An ear-piercing alarm shrieked throughout the building, rousing every single student of the UA dorms. Y/N shot up, her hair sticking up in delicate tufts. Flashing lights blinded her as she desperately tried to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. Her legs moved quickly as her bare feet pattered on the hardwood floor. Grabbing her cell and a jacket, she stepped out into the hall.
Many students were making their way to the commons, some looking more fearful than others. Some, like Sero, looked grim and anxious.
"Sero? What happened?" She paused in front of Sero, asking him what had happened.
Sero rested a hand on her shoulder and pushed her along, "I don't know, mi bonita. But it looks bad. We've had villain invasions before, but never to where the alarms went off."
The common room was the personification of chaos. With people yelling, screaming, and crying, it was all Y/N could do not to get trampled.
"Y/N!"
A loud voice carried through the room. The girl whirled around to see a frantic Izuku rushing toward her.
"Izu-"
He tugged her out of Sero's grip and slammed her against the wall. There was nothing left of that good-natured boy she always knew. Instead, his eyes were filled with terror and urgency. The eyes of a hero.
"Promise me, Y/N. You will not go anywhere. Aizawa and Mic will take you to where Eri is, but you cannot engage in battle. You don't have your quirk and god forbid, you get hurt again."
His tone was vicious, but his words conducted what he is having trouble expressing.
The fear in his eyes was for her.
"Promise me!" His face was flushed and he gently shook her, "Say you won't-"
A hand clapped his shoulder. Izuku snapped his head back to see the grim face of Present Mic.
"Do not worry, Midoriya. We're not letting her anywhere. You need to go."
There was no one left in the commons. Izuku reluctantly released the girl and walked away, but not before shooting her a look of manic desperation, showing her just how serious he was about this.
Y/N shivered. Not because it was cold, but because she had never seen Izuku this way. His iron grip left a faint red mark on her shoulders and her eyes were watering.
If she wasn't scared before, she sure is now.
"Sensei?" she looked up to the blond teacher, "What happened?"
She watched carefully as her instructor's eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened.
"Eri is waiting! Let's walk faster!"
Diverting the question. Y/N hated people who do that. She never understood why people did it. What did it matter if she knew or not? Why would he purposefully try to keep something so crucial and important from her? Was it to prevent fear? Because they did such a good job by setting the alarms off like that. Was it also kept from the hero course students?
Of course, it couldn't be. UA wouldn't just allow mere children to charge into battle without knowing what they're dealing with.
Y/N didn't need to be protected. She needed answers.
She worries for Izuku just as much he worries for her, and Mic's refusal to cooperate isn't making her nerves go away.
"Y/N!" a high-pitched voice shouted. The girl looked down to see a blur of red ramming into her torso. Eri's little arms could barely wrap around her waist.
Aizawa's shadowy form appeared. His hands were gripping his scarf so tightly that his knuckles have begun turning white. Tailing him was a sturdy-looking male, with his electric blond hair hanging to his brow. His impatient eyes were a royal blue and his hands were clenched at his side.
"Togata, we've got to go. Watch Eri and Y/N for me," Aizawa said dismissively, eyes glowing a dangerous red, "They are not to go anywhere."
"Yes sir."
Aizawa brushed past Y/N and stormed out of the safe room, with Present Mic thundering after him.
Her eyes slid to Mirio, who offered a peaceful smile that didn't reach his eyes. His hand raised in a curt wave, "I wish we could've met some other way."
"Likewise."
She said no more as she followed Mirio to a room layered by warm blankets and pillows. Several snacks were neatly arranged on beautiful plates and the tv was blaring with some children's show. Eri flopped onto a pillow and grabbed a caramel apple, "Mirio, do my hair."
The boy took a seat behind Eri and collected her silvery strands. Y/N nearly laughed at the fact that Mirio has several fluorescent hair elastics around his wrist, probably for this occasion.
"So they expect us to sit here and eat snacks while they're out fighting for their lives?"
Mirio paused and looked up at her, "I don't much like it either, but the most we can do without our quirks is to stay out of their way. We'd just be a burden."
The boy's words had a sense of truth, but Y/N couldn't accept that.
"I wish there were more I can do."
"We all do."
She began pacing. Her slippers shuffled noisily along the carpet as she fretted. Her hair landed in her mouth and she brushed it away irritably.
"L/N, you're driving me insane," Mirio chuckled, "Please just sit down."
"I can't sit," Y/N muttered, "Not when all my friends are out there fighting and I'm in here unable to do anything."
Mirio's expression darkened into a frown, "The best we can do is to sit still and have faith in them."
"I have faith in myself that I'll not be a burden," Y/N stated with finality, "And because I'm so faithful, you should let me out. I want to find Izuku."
