Eria

Run. That was the best option right now.

I gathered all my strength in my legs and I sprinted away from the villain as fast as I could. But lethal blue flames immediately chased up to me, burning the grass into ashes. The flames circled me and I was caged in.

"Flames can't hurt me!" I bravely jumped into the wild blue flames, but the moment it kissed my skin, the flames seared my flesh excruciatingly. I retreated from the flames with my right arm scorched red.

These flames were different from Todoroki's warm flames. They were much hotter, much lethal. They could burn me into crisp and kill me.

The situation turned against me. There was no escape.

I refused to believe that there was no fire that I couldn't resist. I touched the flames and they burned me again. The pain felt like my flesh was melting.

"Little lamb, if you do that again, you'd be turn into ashes. And I don't want to be bringing your ashes back," the villain said as he walked towards me calmly. The flames casted an eerie shade of blue on his face and a malicious glint veiled his turquoise eyes.

I refused to be caught like this. I refused to be defeated by blue flames.

I charged towards the villain instead, punching him right in the gut. But instantly, he melted away into mud and disappeared.

Another one appeared behind me and I punched it, then it melted into mud again. One more appeared after its defeat, and the whole process repeated until I lost count.

Abruptly, blue flames enveloped me. I shrieked painfully and jumped away, but there was another villain standing behind me. He grabbed my neck and the flames prepared to burst from his palm. The growing heat in his palm elicited a mild terror in me. Before I could punch this one, he jabbed a needle in my neck and instantly my senses gone numb. I couldn't feel or move my limbs.

"There's no way I could win in close combat. So I had to use some medication to put you into sleep." The villain's face twisted with sadistic pleasure as he smirked on my pain.

I opened my eyes wide, fighting the drowsiness that intruded me. I managed to stay awake but I couldn't move or speak and the villain hauled me onto his shoulder like a lifeless doll.

"Dabi!" A masked villain popped out from the bushes. "She doesn't seem asleep to me! Yes, she is! The medication isn't working! No, it is working! She isn't moving!"

The villain named Dabi clicked his tongue with annoyance. "Looks like her resistance was stronger than I expected. We need to get her back before the medication wears off."

"It will wear off soon. No, it won't."

"Where are the others?"

"On the way! I don't know!"

Damn it! Move! I ordered my limbs. But they weren't moving. Even if the medication only worked 50% on me, there was no telling when it would wear off.

Maybe my white-haired demon could help me. But......

This is a life-threatening crisis! It's about time you wake up!

My Sixth Sense sensed a figure crouching behind the bushes. Aoyama and my eyes locked. He was scared and shivering. A sliver of hope blossomed within me, but it immediately died down.

Don't. I sent a message to him, hoping he'd stay hidden. I don't want him getting hurt for trying to save me.

Aoyama covered his mouth in fear and looked away.

When we stopped moving, Dabi threw me onto the ground without much care. This place seemed to be their rendezvous point.

"No one else is here yet?" a girlish voice chirped happily. I looked up. It was a blonde with pig tails, who was just as young as I was.

"Did you get the blood?" asked Dabi.

"One person's worth!" the girl chirped. She looked down at me and her eyes gleamed with joy. "Is she the demon? She looks so pretty! We're going to be good friends soon!"

"Didn't we told you to get three persons' worth?!" the masked man chided angrily.

"I was going to get killed, so I ran," she replied.

Suddenly, something soaring in the air triggered my Sixth Sense. It descended straight onto the ground, sending clouds of dust everywhere.

Midoriya, Todoroki and Shoji.

Joy washed over me. I could finally see a glimmer of hope at the end of this dark corridor.

"Mister, get out of the way," Dabi said and he released blue flames at the trio, which burned Midoriya and Shoji. Todoroki dodged away just in time. He glared at the villains and for a split second, our eyes locked.

"Taka—" Todoroki's face was filled with terror as he gasped. The masked villain launched himself at Todoroki and the boy quickly conjured his ice to repel the villain.

Clicking his tongue with displeasure, Dabi hauled me up and put me over his shoulder. "Don't go anywhere, little lamb."

"Takasaki!" Todoroki tried to focus on his battle, but his mismatched eyes kept darting to me. Whenever he saw an opening, he would rush to my direction but the villain obstructed him every time.

"Takasaki's here too?" Shoji and Midoriya finally spotted me among the chaos. They too wanted to sprint to my help but it was a fruitless effort.

I soon realised I was a liability.

