Echoes of Love and Battle

by snoozemoose13

Suspicious villain attacks, confusing formal invitations, their debuts lurking along the horizon. Class 3-A built their reputation from the ground up as they've fought tooth and nail to win as much as they have. But now, stakes are rising, and with life becoming more dangerous, only one question haunts every students' mind: Who should they ask to the gala?

12. Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

A/N: Buckle up, buttercups. It only gets wilder from here.

Blurs of bright colors swirled around her, each one a different shape of someone's elaborate dress. A beaded lime green, orange with a giant taffeta bow, muted aqua chiffon. All muddying together in her mind. According to her physician, she stood taller than most girls her age, but even she couldn't see beyond anyone's waistline thanks to the mile-high heels they donned beneath their elaborate skirts. Mother promised she'd learn how to walk in those menacing shoes as she got older. She dreaded the day, yet still agreed. Minding her business as she wandered through the crowd, fingers nervously sliding the fabric of her red satin dress back and forth between themselves. She watched a nondescript waiter pass, briefly considering requesting a glass of sparkling cider.

And then, the screaming.

A single cry of outrage, followed by a bellowing shouting match. Nothing detailed could be determined beyond the blur of her vision. Rushes of red and black, thrashes of lime green and gold, screeching from the direction of orange. Someone being dragged, someone else knocked down by a man in a suit. Utter chaos surrounding the room, everyone yelling and scrambling for whichever exit was closest.

Nobody ran to check on her. No one except one person. Someone who bent down to meet her eye, grabbing her wrist and tugging her gently but purposefully.

"Hurry! Come with me, now, you have to–"

"Agh!"

Something between a gasp and a sob retched from Yaoyorozu's throat. Her back flew up from her bed, stirring Jiro and Mina, who lay on either side of her.

"Yaomomo?" Mina's voice sounded groggy in the night. "Are you okay?"

For some reason, she'd been subjected to some weird fever dream that freaked her out to the point that she woke up. No, she most certainly was not okay. But try as she might, she refused to admit that. To herself, to her friends, to anybody.

"I-I'm good." Yaoyorozu panted as she spoke. "Just, um, a little lightheaded. I must not have eaten enough at dinner and I–"

"You're shaking."

Yaoyorozu jumped, suddenly feeling Jiro's hand on her arm. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it radiating through her breast, shortening her breathing. What the hell happened to her?

"Goodness, Kyoka, don't scare me!" Her free hand flew to her chest, which ached in a way she couldn't place. "Oh, God, am I having a heart attack?"

"You definitely aren't." Jiro insisted, pressing her other hand to Yaoyorozu's face. "No, you seem more like you're having a panic attack."

"What?!" Yaoyorozu gently pulled her arm from Jiro's grip. "Don't be ridiculous, I just had a nightmare, that's all."

"You did?" Mina tilted her head concernedly. "Are you okay, Yaomomo? Nightmares can be pretty scary."

Weirdly enough, that comforted her. Yes, nightmares can be scary. The whole point is your brain needs entertainment while you sleep. Sometimes, it just wants to watch a horror movie or something. That's all. It doesn't mean anything, and it's most definitely not real.

"I'm fine." Yaoyorozu took a deep breath. "Like you said, just a little nightly scare, that's all. Sorry for disturbing you girls."

Mina and Jiro exchanged a glance.

"Uh, you're fine, Momo." Jiro assured her. "But seriously? You're okay?"

Yaoyorozu nodded, hoping this would get Jiro off her case. On top of her chest feeling weird, a strange sense of irritability washed over Yaoyorozu, and she wanted nothing more than for everyone to just shut up and leave her alone. She'd never voice such horrible feelings, though, especially not to her best friends.

"Okay, if you're sure. We're here if you need us." Mina rolled over, already falling back asleep.

"She's right." Jiro agreed, watching Yaoyorozu a little more closely. "Wake me up, if you need someone. I don't mind."

"Thank you." Yaoyorozu patted her hand. "Good night, Kyo."

"Night, Mo."

Immediately, Yaoyorozu shook all thoughts of her dream out of her head. She tried instead to think more positive thoughts. The Sidekick Awards viewing party later that evening. How she and all her girl friends currently slumbered, gathered together in sisterhood, after a fun night of girl talk. In the morning, she'd wake up and maybe bump into Todoroki on her way to breakfast. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?

XxXxX

Shinso recalled telling Monoma a sentence distinctly along the lines of "no more questions." The previous day, he followed directions splendidly, alternating between singing and humming the soundtrack of "Wicked" (followed by a small debate about who played Elphaba better, the original Idina Menzel or the iconic Cynthia Erivo. Shinso went to bed that night in disbelief that he'd participated in something so trivial, even for Miss Erivo's sake.) Then, during their house arrest cleaning, their conversation flowed relatively easily. Mostly about different forms of media, nothing too personal. He liked it better that way.

So don't fucking ruin this, Monoma.

"Whenever you're ready, I've got a few more questions lined up for our game."

Frowning, Shinso finished emptying the bag of chips into one of the thirty bowls Yaoyorozu created specifically to hold as much snack volume as possible. "What are you talking about?"

"Twenty questions." Monoma clarified cheerfully. "We've each only asked two. So both of us have eighteen more to go."

"That doesn't sound right." Shinso raised an eyebrow. "I think that means between the two of us, there's eighteen questions left. So, nine each."

"Okay, boys, how are the chips coming?" Yaoyorozu popped into the kitchen dressed in a navy sundress, tan platform sandals boosting her to even greater heights. Shinso briefly wondered why she'd gotten so dressed up, then saw Awase peeking in from behind her and connected the dots.

"Just about done." Shinso cracked open the last bag.

"Oh, here, I got it." Monoma grabbed it before Shinso could protest and began filling the last bowl. "Doing favors earns you more questions."

Where did he get these rules from? Strangely, though, Shinso found himself feeling more amusement than frustration at these antics.

"So, you're at ten, now?" Shinso leaned against the fridge with a grin.

"Twenty, actually." Monoma turned and winked at him.

Awase's gaze flitted between the two boys. Shinso tried not to notice him, but the discomfort of being scrutinized ate at his mind a bit. Ever since Monoma brought up his friendship with Awase, Shinso couldn't help but view the welding hero in training a bit…differently. Like he worried Awase knew something that Shinso didn't about Monoma. Weird thing to be bothered by, he recognized, but that changed nothing about his feelings.

"Okay." Yaoyorozu clearly had no idea what was going on and didn't seem to care too much, hyperfocusing on prepping everything for the viewing party. "Sato's got a few things baking, and I think he said something about letting chocolate harden in the fridge–"

"Allow me."

