Red Ink

Part 38 - The Red Raid III

The interior of Might Tower was as breathtaking as the outside.

A giant statue of All Might greeted her upon entry. He was on his knees, holding the world above his head with a radiant smile. For some reason that stone face smiling down at her like that tightened her stomach in guilt. What would he think of her, if he knew what she'd done? Would he think she'd atoned for her actions after years of healing scars, or did the blood on her hands stain deeper after involving more heroes in her mess?

"...Red?"

She whipped her head to find the source of the voice and almost crumbled to the ground when she realized who it belonged to.

All Might himself— not the one in the statue, but the more recent, lanky version— stared her right in the eye.

Surprised, Y/N squeaked and bowed quickly in apology. "I'm so sorry sir, I-I was told to come inside! Dynamight told me to speak with someone named Cipher?" She popped back up and held her hands in nervous fists at her sides. "Do you, um, know where I might find the front desk?"

Of course he knew where to find the front desk. It was his fucking building. What the hell am I saying?

For some reason, All Might looked just as bewildered to see her. "But Bakugou isn't involved in..." All Might muttered to himself, then he shook his head quickly. "I apologize, this is a bit unexpected— but I'm glad to see you're safe. Young Kirishima will be relieved."

Red's brain short circuited when the retired hero put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not sure what's going on, but I can take you to Cipher. She can fill us in on where the plan changed."

"Plan...?" she choked.

All Might tilted his head at her briefly before chuckling nervously. "Ah. I guess the plan went more awry than we thought. Let's get some answers together, hm?"

She nodded quickly, more than overwhelmed from actually speaking to All Might himself . She was trying desperately to keep it together. How did Kirishima do this on a regular basis?

All Might gestured for her to follow him. She almost tripped over herself to join him, barely catching herself and thanking the gods above that she didn't just fall on her face in front of the most iconic hero of all time.

"Are you hurt at all?" he asked as they stepped into the elevator.

She shook her head quickly. "Just a bit confused is all— I, um, didn't get a whole lot of information from Dynamight. I'm... not sure why I'm here, but I need help with something, and he told me to speak with Cipher."

"He wasn't even supposed to be involved in the operation," All Might muttered to himself. "Maybe he joined without asking again...?"

"I'm... I'm not sure what operation you're talking about, but Dynamight's involvement is my fault. I was trying to get ahold of Red Riot. I'm his tattoo artist, but he's, uh, a good friend, and I was going to ask for his help, but he wasn't answering, so I called Bak– um, Dynamight, to help me out of the parlor."

"You... were at your parlor?" All Might frowned. "This doesn't make sense. We saw you leave... we saw you get in the car. I'm sure of it."

It was then that Y/N finally understood the gravity of the situation she was in. Everything everybody had said to her finally clicked and her breath caught in her throat.

"Y'think Ei was gonna just sit by when he knew you were in trouble? Have you even met the guy?"

"I'm glad to see you're safe. Young Kirishima will be relieved."