Thanks to everybody that voted in the popularity poll.
Now that the poll is closed, I can happily announce that Lewis Fleetwood from 'The Disappearing Hero' has received a total of 24 votes and, therefore, 22% of the total poll making him come in second place. Sadly, he will miss out on having a special chapter, but still, well done. What do you say Lewis?
L: Thanks so much everybody and don't worry about the special chapter...if anything I'm more worried about what's going to happen to me in this chapter.
Oh right...anyway...
L: Wait. Why did you pause like that?
...here's the next chapter!
MasterDarkElf - Phew! That's a relief. My reputation as a writer is all I've got...well, not literally, but you get the idea. I would love to do an entire 'recovery' chapter where people come and see him and everything so I'm definitly going to do that. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
DuckBoi - Thanks so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed. I really liked writing the chummy moments with the league as it's nice to see them be friendly for once rather than just enemies. I wonder how long that will last? I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
djinn - Thank you, I'm so glad that you liked the chapter. I thought it was nice to see other people's reactions other than the main characters. It's also a good way to say that I haven't forgotton them and they do still play an essential role in the story. The tracking cards are a good idea and hopefully Mei would get to work on them as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.
FanSuperAnime - Himiko? Blimey, you like them crazy girls, huh? Can't blame you though. Yes, Ragdoll is awake and she'll play an essential part in this chapter. All For One will make an apperance in this chapter, but why he wants Lewis will be kept a secret...for now. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much. Thanks so much.
Rioot20 - Toga Himiko is potentially in the harem, but, you're right, she does need some love after everything she's been through. I'll definitly write more interactions involving her as well. Also, your English is perfectly fine. I'm a native English speaker and I still get things wrong so don't worry about it. Thanks for reading.
Neo Infinity - No problem, thanks so much for reading. Yeah, those pesky plot holes. My bad! But, as you say, it gives me a chance to put my own spin on it. Hope you'll enjoy the chapter.
Guest - Thanks so much, I'm glad to hear it. Lewis is still very weary when it comes to Himiko, but, if he is going to help her, he will have to get over his fears. Also, I do like the idea of her just appearing next to her at any time.
Lewis: (Minding his own business)
Himiko: (Appearing next to him) Hi!
Lewis: What the f*!
Quirk discrimination and prejudice against heteromorphs is a massive problem in the MHA universe so I can imagine it being more difficult in some places. I'm glad to hear that she would be accepted at your church though. That's very kind of you. Thanks so much for reading.
wellingtonlucas282 -No problem, thanks for reading.
Guestfyre - Hi, nice to see your reviews.
I thought it would be nice to see other character's reactions to Lewis' kidnaping, especially with Melissa and some of the other OCs. It shows that I haven't forgotton them and they're all still part of the story. Also, I'm so happy that you picked up on the cactus. I thought nobody would notice that.
Lewis interacting with the League was something I had been looking forward to for a while. In my head, I've been planning on how he would go about communicating with all of them and how he could sympathise with them. I think it's really telling of how far he's gone in becoming more confident in himself.
I feel really bad for Mina. She's had it rough and it's all my fault. Ah well, I'll make sure she and Mei get better once the events in Kamino is over. Speaking of Mei, I'm glad you picked up on her shock in finding out Lewis' kidnapping. I think people would assume she would be indifferent and just continue working on her gear, but Lewis is an essential person in her life at U.A. Of course, she'll be devestated and we will see the effects later on in the recovery chapter.
Hold that thought about Shigaraki wanting a hero just like Lewis when he was younger. That will come up briefly in this chapter and will be talked more about in the next chapter.
Hmm, you know what. Why not? Lewis has a high tolerance to alcohol when he's finally allow to drink. In fact, I have a ranked all of my OCs in how well they can drink below. Number 1 being very tolerant while number 5 being a complete lightweight.
1) Michael Timere 2) Lewis Fleetwood 3) Edgar Cipher 4) Night Terror 5) Cavalier
Yeah, I guess you're right about Lewis accepting his death to easily. To be honest, I wasn't thinking of it at the time. I hope the events in this chapter make up for it.
Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Pinkflamingwarriorofjustice - Hmm, interesting concept. I will think about it.
Guest - Thanks so much. Oh yes, the infamous ending to MHA. I heard how much people hated it, but I didn't think it was that bad. I thought it was quite nice with Izuku teaching at U.A and everybody having a nice life. I guess it is hard to find a perfect end that suited everybody and the author was under a lot of pressure to finally publish it.
Shieldtoad - Oh dear, that's a shame. Well, thanks for at least getting to eleven chapters. Most people only get to the first one before reviewing.
Foxfire573 - It really is. Still, I enjoy doing it so it's a problem I don't mind tackling. It just means I need to think more about what I write.
Yes, it is a coincidence. Or maybe the author of 'My Deer Friend Nokotan' and I just think alike. Could be either, to be honest. Thanks for reading.
InfamousCVG - I probably did forget. She should be on there. I've fixed it now so all things are right in the world.
Guest - Ooh, now that sounds interesting. I'll see what I can do. Also, you're not a bother at all. Thank you for reviewing.
ThunderFang72 - Thanks so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Also thank you for the harem suggestions I definitly consider them. As for Ippan Josei, well, I dedicated an entire omake about it.
KamenRider04 - Wow, thank you so much. I'm so glad to hear it. I will have to keep Lewis' ultimate move a secret (for now), but I promise you that it's going to be good. An origin chapter? Hmm, yeah, that sounds interesting. I'll see what I can do about that and more OCs. Anyway, thanks again and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
Fiction Fan 369 - Yep, no issues at all. None whatsoever. You're definitly right there. Yep, no problem at all...
...That was a lie. There will actually be a lot of problems. A lot of guilt, a lot of tears and plenty of comforting all in (probably) in the next chapter.
Thanks for reviewing; now on with the chapter!
Chapter 38: From Bad To Worse
League Of Villain's Hideout
All Might stood proudly in the hole in the wall, looming over them like a god that had descended to earth. The dust had now cleared and the debris and brick had now settled; everyone's attention was on the giant hero before them.
The villains were cut off-guard by his sudden appearance. Some of the members were dumbstruck and could only stare up at him in shock while the others were still recovering from the inplosion. Even Dabi, arguably the most experineced of the group, was unprepared and found that he couldn't move a single muscle.
Lewis couldn't believe his eyes. Not once did he think he would be saved by Japan's top hero, and yet, here he was in the flesh. He was so distracted that he had almost forgot that Shigaraki had his bony fingers around his throat.
Almost forgot.
Lewis pulled his head forwards before he snapped it back so it slammed in Shigaraki's face. The villain cried out from the attack and lurched back, releasing him from his grip. Lewis wasted no time and moved away from the danger and rubbed his aching and bleeding neck.
The leader of the League reeled back as he held his covered face and hissed in anger. He set his bloodthirsty eyes on Lewis and made to lurch for him with his hands when he was suddenly restrained by a tree branch. Several more tree branches shot through the hole in the wall and wrapped themselves around all the villains; all made by Kamui Woods who swung in and landed before them all.
'Wood?' Lewis realised before his eyes darted towards Dabi and seeing the confident smirk on the burnt man's face, "Wait, he's got a-"
Before he could say anything, something yellow and white zoomed into the bar and kicked Dabi on the back of his head. The villain gave a pained grunt from the blunt blow before he slouched in his restraints, completely knocked out.
"Don't worry yourself, brat," Gran Torino said as he landed next to Dabi and grunted in annoyance, "We know all about these punks and their quirks."
"What on earth!?" Mr Compress exclaimed as he tried to break his arms free from the wooden binding, "But the press confenence, you shouldn't have...damn! It was all planned!" he muttered in realisation.
"Hey, buddy!" Twice called over to Lewis as he wiggled in his own bindings, "Can you tell the tree guy to loosen it up. No, I want it tighter! I like it!"
