Tatsumaki x Reader

Part 16

     Y/n walked out and into the sunlight. They had been released from the hospital earlier that day with the expectation that they would not be doing any hero work in the next few months. But Y/n had other plans. Even with the pain in their chest they knew that under the current dire circumstances the Hero Association couldn't afford to lose a single hero. 

     So with their head held high they walked across the large plaza leading to the HA Headquarters and opened the doors.

     Inside the building was a general sense of unease. Nothing was off at first glance, but Y/n could feel the general apprehensiveness about what was to come. Glancing around, they walked over to the desk and began to speak with the secretary. Once Y/n told the secretary what they were here for, they were immediately escorted up the stairs, down a hallway, and into a room full of heroes waiting expectantly. Y/n recognized them instantly.

     They were the group of heroes that Y/n had met only a few days prior to discuss the capture of the Hero Hunter, Garou. Death Gatling stood at the head of the table. 

      "You're late." He stated.

     Y/n glanced around and realized that he was talking to them.

      "Sorry, I was-" Y/n realized that sharing the fact that they were just previously staying in a hospital may be a bad idea.

       What if they kick me off the team? That would be the responsible thing to do. They thought. But they didn't want responsibility right now.

     "I slept in. Whoops." They lied instead.

     The heroes looked at each other, confusion written clearly on their faces.

     Smile Man looked at his watch. "It's 5:00 pm." 

    Before Y/n could respond, Glasses began to speak.

     "Y/n was in the hospital, and I assume they must have been released today, though that was very quick." He explained. 

     Y/n sighed. So much for keeping that under wraps. But no one seemed to care. No sooner than this was debunked, Death Gatling returned to their explanation of the reason they had all been gathered that day.

     "Back to business. Garou is on the move. I spotted him by a building in S-City earlier today. I believe he is still there and resting after his fight with Watchdog man." Death Gatling slowly looked around the room, making eye contact with every person there. "I believe now would be the best time to launch an attack."

     As if in protest, Y/n's chest flared in pain. They gritted their teeth and pretended that nothing was wrong. Death Gatling studied Y/n for a moment, and for a second Y/n worried that he could tell.

     But instead he turned his head back towards the board in front of him. On it, was a picture of an old barn-like structure. 

     "This is where Garou is believed to be. If we leave soon, then we may still be able to catch him." He stated.

     "Then what are we doing staying here?" Y/n asked. Everyone's heads turned to look at them. 

     Death Gatling looked around. 

     "I agree, I think we should leave now." Chain'n'Toad concurred. 

    "If we're all in agreement." Death Gatling looked around at the other members of the group. Everyone seemed in agreement.

     Y/n stepped out of Archie and onto the open grass. Y/n had burrowed out from under the ground and into a small opening in a forest. Ahead but just out of sight was where the barn was, and quite possibly the location of Garou's hiding spot as well. The other heroes stumbled out of Archie, unaccustomed to travelling in such a fashion. 

     They readied their equipment, and began the steady approach to the building. They had already worked out a plan on the way there.

     Chain'n'Toad, Gun Gun, and Shooter would work as long range back up. Stinger and Smile Man would act as short range melee fighters. Y/n would be a bit of an in-between, switching between long range and short range. Glasses would be the support, helping grab extra arrows and pieces of equipment for the other members. And Death Gatling would be the final opponent, using his special attack Death Shower to completely wipe out Garou. It seemed like an airtight plan, and Y/n sincerely hoped it was.

    As they continued their approach, Y/n could feel the sweat dripping across their hands. They could feel the importance of this battle. Something told Y/n that if they didn't stop Garou here, he would be unstoppable later. 

     Finally they reached the building. Right beside the building stood three children, seemingly star struck by the approaching heroes. Stinger turned to talk to them and to tell them to leave. The children seemed on the verge of saying something, but then seemed to change their mind and turned to run in the other direction. Y/n found this odd. 

     I wonder if there's another child nearby. I'll have to keep an eye out in the forest. 

    They all stood on edge, waiting for Garou to make his move. Right as Death Gatling was about to announce their presence, a figure leaped from inside the shed and on top of the large barn. A man stood at the top, covered in bandages. White hair shone atop his head. Gold eyes scanned the group.

     "THE HERO HUNT!" He announced. "WILL SURPASS 100 WITH YOU!" 

     The heroes were taken aback by this statement, and Garou left them no time to take it in. Before Y/n could even prepare, Garou lunged towards Y/n, Closing the distance between them in less than a second.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Trying shorter chapters for a bit! Hope you enjoyed!

          -Satoruta