Izuku's heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw the shadow descend on Kouta. For a terrifying moment, he thought that the small child would die in front of him. He would've died. Izuku was too late. If not for Kouta's quick reaction, he would have been a splatter on the ground.
Izuku would have failed as a hero before he could even begin.
When the villain removed his mask, revealing his face, Izuku felt phantom chills crawl up his spine. The villain was Muscular. A psychopathic killer.
He stood no chance.
Despite his abysmal chances of winning, Izuku couldn't give up, there was a child that he needed to save.
Even if it meant Kouta ran away whilst he distracted the villain.
—-------
Null leapt from branch to branch as he raced to where he thought the kids were. The artificial rain had lasted only a few minutes, but that initial attack was more than enough to severely harm more than a handful of students. If they didn't make it undercover in time, there was no way they could have remained unscathed.
And just as he expected, Null found multiple students with various chemical burns on them as he traversed the forest. Thankfully, he hadn't run into anything too serious yet. The kids could manage with the injuries they currently had.
They weren't his priority though. That was reserved for Shouto. He needed to make sure his kid was safe.
—-------
Izuku dodged a blow that would have killed him had it hit, and mentally thanked Mr. Aizawa for all the extra training his teacher had given him. It may have been hell at the time, but the results were showing in his continued survival.
"STAY STILL, YOU BRAT!!" The villain roared. Yeah...Izuku wasn't going to do that. Weaving in between the swings aimed at his head, Izuku didn't have the time to look for Kouta, too focused on not dying.
Of course, the few months of training he had was not enough to win him the fight though. A lucky shot caught Izuku off guard and buried itself into his side before Izuku was launched into the mountainside.
"Ha...ha..." The villain puffed, breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow, a mad grin starting to appear on his face.
"You put up a good fight, kid." The corners of the villain's smile stretched impossibly high on his face as he trudged towards Izuku, who was doing his best to get up, trembling as he forced his body into a fighting stance. He...couldn't give up! The cuts stung but that pain was overridden by the agony he felt from his arm. It was a familiar sensation. Izuku had broken it.
He was ripped out of his thoughts when a hand grasped at his hair, pulling a few strands from the roots and using it to lift his head. Muscular peered into Izuku's eyes, a sadistic gleam in his own as he began to speak.
"Man...I was told that I'd get to kill some dumb kids today, and I am not disappointed!"
A splash of water stole his attention away from Izuku, and the villain released his grip on Izuku's hair. Still trembling, fear evident in his eyes was Kouta. He was still here! He needed to leave! He needed to go somewhere safe! He shouldn't be here!!
Izuku panicked when he saw that the child had not run away as he had hoped.
"W-What are you doing here?!" The child asked, it was clear he was trying to sound sure of himself, but there was a tremble in his voice, betraying the true fear that he felt inside.
"What else? I came here to see blood." Without waiting for a reaction, either of fear or anger, Muscular ran at Kouta.
Izuku felt a spark ignite inside himself along with a warmth that encompassed him like a hug from his mum.
"Leave it to us, Ninth. You're not ready yet."
There was a faint buzzing feeling under his skin before Izuku was suddenly filled with power, Izuku lunged at the villain, ripping him away from Kouta.
"Your fight is with me." Somehow, it was as if multiple voices overlapped his as Izuku punched Muscular, sending the villain crashing into the mountainside.
Izuku turned to Kouta.
"Kouta, I need you to stay out of the way, ok? I need you to stay somewhere safe until the villain is gone; can you do that for me?" Izuku asked quickly, glancing between the little boy and the area that Muscular had landed.
Kouta nodded, and that was all Izuku had time to see before a blur came right at him. Izuku pushed Kouta away.
"I'VE GOT TO ADMIT KID! I WASN'T EXPECTING THAT!!" Izuku blocked a punch aimed at his face before attempting one of his own. It hit, and Muscular spat out some blood.
