ida gets it," Eijiro turned to him in agreement. "Even Mr. Aizawa said to fight!"
"Only for self-defense," Vlad King reminded the students, his eyes closed. "He meant the students in the woods."
Eijiro looked away with a growl. If Mido's safety is important to Bakugo, then it's important to me. No questions asked. He wasn't the only one upset, the others weren't so happy about being helpless with the situation. They wanted to go out and help, but it wasn't exactly an easy thing to explain once it was all said and done...
Suddenly, they heard a click and looked up. "Was that the door?" Rikido wondered, though no one had stepped in yet.
"I guess Mr. Aizawa is back already," Mashirao theorized and Vlad glanced back, a bit hesitant.
"Finally," Eijiro gritted his teeth, hoping to convince their teacher to let them leave. "He'll understand."
"No," Vlad held up a hand in front of Eijiro, stopping him from going any further. "Wait." The boy looked up in confusion as a shadow was outside the door...and it wasn't Mr. Aizawa. It was actually someone holding up a hand to the door. "MOVE!"
A burst of flames exploded the door, causing everyone to scream. Vlad grabbed Eijiro and Mina, moving them away from the door. "Everyone! Get back!" Tenya warned, holding up arm in front of Hanta. Mashirao looked towards the sight with his mouth wide open. They all stood behind Vlad, and the flames dispersed seconds later. Minoru then gasped at the attacker.
"No way!" He pointed towards Dabi, but it was actually just a clone of him. "That's the guy who got creamed earlier!"
Vlad swooped in and punched him away from the students. "You're too slow!" A bunch of blood burst from his glove to surround the clone and then hardened, trapping him to the wall.
"Blood Control," Eijiro murmured in realization as he stood up. Rikido gave a small smirk. "So strong."
"Just as I'd expect from our teacher!" Neito gushed with a big smile.
"You dare walk into my classroom without so much as a plan?" Vlad snarled at the clone. "You underestimate us."
"Are you sure about that?" 'Dabi' mocked him, earning a look of confusion. "You're acting exactly like I expected. You've already been defeated, regardless of what happens to me. The two most trusted pillars of the superhuman society are linked together. UA, the pinnacle of hero education, and All Might, the Symbol of Peace." Vlad let out a small gasp at his words. "But embarrassing incidents have damaged the world's trust in you both. Sloppy management keeps allowing villains to slip in and attack. People are so shaken that they've almost lost all faith in you. Imagine how they'll react when they find out you let two students get kidnapped."
"You shut up!" Eijiro growled towards the man. "That's not gonna happen!" His arms hardened as he stood up straight.
"Not our classmates!" Tenya looked at him furiously.
"Not while we're here!" Denki agreed, his hands sparking with electricity.
"Don't be naive," The clone summoned flames from his hands. "It only took a handful of us to separate you from the pros and start picking you off." His hair also started to catch on fire as well.
"That's enough!" Vlad shouted as he recoiled back a fist. The clone just let out a small laugh before Mr. Aizawa came in out of nowhere. He kicked the clone in the head.
"It's no use, Vlad," He told the teacher.
His students looked relieved to see him. "Mr. Aizawa!" Mina and Rikido exclaimed happily in unison.
"Yay!" Minoru cheered while jumping up and down.
Mr. Aizawa pinned the clone to the ground, capturing him in his scarf. He then started to kick at him a little bit. "This guy's just trying to provoke you. He won't talk."
"Uh, Mr. Aizawa, I think you got him," Denki spoke up a bit nervously, and the man stomped his foot into the mud.
"Look at him. Another fake. I fought one before," He looked at his dirty shoe.
"He wasn't real?" Mina stepped up a bit anxiously, her and Tenya staring at the puddle.
"It must be a villain's Quirk," Tenya frowned a little.
"Eraser," Vlad spoke up while Kota was in the destroyed doorway. "What's it like out there?"
"Hard to say. I left to direct our defense, but I ended up taking care of Kota. Look after him while I go back to the front line." As he was explaining, Kota still looked a little terrified. Not just for the twins, but for the current situation going on. He didn't know how they were going to get past this, or...if he'd see the twins ever again. "I'm counting on you to keep defending this place."
He started to run, but Vlad stared after him. The students still weren't allowed to go out, meaning he'd be the only attacker still. "Is that wise?" He questioned his co-worker, who came to a stop. "We hardly know anything about them."
"You'll be just fine by yourself," Mr. Aizawa wasn't too concerned about that. "The other copy of him I fought earlier used the same attack. I think their strategy is to send their strongest fighters here to keep our attention since we're the pros. That's how they're trying to disguise the fact that there are so few of them out there."
