The air in the corridors of Hosu General Hospital was heavy with antiseptic and the weight of recent events. Two days after that terrifying night in the forest, Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Kirishima had all been cleared to leave, their injuries not severe thanks to the desperate intervention Zoro had led. But they refused to go home. They stayed, pacing the hallways slowly, eyes fixed on closed doors as they checked on classmates who had inhaled the gas, waiting for any fragment of news about Zoro.
Midoriya and Todoroki walked ahead, speaking in low voices about what had happened, while Kirishima and Bakugo followed behind with heavy steps.
Midoriya dropped his gaze to his uninjured hands, his expression a mix of helplessness and deep regret. "Not even one thread." His voice barely carried. "We don't have a single lead to follow. Zoro is out there somewhere, and we don't even know what they're doing to him right now, or if he's still..." His voice broke. He couldn't finish the thought.
In that moment, Bakugo reached his limit.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
He spun toward the wall of a side room and drove his fist into it, the explosion muffled but sharp enough to leave a deep scorch mark in the white surface.
He stood breathing fast, sparks crackling from his palms, eyes burning with something past anger. "That mossy-headed idiot! Who does he think he is?! Does he think I'm some weakling who needs protecting?! He handed himself over to those villains so we wouldn't get hurt?! I won't accept that kind of sick martyrdom from him!"
Everyone stopped. Midoriya turned with a look that was surprised but weighed down with sadness, because he understood that Bakugo's anger wasn't hatred. It was his pride, completely shattered because someone else had taken the blow meant for him. Todoroki looked at the scorch mark on the wall and then at Bakugo with narrowed, cold eyes that understood the depth of what the explosion user was feeling. Kirishima stepped back one pace, shaken by the force of the blast, before his expression hardened and he tightened his fist in silence, sharing the same suffocating helplessness.
That tension broke when Iida appeared at the end of the hallway. He moved toward them quickly. "Everyone, let's go check on Yaoyorozu. I heard she just woke up. Her room is close to here."
They all followed in silence. When they drew near the door, they stopped suddenly. It was open just enough for voices to pass through.
Midoriya raised his hand to stop the others and whispered: "Wait. That voice. That's All Might."
Through the narrow gap in the door, the students looked in. All Might stood in his massive muscular form, and beside him Detective Tsukauchi in his formal suit with his serious expression. Yaoyorozu sat on her recovery bed as the two men spoke to her quietly.
Yaoyorozu extended her hand and placed something very small in All Might's large palm.
"This is a receiver." Her voice was tired but steady. "It will let you track the signal and find where Zoro is."
Detective Tsukauchi's expression eased visibly. All Might closed his large hand around the device. "Thank you for your help."
Yaoyorozu shook her head and lowered her eyes. "It doesn't amount to anything. Zoro made an enormous sacrifice and protected us from danger. What I did doesn't compare."
All Might placed his other hand gently on her shoulder. "You did your part. Leave the rest to us."
Behind the door, the shock had silenced all of them. Midoriya and Todoroki's eyes met. That missing thread, the simple hope they had been searching for just minutes ago, had now fallen into their hands. They pulled back quickly into the shadows of the hallway and stayed hidden until All Might and Detective Tsukauchi walked away and their footsteps faded from the wing entirely.
The moment the corridor was clear, they all entered the room at once.
Yaoyorozu looked up in surprise. "Midoriya? Everyone?"
Midoriya approached the bed, his voice trembling with urgency and hope. "We heard you. Is it true? Do you know where Zoro is?"
Yaoyorozu looked at their tense faces and her gaze stopped on Kirishima's desperate eyes and Bakugo's silent, burning stare. She let out a slow, tired breath and nodded.
"In the forest, when Awase and I found Zoro." Her voice dropped to a quiet murmur. "He knew he was the primary target. He explained a quick plan to me. I used the last of my energy to create a very small tracking device, and when Awase helped me keep my balance, he pressed it firmly into the thick fabric on Zoro's shoulder."
A stunned silence settled over the room.
She continued, still looking at her hands. "It was Aizawa-sensei's idea from the beginning. When he realized Zoro was the target, he tried to keep him from entering the battle and asked him to pull back and stay under the protection of the pro heroes. But Zoro refused. His principles wouldn't allow him to stay hidden while others were facing danger because of him. When Aizawa-sensei understood his resolve, he at least asked him to carry a tracking device as a backup plan if things went badly."
Midoriya raised his head, and the familiar green light gradually returned to his eyes.
