..... 5 minutes before the attack .....
Deku was tense, trying to stay calm. He had known panic when he faced villains during his time at UA, he had known despair when he thought he would die during those terrorist attacks by the League of Villains, and he definitely knew fear when he was trained by Naruto-sensei, who had very particular, not to say psychopathic, training methods. But none of that experience was of any use to him now.
"What was that?" Ochako squealed in panic as she tightly hugged the freckled teenager's right arm, causing her modest breasts to rub and press against Deku's arm, who felt his blood rush to his cheeks and lower areas.
"It was just an owl," stuttered the green-haired boy as he continued walking with the teenager holding firmly to his arm. The two were completing their journey, which was part of the challenge, and were now returning to the camp.
"Scaredy-cat." Uraraka couldn't help but glare at the third companion who came after them. This was Kota, who, on his way back from his 'secret hideout,' crossed paths with the two students from Class 1-A, and at Izuku's request, he had to be escorted safely to the camp.
"It's okay to feel scared sometimes," Deku defended his friend, despite the annoyed look from the boy, who just kept walking, ignoring him.
"If you feel afraid being alone in a forest, you chose the wrong career path to be a so-called hero," Kota growled tactlessly, earning the glares of both UA students. "Running around in disguise and fighting villains is just stupid."
"Hey..." Before Ochako could scold the boy for being so rude, she was stopped when Deku simply shook his head.
"Kota-kun," Izuku called, drawing the attention of the dark-haired boy. He smiled brightly. "Heroes don't just fight villains; we're also here to help those in need. Heroes are people who give us hope and help us, even if they have to risk their lives in the attempt."
"Bha, you sound like my aunt. To me, you'll never be a hero." With those harsh words, the child continued walking, ignoring Midoriya's hurt gaze, which soon recovered as he gave Ochako a reassuring look.
"What a rude brat," grumbled the brown-haired teenager, who, with her arms crossed, just continued walking along the path.
"Okay, it's just a ni..." Stopping where he stood, Izuku froze when he saw a large silhouette, and before he could do anything, he received a powerful blow to the pit of his stomach that sent him flying into the forest.
"Izuku!" Uraraka screamed in horror as she saw a large silhouette beside her. Unable to react, she was caught by a large hand that gripped her neck tightly.
"Blonde brat with blue eyes and marks on his cheeks... none of you are him," the stranger growled in frustration, holding a terrified Ochako, whose face was turning purple from lack of air. The large figure was an adult man with short blond hair and one brown eye, the other a prosthetic mechanical eye. He was very strong and muscular, easily reaching a height of two meters, and wore only dark pants and steel-toed boots.
"..." In shock, Kota stared at the newly appeared man, and amidst a flood of images in his mind, he saw that the man who appeared before him was the same man who killed his parents. With trembling legs and tears welling up in his eyes, he just wanted to run, but he couldn't because of the fear that prevented him from moving.
"Let me go!" Using her hands, the short-haired girl tried to break free from the villain's grip, but his strength was simply ridiculous.
"Silence, girl..." Muscular said with a dark smile, about to break the girl's neck. "Huh?" she exclaimed, surprised, feeling a sharp pain on her right cheek. Before she knew it, she received a hard blow to the face, a kick from Izuku, who was enveloped by his One For All aura.
"Let her go!" With pure rage, Izuku delivered a brutal kick to the villain's face, forcing him to release Ochako. As the villain flew through the air and crashed into the trees, he freed the teenager, who was caught in the arms of the green-haired boy. He ran over and left her with Kota. "You have to leave! Now!"
"What?" Stunned and in pain, Uraraka rubbed her neck, breathing a sigh of relief as she realized she had been rescued by her friend.
"I can buy time for him to stay here while you escape," said the ninth heir of One For All in a commanding tone, turning his back on them both to watch as the villain he had knocked down got up and was not at all happy.
"Nice hit, brat! But I hope that wasn't all!" With a dangerous grin, the blond man ripped off his prosthetic eye, which had been shattered by the kick he'd received. Pulling another prosthetic eye from his pocket, he put it in—this one completely red. "Let's see what you're made of, brat!" Grotesquely, muscles erupted from the villain's arms, increasing his size and physique. With both arms encased in his own muscles, the blond man prepared to kill the teenager.
