Within a matter of hours, every single person who was in Class 1-A was at the hospital after Kirishima sent out a mass text relaying the news. People came practically running into the building, despite it being late at night, to see that this was a true statement, and not some cruel joke that their Hardening Quirk using friend was trying to pull on them.
Generally, people were relieved to see that Bakugou was returned, relatively unharmed, and the injuries that he did have weren't fatal in any way. Like him or hate him, Bakugou was one of the classmates of 1A. From all the various battles they had shared, a sense of camaraderie was there, even if it was strained to the breaking point a large amount of the time. No one wanted Bakugou to be hurt.
No one except Mina, anyway.
For the longest time since she had managed to regain her composure, she had just been glaring at him, with nothing but hatred inside her. It bordered onto the territory of excessive disdain, beyond all reasonable degrees. It was unfair. Not that Villains would care. Complaining about villains doing something that was unfair was like getting mad at a baby for crying. But it didn't stop Mina. That logic couldn't stop her. Filled with grief and just the absolute torment that was this entire endeavor was too much for her. She wasn't strong enough to accept the cold, hard logical facts of the matter right now. She just couldn't.
Words just couldn't do her any sort of justice anymore. She couldn't even begin to express the misery that she was currently being forced to endure. How worthless and depressed she truly felt. How helpless that the situation was. How unfair and how cruel the world seemed right now. How just against her and Izuku everything seemed to be.
Was this what being a Hero was like? All the time? Was this the life that they had to look forward to? Was this the existence that they had to accept, to face every single day to their lives, without reprieve?
The cruel part was, was that she could deal with that. She could accept the dangers that came with Heroism. She's been prepared for those ever since she decided that she wanted to be a Hero. She'd made peace with that a long, long time ago. Anyone who wanted to be a Hero had to accept the dangers that came with the job.
But now, she could only face those realities if Izuku was by her side.
And seeing their various classmates express relief that he was okay triggered something deep inside Mina that just irritated her, angered her even, to the point where just being in the same room as the Explosion Quirk user was just making her sick. She couldn't stand him at the best of times, and right now? After everything that had gone down?...
Knowing what she knew about him, about the kind of person that he was, about what he had done to Izuku throughout the course of his life…
It broke her.
Why him?
Why was he the one they let go? He was the one that entire attack had been because of, so why had the Villains just released him like they had? Why had they released him when they went to such lengths to take him with them? Why was Izuku the one that they had kept?… Why….
Just why?
Did the universe just have it out for the two of them? Was there some sort of cosmic being that was determining that they weren't allowed to be near one another again? That she couldn't be near the boy that she loved? That she couldn't see him right now? That she couldn't just hug him as tightly as her body would let her and cry, and just say that she's sorry. Sorry for what she said. What she did. For doubting him. For…
For not being good enough.
For letting him get hurt, over and over, and not being able to do anything about it.
For not being able to help him learn to use his Quirk, to help him become the best Hero that she knew he could be.
For not being a good enough girlfriend for someone like him, who deserved better.
It all made her just want to burst into tears all over again, overwhelmed by just the sheer sadness and regret that she felt about every little interaction. Making him uncomfortable for her own amusement. Putting him on the spot when it came to him and Uraraka. Prying when he seemed to want to leave certain subjects alone. Keeping him up late at night when they first began dating. Making him worry….
All things, even if she had no control over them, or if Izuku had shown no obvious signs of discomfort… Her overthinking brain just refused to stop. Everything and anything that she could remember about the guy was all brought back up to the surface to remind her of their relationship. The relationship that she cherished so much…
Wasn't it stupid?
The time they had been dating was short… But it was hard to imagine life without him now. She wanted to be with him, even if she wasn't good enough. But wasn't that selfish?
Was is selfish to want to just be with someone that she couldn't even protect when he needed it the most? Was that selfish? Was it wrong to want to spend her life with someone, even though she hadn't ever felt love before in her entire life, and had been only been dating her boyfriend for a few months – Not even a full year? Was that fair on him?
What broke her when she thought about all of this was the fact that, when she took a second to stop and think – All she could focus on was how selfish she was being.
Where was Izuku? Was he okay? What did he want? How did he feel about all of this? And why? Here he was, kidnapped… And all that the pink girl could think about was how it was affecting her. All she could think about was how much she wanted Bakugou to be the one that was still in the clutches of the Villains. All she could think about was just how badly she wanted to hold onto Izuku, like he could make all of her problems go away just by being next to her. All she could think about was how his capture made her feel…
Not about how terrified that he had to be right now.
Her head was a jumbled mess. Nothing was coherent. Nothing made sense. Nothing…. Nothing…
Tears filled up her eyes again, and all she could do was curse at herself for being so damn weak. All she wanted was Izuku… She couldn't think about anything else anymore. Nothing made sense. Everything felt wrong.
Guilt was wrecking every sense that she had left. It was all she could feel anymore.
"Damn it…" She whispered to herself, covering her eyes with her hands to hide away the falling water. She was already so sick of crying, but it felt like it was all that she could do anymore. Until the mission started…. Until she could finally go and try to rescue Izuku….
All she could do was cry.
"Damn… It…"
It didn't take long before the police arrived to take Bakugou away, to interrogate him, to see what they could learn about the League of Villain's members, their situation, why they had attacked in the first place, and what they could possibly want with Izuku. Maybe even get information to formulate some kind of retaliation strike. Just something that might help them to figure out the situation.
Time being of the absolute essence, the officers decided to simply take him to one of the hospitals empty rooms, and question him in there, hopefully away from any prying ears that didn't respect privacy. They had declared that they would be remaining with the students until Bakugou's parents arrived from whoever the hell they were, or at least remaining on the premises, radioing information as it became available.
Most of the class has assembled into the hospital by the time this had happened, the majority having arrived within an hour or two of the mass message. They had all confirmed what Kirishima had said, and knew that he was telling the absolute truth.
