______________
Warning: Mild Gore
______________
.
.
.
\\ 3rd Person POV //
\\ With Bakugo //
.
.
.
"Everyone in Class A and Class B! In the name of the Pro Hero Eraserhead, you are granted permission to engage in combat. I repeat, you are granted to engage in combat. We have also discovered one of the villains targets. It is one of the students: "Kacchan." Kacchan should try to avoid combat and acting independently."
Mandalay's message rang in Bakugo and Todoroki's head as they faced off against Moonfish. The teens glanced at each other and instantly knew Rini had to have passed along that message. And as much as Bakugo wanted to rage at the fact he was told specifically not to fight, he suspected Rini had seen something in his future to make him act more cautiously from this point forward.
"Gotta work. . . Gotta do my job. . ." Moonfish slurred as he used his quirk to rise over the teens.
"Get this guy off us Icy-Hot!" Bakugo yelled at the white-red haired boy.
"Hold Kosei for me then!" He retorted and handed the unconscious boy from 1B to Bakugo.
As soon as he passed him off, Todoroki unleashed an ice attack that stopped Moonfish's razor teeth from raining over them. The villain tried again but Todoroki shattered his teeth and forced him back.
"He's good at using the terrain with his quirk," Todoroki voiced as Moonfish jumped in the trees.
"Even though he looks like a scrawny small fry!" Bakugo growled.
The teens watched as Moonfish rose above the trees menacingly, hanging upside down as his teeth branched out.
"This guy's got experience," Bakugo added.
"Show me. . . Your flesh!" The villain declared.
We shouldn't fight. . . But the gas is behind us so we have no where to run. They're trying to drive us into a corner, Todoroki thought, weighing their options.
"Oy, focus up!" Bakugo yelled as Moonfish attacked again.
Todoroki grunted and unleashed another ice wall to shield them from his razor teeth. The villain jumped around and tried again, but it proved fruitless.
"We can't just stay here!"
"But we can't retreat either!"
The teens bickered with each other as Moonfish backed off again.
Bakugo knew Todoroki was right. They couldn't exactly retreat. But even he knew they couldn't last long in a fight against this guy. He wondered what exactly were they supposed to do. . . He wondered what exactly did Rini need them to do in order to change their future.
Todoroki also had the same thought. He figured their perceptive classmate had to have seen something in their future to make them stick it out and face off against Moonfish. He wondered if Rini intended to send backup. But he didn't know for sure.
The two boys could only hope and entrust their futures in Rini.
.
.
.
\\ Back With Rini //
.
.
.
"I'm so sorry."
The new future Rini saw was worse than the first one.
So. Much. Worse.
Within fifteen minutes, the perceptive teen saw a whirlwind of chaos. The first three minutes consisted of their group trying to formulate a plan; Aizawa arguing with the Pussycats that there was no time to explain Rini's quirk and they should listen to whatever the teen had to say. Then all hell broke loose.
Muscular's double - Rini knew he had to be a double because Midoriya knocked out the real one - charged through the forest like a raging bull and burst into the clearing then went straight for Tiger and Mandalay. The monstrous man with his quirk activated landed a solid hit to Tiger and Mandalays guts, sending them tumbling across the battlefield until their bodies slammed against the trees like motionless ragdolls.
Aizawa had erased his quirk too late. The damage was already done.
As Muscular shrunk back to his regular human size, Aizawa engaged him in combat, hoping to knock him out and secure him in his scarf before he could do anything more. He managed to snare him in his scarf, but the villain had strength even without his quirk activated. So when Aizawa tried to kick him in the head, Muscular ducked and rushed forward to knee the Hero in the gut.
The move winded Aizawa and unfortunately that moment of weakness caused him to lose his tight grip on his scarf around Muscular. The villain broke out - and still without his quirk activated - done some damage to the Pro Hero, sending rib cracking punches and bone snapping kicks until Aizawa fell to his knees. The Pro Hero kept his eyes open, never blinking, until he finally received a strong kick to his head and slumped over in a bloody heap.
"SENSEI!!" Rini and Hitoshi hollered together within the vision.
In the midst of that, a double of Magne snuck up behind Hitoshi and Rini. The villain made quick work by activating her quirk and sending Rini flying backwards towards her. Hitoshi spun around only to meet doubles of Spinner and Toga pointing their weapons at him.
Magne locked her arms around Rini in a crushing hug, the teens arms secured at her sides so she couldn't fight. Rini could barely breath. Panic swept over her and she looked over her shoulder to see Hitoshi holding his ground against Spinner and Toga. Next she saw the bloody mess of Aizawa laying lifelessly on the ground as Muscular towered over him laughing with psychotic joy, his quirk activated and his exposed muscles stained in her teachers blood. Next she saw the Pussycats still laying lifelessly against the forest trees, their chests barely moving as they took in shallow breaths, no doubt on the verge of death.
"The Heroes are down. We've got our targets."
Rini heard a familiar cold voice say from the shadows and she looked over Magnes shoulder to see Dabi smirking and speaking into a walkie-talkie.
"N-No. . ." Tears pooled in her eyes.
Since he said "targets" that meant they had Bakugo too. The tears suddenly flowed freely down her face as she squirmed to break free. Magne squeezed her tighter, and she cried harder not knowing the state of her friends. From her last vision, Moonfish had a killer quirk and a taste for flesh. Bakugo and Todoroki faced him alone until they showed up with Aizawa. So for all she knew, Todoroki and Kosei Tsuburaba from Class B could be laying dead on the ground in the dark forest.
"RINI!" Hitoshi hollered at her within the vision. His voice strained with raw emotion. His eyes roamed over her with guilt before he looked at the villains surrounding her, his gaze turning into angry desperation. "Please. . . Please don't take her."
