What did the villains want with her and Katsuki? The two of them could be listed as the worst type to take hostage and yet the villains were trying quite insistingly. That seemed to be the whole point of their appearance.
Sakura's thoughts were running as she stakes out the forest from higher terrain. At the top of a fern tree, overlooking the blue flames burning hot on one side and visible poisonous gas on the other side. The gas seemed off. It wasn't spreading further than a certain distance, the same couldn't be said for the flames. She knew that Dabi had to be responsible for this.
'The poison, the gas, potentially injured students and rampaging villains,' Sakura heard rustling on the forest ground nearing her, preparing for a villain only to see the familiar mess of curls that was Izuku's.
He was coming back in the direction of the camp dorms, and he didn't look good.
"Izuku!" Sakura landed in front of the boy, taking in his injuries. His shirt was gone, so she could see the entirety of his injuries. His right arm was deeply bruised indicating a horrid breaking of bones, blood still running down the side of his face, and his left eye partially shut from swelling and bruising. "What happened?"
He didn't explain right away, rather he seemed relieved to see her, "Sakura, you're okay! I'm so glad, I thought maybe they got to you! I heard from that villain that-
"IZUKU," Sakura stomped her foot, breaking the ground like an alarm warning silence. She came over to him, placed her hands on his injured arm, and started to heal. "What happened?"
"There are villains here! They're after you and Kacchan! I fought one of them,"
"So they did this to you?" He was badly beaten, and both arms were injured. One was clearly from his quirk but she could tell that the other hadn't been self-inflicted. In terms of physical power alone, Izuku was on par with All Might having inherited the quirk, he just couldn't withstand the blowback. But he hadn't needed to be pushed to that limit since learning to control his output of power.
So whoever Izuku fought must've been strong enough to back him into that corner.
Izuku was still in a rush for things, Sakura almost regretted stopping him while his adrenaline was still high. He would be feeling the pain, and it could be enough to knock him unconscious. He didn't even want to sit still for a full healing session.
"It would take me a while to completely heal all these injuries, but-
"We don't have time!" Izuku insisted, "I have to tell Mandalay the message Aizawa-sensei told me, our classmates could be in danger if I don't! And I have to let Kacchan know that the villains are after him!"
"In your condition, the best thing to do would be to go back to the camp," Sakura hadn't seen any more villains, but she still had her clone over there as well.
"No," Izuku shook his head, "I've got to get the message to Mandalay so she can tell everyone. We're allowed to use our quirks to fight against the villains now,"
"Of course, those guys would wait for permission even if their lives were in danger," Sakura gritted out disdainfully. This is what convinced her they were nowhere near ready for real combat, a fight where you would do anything to take down the enemy. It wasn't an issue to operate within boundaries, but circumstances should also be a form of dictation and actions.
"I think that's enough Sakura," Izuku said stepping away. Sakura knew if she had to do a full treatment it would take too long and they needed to get moving. Their classmates' lives were on the line and the villains could be anywhere, they weren't even sure how many were lurking about.
'But if I'm one of their objectives, they might not stop until they achieve it, Katsuki too,'
Izuku had been at the starting line when the villains appeared there from seemingly out of nowhere, they had to be with the League because with how rare teleportation quirks were and the agenda it was safe to assume. Sakura had already confirmed it was the League of Villains through Dabi.
"What do the villains want to use us for?" Sakura asked out loud.
"I don't know but we've got to keep you and Kacchan safe, Sakura I don't think you should engage with them," Izuku urged, he wanted her to go back to camp. He wasn't so sure she would though. She hadn't been afraid to enter a fight so far and compared to the rest of their classmates she wouldn't wait for permission to go full-on offense. No matter how many rules she broke in the process.
She pounded her fist into her palm, "That's not happening. My gut's telling me you're going to need all the help you can get,"
"What are you going to do?"
"Go give Mandalay the message," Tearing at her top, shredding it to form bandages, Sakura wrapped what was left of Izuku's wounds, taking clean sticks to create splints, focusing on his arms and moving with precision. "Don't you dare try to use your arms, they're still broken? And I know the damage is worse than anything you've done before. I'm warning you Izuku, if you use them again it could result in irreparable damage,"
"I understand," Though tensions were high, Izuku's eyes had ended up lingering on Sakura at her actions. First, it had been bashfulness when she tore up her shirt, but with only a sports bra now, he could see the scar tissue etched in her skin. He wanted to ask but there wasn't time, just as there wasn't time for him to explain about the fight he had with the villain Muscular.
