Chapter 121: A Confession
It was exactly seven a.m. when Uraraka woke up. With the top of the tent being a light grey, the roof was pale enough to let light into the tent. Stifling a small yawn, Uraraka shifted slightly, her head slowly looking around. Her sudden movement had the unintended consequence of waking Midoriya. Opening his eyes, the teen found Uraraka looking back at him.
His still-tired brain, only now waking up, didn't register how close she was.
"H-hey," Midoriya greeted with a yawn, before giving Uraraka a small smile. One that Uraraka slowly returned.
"H-hey," Uraraka replied, again yawning for a moment. Neither said anything for a few seconds, their brains both slowly waking up fully. And as it did, Uraraka slowly began to remember the weight around her. The weight that definitely wasn't hers. Memories of the night flooded back to her brain, and it took a lot to keep her face from going red. She'd entirely forgotten everything she did last night.
Just him and her, quietly cuddling. And Midoriya… Midoriya slowly began to notice his arms were wrapped around something. Instantly, his eyes began to widen, his face swiftly going red. He nearly jumped out of the sleeping bag as he pulled himself out.
"A-ah!" he unintentionally cried out, before looking back at Uraraka apologetically, "Oh my gosh, I-I'm so sorry!"
Hearing his apology made Uraraka blush slightly. It wasn't entirely his fault… she did hug back. Then again, he didn't realize that, as Midoriya was too focused on what he'd unknowingly done in the night.
"I-I-I had no idea, but of course that isn't an excuse… I'm so sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way!" Midoriya told her, while Uraraka, still blushing, waved him off.
"I-it's fine," Uraraka replied calmly, while smiling at him comfortingly, "You were asleep."
Besides, as she thought before, he wasn't fully to blame. Uraraka had willingly hugged back, a small part of her secretly… not so secretly wanting the embrace. And even then, it wasn't something Midoriya should be flustered about. It had been… nice. Just his arms, wrapped around her as they lay on the cold, wet ground. It felt cozy, and Uraraka had been correct. He was a great hugger. In fact, she… she kind of missed the feeling.
"I… also liked it," Uraraka unintentionally muttered to herself. The words slipped out before she could stop them, and her brain immediately scrambled to take them back.
"W-what?" Midoriya asked, flustered, causing Uraraka to look back at him with wide eyes.
"Nothing!" Uraraka quickly exclaimed, before pulling herself up from the sleeping bag and standing up. Desperately seeking a distraction, Uraraka found it as she remembered the plan the two had made the night before.
"Look! Sun's up! Time to get going!" Uraraka quickly told him, to which Midoriya rapidly nodded his head.
"Right!" he replied, before both got to work. Within a few minutes, both teens had changed into a fresh set of fatigues and had packed up their things. Midoriya had rolled the sleeping bag and tent back up, and soon they were off. There, they walked for an hour, quietly trekking through the Nigerian wilderness. All the while, Uraraka kept an eye out for any animals they could grab.
None were spotted, so Uraraka simply enjoyed the scenery around her. With the large green rolling hills, filled with shrubbery and the occasional tree, Uraraka couldn't help but be stunned by it. Backed up with the early morning sun, she thought she was looking at a painting. It was a peaceful thing. Yet all of this was interrupted by the crack of a rifle. Three gunshots echoed in the air, within milliseconds of each other. Instinctively, Uraraka dropped down, as Midoriya rapidly began to survey the area.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. There was no bullet whizzing by them, no dirt getting kicked up in the air. But then there were seven more gunshots. Judging by the noise, it was farther away from them. Rather quickly, Midoriya brought out his Idroid while still looking around.
"Vicky, where's that coming from?" he asked, spotting the AI's small quadcopter in the sky. Swiftly, the drone flew away at astonishing speed toward the gunfire. Again, more gunshots echoed through the hills. After a minute, the drone's feed was brought onto the Idroid.
"Found it," Vicky then replied, "I've got eyes on a pickup truck, a Toyota Hilux by the looks of it."
Said truck was driving at breakneck speeds along the empty hills. It was an old model that Uraraka couldn't make. But it was a bright red, with rust covering some of it. Of course, the most striking thing was that the truck was chasing something.
"And one of our rhinos," Uraraka muttered, while Midoriya grumbled next to her. Bits of blood were dripping down the animal's hide. In the back of the truck, a man stood with an AKM, constantly taking potshots at the rhino. Every jostle from the vehicle threw off the man's aim, likely keeping the animal alive just a tad bit longer. But for how long, Uraraka wasn't sure.
"Poachers," Midoriya grumbled angrily, "How'd they sneak through the border?"
"Could be a local gang," Uraraka reasoned, while Midoriya cautiously shrugged. Within an instant, Midoriya switched from the drone's feed to a map of the area. There he found the rhino listed as a green dot, the truck as a red one, and himself and Uraraka as blue dots.
"Where are they heading?" Midoriya asked, while Victoria's avatar popped onto the Idroid.
"Hard to say," Victoria replied, shrugging, before she walked across the Idroid's map. Quietly, she began to calculate the different possibilities, millions of calculations now running through her mind. Eventually, she stopped, and her avatar looked up at Midoriya.
"If I filter in the rhino taking evasive action… they're heading right to us," Victoria replied, causing Uraraka's eyes to go wide. Looking back at the map, Victoria began placing a white line on the map, displaying the hypothetical path the truck would take. Watching it move, Uraraka's hands slowly clenched together. Her mission was to save these rhinos. Now, a bunch of villains were threatening them. That wouldn't stand.
"We could set up an ambush on that hill there," Uraraka noted warily, while pointing at the hill. Midoriya seemed to agree with the idea and looked back at her with a calm smile.
"Great idea," Midoriya told her, before rapidly booking it to the hill. Following close behind, they both slid to a stop once they reached the hill's top. Overlooking the area, they both began to search for the incoming poachers. It took a few minutes for them to arrive, but by the time they did, Uraraka could only glare. The rhino was in a worse state than before. If this went on any longer, she doubted the creature would survive.
With a quiet fury, she glanced toward Midoriya.
"What's the plan?" Uraraka asked, watching as Midoriya eyed the truck carefully. There, he grabbed his Mk 13 rifle and quickly inspected the chamber. Just as another six gunshots rang out.
"I'll tranquilize the rhino," Midoriya replied calmly, while lining up his rifle.
"And I deal with the truck?" Uraraka asked, confused. The first part of his plan made sense; he was the better shot. But then… what was she supposed to do about the truck? All she had were tranquilizer rounds as well. Yet Midoriya looked back at her and confidently nodded. How could she… oh, that's right. Slowly, Uraraka remembered the gravity hammer on her back. She smiled as she realized the rest of Midoriya's plan.
Removing the hammer from her back, Uraraka watched as the truck got closer.
"Vicky, could you call the local authorities?" Midoriya then commented as more gunshots rang out.
"Did it the moment I spotted them," Victoria replied, giving Uraraka some relief.
"Perfect," Midoriya told her, before looking back into his rifle's scope. Little by little, the truck got closer. And all the while, Uraraka did her best to reassure herself. She'd strike first, giving the rhino time to get some distance. Then Midoriya would tranq it so they could extract and heal the creature. It was simple. Ever closer the truck got. Then Midoriya spoke.
"Now!" he exclaimed, and Uraraka moved. She thought back to the entrance exam and how she jammed the zero-pointer's treads. This wasn't all that different… she just needed to line up the shot. With a quick, deep breath, Uraraka threw her hammer like a javelin. Flying forward, Uraraka cheered as she watched it reach the truck. At the last second, she switched off her quirk. The one-ton hammer slammed into the truck, caving in its engine and front right tire.
The hit had so much kinetic force behind it that the truck was actually shoved to the side. Rolling over onto its roof, the man riding in the back was flung off the vehicle. The truck slid across the ground for a few seconds before it came to a stop. The sight made Uraraka's eyes go wide. She was not expecting that kind of force.
"Whoa!" she couldn't help but call out. Just as she did so, Midoriya fired his rifle. With a direct headshot, the rhino was knocked out instantly. The animal, now unconscious, Midoriya quickly slung his Mk 13 over his back and switched to his ACR.
"Go! Go!" he yelled, swiftly running down the hill. Quickly, Uraraka followed him, the two rushing toward the rolled-over truck. Getting closer, both teens hear the driver inside groan loudly.
"[Augh… the fuck hit us?]" the driver muttered. Though Uraraka couldn't tell what language he was speaking. It sounded… South African… kind of. She wasn't exactly sure. Slowing down slightly, Uraraka found Midoriya quietly motioning toward her. He pointed toward the poacher flung off the truck, then to himself. Then he pointed toward her and the truck. Getting the message, she quietly walked up and around the truck to find her hammer lodged in it.