"Where's Bakugou?" Dabi asked the villain who looked like a magician. He reached into his pocket but whatever it was in it, disappeared.

"I got them, both of them," Shoji said as he showed two tiny blue marbles. "Now the only thing left is to save Takasaki."

Suddenly, an ominous purple mist appeared beside the villains. I recognised it was the villain with the warp quirk from the USJ incident. This complicated the whole situation.

Todoroki looked at me with gritted teeth. I will save you, his resolute stare told me.

But he was too far. Just too far.

The magician villain was about to step into the mist when Dabi stopped him. "Wait. Our goal hasn't been accomplished."

"They seemed so happy rushing out here so I gave them a present," the villain opened his mouth. Nested on his tongue were two more marbles, with Bakugou and even Tokoyami in them. But before he could retreat, Aoyama's blue laser broke his mask and he accidentally spat out the two marbles.

It was now or never.

"Save them!" I shouted immediately, finally regaining my voice. There was no chance for me, but at least Bakugou and Tokoyami should be rescued. I looked at Todoroki, hoping he would oblige.

Todoroki's eyes were tinged with sorrow and hesitance. He clenched his fists and reluctantly dashed out to grab one of the marbles. Shoji got one, but Todoroki lost to Dabi, who grabbed the other.

"That's sad... Todoroki... Shouto..." Dabi smirked as he looked down at Todoroki pridefully. "Release them."

The two marbles reverted into the captives. Tokoyami was safely with Shoji while Bakugou was standing in front of Dabi; his neck gripped tight by the latter.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya, though seriously battered and disfigured, dashed towards us with his barely strong legs. He desperately called for the name of his friend, but it was too late.

The portal closed before Midoriya reached us. The last thing I ever saw was the look of despair and terror on Todoroki's face.

***

I was roughly thrown to the cold floor of a dark room, along with Bakugou. The door slammed shut in the windowless room that only had a tiny bulb as a lighting.

"Fucking villains," Bakugou cursed repeatedly as he banged on the metal door. He rubbed his neck, as if it reminded of his close encounter of death. "Can you get up?" he asked; his voice gentler than before.

I moved a few of my fingers but the rest of my body remained paralysed. "No," I replied.

Bakugou struggled with which part of my body he could hold to pull me up. I glared when his hands hovered over the wrong places. "My shoulders, idiot."

He clicked his tongue angrily and put me into a sitting position leaning against the wall. "Why are you here anyway?"

"It's not your privilege to be kidnapped," I retorted.

"Why you—"

"Sorry, I was just angry. It seems I'm one of their targets too," I replied. "He couldn't fight me in close combat so he jabbed a needle in my neck."

Bakugou huffed and he slammed his butt onto the ground. "You should have just run."

"Tried to. Those blue flames hurt bad. Even more than Todoroki's."

The mention of Todoroki's name irked Bakugou. "That fucking half-and-half. He should have saved you."

"I told him to save you. Don't blame him."

"And look what it got us into? If he saved you, you wouldn't be here! Me being the only one kidnapped is the best thing I could hope for! I don't need you to get kidnapped too!"

I strained my neck to look at him. Bakugou's cheeks were puffed with anger and resentment. His fierce glare felt like they could melt metal. "Why?"

"...... I just don't like you... or anyone else to get involved."

Tsundere much. I sighed. "There's no point arguing now. Let's just figure a way to get out of here."

"I could blow the fucking walls away." "I could smash them into pieces."

We stared at each other. "That's too easy. They will have counterplans," Bakugou retorted. "And besides, I can't carry your ass when we escape."

"I think they will just jab me with another needle again when I recover," I added.

Bakugou clicked his tongue. "So we should just stay here and wait for our rescuers? Who knows where they are or where we are." He rolled up into a ball and hid his face.

"You're giving up?"

"No. Shut up and let me think."

We stayed in silence for some time. As time passed, my arms regained movement but my legs were still numb. Even if Bakugou did blow the walls off, I would still be a liability.

I took the time to think about my family. My mother would be enraged. She would scour all over the world to find me and tear the villains apart with her bare hands.

I thought of Iida, Midoriya, Ochako and my classmates who would resent losing me, especially Midoriya.

I thought of Todoroki blaming himself for losing me. The look of despair I saw on his face made my heart ache.

Todoroki...... would I see you again?

"Say, they kidnapped us because they wanted us to join them, right?" I uttered. "That's —"

"—the stupidest idea they could ever have. Are they fucking dumb?!" Bakugou roared angrily. "What makes them think that I would join them?!"

