Elysium

7

The destruction of Deika had left scars on everyone. The city was barely recognizable—a wasteland of broken buildings and shattered lives. The media buzzed nonstop, covering the aftermath of the Meta Liberation Army's clash with the League of Villains, but the chaos that had erupted wasn't what kept Bakugou awake. No, it was something—or other, someone—else entirely.

His room at U.A. was quiet. Too quiet. The moonlight streamed in through the blinds, casting a pale glow over the floor, but even in the stillness, Bakugou's mind refused to calm. He stared at the ceiling, the events of the past few weeks replaying over and over again. His thoughts drifted to the destruction, the villains, the burning city—but most of all, they kept circling back to her.

That vigilante, [Name]. She'd been there in Shinjuku, and he was sure she'd had some part to play in Deika too. He hadn't seen her during the conflict, but the memory of her light—soft yet powerful—kept creeping into his mind. What the hell was she doing during all of this? Was she out there fighting? Was she working with the villains? Or was she still in the shadows, playing a game no one could understand but her?

"Tch." Bakugou gritted his teeth and turned on his side, trying to force the thoughts away, but it was pointless. He'd been restless ever since they'd crossed paths again on that rooftop. There was something about her that bothered him. She was strong, no doubt about it, but more than that, she was unpredictable, slipping in and out of his life like a ghost. He hated how she kept eluding him, always one step ahead, always keeping him guessing.

He clenched his fists, the faint crackle of his quirk sparking under his palms. It wasn't just her strength that bothered him—it was that damned look in her eyes, the way she seemed to understand something he didn't. And then there was the fact that, despite himself, he couldn't stop wondering about her. Where was she now? What was she thinking?

What the hell was her goal?

He hated not knowing. Hated the uncertainty. But even more, he hated the pull she had on him—the way his thoughts always seemed to drift back to her, no matter how hard he tried to focus on other things.

He sat up in bed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He could hear the distant sound of Kirishima snoring softly in the next room and the faint murmur of the other students as they moved around in their dorms. U.A. felt like a haven compared to the wreckage of Deika, but even the safety of the school couldn't shake the tension that hung over him.

He had a bad feeling. Like something was coming, something bigger than any of them had prepared for.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand, and he grabbed it, eyes scanning the screen. It was a news alert, another update on Deika's destruction. Bakugou let out a huff and threw the phone back onto the bed, annoyed. He already knew what they would say. More talk of villain activity, more speculating on what the League of Villains was planning next.

But it didn't give him any answers. None of them knew about the real problem lurking in the shadows. About the vigilantes and people like [Name], who were operating on the fringes, dancing between hero and villain.

He stared at the phone again, his mind drifting back to the moment he'd seen her on that rooftop, their brief exchange hanging in the air like an unfinished conversation. Her calm demeanor had irritated him, but now, as he sat in his dark room, it was the calmness that haunted him. What did she know that he didn't? Why did she seem so certain about the path she was walking?

Bakugou threw the covers off and stood up, pacing across the room. He needed answers, and sitting here doing nothing was driving him insane. Maybe he should track her down, confront her again. He clenched his fists at the thought—he wasn't one to leave things unresolved, and this was no different.

There was a knock at his door, jolting him from his thoughts. He glared at it, half tempted to ignore whoever it was, but after a moment, he stalked over and yanked it open.

Kaminari stood in the hallway, his phone glowing in his hand. "Yo, Bakugou, you see the news?"

Bakugou grunted in response, leaning against the doorframe. "I've seen enough of it. What do you want?"

Kaminari held up his phone, his face unusually serious. "No, I mean this news. There was an attack. The president of the Hero Public Safety Commission—she's dead."

Bakugou's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his expression darkened. "What? When?"

"Yesterday. But they're just now releasing details." Kaminari walked into the room, holding the phone out so Bakugou could see the article. "They're saying it was a known gang—calls themselves the 'Shiraku.' Real underground, but dangerous. They left some kind of mark on the scene. No one knows how they got to her, but there's a photo... well, kinda."

Bakugou grabbed the phone, scanning the article. The Shiraku—he'd never heard of them, but if they'd managed to take down the head of the commission, they had to be serious. His eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the text, and then he saw it—a blurry photo of the scene. Most of it was indistinct, but there was something there, something that caught his attention.

In the corner of the image, barely visible, was a figure. A figure with a faint shimmer of light around them. And... hair. [Hair Color] hair.

His grip on the phone tightened.

Kaminari shifted nervously next to him. "Kinda weird, huh? They don't know who that is, but—"

"Give me that," Bakugou growled, handing the phone back and turning away, his mind racing. It couldn't be... could it? Was [Name] somehow involved in this? She'd talked about the commission before, about how they were corrupt, about how they'd taken something from her. Was this her way of getting revenge?

But a gang like the Shiraku? That didn't make sense.

"Bakugou, you okay, man?" Kaminari asked, frowning.

Bakugou didn't answer immediately, his thoughts still spinning. "Yeah. I'm fine." He brushed past Kaminari and headed for the door. "Tell the others. I need to go for a walk."

Kaminari blinked, confused, but nodded. "Uh, sure. But dude, if there's a gang out there targeting the commission, we should—"

"I said I'm fine," Bakugou snapped, his voice sharper than he intended. He stormed out of the dorms, heading for the training grounds, but his mind wasn't on practice. It was on [Name], and what the hell she could be doing mixed up in something like this.

Was she a part of the attack, or had she just been caught in the chaos? Either way, he needed to find out. And soon.

He clenched his fists, his pace quickening. Whatever game she was playing, he wasn't about to let her get away without answers this time. Not after everything that had happened.

If she was involved in this mess with the commission, then things were far more complicated than he'd thought.

And Bakugou wasn't one to leave things complicated.