[He notices Bakugou, of course he does. He's a familiar face, even if he's not a pleasant one. He thinks... maybe... a year. It's been a year of being the villain alliance's convenient tool, he has the scars to prove it, from bullet wounds to knife wounds, the story of the injuries the villains have taken. They're his injuries now.
Bakugou yells, what happened to you, why are you here, why didn't you try escaping-. Izuku doesn't answer, cuffs around his wrists. He gets himself out, but he doesn't have the time or the resources to get Izuku out with him.
He doesn't hold it against him. If Bakugou goes, then maybe... maybe he'll be reported, a pro hero will come. The bar collapses around him and he's still chained to it, nowhere to go.
Who he sees instead is Todoroki Shouto coming back into the rubble. He's seen him on tv, the alliance keeps tabs on the freshmen of UA, it seems. It was one tiny bright spot for him during his capture.
He looks around, none of the villains are here, they've all evacuated. Still, he can't help curling in on himself. Over this year, he's gotten so used to wanting to remain unnoticed.]
[ It's easy enough to move while keeping himself low to the ground, in the event that a villain might come back. He doesn't want to risk it - they got Bakugou out, they don't need him captured while trying to free this person. Someone their age, but... he looks like he's seen better days. And a part of him feels a spark of anger at what's been done. Taking Bakugou, taking this boy...
Shouto settles in a crouch in front of him, looking him over before his eyes flick up to his face, mismatched but focused. ]
I'm going to break you out, all right? [ He lifts his right hand up, but stops just before he touches him, or the cuffs, because he's watching. If there's anyone else that can recognize the signs of abuse, of not wanting to be touched, it's someone that spent a bulk of his childhood in that very position. His chains were a little more figurative than this, though, and that just makes the hero in him that much more angry.
But he keeps his voice low, and even, trying to be soft. ] Move your wrists as best as you can, so that they're not touching the cuffs at the bottom. I'll freeze the mechanism in the locks, so the metal will burn you if you don't.
[He does as he's asked, he's seen Shouto's quirk in action. Ice and fire. If he's willing to rescue him then he's going to make this entire process as easy as possible for them both. It's not hard to make sure his wrists aren't touching the bottom of the cuffs, they're much thinner than they were when he was captured.
He doesn't want to stay here any longer than he already has. And with the quirk he's been given it's only a matter of time before one of the villains will come back to pick him up.]
[ Once he has the go ahead, Shouto reaches out and curls his left hand around where the cuffs are secured on the bar. It's then that he touches the lock of one with his right, freezing the mechanism to the point that the metal expands, starts to crack and become brittle. He doesn't try to push it any further than that, not wanting to shatter it around his wrist.
Even if they're so skinny. He's so malnourished -
He bites his lip to keep his silence and his cool, going to freeze the other cuff as well. ]
[He watches, logging the information away. He knew Shouto was powerful after the sports festival. There was some evidence to say he had great control over his quirk (vs Iida), but seeing it in person, it's a little different.]
You're... going to be a hero, right?
[Something he's always longed for but his chance was taken when he was captured. He was quirkless back then, he probably wouldn't have made it any way, but he hoped.
He still looks up to them, even after everything.]
[ Considering the full scope of his quirk, it's not very often he has to do something so precise as this. But he focuses, makes sure that it's just enough to work, but not enough to hurt. They need to get out of here as soon as possible - while the heroes take care of the villains, there might be some that try to retreat with their tails tucked between their legs.
He looks up at him, surprise evident in his face.
(In another life, Midoriya Izuku reminded him that he was going to be a hero. He unlocked what he refused to wield as his own. Maybe, this time, he can help him, in a life where he was taken away from the villain that'd wanted him to be his tool.)
It turns to something hard and determined.
Shouto takes one cuff in both hands, quirk activating on both sides as he starts applying pressure against the weakened metal so that he can buckle and break. ] ]
[He knows Shouto's a hero in training, he's not a pro yet. But if he came back to check if there was anybody who needed help here, in the villain's headquarters, then of course Izuku's going to trust him. He hasn't known him for long, but he's rescuing him.
(In another life, maybe he would have been there at the right place, the right time. Maybe he could have been a hero instead of a tool. It's a nice dream.)
Izuku doesn't meet his gaze. It was safer not to make eye contact with his captors, easier if he was forgotten about until he took on their wounds. Instead, his gaze is focused on the handcuffs and Shouto's hands.]
[ With the metal weakened the way it is, Shouto could probably shatter it without using the drastic change in temperature. But that would require hitting it, somehow, and just - hasn't he been through enough?
