Need You (ShinDeku)

Ch. 3 - worry

A/N: hello to my wonderful readers! I'm so tired rn I feel like I'm gonna pass out. Yay.

WARNING: there's a very minor depiction of gore. It's not very descriptive either. None the less, if this bothers you, please skip over the warning (⚠️) when you get to it. Thank you for taking care of yourself.
Have fun reading!

Shinso POV
I heard that Izuku Midoriya, the one that fought me in the sports festival, went missing a few weeks ago. No one was really sure what happened to him but I had heard a few of the teachers talking amongst themselves, saying he may have been kidnapped. Their theories were proven correct on Monday when hundreds of students and teachers walked into UA that morning to see thousands of copies of a photo of him spread out across the school.

In the photo he was unconscious and bloody. It was a truly unsettling sight to see at 8am, to say the least.

The teachers were not allowed to talk about it to the students, for confidentiality reasons, but I could tell they knew something about it that they weren't telling us. I think they figured out who took him, but they probably don't know where he was or they would have found him by now. I gathered this information from Aizawa. He's been instructing me in one of the empty gyms after school recently, and I'm sort of like an apprentice. He's showing me how to use his capture weapon, which is exciting. I found out he was one of the heroes on Midoriya's case, so I started asking about it. He wouldn't tell me anything though.

I'm actually headed towards the gym we meet at right now for another session.

As I walk I think about the green haired boy. My insomnia has been worse lately because I'm worried for him. It's not like we were close or anything, but he thought my quirk was cool. That made me really happy. Plus, no one should have to go through that. I hope the pros find him soon.

When I enter the gym, Aizawa has a file in one hand.

"Oh good, you're here. I'm canceling practice today, we're going to a hero agency for a meeting about Midoriya's case. You're joining the investigation under me." He says monotonously.

"Wait really? Like for real? I'm going on my first mission?"

"Yes, this is going to be your debut, though I wish you had a hero suit for it. The press is all over Midoriya's case right now, trying to get their hands on any information they can. If this blows over well, you're going to have a lot of fans at the end of this." He sounds uncomfortable with the idea, probably because he doesn't like the press. He prefers being out of the spotlight.

I want to become a well known pro to help fight against the idea of 'villainous quirks'. No kid should have to go through what I went through when the kids at my previous schools found out what my quirk was.

"Thank you so much!" I'm literally shaking in excitement. I'm going to help save someone! And someone I know at that!

He hands me the file, walking towards a car that just pulled up in front of us.

"Hurry up. We're going to be late if you just stand around like that. Read the file in the car. Also, no one, and I mean no one that is not a part of this case is allowed to hear anything about it. This means that you will not speak about it with anyone that's not in this meeting today, got it?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Also, I'll be pulling you out of class every now and then if you're needed."

"Okay!" This is so exciting, I can't believe I get to actually go out in the field! The hero courses all get to do stuff like this all the time, but gen ed isn't training to be heroes, so we never get to do anything like this.

I flip the file open, only to be met with horrifying photos that make me want to gag.

(⚠️warning start⚠️)

"They've sent us a few more recent photos, but no more have been spread throughout the school, just to a select few pros that happen to be working on the case." He says, probably because he saw my horrified face. He looks worse in these than the first one. In one of the photos he's tied up by his wrists to the ceiling, and two of the fingers on one of his hands look mangled. There's a small line of dried blood coming from his mouth.

(⚠️warning end⚠️)

I shake my head to clear it, pushing the photos to the side to read the case file.
By the time I'm finished I'm left with not much more information than I started with. They figured out that the league of villains were responsible for his kidnapping, due to a brand on his hip in one of the most recent photos that spells out LOV. I get the chills just thinking about it. I look up from the file to see Aizawa biting his lip with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Aizawa-Sensei, are you okay?"

"Huh, oh yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"You're not looking too good. Are you worried about Midoriya?"

"What? No. I mean, he's one of my students, so of course I'm a little worried, but he can take care of himself." He's not very convincing.

"You care about him, don't you?" I ask.
There's a long pause before he responds.

"He's a good kid. Too pure for this world. He doesn't deserve any of this."

I think back to his dazzling smile and bright eyes. He always had a positive attitude, and he was one of the few people who never judged me for my quirk.

     I really hope he's okay.

—-ten weeks later—-

Despite being in my favorite class, I can't focus. All I can think about anymore is Midoriya's case. We got a new photo this morning, and it's the first we've received in over three weeks. He looks like he's holding on by a piece of thread at this point, and it was the first to come with a message. It says 'time is running out' and that's it. Not even a signature.

It's so frustrating that after all this time we still can't figure out where the base is. Twice now we thought that we found their location, but when we went to check it out there was nothing there. If we don't find him within the next few days, I don't think he's going to make it. Something about that scares me much more than it should.

A knock on the door to our classroom pulls me out of my thoughts. It sounds urgent, and when the door opens to reveal a very awake and stressed looking Aizawa, my nerves spike.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I'm going to need to pull Shinso out of your class for the case. He probably won't be back before the school day ends. Thanks." The teacher nods, seeming to understand.

All of my teachers have been notified about my involvement with the case and I've been given permission to leave the classroom if Aizawa, my mentor, thinks it's necessary. My classmates, however, have not heard about this arrangement.

Murmurs rose around the room as everyone looked at me. I wasn't exactly known as the friendliest person in our class, so I didn't really talk to people often. Plus, Aizawa said not to talk about the case. I paid no mind to the gossiping classmates as I grabbed my bag and left the room.

We rushed towards the exit of the school, Aizawa filling me in along the way. They had found a new location. They sent a drone there this morning to check it out, and it captured one of the leagues known members walking out and into an alleyway. This is by far the most promising lead they have.

They discussed waiting until nightfall to rescue him, but after seeing the photo this morning they decided he needed to be extracted as soon as possible or he might not make it.

Right now we were taking a car to the hero agency that we usually hold our meetings and share our findings in, so we can go over the game plan and explain what we're going to do before we start.

I'm full of adrenaline already, nervous about Midoriya, and messing up. What if I can't save him?

I think Aizawa notices my obvious anxiety because he puts one hand on my knee, saying "he's going to be okay, and you're going to do great."

1404 words.