BASE SIDE..
Heat pressed down on the training field like a heavy blanket. Tools clanked. Dirt flew. Sweat dripped down tired faces. The kids had been digging trenches since sunrise—no break, no shade, no mercy.
Anna slammed her shovel into the ground and groaned dramatically.
"Damn… I'm so fucking tired… We've been working since morning!!"
She dropped her head back. "This is NOT FAIR anymore…"
"Quit whining and go back to work," a guard snapped without looking at her.
Anna whipped around, angry.
"Like I'm dancing, genius?? Can't you SEE I'm working my ass off?!"
Tenya paused, leaning on his shovel, chest heaving.
"Why are we digging barracks anyway…? This is pointless…"
"Keep digging, kids," another guard barked.
"The other enemy bases are doing the same. We're preparing for a possible attack."
"Ohh right," Izuku muttered bitterly, wiping sweat from his face. "We almost forgot… you guys have a rebel group who hates your guts…"
The guard glared at him.
"Watch your mouth."
Izuku didn't.
"This whole place is a fucking mess."
A shovel clattered nearby—Aiko's had slid from her hands.
She was sitting on the ground, knees pulled up, staring blankly into the trees beyond the fence.
She hadn't moved in minutes.
One guard noticed.
"Hey!! Get up and start digging!"
Aiko didn't respond.
"I'm talking to you!"
He stomped toward her, boots kicking up dust.
She didn't even look at him.
"I'm tired…" she whispered.
"Yeah, well that's NOT an excuse," the guard said, grabbing her arm roughly.
Aiko jerked her arm away and stood, eyes burning—not with anger, but fatigue… and grief.
"You don't get it," she said quietly.
Her voice cracked.
"I'm not tired from digging."
The guard scoffed. "Then what are you tired of?"
Aiko's chin trembled—just for a second.
"Everything."
Tenya and Izuku exchanged worried glances.
Anna froze mid-shovel.
The guard didn't soften.
"Save the drama. If you can stand, you can dig."
Aiko stared at him—cold, hollow, done.
Then she picked up the shovel… and drove it into the dirt so hard the handle rattled.
Izuku whispered to Tenya, voice low and anxious,
"She's breaking… man, she's really breaking…"
Tenya nodded, guilt written all over his face.
"They shot Mirko right in front of her… and now they're making her dig dirt like nothing happened…"
Anna quietly moved beside Aiko, digging with her, shoulder brushing hers in silent support.
Aiko didn't look up.
She just kept digging—mechanically, soullessly—her gaze drifting to the treeline every few seconds…
As if she was praying, whispering, hoping:
Mirko… please be alive…she whispered.
MIRKOS'S SIDE
Damn it's so bright in there…
Mirko thought, squinting as he pressed his back against a tall pine tree beside the fortress-like fence.
The lights from the base burned through the darkness like miniature suns—harsh, white, impossible to hide from.
Ben, the bear, let out a low gruff, shifting his weight.
"Shh," Mirko whispered, gently patting the thick fur around Ben's neck. "They'll hear you, big guy."
Ben huffed again but quieted, lowering himself into the bushes like an oversized house cat trying to hide.
Mirko exhaled slowly.
I don't know how to get in…
Not with that lighting.
Not with those guards.
A shadow moved along the fence line.
Boots crunched on gravel.
Two guards patrolled with rifles in hand, one swinging a flashlight lazily left and right.
"Man, I'm tired as shit," one muttered.
"Tell me about it. These kids better dig faster tomorrow. I'm sick of babysitting."
"Boss said we're stepping up security tonight. Someone spotted prints near the west woods."
Bear prints.
Mirko froze.
The guard continued, "Probably just wildlife. But keep your eyes open."
They paused only a few meters from where Mirko and Ben hid.
Ben's breath warmed Mirko's shoulder—too loud, too close.
"Don't move," Mirko mouthed.
A branch somewhere deeper in the forest cracked.
The guards spun instantly, flashlights slicing through the dark.
"You hear that?"
"Yeah. Let's check."
They jogged toward the sound, boots thumping against dirt, beams of light vanishing between trees.
Mirko waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Only then did he let his lungs work normally again.
Ben sniffed loudly, bumping Mirko with his head as if saying, We should leave.
Mirko shook his head.
"We're not going yet. Just… thinking."
He stared at the fence again—the towering sheets of steel, the guards on rotation, the lights that erased every shadow.
He'd been planning for three days.
Training.
Healing.
Preparing.
But looking at this place up close?
"It's like a damn fortress," he whispered.
Ben grunted in agreement, scratching at the dirt, restless.
Mirko rubbed his jaw.