With some difficulty, she yanked it out and removed its gravity with her quirk. Looking down, she found the driver starting to crawl out of the vehicle's broken window. The second he was out, Uraraka dropped her hammer on top of him, pinning him to the floor. At the same time, Midoriya had reached the other poacher.
"[How should I know-]" the other poacher began to groan, only for Midoriya to step onto his back. Pushing him back to the floor, Uraraka saw him aim his ACR at the thug's head.
"[Don't move]" Midoriya ordered, while the truck's driver started to grumble.
"[S-shit]" the driver muttered, as Uraraka's gaze shifted toward him. With a glare, she pushed the hammer down a tad to ensure the man couldn't move.
"[Don't s-shoot bru]" the other poacher replied, causing Uraraka to glance back up. Looking at Midoriya, she saw him pull a pair of zip ties from his pocket.
"[Keep your hands where I can see them]" Midoriya ordered. Dropping the zip ties onto the villain, Midoriya soon stepped back, while keeping his rifle trained. Getting the message, the thug slowly sat up before wrapping the ties around his wrists. There, Midoriya motioned for him to move, and the villain started to walk. After a few seconds, he guided the man to the rolled-over truck.
"[Since when did brats have guns?]" the poacher grumbled, before slumping down next to the driver. With Midoriya now next to her, Uraraka picked her hammer back up and stepped to the side. Just like before, he tossed some zip ties at the driver and watched as he restrained himself. It was a simple affair, and Uraraka was grateful for it. Though something began to bug her about it.
These two guys were hunting a rhino from a Toyota Hilux, with an AK-74. Nothing else. Were they not transporting it? If so, they'd need a much bigger truck. Likely something with a crane, too, assuming none of them had strength quirks. So… what exactly were they up to? Were they just trying to kill it?
"Hey, Midoriya," Uraraka commented, deciding to voice her confusion, "How were they going to transport the rhino?"
Stepping back from the two villains, Midoriya looked back at her, confused.
"Why would they need to transport it? Most poachers just kill them, then cut off the horn," Midoriya replied quickly, causing Uraraka to nod. That did make some sense… but then she glanced into the truck. With it having flipped over, whatever was inside would now be on the floor. Or would have been flung off the truck. And while Uraraka didn't know exactly what kind of tools they'd need to cut off a rhino's horn, that didn't exactly matter. Because the truck didn't have any tools to begin with. No buzz saw, no chainsaw, not even a regular saw.
"...They don't have any tools with them," Uraraka quietly noted, her words making Midoriya look back at the truck.
"Huh… they might be killing them off to limit supply then," Midoriya rationalized calmly, though he sounded less sure than before, "Less rhinos means the horns are more valuable."
"Are you sure?" Uraraka asked, getting more worried. Just what were these two guys up to? Right as she thought this, something crackled from the truck. A few seconds later, someone spoke.
"[Oi, doos, pick up the radio]" a voice called out, shocking both teens. Slowly, Midoriya and Uraraka looked at each other before turning back to the truck. Carefully, Uraraka looked into the vehicle and spotted a radio on the ground. Reaching in, she swiftly grabbed it.
"[Is the damn thing dead yet or not?]" the voice asked again, the man's tone much gruffer than before. Holding the radio out for Midoriya to see, Uraraka watched as a bead of sweat dropped down his brow. Quietly, she mouthed the words "what is he saying?", only for Midoriya to hold up a finger.
"[Well, the tracker says their bakkie stopped moving. They probably killed it]" a new voice replied over the radio, the first one grumbling back.
"[If you say so]" the first voice muttered, "[If you two are listening, we're heading your way.]"
Instantly, Midoriya's face went pale.
"Crap…" he muttered, now grabbing the radio from Uraraka's hand. Putting it in his bag, he swiftly walked up to the first poacher and slammed the butt of his rifle into his face. The driver rapidly began to panic the second he did so, but it didn't last long. Following his lead, Uraraka knocked the man out with her hammer. With that done, Uraraka looked back at Midoriya, concerned. It was clear someone was heading their way, and Uraraka didn't like that one bit. She quickly began searching for spots to hide, only to see the unconscious rhino.
"The rhino," Uraraka commented, her eyes slowly going wide, "We need to get it out of here!"
Without another thought, she booked it to the animal, while Midoriya sputtered. Chasing after her, Midoriya had started to pull out a fulton, but still looked back, concerned.
"How much time do we have!?" he cried out, his question more towards Victoria than Uraraka. Above them, the buzzing of her drone flew by again.
"I don't see anything-never mind!" Victoria abruptly replied, just as the two reached the rhino. In seconds, Uraraka had the creature floating in the air, while Midoriya began attaching the fulton. Both teens moved as quickly as possible, desperately trying to ensure everything was in place. The moment they finished, Midoriya pulled out his Idroid.
"I see a convoy of vehicles heading our way!" Victoria told them as she now brought up the map.
"How many!?" Midoriya asked, as Victoria began adding new dots to the map.
"Uh… five-eight-no- no ten… A lot! Just a lot!" Victoria replied as dozens of red dots began appearing on the map. Seconds later, a live feed from the drone was pulled up, and Uraraka felt her heart drop. There were a dozen open top jeeps, all varying from M151s to UAZ-3151s, two dozen dirt bikes of varying design, eight pickup trucks, two Ural-4320s, and one Isuzu Giga with a jerry-rigged crane. What was worse, almost every vehicle was fully occupied. Each dirt bike had two guys on it, and each jeep had four. Each pickup truck had eight, with four guys crowding into the truck bed, and the Ural-4320s had twenty-seven each.
Mentally, Uraraka ran over the numbers, and… that's… that's two hundred and fourteen poachers. Quietly, Uraraka began to panic, while Midoriya, next to her, looked down tiredly. Two hundred and fourteen people… what kind of operation was this!?
"This… this is too many people for a local gang," Midoriya noted aloud next to her, voicing his own confusion, "Paramilitary maybe?"
No one would send this many people to kill one rhino… This had to be something else. Were they a different mercenary group? A large gang? If their accents were anything to go by, they weren't local. But then Midoriya made it seem like they shouldn't have been able to get into Nigeria. So… if that assumption was right, then they could have come into the country individually rather than in one singular group and met up to enact their plan. And now all of them were heading their way.
"This was supposed to be a break from killing," Midoriya angrily muttered, the teen shuddering as his hands shook. And that swiftly took away the majority of Uraraka's panic. Looking back at him, she saw he was more… resigned and tired than normal. Not fully thinking, she grabbed his hand, stopping its shaking. Surprised, Midoriya looked back at her, shocked, only for Uraraka to warily smile back.
"Hey," Uraraka told him, while taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, "I'm right beside you."
They were in this situation whether they liked it or not. Victoria called for help, but if it didn't arrive in time, then that was that. They'd gone through worse before. And while Uraraka didn't like the idea, it was as All Might said. Sometimes taking a life was necessary.
"We'll… we'll do what we have to," Uraraka told him, a confident but determined look crossing her face. Seeing it, Midoriya breathed in deeply before slowly nodding. They could do this; they had the equipment. He had his assault rifle and live rounds in case of an emergency. She had her hammer and her quirk. Not to mention they both had exos. By now, they could both see a plume of dust from the convoy of vehicles. Not wanting to be seen, they both searched for a hiding spot. Finding some tall bushes, both teens dove into them. With their fatigues, they stuck low to the ground and peered through the plants.
The brakes of every vehicle loudly squealed as they all stopped next to the flipped-over Hilux. One by one, they hopped out. It was here that Uraraka got a better look at each poacher. They all carried some kind of firearm, what with the dozens of Vektor R4s and R1s spread amongst them. Along with a few M16s or AK variants here and there. Not to mention several Vektor SP1 pistols, Stoeger SP312 shotguns, MP5 submachine guns, Vektor SS-77 machine guns, Truvelo CMS sniper rifles, Milkor MGL grenade launchers, and truck-mounted M2 Brownings.
Much of their clothes, meanwhile, was a lot of muted khaki and olive green hunting clothes. Some Soldier 2000 fatigues were interspersed between them, but not a lot. Lots of baseball caps, boonie hats, and bandanas, though. Overall, the majority had whatever clothes they could find that resembled camouflage. Along with lightweight ballistic vests covering their persons, some even had bandoliers of bullets or military style webbing. They looked like experienced villains, yet didn't appear all that equipped. At least not compared to the Cult.
