Hooh. You can find the form for Runner Ups on my profile and the rules/info for the story above it. Lemme know what you guys think, and I'll be updating again in mid-March!

00 - Hunter and Prey

Consciousness hit him like a ton of bricks.

When Ishisaki Natsuki woke up this morning and got ready for school, perhaps even as he'd attended school, he never saw his day taking the turn it did. Truth be told, he didn't think any of the other students around him considered this today. Including Natsuki, there were four of them in total: Himself, still in his Shiketsu uniform; Chou Hirari, the second-year from UA with the butterfly Quirk (who he hadn't watched the sports festival specifically for this year, pfft); a younger boy, probably a first-year, in a tattered Zenshi uniform; and an older girl from Seiai, still unconscious and looking the most out of shape.

Natsuki couldn't imagine how four kids like them, aspiring heroes from the country's top Hero Academies, had the carpet pulled out from under them like this. He himself was from Shiketsu, and he was willing to excuse his capture as simple carelessness—but Hirari, a top student among UA's second-years, had somehow been caught too. How?

He tried to move, but his hands were bound tight behind his back. Natsuki furrowed his brows, worked his jaw—was he gagged? It made sense, considering the others were as well—as he tried to take in the room they were confined to. No windows, barely any light aside from the small globe hanging from the ceiling. Concrete walls, concrete floor. Just a single, metal door that had bars over the small window.

A box specially made for them.

Natsuki grunted as he rolled onto his belly. Hirari, though hunched over herself and trembling, looked up at him in surprise. She'd been crying, he thought as he got a good look at her face. But it was hard to imagine her crying over something like this—not when she'd been through worse just to pass her first year at UA. This would be a simple breakout, he thought, and the first step would be to establish a plan with his fellow captives.

He kicked off one of his shoes. His sock soon followed, slowly wiggled off my his foot and yanked off fully once under the grip of his sneakers. Natsuki held is breath. He met Hirari's gaze again, and he nodded to her legs tucked under her.

Hirari immediately flopped onto her stomach once she saw him reach for her with his bare foot. She stretched out her legs and did her best to shuffle over towards him. Natsuki couldn't help but watch as a dark patch of her uniform slowly bloomed red under the strain.

His big toe brushed her ankle. It was all he needed to activate his Quirk.

Ishisaki Natsuki - Quirk: Wireless
Once Natsuki comes into skin contact with another person, he can use his Quirk to telepathically communicate with them from great distances. His secret technique is creating multiple connections at once, using himself as a living tower for others to communicate.

Thoughts flooded Natsuki all at once. First it was Hirari's panic, then her dismay. By the time he moved his foot away and began shuffling to the boy from Zenshi, he could hear Hirari's bewilderment over what effect reaching for him even had.

As he reached for the Zenshi boy, who in turn pushed his face (reluctantly) within Natsuki's reach, he tested his connection to Hirari.

'Am I talking to Chou Hirari?'

Hirari let out an audible gasp as her head whipped around to face Natsuki's new position. 'What the—'

'Chou-san, my name's Ishisaki Natsuki. My Quirk allows me to talk to others through telepathy if I touch them.'

He was met with silence. Natsuki strained to reach for the Zenshi boy's forehead. The pad of his toe grazed his brow, and he forced the Zenshi boy into his connection with Hirari. Both he and Hirari cringed—normally, if he had more time to ease the connection, it wouldn't hurt. But Natsuki had no idea how little time they had. The quicker they were all on the same page, the better.

'Holy shit—'

'Who said that!?'

Natsuki cleared his throat. 'Calm down, please! It's my Quirk!'

The boy from Zenshi visibly relaxed. His shoulders slumped and he rolled onto his back, his eyes closing as he let out a long sigh. 'Groovy.'

'Under better circumstances, I'm sure it would be.' Natsuki turned his sights to the Seiai girl. She was still unconscious; he wasn't sure if he was going to risk connecting her while she was still out of it.

'I know who Chou-san is,' the Zenshi boy went on, 'but who are you, exactly?'

'Wow, the third-years weren't kidding about the notoriety being a dual-edged sword.'

Natsuki rolled onto his back and took in a deep breath. He counted to three, focusing all his energy to his core, and attempted to lift himself into a sitting position.

It was a poor attempt on his part.

Ready to give up on his physical prowess after one try, Natsuki just rolled back onto his side and looked at the two conscious teens. 'Name's Ishisaki Natsuki, second-year at Shiketsu. Sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances, or that my Quirk isn't more flashy.'

The Zenshi boy shrugged. Natsuki could just barely make out a few injuries from under his uniform, but otherwise he seemed to be in better shape than the rest of them.

