Chapter Text
Toshinori’s anxiety was through the roof as he quickly walked down the sidewalk. He kept checking his phone, then glancing back impatiently at the person with him, who seemed to be unconcerned with the situation.
“Come on!” Toshinori called out, “it lets out soon, and we can’t afford to miss him.”
Nighteye scoffed, but quickened his pace without a word. Toshinori was grateful, and not just for him humoring him. He knew that he still did not view Midoriya as a proper successor for him, it was apparent in his continued grooming of Mirio, who was now the hero Lemillion. But the fact that he was here following him to a place where there was only a small chance that they would run into him showed that he was willing to put this behind him to ensure the safety of the boy. And even though he stated it’s just to remove a dangerous criminal from the streets, he knew that there were a lot more brutal but effective methods that he could’ve used. But here he was, following behind him and his whim based on something the boy only talked about a couple times.
As they approached the street it was on, Nighteye broke the silence. “So why are you so sure that he’ll be here?” He asked as he looked up at the theater’s sign.
Toshinori also looked up, and spotted the familiar name. “Unexpected Heroes: 2” he read aloud.
Nighteye turned his curious gaze towards him. “What?” He questioned.
Toshinori smiled to himself as he recounted his previous conversation with the boy. “It was his favorite movie growing up,” he warmly recalled. He could see why, too. It was the same reason that he personally did not like it: the movie’s protagonist was a quirkless adult who had always wanted to be a hero. One day, with the help of their childhood friend, they develop gear that allows them to fight back against the attackers of their city, who are able to cancel out quirks. In the end, they become a great hero and an inspiration to a little girl who is also quirkless, and is the protagonist of the current movie.
Again, he could see why the boy loved it. He probably would’ve too, had it not come out literally days after his first fight against All-For-One. Besides the fact that by the time he left the hospital it was no longer in theaters, it was just too new of a wound for him to face.
Toshinori noticed Nighteye’s eyes narrow next to him. “And how is that an explanation for why we’re here?”
Toshinori noticed the annoyance in his tone. He broke his eye-contact away from the sign and turned it towards the man next to him. “A couple years ago, back when the rumors about the sequel started spreading, Midoriya told me that when it does come out, he wanted to see it here. He said that this theater has the biggest screens and best sound, or something like that,” he simply explained.
Nighteye just simply stared at him in confusion. Toshinori chuckled to himself as he looked forward, and spotted something that made his heart start to race. He immediately turned his gaze back upwards towards the sign, and spoke. “So honey, what movie should we see?” He asked to the person next to him.
Nighteye jolted, then looked at him with blushed cheeks, and Toshinori suppressed a laugh. He started to sputter as the door in front of them opened. “I-I-I… what?!”
Toshinori chuckled lightly. “Come on, hon, we’ve been dating for two months now. You don’t have to be this nervous with me still,” he said with a bright smile as he looked towards the door.
Standing in front of them with the most confused look on his face was young Midoriya. Toshinori’s heart started to race even faster. The boy had grown taller since the last time he saw him; he might even be taller than Aizawa by now. His bright green, curly hair was just as unruly as it was before. He was wearing a plain black shirt with a black zip up hoodie and dark jeans. And then he was wearing his signature bright red sneakers. The mixture of old with new was jarring to him, but it didn’t affect how happy he was to see him.
He smiled wider as the boy narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here?” He asked distrustfully, taking a cautious step back.
“What’s with that look, my boy? Is there anything suspicious about me going on a date with my significant other?” He asked innocently.
Next to him, Nighteye covered his face in embarrassment. The boy looked at him with mild confusion, but didn’t comment on anything he said. Toshinori laid a hand on Nighteye’s back and gave him a tiny shove. “Go on then, introduce yourself.” He said upbeatly.
Nighteye froze in place for a moment, before shaking his head as he cautiously stepped forward and extended his hand. “Hello! My name is Saito! It’s nice to meet you… Midoriya, was it?” He greeted with a bright smile on his face.