"If there aren't many, then we should be fighting too!" Eijiro made his stance clear once again.
"Yes, you need strength in numbers!" Tenya yelled in agreement, not wanting to stand by and do nothing.
"No!" Mr. Aizawa narrowed his eyes a little. "If they're not here for us, then they're after the students. We know about Bakugo and Mido, but they might be targeting others as well," They sighed in defeat, realizing that they would get seriously hurt. The villains weren't like the ones at the USJ, so they'd be harder to deal with. Plus, they wouldn't dare disobey their teacher. "We're still sorely lacking in information. The only way we win this...is by making sure you students are protected," And with that, he ran off without another word.
Meanwhile...
Dabi looked up to see the four falling, and they crashed hard. Izuku was sitting on top of Compress while Shoto and Mezo restrained the villain. "Give Kacchan, Tokoyami, and my sister back to us!" He demanded the villain angrily.
Himiko was happy to see him since she hadn't talked to him earlier. "Wait, I know those kids!" Twice pointed at the three. "Who are they?" He turned to Himiko in confusion, not noticing the expression on her face.
"Out of the way, Compress," Dabi held out a hand, his flames appearing.
"Got it," Compress surrounded himself in light before Dabi flung his arm to attack.
"That's cold!" Twice exclaimed, the three boys looking up in alarm. They all jumped out of the way to avoid getting burned. Izuku yelped as the flames were right in front of his face, as the attack was much bigger than they anticipated.
"My arms are burning!" Mezo cried out in pain.
"Midoriya! Shoji!" Shoto yelled in concern for them, looking up to see Twice jumping towards him.
"The beat-up little boy and you. You're on Shigaraki's kill list! No, they weren't!" He pulled out something long from his suit, Shoto sliding to a stop. He used his ice to keep Twice a good distance away from him and his friends. "So hot!"
Something was suddenly thrown at Izuku, who barely got out of the way in time. "Hi, Izuku!" Himiko gushed while running towards them. "My name's Toga!" She giggled as she jumped, pinning him to the ground. "I've been thinking since I saw you..." He gave a nervous yelp as the girl held a knife above his body. "That your sister is adorable and that you'd be so much cuter if you just bled a little more! I can help!" She then thrusted down the knife.
Before either of them could react, Mezo ran in and shoved her away from his classmate. "Midoriya!"
She flew back several feet before spinning and landing on the ground. Once she did, she used her hand to slide to a stop, looking at the ground. "So that's how it is," She murmured a little quietly. "You wanna come between us?" She gripped her knife hard. "To be honest, you're not really my type," She then looked up at him with a murderous look in her eyes. "But I'll cut you anyway."
He snarled while holding up a hand in front of Izuku. "She's crazy," He growled towards the girl.
Shoto sent more ice towards Twice. He laughed while jumping backwards from the icicles. "Ha ha! This is easy! Give me all you've got!" He then took out the thin item he had to slice a block of ice in half, standing on top of it. "Hey man, cut me some slack!"
Shoto let out a low growl, getting annoyed now. "What the hell is with this guy?"
At the crash site, Compress had hidden in one of his orbs, and got himself out. The villain then let out a groan, standing up. "I can't believe you wrecked my exit! Unrehearsed amateurs," He stormed up to Dabi.
"You got Bakugo and the female Midoriya?" He held out his hand.
"Of course," Compress dug into his pocket, and then looked down in confusion.
Mezo simply looked back towards his classmates. "Midoriya. Todoroki. We're done! He gave away his best trick," He looked up ahead at the two villains. "I'm not sure what your Quirk is, but it had to do with those little marbles, right?" He slowly got onto his feet, eyeing Compress specifically. "The ones you'd stashed in your pocket," He held up three little turquoise orbs in his hand. "So I'm guessing these are Tokoyami, Mido, and Bakugo."
"You rescued them!" Izuku smiled up at him in relief.
Compress let out a laugh, taking back his opinion of them from earlier. "Well, color me impressed! Just as I'd expect from someone with so many hands. How splendid." Mezo and Izuku then made a run for it. Shoto created a wall of ice to block off the villains from them.
"Right. Nice job, Shoji!" He then turned around to follow them.
"Moron," Dabi held out a hand, about to stop all three of them.
"No, wait," Compress held up a hand, preventing him from attacking. He watched as they got away and Izuku gasped. He could see something in the shadows in the direction they were going.
"A Nomu!" He shouted; it was the same Nomu that attacked Yosetsu and Momo earlier.
"Quick, this way!" Shoto immediately turned left and they followed. Something zipped right past him and he gasped sharply. Standing in front of them was Kurogiri as he loomed over them.