Eventually, two of the poachers stepped up to the rolled-over Hilux.
"[Holy shit… the hell happened to them?]" one poacher asked, as the second examined the other side of the vehicle. Spotting the large impact Uraraka's hammer had caused, the poacher paused to remove his sunglasses, showing his look of shock.
"[Did the rhino run into them?]" The second poacher asked, causing a third to grumble.
"[What rhino knocks people out and zip ties them?]" the third one asked, causing others to laugh. Suddenly, both poachers looked back, embarrassed, both grumbling to themselves.
"[Doesn't matter who did what. Damn thing's already gone]" a fourth poacher muttered, this one instantly gaining Uraraka's attention. He stood out amongst the rest, with the majority of his right cheek scarred up. It looked like an animal had torn into it. The scarred man stood about in with short blond hair, a pair of sunglasses, a leopard print jacket, brown khaki cargo pants, and a leather chest holster with a Vektor SP1 inside it.
Cautiously, the man Uraraka mentally dubbed as Scar, began to look around. As his gaze passed over them, Uraraka ducked into the bush.
"What do we do?" Uraraka asked in a whisper, while turning toward Midoriya. Peeking out again, she saw the poachers all beginning to fan out and search the area. She'd thought they'd have left, but clearly they thought something of value might still be in the area. Next to her, Midoriya hummed in thought.
"Dad said he'd have people on stand by if things got dangerous for us," Midoriya commented, again glancing out of the bush.
"I doubt he expected this," Uraraka stated tiredly, only for Midoriya to glance back at her quickly.
"He... kinda of had a company of spec ops guys ready and waiting… I think he had a feeling," Midoriya replied, and Uraraka instantly changed her mind. Although that did bring up an issue.
"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Uraraka asked. With the police, she could give some leniency. Za-Ku-Na was still a few miles away. It would still take time to reach them. But the MSF had helicopters. Maybe their closest base was still a bit away, and they were a few minutes out. But Uraraka just wasn't sure.
"Maybe… still takes time for people to arrive," Midoriya replied calmly, as Uraraka looked back out of the bush.
"What then? Do we wait for them to leave?" Uraraka asked. It seemed like the best case scenario… but at the same time, that meant letting two hundred and fourteen villains get away. They'd disperse into smaller groups and hide before going after the animals again. Midoriya seemed to have come to the same thought process Uraraka did.
"...People could get hurt if we do," Midoriya muttered, his tone not hiding his anger. And Uraraka quietly agreed. It was definitely the dumbest thought Uraraka ever had… but she didn't feel right leaving. This was a shockingly well-armed group, meaning any confrontation by local law enforcement or even regular civilians was guaranteed to end in mass casualties. Not to mention, if they were in the general area and after the same rhinos Uraraka was, then they'd likely run into the poachers again. Still, the idea of fighting two hundred people was... daunting. Up until Midoriya remembered something.
"...Dad did say he'd have drones covering us as well," Midoriya eventually commented, before slowly reaching for the radio in his ear, "Vicky?"
"Yeah?" Victoria asked cautiously, though eager to see where the plan was going.
"I think I know what dad has monitoring us, but could you check?" Midoriya asked, with the AI going quiet for a brief second.
"Well, there appears to be two MQ-20s above us," Victoria soon replied, and Midoriya's face seemed to light up.
"Armament?" Midoriya inquired hopefully.
"Relatively light. They've got a handful of five-hundred-pound bombs, also a few Hellfires," Victoria told him, causing Midoriya to look at him, shocked.
"That's light?" Uraraka asked, confused, with Midoriya nodding.
"It could carry some two-thousand-pound bombs," Midoriya told her. Why couldn't it have those then!? In this case, the more boom the better, Uraraka thought to herself.
"Could you borrow them real quick? I'd like a quick bombing run," Midoriya soon stated, the teen then looking up in the sky.
"I can do that," Victoria replied, causing Midoriya to breathe in deep. Mentally counting down, he looked back at Uraraka and dropped to the floor.
"Cover your ears and get down," Midoriya told her, while dragging her to the floor. Don't have to tell me twice, Uraraka mentally commented, before cupping her hands over her ears. Next to them, DD did the same with his paws, right as the first bomb dropped. Barely had Uraraka heard a muffled "[Fuck!]" from one of the poachers, before a rush of metal flew by overhead. Something then blew up nearby, as poachers yelled out in terror and pain.
"[Get down!]" one ordered, as men dove for cover. Seconds later, a bomb landed next to a group of dirt bikes.
"[My leg!]" another yelled, his agonized wails drowned out by the sound of another bomb.
"[I-I can't see!]" a third exclaimed in terror.
"[What is happening!?]" a fourth demanded as he panicked. Finally, the last bomb dropped, and Uraraka slowly uncupped her ears. There was still a slight ringing in the air, but she found it went away after a few seconds. Looking up through the bush, she spotted the true devastation the bombs had brought. More than half the poachers were dead. Possibly ninety remained, with Scar being one of them.
"[I thought you said we were in the clear!]" one poacher angrily demanded, the man grabbing Scar by the shirt, "[Why the hell are we getting bombed!?]"
"[How should I know!?]" Scar replied, shoving the man back while Uraraka felt Midoriya elbow her quietly. Turning toward him, she found the teen pointing at different spots. Both had a few poachers out by their lonesome, their buddies too distracted to notice they were alone.
"You take the left, I'll take the right," Midoriya soon told her, and Uraraka quietly nodded back. Without another word, Midoriya snuck away with DD in tow. With a final deep breath, Uraraka did the same. Sticking low to the ground, she mimicked Midoriya's movements. Not wanting to stay exposed in the fields, she moved out to an area covered in tall grass.
"[This is a waste of time! We've got no rhino, and now we're getting bombed!]" the poacher yelled, while Scar growled next to him. Then Uraraka spotted her first target. A lone poacher was moving toward the tall grass where she hid.
"[Will you quit it? One more word and I'll klap you]" Scar replied, right as Uraraka found the poacher coming in close. Quietly, she tried to psyche herself up. This was what she was training for: to fight villains. There, she drew her hammer as slowly as possible. The closer the poacher got, the more the man inspected the grass. Seeing nothing was off, he turned away. Uraraka jumped out and grabbed the man. With the weight of her hammer being returned, she used it to easily drag him into the grass.
Just as Midoriya had taught her, Uraraka leveraged the hammer to keep the man gasping for air. He couldn't cry out for help, and within seconds, he was unconscious. With one man down, Uraraka hid his body in the grass and began moving to her next target.
"[We need to leave!]" the poacher then yelled, as Uraraka crawled out of the grass. Her closest target this time was, unfortunately, more out in the open. However, he was near a lone M151 jeep. It had no roof and was mostly open top, so it was risky, but Uraraka thought it would be worth it. Crawling in slowly, Uraraka watched as the poacher leaned against the jeep. Across from her, Uraraka saw Midoriya moving up to two thugs standing together.
Within seconds, he'd grabbed one of them and began choking them out. Before the second thug could even notice, and to Uraraka's surprise, DD had leapt off the ground and onto the second thug. With a taser in the dog's mouth, which Uraraka didn't even know he had, the second thug was quickly electrocuted and rendered unconscious. With both down, Midoriya dragged them both to some low bushes.
By now, Uraraka had gotten close enough to her target to strike. The man was lazily staring up at the sky, not really doing his job. Which is why when Uraraka stood up with her hammer in hand, he didn't notice the teen girl in front of him. Not wanting to risk the man looking back down, Uraraka clambered around the jeep until she was on its back seats. Just like before, she quickly brought the bar of her hammer to the poacher's throat and used its weight to more easily choke him out.
This went on for a while, and both teens sneaked through the vehicles and knocked out whoever they could. Uraraka had managed to knock out ten, while Midoriya had gotten fifteen. Though seven of those were because of DD. Of course, right as Uraraka was about to reach poacher eleven, she made a mistake. She'd been sneaking behind the Isuzu Giga, narrowly hiding from Scar, when she walked past the crane's control panel.
Unknowingly, her hammer had brushed against the controls, causing the crane to move. The crane, of course, wanted everyone to know this fact, as it began playing a loud, ear-bleeding alarm. Within seconds, Uraraka found every poacher's eyes on her.
"[Contact!]" one man shouted, as the fifty-five remaining poachers all scrambled to get her. At the same time, Uraraka found Midoriya pulling out a grenade.
"Uraraka, duck!" he yelled out, now gaining the attention of the thugs as well. Rapidly, Uraraka ran and dove behind a pickup truck. Midoriya chucked the grenade forward, and every poacher started scrambling.