He wanted to tell her about the connection this villain had to Kouta, that by terrible fate the boy had to meet the murderer of his parents. The same person who told him, that the League of Villains was going after her and Katsuki.
"Get going,"
Sakura took off into the air, kicking through the trees faster than Izuku could activate his full cowling.
…
..
..
..
"Attention everyone!" Shino's voice rang through Sakura's head like a ghost, no presence but still heard. She rushed through the forest, kicking along the branches already deep in the poisonous gas.
"We have identified the villain's objectives, the student's Sakura and Kacchan. These two students must avoid combat as much as possible and reframe from moving solo. Got it Sakura, Kacchan!"
Sakura smiled a little, Izuku was the only one who referred to Katsuki as 'Kacchan' a cute name from when they were children and had followed them through the years, just as Izuku was Deku to Katsuki. But to hear that from someone else mouth was comical. As was the order to avoid engaging in combat, because Sakura was about to break that order in the next few seconds.
She took to the air, overlooking the entire forest and trees, where she could distinguish the fire and pinpoint the center of where the poisonous gas was originating. That was her first objective to deal with. Poisonous gas would inhibit the students from moving and that would leave them vulnerable. It was different when it came to the fire because that was a second priority as students would at least be able to move away from it. They were training to be heroes and handle all types of situations, including hazards like fires, they wouldn't be as inhibited in their movements and if they were fast, they could escape, but it wouldn't help if they were cornered by the gas.
This was no time to dawdle.
As she came to fall from the height, she saw the figure standing at the center of the gas. Eerie, with a mask covering his face, attached to an oxygen tank on his back. That meant he wasn't even immune to his own power.
She landed there in front of him.
Mustard was taken aback by the appearance of the League's objective. There were specific instructions that Sakura Haruno and Katsuki Bakugou must be brought back alive. However, he was not looking to engage the girl. That job was left to the real muscle of the new League of Villains recruits, yet here she was.
'That idiot Muscular didn't get to her,'
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that one of U.A's brightest was able to figure it out, even so…." He reached into his school blazer. Sakura noticed that he was clad in a uniform. She sidestepped when he pulled out a revolver and immediately pulled the trigger, aiming for her leg. "You're still human,"
'Either he's a bad shot, or he's not looking to make a lethal injury,' It was probably the latter since she was a capture target.
"You're not holding your breath are you?"
Sakura smirked, "Does it look like I have anything to hold it for?"
"Impossible," He was glaring through his mask, Sakura was certain. "There's no way you can be immune to my gas quirk!"
"I've endured far worse poison than what you're offering up," Sakura craned her neck, before stepping towards the villain, a smile spreading on her face.
Mustard backed away, aiming the revolver at Sakura and shooting one bullet and then two. Both times, the girl shifted the smallest bit to avoid getting hit but didn't stop moving toward him.
"You villains think you can keep playing this game with me and get away? I've had just about enough of restraining my punches. There's only one way to curb the pain you've become,"
Desperation began growing as did Mustard's fear as he felt as if he was suffocating even under his mask, from the sheer pressure of bloodlust when he met Sakura's eyes. It was as if the green had hardened to the point of penetrating straight through him. And trigger his desire to run, yet somehow he felt rooted, as fear gripped his neck tightening the closer she got.
"STAY AWAY" Screaming, Mustard pulled the trigger aiming directly for her head. Hoping to put a bullet between her eyes, as all logic left as he felt the desperate desire to survive, like a cornered rat. He was stunned when Sakura caught the bullet before it landed.
Not a drop of blood fell from her palm as she let it fall on the ground.
"My turn,"
The punch came too fast for him to realize it was one. His mask dented and shattered into his face completely before he even hit the ground. Sakura looked down at the villain's face, probably broken in his jaw, but as long as he was breathing. The quirk started to dissipate. Although being in the thicket of the gas, Sakura was able to make out two figures coming toward her.
Entering was two members of Class B, Tetsutestsu and Itsuka Kendo, class B rep. She was wearing a gas mask, but her unique and long orange hair gave away her identity.