"Not this guy," Mezo murmured in fear; he was the last person that they wanted to face right now.
"He was at the USJ," Shoto recognized him as well, his eyes wide.
"The warp villain," Izuku realized in terror, since there was no way that they'd be able to stop him on their own. Not even Katsuki or Izuka could stop him back at the USJ for very long.
"It's been five minutes since the signal," Kurogiri didn't seem to notice them as he was talking to Twice, Compress, Dabi, and Himiko. "Let's go, Dabi," He summoned a warp in front of Himiko first. She smiled as she waved to Izuku.
"Sorry, Izuku. But I'll see you later, kay?"
Twice swan dived through a portal. Compress walked up to one, and Dabi glared towards the three boys. "Hold on. We're not leaving without the kids." However...he seemed to be the only one worried about that, the others weren't even questioning what happened to Katsuki or Izuka.
"Don't worry," Compress spoke up, getting his attention. "They were so proud of themselves for rooting through my pockets that I thought I'd let them gloat." The three gasped, turning to him in alarm. "But allow me to explain a basic tenant of magic. If I'm flaunting something shiny..." He reached out to his mask and removed it slowly. "It's because there's something else I don't want you to see..." He then opened his mouth, revealing three turquoise orbs. Fumikage, Katsuki, and Izuka were inside of them.
"He's got them!" Shoto and Izuku looked at them in horror. Compress snapped his fingers, revealing that the ones Mezo had were simply blocks of ice and nothing more.
"Is that my ice?!" Shoto demanded angrily that his Quirk was used as a decoy.
"That's right~" Compress gave a sly look. "During the freezing attack, I prepared dummies and slipped them into my right pocket. Your dear sister was too focused on catching up to me to notice!"
"DAMN IT!" Izuku ran forward, gritting his teeth. His Quirk lets him compress and hold things! Shoto and Mezo ran in as well by his side. Compress slipped his mask back on.
"A little bit of misdirection. Forgive me. I do so adore a twist ending," He said with glee at the looks on their faces. He then started to disappear into the portal.
"You can't do this!" The green-haired boy shouted at the villain.
"One last bow," He bowed a little. "And then the curtain fal-" Something shot at him from the side, destroying his mask. This alarmed Shoto and Izuku, as Yuga was the one who had fired. He was hiding behind a bush, his eyes squeezed shut. He was still terrified of them, but he didn't want his classmates captured either.
"Aoyama?" Izuku wondered, baffled by how long he had been there and if he had witnessed everything. Compress spit out the orbs and Mezo lunged forward. Shoto did the same, Izuku trying to move his arms and falling. He couldn't keep up thanks to the pain he felt, leaving it up to Shoto and Mezo. They held out their hands, Mezo capturing one. Before Shoto could grab the other two, Dabi snatched them from his grasp. He growled up at the man, who held up the two orbs with a smug expression.
"Well, isn't that a tragedy. Poor little Shoto Todoroki." Shoto grunted as he landed hard, rolling to a stop. Izuku raced forward, Dabi now standing in the portal. "Confirm it now. Release them."
"That laser ruined my finale," Compress complained, his whole body into the portal except his hand. He snapped his fingers as the orb Mezo had revealed Fumikage. And the others revealed Izuka and Katsuki. Dabi grasped their necks as they could only stare, backing away into the portal.
"Checkmate. Heh."
The two looked towards their classmates nervously, knowing that they couldn't get out of this. "KACCHAN, IZUKA, NO!" Izuku screamed while running as fast as he could. Their whole bodies disappeared, leaving only their faces as he was the last thing they were witnessing. "KACCHAAAAAAN! IZUKAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Izuku leaped to try and catch up to them. Izuka let out a weak gasp, knowing he'd try and save them, but...he couldn't. Not this time, and she didn't want him to fall into the portal either. Not with his injuries.
"Stay back...Deku!" Katsuki almost pleaded, his eyes wide. It was for Izuku's own good...that he could agree with Izuka in a rare instance.
"Little brother...I know this will be hard for you to do, but...please don't come after us..." Izuka squeezed her eyes shut, shedding a small tear. Please understand...I have to protect you...so just let me go. If you don't...you'll die. Both of them then completely disappeared, as did the portal. Izuku landed just as it was gone, sliding to a stop. He gasped as he looked back, with no sign of them. The forest fire continued as they could only stare in silence. Izuku started to sob at their failure, the others looking up ahead with dread on their faces. Izuku then let out a painful scream of agony...for once...he couldn't save someone. And now, they were at the hands of the villains.
