Corusan District, Musutafu – 17:37 PM
Despite the streets being swarmed with fire a black messy-haired boy with brilliantly glowing green eyes ran towards the source of the blaze as opposed to the crowd of scared civilians who were running in the opposite direction. Why was he running again? Oh yeah, Todoroki. Damn that guy for running off like that. Shin couldn't even begin to count the number of times the pair had gotten into trouble with the Pros for getting in the way of the Nomu fights. Shin hated those creatures as much as Todoroki did, but even he knew that they were no match for those monstrosities. What the hell were a Quirkless kid and a walking volcano going to do anyway? Shin's attire was simple, consisting of a black racing jacked over a plain white t-shirt with blue jeans and white trainers with a space-themed design. He took a sharp left down an alleyway, narrowly missing a bunch of falling rubble from the nearby building before he reached an open street engulfed by flames that didn't seem likely to stop any time soon.
"URAVITY!" A voice yelled in horror as Shin let out a gasp, watching the body of his sister in law come flying out the flames and towards him. Her hair was a mess and her helmet was missing. Additionally, her pink and black bodysuit was ripped and torn in several places, most of the tears resembling claw marks
"Release!" The female Pro yelled, closing her fingers together and digging her wide pink boots into the ground to gain footing. It was then she noticed the young boy standing near her. "Shin?! What the hell are you doing here?!" She cried out angrily.
"Todoroki!" Shin exclaimed in repose. "He ran off down here and I have no idea where he went!"
"Uravity! Watch out!" The same voice from earlier called out. Ochako looked in shock as the Nomu she had been fighting sprinted out of the fire like a bat out of hell, eager to sink its claws into her flesh. It was a Black class Nomu that was a mirror image of the one she and her former classmates had been attacked by in their first year at U.A, aside from the humongous claws it possessed. Thinking quickly, Ochako touched Shin, activating her Quirk on him before on herself. The pair rose quickly into the air as the Nomu swiped at them, missing by a hair. The Nomu turned quickly and leapt up at them, Ochako cursing under her breath as she had forgotten how high the monster could leap. Before it could touch them, however, a well-timed explosion from Katsuki Bakugou forced it back on the ground as Ochako released her Quirk, catching Shin in her arms and dropping safely to the ground.
Name: Ochako Uraraka
Hero Name: Uravity
Quirk: Zero Gravity
By touching objects with the pads on the ends of her fingers, Ochako can nullify the gravitational pull on that object, making it weightless. She can even use it to float herself! However, if she exceeds her Quirk's weight limit or uses it on herself for too long, Ochako will suffer from nausea. To deactivate her Quirk, Ochako simply touches the pads on her fingers together.
"What the fuck is the brat doing here?!" Katsuki exclaimed in frustration. The Explosion Hero was covered head to toe in a thick layer of sweat that had built up over the past fifteen minutes. Like Ochako, his fully black costume was littered with claw marks and one of his grenade bracers was missing. The costume was a slightly altered version of his winter costume with it being a large jacket that had a high collar and was as black as the night but still contained the signature orange 'X' across the middle. Upon realising the popularity of his winter costume, Katsuki had spoken to Hatsume Industries to have his summer costume altered to look like his winter one. The end result was another copy of his winter costume although with some slight differences. The jacket was thinner than his winter one so he wouldn't overheat, and the sleeves could be rolled up his arm from the end of his grenade bracer. However, his grenade bracers had to be reduced slightly in size so Katsuki wouldn't tire out as easily running with them, though that was never really a problem. Katsuki still had his normal summer costume, but it was only worn in the summer. This new costume was worn in both spring and autumn before changing to his winter version. Today, however, the suit was causing havoc with Katsuki as the cooling system in the jacket had failed and Katsuki had to deal with wearing a sweat-filled jacket in the middle of all this fire.
"Kasai ran off and Shin went after him!" Ochako replied. A strangled yell escaped Katsuki's mouth as he ground his teeth together. Just what he needed. Not only was he a ticking time bomb right now due to the absurd amount of fire around him, but now the Todoroki brat was missing again.
"Uravity, help me lead the Nomu away from here," Katsuki said, his hands crackling with a series of mini explosions. Ochako looked at her partner and was about to ask why when Katsuki answered for her. "I want to use maximum firepower on this fucker, but the damn fire is in the way. If I use an explosion too big, I'll blow myself up."
"Got it," Ochako said, nodding in understanding. The Nomu in this time had freed itself from the rubble that Katsuki's explosion had buried it in and charged once again.
"Get back damn it!" Katsuki yelled as he held out one of his hands while forming the other into a circle. Ochako understood the order immediately and used her Quirk to move herself and Shin out of the blast zone. "AP Shot: Auto-Cannon!" Katsuki placed his circled hand onto his palm and fired a barrage of concentrated explosions at the monstrosity whose assault was slowed slightly, but not enough. Katsuki clicked his tongue in annoyance as he blasted himself into the air as the Nomu stumbled, dazed and burnt, past him. Katsuki then launched himself back in front of the Nomu and unleashed a small explosion in its face before launching over it. The Nomu, now frustrated, charged at Katsuki who launched himself up in the air once more. The Nomu looked up briefly as Katsuki flipped himself around, placing his hands together. "Stun Grenade!" A burst of light enveloped the area as Katsuki let loose his next super move, blinding the Nomu. The creature rubbed its eyes before looking up, directly at Ochako who floated above him various bits of debris surrounding her.