From the other side of the kitchen, Todoroki emerged, opening the fridge before Yaoyorozu could take a single step. She stumbled back a bit, steadied by Awase resting his hands on the backs of her elbows.

"Here." Todoroki removed a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries. "These look ready to serve."

Yaoyorozu blinked, awkwardly accepting the tray. "Oh, um…thank you, Todoroki."

"Yeah, thanks." Awase quickly took the tray from Yaoyorozu. "I'll put them out, babe, you grab the chips."

Monoma withheld a gasp, exchanging a glance with Shinso's wide eyes.

"O-on it…babe." The word seemed so unnatural coming out of Yaoyorozu's mouth. It sounded like the first time she'd used such a term of endearment. Embarrassment aside, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and picked up a bowl at random from the counter.

"Need a hand?" Todoroki turned to her as he closed the fridge.

"Oh, no thank you." She smiled at him. "I appreciate the offer, though."

Briefly, Shinso wondered if even one of their sharpest knives were capable of slicing through the tension between the two of them. No idea what their issue could possibly be about, but he wasn't anybody to question them.

"I'll be here, if you need me."

That was a lie. The second she disappeared, Todoroki found his way out of the kitchen through the other side, off to reconvene with Deku and Bakugo about…whatever those three got up to when left to their own devices. Yet Shinso got the impression that if Yaoyorozu happened to return to the kitchen, they'd find Todoroki materialized beside her in a heartbeat.

"Phew, that was awkward." Monoma let out a breath. "Jesus, does Todoroki just…have that effect on people?"

"He is pretty awkward in social situations." Shinso conceded. "I don't know."

He had a feeling he did know. But he didn't want to go around starting rumors based on perceived tension. So, he shrugged it off, counted the bowls, and responded by flinging a chip when Monoma tossed a popcorn kernel at him.

XxXxX

Babe?

What did that make them? She'd kissed Awase all of two times at this point, and they'd only been gala dates for about a day. Did that mean he was her boyfriend now? Yaoyorozu had no idea what to think. She wondered about asking him, but now didn't seem like the time. Maybe she could after the viewing party. Yeah, that sounded good. Just pull him aside and ask what they were. Simple.

"Okay, everyone, we've got some snacks ready!" Yaoyorozu interrupted the game of "Cards Against Humanity" to settle everything onto the coffee table.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Hagakure snatched a strawberry. "Mm, you guys, Sugar Man's sweets are to die for, try one!"

Beside her, Tokage delicately reached for a mini cheesecake. "These look good, at least!"

"Wait, look at me!" Sero tilted her face towards him. "I wanna see your reaction when you first bite into it!"

"That's what she said." Mineta muttered from the other side of the couch.

Ignoring the fact that that means something probably insane, Tokage carefully unwrapped the cupcake liner from the cheesecake and took a small, hesitant bite. Sero watched her expression melt from confusion, to pondering, to full on, wide-eyed shock.

"That's delicious!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Oh my gosh, it's absolutely divine! Like, professional level–"

Immediately, she stopped, suddenly embarrassed at her enthusiastic reaction over a mini cheesecake. No one paid her much mind, too absorbed in their own euphoria from the sweets, but she felt the heat rising in her cheeks nonetheless. Shaking his head, Sero settled an arm around Tokage's shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"You're adorable." He murmured.

"Aww!" Mina cooed across the coffee table from them. "You guys are so cute!"

Yaoyorozu watched Sero pull Tokage into a hug with both his arms around her shoulders, her hands hooking on his forearm. Admiration swirled through her chest watching her friends enjoy their newfound, unofficial relationship. It made her wonder, though, if she and Awase were now expected to behave like them. Should she put her arm around him? Or wait, was he supposed to do that?

"Yaomomo." A warm hand rested on her shoulder. "Where should I put these?"

Behind her stood Todoroki, holding up a plate of chocolate covered pretzels. Perking up, she smiled and gestured to the coffee table.

"Next to the strawberries is fine. Thank you, Todoroki."

"Yeah, thanks."

The moment Todoroki removed his hand, another replaced it. Awase sidled up beside Yaoyorozu, both his hands resting on her shoulders. For a moment, she detected a hint of tension between the two boys, but wrote off the passing glance she saw them exchange to be any number of things that didn't concern her. Right now, she had a party to run.

And weirdly enough, a lot of feelings about it.

XxXxX

"You're sure you can't make it? Dad can send someone for you still, I know we'd be cutting it close, but–"

"Fuyumi, I'm not coming." Todoroki's patience dwindled every other question. "I agreed to the Hero's Gala for personal reasons, and the Sidekick Awards have nothing to do with that."

Accepting his dad's invitation opened him up to a flood of responses from Endeavor. It started out relatively manageable, mostly excited messages about looking forward to spending the evening as a family (which Todoroki rolled his eyes at.) Soon, however, it devolved into invitations to other pro formals, galas, awards shows, anything Endeavor had the chance to attend (which, as the number one hero, was basically every event that got hosted.)

Apparently, Fuyumi agreed to be present at a lot of these functions, Todoroki suspecting that she hoped her compliance with their father's wishes would goad both him and Natsuo into joining her. Her motives didn't feel nearly as underhanded as Endeavor's, but at this point, it started to piss Todoroki off all the same. Both of them tried relentlessly to needle Endeavor back into his life, something he thought he'd been clear he wasn't willing to accept.

"Okay, Shoto." Fuyumi's tone shifted from gleeful to defeated, pricking Todoroki with guilt. "I'm sorry I bugged you about it. I just hoped I wouldn't be the only one posing for a million cameras, is all."

"You'll do fine, sis." Todoroki assured her. "I look forward to seeing you onscreen."

She giggled a bit nervously. "Yeah, that's terrifying. Luckily, Burnin's stylist came through for me, but I still feel like I look so out of place."

"I'm sure you look great." He turned to see Deku and Bakugo rounding the corner, Bakugo's murderous face speaking volumes. "Uh, I've gotta go now, sis, but call me when everything's done, okay?"

"Sure, sure, of course. Love you, Shoto."

"I, uh, love you, too."

One day, saying those words wouldn't feel awkward as hell for him. Until that day came, he'd continue to stumble.

"Was that Fuyumi?" Deku asked brightly.

"Yeah." Todoroki pocketed his phone. "She's going to the awards tonight with our dad. They invited me, but I'd prefer to eat chips here than ride in any limo that bastard paid for. Anyway, what's up?"

