BNHA: Undying (Ch 76) (Patreon)

(3rd)

The three girls watch as the real villain drags their screaming classmate into the hallway. They aren’t sure where exactly he’s taking the pervert, but they’re all relieved that they won’t have him leering at them during the exercise. But…

“Are we sure it is wise to leave the two of them alone?” Yaoyorozu asks into the air, not sure herself if she’s genuinely asking for their opinions or is simply questioning herself.

“I mean…” Mina shrugs. “The teachers seem to think that he won’t kill any of us, so it’s probably fine?”

“Kero. I thought we sent them together because we were hoping he would?” The other two turn to stare at their frog-quirked friend. She shrugs dismissively. “I know I’m not the only one who’s thought of where his body could be hidden. I just thought we decided that this was a good opportunity where we wouldn’t be blamed, kero.”

There’s silence for another few moments before Mina’s eyes narrow and she points at her. “...You’re joking.” She peers closer at her, her mouth twitching as she thinks. “You’re joking. I think?”

Tsu just stares back with a blank expression. “The world may never know.”

Before Mina can crack a joke at the incredibly old reference, an unholy screech echoes through the building, causing a shiver to crawl down their spines. Before they can do much more than jump in surprise, it abruptly cuts off.

They exchange uncertain glances, none of them sure of how to react. Yaoyorozu feels that they should investigate, if only because they’re all aspiring heroes.

Mina also wants to investigate, but is worried of what they would find, and whether or not it’s a trap.

Meanwhile Tsu…

She claps her hands twice and bows her head. “Rest in a place with no women for you to harass, Mineta.”

Getting judgemental glares from her classmates she lets out a sigh. “If Usagi had actually done something to Mineta, Cementoss-sensei would have warned us over our comms. Since he hasn’t, he’s probably fine.”

Mina raises an eyebrow. “Probably?”

Tsu shrugs. “Physically, at least. Mentally, I hope Usagi manages to traumatize the pervert out of him.”

`~`

(Izuku)

I can’t help but shake my head as I use the unconscious grape’s hands to pull his quirk from his head. “Really, what kind of hero student tries to make a deal with a villain to perv on his female classmates?”

Sure, knocking him out was probably a bit much, but people like this ruin what it means to be a villain! Why the heck are our morales better than an aspiring hero’s!?” 

Anyways, with him knocked out I had a couple of routes to go down for the exercise: Play an off-duty hero who managed to escape, a psychopathic villain who decided to use the chaos to have some fun, or make the ‘villain’ an idiot who knocked himself out after setting some traps.

Given that the grape is clearly an idiot already, the last option made the most sense. But since he’s knocked out, I have to set the traps myself. Add on a high-pitched screech like a dinosaur, and if the hero students have any actual heroic instincts they should be having a bit of a panic about what it could mean. Which translates into them rushing a bit to save the hostages.

But since they do need to be careful to avoid the villains, then they can’t just run in blindly in the hopes of stumbling onto us. So I have a good few minutes at the minimum to get things set up.

I pause after booby trapping the door, which thankfully opens inwards. “Unless Kachan is one of the heroes.”

`~`

(Izumi)

I sigh as I watch Bakugou storm into the building with a snarl on his lips and explosions popping in his palms. I figured that something like this would happen the moment the exercise started, so I give Kirishima -Red Riot- with an apologetic look. He laughs, shooting me a thumbs up as he chases after his friend.

Well, he considers Bakugou a friend, at least. No idea why, but that’s his business.

[Not like you’re any better. Mina’s a good person, unlike you. Are you really going to drag her down to your level?]

I studiously ignore the voice as I gesture for Hagakure to take point. We don’t know where either the hostages or the villains are, so we need to be careful. We’re silent as we creep through the building, Hagakure poking her head around each corner before giving me a signal that we’re clear.

But we’ve barely made any progress before a loud screech makes us jump. It only lasts a few seconds before abruptly cutting off, but that’s more than enough. Enough for me to know.

My heart beats faster, hammering against my chest as it rapidly picks up the pace. My breathing becomes short and raspy, my eyes dart around as I try to find him. Because I know that scream, I’ve heard it too often, far too often, to mistake it for anyone else. I try to swallow and wet my suddenly dry throat, but it’s like there’s a lump blocking it, stopping me from getting any air.

And all the while, the voice speaks.

[You self-centered BITCH! You knew what would happen the moment Bakugou ran off! You knew what he would do the moment he found him! And did you go and try to stop him!? NO! YOU FUCKING COWARD!]

No… y-y-you’re w-wrong…

[YOU’RE scared! Scared of izuku! SCARED OF SEEING HOW MUCH HE HATES YOU!]

N-n-n-no…

[OF COURSE HE HATES YOU! YOU DESERVE IT!]

I know…

[You said that you would change things if you ever had the chance!? You fucking lied! LETTING BAKUGOU GO AFTER HIM IS JUST AS BAD AS IF YOU WENT AFTER HIM YOURSELF!]