"This is so bad," Toga whined, "Let me go!"
Lewis heard a click sound and instantly turned to the door to see Edgeshot had sneaked in undetected. He unlocked the door and leaned back caually against the wall next to the door.
"This time around, we won't be as careless," Edgeshot cooly said as several riot police offices slamed open the door and stormed inside, "Becuase it's not just us. We've got more skilled heroes like Endeavour and Ryukyu surrounding the outside with the police."
'Can't imagine Endeavour is too thrilled about that,' Lewis thought before he felt All Might's large hand on his shoulder.
"IT MUST HAVE BEEN SCARY. YOU DID WELL TO ENDURE IT," All Might told him with a thumbs up, "I'M SORRY, MY BOY. BUT IT'S OKAY NOW, BECUASE I AM...err..."
The hero trailed off slightly when he spotted the uneaten pizza slices and their boxes that had strewn across the floor because of the blast.
"...err...WERE YOU...HAVING...DINNER WITH THE VILLAINS?" he asked in confusion.
Lewis shrugged, "We've been here all day. We got hungry."
"Hmm? Stockholm Syndrome, maybe?" Kamui Woods suggested.
"No, of course not. If it was anything, then it was Lima Syndrome."
"Yeah! You tell them, buddy! Us lemus have to stick together!"
"Not what I meant, Twice, but I appreciate the sentiment."
Shigaraki snarled in anger and whipped his head left and right as he struggled to get out of his restraints. His pale hands flexed and twitched spradically as if they were dying to destroy something or somebody.
"Damn...we went to such lengths...why the hell has the last boss hunted us down? Usually, it's the other way around, right," he snapped as he turned his deadly eyes towards All Might, "I've got no choice...Kurogiri, get the other Nomu!"
"Right awa-ACK!?"
Kurogiri was about to comply with Shigaraki's orders when his body was pierced by something thin and narrow; it entered under his left shoulder and came out around the right side of his neck. Kurogiri gave a pained cry before he fell limp in his hold, much to the Shigaraki's shock. Lewis studied the thing and found it was some sort of string or thread which seemed to wave about in the air; he followed the thread with his eyes all the way to the other side of the bar where it ended at Edgeshot's right arm; or rather, the thread was his right arm.
Foldabody: it allows him to make his body and limbs extremely thin and long, effectively allowing him to transform himself into a razor-sharp string. He can transform faster than the speed of sound.
'That is such a cool quirk,' Lewis thought to himself as Edgeshot retrived the string from out of Kurogiri.
"This one is the most troublesome of all," Edgeshot calmly spoke, "He's not dead. I only paralysed him for a little while. I studied his quirk from the reports your classmates gave after the USJ attack. They have been very helpful."
"Glad to hear it," Lewis said, not really knowing what to say to that, 'I wonder if I can get his autograph.'
"ALL OF YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT ESCAPING!" All Might declared, his deep eyes blaring down at them furiously, "YOUR LEAGUE IS OVER!"
Gran Torino hobbled his way over and gave him a look over; his eyes landing on his injured neck.
"They hurt you," he growled angrily as he shot a glare at the villains.
However, Lewis stepped before him and waved his hands in front of him, "Oh no, no. They didn't hurt me," he told them before pointing to his throat, "Well, I guess Shigaraki did hurt me and I'm not happy about that. But the others they didn't do anything to me. In fact, except for Dabi, Shigaraki and Mr Compress sometimes, they were all pretty pleasant to be around."
This suprised some of the villains as well as the heroes and the police. Being just saved from a hostage situation, they had expected him to declare all the terrible things that could have happened to him. The last thing they were expecting were compliments.
Gran Torino, however, raised a sceptic eyebrow, "Pleasant?"
"Yeah, I mean, sure there are a little rough around the edges, but they're not bad people. They've just been misled, that's all," he told them, "I can explain it all at the police station. I'm more than happy to attend their trials-"
"Kid," Gran Torino said seriously, cutting him off instantly, "I don't think you understand. All of these people are well known by the police. That's how we identified them so fast. Hikiishi Kenji, Sako Atsuhiro, Iguchi Shuuichi, Toga Himiko and Bubaigawa Jin. They have a long history of violence, murder, larceny and inciting unrest amongst the public. And that was before they joined the League. There are many words to descibe them, kid, but 'rough around the edges' doesn't really do it justice now, does it?"
Lewis cast a concerned look behind him. Twice and Spinner were still struggling in their binds, Himiko had her eyes trained on what little blood was left on his neck and Magne sighed softly as she resisted the urge to break out. All of them, even the nicer people like Spinner and Twice had broken the law at some point. They all had terrible lives and he wanted to help them, but they still have done bad things and he (and the rest of the world) couldn't just let it go.
'Even if I do defend them, it won't solve all their problems. They still have to face their crimes,' Lewis thought sadly, 'But I can't just abandoned them when they need it most. That's how they got where there are now.'
Lewis felt All Might's large hand gently push him towards the exit, ushering him away from the villains.
"COME, YOUNG FLEETWOOD! ALL OF YOUR CLASSMATES ARE WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" he told him, "THEY'LL BE HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR RECOVERY!"
Lewis, reluctantly at first, allowed All Might to lead towards the door of the bar. He looked back at the League once more and saw the defeated looks on their faces. He felt guilty. He promised that he would help...but could he? Who was he? He was just another hero student. Not some official in the government nor a judge with any sort of legal power. His promises meant nothing to them.
"This isn't how it ends..."
They stopped walking and turned back to Shigaraki. The pale man's face was bowed so that his messy hair covered his eyes and his hands fidgeted so much that Lewis could see the bones inside of them move about under the skin.
"...justice...peace...this shit heap society capped by such vague concepts...I will destroy it..." Shigaraki hissed as he bared his white teeth, "...and I'll start by removing the cap that is All Might. I've only just begun to gather comrades...idiots! This is just the beginning!"
"Be quiet!" Gran Torino snapped at him, "Now tell us. Where is that boss of yours?"
"Shut up!" Shigaraki shireked in anger, "Don't talk to him like that! Don't you dare disrespect him!"
His breathing began to grow more erratic, his bloodshot eyes darted around the room at everyone and his twitching grew and squirming grew more violent.
"You have no idea what he's capable of! You're all bunch of nobodies!" he roared, "This is stupid! All of you get out of my sight! I'll kill you all!"
Lewis stepped towards him calmly, "Shigaraki, calm down. You might hurt your-"
"SHUT UP!" Shigaraki yelled at him, his blood shot eyes trained solely on him, "I'LL KILL YOU! YOU LITTLE BRAT! I'LL KILL YOU! I...HATE YOU!!!"
And in that moment, things took a turn for the worse.
They had no idea where they came from. They just winked into existance on either side of Shigaraki; they were a sort of weird black, inky stuff that grew and grew and grew until they were just about a meter wide and long. It bubbled and stretched and popped and boiled until they burst outwards...and from the inky substance... two Nomu appeared.
The nomu with their sharp teeth, their dead eyes and their exposed brains roared like beasts as they climbed out of the inky substance and onto the bar floor, smashing the tiles beneath them with their sheer weight.
They were all caught unawares; nobody expected the nomu to appear just like that. It didn't take them long to act, however, Kamu Woods used his wood binding attack on one of the nomh while Edgeshot turned his arm into string and attacked them. The armed police officers focused their guns on them, but they caught sight of more inky substances appearing all around them and even more Nomi climbing out of them. There were four, then eight, then twenty; all of them as powerful as the others.
"There're coming from out of nowhere!" Kamui yelled "What the hell is going on!?"
Gran Torino battered away a Nomu with his foot and turned to Edgeshot, "I thought Kurogiri was-"
"He's stunned!" Edgeshot reassured him, "This is not his quirk!"
Bang! Bang!
"There's more of them coming out!"
Bang!
"Open fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Kamui, whatever you do, don't let go of the villains!"