"DAMN! Now I really want to kill you, kid." The villain smiled, blood stained teeth menacing. It reminded Izuku of a rabid dog, and maybe in that instance, Muscular was no better than one. Izuku didn't have the time to contemplate that right now.
The villain seemed to pause for a moment before he spoke again.
"Before I forget, do you happen to know where a Bakugo or Todoroki are? They're on the capture list, you see. The Boss Lady seemed to really want them for some reason." Izuku charged.
—-------
Kouta could only watch, transfixed at the fight happening before him. Was the hero student crazy? HE WAS GOING TO DIE?! WHY DIDN'T HE RUN AWAY WHEN HE HAD THE CHANCE?! WHY DID HE COME FOR KOUTA?! Tears began to stream down his cheeks unbidden. WHY WAS HE RISKING HIS LIFE FOR KOUTA?!
A memory tugged at his mind, and Kouta remembered something his parents had told him. It was last summer, when he'd begged them to go to the beach together as a family.
"WHY WON'T YOU SPEND ANY TIME WITH ME!" Kouta cried as his mama held him in her arms.
"YOU DON'T LOVE ME! YOU'RE ABANDONING ME AGAIN!!" It was the second time that week that he'd been sent to stay with his aunt Mandalay and Kouta was missing his parents terribly. He'd grasped at their clothes, begging them to stay with him, to not leave again.
Gentle hands clasped his, cradling them softly. The soft hands of his mama held his left hand as his papa held his right. Both of his parents hugged him to them as he leaned into the affection. He...missed them...so much...
A hand stroked his hair as Kouta looked away from both mama and papa. He didn't want them to see him cry. He wasn't a baby!
"Kouta...we're sorry we've been so busy. But the world is a dangerous place. There's dangerous people who want to do harm to people who can't defend themselves. It's papa and mama's jobs to make sure those people can't do that." Papa spoke to him as if he was a glass doll, as if any loud noise would shatter him. Kouta hated it.
"BUT I HATE IT!! THERE'S SO MANY HEROES! WHY CAN'T SOMEONE ELSE DO IT FOR TODAY?!" Kouta shouted. There was no reason his parents had to work so much! If there were as many heroes as he'd seen on the news, there must be more that weren't on the news. Why can't those heroes handle it for just one day?! Why did it have to be Kouta's mama and papa?!
Mama sighed before she too began to ruffle Kouta's hair. He clung to the affection like a leech, there was no telling when they'd pick him up from his auntie's house this time. It could be a week before he saw them again!
"Kouta. It's true that there's a lot of heroes, but there's even more villains. Villains who don't play by the rules. Sometimes, all it takes is one hero to make all the difference. We need to be there in case we need to be that hero." Kouta didn't care. Why did it have to be his parents? Why couldn't it be someone else?! Surely the other heroes were as hardworking as his parents? It wasn't fair!
"Kouta..one day, you'll see. One hero is sometimes all it takes. There'll be a hero that does that for you. I'm sure."
His mama had smiled at him after that, kissed his head and promised that the next summer-this summer, they'd go on holiday together. That was...until they were given a mission to hunt down an escaped villain. The villain that Midoriya was now fighting.
From where he stood, all Kouta could see was the older boy's back as he exchanged blows with the villain. He couldn't help but think about how strong the hero student looked in this moment.
When Midoriya finally landed a blow strong enough to incapacitate the villain, Kouta finally knew what his mama was talking about.
Sometimes, all it took was one hero.
—-------
Shouto was running through the forest, dragging Bakugo behind him before a voice rang in his head.
"Everyone from Class 1A and Class 1B! In the name of the pro hero, Eraserhead, you are granted permission to engage in combat! I repeat! Everyone from Class 1A and Class 1B! You are granted permission to engage in combat!" A moment later, the same voice spoke again.
"We have discovered the villains' targets! They are two of the students– Kacchan and Todoroki! These two students should avoid combat and acting independently! Understand, you two?! Get back to where we can protect you!"
Shouto turned to Bakugo.
"Did you hear that too? We're being targeted!"
"Of course I heard it, you bastard!" Bakugo growled back. Shouto nodded.
