The aircraft shook slightly, sending ripples across the cabin where the Professional Hero Eraser Head waited patiently.
Around him, his UA colleagues Midnight and Power Loader checked the wave of data descending onto their tablet screens.
Deployment parameters, the positioning of key figures in the operation, estimated arrival times, and a constant trace of the Professional Hero Hawks' approach to the point where Ragdoll's signal was perceived.
This last point was of interest to the UA teachers more than any of the other Heroes. After all, one of their students had received authorization to deploy in the field.
Aizawa did not know whether to feel proud of the fact that his student found a way to butt in without messing things up and even provide valuable help that no one else could, or to be outraged by the intervention of Principal Nezu and All Might in involving Tetsumaru in matters that were none of his business without even asking him first, his homeroom teacher.
He decided he would find the answer once this was over, but first he had to go rescue his other student, Sero Hanta, and in the process make sure Terumi Tetsumaru didn't stumble right at the finish line.
No matter how good his performance was, Aizawa still saw him as a brat who could be impulsive at the most unpredictable moment. He didn't want to make the mistake of leaving Tetsumaru to his own devices, only for the damn brat to go confront the Villains without waiting for reinforcements.
—I know what you're thinking, Aizawa— Midnight spoke without even looking up from the endless information. —Have a little more faith in your student. He's done very well so far.
—... That's what worries me. He hasn't screwed up yet, and I'm afraid he will at the worst possible moment— the man replied with a low growl.
—Kuh, from what I know, the kid is rational-minded, rigid, or so Hatsume told me. I think he'll have it under control out there— Power Loader commented casually.
At his words, Aizawa remembered something and couldn't help but ask about it.
—It seems those two have a good relationship. Tetsumaru often visits her in her workshop. Did he find something interesting there, or is this the beginning of a youthful romance?
For some reason both Heroes decided to ignore, Midnight shuddered in her seat.
—Hatsume has been helping him with new gear. I've seen them constantly exchange ideas and the blueprints look promising, although the function is not what you'd expect— Power Loader replied with a mysterious smile.
After that exchange, the trio remained in complete silence, barely interrupted by the humming of the engines.
The UA aircraft, extremely fast and used only in particular cases, was designated by Nezu himself to take these three Heroes to the location to support and protect their students.
Although his abilities would be extremely valuable in the coordinated assault, Nezu and All Might deemed it appropriate to keep Aizawa out of those matters.
His role would be to secure the Professional Hero Pixie-Bob and Sero Hanta once the group led by All Might rescued them, and as a second priority, they would monitor Terumi Tetsumaru's movements.
They couldn't afford to lose another student while saving the first one, and given the shinobi's ability to track the Villains Toga Himiko and Iguchi Shūichi as well as the poor relationship between him and the League, there were high chances he would be pursued.
But Aizawa, despite having treated Tetsumaru harshly in their last encounter, did not doubt the young man's capability. There was a reason he agreed to keep both siblings as assistants during the camp, and not like the other students.
He did trust Tetsumaru. Both siblings.
Suddenly, their communicators crackled and the voice of Detective Tsukauchi resonated in their ears.
—Attention, an incident has been reported in the Kamino Ward: Monsters are roaming the streets and local Heroes report a gigantic agglomeration of dark particles that appears to be under attack by the creatures!
—...
Aizawa's eyelids twitched and he felt an overwhelming need to facepalm.
*************************
—Minutes Earlier—
Hawks' flight was ridiculously fast. So fast that Tetsumaru was forced to close his eyes and cover his mouth with his hands, in order to prevent saliva from escaping embarrassingly towards the end, when the Hero descended in a dive.
In a matter of 15 minutes, he took them to the city where Ragdoll's signal was received. As soon as they entered the territory, Hawks released the shinobi and let him fall.
The Satetsu deployed and Tetsumaru slowed his fall as best he could, not wanting to make a fool of himself by asking Hawks for help.
As soon as he slowed down enough, he extended a monumental column of sand almost half a kilometer high, briefly surpassing his previous limit.
His teeth clenched and chakra furiously erupted from the Tenketsu points in his arms, though with perfect harmony this time. He hadn't just been blindly searching all this time without taking advantage of Ragdoll's presence.
Now equipped with the knowledge he lacked, he found the control of his chakra and sand much more efficient, managing to surpass his limit by a considerable margin for a few minutes.
Tetsumaru took advantage of the speed he still had from his fall and forced the platform at his feet to stop even more, spinning around and forcing the column to follow the movement in a wider and faster horizontal sweep than the previous ones.
Ragdoll had not only gone with a sci-fi quantum device to emit the signal. She had also consumed capsules with a greater amount of Satetsu than Tetsumaru could implant in Himiko and Spinner, in addition to what she wore on her clothes.
He didn't have to search too hard to feel that greater concentration of fresh sand with his chakra still permeating it.
—I found her. She's in the warehouse my sand is pointing to— he quickly informed Hawks before retrieving the sand and flying on his platform to another location.
The Hero shot off to support the PussyCat, leaving Tetsumaru to sweep the surroundings to check for the other location, if there was one.
The shinobi was sure there was one. As soon as Ragdoll's signal marked the city of Yokohama, Tetsumaru used the device Nezu lent him to inform himself about the city: streets, points of interest, its layout. And he had a powerful intuition about one particular name.
Kamino.
His mind pricked, a sense of familiarity with it. Perhaps it was due to the similarity of the sound to another word in his old language, or to some miraculous long-lost memory that was now returning.
In any case, he decided to try his luck in that place.
What Tetsumaru was unaware of was the true extent of All For One's network.
Due to the small alterations in the story, the police investigation had no lead to rely on to end up discovering both hideouts. As such, they had just found out about Ragdoll's location and there was no time to coordinate a more efficient action plan.
That's without mentioning Tetsumaru's not-at-all discreet tracking activities.
All For One knew exactly they were coming, just as he wanted. And this time he had the decency to inform Tomura.
Tetsumaru didn't even get to extend his sand again when a small crowd of Nomu monsters broke through the walls of the buildings, jumping and some flying towards the shinobi.