A Silent Kind of Strength

Chapter 86

Izuku was almost skipping as he headed to the cafe, he had helped Yaoyarozu and Jirou with their request, a magical mutual confession contrived by a scheming greenette. It was getting late, but the cafe was technically on the way back to UA… ish. And he thought that Denki might like something sweet, and of course Hitoshi always appreciated a good cup of coffee.

He hummed as he made a list of what to order in his head, texting Aizawa what his slight hold up was and asking if the two heroes wanted anything while he was there. He smiled at the lighthearted grumbling from his foster father and the request for coffee. He and Hitoshi really were similar.

He was just around the corner from the little shop when a shadow moving in the corner of his eye startled him. He didn't get to do more than flinch before there was a stinging in his neck and everything went black, his phone hitting the sidewalk and sending shattered bits all over in front of his eyes as they slid closed involuntary. His last fuzzy thought was that he could have sworn he had buffed the old thing enough for it not to do that.

___

Hitoshi was cuddled against Shouto in his bean bag. A movie playing on his laptop in front of him. He knew Izuku was due to be back soon enough and had invited the greenette to join them when he got back, though he knew he was more likely to join Denki and his friends in their study session downstairs.

But for now he was happy and warm, his boyfriend heating up the space under their blanket with his quirk. Honestly, if he kept that up Hitoshi didn't know how long he would be able to stay awake. Shouto,  for his part, was absolutely fixated on the movie they had chosen. One about a girl and a boy who worked in a violin shop.

He was just dozing off to the sound of bittersweet teen angst when there was a knock on his door. He grumbled to himself before stumbling to his feet and sleepily making his way over to see who it was. Finding Aizawa standing in the hallway was unusual, but finding the man looking worried and tailed by Denki and Yaoyorozu was even more so. And when he started grilling the purple haired teen about their boyfriend the picture of something really being wrong was complete.

"Is Izuku with you?"

"No. Why?"

The three people outside of his door looked even more stressed at that response, sharing a glance between themselves. Hitoshi's heart sinks at the familiar look of smothered panic. Shouto joined him in the doorway, steadfast and ready to do what was needed of him as usual.

"He texted me about an hour ago asking what I wanted from that cafe you guys like so much. But he never replied to my text and I called the cafe and he never showed up there. His phone is either dead or turned off and is no longer sending out any kind of GPS signal which means the battery has likely been removed…"

All four of the teens present worked through the situation as it was talked through. All coming to the same horrible conclusion. Aizawa pulled his phone from his pocket with his traditional glare-not-glare worried look. "I'll call Nezu and get Tsukauchi on the lookout. You four alert the others in the class and have everyone gather in the common room for a head count and then stay there. If Izuku makes it back, call me immediately."