Solstice and Eclipse: Part I

Chapter XII: Rescue Training

His hands were shaking, his whole body coursing with adrenaline. Never had he used his quirk to such an extent. The amount of power he felt, not only was it unfamiliar, it was frightening. He was scared of it. Scared of losing control. Whether or not he had managed to subdue all the villains, he didn't care to find out. Perhaps someone more confident than he, or more reckless, would have made certain, but for him it wasn't important. What was important was that he had a chance to escape without risking someone else getting harmed. In a streak of light, he flew away from the scene, Ashido still trailing behind him, and set them down at the outskirts of the blizzard zone.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"I'm okay." She nodded. "Thanks to you."

She seemed, understandably, a little shaken. Her voice was unsteady, and her heart was racing in her chest, but physically she seemed fine, at least from what he could tell.

"It's safe to assume the others are fighting." (L/N) said. "They might need our help."

"Are you okay to keep going?" Ashido asked in concern. "You shouldn't wear yourself out. If you do, you'll end up getting hurt."

"I'm fine. Besides, I don't plan on fighting." (L/N) said. "The villains underestimated us, so I doubt they'll be expecting anyone to provide reinforcements, especially so quickly. We can use that to our advantage. If I catch them off guard, I can use their hesitation to safely gather our classmates. You don't have to accompany if you don't want to. I can drop you at the plaza with Thirteen and the others."

Ashido shook her head. "That'll just waste time." She said. "Besides, one of our friends could be in trouble right now."

(L/N) nodded. "The fire zone is closest, so we'll head there first."

With that, a platform of light formed underfoot and lifted them into the air, encompassing them in a sphere as it flew in the direction of the domed area of the USJ that housed the blazing inferno, where inside a single student was barely managing to keep one step ahead of his enemies.

For the past fifteen minutes Mashirao Oijiro had been jumping between lampposts and rubble, doing his best to outrun the villains pursuing him. Every so often an opportunity presented itself for him to land a quick strike, disorienting the enemy before he once again disappeared into the flames. Hit and run tactics had been serving him well thus far, but he knew they wouldn't last. There were too many enemies for him to handle alone, and his strikes were few and far between. Worse still was the effect the heat was having on him. The soles of his feet and his tail were raw and red, and he was beginning to feel the effects of dehydration. His movements were slower, and his vision was starting to blur. Even if he found a place to hide, the heat would do him in before the villains ever found him. He had to get out. But how? They had blocked off every exit, leaving him no escape.

He leapt off the top of a burning building, escaping a group of villains that had chased him to the roof. Tucking his knees to his chest, he landed on a fire escape on the building across from him. As his feet made contact with the hot metal, he felt the structure give way. Several bolts came free of the brick wall as the fire escape began to tilt. Six stories he fell, landing with a painful crash as heavy pieces of metal fell on top of him. He was pinned.

He looked up to see the villains encircling him, sinister grins plastered across their faces. One of them broke away and approached his trapped figure, cracking his knuckles before preparing to strike. Oijiro closed his eyes and turned his face, but just as he braced himself for the inevitable first strike, a loud crash sounded from above. Sunlight flooded the dome as part of the ceiling fell. The villains quickly stepped back out of the way of the falling steel and a sudden blinding flash of light made them all avert their gaze.