Lewis ducked as a Nomu tried to attack him, but couldn't move away in time when another Nomu tried to swipe at him. Luckily, All Might caught the Nomu's arm with one hand and slammed his other fist into the Nomu's mouth, sending it flying off its feet.
"LET'S GO, YOUNG FLEETWOOD!" All Might said as he gently grabbed Lewis' shoulder and hurriedly led him towards the nearest exit, "YOU NEED TO EVACUATE BEFORE THEY SWARM US!"
"Ok-hrrrk!"
Lewis was about to agree...when he felt something appear in his throat. He gagged and choked as the thing slithered and stirred, trying to climb to his mouth. It tasted digusting, like metallic taste of blood but much more acidic. He grabbed his throat and bent over as it flowed over his tongue and out through his teeth.
'What the hell!?' Lewis thought in panic as the same inky substance that brought the Nomu burst out of his mouth.
All Might turned around at his gurgled cries and his eyes widened as the inky substance grew from out of Lewis' mouth and began to smother him whole. First his head and then his entire body.
"NO!"
All Might tried to tear the black subtance away from Lewis. But it all it did was slip through his fingers and continue to engulf Lewis from head to toe.
Lewis tried to yell or escape out of the substance, but he couldn't tear it off of him. He felt his body become very light as it was swallowed up and his head began to ache as if he had used his quirk far too many times. He tried to see, but there was nothing but the blackness that surronded him. His consciousness began to fade away and his attempt to escape was abandoned as he felt his muscles too tired to do anything. The last thing he heard as he fell unconscious was the loud, thunderous voice of All Might roaring in anger and grief.
A Few Minutes Earlier
Hospital
"Sosaki...Ragdoll's awake."
As soon as Mina said those words, Sosaki, better known as Mandalay of the Wild Wild Pussycats, felt her heart skip a beat. She ran from the door and to the bedside in a split second, almost accidently ramming into Mina in the process if the younger woman hadn't stepped out of the way in time.
The hero stared down at her friend; half of her face, as well as her left eye, was covered in thick bandages, there were several cuts on her neck and her arms and she looked so frail and fragile; but her eye was wide open and stared back at her. Sosaki gave a gasp in relief as she saw Tomoko's eye sparkle as she recognised her and saw the corner of her lips curve up into a tired smile.
"S-Sosaki..." she uttered.
"Tomoko!" her friend cried, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, "You're alright! Thank goodness!"
"Am I?" Tomoko groaned, "Don't feel like it, meow," her yellow eye searched the ceiling in confusion, "Where am I?"
"You're in hospital, Ragdoll," Mina softly said, "It's fine. They treated you."
Tomoko's eye snapped towards Mina. She frowned slightly before everything came back to her in an instant. She immediatly sat up in panic and her frail hands grabbed onto Mina's softly.
"Oh god! The Nomu! What happened!? Is everybody alright! Are you hurt, Ashido!? Sosaki are the kittens safe!" she asked rapidly before Sosaki laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and pushed her back onto the bed.
"Hey, calm down. It's fine," she said, "Everybody is safe. There were only one serious incident, but Midoryia has recovered and the others are fine. It's been a while since that night. You've actually been sleeping for over day."
"I...I have? Wow...that's one long cat nap," Tomoko uttered in disbelief. She turned her eye towards Mina and frowned once again, "Tell me that you two did what I told you to do. You left me behind and found help."
"Of course we didn't," Mina told her, "There was no way we would have done that."
"Ashido," Tomoko said angrily.
For the first time that she had her known her, Mina detected a serious tone in her words. It was rather strange coming from somebody so hyperactive and positive all the time. After a few seconds, however, Tomoko sighed and closed her eyes tiredly.
"Darn hero students. You can be so bothersome sometimes, you know that," she opened her eye once again and fixed her a serious look, "Don't that again. When a pro-hero tells you to run, you run. You got it, meow! You're lucky that you or Fleetwood didn't get hurt!" she scolded.
Mina fell silent as soon as she said that and she cast her eyes down at her feet. Tomoko lost her anger in a split second and it was quickly replaced by concern. Her eye snapped towards Sosaki and she saw the saddened expression on her face.
"You...you said everything was alright...right?" Tomoko questioned, "...Is Fleetwood alright?"
Sosaki gave a deep sigh, "I'm sure he's fine...they said he would be fine..."
"He would? What do you mean? Where is he?"
"He was kidnapped by the League of Villains, Tomoko," Sosaki told her, "I'm sorry...Tiger and I agreed that we will tell you once-"
"We...we lost a student..." Tomoko uttered, despair clear in her voice.
Tears formed in her eye and trailed down her cheek; her lips began to quiver and her a sad sob escaped her throat.
"...I...can't believe it..." she said, "...how could we let something like that happen...how could I let something like that happen?"
Mina took a step back and watched as Sosaki comforted her friend. She understood what she was going through. They were pro-heroes that were tasked with teaching and protecting the students and she felt as if they failed. Even if it wasn't technically her fault and nobody could have blamed her, the guilt of letting somebody you were so supposed to protect would be unbearable.
The hero student closed her eyes and sighed sadly as Tomoko weeped...
...when she suddenly had an idea.
"Miss Ragdoll," Mina said in determination, "Your quirk allows you to keep track on people you've met, right?"
Tomoko sniffed and looked over to her, "Umm...yes..." she uttered before she gasped in realisation, "...I can find him. Definitly."
"Great!" Mina cried.
She felt as if a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her heart raced and a large grin spread across her pink face. This was it. This was the way they could find him.
"Please, Miss Ragdoll. Can you do it now?"
Tomoko wiped the stream of tears from her eyes and gave a tired, but postive smile.
"I sure can, meow! Leave it to me-"
"Fleetwood is in eastern Kamino, Yokahama," Sosaki stated suddenly.
Mina and Tomoko's attention was suddenly drawn to her as soon as she said that. The pro-hero's face was solemn and her lips were pressed firmly together. She closed her eyes and gave a deep sigh.
"...we've...got the situation under control. Fleetwood is being rescued as we speak. So, no one has to worry or use their quirks, okay."
Mina stared at her in disbelief; her early enthusiasm drying up in a split second. She stepped forwards towards the older woman as she tried to find the right words.
"You...knew where he was," she whispered as Sosaki stood up, "You knew all along."
Sosaki pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed once more. She stood up and ushered Mina towards the door.
"Let's step outside. Tomoko get some rest. I'll come and visit you in the morning."
"O-okay, meow," Tomoko said, unsurely as Sosaki led Mina to the door.
However, Mina didn't wait until they were outside. She stormed forwards and stood infront of Sosaki confortationally.
"You knew...you freaking knew," she angrily whispered.
"Ashido-"
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for any sort of news? Do you know how long I have been worrying about this?"
"Ashido, pleas-"
"I can't believe it. While we've been sitting on our butts doing nothing all day, you knew where Fleetwood has been."
"Just let me explain," Sosaki demanded, as she fixed her a calm, but stern stare, "The police and some hero agencies have managed to pinpoint the exact location of the league's hideout and pretended that they were still looking for Fleetwood when they were actually going to carry out a full-scale raid tonight, hoping to catch the villain's off-guard. That's why Mister Aizawa went to that interview with Vlad King and Principal Nezu, it was a cover up. The raid should have started a little while ago. That's what Tiger and a bunch of pro-heroes are doing."
Mina gripped her fists together in anger, "And when were you going to tell us that, huh? What about us?"
"I don't know the details. You will have to ask your teachers. It's wasn't my call to make."
"So what, did everybody thought we were too dumb to understand what was going on or did you think we were going to ruin the raid somehow. Because there's literally no reason why you couldn't tell us."
"I don't know why, Ashido. But there was a reason," she told her seriously, "I'm sorry that you're upset and I understand why. You feel like we've betrayed you and the rest of Class 1A by withholding information. But we didn't do it because we wanted to hurt you. We just wanted to ensure that the operation went smoothily by telling as little people as we could. This is all for Fleetwood, do you understand? We're on the same side."