Todoroki dropping such casual hatred for his father never ceased to astound Deku. If he didn't have more pressing matters to discuss, he might have tried to ask his friend about considering therapy.

"We've got a…weird update from All Might." Deku paused, shifting his gaze to Bakugo, waiting for him to say something. When he maintained his terrifying glare, Deku swallowed and continued. "Apparently, Tsukauchi texted him to let him know he's off the case."

"What?" Todoroki frowned. "Why would he do that?"

"Well, All Might doesn't have much to do with this situation to begin with." Deku admitted, opening something on his phone. "But this could indicate something bigger is going on underneath everything we know so far. He's gonna try to coordinate with Endeavor and see if he knows anything, but–"

"If your dad tells you one word about anything, Icy Hot, you bring that right to me, you got that?"

Bakugo finally spoke, and Todoroki immediately understood why he held back. The anger was only for show; his hoarse, thick voice indicated he'd been dealing with a rough array of emotions, ones that sounded like they involved tears.

"Sure, okay." He blinked at his shaking friend. "We're gonna crack this case, Bakugo. You know that, don't you?"

How could he? After their bullshit leads had gotten them nowhere and All Might got taken out of the information mill, what else did they realistically have that could lead them to Camie? Normally, he'd have taken matters into his own hands a long time ago, smashing through the last building Camie's disappearance had been reported from and go from there. Take down every witness he found until somebody, somewhere, knew enough to be able to save her.

But that wouldn't solve anything and he knew it.

He needed to be strategic and trust the higher ups. This wasn't about his power or his ego. His ability to explode anything and everything in his path did nothing for Camie right now. And for once, he didn't care about showing off. All he wanted–all he needed–-was to get her back. By whatever means necessary.

"Hey, guys!" Uraraka poked her head in, cheerfully oblivious to the weight of their conversation. "The red carpet's about to start, you guys wanna head in?"

Deku, the only member of the trio able to understand positivity, pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "We'll be there in a bit, babe. We've just gotta wrap up on a couple things All Might briefed us on."

The hero within Uraraka switched on at the mention of All Might. "Everything okay?"

"We're fine." Deku promised. "I'll tell you more once we figure things out."

"Okay." She accepted his word at face value, giving him a hug. "Just don't take too long, okay? Mineta's trying to sit next to a girl for this thing and at this point, I don't think he cares whether or not somebody has a boyfriend."

Gross. Widening his eyes, Deku nodded.

"Stay standing. I'll be there soon."

Once she disappeared, Bakugo returned to business mode. "What kind of connections does your dad have with the police, scar face? Think he can get us into their database or something?"

Todoroki grimaced. "I don't like scar face."

"Well, I don't like that my girlfriend's been missing for a week, so maybe suck it up, you whiny–"

"Hey, Kacchan, enough!" Deku grabbed his friend's arm, already prepared to hold him back. "But I did want to ask, Todoroki, is there anything your dad can maybe do for the situation?"

"I won't know until after the awards show, unfortunately." Todoroki pulled his phone out, checking on the off chance his dad messaged him right now before the red carpet. "But I'm sure he'll get back to me once I ask. Think we can wait this out another hour?"

Bakugo refused to wait one more second, but it's not like he'd get anywhere by raising his blood pressure in rage. Gritting his teeth, he stepped back a bit, defeated.

"Whatever we have to do, I guess." He grumbled.

Deku relaxed, releasing Bakugo's arm. "I'll stay in touch with All Might to see if he winds up with any updates, too."

"Sounds good." Todoroki felt the conversation to be less than productive, only really establishing that All Might had been thrown out of the loop. Which, to be fair, is a big update that he and Bakugo should be aware of. They just didn't have any means of solving that issue, at least not at the moment, and that's what bothered him.

Not nearly as much as entering the living room to find Awase settled on the couch with his arm around Yaoyorozu's shoulder, though.

They're dating. Or something. To be honest, he had no idea. Awase asked her out literally yesterday, things can't possibly happen that fast. Can they? Whatever, that's not his business. He shouldn't care.

Making it frustrating that he still did.

No time to dwell on that. Instead, he shuffled over to the couch the Dekusquad had assembled on (plus Tokoyami…interesting addition.) Space on the cushions was scarce at this point, so he opted to drop down beside Iida's feet.

"You feeling alright, Todoroki?" Iida leaned down and rested a hand on Todoroki's shoulder.

Todoroki glanced up at him, trying his best not to appear as disdainful as he felt. "I'm fine."

Between knowing he was about to get jumpscared by his dad on the TV and watching Yaoyorozu giggle at something Awase whispered to her, studies concluded that Todoroki was not, in fact, fine.

XxXxX

"That wire's still there, by the way."

"What?"

Shinso turned to Monoma, confused. Both of them had finally finished rounding up all the snacks and had just made their final delivery to the living room, now preparing to settle down into whatever seats they could manage to grab. As they scanned the perimeter of the room, however, Monoma hit him with some nonsense he didn't know how to respond to.

"The wire, remember? We found it while we were cleaning a couple days ago?" Quickly, he fluffed his hair a bit. "I mean, I found it while I was cleaning."

"You found it while you were being dramatic." Shinso rolled his eyes. "But why do you care if it's still there?"

For a moment, Monoma went quiet. Shinso saw on his face that he had an answer; it seemed the hesitation stemmed from uncertainty of whether or not he should say it.

"It's just…" He swallowed a bit, suddenly looking pensive. "I don't know, it gives me a weird vibe. I combed through every corner of the B dorms last night and didn't find anything like it. Don't you think that's strange?"

Not particularly. In fact, it sounded like an absolutely microscopic detail in the grand scheme of things. Something about Monoma's expression troubled Shinso, though. Almost like he knew this might be an overreaction, accepting the defeat of Shinso's inevitable dismissal. That made Shinso question himself; Monoma had to be right sometimes, right? Heroes often develop strong intuition through training and work studies. Could Monoma be so different?

"I don't know about that, but…we can keep an eye on things." He assured the blond. "I'm not saying you're wrong, we just need more to go off of if you're right. Sound good?"

That answer didn't seem to sway Monoma, who simply nodded. "Sure, whatever you say."

A week ago, Shinso would have rolled his eyes, written him off as dramatic, and walked away. Right now, though, he felt compelled to fix the situation somehow and cheer him up a bit.

"Hey, technically, I just spent a question." He offered Monoma a wry smile. "Got anything up your sleeve?"

Ever the easily distracted, Monoma smirked, glancing around Shinso's shoulder. "Actually, I do have one."

