Chapter Forty-Three
Tried to Live Forever
"Silly little girl who tried to live forever, live forever:
Gave away her soul to buy a bit of pleasure, the bitter pleasure.
Oh, wicked little boy who tried to steal her treasure, for the bitter pleasure.
Now they're cursed forever; Cursed together."
- The Wolf and the Sheep (Alec Benjamin)
Kan was in a stable condition, his wounds healed, although the school would give him several days off to recuperate. Tensei was probably the most relieved that Vlad and Mic had survived their encounter with the Hero Killer - followed closely by Nemuri. Even Toshinori had taken the first train after school to meet with them and discuss the events. He, Nemuri and Hizashi now stood just outside the hospital, waiting while the latter made an important phone call.
Mic sneezed into the receiver, and quickly sniffled out an apology to Nezu. The principal was at school, but Hizashi had phoned him on the urgent matter. "Shouta made the phones freak out across the city! He wasn't linked to Tensei's fight cause it didn't happen at all in Hosu. His Erasure can take over cameras, but phones have a hard time o' processing the Quirk, thus the sparking. The reason it didn't affect all of 'em was 'cause some phones didn't have cameras!"
"You really are over explaining that," Nezu said, and Hizashi rubbed a tissue against his nose.
"Look, Nezu, check over the map. If Sho was at the centre of the area of effect, then we might be able to figure out All for One's hideout!"
"This theory only works if Aizawa has to be at the centre."
"I know," he groaned, "but there's no harm in checkin'!" Hizashi sneezed again, and Toshinori offered him a fresh tissue, which he took eagerly. "I know you're busy, Nez, but-"
"Say no more," the principal said with finality. "I want Eraserhead to be recovered as well. I still haven't repaid him… Just don't go running off into any more alleys."
"Right," he said. "Thanks, yo. Text me once ya got somethin'." Hizashi hung up the phone and sneezed two more times. "This is like, the worst possible time to get a cold, yo…"
Toshinori shook his head as the three started for the train station. "What do you expect, fighting in the rain like that? The kids were really worried about you three when you weren't at school today…"
Hizashi nodded in acknowledgement, but his mind wasn't really there anymore. He had a lot he needed to think over and plan. Nemuri and Toshinori did most of the talking, although they were both just as quiet and sombre as he was. In fact, the Voice Hero didn't say anything much until he and All-Might were back home.
Heater hurried over at the sight of them, and Hizashi stooped down and held her close. "Toshi," he said, voice soft and troubled, "we need to call off the engagement…"
All-Might stared at him in amazement, but slowly the expression faded to gentle understanding. "Okay."
The cat purred in his arms, and Hizashi carefully scratched her behind the ear, just the way she liked it. "He didn't know… I thought he'd know. I thought he'd know me, and how much I loved him… How stubborn I am. But he doesn't… He doesn't even know that Kan's not an enemy, yo!" He let Heater go as his voice rose, but Mic couldn't bring himself to stand up. "And this is the way I've always been… Trying to plan ten billion steps ahead, thinkin' everyone else is only one step behind. I used to always win like that, but with Sho, I've only ever lost… I overthink, I over plan, I overestimate… and I lose him every time."
Toshinori sat beside him on the floor, but didn't touch him. "Hizashi-"
He held up a hand to cut him off. "It's fine, yo. I don't… feel sorry for me. I feel sorry for everyone else, having to put up with it… I feel sorry for Shouta." He pulled his glasses off and wiped at his cheeks, but he wasn't crying. "We've gotta call it off. I'm sorry for what it'll do to your rep - you can come up with whatever reason you want: that I cheated on you, that you wanted someone better, that-"
"We'll come up with something that doesn't ruin either of our reputations."
He swallowed and nodded. "...Stain called me your 'chosen one'. To him, I was a symbol of something more, that even a villain could be saved, but he only knew the story the media showed… I don't mean to sound ungrateful, and I know you've done a lot for me, Toshi, but you didn't save me." Hizashi stood up at last and pulled out his phone. It was busted by the rain, but he always had everything backed up, including the picture of him and his lost lover beneath the cherry blossoms on their first day… And now the signal, ready to de-code. "If I'd never met Shouta again - if we'd never fought the night of our debuts - I wouldn't be here today. Maybe I would've been where Sho is now, a dog for All for One, or maybe I'd already be dead."