Muscular, bored with Aizawa's corpse and itching for more, turned and started making his way over to Hitoshi. The villain towered behind him then rested a hand on his shoulder, causing the purple haired teen to freeze in fear, his eyes wide.
"Don't worry kid, she's gonna be in good hands." The villain patted his shoulder slowly and grinned.
Then the worst happened. Something Rini only saw in her deepest, darkest nightmares.
Muscular raised his other hand up, forming a fist, and brought it down with bone crushing force into Hitoshi's shoulder, sending him to his knees in an instant. The teen cried out as the villain then continued to pummel him, blood painting across the ground. The other League Members were also shocked and shouted at him to stop seeing as they had already won.
As this scene played out, Rini screamed at the villain to stop. Tears flowed down her face like a never ending waterfall and her throat constricted from the heart shattering scene. She watched in horror as Hitoshi's cries stopped and his body went completely limp. And in that moment her heart practically stopped.
"NOOO!!! PLEASE NO!!! HITOSHI!!!"
Rini's anguished cries fell on deaf ears as Magne turned her around. The teen fought harder against the villain, kicking and flailing in hysterics as she sobbed. She twisted in Magnes hold so she could look at her best friend. He was laying haphazardly on his stomach, hands laying on either side of his face, his cheek pressed against the cold forest dirt, and his purple eyes that were once vibrant were staring lifelessly at the ground.
"I'm s-so sorry!! I'm so so sorry!!" She cried as she stared at him.
She cried and cried and cried.
"I'm so sorry!! I'm so sorry!!" She sobbed as she looked over at Aizawa and the Pussycats.
All of her cries were ignored by the villain responsible for his death; for everyone's deaths. He simply straightened back up and rolled his shoulders in pumped up glee.
"That was fun!" He bellowed with a despicable laugh.
Rini couldn't believe what she heard. The villain just brutally murdered her teachers and best friend and called it fun. She knew he was a very bloodthirsty man but seeing it for herself was a totally different story.
There was no humanity left in him.
"You crazy bastard! You didn't have to kill the kid!" Dabi barked at the murderer, but Muscular ignored him.
Rini was utterly traumatized. Tears continued rolling down her face as she numbly muttered the words "I'm so sorry" over and over again in a brittle voice.
The teen watched in her periphery as Mr. Compress - she assumed to be a double - stepped closer.
"I'm sorry my dear."
Suddenly everything went black and she was sealed away into one of his marbles. The rest of her vision showing nothing but darkness until it ended.
When it ended, she peeled open her eyes and couldn't control her panic or guilt as she met her best friends worried gaze. Then Mr. Aizawa rushed over and she felt even more guilty. Her emotions got the better of her and she let the words she repeated over and over in her vision slip from her lips.
"I'm so sorry."
Aizawa pulled back slightly to give her space then studied his distressed student. He could see the turmoil swimming in her eyes and that she wasn't completely focused; she was there physically but her mind was elsewhere trying to desperately return to reality.
Hitoshi studied his best friend and could also see the horror and tragedy in her eyes. And upon seeing that, he knew she had to have seen something as traumatic as death in their futures.
"Rini. . .?"
The perceptive teen suddenly tore away from them. She marched with jittery legs towards Mandalay, rubbing away her non-existent tears from her face in the process, and pushed the lingering feelings from that vision deep down to focus on stopping it from coming true.
I've thwarted death before I can do it again, she strongly affirmed in her mind while thinking of her many other close calls.
Aizawa and Hitoshi followed behind her with deeply troubled expressions on their faces.
"What did you see?" The fatherly man asked tentatively.
"Rini, how bad was that vision?" Her best friend questioned timidly.
How bad was that vision? His question took her back to the first major incident she prevented at Universal Studios Japan when they were kids. She could never forget that day or the comfort he provided her after seeing such a traumatic future. But she pushed the thought aside as she focused on her current mission.
"Please tell us something-" Hitoshi went to grab her shoulder.
Rini shook him off and stopped short of Mandalay, and then to everyone's surprise she gripped the womans collar and brought her face to face. Aizawa and Hitoshi took a startling step back while Tiger made an inaudible gasp. Then they watched as she stared into the eyes of the Pro Hero with absolute conviction before speaking in a deadly serious tone.
"In exactly three minutes, Muscular is going to arrive and attack us. We do not have time to argue about my quirk. I need you and Tiger to shut up and do as I say. Please."
Mandalay paled at her words. She knew what that villain was capable of because of what happened to Kota's parents, and she knew what the teen meant by 'attack' and tried not to feel completely sick to her stomach. So without question, she nodded and listened attentively to the teen.
"Tell Shoji to run and lead Dark Shadow towards 'Kacchan' in the forest trail then head back to camp. Do it now," she ordered.
"Shoji, you must lead Dark Shadow towards Kacchan who is ahead of you in the forest trail. Then head back to camp immediately."
That should buy them all some time, Rini thought.
She hoped that it would be enough to not only save Tokoyami from himself and to save Bakugo from Mr. Compress, but to also save Tsu and Ochaco from Toga when they head back to camp.
The perceptive teen abandoned the thought then looked at Tiger.
"Pick up Pixie-Bob and start running back to camp. Now. Take the long way," she gestured to the path that was opposite of the area Muscular came charging through.
"But-"
"Just shut up and do it please!" Rini pleaded, and thankfully the Pro Hero listened.
Tiger didn't know what to think as he picked up Pixie-Bob. The most placid girl from Class 1A that always had an air of peace surrounding her was now stern with authority. It was a total change that he never saw coming. And as much as he wanted to ask about her quirk, he knew there was no time for that.
"Be careful," he stated before taking off with Pixie-Bob.
As Tiger ran off with his injured teammate, Rini whipped around to the others.
"We need to get ready. Muscular is going to charge through the trees there," she pointed at the spot. "Aizawa, you HAVE to erase his quirk the second you see him. And Hitoshi you can brainwash him easily since he's chatty. That will give Mandalay enough time to beat him to a pulp. He's a double like the villains we fought earlier so he will melt into mud, but he's tough without his quirk so be careful. Please."
