Darkest Before Dawn - 137

Chapter 137

[Momo Yaoyorozu]

Time since the attack had been the most frustrating she’d had to get through in her life, and also the most worrying. She wasn’t even sure how long it had truly been, because she was pretty sure it’d been a day, unlikely to be two. Yet, she felt like it’d been weeks, months even. Time crawled by and every second felt like watching Kazuki’s chances slipping by them inside an hourglass.

Every second, he could be killed, tortured or something else. None of the options were ever good either, which was the most frustrating. Because she had thought, after she gave the tracker to the UA staff, that they’d be doing something. She thought they would be telling them something, if only so that they wouldn’t be worried sick anymore.

Yet, all they got was some meaningless information and just as meaningless interviews being given to the public on the news.

“This is such bullshit!” Minoru growled, throwing the balled up napkin he’d gotten with his meal onto a nearby trashcan. He did so very aggressively, but Momo fully agreed with the sentiment. If it wouldn’t have been highly improper, she’d have wanted to do something like that. Alas, she had to be happy with doing so vicariously through her friends.

“They can’t tell us what they are doing, Tiny,” Kyoka said, apparently playing the voice of reason even though she looked like she wanted to do anything but. “Security reasons and all. They can’t spread information like that just because.”

“Security,” Minoru spat out, and he was, evidently, playing the voice of their frustrations. The way he said that one word, like it was a curse, was kind of cathartic… even if their anger remained. “So much for security,” he grumbled, visibly taking a deep breath in to calm himself.

“... They’ll still get him… Right?” Toru muttered, her voice barely above a whisper where she sat, a little apart from them and from Mina and Eijiro, who were themselves a little further away too. She’d been keeping her distance and no amount of comfort and reassurances helped.

Not that Momo blamed her for curling up into a ball and just… crying for most of the time since the attack. She wanted to do that herself and she hadn’t had to go through what Toru had. A small part of her, a selfish part, was glad that she hadn’t been, because that had to be awful. She knew it wasn’t Toru’s fault, but she could very easily understand how she thought it was. Momo knew she’d have blamed herself too, if that had been the case.

“They will. Don’t worry,” Tsuyu said and the flat voice probably took away some of the comfort, but at least Toru hadn’t burst into tears again. Either it had worked surprisingly well, or she was getting better with time, because Momo knew the invisible girl had broken down for less than that before. “All Might himself is involved, after all,” she added and that was a reassurance, if not much of one. “He’s not even the only one.”

“My dad is going to help too,” Shoto offered and they all turned to look at him with mixed feelings written all over their faces. None of them had a positive opinion of Endeavor, after all. How could they? Shoto might not talk about it a lot, but it shone through the same way Kazuki’s past did even when he didn’t explain things.

Sometimes, you didn’t need to hear any details to know there was a story and the general beats of it.

All the same, having the top 1 and 2 of the hero billboards on the case was good, no matter what kind of hero one of them was. And those were only two of what had to be several others. With that, they were bound to get a force to be reckoned with dealing with the entire mess. So…

So why did Momo still feel that pull, that desire to do something? What could they even do in the first place? Furthermore, chances were that they’d just make things worse, they had discussed all that, after all. Yet, she was still tempted. The devil on her shoulder still whispered that UA had failed already, several times. It told her that Kazuki needed her, speaking of all the horrible things her friend – the boy she liked – could be going through.

“It will be alright,” she said, forcing that little voice to shut up. She needed to wait, just a bit more… She couldn’t afford to mess things up, to make things worse. She needed to be patient, leave things in the hands of the experts, those that knew what they were doing. They wouldn’t fail and, besides, what could she do? What could they do? They were all just hero students, first year hero students at that.

No, it was better to leave it to the school, to the authorities, to the real heroes…

Maybe if she told herself that enough times, the voice would eventually shut up.

“It’ll be alright,” Minoru said, sitting across from her in the hall and looking like he thought anything but that. Still, he seemed to have taken some comfort in the words, visibly calming down the smallest bit. Maybe, just maybe, Momo had managed to do something right among all things that were just absolutely wrong around them.

