Number 7

Thirty: Baku-Hoe Rescue Mission

Akiyasu

The meeting with Nezu went better than expected. No one was fired, but we did come to an agreement- it would be safest if we moved all the students into on-campus dorms so we could better protect them, but we couldn't implement that just yet. Not with the press breathing down our necks and making us out to be the most untrustworthy and sloppy school in Japan. People had begun to lose their faith in pro heroes. Moving the students would have to wait until after we rescued Bakugo. After a few days, Yao Momo had woken up and told All Might that she had another student attach a tracking device to the Nomu that had attacked and injured Yaoyarozou. The police chief had also been asking around and managed to get information on Dabi entering an abandoned building somewhere in the city. It was confirmed that we knew where Bakugo was, now we needed to get him back.

Meanwhile, Aizawa and I were still silently arguing. Ryuko ended up leaving to find a hotel, leaving me alone again at my home. I had seriously considered adopting a dog or cat just so I wouldn't be so lonely anymore. Shota refused to respond to my texts so I had stopped trying altogether, waiting for him to come to me so we could work things out, but he was taking his sweet time with that and I was getting impatient. If he didn't come to me soon, I was gonna have to resort to begging Hizashi to talk to him.

For now, though, I had my focus primarily on the mission to rescue Bakugo. My place was on the ground with Endeavor to make sure no villains got away. Many other local heroes and top ten pro heroes were asked for their helping hand in the mission, including Ryuko since she was in town. I had no idea where she was placed in the plan but it wasn't near me. The same went for Aizawa.

Standing in front of the building beside the older Todoroki man, I kept my hand over my eyes to block the sun as I watched for any sign of movement. Endeavor began to complain about All Might leading the rescue when another hero cut in and told him he would be better off on the ground so he could apprehend any villains that escaped, which seemed to calm him down. But his comment just annoyed me. He was always so focused on being number one and being in the spotlight that he whines when he's not the leader. How sad of a life he must live.

"Remember, Endeavor," I started, "we have to be faster than them, we can't give them the opportunity to move because that's how they always get us."

He rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed with me talking to him. "You mean that's how they always get you."

I glared daggers at him. "Are you trying to get on my bad side?"

"I'm not interested in having any sort of relationship with you either way."

I could feel the heat in my face as my anger bubbled over. "I wouldn't be your friend even if it could bring my mom back." I spat at him, stomping away and seething with anger. What a dick.

Slumping against a tree, I could hear the crash above accompanied by All Might's loud voice. The rescue had begun, forcing me to get low on the ground, keeping my hands and feet pressed against the earth so I could feel every vibration.

"What's going on?" Endeavor asked me, his flaming beard growing stronger.

"They all said 'Enji is a dick.'" I joked, making the hero behind him chuckle, but ticking him off.

"They have all the villains captured. Gran Torino just kicked the shit out of Dabi." I answered truthfully this time.

"Good, that means we don't have to do anything." The third Hero I didn't know said. Endeavor looked aggressively annoyed.

Suddenly, a few random villains I couldn't recognize broke out of the second story window, falling to the ground and jumping to their feet just as they noticed Endeavor and I. With my mask tucked tightly over my nose and my quirk already activated, I braced for the fight, jumping up from my low position on the ground. As I did, my eyes immediately went to the mask of one of the villains-the mask that man at the pharmacy wore when he tried to rob it. Could that be him? The villain with the ability to control shadows? That meant Endeavor was safe because he would emit light and the shadows wouldn't be able to make contact with him. Which meant I would have to light myself on fire.