"Good. So let's get back to the lodge-"
"No!" Shocked, Shouto turned to face his angry classmate, who had just said that he wouldn't go to safety, even though he was a target.
"Saying 'Fight' and then 'Don't fight'! I don't give a damn what anyone says!" The ground exploded around him, but Shouto was sure it wasn't Bakugo's quirk. No...it was a metal blade. Several more blades were scattered around them, all of which connected back to one villain.
Shouto recognised him. It was a death row villain-Moonfish. Shit.
—-------
Katsuki wasn't stupid. He knew what he was doing. He also knew that Half-And-Half would be questioning his sanity right about now, but if anyone really thought about it, nowhere was safe.
The villains shouldn't know about the training camp's location. The teachers hadn't even told his old man and old hag about where Katsuki would be spending his summer, nevermind the villains just finding out through the press like they had with All Might's employment at UA.
The students weren't even told until they got to the camp, and even then, they actually didn't know where the fuck they are. That only left one explanation for the villains' knowledge of their location: there's a traitor.
What the shitty heroes had done, was effectively tell everyone where Katsuki and half-and-half bastard would be. If there's a traitor, there's no telling if they'd relay the information to the villains, so Katsuki was willing to bet his chances in the forest rather than be a sitting duck back at camp. At least in the forest, they could hide.
Now, with the villain in front of them, they'd have to fight. Katsuki licked his lips. This was going to be fun.
—-------
When Null finally found Shouto, he wasn't filled with relief. He was filled with rage. Quietly standing behind his kid, was a very familiar figure. Dressed in a top hat and his signature obnoxious yellow trenchcoat, Null could recognise him anywhere. His friend from another life. It was Mr. Compress. And he was reaching for Shouto.
Null didn't have time to think. He dropped on the students, kicking Compress' hands away from Shouto before his quirk could turn the boy into a marble.
"Argh!" At the yell, the kids all turned to see Null punching the villain in the face, splintering his mask.
"I recognise you!" A voice shouted and Null risked a glance up. Ah. It was Tenya Iida.
"You're the one who saved my brother and I!" The kids surrounding Iida all gave him concerned glances. Then, they descended into noise, speaking over each other as they fired question after question at their friend.
"What do you mean, Iida?"
"I mean-"
"How did he save you?!"
"I can't-"
"Do you know who he is?"
"Well, no-"
It was a little sad to see the kid try and fail to answer all their questions, but Null wasn't going to do anything to stop it. He couldn't anyways. He couldn't risk Shouto recognising his voice.
"Is he a family friend?"
"No."
All of a sudden, there was a flash of yellow and Null barely had time to dodge as Mr. Compress jumped out of the bushes in an effort to tackle him. It didn't work. Null kicked the man away before he could do any damage.
"Where's Bakugo?" The question was asked quietly, but the silence that followed was deafening. Seven heads swivelled around slowly, staring at the place that Bakugo should have been, only to find nothing. With increasing panic, they surveyed their surroundings, desperate to catch a glimpse of spiky blonde hair or red eyes. They found neither.
"He's gone." A student whispered. The kid looked like he got into a fight with a train...and lost. His arms hung limply at his sides, a deep shade of purple and twisted slightly. Frankly, it was a little disturbing.
"We need to go save him!" And like the reckless hellions they were, the kids started running. Yeah, sure..run into danger. Suicidal brats.
Letting out a long suffering breath, Null tilted his head back, looking into the sky as if asking it "why me?" Shouto was going to be the death of him. Reckless brat.
Chasing after the hero students, Null prepared himself to just grab his kid and pull him out of whatever mess he will undoubtedly throw himself into.
—-------
Shouto followed behind Shoji and Midoriya as they led the chase for the villain that kidnapped Bakugo and Tokoyami. The branches of the trees lining their path scratched at their faces and clothes, leaving tiny cuts that stung in the night air, but they didn't let that distract them. In the distance, they could see the bright yellow coat of the villain as he dodged and weaved through the trees, moving through them with an enviable grace not unlike that of a dancer. It would be impressive had he not been the person to kidnap their classmates.