“It’ll be alright,” Kyoka repeated, taking a deep breath in. Shoto and Tsuyu followed, with the former even doing the small breathing exercise that Kazuki always did when he needed to calm down. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and then let it out, relaxing his shoulders, his muscles.

Ashido and Kirishima joined in a moment later and nobody said anything else for a good minute afterwards.

“It’ll be… alright,” Toru eventually said, the whisper only heard because of the silence that had fallen over the corridor.

[}-o-{]

[Ryo Inui]

His finger tapped against his desk, nail first, almost in tandem with the clock on the wall.

Those were the only two sounds he could pick up from his immediate surroundings. Some distant noise came from the window, but other than that, there was peace. Too much peace, which was the problem Ryo had at that moment. He’d have given anything to have something to disturb that peace.

Instead, he got to sit in his office, with nothing to do.

He should leave the place, actually. There was nothing for him to be there for, really. He was there to feel like he was doing something, but he hadn’t even touched the paperwork he was there to do. He hadn’t made any plans for how to help the students of 1-A and any 1-B student that might feel like asking for support. He expected at least one or two of those, actually, considering how significantly closer the two classes were that year compared to others.

Ryo had arrived, sat on his chair and there he’d left everything at.

Because…

“Not going to tell me to, you know, say something?” he almost could hear. He could almost picture the boy on the chair in front of him, uncomfortable but trying to bravely face things that he absolutely didn’t want to. He remembered him trying to act like he was ok and then giving up on it.

“... I’m scared,” he had said, and Ryo had been struck by how open he was right off the bat. Teenagers had a lot of trouble doing that, especially those that needed his counseling. Yet, there was the one he’d expected to be the most troublesome, turning out to be the exact opposite.

He really should leave.

He knew he should.

‘Always easier to give advice than to follow it,’ he thought to himself, wryly. If his students could see him at that moment… But they couldn’t, because they were all being kept at the hospital after they were attacked by villains. Well, all but one of them. Kazuki, the boy he’d seen the most that year and it wasn’t even close, had been kidnapped by villains.

Ryo was doing his best to process that and he thought he’d done a good job when talking to Aizawa. He’d suggested several things, first of all being to dissuade Kazuki’s friends from trying to do something. The second piece of advice was to do the same with his club members. He knew both groups cared a lot about the boy, so there was a non-zero chance they’d do something drastic.

From there, he’d given some counseling in regards to how to handle everyone else.

However, they were all hero students. There was no way they would all listen to reason. The best Aizawa and the rest could do was try and keep an eye on them, but there were a lot of them and they could be very resourceful when they wanted to be. Ryo had actually gone the extra mile and told Nezu to prepare for the mess that might follow the students getting up to some shenanigans.

Then again-

Maybe the principal’s Quirk was actually not some intelligence power and it was some kind of psychic ability, because Ryo got a call from Nezu right at that moment.

“Yes?” he answered, maybe the smallest bit curt with his greeting. He thought he could be excused, and he knew his colleagues were actually being very understanding. Everyone had treated him about the same as they did Kayama, and he wasn’t even half as obvious with his fondness of Kazuki as the woman was.

He appreciated it though.

“Go home, Inui,” Nezu told him and he grimaced. The psychic allegations were skyrocketing at that moment. In seriousness though, little escaped Nezu and this time it was probably very obvious to his boss that Ryo needed to go home, that he wasn’t being productive and was only working against himself. “You’ll have a lot of work when all is said and done. If I were you, I’d be preparing myself for that.”

He knew his boss was right, he knew that. He had been informed of the proceedings, even if he wasn’t on site. He didn’t know everything, but he was reassured and told just enough to put together a hopeful picture. Yet, a part of his brain couldn’t help but conjure worst case scenarios for him to worry over.

That was natural, he knew, and he knew what he’d have told a student that came to him for advice on that.

Easier to give advice than to follow it, indeed.