Midoriya looked between the two of them distrustfully, and Toshinori was terrified that the boy recognized him. It was risky doing this, but Nighteye was the only way for them to get ahead of the boy, since the police have not been able to determine a pattern to his heists.
Finally, the boy reached out and took his hand, then made eye contact. “...yeah, Midoriya Izuku. It’s nice to meet you too,” he said cautiously.
Toshinori held back a sigh of relief. ‘It’s good that the boy is so naturally polite,’ he thought.
After a couple seconds of awkward silence, the two of them retracted their hands. Young Midoriya looked away briefly, before turning towards him. “If you need a movie suggestion, I recommend Unexpected Heroes: 2 . Although, I don’t know if you’ll be able to get tickets today…”
Toshinori smiled and slowly approached the boy, who let him walk up next to him. He gently laid a hand on his shoulder, but pulled it away when the boy winced. “Is that so?” He questioned, moving on from that. “I’ve heard it’s good. Unfortunately neither of us have seen the original.”
Midoriya perked up with his statement. “That’s okay! The movie only vaguely references the first one, so you should be fine to see it!” He enthusiastically explained. “If you aren’t able to get tickets however, I would recommend renting the first one and watching it instead.”
Toshinori smiled down at him. “Maybe we will. Thank you for the recommendations, my boy.”
Midoriya blushed a bright red, and everything felt right. But then the boy’s pocket vibrated, and he snapped out of it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then angled it away from him as he looked at it.
“I have to go,” he simply stated as he repocketed the phone and turned. But he didn’t move forward. “Some additional advice,” the boy stated, so softly that Toshinori almost missed it, “don’t go to any banks this weekend.”
After that, he walked away. Toshinori felt cold as he reached for the retreating boy, wanting to try to talk him out of it, but Nighteye grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. He looked towards him, and sunk when he shook his head.
The two of them instead turned and walked in the opposite direction. When they turned the corner, Nighteye spoke. “Don’t worry, we’ll stop him before anyone gets hurt.” he comforted.
Toshinori bit his lip. He’d rather they not have to stop him at all: he’d rather the boy be out there enjoying his winter internship, coming to terms with One-For-All while establishing himself in the hero world.
Instead, his boy was out there planning and commiting crimes for the group that kidnapped and then tortured him into submission.
Toshinori clenched his fists tightly, then pushed that thought line away. It didn’t matter anymore, they couldn’t change what happened. However, they were going to get him back and help him move on from this. They had to, after all, this was their last chance.
-----
Midoriya slowly blinked his eyes open as his alarm blared through the room. He reached over to his phone and shut it off, then looked around. ‘This… isn't my room,’ he thought as he looked over blank walls and dark sheets. ‘Where are my posters of… of …’
He squeezed his eyes shut and gently shook his head. Finally, the last edges of sleep fell away, and his memories returned. He opened his eyes again to his now familiar apartment. “Just a dream,” he muttered to himself.
He's been having a lot of dreams like that recently. Dr. Ishi said that it could be one of the side effects of his medicine. He pushed his blanket off himself and sat up, stretching out his arms and back. Then he grabbed the remote off his desk next to him and turned on the tv. He replaced it and swung his feet off the side of the bed. The next news cycle started as he stood up.
Police have declared the recent back alley murder to be apart of the recent string of killings done by the serial killer “quirkless”, named after the apparent lack of use of quirk in his murders. There are still no leads as to who this mysterious person is. If you have any information, please call…
Midoriya stopped mid stretch to listen to the story, but fazed out towards the end. A flash of an alley came to him; a body slashed up, bleeding on the ground; the feeling of hot stomach acid rushing up his throat, but being forced down a moment later, so as not to leave a DNA trail.
He shouldn't care: they were all petty criminals, or homeless: people who wouldn't be missed. But it still hurt. He said that it wouldn't with time, that it would get easier with time. But it didn't. It hurt. It still hurt. It still hurts. It-
hurt.
Midoriya was in pain. He zoned back in and looked over himself. When he saw the cause, he let out a deep sigh. His nails were dug into his arms. Again. That was also something they told him would stop, that didn't. He was annoyed; he was so annoyed and tired, and just wanted everything to stop .