There was no way they could catch up to the villain as they were now. They needed to be smart about this. Suddenly, Shouto had an idea.
"Uraraka! I need you to do something for me!" He called and the aforementioned girl looked up at him.
"Whatever it is, Todoroki, I hope you realise we're in a situation right now-"
"I know!" Shouto interrupted her. He didn't have time to explain.
"I need you to trust me! I'm going to launch us with my ice, and I need you to negate our weight when I signal you, ok?" Uraraka still didn't look like she heard or was fully convinced with what Shouto had planned, but considering they were still running as he requested for her to follow his plan, Uraraka didn't have time to think about it. She just nodded.
"I trust you, Todoroki." She gave him a weary smile.
"Now, let's save our classmates!"
Shouto took hold of the girl and grabbed hold of both Shoji and Midoriya, making sure that they were securely held together by some of Shoji's arms (thank god they were listening as Shouto told Uraraka what he was going to do). It made it much easier to put together his plan.
Focusing all of his energy into one point, Shouto pushed himself and his classmates into the air with an angled pillar of ice.
"NOW, URARAKA!" He yelled to be heard over the rushing wind. He wasn't sure even then if he could be heard. But Uraraka must have heard him because their gravity suddenly decreased and they were soaring through the air. They could see the villain underneath them now.
"URARAKA! RELEASE THE GRAVITY!" And she did.
Shouto, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Shoji all landed on the villain.
—-------
Mezo was shaking as he forced his limbs to wrap around his classmates and not let go. It was a delicate balance of holding on tight enough so that no one fell, yet soft enough to make sure that no one got crushed in his grip. Whilst Mezo was typically proud of his strength, right now was not the time to be showing it off. He didn't forget his grip test on the first day, 540kg of force was enough to kill any of them if he wasn't careful.
They landed in a pile on top of the villain, who was now trying to shove them off.
"GET OFF ME, YOU RUFFIANS!!" The villain thrashed in his grip like a fish out of water. Mezo tightened his hold as he wondered...did caring less for the villain's bones make him a bad person? Because right now, Mezo couldn't have cared less if he broke a rib, he'd try not to, but he had far less reservations compared to when he was holding his classmates.
Even though he gripped the villain with more force, it did little to stop the villain from struggling and Mezo had to form more limbs to make sure he didn't escape.
"GET OUR CLASSMATES BACK!!" He yelled at the others to act, Mezo knew that he couldn't hold the slippery villain for long, especially as he had to make sure the villain couldn't use his quirk. Mezo didn't know exactly how it worked, but if the villain was able to just take Tokoyami and Bakugo, two of the strongest in their class away without so much as a sound, Mezo wouldn't stand a chance.
So he had to make sure the villain couldn't pull anything.
But some things were easier said than done. Breaking a bone was one thing, but he couldn't knock the villain out! If he did, then they wouldn't know what would happen to Tokoyami and Bakugo; for all they knew, it would only harm their missing classmates. On the other hand...the villain was putting up one hell of a fight. Strong as he may be, Mezo didn't trust his strength enough to hold the villain for long if he wasn't allowed to put the villain out of commission.
When no one moved, Mezo grit his teeth and yelled again.
"HURRY!"
Now, there was movement. But it didn't come from the students. No. From the trees, two figures sprung at them. Oddly, they were identical. They had the same faces down to the length of their hair. Sunglasses obscured their eyes-why did they wear sunglasses at night? The villains each carried giant magnets with them, large enough to tower over Mineta.
"BIG SIS HAS ARRIVED, DEAR!" Dual voices practically sang as Mezo found himself forcefully repelled from the villain, who simply stood up and bowed.
"Wonderful timing as always, dear Magne. My thanks for the rescue." Mezo growled when the villain turned to him and smiled. It was like the villain was mocking him, mocking how Mezo couldn't keep hold of him.