“He will be alright, won’t he?” he asked, aware that it was unprofessional. Beyond that, it was also inappropriate, especially to ask that while being a hero himself. He knew what asking that kind of thing of others could do, he knew it first hand even. Yet, being on the other side, he couldn’t stop himself from saying it all the same.

“You know he will,” Nezu told him bluntly and Ryo found comfort in that.

Indeed, they were very sure that Kazuki was alright. The only decent enough reason to kidnap him was to try to recruit him. That was because they’d gone for Kazuki instead of literally any other student. He was public knowledge. There was no way they weren’t aware that he was a terrible hostage to take if they wanted a ransom. The same applied if they wanted information on UA or something else.

No, the only reason to target Kazuki in particular was if they wanted to recruit him, and that meant that they’d make sure he was well. At the very least, he would be alive and the harm, if it happened, would be kept to a relative minimum. That wasn’t nearly as reassuring as Ryo wanted it to be, but still…

“I know,” he breathed out, more to himself than to Nezu. “I know.”

[}-o-{]

[Mei Hatsume]

The screwdriver slipped off and her whole body went with it for a split second before she jerked back.

‘Clumsy, and stupid, too much force,’ she told herself. Yet, as she went back to it, she couldn’t stop herself from applying just as much force to her task. How odd it was, to feel so… off. It wasn’t the first time it happened to her, but it was probably the first time it was that bad. Her body felt tense, stiff, like a machine in dire need of some grease. Her insides were all twisted over, like someone had done a terrible job with the wiring inside a device. 

As the screwdriver slipped off for the fifth time, Mei had to hold back a scream.

Then she took a deep breath in as she had seen Boss do so many times and mumbled a curse under her breath as she picked up some things she’d knocked over. She was getting worse instead of better. She could tell that much, but she didn’t know what else to do.

Mei didn’t know what to do to fix it.

“Penny,” she said, her eyes glaring at the project she had been working on. It wasn’t even serious. Just something that had been brought to her house for her to repair. She’d been doing that kind of thing for a while already, saving for the day she could start her own business as a hero equipment manufacturer.

She’d had it all planned out too. She would save as much as she could with her odd jobs and maybe a part-time job somewhere once she made a name for herself. That part would be done by showing off her babies in UA’s Sports Festival every year until someone showed interest or, failing that, using it as part of her resume whenever she applied somewhere.

And then she’d graduate and make all the babies in the world. She’d become rich and famous, which would mean even more babies to make and she couldn’t think of a better thing. All the resources in the world, with all kinds of clients and needs and ideas. That was paradise.

It had all changed pretty fast though.

“No significant news, Mother,” the voice of her creation said from her computer. She would never leave Penny at UA, after all. So, she’d gotten her in a memory stick and brought her home. Besides, that way she could make some adjustments, like she had at that moment, with her scouring the internet for news on Kazuki. “I can share with you, the new things that have been posted since your last check,” her creation, her baby, offered and she knew she should say no and wait for significant news. It’d be the productive thing to do.

“Please, do,” she said instead, squaring her shoulders stiffly and getting back to work as she listened to Penny ramble on about little new things that meant nothing, really. Some random posts on the internet hadn’t gotten filtered though, so that meant Mei took the time to teach Penny to better filter things at the same time that she made some modifications. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her baby to stop though, letting her prattle on and on, because maybe there’d be something.

Maybe there’d be news, good news, on Kazuki, the boy that had changed her world, her plans, her future.

“I mean… I was going to ask you anyway, so that works?”

The first Sports Festival had derailed all her plans, after all. Because in all her life, nobody had given her and her babies anything more than a slightly curious but mostly awkward or weirded out look. Mei was aware of those, but she had hoped that once she showed that she could make good equipment, it’d change.

It hadn’t. Not even after she passed the first stage of the Festival all by herself with her own tools. She’d had to look for her own team, because everybody had avoided her. Already had plans, looking for something else, not suited for them, she’d heard all the excuses that day while trying to find people to team up for the first event and while she was on her way to ask the first place for the second. No harm in asking around, after all, and maybe she’d find someone as excited as she was, right?