Tears started to flow from his eyes with that last thought. He swiped a bright orange pill bottle from his desk and rushed into the bathroom. ‘This will pass,’ he comforted himself. ‘It always passes.’
He stopped in front of the mirror, and stared at his tear-filled reflection. He shakily opened the bottle and poured out the proper amount of pills, remembering Dr. Ishi’s warning as he did.
Don't take more than what I've told you. Besides the obvious issues with overdosing, the side effects will be heightened, and you're not going to like that.
Midoriya sighed heavily, then took the pills, washing them down with water from the sink. He placed the bottle on the edge of the sink, then splashed cold water in his face. Looking back at the mirror, he couldn't even tell that he had been crying, which was good. If Shigaraki noticed, there was a chance he would call off the mission today, which would only worsen his mood.
Midoriya finished up then exited the bathroom while stretching, already feeling much better. He wasn't even sure why he was so upset before. It's not like anyone cared about those people. In fact, if Shigaraki had disposed of the bodies, no one would know that they were gone. But for some reason, he really wanted the police to find them. He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't going to question him.
Midoriya walked over to his closet and pulled out the metal suitcase that had his costume. He placed it on his bed and started pulling out and laying its contents on his bed. Normally he would only put on the jumpsuit part and change into the rest either inside or in a back alleyway next to the location, but today his plan required him to warp directly inside, which meant he had to be ready from the start.
As he finished slipping on his gloves, he felt his stomach growl. He sighed, then walked over to the fridge and pulled out some leftover rice and a couple of eggs. He cracked the eggs over a hot pan, and then unceremoniously dumped the rice over them.
Any other day his breakfast would consist of an omelette made up of at least four or five eggs with whatever meat was leftover from the night before mixed in, but he wasn’t in the mood for that today. Contrary to what his stomach was saying, he wasn’t that hungry, and was only eating enough to quiet it down until after the mission. Besides, he didn’t plan on fighting or using his quirk much, if everything went according to plan, so he didn’t need the extra calories yet.
With his hot food sitting in a bowl, he opened the fridge again and pulled out an energy drink. As he shut the door, he noticed an already opened can of beer. He reached in and picked it up, mentally weighing it in his hand. He looked at the beer and the energy drink, then placed both on the counter. He cracked open the energy drink and poured it into the beer can. The little bit that was leftover was drank and the can was thrown out. Then he grabbed his food and his new morning drink and sat down at his desk, playing random videos online while he ate.
Even with him taking his time, he was able to finish eating and completely clean the kitchen before he was aware of another presence in the room. Midoriya paused his video and turned in his chair to face Kurogiri, who narrowed his eyes towards the beer can in his hand. He made a quick grab for it, but Midoriya switched it to his other hand and moved it away. “Relax! It’s just an energy drink,” he exasperatedly stated as he stood up and fully faced Kurogiri. “Now open the warp gate, please.”
Kurogiri’s eyes remained narrowed up until they disappeared as the warp gate formed. Midoriya walked forward, sipping his drink, and walked through the gate. Waiting on the other side was the vanguard, along with a couple of newer recruits and Shigaraki, who narrowed his eyes towards his drink. Before he could voice his question, Midoriya answered it. “It’s just an energy drink,” he repeated, before taking another drink.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a shadowy hand reach for it again. He took a couple of steps forward and brought the can to his lips. A sigh came from behind him. “Why is that filled with an energy drink?” Kurogiri questioned.
Midoriya turned and made eye contact, then held up a finger as he took a long drink from the can. Kurogiri’s eyes narrowed even further as he didn’t lower the can for a full ten-fifteen seconds. Finally, he swallowed the last of the liquid, so he lowered the can.
“Because I mixed it with the beer that was in here,” he simply stated.
The laugh that came from Dabi and the new people almost made the simultaneous glares from Kurogiri and Shigaraki worth it. Kurogiri quickly marched forward and snatched the empty can out of his hand. He glared at it in disgust, then angrily looked at Midoriya, who only smiled in return. He stared at him for a couple of seconds, then turned his gaze to someone behind him. “Shigaraki, you should cancel this mission. The boy is in no condition to do this,” he stated.