Mina glared down at her feet with an angry sigh.
"You still should have told us. We're going to be heroes too," she muttered before she turned her eyes up to her, "Fleetwood...he's going to be okay now, right?"
Sosaki gave her a small smile and patted her shoulder confortingly, "Of course he will be. Trust in the pro-heroes, alright?" she told her softly before she stepped around her and opened the door, "I'm going to make some calls. You okay staying here with Tomoko?"
"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine," Mina said plainly, not looking around to face her.
Sosaki paused for a few seconds before she stepped outside and closed the door behind her. As soon as the door closed, Mina sighed and pressed her hands into her face as she felt overwhelmed by what had been revealed in the past few moments.
"He's going to be okay," she whispered to herself, "He's going to be okay."
"Umm...Ashido..."
Mina looked up towards Tomoko. The pro-hero head her head on her pillow and her arms crossed over her chest; her eye drooping slightly in exhaustion.
"Did...Sosaki say eastern Kamino?" she asked her.
Mina frowned.
"Err...I think so. Yeah, I think she did."
Tomoko shook her head, "He's not."
"What?"
"He's not there anymore. I just used my quirk, just in see if it was all true, and he's gone. He was there, but then he disappeared and appeared somewhere else."
"That doesn't make sense," Mina said, "Why would he use his quirk if he was being rescued...unless..." she felt a shiver run down her spine, "...something's gone wrong."
"That's what I was thinking," Tomoko said as hr eyelid began to fluttet, "That's why...you need to...get Sosaki in here...and I can tell her...so she can tell the pro-heroes."
Mina glanced at the door behind her and felt her earlier anger boil inside her once again. They didn't tell her about the operation, so why should she tell them about this.
After all. She was a hero in training.
"I'll tell her. Where is he?"
Sosaki looked up from her phone when she saw Mina open the door to the room and step out. She raised an eyebrow at her curiously as the young girl gave her a wide grin and waved to her.
"I'm going to head down to the reception and wait for mom to pick me up. Ragdoll's asleep again," she told her.
"Oh...err...thanks Ashido," Sosaki uttered with a frown, "Listen, I'm really sorry for not telling you guys about-"
"It's fine," Mina cut her off as she began to walk away down the corridor, "I totally understand."
"Yeah, but...wait, you do?"
"Totally. Anyway, goodbye Miss Sosaki," Mina said as she turned a corner and down another corridor, leaving the pro-hero all alone.
As soon as she was out of sight, Sosaki hummed suspiciously and glanced at the door that Tomoko was staying in. She walked over and peeked through the little window to where she could see the hospital bed and Tomoko sleeping peacefully again. Seeing she was right, she backed away and shook away any concern or suspcions she had and went back to texting.
Meanwhile, Mina had made her way to the elevators and pressed the 'going down' button. As she waited for the lift, she took out her phone from her pocket, went into her contracts and pressed Kirishima's name. After a few rings, Kirishima answered with a small yawn.
"Hey Mina. Wassup? You know what time it is?"
"...Kirishima, I know where Fleetwood is," she said seriously.
"Huh? You do!?" Kirishima uttered in suprise.
"Do you know a place called Kamino?"
"Yeah, I think it's in Yokohama. It's about an hour's train journey, right?"
"That's right. Meet me there, okay," she said as her eyes narrowed in determination, "We're going to get our classmate back."
Unknown Location
With a painful headache and a bad taste in his mouth, Lewis slowly regained consciousness.
He groaned as he clutched his head and blearly looked around the pitch black room he was now suddenly in. He rolled onto his front as he attempted to get onto his shaky legs with very little success. He spat onto the ground next to him and grimaced in disgust as he could still taste the awful black stuff that took him.
"Eugh! That's horrible," he muttered as he spat onto the ground once again, "Is that how other people teleport. I rather be quirkless."
He eventually managed to get onto his feet; straightened his glasses on his face and properly looked around his surroundings. Through the darkness, he could see that he was in a warehouse with its tall ceilings, its concrete floors and the rusted metal girders keeping it up. His eyes had properly adjusted now and he could see an assortment of things scattered and left abandoned within the warehouse. Empty wooden crates, sandbags, litter and empty beer bottles; there was even an old forklift truck that a thin coating of dust on it. He looked around and saw a lign of windows just under the roof a few meters above his head; they were all coated over with black paint so little moonlight was getting. He stepped forwards and searched deeper into the warehouse.
Not a single thing stirred, not even a rat. It was completly and utterly empty.
'Okay, then,' he thought with a sigh, 'Let's go over everything that has happened to me in the past hour or so. Everything was fine. I mean, I was held hostage, but I was generally doing alright. Then Shigaraki tried to kill me, All Might and a bunch of heroes showed up, something weird turned up and it brought me here. Did I miss anything?' he thought as he continued wander around the dark warehouse, 'Nobody in the League appeared along with me so guess they forgot about me. Maybe I was no longer needed and so they put in some random place...yeah, let's go with that. Whatever the case is, I need to out of here. Now where's the-"
He jumped in fright as he heard a gurgling noise from over to his right and instantly spun around towards where it had come from. He squinted his eyes and spotted a polished glass surface on the other side of the room. At first, Lewis thought it was another window, but the strange cylindical shape of it made him think otherwise; it looked more like a tank filled with some sort of liquid.
Curiousity go the better of him and he slowly made his way to the tank. As he got closer, he noticed that there were more of them; all lined up right next to each other along the wall. They were about three meters tall and two meters wide; all of them contained the same sort of greenish liquid which gurgled and bubbled softly. He noticed tubes sticking out the liquid from the top which lead to somewhere he couldn't see and small panals on the sides of them. He frowned and stepped up to the closest tank and peered through the glass. There was something swimming inside of it; something very large. He looked closer to the point that his nose was almost touching the glass and looked harder to see what it was...
...when suddenly...
SNAP!
He gasped at the loud noise that echoed across the warehouse before he was blinded as the lights overhead suddenly turned on. They were dull, white lights which hadn't been used in ages, but it was enough to surprise Lewis. He blinked and rubbed his eyes before looking up in front of him...only to step back when he saw a familair face grinning back at him
The Nomu's face smirked maliciously from within the tank. Its eyes were closed and its body was curled up as if it was sleeping as it floated in the liquid. It looked like the ones that had just attacked the heroes earlier; its muscular body and its clawed hands looked ready to tear away at any enemy it came across. He looked over and saw more Nomu in the other tanks; all of them looked to be in some stage of development. Some were shorter and smaller than others while others lacked teeth or razor sharp claws. One looked to be the size of baby, curled up and underdeveloped like a pheatus in a womb. It didn't take long for Lewis to work out what this place was.
'This...this is where the Nomus are made,' he thought in sheer shock.
Something moved in the reflection of the glass tank and Lewis only had a split second to move away in time. He leapt to his left and landed on his feet just in time.
SHATTER!!!
FWOOOSH!!!
One moment the tank was there and than the next it was nothing but dust scattered everywhere. Now that the glass was gone, the liquid in the tank had flooded the floor and the Nomu inside was left motionless at the bottom of it.
Standing over the destroyed tank, his pale, bony hand raised up at the place where the tank had once been, was the last person Lewis wanted to see right now. His eyes, full of hate and rage, peered through the fingers of the hand he wore on his face while his body tensed and hunched over as if he was a wild animal ready to pounce and rip his throat out.
Lewis stepped back away from him as he snarled furiously. He could sense fury radiate off of him and it was aimed directly at him.
"Shigaraki. You got teleported with me?"
"How did you do it, huh?" Shigaraki snapped as he stepped towards him menacingly, "How did you manage to contact those heroes?"
"I didn't," Lewis told him honestly, "I had no idea that they were coming."
