Chapter 218:- Meeting The Victims

A few hours later, Izuku, the girls, and Eri arrived in Hiroshima. The hospital was quiet, the air filled with the soft hum of machines and the faint sound of children talking in hushed voices.

As they entered the room where the survivors were being kept, the sight before them hit hard. Children, some as young as five, sat on beds with bandages wrapped around their limbs.

Others lay unconscious, their small bodies covered in bruises and cuts. The adults, though fewer in number, were no better. Some had lost limbs; others were covered in scars, both visible and invisible.

Maki's eyes filled with tears as she took in the sight. "How could anyone do this?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

Eri, standing next to Izuku, clutched his hand tightly. "It's so sad…"

Izuku held Eri as he said, "If you want, Fuyumi will take you out of here, you don't need to be here if you don't want."

"No, I want to be here," Eri said.

Izuku nodded as he gave Eri to Fuyumi, who held her close to her heart.

Izuku knelt by the bed of a young boy, no older than seven. His eyes were wide and empty, staring blankly at the ceiling. Izuku's voice was soft as he spoke to him. "Can you tell me what happened?"

The boy blinked slowly, his voice a whisper. "They took me from my home. They said… They said they were going to make me strong. But it hurt. It hurt so much…"

Tears slid down the boy's cheeks, and Izuku gently placed a hand on his head. "I'm sorry you went through that. You're safe now."

Another child, a girl no older than ten, sat on the edge of her bed, her hands trembling as she spoke. "They put needles in us… every day.

They said it was for our own good, but it hurt. They made us fight each other… and if we didn't, they would… they would hurt us more."

Kaina knelt beside her, her voice filled with sorrow. "You're safe now. No one will hurt you again."

An older woman, perhaps in her late twenties, sat with her head bowed, her arms wrapped around herself. "I was just trying to find a job," she whispered.

"They promised me work… said I'd be helping people. But they locked me up. They said I wasn't useful unless I had a quirk. And when they couldn't make one awaken… they left me to die."

Momo's hand shook as she reached out to her, her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm so sorry…"

A man, older and gaunt, spoke next, his voice filled with bitterness. "They didn't care about us. We were just numbers to them.

They took everything from me… my family, my dignity. All for some twisted experiment."

Rei covered her face with her hands, unable to hold back her tears any longer. "This is… too much…"

Finally, a young mother held her infant child close, her voice trembling. "They… they took my baby away from me, saying they were going to make her stronger.

But when they brought her back, she was so weak… she couldn't even cry anymore."

Izuku stood, his heart heavy with the weight of their stories. "We're going to make sure this never happens again, and I'll make sure all you are healed." he promised, his voice strong.

"But I need your help. Tell me everything you remember. How it started, who took you, anything you can think of."

One by one, the survivors shared their stories, their voices filled with pain, fear, and anger. Some cried openly, others held their tears back, but the emotion was clear in every word they spoke.

Izuku sat down with the survivors, his face calm, but his eyes burned with determination. He needed answers—anything that could lead him to the ones responsible. He started gently, not wanting to push them too hard.

"Can any of you remember if the people who did this said anything? Anything about where they were taking people or who was in charge?" he asked softly.

The young boy from earlier, the one who had spoken of the pain, bit his lip and shook his head slowly. "They never said much to us. Just yelled at us to behave, or else..."

Maki crouched next to him, giving him a gentle smile. "It's okay. You don't have to force yourself."

A teenager sitting across from them furrowed her brow, trying to remember. "There were guards who talked a lot when they thought we were asleep," she murmured. "They mentioned moving people, taking them somewhere new. But… I don't know where."

"That's a start," Izuku said, nodding. "Anything else? Did they ever talk about someone in charge?"

The gaunt man from earlier let out a bitter laugh. "We were all just experiments to them. They didn't care enough to explain anything. But… I remember hearing them talk about 'the boss' once or twice. It was always in whispers. They were scared of him."

