・・・ ・・・ ・・・
"Hmpf." (Y/N) breathes, another pout on her face. Shoto leans over a bit to see what she was looking at. Emails for something. "Yup, I'm gonna have to list you for help."
"Alright."
"Sorry, Shoto. I didn't think I'd need to do. I know it's probably kind of embarrassing..." She frowns a bit.
"No, it's fine. I don't mind, really. It's not like being labeled as your boyfriend is something to be embarrassed about anyway." He tells her, sending her face into a soft rose. "When is this showcase going to be?"
"From the 3rd to the 6th of July, so it'll be just at the tail end of summer break." She nods to herself. "I've been practicing the routine quite a bit and I think I've got it down for the most part so I can record and send you that video after camp."
Shoto nods his head. "Are you excited for the camp?" (Y/N) looks over out the window.
"I'm actually not going." She states. "I'm going to be doing my real internship now. Since my internship got voided because I was dismissed early, and since it wasn't really an internship to begin with, I'm going to be doing it now." She explains. "And I didn't fail the exam so it's not like I need it as much."
"Why are you on the bus then?" He asks. They were riding towards the camp right now.
"Supposedly, the agency isn't far from where we're stopping, so they're going to just drive a little more to get me there. Also because I'm not really supposed to tell anyone."
"Well, you broke that pretty fast."
"Oh, shut up." She whines softly before pouting again. "I trust you to not let it out, okay?"
"Alright." He glances around the bus that was filled with noise. Everybody was talking, except for Bakugo, who was yelling. "Where are you interning?"
"Your dad's." She replies. "U.A. asked that I go to his because he knows my limits since I was there with my injuries. I'm surprised he accepted though." Shoto thinks for a moment. It was definitely a bit surprising.
"Todoroki-kun, can I ask you something?" Midoriya murmurs.
"What is it?" The boy responds. Midoriya glances away. He wasn't really sure how to approach the situation.
"Does (S/N) really want to be a hero...?" He mumbles. Todoroki cocks an eyebrow.
"Why do you ask?" He questions. "Why do you ask me?"
"Well, I don't think I've seen her talk to anyone except for you... and Ashido that one time. But..." He scans the surroundings, though nobody was paying any attention to them and they were all decently far away. Still, he found himself whispering. "She knows Shigaraki Tomura. The leader of the League of Villains."
Todoroki's expression crunches. "Are you sure?" Midoriya slowly nods his head.
"She even said that -kun was the wrong honorific. Doesn't that mean she would call him -san?" He looked so conflicted. "I didn't say anything to the police but Uraraka-san and I have been wondering... So I wanted to ask you if you really think she wants to be a hero?"
Midoriya's stomach drops at his silence. Todoroki was looking off to the side, confusion stirring his face.
"She doesn't want to be a hero." He answers. "I don't want to get too into it because it's her personal reasons and it's not my place to talk about. But no, she doesn't want to be a hero. I doubt she's a villain herself or even helping villains." He pauses, eyes narrowing slightly before he shakes his head. "She doesn't care at all about hero society on either side of the coin. She wouldn't bother to further either in the fight."
"Oh. Okay." But still, Midoriya was concerned with it.
Shoto pants. The guy he was carrying was out cold, and while he wasn't particularly heavy, they'd been running around like dogs. First, he'd had to mess with some creepy guy with blades for teeth that really, really liked blood. After dealing with Bakugo and then Dark Shadow, they were trying to get Bakugo back to camp for his protection.
"Let's go, quickly," Shoji says. While Uraraka and Asui were trying to explain who the random girl they'd ran into was, Shoto was staring off into the clearing. Something felt off.
The fire was blue. That was weird. It was unique. Trees don't burn blue, so it's not like it was a normal fire set by normal means; it was a quirk. He didn't even wanna think about that.
"Anyway, I'm just glad you're okay," Midoriya says. "I know! Come with us! Right now, we're protecting Kacchan as we head back to camp."
Asui tilts her head, a finger to her lips. "You're protecting Bakugo?" She clarifies. She looks over at Uraraka for a moment. "Where is Bakugo?"
Shoto looks back. They'd heard his little pops of explosions throughout the entire walk, Tokoyami confirming they were okay. In a split second, they were gone?