"LIAR!" Shigaraki roared before he leapt and swiped at him with his hands.
Lewis yelped and jumped back before he could touch him. One hit from his quirk meant an instant and painful death. He reached down and picked up the closest and sturdiest thing he could find, which happened to be a plank of wood left over from the destroyed crates, and used it to block his hands.
"WAS THAT YOUR WHOLE PLAN ALL ALONG!?"Shigaraki snarled as he swiped and punched at him while Lewis defended himself, "TRYING TO ACT ALL FRIENDLY WITH US! MAKING US DROP OUR GUARDS! PRETENDING THAT YOU CARED!" he grabbed the plank of wood and yanked him forwards so that they were face to face, "You're nothing special. You're just like any pathetic hero out there that I need to destroy," he snarled as he turned the plank into dust.
Lewis responded by lifting his foot and slamming it into his stomach. Shigaraki cried out and stumbled back before he glared up at him.
"I didn't lie. I did care about everyone and what they were going through," Lewis told him seriously, his eyes narrowed in determination, "And that's more than you have done for them."
"BASTARD!"
Shigaraki made to charge at him, but Lewis had grabbed a metal bolt that was on the floor next to him and tossed it at his head. The villain ducked away from the projectile before he glared back at him, only to find Lewis had disappeared. He growled in anger and looked around the area.
He knew he was still there. All he had to do is find him and kill him.
Meanwhile
Reception, Hospital
"Come on, come on," Sosaki grumbled as she strutted across the almost empty waiting room, her phone clutched in her hand, "Why is nobody answering my texts?"
It had been a while since she had said goodbye to Mina. She hung around Tomoko's hospital room for a little longer before she had to leave. She had left Kota at home while she was away where he was being looked after by a friend and knew she had to get back as soon as possible. There was no use staying anyway; Tomoko was still asleep and she didn't wish to distrub her any longer.
In the meantime, she had been trying to communicate with Tiger or any hero that was part of the raid. However, nobody was responding to her. No texts, no calls; nothing to suggest that the operation was sucessful. To be honest, she was starting to get a little concerned.
She checked her phone again. No new notifications. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and headed straight to the door.
However, she slowed down slight when she saw a woman at the reception desk talking to the nurse behind it. The woman's appearance was similiar to Mina's, with her fluffy black hair and pink skin, but what we caught her attention was the worried-stricken expresson on her face. The woman was gripping the edge of the front desk tightly and her posture was rigid; a clear sign that was fighting down the urge to panic.
"...you sure you haven't seen her? She said she would be here," the woman asked the nurse who shook her head in reply.
"I'm sorry, miss, but I haven't. I just got on duty."
"Well, there must be somebody who has seen her. She's got pink skin, pink hair, black and yellow eyes. Come on! There has to ring a bell!" the woman said.
Sosaki raised an eyebrow at the description, 'That's definitly Ashido,' she thought as she walked over to the front desk, "Excuse me," she called out, gaining the woman's attention, "Are you Ashido Mina's mom by any chance?"
Her eyes widened at the name as she sighed in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness. Yes, my name's Ashido Sakura. Do you know her? Do you know where she's gone?"
"Yes, I do. I'm a pro-hero under the name Mandalay. I'm part of the Wild Wild Pussycats."
Sakura blinked in surprise, "The hero group at the training camp?"
"Yes...that's us," she said, "I saw her a while ago and she told me she was waiting for you in reception. That was about half an hour ago, I think."
"She's not here. I've been searching all over the place," Sakura told her, "I don't understand. Why would Mina run off like that? She would never do that."
"Yes..."
Sosaki frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember the last moments she saw her. She was too cheerful; too happy. She thought she was putting on an act at the time, but quickly dismissed it.
But what if she...
The pro-hero glanced upwards to where Tomoko's room should be before she turned back to Sakura.
"I'll just be a moment," she told her as she fast-walked towards the elevator.
Meanwhile
Kamino Train Station
Mina stepped through the barrier and into the busy station. Her yellow eyes searched through the crowds of people as she walked around them, hoping to spot her classmates amongst the travellers. She finally caught saw them; the two people she had contacted before she had rushed all the way here were waiting for her next to the exit. She waved to them and jogged over as she called their names.
"Todoroki! Kirishima!"
Her classmates looked up at her as she approached; like her, she was dressed in casual clothing which made them blend in more easily in the crowd. While Kirishima grinned and waved back to her, Shoko, however, glared at her as she got closer.
"Ashido, don't yell like that when you're in here," she scolded.
"Seriously? First Mister Aizawa, now you."
"We have to keep a low profile," Shoko quietly said as she scanned the crowds, "We're not supposed to be here. If the authorities find out who we are then they'll contact the school. That's the last thing we need right now."
"I guess you're right," Mina muttered acceptingly.
Kirshima offered her a concerned look, "You doing alright? I thought you would be more pumped. We're going to find our friend."
"I am. Really I am...it's just..." she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, "Let's not wait any longer. Let's go."
She turned to the door, ignoring the look her friend was giving her, and aimed to leave the station. However, Shoko raised her arm in front of her and stopped in her tracks.
"Wait," she calmly said as her eyes trained on the ticket gates on the other side of the terminus, "We're waiting for one more person. His train should arrive by now."
"Huh? Who did you call?"
In response, Shoko pointed towards the ticket gate behind her. Mina and Kirishima looked around and saw a familiar mop of green hair amberling his way through the crowds towards them.
Midoryia, like them, wore his casual clothing and a rucksack on his back. His arms hung loosely at his side and were, to Mina's suprise, no longer in their casts. The last time she saw him, he was in his hospital bed and could hardly move because of his injuries. But now he seemed to be doing better, despite the deep scars up and down his arms.
"Midoryia? Shouldn't he be resting?"
"Damn, that looks painful," Kirishima muttered as he looked at his arms from afar.
"I talked to Midoryia a while ago about what we were doing and he was willing to come," Shoko informed, "It looks like the hospital had just released him."
"Okay, but...why did you invite our class representatives?" Kirishima questioned nervously.
They looked behind Midoryia and saw that he was right, Iida and Momo were following him. Momo wore a concerned frown on her face as made her way towards them. There was a bandaid on her forehead from when she was injured and her bag was clutted tightly in her hand. Iida, on the other hand, looked furious; his sharp eyes glared at them through his glasses and his teeth were bared in anger. He practially marched towards them; looking as determined as he was back in Hosu when he confronted Stain.
Shoko frowned, "I didn't invite them."
They all stopped in front of them. Iida clenched his fists together and shot a glare at Midoryia and Shoko.
"What do you think you're doing?" he snapped quietly so not to attract attention, "Are you insane? Do you know how much trouble you all could be in."
Shoko sent annoyed look at Midoryia who sighed in dispair.
"I'm sorry. Iida overheard our conversation and I couldn't lie to them," he told her as he rubbed the back of his head.
"And a good thing you did. Otherwise we wouldn't have known what you were doing," Momo said sternly, "This is serious. We are going agaisnt our teachers' orders."
"I should have expected better from you two," Iida said, glaring ar Shoko and Midoryia, "Especially, after you scolded me for how I was acting. We were lucky we didn't get punished so why are you making the same mistake that I did."
Before Shoko could answer, Mina stepped in front of Iida and Momo with determination in her eyes.
"This wasn't their idea. It's mine. I called them here."
"Ashido?" Momo uttered.
"I know where Fleetwood is and we're going to rescue him," she boldly told them, "We have to go right now. He might be in danger."
"Fleetwood is here? In Kamino?" Momo questioned, "How do you know?"
"Ragdoll. She used her quirk to track him down. Now please, we have to hurry."
Iida shook his head at her, "I'm sorry, Ashido, but we can't do that. We jave neither the experience nor the training necessary to carry out a proper rescue mission. We have to let the heroes deal with it otherwise we will only get in their way."
