"C'mon, move it!" said a girl happily as she ran ahead of her long time friend.
A red haired teenage boy ran after her while shouting after her. "Mina, don't run so fast! I can't keep up!"
She laughed louder and spun around to face him while running backwards. "Ah, c'mon Kiri! We're gonna become pros one day so you gotta get faster! You can do it, horn buddy!"
"Alright but face forward so you don't bump into anyone or anything!" he warned her.
She waved his concerns away. "I won't, don't worry!"
"You do and I get to dye your pink hair a different color!" he told her with a smirk.
She gasped at that. "Don't you dare! I'm unique and I won't let you or anyone else mess with my image!"
He started laughing while gaining ground on her and she decided to face forward to run faster so she could beat him to the store. "Hey, you're cheating! That's not very manly!"
"Never said I'll go backwards the whole way and I'm a woman so it doesn't count!"
"You know what I mean!"
The two kept with their witty retorts and laughed loudly while heading down the street. Their antics and loud talking drew some of the public's attention but once they say that the noise was from a couple of teenagers just messing around, they left it alone and went on their way. After a short while, the duo finally arrived at their destination, panting for breath. "Beat…ya…like I…said I…would…"
*Huff*"Woo…I need to work on my cardio…" remarked Eijiro while hunched over and trying to catch his breath. Gulping in some more precious air, he finally stood straight and looked his friend in the eye. "Yeah, you did! Good job Mina!" he exclaimed with a wide toothy smile while giving her a thumbs up.
Finally recovered, Mina smiled back at him with slight purple dusting on her cheeks before she turned to face the entrance to the store they arrived at. "Thanks Kiri. Now, let's get to shopping!" exclaimed the pink haired girl with her fist up in the air, leading the way inside the building. Chuckling, Eijiro followed after his childhood friend.
They spent a good while at the store, looking through each aisle so they could find what they needed for the next day. For the two had passed the entrance exams for UA and decided to go shopping together to get what they needed for school. Especially with the new changes that they started doing this year, they thought it would be best to be prepared. Having known each other for years since they went to the same schools since they were children, each considered the other a close friend. They shared much together and did things together all the time. And now, they were almost prepared for the tomorrow. All they needed was just a few more things.
It took them a little while to gather all the stuff they required. Probably because they couldn't help themselves and kept joking around with all the products in the store. One time their joking got carried away and ended up causing Eijiro to bump into someone with green hair. Apologizing to him, Eijiro felt embarrassed but the person who he bumped into, said it was fine and let it go, which they appreciated. It also took a while because Mina had, at another time, separated from Eijiro, telling him it was for 'girly things'. He wisely stayed out of that before the two regrouped and continued on.
Grabbing a bundle pack of some snacks, Mina had a large smile on her face. "Hell yea, I love these chips! And they're on sale too? Haha, it's my lucky day!" Placing the chips in the cart, she turned to face her friend. "Aren't you grabbing any snacks?" she asked him.
"Already did." He pointed at the stuff inside his own cart, filled with many different items and on top was a box of protein bars.
She rolled her eyes. "That's not snacks! Ugh, whatever. Alright, get what you want. But fair warning; I'm not sharing."
"I know," he chuckled, pushing his cart and moving ahead of her. "C'mon, let's go." Leading the way to the registers, Eijiro got in line to await his turn to pay for his items with Mina standing right behind me. "So, we got everything ready, right?" he asked her.
"Yup. Can't wait till tomorrow! I wonder who'll be our teacher?" she wondered out loud.
Eijiro shrugged. "Beat's me. Don't really know the teachers at the academy. Do you?" he asked her and she shook her head. "Well, at least we know All Might will be teaching there. I know it was just a projection, but damn, he's so cool! And so manly!" he said with clear admiration in his tone of voice.
Mina smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he sure was."
While waiting for their turn to pay, both teenagers continued talking. As a result, neither of them noticed two individuals, one taller and much skinner than the other who was both short and rather large but not fat, hurriedly entering the store with expressions of fear, anger, frustration and confusion. Nor did they notice their suspicious behavior as both persons began looking around the store.
That is, until one of them bumped into the pink haired and skinned girl, making her stumble to the side and hit one of the support pillars. "Hey, watch it!" snapped Mina after regaining her balance, glaring at the one responsible.
Barely glancing at her, the man clad in darkly colored clothes merely let out a grunt before trying to move away. He was only able to take a single step when his path was blocked by a red haired teenager. Even though the man towered over him, Kirishima wouldn't let him get away with his disrespectful behavior. Especially towards his close friend, who he cares for greatly. "It's not very manly when someone doesn't apologize for making a mistake."
"Outta my way, punk," growled the man.
"Not until you apologize to her."
The man snarled and was about to raise his hand to punch the annoying red head when his partner showed up and got in between the two. "What are you doing?!" he hissed in a whisper. "We're not supposed to cause trouble or be noticed!"