She speed talked and stressed that last part. She also made sure to inform Mandalay of the fact they were up against mud duplicates considering her and the Pussycats didn't experience that yet.
"Ok," They all understood and gave her firm nods.
She took a quick breath and added lastly:
"Magne, Spinner, Toga, Dabi, and the masked man, are going to sneak up behind us here," she gestured over her shoulder. "So once Muscular is gone, Mandalay tag team with me to take out Magne. Hitoshi try to brainwash the others. Sensei, you should focus on Dabi-"
Just then, the crashing of trees getting closer made Rini pause. Her heart practically leaped into her throat.
The gruesome future she saw was currently being altered and she swore they will prevent it. They had to.
"Remember, take Muscular down immediately! Then we gotta take down Magne and Dabi!" Rini shouted as she spun around and got into her stance. She positioned herself so she could view Musculars location to her left and keep a lookout for the other League members on her right.
"Got it!" Mandalay, Aizawa, and Hitoshi gave firm nods before turning their attention to the approaching monster of a man.
All was silent besides the rumbling sound of trees getting bulldozed by Muscular. Rini, trembling from anticipation and fear, figured to give them a countdown for his arrival.
"He'll be here in three. . ."
Aizawa stood at the front with his scarf ready in his fists; he swore he wouldn't allow these villains to take his students.
"Two. . ."
Mandalay stood at Aizawa's left side, crouched and ready to pounce to deliver enough blows to turn the villain to mud; she promised she wouldn't allow Muscular - duplicate or not - to hurt them.
"One. . ."
Hitoshi got in his stance on Aizawa's right side and remained vigilant. He didn't have his capture weapon so he had to rely on his training. And in his mind he vowed he'd keep his best friend out of the villains hands.
"Now!" Rini shouted.
Suddenly, Muscular burst through the trees. His crazed eyes scanned the clearing to locate his targets, but he didn't notice them to his left. In that split second, Aizawa activated his quirk and rushed forward with Mandalay following right beside him. The muscled villain suddenly shrunk back to his human form and grunted in surprise at the strange feeling before turning to his left and noticing the Heroes charging towards him. But he also noticed the pink and purple haired teens behind them and grinned.
"There ya are girly!" He bellowed with a maniacal laugh and started charging forward to meet Aizawa and Mandalay halfway.
Aizawa glared at the villain and launched his scarf with perfect accuracy to ensnare the villain around his arms and torso. He ran to Musculars left to get behind him then came to a halt, digging his heels into the dirt and tugging backwards like a cowboy wrangling a bull. He made sure to pull tight and clutch it in an iron grip as Mandalay ran forward.
The move surprised the villain for a second, specifically how he felt the jerk, but he shrugged off the little resistance and continued running.
"Ha! Is this some kind of joke!" Muscular laughed as he neared Mandalay.
"Hey asshole! The only joke here is you!" Hitoshi hollered and got his attention.
"Huh?! Why you little sh-" he started, but he froze and fell victim to Hitoshi's brainwash.
"Thanks!" Mandalay yelled before launching a strong kick to Musculars head.
The move unfortunately wasn't enough to weaken his doubles form, and it snapped him from Hitoshi's brainwash. But Mandalay was quick to land another strong hit.
"What the hell-" Muscular barely grunted before her gloved fist collided with his face.
"This is for Kota's parents!" The Pro Hero declared while following through with her strong right hook.
This time the punch was strong enough to knock him to the ground, his body toppling over and landing in the dirt. She didn't waste any time to kick and stomp on his body. Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes as his body suddenly gave way to mud, and although he wasn't the real one, she felt some form of closure.
This is for you Kota, she thought before stomping one last time.
As soon as he was nothing but mud, Aizawa snatched his scarf back and Mandalay spun on her heel to see the teenagers watching the treeline anxiously. The Pro Heroes jogged to their side and waited with them, scanning the shadows for the villains.
"Where are they?" Aizawa silently asked.
"They should be-" Rini began, but suddenly a red aura surrounded her and she started flying towards the forest, disappearing into the shadows right in front of them.
"RINI!" They all shouted the second she started soaring through the air.
Rini took in a sharp breath and didn't panic. She refused to be captured by these villains so easily, so as she flew past a tree, she stuck her hand out and used it to spin herself around so her feet now faced Magne in a kicking pose. Once Magne came into view, she aimed directly for the villains face, and to Rini's advantage Magne had no time to react.
"Oh crap-!"
Suddenly Rini's feet collided with Magne's face at top speed, causing the villain to instantly take a trip to sleepy-town and fall backwards ungracefully. Rini front flipped over Magnes falling body, and when Magnes double hit the ground, it instantly turned into a muddy puddle. A second later, she landed in a crouched position a few feet away.
Damn, that was close, she thought as she caught her breath.
Surrounded in an unusually dark part of the forest, Rini stayed in her crouched position with her head lowered and long hair draped over her. She fought to control her heavy breathing and tried to ignore the growing headache in her skull. Suddenly, she heard a twig snap a couple feet in front of her and she looked up.
Meanwhile behind her, Aizawa and the others ran to catch up to her but Spinner and Toga's doubles burst through the shrubs on either side of the spot Rini disappeared through. The two villains kept their weapons up, slashing and attacking to keep the Heroes at bay. Unfortunately they didn't realize Rini had destroyed Magnes double so they assumed their teammate had her secured.
"Stay back if you know what's good for you, fakes!" Spinner yelled as he swung his mess of swords.
"Ugh, this guy again!?" Mandalay groaned as she hopped backwards alongside Aizawa and Hitoshi. She kept one hand out in front of Hitoshi protectively while they faced off.
"Your kinda cute!!" Toga squealed while slashing her knife at Hitoshi.