Mina fell very silent as he said that and stared at the floor. Iida, seeing her reaction, offered her a strange look until he realised the reason for the awkward pause.
"You did...tell the pro-heroes about Fleetwood, right?" he queationed, making her grit her teeth and look away from his inquistive gaze, "Ashido, don't tell me you and Ragdoll are the only people who know."
"Wait, Ashido, is this true?" Kirishima asked in suprise, "I knew that you know where he is, but I didn't think it was just you. This is a big deal."
"It's irresponsible, that's what it is," Momo said in disbelief, "You're putting Fleetwood's life at even more of a risk."
"I didn't know about this at all," Midoryia added, "We should tell them right now."
"I agree," Shoko said as she narrowed her eyes angrily, "What are you doing, Ashido? How could you do this to him?"
"I just wanted to be Fleetwood's hero, alright!" Mina suddenly snapped at them, much to their surprise.
Mina, to them, had always been up-beat and positive. She was the light of the party and her personality (as well as her apperance) has made her stood out in class. But now, she was a shadow of what she used to be. Her tired eyes were teary, her mouth was turned down into a grimace and her shoulders were hunched over. They could clearly see her exhuastion, her frustration and her anger as she glared at all of them.
After a few seconds of unconfortable silence, Kirishima was the first to speak up.
"What do you mean...Fleetwood's hero?" he asked calmly, causing her look down at the floor once again.
"I was always at the bottom of the class, even before I came to U.A. I was never good at studying...I mean, I always got by...but I barely make it. I thought I could do the same thing at U.A. Show off my quirk, get a hero costume, train on how to save people and scrape by on my studies," she held back a sob and gritted her teeth, "But I was an idiot. Of course, we had a teacher like Aizawa who worked us hard and I would have been bottom of the class again...if Fleetwood didn't help me. He helped me study, helped me pass the exams, helped me escape with Ragdoll back in the forest. Do you know how frustrating it is? Having somebody keep on helping you, but you can't help them back. Having more capable and more clever people take care of things while you just sit back and do nothing? It's annoying!" she sighed in exasperation, "Yes, I know I should have told the heroes. I'm not that stupid. But I don't want to abandon him again. I'm tired of depending on him to be my hero; this time I want to be his hero. You guys can go home if you want, but I'm going to rescue our friend and then everything can go back to normal before all this mess happened," she turned to the front door and marched out of the station.
"Ashido!" Iida called out after her, "Ashido!"
But there was no stopping her. Mina exited the station and headed to the location that Ragdoll had told her. She had been looking at the map of Kamino on her phone on the journey there and memorised the way. She just needed to go through some populated areas without being recognised.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and marched on in determination. However, she heard somebody jog up to her from behind and began walking alongside her at the same speed she was going. She glanced left and saw Shoko was beside her, looking straight ahead with a small frown on her face.
"Todoroki?" she uttered.
"I'm the same," Shoko plainly replied, "I want to be Fleetwood's hero as well. Also..." she looked at her from the corner of her eye, "...I don't think your an idiot. Don't put yourself down like that."
"What...but..."
"Your very inventive in finding ways to use your quirk during battle simulations," Midoryia said as he suddenly appeared walking next to her, "It must be hard to come up with attacks that doesn't damage enemies too much. So, it's impressive that you can do it at all. I'm sure Fleetwood thinks so too."
"Yeah! So, let's get him back and we can be a normal class again!" Kirishima yelled as he jumped into field of vision and pumped his fists in the, "Fleetwood Rescue Team! Let's go!"
"Kirishima, please be more quiet," Momo scolded as she strutted up next to them, casting a weary look at the bystanders nearby, "We might need to pick up some disguises just in case. I assume you know where to go Ashido."
"Y-yeah, sure," Mina stammered in shock.
She heard one last person join their group and turned to see Iida staring straight ahead. There was an unreadable expression on his face that unverved her a little. Eventually, he turned his head down to her and looked her right in the eyes.
"I still disagree with this, Ashido. In fact, in any other case I would have informed the pro-heroes of what we are doing," he sternly said, making her frown in anger, "However...I understand what you mean. I'm sure Fleetwood would do the same if any of us where in his place," he sighed irratably, "If I so much as see any sort of combat, I will bring you all back immediatly. I'll be your guardian. Your watchman, even. I will not let anybody else make the same mistake I made.
Mina raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what did you do?"
Shoko gestured towards Iida, "A while ago, Iida had confronted the-"
"Ah! Todoroki! We're not supposed to tell anybody that!" Midoryia yelped as he waved his hands frantically at her.
"Oh, right," Shoko plainly said before she gave Mina and indifferent shrug, "Never mind."
"What do you mean, 'never mind'!?" Kirishima shouted in disbelief.
Mina sighed and shook her head, "You know what, it doesn't matter. Let's go everyone."
She looked left and then right at her classmates walking alongside her. Despite everything; the exhaustion, the grief, the worry, the anger; she couldn't help but smile to herself.
Unknown Place
Lewis peeked around the corner of a stack of crates and checked to see if Shigaraki was there. He held his breath and his scoured the silent warehouse; taking note of every shadow in the area.
The villain wasn't there which concerned him much more than if he was there. He brought his head back and allowed himself to breath a little, making sure to keep his back pressed against the wooden crates as much as possible. He remained vigilant; his eyes never blinked and he listened to every sound no matter how small it was. He knew he couldn't stay here for too long and began to search for a way to get out of there without being caught.
During his search, his felt his senses warn him about something and leapt forwards. It was just in time as the wooden crates he had been using as a hiding space rot and dissolve into dust before his eyes. Standing in its place, Shigaraki glowered at him like a wild animal. His hands were tense and poised to strike, his neck was red and bleeding from excessive scratching and eyes were so bloodshot that Lewis was worried that he would pop a blood vessel.
"There you are," he snarled, "You little shit!"
He pounced wildly at him and began to swipe his hands at his face and body. Lewis dodged as much as he could. Shigaraki was fast and agile and wpuld have killed him by now if wasn't keeping his distance.
He ducked under a swing. Leapt back from a punch to the stomach. At one point, Shigaraki had almost clawed his eyes out if he hadn't dodged out of the way in time.
'His attacks are simple,' Lewis thought, 'He relies heavily on his quirk...in that case."
At the next frantic swipe that the villain swung at him, Lewis moved to the side and grabbed a hold of his outstretched wrist and used his other hand to grab onto his shoulder. He swiped his leg at his ankles and, using his own weight against him, pushed him down to the ground.
Shigaraki fell hard onto the concrete floor, but it did nothing but made him even more angrier. He whipped his head back and prepared to wildly leap at him again, but found that Lewis had disappeared.
"This again," Shigaraki snapped as he searched around for Lewis' presence, "Hide all you want, you pathetic bastard! I'll just find you eventually!"
"Who says I'm hiding."
Shigaraki whipped around at the sound of Lewis' voice, but, before he could attack, he was punched hard in the stomach. He almost bowed over by the force and clutched his aching chest with a savage snarl.
"YOU-OOF!"
A fist came out of nowhere and slugged him on the side of the face, almost knocking his hand mask off his face.
SLAM!
Shigaraki cried out as he was kicked hard on the back of the head. The force of it sent him stumberling forwards and slam into another of the Nomu tanks. He growled deeply as he punched the glass tank in anger.
But, instead of acting out just yet, he waited. Waited for the right moment.
Suddenly, as quick as a whip, he turned around and grabbed a hold of the leg that was about to kick him.
Lewis yelped and cried out as Shigaraki grabbed his leg. He felt his quirk rot away his clothes and dissolve his skin. Pain shot though his leg, but didn't have time to hesitate.