Midoriya startled, then looked at him with annoyed confusion. “What are you talking about, I’m fine,” He insisted.
Kurogiri looked back at him, then reached forward and started to ruffle his hair. Midoriya stood frozen for a moment, then gently swatted his hand away. “Stop.”
Kurogiri moved his hand to his shoulder. “You know that alcohol heightens the side effects of your medication, one of which is reduced reaction time. I don’t believe that the outcomes of this mission are worth the chance that you’ll be captured because you weren’t able to win a fight.”
The way Kurogiri looked behind him as he spoke meant that he wasn’t the person he was trying to convince. Midoriya looked back at Shigaraki, who was staring at the floor in deep contemplation. Whatever it was he imagined must not have been good, because he slowly raised his hands to his neck. “Perhaps you’re right,” he softly agreed.
Midoriya started to tear up as he took a couple of steps forward. “Don’t… don’t do this,” he pleaded as his body started to shake.
Shigaraki’s eyes widened as he glanced up and noticed he was crying. The tears flowed down his cheeks as he took another step forward. “Please, I promise I’m fine. If everything goes according to plan I won’t even be seeing any heroes. But even if it doesn’t I promise I’ll be fine. I’m the fastest person in Japan, behind someone who has a warping quirk, I’ll be fi-”
As he finished that last sentence, he noticed a small warp gate open out of the corner of his eye. He ducked just as a fist came shooting out, and he felt the wind above his head rustle his hair. He took a couple of shaky breaths as Dabi in front of him pulled his arm out of a warp gate. The unusual serious look on his face was a shock to him. ‘So even he is worried…’
From behind him, he heard Kurogiri clear his throat. “His reaction speed is slower,” he stated.
Midoriya quickly stood up and whipped around to face him. “I dodged it just fine. Also, thanks for trying to knock me out!”
“You almost didn’t, and you had several clear visual indicators that it was about to happen. What will you do if someone sneaks up on you?”
His lecturing tone reminded Midoriya of a parent talking with their kid. It made him blush, and he turned away, back towards Shigaraki. “I’m fine,” he repeated, “I can do this; I need to do this.”
He’s been planning this for months, even longer than his first heist. He had been planning this while commiting the other ones. The large risk with the large reward was going to be proof that he should be here; that he deserved to be here.
Shigaraki stood up and quickly closed the distance between them. He rested his hands on his shoulders, then turned his head towards the crowd behind him. “Everyone out !” He ordered.
The new people happily stood up and all but ran from the room. The vanguard, however, lingered behind, until Shigaraki’s harsh glare chased them out.
When the room was empty of everyone except the two of them and Kurogiri, who for some reason was allowed to stay behind, Shigaraki turned his gaze back towards him. He lifted one of his hands and gently rested most of it against his cheek and chin. “You don’t have to do anything,” he said comfortingly, “I’d much rather you prioritize your own safety over the money.”
Midoriya blushed so heavily that he knew if he could see his face it would be a bright red right now. He attempted to look away, but it was hard since they were almost the same height and Shigaraki was essentially holding his head forward. Instead, he closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s not about the money,” he explained.
He opened his eyes to his confused stare, and he took a deep breath. “I-I need to prove to myself that… that I belong here.”
Shigaraki’s grip on his shoulder tightened. “Of course you do. Why would you think-”
“Because I’m the only one who feels guilty about what they do.”
He hadn’t meant to cut him off, but it just poured out. He looked over Shigaraki’s concerned face, and sighed again. “No one else has to take medicine because they can’t live with-with what they’ve done. It-it hurts if I don’t take the medicine, and I hate it. And then I take the medicine, and it effects how I do my job. And I hate it. I hate it so much and I just-” Midoriya choked back a sob. “I just...want to be like you. So why am I not. Why am I so different ?”
