After about an hour, we finally arrive at our destination. The industrial district before our eyes appears deserted...but the air around us is electrified with tension: we see smoke rising from abandoned warehouses, we hear countless sirens in the distance with flashing lights, in the grip of total chaos.
I'm starting to get nervous, I can tell by the sweat wetting my hands.
"Good," says Aizawa-sensei, with his usual cold tone that allows neither distraction nor retort. My gaze falls on Ryota, I see him gripping Mirko's hand tightly.
"According to Midnight Sensei's communications, there are four villains. Our goal will be to neutralize them and protect civilians. I want absolute focus. Understood?"
I swallow when I feel Tess's hand grip my arm tightly. I place my hand on top of hers, trying to reassure her.
Hawks moves next to me, his wings fluttering slightly. He wraps his arm around my neck.
"Little one, are you ready to make a difference? Not just fly with me and heal, but actually save people. You know I love seeing your heroic side in action."
I smile, almost involuntarily, trying to hold back a laugh, but the tension is palpable. Hawks-sensei is so... shameless, yet there's something reassuring in his light-heartedness. My smile fades immediately, the moment I notice the look Aizawa-sensei is casting toward us. It's a small detail, nothing special, perhaps insignificant to anyone, but I notice it. His hand tightens into a fist imperceptibly, his gaze becomes more attentive, almost protective. My heart beats a little faster.
"Here we go, we have the details on the villains!" Present Mic exclaims, one hand pushing the earpiece a little harder into our ear, as Aizawa-sensei hands us a tablet with the information:
"We've named one Shadow. As the name suggests, it controls shadows. It's fast, stealthy, and focuses on civilian movements. The other, nicknamed Titan, possesses brute strength and appears to be indestructible. Potential critical point: we need to focus on protecting civilians, and the medical team will need to be on the front lines."
Mic exclaims, nodding at something Aizawa-sensei said.
"The other one is Volt, he manipulates electricity and can paralyze communications and electronic systems. Be careful with those earpieces, mind you! And the last one is Siren, a sonic quirk that disorients and confuses enemies. We could have some potential coordination issues between teams."
"Without wasting any time, let's split up," Hawks continues, in his usual slightly impertinent instructor tone. "Medical team: Eri, Tess, Ren, Reina, and Kaito. Combat team: Mirko, Ryota, Present Mic, Sakamoto, Tanezaki, Ueda, and Taneshiro, along with Mirio Togata who will be joining us shortly, as support for both sides: Aizawa and I. Cover as many areas as possible, all of you!"
I take a deep breath, clenching my fists. The responsibility is enormous; I'm no longer at the Specialization Festival or my internship. Even if strangely, I feel a strange calm inside me. I look at Aizawa-sensei, the way he moves, the way he hides behind his scarf, his focused gaze that occasionally searches me. Every beat of my heart reminds me that I can count on him. I smile slightly, and yet... the weight of what's happened between us so far is right there, silent, while he remains focused and seemingly detached.
"Ready?" Hawks asks, grinning. "Let's show you what it means to be a lifesaving team!"
I smile under my helmet, adjusting my gloves. I look at Tess, she looks at me. I nod, she nods. The mission has begun.
We start running, all together at first, toward the direction of the explosions. The ground shakes at the first roar, debris flying everywhere. Aizawa-sensei, half his face hidden by his scarf, doesn't even turn around.
"Fighters, with me! Front lines!" he shouts.
Like a compact, black horde, all the boys from Alpha Class, including my step-brother Ryota and Hawks, advance before us. We split up, and I follow my stepbrother with my eyes. He turns to shout something to Mirko, when his eyes briefly catch mine. Within seconds, I can see them jumping, sprinting, and heading in the opposite direction. For a split second, I even see a shadow, probably that Shadow, stretch across the walls of the buildings as that Titan smashes a container like it was cardboard. My stomach tightens.
We doctors, on the other hand, stay behind...but that doesn't mean we're safer than them. Or less exposed to danger. Suddenly, a metallic voice explodes in our earpieces. It's Aizawa-sensei...my heart skips a beat.
"Medical support requested on the west side!" His voice barely crackles. "More explosions incoming, evacuate civilians immediately!"
My team and I huddle together, ready to rush forward and communicate in case of emergency. Then, like a sudden blow to the back, we hear voices. The screams, the cries, the pleas. Mostly women and children.
"Someone...someone help me!"
My body jerks sideways, moving on its own.
"Come on, guys!" I order my team. "Tess, with me! Ren, Reina, and Kaito, take the left area! No time to waste!"
The others hear me and nod, running toward the smoke. That smell...of blood, of fear, of poverty...insinuates itself into my nostrils and mixes with the frantic beating of my heart. I quicken my pace when another explosion rocks the street and a piece of wall or plaster collapses next to us, missing us by a few meters. Kaito covers his head, trying to ease the tension.
"What are these, fireworks? This is the wrong time, guys!" he exclaims.
"Kaito!" I call back, glaring at him. "Move, there are people..."
I stop suddenly.
A child.
