[ENG]Shoto Todoroki : Modern-day Terrorist

Chapter 77 - The Cement Tower

The branches of the trees were low, their trunks wide and thick enough to support the weight of several people at once.

The trees themselves were very close together, so that except for a few shafts of light peeking through the foliage here and there, the heart of the oasis was plunged into permanent darkness.

The forest seemed unreal, with its colorful butterflies, the duality of light and shadow, and the silence that reigned.

What did Séro said earlier ? The perfect setting for a horror movie ?

I had to play on his ego, but I finally managed to convince Bakugo to do the surveillance from above: while we waited for the first group to arrive, I showed him how to walk on the trees and jump from branch to branch without making the slightest noise.

It was like doing parkour, but without safety and without training, at least for him.

Me ? since no one could feel or see my chakra until I made it potent, it was all the same.

Still, he's good. Really good.

He jumped from branch to branch with confidence, no longer needing to look where he was going. This guy had one of those copying skills...

There was the sound of voices.

We froze.

A red and blue bird flew between us and into the sky with a shrill cry. The bushes were shaking, the voices were getting clearer.

- I said I was sorry, okay, Iida? It's not my fault that there was a giant scorpion in the dunes.

Denki emerged from a canopy of leaves, Iida behind him.

His face was closed, his lips tight. His glasses were cracked and even his hair was disheveled. He was dragging his legs as if they weighed a ton, and for good reason; the metal on his calves was blackened, smoke spewing from the cracks that dotted them. He looked angry.

- Let me try to fix it, okay ? (Electricity crackled between his thumb and forefinger) Iida pushed him away with a firm gesture.

- Don't say another word! You've done enough for today.

He almost collapsed on a tree trunk, obviously exhausted.

Denki watched him idly with clenched fists. He opened his mouth to speak, but immediately changed his mind, preferring to sit a little further away in the shade.

The minutes ticked by in silence while Iida managed to open the gears on his legs with the rim of his glasses and Denki counted the blades of grass on the ground.

Katsuki approached me and whispered:

- We have to hurry, seven more teams will arrive soon.

I nodded and we both headed towards the left side of the forest.

The deeper we went, the more interesting the scenery became: the sounds became quieter, the surroundings took on a darker hue. An invisible boundary had been created, dividing the forest into two distinct sides: light and dark.

Tokoyami and Monoma came from the light-flooded edge.

The bird-boy stopped when he saw that darkness prevailed in front of him and that, except for a few rare spots, there was not a single drop of light. Monoma stepped forward beside him, hands in his pockets, and leaned forward to observe the forest ahead.

- Don't tell me you're afraid, Darth Vader ?

Tokoyami didn't answer, but looked away, preferring to observe the surroundings.