Dead Hero's Heart

Chapter 22

Todoroki looked all around the perimeter carefully, making sure to examine every part of it so that he is sure that Hound dog wasn't close by. He didn't want to get caught, he couldn't afford to do so. That might be his only chance of meeting with the villain and fighting against him and he wasn't willing to lose it just like that.

There was no one around there, or at least one that he could spot, and the absence of sounds that weren't fit for a forest were a reassurance that the way was clear, at least for now. He slowly raised from the behind the bush he had hidden, and started walking with quick steps through 'the middle zone' that he was so terrified of as a mistake made there would lead to the take down of all his plans.

He couldn't afford to run, as his steps would make enough sound to alert the teacher. But neither could he go too slow, as that way it will take him more time, and so the chances of Hound dog arriving in that part would be higher. Every movement he did had to be carefully examined. Something as common as stepping into a branch and breaking it would be enough to screw him. He didn't want that to happen of course so he did his best to follow a straight path forward, avoiding doing anything that would get him noticed.

Behind a tree, not too far away from the bush the boy was hiding just moments ago, hid the four classmates of his, all having the same plan in mind that just moments ago they have made. So, they just waited for the right moment to act, while also observing the dual quirk user walk through the forest. Analyzing his movements, they found that as a good way to understand how they should act themselves once crossing this area, as well as what they should be aware off. They could tell that their friend had put a lot of though into it, probably spend many hour thinking of the perfect way for him to sneak out of the school. So it was only logical that they copied someone that was sure of what he was doing.

As time passed, and the ever so soft sound of his footsteps started to fade away, he had become nothing more than a dot far away in the horizon, barely visible by them. Trading a glance with each other, they nodded and come out of their hiding place themselves so that they could start following the boy. They needed to still be able to see him, after all, the whole point was to follow him to where he was going, and without them guiding them, they would be as good as lost.

They started walking, with Izuku levitating to the side of them, clearly not as tense as they were when crossing through. The reason couldn't be other that as a ghost, except for the fact that he couldn't be seen, he also didn't have a smell that would indicate his presence there. Furthermore, the only way for him to create sound would be deliberately, meaning that he was not endangering the mission.

The same however cannot be said for the others, as they were having problems with not doing something that would lead to them getting caught. It seemed to them nearly impossible to walk through the forest with barely making a noise, as with all the sticks and leaves in the ground, there was no way to not step on one. And yet, in front of their very own etes, they have seen Todoroki do that with ease, as if it was child's play.

All of their eyes pinned down on the ground they were walking on, the had all of their attention into where they were stepping to even be in the lookout for something else. Izuku saw that, and after having spent a lot of time just following them without being able to do anything to provide them with the help they needed, he decided that now would be his time to act. He took upon him the task of alerting them in case that Hound dog appeared, something that to their misfortune thought that it was a lot likely to happen, leading them to an unfortunate meeting with him if they didn't put on the gas and hurried.

He looked in front of them, far away to his friend to see that he was still luckily visible from the point they were. As long as they didn't lose sight of him he was positive that he would be able to find a solution to anything else they encounter on their way.