Some were thankful to the point of tears, like Kirishima had been. Some were audibly relieved, letting out huge gasps of relief, while some seemed slightly more apathetic, but nonetheless thankful that the Explosion Quirk user hadn't been harmed in any sort of fatal way. For the most part of his time there, Bakugou had been deadly silent, barely even talking to anyone else while he was there.
No remarks. No explanations. No yelling and no abusive language. He was just silent, uncommenting, until the police came and took him away. It was almost like he had no idea what to say. What to think. What to do. He seemed totally alien and bewildered at his own continued existence that he was just out of words, for once in his life.
Once he'd screamed what he wanted to at a heartbroken Mina, he was just silent.
Speechless might have been a better word. Contemplating something? Considering?... It was hard to tell. Him actually being quiet always made those around him nervous. Since he was normally so loud, so angry, any time he was quiet was just a moment that made others feel anxious, almost scared outright of him. When he was yelling, he might be a bastard, but he was at least easy to understand. This was just…. Alien.
No one could blame him though. After everything that had gone down… It was natural to be shaken. Everyone had their limits and Bakugou's had finally been reached. If there was any ever doubt that Villains weren't terrifying, and that didn't help everyone come to terms with the downright horror that was the League Of Villains…
Then the person who wasn't shaken simply wasn't sane. They weren't Human.
While others congregated and engaged in conversation, regarding various opinions and expressions regarding the sudden return of their volatile member, others just remained silent. Not knowing what to say or do with this information. It had come up so unexpectedly, that a lot of people just hadn't even had time to comprehend the fact he'd ever been taken by force. Some people just hadn't come around to accepting that particular fact, and him suddenly returning just left them bewildered. and dazed.
How was someone supposed to react to this? This, this mess of a situation. This confusing matter that no one really understood. This mess that no one could make heads or tails of.
Why would the Villains just return Bakugou like they had, after launching such a thought out plan, coordinated, and executed so carefully, pushing even the Heroes to the brink… To instead chose someone who had just been taken completely by accident? Someone whom they hadn't even meant to take at all? Someone who couldn't even be further from Bakugou if they tried?
It didn't make any sense. While Izuku was admittedly strong, his determination was nothing to snuff at, and his drive to being a Hero was on that made even the professional Heroes look like they were just playing games at times. No one could even begin to claim that Izuku wasn't the kind of person who was going to make an absolutely amazing Hero. It was why, for all his awkwardness and reckless abandon, for all the oddities that made him the person that he was, everyone still had nothing but respect for him.
They couldn't be more different. And if the Villains knew that – And there was no way that they didn't… Then what was the point?
What the hell was going on? All Mina could do was just sit on the side. Thinking… Feeling… About…. Well…
She didn't know. Everything was just so jumbled, so wrong, so messed up in her head that she didn't even know where to start processing everything. It couldn't ever be a starker contrast to the person that she normally was, always so cheery and full of life. She wasn't really alive right now, she didn't feel. Too much had happened. She was so overwhelmed… She was just existing right now. She was just allowing herself to continue to exist, to pursue the only thing that was on her mind right now.
Rescuing Izuku.
Bakugou was back… Sure. But that didn't change the plan. That shouldn't change the plan. Izuku was still in danger. He was still in the clutches of the League. They still had hold of him. And they still had to rescue him. That was all that she could focus on looking forward to. Nothing else mattered in her head.
Though in her mind, she remembered everything that had happened between them…. Over and over… And over… More and more guilt washing over her… Her right hand covered her right eye, her palm covering over the entire thing, while her fingers gripped onto her forehead and into her curly hair…She was so sick of crying…
But she was just as tired of pretending to be strong. She wanted to rescue him right now… The mission wasn't until tomorrow though. Not until Yaoyorozu was recovered enough to be discharged. Not until they had pitched the idea to everyone else. Not until everything was in place…
And waiting, with this pain in her heart… That was hard.
With Bakugou returned… It was even more painful.
No matter how much she wanted to remain strong, to bottle up those feelings of immeasurable sadness, of pain, of regret, of sickness and anger towards herself… She just wasn't built for that. Hiding how she felt was one of the things she was the absolute worst at. She'd always been the worst at hiding her emotions… Usually because she always felt them so intensely.
She hated Bakugou with an intense, unbearable fury that made her physically sick to her stomach. Anytime she felt joy, she could only express it through cheer and bouncing up and down. Faced with relief from fear, she was reduced to tears… And when it came to love, for Izuku, she always felt her heart race, her world spin, and her chest flutter and hurt, but always in a good way. So when sadness and depression came…
"Ah… Ashido?..." A softly spoken voice, one Mina could barely bring herself to look the source of, even though all it would take was her just turning her head up by about twenty degrees.
She already could tell who it was, just by the way they'd so tenderly spoken her name. How softly it had been spoken, full of understanding, and regret herself. The pink girl needn't even guess. She knew instantly. "…Uraraka."
The Zero Gravity Quirk user looked down on the Acid Quirk user, wanting to find the words to offer her support. Seeing Mina like this was so alien to everyone in 1A. No one blamed her. Even to those who didn't know them well, the affection, the tender care, and unquestionable adoration that she and Izuku held for one another was undeniable. No one even had any doubts about the legitimacy of their relationship for even a second. How much they loved one another, it wasn't up for debate…
And they'd been torn apart. Uraraka had no idea how that had to feel. How did she even offer comfort to her in this situation? What did she say? What did she do?
"I... Are… Are you okay?" It was all she could think to ask. She knew that obviously she wasn't okay, but what else could she say?
Everyone was hurting. Wounded pride, the loss of a friend, and the taste of real, bitter defeat at the hands of the Villains. Their first taste of true, real loss. A loss that had consequence. A loss that had affected everyone greatly. A loss that had reminded them all of the real dangers of Heroism. That for all the romantic posture of it, all the glory and fame and fortune and respect it promised, it was a dangerous job. A brutal job. A job that literally billions people didn't fully understand the true brutality of. Everyone was licking their wounds…
But true to form, here was Izuku's best friend, trying to see, and offer help, if he friends were hurting more than she was.