"Comet Shower!" The various bits debris rained down at the Nomu who leapt out of the way at the last second. Cars, vending machines, stone, almost anything Ochako could grab her hands on had been gathered up in order to cause a large enough meteor shower that would hopefully bury the Nomu in what was her original plan before Katsuki arrived. Instead, it was now being used to guide the stumbling creature to another street where there was less fire, so Katsuki could finish it off. Another vending machine dropped in front of the Nomu who jumped back, struggling to defend itself before being pushed back by another powerful explosion from Katsuki. By now, the trio had reached an empty street where the flames of the great fire flickered behind them. Katsuki landed after just propelling himself towards the street. He grinned as he brought his hands up, steam hissing from his palms.
"Alright you bastard, prepare to riot in hell," Katsuki said sinisterly as he thrust his hands back quickly, launching himself towards the Nomu. The creature roared and trust its right palm at him, a black spear-like object shooting out at Katsuki like a lightning bolt. However, thanks to his inhuman reaction time, Katsuki blasted himself out of the attack's range and back at the Nomu, reading his newest attack that he had added to his arsenal. Katsuki dug his feet into the ground to get a good enough footing as he landed and trusted his heated palms into the Nomu. "Maximum Firepower: Megaton Cannon!" The street lit up like the sun itself as Bakugou unleashed all his pent-up rage and sweat against the monster. Ochako and Shin covered their eyes from the blinding flash as the Nomu was burnt to a crisp by the explosion. A powerful shockwave tore through the ground as Shin held on tight to Ochako to stabilise himself.
"Oh my god." Shin couldn't help but let his jaw drop at the sight of the street before him. The overturned and crashed cars that littered the street had been reduced to molten metal while the ground below them had been churned up, leaving a large crater whilst the buildings above were covered with scorch marks. Katsuki exhaled before doubling over in pain. Whilst he had one bracer to slightly nullify the recoil on one arm, the other wasn't so lucky and was now throbbing in pain. Katsuki even thought his arm might be broken.
Name: Katsuki Bakugou
Hero Name: Ground Zero
Quirk: Explosion
Born from a fusion of his parent's Quirks, Explosion causes Katsuki's sweat to consist of a nitroglycerin-like substance that Katsuki can detonate from his palms to generate explosions of various sizes. Smaller explosions can be used to propel himself into the air while larger ones are used to attack foes. The explosions do cause recoil damage however, with larger ones dislocating or breaking his arms and Katsuki must be careful when using his Quirk in a highly flammable area.
Using his uninjured hand, Katsuki wiped the sweat from his forehead as Ochako ran over to his aid.
"Ground Zero! Are ok?!" She squeaked.
"Do I fucking look ok to you Round Face?!" Katsuki snapped angrily as another wave of pain ran up his arm.
"He's definitely angry alright," Ochako thought to herself as she helped Katsuki on his feet. During work, people could tell if Katsuki was pissed off when he resorted to using nicknames instead of their titles. Shin had now run over and wrapped Katsuki's limp arm around his neck to try and help. This was not a good idea however as Katsuki winced in pain before cursing loudly. He then glared angrily at Shin with rage-induced eyes.
"Oi brat! I thought I told you to piss off already!" He yelled. Shin was about to reply when a sickening moan filled the air. The trio turned and was greeted with the sight of a Yellow Nomu with large spike-like appendages growing from its body and claws which were far too long for its hands.
"N-no, I thought there was only six!" Ochako cried out. Nejire-chan had informed her that only six had managed to get through the Divide, three Black Class, two White Class and one High End. Just how many more had broken in? She removed Katsuki's arm from around her neck as he leant on Shin. "Shin, I need you to look after Ground Zero for a while," Ochako said seriously as she got ready for battle. All she had to do was make the Nomu float and they'd be fine. Ochako stepped forward and the Nomu charged at them, letting out a disgusting noise between a cry and a moan. Ochako prepared herself for the worst. Yellows always had multiple body augmentation Quirks, so anything was possible. Before she could make a move, a brilliant torrent of flames overtook the battlefield, incinerating the Nomu. Shin's heart leapt at the sight and as much as he wanted those flames to be Todoroki's, he knew they belonged to the wrong one.
Kasai's flames weren't this big
The Nomu let out a horrifying high-pitched screech before falling to the ground as a charred mess of burnt flesh. Ochako stared in shock as the owner of the blue flames stepped forward, the distinct burns on his body easily distinguishable from his scary appearance.
"You know, an old fart once told me that carbonised cells can't regenerate," the newcomer said, his voice quiet and soft. He wore a large black coat with two metal cuffs on the elbows and white stitching on the shoulders. This was over a simple plain white t-shirt and dark trousers with black boots. Similar to his fire, his eyes were turquoise in colour and his black hair was spiked up around his head while several piercings covered his face.
