Chapter 27: The Tragedy of Kaminari
"Tsuyu-chan, be careful..." Uraraka said, looking up as Tsuyu began to float upwards. The moment Tsuyu reached the deck of the ship, Uraraka released her Quirk.
"Got it." Tsuyu's head popped over the railing. She nodded to the group below, signaling that she was okay.
"Alright, then it's my turn..."
Tsuyu's Quirk was "Frog," and her tongue could stretch to great lengths. After Uraraka gave her a thumbs-up, she extended her tongue from above, wrapped it around Uraraka, and lifted her onto the ship.
"Why do I have to bring this disgusting guy up with me...?"
Jiro held Minoru Mineta with a look of pure disgust, her arms stretched out as straight as possible, determined not to let him touch her body.
She had overheard Mineta's "harem" comments earlier and was now on high alert. She would rather expend a little extra energy than let that guy get his way.
Jiro had always been averse to being touched by others. While she had to hold onto Iida's waist earlier to keep her balance, that had been a necessity. Besides, Iida's cold, steel armor hardly inspired any feelings of revulsion.
(Jiro had absolutely no immunity to cool things like motorcycles and mecha...)
But this grape... he had a dopey smile plastered on his face, looking completely blissful just from being held. He was so incredibly punchable.
I really want to stick my earphone jacks into that vulgar head of his and scramble his brains!
Jiro sighed. There was nothing she could do. This was Uraraka's request; she couldn't possibly refuse...
Though it only lasted a few seconds, to Jiro it felt like centuries. The moment they were on board, she tossed the grape aside in disgust.
Mineta knew he was unpopular with the girls, but the soul of a gentleman was deeply rooted within him. It was impossible to remove, and he had never even thought of hiding it. After all—if a guy isn't a little pervy, is he even a guy!?
It was with this exact line that Minoru Mineta had hit Denki Kaminari's weak spot, making him cast off his superficial disguise and face his true self.
Although Mineta had come for Midoriya, he was actually more desperate to rescue Kaminari. After all, he was the first true best friend he'd ever made.
Speaking of Denki Kaminari, Mineta began to mutter, "I came all this way to save you, you know. You'd better repay me for this. Doujins, games, handshake event tickets... I'm not picky..."
"Is the enemy on this ship?" Uraraka looked at Tsuyu and said gravely, "Tsuyu-chan, we're counting on you."
"Right. Leave it to me." Tsuyu nodded, turned, and leaped onto the ship's wall, sticking to the glass.
Uraraka gave Tsuyu a thumbs-up, then turned to Mineta and Jiro. "Tsuyu-chan will move along the outside of the ship. We'll search the interior. If things get dicey, Jiro, you use your sound waves to shatter the glass, and Tsuyu-chan can bust in and get us out of here."
There were no major flaws in the plan. Jiro nodded in agreement, and Mineta had no objections.
The three of them exchanged a look. Uraraka took the lead, heading down to the lower level and starting her search with the first room from the stairwell.
When she saw a neat, empty, narrow cabin, Uraraka breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she hadn't hit the jackpot in the very first room.
Next, she opened the room opposite. Also empty.
Uraraka turned to Jiro, who understood the signal, went downstairs, and began to open the other doors.
Before long, they had opened every room in the corridor. They were all small, similar-looking dormitories, with no enemy hiding inside.
Finally, they stopped at the door at the very end of the hall.
"This is the only one left..." Uraraka gave Jiro a reassuring smile. "Let me get it."
The door seemed normal, opening for them just as readily as the others. But what was inside was different. The people they had been searching for, Izuku Midoriya and Denki Kaminari, were in the room, waiting for them.
The only light source was a lamp hanging from the ceiling. There was no one else in the room. Kaminari was sitting in a chair, his body bound, his hair spiked up like a pencil holder. A red ball gag was stuffed in his wide-open mouth. His face was a mask of terror as he shook his head frantically at them.
Midoriya stood behind Kaminari, the chair obscuring the lower half of his body. His arms and face were hidden in the shadows. Even when he heard the door open, he kept his head down and said nothing.
"Midoriya-kun!" Uraraka cried out in surprise. "We finally found you!"
Jiro glanced at Kaminari. Seeing that he was unharmed, she felt a sense of relief, but she still said sarcastically, "Did you become a punk rocker? That spiky hairstyle is pretty lame."
"Is no one else here? Or did the kidnapper already leave?" Mineta peeked his head carefully around the door. Seeing no enemy, he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and excitedly walked over to Kaminari. "You have no idea what I went through to save you! You're going to have to compensate me for my emotional distress!"
Kyoka Jiro walked closer and looked at the thing in Kaminari's mouth, her expression growing even stranger. "What is that in your mouth? Since when did you develop this kind of hobby?"
In the dim light, Kaminari's face had been in shadow. Up close, they could see it now: a circular strap was holding a ping-pong-ball-sized gag in place, preventing him from closing his mouth. As a natural reaction, drool was constantly trickling from the corners of his mouth.
Mineta shook his head and sighed. "I lent you that magazine yesterday, and you're already trying it out on yourself today. How much do you like this stuff...?"
Kaminari shook his head even more frantically.
Although Jiro's words were disdainful, she deftly inserted her earphone jacks into the keyholes, picking the locks on Kaminari's wrists and ankles. As for the gag on his face, it seemed to be the type that tightened the more you struggled. Jiro didn't have a sharp blade on her, so she didn't dare to try anything. And looking at the... fluid... on it, she wouldn't have wanted to touch it even if she did have the tools.
While Jiro was freeing Kaminari, Uraraka went to Midoriya's side. She reached out to take his hand, her voice filled with concern. "Midoriya, are you okay?"
"DON'T MOVE!"
Midoriya's body trembled as he let out a choked cry.
Uraraka's hand froze in mid-air. The entire room fell into a sudden silence, the only sound being Kaminari's muffled whimpers.
Does he... not want me to touch him? As Uraraka was thinking this, she suddenly noticed a mark on the sleeve of Midoriya's uniform. She looked up and saw that he was trembling all over, with visible tear tracks running down his cheeks.
Is he crying?
"Midoriya-kun..."
"Sorry... I lost control for a moment." After a moment of silence, Midoriya looked up with a calm smile. "There isn't much time. You all should leave. I'll be right behind you."
Kaminari, now on his hands and knees with his head bowed to the floor, heard Midoriya's calm words. He whimpered, trying to speak, but couldn't get any words out. In a fit of desperation, he tried to use his newly freed hands to rip the thing out of his mouth, but the leather strap only pulled tighter against his face. His eyes rolled back, and like a donkey with its mouth bound, he began to thrash around on the floor in pain.
"Is this guy an idiot?" Jiro sighed.
She had no intention of helping. In fact, she almost wanted to laugh.
Mineta's eyes darted back and forth, and he said with a sly grin, "It's a shame Ashido isn't here. If she were, she could just spray some acid on his face. Kaminari might be able to get the ball out then..."
Kyoka Jiro looked at him in disgust and took two steps back. "Your mind is so filthy, Mineta. Ashido would never do that!"
"I was talking about the acidic liquid from Ashido's Quirk! Jiro, what were you thinking!?"
Denki Kaminari was on the verge of despair. I'm about to die here, and you guys are arguing!
Knock, knock.
A knock came at the door, followed by a gentle, masculine voice. "Hello. It seems you're all having a lot of fun. May I join you?"
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