"They started it," he muttered back.
His partner gave him a livid look. "Doesn't matter. Just let it go. We have more important things to do. We lost their trail and she's not here so let's check somewhere else. We can't be caught and we need to find the kid otherwise we're fucked. Now focus!" he whispered back.
Grumbling, the taller of the two nodded. "Okay, fine, I get it."
Both turned to face the teenagers who had crossed their arms and were currently glaring at one of them. They also noticed that several other customers were looking in their direction, making them internally grimace over their situation. They weren't supposed to draw any attention from the public towards them. And something else happened that made both persons' hearts start beating rapidly.
Two pro heroes, Death Arms and Kamui Woods, entered the store at that moment and looked around.
Both men had their eyes widen at seeing the heroes and were momentarily stunned since they hoped to evade them. Until one of them snapped out of it and decided to take control. "Fuck this," said the taller of the two before he swiftly moved forward. Catching the pink haired and skinned girl off guard with his sudden movements, he was able to grab her by the throat and then slammed her against the support pillar nearby.
"Aahh!" yelped Mina from the pain. Her screaming in pain made everyone in the store, including the two heroes, to move their gazes towards them.
"Mina!" cried out Eijiro in concern and fright, moving to help her.
But he barely took a step when the shorter male intercepted him. Using a quick motion, he tripped up the teenager and then threw him onto the ground face first. He slammed his foot onto his back, making him let out sounds of pain. Many in the store screamed and scrambled to exit the store, pushing one another to go first while preventing the two heroes from getting closer. And it also caused a certain green haired young man to become a victim of their panic stricken actions and was swept up into the crowd of people making a beeline for the exit.
*BANG* A gunshot was heard that made everyone besides the two pro heroes to stop as they either dropped to the floor or crouched down with their arms covering their heads and silenced filled the area. "Nobody move, or these two get it!" warned the shorter male. His fingers had opened up to reveal them to be gun barrels and one hand pointed at the boy's head with the other pointing at the heroes. His partner kept his hold on the girl's throat while all over his body he had sharp needle like protrusions appear, some which stopped just short of piercing the girl's skin.
"Okay, just hold on," started Kamui Woods, raising his hands in a peaceful manner. "No need to do anything rash."
"Shut up," said the shorter male. "I'm the one who's going to make the rules here and you're going to listen to me!"
Death Arms narrowed his eyes at the two but didn't do anything else more. Kamui Woods let out a quiet sigh before speaking. "Alright. We know you mean business. What do you want?"
"For you two to get the hell out of here and don't call any backup!" commanded the taller one at once.
"You know we can't do that," replied the strong arm hero.
A cocking sound was heard from the shorter male's hands, letting everyone there know that he was getting ready to shoot. "Do you have a hearing problem?! I'll kill this kid and it'll be your fault hero! Ugh! This is why I hate heroes. Always thinking that they'll get one up on us. Well, let me tell you…"
As the villain rambled on while stuck in the stalemate, the two teenagers taken hostage glanced at one another. Eijiro noticed something that made him become surprised; Mina's gaze was focused and it seemed that she was concentrating on something. And then, he saw it. It was such a small amount of acid being secreted out at a time that it was hardly noticeable. He wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't known she could do that. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth but then stopped just short of saying something after noticing the expression on her face. I can't draw attention to her now or it could get nasty! But don't worry Mina, I got it! He readied himself to get involved as soon as the opportune moment arrived.
"…and damn it, just fuckin leave!" finished the shorter male with venom, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke. He was becoming increasingly angrier and flustered, due to their predicament.
Seeing the heroes not leaving and again trying to talk to them, the other villain snarled. "Fuck this," remarked the taller, raising his right hand covered in sharp needles and moved it closer to the girl's face. His partner moved his gun hands closer to the red head. "You have five seconds to leave before pinky here becomes a pin cushion and dumbass over there gets his head blown off." Both Kamui Woods and Death Arms became angry but controlled themselves as they slowly started to back away with one of the two preparing his ultimate move to use and catch them off guard. The people still in the store followed suite as they too backed away slowly. "Five…four…th-AAAHHHHH!" Screamed the taller male all of a sudden, moving his hands away from the girl to look at them in horror. They were turning red and burning up while parts of his skin seemed to melt in front of his very eyes.
Mina dropped to her feet and coughed a few times after being let go. She had finished secreting the acid and then used her quirk to push it out faster, landing on his hands that were near her throat and face. "That's what you get for putting your hands on me, you creep!" shot Mina with anger before she made to go help her close friend.
"Let's go!" advised Kamui Woods and both he and Death Arms moved towards them.
"I don't think so!" yelled the shorter villain as he opened fire on the advancing heroes and against the pink haired girl.
