It Can't Be Him... (Villain Kaminari Story)

CHAPTER 23: Midoriya's Bruises

Meanwhile...(as Bakugo and Kaminari were still fighting)...

"Yaoyorozu, am I close?" Todoroki whispered.

"Very. Take a left, and then another right."

"Got it."

Somehow, Todoroki managed to escape Kaminari's line of vision. Leaving all the violence to Bakugo, it was now his job to do the rescuing. 

Shouldn't be too hard...right?

He was now walking through an unknown area of the forest, following the directions from the voice on his phone.

"Take another right, " she instructed, "The map says there might be quicksand, so watch out."

"Got it," he said, pushing past a long branch.

Now here's the thing: Yaoyorozu didn't know about the villain hideout's address. After all, it wasn't announced to the public yet, and only adult heroes like Recovery Girl and All Might know about it for now.

Todoroki never mentioned it to Yaoyorozu. If she knew, she would freak out. The last thing Todoroki wanted to do was cause more disturbance for someone he cared about. Especially Yaoyorozu, who has always been feeding him with kind services and favors.

For now, his cover-up story was that Midoriya and him were playing an extreme game of hide-and-seek, and Midoriya chose to hide in a small inn. (which was actually the address of the villains'). It's a dumb idea but shhhhhhhhhhh don't tell Yaoyorozu.

"Sometimes, I cannot comprehend your thought process," Yaoyorozu sighed, "Hide-and-seek right before exams? Really?"

"Yes, and I'm having a lot of fun," said Todoroki (unenthusiastically), "Now...am I close to Midoriya?"

"Uhm...you don't see him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, according to my map here, you're already...at the place..." she said.

Todoroki lifted his eyes...and dropped his cell phone.

The boy found himself standing in front of a small, violet cabin, with a white, wooden rooftop. There was a bright neon purple sign at the top that read Purple Lotus, with a lotus design at the side.

The windows of the cabin were locked shut, but some of the lights were visibly on inside. The place didn't look new...but not relatively old either. It almost appeared...chill and friendly.

This can't possibly be...the villain's hideout? thought Todoroki.

He stepped through the gates and saw a small, square-sized lobby with two turquoise couches. A main desk to his left, a pamphlet bookshelf to his right. There were even people there, quietly reading newspapers or going on their phones. The worker behind the desk stared at Todoroki questionably, wondering why he's been just standing by their entrance, not moving an inch inside.

Politely, Todoroki bowed, a little embarrassed to have stumbled across the wrong place.

He reached for the phone to call Yaoyorozu back, but then stopped in his tracks as his eyes met the one unusual thing about the lobby.

There, in the far back corner of the small lobby, was a clean, white podium, with a handprint on top of it. That's when Todoroki knew he was in the right place.

The DNA machine...

He remembered seeing a picture of it in Recovery Girl's office.

Confidently, he stepped back inside and towards it, ignoring the stares of the people digging on his back. The desk worker narrowed his eyes at Todoroki, but didn't stop him.