Tears started to flow from his eyes again. The room settled into complete silence, the only sounds being each of their respective breathings and Midoriya’s own choked back sobs. Then Shigaraki moved his hand to the back of his head and pulled him into a hug. “I-” He started, but stopped suddenly.
He stood there petting the back of Midoriya’s head in contemplative silence, before speaking again. “You’re not different. You’ve only been doing this for about a year, while the rest of us have been doing it our entire lives. And yet, you still manage to pass every expectation I have for you.”
Midoriya could no longer hold back; he started to loudly cry into his shoulder. He felt an extra hand lay on his free shoulder, and he started to cry even harder. Shigaraki didn’t say anything as he continued to pet his hair.
After some time, Midoriya had no more tears left to shed. He sniffled as he pulled away from Shigaraki’s shoulder. The man released his head and let him step back a little. He wiped hard at his eyes, then stared at the person in front of him. His blank expression was unreadable to him. Shigaraki reached back out and ruffled his hair. “You don’t need to do this to prove yourself to me, I know you belong here. However, I’m still going to give you the go ahead for the mission. Just as a precaution, I will take steps to make sure that the police and pros don’t even think of showing up.”
Midoriya felt cold as he tried to figure out what he was hinting at. Then the feeling was buried as he felt someone else ruffle his hair. He turned his head and looked at Kurogiri. “If that's what the two of you wish for, then we should get moving now; we're behind schedule.”
Midoriya looked up at him in shock, then gave a small nod. “Right.”
Shigaraki pulled his hands back and stepped away. “Drop him off at the observation point, then come back here. I'll need to be somewhere.”
Kurogiri nodded in response, then formed a gate. Midoriya started to nervously mess with his mouth guard as he walked through. He stepped out onto the roof of the tall building and looked around. A couple blocks away he spotted his target.
‘The National Bank of Japan: yesterday was when they took in all the larger bills from the local banks and businesses, and the trucks to transfer them around the country won't be in until this afternoon, which means I have a little over two hours to get every last bill out of there.’
Midoriya fixed his mouth guard, then reached into one of his pockets and pulled out his ear piece. He switched it on and placed it into his ear.
-k up, Dabi!
‘Is that...Shigaraki?’ He asked himself as he listened closer.
Aw, what's wrong? Afraid your little brother will tune in and learn that you have a private life?
I will kill you.
That's what you said last night, and I guess in a way you did.
Guys, do you really need to talk about your sex life over the public coms?
Yes.
“Just so you know, the boy is listening.”
The coms went dead silent as Midoriya turned around and faced Kurogiri. He had his eyes closed and was just gently shaking his head.
“So…” Midoriya started, “I’ll leave you guys to it, and I’ll turn my com back on when I’m inside.”
With that, he took his com out of his ear, switched it off, and pocketed it. He then awkwardly looked back at Kurogiri, who now was resting his hand against his face. The two of them stood there in absolute silence, Midoriya being too mortified to question if what he heard was true or not, and Kurogiri probably too embarrassed for Shigaraki to clarify.
After about ten minutes of uninterrupted quiet, Kurogiri looked down at the watch in his hand and walked forward. He stopped in front of him and pointed towards the ear piece that he currently was holding. “Let me know when the money is ready to be transported,” he stated simply.
Midoriya nodded, then stretched one last time before walking into the now formed warp gate. He stepped out into a large, open room filled with a bunch of confused and terrified faces. He smiled towards the person in front of him, then turned and let off a big punch at the teller's’ window. The glass cracked from the pressure and caused the emergency shutters at all of the external windows and doors to close. He smiled wider to himself as the last one shut with a slam .
“You know the deal: everyone on the ground, now!”
People quickly dropped to the ground as he turned and headed towards the vault. He stopped in front of a large, metal door that was probably only just barely more secure than All Might’s own. However, secure didn’t mean fortified. He pulled his fist back and punched the door with everything he had. The door warped at the point of contact, then ripped off its tracks and flew into the opposing wall.
‘This was almost too easy,’ he thought to himself as he watched the dust settle.