Mina dove to the ground immediately as bullets whizzed overhead. Screams and shouts were heard from the people behind the heroes as well as many gunshots rang out in the store. Death Arms and Kamui Woods reacted at once as soon as he started shooting by taking up defensive positions. The strong arm hero flipped over a large gondola to act as a shield for himself and the civilians behind him. The wooden hero did something similar as he created a large wooden wall with his quirk in front of him to protect himself and the ones behind him.
Seeing this all happen, Eijiro decided it was the time to act. But when he tried to do move, he couldn't get up. The villain's foot was still on him and even with hardening his body, he couldn't overcome the villain's weight and get up to help. What the hell?! Why can't I get up?! How heavy is this guy?!
Unknown to them all, a green haired teenager wanted to help but was unable to break free from the group of people surrounding him as they rushed towards the exit without hurting them in the process. He didn't need to do anything to help them since the two pros had already provided cover for their escape. And so, his gaze was alternating between each one of the heroes and the two who looked to be near his age held hostage while stuck within the scared crowd around him. He was thinking a mile a minute in what he could do to help…
While that was going on, the taller man was in agony from the pain caused by the concentrated acid he was exposed to. "Fuckin hell! My hands! You damn slut! I'll kill you!" roared the taller male. Lost in his rage, he shot towards the pink girl with his face contorted in fury.
Mina was still lying on the ground to avoid being shot. She only noticed at the last second that someone was near her when all of a sudden her hair was grabbed and she was pulled up from it. "Aaaaahhhhh!" screamed Mina from the intense pain she felt over her hair being pulled in such a cruel way. It was so sudden, that she was unable to react properly.
After lifting her up, the taller villain slammed her hard against the pillar once more with her head hitting it, causing her to yelp in pain. That also made her leftover acid move onto the pillar, which started to sizzle and steam, breaking apart some. Even after that, she wasn't allowed to recover as the villain started punching her in the stomach relentlessly with his spiked hands several times. Each hit made her gasp in pain and some spit flew out of her mouth. Blood leaked out from the many needle like punctures on her body and at the same time, more acid was involuntarily leaked out from her body due to her extreme distress.
After punching her one last time in the stomach, the villain then raised his fist and landed one last strike against her cheek that made her head turn and bounced off the pillar again with more acid landing onto the pillar. She crumpled to the ground and coughed several times with more blood trickling out her mouth and from her many puncture wounds. A moment later and she went quiet and didn't move, passing out from the sudden onslaught she endured through.
It all happened way too fast and Mina's close friend didn't realize what had happened until it ended. When his mind caught up and processed what happened, it was as if an inferno lit up inside of him and he became filled with adrenaline due to his rage. "You bastard!" shouted Eijiro and pushed against the weight on him. Using his fury, he was finally able to overcome it and got to his feet.
"I don't think so!" yelled the shorter male and fired at the teenager's leg to stop him and keep his hostage for protection. Yet nothing happened as the villain's bullet just bounced off his skin. Skin that had hardened to be like rock. "What the hell?!"
"You'll pay for hurting her!" shouted Eijiro with rage as he stood up and cocked his right fist back to punch his would be attacker who was frozen in shock for the moment that his bullet just bounced off him. His punch landed against the male's face, making him stumble backwards and dropped to his knees in a daze as if hit by a giant boulder. Immediately afterwards, Eijiro moved towards the second male.
"Get them!" shouted Death Arms, moving swiftly forward with Kamui Woods. Both of them decided to take advantage of the opportunity that just presented itself, with the later about to use his ultimate move.
The taller male saw what happened and it angered him even more but he just barely dodged the teenager's strike. But Eijiro kept going and ended up hitting the support pillar near the villain. His strike broke more of the support pillar away, having been weakened considerably because of the concentrated acid on it. "Damn it!" cursed Eijiro as he saw what he just did and in pain. Though he could harden his skin to defend and attack, his hand still ended up getting cut up from literally punching through the pillar.
By the time he turned to face the second villain, his arm was grabbed by him and he was lifted up into the air. Eijiro was then thrown against the pillar but due to his hardened state, he shot through it, with more than half of it being broken off. He crashed against the floor hard some distance away and groaned for a bit before slowly making his way back up onto his feet.
"That's it! You and that whore are both in serious shit! I swear I'll kill you both!" commented the taller villain, moving to attack while his partner regained his composure and slowly stood back up.
"Lacquered Chain Prison!" But before he or his partner could do anything, they were wrapped up in thick wood and carried upwards a little. Kamui Woods used his ultimate move to capture and hold both of the villains. "Now, that's enough!" Eijiro was still angry over what the two villains did to him and especially to his close friend but seeing them apprehended, he let out a sigh. His hardening faded away and he took in a few breathers. The two villains however, were cursing up a storm. "Quiet!" snapped the wooden hero, covering their mouths with more wood. "Better," he remarked while bringing the two closer to them.