"[What!?]" one man managed to cry out before the grenade tore him and three others to bits. Fifty-one poachers left. Those that remained rapidly began to fight back, as half the group moved toward Midoriya and the other half rushed toward Uraraka.
"[A couple of brats!?]" one poacher then exclaimed, before gunfire rang out over him.
"[Shut up and kill 'em!]" another poacher shouted back. Now Midoriya, for his part, had switched to live ammo, throwing the tranquilizer rounds into his bag. Uraraka, meanwhile, ducked as bullets started striking her truck. At this range, the rifle Midoriya had given her was pretty much worthless. It was a long, slow-firing bolt action against a bunch of automatic weapons. Not to mention it was nearly as big as she was. It was like trying to aim a small child.
So as Uraraka peeked behind the pickup truck, she rapidly began to search for an alternative. That was, until she spotted a poacher aiming a Milkor grenade launcher at her. Within seconds, Uraraka began to float and used her exoskeleton's grappling hook to yank herself to safety. Seconds later, the truck she hid behind was blown to pieces. Not stopping, Uraraka ran between vehicles, constantly ducking as villains popped up around her. One rounded a corner just as she did.
Without a second thought, Uraraka swung her hammer around and nailed the man in the head. The impact cracked his skull, and the man died immediately. Uraraka didn't have time to register this fact, as she found another two poachers sprinting up behind her. Both fired their assault rifles, forcing her to start fleeing again as rounds struck the vehicle behind her. After an eternity, she found herself close to Midoriya. Sliding into cover next to him, Uraraka cringed as she found a dead poacher sitting next to him.
A knife wound stood on the man's throat, now gushing blood. Just then, Midoriya peeked over cover to fire his ACR. Twelve rounds flew out, and three poachers dropped dead.
"[Come on goffel! Run home crying to mommy!]" Uraraka heard one poacher yell out with a laugh. Only for Midoriya to shoot him seconds later. Calming herself down, Uraraka looked back at the dead thug next to them. He had a Vektor R1 on his chest and a Beretta 92FS Brigadier Inox in a shoulder holster. Desperate for any kind of range advantage, Uraraka reluctantly considered them. The R1 was too big to use effectively, but the Beretta would work. Hesitantly, Uraraka grabbed it and began searching for any magazines that she could use.
Once that was done, she took another deep breath. It would be fine, Midoriya had shown her how to shoot… shoot a rifle that is… no matter! It… it couldn't be that different. Just remember the rules, Uraraka told herself, though she still quietly panicked. Eventually, she peeked over cover and found one thug in the open. Within seconds, she had the pistol aimed at a target. She fired quickly, five rounds soaring toward the thug, only for all to miss their target.
"[I've seen pigeons with better aim, brat!]" the thug shouted back, right as Uraraka ducked behind cover again. In response, one of the thugs laughed.
"[You're pathetic! Killing you would be doing the world a favor!]" the poacher yelled, and somehow… somehow, Uraraka understood exactly what had just been said. Instantly, she peeked out of cover and found the thug diving into cover. The second he stood back up, Uraraka fired four times. This time, one round hit, striking the man in the bicep.
"[F-fuck! My arm! Goffel shot my arm!]" The poacher exclaimed as he fell back behind cover, groaning. Here, the gunfire seemed to die down a tad, and Uraraka found Midoriya beginning to book it out of cover. Running and gunning, he grappled in close to a set of thugs, dropped a grenade, and then grappled away. As he did this, Uraraka found another set of thugs hiding behind a jeep. Holding her hammer up, she threw it like a javelin just like before, and sent the jeep crashing into another four thugs. Then she pulled the hammer back to her with her grappling hook.
"[You're fighting literal fucking children! Stop playing around and kill them!]" Scar then yelled out over the noise, becoming more and more annoyed. Meanwhile, Uraraka mentally screamed at every death, but soon ignored that voice. Process it later, focus on surviving now. Making herself float, Uraraka then grabbed onto the Isuzu Giga's crane and yanked herself into the air. The second she was high enough, she used the vehicles below as anchors. Dodging gunfire, she fired at the occasional thug with her Beretta, not truly hitting anyone, before finding a group of five villains huddled together.
"[Your brak would look better stuffed!]" one of the five yelled, as Uraraka found the man aiming a shotgun. Not at Uraraka, though, no, he was focused on Midoriya. Who, with DD, was busy slugging a poacher that had gotten in too close. Not liking that one bit, Uraraka removed her gravity and dropped toward the group of five. The shotgunner didn't have time to react, as he felt Uraraka's hammer cave in his skull. Immediately, the surviving four villains backed away, all suddenly very terrified.
"[C-crap, she killed Johan!]" one of them yelled, before rapidly beginning to back up. This didn't help them as Uraraka quickly charged forward. She slammed the head of her hammer into one thug's stomach, knocking the air out of him. Then, it was followed by a hammer-based upper cut to the jaw. It knocked the thug up into the air, where a side swing sent him flying into a nearby dirt bike.
The remaining poachers scrambled to aim their rifles, only for Midoriya to rush in. He grabbed Uraraka by the waist, shot his grappling hook to the Isuzu Giga's crane, and dropped a grenade. Both teens flew back up, faster than normal, as Uraraka had removed their gravity, and watched as the grenade tore apart the other three guys. Swiftly, they then landed back on the ground and continued to move.
All while Scar watched angrily.
"[Focus, there's more of us than them!]" Scar yelled, annoyed, while another poacher groaned in agony over him.
"[We're getting our bouds kicked!]" a different poacher exclaimed, only to turn and find Uraraka's hammer slamming into his back. They'd gone from fifty-one men to possibly thirty left. And call it cocky, but Uraraka felt unstoppable. At one point, both she and Midoriya were back-to-back and surrounded. Yet within seconds, she'd hooked her hammer to her grapple and whipped it around. The sheer force of the hammer tore through the surrounding vehicles and hit the poachers like a wrecking ball.
All while Midoriya dropped to the floor and snagged one of the poacher's grenade launchers. Which he then used to blow up a poacher who was turning a truck-mounted .50 cal. By then, Scar was simply fuming. Soon, Uraraka watched the man turn and book it.
"[Fuck it, run! Back to the vehicles!]" Scar yelled out, rapidly hopping into a lone pickup truck. Three other poachers joined him, and the truck soon sped off.
"What!?" Midoriya then cried out, shocked, as the poachers rapidly began to run, "No, no, no, no, no!"
Some poachers stayed to provide covering fire, but eventually those who remained got onto their vehicles. There they sped off, as Midoriya desperately tried to stop them. The Isuzu Giga, a handful of pickups, some dirtbikes, and a Ural-4320 had escaped.
"We can't let them run!" Midoriya shouted while searching for an answer. Uraraka quietly agreed, the poachers couldn't get away. Looking around, it took only a second to realize just how many vehicles the poachers had left behind. Instantly, an idea struck her.
"The jeep!" Uraraka exclaimed while rapidly jumping onto an intact M151. Once in the driver's seat, she turned toward Midoriya and motioned for him to follow.
"Get on!" she told him, while Midoriya looked at her incredulously.
"Do you know how to drive!?" Midoriya replied, jumping in next to her while DD hopped into the back seat.
"No, but you're the better shot!" Uraraka replied quickly. Besides, how difficult could it be! The right pedal was go, the left pedal was stop, turn the wheel to turn, move from park to drive, and move the emergency brake to go. Simple! It wasn't like she needed to know all the rules of the road! Within a few seconds, Uraraka had the jeep moving forward, and Midoriya slapped the side of the vehicle.
"Go! Go!" Midoriya couldn't help but shout. Driving at breakneck speed, the two found the convoy of vehicles the poachers were driving. Then Midoriya pulled out the radio they had confiscated earlier. Turning it back on, they both heard Scar begin to talk through it.
"[Alright listen, things haven't gone our way, but so long as we make it out of this country alive, we'll be fine]" Scar grumbled annoyed, before muttering "[Annoying fucking brats.]"
As he said this, two of the poachers, both on dirt bikes, had turned around. Within seconds, they spotted the teens. Without a second thought, Midoriya fired his ACR at the dirt bikes. The rounds struck the engine and the wheels, causing the driver to lose control. Both dirtbikes crashed onto the ground, taking their riders with them. Hearing the gunfire, one poacher shouted into the radio.
"[They're behind us!]" the poacher exclaimed, causing Scar to angrily yell.
"[You've got to be kidding me!]" Scar angrily yelled, desperation and annoyance clear in his tone, "[Ram them off the road!]"