"Oi Patchwork! You're late!" Katsuki huffed in annoyance. Toya Todoroki, or rather Dabi, smiled.
"You know, I do have a name. I'd be nice if you can actually remember it for once King Explodo-Kills, or was is Warhead?" Dabi teased.
"It's Ground Zero" Katsuki growled angrily through gritted teeth. Over the course of his career, Katsuki had changed names multiple times. King Explosion Murder still wasn't allowed for some reason, but as the Number 1 Hero, Katsuki had to pick a name and stick with it. Thankfully, Ochako came up with the perfect one: Ground Zero.
"Whatever" Dabi replied, now uninterested. He then noticed Shin holding onto Katsuki for support. "What are you doing here kid? Don't tell me you're trying to start trouble again?" He asked.
"It's Todoroki. He went off this way and I followed him to try and bring him back" Shin protested. Dabi stiffened at this.
"Which way?" He said in a cold voice.
"I-I'm not sure" Shin stuttered in response. He could feel it. The immense pressure of Dabi's anger. He bet even Ochako and Katsuki felt it too. Dabi was not the sort of Pro you wanted to piss off. "There was so much fire and I lost him."
"That boy is going to get it this time" Dabi scowled, fists clenching. He then turned to Ochako. "Uravity? How many Nomu broke through the Divide? Apart from the one I just took out, I've dealt with two so far."
"I'm not exactly sure" Ochacko answered. "I was informed that there were six that broke out, three Black Class, two White Class and one High-End Class." She then frowned. "But now there may be more that got through before Nejire-Chan could survey them, let alone another hole, heaven forbid!" Dabi nodded at the new information. The two he had dealt with prior had been the mentioned White Class Nomu, small fry compared to the Blacks. And now there was word of a High-End Class? Damn, they were going to have their hands full tonight.
"Has the hole been patched?" He asked. Ochako nodded in response.
"Yes, Cementoss was drafted in immediately to the scene when the breakthrough occurred." Dabi nodded and his mind began to formulate a plan. Though he had been a villain for the latter half of his youth, Dabi had managed to make a surprisingly good turn around. One moment he was sitting in prison for his crimes, the next moment he's a Pro Hero sitting comfortably in the top ten ranked Pros. While he had committed some terrible crimes in the past, one couldn't forget that it was Dabi himself who took down the entirety of the League of Villains, aside from their leader of course which funnily enough was the one Dabi was after in the first place. Although, one could expect quite a rapid change in sides after watching your younger brother have half his face disintegrated. Doctors said it would be a miracle if he survived, which he did, at a price. Katsuki got shivers from that dark day. The amount of fire that engulfed the building that night…it was just absurd. It was said the flames could be seen from the other side of the city. Still, thanks to Dabi's following actions, the rest of the League and all its associates were locked up for good. And Dabi? Several years of jail time and rehabilitation. But all's well that ends well.
"Uravity, take Ground Zero to the first aid zone. It's located just outside the shopping district a few blocks away from here, you can't miss it. As for me, I'm taking the kid with me to find Kasai and then returning. After that, I and Shockwave are going to hunt for this High-End Nomu" Dabi explained.
"Wha? You can just take Shin with you! He'll get hurt, he's just a civilian!" Ochako said in shock. Why hell would Dabi suggest something like that.
"Round Face is right" Katsuki agreed. "As annoying as he is, I don't want to see the brat getting hurt."
"Relax," Dabi said as calm as ever. "He was the last person to see Kasai so I need his help in finding him. Besides, I won't let a single Nomu touch him, I promise." Ochako stared intensely at Dabi's face. No longer was it the chilled laidback look it normally gave off, but a fiercely determined glare that asked her to trust him. At last Ochako gave in and sighed heavily.
"Fine. But it's Shin's choice to decide" she said, turning to the boy.
"Yeah, I'll go," Shin said. "I came out here looking for Todoroki anyway, and I'm not leaving without him." Dabi smiled as Shin then handed Katsuki over to Ochacko who used her Quirk on him to make him lighter. She had learnt that the best way for her to transport injured was to lighten them and then proceed to carry them. With that, Ochako could cover much more ground quickly.
"If he comes back with so much as a scratch, Inko will kill me," Ochako said, slightly afraid at the thought of facing an overprotective Inko Midoriya. She didn't need too missing sons.
"You have nothing to worry about," Dabi said reassuringly.
Kasai was not having a nice time, to say the least. The white-haired boy's arm's hurt like hell, but he pressed on, determined to outdo his opponents. Kasai himself was almost like a splitting image of his father with the same turquoise eyes and spiked out hair, except it was white like snow. He wore nothing but a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans just like his friend. His opponents were, in fact, two Black Class Nomu with an absurd amount of brute strength. The first of the two monsters was absolutely massive due to a muscle augmentation quirk that caused its body to swell up to an incredible size of almost ten feet tall. Along with its humungous size was a whirring power drill in place of its right arm. A drill that nearly cost Kasai his own arm. However, the creature did seem to have a downside to it's increased muscle mass as the lower half of its body was relatively short, having two short stumpy legs to hold the weight of its massive torso. Along with that, the Nomu appeared to have what seemed to be a rhino's horn sticking out of it's exposed brain between its four eyes. The second Nomu was slightly shorter than the first, having the body of a centaur as below its waist was that of a horse's body, the fur being pitch black. Additionally, it had no eyes. It stood there silent and unmoving. It creeped Kasai out with the way it made no noise and waited for his attack. The Centaur Nomu extended its arm and a black pole formed in front of its hand which it promptly grabbed onto. The battle was beginning again.