Balenced on one leg, he reached down and punched the villain's face hard. As soon as Shigaraki was reeling from the pain of his attack, he pulled his leg out of his grip and fell onto his back; he used his other leg to push himself away as he clutched his injured leg. His fingers brushed over the most painful part and he felt several small indents in his leg. The edges of the indents were grey and crumbling away; exposing his red flesh underneath his skin.mThey weren't deep, thankfully enough, but they were still painful. With tears in his eyes and his teeth gritted together, Lewis grunted in agony while Shigaraki, who watched on, chuckled darkly.
"That's it," he hissed as he wiped away the blood that dripped from his nose beneath his mask, "Youthink you're so clever with that quirk of yours, huh? You know, a lot of heroes out there think they're invincible because of their quirks. They get so arrogant; so big-headed. But they don't care. Just as long as people keep on treating them like gods, they are more than happy to live out the lie they built for themselves. They don't care that they're nothing but flesh, blood and bone!" he screamed as he leapt at him.
He raised his arms over his head and aimed them directly at Lewis' chest. Lewis' eyes widened by the incoming attack and, with hardly a moment to think, he forced himself to roll away before Shigaraki could kill him. The villain slammed his hands on the concrete floor which instantly turned dark, cracked and turned to dust from under him, forming a circle of destruction where he stood.
Lewis had just made it out of the decay circle and rolled onto his front. He glared up Shigaraki and, despite the searing pain in his left leg, rose himself up and pushed forwards towards Shigaraki. Before the villain could react, Lewis slammed his shoulder into his chest and pushed him off his feet and onto his back.
Shigaraki fell with a pained grunt and made to get back up when Lewis leapt ontop of him. He grabbed both of his wrists and slammed them down on either side of his head before pinning his chest with his knees so he wouldn't move. The villain struggled and flailed from under him; his hands trying to slip out of his grip so he could kill him. However, Lewis held strong and didn't allow him to move an inch. He was using what little strength he had left to hold him down.
"LET GO OF ME! YOU IDIOT! LITTLE SHIT! I'LL KILL YOU!" Shigaraki roared into his face.
His eyes blazed in fury and his dirty fingernails scratched the air as they hungered to sink into Lewis' flesh. But Lewis did his best to ignore his ire and focused on restraining him.
"Just stay still!" he yelled at him, "It's over, Shigaraki! You're not going anywhere!"
"What's your plan, huh!? You going to keep me here until the heroes show up!"
"If that's what it takes!"
Shigaraki growled furiously, "You're better of leaving now before it's too late. If I don't kill you then my master will. After all, he's the one who brought us here to fight."
"I don't give a damn about your master," Lewis spat, "All I care about is getting you to take what you said back."
The villain snarled, "The hell? What are you on about?"
"You said that I didn't care about them!" Lewis snapped at him, "You said that what I said was all a lie! It wasn't! I really did care!"
"WHO THE HELL CARES! IT DOESN'T MATTER!"
"IT MATTERS TO ME!" Lewis bellowed down at him.
He gripped Shigaraki's wrists tigher in anger; his eyes starting to water because of his injured leg; his face had gone red from the amount of strain he's putting his body through to keep him secure.
"Those people you call companions are suffering. They're lives are complete and utter hell," Lewis snapped at him, "Society has failed them and now they feel like outcasts, just because they're a little bit different from everybody else. I can't stand seeing them like this," he said before he narrowed his eyes down at him, "But you know what's worse is that you and your league think you're helping them. You take in these vulnerable people and what do you do? You dress them up in costumes, label them as villains and order them to commit crimes. Instead of giving them the help they really need, you're only making them feel as if they is no help in the world and making them worse. Shigaraki...I know you're suffering too. You're angry, tired and sick of everything and everyone. And I'm sorry. I really am. But all you're doing is dragging them down into your hatred and spite. I can't let that happen. I can't let you manipulate them like that! So, take it back! Take what you said back!"
"What? You? What can you do!?" Shigaraki snarled, "If I'm remembering correctly, you said that you're nothing but a student! What makes you special!"
"And I told you, that I'm not special! I'm not in the least bit important!" Lewis shouted, "But I don't need to be to special to help people! Don't you understand! Anyone can be a hero to those who need it!"
SMASH!
Lewis jumped in shock as he heard glass shattering, but quickly held Shigaraki down before he could overpower him. He heard somebody land behind him and instantly turned around.
He didn't know what he was expecting. A Nomu that escaped from its tank? One of the other league members who appeared to help Shigaraki? He was ceartainly not expecting a muscular tanned-skinned woman with white hair and large rabbit ears to be smirking down at him with her hands on her hips.
"Ha! I thought I heard shouting," the woman said as her large rabbit ears twitched on her head, "Pretty easy to track you down. I didn't need that intel after all."
"Mirko!" Lewis yelped in surpise.
Mirko, one of Japan's top heroes and well-known wildcard, was a person Lewis had met before. She tried scouting him during the Sports Festival before she was dragged away by Vlad King. Since then, he hadn't heard from her at all.
Shigaraki snarled when he saw her and clenched his teeth tightly.
"Damn it! I was too late!"
Her red eyes blazed eagerly as she observed the warehouse, looking as if she was ready for a fight. However, as soon as she realised that was nobody else, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and her rabbit ears drooped slightly in disappointment.
"Aww, lame. I thought there would be more villains here to bust their heads with. What a let down," she muttered before her eyes caught sight of the Nomu tanks, "Hey, aren't they those Nomu things?" she questioned before she grinned malciously, "Eh, better than nothing, right kid?"
"Um...do you actually mind helping me-" Lewis tried to say before Mirko walked by him.
"Yeah, yeah. Doing a great job, kid. Keep it up," she said uncaringly as she approached the tanks.
"That's not what I was-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Mirko crouched down and sprung forwards quickly. She honed in on the first tank, raised her right rabbit-like leg and axed kick the front of the tank. The tank burst and crumbled beneath her powerful legs as if it was made of tinfoil; water gushed everywhere and the unactivated Nomu fell in a heap onto the cold concrete floor. Without missing a beat, she spun around and kicked the next tank and then next one and then the next one. Each tank crumbled beneth her might as fragments of glass and water were scattered everywhere.
Lewis watched in slight awe. He had seen Mirko in action on T.V or online, but seeing it in real life was an experience on its own. He made a mental note to ask about her attacks later on when he got a chance.
The last tank was smashed to pieces and Mirko landed on the floor with a victorious grin. She clicked her neck and placed her hands on her hips.
"Didn't even break a sweat," she said before she looked over her shoulder at Lewis, "You still there? Just knock him out already or whatever."
"Well, that's the thing-"
"Hey, wait," Mirko interupted, "Haven't we met before?"
Lewis sighed tiredly, "Yes, we met at the Sports Festival..."
The hero raised an eyebrow.
"...you were asked me to be your intern..."
Mirko merely shrugged.
"...you really don't remember that?"
"Eh, I got bored about halfway through the festival and left. Nice to see you risking your life and everything. Not many pros have got the balls for that," she said before she gave him a thumbs, "Great work. You'll make a great hero."
"This was not intentional," he deadpanned.
Suddenly, to hus suprise, he heard the sound of flapping above his head and looked up towards the ceiling. He was even more shocked when two large dragonesque claws broke through the ceiling and opened it up to reveal the night sky. Looming through the new hole in the roof was a familiar blond haired dragon that crawled inside the warehouse. Upon the giant dragon's head were two men who leapt onto the floor as soon as they were close enough and instantly ran towards Lewis.
One of the men was Tiger who ran up and knelt down beside him, placing a giant paw on his back comfortingly. The other was a hero he recognised from the hero billboards who went by the name of Best Jeanist. The demin clad hero slowly approached and stood nearby, observing him and then Shigaraki lying on the floor.
"Tiger," Lewis sighed in relief, "I'm so glad to see you. How's everybody? How's Ragdoll? Is she alright?" he asked rapidly.
"Now, now calm down," Tiger said, "Everyone's is perfectly fine as well as Ragdoll. She's been treated and been through surgery, but she's making a recovery."