Mr. Aizawa helped several students from Class B get back to camp. Yosetsu carried Momo on his back while Itsuka dragged both Mustard and Tetsutetsu. Kyoka and Jiro were still unconscious on the ground, as well as other students from Class B. Mandalay and Tiger came across them, an object with blood on the ground...
The others back in the remedial classroom waited in anticipation, but...they had a feeling that things didn't end well.
Ochaco and Tsuyu ran as fast as they could...and came across the four boys.
On that fateful day, we were aiming to be heroes. But we failed.
Ochaco panted as she could only stare at Izuku, who had blood coming from his injuries. He couldn't care less, though. All he could worry about...was that he might never see either Izuka or Katsuki again. The girl's eyes slowly widened in realization, shedding a single tear down her face.
And the villains won.
A few planes flew above the trees with extinguishing material to put the fires out. An ambulance and a fire truck were at the camp, along with several police officers and cars.
Mr. Vlad King was able to call emergency services. Not too long after the villains left...ambulances and firefighters arrived. Mr. Aizawa and Vlad King were telling the police their side of the story. Of the 41 students, 15 were unconscious and in serious condition due to the gas. Kyoka and Toru were being hauled away on gurneys. Tsuyu and Ochaco were getting their injuries checked out. Ochaco frowned deeply, shedding a small tear. Her injury was the last thing on her mind, what did plague it was the fact that...she couldn't help one of the closest friends. 11 others were injured. 13 were unharmed, physically. The remedial students, Tenya, Koji, Minoru, and Mashirao looked up ahead sadly for the situation. They had heard and seen what was going on...Eijiro himself had the deepest frown, thinking of the other kidnapped students. And...two of us were missing.
Katsuki and Izuka came to mind for all of the students that were still awake. One of the six pro heroes was in serious condition because of a blow to the head. One was missing, but it was apparent that she'd lost a lot of blood. Muscular was protesting while being hauled away by police. Meanwhile, on the villains' side, 3 were caught and arrested. Mustard was being taken away by the police as well. The other attackers managed to disappear without a trace thanks to the warp villain. Moonfish was on the ground unconscious, all of his teeth gone. An ambulance was taking away Izuku himself, as he was probably the most injured out of everyone. As I felt myself fading into unconsciousness, I remembered the harrowing words Tomura Shigaraki said to me.
Shigaraki had his back turned to Izuku and Ochaco, the latter looking confused and terrified. "You should try to be careful, friend. Cause the next time we meet, I'll likely have to kill you and your sister."
Izuku's eyes were closed, a mask breathing for him. The summer training camp we'd all been looking forward to...couldn't have been more of a disaster.
The next day, it was still summer...but it wasn't very exciting. At UA in particular, there was a mob of reporters and press outside of the security gates. And of course, they weren't being let inside. Unfortunately, the news of the Training Camp Incident had already come out, and of course they were already up and running for a press conference or any updates. "When are you going to open the gates?!" One of them demanded as they were impatient and desperate.
"We hear your silence! When can we expect an official statement from UA's administration?"
"Has anyone been in contact with the families of the children you've allowed to be endangered?"
Inside, the whole building was quiet, since most of the other students were spending their break elsewhere. Or, like in Class 1-A's case, they were recovering...or at least, attempting to. It was still hard on the students to really focus on that when two of their own weren't with them...and it had been equally as hard on the staff as well, for a lot of reasons.
"That training camp was meant to prepare students to handle villain attacks. The irony is shameful," Principal Nezu spoke up gravely in the meeting room. "We knew the League would resurface. But we lacked a fundamental understanding of their plans. They aim to destroy hero society. And they've already started their war." The meeting was small, with only Snipe, Midnight, Toshinori, and Present Mic attending.
"Even if we had understood, could we really have avoided this attack?" Midnight wondered, looking towards the desk. "They're moving pieces we didn't even know they possessed. Besides, All Might put an end to most organized crime. We're all rusty."
"We've definitely gotten complacent during peaceful times without realizing it," Present Mic pointed out to them. "I guess deep down all of us thought that we'd be riding the sweet life for good." The USJ Incident, the Hosu Incident, and this most recent one were all showcases that they couldn't expect to not have things like this happen...
Toshinori held his head in shame. "I will never forgive myself for such cowardly ignorance...while our students were fighting desperately for their lives, I was just having a relaxing soak in the bath..." He felt awful for not being able to stop the villains like he did in the USJ Incident. And he should've known something like this would've happened again given what happened then. But just like Mr. Aizawa told Izuku, he couldn't be there. He was the number one hero, so it was bound to slip that he was there before anything happened if he was allowed to go.
