No Regrets || Lying Hero Deku AU

Chapter 24

Togata didn't know what to do. If that wasn't bad enough, the people at his side didn't know either, but they immediately turned to him; as if he had the answer they couldn't possibly come up with.

Togata was sweating bullets, and even with the dim lighting, he knew that they should be able to see that. And yet, they kept watching him, waiting for him to say something, possibly anything. To say Togata felt pressured was to say nothing.

"Do we move forward, or do we try to exit the building? The service doesn't work here, so maybe we can report that outside?" One of the heroes, Sprinkler, asked, raising his hand up as if raising a hand in class. He was obviously younger than the other heroes, possibly had even just graduated. Togata nodded slowly.

"Yes. Thank you." Togata responded as calmly as he could, but even so, it came out small and quiet. Sprinkler nodded and ran towards the exit, Togata glancing at him before turning towards the darkly lit room before him.

Even though the ceilings were so high, he still felt claustrophobic. Not only that, but his eyes refused to adjust to the red hue of the room, and he could almost feel a headache coming in. But what disturbed him most was the emptiness of it, how there was nothing there except for a door at the end. No obstacles, no enemies, and not only that, there was this weird mechanical sound he couldn't associate anything in the room with.

It sounded like it was in the walls. Now, what was he supposed to do with that information other than panic?

"The door's not opening!" The black-haired male exclaimed, tugging at the door over and over again before turning fully towards the crew.

"Let me try." Another hero offered, one whose name Togata sadly could no longer recall in the midst of his panic. The man's hand buffed up in a second and he punched the door with full strength, the sound of his fist colliding with the door resulting in a loud, echoing thud.

But nothing else. The door stayed put, and Togata, from his distance, was pretty sure there wasn't even a dent.

"It's really not working! Maybe we should go further in, look for a window of some sorts?" The buffed up man returned his hand to normal and jogged back towards the group, Sprinkler following him with a worried expression on his face.

Togata recognized that face. It was a face which clearly said 'this is not how I thought my first job would come to pass'. Togata certainly wouldn't want any of his assignments to pass like this either not then, not now, not ever. Wasn't he lucky though? He was literally the main pawn in the operation.

Togata took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and pointing finger as he quickly regained his composure.

"Alright. I can use my quirk to go to the other side, but I can't take the transceiver with me. I'll go speak with the police, and then I'll come back and we'll discuss further action. No going further, is that understood?" Togata quickly announced, his tone leaving no room for questioning. They all nodded and hummed in agreement, and Togata hurried to the other side of the room, ready to activate his quirk the moment he reached the door close enough.

"Lemillion!" A voice suddenly called out, footsteps sounding behind him as the person ran towards him. Togata turned around, a questioning look on his face, but just as he was about to ask what the hero wanted, the hero jumped at him, grabbing his biceps with one hand and...

Togata gasped in shock, not even in pain, as something punctured the skin on the underside of his elbow. The hero started sobbing, but they didn't let go, and the two collapsed onto the floor, Togata being weakly pinned underneath the man.

Togata quickly pushed the man off, and whatever object that had been under his skin pulled out. The man kept sobbing, letting himself be pushed without any fight, and even as Togata jumped up, prepared to fight, he kept lying on the floor on his side and sobbing.