Mina's eyes rolled up, to look at the brown haired girl for the first time since she had approached her. Her palm covering her right eye, her left was all she could use to see. It showed her enough.
The expression on her face showed Mina what she needed to know. That she was feeling just as much regret, as much guilt, and she blamed herself for Izuku's abduction as much as his girlfriend was blaming herself at this very moment. For agreeing to go along with the plan to catapult Mina, Shoji and Todoroki towards Izuku, and crash into the villains headfirst.
None of it was Uraraka's fault. Of course, she probably had convinced herself into thinking that it was, but none of it was even close to her fault. Her Quirk had just been a tool, as has Tsuyu's. As had Shoji's, and as had Todoroki's. But the fault was with Mina. The idea to propel everyone like that had belonged to the horned girl, and no one else. None of that was on the Zero Gravity Quirk user. That was all on Mina.
The fault rested with her. That was the fact of the matter. No one else needed to shoulder that blame. There wasn't even any blame for them to shoulder. She didn't want anyone else to feel like they were the ones at fault.
This mess was because she hadn't been strong enough. She hadn't been smart enough. Enough to stop him. To stop this all from happening. To protect him.
Instead, all she did was lash out. All she did was yell, and scream, and cry, and strike, and…
"…What would you have done?" She asked, quietly, looking at the brown eyed girl, while her own eyes were tearing up, yet again.
Her sudden question caused Uraraka to raise her eyebrows, as a mere response more than anything else. The self-condemnation that Mina had in her own voice was… Impactful. There weren't other words to describe it. Every second that passed by….
Mina was just punching herself in the gut, more and more. Falling deeper into the hell of her own making.
"Ashido?..."
Her head fell again, making her look towards her own lap, and holding her head in her hands as she spoke, quietly. "When I…. Found all of you. When I first saw Izuku… All I could think to do was… H-Hit him…" An action that she would forever regret. "Because… I was scared… I was so scared of him… Hurting himself like that again. Over and over again. What…. What happens when he goes too far and he can't come back from it?... What happens when the Villains finish him when he's like that… What…"
What happens when he was taken away from her? What was happening to him right now? What was happening…
"Why couldn't I stop it…"
"You.. You couldn't have known, Ashido. You can't blame yourself for something like this. It happened in the spur of the moment. In an instant…. I don't think anyone could have stopped it…"
"But…. I could have prevented it… If I just knew how to get through to him… If I could just…" If she could just… "…If I could have just let him know… Just how much… Just how much I love him…Just how dear he is to me… I…. Maybe… I could have stopped him…"
"…If he hadn't charged in after Bakugou like that… Then he wouldn't be Deku."
Of course he wouldn't be… Charging in like an idiot with reckless abandon… that was what made Izuku Izuku. Speeding in to save people who didn't want to be saved, or even need saving, no matter who they were, no matter what the situation… That was something that was so very Izuku. It was just one of those many, many things that made her heart melt when it came to the freckled boy… Only this time, it had reached its logical conclusion… And now he was the one who needed to be saved.
Sometimes Mina forgot that Uraraka knew him for his heroic tendencies just as much as Mina did. That she'd technically known him longer. That she understood what he was like just as much as she did. Uraraka understood.
Looking up at her friend once more, Mina repeated her question, this time through a wall of tears in her eyes. "What would you have done?..."
"…If I were in your position?" With total honesty in her voice and words, Uraraka knelt down so that she was eye level with the pink girl, and put her hands on her shoulders. Her stare became less relaxed and concerned, and turned into one that was more focused and more determined in emotion. Her eyebrows burrowed downwards, to help create this expression. "I'd tell him… Everything you told me. I'd tell him exactly how I felt… And I'd make sure that he knew. That he understood…Because after this… I'd know that there was always a chance that somewhere, somehow… That that knowledge would help him make the right choice."
Her words finally out of her system, the brown haired girl pulled the pink haired girl into a warm, comforting hug. She didn't know what else she could do for the acidic girl who almost sounded like she'd already begun to mourn the death of her boyfriend, even though they knew that he still had to be alive. She was scared, so terrified she was hardly thinking straight. Uraraka was just as scared. Everyone was scared. No one openly admitted it, but deep down, all of them were terrified at the thought of what could be happening to Izuku at this very second. They were all so scared… That a lot of them had neglected Mina altogether. The one who was suffering the most.
That was something…. That needed to change.
Mina immediately began to cling onto Uraraka, holding onto the first person whom had come up to her to hug her like this since everything had gone down. Shoji had hugged her, when everything was happening… But it wasn't like this. It hadn't been comforting. It hadn't been with a torrent of advice, from someone whom she trusted completely. It hadn't been from someone who had even a vague idea on how painful what had just happened was to her.
Uraraka was right. Mina knew she was right. She knew that every word that was being spoken to her was absolutely right… And she needed to do just that when she saw him again. If she –
No. When she saw him again. There was no if about it. She was going to see him again, even if it killed her.
"Have you lost your mind, Kirishima?!"
The two girls suddenly separated, mainly out of Mina reflexively looking towards the source of the sudden, crisp, loud yell that had come undoubtedly from Iida, in full on Class President Mode at this point. Uraraka backed away a few seconds later at the sound of her friend's yelling. Being loud wasn't exactly something that was new for Iida…
But that just highlighted how bewildered, furious, worried or frustrated that he had to be right now. Surrounding the pair of them, was practically everyone else. If they had all been attracted by Iida and Kirishima's conversation or if he had called a huddle or whatever, but that wasn't relevant. Since Todoroki was stood right next to Kirishima, looking back towards Iida with an almost defensive posture, Mina didn't have a single doubt as to what Kirishima had done.
He had told him about the planned rescue. An entire day early. Since he planned to do it while everyone was here during the next day, and everyone was here a full day early, Mina should've seen this coming. He wasn't the kind of person to wait around for a more opportune time. He would lay everything bare and open at the first chance he got.
Like back at middle school.
