Chapter Text
After what felt like hours, the four UA students in disguise reunited in a large open court in the middle of the city. As planned, they rendezvoused under the statue of Deku, in a position similar to when he defeated Shigaraki years ago.
"Any leads?" Katsuma asked the others.
"Nothing." Kota gruffed.
"Without any clues where to find the Purity Alliance, it'll take far longer than we have." Gomuhosu explained.
"Where's Satsuki? She's supposed to be here." Kota looked around.
They all just realized they were yet another girl short.
"Where did she go?" Katsuma asked.
Kota immediately started running in the direction he last saw her leave. "Purity Alliance or not, I can't let anything happen to her!"
Gomuhosu nodded as he and Katsuma quickly pursued him.
"She might just be a little behind!" Katsuma justified.
"We all agreed to be here on the hour, sharp!" Kota yelled back to him.
"I understand Izumi's sense of urgency and I agree that the best course of action is to find her where she was last seen rather than wait." Their gray-skinned classmate concurred as they ran.
"Careful there! You're starting to sound like one of us!" Katsuma smirked. Gomuhosu responded silently with a frown.
The three boys dashed down a rather dark alleyway where they last saw their froggy friend. Gomuhosu just behind the two donning their red shoes that cut against the cold pavement.
After a moment more, Kota turned his head, sensing a lack of any sound coming from behind. Where Gomuhosu should have been, was nothing but the empty alley space they passed.
"Shimano!" He shouted.
Katsuma stopped in his tracks and powered up his Quirk as he turned around with his fists raised.
Kota frantically looked around. "First Satsuki. Now Yamirato!"
"Satsuki?" Katsuma asked.
"Will you take this seriously for one second?!" Kota snapped at him.
"Hey relax! Maybe he just fell behind." Katsuma assured him.
Kota called out their classmates by name to be sure. As he did, Katsuma felt another presence in the direction they were originally rushing toward, and turned to see a female figure in a dark hoodie and skirt.
"Looking for your friends?" She asked as her hoodie opened up, and on the inside were several pieces of what looked like old paper with ink drawings of people on them. Her fingers brushed the outlines of two drawings that resembled Satsuki and Gomuhosu. "They were being very loud, and very nosy."
"Release them!" Katsuma demanded.
She snickered. "Why should I? I think I like my new works of art. Some of the best yet. My uncle will be pleased."
"Your uncle?" As Katsuma questioned her, Kota turned and glared at the drawings under her coat.
"What have you done to our friends?!" He asked.
Again she laughed. "I already told Cowboy here that I made them my newest art pieces."
"Who's your uncle?" Katsuma asked.
"That's none of your concern…" She said as her smile dropped and her eyes narrowed at the boys. Her hands raised out and her fingers flexed, showing off her sharp, black nails that appeared to drip ink.
"Don't let her touch you!" Katsuma told Kota.
"I noticed that!" Kota shouted as he blasted a stream of water at the girl.
With lightning reflexes, she dashed to the side and remained in a low defensive stance.
"You're gonna ruin my drawings, jerk! One gust of water to my paper and your friends disintegrate with it." She warned them.
Katsuma put his hand on Kota's shoulder. "We promised we wouldn't fight offensively!"
"Like Rubber Hose is here to see it." Kota rolled his eyes.
"It's not just about Yamirato!" Katsuma said.
The girl giggled and rushed them in their bickering.
Kota instinctively released more water between them, causing her to trip in an attempt to dodge the attack and her shoulder collided with his body.
Katsuma gasped and scrambled to help his friend up and grab the villainess. As he grabbed both their hands, he noticed the water roll off of her hoodie without leaving a trace of wetness. "Waterproof jacket…" He thought.
Her same speedy reflexes allowed her to rip herself away from the young hero-to-be and flex her sharp nails.
"If I am to catch her, I'll have to be faster!" Katsuma thought as Cell Activation began to flow through his body. Similarly to Deku's green lightning, his Quirk emitted a yellow glow around him.