Maybe he's seven years old. No, maybe eight. He's covered in dust from head to toe, one leg is badly bent, and his femur is... completely exposed, protruding from the flesh. No, I mustn't waste time, I mustn't cry. I must gather my courage and save him.
"Help me, girl, help me! It hurts!"
I approach, running toward him. Kaito comes up behind me, his shoulder bumping into my back, when he also turns to the boy and sees his leg.
He turns pale. Literally.
"O-okay...Um...Eri, I...well...I didn't think...they'd come out so easily...I..."
He looks almost faint, his eyes wide and his hands shaking like winter leaves. Despite the chaos and the situation, I manage to smile slightly.
"Kaito! Breathe. It's not your job to watch, that's mine. You block the flow of civilians, understand? Reassure them and stabilize their vital signs. It's crucial!"
"Y-yes! Right away! Okay! I...yes! I'll do it! One at a time, I promise!" And he runs away, as if he'd seen a ghost.
I kneel down beside the child; despite all the pain he's in, he can't even cry anymore, poor thing.
"Hey, hey, do you want to look at me? I'm here. I won't leave you, I promise."
He sobs, white as a sheet, and clings to my overalls.
The battle ahead is intensifying. The explosions are escalating so rapidly that it will be impossible to evacuate all the civilians within an hour. I think of Aizawa-sensei, who must be giving it his all. My brother, Hawks-sensei, my dad, the entire fighting team.
I...I have to do the same. I have to give my all, for my own good and for the good of others.
I place my hands on the child's open wound and concentrate, trying to calm my heartbeat so that my concentrated energy can flow into him.
"Don't move, okay? Everything will be okay. I promise."
***
The child is fine; after a few minutes, his vital signs are finally stable. I was able to easily control his respiratory shock and immobilize his injured leg. I wasn't able to completely replace the bone, but I did manage to reinsert it into the flesh without causing too much pain. This way, with the help of an expert, he will certainly not lose his limb.
I watch him as he's loaded into the makeshift ambulance along with the other wounded civilians. He waves goodbye and asks me to come visit him as soon as the situation is resolved. I quickly stroke his head and nod, smiling.
At least one is safe, I think, wiping the sweat from my forehead as I turn around. Just as I decide to rejoin my companions, the earth shakes again. I don't even have time to breathe before everything, sadly, explodes again.
From an alley to my left, a shadow detaches itself from the wall and... takes shape. It's definitely Shadow, I think, whose stealthy, darting movements make it practically impossible to see when he doesn't want to be seen. He's running toward Tess!
"Tess! There on the right!" I yell.
She turns just in time to avoid a blade of shadow that fortunately only grazes her cheek. I see Ren running toward her, but a second blow comes from below, forcing them to move together, synchronized, almost instinctive.
"Let's not waste time fighting them! We have to think about the civilians!" I exclaim, running toward them.
That Shadow is forcing us all to cooperate, to fight against him. He's provoking us, but we mustn't let him win. He's fast, too fast. And he's not the only one.
A roar behind me makes the air tremble again, like an earthquake. I whirl around, and my muscles instantly tense.
Titan!
Gigantic, too big, he looks like a Kaiju. His skin feels like stone, and every step he takes makes the cracked asphalt of the industrial district vibrate. Surrounded by a red aura, he's more terrifying than ever. But the main problem isn't his size, but the fact that... he's heading straight for us. The medical team.
"But why is everyone so angry with us?" Kaito asks, moving an unconscious civilian away from a pile of rubble. I don't have time to respond, not even to wave, because Titan raises a fist the size of a building.
"EVERYONE MOVE!" I yell, grabbing as many people's hands as possible, trying to pull them to safety.
After a few seconds, the fist hits the ground a few meters away from us, and the shockwave is so strong that it throws Ren and Reina off their feet, and I scream their names as I watch them fly and roll across the asphalt. I run as fast as I can to the ambulance, cramming as many people as I can onto my back, and panting, I run back to my companions.
"Ren, Reina!" I lunge toward them, without thinking. And Titan raises his arm again. This time, I'm more than sure he's aiming for me.
Without thinking, though, I activate flight, spreading my wings, creating a trail of light behind me. I reach Ren first: bruised chest, labored breathing, racing heartbeat.
"Ren! Ren! Look at me! Try to breathe, stay calm, I'm here!" I exclaim.
I then reach Reina; luckily they've landed close together. She's bleeding from the head, looking disoriented and confused.
"Don't you dare lose consciousness now, okay?" I mutter, already holding the light beams.
I use two stabilization techniques simultaneously, which is a huge risk in an area full of villains, but unfortunately I have no choice. The energy flow now descends into my arms, and the first to recover is Ren. He coughs, regains consciousness for a moment, and looks at me, in a state of pseudo-confusion.
"Eri! Eri, what happened?"
I don't answer. Reina, meanwhile, blinks and looks at me with a challenging grin.
"Ah, I knew it. You really are an angel," she whispers.
"Shut up, we have work to do! Come on!" I exclaim.
Titan's fist is charged, about to crash into the ground. I wrap both my companions in my wings and carry them to a sheltered area, just as Titan smashes through a warehouse.