"Shoot."

"What's going on with Rocky Road and his girl?"

He glanced between Kirishima, who slumped in front of the coffee table between Ojiro and Koda, and Mina, who'd found herself a single chair behind one of the couches. He recalled Kaminari mentioning that they were fighting, but nobody knew a lot of details. It seemed like the kind of thing people shouldn't ask about, a problem that stretched beyond the limits of high school drama.

"Don't know." He replied to Monoma over a potato chip. "I know they're fighting, but that's all."

"Hmm." Monoma stroked his chin.

That didn't sit right with Shinso. "What, you think this is your big chance to move in on Mina or something?"

"Huh?" The expression on Monoma's face dropped to straight up incredulous, as if horrified by that implication. "What the hell makes you say that?"

"Damn, okay, sorry." Shinso sneered a bit.

"You should be." Shaking his head, Monoma turned a bit more towards him, his voice dropping. "But seriously, something doesn't look right here. Aren't they normally all over each other?"

From that angle, this fight felt like a breath of relief. Nobody necessarily minded how much Mina and Kirishima loved each other, but the PDA sometimes got out of hand. However, this gave a lot of credibility to Monoma's concern; what could have possibly happened to drive this much of a wedge between the happy couple?

"I say it's not our business." Shinso conceded after a moment. "Obviously, I'd like to know, but some things are best left behind closed doors."

"Ooh, kinky." Monoma rubbed his hands together.

"What?" Shinso half laughed. "I didn't even say anything–"

"I know, I just needed to lighten the mood somehow."

Shinso stopped in the middle of lifting a chip to his mouth. "You're the one who started this conversation–"

"Heads up!"

Rather than give Shinso an answer, Monoma snatched the chip from his fingers and rested it between his teeth, wiggling his eyebrows at Shinso.

"You are…confusing." Shinso shook his head.

"Oh, I've confused quite a few boys in my day, Beetlejuice." He ruffled Shinso's hair playfully. "You're hardly the first."

Why did this conversation make Shinso so damn flustered? Blushing, he shifted his gaze back to the chips, hoping focusing on them would distract him from…whatever Monoma had going on.

News flash: it didn't work.

XxXxX

No one else was allowed to sit next to Kirishima.

Other than the boys, of course. Mina didn't have anything against Sero or Kaminari settling in beside her man. Neither one of them did, sadly; Sero opted to snuggle up beside Tokage and her friends while Kaminari made a move on Shiozaki, didn't succeed, and huffily settled down between Jiro and Shoji. Mina wanted to wave him back over to Kirishima, but it felt a little weird directing him where to sit when she herself perched on the opposite side of the room. Thankfully, Ojiro scooted down a bit, closing the gap between him and Kirishima's spots. Good. Now none of the class B girls who'd heard about their little spat could wriggle their way between them. Not that she suspected any of them would try to, but paranoia had Mina exhibiting weird behaviors all around.

After everything that happened, she wasn't sure she could handle being right next to her own boyfriend.

The hurt in his eyes practically broke her resolve. Their entire relationship hinged on whatever was about to get explained by this awards ceremony (which made less and less sense with every passing day) and that put too much pressure on both of them emotionally. So much so that Mina couldn't deal with it. Thus, she removed herself, hoping that after everything was said and done, she'd run to Kirishima, apologize for not understanding, and they'd be able to put all this behind them as just one sad week in a lifetime of otherwise pure happiness.

"Ooh, guys, it's starting!" Hagakure's sleeve extended toward the TV.

"Ugh." Kamakiri rolled his eyes. "It's just the fashion part, no one cares about that!"

"Uh, the girls do." Kendo gave him a warning look, then smiled down at Hagakure. "Turn it up, girl."

"On it!"

Mina perked up slightly. Sad as she was, she did need dress ideas for the gala. And whether or not Kirishima remained her date, she still wanted to look as dolled up as possible. Of course, the sidekicks and pros all employed personal stylists that chose their outfits and accessories, but that's exactly why they should look to red carpets for inspiration.

On the screen, a bubbly, lavender-skinned reporter smiled into the camera, her champagne colored dress shimmering against the flashes of paparazzi pictures being snapped from all different angles. Behind her, a luxurious stretch of carmine carpet led up to the Kagayaki Theater, a path each pro and sidekick alike would walk to pose for pictures before taking their seats inside. A background decorated with the theater's star symbol displayed in a brief stock shot onscreen, giving viewers a general idea of where the heroes would be taking pictures. (Realistically, it was probably included as a brief advertisement for the theater, but no one took too much note of it anyway.)

"Good evening, Japan!" The reporter beamed ear to ear against her microphone. "My name is Chiyuki Fujita, and welcome to the twentieth annual Sidekick Awards show, sponsored by the Yaoyorozu-Kagayaki Foundation for the Arts!"

"Yaoyorozu?" Kodai glanced over at her.

"Huh." Even Yaoyorozu seemed a bit puzzled. "I suppose my family bought the Arts Foundation out. Interesting investment, considering their small scope of influence, but my father knows what he's doing."

"I'd believe it. He sure did raise a smart daughter." Awase's arm tightened around her waist. Yaoyorozu smiled, a bit embarrassed but flattered.

"Do your parents not tell you when they do this sort of thing?" Jiro wondered.

Yaoyorozu shrugged. "It's not particularly my business, overall. As long as I don't embarrass anybody at a cocktail party, there's no reason they should keep me up to date on every little thing."

Jiro still felt a bit off about the situation, but she also had no clue how elite culture worked. Perhaps rich parents bought organizations all the time without informing their children. Her parents didn't even buy a different flavor of bagels without talking to her, but again, what did she know about wealthy people?

"Up first, we have pro hero Hydraulic and his sidekick, Riptide!" Fujita announced from the screen exuberantly.

"Oh, hey, Hydraulic!" Kaibara nudged Awase. "Cool to see him on TV, huh?"

"Heck yeah." Awase stared at the screen, eyes wide with excitement. Yaoyorozu turned to him curiously.

"You know this pro?" She asked quietly.

"Oh, yeah." He smiled proudly. "I've actually been accepted to his agency after I graduate. He's who I've been doing my work study with."

Wow. Already an offer waiting for him straight out of high school? Yaoyorozu's skin flushed a bit, realizing she didn't know a whole lot about the boy slinging his arm around her. She made a mental note to hang out with him specifically to get to know him better once the awards were over.