"Wish I could say the same about you!" He retorted to get her to react.
"Ouch, that hurt-" suddenly Toga was frozen and under his control.
"Attack your teammate!" He ordered, and in an instant Toga turned and started slashing crazily at Spinner.
"Toga!? What the hell!?" He had no choice but to drop his mess of swords and block her knife with his compact blade.
While Spinner and Toga were distracted, Aizawa made quick work by wrapping them together - causing both to drop their blades - then he launched a forceful kick at them. The two villains crashed to the ground as he followed through with his move then proceeded to stomp on them. The doubles suddenly gave way to muddy puddles beneath his boot and as soon as he saw this he rushed off to find Rini. Mandalay and Hitoshi were right behind him.
"Rini where are you?!" Her best friend called out as they ran through the dark forest.
Suddenly, the crouched teen with her pink hair curtained around her came into view and they all felt a huge wave of relief wash over them. However, since she was back on to them and they were so focused on her, they didn't notice her line of sight or the figure walking out of the shadows until it was too late.
"Are you alright-"
Before Aizawa could finish his sentence, blue flames erupted in a circle around the teen, effectively stopping them in their tracks and cutting them off from her. The group of three jumped back and shielded their faces from the scorching heat radiating off the blue blaze while Rini stared ahead frozen in fear at the man responsible.
From her place on the ground, she watched as Dabi slowly stalked toward her. Her fearful eyes tore away from him and darted around to find an escape, only to find nothing but turquoise flames. She didn't accept that, so she got to her feet shakily and continued frantically looking around.
"I see this plan failed too. But that doesn't matter. . ." Dabi drawled with a smirk as he took agonizingly slow steps.
Rini suddenly felt like the world was spinning. She couldn't tell if the heat from the flames, Dabi's words, or the drawbacks from her quirk were responsible, but either way, she began to sway on her feet a little.
"You may have bought yourself some time but you already know how this ends kid. So just give up already. You got nowhere to run-"
"Rini get down!" Hitoshi suddenly hollered.
The teen barely registered his words in time. She squeezed her eyes shut and ducked as Aizawa swung over the flames with his scarf then kicked Dabi in the chest before landing on him. The flame user didn't see that coming, and once he was down, Aizawa started stomping on him until he was reduced to a muddy puddle.
Rini, trembling from exhaustion and anxiety, struggled to get back on her feet as she watched her teacher save her once again. Her lavender eyes darted to the blue flames still surrounding them and how they began to spread to the vegetation. Dabi's double may have been destroyed but his flames remained, as well as his words:
You may have bought yourself some time but you already know how this ends kid.
Rini did in fact know how this would end. Since this attack began she's only been seeing one outcome; her and Bakugo captured.
"Come on!" Aizawa suddenly snapped her out of her daze.
She looked up at him but abruptly found herself tucked protectively to his chest as he wrapped an arm around her then used his free hand to launch his scarf high up a tree. When it was secured, he used all of his strength to jump and swing over the flames, but their legs still brushed against the fire. They both winced at the brief sweltering heat until they completely crossed and landed next to Hitoshi and Mandalay.
"Are you okay? Did you get burned?" He immediately questioned her wellbeing as Aizawa gently let her go but still held out a supportive hand.
Rini didn't answer him. Her head felt simultaneously as light as a feather and submerged under water. Hesitantly, her hands snaked through her hair to cradle her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and opted to gingerly shake her head 'no' while fighting the increasing tension in her head.
This is all too much. I don't know how I can fix this. I don't know if I CAN fix this, she thought bitterly as tears began to prick the corners of her eyes.
"Well, it appears Plan B has failed."
A suave voice announced with a sigh above them in the trees and caused them to whip their heads to look up, Rini a bit slower than the others. The group of four glared at the masked man standing casually on a large tree branch as he then pressed his hand to his ear.
"Switch to Plan D."
Aizawa suddenly jumped to action and launched his scarf at the villain. Fortunately, Mr. Compress' double jumped a little too late so his foot got snagged by the Hero. Then with everything he had, Aizawa yanked the villain down, making him smack to the ground and turn to mud.
"Dammit," Aizawa cursed himself for not acting fast enough to stop him from informing the other villains.
"Plan D? What about C? How many plans do these villains have?" Mandalay questioned.
"Who knows. Hopefully Bakugo and the others are in the clear for now," Aizawa grunted.
"We need to get to them before the villains do, right Rini?" Hitoshi asked and turned to his friend.
However, Rini wasn't paying attention. She stared at the canopy above her with tired sorrowful eyes. Exhaustion was visibly etched into her face and body language. She didn't know if she could keep up with these villains. And after this last plan, she wondered why they skipped Plan C and feared what Plan D would entail.
"Rini?" Hitoshi went to stand in front of her. He saw how wobbly she looked and supportively held her upper arms, lightly gripping them to keep her steady. "What should we do?"
The perceptive teen slowly looked down to meet her best friends concerned gaze. She then glanced at Aizawa and Mandalay who stood behind him with equally concerned expressions.
"I. . ." She muttered before shutting her mouth.
"I don't know" is what she wanted to say. But she couldn't bring herself to tell them that. They were relying on her after all.
"Give me a second," she suddenly declared before closing her eyes.
The others couldn't even stop her. The teen used her quirk and looked another fifteen minutes into the future. Her mind felt heavy as she navigated the recesses of her mental calendar, but she pushed past it and watched the future unravel.
This time the future wasn't as horrific as the last. Though, she once again saw them losing in the end.
Within this vision, they ran and found Bakugo, Todoroki holding Kosei from 1B, Shoji, Tokoyami, Tsu, and Ochaco all heading for camp. Her classmates told them they fought off Moonfish and scared away the real Toga, but haven't seen the real Compress or any other League members. They also said they heard gunshots in the distance where the gas circulated; unaware of Tetsutetsu and Kendo's brave act to stop Mustard.