'It's fine. I'm Hako Shimeru, first-year at Zenshi. Don't worry about your Quirk, Ishisaki—mine tends to make up for most.'

Much like Natsuki had earlier, Shimeru wiggled off his shoe and began yanking at his sock. One foot was free, and he paused for a moment as he reared his legs back. When Shimeru kicked his legs out in front of him, Natsuki saw the skin glow and seemingly part as a small pencil case flew across the room. It landed against the wall closest to the Seiai girl with a loud rattle.

Hako Shimeru - Quirk: Hammerspace Body
Shimeru can store objects up to the size of his torso within his body, and can eject them at will. The most common item stored in his body are air-tight snacks.

Natsuki stared at the pencil case with wide eyes. He couldn't even muster a stray thought at the display, but Hirari seemed to sum it up best.

'God damn,' she said. 'You're literally full of surprises.'

'Aren't I?' Shimeru was gloating. He was probably the type to enjoy all manner of praise.

Natsuki gave a final glance at the Seiai girl. She still wasn't showing signs of rousing, which meant they could very well need to operate without her. But, he thought as he looked back to the conscious teens, they sure as hell weren't leaving her behind. Heroes didn't do that.

'Hako-san, what else do you have in there?'

'What else…? Hold on a second…'

As Shimeru pondered what he had stored with his Quirk, Natsuki's attention flickered back to Hirari. With someone from UA on their side, escape was bound to be a cinch. Especially when Hirari's wings and the vacuum they could create were enough to rival even her more tactical peers in 1-A.

Hirari had a pained look on her face when Natsuki was able to meet her gaze. Once again he noticed the bloom of red against her uniform, but now it had spread beyond the darker splotches from earlier.

Cautious, Natsuki asked, 'Chou-san?'

Hirari sucked in a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. 'We'd be in the clear if I could wreak havoc outside, huh? And I could fly the Seiai student to safety, maybe even get to an agency nearby.'

That was the nature of her Quirk and her physical strength. Hirari was slated to become a top tier rescue hero, after all. And with wings as bright and beautiful as hers, even civilians would take note and report the sighting to the police long before she'd find an agency.

Hirari turned around until her back faced Natsuki. The red blooming against her uniform had expanded further—blood? Then how long had she been bleeding? And—And where was the back of her uniform, he realised? Torn away where her shoulder blades would be, leaving the paper-white skin exposed as fresh blood seeped from two distinct cuts.

And then what remained of her wings began to wiggle their ways out from the slits against her skin.

Chou Hirari - Quirk: Butterfly
Hirari possesses a pair of bright butterfly wings that can be folded back under her skin. The wings are powerful enough to lift Hirari and one other person, and can create vacuums of wind that can knock most people off their feet.

They'd been clearly hacked apart, torn from their base at Hirari's spine. All that remained of her wings were two thin, quivering slivers that could barely even lift a real butterfly, let alone Hirari and another person.

'Oh my God,' Shimeru cut in, pausing his train of thought at the sight of his senior. Hirari turned back around with a dejected look in her eyes.

'Whoever got us… They hacked off my wings. I swear I put up a fight, but…'

'It's okay, Chou-san,' Natsuki tried. She just shook her head and looked to Shimeru.

'Did you remember what you have, Hako-san?'

Shimeru furrowed his brows and reared back his legs again. This time he aimed for Natsuki as he kicked his feet out, and he used much less force compared to last time. Natsuki watched as a small box cutter blade raced towards him. He panicked, backed off as quickly as he could, but the blade came to a halt just a foot away from his face.

Natsuki gave the younger teen a dry look.

'It's for my snacks! I can't just take a pair of scissors without someone noticing me!'

'It'll do, Hako-san,' Hirari told him. She looked to Natsuki as she began shuffling over towards the blade. 'Ishisaki-san, roll onto your side and I'll try cut the ropes.'

'Your back okay?'

She let a bitter laugh slip out loud. 'Who cares? We just need to get out of here alive.'

She had a point, Natsuki thought. He heaved a sigh and rolled himself over, exposing his bound wrists to her as she continued to shuffle over. Despite the blood on her fingers, Hirari seemed confident enough to hold the blade and begin cutting the ropes at a snail's pace.

As Hirari did, Natsuki pondered what kind of resistance they'd meet outside the room. How was he even caught in the first place? It was so hard to remember, almost like he'd repressed it, but there was something to it that nagged at him. Something like a nightmare.

'Drowning…?' he thought aloud. Hirari paused.

'What was that?'

'Nothing. I just… All I can remember is this drowning sensation. And being…' Scared beyond words. Convinced he was going to die right then and there.

Shimeru tried to shuffle a little closer to them. 'Yeah… Yeah, now that I think about it, I can't think of anything no matter how hard I try.'

