Latibule

42 - ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀʏ

Previously on Latibule:

There was a loud metallic creak from above us.

"I don't think it's over yet," Kirishima pointed out.

Hasn't it been enough of these close calls already? I sighed, putting on a smile so Shiori wouldn't be worried. We can handle it, though. Probably.

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Latibule — Chapter 42///Victory

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"Okay, Shiori, you'll have to stay right here while we go and help everyone up there," I explained, pointing my finger upwards.

"But I want to help!" she whined. "I know my quirk doesn't do much but I can cheer you on, at least!"

I sighed. "Have you ever watched a movie with bad guys?"

The girl nodded.

"And then there's a bad guy who makes all the plans?"

The girl nodded again.

"That bad plan guy is probably up there," I explained, pointing to the roof again in slight exasperation. "And you can't come because it'd be dangerous."

The girl sulked. "Fine... But you won't forget about me later, right?"

"Of course, we won't," I said. "Now be good and stay right here." Without waiting for an answer, I turned and jogged to the rest of the group, who'd been waiting a bit further away.

"Sorry it took so long," I said as we all jogged on.

"Are you sure she's safe down here, though?" Kirishima worried.

"Better down here than up there," I reasoned. "She's basically as tall as the robots so she'll blend right in until we come back."

"But if the tower collapses?"

I sent a nasty look at the redhead. "Don't you dare, Kirishima."

"Sorry, sorry..."

We jogged on, focusing on what lay ahead.

Then, what lay ahead became our surroundings. There was a man engulfed in metal towering on, well, metal. All Might and Midoriya were talking about something, both pretty beaten up, before they took off again.

"Alright," Kirishima cheered, somehow still enthusiastic after everything as he cracked his knuckles. "It's our time to shine!"

We all nodded.

I turned to Todoroki. "You mind doing that fire tornado again?" I asked him.

"If that helps you," he nods. "But remember what my father said. Don't use it all at once unless absolutely necessary."

"Right," I nodded determinedly, making sure our surroundings were safe.

And then, there was fire once again. It was nothing short of the previous experience, the same heat, the same emotions and, interestingly enough, the same worried gaze in Bakugou's eyes (even though he was blowing stuff up at the very same moment).

The fire disappeared after a few moments and I was glowing again. Recharged, I joined my classmates in fighting the metal guy.

Bakugou blew up chunks of flying metal, Todoroki stopped the villain from attacking Midoriya and All Might from behind and the rest of my classmates stood for the safety of each other, hiding between and behind the wreckage caused by the villain.

A pillar of metal came charging towards them, the villain most likely hoping that he would get All Might as a teacher to protect his students, when I swiped my hand upwards, the energy from my hand cutting cleanly through the metal pole.

In half a minute, the attacks stopped coming towards us as the villain concentrated all he had into defeating All Might and Midoriya.

I took the moment to go stand beside my classmates, all of us looking ahead at what could become our demise or a big-big celebration party.

My heart beat in my ears, all the colors swirling in the air around me making it hard to see until Midoriya and All Might double-punched the villain and his final attack, the emotion that could be described only as victorious stifling out everything else as wind whipped against our faces.

Then the tower shook, the top of it starting to crumble. Panicked, I ran towards the stairs, putting my all into reaching the level we had been on before as I worried for my little friend.

I left because I knew my classmates would be alright. The rest would check on Midoriya and All Might and the scientist the villain took hostage but, first and foremost, I had a responsibility to Shiori.

"L/n?" I could hear her small voice call out from somewhere on the stairs. "L/n, if you're there, I'm scared," she whimpered. I still had a bit to go, my heart clenching. "Please help me..."

Finally, I rounded the corner, jumping down the last flight of stairs to hug the girl. "It's alright, Shiori. We won."

She sniffled, looking at me with a small smile. "We did?"

"We won, Shiori," I assured her again, giving her my best smile. "We're alright now, I promise."

The girl then cheered, her happy voice lifting my spirits as well.

"Now let's go find your mother."