Chapter Thirty Two

Whipping your head to the side, bits of brick and dust filled your sight as three bullets impaled the wall beside your skull. Mina clung to your side, her hand resting against the middle of your back letting you know she was still there as you kept the bundle of swarming villains at bay.

Footsteps echoed against the marble flooring behind you, glancing over your shoulder you saw the shadows of oncoming people.

"Mina-"

"Y-Yeah!?" Mina jumped at the call of her name.

"I'm gonna need you to put up one of your acid barriers."

"Wh-What!?-" Mina's voice shook. "-but you said not to use our-!"

"I know what I said-" You turned. "-but I only have one gun. You can thank your HPSC director for that."

"Ok." Mina stood shaking her hands. "I can do this." She talked herself up. "I trained for this...I got this-" She was cut off watching a grown figure flying backwards into the wall, it crumbled under his weight as he dropped to the floor.

"Do you know where we are going!?" A familiar voice called out; his bright red hair caused Mina's chest to fill with delight as she brightly smiled.

"Guys-!" Mina waved seeing Kirishima running alongside GunHead.

"Five-!?" GunHead dashed forward seeing your arm shield your head as bullets rained down onto the crumbling structure around you. GunHead dropped down beside you, taking over. "-what is going on!?"

"It's not already obvious?" You questioned reloading as GunHead had a better shot taking down three bodies.

"Who is doing all this!?"

"Kaina."

"Impossible-!"

"Yesterday I would have agreed-" You nod, "-until she tried to put a bullet in my chest twenty minutes ago." GunHead drops his head in disappointment.

"What could she possibly want?"

"Well-" You shrug dropping two bodies. "-all the higher ups are here. It probably has something to do with that."

"Where are the rest of your kids?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

"Crust and I paired up until Kirishima and I were separated. Villains are everywhere...where are your two kids?"

"Hawks."

"Hawks is here?"

"Yeah." You coughed; the dust tickled your throat. "He flew in at a great time."

"He always does. You think the police have evacuated yet?"

"I think they are long gone leaving us to fend for ourselves."

"Where are you headed?"

"I'm scouting the floors."

"Why?"

"I saw a detonator on Kaina's belt."

"Damnit!" GunHead slammed his hand against the wall. "That changes things, we can't simply search and recover civilians, we need to track down the explosives."

"You think she planted them too?"

"They were her specialty."

"Of course, it is." You sighed, peeking around the corner to see only two men remained.

"We have to get these kids out of here first!"

"Good luck with that." You muttered, knowing neither Mina nor Kirishima would run.

"We need a plan." GunHead stated.

"We need to find Hawks." You countered.

"You have a plan Five?"

"His feathered ass can cover more ground than the two of us combined." You replied.

"Then what?"

"Pass the scouting off to Hawks then track down Kaina's ass, is this your first time?"

"That's an insane plan!"

"We are in the middle of a shootout; how much crazier do you want it?" You bit back.

"We need a better plan." GunHead scowled.

"I am open to new suggestions!"

GunHead and you turned hearing more people running up from behind your group. You surveyed GunHead.

"Tell me you told people where you were going, and we have back up."

"I did not." He replied as you spotted the last remaining villain was looking behind him as he received the backup.

"Fuck." You breathed standing seeing a group of five villains coming up from behind you. "If you're gonna come up with something-" You commented. "-come up with something fast because we are surrounded."

You stood walking past Mina who wanted to protest but was stopped by Kirishima, his eyes were wide watching you sternly walk towards the oncoming group.

"Wait-" The group of five villains hesitated. "-isn't that Five?"

"As in the fifth bullet?" One muttered in response.

"Oh, hell no-!" Two villains turned on their heels. "-I didn't get paid enough for this!"

They ran as the first man with spiky orange hair went to throw a punch. You blocked it with your hand, using your elbow again you slammed it upward into his jaw, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Come on-" One villain patted his friends back. "-we need to get back to the Tekitou Twins, they can deal with her-" He was cut off by you swiftly coming up, swinging him by his arm throwing him headfirst into the wall. You pulled your gun, aiming it at the moaning villain against the wall and fired two rounds at him and his friend.

"Come here-" You called gripping the last villain by the back of his shirt. You opened the nearby vacant hotel room and shoved him inside.

"She-She just shot them-!?" Kirishima stuttered, grabbing his hair.

"They aren't real bullets." GunHead reinsures pushing the kids forward while throwing a small grenade behind him preventing them from being followed.

"What do you mean by that!?" Mina questioned, "They sure look real-!"

"They are tranquilizer bullets." GunHead replied, "I made them for her and her team."

"Tranquilizer..."

"They still hurt like a son of a bitch to be hit by though." GunHead muttered pushing the students into the room while quickly shutting the door behind them.

"So, they aren't real." Shiro looked at the magazine in his hand, the shiny metal bullets rested in a row in the clip. "We are called the Seven Bullets but don't use real bullets?"

"Heroes don't kill people-" You walked in front of your team. "-so why would we use them?"

"Right." Shiro rolled his eyes, looking from you then to Gray then the strangers standing behind him. He rubbed his sore neck, the new collar resting on his skin stung from overuse.

"They do still pack a punch." GunHead explained, "So be careful who you hit with them, they still feel like you're being shot-"

"Pfft-" Shiro scoffed. "-they are tranquilizers, how bad can they-" You turned your weapon, aiming for his leg and fired. "-OW-!" Shiro cried out, dropping to the ground holding his leg.

"Looks real to me." You nodded.

"You shot me!"

"They aren't real, remember?"

"You asshole!" Shiro whined