There's a rustling in the trees beside him, making his head snap to where he'd been looking only moments before. A man in a puffy yellow coat now stood there, leaning elegantly on a white cane. His face was covered with a mask and adorned by a top hat.
"The boy you're talking about..." He starts. Shoto swore he recognized the voice. Somewhere deep in his mind, despite the small muffle and the cruel, laughing tone, he knew that voice. He simply could not think of where it came from. The fish market? A soba cafe? On the street? "I took him with my magic."
And even as they almost won, slowly, the villains simply left. The portal from the USJ came to collect them. The man wielding blue fire made Shoto worry even more; he genuinely looked familiar in a strange sense. Shoji had grabbed the marbles, and yet, the villains were leaving without a care.
The masked man pulled it away to reveal half his face —half of a face that Shoto swore he recognized— to show the orbs resting on his tongue. Small, moving figures were easy enough to make out. As he snapped, the marbles in Shoji's hand were instead Shoto's own ice.
The sick bastard gave a bow from halfway through the portal. Suddenly, Shoji yanked the mask from his face using three duplications to extend his reach, shouting when the man beside him used his flames to burn them and make him retreat. They all rushed for the marbles that tumbled from the magician's mouth. Shoji thankfully grabbed one, but as Shoto was about to grasp the other, a burned wrist stole it away from him.
With a sickening grin, he displayed the marble with Shoto stumbled past him. "That's sad... Todoroki Shoto."
The man ducked through the portal, only leaving his hand to snap open the orbs. Tokoyami appeared just above Shoji, caught gracefully, while Bakugo appeared just before the portal. The burned man easily gripped onto his throat and pulled him back. Maybe it was the shock or the loss of hope, but everyone there was powerless to stop it. The didn't stop Midoriya from diving forward, but it also didn't stop him from hitting the ground as the portal disappeared along with their classmate.
She was as frantic as her fingers were, lips tremoring as her hands did. Her eyes were open wide and had been for far too long. Thank the gods she was crying so hard, they didn't even begin to dry out.
"How is Jiro-san?" Yaoyorozu asks shakily. (S/N)'s trembling hands brushed back and forth on the bedside and then patted Yaoyorozu's own.
"She's still unconscious. Hagakure-san as well." Both girls look up to the door. A police detective and All Might wander in. They asked a few questions as (S/N) stood there, shaking. Yaoyorozu gave them the receiver for the tracker she'd placed on the Nomu thing.
"With a classmate in danger..." She murmurs, looking down. "it's frustrating to only be able to help in this way..." She glances over her shoulder at the mess of tears that (S/N) was. She must feel terrible, too.
"That feeling is proof that you are worthy of being a hero." All Might states. The ravenette looks up at him, surprise evident on her face. "Please leave the rest to us!"
They watched as they again left, shutting the door behind them. (S/N) had mentioned she was at an internship rather than the camp and about how she felt terrible for being useless. That she shouldn't have been lazy and opted out of the training camp. She could've just gone and done the internship the week following. Maybe then she could've done something. Maybe she could've even dealt with the Nomu so Yaoyorozu wouldn't have gotten so hurt. Maybe she could've helped Bakugo not be kidnapped.
She applauded Yaoyorozu for being so heroic; for fighting despite such an injury to the head. Even when danger was out of her way, she was immediately thinking about how to continue to thwart the villains. (S/N) reflected she had no idea what she would do in that situation.
Yaoyorozu found it a bit amazing. (S/N) in general. (S/N) had seemed so lazy. She didn't pay attention in class, got into the school simply by chance that she knew how to manipulate the robots rather than actually fighting them. She got good grades, but she never put in any effort, so it seemed more like she was just smart enough. When it came to hero work, she hardly gave it any mind and was usually at the bottom of the bunch, aside from their first day.
And yet, despite Yaoyorozu's negative opinion that she didn't exactly care to hide, (S/N) had been the first to visit. Before even her own mother had shown up, (S/N) had been there. Her mom said that she came into the room that already had a sobbing girl inside of it, and she described (S/N) to a T. (S/N) had practically been living in the hospital the past 2 days, keeping up with Jiro, Hagakure, and Midoriya. She had been the only person there when Yaoyorozu woke up, and she'd likely be there for the other three, too. She'd been keeping Yaoyorozu company and assuring her the whole time... and they didn't even know each other's first names.