Hearing that order, Uraraka quickly slammed on the brakes, right as the Ural-4320 nearly slammed into them. Now behind the larger truck, Uraraka swerved to avoid crashing into its bumper. Next to them, another two dirt bikes rode up alongside them. Both riders held out machine pistols and began tearing into their M151. Again, Uraraka swerved, this time more deliberately.
Using the greater mass of their jeep, Uraraka slammed into both dirt bikes and sent their drivers flying. With both of them gone, Uraraka looked forward and found the Ural-4320 again trying to ram them. This time, it braked hard, only to miss the side of their vehicle.
"[Braai the little bastards!]" someone then shouted over the radio, and Uraraka found a poacher in the truck bed staring them down. The man's entire body ignited into flames, and like a human flamethrower, shot out a stream of fire. Narrowly missing it, Uraraka felt the tips of her hair singe. This time, she sped the jeep up, passing the Ural-4320. Next to her, Midoriya then turned around and, with his stolen grenade launcher, shot the truck's cab.
The grenade decimated the engine block, and for a second, Uraraka thought that was it. Until the grenade's shrapnel tore into some explosive inside the vehicle. There, the Ural-4320 exploded like it was in an action movie. With that truck dealt with, Uraraka soon found the Isuzu Giga coming in closer. Next to her, Midoriya began to stand up from his seat.
"Hold it steady!" he told her, while Uraraka looked back at him, shocked.
"Do we have a plan!?" Uraraka asked, before making the jeep swerve again, all to avoid a pickup that had accidentally flipped itself over. And quietly, Uraraka begged that Midoriya had a plan. This entire chase was so far just, don't die. As she asked, Midoriya aimed his grappling hook at the Isuzu's crane.
"Knock out the lead truck! Just keep their boss from getting away!" Midoriya told her, before firing his grapple. With that, he swung onto the Isuzu and landed next to the crane's platform. Seconds later, the poacher's radio crackled to life again.
"[The green one's on the lorrie!]" someone yelled, likely the Isuzu's driver. As he yelled, Uraraka ducked down as bullets flew by her jeep's windshield. Next to her, a pickup truck rolled in close, its occupants firing assault rifles in close. Swiftly, Uraraka began to fire back with her Beretta. Nailing the driver, she watched as the truck spun out and, like the others, rolled over.
"[Then stop the fucking lorrie!]" someone on the radio ordered, causing the driver to sputter. Midoriya, meanwhile, had been busy moving around the Isuzu Giga's bed, ducking behind the crane for cover as he fired at surrounding vehicles.
"[W-what! No!]" the Isuzu's driver protested, "[You're not leaving me with these freaks!]"
"[He won't have a ride if you stop driving!]" the previous voice yelled, right as Midoriya began firing grenades at another jeep. Like the Ural-4320, the jeep was quickly destroyed.
"[But the girl does!]" the Isuzu driver yelled back, as said girl ducked behind the jeep again. Eventually, Scar got tired of the bickering and yelled into the radio.
"[Just shoot the fucking lorrie!]" Scar ordered, as the Isuzu's driver now loudly panicked.
"[Wait, don't!]" the driver begged, only for his cry to fall on deaf ears. The surrounding vehicles all fired at their new target and tore up the massive truck. Seeing the devastation, Midoriya wasted no time climbing onto the Isuzu's cabin and leaping off the truck. Right as the Isuzu Giga spun out of control, Midoriya landed on a nearby pickup truck. The truck's current occupants were not too pleased to see him. That didn't last long, as the poachers in the truck bed were quickly kicked off the vehicle.
As this happened, Uraraka continued to bob and weave through the convoy, occasionally ramming other vehicles. This had by now taken a toll on her jeep. It was rapidly beginning to slow, and now Uraraka could smell smoke. The final nail in the vehicle's coffin, though, was when she spotted another jeep pull up in front of her. It had two people, one driver, and one poacher with another grenade launcher.
With little time, Uraraka stood up from her spot and made herself float. Moments later, she turned around and reached out toward DD.
"Come on, DD!" Uraraka called out, her hand soon touching the dog's coat. Now floating, Uraraka grabbed the dog, aimed her grappling hook at the enemy jeep, and yanked herself forward. The grenadier fired, and her previous jeep was then blown up. Seconds later, she landed on the enemy's jeep, much to the poacher's surprise. Turning back, the driver angrily glared at Uraraka.
"[Get her off!]" the driver yelled, while the grenadier moved to punch her. Uraraka swiftly ducked under the strike before throwing one of her own.
"[What's it look like- augh!]" the grenadier shouted, right as Uraraka's fist struck his chin. Before the fight could continue, though, DD leapt forward and bit the grenadier's arm. With the dog not letting go, the grenadier was forced to struggle against the dog's sharp teeth. Allowing Uraraka to shove the driver out of his spot. The man tumbled across the road, while DD eventually let the grenadier's arm go. Only for the dog to draw his taser and shock the poacher off the vehicle.
With her new jeep secured, Uraraka saw Midoriya grapple onto the last vehicle. Landing onto Scar's pickup, Midoriya pulled himself onto the bed. There he clambered onto the truck's roof, where the men inside finally saw him.
"[He's on us!]" the driver yelled over the radio, while Scar practically shouted his lungs out. With insurmountable fury, Scar drew his Vektor SP1 and aimed it at the roof.
"[Why! Won't! You! Die!?]" Scar yelled out in a crazed anger while firing into the ceiling. Rapidly, Midoriya shifted to avoid the oncoming rounds before he spotted Uraraka. With not a word, he motioned for her to drive in closer. To which Uraraka did. Once she was close enough, Midoriya climbed to the front of the truck and held onto the vehicle's pullbar. Scar moved to shoot him, only to stop as Midoriya held up a brick.
"[What's that in his hand-]" the driver began to ask, right as Midoriya placed the brick under the vehicle. Jumping off the truck, he grappled onto Uraraka's jeep with a detonator in hand. None of the people inside the truck had time to react, and the only thing Uraraka heard from them was the driver going, "[Oh fuck!]"
Seconds later, the C4 detonated. It hadn't been explosive enough to utterly destroy the vehicle, but enough that the sheer concussive force flipped the truck over. The vehicle tumbled across the ground, rolling a few feet before it came to a wobbly stop. Quietly, Uraraka drove her jeep up a few feet away from it. Hopping out, both teens had weapons drawn as they heard pained moans come from the vehicle. The truck's passenger door soon shot open, and Scar fell out.
"[Y-you little… piece of shit]" Scar grumbled, his pistol still in hand. He raised it ready to fire, only to find it clicking empty. With nothing else, Scar, exhausted, collapsed to the ground. Seeing that he was beaten, Midoriya and Uraraka lowered their weapons. Through tired, pained gasps, and with blood dripping from his mouth, Scar looked between the two teens, terrified.
"[W-what the fuck are you?]" Scar questioned, before the adrenaline finally wore off. He fell back then, his unconscious form slumping on the ground. Yet somehow, the fight wasn't done. The few remaining vehicles formed up around their leader's destroyed truck, and the likely five remaining men hopped out. Each one held weapons ready, and Uraraka looked at them, exacerbated. Really!? After all this, they were still going!? Tiredly, she and Midoriya readied themselves again. They'd fight through all the gunfire and sirens if it meant… wait…
"Sirens?" Uraraka questioned, as her ears began to register the new noise. Slowly, they got ever closer, but the sound was unmistakable.
"Sirens!" Uraraka exclaimed, an excited smile soon gracing her face. After what felt like an eternity, the authorities had finally arrived. Uraraka thought she would die of happiness. Around them, the last poachers all turned toward the sirens and ran. Their last defiance had been nothing but a farce to begin with. A final bluff in the hopes that unwavering commitment would convince both teens to leave them alone.
Happy that it was finally over, Uraraka turned back to Midoriya and tearfully laughed. Too tired to care, Midoriya laughed as well, before wiping the sweat from his brow. Finally, things began to die down as the first police vehicles began to roll up. Officers began chasing after the final poachers, while others started rounding up the survivors of the fight. Watching it all play out, Uraraka soon found herself dropping to the floor as exhaustion hit her.
Looking over herself, she realized the fight had been a lot more taxing than she had expected. She was covered head to toe in dirt, dust, and mud. She had bruises and cuts all over every part of her body, and yet nothing was broken, thankfully. Sitting down next to her, Midoriya was in a similar state, the teen now tiredly petting DD. Seeing this, Uraraka tiredly cheered.
"We… we stopped them," Uraraka commented, while Midoriya nodded next to her. Of course, the second she said it, the realization struck her: she'd defeated her first true villains. It wasn't an attempt to survive like the Massacre; they'd truly stopped a villain organization. Instantly, Uraraka found her energy returning, and she shot up.