"We shouldn't've had the Sports Festival right after the USJ attack," Snipe sounded a bit regretful that they even did so. "We wanted to show we were still strong," He then looked away, looking a bit shameful like Toshinori himself. "To have two students kidnapped is our greatest failure as teachers...They've taken Bakugo, Mido, and society's faith in heroes away from us."
"I agree," Principal Nezu stated a bit more gently to ease the mood. "Every news outlet is currently condemning UA High. If Bakugo and Mido were two of the main targets, it's likely because the villains noticed his violent tendencies during the Sports Festival broadcast," He held up a newspaper regarding the incident, as well as an article from his tablet about him being MIA and winning the Sports Festival. He then switched the article on the tablet about Izuka also MIA, and her encounter with the sludge villain. "As for Mido, according to one of Mr. Aizawa's students, one of the villains predicted her moves that wasn't disclosed to anyone outside of camp. That, along with her being known for the sludge villain incident, suggests that they know about her new abilities and what she's capable of. It's also possible that her tendencies with Bakugo also had their attention. If they end up joining the side of the villains...that will be the end of UA as a school."
"Since we're on the topic of trust, there's something I think has to be voiced now," Present Mic stated sadly, as he didn't want to bring this up. "At this point, we can't deny it anymore, can we? There's a traitor at this school." Toshinori and Midnight gasped in shock at his accusation. "Only the teachers and the Pussycats knew where the training camp would be," He then stood up angrily. "Don't you think that's a little suspicious?! I guess a kid could've used their phone to message a villain, but-"
"Stop this, Mic," Midnight interrupted him angrily.
"What's the problem?! We have to find who the leak is!"
"Could be you for all we know," Snipe pointed out to him. "You got any proof that you're 100 percent innocent? Can we know that everyone in this room is an ally?" Present Mic sat back down with a growl, as he couldn't deny that technically, he was also a suspect of his own theory. "If we start doubtin' each other, we'll destroy ourselves from the inside. Accusing a traitor isn't something we should take lightly."
Toshinori gasped a little as he realized something. Young Mido was dealing with rumors that she cheated her way into the school before the Sports Festival. What if this supposed traitor did that to hurt her? And if so...were those text messages meant to doubt her? What would they gain from that? And she told us she lost a pen…this traitor could've easily stolen it if it was a student in U.A.!
As of now out of the adults, only he and Naomasa even knew about the texts suggesting she had anything to do with Nomu. He hadn't talked to the staff because he didn't want it getting around. Although it would be a good thing to finally tell them, but the safety of Katsuki and Izuka were more important currently.
"At the very least, I trust everyone sitting at this table," Principal Nezu confessed to the four. "Though, there's also no way for me to prove to all of you that I am innocent. For the moment, what we must do as a school is concentrate on guaranteeing the safety of our student body. This is a good time to implement something I've wanted to put in place for a while. You see, I-"
"A phone call is here!" Toshinori's ringtone interrupted him. "A phone call i-!"
"Excuse me, everyone, I have to take this," Toshinori told them once he saw the contact name.
"We're in a meeting," Present Mic interrupted in annoyance. "At least set it to vibrate."
"He's his own ringtone?" Midnight asked a bit awkwardly as Toshinori waved apologetically to them. He then closed the door and stepped into the dark hallway with a sigh.
"What Symbol of Peace can't even keep his students safe from harm?" He mumbled and clenched an angry fist. "What hero can't?" He growled a little. When he found the two students...he was gonna give the League of Villains hell. He then took Naomasa off hold and put his phone to his ear. "Sorry. What is it, Tsukauchi?"
"We've finally finished taking comprehensive statements from Aizawa and Vlad King," He reported, Officer Sansa standing nearby the teachers. "And I think we've found something. It's possible we have a lead on where the League of Villains is hiding."
Toshinori gave a sharp gasp at this. "Really?! Are you serious?"
"Yep," Naomasa smiled with a small nod. "About two weeks ago, I sent an officer around to gather information. A bystander pointed out that he'd seen a man with a patchwork face entering a building that was supposed to be vacant. The man looked to be in his 20s, but we didn't find any plausible matches when we checked criminal records. We spoke with the owner of the building, though, and found that there's a sort of hidden bar there. My man thought this was unrelated to our kidnapping case, and didn't investigate further. But remember the description of that villain from the attack? He had a patchwork face. Given the profile of this crime, we'll move as soon as we get the green light. This is top secret. I'm only telling you because it's you. We plan to ask for cooperation from many pro heroes for this rescue and inevitable cleanup mission. All Might. We need your power."
Toshinori didn't answer, though, and he looked at the phone in confusion. "All Might, are you still there?"
