Sora was practically bouncing as she entered the classroom that day, a wide grin adorning her face as she settled in her seat. " Good morning Ochaco-chan."
" Morning, thank you for the other day by the way, having four packs of mochi was a great help." Uraraka smiled broadly at her.
Sora had run into her, Asui and Yaoyorozu just as they were spying on some shoplifter the other day while she was doing groceries instead of her grandmother. So she had to join in on a chase and witness some heartwarming couple's confession and finally, she agreed to buy one pack of mochi and hand it over to her mochi-lover friend.
Sora's eyes then trailed towards Yuu's seat before she walked up to him, leaning on his desk. " So, what have you done about the letter?"
Yuu looked up at her. " I wrote it for your grandmother of course. I mean, I'm truly grateful for everything she had done for me."
" You're exaggerating." The girl giggled. " Just, let's hope it won't turn out as embarrassing when we read them before the whole class though."
" I'm already praying for that," he mumbled as he looked back at the racket beside them. Midoriya, Iida and a bunch of their classmates were having a rather fierce discussion that shifted from Iida's journey at the theme park to breast size.
What the heck? Even with that said, Sora couldn't help but look down at herself and then back at Yaoyorozu in front of her. Being short and small is really torture! She huffed
As the bell rang, signaling the beginning of homeroom, everyone scurried to their seats, expecting Aizawa to slide the door at that very moment just as he always did.
But it didn't happen.
" That Aizawa, late! Someone pinch me! I must be dreaming in my death!" Shot Whisper.
" Calm down, maybe he got held back because of today's event," said Yuu, though he too was as befuddled as the ghost and the rest of his classmates at the rare occurrence.
" Because of that very event he shouldn't be late as a UA staff! It would ruin our prestigious school's image before our own parents!" Iida objected.
" Let's give him a few more minutes then," Yaoyorozu suggested.
Time ticked by, one minute, two... Yuu looked up at the hands of the clock above the blackboard and a knot formed in his stomach. Their teacher had never been this late before, not even when he was all bandaged and wounded. Something is definitely up!
Homeroom ended and no sign of the man decked in black yet, nor of any of their parents. Sora and Yuu looked back at each other worriedly, the latest events making them tense up and imagine the worst scenario possible.
As the murmurs grew louder, their phones buzzed all at the same time. Now this is odd. Thought Sora as she pulled her phone and checked her inbox to find a message from Aizawa. " 'Ride the bus to mock cityscape '..." She read out loud, " Aizawa-sensei wants us to head down to the training grounds?"
That enticed befuddled looks and worried whispers, however, class 1A complied, obeying their teacher's orders. Iida led them to the bus that was waiting for them outside the school building. They got in and it immediately drove them to the said location.
Sora wrung her hands all nervous and anxious. " What's the matter, Shirogane?" Todoroki, who was sitting by her side, asked once noticing her stressed out.
Sora gave a rather forced smile. " It's just, I'm quite worried about Grandma. Maybe I should have insisted she shouldn't come after all." The possibility that something like USJ happening again while her grandmother was around terrified her, not to mention she was worried about her injury not fully healing yet.
A few minutes later, they were standing outside the cityscape ground with nothing in sight but the buildings. They went further inside, hoping to find their teacher when Sora and Yuu squinted, their noses scrunched at the smell that hit their nostrils.
" Is this... gasoline?" Yuu turned to his friend as though to make sure. They had been to that training ground several times before and not once did they smell gasoline in there.
" I don't- wait, I can smell it now!" Pointed Shoji as he manifested several noses on his dupli-arms.
" Are they preparing something for a class that's going to use the landscape this afternoon?" Yaoyorozu wondered. It was then that a scream caught them off guard, prompting them to hurry forward. However, as they got closer, it became a jumble of screams. Yuu and Sora's eyes widened as they recognized one of the voices.
" Grandma!"
" Aunt Yui!"
They cried out as they sped ahead, not caring about the unusually destroyed lane before they halted when they reached a pitfall, large enough to fit all of them. It was filled with an amber liquid. Gasoline.
At the very middle, a very thin tower held a cubic cage accommodating a bunch of people.
Their parents.
The desperate parents cried out for their children as they clung to the barres of the cage. Sora's eyes frantically ran across their faces before she spotted the one with a golden light ring hovering over her head.
" Grandma!" Yuu's arms flung around her waist, restraining her before she could dart.