"We stopped them!" Uraraka exclaimed excitedly, and Midoriya laughed excitedly with her.
"Yes, we did! And I mean, you were amazing out there!" Midoriya complimented excitedly, a wide smile present on his face, "Constantly swerving around, ramming into different bad guys!"
For a moment, he even mimicked Uraraka driving the jeep, holding his hands on an invisible steering wheel. To which Uraraka blushed and laughed. She wasn't that good. If anything, her accuracy with a gun still needed a lot of work. Most of her hits had been through volume of fire rather than precision.
"Me!? You were the one who stopped their boss! You were jumping from truck to truck like this was an action movie! You were far cooler than I was!" Uraraka complimented in return, with it now becoming Midoriya's turn to blush. With a chuckle, he began to rub the back of his head. For a while, they both just geeked out over each other. Up until their excitement slowly died down. With all the action now done, Uraraka couldn't help but think back to… all the death.
She quietly shuddered, an action Midoriya quickly noticed.
"...Are…are you alright?" he asked cautiously, while Uraraka took a few deep breaths.
"Just… give me a second," Uraraka hesitantly replied, the weight of everything they'd done coming down on her.
"We… we killed a lot of people," Uraraka noted, with Midoriya slowly nodding next to her. They… they did what they had to, Uraraka rationalized. They knocked out those they could, and killed those they couldn't… and hey, at least now there was one less villain group out there. It didn't feel right to kill them, but again, it was all All Might had told her. Sometimes… It's necessary… she still didn't like it. Not one bit.
Uraraka wanted something to… to distract her. As she thought this, Uraraka glanced up just in time to see Midoriya scooching closer to her. He looked hesitant as he did so, but Uraraka couldn't help but smile. Now the familiar chopping of a helicopter rang out above them. Looking up, both teens spotted the MSF helicopters finally arriving.
"...That would be the spec ops team," Midoriya tiredly commented, while Uraraka nodded slowly. Took them long enough. Where had they been? The entire fight had to have been an hour or two long! It took them two hours to get here? The MSF must have been slipping up today. Two freaking hours… two hours… After everything that had happened, Uraraka quietly remembered just what they had planned to do this morning.
Watching the helicopters come in for a landing, her gaze soon shifted around, back to her captured M151… they still had a mission to finish… not to mention a shopping trip. And if Uraraka knew one thing about herself and Midoriya, it's that neither of them were quitters. With some hesitancy, Uraraka stood up and grabbed Midoriya by the arm. He looked up at her, surprised, only to feel her pulling him up.
"Uraraka?" Midoriya asked, confused, while Uraraka led him to the jeep.
"Come on, we still have a mission to finish," Uraraka told him, before letting go. Quickly, she hopped into the passenger seat. Behind her, Midoriya watched stunned, a smile slowly forming on his face.
"...Right!" he yelled back, before rushing to the driver's seat. Turning back, they both saw the FOXHOUND units quickly file out of their helicopters. And without a second thought, they sped off towards Za-Ku-Na. The drive wasn't all that long, thankfully. Though even if it was, the poachers had left behind an intact music system on the old vehicle. But they soon came into view of the town. There, they disembarked from their jeep and parked a bit outside the town's limits.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, the town was pretty small, only having about ten thousand residents. But… it didn't look how Uraraka expected it to. Most movies or TV shows she'd seen, which had not been many, didn't display Africa in the best light. It was by no means some land filled with nothing but tribes; no, Uraraka knew that wasn't the case. But the place had always been painted as more poverty-stricken.
Za-Ku-Na looked like a town from a sci-fi series. There were houses and buildings all built in this odd futuristic look, where they were both utilitarian, yet elegant in design. Entering the town, they passed by houses that were a mix of blocky and curved styles. Some reminded Uraraka of flowers with their pale pink, orange, blue, and yellow paint themes. In fact, the entire town just felt colorful.
It felt futuristic, but it didn't have the same all chrome and silver look other places had. All around the street, people bustled about in this small town. Biking around, walking to shops, greeting friends. The entire place just felt lively. Uraraka even saw a fire station, its crew holding a small event for the town. Hundreds seemed to have stopped by, as the firefighters started passing out squirt guns to children.
The entire thing was just so… Uraraka's thoughts stopped for a moment, as she spotted something new. The fire station had a flagpole outside it. There was no Nigerian flag flying high on it. Instead, Uraraka found something else. An all black flag, with a grey circle surrounding a white butterfly. Alongside it were the words "Outer Heaven". Huh, Uraraka thought, weird. Next to her, Midoriya slowly came to a stop, the two standing on a lone street corner.
With his Idroid in hand, Midoriya began looking around.
"So if my map's right, the closest camping supplies store should be on the right of Main Street," Midoriya explained, before gesturing forward, supposedly to Main Street. Seconds later, he hummed to himself and turned around.
"Then again, there is a general store behind us… that might have more of what we need," Midoriya muttered, while Uraraka looked at him. He turned from street to street, occasionally looking down at his Idroid. Seeing this, Uraraka sighed before lightly smiling.
"Forget the store for a second," Uraraka commented, swiftly gaining Midoriya's attention, "How about you and I get breakfast first?"
Midoriya thought the idea over slowly. He seemed hesitant at first, but the grumble from his stomach decided everything for him. With a click of his tongue, Midoriya carefully pocketed his Idroid.
"In that case, there's a cafe across the street," Midoriya replied, a small smile forming on his face, and he pointed off to his left, where Uraraka could spot the cafe.
"Perfect," Uraraka replied, before leading the way. Crossing the street, she found the breakfast cafe to be a somewhat small place. The exterior had the same sci-fi look as the rest of the town, but mixed it with a bit of a vintage wooden look. There was some old Victorian-style furniture, mixed with more modern materials and a red and white color scheme. Getting themselves seated at an empty table, as the inside was somehow packed full at 10 a.m., Uraraka found a pair of menus already sitting at the table.
"This is cozy," Uraraka commented, as Midoriya nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, it feels nice and quaint," Midoriya replied, before carefully adjusting a closed sun umbrella. Opening it up, he gave their table a nice guard from the sun. With that, Uraraka heard her stomach loudly grumble. Not wanting to waste more time, she rapidly opened up her menu. Just as she did, a waiter had spotted and rushed toward them. The waiter was an older Nigerian man who gave them both a confused look.
Uraraka didn't blame him. They were armed to the teeth, covered in dirt, and bleeding from small cuts. It wasn't a pretty sight. But the waiter shrugged it off and kept coming.
"[Good morning, are you both ready to order?]" the waiter asked. Exactly what he said, Uraraka wasn't sure, but she did have a guess. One that was confirmed as Midoriya replied to the wait.
"[Just one second, please]" Midoriya told him with a friendly smile, before turning toward Uraraka. Seeing that as her queue, Uraraka looked back down at the menu and rapidly searched for what she wanted. Each item on the menu thankfully had a smaller label in English, allowing Uraraka to understand some of what she was seeing. The Nigerian pancakes seemed good, so Uraraka thought they would do… huh… Glancing toward Midoriya, Uraraka cautiously gestured to the menu.
"I uh… I don't know how much any of this is," Uraraka told him. None of the pricing made sense, as a platter of three pancakes was listed as twelve something. Uraraka hoped it wasn't too expensive; she didn't want to spend too much on breakfast. Of course, Midoriya waved off her unknown worries.
"That's fine," Midoriya told her, only for Uraraka to look back at him hesitantly. He was already doing a lot just accompanying her on this mission. She didn't want him to start throwing away money, too. Midoriya seemed to read her mind, though, as his smile softened.
"You don't need to worry," Midoriya told her, before pulling a wallet from his pocket, "I'm paying for it."
"...You shouldn't have to," Uraraka hesitantly replied, her expression becoming more regretful. She had… well, she was going to have money. Enough to… maybe, pay off this meal… possibly. Yet she found Midoriya soon looking into her eyes. Those same bright green eyes.
"I want to," Midoriya told her, his tone somewhat pleading. Uraraka wanted to say no. Somehow, even something as simple as this made her feel selfish. But Midoriya wanted to help. He wanted to pay for it. He wanted to take care of her. And if it was what he wanted… then… Uraraka would try to stifle the guilty feeling she held.
"Besides, after what we went through, I think we could splurge a little," Midoriya added, and Uraraka quietly agreed. That was a fair point.
"...Pancakes and tea," Uraraka reluctantly told him, as Midoriya nodded back. With her order, Midoriya turned back to the waiter.