Now that they had a large group, they all got into formation to protect Bakugo and Rini. Todoroki and Shoji took the front, Ochaco and Tsu took the left, Hitoshi and Tokoyami took the right, Aizawa and Mandalay watched from the back, and Bakugo and Rini held onto Kosei while staying in the center.
However, they were stopped in their tracks by another double of Muscular charging straight for them. Todoroki made quick work of him by using his ice, impaling the double and reducing it to mud in an instant.
While everyone was focused on the front, Dabi's double attacked from the back, his blue flames surging forward in an attempt to get them all to scatter. However, Tokoyami used Dark Shadow to block the attack, the flames unharmed him but it did make him instantly shrink back to Tokoyami.
Aizawa thanked his quick reaction and took it from there, using his quirk to erase Dabi's flames as he and Mandalay rushed forward to deal with him. But once they got close, Toga and Spinner leaped from the treeline and surrounded them, effectively cutting them off from the kids.
Upon hearing the commotion in the back, Todoroki turned around to offer his assistance, but to everyone's surprise, a double of Mr. Compress sprinted through the treeline from their left, turned him and Shoji into a marble, snatched them, then disappeared into the forest on the opposite side.
At the same time, Ochaco and Tsu were surrounded by Magnes red aura and flew backwards into the dark forest. Then without warning, Hitoshi and Tokoyami were snatched by Compress, the villain repeating his earlier movements.
Before they knew it, the villains picked them off one by one. Rini and Bakugo were left exposed holding an unconcious Kosei in their arms. Aizawa and Mandalay were too preoccupied to rush to their aid.
Then the vision ended with black, telling the teen she and Bakugo were once again sealed into marbles.
When Rini opened her eyes, she found Mandalay, Aizawa, and Hitoshi staring at her with anticipation.
"We need to-" she started, but out of nowhere her knees buckled and she nearly fell to the ground if not for Hitoshi holding her up.
The perceptive teen had finally hit her limit.
"I got you," Hitoshi stated firmly.
Rini silently thanked him through pants of breath and went to move again, but Aizawa swiftly came forward, turned around, crouched, and hoisted the teen onto his back piggyback style. He gave her no time to argue, and she reluctantly held onto his shoulders.
"Tell us what to do," he gruffly stated while glancing back at the tired teen.
Rini nodded then scrambled her mind for a good game plan.
"We gotta run and catch up to Bakugo and the others. . . But when we reach them, we get ambushed by the League. . . They pick us off one by one all at once. . . And then they catch Bakugo and I. . . We can't let that happen. . ." She mumbled and took quick breaths between sentences.
"We'll figure something out on the way there. Just tell us what to expect." Aizawa heaved her up.
"Okay," she muttered, absolutely exhausted.
"We'll win and keep you all safe. Don't worry," Mandalay reassured.
Hitoshi and Rini gave firm nods. But deep down they had a bad feeling in the pit of their stomachs.
"Let's go," Aizawa suddenly announced, and then they were off.
As they ran, Rini explained her vision. She told them what to expect and started brainstorming a plan to prevent it.
If only she knew.
.
.
.
\\ Meanwhile With Izuku //
.
.
.
A couple minutes earlier, Midoriya and Kota safely reached Vlad and the others. When he rushed through the doors covered in injuries, Vlad and his classmates were shocked into a stunned silence. But as soon as they got over their initial shock, they bombarded him with questions.
"Midoriya are you alright?!" Mina gasped and rushed to help Kota off his back.
"Did you brawl with a villain to receive such injuries!?" Iida asked while carefully holding him up.
"Where are the others?" Ojiro voiced.
"Are they right behind you?" Sero added while looking at the door.
"Where's everyone from Class B?" Monoma pointed out the fact his classmates were nowhere to be seen.
"What's going on out there?!" Mineta bawled.
"How many villains are attacking?!" Denki bawled too.
"We heard Mandalay's message, so who's protecting Bakugo?" Kirishima demanded.
"That's enough!" Vlad interrupted them and marched toward Midoriya. He shooed Mina and Iida to respectfully back away then grabbed Midoriya's attention. "Where's Eraserhead? You must have bumped into him on the way here, so did he tell you anything?"
Midoriya took a breath before answering, "He told me to bring Kota back here while he, Shinso, and Otani ran to find Mandalay to broadcast the message you all heard earlier. They were going to find Bakugo and the others then come back here."
"He took Shinso and Otani with him? Why?" Vlad questioned incredulously while staring down at the teen.
Iida and the others who wanted to know the same thing kept quiet and listened to what Midoriya had to say. But when their green haired classmate hesitated, they all got suspicious.
"Why did he take them with him instead of telling them to come back here, Midoriya?" Vlad tried again.
Rini has future vision and has a plan to fix all of this. But I can't tell you that, he thought bitterly while glaring at the ground.
"He didn't say."
At Midoriya's defeated reply, everyone fell silent. Their curiosity and suspicion only grew more in the seconds that passed until Iida spoke up.
"Mr. Aizawa ordered us to come in here earlier to speak to Shinso and Otani alone, and I thought that was concerning. Now your telling us he took them with him to fight even though we all heard Mandalay's message to return to camp? And not only that, but wasn't Otani resting because she fainted earlier? So why didn't he order them to come here where it was safe? Why is it when the League of Villains show up, her and Shinso are able to fight but we aren't?"
With each question Iida asked, Midoriya tried not to let his facade crack. He wanted to tell them about Rini's amazing quirk. He wanted to reassure them she probably had a well thought out plan to stop the villains from kidnapping her and Bakugo. He wanted to ask them to have faith in her the same way he did. But none of those words came out.
He made a promise to keep her quirk secret, and he figured he didn't want to be responsible for spilling it when they got out of this mess.