" Let me go! Grandma is there, I can help her!"
" Think this through!" Yuu cried in her ear. " Whoever did this won't just leave the cage sitting there where you can easily reach for them!"
" Good thinking." A shrill, almost mechanical voice vibrated in the air. As Yuu and Sora tried to discern the source of the voice, Midoriya proceeded to ask about their teacher.
" Aizawa is down for a nap. A dirt one."
The students couldn't bring themselves to believe what the voice was implying. Their teacher was dead. That Aizawa, the pro hero Eraser Head, was dead.
" No way! I'm not gonna believe you until I see him with my two eyes!" Shouted Whisper at the sky. " Show yourself you damn idiot!"
" Beware now. Remember, I have the hostages." At that moment, Midoriya pointed at the cage as the parents moved apart, bringing to sight a tall man in a black mask, cape and cowl. The villain then stepped ahead, leering at the students from the front of the cage.
Sora growled as her eyes fell on him, her mind was taken over by one single thought. That man's a threat to my family!
Seeing Iida attempting to pull out his phone, the man spoke. " Don't bother, you wouldn't be able to reach anyone. And Kaminari's Quirk won't save you this time. As well as you." The man pointed one finger at Whisper. " Don't you dare leave my sight if you ever want these hostages to live long enough. Needless to say, if one flame appears as well..."
Yuu clicked his tongue. So the man knew of his Quirk and Whisper's abilities. How on earth?
All of them were shaken at the sight of their confined families. Sora was no better, if it wasn't for Yuu's arms, she would have shot right at the cage and kicked the man in the gut. She was furious.
As the man went on jabbering about how he dropped out of UA and all, Bakugo cut him short with the threat of being burned to a crisp with his explosions.
" We don't need to egg him on damnit!" Cried Whisper, wondering how the boy managed to keep his unusual lofty attitude even with his mother held hostage.
One intake between both Bakugo and his mother was enough to convince him that shouting and threatening somehow ran in the family. " That woman is strong, gotta give her that." Admitted the ghost.
The class embarked on a conversation with the villain, trying to find out what he wanted and convince him to let their parents go.
" I have nothing to lose anymore so why not just break the next generation of heroes by taking their most precious families from them with me."
" Great! And now we have a suicidal mass murderer!" Grunted Whisper. Not being able to slip away and find help was gnawing at him.
" Who to start with then?" He said closing on to the mass of people.
" Stay away from her!" Sora cried out when his hand approached her grandmother.
Yuu noticed Midoriya mumbling. He must be thinking of a plan. The boy's eyes narrowed as he too took in the scene before him. There must be a path. Every puzzle has a path, and this is no different.
Aoyama volunteered to be their distraction while Midoriya thought up a plan. It wasn't playing well from what they can see, for all they could do was talk to him.
" What the heck are they even doing?" She grumbled as she looked back at the villain, seemingly as befuddled by their distraction as she was.
" Well, at least it's somehow working..." A bead of sweat slid down the ghost's head.
" Seijin-san!" Yuu snapped when Midoriya hissed his name. Apparently a plan already formed in his mind.
" A sneak attack?" He summed when he heard the green head asking Yaoyorozu for a small stun gun.
" Yeah, we'll have Hagakure-san approach him and knock him out with it. But..."
" You need a route, got it." The boy's eyes flung at the cage, taking in the platform, the space between the barres and the positions of both the parents and the villain. " Hagakure-san, it would be best if you just approach him head-on. When you reach the platform, keep low and aim to hit his leg through the bars. We will try to draw him close to the front of the cage."
" Understood!" The girl stated confidently as she allowed her clothes to slide down to the ground. Of course, that wouldn't go unnoticed by Mineta. Before he could point it out and divulge their plan, Sora had him in a headlock.
" Go! Save them!" She hissed to her friend as she floated over to the platform using Uraraka's Quirk while all of them kept talking to the villain, trying to distract him from the small stun gun.
" Release!" Uraraka touched her fingertips together and Hagakure landed on the platform, crawling towards the cage. As Hagakure held it up, ready to stun the man, he kicked it away.
Vexed from their efforts, the man opened the cage and pulled a lighter as he made to the edge.
" No!"
The lighter was tossed into the liquid which caught fire in a split second, turning the pit into a replica of a large furnace. The flames shot high, hungry for more than gasoline. And the only prey there was their parents.