Mr. Aizawa and Vlad King turned to each other in confusion.
"Tsukauchi..." Toshinori clenched a shaking fist as he slowly became All Might. "You're a wonderful friend. And I know just what I'll say when I find them. I am here...to make you pay for what you've done!"
In town, the news about the kidnapping had gone global. Much like with Stain, it was all anyone was talking about. "It would appear that the criminal offenders behind the UA High training camp attack called themselves the League of Villains Vanguard Action Squad. The League was previously involved in the USJ attack and the Hosu Incident..."
"The youngest victim in the training camp attack is reportedly the son of pro heroes Water Hose, who were killed by Muscular in a tragic..."
"It's perfectly obvious to me that there's some sort of problem with UA's current management. If I had a child who wanted to become a hero, there's no way I'd enroll them in a school that'll-"
The TV was cut off by Shigaraki using the remote. He gave a small triumphant cackle by all of the chaos that he and his group were causing. Not just because they were successful, but also since there wasn't a single mention of Stain. "I'm so grateful to the media for all the free publicity lately." He was the only one who wasn't looking towards their new guests... He then fully turned to the two. Both of them were chained up, to their limbs and to their waists. "Right? Isn't it nice?" Katsuki kept silent as he glared at them. Izuka looked at them in a bit of fright, her eyes shaking. She couldn't imagine what was going on in their heads right now or what their intentions were with them. She wasn't able to dart her eyes away as Shigaraki couldn't stop staring at them.
"Katsuki Bakugo and Izuka Midoriya."
Izuka squeezed her eyes shut while letting out a whimper and Katsuki gritted his teeth. He silently swore to himself that he'd get them out of there. He would tell her to stop, but they'd hear him and then might do something. And while he could handle what they wanted to do, she most likely couldn't. Thankfully, Izuka seemed to come to that conclusion herself as she opened her eyes, clamping her mouth shut. But the terrified look on her face never went away.
Wherever my brother is now, I know it's pointless to hope he won't show up here. He won't just sit around and do nothing. But please, Izuku...don't come for me. Whatever they want with me, it shouldn't involve you.
Speaking of, Izuku was recovering in a hospital. After the incident...paramedics brought me to a hospital near the training camp, where I slipped in and out of consciousness for two days. I suffered from seizures, and when I woke, I was delirious with fever. He was laying on a hospital bed, his arms covered in proper casts. His forehead and cheek had bandages over them as his eyes were closed. At some point, Recovery Girl came to heal me as best she could. The cops showed up too, apparently. Though, I don't remember any of that.
His eyes widened as he looked up at the ceiling, turning to the side. He saw a bowl of food along with a message. It said 'when you wake up, please eat this and call me.' It was from Inko herself. "Mom..." He murmured and then remembered something.
"Twins! My babies!" She clutched at her handkerchief. She looked like she had been crying. "I can't do this anymore. I don't think my heart can handle another scare," She shed some more tears, wiping at her eyes.
He stared at the food for a couple of seconds and then looked back up at the ceiling. He imagined that she was worried sick for Izuka...and then he realized that he also hadn't seen Kota after he gave him to Mr. Aizawa to look after. "What about Kota? I hope he's okay..." He murmured and then a knock was at the door.
The door opened to reveal Denki and he brightened up. "Hey! Midoriya, good, you're finally awake!" He turned to the boy in confusion. "Did you see the news? Reporters are all over the school right now," He entered along with most of the other students. Aside from the obvious, there were still a few missing.
"It's worse than last time," Rikido spoke up as they looked over him. Mezo had one of his arms bandaged up since one of his duplicate limbs got cut off.
"I brought a present!" Minoru held it over his head. "I mean, it's from all of us. It's a melon!"
"...I caused you trouble, Midoriya. To you and your sister," Fumikage looked at the ground apologetically. If he hadn't gotten kidnapped too by Compress, Izuku wouldn't have felt the need to save him. He could've helped a lot more if he wasn't in that state.
"No, please. I did this to myself," Izuku answered quietly, still getting over the effects of being woken up for the first time. "Did everyone from Class A come to visit?"
"No," Tenya answered him a bit sadly. The other classmates looked upset as well from the question. "Jiro and Hagakure are still out. They were knocked unconscious from that villain's poisonous gas. And Yaoyorozu took a pretty bad hit to the head. She's hospitalized here. Though I just found out she finally woke up yesterday. And...she's emotionally not doing very well either." Once she found out about Izuka, she had gone into a depressive state. Aside from Ochaco, Izuka considered Momo to be a very close friend as well. Which Momo returned, so she was desolate to hear that the girl was kidnapped along with Katsuki. "So it's just us, though obviously we wish the whole class could be here."