The Muscle Nomu moved first, charging directly at Kasai. Blue flames erupted from Kasai's hands and forehead, forming a crown-like shape as he prepared to fight. The fire licked at Kasai's skin as he slowly cooked himself alive. But he had to be strong. He wouldn't show weakness in front of the enemy. Grandfather never would. The Nomu threw a left hook which Kasai ducked under and shot a stream of continuous flames at the Nomu who grunted in pain but didn't falter. It's right arm arched back and then thrust forward, drill whirring into life with the intent to shred Kasai's face to bits. A jet of flames burst forth from the soles of Kasai's bare feet, propelling him out of the monster's attack, and right into the path of the Centaur Nomu. He'd fucked up now. The shorter Nomu thrust it's pole forward like a lance, striking Kasai in the shoulder and digging through his flesh. The sixteen-year-old screamed in agony as the pole ground through his shoulder joint and through the skin on the other side of his shoulder. The Nomu then tossed the metal pole, sending the attached Kasai flying as the pole slipped out of his shoulder. Kasai tumbled along the ground, each impact with the asphalt sending a jolt of unrelenting pain coursing through his arm. It was unbearable. Kasai soon came to a stop after hitting a solid wall of a nearby building, slumping against it. A warm sensation trickled down his arm as blood escaped from the horrible wound on his shoulder. Kasai raised his head slightly, seeing the Muscular Nomu's flesh pulsating wildly where it had been burnt. It was regenerating already.
The Centaur Nomu strode over slowly, coming to a stop in front of Kasai. It said nothing as it raised the bloodstained pole, this time aiming for Kasai's head. Kasai just stared at the silent creature, no fear in his eyes but vile anger that burned hotter than his Grandfather's Hellflame. A sudden rush of blue flames overtook the Nomu and finally, the creature let out a noise. A scream. One of those ear-piercing screams that shook a person's very soul. The creature screamed and screamed until at last, it collapsed as nothing but a burnt mess of what it once was. The four eyes of the Muscular Nomu turned to find its assailant, only to get the rest of its head incinerated by a stream of the same blue flames. Kasai turned his head to see his saviour, regretting who it was.
"You know, you're a pain in the ass to find. It's lucky you were just around the corner from here" Dabi said, eyeing his son angrily.
Name: Toya Todoroki
Hero Name: Dabi
Quirk: Cremation
Born from a mutation, Dabi's Quirk grants him pyrokinetic abilities, allowing him to expel blazing hot blue flames from any part of his body. Homage to the name of his Quirk, Dabi can even use his flames to combust objects too, making his Quirk versatile for combat and rescue by removing rubble. However, Dabi's body is poorly suited to handle his Quirk, and therefore runs the risk of burning himself accidentally. Additionally, his Quirk also causes recoil when firing a large burst of flames.
"Dad-" Kasai began but winced in pain as he tried to move.
"Todoroki!" Shin called from behind Dabi, rushing over quickly to meet his friend.
"Midoriya? What are you doing here?" Kasai asked weakly.
"I came to find you" Shin began, tears almost welling up in his eyes. "You God damn idiot! Look at yourself!" Shin was right, he was an idiot. What would his mother say now? How would she react to her son dying in an attempt for revenge for her? Ridiculous. Dabi strode over calmly and knelt down beside his son.
"Please Kasai," he said worriedly. Kasai could see the look in his father's eyes. It wasn't his usually calm and collected look. It was one of fear and sadness. "I know how much you hate them, but you can't do this. You're the last thing I have in this world that I care about. And if I lose you, I don't know what I'd be able to do."
"Dad…" Kasai said as he could feel it coming. No, not now. He wasn't going to cry. But the tears still came. "I'm sorry" he wept, hugging his father with his uninjured arm. Dabi smiled as he broke off their hug, turning to Shin.
"Midoriya, I'll be needing your jacket."
It took some time, but Dabi had managed to stop Kasai's bleeding by making a makeshift bandage out of Shin's jacket that was wrapped tightly around the wound. Dabi would have offered up his own jacket, but that came at the risk of burning himself with his Quirk. The jacket's special bracers and fire-resistant material kept Dabi's fire bursts in check, protecting his poor skin from suffering any more horrific burns. Before they could move, however, a sudden rush of wind swept through the street, extinguishing most of the flames in the area. A thunderous boom signalled the arrival of a new foe as Dabi got up and ready for another fight. His eyes widened and he cursed under his breath as he recognised the newcomer all too well. A large, well-built, muscular body frame that stood far taller then he did covered up by a cloak of torn black skin. The Nomu's facial features were well hidden by the skin hood over its face, all except for the glowing yellow eyes that screamed the word murderer to Dabi. As for the rest of the Nomu's body, it was a mess of black skin with muscle fibres trying to tear out of its body except for the left hand which was formed as a bone-like sword with the blade being formed of two strands of bone intertwining around each other. It seemed all the recent Nomu had arm augmentations for some reason or another.