"Riptide is nominated for 'Best Community Sidekick' tonight, having served a wide array of regions over the course of his two-year career at Hydraulic's agency." Fujita's narration moved to voiceover while the camera focused on Hydraulic, a tall, teal scaled man dressed in a pale blue suit (not a great color combo, Mina noted.) Young Riptide dressed more simply, in a cornflower blazer with white pants.

"What's his quirk, Awase?" Honenuki asked.

"He's able to control water, but not produce it." Awase explained. "That's why he and Hydraulic work so well together."

"Ohh, I see. That's pretty cool." Honenuki nodded understandingly.

"Where do you fit into that?" Yaoyorozu wondered.

"Hm? Oh, he's got another sidekick, Frostia, she's really cool. She's got the ability to freeze any liquid she comes into contact with, so I'm mostly making weapons out of whatever she puts together." Awase smiled proudly. "The four of us make an awesome team, maybe I'll take you down to meet them sometime!"

That felt a little rushed considering they'd just started…whatever this was. However, Yaoyorozu didn't question it; after all, this felt like something two people who are…something together should do. Damn it, this was so hard to understand.

"And of course, beautiful pro Wisteria and her remaining sidekicks, Muretta and Nightshade, all putting on a brave face after the loss of their third member, Maboromicamie." Fujita's tone shifted slightly seriously, caught between her commercial reporter voice and genuine sadness for the current circumstances. "Muretta, Nightshade, and Maboromicamie are nominated for 'Best Sidekick Teamwork' tonight, and though they're down a girl, it's clear this unit is up and functional, I totally admire them for that."

Fujita went on as the camera panned to Wisteria and her lavender adorned sidekicks. All of them did their best to smile and wave, Wisteria being the only one truly succeeding. Nightshade looked ready to cry and Muretta's expression remained almost stone-like behind the half smirk she managed to give the paparazzi.

"They're devastated." Tsuyu observed sadly.

"I would be, too, if I lost such a big part of my team." Kendo commiserated.

"Love their dresses, though." Hagakure commented, hoping to bring the mood up a bit. "I think that v-neck style Muretta's wearing would be so pretty!"

In the background, Bakugo glared down at the floor. Todoroki considered comforting him, then opted against it, knowing it would just anger him further. How he'd managed to keep this much control of his emotions eluded Todoroki's understanding, but he wasn't going to push him and risk all of that going down the drain.

"Come on, when are they gonna show Fatgum?" Tetsutetsu's leg bounced impatiently.

"Well, him and Amajiki are bigger frontrunners for tonight, so I anticipate they're gonna come through a little bit later." Uraraka explained.

Deku nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they typically don't have the more popular pros arrive until midway through the red carpet. Gives people a reason to keep watching, I guess."

"Whoa, check out that dress!" Mina excitedly pointed to the screen. "Jiro, what color did you pick? That shade would slay with your hair!"

"Hm?" Jiro glanced up from her Pinterest doom scrolling to watch the TV.

A pro by the name of Hemlock posed onscreen, her ginger hair falling in waterfall waves along her bare shoulders. Her deep violet gown fell in off-the-shoulder straps, the neckline plunging way lower than Jiro would ever venture.

"A style like that, maybe?" Hagakure turned back toward Jiro. "I could see you rocking it."

"I do not have the boobs for that." The sentence left Jiro's mouth before she remembered everyone from both classes–along with a majority of boys–heard her say that.

Luckily, most of the guys were gentlemanly enough not to acknowledge her comment, with only Mineta muttering "damn right" from the corner of the room. Not something she remotely cared about, but Shoji and Tokoyami both shot him a glare.

Hagakure, completely oblivious, merely huffed. "Boobs are not everything, Jiro!"

"Yeah, there's ass, too." Mineta…do you think you're being helpful with this?

"Jesus." Jiro squeezed her eyes shut. Why did the conversation have to turn to this?

Mina's fists curled into balls, her anger on high alert. "Mineta, were you dropped or something as a baby? Why do you act like this?"

The purple balled boy cowered in fear, scrambling back in his seat a bit. "Y-you don't have to get so aggressive about it!"

"Guys, shush." Sero stopped the fight from the floor. "Let's just keep watching."

A few more pros filtered through, some recognized, some lower on the popularity rung, with basically only Deku actually knowing who everybody was. Once Ryukyu's name got announced, Tsuyu and Uraraka perked up, which caught everyone else's attention.

"Okay, this has to mean Amajiki's coming up." Kirishima glanced around nervously. "We're all, uh, geared up for that, right?"

"Hell yeah!" Tetsutetsu pumped his fist in the air to be promptly brought back down by Kendo.

"He's the unofficial Rising Star winner." Kaibara pointed out. "Of course they're saving him for last."

Ryukyu stepped out onto the red carpet dressed simply but elegantly. However, something felt off. Uraraka immediately noted her lack of presence, a distant, glazed over look in her eyes. She did her best to feign a pleasant expression, but her years of standing in the spotlight established a certain energy that tonight she flat out didn't meet.

Strangest of all, Nejire was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, where's Hado?" Sato picked up on the absentee immediately.

"She should be arriving with Ryukyu. Maybe they came separately for some reason?" Jiro turned to Mina, who shrugged.

"That doesn't sound right…." Uraraka trailed off, nervously exchanging a glance with Tsuyu.

"Uh, let's hang in here, guys!" Kirishima turned and flashed the group a lighthearted smile. "I'm sure everything's gonna be okay!"

Mina's suspicions doubled at his attitude. Did he know something about the awards show the rest of them didn't? She remembered during their fight, he'd said she'd know some of what he wanted to tell her before he actually got around to saying anything. Could that mean something was about to happen at the awards show? If so, what could possibly be so important he had to go around lying and sending cryptic texts?

"And here's Ryukyu…" Fujita looked puzzled, unsure how to introduce the pro without her sidekick. She must be reading from a pre-planned teleprompter or something. "...Uh, it appears she's here representing her sidekick of the past two and a half years, Nejire-chan! Miss Nejire is nominated for strongest female–"

Suddenly, the screen went black. Everyone jumped a bit, the shift jarring them. Just as they'd processed what happened and were starting to chat about it, though, a news anchor popped onscreen, seated at a silver dest with a stack of papers in his hand.

"We interrupt this broadcast to report tragic news." He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, keeping his eyes forward. "Allegedly, as of this morning, Tamaki Amajiki, the sidekick known as Suneater, has been reported missing. Reports speculate foul play was involved with his disappearance, and a suspect has already been taken into custody. If anybody has any information regarding Mr. Amajiki or his whereabouts between three and four A.M., contact police immediately. Thank you for your time, and we hope to bring Amajiki home safe and sound to his family as soon as possible."

