Hikari: 『Volume 2 - Omakes』

◆Island Rescue Mission IV◇

During their summer training camp in the woods, when Mandalay told them villains were there to kidnap him and Miyuki, the first feeling he responded to was the frustration welling inside of him.

Much like he was at that moment, clumps of grass clutched in his right hand while the other gripped the cloth ripped off from Miyuki's shirt when the bomb detonated. His chest tightened as he stared out at the ruins of the decimated cabin, a large cloud of green smoke quickly spreading throughout the clearing and blearing his vision.

Even so, as the intense light from the explosion gradually died down and the shock wave calmed, his heart hammered with hope despite the guilt constricting it.

What he was seeing... wasn't real. There was no way he'd seen her and Mina just vanish like that. Maybe it was the light playing tricks with his vision.

His grip on the cloth tightened. No matter how much false hope he'd given himself, it didn't change the truth sending his head into a tailspin as he shot to his feet, his gaze unwavering from the spot he'd just seen her standing in before the bomb exploded.

"Yuki-Chan!"

Izuku's shout pulled him from his thoughts. Katsuki shot him a glance, disturbed by his alarmed tone. He followed the green-haired boy's gaze and his breath hitched in his throat when he saw two black scorch marks close to where the bush once stood.

"Ashido-Chan!" Tsuyu exclaimed, realizing the pink-skinned girl was missing, too.

"W-What happened to them...?!" Denki asked, trembling like a leaf as he sat up. His pupils contracted in fear when he saw for himself the remains of the explosion. "Don't tell me... that Miyuki-Chan and Ashido are...! -"

"Don't say that!" Katsuki shouted, whirling on him.

"S-Sorry," Denki replied, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

"They're totally fine..." Toru muttered, hugging her knees. "...Right?"

"Of course they are, Hagakure-San," Momo said as she tried to rid herself of her nervous expression. "There must be a logical explanation behind what happened to them."

Minoru sobbed on the ground. He pointed at the scorch marks. "Yeah, they're dead! -"

"You'll be dead right now if you don't take that back!" Katsuki yelled before he sent him flying off with a single kick.

Behind him, Izuku walked over to the ashes, keeping his mouth and nose shielded from the smoke as he crouched in front of the blackened patch of grass. He pursed his mouth, running his finger over the burnt grass. It was still warm - the tips were, at least, and they flaked into dust upon contact. But what caught his interest wasn't that or the faint scent of oil coming from the ground, but rather the perfect circle in which the spots where they stood had been burnt.

Almost like... it was done on purpose, he theorised.

"But how?" He muttered, brows creasing in deep contemplation. It didn't make sense. There was nobody else on the island but them.

Unless...

Izuku shivered, a dark cloud falling over his expression.

"Unless..." he muttered, lazily tracing the perfect outline of the scorch mark. "...But just... who is it...?"

As everybody else still recovered from the shock of the explosion and the sudden disappearance of Mina and Miyuki, Katsuki turned his gaze towards Izuku, his eyes still simmering a hot red. He refused to believe Miyuki was dead and he couldn't believe how fast his classmates just accepted the possibility of it.