Suddenly a bright light formed in front of him, and he just barely managed to dodge out of the way of the following explosion. He glared at the entrance as he backed up, and an all too familiar person walked out. “Bakugou!” Midoriya growled at the costumed blonde.
Said blonde turned his head in his direction, and then settled into a fighting stance. Midoriya mirrored it after he took another step back.
“It’s time for this to end, Deku,” Bakugou said, uncharacteristically calm.
Something about his tone made him irrationally angry. “You’re right. After all, I’m tired of watching you be successful after you made my childhood a living hell,” Midoriya snapped back.
To his surprise, Bakugou actually winced at his words. Midoriya almost reconsidered his goal, but shook it off. There was no way Bakugou actually changed and felt bad about what he did. The arrogant prick was incapable of acknowledging that he was wrong about something, let alone sympathy towards another person.
Midoriya gripped his fists tight and lunged forward. Bakugou dodged to the side and tried letting off an explosion where he landed, but he focused his quirk in his legs and maneuvered around him. Bakugou was just turning his head as he slammed his leg into his back.
People screamed as he flew across the room. Unfortunately, he recovered midair and used his quirk to right himself before he crashed. However, Midoriya lunged forward as he started to do this, and so when he landed he was immediately greeted with a straight punch to the stomach.
Bakugou threw up as he flew back again. Midoriya smiled to himself, but was not satisfied yet.
He lunged forward again, past Bakugou, and turned on his foot while swinging the other. His foot collided with his back and changed his trajectory forward. Midoriya, still not satisfied, once again lunged forward, only this time jumped up above the flying boy. He smashed both his fists down into his back and sent the other boy crashing into the ground below.
Bakugou bounced against the ground once before settling. His hands twitched as he reached forward and tried to move to stand. Midoriya hollowly chuckled as he walked up and slammed his foot down against his hand. He could see Bakugou choke back a groan as he looked up. The pained look on his face should’ve brought joy to him. But it didn’t. Instead, he felt just as cold as ever.
Midoriya gritted his teeth in frustration and slammed his foot down against his head. “Why?” He asked himself out loud.
He moved his foot to his back and pressed down. “This should be the greatest moment of my life, I’m finally going to kill you. So why isn’t it? Why does it hurt ?”
Tears formed in his eyes as he looked down, and saw Bakugou looking up at him with something resembling pity. Anger flashed in his mind as he raised his foot to step on him again. But then something collided with his head hard . He stumbled back, but was able to keep standing.
He looked around first in annoyance, then confusion when he couldn’t find the source. It was quickly replaced with pain as something slammed against his back, and he fell forward. He held himself up on his hands and knees, and moved to stand up, when he saw something emerge from the ground and collide with his chest. He rolled a couple of times, before coming to a stop on his back.
Before he knew it, there was a gloved hand right above his face. There was a bright light, and then there was darkness.
-----
Tsukauchi was one of only three people who were allowed to be in extended contact with the boy, and so he stood next to the second as he rested the boy’s head on his knees. The third stood at the entrance, examining every person who needed to enter with his quirk. The three of them were chosen simply because it was the logical choice: the boy had previously shown an emotional attachment to Toshinori, and according to the man himself, it was still prevalent in his recent encounter with him; Eraserhead was needed to make sure that Toga didn't infiltrate them again; and he needed to be there simply because it was his job.
Right now, he was just standing near, trying to arrange proper transport. He knew that it was going to be almost impossible to separate Toshinori from the unconscious boy, and he had a feeling Eraserhead was feeling similar at the moment, so he needed to find something that blended in and could also fit all of them. A van would probably work best, but it was a little obvious. Then again, they were able to track down his unmarked car amongst normal traffic, so perhaps the actual car is not the focus point.
“Maybe having several different vehicles take unusual routes would be a better solution,” he muttered to himself.
Next to him, Toshinori adjusted the ice pack he had resting on the burn of the boy's face. “Whatever it is, please decide soon. I would like to get him settled so that we may properly treat his wounds,” Toshinori stated. He then moved one of his hands down to the boy's uncovered bruised side. “I'm pretty sure that young Mirio broke one of the boy's ribs.” He added in, reaching for a new ice pack.