I looked at his angry face. It resembled the look he had when he was chained to receive his prize from the Sports Festival. "Maybe because you look like one?"

"HELL NO!"

The door creaked as it opened, shedding a bright light into the place. I squinted at the blinding light.

Dabi stepped in, along with the masked man. He looked at me and smirked heinously, while Bakugou quickly stood up to protect me.

"Don't you touch her," Bakugou hissed venomously. His hands started to spark.

"Are we taking her to the client? No, we aren't!" the masked man asked.

Dabi's cold turquoise eyes remained glued to me. His face was impassive and unreadable. "Just because we got her due to a request doesn't mean we are giving her up. Shigaraki wants her too. If she is here, the client would join us."

"That sounds good. That guy is powerful. No, he isn't! He's creepy! With his illusions and stuff!"

Illusions.

I scorned that word. I recalled the villain that tricked me with illusions of fear and I shuddered with anxiety. That villain requested me. He wanted me.

No, no, no.

Fear pervaded me, along with a surge of anger. Anger boiled deep in my system, as hot as magma. I was afraid before, but now it was just plain ire.

Why did he do this to me? I didn't even know him. Why me?

The pressure of this raging sea of anger aroused the white-haired demon within me, though for a second. My hair was white and my legs promptly regained strength. I grabbed Dabi by his collar and glared right into his eyes, resisting the desire to just break his neck right now.

"Don't you dare. You hand me to that person and I will personally rip your heads right out of your bodies. You will suffer before you die a miserable death."

The masked man backed away, but Dabi remained undaunted. He glared right into my eyes and the corner of his mouth curved a little. "Little lamb still has some firepower in her, huh?" Swiftly, he jabbed a needle in my neck and with pain in my veins I fell to the floor.

Bakugou rushed to my aid. "What did you do?!" he shouted furiously at Dabi.

"Just that medication from before. That should calm her down," Dabi explained as a sadistic glint veiled his beautiful but heinous eyes. "I will inject you with this as many times as I want until we decide what to do with you. And there's nothing you could do about it, little lamb." The threat rolled off his tongue with ease.

"Fuck off," Bakugou hissed angrily.

After the villains left, Bakugou leaned me against the wall. "......did that illusion guy piss you off that much?"

"Imagine a guy trying to kill you for no reason and he exposed your vulnerability to the world."

He remained silent for a while, then spoke; his voice like a whisper. "......I won't let anyone take you away."

I looked at him, but he didn't look back. "Thanks."

"Whatever."

***

When the medication was about to wear off, the masked villain came in and fearfully gave me another injection before I could bite his hand off. The process repeated itself several times throughout the long, exhausting day. Bakugou and I didn't know the time, nor was it day or night. We barely slept, but Bakugou remained vigilant as if he was keeping his word to make sure I was safe.

The blonde girl, who introduced herself as Toga Himiko, came in a few times to greet me. She was overjoyed to see me and talk to me, and sometimes brought food for us. Dabi didn't came in anymore, but if he did, I would hit him where he hurts most even if I couldn't move.

"Looks like you're resisting the medication better now. Sooner or later it won't work on you," Bakugou grumbled lowly. He had been counting the time for the medication to wear off, though I was perplexed by how he did it.

"Then it's time to think of an escape," I muttered. "Ideas?"

"We blow the whole place up."

I rolled my eyes.

"That's the only plausible way! That fucking warp guy is out there so blowing everyone away before he could act is the best way!"

"Let's pretend we will be joining them. Then we escape."

He glared at me with disbelief. "Are you dumb?"

"It's the only way."

"Hell no! I'm not joining them."

"It's called 'pretend'. You don't have to join them for real."

"Fuck pretend! I'm not doing it!" Bakugou growled.

"Oh come on!" I huffed. "Rock paper scissors then. If I win, we do it my way. If you win, we'll just blow them up."

Bakugou pondered as he stared at me. "Fine."

"Rock paper scissors!"

And I won.

"Fuck......" Bakugou cursed at his 'rock'. "Fine! You win!"

I smiled proudly. "Bakugou. If you see a chance of escaping, you escape."

"What? And leave you behind? No."

"Bakugou, please."

"No! I'm not..."

I clasped his cheeks and forced him to look at me. He struggled to break free. "Let go, woman!"

"Bakugou."

