章 2288: 30
"Yes! You know exactly what—" He paused, letting the girl on the other end spout out more obscenities.
"I know that Mei!" he interrupted. "It's not like— No! For the fifth time, you aren't coming!" He let out a frustrated groan. "Just… stay where you are. We've got this handled."
He listened. "Yeah. I know. And put that mech suit back! You heard me. Bye." He hung up the phone, staring at it and sighing.
"What did… What did Mei say?" Pony rasped through her oxygen mask. She rested limply in the hospital bed, just barely holding back her tears.
"You know her," Manga replied. "She's being as stubborn as usual. But I think that I actually got through to her."
Pony let out a small giggle that sputtered into a harsh cough. "Did you really?"
"Yeah. She even got out that unstable mech she's been working on. But she'll stay put. I told her that we could handle it."
"That's good," came a voice emerging from beyond the door. Setsuna emerged, her face piecing together as she came into view. "It would have taken her too long to get here anyways. Because if we're doing anything, we're doing it within the next hour or two."
"I'm coming too," Pony let out.
Manga blanched at the conviction in his friend's quiet voice. He looked over at Pony laying in her bed; the oxygen mask above her mouth and nose barely accentuated her shallow breaths. She was deathly pale, and a cold sweat was beginning to form upon her forehead. She was better off than some since she was actually awake, but barely in any better condition. And there wasn't much he could do himself; the doctors had said that all they could do was wait until the effects of the villain's quirk had flushed out of Pony's system.
Pony attempted to get up. Manga place a hand on her shoulder, keeping her down.
"I think that it's best that you stay, Pony."
She tried to shove Manga's hand off to no avail. She struggled upwards, but fell back to her bed after a moment's effort.
"He's right, you know," Setsuna said, walking up to the bedside. "You aren't in any condition to go anywhere."
"But Izuku—"
"She's right, Pony," Manga added. "Look at yourself. You're barely able to stand."
"I'm fine!" Pony yelled. But Manga and Setsuna knew she was lying to herself.
"Izuku wouldn't want you straining yourself. Especially not for him. You should know that."
"You don't understand…" Pony mumbled. It was more of a plea if anything. Nothing like the exclamation she herself pictured in her mind.
Manga placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "We'll come back alright. Promise."
Pony's eyes didn't waver for a second, a stare off between two friends vying for the other's safety. It was Pony who relented, breaking her gaze and pointing her eyes out the window.
"Fine," she whispered. "Stay safe, you two."
"Of course," Manga muttered. He looked over at Setsuna and nodded. She nodded back, and the two made their way outside the room and out into the hallway.
"So what—"
"Shh!" Setsuna placed a finger on Manga's nonexistent lips. "Let me check first." Her face splintered off into various pieces, each darting off in different directions. A minute passed before all of Setsuna's pieces came back.
"Alright. The coast is clear," Setsuna informed.
"Good," Manga replied. "What's next?"
A manic glint appeared in Setsuna's eyes, her mouth forming into her signature grin. "I've got just the thing. You see, I've been listening… around. And wouldn't you know it, I heard through the grapevine that…"
"How are they?" Kaminari asked.
Yaoyorozu looked up upon hearing the question, finding what remained of class 1-A that wasn't too badly incapacitated or… missing. Looking around, she noted that Bakugo wasn't present, but that in itself isn't much of a surprise to her considering the boy's behavior.
Yaoyorozu breathed a heavy sigh, closing the door to the room. She was stressed over everything that had occurred over the past day, and it was getting to her. She was supposed to be the class's vice rep. She was supposed to act as a pillar of support, someone the others could look to for help. And yet here she was, just on the verge of emotional collapse. She took a deep breath; she could still hold on. Even if Izuku was gone who knew where.
"Hagakure and Jirou are okay, I suppose," she informed rather despondently. "The doctors said that they can't do much but wait until the effects of the villain's quirk wears off." She sat down on a lone stool, closing her eyes. She felt the touch of cold steel as she wrapped her legs around stool's own.
Yaoyorozu felt the pressure of a hand on her back, moving in a slow, methodical patting motion, as if the hand's owner was saying its not your fault. She stifled a cry from the thought.
"It's okay, Yaomomo," Ashido called out. "I'm sure everyone will be alright. Jirou and Hagakure will wake up soon and… Well, we have All Might looking for Midoriya right now, don't we?"