"Come on! Don't try to play the hero. You're going to get yourself killed! Without a quirk, you basically don't have a weapon!" Mirio snarled, forgetting about Eri's hair. He finally allowed his own desperation to show, "My friends, hell, my lover is out there, fighting and I have to sit here and do nothing. Do you know how that makes me feel?"
Y/N raised her head up high, "So then you should know how it feels. The one I love is out there, fighting as well! The best part is, he doesn't even know I love him!" her voice cracked as blood rushed to her face, "And I don't know what I'm going to do with myself if I never get to tell him."
The blond went quiet as his brow furrowed. Eri looked back and forth between the two yelling teenagers.
Y/N's temper was like fire, raging and engulfing those around her. It could become uncontrollable and potentially maiming if not contained.
And right now, she was missing the only thing that could calm her down.
"You better come back," Mirio said, finally coming to a decision, "You've got to come back, Y/N."
The girl nodded, "Of course."
The moment Mirio opened the door, and her foot crossed the threshold, she began sprinting. Her hair flew out from behind her as her body bounced with the impact. Her fear was running rampant as she tumbled through the halls with a speed rivaling even Iida's. Her calves felt like they were on fire and she was sure the breaths she was forcibly inhaling weren't reaching her lungs. Nonetheless, she kept running.
Like she was running for her life.
Her toes pivoted expertly, successfully avoiding every corner as her exhilaration soared. Through the large double glass doors, she could make out the smoke and rumble from what she presumed as Bakugou's explosions. Every now and then, a bright bolt of electricity would shoot through the air followed by a spurt of pale pink acid. Her fear eased just a bit.
The cold wind stung her face and she could see her labored breaths frosting into the air. Without the soundproofing of the UA saferooms, the explosions and screams were disturbingly loud. Y/N could hardly imagine this was what she used to be crazy about.
Her nightclothes did little to protect her from the harsh weather and her slippers were not the best to run in. She felt rocks and all kinds of debris land under her feet, cutting through her soft skin.
"Y/N!"
She whirled around to find Sero limping toward her. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight presented before her. Sero's left hand was gripping his right arm, which seemed to have some kind of glass piercing through it. His helmet was shattered and blood poured down the side of his face. One eye was swollen shut and his costume was torn in many different places.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
His tone was urgent as he limped closer. Y/N shook her head, "What the hell."
"It's like fighting a whole bunch of Todoroki copies," he groaned, "It's horrible."
Sero's eyes suddenly narrowed before letting go of his arm and shooting a piece of tape out of his elbow. His good arm latched around Y/N's waist and pulled her away just as a fiery blast incinerated where she had been just moments before. She could feel Sero shaking under her.
"You need to go," Y/N said to her friend, "Set me down and find Recovery Girl. I'll be okay."
The boy skeptically glanced at her, but in the end, he gently set her down before giving her a salute and a bow, "Stay safe, Princesa."
Y/N nodded as she watched Sero skillfully dart off. Her eyes surveyed the cruor that was once UA downtown. Without Sero's warmth, her teeth had begun to chatter. She forced her feet back into a movement as she resumed her search.
Several of her friends had noticed her, but their attention was immediately drawn back to their opponent.
"Yao!" Y/N shouted at her battling friend. The girl could only spare a quick look to indicate she was listening.
"Where is he?"
The villain she was fighting was trying to break free of Momo's grasp, but she drew them right back in, "The tower. He was chasing their leader."
Her voice was strong. So sure, almost like she knew the heroes were going to win. Even with her hair half tugged out of its updo, she still had that same regality and graceful flow she always had. Her complacent expression said everything.
Y/N started toward the tower, dodging the blasts and ice chips coming her way. Somehow, her hero reflexes still remained. She moved like she's been training for this moment all her life.
True to Momo's word, Y/N could make out the bright green electricity that followed Izuku everywhere he went. From her distance, she couldn't see any details.
But what she didn't miss, was that unmistakable green flash plummeting off of the building.
What was more concerning was when the green flash died down to nothing.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as her body suddenly bolted.
She knew she wouldn't make it in time. Izuku's form looked oddly small as he fell.
Extending her hand, she held onto the stupid hope that she would be able to reach him as he neared the ground.
And that's when it happened.
Bright silver chains tore themselves from Y/N's hand, extending painfully toward the boy.
Her quirk was back.
She felt exhilarated as she maneuvered the chains like an extension of her own body. She felt hyperaware of everything, and her chains almost acted like a danger detector.
She took another three steps before her face plunged into the ground. She felt the agonizing pain of her chains sucking every ounce of energy imaginable from her bloodstream, leaving her empty.
A shell, a mere vessel.
Simply useless.