Lightning Serenade

Chapter 49: Waterpark Date III

Hitoshi froze in place on the concrete step. He grabbed onto Denki and Neito, and it hopefully looked like he was panicked, but he really just wanted to give Neito the chance to copy his quirk to use if Toga didn't end up falling for it from him, first. Denki did say they had a huge binder of information on all of UA's students, after all, and that he and Neito were considered as targets before Denki was able to redirect their efforts.

What if they changed their mind and Toga was there to collect them all?

What if she was there to just take Denki again? Like hell he would let that happen! And he knew for sure that Neito would go all out as a form of redemption for his perceived failure the first time Denki was taken captive by the League of Villains.

As Neito kept his eyes strictly on Toga, Hitoshi glanced around them and used their position on the tall staircase as a vantage point to check out the lower areas as well, looking for any more League members that might indicate an ambush or planned mission.

"What are you doing here?" Hitoshi whispered harshly, determining that if there were any other villains around, they were disguised or out of sight and turning his attention back to Toga.

"Just here to have fun!" Toga answered automatically, hands up in a placating manner. "Oh!" she chirped as she realized she had answered a question, bringing her hands to her cheeks as a smile grew. "Are you going to brainwash me now?!"

As soon as Hitoshi enveloped her mind with his quirk, he turned to Denki incredulously, gesturing vaguely at Toga, and at a complete loss for words.

All three boys looked at Toga, then, helpless under Hitoshi's control. Neito understood why he didn't recognize her at first; she looked totally different than when he saw her at the training camp. Then, she was decked out in a bulky schoolgirl uniform with huge storage tanks on her back. He didn't really get a chance to commit her features to memory because he was too busy trying to avoid the big ass needles coming toward his face. The Toga that stood in front of him then had on a pink and navy blue bikini, and her hair was loose, reaching down to her midback, instead of in her signature twin buns.

As Neito looked into her blank eyes, he realized that even the way she carried herself and the way her eyes looked was different. There was a lack of intensity, he noticed. Maybe she really was there to have fun and wasn't on a mission after all.

"Game plan?" Neito asked lowly, looking back and forth between Hitoshi and Denki, trying to keep casual as to not let any civilians know that Hitoshi had just used his quirk on someone and that that someone was a notorious villain.

The last thing they needed was a panicked crowd on a staircase. That would be a recipe for disaster, and the hope of keeping collateral damage to a minimum would go out the window as people clawed their way over one another until a rioting stampede threatened to smother those unfortunate enough to stumble.

"She's telling the truth," Denki reassured. "She's just here to have fun!"

"They aren't trying to take you back?" Hitoshi asked, just to be sure.

"No!" Denki chirped. "They wouldn't have to!" he added vaguely.

The soulmates decided that it was too risky to discuss that right then, among all of those people, so they tucked that away in the back of their minds to discuss later.

"You trust her?" Hitoshi asked. When Denki nodded without hesitation, Hitoshi looked over at Neito to gauge his response.

"If Denki trusts her," Neito sighed, "then I'm all in, too."

With a shrug, Hitoshi released Toga from his quirk, automatically reaching out a hand to her as she swayed on her feet upon regaining control of her body.