Void (Part 2)

It only took a week for Momo to track down the general location of the missing Jason. After Chris's text, she had narrowed down all reports of food theft or dumpster diving across the area. Then she isolated the incidents that occurred after the Jason had disappeared. Then she used camera footage to investigate the culprits. Most of the incidents were clearly not Jason. However, after a few days of searching, Momo found him. He had gotten his hands on some different clothes, but it was definitely Jason dumpster diving behind a restaurant. It looked like he was wearing a medical mask to keep his face concealed. Momo was about to text the group chat, but stopped. She thought for a minute, then she texted all of her friends individually. All of them except for Jason.

Chris and Kirishima were eating alone at the school cafeteria that day. They would normally sit with their friends, but this was a very different situation. Kirishima whispered to Chris. "So we have a rough location then?" Chris nodded. "I also agree with Momo. Jason should sit this one out." Kirishima shook his head. "He would never stay behind." Chris glanced around the room. "That's why Momo didn't tell him." Kirishima nodded. "Alright then. So if our best fighter isn't coming, what's the plan?" Chris smirked. "First of all, ouch. Secondly, Shoto will-" "What are you two doing?" Both students almost jumped out of their seats. Aizawa had truly snuck up on them. Kirishima smiled. "Oh, hello Mr. Aizawa. We were just… talking about today's test!" Chris nodded, also smiling. "Yea. We were just saying how long it's been since we had to do any actual school work. I mean, we are working for a top notch Hero Agency. Especially since the said hero is still recovering." Aizawa nodded. "Understandable. Fatgum is an excellent hero and a great mentor. I imagine things will be very difficult until he returns." The teacher leaned down and glared at the two students, whispering. "Which is why it would be best to not do anything stupid until he returns." The teacher stood up and walked away. Chris and Kirishima were silent until they knew for sure that he was out of earshot. Then Kirishima looked at his friend. "He knows." "So what? This is the best chance we're ever going to get."

That night, the group had silently gotten ready to go. They were in casual clothes. They would rush to the Endeavor Agency, pinpoint the missing Jason's most recent location, and then rush there. But before that, they had to make sure the Jason presently in the dorms wouldn't suspect anything. Shoto was in her boyfriend's room. Jason looked at her. "Getting in bed?" Shoto smiled. "Unfortunately, no. Momo and I are going to go have a girl talk in her room, then I'll sleep in my own bed." Jason smiled. "Ok. I love you." Shoto smiled, kissed her boyfriend, and left. Then she sent the text. They were all hanging out downstairs, just waiting for Shoto to come down. Then they all hurried to Kirishima's truck.

Kirishima was lucky that he didn't get pulled over when he sped to the Endeavor Agency. The truck hadn't even stopped when they began piling out and hurried into the Agency. They rushed in and froze. Tamaki was staring at them from his desk. The room was dead silent until Mina smiled and waved. "Hi Tamaki." The Sidekick, dressed in casual clothing, stood up from his seat. "What are you five doing here?" Mina was always the fastest talker out of the group, so she was the first to respond. "Oh, we were just passing by when Momo realized she left something at her desk. She's just going to pick it up and then we'll be on our way to-" "To find the missing Jason?" The entire group froze up. Tamaki held up a sheet of paper. It was a printed form of Momo's investigation. "You two want to go find him. You all know full well that Fatgum instructed us to remain here and to not get involved." Kirishima crossed his arms. "The official investigation is going nowhere fast. We can end this tonight." Tamaki shouted; the first time he has ever done so in their presence. "Or you can make things worse!" The group was taken aback by Tamaki's sudden backbone. "Guys, I know he's your friend, but you can't go through with this! What if you get attacked?! Or even worse, what if the missing Jason decides that he doesn't want to come back with you?!"

The group was silent. Then Chris took a step forward. "Tamaki." The sidekick looked at the student. "I respect you. I really do. You are an incredibly powerful individual who graduated UA as the second strongest in the school at the time. There is no doubt in anyone's minds that you will become a very renowned hero. That being said…" Chris glared at what was technically his boss for the time being. "...there is no scenario where you stop us from doing this without a fight." The rest of the group was in shock. Chris threatening anyone was unheard of, let alone a fellow hero.

After a minute standoff, Tamaki sighed. "Fine." Chris turned to Momo, but Tamaki spoke up. "But I'm going with you guys." They all turned to him. The sidekick gave an awkward smile. "Someone has to keep an eye out for you guys." Chris nodded before turning to Momo. She was already rushing to her computer. The ten minute search felt like an eternity, but she eventually stood up. "He's at the beach!" Shoto rolled her eyes and spoke sarcastically. "That certainly narrows it down." Momo glared. "Natural Bridges State Beach." Shoto smiled. "Good work."

As the truck sped off into the night, heading towards the beach, Aizawa sighed. He had known what they were up to for quite some time now. Knowing that they wouldn't listen to reason, the teacher had prepared himself for tonight. Aizawa ignited his car's engine and followed, in his opinion, the best, dumb students at UA.

Jason stared out at the ocean. The sun had set a while ago, meaning nobody was around. Even in the daytime, the beach was sparsely populated due to the season's cold temperatures. Those temperatures only dropped more at night. He would like to be here during the day, but he had been instructed to be here at this time. Jason heard the sound of sand being displaced behind him. He turned and saw Chris walking up to him. Jason, for a moment, was happy to see his childhood friend. Then his smile turned into a scowl. He wasn't the person he was supposed to meet. "What the hell do you want?" Chris smiled. "Can't I say hi to an old friend?" Jason turned his body towards Chris. "Have you come to tell me that you finally figured out that the other me is a clone?" Chris sighed. "There's no way of knowing until we have both of you together." Jason turned his head to the side. "So you're still siding with the fake." Chris shook his head. "I'm siding with-" "You know something, Chris? I've been thinking about something you said last year, when we had our big fight and I beat your face to a pulp. You still remember that?" Chris, slightly concerned, nodded. "...yes, I remember it like it was yesterday." Jason slightly smirked as he looked at Chris. "Well then, I suppose you should remember the part where you said that friendship isn't just a fucking word, and how it's a two way street." Jason glared. "It's become clear that you are a massive hypocrite."

Chris sighed. "Alright, I tried talking this out with you. Now I'm taking you in by force." 40% of One for All coursed through his body. Jason watched Chris get into a combat stance and just laughed. "Dude, let me level with you. I beat you at the test site and I beat you at the Sports Festival. Both scenarios were fun and got the blood moving, but at the end of the day, those could be equated to intense sparring matches." Chris didn't move from his spot, so Jason kept talking. "In a sparring match, you don't actively try to harm the other person. I don't want to hurt you too badly, you don't want to hurt me too badly, etcetera etcetera. However, after the decision you made, picking the clone over me, I've realized something; you, Shoto, Kirishima, Mina, Momo, Denki, Tokoyami, none of you are my friends. You guys picked a damn clone over me because it was more convenient. So…" Jason glared, his arms becoming covered in red energy. "...what the hell makes you think you can beat me when I no longer care about hurting you?"