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Chapter 93 - Chapter 93 : The Vision, the Conspiracy, and the Impossible Rescue Mission

My words hung in the cold, sterile air of the medical room. "I know where she is."

Ryukyu and Momo stared at me in total shock. Outside, the faint cheers from the closing of the Provisional License Exam sounded like a distant world away from our new, horrific reality.

"What do you mean you know where she is?" Ryukyu asked, her voice sharp and urgent. She immediately switched into commander mode, her fatigue and doubt vanishing, replaced by the authority of a Top 10 Hero. "How could you possibly know?"

I pressed my hand to my throbbing temple, trying to make sense of the flash of vision I had just experienced. Fresh blood was still trickling from my nose. "It's... my sensory Quirk," I said, a partial lie that felt like the only plausible explanation. "The resonance. When I'm extremely stressed and focused on someone I have a connection with, like Nejire-senpai... I can get a brief flash. A vision. I saw her. She's in a dark metal room. And I saw that symbol again."

I took the crumpled piece of paper from my pocket—the message from Akame. I pointed to the Humarise symbol. "That symbol was on the wall of the room where she's being held."

Momo, who had been panicking at my condition, immediately switched to analytical mode. She took the paper and scanned it with her phone, her eyes moving quickly as she cross-referenced. "Humarise," she muttered. "An anti-Quirk cult considered a fringe group. No record of significant violent activity. But this symbol..."

Ryukyu looked at me, her golden eyes narrowing. "A vision. A metal room. And a symbol from a note given by an assassin. This is the most absurd and unreliable lead I have ever heard." She paused, then looked at me with a piercing gaze. "And I believe every word of it."

Her instant trust, born from all the impossible things she had witnessed from me, gave me strength. "This isn't just a simple kidnapping," I continued, my mind racing. "The message from Akame... 'Be careful... they are gathering... the Teigu users...' I didn't know what that meant at first. But a Teigu is a weapon. And Nejire-senpai's Quirk is one of the most powerful at U.A. What if 'Teigu' in the context of this world means... users of extremely powerful Quirks? Humarise isn't just kidnapping her. They're 'collecting' her."

The implication of those words made the room grow cold. Humarise wasn't just a terrorist group; they were Quirk collectors, perhaps to study, neutralize, or worse.

"We have to move immediately," Momo said firmly, her face pale but full of determination. "Every second counts." She showed her laptop screen to Ryukyu. "I found something. Based on the description of a 'metal room' and the Humarise connection, there is one very suspicious location. An old, closed-down medical research facility in the industrial district on the outskirts of the city. The facility was bought by a shell company six months ago—the same company whose servers are connected to the Humarise logo. Officially, the place is empty and scheduled for demolition."

"An old, abandoned laboratory," Ryukyu muttered. "The perfect place to conduct experiments without anyone asking questions."

The dilemma before us was immense. Ryukyu couldn't just launch an official raid based on an intern's "vision" and a hasty data analysis. Reporting it to the Public Safety Commission would take days, navigating layers of bureaucracy, and by then, it might be too late for Nejire.

"I'm not waiting," Ryukyu said, a dangerous decision forming in her eyes. "I'm going there myself."

"No," I said quickly. "You can't go alone. This is a clear trap; they left a trail leading to you through Akame and Yaoyorozu. They might be waiting for you. You need a team."

"My sidekicks are scattered all over the city, assisting with post-exam security," she retorted. "I can't pull them without raising suspicion."

"Then use us," Momo said, stepping forward. "We just proved we're capable in the exam. That exam was supposed to simulate a situation exactly like this. Let us prove we're worthy of that license."

Ryukyu looked at the two of us—me, still not fully recovered, and Momo, whose eyes burned with a mixture of a desire to prove herself and loyalty to her friend. It was an incredible breach of protocol. An act that could destroy her career. But she also saw the truth in our words.

"Alright," she said after a long silence. "We do it my way. This will be a covert mission, off the record. Just the three of us."

"The three of us?" I asked.

"Yes," she said firmly. "I need your strength as a fighter and your radar, Tatsumi-kun. And I need Yaoyorozu-san's brain and creation ability as our versatile support team. Uraraka-san and Asui-san... they are great heroes, but their Quirks are better suited for large-scale rescue, not silent infiltration. I will send them back to U.A. with the excuse that the internship ended early. The fewer involved, the smaller the risk."

The plan was insane, but it was the only plan we had. That night, after slipping out of the crowded exam arena, the three of us gathered at a safe location—one of Ryukyu's private apartments. We changed into black tactical gear, shedding our identities as heroes and students, and became a covert operations team.

Momo created the equipment we needed with incredible efficiency: encrypted communicators, night-vision goggles, and various tools for breaking electronic and physical locks. I myself focused on meditation, trying to recover as much of my stamina as possible and calm my agitated dragon's heartbeat.

As the night grew later, we stood on the roof of a building, looking toward the dark and foreboding old research facility in the distance. The building was surrounded by a high fence topped with barbed wire, and not a single light was visible from within. It looked like a tomb.

In her hideout, Akame felt something through a faint resonance. She felt the echo of Incursio moving, but this time with a clear focus and purpose. She also felt a strong draconic aura beside it. 'That Dragon Hero,' she thought. 'So the boy managed to convince her.' She didn't know the details, but she knew they were on the move. She had laid her bait. Now, she could only wait and see if they would take it or be eaten by a bigger fish.

"Remember the plan," Ryukyu said, her calm voice breaking the night's silence. "This is an infiltration mission, not an assault. We go in, we find Hado-senpai, and we get out. Avoid combat if possible. If forced, neutralize the enemy quickly and silently. No mistakes."

Momo and I nodded in unison.

I moved to the edge of the roof, looking at the fence below. I took a deep breath, focusing my will on my fingertips. I felt a sharp, controlled pain as small but razor-sharp black claws emerged from the tips of my gauntlets. This was no longer a chaotic manifestation; it was a precision tool.

"I'll open the way," I said.

That night, there were no cheering crowds. No supervising teachers. No exam rules. There was only the three of us, against a mysterious organization, to save our friend. This was no longer a simulation. This was no longer a game.

This was the real test.

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