Tsukauchi watched as he gingerly rested a second ice pack on the large bruise, then he turned his gaze towards the two blonde boys in the opposite corner of the large room. Mirio Togata, or Lemillion, was attempting to treat the injuries of his charge. Emphasis on attempting . Bakugou was swatting his hand away every time it reached in with an ice pack.
“Come on, Bakugou! Those injuries look bad, so let me help you!”
Mirio reached forward with the ice pack again, and this time Bakugou smacked it out of his hand. “I'm fine, so don't fucking look down at me!” The angry boy exclaimed. Then he heard him mutter under his breath “As if Deku could fucking hurt me.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tsukauchi saw Toshinori close his eyes and gently shake his head, before turning his attention back towards Midoriya. He turned his own gaze down towards the boy, and looked over his injuries.
Overall he was mostly unhurt: his only prominent injuries were the bruise from Mirio’s last hit, and the burn from Bakugou’s. And even then, they weren't too bad. The only reason he was currently still asleep was because they gave him a light sedative so he wouldn't wake up and try to fight them. But Toshinori was right; they needed to hurry. Even if him waking up wasn't a concern, there was the concern that the League would figure out something was wrong.
“Sansa, please arrange for five transport vehicles of varying size to come to the back entrance. I'll give destinations and specific directions to each of them.”
“Right!” Sansa pulled out his phone as he rushed off towards the other officers.
The following twenty minutes were the most tense of Tsukauchi's life. The cars were ordered to come ten minutes apart, and as much as he wanted to get this over with, he dismissed the first two while giving the most indirect route to two different stations.
Finally, ten minutes after the second car was sent, the third arrived. What happened next was the fastest he's seen anyone move. The moment the announcement left his mouth, Eraserhead was sprinting towards them. In one swift movement, he bent over and picked the boy up, then ran towards the exit while carrying him bridal style.
Toshinori and himself shared a brief look, before rushing after him. The three of them quickly exited the building, and were greeted by a small, white car. Tsukauchi internally groaned as he opened the backseat door. He stood there holding it open as neither teacher made a move forward.
After a few seconds, Aizawa growled out, “All Might, get in the fucking car!”
Toshinori startled at his words, then entered the car and slid to the other side. Eraserhead leaned in and placed the boy on the middle seat, resting his head on Toshinori's lap, then picked up his feet and sat down, resting them on his own. Tsukauchi slammed the door shut and sprinted to the front seat. By his order, the car was moving before he had his door completely shut. Tires screeched against pavement as the car sped out of the back road and onto the main one.
Tsukauchi gripped onto the door handle like his life depended on it, but not because of the driver’s reckless driving. This was basically their last shot: once the boy turned eighteen, they could no longer give him the mercy of blaming his actions on his kidnappers, and that everything he did from then out would fully be his responsibility. While it was only late February, and they still had plenty of months to try again, the boy had practically been a ghost until last week, almost impossible to find. If they lost him again, there was almost no way they would find him before that date, and then the boy would be punished for something he had no control over. Which would not only be a big hit against the hero industry, but also Toshinori, who had only just really recovered from last time.
Tsukauchi snuck a peak over his shoulder and, despite his nerves, he couldn't help but gently smile. Toshinori was petting the boy's hair while looking down at him with the most loving look on his face. Even Eraserhead, the tired grouch himself, had a never before seen warm look in his eyes.
This happy scene was interrupted by them slamming into their respective seat belts as the car screeched to a stop. Tsukauchi's heart leapt into his throat as he whipped his head around and looked out the front windshield. He relaxed into his seat when he saw nothing but a red light. A red light which they almost ran through, judging by how far into the intersection they were.
The car started again, and Tsukauchi remained tense up until the moment they were parked in front of the station. As Eraserhead exited the car and, with the help of an officer who he checked over thoroughly, unloaded the boy, Tsukauchi couldn't help but smile broadly. He couldn't believe it: they won. They finally won; they finally rescued Midoriya Izuku.