As she resumed cutting his bindings, Hirari said, 'Lucky.'

'You remember something?' Shimeru asked her.

She was quiet for a time. It wasn't until Natsuki could feel his bonds loosening that she spoke again. 'Darkness. Everywhere was just this unending nothingness. Felt like it was swallowing me whole.'

Hirari paused.

'I was terrified,' she added, almost ashamed.

As though it would fix anything, Natsuki said, 'So was I.'

There was a loud rumble from outside the room. Hirari lost her grip on the blade, hissing as it cut her finger and dropped to the ground. All three teens panicked as the rumble picked up, soon turning into the groaning of a door being dragged across the floor. Natsuki felt the sweat beading across his forehead as he tried to roll back over.

The blade dug into his hand, forcing him to recoil and flop onto his stomach. Hirari inched closer to him as the door to the room was forced open. She took an almost protective stance over him.

All Natsuki could hear was a pair of heels click against the concrete floor, approaching him and Hirari at a languid pace. Hirari's thoughts were racing too fast for Natsuki to make any out, but soon he didn't need to listen to her thoughts. Hirari was tossed off of him like she weighed nothing, and the screech she let out through her gag was enough to deafen him. A hand snatched at Natsuki's collar, lifting him from the floor, and soon he was being dragged out the door.

The last thing he saw from the concrete room was Hirari, writhing on her back as fresh tears of agony streamed down her face.

"I was hoping you'd be out for longer," his assailant purred. Natsuki tried to keep his breathing even. Maybe there was still hope for Shimeru and Hirari. Maybe he could give them instructions until the very end.

'Don't stop trying to get out! We're still connected!'

'Ishisaki!?'

'Ishisaki-san, where are you?'

'What's happening!?'

Natsuki was tossed gracelessly to the floor. His chin slammed hard against tile, and he could feel the skin split. He didn't stop, even as he heard the heels click away from him.

'Tiled flooring just outside. It's pitch black.'

'I—I have a flashlight, I think!'

The clicking paused for a second. Natsuki held his breath. He wanted so bad for his sight to adjust, to see what was beyond the tiled floor.

The click resumed, heading straight for him once again.

'Hako-san, try and flip Chou-san over and cut her loose. Wake up the Seiai student as soon as possible, okay?'

Natsuki squeezed his eyes shut as the clicking came to a stop by his side. He didn't know what happened if he got hurt whenever someone was linked to him. The other students always put his safety at the top of the list, if only because he was their walking, talking communications tower. But Natsuki could assume the worst, even now.

He severed the link in the middle of Shimeru's pleading for advice. He was totally alone with their captor.

"Are you scared?" that silken voice asked. Natsuki kept his eyes firmly shut, refusing to budge even an inch. It earned him a proud chuckle that slowly moved closer. "Good. Heroes should never be afraid."

Natsuki was almost ashamed at how quickly he'd passed out once the knife was plunged into his back.

"The applications have dropped by more than half. Currently Zenshi Academy's interest has dropped below that of Isamu Academy among the public."

The staff gathered in the boardroom was apprehensive at the news. From the third-year teachers, who still mourned the losses of students all over the area, to the school nurse, who cradled his head in his hands without so much as a peep. The sight was hard to take in for the headmaster of Zenshi Academy—the Hero of Jötnar, Skathi—but nevertheless she held her neutral expression.

The teacher who'd relayed the report to her was still standing, but he was reluctant to say another word. And how else could he follow up such poor news? Zenshi was losing public support, let alone student interest, and it was only a matter of time before they had to close their doors for good.

Hako Shimeru's body turning up in an alleyway may as well have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

From her left, a soft voice spoke up, "That's understandable. Isamu Academy has significantly less victims compared to other schools."

"Y—Yeah…" Kronos reluctantly began to sit back down. He cast a cursory glance at Skathi once more before he finally settled, pinching the bridge of his nose with a gloved hand. Mononoke, the one who'd spoken up, just continued to address the staff.

"This just means we need to prove we're as safe a school as any other," he said. He flicked open his fan and hid behind it. Sharp eyes landed on Skathi. "Headmaster, may I yet again inquire about dorms?"

"I agree with Mononoke-san," Poltergirl, one of the first-year teachers cut in. Skathi was struggling to keep her neutral expression. If only the previous headmaster hadn't retired so close to the kidnappings. If only Skathi hadn't been burdened with guiding everyone on her own.

"We'd be able to keep a better eye on them," another teacher agreed.

"Yeah… But didn't that girl from UA get snatched off the street?"

"We can bolster security, maybe?"

"This school has had nothing but security improvements over the last decade. If it's not safe with dorms, what's the point?"

