Chapter Thirty One

Mina's eyes stung, blinking rapidly to feel relief but found none, it felt as if someone had dripped oil into her eyes. Her back pressed against you, fear and confusion swirling around inside her expression as you clamped down on her mouth and nose, not allowing her to breathe.

Before the panic could set in, Mina looked around where she noticed soft slivers of light flooding all around her. It felt like she was underwater looking up at the sweet surface. The cuts of light inside this vast darkness were different shapes and sizes, placed in random places around her. It was hard for Mina to focus her burning eyes but as she did so, she recognized one of the openings, it was the hallways of the hotel.

Where these...the shadows of her home world?

Mina furrowed her brows looking up to you for answers, but you were too busy guiding them through the seemingly endless maze. Finally, with Mina struggling against you with the lack of oxygen pounding against her skull, you pulled the two of you through the shadow of a bed.

The two of you dropped into the empty bedroom, you allowed Mina to fall onto the carpeted floor as she gobbled in deep breaths you scanned the vacant room.

"Oh-" Mina gasps in breaths, "-Oh my God-!" Mina coughs, shaking her head. "We-We just left them-" Just then a loud explosion echoes through the hotel causing you to stop picking fragments of the bullet out of your jacket.

"That sounds like one of Bakugo's..."

You turn to Mina seeing her hands in her hair, you suck in a stinging breath as you pick yourself off the ground. Walking over to Mina who was on her knees still shaking her head in disbelief.

"We just...we just left them back there..."

You remove your jacket, letting the heavy lead infused top fall onto the bed.

"Oh my God-!" Mina gasped, covering her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "-you-you got shot!"

"I'm fine." You reply by ripping the bottom of your shirt.

"But you-!"

"I wear a vest." You nod over to the jacket.

"Oh." Mina blinks looking at it then to you. "What are you-?" Mina follows your gaze seeing the harsh line running across her arm. "I-I'm bleeding!? Did I get shot-when did I get shot!? That-That's blood-!"

"It is." You nod, beginning to wrap the arm.

"I was shot-!?"

"It's just a graze." You reinsure seeing the panic in her face. "You'll live, it probably won't even scar." With you being up this close, Mina could see the bruising along your torso as you tore another piece of cloth for her arm.

"Maybe Hawks was right-" Mina looked into your masked face, "-you shouldn't be out here."

"Don't let him hear you say that."

"I can't believe we just left them there..." Bubble tears drip down Mina's face as she looks at you.

"Hawks has them." You replied, believing this would be the end of the conversation.

"How can you be so sure!?" Mina steps forward, watching you slowly place your jacket back on. "Oh my God, where were Toru and the others!? What about everyone else, what if they-!?"

"Hey!" You snapped, clamping a hand over her mouth. "You're a U.A. student, you trained for shit like this, why are you breaking down on me!?"

"But everyone-"

"Will be fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because they are with pro-heroes."

"But-"

"I have worked with those people for years-" You stared into her wide eyes. "-I know for a fact they would rather die than allow any student to be hurt under their watch."

"We..." Mina tried to rationalize her frantic brain. "...we need to get down to the party, all those people, we need to warn them!"

"No."

"No?" Mina was taken back. "What do you mean no!?"

"We don't have time to get down fifty flights which could be filled with who knows how many villains." You replied, "I saw a detonator on Kaina's belt, which means there are explosives somewhere inside this building and we need to get to them before they go off."

"But everyone at the party-!"

"They would have heard the gunshots-"

"But we are so high up-"

"That banging on a locker you heard-" You zipped up your jacket, "-yeah those weren't people banging on a bunch of lockers."

"They were..."

"Someone beat us to the gunfire."

"What about your quirk!?" Mina jumped, balling her fist excitedly.

"Huh?" You tilted your head.

"To make a hole in the floor-!" Mina pointed; "-I don't think I can produce enough acid but with your earth quirk I know we can get down-"

"I can't."

"No, we can-" Mina waved towards the floor picturing her perfect plan.

"I don't have it." You overpowered her voice.

"Wh... what?" Mina frowned.

"They took it." You stared at her for a moment longer, letting the silence fill her as the shock carved itself over her face. "The police and the heroes in the party will have heard the noise-"

"But-!"

"Believe it or not this isn't a movie, there are other trained heroes here, it isn't all up to us to save the day. We are a team, we all have our parts to play. The heroes in the party as well as everyone below us will get everyone out, and I will find those explosives."

"(y/n) ..." Mina whispered, her heart squeezing. "...I am scared."

"You don't need to be." You reached out touching her shoulder. "I am right here."

"(y/n) I-"

You cut Mina off by pushing her onto the ground beside the bed. You hopped over it as you pressed your back against the wall the hotel room's door opened. Using your elbow, you hit the villain upward in the nose. He stumbles blood dripping down his face before falling forward unconscious.

"Whoa-" Mina breathed peeking her head up. "-amazing-"

"No-" You shook your head, "-that isn't good."

"How isn't it?" Mina pointed, "He is a bad guy! Bad guys deserve to be-"

"One of the twins will know he is down and send someone our way, if he hasn't already." You explained, grabbing her. "We need to go."

The two of you exited the room and were bolting down the hallway, Mina's heart was pounding as her hand was wrapped in yours, making sure she kept up with your speed. While staring at the braid lacing your hair, her mind couldn't help but flash back to the night just before school started, where you jumped down saving her from that two-bit villain causing you to be slashed in the face.

Now you had to step in front of a bullet, how was Mina ever going to become a pro-hero when you had to keep swooping in to save her?

As the two of you were just about to round the corner, a bullet flew pushing you back shattering the stone wall. Mina ran into your back as you hastily backtracked the two of you, gunfire fills the air.

"Well, we can't go that way." You muttered causing Mina to smirk. After all these years, after everything, you still had your famous humor which she missed the most. The smile didn't last long as she gasped watching you pull off a gun from the harness on your leg.

"Wh-Why do you have that!?"

"Uh-" You furrowed your brows. "-target practice?"

"No!" Mina lectured, lightly swatting your arm. "I-I don't remember you having that on you when you were in class or-"

"It would be kinda weird if they allowed a person on probation to walk around on school grounds with a loaded weapon." You pointed out. "I don't carry it on me unless I am doing hero work."

"B-But why do you have it!?"

"You can't rely solely on your quirk."

"You sound like Mr. Aizawa now."

"He is a smart man." You retorted kneeling low to the ground as you returned gunfire, preventing the villains from marching their way towards you and Mina.