Smoke Screen (Bakugo x Reader )

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Unreachable

~ Reader's Point of View ~

Black. I can feel a cloth tightly wrapped around my head, stealing my vision.

Sticky. The uncomfortable sensation pressing against my forehead and my cheek.

Cold. The bindings restricting my wrists behind my back.

Putrid. The smell assaulting my nostrils.

"What's this?" A sultry voice asks, moving closer to where I'm situated. I feel a tug on the blindfold and a dim light floods my vision before I lay eyes on a man with a patchwork face.

He takes my chin in his hand and begins examining my face, pressing his thumb into my wound roughly. Grimacing, I notice that he takes pleasure in the pain showing in my expression.

"I thought that today was just supposed to be another intimidation run," he smiles crudely before throwing my head to the side. "You Americans really like to march to the beat of your own drum." He stands up, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Has the boss seen this?"

"We presented him with the option of moving things forward and he didn't seem to mind," Harrison chuckles as he sits in front of a large computer monitor. I can't tell what he's looking at exactly, but it looks vaguely like a news website.

"Her blood is a nice color," a girl with messy blond hair and an overly-elated smile sings. "Can I take a little?"

       Michael's face contorts into a twisted expression of joy. "Actually, Toga, I have a request for you."

~ Bakugo's Point of View ~
• A Few Hours Earlier •

        I run back to the dormitory, clutching Y/N's phone in my hand. Pushing through the doors, I startle the majority of those in the front room. My parents, Kirishima, Deku, Present Mic and Mr. Aizawa are the first to take in my panicked expression.

       "Katsuki, what's wrong?" My mom asks, standing up from the table and rushing to my side.

       It doesn't take me long to realize that Mr. Aizawa has noticed the device clutched in my hand. He reaches out, his fingers shaking slightly and I release the cell phone without resistance.

I don't think I've ever seen Mr. Aizawa look so defeated, even when he was being beaten to a pulp by that monster at the USJ. His face is whiter than a sheet and his eyes are slowly glossing over. I think I faintly hear him murmur, "Not again. Not my family."

"What happened?" My mom asks, her eyes full of worry.

"She said she wanted to clear her head and be alone for a few minutes. I was gonna go look for her after five minutes had passed but got stuck at the table." I can feel the same pit form in my stomach that I felt only moments ago at breakfast. "I called her phone and followed the sound of her ringtone, hoping to find her, but all I found was..." I cover my mouth with the palm of my hand and grip the front of my shirt, trying to stop my mind from rushing towards the worst case scenario.

       By this point, everyone has gathered around and they're silently listening. No one seems eager to be the first to speak now that the severity of the situation is out in the open. Even though only a small percentage of the bodies present know the full details of what we are dealing with, the grim fact that Y/N was taken from the campus is not overlooked by those who have been kept in the dark.

       A rough voice finally speaks out. "Eraserhead, a word." Endeavor pushes his way through the throng of people and out onto the front porch and our teacher follows.

~ Aizawa's Point of View ~

       "What do you want, Endeavor?" I can't stop my voice from shaking. I don't have the luxury of time to put up with him criticizing me or the school. "My niece is missing and we have no possible leads. My contacts back in America still have no information of who killed my brother and sister-in-law and now those same people might have Y/N."

       He sighs, face unchanging. "I think I might be able to help. I don't know all the details but Captain Russo, from the Rodeo Police Department asked me to keep an eye on five Americans that came to Japan around the time Y/N did. He said they were persons of interest but the department had no evidence to hold them or restrict them from travel."

       I don't know if I feel relieved or more worried. Five? Y/N only mentioned two. "Michael Birner and Harrison Rhodes?"

The flaming man nods his head. "How did you know?"

My hands ball into fists and I can feel my nails slowly breaking the skin on my palms. I close my eyes in an attempt to stop the tears. "Those two have been harassing my niece and Bakugo. They've sent a letter and multiple text messages. They wormed their way onto campus using a Quirk I've only seen from the League of Villains and now they've taken her."

I feel a comforting weight on my shoulder and find Present Mic standing there, doing his best to stay strong for my sake.

"I'm going to need you to tell me everything you know," Endeavor says, not showing any hint of shock from the things I've told him. "I'd also like to speak to this Bakugo student and anyone else who knows about this situation. We will find her, Eraserhead."

~ Reader's Point of View ~

My brain is fuzzy and my vision swims between black dots. How much blood have I lost?

"Damn, Michael," a somewhat familiar voice says. "I thought you and Harrison were all talk but you guys actually managed to pull it off." The owner of the voice comes into view and once again confusion consumes my train of thought. "I still don't understand why you're doing this but you seem to have the full support of Shigaraki and the league," Maya sighs as she squats down in front of me.

Maya. She was in the hero course with me back in Rodeo. We were partnered up for rescue exercises at the beginning of the year. We weren't exactly close but.... What is she doing here?

"Perfect," a man covered in hands says, entering the room with open arms. "I'll explain exactly why I decided the back this petty revenge scheme of yours. Once we are all on the same page, we will commence stage two."

A blunt object collides with my head and as much as I fight the impending loss of consciousness, I lose.

A/N: Ahhhhh! Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I say it every time. Just when I thought things irl were getting better it all plummeted to shit. Thank you for reading this and for being so patient. I have plenty of free time coming up this next week so I plan to get one or two updates out as soon as possible. For those interested in getting to discuss the chapters and anime in general, the discord family is growing very slowly lol. I would love for more of you to join(:

https://discord.gg/vjThJV2