Viridescent

Chapter Fifty-One: Desperation

Izuku got Himiko's text that Monday morning and immediately reported it to Nighteye and Tsukauchi. The meeting to discuss the upcoming raid on the Eight Precepts wouldn't take place until later that afternoon, so they opted to check in with her before it took place. The meeting had, initially, been intended for Sunday, but with the information from Himiko that the League of Villains was planning something with an unfamiliar group, they'd put it off just a day to see what developed.

Nighteye got permission to take Izuku from his classes that morning for the internship work, picking up Tsukauchi along with him at U.A to recover what Himiko had described via text as "vital information". Something had clearly happened, and it was of the utmost importance that they discover what it was before the meeting that afternoon.

As soon as they arrived at the apartment, Izuku led the way and knocked on the door to Himiko's residence. After a brief pause, it opened and she let them inside.

Himiko was uncharacteristically silent as she let them into the apartment, closing the door behind them and leading the group into the kitchen. She quietly told them to wait a second and retreated to her room, then returned with an object in her hand—a computer hard drive—which she placed on the table across from the heroes.

Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"The main hard drive from the Eight Precepts' computer system."

Izuku's heart froze. "You went into the compound?"

"It wasn't hard," she mumbled, crossing her arms and avoiding eye contact with him. Izuku frowned at the unusual behavior. "Their security sucks. Tomura got in touch with a group of villains specializing in heists and I broke in to give them an open door for a hack. As of last night, the Yakuza are broke. Completely."

Nighteye sucked in a sharp breath. "That's going to make them even more desperate..."

"While I was at it, I stole the hard drive," Himiko jerked her head sharply towards the object. "It should have everything on it. I didn't get to check, but it was the only major computer system they had in the compound. I thought it might have something about Eri."

Izuku's gaze fell back to the hard drive, simultaneously dreading and hungering to know what was on the piece of tech.

"Who was involved in the hack?" Tsukauchi asked, frowning. "How did you break into the compound?"

"It's a group Tomura said was involved with All for One a while back," she said, shifting on the spot. "They—Izuku, can I talk to you?"

He blinked at the sudden request and glanced at Nighteye, who inclined his head. "That can be permitted. Just one moment."

Izuku offered his hand to his mentor, who took it and briefly met Izuku's eyes to initiate his Quirk. Within a few seconds, Nighteye released his intern and nodded, glancing at Himiko for a second. "Let us know when you're ready to speak again."

She didn't respond as Nighteye took the hard drive and then led Tsukauchi out of the apartment.

Izuku walked over to her, growing more worried over her skittish behavior. She almost seemed to shy away from him, backing herself into the edge of the countertop.

"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching for her arm hesitantly. Upon touching her, he got really concerned. "You're shaking—"

"I killed Chronostasis," she blurted out.

Izuku froze, but she started to ramble before he could say anything. "He was between me and the computer system, and I had to remove him before anyone discovered me, and I know we agreed that I might have to kill people to keep my place in the League, and I've tried really hard to avoid that, but I didn't have another option open to me—"