The people there relaxed at seeing the villains apprehended and some even began cheering and praised the heroes for their work. This allowed the green haired teenager to get some breathing room and immediately moved away from the crowd of people. Afterwards, he just let out a sigh of relief that everything worked out in the end and watched the heroes do their job. He also wanted to talk to one of them if given the chance…
Seeing his partner able to keep the two villains subdued, Death Arms made his way towards the red haired teenager. Once he reached the young man, the hero told Eijiro that he wasn't allowed to leave just yet, as both he and Kamui Wood wanted to talk to him about his rash actions. They wanted to commend him for his bravery and actions but also to scold him in letting his anger engulf him.
But the young man prevented him from doing so by speaking out first. "I know, I'm sorry. But can we first check on Mina?" Realizing that he had forgotten about the girl at the moment, Death Arms quickly nodded but told Eijiro to go towards Kamui and to wait with him while he goes to get her and make sure she was alright.
However, right when he finished saying that and before anyone could do anything else, loud cracking and breaking sounds were heard that drew everyone's attention. The support pillar that was broken down had cracked more, spreading into the ceiling above and it started breaking apart.
"It's gonna collapse," stated Death Arms. "We need to get everyone out."
"Everyone, head to the exits!" ordered Kamui Woods, ushering the frightened people out of the store while holding onto the two villains.
Eijiro felt responsible for what was happening but then he remembered something else that was more important. "Wait, Mina's there!" he yelled suddenly, making both pro heroes become concerned along with fear filling them.
Death Arms moved towards the downed girl at once but then the support pillar had parts of it fall apart, with the ceiling cracking even more and pieces of it began to fall. Rushing towards her, he yelled out to his partner. "Make some supports!"
"I can't make them sturdy enough in time! Just get her out of there!" yelled Kamui Woods, not even mentioning how he was also busy getting everyone out of the dangerous store.
"SHIT!" cursed out Death Arms, as he realized he might not be able to save the girl. Let me get there in time! Please!
"MINA!" screamed Eijiro in fear as the broken pillar and the ceiling started to collapse.
It was just a short while before his screaming that the pink haired girl regained consciousness and opened her eyes to slightly blurry vision. Wincing from the pain caused by hitting her head and the dozens of thin stab wounds on her stomach and some that were on her face, she was able to lift herself up to a sitting position on the floor. Leaning on her left hand on the ground to look around and see what happened, she blinked several times to clear her vision.
Sudden yelling by several and then the screaming of her name by her close friend made her heart beat increase. Moving her gaze towards them, she found them to be in fearful states and looking at something above her with one of them sprinting towards her. Looking upwards, she saw what it was they were looking at. Fear completely engulfed her and she was unable to even make a sound or attempt to move out of the way as the ceiling cracked and was about to collapse. All she could do was watch as she was about to be buried alive.
A sudden blur of green was seen by many before it stopped to reveal a green haired teenager standing underneath the support pillar. His knees were bent, along with his arms bent over his head while holding up the broken pillar. Glowing red energy like veins was seen all over his body before they faded away to only be replaced with greenish blue colored electricity arcing around him now constantly. Trying to keep the ceiling from collapsing, he struggled with holding the weight as it pushed him down a little. Growling through gritted teeth, the electricity arcing around him grew brighter and started racing around him faster. Steadily lifting up the pillar higher, he was able to completely straighten his legs and his arms, standing straight with his arms holding the pillar up and prevented the ceiling from collapsing.
When he thought it was stable enough for the moment, he moved his concerned gaze towards the downed girl. "Hey…Hey! You okay?" he asked her. "Hello?! Hey! You need to go! Hurry!"
The sight of him, doing all that, made the pink haired girl become so mesmerized by it she didn't hear him until she was suddenly being shaken. Snapping out of it, she looked towards the one shaking her and found it was her close friend. "Ejiro?!"
"C'mon, we gotta go!" he told her.
Mina didn't say anything but looked towards the one holding up the pillar. She saw his green colored eyes locked onto her. She the way his muscles strained against his clothes while preventing the pillar and the connected ceiling from collapsing. She also noticed the pillar and the area around it was cracking and breaking apart all over even with him holding it up for the moment. Her heart began beating so quickly she thought it would pop out of her chest. But she couldn't move, filled with both fear over possibly dying and wonder over this new person who arrived out of seemingly nowhere.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!"
A new voice spoke nearby that made both Mina and Eijiro jump in their spot. Turning their gazes, they saw the pro hero Death Arms next to them with an angry yet concerned expression on his face towards the green haired teenager before facing them with a concerned one. "Are you hurt?" She didn't answer, unable to speak. He then looked at the new arrival, his angry gaze returning but still kept his focus. "Switch spots with me and get them out of here!" he told him as he made to move and take over.