"This is out of the question!" It was Iida's voice that rose up like this, literally bellowing at Kirishima and Todoroki for the mere suggestion. "This isn't our place to get involved! We need to leave this to the Pros!"
"We only got Bakugou back because the Villains just decided that Midoriya was more valuable!" The Hardening Quirk user was yelling in response, just as loud as Iida was, his expression pained and his voice cracking with every so often, showing just how strongly he felt about the whole affair. "I couldn't do anything when I heard they were going after my buddy! All I could do was help Ashido get away, and that didn't end up helping at all! And now Midoriya's gone! We don't know what the hell's happening to him!"
"Do you not think that everyone here is also worried sick?!"
"I know that we're all worried about him! That's exactly why we have to go!"
"Kirishima, you need to calm down… Iida's right." Kaminari was the next person to voice his opinion on the subject, though it was through gritted teeth and a glance away from the red haired boy.
He was joined by Ojiro, whom couldn't bring himself to look at the loud and desperate teenager. His tail was drooped low, laying completely on the ground behind him, with his fingers and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn't even bring himself to speak. A lot of people couldn't even bring themselves to speak.
Bakugou… He was one thing. Izuku was another.
"We can't be sure that they won't kill him." Todoroki bluntly stated. His expression was that of someone who was making himself stay calm, but was just as emotional as anyone else in the room. "We know that they had a kill list, and that some of us were on it. They took Bakugou alive, but they didn't intent to take Midoriya. Waiting on the Heroes might mean that Midoriya doesn't make it out of this mess. Kirishima and I are going. Ashido is on board as well."
Several heads turned to look towards the pink girl, whom was looking right back towards Todoroki, a particular look in her eyes that despite all her sadness and regret, was filled with determination. When she saw all those expressions and faces now looking at her, she simply nodded, confirming her involvement with the plan.
It wasn't any surprise to anyone that Mina was on board with the plan. If anything, she was the only person there whom this coming from would sound even remotely reasonable. After everything she'd gone through, and the state that everyone had seen her in, it only made sense that she'd want to go and rescue Izuku. That she'd want to go and get her boyfriend back. In her case, pride didn't have anything to do with it. She just cared about Izuku. More than anyone else in the room could even begin to compare to.
But at the same time… Her being involved sounded just as reckless as anyone else.
"You have all got you be joking!" Iida yelled again, at the top of his voice. His opposition to the plan was absolutely crystal clear, hard-lined and strict as he was. It shouldn't have come as a surprise… But considering the friendship between Iida and Izuku, a lot of people were shocked.
"Just calm down." Shoji spoke up this time, raising up his three injured left arms to block Iida from walking towards either three of the mission bound students. Iida froze in place at the sudden movement of 1A's tallest member, for a moment, seriously worried that the Dupli-Arms Quirk user would be on board. "I get it. I understand Kirshima's pain about not being able to do anything. I understand the regrets that Todoroki has about Bakugou getting abducted right in front of us. I can't say I understand how Ashido feels, but I can only imagine… But I know that I regret everything that happened too. But… We cannot let our emotions get the best of us."
Speaking up for the first time himself, amidst a flurry of shaking, Aoyama voiced his agreement with his classmates. "We should just leave it to All Might…. Besides… We're not allowed to fight anymore… We did everything that we could."
"He's right." Fumikage this time. "I'm not one to talk… I ended up being saved myself… But he is right."
"But…. But this is Deku we're talking about!..."
Eyes then all fell onto Uraraka, whom took a step forward away from Mina to make her own voice heard. While she wasn't sure which side of the fence she was on herself, she understood both sides of the argument… And was gutted beyond words that the conversation seemed heavily in favor of simply leaving Izuku at the mercy of the Villains while the Heroes made their plans. It almost seemed wrong.
Shouldn't there at least be more of a debate on this?
"Is there even anything we could do?..." Mineta's fists were firmly by his side, though he wasn't able to look at anyone. His reputation of being little more but a self-interested slacker put aside, he still cared about what was happening. Izuku was still his friend…. But he couldn't even begin to think of a way that they could start to help him.
They had a tracking device… But what good would that do if they didn't have a plan? If they didn't have some sort of way to actually save the guy?
"This is the League Of Villains we're talking about here…" The Pop-Off Quirk user was notably terrified of the particular group, so it had to be taken into account that he could just be downright scared… "…If we went and helped Midoriya, what would we be able to actually do against them?" …But his points were valid.
"Mineta's correct." Tsuyu chimed in. though her voice was filled with just as much concern as anyone else's. Her finger made its way towards her lower lip, as was habitual of her. "All of us are still in shock over everything that's happened… Loosing Bakugou, and now Midoriya… Getting Bakugou back like this… But still not knowing what's happening with Midoriya… We're all still unsure about everything... But we have to think about this calmly. I want to go save him just as much as anyone... But if we start another fight and break the law…. Then we aren't any better than the Villains."
Silence quickly then fell on the group of Hero students. Everyone knew that Tsuyu was right. Iida was right. Bakugou was one thing, but this was Izuku they were talking about. Izuku, the one that everyone, even if they didn't speak to him regularly, respected the hell out of. No one had any problems with him in any way. And everyone regretted him being taken the way that he had. Everyone wanted to help…
But it was true. If they went off on their own… Then they were basically Vigilantes at that point. And from that point, they would be acting as Villains.
What hurt was that most of them knew that Izuku wouldn't be the kind of person to say this about any one of them. If it was anyone else in his position, and he was there right now, he'd want to charge right after them. He wouldn't even hesitate. The laws and Heroes be damned. Even if he knew what he was doing was completely wrong in so many ways… He just wouldn't let those things get in his way.
He'd save them. And they were just saying that it going after him would be immoral. It made them all feel dirty. Like they were hypocritical about the entire situation…
No one wanted to say no… But…
"…So we just leave him for the Villains then?"
All eyes then fell onto the pink girl, who was hiding her own dark eyes with her hair. Her teeth were bare, and her fists with firmly clenched. They were shaking. In fact, her entire body was shaking uncontrollably, without any sort of reservation at all. Thanks to her pink hair covering her eyes, no one could entirely make out the expression that she had on her face….