Ochaco frowned deeply towards Izuku. "Only...15 of us for now," She answered, looking just as sad as Momo was right about now.
"Because Bakugo and Mido are gone," Shoto stated the obvious, Mina wincing towards him.
"He knows, Todoroki."
Izuku let out a light gasp as it finally hit him. He could now finally remember so clearly what happened before he passed out.
"KACCHAAAAAAN! IZUKAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Izuku leaped up to try and catch up to them. Izuka let out a weak gasp, knowing he'd try and save them, but...he couldn't. Not this time, and she didn't want him to fall into the portal either. Not with his injuries.
"Stay back...Deku!" Katsuki almost pleaded, his eyes wide. It was for Izuku's own good...that he could agree with Izuka in a rare instance.
"Little brother...I know this will be hard for you to do, but...please don't come after us..." Izuka squeezed her eyes shut, shedding a small tear.
He stayed silent for a few seconds as Ochaco covered her mouth, trying to hold it in. But she couldn't as she broke down crying, to the sadness of the others. Tsuyu brought her in for a hug, Tenya placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "All Might told me there'd always be people beyond our reach. That we can't protect even though we want to," Izuku spoke up weakly, the others frowning. "Which is why we have to save the people we can reach. I...was so close to being able to save them both. I needed to save them," His voice broke a little from the fresh memory. "Had to. That's part of the entire reason I have my Quirk. The other part is my sister. She was one of the few that kept supporting me back when we were kids..." He almost let it slip that she supported him when he was Quirkless...
The little Izuku held up his action figure above their heads. "He's the coolest in the universe! And once we get our Quirks, we're gonna be heroes, just like him!"
Izuka gave a beaming smile while waving her hands above her head.
"I'm so sorry, little brother...I wish you could take my place..." She sobbed and Izuku frowned at her.
"Izuka..." He placed his hand on top of hers. "No matter what...you'll always be my big sister. So don't cry..."
He felt like his heart was gonna burst out of his chest as he couldn't stop crying. Izuka leaned forward to give her brother a big hug. He then cried into her shoulder as she gave a teary-eyed small smile. Izuku continued to sob, so grateful for her support as he let the moment sink in.
He glanced away and Izuka placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn to her. "I know it wasn't much to you, but to others, you got here because of quick thinking and not using up your Quirk so much," She gave him another smile. "So think about what you can do for the next activity, okay?"
Izuku nodded and then Izuka ran up to him, hugging him for good luck. He smiled and returned the hug. "You can do it, little brother! You're the reason I'm even competing this year...so show me it wasn't for no reason."
"I will," He declared with a small nod.
Some tears appeared in his eyes as right now, he could still see the look on her face when she disappeared through the portal... "It's exactly like Mr. Aizawa said to me..."
"You're worthless if you can only throw a single punch before breaking down." The tears went down his face as...sadly, his teacher ended up being right. He felt useless at being unable to save his childhood friend and his sister in the same day... "My body...wouldn't move...I couldn't save people who were right in front of me, and one of them was my own family!" He squeezed his eyes shut as he continued to cry. "Someone who hid her Quirk for years of her life just so I wouldn't suffer! Someone...who I couldn't go to UA without...and since I failed...they're gone."
The others couldn't help but cry a little too, even Shoto. They could tell that Izuku cared and loved his sister very much. Looked up to her even just like with All Might despite not being a pro hero. For Izuku...in a way, she was one, despite her being against the idea from the start. Just by looking at him, they could see that it felt like someone stole away part of Izuku himself.
"Alright...then let's go get 'em," Eijiro spoke up in determination, alarming everyone. "I was here yesterday, too. And so was Todoroki."
"Uh!" Eijiro gave a sound of shock as he had run into Shoto in the hall. "Why are you at the hospital?"
"I could ask you that," He retorted back to his classmate.
"Well...I couldn't just sit at home," Eijiro responded a bit nervously, as if he had been caught doing something that he shouldn't have. "So I figured I would come here..."
"Me too," Shoto responded after a few seconds. "I felt the same. As someone with siblings...I know what Midoriya is going through," He glanced away and Eijiro blinked, wondering what was going through his head. He wasn't going to pry, though. "I thought maybe by relating to him, it would help with the situation."
The two of them walked side by side since they were going in the same direction. "We were on our way to visit you...when we saw All Might and some police officer talking to Yaoyorozu." The two came to a stop, peeking in as she was awake. Although she had seen better days as it looked like she hadn't gotten a proper rest outside of being unconscious.