"NO!" shot the teenager, startling the three. More cracks formed along the ceiling that was spreading all over and they noticed it. "If we try to switch now, it'll collapse! Time's running out and it's completely breaking apart! It won't hold much longer! Go! Kamui Woods got almost everyone else out. But you three need to get going now! I can move fast enough to leave before it collapses! But you have to go! GO NOW!" he ordered the pro with no hesitation.
Understanding him and wasting no more time, Death Arms quickly moved. "Harden up boy!" He didn't even give him a second to react, as the pro grabbed Eijiro's arm before practically throwing him forward towards the exit. He had seen what the red head was capable of and took that into consideration before he did that. Quickly afterwards, he picked up the girl into his arms and sprinted towards the exit. "Wait! What about him?!" half shouted Mina, finally able to find her voice as they made their way towards the exit.
"It looks like he can handle himself so don't worry about him!" replied back Death Arms.
The two, along with Eijiro who stumbled a little after being thrown before finding his feet, left the building with the last few people leaving. Right before being taken outside, the pink skinned and haired girl looked back over Death Arm's shoulder. Looking at the green haired young man still holding up the pillar, he turned his gaze onto hers. He smiled at seeing her looking at him, as if to convince her that everything will be alright, which made her heart skip a beat.
Next thing she knew, she was outside with the rest of the people there. Her close friend of many years was hugging her while asking if she was alright while she was still lost after everything that happened, with her sight still on the building. Suddenly, loud sounds of part of the ceiling finally collapsing were heard. "NO!" screamed Mina with worry and concern, startling Eijiro who separated from her and went silent over her outburst. He turned his worried gaze to the ruined building with many of the people there shouting with fright as well. They all watched with wide eyes as the entire building collapsed as dust rose over the broken down building and then it was silent.
At that moment, Death Arms ran back to the store, yelling out to Kamui Woods to check on the girl's wounds before he went inside. Maneuvering around the debris in the ruined store, he called out to the one left behind. Hearing nothing, he assumed the worst. "Oh no, don't tell me…" Looking around, he found some debris piled up in one spot. Hurrying to it, he began moving away the pile of rubble. When he finally moved the final piece, he found that there was nothing. Looking around, he saw there was no body nor were there any blood marks.
He was about to leave when he saw something that caught his eye. A door in the far back was opened. Going to it, he saw that it leads to a small hallway with another door at the end of it that was also left slightly open. Reaching it, he opened the door fully and saw it led outside to an alley with a dumpster nearby.
A sudden beep let him know he got a text message. Pulling out his phone, he checked the message and after reading it, he let out a sigh of relief. He had gotten away in time. Death Arms shook his head afterwards. Damn it Midoriya. Almost gave me a heart attack. You're lucky I know you so I'll cover for your stunt this time because of what we've been through together these past couple of years, but damn it, I'm gonna kick your ass next time I see ya for putting me through this. Messaging him back that they need to talk soon, he went back to where everyone else was. As he did so, he thought of how he was going to tell his partner and the people there that everything was alright. And he also had to call in the police, the crime scene investigation unit and the cleanup crew. Goddamn it. What a mess…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Run.
Just run.
Just keep running.
That's all a little girl could think of as she kept putting one foot in front of the other while frantically making her way through a darkened alley. Her once bright yellow sundress was now dull, marred with dirt and dust. Panting every step of the way, she could barely breathe yet kept going. Though she was filled with fear and anxiousness, she knew that this was the only chance that she had to escape her nightmarish predicament. She had finally been able to elude her captor and his men and wasn't going to waste this chance. The second she did so, she started running as fast as her little feet could move.
How long do I run? Is it enough? Am I safe yet? Random sounds were heard throughout the alley as she kept running that caused her heart to leap to her throat. No, it's not safe! I have to keep going! I can't stop! It was at that point that she saw the sidewalk in the distance from within the alley. Don't stop! You can't stop! Run! Run! Run away while you still can! Remembering all the horrible things she had gone through, her eyes filled up with water before tears flowed down her cheeks. I won't go back! I can't! No more! I don't want to hurt anymore! I want to-
*THUD* In her haste, the small girl didn't see the person who came into view as she made it onto the sidewalk and literally ran into his side face first. Bouncing off of him, she fell onto her rear, stunned from the impact.
"Whoa, that's quite a tackle you got there. Are you alright?"
A new voice, one filled with a compassionate tone that she never heard before, spoke and made her look up towards the one who did. A green haired young man with green eyes was looking at her with an expression of concern. Not able to say anything, all she did was stare at him while panting as a couple more tears flowed down her cheeks.
Taking in her appearance, one off dirtied clothes and fear filled expression on her face along with the tears currently on her face, instantly he knew that she was in a bad state. "Oh, I'm so sorry if I caused you any pain," he said gently while kneeling down to her level on one knee and setting down the multiple bags in his hands onto the ground. He wanted to appear approachable for her by making himself seem smaller and used a soft tone of voice to hopefully soothe her nerves. "Here, let me help you up."
