The Hope Barely Found

Hope Returned

Izuku fought against his restraints with all he had. Toga had left for some mission and Compress and Spinner were engaged in a game of chess. It was the perfect chance.

The first restraint around his wrist snapped off easily and quietly. The second one jingled a bit as Izuku pulled at it with all his might before it snapped off too. Spinner and Compress glanced up for a second before disinterestedly returning to their game.

Next, his collar. The collar ended up being almost impossible to take off by himself, so Izuku prompted to instead snap the chain it had been attached to. It worked with a bit of struggling and this time both Compress and Spinner noticed.

"Hey!"

Izuku shot up in a instance and bolted, racing for the door. Spinner managed to grab his leg last second and drag him backwards, only for Izuku to kick his other leg in response, catching Spinner in the face and making him release him.

Everything hurt and his fingers dripped blood as the area where the nails should've been got irritated, but Izuku nevertheless forced himself forward while clenching his teeth in pain to keep from screaming out.

Izuku raced out the door, dodging Compresses grab just in time. Once hit by the fresh air, Izuku sucked in in gratefully, glad to be away from the musty bars air. He considered his options. He could stay and fight and end up with even more injuries or drag his sorry purple broken body back to UA.

Izuku decided on the second one and took off running without a second to spare. His feet aches and burned as he ran barefoot, bloodying them instantly. It was nothing compared to the pain the rest of his body was in, every move aching so badly it made him want to throw up.

It wasn't long before Izuku got out of sight, finally allowing himself to slow and drop to his knees, coughing up blood and letting out some vomit. He threw up the little scraps he'd received three days prior until he had nothing left in his system and could only dry heave.

When he got himself together, he shakily forced himself up and started down the road. He had to get to UA.

***

Izuku felt like he had been walking for days (it'd been a few hours) before he arrived. His feet were dead and he swayed dangerously as he stumbled through the gates and to the door, knocking with as much strength as he could muster.

"Hello?" Of fucking course it had to be All Might who answered. He stopped short when he saw Izuku. "Wha-,"

"Where's Eri?" He rasped out, glaring at the suspiciously empty house behind him.

"At the school for the festival. But- WAIT!" All Might called, as Izuku took off towards the school with a longgggg groan.

Just his luck.

***

Izuku was completely out of breath and gasping, dripping sweat. He kept going but left behind bloody footprints as he forced himself to go on. He was... so... close...

Izuku collapsed to the ground in the middle of the forest. He knew the school had to be barely a few steps past it, but his head spun so much he couldn't stand without either collapsing or running into a tree. Izuku's only hope would be to take a minute to catch his breath before trying to regain his footing again.

Once he did that, he stood up very shakily, feet threatening to crumble again, when a yell caught his attention.

"Well, well, well! A straggler! I am the greatest villain, Gentle! And this is La Brava!"

Izuku stared at them deadbeat. He felt exhausted, sore, in complete and utter agony, dizzy, and now exasperated. He did not have time for these amateurs bullshit.