Freeze Frame

Chapter 120

Third person pov

"Maybe this is some sort of trick and he doesn't have it. You know, a mental game Midoriya is playing to psych us out." Tsukauchi suggested as they drove back in UA's general direction. Chad still had no idea what in hot hell was going on. He had a few inklings, but they were being too vague for him to really get the whole picture. Not very cash money of them if he did say so himself. Oh well. Sucks to suck, he guessed.

This entire encounter had him feeling odd. Ever since leaving the prison, Chad had been experiencing this weird gut feeling that seemed to radiate through his entire body and tell him that something was wrong. He didn't know what. He felt off-balance. Like someone had thrown a wrench in the workings of his very being, or something deep like that. He wasn't sure what it was, or how he felt about it just yet. All he knew was that something was throwing his mojo off, and informing him that some bad shit was about to happen.

"I don't think Young Midoriya would do that." Toshinori answered immediately, almost on reflex. Tsukauchi sent his blonde friend a look. Toshinori's expression twisted immediately. Right. That actually was something Young Midoriya would do, wasn't it? If he could lead them all on for so long, it surely wouldn't be that big of a deal to construct an apology and give Chad a piece of hair without the intent of passing his quirk on. So what did they do now? Was there anything they could do?

On one hand, if Chad had it, that wasn't the worst thing ever. At least now it could be passed on again, or wielded by Chad himself should they come to the conclusion that he was a good fit. On the other, if Chad didn't have it, at least it was still with Izuku. In a box where no one could possibly get to it. All For One was down for the count, and the League had taken a hard hit. They'd be out of commission for a while. Really, this entire situation wasn't even that bad. Just mind numbing.

Chad tuned out of the conversation for a moment, looking around. Seriously. Some shit was off and he wasn't digging it. This was not a tune he wanted to get down to. He looked ahead of them, and on both sides. He twisted around and looked out the back window as well. They were going up a long-winded hill, so he had a good view of all the cars behind them. He searched for what was looking for, his heart already sinking. It wasn't hard to spot. At least he knew now that he'd been right. This was without a doubt not good.

"Hey, guys—" Chad started, only to be cut off immediately after.

"He would do that. That's the problem." Tsukauchi sighed. This was one big mess. He knew bringing Chad here had been a mistake, but Toshinori had still insisted. He was a soft man. He still cared for Izuku greatly despite what he'd done. "And what if Chad did get it? How do we tell?"

"Bros—" Chad tried again. Behind them there was a faint screech of tires that both men up front ignored.

"We can't until he shows any signs. I'd probably have to inform him of how it activates so he can try for himself. But that would mean telling him..." Toshinori trailed off, letting out a puff of air. "And if he doesn't have it, I'd have told him for nothing. It's quite the issue."

"Listen, my taco amigos—" Chad chimed a bit more frantically, twisted around in his seat and looking out the back window.

"He's good at keeping secrets. Better than you'd think just talking to him. I think we can trust him." Tsukauchi had to give Chad the benefit of he doubt. He was his son in law, technically. If he and Dabi were actually going to seal the deal. Had they already? Tsukauchi didn't keep up with their lives as closely as he should've. That being said, Rei wasn't either. She was unconcerned about it, instead dedicating her time to making custom bird feeders, Shoto, and helping Mihoko restore her old building.