"Go away!" Deku's scream was silenced when his head was grabbed by Muscular's hand. He mercilessly smashed him against the ground and then threw him against a tree, which was destroyed on impact.
"Don't think about them in the middle of a fight, kid!" Muscular yelled with amusement, watching mockingly as the brat stepped in front of the boy to protect him. "I'd better get rid of you two now to avoid any interruptions!" Raising his arm, he was about to crush the two brats, but arms wrapped around his neck. "Ahg!" Growling, he glared furiously at the green-haired brat who was choking him.
"Ochako, take Kota away!" Izuku begged, blood trickling from his forehead and several minor cuts on his face, but he stood firm to prevent the villain from hurting his friends. He screamed in pain, however, when his face was struck by Muscular's hands as he tried to break free from his grip.
"..." Uraraka had to watch as her friend struggled to keep the villain at bay. Seeing his desperate expression, the teenager felt a weight in her heart. "I'm sorry!" With tears in her eyes, the brunette girl grabbed Kota and ran through the forest, away from the fight. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she apologized over and over in her mind. The girl focused solely on getting the boy to the camp and then asking for help for her friend.
Unfortunately, her path was interrupted by a wall of bluish fire. Stopping, she saw two silhouettes walking through the flames and standing before her. "Are you leaving already? But the fun has just begun!" shouted Himiko Toga joyfully, using her knife to rub it against her cheek.
"I'm sorry, but you can't leave..." The next silhouette was Dabi, who watched curiously as Muscular fought a green-haired boy who was putting up quite a fight. "Can you handle him?" he asked mockingly, earning a glare from the blond villain, who, with a shout of rage, grabbed Izuku by the head and threw him into the trees.
"I'll take care of him!" With that, he took his battle to another part of the forest, with Midoriya barely able to keep up against a villain like Muscular.
"That kid's so dead~" Toga sang mockingly, knowing that the cute freckled boy would perish before a villain of Muscular's caliber. Focusing on the brunette, she saw her suspiciously holding Kota on her back. "Mmm~ We need bait, and I think we've found it, don't you think, Dabi?" the blonde in the school uniform asked with a dangerous smile, toying with the blade of her knife.
"If…" Frowning, the black-haired man in the dark jacket raised his right hand, surrounded by fire, pointing at the brunette. He was about to attack, but at the last second, he pointed to his right side, where he fired a large burst of blue fire that collided with a tsunami of ice coming towards him.
"Ochako-san! Are you alright?" Ibara emerged from among the trees, accompanied by Shiori, who was looking directly at the blue fire user, who returned her intense gaze.
"Todoroki…" Dabi clicked his tongue in annoyance; Todoroki's mere presence was already a problem. "Toga, take care of getting the child…" he ordered, extending his arms and slowly walking towards the half-redhead, whose left arm was covered in flames. "Toga?" When he didn't hear a response, he glared angrily at the little blonde girl, whose smile had vanished and whose gaze was blank.
"..." Everything for Himiko had disappeared. In the presence of 'her,' she stared intently at Ibara and gripped the handle of her knife tightly. With a tremor in her shoulders, the blonde stepped back and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
"Listen, you have to take him and keep him safe," the religious girl said hurriedly, staring into the brown eyes of the brunette, who nodded. Smiling, the green-haired girl stood up and was about to help Todoroki face the fire-manipulating villain when arms emerged from the darkness of the forest. To Ochako's horror, Shiozaki had been dragged into the woods by a smiling Himiko Toga. Toga held her knife to the green-haired girl's throat and pulled her with astonishing strength into the forest, separating her from the group.
Ibara didn't know what happened, because one moment she was talking to Uraraka and the next she was being dragged through the forest. Dazed, she was thrown to the ground, and before she could get up, she felt extra weight on top of her. Paralyzed, she met bright yellow eyes with slit pupils; those eyes only exuded anger, fury, and suspicion.
"You and I…" With the blade of the knife held against the neck of the green-haired girl, the blonde smiled darkly as she sat on the stomach of the stunned student from class B. "We need to talk…" saying that she moved menacingly close to her prey's face, to the point of touching her nose with hers, licking her lips Himiko gently caressed Ibara's cheek.
[ If you want to read advance Chapters then go to Pat reon and support me there as I have already uploaded advance Chapters there.
PAT REON I'D:- Skythe ]