"Found you" the Nomu droned as its shoulders expanded, letting two small cannon like appendages extend out of them.
"Get back you two, Now!" Dabi ordered in alarm, rushing forward and bringing his right arm across his body to intercept the incoming attack. The two cannons fired out a powerful beam of yellow energy at the rushing Pro, who in response, swung his ignited right arm over and generating a wall of blue flames in front of him. The two attacks collided, creating a small explosion that knocked Dabi back. Not relenting for one bit, Dabi sent a burst of blue flames forward. He had no idea where the Nomu was as the collision of attacks had generated a smokescreen. The Cremation surged forward, swallowing up the smoke and the Nomu. After a few seconds, Dabi lowered his hand to survey the damage dealt. To his surprise, the Nomu stood there unphased from the attack, smoke trailing from its body. "A fire-resistant Quirk. That's the only explanation" Dabi though as he readied himself for another assault. The Nomu moved first this time, the two cannons firing out another beam. Dabi countered once again with the flame wall, but out of the smokescreen flew the Nomu's bone sword, just grazing Dabi by the cheek as he dodged at the last second. Blood began to flow out of the cut as the Nomu was now directly in front of Dabi. The sword shifted, and Dabi leapt to his left, turning as he did. The action was too late however as the bone sword slashed the Hero across the chest, opening a small wound.
Dabi landed and clutched his chest, feeling a small amount of blood come flowing out. He was lucky it was only a light cut or else he would have been finished. The Nomu's cannons fired again and this time with no time to prepare a counter, Dabi raised his hand fired his flames to the right. The recoil from the shot pushed him out of the way as the energy beams hit the ground where he's just been standing. Again, the Nomu fired more blasts at Dabi who continuously used his flames to push himself out of the line of fire. At this rate, he couldn't perform a counter attack. He had to stay on the defensive until an opening could be seen. His chance came sooner than expected as the blasts got weaker and weaker until nothing, but a puff of smoke came out of the cannons. Not wasting the opportunity, Dabi lit his right arm up with his flames, swinging it across his body and releasing the fire before thrusting his left-hand forwards, further pushing the attack forward with more flames. The wave of fire surged towards the Nomu, engulfing it completely until only a cloud of smoke remained where it had just been standing. Dabi let out a heavy breath that he'd been holding. This was becoming too much. The flames were starting to burn now, and he was losing blood fast. He needed to end this quick.
There was a loud flap as the smoke cloud dispersed as a gust of wind blew across the street. Dabi stared in despair as the Nomu stood there almost unscathed, massive black wings now protruding from it's back. Dabi realised there was only one way to win. He needed to destroy the brain. The Nomu raised its right hand and it shot out like a tentacle, coiling through the air. Dabi took off running towards the Nomu, avoiding the tentacle limb which flew past him and narrowly dodging the bone sword which aimed for his head. Upon reaching the Nomu, Dabi thrust his right hand forward, right into the Nomu's face, flames lighting up along his palm. "Burn" was all he said before unleashing a torrent of flames into the creature's face. The Cremation coiled around the Nomu's skin hood as they leapt back at Dabi who jumped back out the way before they could hit him. It was risky using his flames so close to himself, but it was worth it as the Nomu grunted and screeched, the tentacle limb recoiling back to its owner, knocking Dabi off his feet. Dabi hit the ground hard, slightly winding himself in the process. The Nomu moaned as it smacked itself in the face, trying desperately to extinguish the blue flames. Dabi managed to sit himself up as the creature stared at him with murderous intent.
"You…pay" it growled darkly, it's wings flapping as it shot forward at Dabi. Dabi got himself up in a rush, lighting all his exposed limbs on fire. It hurt like hell, but it was either that or death by the Nomu's hands. Dabi shot another fire burst at the creature who retaliated by fire its cannons. Apparently, the recharge time had finished, and they were ready to go once more. The Nomu shot through the smokescreen caused and smacked Dabi with its massive palm sending him crashing into the wall of the building behind. The creature slammed it's hand into Dabi, this time pinning him to the wall. Dabi's brain went into panic mode as the flames around his body intensified, lashing out wildly at anything near them. The Nomu just growled and retracted its hand before slamming it's palm into Dabi again, pinning him once again. The Cremation disappeared as Dabi was knocked unconscious, leaving him open. The Nomu raised its bone sword and arched it's arm back, aiming the point straight for Dabi's head.