"Please." Yaoyorozu lifted her head and her expression became very serious as she looked at each of them in turn. "You have to keep this secret. The pro heroes and police are already coordinating a large-scale rescue operation using this data. If the information leaks, the villains could find the device, and we'll lose our only chance to bring him back."
Todoroki nodded slowly. "Understood. This stays between us."
Kirishima looked at Midoriya, determination returning to his face. But Bakugo didn't stay quiet. He stepped forward and hit the edge of the bed with his hand.
"Make another receiver right now, ponytail. That stupid swordsman had the nerve to think I needed his protection. I'm the one who's going to drag him back by his neck. Nobody's stopping me."
Midoriya stood right beside him, his expression firm and without a trace of hesitation. "Bakugo's right. Zoro risked his life and abandoned his principle of direct combat just so we wouldn't get hurt. My body is completely fine. I'm going too."
"Stop." Iida stepped in to block them, driven by his own experience with the Stain incident. "This is a direct violation of the law. We're students, not pro heroes. Your involvement could ruin All Might's entire plan."
Kirishima stepped forward. "Iida." His voice carried raw emotion. "I'm not doing this to break the law. But Zoro stood in that forest and took every blow and every wound for all of us. He was the target from the start, and instead of running, he sacrificed himself to protect Bakugo and protect us. How do I look in the mirror tomorrow and call myself a man, knowing our classmate is being torn apart right now because we weren't strong enough? Bakugo is going no matter what. I'm not leaving him to go alone. And I'm not leaving Zoro there."
Todoroki applied his cold logic. "The police and heroes will move to one location. But what if Zoro is transferred? The villains have instant transport capability. Our presence as a secret reconnaissance unit could be the deciding factor."
Yaoyorozu felt the weight of their resolve pressing down on her and understood that they would go whether she agreed or not. She made her decision. "I'll build the receiver. But one condition. I'm coming with you. No fighting. We go as a tracking and reconnaissance unit only. And if things go wrong, we pull back immediately."
Iida, afraid of where Bakugo's and Midoriya's recklessness might lead, decided to join them as well. Not to fight, but to be the emergency brake that kept them from doing something they couldn't undo.
At the same time, in the League of Villains' dark bar, the air was suffocatingly heavy.
The iron chains coiled around Zoro's body made faint clicking sounds each time he shifted slightly on the steel chair, while the dark blood dripping from his torn shoulder traced a red line across the filthy floor.
And despite everything, his smile was still there.
He raised his head slowly and looked directly at Shigaraki standing before him, his eyes as sharp as any blade.
"What's the matter?" His voice came out rough and exhausted, but loaded with contempt. "Has the barking finally stopped?"
Shigaraki's fingers trembled violently above his face. Dabi's eyes ignited with a terrifying blue.
Zoro tilted his head slightly and the chains let out a sharp metallic scrape. "I thought the League of Villains was led by something real." A pause. "But all I see in front of me is a pack of dogs waiting for their master's orders."
"You piece of..."
Shigaraki lunged toward him with visible bloodlust, and blue flames began rising from Dabi's arm.
But at that moment:
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Click.
The old television in the corner of the bar flared to life with sharp white noise.
Everyone froze.
The flames above Dabi's hand faded gradually. Shigaraki stopped where he was immediately. Even Toga and Twice went silent by pure instinct.
A black audio waveform appeared on the static-filled screen. Then a deep voice came through, quiet in a way that was terrifying, carrying a weight that made the air in the bar feel heavier than it already was.
"It seems you possess quite a dangerous tongue, swordsman."
Silence.
Zoro raised his eyes toward the screen slowly. And in the moment he heard that voice, he felt something.
Pressure. A dark presence. A real predator watching him from the other side.
Every combat instinct inside him snapped awake at once.
Zoro's smile widened gradually.
And Shigaraki lowered his hands slowly, as if he had suddenly become a student standing before his teacher.
The voice returned, quiet, but more frightening than before.
"Are you in that much of a hurry to die?"
Zoro laughed quietly, despite the blood still on his lips. "If you're really All For One." He raised his head further and his gaze filled with something terrifying and unbroken. "Then come down here yourself."
For one full second, a crushing silence held over the bar.
Then the voice from the television laughed. A low, cold laugh, completely empty of anything human.
"Interesting."
The audio waveform paused for a brief moment before the voice continued in a tone that made even Shigaraki hold his breath.
"Tomura."
"This boy no longer belongs to you."
Spinner's eyes went wide. Dabi raised his head in silence. And Zoro's smile kept growing.
"Bring him to me."
.
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