Somehow, Ashido's attempt at comfort did little to ease any of Yaoyorozu's worries.
A growl of frustration suddenly erupted from across the room. "Why are we just sitting here?!?" exclaimed Kirishima. "Our classmate is in trouble! Who knows what those League guys are doing to him right now?!"
"Oh?" Kaminari asked, incredulous. "And what do you want us to do, go out there ourselves?"
"Yes, actually," Todoroki added. The class turned to him. "The villains said that they were going to kill us. Yet they didn't with Izuku, if Aoyoma's recollection of events are true."
The boy in question nodded. "Yeah… They only took Midoriya. That Mr. Compress had him in one of his marbles."
Todoroki nodded, continuing. "And we don't know how long the villains are planning to keep Midoriya alive."
"This isn't in our place to act!" Iida interrupted. "We should just all leave this for the pros!"
"For once I agree with Iida!" Mineta called from his hospital bed while sporting a broken leg. "Midoriya or not, you'd still be going right for the villains!"
"You think that I don't know that? That we don't know the risks!?" Kirishima responded. "If I don't do anything now, then I'll be neither a hero nor a man!"
"What are you talking about?! Think about what you're saying!" Iida interjected. "You can't go overboard with these crazy ideas!"
"It was our fault Midoriya was captured," Todoroki admitted, somewhat quiet. "If we hadn't separated from him, then the League wouldn't have had an opening to take him."
"What are you—" Iida starts. But before he could let his full thoughts out, Shoji interrupted.
"I understand how Todoroki feels. It's also partially my fault. I insisted that Midoriya let me carry him due to his injuries. He refused. But maybe if I'd just pushed a bit more, then he wouldn't have been separated from us."
Kirishima looked as he's about to say something, but Shoji cut him off before he could. "But that doesn't mean that this is a situation where we should be acting on our emotions right now."
"Exactly," Iida added, happy that somebody else shared his sentiments. "We should let the pros handle this. I'm sure that Midoriya is fine and that'll he'll be—"
"And how do you know that, Iida?!" Yaoyorozu interrupted, no longer able to tolerate the mess her classmates were digging themselves into with their fighting. Her verbal explosion and subsequent movement to stand scared the few around her, since just before she was unmoving in her seat.
"You saw what those villains did to him the last time they got to him! What's to say they won't do worse?!"
Iida doesn't have a response to that, his face settling into a grimace. The room grew quiet, the fear of Midoriya's fate tugging at their minds and guilt for not being able to prevent his kidnapping.
But after a few moments, one last individual of 1-A voiced her opinion on the matter at hand.
"If you guys go along with this plan of yours, then you'll be fighting again and breaking the rules."
It was Asui that time. She had it the worst out of everyone still conscious. Her tongue was sore and bandaged, while she'd temporarily lost all feeling in her arm due to the attack from the villain with all the blood vials.
"We know that, Tsu," Yaoyorozu said.
"Them you'll be no better than the villains themselves," Tsuyu admitted.
Everyone was silent after that. The class eventually dispersed, some with faces of uncertainty and worry. Others left with purpose, their faces forged with determination and well placed resolution to save their classmate.
"So where is it?" Todoroki asked.
Yaoyorozu looked over her shoulder to find Todoroki looking at the tracker in her hand. She repositioned the device so that it was more accessible to eyes other than her own, and motioned for Todoroki to move to a more comfortable position.
"The nomu is due south of here," Yaoyorozu said, pointing at the screen. "We'll need to take a train to Kanagawa. If I'm not mistaken, they're somewhere in Yokohama right now. It'll take us and hour or two to get there."
"And they are for sure where your tracker is?"
"Well, I'm fairly certain they are. The signal hasn't moved since yesterday, so I think that's a pretty good indicator. "
Todoroki nodded. "That's good. The less time we leave Midoriya alone with those villains, the better."
"Yes," Yaoyorozu stated. "The only thing stopping us now is Kirishima. Where is he?"
Todoroki shrugged his shoulders. "He said that he'd be here. Just give him a few minutes."
A few more minutes passed. Todoroki was content to stand where he was aimlessly looking around. Yaoyorozu stared at her tracker, keeping her eyes on the small yellow blip, as if it would move any second.