Extending his hands out to her, she flinched and he noticed that. Retracting his hands at once, he instead rested his right hand against his raised knee and his left hand against his lowered one. "I'm sorry for not being careful and having you bump into me and I'm sorry if I scared you. I promise you, I won't hurt you. Will you let me help you?" he asked her kindly with a soft tone of voice and waited for her reply.
The young girl stared at him with wide, teary eyes. She couldn't believe the words she was hearing. Never before in her life had anyone spoken to her in such a way. With kindness and concern. No, it was always the opposite, with indifference and dislike. She had convinced herself a long time ago that she would probably never meet someone like that. But now, here was this person. A young man, probably in his late teens, who seemed to radiate goodness. And she had bumped right into him out of nowhere. Her heart beating quickly, she did the only thing she could.
She hugged him and let go, crying heavily.
"Huh?!" That was all he could say at first, stunned at the child's reaction before he came to his senses. Reciprocating the hug, he gently started stroking her dirtied silver white hair and wrapped his left arm around her in a protective hold. "Sshh, sshh, it's okay. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe now," he assured her in a soothing tone of voice.
Trembling violently in the embrace, she cried harder while gripping the front of his shirt with her small hands even tighter. The way she was behaving made him think a mile a minute. She's so scared. What could possibly cause such a reaction from her? What happened to her? Is she lost? Or did she see something? Looking around their surroundings, he didn't see anything out of the norm. Was it an animal? A villain? I don't see anything suspicious around us. Thinking some more for a bit, he decided the only thing he could do was to ask her.
When she had calmed down some, since her crying had eased up a little, he decided it would be better to do so now. He didn't want to cause her more distress by possibly bringing up something bad for her, but he needed to know what was going on so he could attempt to understand. But first, he would start small. "Hey little one, can you tell me your name?" he asked her softly.
It took her a moment to answer him. "E-Eri…" she said quietly into his chest, not looking up or leaving the embrace.
"Hi Eri-chan. That's a pretty name. I'm Izuku Midoriya."
Raising her teary gaze, she looked at him. "Iz…Izu…ku…"
He smiled at her a little. "That's right, good job. Now, can you tell me what happened Eri-chan?" he asked her.
Opening her mouth to speak, she was prevented in doing so as someone else began talking instead. "I'm sorry but my daughter was misbehaving and when I scolded her, she ran away."
Izuku looked towards the one who just spoke while subconsciously hugging Eri closer to him who began shaking violently. A man who looked to be in his late twenties dressed in darkly colored clothes along with a plague doctor's mask on his face that resembled a bird's beak was standing in front of them at the entrance of the alley. "Eri is your daughter?" he asked the newly arrived person.
"Yes, she is and thank you for finding her and taking care of her," answered the man in a monotone voice. "But we need to go back home now. Come Eri."
"He…he's lying…"
Eri's barely whispered words that were coated in fear, was heard by him and instantly his guard went up as he understood. Eri's afraid of him. Was she kidnapped? What can I do? How can I save her? Thinking furiously, he wondered how he could handle the situation without giving up the fact that he was suspicious. Adjusting his hold on the young girl to cover his raised leg somewhat while covertly reaching for his phone with his now free hand, he spoke. "I understand. But she's really scared. We can wait together here until she clams down enough," he suggested as calmly as he could while going through his phone in his pocket.
"No, we don't have time for that as we're late for an appointment. Come Eri," said the man, his anger rising due to the teenager's annoying persistence.
Finishing up with his phone, he withdrew his hand from his pocket and stood up with Eri still clutching onto him for dear life. "You're already late. What's a few more minutes in calming down a frightened child?" he asked the man. Please get here soon!
The man's eyes narrowed. "It's rude to get involved in someone else's business and now I'm getting mad. Eri, you know what happens when I get mad, don't you?" he asked the young girl with his voice raised slightly.
Hearing that tone of voice…the one that caused her nightmares and made her fear hearing it…caused her to move her sight and looked at him. The expression on his face, the way he was staring at her and his recent words made her realize what he was implying. I…I can't…I can't let him get hurt because of me! I'm not worth it cause I'm a curse! Eri pushed off of Izuku, practically jumping down to the ground and moved back towards the man.
"E-Eri?!" Izuku was stunned, seeing her reaction. "What are yo-"
"It's o-okay," she said quietly, barely glancing back at him with her head slightly turned back. "I'm sorry for bothering you." She turned away from him and began walking beside the man who had taken her hand. The two soon disappeared into the alley while leaving behind a stunned young man.