A weird background shot displayed a blazer-clad young woman, early twenties, being dragged from a large, marble building by police. No audio played under the clip, but she craned her head back to scream at someone behind her. All the while, she struggled against the officers, resisting arrest as much as her physical capabilities allowed her to. Her long, dark ponytail bobbed behind her as she whipped her head back and forth between the two men grabbing her arms, her expression indicating she was demanding they release her (or something along those lines.)

Cut back to the awards, where Fujita stood, focused downward, pressing a communicator to her ear. After a moment, she noticed the live and straightened her shoulders, holding her mic up purposefully. The enthusiastic energy she'd exuded at the start of the broadcast melted from her demeanor, now replaced with a solemn, stoic tone.

"I've just received word of our broadcast's interruption." She spoke naturally, clearly not following a script. "We're absolutely devastated to learn about Amajiki's disappearance. We have no response prepared at the moment other than we're shocked, terrified, and hopeful for his return. We also extend our condolences toward his friends and family, who…are no doubt experiencing a whirlwind of emotions–"

Once again, the screen went black, this time taking all the lights in the dorm with it. The sudden power outage caused an outcry among the students, most of whom hadn't completely processed the news they'd just received.

"What the hell's going on?!" Tetsutetsu's voice broke out among the chattering.

"My God." Yaoyorozu covered her mouth with both her hands.

"Eijiro."

Kirishima sat before the TV completely paralyzed, unblinking, jaw practically on the floor. He stayed fixated on the screen, seemingly trying to make sense of what just happened. For someone Mina suspected of being a mastermind, she had to admit, right now he looked more clueless than ever.

At the sound of his name, he turned to her, looking as if he were about to cry.

"Baby, hang on–"

"You said you'd explain." She reminded him, rising to her feet. "You told me I'd understand. That I'd 'see.' Well, right now, I'm more confused than ever, so you'd better start talking. What just happened and why?"

"Hang on." Sero also stood, extending a hand toward Kirishima. "Explain what? Do you know something about this?"

"No! No, I swear, I didn't know–"

"Oh, come on." Mina half-laughed while tears clouded her lower eyelids. "You talked about a drop spot, then your dumbass connected that to the awards, and now–"

"Mina, that's enough!" Kirishima hurried over to her side of the room, hoping to somehow silence her. "Look, if you want to just step outside, I can–"

"-Now you're trying to hide it from everybody, too! Don't you touch me, I–"

"-If you'd just listen to me for one second, you–"

"Okay, stop it, both of you!" Kaminari suddenly appeared between the two, holding his arms out to keep them apart. "I get it, you're mad, but whatever you're dealing with right now, I think there's bigger issues at play here."

"Kaminari's right." Jiro hugged an arm around Mina's shoulders. "Let's calm down and figure out this lights situation first, okay?"

"Absolutely correct!" Iida jumped to his feet. "I believe we keep emergency candles in the supply closet on the second floor. I'll run up and fetch those and we can begin lighting them. The rest of you, stay in one group; we don't want any stragglers in the dark."

He took a step back, preparing to bolt up the stairs, when out of nowhere, a strange blue glow illuminated the perimeter of the room. Iida stopped, head jerking around between the walls and the door frame, gasps and murmurs of awe surrounding him. The effect was nice, at least; an alien blue glow against an otherwise dark atmosphere. Did someone plan this? Perhaps another gala-posal was afoot?

"Whoa!" Kaminari laughed a little, enjoying the change in scenery. "This some kind of backup lighting system or–"

An electrical humming caught his attention. He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but one thing about him, electricity attracted him like a magnet.

"What's up?" Jiro immediately noticed his change in demeanor.

Kaminari stayed silent for a moment, turning his head to listen more closely. After a moment, his face brightened, a grin spreading across his lips.

"Never fear guys, I think we're saved!" He pointed triumphantly to the walls. "If there's electricity stored up in those glowy things, we just gotta get 'em to work!"

"What are you talking about, Kaminari?" Kendo took a delicate step forward, cautious but curious.

"Yeah, why would a bunch of glowstick string have electricity stored up?" Sero stroked his chin.

"Backup circuit?" Kaminari wondered out loud, allowing the light to pull him from his friends. "Maybe I can give it a helping hand or something!"

"That's quite strange." Deku stood up, looking around the room quizzically. "I don't remember being briefed on any sort of backup generator within the walls."

Jiro gently grabbed Kaminari's arm, stepping in front of Mina. "In that case, we probably shouldn't mess with it. We don't know for sure what it is."

While Kaminari disputed her, Monoma tapped Shinso, his eyes wide. Shinso turned to him, confused by the severity in his expression.

"Dude, what is it–"

"We need to get out of here." Monoma insisted, hushed but urgent. "Call it intuition, call me crazy, I don't care. But…I have a…a bad feeling…."

Why did he even open his mouth? Shinso wouldn't believe him, nor would anybody else in the room. Sure, the psychopath has a weird vibe about something, that's not the least bit credible. There's no way they'd listen to him. He'd be better off just going back to making dramatic statements and poses.

His train of thought stopped when Shinso rested a hand on his upper arm, nodding encouragingly.

"Go on, Monoma." He spoke in a low voice, though he clearly wasn't trying to keep their conversation private. "I'm listening."

If he'd learned anything about Monoma over the last week, it's that he paid attention. Little details stuck with him, and despite his manic act (and he had deduced it to be, without question, an act) he surprisingly proved himself to be incredibly intelligent. Shinso still rolled his eyes at a lot of his behavior, but if Monoma got the sense something was off, he felt inclined to at least hear him out.

Taking a deep breath, Monoma pointed to the door, the corner where he'd first discovered the wires.

"When I found them, they moved. Wriggled around, I guess. And I only heard it for a second, but…there was a small…cracking sound, I think? I don't know, I just…I think if this thing's full of any power like Kaminari thinks…I feel like that could be dangerous."

Shinso digested what he said, unsure what to make of it.

"I don't think we're safe here." Monoma added quickly. "Just, you know, a feeling. If there's a lot of electricity in those wires, and they cover the entire building–"

"You might be right." Shinso shifted his gaze downward thoughtfully.

Monoma perked up a bit. "R-really?"

"I believe you, at least." Shinso assured him, turning to face him again. "Come on, let's investigate. Jiro?"

She still stood across the room arguing with Kaminari. Not maliciously, Shinso noted; Kaminari just seemed ready to shoot off on some kind of plan that Jiro clearly communicated she felt hesitant about.