Shin had no idea what happened next. He had no idea why he started running, or why his legs even moved in the first place. He just knew he was moving. A strange feeling bubbled inside his chest. It was like a spark or a small ember flickering in the wind. It grew and grew until it consumed his entire body. A loud whistle echoed through Shin's ears as his body glowed. He took off from the ground, flying through the air towards his enemy. He remembered it know. How his father had told him that the memorable Pros had stories from their high school days. Where their legs moved without them thinking. How they unconsciously forced themselves into a predicament to help someone. How his brother had done the same thing to prove to his father that he was worthy of his Quirk's power. He clenched his hand into a fist and pulled it back ready for the punch.
"Let him go now!" He roared at the Nomu who turned its head just in time. The power coursed through Shin's body, making its way towards his fist as it overflowed. Deep within himself, Shin heard the single phrase that would be the key to releasing it. "SMASH!" With a mighty thrust of his hand, Shin punched the Nomu square in the cheek, hearing the bones grind under the power of his fist. The creature made a noise before it was sent flying, the limp body of Dabi now slumping to the floor. Shin landed on his feet before doubling over in pain. What the hell was that? He raised right arm that he'd punched with, seeing it now red and swollen. It couldn't be a quirk? Could it? But that was impossible! His father was Quirkless now and his mother had a telekinetic based Quirk. So why did he have his brother's strength? A noise up ahead alerted Shin's attention and he looked up to see the Nomu slowly picking itself up. It must have landed on its left arm as the bone sword had now been snapped off. Shin didn't know what that power was, but he needed it again. He called down deep within himself for it to awaken. Nothing. The Nomu was now glaring at him. Shin called again. Still nothing. The Nomu took a step forward. Shin screamed inside himself for it to come back. Nothing again. The Nomu began to stride over to him slowly and menacingly. Dabi was still unconscious and couldn't do anything.
"Midoriya! Move!" Kasai yelled but to no avail. Shin stood there frozen in fear as the Nomu made it's way over to him. A black blur suddenly slammed into the Nomu from out of nowhere and crashed into the ground. When the dust settled, Shin stared in shock as a man in presumably in his thirties stood on top of the Nomu, holding it down with his hand on its face. His eyes were a sunset orange colour whilst his black hair was left messy, falling in between his eyes and along the sides of his head. His clothing consisted of a white shirt and black tie under a black vest that almost looked like armour. Additionally, he had a pair of metal braces covered under his black dust trench coat and black gloves with silver lines running down the fingers. Along with that, he wore black slacks held up by a belt and black combat boots.
"Now then," the man said before the ground beneath the Nomu's head gave way and the Nomu's head exploded into mush, blood and bits grey matter splattering everywhere. The man soon rose and looked over to Shin and now Dabi who seemed to be coming around. "let's get you all out here then" the man said. "I've got some things I need to discuss with you boys."
Paddington Station, London – 9:01 AM
"Beware the purple trickster."
The quote rang through Kieran's head as it was the commotion from outside the tent that awoke him this time instead of the train. He let out a groan as he slowly rose from the small bed, letting the cold flannel drop from his head. He felt hot, far too hot. He could see that he also almost stark naked save for his underwear and bandages covering his chest. Kieran then took note of his surroundings, seeing a small desk with a small lamp on top along with paperwork. The flaps to the tent were closed but left slightly ajar so Kieran could see and hear outside. Outside he heard raised voices, a pair of people arguing with each other. However, when the words 'He's a bloody criminal!' Rang through his ears, Kieran's heart stopped. No, it couldn't be. Could it? Had they found out? Kieran gripped his hair tightly in frustration.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I'm so FUCKED!" He thought in alarm. He knew it'd been too good to be true. He knew coming to the city was a bad idea. He knew it would be swarming with Pros. And he still chose to come anyway. He had to leave, NOW. Kieran's eyes darted around the tent, aiming to find his clothes, now spotting them on the back of the chair. That was it. He'd get dressed, sneak out and run back along the railway tracks at the end of the station. After that, he'd go the long way around the city and head South. Kieran didn't care if he had to kill every single Nomu that wandered in front of him, anything was better than the alternative. The sound of the tent flap opening got Kieran's attention and Kieran soon saw a youngish man in his twenties walk into the tent. He had shoulder length brown hair that was curled slightly and swept out the way of his brilliant purple eyes. He wore a black gothic military trench coat that was zipped up and hid the rest of his clothing except for his black boots. Kieran also noticed that the man also had bandages that were wrapped around his arms almost up to his fingers. Suddenly, the headache returned, and the world faded once more as the man walked in and his flame revealed itself to Kieran who went numb upon seeing it. It was a colour he'd never seen before in his entire life.
It was Purple.
Kieran was now confused as hell when the world returned. His mouth was dry as sweat trickled down his forehead. Kieran only snapped back to reality when the man gave a small laugh and Kieran instinctively set himself alight, burning the bed in the process. The man stared at Kieran, marvelling at his powers and moved forward.
"If you're thinking of capturing me and dragging me to prison, you are dead wrong" Kieran threatened. The man chuckled once more.
"Take you to jail? Hahaha! I'm afraid I have the exact opposite in mind" the man replied, stepping forward once more. Kieran didn't buy it, the flames now intensifying.
"I'm warning you, BACK OFF" Kieran growled. Kieran didn't understand. Why Purple. Why was everyone else Orange or Grey but him Purple? What did it mean? The chain of questions suddenly brought back a long-lost memory from the past. A quote from somewhere.