"You and (S/N) are kinda friends, right?" Kirishima asks. Shoto glances over with a small shrug.
"I suppose so."
"Okay. She's been in Yaoyorozu's room for the past few days. You'll need to get her out of there so I can ask her for the receiver." Shoto nods.
He leans into the doorway, glancing around the room until his eyes settle on the girls both now looking up at him.
"Hello, Yaoyorozu." He says softly. "(Y/N), I wanna ask you something." The girls give each other a confused look before she bids her goodbye and follows him out the door. He slips into Midoriya's room, though he was actually gone at the moment, something he seemed a bit surprised by.
Shoto watches the clouds for a time before sighing. "Kirishima didn't really want to tell you, but I don't like the idea of hiding something from you." He states.
He gives a brief explanation of their rescue mission for Bakugo. The second he offered she meet them before they go, her phone starts ringing.
"It's the assistant." She states. "Sorry, hold on, Sho. It's probably important."
"Probably." He agrees. (Y/N) turns to the side, answering it and not paying him much mind. He couldn't help but stare at her as she nodded along. Her words were professional, completely taking on the corporate persona. He turns away when she ends it and then looks back at her again to make it seem like he hadn't been watching her.
"I actually have a mission for my internship tonight. She just said he'll be leaving in a couple of hours." She tells.
"Ah, okay. Be safe." She sighs softly.
"You be safe. There's not going to be any pros there to protect you if something goes haywire and you can't use your quirk." He nods and pats her arm.
"I'll make sure we'll all be okay."
"Okay."
She wobbles a bit, gripping onto the wall as her eyes stared at anyone she could. The blue-haired guy from the USJ attack was there and while he would be the best to restrain —since his quirk was unknown— she couldn't see his face. (Y/N) couldn't get the one in a coat and mask with a top hat, either.
Since she was already here, though Endeavor had apparently never expected her to be, they were having her use her paralysis to hold them. Granted, Kamui Woods was restraining them as well, but it was just in case.
They were saying something. She wasn't sure what, she was paying no attention. They were fighting so hard that it was difficult to keep them down, but she knew the pros planned on warning them escape would only lead to more police and heroes.
Suddenly, Bakugo begins puking beside her. The shot from it snaps her out of her trance, and she immediately reaches out to grab him. Black sludge splattered out of his mouth and slithered up her arm into her own. In a second, the world went black.
She hacks the sludge out alongside Bakugo. It tasted like bile.
"Sorry, Bakugo-kun." She looks up at the sound of a deep and slightly artificial voice. Villains appeared around them from the sludge. This guy was floating in the air and didn't even seem to have a face.
She glances around. They appeared to be in the center of some serious destruction. It must have happened in less than a minute or they would've reported it over the radio.
"Hah?!" The blond cocks.
"Sensei..." The blue guy says, bowing.
"You failed again, huh, Tomura?"
"Shi..." Bakugo watches her spin around, staring at him with shock. "Shigaraki-san...?" She looks back to the man, utter confusion on her face.
"But do not be discouraged." The man says as he began towards them. "Just try again. I have brought your associates back as well. Even this child..." Her eyes flickered around the group, even to Bakugo to see if he understood. "because you judged that he was an important piece." He stops, reaching out a hand to the boy seated on the floor. "Do it over as many times as you need to. That is why I am here. It's all for you."
A double punch from All Might that was easily matched by the man blew them all a few meters away. The man blasted him far off, and only then did (Y/N) realized he must have multiple quirks.
She couldn't help the trembling. Bakugo had left, being rescued by Kirishima and Midoriya and Iida. He probably completely forgot she was there. It seemed like everyone forgot she was there.
"(Y/N)!" Came a harsh whisper. She looks over to the wall only meters away, and there was Shoto, standing in the hole where they'd broken through. Despite now being out in the open, he leans through and reaches out a hand.
She rushes over. As soon as their grip solidified, he yanked her to him, grabbing around her back as he pressed them together and began pulling them towards the exit. She was shaking like a leaf, but all he was focused on was pulling her through alive. She pulls away for a moment to throw up, but he simply wipes her lips clean, freezes it, and rubs it off on the wall.
Yaoyorozu glances back at them. For a moment, she could only think about how they clung to one another as they attempted to get closer to safety. For another, she could only see how they looked like they wanted to cry but were too confused to know if they should.