"Hm?" She blinked out of the argument, turning to Shinso. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Kaminari, stay on standby." Shinso ordered, making his way toward Jiro while dragging Monoma by his wrist. "Jiro, can you listen in on the walls for anything strange? Something that sounds like an electrical current?"

Frowning, Jiro exchanged a glance with Kaminari. "Uh, I guess, but why–"

"Trust us." Shinso pulled Monoma up beside him. "We've seen these wires during our cleaning sessions. They're not anywhere to be found in the B dorms and according to Monoma, they could be dangerous. We have to at least investigate."

In the background, Kamakiri scoffed. "And why exactly should we listen to this clown?"

"Yeah, no offense, Monoma, but…it's just a light." Bondo put in.

Just a light. And he's overreacting because of it. Goddamn it, why did he ever say anything?

"Listen, he's not stupid!" Shinso snapped, harsher than intended. "You think I'd engage with this if it were just the same old dramatics?

The room took a collective step back. Sighing, Shinso bowed his head, wishing people would just listen to him–or in this case, surprisingly, Monoma–without all this annoying questioning.

"Look, I trust him. At least enough to hear him out and investigate. I mean, what do we have to lose here?"

Monoma bit his lip. Processing the fact that Shinso, of all people, stood up for him like that fried his brain just a tad, snapping him into a stunned silence. Good thing Shinso hadn't asked him to explain himself, or he'd prove that outburst completely wrong.

"He raises a great point." Kendo conceded. "Besides, it's not like it'd hurt us to pull some recon."

"Okay, get it, Shinso." Kaminari held up his hands, winking at his friend. "I don't hate this plan, though. It'll give us a better idea of what's going on in the walls. What do you think, Jiro?"

"Kaminari, can you back me up?" She immediately turned to him, hero mode on. "If there's a loose electrical current, I need you to absorb it."

"On it." He dutifully followed her to the wall.

Mineta watched them go, lazy in disposition, eyes half closed with boredom. "I don't know why you guys are treating this so seriously just cuz Monoma's got a funny feeling in his stomach or something."

Tokoyami shot him a side glare. "Must you behave like a nuisance? We're possibly facing a crisis situation. Stay on your guard."

As usual, the purple headed boy slumped back, crossing his arms. "If you guys call a power outage a crisis, we're really in for a–"

"What the–!" Jiro's gasp caught everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Kaminari leaned in closely, poised to intervene should Jiro need him.

Horror flooded her eyes. Kaminari grew more concerned by the second, watching her so intently he forgot about everyone else in the room. She pressed her palm to the wall for support, keeping her earphone jack plugged into the wire. Doing her duty as a hero, Kaminari realized warmly.

"There's…voices." She clarified after a moment.

"Voices?" Bakugo rose from his seat, finally deciding to be interested in what was happening.

"They're talking about…the next phase?" Jiro squeezed her eyes shut, focusing as hard as she could. "Everything's going according to plan…okay, the voices are female, so far there's only two, and they're…far away, I think–"

"Someone write that down!" Shoda ordered, frantically searching for some sort of notebook.

"On it!" Deku, who always had pen and paper on standby for strictly goddamn nerd reasons, began scribbling everything Jiro said down. "Okay, great job, Jiro, keep going!"

Everything sounded like it came from underwater mixed with TV static. Jiro concentrated fiercely to no avail; the voices only grew fainter, garbling underneath the constant, intrusive whirring of electricity.

"Ugh, I lost it." Her palm crunched into a fist, lightly banging on the wall in frustration. "Now there's just humming and–AGH!"

Pain surged through her head to toe, the familiar strain of shockwaves rippling through her. Why familiar? She'd spent too many years training with Kaminari. She knew what electricity felt like.

And thankfully, Kaminari knew what her getting shocked looked like.

"Jiro!" Instinctively, he grabbed her and pulled her close to him, immediately absorbing the waves into his own body. "Are you okay?!"

"I-I'm good…" She gripped his shoulder, her knees shaking from the impact. "Whoa, that was…a lot."

Too much from the looks of her. All at once, her hold on him loosened and she staggered down, not fully falling unconscious but severely weakened. Kaminari scrambled to keep her upright, arm tightening around her waist, pressing his other hand against the wire next to where Jiro's earphone jack remained plugged in. Shocks rippled through his arm violently, only durable thanks to his quirk.

"Damn." He muttered. "This is strong enough to kill a man."

"You guys good over there?" Kendo called out.

"The wires are emitting electricity!" Kaminari explained, nodding to Jiro. "I'm absorbing it right now through her, but I need to get to the source and get both my hands on the wires. Can someone unplug Jiro and get her away from this?"

That meant touching the electricity, which for most of them would just cause further injury. But no one was willing to give up, most of them having switched into hero mode. Tokoyami reacted the fastest, with Shoji right behind him.

"Dark Shadow, remove the earphone jack at once."

'On it!'

The shadow quirk emerged and moved swiftly through the darkness. Shoji trailed behind him, catching Jiro once she'd been freed from the wires. Kaminari hesitated, not willing to surrender her over to Shoji, of all people. He kept his arm on her for a second, gaze growing weary as he weighed his options.

"I'll take her to Recovery Girl." Shoji gave Kaminari a pointed look. "Don't worry, Kaminari. I'll take care of her only until you can do it yourself. After that, I'm hands off. Deal?"

Well, now he just felt like an idiot.

Obviously, even if Shoji planned to throw Jiro on a white horse and ride off into the sunset with her, right now it didn't matter. Safety and preventing injury was the priority. Kaminari could figure out his confusing reaction later.

"Yeah, go ahead, man." He pulled back, allowing Jiro to fully sink into Shoji's arms.

To be fair, he held her like a perfect gentleman, using his dupli-arms to cradle her like a baby. It would have been easier to just hold her bridal style, but that might upset Kaminari, something Shoji preferred to refrain from. Besides, he felt strangely self-conscious at the thought of someone seeing him carry a girl so intimately. Must be part of maturing at this age, he rationalized.

"Okay, everyone else, you gotta get out of here!" Kaminari announced, his sense of urgency revving up to franticness. "These shockwaves are intense, and they could take out the whole building if we aren't careful!"

"What about you, man?" Sero took a few steps toward his friend.

Ojiro mirrored Sero, standing on his level. "Yeah, we're not just gonna leave you here!"

"I'll be fine!" Kaminari insisted. "My body's meant to withstand this. I'm not gonna be okay forever, though, so you'd better get moving!"

"Right!" Iida began robo-chopping. "You heard our classmate! Trust our fellow hero-in-training and make for the exit! File out quickly and orderly!"

Rather than behave orderly, Bakugo blasted the doors from the kitchen, annihilating them in a second.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, GET OUT!" He screamed from his perch on the kitchen counter.

"Kacchan, would you listen to Iida for once?!" Deku just about crumpled his notebook in his hands.

Bakugo's hands balled into fists. "Maybe if everyone quit sitting around and did something, we wouldn't be in this situation, now would we?"

Deku understood immediately. Well, at least, he knew what Bakugo meant, to some degree. Tamaki's disappearance obviously triggered the feelings he grappled with regarding losing Camie. And now, though he couldn't do much, he'd gotten up and accomplished something, which he desperately needed right now.

He didn't have to burn the goddamn doors down, though.

Around Deku, his peers bolted to the doors, orderly fashion having flown out the window. Rolling his eyes, Todoroki beckoned him onward.

"He's already done it, let's just control the damage."

He had a point, Deku conceded. Shaking himself, he followed Uraraka out the door just in time to watch as Todoroki froze the remains of the smoldering doors over, keeping them from starting a fire on the grass outside. By that point, everyone had made it to the grass, well away from the building and anything it touched.

"Do you think we're safe out here?" Pony glanced around nervously. "What if the wires stem from underground?"

"Damn." Tetsutetsu shook his head vigorously. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Monoma, you totally called it!"

Straightening up a bit, Monoma let a small smile tease at his lips. "You…mean that?"

A small swat to his head jolted him.

"Don't go getting cocky, though." Kendo dusted her hands off, a stern but proud look in her eye. "I mean, more cocky than you already are."

Smiling fully, Monoma massaged the back of his head. "Well, who's to say, at this point?"

Shinso bit his lip, fighting the pleased grin threatening to spread across his face.

In the background, people tapered off, not fully sure what to do next. Shoji tasked Iida with transporting Jiro to the nurse's office quick as possible, Tokoyami and Tsuyu volunteered to fly across campus and alert the faculty about what happened, and Uraraka teamed up with Sero to retrieve Kaminari from the frying building before them.

"Okay, guys!" Deku checked in on each team. "Everyone ready to–"

"What's going on out here?"

Without any notification to bring him here, Aizawa stepped through the archway, eying his students confusedly. His gaze landed on Deku, immediately skeptical.

"Mr. Aizawa!" Kendo rushed forward. "Iida, go take Jiro, I can handle this."

"Right!"

Aizawa watched Iida speed away, concern adding to his lostness. "Where are they going? What's happening here?"

"Mr. Aizawa, there's been some sort of…electrical break?" Kendo fumbled a bit, suddenly realizing how little she and the rest of the students actually knew. "The whole building went up in electric shockwaves after a power outage. No one really knows how it started, but Kaminari's in there handling the brunt of it. Uraraka and Sero are gonna get him out, of course, but Jiro sustained injury from the shocks so Iida's taking her to Recovery Girl, and there's–"

"Aizawa?"

To everyone's surprise, Tsukauchi stepped onto the path this time. Deku half gasped at the sight of him; unshaven beard and unkempt hair, loose tie that he didn't bother to tuck in, and most disturbing of all, dark circles deep enough to extend the entire perimeter of his eyelids. Poor guy looked as if someone deprived him of sleep for a week and then told him to run a mile or something. It made him wonder again about the case, concerned that it weighed down on him too much.

"Yes, come on in." If Aizawa noticed anything off about Tsukauchi, he didn't acknowledge it in front of the students. Instead, he turned to them with a stern expression. "Apologies for the intrusion, everyone, but our police force friend here needs to speak with a few of you. When your name is called, follow us to the transportation vehicle outside the school."

Clearly, this was a request made against Aizawa's wishes. He clenched his fist as he spoke, staring straight ahead to avoid eye contact with any of them. No one particularly noticed aside from Deku, though; everyone else's concerns lied in wondering what the heck the police needed to talk to them for.

"Katsuki Bakugo." Tsukauchi rubbed his eye and squinted at the paper in his hand, ensuring he'd gotten the name correct.

Unsurprising, at least to Deku and Todoroki. In fact, both of them let out a breath of relief, pleased to see that he'd finally be getting interviewed after so long. Maybe they'd finally reached a break in the case or something.

The blond shuffled forward, not happy about having to talk to people, but purposeful in his strut. Whatever happened, he had something to say, and frankly, hands to throw. Deku relaxed, knowing that even if his friend got violent, at least some clear progress was being made.

"Eijiro Kirishima."

The reasoning for that? Decidedly less clear.

Kirishima bowed his head, hands stuffed in his pockets, and trailed behind Bakugo, refusing eye contact with anybody. Mina watched him go, shock mixed with anger radiating from her eyes. Hagakure reached out to her comfortingly, but Mina didn't acknowledge her, too busy fighting her tears in complete vain.

"And Momo Yaoyorozu." Tsukauchi finalized, shoving the list back into his coat pocket.

That one, nobody had a clue what to think. Yaoyorozu, who already appeared catatonic, didn't react to the sound of her name. Her eyes stayed fixed to the ground, her mind a million miles away from this conversation.

"Yaomomo?" Awase turned to her, his hand clasping hers. "Why are they–"

"Hang on, what's the meaning of this?" Todoroki demanded. "You can't pull students from their dorms with no parent or guardian–"

"This case is a matter of national security, young man." Tsukauchi snapped, uncharacteristically harshly. "If I haven't called your name, you'd do better to stay out of this."

Under normal circumstances, Todoroki might have. But Yaoyorozu's disposition communicated that something was off.

"And what exactly are you accusing them of?" Todoroki carried on, hopeful that his questioning would arouse suspicion in his classmates. "You just called forth the most gold-hearted, justice guided students, and we have the right to know why–"

"You don't have the right to know anything!" That part, Tsukauchi practically announced, ensuring every student heard it. For the next, he lowered his voice, bowing his head nose-to-nose with Todoroki. "And you and your friends would do better to stay away from All Might. And your father. I'm telling you this for your own good: drop it."

In the background, Yaoyorozu complied with orders, wandering listlessly through the archway, her hand pressed over her heart. Satisfied, Tsukauchi followed behind her, ready to escort all three students to the station. Aizawa watched them leave through a simmering scowl, making his distrust of the situation known through his expression. Everyone else kept it to themselves, petrified by Tsukauchi's stone cold warning.

"Alright." Aizawa turned to them after a moment. "Sero, Uraraka, execute the plan to extract Kaminari. The rest of you, follow me to the teacher's lounge. There's a lot to discuss."