The villainess giggled. "Wanna go, bro?"
Katsuma dashed at her, head-on. She slid to the side and reached out to cut him when Katsuma twisted his body away. The girl ended up tackling him and pinned him down for a moment.
Curse whatever teenage hormones were causing him to hesitate throwing her off! She snickered and lowered her face close to his own. "You're not that bad looking. I have been in the market for a new boyfriend after my last one let me down."
Kota aimed his hands and blasted her with a jetstream strong enough to throw her completely off of his classmate.
"Izumi! Aim for her head! Her jacket is waterproof!" Katsuma shouted.
"You don't give me orders!" Kota snapped as he blasted her again, this time minding where Katsuma told him to go.
But by then, she had already recovered and was scrambling away into the darkness.
Katsuma activated his Quirk again and rolled into her, this time pinning her down. Kota took the opportunity to spray them both on the ground until the water from her face dripped down her hoodie. Within minutes of him spraying them both, ink began to leak from her clothes into a giant puddle.
From that puddle, the people from her drawings emerged. Satsuki and Gomuhosu among them crawled out of the puddle completely covered in black ink and looked over at the scene that had transpired.
Kota and Katsuma held the girl on the ground with her arms tied behind her back.
"You're really making me like you difficult!" She hissed under Katsuma.
"Stop talking." He sighed.
"So…you beat her." Gomuhosu pointed out.
Satsuki smiled.
Kota returned the smile for a moment. Unfortunately, the villainess noticed it.
"See, Cowboy? We could be like that too." She smirked.
Katsuma groaned. "We need to get her to the police."
"First thing's first." Kota knelt down next to her. "Who's your uncle and why did he send you after us?"
"Wait, what?" Gomuhosu asked with his cartoonish eyes growing bigger.
Kota sharpened his eyes on her. "Your uncle is Akira Hokori, isn't he?"
Her eyes struggled to maintain contact. Her smile grew bigger but she stayed quiet.
"He sent you after us? He knew we were coming?" Kota asked.
"Nobody sent me!" She argued. "I went out on my own. I wanted to find a boyfriend."
"You wanted to find a husband for your weird cult." Kota hissed.
She started to blush. "N-No! I'm not ready for that! And my family isn't pushing for me to get married yet."
"If you're out here, then you probably don't know what happened to your uncle." Katsuma said.
She looked up at the boy with worry in her eyes.
"Heroes raided your family's mansion." He explained. "Your uncle has been arrested."
Every one of them knew that last part was a lie. They would debate the morality of it later, as they all silently agreed she would be more compliant if she assumed her family was already in custody.
She sighed and relaxed under Katsuma.
"Let's take her to the police." Satsuki said.
"What about these citizens?" Gomuhosu pointed to the other victims of hers who were once stuck in her papers, now shivering in the alley covered in black goop.
"How are you two?" Kota asked, facing Satsuki mostly.
"We're fine." She answered. Gomuhosu nodded in agreement. "We were only stuck in her pages for a few minutes but these people look pretty shaken up. They might have been trapped for hours."
"Alright. You and Yamirato take a look at them and maybe walk them to a hospital while Shimano and I will take this freak to the closest station." He stated.
Satsuki nodded. But before she left, she turned and gave him a hug.
Everyone turned to them with shock. Kota was less concerned about the ink she now pressed into his clothes and more that she was hugging him at all.
The villainess giggled. "You lucky ducks."
"Alright, on your feet." Katsuma ordered, pulling her up.
"Uhh…Asui?" Kota questioned.
Satsuki pulled away with a light blush in her cheeks. Her large froggy mouth frowned and hid her tongue as her hands fell behind her back. "S-Sorry, Izumi." Guess she misread their current relationship.
Kota felt a little bad, seeing her react in that way. But he forced himself back into the game as Katsuma began walking the villainess away. "We'll meet you guys at the hospital."