Chapter Text
It was the 7th of January. UA's classes had gone on as usual, except for the fact that Aizawa made Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Jirou and Kaminari stay after class.
"Correct me if I'm mistaken, Mr. Aizawa," Yaoyorozu started, "but I believe all four of us have been acting according to the rules today and days before."
Aizawa nodded after letting out a yawn. "You're right," he explained, "However, the Pros need your help with something. The League of Villains have recently destroyed a couple of houses to the south of Musutafu as a warning for looking into their whereabouts too much, as you were told about this morning. All that is left now is debris."
"Couldn't they have just come to us instead? Burned the trees around UA as a warning?" Kaminari mumbled, mostly to himself, but Jirou picked up on it.
"They were likely fearing to get caught if they committed arson so close to a prestigious Hero school," she theorized, to which Aizawa nodded in approval.
"That was likely their line of thought, yes. Now... I called you four here not to inform you of the matter, rather, the Pro Heroes on the scene need young brains on their side. Therefore, I decided to deploy you four," Aizawa explained, "The Pros will be looking around for any survivors under the fallen debris. In the meantime, they requested that four hero students look for any objects or traces the League of Villains left behind."
Todoroki tilted his head slightly. "Why not send Pros that are trained in those specific qualifications? Or the criminal investigation department?"
"Because," Aizawa responded, "they figured that younger, more inexperienced eyes may pick up on usually overlooked clues. Furthermore, this can prove to be an educational field exercise for you."
The four Class 1-A students exchanged silent glances before turning back to their homeroom teacher and nodding.
"Great. someone'll send you kids the location," Aizawa yawned, no doubt planning to retire into his yellow sleeping bag the moment his students left, "Good luck."
They bowed their heads respectfully to Aizawa before setting off, exiting their classroom and entering the corridor.
"So... Should we get ready and meet up by the dorms' entrance?" Yaoyorozu suggested as the four of them made their way down the stairs to the ground floor.
"Sounds good," Todoroki responded. Kaminari and Jirou nodded in agreement.
"Getting assigned on such an important mission..." Jirou muttered, "While we're as capable of detective work as a goldfish that jumped out of its tank."
"I don't know, but it sounds kind of fun. Imagine if we do find something, we'd be giving the heroes a huge advantage against the League!" Kaminari reacted with a smile, an attempt at reassurance that he wasn't sure landed right, as Jirou let out a sigh in response.
They continued walking out of the building to the outside, where they made their way towards the Heights Alliance. Jirou and Yaoyorozu went through the right double doors to the girls' side while Kaminari and Todoroki went left.
"Hey, welcome back, bro!"
Kaminari looked over to the source of the sound to see it came exactly from who he expected: Kirishima. He was seated on the couch with Sero. Kaminari went over to them and greeted them with a grin.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Nothing much. Why were you asked to stay behind?"
"Ah, that..." Kaminari momentarily glanced over his shoulder at Todoroki, who subtly shook his head. Kaminari cleared his throat before looking the red-haired teen in the eye once more.
"Nothing to worry about, Mr. Aizawa just wanted to ask us a few questions," Kaminari explained as he waved his hand dismissively. Luckily for him, Kirishima took it at face value and nodded.
"Okay. Don't hesitate to tell me if something's wrong, though!"
Kaminari smiled and nodded before continuing his tread to the hallway. All of his friends, especially Kirishima, were always so eager to help him out that it warmed his heart.
I can always rely on them, Kaminari thought to himself, and I hope they won't hesitate to rely on me, too.
Kaminari went through the doorframe into the hallway beyond the common room. He grabbed onto the stair railing as he started to ascend it, a soft ticking noise becoming constant and his feet took rhythmic steps up.
As he arrived on the third floor, Kaminari pulled the door key out of his pocket and unlocked his dorm before entering and shutting the door behind him. He dropped his bag in its usual spot in the corner between his desk and the wall the balcony was attached to.
Kaminari risked a glance at his bed, which looked mighty tempting to flop onto at the moment, before shaking his head. He couldn't get distracted now, not when he specifically had been chosen to go on this important mission.
Fueled by determination, Kaminari changed into his Hero outfit before leaving his room and going down the stairs once more. He arrived early for once, it seemed, as Jirou, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were nowhere in sight yet.
To pass the short time he had to do nothing in particular except for waiting, Kaminari turned to look at the TV. The news was on at the moment. He crossed his arms as he read the rolling headline at the bottom of the screen: "South Musutafu Trashed: League of Villains Storms Houses for Unknown Reasons."
'Unknown reasons' my ass, Kaminari thought to himself as he shook his head. The recording showed drone footage of the area burning, seemingly when the arson had been recently committed, as the fire burned brightly and sparked on effortlessly. Parts of buildings fell down, crushing whatever lay beneath without any warning. At first it was just pillars, but those later turned into walls, and after that entire roofs.
Kaminari winced as the sound of a loud wail pierced through the speakers. That was probably a civilian's last cry before getting crushed by fallen debris from what they once called their home.