So he shocks it, so that it practically crumbles in his fingers, freeing one of his hands. Without pause, he goes for the other cuff, whipping his head up when he hears a crash in the distance. All Might had arrived on the scene, so it doesn't shock him, but he's keyed up from everything that's happened.
[He's not surprised to see the cuff break- Under different circumstances he would have stared at his wrists for a little longer, appreciating the fact he's finally been freed after a year of what feels a lot like hell.
They don't have time. And while the Izuku of many months ago wouldn't have hesitated to grab Shouto and just run, the Izuku of now is tired and has come to associate touch with pain.]
[ Shifting where he's crouched, Shouto angles away from him to peer beyond the bar. He isn't sure what their escape route is, so he has to find all the exits, find all of the options they might have, because they probably can't face off against the villains out there. He doesn't want to risk it.
When he looks back at him, he moves to pull himself up by the bar. ]
Away from the fight. We need to get you out of here and away from the villains. [ Because he's being held here for some reason, right? Shouto thinks it means something, but he doesn't think that now is the time to question why that is. ] Can you stand?
[Izuku, with the quirk he's been given, is a liability. He's more likely to get injured than any other person- so he's cautious as he pulls himself to his feet- making sure he doesn't accidentally touch Shouto.]
I can. [But it's been a while since he's really been able to go anywhere, so moving might be slow.]
... Is Kacchan-- Did somebody get him too?
[Because despite the fact his last interaction with Bakugou was being told to jump off the roof, he doesn't want anybody to suffer the way he has.]
[ Watching him out of the corner of his eye, he waits to make sure he's up and steady enough. There's not a lot they can do but run, but Shouto came here willing to do what he could to get Bakugou out. He'll do the same for Izuku, too.
Posture still low, he makes his way towards where he'd slipped in, hoping to lead them out and away. ]
Kacchan? [ There's only one person that could be. ] There was a group of us that came for him - they got him out.
[He's not in danger of falling over, at least. But he makes no move to touch Shouto- attempting to keep going on his own.
He shifts lower, closer to the floor.
There's a sigh of relief.]
I'm glad he's okay.
[Never mind that Izuku's been stuck here for a year and Bakugou's only been here for a week. Bakugou can't keep his mouth shut- not the way Izuku's used to doing now.]
[ Watching him closely, he moves so that he has one hand hovering over the ground, an easy crouch that he's learned in fighting with his father. If they come across someone, they can get the upperhand, if only for a moment, from a lower vantage point.
It also means he can help him, should he waver. ]
He should be fine. [ It's Bakugou. But he can't argue that - Bakugou's never been known for keeping his mouth shut. ] We just didn't expect to find someone else, too.
[Shouto'll be able to get the upperhand. The second anybody touches him, he'll absorb all their injuries that have occured in the last three hours. He's been a damage sponge for what feels like a year- though he's stopped keeping track of time a while ago.]
... I wasn't expecting to be found today.
[Maybe later, Bakugou might be hard to be around, but he's wanted to be a hero. He would have told somebody that Izuku was held hostage by the villains. Izuku's sure of tha tmuch.]
[ Holding his hand up to signal wait, Shouto watches their surroundings before he lowers it, begins to advance again. The sounds of fighting are in the distance, booming regardless. He just doesn't want to risk getting near it. ]
One good thing came out of all of this, then.
[ Bakugou getting taken... it upset all of them. He couldn't get him in time, but at least they could rescue him. And now they could rescue a second person.
There's no way he's letting them get taken again. ]
[At least he has a quirk now. It's not... He cannot use it for hero work or he'd likely die, but it's something. His time here wasn't all bad-- no that's a lie. He's gone through more pain and suffering at their hands than he ever thought he'd find in a life time.
It's amazing he hasn't passed out more often than he has with the sheer severity of the injuries they've inflicted on them. From knife wounds to gun wounds to everything in between.
He's obedient, stopping as Shouto gestures and following him out. He hears the sound of the fight in the distance- if the villains are distracted by that they have a chance of leaving.]
You found me... Thank you.
[Todoroki Shouto is here. His hero-in-training savoir. "Everything is alright. Why? Because he's here." Maybe it's silly to believe in somebody who he's just met, who hasn't even been licensed yet. But he can't change his heart, the rush of relief, thanks and affection for him.
[ Those injuries are in dire need of medical attention, and he knows it. He really wishes that he'd brought his first aid kit, or even just a few of the capsules for it off his belt, but they'd been in such a hurry that it'd slipped his mind. They'll just have to find the nearest paramedics, the nearest pro heroes.