"Can't climb it. Can't break it. Can't sneak through the lights."
His eyes drifted to a small maintenance shed near the far corner.
Guard-less.
Dimly lit.
Unsecured.
A small idea lit up in his head—dangerous, stupid, but maybe possible.
"We wait till they rotate the next shift," he whispered. "Then we get closer. Not inside… just close enough to see how they move."
Ben snorted, as if protesting this plan.
Mirko smirked.
"C'mon. What's the worst that could happen?"
Suddenly a spotlight swept the fence, bright enough that Mirko ducked instinctively, dragging Ben with him.
The beam passed just inches over their heads.
Mirko's heart thundered.
Ben whimpered.
"…Okay," Mirko muttered, swallowing hard. "The worst that could happen is that."
He rested his hand on Ben's back.
"Not tonight. We're not ready yet."
They silently retreated deeper into the woods, disappearing into the darkness as the floodlights continued to blaze—cold, unwelcoming, and deadly.
NEXT MORNING
"Hurry up, kids! Better be quick today!"
The guard barked, slapping his baton against his palm.
"I'm tired of babysitting y'all asses!"
The four teens dragged their feet toward the worksite—shovels waiting, dirt piles already high.
All of them looked exhausted, sleep-deprived, and fed up.
Anna's eyes were half-closed.
Aiko's shirt clung to her from sweat.
Izuku's arms felt like iron rods.
Tenya's steps were wobbly.
They were done.
"Tell me again why we're still working?"
Tenya stopped walking, voice cracking with frustration.
"Why only us? We have like—a hundred something kids inside that base, and we're here alone? Isn't that unfair?"
The guard didn't even look at him.
"Shut up, kid, and go to work."
He pointed his baton at the ground.
"No one inside that base ran away or stole things. Y'all are criminals."
Anna scoffed loudly.
"Yeah right. Criminals my ass—"
"HEY!" The guard snapped. "You wanna sleep outside tonight? Keep talking."
Anna rolled her eyes and kept walking.
---
Aiko moved slowly, dragging her shovel behind her.
Her back hurt. Her fingers were blistered.
She stopped for a moment, catching her breath, staring at the treeline.
The same guard approached her, the smug one with the scar on his lip.
"Well, well…" he sneered.
"Look who's being useless again. Little princess tired? Need a nap?"
Aiko didn't answer.
He leaned closer.
"You know… for someone so quiet, you sure cause trouble.
Maybe we should lock you alone next time. See how long you last."
Aiko tightened her jaw but didn't react.
The guard chuckled.
"Nothin' to say? Thought so. Waste of space."
Izuku heard it.
He froze.
Something snapped in his chest—loud, sharp, angry.
Aiko whispered without turning, "Don't… it's okay."
But Izuku wasn't hearing anything anymore.
---
Izuku Snaps
He dropped his shovel.
Walked straight toward the guard.
Calm.
Focused.
Silent.
The guard frowned.
"What do you think you're doing, boy—"
Izuku punched him.
Hard.
The guard's head snapped sideways so violently he spun and hit the dirt face-first.
Everyone froze.
Aiko gasped.
Anna's jaw dropped.
Tenya whispered, "Oh shit…"
Izuku stood over him, fists shaking, breath trembling.
"You don't talk to her like that," he said quietly.
The entire worksite exploded into shouts.
"GET HIM!"
Two guards rushed Izuku, grabbing his arms and twisting them behind his back.
Aiko cried out, "STOP! It was my fault—please—!"
Anna tried to run forward but another guard blocked her, pushing her back hard.
Tenya just stared, wide-eyed and helpless.
Izuku didn't fight as they dragged him away.
He just looked at Aiko with a small, soft smile.
"It's okay," he said.
---
They dragged him behind the barracks.
Tied his wrists to a wooden post.
One guard cracked a whip against the ground to test the sound.
Izuku flinched—but lifted his head proudly.
The scar-lip guard wiped blood from his mouth, furious.
"Oh, you're gonna feel this, kid."
Aiko, Anna, and Tenya watched from a distance—held back by two guards.
Aiko was shaking, tears rolling silently.
Anna whispered, "This is messed up… he saved her. And this is what he gets?"
Tenya swallowed hard.
"They're monsters."
The first lash struck Izuku's back.
He gritted his teeth but refused to scream.
Another.
Another.
The guard hissed, "Next time, keep your hands to yourself."
Finally, after what felt like hours, they untied him and dragged him to a small isolation cell.
"Lock him up. No food until tomorrow."
The door slammed.
Aiko collapsed to her knees.
Anna clenched her fists so tight her palms bled.
"One day… one day we're burning this damn place down," she whispered.
Tenya just nodded, trembling.