Red Ink

Part 36 - The Red Raid I

"The car's pullin' up, gang. Get ready for phase one— oh my god, wait, her skirt. Can one of you heroes ask where she got it for me after the rescue?"

Midoriya's brow furrowed in frustration that he was trying to hide as he pressed on his ear piece. "Focus please, Cipher."

"Trust me, I'm focused. Damn... I'll bet that's cashmere, too."

"Ci–"

"Relax, I'm losing eyes on her soon anyways. No more cameras down there. Your turn, Earphone Jack."

"Copy," Jirou affirmed into her earpiece before patting Kirishima's shoulder. "Hey. It's gonna be fine."

Kirishima smiled weakly. "Yeah. For sure."

She could tell her words did little to calm his nerves. As much as she wanted to stay to comfort her friend, phase one of the Red Raid relied heavily on intel only she could provide. It was time to get to work.

Pro heroes surrounded the perimeter of the Underground hideout. The hideout in question was a labyrinth of stale, white hallways— likely an abandoned office basement— tucked away near the south of the Underground and blending in with dozens of other left-for-dead structures. It was no wonder Dabi hadn't been found yet. Areas like these were abandoned for a reason. One wrong move could result in a devastating landslide of the surface rubble above.

Eijirou had only ever been to two places in the Underground; the Event Sector and The Commons, and even then, he'd only gone to the Commons twice in all his time as the Prince. These were the outskirts of the Business Sector, deserted even by the most desperate of characters.

He didn't expect to see sunlight down here. It was a rather ignorant assumption, but he thought that the entirety of the Underground was shrouded in the same darkness as the Event Sector, but from what he could see now, that wasn't true. Pockets of sun peeked in through the surface of Japan above them; enough warming light that foliage had bloomed around the outskirts of the building, peppered with wildflowers.

In another context, Kirishima might've found it beautiful. He would've admired seeing nature reclaim these failings of civilization. If the car wasn't pulling up at the same time he noticed it, at least.

The driver exited first, opening the door for Red. Watching her step out made his breath catch in his throat. She was here.

The operation suddenly felt so much more tangible. After weeks of planning, it was finally happening. They would get her out, and after that... Well, he could think about that later. Focus, Eijirou.

A blindfold covered Red's eyes. The driver reached to grab Y/N's arm, but the tattoo artist yanked away in protest. Kirishima tried to decipher what was being said, but with the distance between them, he could barely make out their lips. It looked like an argument of sorts from what he could gather, the two of them gesturing coldly at one another until it looked like Red relented, finally reaching out to grab her escort's arm.

Jirou's voice echoed next to him as well as through his ear piece, startling him. "Minor altercation with the driver, but she's taking her inside now. Over."

"Hagakure and I took care of the perimeter guards. Over." It was Uraraka's voice this time, sounding slightly disheveled after what was probably several minutes of close combat. Phase one was almost over, and every muscle in Kirishima's body was wound tight in anticipation.

Jirou nudged his bicep. "That's my cue. Keep your ear piece on and wait for my signal, yeah?"

"Right." Determination was building now. Now that he'd seen her, instinct was starting to take over. In less than an hour, he and Red would be back at All Might Agency. Soon, he told himself again.