For now, though, it's just them. ]
If I'm going to be a hero... [ Shouto takes one knee as he waits, assessing to make sure that the coast is clear, and turns, twisting at the waist just so he can look back at Izuku. ] We're supposed to help the people who need it, right? I'm not leaving you behind.
[ Iida and Yaoyorozu had come with him and Kirishima to make sure that they left right away, that they got Bakugou out and then were gone, but he wasn't about to leave him there. He needed rescuing. He needed help.
Someone found him. Someone wasn't going to leave him. ] And they won't take you back, either. Not with me here.
[He's bleeding right now, and he knows he has several bullet wounds thanks to Shigaraki's attempt on the USJ. It's probably healed over by now. But Bakugou's explosions were quickly transferred onto him.
Being near somebody who doesn't want to use him as an injury sponge makes him long for the days touch didn't sting. He'd be able to take comfort in Shouto's hand.
His voice is soft, like he's still not quite sure Shouto is real. That anything around them is real.]
That's how it's supposed to be.
[It's stupid, and he knows it is, but he has doubts. The villains know who he is, they know what a useful sponge he can be. There's no way they'll just let him escape.
[ Shouto looks at him seriously, even as his voice remains low to keep attention away from them. He takes Izuku in quietly, watching him, thinking about what it must be that he's been through to look the way he does. Despite what he's been through, he can't begin to imagine - Endeavor made sure he recovered from every situation he'd been put in, with only minor scars and the one on his face as evidence to anything.
But he can feel the agitation burning in his chest, the wrongness of the situation. ]
A hero doesn't leave anyone behind, and keeps their promises. [ A real one does, anyways. He thinks of All Might, arriving to save the day - the same as he's done today, now, fighting against All For One to try and stop the threat once and for all. ] So I'm not letting them take you back, no matter what. We'll get to the pros, and the medics, and you won't ever have to go back to that.
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Bakugou yells, what happened to you, why are you here, why didn't you try escaping-. Izuku doesn't answer, cuffs around his wrists. He gets himself out, but he doesn't have the time or the resources to get Izuku out with him.
He doesn't hold it against him. If Bakugou goes, then maybe... maybe he'll be reported, a pro hero will come. The bar collapses around him and he's still chained to it, nowhere to go.
Who he sees instead is Todoroki Shouto coming back into the rubble. He's seen him on tv, the alliance keeps tabs on the freshmen of UA, it seems. It was one tiny bright spot for him during his capture.
He looks around, none of the villains are here, they've all evacuated. Still, he can't help curling in on himself. Over this year, he's gotten so used to wanting to remain unnoticed.]
Careful...
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Shouto settles in a crouch in front of him, looking him over before his eyes flick up to his face, mismatched but focused. ]
I'm going to break you out, all right? [ He lifts his right hand up, but stops just before he touches him, or the cuffs, because he's watching. If there's anyone else that can recognize the signs of abuse, of not wanting to be touched, it's someone that spent a bulk of his childhood in that very position. His chains were a little more figurative than this, though, and that just makes the hero in him that much more angry.
But he keeps his voice low, and even, trying to be soft. ] Move your wrists as best as you can, so that they're not touching the cuffs at the bottom. I'll freeze the mechanism in the locks, so the metal will burn you if you don't.
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[He does as he's asked, he's seen Shouto's quirk in action. Ice and fire. If he's willing to rescue him then he's going to make this entire process as easy as possible for them both. It's not hard to make sure his wrists aren't touching the bottom of the cuffs, they're much thinner than they were when he was captured.
He doesn't want to stay here any longer than he already has. And with the quirk he's been given it's only a matter of time before one of the villains will come back to pick him up.]
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Even if they're so skinny. He's so malnourished -
He bites his lip to keep his silence and his cool, going to freeze the other cuff as well. ]
Do you trust me to break them?
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You're... going to be a hero, right?
[Something he's always longed for but his chance was taken when he was captured. He was quirkless back then, he probably wouldn't have made it any way, but he hoped.
He still looks up to them, even after everything.]
I trust you.
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He looks up at him, surprise evident in his face.
(In another life, Midoriya Izuku reminded him that he was going to be a hero. He unlocked what he refused to wield as his own. Maybe, this time, he can help him, in a life where he was taken away from the villain that'd wanted him to be his tool.)
It turns to something hard and determined.
Shouto takes one cuff in both hands, quirk activating on both sides as he starts applying pressure against the weakened metal so that he can buckle and break. ] ]
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(In another life, maybe he would have been there at the right place, the right time. Maybe he could have been a hero instead of a tool. It's a nice dream.)