I-I-I sent Ki-kirishima to-

[Oh, real fucking nice! You think any friend of Bakugou is actually going to care what he does to Izuku!?]

H-he’s a good person! He won’t-

[And what about you?] The voice’s words are suddenly cold, vastly different from the previous fiery rage. They send a shiver down my spine. [You were Bakugou’s friend, weren’t you? More than that, you were Izuku’s sister, but did that get you to stop Bakugou? No. You helped him. What makes you think Kirishima will be any different?]

I…

[Hell, it will be even worse now! Because of you, Izuku turned into a villain. Into a killer. You broke him, dragged him through the mud, and threw him off a cliff. You are the reason that he’s suffered his whole life. The reason he joined the League of Villains. The reason for-]

Suddenly I feel pain in my cheek, and I’m staring to the side. I blink, slowly turning my head to face forward. But I see nothing there. Feel nothing. Even though I can see white gloves on each of my shoulders, it’s like there’s nothing there. It’s almost like I’m floating.

And then one of them floats into the air and slaps me, sending a stinging pain into my other cheek. And then I can hear. I didn’t even realize I couldn’t. “Izumi, focus on my voice. Can you hear me? It doesn’t matter how, but you need to signal that you can. Izumi, focus on my voice. Can you hear me? It doesn’t matter how, but you need to signal that you can. Izumi…”

I can hear the voice repeating its words a few more times, but it takes me a bit to really understand them. It’s only when a glove raises to slap me again that I manage to dip my head a bit in an incredibly shallow nod. I hear a breath going out before the voice speaks again. It’s not… the other voice, even though it’s one I know. It’s calmer, nicer. Pleasant to listen to.

“Izumi, I need you to tell me five things you can see.”

I nod absently as my eyes dart around the hallway. I try to swallow again, but it doesn’t work. “I-I-I see the wall? The… the floor. Gloves. T-two of them. Two boots. A-a-and the ceiling.”

“Good, that’s good. Now, four things you can touch.”

My fingers brush against the floor. “T-the floor, it’s carpeted. My hero costume. The wall behind me. And…” I blink, as the gloves suddenly have pressure from where they press down on my shoulders. “Y-your hands. They’re kind of pushing down?”

The- Her voice lets out a short chuckle but doesn’t move her hands. “That’s right. You’re doing good, Izumi. Now, three things you can hear?”

I swallow, and this time it actually feels like it works. “Your voice. My voice. The… the blood rushing in my ears.”

“That’s… good.” Her, Hagakure’s, voice is still calm, but it has a bit of a strained quality now. “Two things you can smell?”

I take a deep breath, trying to pick up a scent I know. “I smell your shampoo, I think. Lilac scented? And…” My nose wrinkles a bit. “Do I smell vomit?”

Hagakure clears her throat “Yeah, not the most pleasant smell, but it is there, so you're still doing well. Now, I just need you to tell me something that you can taste.”

I smack my lips before they twist unpleasantly and I gag. “Ugh, that’s nasty.” I blink as I connect the thoughts. “Wait, did I throw up?”

Hagakure lets out a breath as she helps me to my feet. “Yes, you did. Now let's get out of here so we can talk without the smell hanging in the air.”

I let her pull me along while I shake my head to clear the last of the haze that’s clouding my thoughts. Finally, I can focus, and I see Hagakure pull me into a room that looks like some kind of lounge. She gently but firmly pushes me onto the couch and takes a seat next to me before pulling me into a side hug.

“Do you want me to ask Cementoss to pull you out of the exercise? I’m sure that Hound Dog would be -well, not happy, given that emergency meetings with therapists are never a good thing, but more than willing to see you.”

I think for a moment before slowly shaking my head, then again but more firmly. “Thank you, but no. I’m good now!” I do an arm pump to show her that I am good, but even if I can’t see her look of doubt I can certainly feel it.

“Izumi, I know a panic attack when I see one. Don’t try to bullshit me by trying to brush it off.”

I swallow, lowering my arm before looking away. “I’m not ok, ok, but it can wait to be dealt with until after class?”

I can feel her eyes staring at me, but I refuse to squirm. After a few moments she eventually sighs. “Alright. But after our part in the exercise is done Mina and I are bringing you to Hound Dog’s office! Got it?”

I can’t help but chuckle at the threat in her voice. It’s cute. I nod and smile at her. “Got it.” A thought strikes me. “How long has it been, anyways?”

Toru is silent for a second before her glove goes up and scratches somewhere on her head. “Er, that’s actually a good question. I don’t have a watch or anything, so…”

Suddenly we hear the sound of static come from our comms before it clears up. “The exercise is now over, the villains have successfully used the hostages to escape, and also captured half of the hero team.”

I look at Hagakure, and am pretty sure she looks back. Evidently, it’s been long enough for us to lose.

To clarify, the exercise started before Izuku screamed, but the villains weren't alerted due to Cementoss treating it like a real situation. Because ideally, the heroes would enter without the villains being aware of them.