"[She'll have pancakes with water to drink, and I'll have… the plantain frittatas and water]" Midoriya told the man, and the waiter swiftly wrote everything down on a tablet. Once everything had been covered, the man put the tablet between his arm and body.
"[Great. I'll have it here in a few minutes]" the waiter replied, before swiftly walking away. With the man gone, it left both teens in silence for a moment. Again, Uraraka looked around the cafe. Spotting a TV on a nearby wall, she found it playing some live automotive display. There, a Nigerian man stood up on a stage in front of thousands, wearing a plain t-shirt and jeans. All the while, the large crowd cheered the man on.
"[You are all too kind, truly]" the man told them, while slowly walking around the stage. At the bottom of the TV were subtitles in English that Uraraka could read. The cheering then began to die down. The moment everything was quiet, the man clapped his hands together and looked over the crowd.
"[Years ago, Bessala Automotive was nothing more than a dream, held by me and my sister]" the man explained, who Uraraka assumed was named Bessala, "[Today it stands as a reality, and for that, we are truly grateful.]"
Carefully, Bessala motioned toward the crowd, a wide smile plastered across his face.
"[It is why today I would like to thank President Klazen and his administration for the funding to get our company off the ground, and all of you wonderful people who helped it become a reality]" Bessala told them. Funny, Uraraka didn't remember hearing about a President Klazen. Then again, she… never heard much about Africa to begin with… huh.
"[But, we're not here, just to listen to me ramble on with thank yous]" Bessala continued, his smile getting much more excited, "[No, we're here to see some cars!]"
Again, the crowd erupted into loud cheering, causing Bessala to laugh. Cupping his hands together, he continued to walk around the stage.
"[Let's start off strong today. Now, if the general economy is anything to go by, then it's safe to assume a lot of you have money to throw around. I'm not talking millions of dollars, but enough that you'd like to have some fun. Would I be wrong in that assumption?]" Bessala inquired, with one particularly loud man yelling "[Hell no!]". Again, Bessala laughed, hearing the man speak.
"[That's what I figured]" Bessala commented happily, "[Our first vehicle is for all you lovely folks with some extra cash to spend. A simplistic vehicle that can get you from A to B, yet still has some real power behind it! Not a hypercar that'll turn eyes, but a sporty vehicle you motorheads can enjoy! A vehicle you can take to work, or to the track!]"
Rapidly, Bessala stepped to the side before he held his arms out to his left.
"[Introducing for the first time ever, the Bessala Dragon!]" Bessala announced, right as a car drove onto the stage. And the crowd went wild the moment the vehicle showed up. It was a semi-dark shade of blue, with a bright white stripe going from its bumper, over its roof, and to the rear bumper. It was a sleek, curvy vehicle for aerodynamic efficiency, yet it also had an almost blocky shape. It was like a cube with curved corners. It had a long hood with a short deck, almost like an American muscle car.
Though unlike some of its foreign brethren, it was much smaller, being roughly 4.7 meters long, 1.7 meters wide, and 1.27 meters tall. Getting back to appearances, the car didn't have mirrors either, instead seeming to have dozens of cameras covering the car's blind spots. The grill was flat and practically unseen, the car's spoiler could retract into the car, and the wheels were covered in removable caps that increased aerodynamics.
"[The Dragon is a fully electric pony car, capable of standing up to its foreign competitors]" Bessala then explained, as Uraraka found herself intrigued, "[It can go from zero to sixty in one point five seconds and has a top speed of four hundred and two kilometers per hour.]"
As if to demonstrate, a video display popped up on a screen behind the stage, and displayed the car driving around a long track.
"[Better yet, it's got a two-hundred-kilowatt battery, can reach full charge in twenty minutes, and if you use it right, that means you've got a range of twelve hundred kilometers]" Bessala added, causing the crowd to murmur in amazement.
"[The standard model's price? Thirty-eight thousand GMP. Cheaper than a Ford Mustang, a Mercedes AMG GT, a Chevrolet Corvette, and nearly all other competitors on the market]" Bessala stated, and that sent the crowd into another loud cheer. Though Uraraka looked confused. Again with the different currency. She shouldn't be totally surprised, but just what was GMP? For this kind of vehicle, was thirty-eight thousand dollars cheap? I mean, it's a sports car. That's not a particularly cheap vehicle.
Moments later, Bessala had moved on with the display and began pulling other cars to the stage. A bunch of trucks, SUVs, vans, coupes, and even a few motorcycles. All were listed at slightly higher prices than the Dragon. It gave Uraraka a sneaking suspicion as she glanced toward Midoriya.
"Hey, how much is thirty-eight thousand GMP?" Uraraka asked him, finding the other teen busy rubbing DD's stomach. Looking up, Midoriya brought a hand to his chin for a second.
"Hmm… I think… twenty-six thousand USD… wait, no yen, right?" Midoriya replied before pulling out his Idroid. After a quick search, he held it out for Uraraka to see.
"About four million yen," he told her, while placing the Idroid on the table. Uraraka's eyes widened slightly. A brand new Nissan GTR was around seventeen million yen. You could buy the Dragon for the same price as a Mazda CX-5 SUV. This was one cheap car. There had to be a catch at play.
"Why?" Midoriya then asked her, curious about what she was trying to know. Wordlessly, she pointed toward the TV, and Midoriya turned toward it. Having a better grasp of the country's currency, his eyes soon widened as well.
"That cheap!?" he exclaimed, his eyes darting between the car and the price. It was here that Uraraka realized the catch. She knew why the car was so cheap.
"It's a marketing strategy," Uraraka commented, as Midoriya turned back to her.
"That car is being sold cheaper than every other one, likely at a loss," Uraraka continued, seeing the plan Bessala had, "They're losing money on it. But if the car is as good as they say it is, then they're giving the customer an unheard-of deal. A sports car as cheap as a regular sedan."
"Which gives the company a good rep, meaning their real money maker, the more common SUVs, sedans, trucks, coupes, and whatnot, are being sold much more frequently as people trust the company," Midoriya slowly began to realize, as he nodded in understanding.
"They lose money on the Dragon, to gain more from everything else," Uraraka finished, as the two kept watching the TV. It was a decent strategy, especially because it also stole customers away from other parts of the market. Those who didn't want a sports car wouldn't care about the Dragon, but would view Bessala Automotive as a company that sells cars for good deals.
Those who did want a sports car, meanwhile, would be getting a compact vehicle that could even fit Japan's roads and was cheaper than practically everything else available.
"Huh… didn't think about that before," Midoriya commented, surprised, before he glanced toward Uraraka, "How'd you know that?"
"...My parents' competitors used this tactic a lot, because they could afford losses we couldn't," Uraraka hesitantly replied. They'd underbid everyone else at a price that Uraraka's parents just couldn't reach. Then scoop up the contract, garner a positive rep, and drive everyone else slowly out of business. This was always followed by buying out the competition, meaning they could afford even greater losses. Uraraka… Uraraka didn't like thinking about this. With all the blood and death that had already happened… Uraraka didn't want to think this would all be for nothing.
This mission, this contract was for her parents. She would succeed. A few seconds later, her face lit up as she spotted the waiter coming back.
"Oh, our food!" Uraraka called out, causing Midoriya to turn around. Within seconds, the waiter was setting their meal down in front of them, and Midoriya quickly thanked the waiter. Seeing the food in front of her, Uraraka happily sighed. It was nice that everything was winding down. After that fight, food was what she needed. Of course, right before she could even dig into her food, she noticed Midoriya's demeanor change.
Next to him, the waiter chuckled, while Midoriya blushed, shook his head, and laughingly said something back. Still chuckling, the waiter walked away, leaving Midoriya to take a deep breath. Concerned, Uraraka looked between Midoriya and the still walking waiter.
"What did he say?" Uraraka asked worriedly, only for Midoriya to wave her off.
"Nothi-" he began to say, only for his Idroid to light up. Uraraka had forgotten he'd placed it on the table. But there she spotted Victoria's avatar pop into view. The AI looked at her with a wide smile and spoke before Midoriya could react.
"He said, for the cute couple," Victoria translated, causing Midoriya to look at the Idroid with wide eyes. Both teens quickly went red, as Victoria's avatar disappeared. Nervously, Uraraka looked back at Midoriya.
"C-couple!?" she cried out anxiously, while Midoriya sputtered across from her. Rather quickly, she gestured between the two of them in surprise.
"Y-you, me, a couple!?" Uraraka questioned, as Midoriya now nervously laughed.
"I d-don't know why he w-would say that!" Midoriya replied, embarrassed, as Uraraka took a second to compose herself.