"Beware the purple trickster."
That quote again. Where had he heard it before? Questions for later as the man spoke once again.
"What marvellous flames. Such an interesting Quirk you have. What is it called?" The man asked.
"I don't have to tell you jack," Kieran said in a low voice, not taking his eyes off the man who just huffed.
"Again with the hostility?" He huffed in slight annoyance. "And here I thought we'd be able to talk like civilised human beings." With that, the man grabbed the chair and spun it around for him to sit on, which he promptly did. "Now then, time for introductions. My name is Dominic Flinch, I'm a member of the Sacchi Organisation."
"Sacchi Organisation? What is that?" Kieran asked, the flames unwavering. Never had he heard of such a group on his travels. Probably a villain organisation or something of the sort.
"Ah yes, you wouldn't know who we are since we like to stay out of the limelight," Dominic said as he placed his hands together. "Firstly, do you understand how the current Hero education system works? Schools offering hero courses to study which students join and graduate as Pro Heroes?" Kieran nodded in response. He'd learnt a little bit about it when growing up and again on his many travels across the country. "Good," Dominic said with a smile as he took in a deep breath and began his explanation. "To put it simply, the members of the Sacchi Group are mercenaries for hire or, as we like to put it, Covert Black Ops Units. External contractors hire us to do the Heroes dirty work, so they don't have to get blood on their hands." Kieran found this a lot to take in. He had never even imagined such an organisation would exist. But such groups working for the military did exist, so it didn't seem too farfetched. "Because of law, Heroes are prohibited from killing villains unless given no other choice" Dominic continued before giving a sinister smile. "But such laws don't apply to us. We're usually contracted with jobs that involve killing highly dangerous people, tearing down villain organisations before they can become a large enough problem for the heroes to deal with."
"Ok then," Kieran said sceptically. "What do you want with me then?"
"To put it simply, we want you as part of your organisation," Dominic said. Kieran's eyes widened as his flames extinguished themselves due to his surprise.
"You want me as a mercenary?" He asked.
"Yes," Dominic answered with a smile. "After your little 'showcase' yesterday, I can definitely guarantee that you have the skills, ruthlessness and Quirk that would be perfect for our organisation." Kieran was surprised. No one apart from his own mother had ever complimented him before. It was too unreal. "You see, the Sacchi Group isn't just an organisation" Dominic continued. "It's also a school." Kieran's eyes perked up at this. "Since our line of work is slightly different from the regular Hero work, those learning to become black ops members have to go through a slightly different education system than the normal hero courses. To join us, you'll be required to join the Sacchi Academy and be trained there until graduation where you're free to either join the organisation or work solo." Now Kieran was interested. There was an actual place now where his skills could be put to use for once. No more running away. He might finally have a purpose in life for once. But something felt off about the whole offer.
"Why me though?" Kieran asked Dominic who gave a slightly perplexed look.
"Because your quirk and skills can be vital to our organisation. All your needs will be taken care of. You'll be provided with a place to stay and three meals a day" Dominic said.
"Beware the Purple Trickster."
"There's something else you want from me, right?" Kieran said. Dominic gave a hard stare, but Kieran could see it in his eyes. "Nobody just comes up to someone and offers them free education and a place to stay. There's more to this isn't there?" Dominic sighed in annoyance.
"There is," he said in defeat. "Your needs, as well as the needs of others, are being paid for by the Hero Public Safety Commissions of several countries that we've recently partnered with such as America and Japan. The aim is to provide us with more students who are trained to kill in order to combat the current Nomu virus currently spreading across the world. Most of our recent contracts are jobs to reclaim areas of land lost by Nomu by driving them out. It's a taxing job and it doesn't help with several of our members being killed recently. So the aim is to bolster our numbers with help from the Safety Commissions in exchange for new recruits working for them" Dominic explained. Kieran growled in annoyance. It was too good to be true. They only saw him as a tool just like…him.
"I am no tool. I swore that the day I left" he thought darkly. He wasn't going through that again. "Sorry, but I'm not going to take you up on the offer," Kieran said as he flipped off the bed covers. "I'd rather stay a free man than be used as nothing but a tool in a war which does not concern me." He'd almost rather rot in prison than act as someone else's pawn. That was just downright degrading.
"I'm afraid you will have to take me up on that offer unless you want to spend several years in prison? Kieran Adar Rivers." Kieran froze at the mention of his name.
"How do you?" He began, completely at a loss for words. Dominic smiled.
"After yesterday, we did a little background digging whilst you were unconscious. Some of the things we found were very interesting" he said. Kieran felt himself go numb as Dominic began his list. "Last year, March 19th. The bodies of two men were found in the streets of Newcastle completely burned. Identification of both men revealed that they were members of a local street gang that were currently having their members picked off one by one by an orange blur."
"N-no," Kieran said shakily.
"Two days later in the same city, a building was burnt to the ground with several of the gang members inside. All members escaped the blaze with minor burns and were promptly arrested by police and Pro Heroes. Witnesses claim that an orange glow had been seen near the building before the blaze started."