"Whoa, someone got here before us!"
"Haruno?" gasped Itsuka. "What are you doing out here? Mandalay said you mustn't engage with the villains,"
"Too late for that," Sakura glanced down at Mustard, "I suppose you two had the same idea as me about this gas,"
"We're late though," Tetsutsu had been determined to go after the villains and had to defend his reasoning against their class rep, but it seemed he was a little slow on the draw this time.
Suppose that was just class A's number one for you.
..
..
Tetsu and Itsuka updated Sakura on what had happened when the gas was released. She wasn't the only one trying to help the students in this situation. Momo had gone searching for all the students to give them gas masks, instead of heading back to camp. The majority of class B was still in the forest, and they were probably knocked out from the gas, but the gas was no longer a problem.
"I'll leave this guy to you two," Sakura said stepping towards the thicket.
"HOLD ON!" Tetsutsu called, "Mandalay said you're not supposed to engage with the villains!"
Sakura didn't wait to reason or bargain, she just took off knowing that they wouldn't be able to follow.
Itsuka watched her in frustrated wonder and Tetsutetsu noticed this, "What is it Kendo?"
"It's strange, she's being targeted by the villains but she seems so fearless, didn't you see it? The look on her face?"
"What do you mean?"
"She looked ready for a fight,"
..
..
..
Everyone in the classroom was ordered by Class B's teacher to stay away from the windows and the door in case of any surprise entries. Some of them were arguing about going back out to help their friends face the villains but they were being denied permission to leave.
Class B homeroom teacher Sekijiro Kan was determined to keep the remaining students in the condition they were before the training camp had gone up in flames and poison. So he stood near the door while most of class A tried to convince him to let them go back out to protect their friends.
"Sir, my friend's being targeted please let us go!" Eijiro was standing up to Sekijiro determined.
"Not a chance," He crossed his arms, standing like a guard in front of a vault. His wide mouth curved downward, and his eyes were hard as a rock. He wasn't going to give anyone permission to leave the room, including Sakura's clone. Though he had berated her as if she was the original for not bringing all of her back into the building when she was one of the villain's targets.
The clone wasn't planning on going anyway, since she intended to stay on the lookout for any more villains that might come to the camp where so many of the students were gathered in one place instead of scattered out in the forest. There might also be injured or poisoned victims that get brought in.
"Stop it Kirishima," Mina
Tenya cut in, "Sir, if we don't know how many villains there are, then shouldn't we have as many fighters as possible,"
Minoru stepped in, wearing a cold sweat. "Are you planning on fighting the villains?"
"Yeah that's right," Eijiro snapped, "Even Aizawa-sensei said to fight,"
"That was for defense, it was so everyone could get back here. Which one of our primary targets have already ignored," Sekijiro gave a stern stare in the clone's direction who just shrugged.
"I don't control what the original does," Sakura wiped her hand over Toru's forehead, swiping back some hair, the invisible strands slipping through her fingers. Fortunately, it looked like this gas only really knocked a person out and it wasn't life-threatening, at least there weren't any symptoms right now.
The clone paused, hearing footsteps echoing in the hallway getting closer to the classroom. Some of her classmates heard it when they were close. It sounded like one person. Eijiro was about to go to the door thinking it was Shouta returning, but then Sekijiro pushed him out of the way just as the door burst into blue flames.
"It's that villain from outside!" Sakura exclaimed, leaping back as the warmth shot through her body. The intensity of the flames was different from regular fire. But what concerned her was why didn't the original Sakura leave if he wasn't taken down.
She wouldn't go anywhere unless that fight was finished, it would put the others here in danger. But Tenya had said that the original Sakura left after Shouta also showed up, so they wouldn't have let the villain linger about.
So how was he hear?
He was about to attack when Sekijiro intervened, grabbing his face and slamming him into what was left of the classroom wall. In his hero costume, red liquid, blood Sakura realized emitted from the gauntlet on his wrist. It spread quickly like a spider's web and then hardened like crystal in an instant at the teacher's command.
Neito spoke proudly, "Just as I'd expect from our teacher,"
"What the hell is this guy doing here?" Sakura asked.
"You're pushing hard into ap lace like this without thinking? You're underestimating us?"