Yet her voice, and the trembling… They conveyed it well enough.
"Mineta… The only reason that you're even alive right now is because Izuku saved you and Tsuyu during the USJ invasion."
He froze up. "I-I know that – "
"Shoji. Fumikage. Todoroki told me what happened. The only reason that you two were able to get out of that horrible mess was because Izuku was able to come up with a plan to save you both before you ended up killing each other."
"Ashido – "
"Kaminari. We both came dead last in the entire class… But Izuku never treated either of us like idiots. He tutored me and he would have helped you if you'd asked."
"…"
"He took on that Brainwashing dude and fought in your honor, Ojiro. He showed you nothing but respect that you haven't earned, Aoyama. He's half the reason you're alive as well, Tsuyu…"
When she finally looked up, it was Iida that she made eye contact with, and finally revealed the expression that she had been hiding away.
Fury. Downright fury, mixed in with tears that were streaming down her cheeks as her voice trembled up and down. Tears of sadness, betrayal, and outright heartbreak that everyone was this prepared to abandon Izuku. That they were downright this ready to just leave him in the hands of the Villains! After everything that he'd done…. After everything that he was…
"….And he's supposed to be your friend, Iida! What happened to that?! You're that in favour of leaving him for the Villains to do whatever they want to him?!"
"Do you not think I'm terrified about Midoriya's fate?!"
"You're not doing anything that even suggests that you are!" Mina shrieked at him, tears running all down her face. She was a mess, but holding back these feelings was never something that Mina was good at. "How long do you think it's going to take the Heroes to figure out some kind of plan?! How long do you think it'll take them to get warrants to actually raid the place Yao-Momo's tracker will take them to?! How long do we wait for the Pros to finally do their jobs?!" Her voice broke, making her feel like she were about to throw up before she continued. "How…. How long do you think he'll've been a corpse for by the time the Heroes get a move on?! At least Kirishima and Todoroki are making sense! At least they actually care!"
She did a sweeping scan of the entire look, looking at every single person who spoke against going to save her boyfriend. She was angry, emotions running wild. She wouldn't have ever done this in any stable frame of mind, but her voice now demanded to be heard. And heard it would be, even if it was through an angry girls open sobs.
"Forget being Heroes! Forget all of that – What the fuck sort of friends even are you people!?"
"She's right."
The addition of the newest voice in the conversation was one that no one expected. The words that came out were not at all the ones that anyone would have predicted. The person who they came from… No one would have ever suspected.
Bakugou. He was stood just at the end of the corridor that made its way into the room everyone was stood in, his hands shoved into his pockets and his glare lacking any sort of malice. Calling it a glare was actually being pretty harsh, in actuality. He actually looked calm for once in his life, like he wasn't about to start flipping out and shrieking at the first person that he saw. The tone of his voice expressed something less along the lines of fury, and more along the lines of apathetic empathy.
Everything went completely silent as all eyes fell onto Bakugou, looking at him like he were a totally different person. The majority of them had to take a few moments to themselves, to confirm that they had actually just heard what he had said.
"…What?" Kaminari was the first one who broken the silence, with a noise of utter confusion. One of his eyebrows was quirked up while the other was burrowed into his brow, as deep as it could physically get.
"I said she's right." Bakugou repeated again, taking a couple of slow steps towards the large group. His hair hid his eyes slightly as his head tilted down slightly, though he kept an eye on everyone in front of him. "The Pro's aren't gonna find this place before they're done with Deku. They already got what they wanted from him when they warped me back."
He left his sentence to ominously hang. They had finished with whatever they had wanted with Izuku? What was that? What did that even mean?...
Turning his head to Kirishima, Bakugou spoke again. "You're basically looking for volunteers, aren't you? I'm in."
Everyone just stopped what they were doing. Even breathing and blinking were put onto hold while everyone questioned – Bakugou had just said that, right? This was Bakugou they were talking about – Even if they removed him being kidnapped from the equation entirely – They were still talking about the same person, right?
His red eyes didn't show any signs of falter whatsoever though. He was serious. Completely serious, without restriction. There didn't seem to be an anger about his offer either. No disgust that he was 'lowering' himself to rescuing Izuku. Not even like he saw that it was a sense of duty since they had been held together in the same cell.
Whatever the reason may be, he was serious. He was offering to help, and he had every intention on helping.
"Wait, what?" The Hardening Quirk user's eyes widened in shock, and complete disbelief. It was a totally bizarre moment for Kirishima, torn between being immensely grateful for, so far, the only other offer of assistance from anyone else, and complete and utter bewilderment that of everyone there, it was Bakugou who was offering to help. "You, you of all people, want to go rescue Midoriya?"
Bakugou simply nodded. "We're not Heroes if we abandon him. That's as simple as it gets."
"Have you lost your mind?!" Iida yelled again, sounding desperate this time more than anything. One by one, his classmates were going to go out on this reckless suicide mission, and he was powerless to prevent it – Were they even listening to him?! "Stop being foolish! You were just returned! The police and Heroes will want to continue questioning you – You could have information vital to rescuing Midoiya, and you might have injuries that –"
"They're going to need my Quirk to even stand a fucking chance. They aren't going to listen to you, Iida. Do you want them to have a chance, or do you want them to go without a prayer in hell of even getting out of that mess alive?"
"No way."
It had started out as a whisper, the second that the offer to help had left the Explosion Quirk users lips, and Mina had repeated it, over and over again, until it reached speaking volume, and everyone could hear her. People turned towards her while she wiped the tears from her eyes, and glared down Bakugou like her expressions could put a knife through his throat.
Kirishima looked worried in particular, knowing full well the extent of her hatred towards the liberated blond. "Ashido, hang on - "
"No." Special emphasis was put onto every single vowel that Mina spoke, like they were verbal knives being sharpened up and ready for use. There wasn't a single person in the foyer that wasn't downright scared of her in that moment. Every single trace of the peppy girl they all were familiar with was gone. All that was there now was anger. Regret. Sadness and fury. And right now, hatred the likes of which 1A had never seen on anyone's face before. "Way. You are not coming with us."