"...With the assistance of Awase from Class B, I attached a tracking device to one of the villains," She revealed to All Might and the police officer, her voice breaking a little. She then held up a device. "This is the creation that will receive that signal. I...hope it helps your search," She slowly handed it over to All Might. Naomasa was the other police officer.
"Previously, Aizawa said you lacked the self-confidence and judgment needed to make quick decisions. Well, look how much you've grown!" He smiled proudly down at her. "You have our thanks, Yaoyorozu."
She then frowned, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the floor. She didn't feel like she earned the thanks deep down. "With two classmates still in danger...it's frustrating that I can't help you more than this. I hate it. Especially since...one of them is someone I call one of my best friends," She sniffled, shocking the two as she looked at her shaking hands. "And the fact that I couldn't be there to prevent her getting kidnapped...I see the way she admires me like a big sister. So how could I disappoint her like this?" She then cried into her hands, Shoto and Eijiro's eyes saddening at her. "How could I not have helped her...?"
"...That painful feeling is proof that you are worthy of being a hero," All Might spoke up after a few seconds and she looked up in shock. "Please don't worry or cry. You can leave the rest to us!" He then stepped up, patting her back. She sobbed into his shirt. "And I know...that when Mido finds out what you did for her...she'll be so happy that you ensured we could find her. So don't blame yourself for this."
"Thank you, sir..." Momo sniffed and he rubbed her back a little. Naomasa smiled a bit for how much she cared for the girl.
Tenya frowned as he realized where Eijiro was going with this. "This means you're going to have Yaoyorozu make another receiver for you, doesn't it?"
Eijiro stayed silent as he knew that the class rep already didn't approve of this. "What if it does?" Shoto spoke up for him.
Tenya then gritted his teeth as he remembered the reason why they shouldn't do this.
"Either way, we'll need to take responsibility for being negligent as supervisors," Manual looked down in relief after hearing what the Hosu Chief of Police had to say.
Tenya frowned as he didn't mean to cause trouble for his mentor. Especially after he had figured out what his intern was up to...he then stepped forward and bowed his head apologetically. "I'm sorry. I should've listened."
"Yeah!" Manual lightly tapped his head. "You caused us a lot of trouble. Remember that, and don't do it again!"
He gritted his teeth angrily. If there was anything he took away out of that experience, it was to act smarter. And this would only bring about the same punishments they would've received back then if they didn't choose to keep their names quiet.
"You should listen to what All Might said!" He suddenly snapped, shocking the other students. "We have to leave this to the professionals! It's not the right time for us to get involved, idiots!"
"Maybe, but all I know...is that at camp, I couldn't do anything," Eijiro argued back furiously, gesturing to himself. Like Izuku, he too was blaming himself for what happened. "I heard my friends were targeted, and I just stood by. Helpless. So if I stand by and do nothing now, how'm I supposed to call myself a hero or a man?"
Ochaco shed fresh tears, shaking. She honestly felt the same way...she couldn't call herself Izuka's best friend because she felt like she didn't deserve that title...but what was she supposed to do?
"Kirishima, calm down," Denki tried to ease him. "We're in a hospital. There's a better time and place for this, dude."
"Yeah, and what Ida said is true," Tsuyu spoke up, a finger on her chin.
Eijiro shook angrily that he was expected to not let out his emotions, but how could he not? How could he not express his frustration that two classmates got kidnapped? And it wasn't like he wasn't listening either. "All of you. Just listen to me for a minute. I know what you're saying is right. But still!" He whipped around to Izuku, holding out his hand. "Come on, Midoriya. They're both still within your reach!"
Shoto and Tenya looked towards the silent boy in anticipation. The former was hoping he'd say yes, that was his sister being one of the victims. While the latter hoped he disagreed. He knew that Izuka was out there, but also...he couldn't risk Izuku's life or hers if they went through with this. And he didn't want Izuku to follow the same path of hatred he did just because there was a personal matter at hand. It'd be the Hosu Incident all over again, and Tenya couldn't handle that a second time, or witness Izuku going the same personality shift that he did. He could sympathize with Izuku because it was his sister, but he could not allow this cycle to repeat. And he knew it was a tough thing to go through, but Izuku definitely wasn't alone. Tenya would support him when he needed to vent about Izuka's kidnapping wholeheartedly, but...a part of him also knew Izuku wasn't going to take this lightly either. He hoped that the boy would realize he couldn't tackle this, it was too much.
"We can save Bakugo and Mido!"
Izuku sweated at the opportunity he was given...he knew of the risk, obviously. But he also thought of what he could do if he went along with it. It was Katsuki and his sister...so what was he going to do?