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14

Hitoshi slowly came to with a groan, his limbs aching and head pounding from the blast. It took him a few seconds to realise his arms and legs were tied and his mouth was gagged, preventing him from doing much of anything. Aizawa was propped up against the wall beside him, barely conscious as he winced and struggled to open his eyes. Blood was pouring down his face, into his irritated eyes. The dust and smoke from the blast must've got in! His goggles lay discarded a few inches from his boots.

"Hitoshi are you ok?" He asked, and all his son could do was nod shakily. The underground hero glanced at his belt and sighed, quietly mumbling incase anyone else heard.

"Don't worry, backup will be here soon"

Then, they heard a sound to the side of him, like boots on gravel and a familiar laugh that made Hitoshi's blood run cold. No...it can't...

His childhood bully came walking out if the shadows, electricity dancing around his palms, "Seems like the freak finally woke up!"

Behind him was an uncertain looking Cloudburst. Hitoshi could almost laugh at how stupid it was that a 30 something year old man was scared of a 16 year old, if he hadn't known how dangerous Igarashi could be. Hell, he felt paralysed to the spot just by looking at him.

Without warning, a booted foot came flying out of nowhere, hitting Hitoshi square in the jaw. Then, a fist, and then a zap of electricity. Hitoshi screamed in pain, before involuntarily cowered back against the wall. He felt small again, cowering away from the gang of bullies that had cornered him on his way home. Or the back to the countless times where his dad decided to take out his anger on him. Please not again. Please.

"Hey...this wasn't the pla-" Cloudburst tried to protest, a look of anxiety crossing his face, but Igarashi turned back and snapped at him, electricity building up in his hands once again.

"Quiet! We have some heroes! We can have some fun, huh!" He turned back to Hitoshi with a deviant glint in his eyes, and Hitoshi flinched in fear. Too many times he had used his quirk on him. He had seen that look before but this one was far more terrifying. This wasn't school. He could kill him. "Aww Shinsou the wannabe hero cowering in fear! Don't worry, this will hurt a lot"

Aizawa quickly shifted up, his hair floating as he used his quirk on the bully, who just let out an angry scream and kicked dust unto the underground hero's face. Aizawa yelped and shook his head trying to blink away the pain. But it burned too much to keep his eyes open.

No...no Hitoshi! I won't let you get hurt! I won't!

Hitoshi watched in fear as his former bully towered over him, electricity jumping between his fingers like lightning. With Aizawa's quirk disabled, no one could stop him from doing what he wanted. "You made a fool out me you villainous, no good wannabe hero! It's your fault I'm here! It's all your fault! How? How did you do it? You brainwashed them didn't you? You used your quirk to make them accept you into the program, just like you used it on Eraserhead!"

Electric flew out his hands again, and Hitoshi cried out as it jolted through him, burning him from the inside. He thought he heard Aizawa scream, but his ears buzzed loudly as he convulsed in pain. The pain grew and grew, pressure building up inside his skull. It hurt worse than anything else. He thought he was going to pass out, to die until-

Thwack!

The pain suddenly subsided and Hitoshi fell against his dad with a whimper, his body aching all over and jerking. Igarashi fell to the ground with a loud thud, Cloudburst stood over him with his quarter staff in hand. "Phew, that got intense! This kid needs to calm down, huh?"

The vigilante walked over and untied Hitoshi with a concerned frown, before moving over to Aizawa with a cautious step. "Shou, please don't be mad. I didn't mean for this to happen. Just let me explain-"