Izuku doesn't meet his gaze. It was safer not to make eye contact with his captors, easier if he was forgotten about until he took on their wounds. Instead, his gaze is focused on the handcuffs and Shouto's hands.]
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So he shocks it, so that it practically crumbles in his fingers, freeing one of his hands. Without pause, he goes for the other cuff, whipping his head up when he hears a crash in the distance. All Might had arrived on the scene, so it doesn't shock him, but he's keyed up from everything that's happened.
They need to go.
He breaks the other cuff. ]
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They don't have time. And while the Izuku of many months ago wouldn't have hesitated to grab Shouto and just run, the Izuku of now is tired and has come to associate touch with pain.]
Where are we going?
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When he looks back at him, he moves to pull himself up by the bar. ]
Away from the fight. We need to get you out of here and away from the villains. [ Because he's being held here for some reason, right? Shouto thinks it means something, but he doesn't think that now is the time to question why that is. ] Can you stand?
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I can. [But it's been a while since he's really been able to go anywhere, so moving might be slow.]
... Is Kacchan-- Did somebody get him too?
[Because despite the fact his last interaction with Bakugou was being told to jump off the roof, he doesn't want anybody to suffer the way he has.]
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Posture still low, he makes his way towards where he'd slipped in, hoping to lead them out and away. ]
Kacchan? [ There's only one person that could be. ] There was a group of us that came for him - they got him out.
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He shifts lower, closer to the floor.
There's a sigh of relief.]
I'm glad he's okay.
[Never mind that Izuku's been stuck here for a year and Bakugou's only been here for a week. Bakugou can't keep his mouth shut- not the way Izuku's used to doing now.]
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It also means he can help him, should he waver. ]
He should be fine. [ It's Bakugou. But he can't argue that - Bakugou's never been known for keeping his mouth shut. ] We just didn't expect to find someone else, too.
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... I wasn't expecting to be found today.
[Maybe later, Bakugou might be hard to be around, but he's wanted to be a hero. He would have told somebody that Izuku was held hostage by the villains. Izuku's sure of tha tmuch.]
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One good thing came out of all of this, then.
[ Bakugou getting taken... it upset all of them. He couldn't get him in time, but at least they could rescue him. And now they could rescue a second person.
There's no way he's letting them get taken again. ]
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It's amazing he hasn't passed out more often than he has with the sheer severity of the injuries they've inflicted on them. From knife wounds to gun wounds to everything in between.
He's obedient, stopping as Shouto gestures and following him out. He hears the sound of the fight in the distance- if the villains are distracted by that they have a chance of leaving.]
You found me... Thank you.
[Todoroki Shouto is here. His hero-in-training savoir. "Everything is alright. Why? Because he's here." Maybe it's silly to believe in somebody who he's just met, who hasn't even been licensed yet. But he can't change his heart, the rush of relief, thanks and affection for him.
Todoroki Shouto is his hero.]
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For now, though, it's just them. ]
If I'm going to be a hero... [ Shouto takes one knee as he waits, assessing to make sure that the coast is clear, and turns, twisting at the waist just so he can look back at Izuku. ] We're supposed to help the people who need it, right? I'm not leaving you behind.
[ Iida and Yaoyorozu had come with him and Kirishima to make sure that they left right away, that they got Bakugou out and then were gone, but he wasn't about to leave him there. He needed rescuing. He needed help.
Someone found him. Someone wasn't going to leave him. ] And they won't take you back, either. Not with me here.
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Being near somebody who doesn't want to use him as an injury sponge makes him long for the days touch didn't sting. He'd be able to take comfort in Shouto's hand.
His voice is soft, like he's still not quite sure Shouto is real. That anything around them is real.]
That's how it's supposed to be.
[It's stupid, and he knows it is, but he has doubts. The villains know who he is, they know what a useful sponge he can be. There's no way they'll just let him escape.
Izuku won't say that though.]
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[ Shouto looks at him seriously, even as his voice remains low to keep attention away from them. He takes Izuku in quietly, watching him, thinking about what it must be that he's been through to look the way he does. Despite what he's been through, he can't begin to imagine - Endeavor made sure he recovered from every situation he'd been put in, with only minor scars and the one on his face as evidence to anything.
But he can feel the agitation burning in his chest, the wrongness of the situation. ]
A hero doesn't leave anyone behind, and keeps their promises. [ A real one does, anyways. He thinks of All Might, arriving to save the day - the same as he's done today, now, fighting against All For One to try and stop the threat once and for all. ] So I'm not letting them take you back, no matter what. We'll get to the pros, and the medics, and you won't ever have to go back to that.