The Shogun

Chapter 28 : Saving The Princess

Then

"Are you okay?" Kaina asked, her sharp eyes settling on Izuku. The faint glow of the dashboard lights cast a soft hue over his face, but it did little to hide the way his leg trembled, bouncing restlessly against the floor.

"Just nerves," Izuku muttered, forcing a small, unconvincing smile as he remained seated. His fingers curled around the fabric of his pants, knuckles white.

Outside, the world lay smothered in darkness. The streets were empty—eerily so. Not a single soul stirred, not even the occasional stray cat or flickering streetlamp. The city felt abandoned, swallowed whole by the ink-black void of the sky. It was a new moon night, leaving the heavens barren, and without the moon's watchful presence, the world seemed to hold its breath, waiting.

"It's going to be fine," Gentle reassured from the driver's seat, his voice steady despite the tension hanging in the air.

"I hope so," Izuku murmured, glancing down at his watch. The glowing digits read 1:15 AM—fifteen minutes left. His fingers tapped against his knee, restless.

They had parked in a nearly abandoned lot, the kind of place few people ever came to at this hour. Just beyond the lot, past the silent streets and shadowed alleys, lay the compound. Chisaki had agreed to meet them there, though Izuku wasn't sure if agree was the right word.

La Brava had opted to stay back, working tirelessly to scrub away any traces of their presence—wiping security feeds, looping footage, ensuring not a single digital footprint remained. If things went south, at least there wouldn't be any evidence tying them to this night.

Kaina, leaning against the car, arms crossed, broke the silence. "Are you sure the intel this Sakuragi gave us is foolproof?"

Izuku looked up, meeting her gaze. "Master and I trust Sakuragi-san," he said firmly. "He's been sticking his neck out for us. If he says it's solid, I believe him."

The words came out strong, but a flicker of doubt lingered in his chest. Trust was a fragile thing in a world like theirs. And tonight, it would be tested.

"I would have felt safer if Mori-san had come with us, but it's understandable," Gentle said, his fingers drumming lightly against the steering wheel. His tone was calm, but there was an unmistakable edge beneath it.

Izuku could only nod in agreement. Given his master's history with Chisaki, bringing him along would have only escalated tensions. This meeting was already fragile enough—one wrong move, and everything could fall apart.

That was why they had settled on a different approach. While Izuku and the others handled the direct exchange, his master would infiltrate through an alternate route, one carefully mapped out by Sakuragi-san. It was a path safe from cameras, blind to surveillance drones, and undetectable by any system that could register his Bystander Effect Quirk.

The plan was set. Now, all they had to do was make it through the next fifteen minutes.

"And the thing you gave Sakuragi— is it set up?" Kaina asked, her voice steady but laced with caution.

Izuku exhaled sharply. "I don't know. I can only confirm once we're inside," he admitted, unable to mask the nervous edge in his voice.

Suddenly, the light near the compound gate flickered—once, twice, three times in rapid succession. The pattern was deliberate.

Kaina grimaced at the sight, her expression unreadable. She didn't bother looking at Izuku as she muttered, "There's our signal. We're being invited inside."

"Did you two drink the water I gave you?" Izuku asks.

"You insisted us that we drink. So yeah", Gentle replies back.