There was no return glare from Bakugou. No equal amounts of hate and anger that his eyes conveyed alone. No bloodlust or rage against the pink girl. Nothing like that. He just looked her in the eyes. But there wasn't any real emotion in his own.
Stepping around Kirishima to better put himself between the line of sight between her and Bakugou, Todoroki held one of his hands up like he was half surrendering, and tried to talk ."Ashido, we don't – "
"I said there's no way in hell!" Mina suddenly flung her arms like she were throwing aside the mere idea itself with her hands, and let out the loudest bellow she had ever managed at any point in her entire life. Those around her could swear that they could physically feel the sheer levels of rage that Mina emitted, and most, if not all of them, took a few steps away from her, genuinely worried that she was on the cusp of snapping entirely. "I don't want you anywhere near during this entire mission! You don't have the right! You don't get the right to act like you care! To act like a Hero now! You don't have the fucking right!"
"Ashido! Calm down!" Kirishima found himself having to yell at the Acid Quirk user to even make himself heard over her yelling. "What's wrong with you?! You just railed on everyone else for not helping! What the hell – "
"I am not letting some bully who taunted Izuku think he can get a free pass by helping Izuku now! That's way too little, way too God damn late! He doesn't have the right anymore!" Restraint. Secrecy. Promises that she'd made to keep quiet about this to Izuku. They were all out the window now, all tossed aside as Mina found herself more and more furious. "Do you even know half the shit he's done to Izuku?! Has he even mentioned a fucking word of it to anyone here?!"
A pause as her words hit everyone. Her eyes had only been dried a few seconds ago, but they were already spilling out tears again like a waterfall. She didn't have a single problem with speaking this time though.
This had been a long time coming.
Through gritted teeth, and short, quickened breaths, before Bakugou could even raise his voice in any kind of protest, Mina spoke again. "Treating him like crap throughout the entire year… Acting like he's personally wronged him… Being so violent with him... Did you all honestly think that it was some kind of game between the two of them?!" Several students eyes widened as Mina's words clicked in. Like they'd only just put the pieces together. Like they'd been willingly ignorant…
Because there was no way someone who wanted to be a Hero would ever do something like that. At least not in their heads.
"He's a bully! That's all that Bakugou is! He's a fucking bully, and that's the end of it!" She was practically screaming out loud at this point. Even some of the doctors whom had been in the other rooms at the time were now congregating to see what the hell all the noise was about. Mina felt awful for breaking her vows to Izuku, to keeping quiet because, for some reason, Izuku still wanted to have faith that someone like Bakugou could be a Hero….
But she couldn't do it anymore. Everything piled together – She couldn't do it anymore! She just couldn't! It was swirl of the moment, and barely had a thing to do with her not wanting Bakugou on the mission anymore – But she couldn't help it! Everything was killing her on the inside, and all she could think to do was scream as loud as she could!
"The taunting never even stopped! It's been going on in front of every one of us! And the only reason no one ever questioned it was because Izuku is such a good God damn stupid fucking altruist that he never reported any of it! The only reason he's even here is because Izuku didn't want to take a single one of his dreams from him!"
Throughout this entire time, Bakugou hadn't denied a single thing. He hadn't even really changed expression much, form that emotionless stare that made eye contact with Mina. Though those around him were looking at him with a mixture of disbelief, and some even just downright disgust, he didn't seem affected.
All that did was piss Mina off even more.
"Unlucky for you Bakugou…. I'm not Izuku." Growled Mina, this time much quieter. The room was silent. She could make her voice as quiet as she wanted, and everyone there would hear her without issue. "I'm not as nice as he is… And I'm not someone who forgives bullies so easily. Especially not ones who hurt people that I love… The only reason… The only reason… That I've kept my mouth shut about this for so long is because Izuku asked me not to say anything. Because for some insane reason, he still sees you as some sort of friend. Or at least someone he respects… But this… This entire mess is your fault! The Villains came after you, because of how much of a scumbag that you act like! Everyone fought and bled for you! Izuku got kidnapped because of you! And you got let off, completely free, while he's still being held hostage?! You don't deserve any of it! You don't deserve to be a fucking Hero! You - "
"I'm not the only one who's been lying though, am I?"
Eleven words were all that Bakugou needed to make Mina completely freeze in her tracks. The words, of which she had enough to make everyone's eardrums bleed with, suddenly left her. Those were the first words that Bakugou had spoken directly to her.
And they'd left her speechless.
"You… What're you..."
"Okay. Fine." The red eyed student took a quick scan of the room, looking every member of their class in the eyes each. "I'll admit to it. I did bully Deku. I kicked him through the fucking dirt, and every second of it was cathartic."
There wasn't even a way to describe the impact that those words had on every person in the room. Volatile and venomous, everyone knew he was…. But for some reason, no one ever suspected that Bakugou would go that far against someone.
But those certainly weren't the only words that he had to say.
"Why I did it was pretty damn straightforward. I thought he was Quirkless." It was like admitting to bullying someone who had a mental or physical disorder. In fact, given the world they lived in, it was doing exactly that. Like picking on someone who was confined to a wheelchair, or was born without sight. "I admit it. Him talking about Heroes all the damn time without having a Quirk just pissed me off..."
Shuffling and muttering could be heard throughout the crowd. And it was Uraraka who broke the silence. "But…. But Deku has a Quirk! He's got a super powerful one!"
"I'm not fucking finished." Growled Bakugou, shooting a nasty glare towards the Zero Gravity Quirk user. "I didn't think that he was Quirkless. I knew that he was Quirkless."
"No."
It was all Mina could say. All that she had to try to stop this from happening.
There was no way.
He couldn't know.
No way.