"There's something your not telling us Midoriya," Kirishima suddenly announced while clenching his fists.
"What do you mean-"
"I thought out of everyone here you'd be the most eager person to save Bakugo. But instead you seem very relaxed about the situation!" He raised his voice while yanking Midoriya away from Vlad.
"Kirishima calm down-" Mina tried pulling him back but the red haired teen shrugged her off.
"No! I'm right and so is Iida. Something isn't adding up!" He yelled and Midoriya looked at the ground to avoid his gaze.
"That's enough!" Vlad stepped between the two boys, but Kirishima continued.
"Back at the USJ incident Shinso and Otani ran in while we just stood by like cowards! And now they're running into this fight while we're standing by - again - when this time the League clearly has a mission to kidnap Bakugo! Our classmate and friend! But you don't look the slightest bit worried or have the urge to go and rescue him?! There's something you and Mr. Aizawa aren't telling us!"
Everyone stood silent at Kirishima's rock solid argument. Even Vlad stood silent and pondered the facts. The teacher couldn't deny that something wasn't adding up, so he turned and looked at Midoriya expectantly along with the others.
"Midoriya. . . Is there something you're not telling us?" He asked.
Midoriya practically pressed his chin into his chest to look at the ground and avoid everyone's pointed gaze.
"I. . ." He trailed off in a low mumble.
Suddenly, Tiger ran into the room holding Pixie-Bob. The Pro Heroes unexpected arrival made everyone snap their attention towards them, making Midoriya slightly relax since he was no longer the center of attention but he still felt worried about the situation.
"Tiger, what happened? Where's Eraserhead and the kids?" Vlad questioned and helped him rest Pixie-Bob down on the ground. "I called emergency services and some backup but they won't arrive for another thirty minutes," he added.
"Villains named Magne and Spinner got the jump on us," Tiger grunted while applying medical attention. "Eraserhead and two of his students-"
"Shinso and Otani," Kirishima supplied.
"-showed up to help, but as soon as they did, the villains retreated. Then before Mandalay and I could chase them, Eraserhead told us to stop. . . And he ordered Otani to use her quirk - her real Perception quirk. She looked a couple minutes into the future and ordered me to come back here then started telling the others some form of plan. . . I don't know what she saw but judging by the look on her face it wasn't good," Tiger finished.
Silence.
When the Pro Hero revealed that information, all was silent, especially Midoriya.
Although Tiger didn't specifically state her quirks name, it was still enough to expose her secret. And the green haired boy wondered why she allowed it to be revealed.
Something isn't right. She wouldn't reveal her quirk like that. . . Midoriya warily trailed off in thought. The gears began to move in his head.
"Perception quirk. . ?" Mineta broke the silence.
"Perception quirks are extremely rare and allow the user to see the future," Iida explained to the confused grape boy.
"But Rini-chan said her quirk was Anticipation. That she can predict peoples moves. . ?" Mina trailed off in disbelief.
"Yeah like strategy?" Sato added.
"When you think about it, she predicted more than just moves. I mean look at how she helped us improve our quirks," Sero pointed out after thinking about the many little things Rini did.
"Yeah. She didn't predict people. She predicted the future," Ojiro added.
"And she always knew how to change it." Kirishima concluded after thinking back on every detail of Rini's behavior or involvement since he's met her.
That was the lightbulb moment for everyone.
All eyes slowly fell on Midoriya who stood perfectly still glaring at his shoes as his mind ran a million miles a second. They all watched him, noting how he didn't seem surprised after they pieced the puzzle together. And the more they thought about it, the more they realized Midoriya probably knew long before this moment. But what didn't make sense to them was how and why did Rini let the villains attack them?
"Why would she allow this to happen, Midoriya. . ?" Kirishima voiced everyone's thoughts in a confused whisper.
However, Midoriya's mind was swarming.
The villains must have known about her quirk and planned around it. And if they time it right, whatever they intend to do could switch in the moment. Which means the minutes it takes between her using her quirk and then engaging the fight, could give the villains enough time to switch plans. . . So that means. . .
"Rini is going to lose." He concluded in a chilling whisper.
Everyone was confused and taken aback by his words.
"Huh? What do you mean-"
Suddenly, the green haired boy activated his quirk and ran out the door in a flash of green lightning.
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" His classmates yelled.
"GET BACK HERE ITS NOT SAFE TO GO OUT ON YOUR OWN!" Vlad and Tiger yelled while scrambling to chase him.
"THE VILLAINS KNOW! WE HAVE TO GO HELP THEM! IF WE DON'T, THEY'LL TAKE THEM!" He yelled back.
In two seconds, he was out the building. Vlad and Tiger stopped and looked at each other.
"I'll stay with the kids. You go and give them backup," Tiger ordered.
Vlad nodded and rushed to catch up to Midoriya. The teacher didn't know what to think of the situation anymore. He only hoped this reckless green haired teen and his classmates would be alright when this was all over.
Meanwhile, Rini's four person team finally reached Bakugo and the others. Everyone was there, and everything was playing out exactly as she envisioned.
"Mr. Aizawa! Wait, Rini-chan are you okay?!" Ochaco exclaimed.
The others noticed as well, and they were about to bombard her with questions, but she stopped them.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just tired ha," she gave a weak smile. Then she changed to a more serious expression. "We don't have much time so just listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you and don't ask questions. I'll be sure to answer them after this is over. . ."
At her words, Bakugo and Todoroki snapped to attention and glanced at each other knowingly but also in disbelief.
Is she about to reveal her secret? They both thought as they glanced at Hitoshi for confirmation. And when he gave them a tiny nod, they felt their brows raise.
After so much time and effort keeping it secret the whole semester they wondered why now? Was the situation that bad for her to tell her clueless classmates? Were the odds so stacked against them that desperate times called for desperate measures?