Along with the wailing was the sound of crackling fire, burning whatever flammable object dared to come near. It torched wildly, blazing high into the dark night sky. The footage from last night was being reported about, but Kaminari didn't really care about that.
Had the heroes come there earlier, he thought, could a few casualties have survived?
Luckily the fire department had arrived on the scene in time to prevent more unnecessary casualties, and Pro Heroes came to their aid mere minutes later. The footage ended with more drone footage, but this time it showed how the extinguished version of the district.
The atmosphere seemed sullen and empty, not a single person in sight. Houses had fully collapsed while others were leaning on a loose thread, that mostly being a single stone pillar. All that damage, just because the heroes dug a little too deep...
The news switched to the weather forecast, where the weatherman pointed at the Japanese map in a couple of main areas, where seemingly all of them showed subzero temperatures. When it showed the week overview, Kaminari noticed that it would be snowing soon. Maybe they'd get a day off school to enjoy the weather? Eh, probably not...
A light pole on his shoulder caught his attention, so Kaminari looked up to see that Jirou had arrived. He gave her a smile and a nod in greeting to which she nodded back. The two of them waited in silence for Todoroki and Yaoyorozu to arrive.
"Hm... That's weird. Yaomomo is usually pretty quick with changing into her hero costume, and I'm guessing Todoroki is too," Jirou commented as she glanced over to the hallway with the staircase to their dorm rooms.
Todoroki descended the stairs and joined them soon after. The three of them stayed in that spot, keeping their eyes on the staircase. After a few minutes of waiting, Yaoyorozu finally arrived. She was panting slightly as she joined them too.
"I'm sorry I took so long, more time passed than I thought," she explained before anyone could ask her. Kaminari waved his hand in dismissal before Yaoyorozu looked over the other three.
"Are you all ready to go?"
"Yeah," Todoroki responded first, before Kaminari and Jirou both nodded in agreement. They walked over to the dorms' entrance and pushed open the double doors. They went over to the gate to U.A.
"How will we get there?" Jirou asked, "It's a far walk."
"You'll see," Yaoyorozu answered as they continued walking. As they exited the campus, the four of them caught sight of a black SUV, which appeared to be a Nissan. They approached the car to see Aizawa leaning against it.
"Problem children," Aizawa greeted, "I'll be coming along to supervise you in case something happens when the Heroes on site don't notice on time. Now get in the car or we'll be late."
Yaoyorozu took the front seat while Todoroki took the left back seat. Kaminari and Jirou exchanged a glance before speed-walking to the car to see who would get the middle seat. Unfortunately for Kaminari, Jirou was just a bit faster, so he got the right back seat. He shut the door and fastened his seatbelt with a click.
Once everyone was set, Aizawa turned the key and started the car. As he started driving, the radio started as well. It played some song Kaminari didn't recognize, so he looked out the window to his side as they drove away from campus.
It didn't take long before they were in the city, which was bustling with activity. Families going out in their free time and buying sleds for the upcoming snow, long-time fans meeting their favourite Pro Heroes for the first time and friends meeting up to hang out. Was that what civilian life was all about?
These were the people they were fighting to protect, defend with their lives. No matter how hard it gets, heroes always fight. That's what being a hero is all about to Kaminari, to protect the smiles of the innocent.
After about a minute the radio switched to the hourly news report. It was exactly the same as the report he watched on TV earlier, just worded differently. Despite that, Kaminari paid attention to it in case they added any details, but they didn't, as he had already suspected.
Kaminari glanced next to him to check how Jirou and Todoroki were holding up. Todoroki looked lost in thought, while Jirou was just staring out the windshield. She seemed to notice his gaze on her and turned her head slightly to face him. They kept eye contact for a few seconds. It was just a few seconds, but Kaminari could see the slight anticipation, fear and stress for their mission along with a small glow in her eyes before she turned away once more.
The streets were starting to grow less and less populated, so Kaminari guessed they were getting closer to the scene of the crime. For the first time since they stepped in the car, Aizawa broke the silence.
"If you find anything, don't panic," Aizawa said, "Report it to me or, if it's an object, bring it. The Pros will handle it from there."
That "panic" part seems a little targeted, Kaminari thought, but shook it off. Aizawa slowed the car down before parking it in an empty lot by the road.
"We'll have to continue on foot from here in case we find a bomb. We need to make sure we can drive someone to the hospital if necessary or bring the bomb away as quickly as possible, and that would be hard if the car explodes too."
The students nodded in comprehension before exiting the car. Kaminari briefly stretched his legs before joining the others as they started walking towards the town ruins. It wasn't far, but they walked that distance in total silence.
When they arrived a couple of Pro Heroes came up to them to greet them. It was Fat Gum and Mirko, Heroes who could easily lift rubble in case they found someone trapped beneath it.
"Hey there, Eraserhead! Oh, hey kids! How's Kirishima? As manly as ever?" Fat Gum greeted them with a smile.