"Stop it."
"March 25th. The charred remains of several Nomu were found in the North Pennies on what was the remains of a battleground. Evidence from the site revealed that a fire-based Quirk had been predominantly been used throughout the fight. More bodies were found several days later, some as far as Lancaster."
"I said stop it."
"April 15th. A man in Blackpool suffered third-degree burns caused by a young individual between the ages of 14 and 16. Witnesses say that the youth stole a white jacket and fought the man with a burning flame-like aura."
"No, stop!"
"May 12th. A building in Birmingham was burnt to the ground by a young individual with a white jacket. Witnesses say-"
"Enough! I get it! You know who I am!" Kieran yelled. "Just…stop, please." Dominic smiled once more at his handy work.
"All the Pros know who you are now, what crimes you've committed. Whilst at most you've killed two people over the course of the past year apart from the Nomu, you've still caused many more cases of assault and theft which have all added up into a hefty amount of jail time. You walk out there without me now, and you'll be thrown in prison for a good amount of years" Dominic explained. It was then that the quote came back to Kieran. It all made sense now.
"Beware the Purple Trickster."
"You're blackmailing me aren't you?" Kieran asked. Dominic faked a look of hurt.
"Blackmail? Me? Surely you jest" he replied.
"Don't bullshit me. You gave away my info to the Pros in order to either get me to join you or rot in prison" Kieran accused.
"Actually, that's half true" Dominic answered. "We found out your info together and I made a deal with the Pros after that. As long as we kept you under our rein and out of trouble if you joined us, your past crimes would be pardoned as I argued that all the potential you had would go to waste by just sitting in jail for several years. So now, I'll let you decide." Dominic said as he got up to leave. He thought it best to give the boy some time to think about the options available.
"Wait." Dominic turned around in surprise. Did he already make a decision? "Those Nomu, they took everything from me," Kieran said. Dominic could see it now. A fire burning in the boy's eyes. A fire filled with rage and anger. "I swore to myself that I'd kill every single one of those things until my last breath. So I'll take you up on your offer if it means I get to kill them. But don't think for a second you can think of me as a pawn in your silly little war." Dominic grinned, proud of his accomplishment.
"Welcome aboard Kieran Rivers. Get yourself dressed, we've got some business to sort out."
Praed Street, London – 9:19 AM
On the rooftop of a building overlooking the grand train station, a lone figure sat scribbling notes into a small notebook. He had short black hair with a single brown eye. The other side of his face was covered by a white demonic looking mask with long teeth with three black stripes running across it looking similar to claw marks. The rest of his attire was a white hoodie with various blood stain markings and black jeans with trainers. Attached to his hips was a pair of pouches that housed all sorts of items.
"Finished yet?" Figure tore off his headphones and lowered his hood. He turned around to see a tall figure in a long black cloak standing a few meters behind him. The hood was lowered so the taller figures face couldn't be seen. "The Nomu died yesterday, you should have finished the report by now Cain," the taller figure said. Cain sighed in annoyance as he closed his book.
"I know, I know. But there was a lot to cover and the kid used his flames too but passed out. I'm theorising on why though." The taller figure just ground his teeth from behind his mask.
"Just make sure you hurry it up. Master will start to get impatient with you" he then said.
"Alright! Alright!" Cain huffed waving his hand. "But leave. You're distracting me and I can't get their report done any quicker with you hovering over me every few hours." The taller figure clicked his tongue in anger before waving his hand, a red portal opening where his hand moved.
"Just hurry up" he growled before walking in, the portal closing behind him. Cain sighed before opening his notebook and began scribbling notes once again. While he had lost his puppet yesterday, the results obtained from the experiment were quite interesting. It proved that the kid's flames were far too much for the serum to handle, yet he'd knocked himself out. Probably a drawback from his Quirk, but he hadn't done so before, so it was very interesting. And then there was the human mummy. Now that was a problem. If Grimjaw got him first then they were screwed big time. They'd need to do something about that pronto. With that. Cain closed his book and prepared for his long journey home.
Things were getting interesting.
And the academy gets introduced as well as what it does. I'm going to enjoy sending everyone on missions soon enough. The entrance exam arc is finally beginning and should start in the next few chapters!
And the second chapter is done! So this chapter started with a different perspective this time, coming all the way from Japan with Dabi, Kasai and Shin as the focus. There is no doubt in my mind that Dabi is Toya. It's been teased so much that I can't possibly be true. Also taking creative liberties with Dabi's Quirk, mostly with it's since the official name hasn't been revealed yet. I'm a little bit worried about having two central characters in the story both have flame Quirks, but Kieran and Kasai's Quirks will actually be quite different in the ways they use them. And yes, in this au, poor Shoto did get half his face melted by Shigaraki so he won't be appearing. In fact, most of the aged up Pros won't be appearing just to tell the truth as it's going to be more OC focused, but they'll show up every now and again. Also, a note about Shin's Quirk. As you can guess, it is related to One For All, but it isn't One For All itself.
That's about it from me for now. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, leave a review why and I'll see you all in the next update!