Eventually, the faint sound of voices fill the air, gaining Yaoyorozu and Todoroki's attention.
"I can't believe that you let me convince myself into doing this."
Yaoyorozu and Todoroki turned toward the voice, finding Kirishima to be accompanied by a distraught Kaminari.
"But I'm proud of you, bro!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Going off to save someone who just a few months ago you hated!" Kirishima slapped Kaminari on the back, eliciting a huge outtake of air for the blond.
"Sheesh, don't remind of that. I know that Midoriya's a good guy now. Besides, nobody deserves what happened to him. He already got messed up bad by the villains the first time around at U.S.J."
"You two should quiet it down," Yaoyorozu interrupted, gaining the attention of the two. "You need to remember that what we're doing isn't completely legal. You don't know when somebody might be listening in."
Both Kaminari and Kirishima do little to hide their embarrassment. "Sorry Yaoyorozu," they both said.
Their voices quiet down, and it's Kaminari that's the next to speak. He looked around at the group, sighing in disbelief. "Is this it? We really four-manning this?"
"Of course not," comes another voice.
The gathered four jump in surprise, and immediately turn to find Iida to have appeared out of nowhere.
Iida eyes the group with a crucial eye, the presence of contempt obvious in his gaze.
Yaoyorozu narrowed her eyes in response. "Iida. You aren't here to stop us, are you?"
Iida took a moment to respond, not breaking the expression on his face. However, he eventually sighed and softened his expression into something more akin to a withdraw relinquishment.
"I'm only here to make sure none of you get hurt," Iida said, walking closer to join the group. "I don't approve of your decision. But it's my responsibility as your classmate to make sure you all make it back safe."
He takes a moment and ends up shaking his head. "Midoriya wouldn't want any of you pulling this stunt, you know."
"And how would you know?" Kaminari asks, genuinely curious.
Iida didn't respond. However, it was obvious to Todoroki and Yaoyorozu that he refrained from mentioning whatever he was going to.
Iida's face morphed ever so slightly, as if he was facing some sort of inner turmoil. But whatever it is disappears when Iida raised his head to face them again.
"Alright!" Kirishima said. "That's a five person group! Not too bad if I'd say so myself." He turns to Yaoyorozu. "So where are we going?"
A lapsed whisper ends up falling upon the group. However, it is as they're talking strategy that Bakugo suddenly arrived, planting himself amongst the group without a word. The gathered students — sans a smiling Kirishima — simply stared at him with weariness.
"Bakugo?" Kirishima the first to ask. "You here to join us?"
"What does it look like, shitty hair?" Bakugo growled.
Kirishima suddenly wrapped an arm around Bakugo's neck, smiling while doing so. "Ha! I knew I could could on you!"
"Get off." Bakugo's words come out curt, almost like an order. Kirishima doesn't waste any time complying, but his smile never leaves his face. "'Course, bro. Happy to have you."
"Alright, is that everybody then?" Yaoyorozu asked the group. "No more surprise additions, right?"
"Actually…" a voice comes from around the corner, yet again spooking some of the group.
Wasting no time, Setsuna and Manga revealed themselves then, making their way towardsthe group.
"We were thinking that maybe Manga and I could hitch a ride with you guys?"
"Wait a minute, you guys are from 1-B!" Kaminari exclaimed. "What are you two even doing here?"
"My guess is they're here for the same reason we are," Yaoyorozu chided. She turns back to the duo from 1-B. "Of course you two can come. You two are Midoriya's friends as well, after all."
The rest of the group more or less default to her decision. Bakugo showed some contempt, but the look quickly goes away. Others like Kirishima are happy for any additions for their rag-tag group.
This didn't keep Kaminari from adding in one last comment, however. "Don't you guys think that the group is a little too big, now?"
Nobody voices out any words of disagreement, but neither does anyone attempt to downsize the group.
And thus, the eight individuals set out into the night, minds set on rescuing their classmate.
Tsukauchi was in the middle of debriefing everyone about the consecutive raids planned for the night when it happened.
Officer Kuro ran up to him, sweating and out of breath. Immediately, Tsukauchi turned the face the man, dreading whatever news he had in store for him.
The first thought that came to mind scared him, and spelled disaster not only for the force, but for the student still within the clutches of the villains; Had them been found out before the raid could even begin?"