Once he felt the pressure ease off, Mezo lunged at the villain again, only to be forced back to where he was before. In his peripheral vision, he could see his classmates in the same predicament.
Todoroki was bracing himself against a pillar of ice in an effort to keep moving forward, but Mezo knew that it must have been exceedingly taxing. The bicoloured boy's back was pressed up against the ice as he forced himself inch by inch towards the villains. But it wasn't enough.
Midoriya was no better, pressed to the ground with both his arms broken and blood pouring from a reopened wound. Though he tried to claw his way forward, hands digging into the ground in a bid to stabilise himself, it was clear he was getting nowhere.
Uraraka was nowhere to be found, presumably pushed further back due to her lack of gravity.
Mezo felt a sense of panic bubbling up from him as he saw the villains begin to walk away. No...they're walking away with his friends...he needs to save them!
The villains didn't make it another step. Dual beams of light shot out from the bushes and knocked the villains to the ground.
Mezo seized the chance to reach the villains, punching the masked villain as hard as he could.
The villain spat out two marbles.
—-------
Shouto jumped at one of the marbles as Midoriya jumped towards the other. Reaching out his hand, Shouto stretched out until he felt the cool, smooth surface in his palm. Shouto caught his marble.
Midoriya did not.
Like a bad horror movie, the villains disappeared into a swirling portal that was all too familiar. In his hands, the marble shook and cracked before Tokoyami appeared, dazed and disoriented. It distracted Shouto enough so that he didn't see a shadow that wasn't his classmate's quirk blocking the moon behind him.
A Nomu reached out, ready to capture their second target before it was unceremoniously struck down by a blow to the head. The students didn't even have time to react before Null jumped into the trees and they lost him among the branches.
They may have stopped the League from taking Tokoyami or Shouto, but they still felt the loss of Bakugo.
It was a disaster.
—-------
Even when the injured were tended to, and the classes were combined once again, there was a tense silence. No one wanted to speak, but they all kept an eye on each other, terrified that another in their group would disappear. They all had injuries covering their bodies and some were not even conscious, victims to the gas released by the poison villain.
Chemical burns formed blotchy patterns on the skin of many students, places where they were too slow to cover. None were spared...except one. Mina Ashido stood quietly to the side, hands clenched into fists at her sides.
Somehow, she felt guilty. If only she were faster. If only she was out there with her classmates. Maybe, she would have been able to save more of them from the acid rain. Her skin had defended her against the effects of the corrosive liquid, but she still felt like something had burned her. Tears stung in her eyes as she mentally counted each student that remained.
If only she were better, she might have been able to protect more of them.
—-------
Once he regained some semblance of stability back, Fumikage pulled himself into Dark Shadow, his quirk like a cloak of comfort that protected him from the turbulent emotions that raged within him. Bakugo was gone. He could have been in the same position. The only reason he wasn't, was because he was rescued. Fumikage hadn't been able to do anything to stop the villains from taking him away. It was his negligence and incompetence that led to his need to be saved. If he hadn't been in that position...Bakugo could have been saved. The guilt ate at him as Dark Shadow did their best to soothe him. Fumikage let out a shaky smile as he whispered a "thank you" to his quirk.
—-------
Tokoyami pulled on Shouto's sleeve, and in a small voice mumbled.
"Thank you for saving me, Todoroki. I owe you a life debt." His voice came out croaky and Shouto had to strain to hear his classmate, but even if he hadn't heard the boy, Shouto would have understood. Emotions swirled in his classmate's eyes. Gratefulness, sadness, guilt, fear...it was endless.
Letting out a shaky smile of his own, Shouto tried to keep the wobble from his voice as he clasped a hand on Tokoyami's shoulder in a way he'd seen Touya do to victims of a villain attack.
"Consider it paid. You kept a dangerous bird away from my dad." He joked, but his words fell flat. No one felt like smiling right now.
——————————————————————————————————
AN: This will primarily be posted on AO3 so for early updates, please check out my story at https://archiveofourown.org/works/40816449/chapters/102274380