Turned out she did, and it happened with the one she’d wanted to boot!

What better way to show off her cool, super useful babies than by being in the team of the first place? And he’d been interested in her devices, just like the rest of the team was, once he got the ball rolling. That’s why he was Boss. He led, even without knowing. He’d recruited them all, put together a plan and then led them to victory.

More than anything though, he cared. He cared about what they could do, what they wanted to do and he even cared about her babies. He asked all sorts of questions, made suggestions. He even went so far as to listen to her babble on and on about them, even when Mei herself knew she could talk a little too much when she got started.

So, Kazuki was Boss, because he was the best, because he’d lead her to a future that might be better than even what she’d planned for, hoped for. It was no longer some vague idea that people would want her babies, that they’d really, truly, want her babies. Now, she had people that actually wanted her creations for support. Kazuki, Neito, Chikuchi, maybe there’d even be more in the future! She even had someone else of her trade to share ideas with, differently from the rest of her class, who seemed to want to stay far away from her and her babies.

Bah, their loss.

An explosion or three hadn’t scared even the Management Team, so clearly they were the ones in the wrong.

“Thank you, Penny,” she mumbled eventually, pursing her lips as she struggled to even slot the screwdriver on the screw. “Keep an eye on things, please.”

“It was nothing, Mother,” her baby replied cheerfully, apparently not really getting the situation. That was no surprise. They were ways off before they could truly get to the real initial stages of what Penny was going to be. “We’ll get Father back, Mother,” her baby said and she stiffened again.

“... Yeah, we will, Penny,” she whispered, hoping against hope that was the truth.

[}-o-{]

[Kazuki Endo]

“Can you say the same about the kidnapping of Kazuki Endo?” a reporter said on TV, making everyone in the room turn towards it. They loved listening to the news regarding what they’d done, regarding Kazuki. They liked to make them watch those too, and it wasn’t any mystery as to why. “He was the winner of the Sports Festival and he had a great participation in the attack at the USJ and yet… Everyone knows about his past, I’m sure,” the reporter continued and the cold, almost detached way that he used to speak was probably what made it all the worse.

At least, as far as Kazuki was concerned.

“Do you think he might have been targeted?” the reporter asked.

‘I definitely was,’ Kazuki thought bitterly, glancing around. No way he hadn’t been. Why these maniacs thought he’d entertain the idea of joining them, he didn’t know, but there they were.

“What if they are trying to turn him, deceive him, make him into a villain?” the reporter continued. Idly, Kazuki wondered if he was involved in the whole thing, because damn, that was accurate. Then again, maybe it was just that obvious for everyone but him.

And that, that was what gave him pause.

Did the world think that of him? Did they all think it was a possibility, maybe even an inevitability, that he’d turn villain? Were they all just waiting for him to turn bad? He knew that people were still afraid of him and all, but…

He didn’t want to believe any of that, but the voice at the back of his mind had started whispering. It gained strength with every word the reporter spoke. Because it was all too easy to see it, to see the public, everyone believing exactly what he was saying.

“Please, tell us. What reasons do you have to believe that he has a future?” the reporter asked and Kazuki leaned back on his chair, as if the man had punched him through the screen. There were a bunch of ways to interpret that question, ways in which the reporter could shrug off any backlash for such a bad question. It was a trap, meant to be interpreted in the worst way, he knew.

Yet…

“You see, Kazuki Endo?” Shigaraki said with a low chuckle. “The world will never accept you. You’re a monster, a sleeping one, but a monster all the same. They are all just waiting for you to go off,” he whispered, standing up and moving closer to Kazuki. “You’re just pretending at being a hero, and they know it.”

Not even trying to ingratiate himself with Kazuki, huh? That must have been a slip.

“What happened-,” Aizawa answered, standing up and bowing to the cameras. “-was a result of my failures,” his teacher finished, before looking up. “However, if they think his past defines that boy, then they are wrong,” Aizawa announced, and Kazuki gulped, blinking quickly. “Nobody wants to prevent suffering more than that boy does. I’m sure of that.”

