chapter fifteen:
' protect me '
for the first time in Kiyo's life, the world was quiet.
there were eight people in the room with her, but she couldn't hear any thoughts. not being able to hear them relaxed her tired mind, but it also terrified her.
The League of Villains somehow had a resistance to her quirk. she couldn't hear a damn thing besides their mumbling in the middle of the room. she was tied to a chair and still gagged in the far right corner of the room.
her encounter with Dabi replayed in her mind. the fear she felt, the sinister look in his eyes, the word he spoke. the face of her classmates as they tried to save her, Kirishima reaching for her and shouting her name before they fell into a pit of black. it was all on repeat.
she had no idea where she was, she only knew that it was a warehouse. she and Dabi went through a teleportation hole of some sort. one second she was falling off the balcony and the next she was in the company of the League once again.
after hours of being left alone, their leader, Shigaraki, finally approached her.
"welcome back," she couldn't see his grin through the hands that covered his face and body, "we were interrupted last time... that won't happen tonight"
Kiyo didn't try to fight out the rope tied around her wrists and waist, but her glare showed well enough that she'd like to hurt them. bad.
Shigaraki removed the cloth from her mouth and she immediately spit in his face, "Fuck off"
her eyes flickered between grey and violet as she tried to use her quirk but failed, "what do you want from me?!"
Shigaraki wiped the spit from his forehead, "you'll get your quirk back in a couple hours. we can't have you try anything risky"
her glare never faltered, "are you going to tell me why I'm here, again?"
"how's your control?" Shigaraki ignored her again and took a couple steps back, "is it driven by your emotions? have you learned new techniques and commands?"
the unsettling feeling in her gut grew, "how do you know what my quirk is? why can't I hear you like before?"
"we had some help from a friend. your daddy!" Twice spoke, letting out the surprise sooner than scheduled.
a chill ran through her entire body, her chest suddenly bearing an enormous weight.
"my dad is helping you? that's impossible! you're lying!"
Kiyo always saw her father as the sun. He was always optimistic and so happy to be a hero. He wanted her to be one too. He loved his job and loved helping people, it killed him when he had to retire.
Spinner and Compress left the room, and moments later the one and only Botan Taniguchi walked through the room with Spinner's help. he held onto the villains left arm while his own left hand held his walking cane.
they walked over to Kiyo, her father reaching out to touch her hair, but she moved her head away since she couldn't use her hands to push him away.
"don't...don't touch me," he could only imagine the disappointment in her features, "why, dad? wow could you do this? You're a hero! you protect people! you're supposed to protect me!"
she didn't give him the chance to respond before continuing, "why are you helping the people who have taken me... twice? they've hurt me and my friends! everything is messed up because of them!"
tears streamed down her face as she spoke, she couldn't believe her father would betray her, her mom, the world like this. his quirk may have made him look like a villain, but that wasn't him. he was the kindest person Kiyo had ever met. even after his injury, he was always smiling.
"I never wanted it to happen like this," he reached for her again and she didn't move away, "we made a deal a long time ago, one that would let you protect yourself and others"
"what could they possibly do to help me protect people? all they want is chaos!"
Compress spoke up, "your power wasn't always this dangerous"
"It's not dangerous, I can learn to control it"
"but it is," Shigaraki added on, "my master enhanced your power, and now that you've mastered the basics of it, it's time you come back to where you belong"
"you did what?" her sadness was quickly replaced with anger, "you can all go to hell! let me go!"
she thrashed around in her seat to try and break free, the League tried to grab the chair to stop her but she flung herself around, the force sending the chair to crash onto the ground, breaking. her binds loosened and she stood up, now free.
"you'd have to do much worse to get me to stay with you. I don't care what my father said, I will never be like you!"
the League all got into stance, each of them ready to fight. If she wouldn't come easily, they would have to use force.
"Don't let her leave!"
++++++++++++++
"any updates?" Class President Iida asked his classmates. they all had been in the commons area since Aizawa left to meet with the teachers and police.
they were staying in contact with their teacher, calling her parents, and investigating their dorm for any clues as to where they could've gone or at least what direction they left in.
"Mr. Aizawa is still in the meeting"
"er parents aren't answering! does anyone know where they live! where they work?"
"her mom works with the Hero Commission, should we call them?" Sero mentions. he remembers her ranting to him about her surprise attack at the license exam.
he and the rest of the class had heard her message. he was downstairs when he heard her speak into his mind and immediately left to save her, but she was already gone. he hated the fact that she was alone and in pain, he wanted nothing more than to see her safe.
Yaoyorozu nods, "there should be a representative for the Commission at the meeting, but it would be good to see if her mom is there. anything about her dad?"
Todoroki shook his head, "it goes to voicemail. it must be dead or turned off"
Mina, Uraraka, and Tsu rush out of the elevator from searching Kiyo's room, "nothing seems out of the ordinary besides the hole in her wall. that must've been the crash. her phone is gone too, she probably has it with her"
"if she has her phone, then we can track it!"
Iida nods, "I'll let Mr. Aizawa know!"
Bakugo sat on the floor in the corner of the room near the elevators. he tried to pay attention to updates on Kiyo's whereabouts but the only thing he could focus on was his worry.
she acted calm and collected when they were captured together, but he saw the look in her eyes. she was scared. and now she's all alone this time. he would only admit to himself that he was worried about her, no one else. It was none of their business how he felt.
he wanted to get out and search for her himself, to get his revenge for the last time, but Present Mic was staying with them to make sure no one left and no one else got taken.
Kirishima and Kaminari approached him while everyone waited for phone calls.
"you okay, Bakubro?" Kirishima asked. he noticed that his friend had been quiet ever since they all left Kiyo's room earlier.
"yeah, dude, you're shaking" Kaminari nodded towards his feet that were anxiously tapping the ground.
Bakugo ignored their comments, "when can we blow those bastards to hell?"
"Yaoyorozu is trying to figure out her location, but we can't do anything until Mr. Aizawa comes back"
Bakugo grunted, annoyed that he couldn't do anything. he felt worthless. Someone was out there needing saving and he couldn't do anything. he couldn't do anything to save her.