Izuku couldn't believe what just happened. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that something was wrong and that Eri had suffered. He didn't know from what but knew that it had to be true. He could feel it, his instincts and gut telling him so. But she just left like that. And he had no idea why she would willingly go with someone who was pretending to be her father.
Until he had a sudden epiphany; she went back to the suspicious and cold man to protect him.
His heart rate increasing, his mind raced at what he could to help her without causing too much trouble. And the only thing he could think of was this; follow them.
Red glowing veins appeared on him with green electricity arcing around him constantly afterwards. Grabbing his bags, he then jumped diagonally upwards towards the right wall in the alley. He then pushed off of it towards the wall behind him. He had learned this from a certain elderly pro and thanked his lessons within his mind as he did so. Continuing on with his wall jumping, he reached the top of the building, placed his bags down against a corner and looked through the alley.
Two persons, one much smaller than the other with sliver white hair were barely visible in the distance. Quickly and as quietly as he could, he went after them while using the rooftops to hide his presence. As he did so, he was thinking a mile a minute. He wondered just who the man was and what he could've done to terrify the poor girl to the point of such reactions from her.
A few times he was able to hear some words spoken from him thanks to the dead silence of the alley. Words that made no sense to him and though he knew that they were important in some way, decided to not dwell on them at the moment. Instead, he kept following after Eri and the man while pushing the words to the back of his mind. On and on he went, keeping as silent as he possibly could.
After what felt like hours, when in reality it was just a short while of them going through the alleyways, the green haired teenager came to a stop at the roof of a building since his targets also stopped. And the reason why was because the man had pulled out a phone, its ringing echoing in the alley. Izuku took out his own phone, noticing a message notification on it but ignored it since he wanted to do something else.
Opening up his video camera, he zoomed in as far as he could towards the man and the young girl and started recording. He could see the man speaking into the phone and that he was angry due to the expression on his face. He also noticed how Eri was shaking and looked to be beyond terrified with her trembling in her place.
"DAMN IT!"
The man's sudden shouting almost made Izuku drop his phone, startled by it. Quickly recovering, he continued recording the two. Soon afterward, the man put away his phone and turned his whole body towards the young girl.
Cowering in front of him, Eri tried to move away but she hit the wall behind her and couldn't move any further. The absolute fear in her face was noticeable, even through the video recording. As the man removed his glove from his right hand and extended it towards the girl, he could see her shake her head. She then screamed out, "NO! PLEASE!"
"It's your fault they were caught because you ran away! This is your punishment!" yelled the man.
It was at that point that Izuku decided to intervene and every fiber of his being was screaming at him to get there quickly, somehow knowing that if he made contact, it would be very bad. But unfortunately, he didn't react in time. The man's hand barely touched Eri and the moment it did, something happened that made Izuku stop in his spot on the roof of the building, letting out a soundless scream as his mouth opened, with his blood freezing while somehow still able to continue recording.
The young girl exploded in a shower of blood and was no more.
He couldn't believe it. He just witnessed a murder and he did nothing to stop it. Such brutality and cruelty…and against a child no less. Seeing such a thing had shocked him to his core, making him unable to move or think.
Until a second later when somehow the young girl perfectly reformed out of seemingly thin air, with such an expression on her face that no child should ever have.
Izuku's eyes widened as the phone slipped out of his hands, falling down onto the roof but surprisingly didn't break and kept recording while facing upwards towards the sky. So many different feelings sprung up within him that he was lost in it but a few he was feeling the most. Relief that she was still alive. Fear of it happening again to her. And the biggest emotion of the three was anger at the man for what he just did. His hands clenched into fists and he started shaking violently as glowing red veins appeared all over his body before they faded away to be replaced by constant arcs of greenish blue colored electricity appearing around him. The next second, he shot himself from the roof down towards the man.
The sound of concrete breaking as well as instincts he had developed drew the man's attention and he looked up in time to see a greenish blue blur rocketing towards him. It allowed him to barely dodge the incoming human missile by the skin of his teeth. The ground where he previously stood exploded from the teenager's strike, causing rubble, dirt and pieces of stone to fly all over the place. Luckily, none of it struck the young girl yet bombarded the man, making him back up some distance as he protected his face with his arms.
Standing up and whirling around towards the man, Izuku glared at him as he positioned himself in front of the stunned and still frozen young girl. Finding his footing, the man lowered his arms and narrowed his eyes at the teenager. "You dare attack me, you filth?!" Izuku said nothing but furrowed his brow while tightening his clenched hands to the point of drawing blood with his nails against his palm yet he didn't care. "You don't know who I am, this is none of your business and still you get involved?! You have a death wish!" Quickly kneeling, he touched the ground with his bare palm. Instantly, two concrete spear like protrusions formed and shot towards the teenager.