“Do you have anything to base that opinion on?” the reporter pressed all the same, but Kazuki could see the difference. The wind had been taken out of his sails the smallest bit. “I’m not asking how you feel about this,” he said, even though he’d definitely framed the questions that way. He seemed to have decided to backpedal a little, considering how strong a front UA was putting. “I’m asking if you have a plan to deal with this situation.”

“We will not sit here with our arms crossed,” Nezu said and Kazuki could have sworn there was an edge in his voice. “Right now, we are collaborating with the police to go through a thorough investigation. We’re definitely bringing our student back.”

Kazuki made a mental note to thank Aizawa and Nezu, if he ever got the chance.

“Well,” Kazuki said, a grin spreading on his face, eyes fixed on the TV screen. “Do you have an answer for that?” he asked with a lazy smile and a raised eyebrow as he turned towards the villain boss.

“Do you think those NPCs are going to save you, you damned, stubborn side-quest?” Shigaraki growled, but Kazuki wasn’t scared anymore. Maybe it was stupid, reckless, but he believed in UA, he believed in Nezu. He believed, because he had to. They had believed in him, so he’d afford them the same courtesy, as simple as that. “Nobody will come for you. They are lying through their teeth, especially that rat.”

“Like you are?” Kazuki replied, in a bout of madness, if anyone asked him. Maybe he’d let the surge of confidence and relief get to him or maybe he’d messed up with his emotion channeling too much. “Because I know you lie, Tomura Shigaraki. Your emotions say it all.”

“I don’t lie,” the man hissed, hands twitching. “Nobody will save you. Nobody will-”

“You lie about Stain,” Kazuki interrupted and he could feel the atmosphere changing. “You preach what he preaches, but you don’t mean a single word. You hate heroes, you hate All Might and you hate Stain,” he said and he heard someone shuffle off to the side, but he didn’t pay them any mind.

His focus was on Shigaraki… and on his shadow, slowly extending a tendril to the side, to the bar counter. The place was a shithole, and while there were lights around, he was confident he could hide a thin enough shadow creeping under the piece of furniture. From there, maybe he could make some small Grimm… just in case.

“You know nothing, stupid NPC,” Shigaraki growled, but his act was cracking. Kazuki hoped it was as obvious to the others around the bar as it was for him. He could feel some doubt rising in them, fortunately, and that gave him hope.

“I know what you feel, Shigaraki. I can feel your hatred. I can feel your disgust, being forced to say what you say,” Kazuki said, keeping his calm as best he could. “Just as I can feel the pain on that guy’s skin. Just like I feel the fear deep in that one. Just like I feel the doubt in all of them, because they know, or they suspect, that I’m not lying, that you are,” he explained, nodding his head towards the Flame-Guy and the Clone-Guy, before doing so more generally towards the room.

“... Sensei,” Shigaraki growled, his hatred reaching new levels as he stood up. “The investigation, the heroes? We don’t have time for this…” he asked and, a second later, the TV flickered. Instead of the news, there was now a man, shrouded in darkness, barely a strange silhouette of someone with several devices attached to them. “Will you help me?”

“Of course I will,” the deep voice replied, shaking Kazuki’s bones even through the speakers. “Tomura Shigaraki.”

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Everyone keeps having a great time, huh? Fun stuff all around during this arc, by the looks of it.

In other news, I might be running out of characters to do a PoV of. Interesting that.

Not much else to say, I’ll admit, so I’ll just go ahead and tell you that I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

And Merry Christmas, obviously! Hope you all have and/or had a good time!

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What’s your home addre- I mean, what continent do you live in? Hopefully that’s not too much of a risky question? I was gonna ask about country, but people accused me of trying to dox them when I asked for what time they were reading the chapter so… Yeah… Maybe I shouldn’t have bothered. Anyway, I’m from South America, if any of you guys care. I don’t think anyone can come and stab me with that much.

See you.