"They mentioned shipments too," the older woman added, her arms still wrapped around herself as if trying to shield herself from the memory. "They said something about 'preparing the next consignment.' Like we were just cargo."

Izuku nodded as he kept his voice calm and composed. "Did they ever say where they were sending people?"

The young mother, still holding her infant tightly, spoke up. "I heard one of them… he was on the phone, I think. He said something about I-Island. I didn't know what it meant at the time."

"I-Island…" Izuku echoed, his eyes narrowing. It made sense. I-Island was a hub of advanced technology, a place that had the resources to conduct experiments like this. If they were using it as a base or even a distribution point, it would be huge.

Rei, still wiping away her tears, looked at the young mother. "Are you sure that's what you heard?"

The mother nodded weakly. "I-I think so… I was barely awake, but I heard him say it. I remember because I used to read about I-Island in the news. I couldn't forget it."

"That's helpful," Kaina said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You've done more than enough."

Izuku stood, looking at each of them. "Thank you all. We're getting closer to stopping this. I promise you, the people who did this won't get away with it."

The survivors nodded, some of them still crying, others too numb to react. But in their eyes, there was a flicker of hope.

As the girls gathered around Izuku, Momo spoke up, her voice shaky but firm. "We'll find these people, Izuku. We won't let them get away with what they've done."

Izuku gave her a small smile, his eyes softening as he looked at the girls and Eri, who was still nestled in Fuyumi's arms. "We will. And we'll make sure that no one else suffers like this again."

He turned back to the survivors. "If any of you remember anything else, no matter how small, tell me. We need every piece of information we can get."

A few more survivors tried to recall details. One of the adults mentioned seeing documents with strange symbols, but nothing specific. Another remembered hearing something about "a lab," but they didn't know where it was located. Most of what they heard was fragmented, bits and pieces of conversations that didn't make much sense.

But the mention of I-Island—that was solid. It was a lead, and Izuku would follow it.

"Izuku," Fuyumi said softly, looking at him. "We'll be there with you. No matter what."

"Don't worry, we'll get them but no, you, Rei and Kaina won't be coming with us," said Izuku, in absolute voice.

"Why??? I want to come with you," retorted Fuyumi.

"You are pregnant, and are not allowed to see anything horrific or engage in combat, given if I island is the headquarters there will be scenes worse than in Kyoto…so you are not allowed to come, Rei will look after you, while Kaina will protect Eri.

So you three won't be coming with me, and that's something non negotiable, I won't hear anything otherwise, you two are non combatants, and I won't change it for anything, you are allowed to fight only when your or Eri's life is in danger, and none of us, me, Maki, Momo or Kaina are around you to protect you guys.

Rei san, if you want to be a grandmother, then it's your job to make sure Fuyumi doesn't engage in battle." said Izuku in no ifs and buts allowed tone.

"Don't worry dear, I understand your concern, I'll make sure to protect both Fuyumi and the child inside." Said Rei.

"Heyyyyy!!!!! That's not fair, you two cannot make decisions for me." Yelled Fuyumi but in a low tone, enough for only Izuku and the girls to listen.

"I can, as your mother, make decisions for my daughter." Said Rei.

"Even I can, I'm your fianceè, and father of the child that's going to be born in your belly, when it comes to fight and violence, I will the final decision maker in the family, not just you, but all of you will only go in the battle I deem safe for you." Said Izuku.

"Not even Maki and Momo are allowed to enter a battle that can harm their safety, and that's final, your safety and wellbeing are of utmost importance to me and there will be no more discussions on it." Said Izuku in an authoritative tone, ending the argument.

Fuyumi slumped her shoulders in defeat while the other girls nodded to what Izuku said.

As the conversations quieted down, Eri stood close to Izuku, her eyes fixated on the young girl who had spoken earlier.

The girl's frail body, weakened by the experiments, seemed to tug at Eri's heart. She gently tugged on Izuku's sleeve, looking up at him with a sad expression.

"Can I help her?" Eri whispered, her voice barely audible. "With my quirk? I want to… but I'm scared…"

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