"He's doing well," Kaminari responded, "And yes. Manly as ever."
Fat Gum let out a laugh before beckoning them along. They followed as he and Mirko took the lead, with Aizawa trailing behind them. They were led past the two police officers guarding the premises, who gave them a brief nod of acknowledgement.
The heroes came to a halt as they escorted them inside, past the barricade tape before turning around to face them.
"Shoto, you look to the northwest. Creati, you go northeast. Earphone Jack can go southwest and Chargebolt can go southeast," Mirko instructed. The students nodded and split up. The affected area wasn't that large, so it wouldn't be very difficult for Aizawa to keep an eye on them.
Kaminari made his way over to his assigned area and scouted it for a moment. It was just one house, but it was large and had mostly collapsed. If he found nothing on the surface, he would have to do some literal digging.
He started making his way around the house to try and find anything, but to no avail. Next, he carefully walked over the debris to get a clearer view, but no luck either. Finally, he decided on digging. He headed near the center and started pushing aside some pieces of floor and wall to see if anything lay beneath.
Kaminari didn't expect to find anything as he carefully pushed aside a crushed, wooden dining chair, ensuring he wouldn't get any splinters, but then he encountered a folded piece of paper with a few splatters of blood tinting it crimson. He looked over his shoulder to see if he was alone before unfolding it.
It was a map of what Kaminari recognized as the inner city of Shizuoka, with a red circle near the northwest. There was text written below: "LoV hideout effective Jan. 5" followed by an address.
"LoV"... Like League of Villains..?!
"Shit," Kaminari muttered under his breath, "Gotta get this back to-"
He stopped himself. Something was fishy about this, but he couldn't quite place his finger on what, until it dawned on him. The map, the circle, the text. It was all too precise and comprehensible. Too comprehensible. Kaminari was certain they had left the map there on purpose.
The League of Villains could lure heroes to their base with the heroes thinking they have the advantage, only for the villains to ambush them instead, potentially keeping hostages or even killing.
If Kaminari decided to deliver the map, how many deaths would he be held accountable for?
Kaminari checked over his shoulder one last time. Aizawa hadn't noticed anything yet, and neither did the other present heroes. He knew he should follow what his teacher, a professional, had told him, but Kaminari decided against it, knowing the consequences it could cause if he didn't. He let out a long sigh before folding the map up and pushing it into an inner pocket. The less people knew of its existence, the better.
It went against his orders, but it was the only option. The only option to prevent needless deaths.
Kaminari practically jumped when he heard a loud rumbling, startling him. He looked up to see dust falling off the still in tact ceiling, before he heard a crack. The last thing that escaped his mouth was a yelp of surprise before he was knocked onto his back by falling rubble, completely engulfing him, trapping him with nowhere to move.
At first, Kaminari felt nothing but the pain of debris landing on him until he felt a severe sting, a harsh stabbing pain in his abdomen. He tried to scream out in pain, but all that came out was blood spilling from his mouth. It hurt. It hurt so, so much... How much longer would he be trapped here? Would he even get out in the first place?
If I die here, I'll die alone. And they'll find the map if that's the case... And I won't have even had the chance to say goodbye...
Kaminari clenched his eyes shut. The pain was all-consuming, but he could at least try to lessen it, as tiny as the difference may be. He felt his head growing light as everything ached, but then he heard voices drawing nearer.
"Kaminari!"
Todo...roki..?
"Mirko, help me out here."
Kaminari fought to stay conscious. They were... Doing their best to save him. He couldn't let that be in vain. Slowly, he dared to open his eyes. More and more light became visible as his friends and superiors dug him out.
"Kaminari! Can you hear me?"
Once they cleared most of the debris, one of the police officers came into view, hovering above his head.
"Hey..." the officer whispered to him. Kaminari tried to answer, but only a groan came out. The officer gave him a sympathetic look before turning back to everyone else present.
"He's conscious," the officer said before attempting to push more debris off the hero student. When he touched the debris near Kaminari's abdomen though, he let out the largest sound of discontent he could make, that being a weak shriek, which made the officer pull back immediately. It hurt so bad, everything did, but now the stabbing pain felt even worse.
"Be careful with him!" a voice hissed, which made the officer back off almost immediately. They left the piece of debris in his abdomen to prevent him from bleeding out on the spot. Kaminari's vision started blurring as the pain showed no signs of lessening. It was hard to stay conscious, but he persisted anyway. No way was he dying here.
He could vaguely feel someone picking him up. The person felt soft, so he guessed it was Fat Gum. He leaned his head against the hero's chest as he struggled to remain conscious. The same voice that had told the cop off earlier sounded again, this time speaking to Kaminari directly, probably trying to tell him he would be okay, but he couldn't tell who it was. It sounded very familiar though...
Kaminari didn't remember a thing from the car ride to the hospital, except for the constant stinging pain in his abdomen. When the car stopped and they had almost reached their goal, Kaminari unfortunately couldn't keep it up anymore and lost consciousness.