Chapter 27 - Starting the Raid

                                    

                                          
A/N Posting this one a day early cz I'll be on a trip with barely any wifi this weekend RIP Anyway, enjoy XD
Days passed in a blur, turning to weeks before he could even realize how much time had flown by. And now here he was, preparing himself for the day he'd been working towards for so long, his phone wrenched between his ear and his shoulder as he hopped on one leg while putting on his shoes.
"I'll be fine Kacchan, I promise!" Izuku whined, almost stumbling to the ground. "I'll be careful! Everything will go according to plan. Eraserhead will be there, I'll prioritize saving Eri and-"
"You know that's not what I'm asking" Kacchan said. "Are you going to be okay, Izuku? Give me an honest answer."
Of course this wasn't about Izuku's safety. Well, not entirely, at least. No, Kacchan was asking about something else. Sir Nighteye's death. Izuku had avoided talking about it, even thinking about it, and of course his friends had noticed but nobody had grilled him on it. Everyone was busy with their own stuff anyway, having their own work studies and gathering intel on Jikan wherever they could. They were also figuring out how to deal with the League of Villains, since somehow Magne was still alive while she was supposed to be dead.
Yeah, a lot had happened these last few weeks...
"...I'll be fine," Izuku said, his voice softer than before. "Please don't worry about me, Kacchan. I know what's coming and I... I know Sir Nighteye wouldn't want me interfering."
"Okay," Katsuki sighed. "But talk to Ochako if things get too much afterwards, alright? I'll be back late tonight but-"
"I'll be fine!" Izuku assured him. "And I have to go before I'm late!"
"Alright, be careful," Katsuki said. "And text me when you're out of there."
"I will. Bye Kacchan."
"Bye."
With that Izuku hung up, putting his phone away in his locker before finally zipping up his costume. Sir was going to kill him if he was late today! He couldn't afford to be tardy, not after all the preparation that went into this mission. And so he ran to the meeting room, panting as he stumbled into Mirio senpai, who simply laughed and patted him on the back.
"Right on time, Deku-kun!" he smiled. "Come on, the others are waiting!"
It didn't take long for everyone to gather up and Izuku ended up in the back of a van with his classmates as they drove off towards the yakuza compound to meet with the police.
"You okay dude?" Eijrou asked.
"Did Kacchan ask you to check up on me?" Izuku guessed, making the redhead avert his eyes. So that's a yes. Izuku sighed, letting his head rest against the metal of the van. Kacchan seriously needed to lay off with his protectiveness lately...
"We're worried, Deku-kun," Ochako sighed. "And not just because Katsuki told us to. This isn't easy on any of us, you know?"
"...Yeah, I know, sorry," Izuku mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers. He was nervous, could you really blame him? Everything had to go perfect today. There was no room for error or unexpected consequences. They had to follow their script no matter what, which also meant a lot of people would get hurt and injured and... And Sir Nighteye would die. He had to die. That was his fate, the way the timeline wanted things to play out. That's what he's been telling himself day in, day out. 
But then they told him Magne was still alive somehow and he-
Izuku sucked in a shaky breath. He didn't know what the League had done in order to change the course of time. He didn't know what kind of consequences they faced for keeping Magne alive. Maybe there hadn't been any consequences yet? Or maybe they weren't the one who faced them? But somehow Magne was alive while she was supposed to be dead and Izuku couldn't help but hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, there was a tiny little chance that they could twist fate. That maybe, somehow, they'd be able to keep everyone alive this time.