The boys waited anxiously for her to speak, it seemed as though time stalled for this very moment, and they took advantage of that to truly take in the state of their classmate and friend. While she was still on their Sensei's back, they studied her exhausted posture. They spotted her disheveled silky pink hair. They searched her weary lavender eyes. And they came to the sad conclusion that she went beyond her limit and was just barely holding on in order to save them all from whatever fate she envisioned.
Meanwhile in Rini's mind, she had accepted it. And it wasn't that big of a deal when she thought about it. Her classmates were trustworthy and heroic individuals, they'd never expose her to the world. She just hated the fact the villains figured her out and forced her hand. Besides, things were already bad; the League of Villains knew of her power - specifically All For One - so there was no fixing that. But she swore that as soon as they get out of this forest alive she'd disregard Nighteye's wishes and look as far into the future as possible until they catch that man.
Because so long as he was around and aware of her quirk, she'd never be safe.
With that last thought, she looked at each of her classmates faces - noticing how Bakugo and Todoroki looked equally saddened by this turn of events - and took a calm breath before speaking.
Here goes nothing, she thought.
"I lied. My quirk isn't Anticipation. It's Future-"
Suddenly, the teen was ripped from Aizawa's back by Magnes quirk. Nobody had seen it coming. She didn't even see it coming. Oh, the bitter irony. Based on her vision, the villains wouldn't attack for another five minutes when they got closer to camp. This was not her vision.
And then it hit her.
The villains found a loophole in her quirk. The same realization Midoriya came to moments earlier.
But she was too late to realize that.
"OTANI!"
"RINI!"
That was all she heard as she flew through the thick foliage, a few branches snagging in her hair or scraping her arms and legs in the process. She squeezed her eyes shut and shielded her face until she burst through the trees into a tiny clearing of grass. And then she was tumbling across the ground.
After ungracefully rolling across the grassy forest floor, she ended up on her back with her hair splayed out around her. Only by a miracle it didn't tangle into a nest. The teen huffed and could hear the others shouting in the distance racing to catch up to her, so she peeled open her eyes, but she was surprised to see Magne staring down at her.
"Eek!"
"Sorry but your not quite there yet," Magne waved at her.
"Huh?" She furrowed her brows at the villains gesture.
Suddenly, she was back in the air being pulled by Magne's quirk again. It was then she realized this Magne must have been a double meant to get her half way, and the real Magne awaited her further away. It was a smart plan.
Rini managed to look back at the Magne's double standing in the center of the grass clearing with a small stream of moonlight beaming down. Then she saw as Hitoshi, Todoroki, Bakugo, and all the others came bursting through the tiny clearing to attack the clone. Before she disappeared into the shadowy forest again, she reached out a desperate hand to them, and they whipped their attention on her. Fear, worry, and guilt swarmed in their eyes when they met her lavender orbs.
"HELP!"
That single word escaped her lips as a brittle plea. Tears began to flow down her cheeks and stream through the air as her body continued getting pulled backwards. At the sight, the boys and everyone present felt their heart break. They couldn't give up now. They just couldn't.
"ICYHOT USE YOUR ICE TO STOP HER! OR TOKOYAMI USE YOUR DAMN SHADOW BIRD TO GRAB HER!" Bakugo snapped at his classmates as he used small explosions to propel himself towards her. He was hoping to grab her, but she was already out of his reach flying at an unusually fast speed.
Unbeknownst to any of them, the real Magne used a black market quirk booster to increase her range and speed of magnetism.
"MY ICE MIGHT CAUSE MORE HARM THAN GOOD!"
"AND I DON'T THINK I SHOULD USE DARK SHADOW AFTER WHAT HAPPENED EARLIER!"
They shot back at the explosive blond.
Bakugo grit his teeth at their 'excuses' and continued to push himself further to be at the front of the pack.
"WHAT ABOUT YOUR TONGUE, FROG GIRL?!" He tried again.
"My tongue can reach that far but I'll get dragged too!" She replied as she hopped alongside them.
Useless. Every single one of them, he thought bitterly as his anger and frustration grew.
He would never admit it out loud, but Rini was the only person he fully respected out of all his classmates. She proved herself more of a Hero than anyone else in his mind. Izuku was also up there in the selfless Hero department, but Rini? She was beyond that. She had a force about her that changed people for the better. She was changing him for the better. And he didn't want to let her down.
"DAMMIT!" He growled while pushing his quirk more, creating stronger explosions.
"BAKUGO! YOU SHOULD STAY IN THE BACK!" Aizawa scolded, but the teen ignored him.
Throughout this chase, Hitoshi remained silent. He couldn't think, he could only run and pray that he'd save his best friend. But he still had that terrible feeling in his gut telling him that this would end badly. And he felt guilty for thinking that way.
Meanwhile, Rini continued to shield her head as she zoomed past trees and foliage, until she emerged into another clearing. This time the clearing was bigger, more spacious, and had dirt covering the ground. . . And it had all the real League of Villains members standing in a half circle.
Dabi, Mr. Compress, Twice, Spinner, Toga, and Magne were happily awaiting her arrival as if she were the fresh catch of the day being reeled in on a rod. Magne stood in the center holding her giant magnet support item, and upon seeing the teen flying towards her, the villain deactivated her quirk and dropped the item to catch her. Soon enough, Rini crashed into the villains chest, but to her surprise, Magne put her down a moment later.
The teen stood on wobbly legs and stared at the villains with wide and teary eyes. Her lavender orbs darted around at each member, noting how they all looked either serious or smug. Her eyes settled on Mr. Compress questioningly; she was beyond confused as to why she wasn't compressed into a marble by now. But her question was answered when Toga suddenly grabbed her, spun her around, and held a knife to her throat.
"Hi Rini-chan! It's so nice to finally meet you! Now hold still or else I'll cut you! We have to wait for your friends to arrive!"