He reluctantly looked at me. I always thought his red eyes resembled blood, but upon close inspection they gleamed under the low light like rubies.

"Promise me you will do it. You can't take me with you. I'm still a liability. I can't even move."

"Then I'll carry your heavy ass! I'm not leaving you behind!" He roared back angrily.

"Please, Bakugou." I plead sincerely. If the both of us couldn't leave, then it would be best if one of us could. "Escape, get help and bring the others to rescue me. Please. I will wait for you."

Bakugou silently stared. Abruptly he pushed away my hands and turned his back at me.

Stubborn oaf.

I leaned against the wall, trying to sleep.

"......fine."

I looked over at Bakugou.

"......I will come back and get you, so don't you die."

I smiled a little.

"......And I will bring that half-and-half bastard along. And fucking Deku. And round face. And shitty hair."

A wide smile spread across my face. "Aren't you sweet?"

"SHUT UP!"

***

For who knows how long later, the villains dragged my numb body out of the room and forcibly restrained Bakugou onto a chair. We were brought to a place that looked like a bar, occupied by The League of Villains. Unexpectedly, Bakugou didn't struggle while I was left on the ground with my paralysed legs.

In the same room with us were eight villains: Shigaraki, Toga, Dabi, masked guy, magician guy, warp guy, lizard guy and magnetic guy. If we wanted to fight our way out of here, warp guy was the most dangerous one. He could easily separate me and Bakugou.

Shigaraki scratched his neck. "We decided to keep you here, Takasaki Eria. You're a much valuable...... comrade to us."

"Thank you," I spat angrily, not really grateful of anything.

"Be grateful, little lamb," commented Dabi as he smirked.

I swore to punch Dabi in his ridiculous face when I regained my strength.

"And we're back to the same question. I'll ask you again, Bakugou Katsuki and Takasaki Eria. Will you join us?"

I glanced at Bakugou, who was glaring straight at Shigaraki. He better not forget our plan and do something stupid.

"Dabi, release his restrains."

Dabi was surprised, though his face barely showed any emotions. "He is going to fight back, you know."

"Relax. We're scouting him so we need to treat him as an equal. Besides, he can tell if he wins or not if he fights in this situation."

Dabi looked at the masked villain beside him. "You do it, Twice."

Twice was shocked. "Why me?!" But he still obliged.

Bakugou glanced at me. My legs were regaining strength and I slowly stood up.

"Dabi, jab her again!" Twice shouted.

"Don't," Shigaraki interjected. "She too must be treated as an equal."

"Thank you. I really hated that," I said.

On the tiny television screen that nested on the bar, it showed the U.A press conference explaining about the kidnapping. The mention of Bakugou's name perked my interest.

"......Bakugou Katsuki enrolled the school with excellent grades and won the sports festival. In addition, during the incident with the sludge villain in middle school, he resisted the villain alone, so he has a history of showing how tough and heroic he can be," said the journalist in the press conference. "On the other hand, the violence he showed in the finals and the attitude in the award ceremony show that he is not stable mentally."

I glanced at Bakugou, who was now glaring at the screen instead.

"The same question goes for Takasaki Eria."

I jolted upon hearing my name.

"She may not have exhibited violence like Bakugou Katsuki, but her display of power when she has lost control in the sports festival showed that she was also an unstable and volatile person. Even if she is pro hero Dark Rose's daughter, it doesn't mean she could control her powers as well as her mother did. Her overwhelming strength, bloodlust and lack of control on her powers proved that she would not be appropriate to be a hero, just like the previous pro hero Lucifer who was consumed by bloodlust and killed dozens of innocents."

Lucifer. The name that made me trembled in fear. I hadn't been thinking about him for some time now, but hearing his name again reminded me of my fear of losing control and hurting my loved ones. I tried to contain the fear within me, tried not to let it be exposed on my face. Vulnerability would not be helpful in a situation like this.

I tried not to watch the screen and glanced sideways, only to find a piercing glare from Dabi. The corner of his mouth curved slightly and my heart nearly stopped beating when I realised he sensed my fear.

"What if the villains took them because they are counting on these 'qualities' in them? Dyeing them and leading them to the path of evil would prove easy. What evidence do you have saying that they have a future?"

Aizawa-sensei, with an awfully clean look, rose from his seat and bowed down. "As an educator, I take full responsibility for Bakugou Katsuki's violent behaviour and Takasaki Eria's inability to control her powers. However, they are trying all their best than anyone else to become the heroes they strive to achieve. I know that better than anyone else here because I am their teacher. They are flawed, but that doesn't mean they cannot be polished to become the most valuable jewels in the world. If the villains saw that and thought they had an opening, then I believe they are short-sighted."

