Mirko pushed Neito's fist away, amused.

He stumbled.

"If your special technique makes you lose track of who's your ally and who's your enemy, you might want to think about giving it up, kid"

The shadows withdrew from Neito's face, wrapping around his neck like a scarf.

Ochaco turned white at the sight of the Heroine.

One second she was fighting for her life and the next Mirko was there.

Neito cut in:

"It's-"

Something sputtered.

Mirko suddenly turned serious : she pressed two fingers to her ear and looked in the distance, far away over the surrounding buildings.

"President ?"

She had an earpiece.

"Crust ? How soon ?"

Silence.

"Can Hawks clear the area for me ? Three Nomus, that'll definitely cause a ruckus"

Ochaco glanced at Neito. He hadn't taken his eyes off her.

His blue eyes were a mixture of pure hatred and raw violence.

"I see", Mirko replied.

Ochaco had the urge to walk away yet she did not for fear of arousing his anger.

"Got two Yuei kids with me : what do I to do with them ?"

After a brief silence, Mirko turned to them.

"What are you ?"

Neito didn't answer, thus Ochaco was forced to stammer:

"Uravity and-"

"Meant your Quirks"

"Copy and gravity," Neito said. "She doesn't need to touch objects to control them"

Ochaco bit her cheek.

Mirko raised an eyebrow.

"Copy ? Like copying Quirks ? You can store them ?"

"Only if I'm in contact with the person's DNA," Neito said.

"Whose do you have right now ?"

"A classmate," he said, "and Eraserhead.

His eyes turned a vicious red : the pebbles floating around Uraraka fell like snow.

" And All Might"

Now Ochaco was on edge.

Mirko was speechless.

Then a broad smile curled her lips over her unusually sharp teeth.

"Heard that ?", she asked aloud, certainly for the one speaking through her earpiece

Running away when Neito was determined to catch her was difficult enough - especially with the Quirks he had - but with Mirko standing there, it was absolutely impossible.

Neito's eyes were a malicious red. He watched her with a knowing look, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"And what Quirk are you thinking of-"

"Uraraka is a spy for All for One," Neito said coolly. "Barely before you got here she confessed to me that she'd told him where and how to find Aizawa-sensei"

Ochaco's heart jumped in her throat.

Mirko blinked.

She remained silent for a moment as if she wasn't sure if she had truly heard what she heard.

Her earpiece sputtered again.

She tilted her head sideways as she studied Neito, as if listening to someone else speaking to her.

"Say that again ?"

Ochaco's throat turned to glass, her knees to straw.

Neito was calm as death, his gaze locked on her.

He hadn't blinked once since activating Aizawa's Quirk.

"Ochaco Uraraka, student at Yuei's 1-A Elite section, has confessed to me about giving informations concerning Eraserhead's activities and location to All for One. I intended to coerce her into revealing whatever else she knew but you got there first. Call Principal Nezu, he'll tell you himself : we've had our suspicions since the Summer Camp"

Ochaco's mind was a whirlpool of terror and confusion.

The back of her neck and her cheeks flushed : she knew she was peony-red, and she was afraid Mirko would notice.

"Neito", she stammered, voice shaking. "What are you talking about ?"

"She killed one of our classmates," Neito blandy said "Kaminari Denki, at the Summer Camp. It's not public information but the Commission should be aware. Ask the person you're talking to to call them and confirm what I'm saying"

Mirko's sharp eyes darted between Neito and Ochaco.

"Is what he's saying true ?"

Her gaze settled on Ochaco.

Ochaco forced herself not to shudder : this woman could knock her head off her shoulders with a slap.

"Kill ?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Denki died when the dormitories exploded because of the bombs, how could I...?"

She hoped that Mirko couldn't hear the tremor in her voice.

"He didn't die from the explosion," Neito said evenly "but rather from the damage to his face from the shrapnel. He was brought to the hospital where you killed him"

He could barely keep his eyes open - Ochaco could tell by his twitching eyelids.