"Y-yeah, we're j-just having breakfast together!" Uraraka agreed, with Midoriya rapidly nodding.
"Just two good friends, eating breakfast," Midoriya added warily, "It's not like this is a date, a-and why would it be!? I mean you and me? We're friends!"
The last part was said just a bit too abruptly. It made Uraraka pause, as his words slowly registered. Friends… yeah… just… just friends.
"...Y-yeah," Uraraka hesitantly replied, her tone betraying the word. It was fine! Perfect even! She didn't want to hold Midoriya back, and he viewed her as just a friend. It… it was fine. Yet Midoriya… Midoriya swiftly noticed Uraraka's change in tone. Looking back at Uraraka, his face shifted to a look of regret.
"N-not that I would be against the idea! I enjoy hanging out with you a lot! And you're so kind and caring to me all the time, even though you barely know me. But y-you d-don't feel comfortable with the idea, so that's fine! You might not have feelings for me, and I might not for you. Well, no, I do like you. But that doesn't mean you feel the same. And why would we risk a perfectly good friendship over something like this? It's why we're just having a normal, friendly time together-" Midoriya tried to explain, the teen slowly rambling on. It was difficult to follow everything he said, as he started repeating things he'd already said before. For a few minutes, he sputtered on nervously, desperately trying to… wait…
He just kept spiraling, but Uraraka swore he said… Cautiously, she reached out, her hand grabbing his. The sudden touch snapped Midoriya out of his spiel, and he looked down to see Uraraka staring back at him.
"You… like me?" Uraraka asked in disbelief. Midoriya instantly froze. His face turned red, and his breathing sped up. He liked her? As in… romantically? Uraraka could have sworn he'd just misspoke, but she had to know.
"...I… uh… You see… it's…" Midoriya tried to say, his breath nervously speeding up more. After a few pauses, he went quiet for a few seconds. Quietly, Uraraka looked back at him, both her hands now holding onto his hand, and she gave him a small comforting smile. They'd fought an army of poachers today. This? This was no big deal. With a final deep breath, Midoriya cleared his throat.
"...I… I do," Midoriya told her, a nervous sigh escaping his lips, "I… I have a crush on you."
Uraraka was speechless. This was a dream. It had to be. A figment of her tired mind telling her what she wanted to hear. But the pain she felt from fighting the poachers was real. She could still feel the cuts and bruises acquired from the brawl. All of this was real.
"A-and I get, if you don't feel the same. I didn't mean… want to… to say anything about it, in case it made things between us… Weird," Midoirya explained worriedly. And Uraraka could look back at him, surprised.
"Why would it make things weird?" Uraraka asked, unintentionally pulling his hand closer, "You're the same caring person I met all those months ago."
He was the same person who taught her how to fight. He was the same person she worked out with. He was the same person she hung out with after class. Not once had Midoriya ever changed in her eyes. Well… that's not entirely true, Uraraka realized.
"And I…I like you too," Uraraka nervously added. It took a second for Midoriya to realize what she said. The moment he did, his eyes slowly widened.
"You do?" Midoriya asked, surprised, and Uraraka slowly nodded. With a nervous, but happy smile now taking hold of her face. Midoriya laughed then, shocked that any of this had even happened. With Uraraka holding his hand, he slumped back into his chair, amazed.
"...What… what now?" Midoriya eventually asked warily, "Do we… Would you… like to go on a date… after this?"
Her gut instinct was to immediately say yes. But… she shouldn't have said a thing. Uraraka shouldn't have. It wasn't right; it was selfish of her. Immediately, Uraraka looked back at Midoriya, with regret covering her face.
"Uraraka?" Midoriya asked, noticing Uraraka's rapid shift in mood.
"I… I don't know," Uraraka replied warily, as she tried to keep her demeanor calm. Just what was she supposed to do? She wanted to say yes. Every part of her did.
"I like you, I really do," Uraraka explained, her voice slowly becoming weaker, "But how do we both know this isn't just a crush?"
Uraraka knew he didn't have an answer for that question, as Midoriya shifted in his chair awkwardly. Yet as she moved to let go of his hand, Midoriya held onto her.
"A-a-a-and… we've both got so m-much ahead of us. I'm trying to become a hero, and you… You'll have the entire MSF to deal with," Uraraka explained tiredly, finding the words ever so painful to say, "You… you're aiming to achieve so much, and I… I don't want to get in your way."
She couldn't hold him back. Not now, not ever. Uraraka wouldn't be his burden. She couldn't do that to him, no matter how much she hated it.
"Get in my way?" Midoriya asked, shocked, "Uraraka, you would never get in my way."
"Yes, I would!" Uraraka yelled back, the dam finally breaking, "I do!"
She tried to keep a strong face, but how could she? Her eyes began to water, a few tears soon dripping down her face.
"I-I-I-I-I'm constantly pestering you with all my problems! Every time I need money o-or food or training, I come and I bug you!" Uraraka told him, mentally pleading for him to understand, "I don't want a relationship if all I'm going to do is burden you!"
Midoriya flinched as Uraraka finished speaking. Rather quickly, Uraraka averted his gaze. She couldn't put him through that kind of pain. The thought of running passed her mind, but Midoriya still held onto her hand. So… she sat there. It only got worse when she heard Midoriya shudder. Uraraka heard him stand up and felt him let go of her hand. She didn't hear his near-silent footsteps or notice his movements.
Instead, all she found was the sudden hug. Glancing up, Uraraka found Midoriya hugging her tight, the teen having crouched next to her. Through the corner of her eyes, she saw tears stream down his face.
"You're not a burden to me," Midoriya told her, while Uraraka felt him hug her tighter. He was just saying that to be nice, Uraraka rationalized. Yet her thoughts were quickly proven wrong.
"You… you've inspired me," Midoriya said, leaving Uraraka surprised. She… inspired him? How? What had she ever done to inspire him? Everything she achieved was because of him. A few more tears dripped down her face as Uraraka heard Midoriya sigh.
"Every day, I see you pushing yourself further and further. When we first met, you came to me for food, someone you had no idea if you could trust, all so you could train yourself harder for the festival," Midoriya explained, the teen never letting Uraraka go. Again, Uraraka shuddered. They were just excuses. She bugged him for food, for help.
"Every time we fought on that beach, you'd get right back up and demand another round. Every time we'd work out, you'd slap extra weight onto the bar. And every time we talked, you came up with another idea for your quirk or some new piece of equipment," Midoriya continued, as Uraraka stifled a whimper. She wanted to say there were more excuses. But Uraraka felt Midoriya hug her tighter.
"You are always pushing yourself farther," Midoriya told her, having to pause as he breathed in deeply, "And I found it inspiring."
"...I was only doing that because you do the same," Uraraka tearfully replied. It was Midoriya who helped her forward. Midoriya, who inspired her to try out new ideas. It was Midoriya who helped her with… no, who was helping her with self-doubt. Humorlessly, Midoriya chuckled next to her.
"I guess we inspired each other, heh," Midoriya commented, his head slowly turning toward her, "The point is… You inspired me to push myself harder than before. To push past limits I didn't know I could break."
Turning toward him, Uraraka saw the wide, fond smile plastered on his face as the teen tried to hide his tear-filled eyes. He… he truly thought she was inspiring. Uraraka… again she shuddered. A small smile formed on her face as well, while she cried next to him.
"If… if we were to… date…" Midoriya cautiously said, "We wouldn't be holding each other back."
Slowly, Uraraka saw what Midoriya was saying. If they both inspired the other, then Uraraka didn't have to worry about holding him back. She'd push him forward, and he'd push her forward. No matter what, through thick and thin, they'd push each other. Together.
"Would it hurt to try?" Midoriya asked, giving Uraraka a teary smile. And Uraraka thought the question over. After all the things they'd gone through together, after all the death and pain. After all the good times, after all the joy and embarrassment.
"It wouldn't," Uraraka replied, the girl now smiling back. She sniffled as happy tears fell down her face. To think this was how the day would go. The two kept hugging for a while, neither wanting to let the other go. To the point they ended up sharing the same chair, as Midoriya pulled his food to Uraraka's side of the table. And… that's how the rest of the day went. It hadn't been a date before, but now… now it just felt like one.
They explored the town for another few hours, going from store to store. All their worries just… disappeared. Their fears and terror from their battle had been forgotten. And soon, they left Za-Ku-Na, the quaint little town. As fun as it had been, they still had a mission to complete. Still had rhinos to save. So with their new supplies and liberated M151, they drove out to the next rhino's location. But to top everything off… they forgot to buy a new sleeping bag.