Dabi smirked, "And why wouldn't we? You're acting exactly like I thought you would. You've been defeated regardless of what happens to me,"
The Sakura clone stepped forward, ignoring Vlad King who told her to stop. "How are you here?"
Dabi looked her dead in the eye and her gut dropped, something was certainly wrong but she wouldn't get answers in time. At the very least ht original was safe, and they now knew of the villain's intentions but they were unaware of the numbers and potential threats that still lay in wait.
"The pinnacle of hero education, U.A., and the Symbol of Peace All Might. The two most trusted figures of hero society gathered together. If multiple incidents keep putting that trust into question, then don't you think people will be so shaken they'll lose faith in you? Imagine how they'll react if you allow your students to get kidnapped?"
"Fuck!" Sakura took hold of Dabi's head and slammed it into the wall. Her classmates looked at her back shocked by the action. "You're going to kidnap two students just to shake society's faith in heroes? Seems a little overkill to take two. One would be enough for your plans. No, you're after something else as well,"
Dabi chuckled behind her hand and Sakura took it off just to swipe the man's face, smirking as some of the stables along his jaw stretched and pulled the skin. He had a high tolerance for pain and torture methods weren't effective in a time crunch, not to mention in front of very violence-conscious teenagers with hero complexes.
"I wonder, do you think you can solve the mystery before it's too late?" Dabi mocked. Sakura stepped back when she saw his face becoming gray and slipping as if melting from its foundation. But there was nothing in place to hold it.
"What the heck?" Denki shivered watching as the villain fell into a puddle of ash-like gray.
"That wasn't me," The clone said when Sekijiro looked at her like she had an explanation.
"It was just a fake," Shouta appeared from the doorway, carrying Kota in his arms. The boy didn't look injured but he was trembling, with a clear shine of fear in his eyes.
"Was it one of the villain's quirks?" asked Tenya, coming to look over.
"It's just a fake, I saw one of them earlier. I think it's something like a clone, similar to you," Shouta said to her.
"What's going on out there Eraser?" Sekijiro demanded.
"I'm not sure, I had to bring Kota back here but I'm heading to the front lines now. I'm counting on you, Vlad,"
Shouta was preparing to leave, but he gave a very pointed expression to Sakura's clone. "Where is the original right now?"
"How should I know! We're not telepathic!" Sakura exclaimed. She had to explain this already with class B's homeroom teacher she didn't want to have a repeat with hers. "It wouldn't matter anyway, she's not going to come back here until she does what she needs to,"
"She's just doing what she wants to as usual," Shouta hissed, his posture straightened as he pulled on his scarf. "There might only be a few villains here, but they're more coordinated. It seems they're trying to keep the pro's attention."
Eijiro immediately leaped at what he thought was the perfect chance to go out and join the fight. "If that's true then shouldn't we also be allowed to go?"
Tenya nodded, "That's right, there's strength in numbers,"
Shouta gave them a firm look that kept everyone in place, unmoving and lost for motivation to fight back. "No. If they're not here for us, then they're targeting the students. Bakugou and Haruno might not be their only targets,"
"That guy was talking about ruining society's trust in heroes by taking us hostage," Sakura elaborated. She still thought there might be something more to this kidnapping attempt. It made sense on the surface since heroes' identities were glamorized and defined by those they protected and that was most of society. However, Sakura had also seen that doubts were pouring in about U.A. being a safe place for students to become heroes because even the number one hero villains had dared to infiltrate. That was a loaded conversation and Sakura hadn't paid much attention to it in the beginning but the precautions that had been taken at the sports festival and then hiding the truth about Stain's capture were all just compiling to create a picture. That society was viewing heroes through the stained glass but it was fragile.
'Could the League be trying to bring down the system of heroes?' Sure Stain had similar motives as well but his intentions and views would be different from the League of Villains. Of course, it was too much of a coincidence that on that same night in the same area where Stain had appeared so had Nomu's.
And then there was the attack at the mall on Izuku that lead to the entire training camp moving locations. And even after all those precautions, the villains were still able to infiltrate.
With the way news traveled and affected reputations, it was no wonder something this simple could escalate if it got out to the public.
'Still feels like too much effort for such a goal,' For some reason, she just couldn't be satisfied with these motives. Maybe it was her shinobi lens making it harder for her to take something at face value.