"How do you know all of these things ?", she asked, confused. "We were only told he died of post-operation complications"

"Your behavior has always been suspicious," Neito continued. "I shared my doubts with the Principal and we cross-checked our data. We were just waiting for the right moment to nail you"

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A lie, of course : Nezu had other plans for Uraraka that Neito wasn't privy to - he couldn't either guess from the crumbs of information he had.

Spilling the beans in spite of the Principal's request was a double-edged sword : either he would be too upset over Aizawa to care for what Neito had said, or Neito had put his whole family in dire situation by speaking too much.

Neito thought the former was more likely.

"Now please Mirko, could you keep an eye on her while I moisten my eye s?"

The Heroine, still a bit confused, eventually nodded.

"Take your time kiddo" she said. "Nobody's going anywhere"

She shot Ochaco a sharp look, not accusatory but definitely wary.

Neito walked two steps away from Ochaco before closing his eyes. Relief was apparent in the way his eyelids relaxed.

He cupped his hands, gathering rain in his palms.

Her throat was dry and Ochaco had to clear it before she could speak.

"Ok" she said, deciding to go for a straigtforward approach "Let's say I really am the spy he's talking about : how could I have reached All for One, huh ? I had no service and the only time I was able to use my cell phone was when we left Sensei. Monoma saw what I wrote on my cell phone : I can show you myself"

She fumbled awkwardly through her pockets and finally found her cell phone, which she held out to Mirko with a hand she hoped wasn't too shaky.

"See there ? That's where we were a few minutes ago after we left Sensei : I sent our location to everyone in class"

Mirko first glanced at the cell phone and then, seemingly acting on an order only she could hear, picked it up and scrolled through the recipients.

"There is Shoto Todoroki, yeah" Mirko said aloud

Silence.

Mirko handed the cell back to Ochaco.

"It seems to match the information we've got"

Ochaco was filled with feverish hope: she saw her way out.

"See ? I told you notbing but truth"

She could barely hide her excitement.

Mirko gave no reply, her sharp gaze now directed at Neito, who took turns moistening and massaging his eyelids.

"On the other hand, Monoma sent a message to an unknown number and deleted it immediately afterwards"

"Is that true?", asked Mirko.

"I sent a text to my uncle, yes," Neito replied, opening his irritated eyes once again. "He lives in Tokyo ; I know he'll be able to help Sensei against All for One"

Mirko crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hero ?"

Neito's left eye twitched.

"I never said he was a Hero : he only has a license that allows him to practice his Quirk in public, nothing more nothing else"

Ochaco frowned.

Was that possible ?

Mirko, head cocked, was considering his answer.

"He must know lots of influential people" she remarked calmly.

She was trying pry more information out of him.

Neito smiled politely.

".. ok", Mirko finally said, "I don't have time to check which one of you is lying, but one thing is certain : none of you will get out of my sight, understood ?"

Neito grew white at the statement whereas Ochaco was relieved to be off the hook - for now.

"You want us to fight these...?"

He was so nervous he wasn't able to finish his sentence.

Mirko chuckled.

"Let 15-year-olds fight ? What's next ? Let you go at war for us ? We're definitely not desperate enough to send teenagers off to fight"

Their country would be in deep trouble the day their national security depended on teenagers unable to wipe their own butts properly

"You'll take care of the evacuation in duo,” she said, adding : "And no one's gonna complain, understood ? I don't have time to deal with you both and your spy stories. If one of you is lying, the other can keep an eye on him and make sure he does his job properly. Best-case scenario, you're just getting all worked up over nothin' and we can clear it all up with the Commission once this whole mess is taken care of, got it ?"

Ochaco's stomach dropped.

Not the Commission. Everything but the Commission.

"Understood ?", Mirko stressed, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes"

"As you say"

"I like that better", she said. "And in case any of you want to escape for whatever reason, you should know that the big boss" She tapped her earpiece "Has given me the green light to drop everything I'm doing and chase you to hell and back"

Ochaco could get away if she had a head start and no one was on her tail : Mirko, on the other hand, would only need three jumps to catch a full-on Ochaco.

Mirko slapped her gloves on her skin.

"Let's get to work", she said with a toothy grin. "We've got villains to crush"

It was imperative for Ochaco to escape.

*

A/N : If you want to read ahead of schedule, go check the story's P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !