Of the six Pros Heroes, one suffered a serious head injury. Another couldn’t be found, having left behind nothing but a massive bloodstream.
Out of the 41 students, 15 were in critical condition thanks to one Villain’s gas attack.
Twelve had other injuries of varying degree. Thirteen got off without a scratch, and… one was missing.
Bakugo.
Taken from us, right in front of Midoriya who took it the worst.
I was one of the last to learn after falling unconscious when the whole thing took place
On the other side, three of the villains were arrested at the scene. But with the exception of those three, the others vanished without a trace.
The Summer Training Camp we’d all been exited for… ended the worst way imaginable.
I had woken up in the hospital. White walls and bed sheets as I lay down across the room from Midoriya who had woken up much earlier. We didn’t talk apart from some initial pleasantries, before I was informed of what went down that night.
Both of us chose to lament in our losses rather than interact, and an hour or so after getting the all clear, anyone who could make it form 1-A came to visit.
They were all dressed extremely casually, as most were de-stressing from the days before, although three couldn’t make it as they were still recovering or focused on other matters.
Kaminari lead the charge, opening the door and heading into the room first.
“Hey, you two!! Looks like you’re Awake. You see what’s on tv?! The Media’s all over the school.”
“Even worse than back in spring.”
“Here’s a melon for you. We all pitched in!” Mineta announced, running up front.
Tokoyami spoke up next “I caused so much trouble for you, Midoriya…”
“Nah… I’m the one who should be sorry… is everyone from class A here?” he replied.
“No…” answered Ida, “Jiro and Hagakura are still unconscious, ever since being knocked out by that gas. And Yaoyorozu received a terrible head wound, she’s here at the hospital. Apparently, she only just regained consciousness yesterday. So besides those three…”
“All 15 of us came.” Ururaka finished.
“Of course Bakugo’s not here.”
“Whoa, Todoroki…” Mina called out.
And I can’t tell if that was Todoroki being Todoroki, or if he meant it to be harsh.
It was only after a moment of silence that Midoriya spoke up.
“Recently… All Might told me something. About how sometimes we just can’t reach some people who need saving… so we’ve gotta do our best to save those we can reach… But I… could reach him. All I had to do was save him…! My Quirk… is built just for that…”
“But then it turned out like Aizawa Sensei said it would.”
“I… couldn’t move my body…”
“No.” I cut in. “My Quirk is made for that. Literally the only thing it can do.”
“You didn’t need me on that cliff. I should have been down there with the others, instead, I recklessly broke on an opponent I couldn’t take.”
“Then let’s go save him now.” Kirishima suddenly declared, surprising almost everyone.
“Huh?!”
“Todoroki and I… we actually came by yesterday…”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“We met at the reception, neither of us could sit still back home, then we ran into All Might and the Police. They were talking to Yaoyorozu. She had stuck a tracker onto one of the Villains, and she was handing All Might a device receiving the tracking signal…”
“So you’re saying that Yaoyorozu could make another signal device for us…?” Ida extrapolated from Kirishima’s speech.
“No. It’s just as All Might said. We ought to leave this matter to the Pros! Its not our place to interfere, you fool!!”
“You think I don’t know that?!”
“But I still couldn’t do anything!!”
“When I heard that they were after my buddy… I couldn’t do anything!! I didn’t do anything!!”
“If I don’t act now… forget being a Hero, I’m not even a man!”
“Calm down, Kirishima. We get that you’re a hothead, but in this case…” Kaminari replied.
“Ida is correct.” said Tsuyu.
“I know he’s right! You all are but…!!”
“Hey, Midoriya!!”
“He’s not beyond our reach just yet!”
Todoroki spoke up just then, “The Villains did say we were on their hit list, but then they took Bakugo alive. Still, we can’t be sure they won’t kill him. Kirishima and I will go.”
“Hang on. Calm down.” Shoji said.
“I get it. Kirishima’s pain over not being able to do anything… and Todoroki’s regrets over having Bakugo snatched away before his eyes. I regret it all too. Still, this is no time to let our emotions get the better of us.”
“Lets just leave it to All Might… besides we’re not allowed to fight any-more.”
Tsuyu spoke next.
“We’re all still in shock over Bakugo’s kidnapping… so we have to think about this calmly. It doesn’t matter how righteous our feelings are. If we start another fight… if we break the law… then we’re no better than the Villains!”