Using his increased speed thanks to the power of One for All even at just his current maximum of five percent, Izuku dodged both incoming strikes and moved forward swiftly. "SMAAASH!" A right handed strike was thrown by him that landed against the man's cheek, sending him flying backwards. He hit the wall behind him with such force that the wall caved in from the pressure of the hit and he sunk into the wall for a moment before falling down onto the ground. He didn't move afterwards.
Seeing him down for the count, Izuku turned to the young girl as he stopped using One for All. "It's alright now Eri," he told her as he moved towards her. "I'm so sorry for not doing anything sooner but everything will be alright now. I promise," he told her soothingly, to try and calm her down since she was still shaking violently.
However, the white haired girl shook her head. "He…He…"
Kneeling down in front of her, he locked his eyes onto hers. "It's okay Eri-chan. He won't hurt you ever again."
Again she shook her head. "He…heals…"
Hearing her say that made his heart skip a beat at realizing he had made a mistake by assuming his opponent was truly down. He was barely able to stand up and turn around when he was struck by another concrete spike, stabbing him straight through his abdomen's right side while pushing him back and ended up stuck against the wall. Blood escaped from his mouth as he coughed while feeling excruciating pain.
"Stupid, filthy, hero wannabe," chastised the man as he walked up towards Eri. The young girl was giving a fear filled look at Izuku who was stuck, speared to the wall. "Enjoy the last moments of your life. And reflect on how it could've been longer if you didn't try to go up against the leader of the Yakuza."
Izuku, though conscious because of the massive amount of adrenaline filling his body at the moment, couldn't do anything to escape. Uselessly trying to free himself with waning strength, he heard the man speak and when he identified himself somewhat, he looked up at the leader of the Yakuza. Even with the plague mask on, Izuku could tell that there was no emotion on his face after another act of violence. The green haired teenager could do nothing but watch as the gangster took hold of the young girl who was letting out silent tears with that horrified expression on her face. They began moving away from him while the Yakuza leader held onto Eri tightly.
"N-No…E-Eri…" He tried to do something but was unsuccessful. His hands felt heavy and he couldn't raise them. His heart beat was slowing down. Izuku's sight was becoming blurry but still he could see. He saw the young girl being dragged away with the gangster against her will. He saw her tear marred face and the fear in her eyes. Unable to stop them from doing so, his eyes began to close and his arms hung uselessly against his side.
Unable to keep his head up anymore, it hung loosely down and his eyes fully closed. At that moment, dozens of images flashed across his mind's eye. From his rough childhood to the promising future he just started walking towards. And then he remembered what he witnessed before; the silver haired girl exploding in a shower of blood. Eri…no! I can't let her get taken away! I can't let her go through that ever again! I won't give up! I will save her! No matter what!
It's said that a dying person can sometimes achieve miraculous feats in their last moments. And this was no exception. For inside the young man's mind, an image of a burning green star appeared and it glowed brightly. Izuku suddenly awakened and raised his gaze along with his right hand towards the two figures away from him. His heart beat increased as adrenaline filled his body with red glowing veins appeared on him along with something else while he focused on his desire to reach them and save her.
All of a sudden, black tendrils of energy painfully erupted from his right forearm and hand, shooting forward and upwards with incredible speed towards their target with some of the tendrils reaching over the tops of the surrounding buildings. "Aaagghh!" yelled Izuku in pain as blood shot out from his mouth and nose when the tendrils appeared.
His yell caught the attention of the two, making both the young girl and the gangster glance back towards him. "What the f-" That was all he could say before the black tendrils reached him and wrapped around him tightly. The man was suddenly thrown around all over the place, hitting the walls of the buildings in the alley and on the ground. When he was lifted up into the air, he was able to free one of his hands before it got too tight and made to free himself by touching the tendrils to use his quirk to disintegrate it and free himself. But nothing happened. "What?!" He tried again and again but nothing happened. What the fuck?! Why can't I disintegrate it? Unless it's…pure energy?! He looked towards the impaled do-gooder. He was glaring at him even while bleeding all over the place as the black tendrils of energy seemed to be originating from his arm and were going haywire all over the place. But somehow Eri was being completely avoided.
"You just won't stop interfering!" snarled the gangster. "But it doesn't matter! Sooner or later, you're gonna die like the pathetic wannabe hero you are! I'll make sure no one finds your body! I'll completely disintegrate you! And then I'll take Eri back! I will-"
"DETROIT…SMASH!"
A loud yell interrupted the yakuza leader before an incredible punch, one filled with such power, landed against his face that it instantly knocked him out.
Seeing who it was that arrived, Izuku felt relief. All Might, the world's number one hero and his mentor, had arrived. Now, Eri was safe no matter what. "All…Might…thank god…you're here…" whispered Izuku, his sight darkening with his quirk disappearing as it shrunk back within his arm.
"Izu!"
"Young Midoriya!"
Those were the last words he heard as he lost consciousness while his arms hung loosely by his side and his head dropped…