Skathi cleared her throat. Silence took over in an instant, all eyes back on her with both eagerness and dismay behind them.

The previous headmaster had wanted to keep from making Zenshi a boarding school. He hadn't agreed with forcing the students to be in the same vicinity, not when so many clashed and were incompatible together. Zenshi was a hero school dedicated to forming teams and duos, but it prided itself in being a birthplace for organic relationships. So much strain and interaction against a student's wishes would just make things harder.

But Mononoke was right. He'd been pushing for dorms ever since the first Zenshi student turned up dead—one of his own students, no less. Skathi could only delay using this safety net for so long.

"We have one month until the entrance exam is held," she said. A few teachers nodded along with her. "Kronos, can you and Poltergirl address parental concerns before then?"

Kronos saluted. Poltergirl nodded without so much as a word. "We'll do our best, Headmaster," Kronos told her.

"Good. Materia Medica?"

The school nurse looked up with a start. "Yes, Headmaster?" he said.

"You studied under Recovery Girl at UA, right?" As Materia Medica nodded, Skathi continued, "Until we're ready for students here, I want you to spend as much time as possible at UA with the student they recovered. The quicker Chou Hirari recovers, the quicker we can try get answers about her captivity."

"Considering she had a jacket from Zenshi with Hako's name on the tag," Poltergirl mused, "it's safe to assume he worked with her to get just one of them out."

It was a very safe assumption. Moreso, it was the scenario that made Skathi the most proud. Teamwork under even the most dire circumstances was one of the first things they taught at Zenshi, and Shimeru had taken it to heart.

"Mononoke, you said you had blueprints?" Skathi looked to the man in the kimono. He snapped his fan shut and smiled at her. He knew she was stuck in a corner. "Bring them to my office as soon as possible. I'll contact contractors and heroes with Quirks suited for construction on such short notice."

The staff meeting was dismissed with her final order. Skathi watched her staff file out of the room one by one—some of them pausing to bid her farewell for the day, some of them rushing to get out of the gloomy room as soon as possible—until finally just Mononoke remained. He was busy fixing one of his long sleeves, but even as Skathi gathered her things and psyched herself up to return to her office, it was clear he was waiting for her specifically.

She joined his side, towering over him even with his koppori geta on, and heaved a sigh that slowly shifted into a groan.

"Now, now," Mononoke chided. "You've done your best."

"My 'best' resulted in the sixth student dying under my care," Skathi scowled.

They exited the room and made their ways towards her office. Mononoke's wasn't far off, considering he kept his blueprints and ideas for the school in his desk down the hall. It made the walk back feel less lonely, more like she had someone on her side to keep her from being too cynical. Not that she usually let her cynicism boil to the surface often.

"Skathi-chan, don't beat yourself up over it." Mononoke looked up at her with a kind expression. He used to always give his students the same face, back before the first victim from Zenshi had been one of his own. "Some things are out of our control."

Like inheriting a dying school, she thought bitterly. But she couldn't say it out loud. This was probably Mononoke's sentiment ever since he had to accept his failure to save his own student. And with Shimeru…

Maybe some things really were out of her control. It was hard to keep tabs on the things you never knew about to begin with.

Sometimes she wondered how Mononoke didn't go mad without even that much control.

Her office was just around the corner as their conversation petered off. Skathi glanced down at Mononoke a final time, just to gauge his reaction to her question: "Mamonaka-san, are you sure you're okay to teach for another year?"

Mononoke blinked up at her in surprise. The question had caught him off guard, the clanks of his geta against the floor halting all of a sudden. His calm expression fell into something more melancholic, but then he popped open his fan and hid behind it like he usually did.

"Of course!" he assured her. "I owe it to my remaining students to keep going, after all. And Hanashi-kun promised he'd cook me desserts just for the two of us by the end of each week."

Nishi Hanashi—Cloverdaze, a friend of Kronos and Poltergirl as well as a former classmate from their own school. Skathi didn't really know what to think of the two's relationship, but Mononoke always seemed to perk up whenever Hanashi was brought up. Cloverdaze didn't settle for teaching like his friends had—too awkward, apparently, and his Quirk was too useful in the field to keep relegated to a classroom. He was semi-active, available when needed but usually saved for emergencies.

Skathi let out a defeated laugh and turned back for her office. "Alright," she said. "But you tell me if you need a breather, okay? If I'm not allowed to overwork myself, neither are you."

He laughed back at her, more amused than anything. "Yes, yes, right away, Koori-san."

"Headmaster Skathi," she hissed at him. "Still your senior, young man."

Mononoke threw back the rebuttal of being only a year younger than her. Skathi just shook her head and opened the door to her office, feeling just a little bit more at ease despite the daunting task ahead of her.