"Those Villains that took me… They talked about some big boss man who had a Quirk that let him…" He paused, like he was contemplating even mentioning it. "… A Quirk that let him take other people's Quirk's and then give them to other people."
No…
He couldn't have figured it out…
Mina remembered that conversation. When she learned about All Might. Who he really was. Underneath all that muscle, that bravado. About Izuku's Quirk. About the truth about One For All… And the Villain All For One.
There… Was no…
Around him, other students suddenly began to look like Bakugou had smacked his head several times on the way back. A Quirk that rendered other people Quirkless? That was such an insane, absurd, unheard of concept -
"Yeah. I know. It sounds like a bunch of shit. I thought so as well."
He then looked right at Mina. With what almost looked like…
Remorse.
"Though that was until I watched them take Deku's Quirk."
She wasn't calling Bakugou a liar now.
In fact, she wasn't showing any kind of defiance. No resilience… All that posture, strength and determination… All of it was gone now. It had just been flushed straight out of her system, leaving her a shaking, desperate to disbelieve her boyfriend's bully's words, crumbling mess of a person. "No…" Was all she could say.
That… That couldn't be right. That couldn't be right at all. They… .They couldn't have stolen….
They couldn't have stolen One For All. They…. They couldn't… Izuku wouldn't let them! He'd fight them off and make an escape! Even if he broken his arms a few more times! That had to be what it was! That… That was…
It… He had to… He…
… No…
When everyone saw Mina's face again… They didn't see some who was angry. They didn't see someone who was mad about a liar. They didn't see someone who was fed up with Bakugou. They didn't see someone who was even sad about her boyfriend disappearing…
What they saw was outright shock. Fear. Terror, more accurately. Such a pure reaction, so genuine in every single way… Suddenly, no one would even deny it.
Mina somehow had known about this power and its existence.
"Deku got his power from somewhere else. Didn't he. That's the truth here, isn't it?"
Her face fell to the ground. She couldn't deny it. She had to… But she couldn't. Overcome with what she considered to be a fate that was so much worse, so much more cruel, so much more painful… She just…. Couldn't…
Izuku's Quirk… Was gone?
His power… The only thing he'd ever wanted… It was…
Gone?...
"The bone breaking. How he couldn't control his own power. Why he started at the bottom. Why someone so timid and scrawny had such a devastating power. It makes sense." Bakugou continued, now speaking more to the group, while he continued to look at Mina, shaking just a few meters away. "I saw it happen in front of me. Quirks can be taken and given to other people. Not to mention those Nomu things use multiple Quirks... So when you consider everything, it's pretty reasonable to think that he got it from another person. And of course he told you. He told you fucking everything. I don't know where he got it from… But you've both been lying for months. If you want to high road me, you better make sure you're being fucking honest, Ashido."
Mina's silence was a lot louder than any words that ever would exist in language. Slowly, one by one, everyone just realized it. There was no denial… So all that left them with… Was the truth.
So absurd it was a lie that under normal circumstances, anyone should have dismissed Bakugou accusing them of such an outlandish thing without even a second's hesitation, even if they were totally overwhelmed with everything else. Even if they were furious and angry, sad and scared for someone that they loved as dearly as Mina loved Izuku. Under no circumstances at all should Mina be silent… But she was.
And that said everything that everyone needed to know.
"A… Are you serious?"
"… A Quirk that… Let's someone steal other Quirks?..."
"Midoriya… His Quirk…. It isn't even his?"
"So he was…"
"This…. It makes way too much sense. No way…"
"So that's… Is… That why the Villains kept him? To take his…"
All Mina could do was tremble. Damage control was far too late at this point, and there wouldn't even be a point to it. What would she even do? Desperately plead everyone to believe Bakugou do be lying? Accused him of just making up things to try and cause more problems? She could already hear them.
Everyone's voices. Muttering their own conclusions. Speaking among themselves about the plausibility of what Bakugou had said. About Mina's actions after being accused of such a thing. Talking… Discussing…
…Turning their backs on Izuku… Learning the truth about his powers…
All she could do was tremble.
With pure hate.
Uraraka placed a soft, gentle hand on Mina's shoulder, and tried to get a better look at Mina's face by bending down. "A-Ashido, a-are you – Aah!"
She suddenly jumped back, and staggered a few steps behind, in what looked like pure terror. She tumbled backwards and collided into Kaminari, whom managed to catch her and keep her upright. Her eyes were wide and filled with terror.
All aimed directly at Mina.
"You…" Mina whispered, her fists shaking.
Her Quirk activating, dripping onto the ground below.
"Bakugou, you…"
She looked up, furious.
And charged straight at Bakugou, Quirk ready to burn right through his throat.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
"Ashido!"
Stopping her from getting within a meter of the Explosion Quirk user, whom still looked unphased by everything, Kirishima blocked Mina's progression towards Bakugou. He used his shoulder to barricade himself and to keep her from getting closer, using himself almost like a battering ram to stop her from getting any closer to the other boy. His right arm was against her waist, trying to push her back and making stepping forward a more difficult affair. He was vastly stronger than Mina physically, even when up against her athleticism. Holding her back did prove a challenge though.
A testament to how desperate Mina was to attack Bakugou.
Trying her best to reach him, to swing at him, to strike the smug bastard, Mina flailed and screamed as loud as she could. "YOU CAN'T JUST BE FUCKING HAPPY YOU'RE BACK, CAN YOU?! YOU HAVE TO TAKE EVERY FUCKING THING! EVERYTHING! YOU CAN'T LET IZUKU HAVE ONE DAMN THING, CAN YOU?! YOU CANT LET HIM JUST HAVE THE ONE THING EVERYONE HERE TAKES FOR GRANTED!"
"Stop this!"
"Ashido, calm down!"
"GET OFF OF ME!"
"Stop!"
"RAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
She screamed, her throat feeling like it was tearing itself apart. Everything that she felt towards him bellowed out without even the smallest trace of care for dignity, for social standing, for peace, or even self-preservation. Just the rawest of emotion that she was ever going to scream in her whole life.
