A Tainted Hero

Chapter 9

The air felt heavy. Midoriya is on his knees screaming. Uraraka rushed to help, but found she is helpless. Todoroki is staring at Midoriya, raging, wanting to rip that monster apart for what she's doing.

Bakugo is looking intently at the girl. She stood there, emotionless and cold, like a machine completing a task, a machine with an operator.

He looks to the side where he sees Mr Croft, punctual as ever, watching the scene with a smirk.

Bingo.

He walks towards the scene. Todoroki has just about had enough, he readied himself to attack. He turns a deadly gaze upon the girl, activating his flames. He wants to make her burn.

He's pulled out of his rage by a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see a calm Bakugo looking off to the side.

"Wrong target," he says in a calm voice.

Todoroki follows his gaze to the man standing on the side line. His stance relaxed, he realises Bakugo has something up his sleeve.

"You, done scaring people?" Bakugo calls out to the man.

The man narrows his gaze at Bakugo, giving a little huff in amusement. He looks him up and down. "I don't know," he says teasingly, nodding to Uraraka, "you think she's scared enough?"

Bakugo turns to see Uraraka, on her knees next to Midoriya crying. Midoriya wasn't creaming anymore, instead just shaking violently as he silently cries. He's hugging himself trying to squeeze his body together as tight as possible. Uraraka's mumbling about how he should just hold on and, that she was going to get him out, that this would all be over soon.

The sight made his heart wrench. He looks up at 7. She is unfazed. She just stood there like a lifeless doll. He turns back to the man.

"Is this all your little doll can do?"

Bakugo sees 7 stiffen out of the corner of his eye. The crowd is surprised at his words. 'Doll?'

Mr Croft chuckles and Bakugo can see a hint of emotion seep back into 7.

She's scared.

"You're right," Mr Croft says in a dramatic tone, "how could I put on such a pathetic show. How foolish of me, I have to show off a bit more, don't I?"

He sounds like he's talking about an attraction.

He really sees her as a doll?

Bakugo is surprised, he hoped to rile him up, but he didn't think what he said was true.

"How about we give them a bit of a show, 7" Mr Croft calls to the girl.

Bakugo turns to her. Mr Croft sounds like he's presenting a circus act.

"Let's show them why you're in the program..."

At those words 7 freezes, it sends shivers down Bakugo's spine.

She's dreading this...

Suddenly she breaks her stance. Her left arm shoots up to her shoulder as her fist closes and she locks her eyes to the ground. Bakugo sees Midoriya relax.

It's gone?

The same thought seems to cross Todoroki's mind. They share a look but neither dares to test the theory. They turn back to 7 as she is now walking to Iida, she grabs the back of his shirt and drags him to them. He seems to be unconscious. She stops right in front of Midorya, who hasn't dared to move yet. She looks up at the three standing behind the line, reading their eyes.