Rini struggled to hold herself upright but did as told to avoid the sharp blade cutting into her throat. She took shallow breaths and watched the treeline along with the villain, knowing where this was heading.
Suddenly, Bakugo burst through the treeline, followed by Todoroki, Hitoshi, Shoji, Tokoyami, Tsu, Aizawa, Ochaco holding onto Kosei, and Mandalay. But as soon as the explosive blond took in the startling scene of his classmate being held hostage, he stopped in his tracks along with the others. Aizawa then tugged Bakugo behind him protectively and presented himself with his hands out where the villains could see them, preparing to negotiate.
All Rini could do was stare at them with wide teary eyes.
"Don't," Aizawa warned with complete authority in his voice and glared at Toga. He then gestured to himself and the students. "We won't try anything. Let my student go and we'll let you walk away free like this never happened," he reasoned.
"That's rich," Dabi scoffed a laugh. "How about this, you hand over Bakugo now or we'll do something villain-like to the girl," he stated in a bone chilling tone.
"No, don't! He's bluffing! They need me alive-AH!" Rini yelled, but Toga yanked her head back and pressed the blade to her throat, creating a small cut that drew blood.
"I thought I told you to hold still," Toga threatened with a crazed grin.
When the others saw this, they gasped and looked at Aizawa expectantly. The fatherly man stood frozen, his eyes wide with fear. He didn't know what to do. He took one look at Rini's bleeding neck and his mind went blank.
"Well? What's it gonna be?" Dabi prodded.
Aizawa met Dabi's cold gaze. He saw the detached look behind his turquoise eyes, telling him that these villains could very well act on their word despite bluffing. Even though Rini was right and they wanted her alive, he'd never hang her life in the balance and take the risk to call their bluff. He was about to turn to Bakugo, but the teen already made up his mind.
"Take the knife away from her throat and I'll come!" The explosive boy negotiated as he stepped forward.
"Bakugo!?" Todoroki and the others were appalled. Except for Hitoshi and Aizawa.
"Toga, lower it," Dabi ordered.
Toga did as told - reluctantly - and Rini immediately took in a sharp breath. Toga still held the knife to her but away from her throat. And when Bakugo saw this, he started walking forward.
"Mr. Aizawa are you going to allow this?" Todoroki hissed at his teacher.
Aizawa, still staring at Rini - the closest thing to a daughter he had - gave him a regretful nod.
Todoroki's jaw fell open. He turned to Hitoshi, seeking some form of reassurance or backup to challenge this clear act of surrender, but he was shocked to see the purple haired teen standing frozen too.
Hitoshi had his fists clenched tightly at his sides with a pained expression on his face as he watched this unfold. It burned him on the inside to see Rini in danger, to see her battered and bruised, to see her so defeated.
They had caught her.
They beat her at her own game.
They won.
I'm so sorry, he pleaded in his head and expressed it in his face.
Rini caught her best friends troubled look and forced a weak smile onto her face, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She hated seeing him like this. She hated seeing them all like this.
It's not your fault, she expressed in reply, and Hitoshi had tears prick his eyes.
As Bakugo got closer, he looked Rini in the eyes after she tore her gaze away from Hitoshi. He held remorse in them, but upon seeing the sad yet hopeful glimmer in hers, he felt a bit relieved as if she was telling him they'd be alright.
Spinner then stepped forward and held Bakugo by the shoulder, standing side by side with Rini and Toga.
"You seem smart enough to know not to try anything," the villain grunted.
"I won't." Bakugo tsked.
"We're ready," Dabi said from behind them.
The teens were confused for a second until a familiar black and purple misty man appeared to their right. Kurogiri, only showing his misty face through a warp window, studied the scene and saw the two targets were in fact secured but they had an audience of Heroes. He was suspicious of them, or more specifically Rini since she could be fooling them somehow, but upon seeing the battered pink haired girl he quickly dismissed that.
"You signaled. Come on," Kurogiri commanded before creating multiple warp gates for each of them.
"Yeah, yeah, we're coming! See ya!" Twice called out before diving into his warp.
"Bye, Heroes," Magne smiled while walking backwards into hers.
"One final bow before the curtain falls," Compress tipped his hat and backed into his.
Suddenly, rustling in the treeline to the villains left caused everyone to stop and look. To their surprise, Midoriya came sprinting out with Vlad and Riku from Class B. Rini's middle school friend managed to escape the gas attack and met Midoriya and Vlad halfway. He then used his Owl-like quirk to locate them, and now here they were a few minutes too late to rescue Bakugo and Rini.
"Kacchan! Rini-chan!" Midoriya hollered as he sprinted towards them.
I'm too late! No wait, I can still reach them! He declared in his mind.
"Damn, will they ever give up? Toga, Spinner." Dabi sighed and waved at them.
"Stay back Deku!" Bakugo warned just as Spinner pressed a blade to his throat, and Toga repositioned her knife to Rini's.
Izuku - and the others - came to a skidding halt. His green eyes widened in horror at their predicament.
"Hi Izuku!! I was dying to meet you!! Too bad we gotta leave, so I'll see you around, kay!" Toga beamed psychotically at him before backing up with Rini; Spinner doing the same with Bakugo.
Midoriya grit his teeth and glared at Toga and the villains. He was upset he didn't figure out their plan soon enough. He was angry at himself for failing them. But when he studied Rini's face, she looked calm and apologetic. Then to his surprise, she flashed him a warm, reassuring, sad smile as the black mist slowly consumed her and Bakugo.
"Its okay. We'll see you all again. I promise." She said in her melodic broken voice.
And then they were gone.
Midoriya, Hitoshi, Todoroki, Aizawa- everyone present - stared at the vanishing warp gates in utter disbelief and guilt. One by one they started closing, and Dabi backed into his last with a smirk on his face. Then he laughed in the Heroes faces, leaving them with a single word:
"Checkmate."
.
.
.