"A successful one as well," Ryukyu said as she transformed out of her dragon form and into her human form, "If it wasn't for her, we would have never had found her," she told him before taking notice of Mirko, "Didn't you say you were on the other side of the country?"
The rabbit hero smirked, "I was. Came all the way here and still beat you to it."
Ryukyu gave her a sceptical look, "Really? Because I think you were actually nearby and just didn't want to go the meeting."
Mirko looked away and whistled innocently. That was pretty much the answer Ryukyu was expecting.
"You may release him, Fleetwood," Best Jeanist told Lewis as he raised his hand, "I have restrained him. You don't have to hold him down anymore."
Lewis hesitated slightly before he slowly let go of Shigaraki's wrists. The villain made to grab at him, but his arms were suddenly locked in place before being pulled down at his sides. As Best Jeanist said, Shigaraki was restrained due to his quirk.
Fiber Master: It allows him to freely manipulate the threads in any nearby piece of fabric. He has power over all types of cloth, but his Quirk works best with denim.
Lewis sighed in relief and tried to stand up, but his injured leg gave way beneath him and he landed on his side. Tiger and Ryukyu immediately got to his side and helped him up. Ryukyu looked at his leg and winced slightly by how much damage was caused. However, she looked up at him and gave him a comforting smile.
"It's nothing that Recovery Girl couldn't fix. You'll be perfectly fine," she told him sweetly.
"T-thanks," Lewis said before he gave her a hopeful look, "Can I get that autograph now?"
"Again? You have terrible timing."
"It'll really cheer me up."
"Maybe later."
"Fleetwood," Best Jeanist said, catching his attention, "Do you remember what happened when All Might and the other heroes saved you."
Lewis nodded, "I do. Those Nomu came out of nowhere. All Might tried to take me away...but the same thing that brought the Nomu had taken me away."
"The Pro-heroes and the police are still dealing with them across the city. We were the only ones available when Mandalay called for us..." Tiger said before he gave Mirko a tired look, "...well...the only ones and Mirko apparently."
Mirko shrugged and proudly grinned, "What can I say, I was in the area and I beat all of you to it..." she said before he eyes widened in shock, "...hold on! There are more Nomu out there! Aw crap! I need to get there before the others get the good ones!"
"It's too late for that now, Mirko," Ryukyu sighed with a roll of her eyes.
"And then what happened? If you don't mind me asking," Best Jeanist asked as he patted away some dust off Lewis' shoulders and tutted about how untidy he looked.
"I just woke up here," Lewis answered, "That's when I saw the Nomu tanks and then Shigaraki and I fought."
"But you have no idea how?"
Lewis shook his head.
"Well, it's definitely the work of somebody's quirk," Tiger hummed, "Whoever it was must have been associated with the League as they transported them away as well. Is it possible that there's another League member we don't know about?"
"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟...𝐡𝐦𝐦...𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬."
At those words, Lewis felt his blood run cold. It was a voice of something so cold and so deadly that it made his muscles lock in place and his breath caught in his throat. If it could be likened to anything, it would be a poison; a poison that flowed so easily and smoothly that you don't realise it could kill you in a second. Judging by the reactions of the other heroes, he wasn't alone in thinking that.
Tiger whipped around to where the voice had come from. Part of the ceiling that had caved in from Ryukyu's entrance had knocked out most of the lights and had accidently formed a pile of rubble on the other end of the warehouse. Beneath the rubble was a small alcove where a figure hidden in shadows stood and watched on.
"Who are you!?" Tiger demanded, "Reveal yourself!"
"𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐤, 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫. 𝐀𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞."
"What was that!?" Tiger snapped angrily at him.
However, the figure merely chuckled.
"𝐀𝐡, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝," the figure drawled, "𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭."
"Your student?"
"Master!"
Lewis looked down towards Shigaraki, who, for the first time this evening, seemed genuinly happy. His blood-shot eyes looked over to where the shadows where the figure was and they were full of glee and relief.
'His master...the one who was watching us in the bar,' he realised as he turned to the alcove just in time to see the figure step out of the darkness.
Lewis felt a shiver run down his spine as he finally saw the figure. He towered over them, standing just over seven feet tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular, powerful body. He wore a black suit with a dark purple undershirt. Over his head, and conceiling his features, was a large skull-like gas mask with angular tubes poking out of the the top of it. Around the base of the mask was a wide life-support system which had more pipes connecting to to the mask. The only body part that was revealed was his fair-skinned hands; at the centre of the palm of each hand there was a hole which, Lewis assumed, was part of his quirk.
The giant of a man was intimidating. He moved like a shadow and spoke like a monster luring its prey into its mouth. His mere presence seemed to make him and the heroes back away. It was the same terrifying aura that Stain has emitted on the night of the Nomu attack, but this was much, much worse. Lewis was scared. Genuinly scared of this man.
This was Shigaraki's master.
The one behind the U.A attack.
The one who created the Nomu.
The one who injured All Might all those years ago.
This...was All For One.
"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧," All For One drawled, "𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡."
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed it.
A little bit different from the cannon events (I don't really like moving away from the original material) but I hope it was interesting all the same. We had Mina leading the rescue squad, we had Lewis versus Shigaraki, we had Mirko turned up and was the bad ass she truly is. What more could you want?
My only regret is how long it took to upload this chapter. I've been ill for the last couple of days, but I'm better now.
I managed to watch the latest (and possibly the last) MHA film: You're Next! I liked it. I really liked it. It was much better than the last film to be honest. Maybe it was because I watched it at the cinema rather than online. Let me know what you guys thought.
Anyway, I hoped you liked it and I'll see you all next time.
Thanks for reading :)
Omake- Daily Lives of Victor Soul's OCs
Recap: The OCs are deciding who is going to be in their future harems. See the omake on chapter 11 of 'Voyage Of The Cavalier' for more details. Don't you just love a fanfiction story where you need to do further reading to understand some things.
No?
Well, I do.
Victor Soul's Office
From his officer chair, Victor closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. Once he finished his drawn out exhale, he opened his eyes and stared at Lewis sat on the other side of his desk with a serious look. Lewis stared back in bewildement; the author had been silent ever since he had given him the filled in harem list sheet that Victor had made them fill out. It was embarrasing having to do it and even worse was the fact that it will be posted on the profile page, however, Lewis was concerned now more than anything.
Victor moved suddenly making him flinch. He raised his hand in the air and stuck out two fingers.
"Two words," he said seriously, "Ippan Josei."
"...I'm sorry?"
"Opinions?"
"You mean the tall, heteromorph woman who will be introduced far later in the series and so I should, theoretically, know nothing about her."
"Indeed."
Lewis cast a look at the harem sheet and blushed slightly in embarrassment, "Are you asking because you want me to add her to the harem. She's twice my size and about ten years older than me."
In responce, Victor reached behind and pulled down a projector screen from somewhere. He snapped his fingers and the lights turned off and a projector turned on and illuminated the screen.
"Allow me to give you a small presentation," Victor said as he clicked a button.
The screen now showed a plain white background with a simple black title on it. The title read: '100 Reasons Why Ippan Josei Is Best Girl'.
"Wait..." Lewis uttered.
However, he was interupted when music began to play all around him. It took him a few seconds to realised that the music was a slow piano version of legendary singer Mika's hit song 'Big Girls (You Are Beautiful)'.
"Eyes to the screen, please," Victor said before he pointed to the first page, "Right, first reason..."
(10 Minutes Later)
"...and that was the last reason," Victor sighed as he wiped his brow and finished the presentation with a small flourish of his hands, "What do you think now?"
Lewis stared ar him in bewilderment, "You do know you only just showed me a 100 fanart images of Ippan Josei and gave no other reason."
"Yep. She's cute, isn't she?"
Lewis was about to argue with his point, but found that he couldn't. After a few seconds of deliberation, he gave a nod.
"Yeah, she is. Can she be in the harem?"
"Of course, she can," Victor said with a smile.