"I FUCKING HATE YOU BAKUGOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU!"
With as much force as he could managed, the Hardening Quirk user pushed Mina back and off of him. He didn't know what was even going on anymore. He was confused as to who he believed. He didn't know what to do. Nothing made sense, and everything was so out of control it wasn't even bearable.
So he did something he wasn't proud of. And would never be proud of, for the rest of his life.
"Ashido!"
The sound of a loud, clear, crisp smack shut everyone up, and echoed throughout the entire hospital floor. Kirishima's right fist had slammed straight into Mina's left cheek without any restraint whatsoever, knocking her head to the side, and stopping her right in her tracks.
No one had expected it. No one would have ever guessed it. Even Bakugou, acting as stoic as he had been this entire time, felt his jaw drop in complete surprise. Kirishima himself could scarcely believe that he'd just done such a thing, even as he was in the middle of actually throwing the punch. He had made the conscious choice to do so, and he knew that. And he'd stand by it.
"That's enough!"
But he wasn't proud of it. Not at all.
Having being punched in the left side of the face left Mina staring to the right side of her – A sea of faces, all shocked and as bewildered as she was. Pain wasn't a factor. She barely even felt the hit collide. She was totally stunned though. Completely and utterly stunned. Beyond words. Beyond action.
All she did was stare. Stare at the sea of faces that were staring back, for at least a solid twenty seconds of pure, tense as all hell silence that no one – Not even the hospital staff, whom had been trying, to their credit, to stop this madness. At this point, many of them were downright intimidated, and no one could blame them. Many simply left, hurried out by another Doctor, who thought it best to remove any patients and staff from the conflict before anyone got hurt – Dared to break.
It was only after those twenty seconds that Mina mover her right hand up to touch the spot Kirishima had struck her in. It stung when she touched it too bluntly, making her hiss and then very gently placing her fingers back over the impact site. After about forty seconds, she slowly turned to actually look at Kirishima.
She was downright speechless. "Kirishima?... What the… "
Anyone with any sort of calm of sanity about them could see that it was something Kirishima never wanted to do. He never liked having to do something like that, to anyone he ever considered to be his friend. He didn't like it…
Which was what had made what he'd done so surprising.
After sixty seconds, he finally spoke. "I… I don't know what the hell Midoriya's Quirk has to do with anything here! I don't even know if Bakugou's telling the truth. I can't even imagine how you have to be feeling right now, Ashido… you came to me, and you asked for my help in the lodge, and I agreed… Because I knew that all that frustration and fear had to be affecting you a hell of a lot more than it was affecting me… I get that. And I'm sorry about Midoriya. I don't know exactly… What your problem is with Bakugou, but we aren't in a place where we can just fight each other!"
Part of Mina understood what he was saying – Really, she did. They did need all the help that they could get. That much was true… But Bakugou?
Didn't matter. She didn't want anything to do with him being on the mission.
"If you want to save Midoriya, then Bakugou is coming with us! We're not in a position to turn down help."
Her eyes just widened. Of all people… "You… You're defending him?!"
"Even if I didn't want him to - He's coming on the mission. We don't have the luxury of turning people away… And if that's a problem for you, Ashido, then don't come."
All Mina found herself able to do in her room when she returned to it was the same thing that she'd been doing for the last twenty four hours. And that was just cry. At this point, it wasn't even making her feel even the slightest bit better. It was just her body trying to let out all the frustration that she just kept having to deal with, over and over, but it wasn't working. She wished that she could just stop. She was so sick of crying, but she just couldn't stop….
She didn't even know how she hadn't just died of dehydration yet. Worse still, she wasn't even sure what emotion was making her cry most anymore.
Fear, sadness, anger, frustration, fury? Regret, guilt? Any single one of those emotions was filling her system right now, and made her want to just scream. Overwhelming her… It manifested itself in the form of tears though. So many tears…
Tears over the news Bakugou had brought. Over Izuku's lost Quirk.
Because his secret was now out, unless there was some way that they could figure out to avoid having to admit to everything. Really though, what chance did they have of that working out?...
And then, there was the biggest reason why she just couldn't stop herself from crying. Because she just missed him… So… So much… It hurt. It hurt so much to even think about him, but he was all she could think about. Her mind just wouldn't let her stop. He was on her mind, permanently.
His jacket was the only comfort that she had… And that wasn't much anymore.
They'd run out of time a while ago, apparently. Izuku's Quirk was already gone. Those words… That fate… It made what was left of Mina's heart shatter into a thousand pieces. She couldn't even begin to imagine it… Izuku, for all his work and training… Had lost his power? The power he had worked so hard to get?... The power that had been entrusted to him, only to lose it to such a terrifying sounding Villain?...
She couldn't even imagine… What would he even be going through? Going from Quirkless, to then, against all odds, having a Quirk, being able to peruse his dreams… Only to have it literally snatched away from him
"It doesn't change anything…" She muttered into her boyfriend's hoodie, like that was somehow going to telepathically send that message over to Izuku. "…Quirkless or not… I still love you, Izu…"
Love…
Before she met Izuku, she honestly hadn't even had a clue what it was. What being in love felt like. What it sounded like. What it tasted like. What it was like to cherish someone so deeply, that even being apart from them felt like a knife to the heart.
She could cry. She could scream. She could fight. She could die. She could do anything that she wanted. Anything that Izuku wanted.
Nothing was going to be able to express just how much she was in love with that green haired nerd. She adored Izuku with everything that she had. And that terrified her when she thought about the current situation…
How she had slapped him… And how he was still in danger… And now without a Quirk to help defend himself?... Only thirty hours ago, she could claim that, even though they had hit a rough patch, they were still happy. They could still sort things out, and just talk about their issues…
For that to be stolen from her…
The Villains were going to have to kill her.
For some reason that she didn't quite understand, she looked up from her tears and mutterings into Izuku's jacket, and looked at the top of her table bed, to find her phone just where she had left it. And something occurred to her.
She needed to call her family, yes….
But she needed to call Izuku's mother too.