The sincerity in Aizawa-sensei's words touched me deep. I didn't realise how much he believed in me, even though he never showed it otherwise. During the camp training, he had been pushing me over my limits so that I could gain better control over my powers.

I will get out of here and do my best to be a hero, just like how you believed in me.

I took a deep breath and turned to Shigaraki Tomura. "To answer your question, we made some serious consideration." I prepared to lie the best I could. "We—"

"Fuck the plan," Bakugou muttered.

I gaped at Bakugou. "What?"

"I said, to hell with the fucking pretend plan!" He shouted loudly.

"I thought we agreed on it!" I shouted back. "I won rock paper scissors!"

"To hell with that! I'm not going to pretend joining the villains to free myself. Never. Ever." A determined grin spread across Bakugou's face. "I don't do what I don't want to do even if I'm faking it. I want to win like All Might. No matter what anyone says, that will never change."

"All Might would agree to the pretend plan if he is in this situation right now!" I slapped my forehead.

However, Bakugou smirked proudly. "In any way, we will still have to fight our way out of this mess. So why not do it now?"

I was won over by his strong determination and smiled at his handsome wide grin. "Fine. Let's kick their sorry asses then." We should be able to take down at least two or three villains. Even though they would not kill us, I fear they would change their minds. Better escape as soon as possible.

"Just so you know, we're still allowed to fight!" Bakugou declared.

"I thought... we'd come to an understanding..." Shigaraki said, feeling dejected. "The heroes said they would be continuing their investigation on us. There's no choice then." He turned to a blank screen behind him. "Master, lend me your strength."

I shivered slightly. There was someone else pulling all the strings besides Shigaraki?

"Compress, make them go to sleep again."

The magician villain stepped forward. If he used his quirk on us, we would never escape.

Think! What should I do? Shatter the floor? Punch the wall and bring Bakugou with me, hoping my wings would come out when we fall from the sky? But that warp guy is here.

I extended my Sixth Sense to discern my location. It was not a very high building, so jumping would not be a problem. But weirdly, there were many people stationed outside of the building. Judging from one of the figures, he resembled a lot like All Might.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, intercepting the tension in the room. "Hello! It's pizza delivery!"

Outside, the All Might figure prepared to pounce.

I grabbed onto Bakugou and pulled him closer to me, right before the real All Might crashes through the wall. The attack caught everyone by surprise.

"Kurogiri, gate!"

I gripped Bakugou tight, making sure he wouldn't leave my side.

Through the large opening in the wall, Kamui Woods swung in and captured the villains tight in his wooden grasps, rendering them immobile. Then, a flash of lightning followed and it was Gran Torino, who knocked Dabi unconscious.

"I'm sure you were scared. It's fine now!" All Might's signature grin was plastered onto his face as he looked at us.

A weird expression appeared on Bakugou's face. "I'm not scared!" he acted tough and all, but he actually looked relieved.

Meanwhile, my mother flew into the room on her wings. When she saw me, she pulled me into her embrace and squeezed me tight. "Thank god, you're okay, Eria."

I never felt so relieved in her warm embrace. "Mom." My voice croaked.

"You're safe now," she whispered. Then, she pulled Bakugou into her embrace too, in which the latter struggled to break free. "Let go, woman!"

Even though the villains were thoroughly suppressed, Shigaraki refused to surrender. "I hate you!" He roared at All Might angrily. But he couldn't do anything.

Suddenly, two pools of liquid appeared mid-air and Nomus emerged from them. My mother quickly held a protective stance before us. More Nomus appeared around us but warp guy was already unconscious.

I was scared by the scene unfolding before us. Was it the 'master' Shigaraki mentioned doing all this?

Then, Bakugou spewed the similar black liquid from his mouth. The same thing happened to me. Disgusting black liquid forced its way out of my throat and enveloped my body. My mother slowly disappeared from my sight; her shouts were no longer audible. I reached out to grab her, but the moments our fingers touched, she vanished completely.

All that's left was the tiny residue of her warm embrace on me. 

***

This update was pretty quick 'cos i suddenly felt the urge to write a lot XD 

BTW, today June 12 is also my birthday so i just got older T^T I really want to be a kid again. Being an adult is no fun :(