"What is it, Kuro?" Tsukauchi asked, a tone of urgency in his voice.
"It's… command called in," Officer Kuro began. "We're receiving backup, sir. And a higher ranking member of the force is coming in to supervise."
"Higher ranking?" Tsukauchi asked.
"Yeah," Kuro continued. "Orders are to temporarily withhold the raid, sir. Your jurisdiction over the raid is still yours, but we have to wait for… um, him."
"And who is 'him,' exactly?"
As if by command, the doors to the command center swing open, revealing the scowling newcomer. Kuro didn't waste any time making himself scarce, instantly falling back into file along with his fellow officers.
When the presence of the man sunk in, the police officers in the room stood attention attention and saluted, Tsukauchi included.
"Commissioner General, Sir!" Tsukauchi greeted.
The aged man looked over Tsukauchi before relaying his command. "Stand down. No need to be so formal," he said, voice gruff.
"Of course, sir," Tsukauchi said, minding his words. While he wasn't afraid of his superior, he did know that he did have quite the temper. It would be for the best if he tried to not stir the flames. "What are you here sir?"
The Commissioner General scoffed upon hearing the question.
"Why am I here? Isn't it obvious?" he gestured around him to nothing in particular. "This League of Villains has been a growing thorn in our side ever since their debut. The public outcry has been substantial since the incident in Hosu, and more and more villains are growing a spine and throwing themselves out into a world of crime!"
"And doesn't help that we still have Stain and his merry band of fanatics running around the streets causing havoc! Don't you know the potential ramifications of this kidnapping?"
The Commissioner General slammed his hands down on the nearest table. "Do you know how I feel about the situation we're in right now? The villains already bypassed into U.A. once, and yet it's happened yet again! And a student has been taken this time!"
"I understand that sir," Tsukauchi added, keeping his voice calm. "That's why we are committing to this raid tonight."
"You better," the Commissioner General flared. "The fragile balance between our peace and the underworld's chaos teeters at this very moment. We can't afford any mistakes today." The Commissioner General sighed. He then made a motion with his hands, signaling for the people further behind him.
"That's why I got you some other officers for this mission. They'll be working under special orders I've given them, but you don't need to worry about those. Just focus on the current mission as is."
"Of course, sir."
The Commissioner General nodded. "I've given you the added bonus of you already know them, detective. That way it won't be too hard for you to order them around."
"Thank you, Commissioner General," Tsukauchi said.
The Commissioner General nodded again. It's only then as he pulls away that Tsukauchi notices the two newcomers that the man had been talking about.
"Tsukauchi! It's nice to see you again!"
The detective blinked, taking a moment to take to switch his gaze from the Commissioner General's cynical seriousness to the other detective's upbeat and cheerful aura.
"Kaniyashiki!" Tsukauchi said, surprised by the woman's presence. "It's nice to see you again, too."
The detective let out a peeved noise. "I thought I told you to call me Kaniko!"
Tsukauchi laughed. "Of course, Kaniko. I'm sure that we're going to have a pleasant time with you around."
Tsukauchi turned toward the other officer present who had yet to say a word. Just as the Commissioner General has said, the woman is another face that easily comes to memory.
"Nice to see you too, Officer Saya."
The woman didn't offer much else of a greeting other than the disgruntled, "Mhm." Still, Tsukauchi didn't let Saya's lack of enthusiasm to stop him.
"Well, alright then! Do you two need a quick debrief?"
"Nope!" Kaniko responded. "We already had one on the way here. The only thing the C.G. told us was that it'd be best if we took part in the raid involving the student. A Izuku Midoriya, right?"
"Yeah," Tsukauchi confirmed. "But is there any particular reason the Commissioner assigned you to that raid?"
Kaniko shrugged her shoulders. "Nope. But knowing the General, it might just be his soft spot for kids. Maybe he wants to make sure the boy comes out all right.
"Even with All Might on the job? Well, I can't argue with that, I suppose. Alright you two. Make sure you're all geared up. We'll be going out in ten."
Notes:
I kept having the problem of switching between past and present tense for some reason in this chapter. Don't know why. Might be because of my experimenting on my other WIP fic I've got queued up, maybe? I tried to make sure everything went back to past tense, but I might have missed a few. Oh well.
Anyways, what do you all think of this one? Good? Bad? Hope I satisfied your needs for this week.
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