My Hero Academia: Next Gen

Chapter 54: Together

Eri's cheeks flushed with adrenaline as she ran as fast as she could down the street. Her boots pounded on the concrete, and she was so thankful that they were as shock absorbent as they were. If they were normal boots, not her hero boots, her heels would have already made and broken blisters.

She sped past parked cars and tall buildings as she made her way back into downtown where Bakugo's hero agency was located. Pedestrians shook their heads in annoyance when they moved out of the way for her, but she didn't care. She didn't care at all.

Kota's in danger, she thought, her mind full of nothing but panic. I have to find them!

Eri didn't know where they were; she hadn't heard the exact address when Blink called. She did know, however, that Bakugo always had a tracking device on him at all times in case of an accident or something. It was a way for the other heroes to be able to come find him in case they lost contact with him.

Breath ripping through her chest painfully, she pushed herself to run even faster, her thoughts racing just as quickly. She had to find them quickly. She knew that Bakugo, and even Blink could take care of themselves, but imagining Kota there in the midst of all that danger too...

She paused in the middle of a block, her lungs heaving as she tried to scrape some air back in. Her legs burned, nearly collapsing as she fell against the side of a building. How much farther? How many more blocks to go before she got there?

Eri gulped in another breath of air before taking off again, her cape whipping behind her. She didn't care how much it hurt, or how much she wanted to stop running, she had to keep going.

She had to.

--

The doors of Ground Zero's Hero Agency slammed open, and Niko looked up from where she was leaning against the front desk. The receptionist peeked over the top of the counter and saw Eri, panting hard, hair messy, face flushed.

"Eri, you're back?" Niko asked, frowning. "Did... Did you run from Mr. Bakugo's home?"

She nodded, clutching her side. "I... I need... his location... now."

Niko rushed to her side. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Her breath was finally catching up with her, and she was able to push out an entire sentence at a time. "He went to catch the villain. With Blink. But my friend is with them. I need to go too."

The assistant looked at the state of the young girl in front of her and her gaze softened. "Why? Mr. Bakugo is the number two hero, he can take care of himself and your friend. Let me take you home. We can sit down together and do something to take your mind off of the situation."

"No, I have to go." Eri shook her head. "I can't just sit here and do nothing while they risk their lives." 

Niko pursed her lips and sighed. She could tell by the look in this girl's eyes that there was no way she was going to back down. She would find them if it meant she had to run down every street in the city. "Fine. Come with me." She led Eri to Bakugo's office, where she logged into his computer at a rapid speed.

It only took seconds for her to open the tracking application and show his location. A map of the city blew up on the screen, a tiny red dot in the middle. "Here. Thirteenth street and twenty-sixth. That's where he is right now."

Eri nodded, already mapping out her route from the agency. A wide smile broke out on her face, and she couldn't restrain herself from hugging the assistant tightly. "Thank you, Niko! This means the world to me. I promise I'll be careful."

The woman shook her head and grabbed Eri's wrist when she tried to leave. "If you think I'm letting you go there alone, you're mistaken." She walked over to a wall and opened what Eri hadn't realized was a cabinet. She took out a bundle of clothing and looked back at the girl, mischief in her eyes. "I'm not just an assistant, you know. We're doing this together."