The door opened up behind them and a doctor announced that Midoriya’s next examination was ready, so everyone except Kirishima left the room.
Once he was sure we were alone, Kirishima started to chat about the details of the mission as quick as he could. Going over where and when to meet and how it’d work.
It was only when he had finished that Kirishima seemed to remember I was in the room.
“You’re not going to tattle on us, are you?” he asked.
...
“... What you’re attempting is reckless, dangerous and straight up life threatening.” I replied.
“I’ll... be your ride out.”
Kirishima got in a nod before he was promptly kicked out by one of the doctors.
Midoriya was given privacy as the doctor went over his injuries and I to make a phone call.
“Hey, Hagino.”
“Are you ok!?” he called back.
“...I got the basted, from back then.”
“Ugly face caved in and behind thick bars-”
“I asked if you were alright!”
“...”
“The doctors are working hard to patch me up, I’ll be out by tonight.”
“...I told you not to get hurt.” he replied before hanging up.
It was understandable. He had already lost his parents, and nearly me, to the same Villain no less.
The doctor finished with Midoriya, deciding he was free to go, moving to me and deciding to keep me in a few more hours until they were sure there were no issues.
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I was waiting in a run down car I had borrowed from one of the older kids at the orphanage, when a huge explosion sounded not far off, the same area Midoriya and the others had ran off to for the rescue mission.
I hooked into the local news on my phone as the first reporters made their way to the scene, recording the battle from above in a helicopter.
All Might was fighting some Villain, and seemed to be losing ground as they used an amalgamation of Quirks to overpower the No. 1 Hero. The reporter was struggling to hold the camera still through the turbulent wind blasting out during every attack.
Moments later, I saw Midoriya, Kirishima, Todoroki, Ida and Momo, all heading towards me, Bakugo following along showing that they were successful as they made their way through the crowds of people watching on as the fight continued.
Midoriya seemed to pause a moment as All Might finally beat the Villain, his form dissolving away to a withered shell of what it once was in front of all the viewers across Japan.
“No one tailing?” I asked the group.
“...No, We got out clean.” replied Kirishima.
There was no rush, as there was no one after us.
All laws were followed as close as possible, as we were no doubt going to get in a lot of trouble for this whole stunt so I saw no reason to draw more attention than necessary.
I leisurely drove from house to house, dropping each off before making my way towards mine. The internet was alight over the news of All Mights weakened form and the mysterious Villain that pushed him to such a point.
Everyone in the orphanage was glued to the tv as announcements were made by the beloved Hero. The news was devastating, All Might declaring his retirement as a Pro Hero.
I would have joined in, but...
I was just... tired...
The first semester had only just finished yet so much had happened. Two attacks by Villain targeting us, a real threat to our life that we have not been able to counter, and everything in between. I just wanted to rest.
All plans we called off for the next few days as I planned to take the days off and unwind from nearly dying.
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I spent some time with Hagino, catching up on anything interesting that had happened around the orphanage, and sharing how my training both in UA and outside was going.
He was reserved, still upset over throwing myself into great danger, only loosening up slightly as I told him the tale.
I started with the start, because that’s where things begin.
Getting thrown off the cliff as the first challenge of the trip. A shock, of course, and one Hagino was upset about due to the obvious risks. But that was one of the reasons I was telling this story in the first place.
This risk follows a Hero throughout most of their life, and while I understand wanting me to be safe, even the basic trainings put me at some risk as there was no better way to improve one’s skills and Quirks.
The Beast Forest also upset him slightly, but the inherent coolness that came from fighting an army of giant beasts for hours on end overwhelmed that worry with wonder.
The frankly high class accommodations made up for some of the struggle, and I told him about Koda, the young orphan boy not much younger than he was.
The first day of training also wowed him with some of the stunts people had to repeatedly pull in order to strain their Quirks enough. Bakugo blasting out huge explosions to no end, and Kirishima and Ojiro locked in endless combat being a few of them.
The first night had ended without issue, but everything changed when I recounted That night.
“...I don’t forgive you for getting hurt...” Hagino said as I finished recalling the event, excluding the probably illegal rescue afterwards, that is.
“But... thank you for putting that terror behind bars... and saving the kid too.”
He didn’t stay long afterwards, probably to run through the events again in his head, that and it was late into the day now.
Sometime it’s hard to remember Hagino’s ten. What he’s lived through has no doubt forced him to mature.
I look to the mirror sitting against the wall.
Maybe he’s not the only one.
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