Angel: Would Shoto be the love interest if Bazuka wasn't a thing? No, I would have gone with Tamaki Amajiki, he would still be friends with Izuka. Although I do recall some people asking me to have Shoto be the love interest instead when I announced I was writing the anime, or telling me that they prefer Izuka with him around season 2 or so. There's just that Bakugo appeal to him that I ultimately picked him, not that everyone will understand that. I know there are people out there who absolutely HATE him. At least I didn't get a shitload of requests to not make Bakugo the true love interest, and even if I did get that now, it's way too late in the story to do that. And I wouldn't have done it either way because the anime's end is approaching. Bazuka for life!
Shoto and his team had made it to the city inside of the fortress, running towards the All Might statue specifically. They stopped around a corner, looking up ahead. "What's going on?" The red/white haired boy wondered as...people were on the ground, surrounded by rose petals. And all of them looked to be unconscious, in the exact same state. Weirdly enough, they all seemed to form into a line instead of being spread out. Which would suggest that they were all attacked in the same exact way grouped together for some reason.
"They must be the citizens who got captured with us," Tenya theorized as they stared at the people.
"It looks as though something terrible's happened to them," Momo murmured, though was unable to tell what was going on with them. To her, the way that they were grouped told her that it wasn't their Quirks working against them or something like that. Something definitely happened, she just couldn't figure out how.
"Hey!" Denki pointed to the side as he noticed something. "There!"
They looked to see Anna with the woman from the ship before they were transferred to the fortress. People were in a huge line, with Anna's hair half dark from the top of her head now.
"Those two don't look like evacuees," Shoto pointed out, as their clothing was way too different from everyone else's to be from a shelter. Compared to everyone's casual clothing, the two women seemed more fancier. Especially when shelters provided nothing that extravagant to wear.
A man gasped as he held out his arms, stepping forward to the two women. "I finally found you...I was afraid I'd never see your beautiful face again. But you're safe!" He then grabbed Anna by the hand, and the flowers from before appeared around them. They blossomed into roses, breaking apart into petals seconds later. The man groaned as he fell backwards onto the ground, ending up like the other unconscious people right behind the women. The duo then stepped forward further towards the line.
"She incapacitated him," Tenya murmured in shock at the sight.
"We're going in!" Shoto ordered as they ran towards the women. The one with the large hat glanced back to see them approaching.
"My, what brave heroes," She had a small smirk from her purple lips. "Poor dears..." Her eyes flashed red at all of them, engulfing the group in a red aura. It left them unable to move or attack.
Suddenly, Denki and Minoru were on their own, surrounded by pink light. A bunch of girls in bikinis all gasped happily while jumping towards them out of nowhere. "Grape Juice and Chargebolt! Come join us!" They cried out to the duo.
"Sure!" They looked towards the group of women happily. "Whatever you say, ladies!" They all laughed together in glee. And neither boy seemed to question this or care. They were just too distracted by the women…
"Yoo-hoo~!" Izuka wiggled her fingers at the two as she approached even though she was supposed to be with her brother in another area. And she was also wearing a bikini.
"So hot! Definitely showing off that sex appeal!" Denki and Minoru cried out together at the sight. Izuka ran over to the group with a giggle, the two staring at her…attributes.
Shoto found himself alone in a garden, and was now younger. He didn't even have the burn scar that his mother gave him as a child. "Little bro!"
"Huh?" He turned around in confusion...to see a teenage Toya standing on the bridge. He threw up a ball, looking...happy. An expression he had never seen from his older brother once growing up. "You wanna play soccer with us?"
"Toya!" Natsuo called out, he and Fuyumi also younger. "Let's go!"
"Throw the ball over here!" Fuyumi cried out happily, waving her hands.
Shoto gasped happily and ran in to join. "All yours!" Toya tossed the ball to them. Nearby, Rei and Enji were watching them play. They looked happy as well, as...they felt like a real family. Something that they never had in the past...
"Pass it back to me!" They all played together, Shoto giggling while kicking the ball.
Momo was sitting at the table with pastries and tea in front of her. "A perfectly brewed cup of tea. Ah," She looked up with a content smile. "The scent is heavenly!" Izuka was next to her, somehow, drawing Momo for a portrait. "I'm so happy that we get to have tea together and to see you happy, Mido!"
"Thank goodness that we can spend time together like this, Momo! And not have to worry about silly rumors or drama," Izuka smiled up at her.
Tenya was somehow running side by side with Tensei himself next to a street, the older brother showing to have no injuries from Stain. "The Ingenium brothers. On patrol!" He cried out happily from his dream coming true.
Tsuyu was with her family on a bridge, surrounded by frogs. "Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit. Ribbit, ribbit!" They all sung together in a light rain.
Mezo was walking down a field happily with the girl he rescued, mask off and everything.
And then it was revealed that they were all stuck in different dreams, because all of the students were acting as if they were living their fantasies still. Tenya himself was stuck in front of a wall, running in place. And Izuka was definitely nowhere in sight of them, so both times she appeared, they weren't real…
"Yes. Soba sounds good," Shoto had his back turned to everyone.
"I'll let you enjoy your daydreams for a while," The woman stared at them in amusement. "We'll examine you more closely in due time." Anna stepped up to a man, who reacted the same as the first when touched. He let out a painful scream while falling, surrounded by rose petals. "It's such a shame that it's been so difficult to find Compatibles. I shouldn't be surprised, though. There were only eight of them among the twenty thousand members of our revered family," She stepped up towards the line. A woman screamed while feeling the same effects as the others before her.
An explosion went off as Katsuki and the other students ran into a castle, and he was pissed. They all ran down a hallway together and then found a foyer. Dark Might let out a laugh, getting their attention. They stopped running to see him on top of a staircase. "For too long, you've fought your way through devastated streets! But a brighter tomorrow is here, young heroes!"
"You'll regret impersonating All Might and kidnapping my girlfriend!" Katsuki gritted his teeth at him furiously.
"The name is Dark Might, boy!" He bragged, unfazed by the accusation, and his suit was different now. He was wearing mostly black, but had red accents and a big red cape. The Gollini man with the long nose...was dressed as a jester. "Do you like it? I came up with it myself. Stylish, no?" He wondered while posing on top of the staircase.
"Why'd you bring us to this messed-up place and what'd you do with our friend?! Explain yourself!" Eijiro demanded of him, none of them entertaining the theatrics. Ever since they lost Izuka, it only made sense that Dark Might had something to do with it. He had created the place, after all. And he managed to call them, telling them that he had complete control over everything.
"Your friend? Oh, her," Dark Might rolled his eyes of being reminded of Callista. "Who cares? Have you ever stopped to wonder why All Might was respected the world over? Why everyone adopted him as the Symbol of Peace? People are attracted to strength, you see. Power provides entertainment! This facility, the Symbol of Paradise, is a landmark dedicated to peace! Can Callista compete with that? No! Because she lacks true power! Let's see if any among you are worthy of being dubbed protectors of my palace. If you pass the test, you can become my knight! We'll celebrate my official rebirth as a legendary figure. Together, we'll make history. Raise your hand if you understand. Aha!"
Everyone except Fumikage stared at him like he was crazy... "One question," Katsuki was the only one to raise his hand as if he was in class again. "Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? And we're the ones who are asking around here! Now tell us what you did to Izuka!" He snarled up at the man.
Dark Might let out a small growl, clenching a fist. "You brats! None of you get what I'm trying to do! At least put on a good show! Maybe then you'll find the girl...if she's even still alive!" The floor then opened up beneath the team of six, causing them to scream in alarm as they fell through the floor. They all landed safely in what looked like a dungeon straight from a retro video game.
"Some kinda basement level?" Eijiro wondered as they looked around.
"That guy is starting to get on my last nerves," Katsuki growled out, looking up just as the hole closed, leaving them trapped inside. His fists shook as he clenched them, remembering what happened when the League tried to make him think Izuka was going to die by their hands. "She's not dead..."
Eijiro blinked as he glanced towards his friend, clamping his mouth shut. Katsuki didn't go into too much detail, but he had some idea that Izuka was in more danger than she was in Kamino. And considering how he reacted when Izuka was dragged into the fight...he already knew what was going in Katsuki's mind. "Don't worry, man," He tried to reassure Katsuki. "We know the truth. She's still out there somewhere. We'll find her."
Katsuki simply stared at him, not saying a word. He really wanted to hit something, though... He probably said that to piss me off, and it's working. There's no proof he killed her. And when he's proven wrong...I'll blast him to ashes myself for trying to trick me. He had a good feeling that she was still alive...because he didn't want to face the fact that he failed to get her back a second time. Kamino was a mistake he would not let repeat.
"Looks like we're in a dungeon crawler," Rikido assumed, though there were no visible doors for them to leave. "Why do I get the feeling we're the new entertainment?"
"Ugh, that creep's almost as crazy as his outfit!" Mina frowned in annoyance. Koji let out a shout, getting their attention. They looked to the side to see giant golems approaching. "Yikes! Are those monsters?"
Katsuki glanced around and then gave a grin. "So to pass his test and find Izuka, we gotta conquer this dungeon?" His hands sparked with his explosions, wanting to take his anger out onto something for the time being.
"Whatever. Let's just get out of here," Mina remarked in disdain, readying her hands.
"This shouldn't take very long," Eijiro made his Unbreakable form appear. Rikido tossed some sugar into his mouth to buff himself up.
"Dark Shadow!" Fumikage shouted to make it appear.
Katsuki fired up his hands, using them to fly ahead. "Blast 'em to pieces!" He shouted while flying past one and using his explosions on the creature. He then used Cluster towards one in front of him.
"Acid Shot!" Mina spun around, throwing acid at several monsters while flipping around.
Rikido and Eijiro cried out together as they moved their fists forward, punching several of them so that they flew backwards. Fumikage watched Dark Shadow attack some that were planted near the ceiling. Meanwhile...they were being watched by a member of the Gollini Family. He was sitting on a throne, chuckling. And he was dressed like a wizard, having a staff and everything. "What vigor. I wonder if any of them will survive this," He stated while watching the events play out.