Heater rubbed against his legs, purring up a storm, and outside their small world it was once again raining. He recalled the sight of a boy in the rain, rescuing a small black kitten from a tree.
"You didn't save me, All-Might: at least, you didn't save me alone. Kurogiri and Giran saved me, by practically raising me like a son and then by sacrificing themselves so I could live. Nezu saved me. I know it was because I saved him first, but he worked his tail off to clear my name; to give me this life. Nemuri and Kan and Tensei saved me. My students saved me. You saved me. I saved me…" He paused to sneeze and shiver, pulling his shirt even closer to his body, but what needed to be said needed to be said. "But if I'd never fought Eraserhead, none of you would've mattered. Shouta Aizawa - a villain - saved me. People call me your chosen one, but that's wrong…"
He looked to the window, where rain pummelled against the glass, but he was safe from the torrent. Maybe Shouta was safe from the rain as well, wherever he was – Hizashi could only hope.
"He saved me. So we're going to save him, and I'm going to make sure he remembers how stubborn I am, and how much I love him, even after all this time. I'm Shouta's chosen one, and he's mine." He looked back to Toshinori, and forced himself to grin. "So, let's tell Hero HQ I want my fucking guitar back."
-x-
Eraserhead was dropped in the middle of a large room with white tiles and a high ceiling. His weapons had been taken from him, including all his knives and his capture scarf - Father didn't want him to have the upper hand. He'd called it a 'fight', but this was really an endurance test to see how long Eraser would last. 'Winning' was impossible.
A loud chorus of groans represented the entrance of the Nomu as the walls opened to let them in. Judging by the sound of their shambling feet, there were four in total, but the echo of beating wings told him there were really five.
His Erasure Quirk didn't work against the hulking beasts, these monsters that Father and his doctor had made. Often his Father had stroked his hair and told him he'd considered turning Eraser into a mindless Nomu, like them, but he was usually such a good boy, and he was worth more as he was.
This would certainly be a punishment though. The fight would last until either Eraserhead couldn't go on, or the Nomu couldn't, but his own body still had limits, while the monsters didn't.
He could hear them approach, but he didn't yet move as he methodically calculated a strategy. If they grabbed him, he'd be dead. He had to attack the limbs and head, since their chests were too thick to harm, but he had to avoid their teeth and claws. Eraser had to stay low to the ground since the ceiling was too high up to be of any help and he didn't have his scarf for mobility. It would be safest if he tried to maintain contact with the ground, in case he had to change momentum at short notice.
His planning ended as two of the Nomu neared.
As they raced for him, Eraserhead rolled back, beneath the legs of the one with more spindly limbs. The sound of their bodies crashing together offered some motivation, but he didn't have a second to relax as the flying Nomu lunged for him, claws outstretched. Eraser crouched low and used all four limbs to spring himself far away from its reach, putting a good amount of distance between him and the attackers so he could quickly give each beast a number: 1, 2, 3, 4 and Flying.
1 and 2 were currently an amalgam of writhing limbs as they struggled to part, while 3 and 4 were approaching quickly. Of all of them, 4 appeared the most dangerous, but the most useful, with large chainsaws sticking from extra limbs. It would be risky, but if he could turn those weapons on the others, then-
Eraserhead evaded the claws of the Flying Nomu again and grabbed for its wing, hoping to tear a hole in the membrane to render it flightless, but he was forced to release it and back off as number 4 neared. The saws sliced against the floor where he'd stood moments before, sending sparks skirting into the air.
He swallowed, but was interrupted as Father's voice spoke through the room. "Now, Eraserhead, I've been so disappointed with you lately. I thought I could trust you to behave."
1 and 2 ran at him, but when he went to slip under their long legs again, number 3 was waiting with a mouth full of strong teeth. It went to clamp down on his shin, but he was able to shove his boot in the vice instead. The powerful jaws sunk into the hard material, but Eraser was able to wrench his foot free so he could escape.
3 chewed on the empty boot, crushing it easily before it spat out the remains. It hurt to put weight on the ankle now, but Eraser's pain threshold was as large as this arena. He thought he heard people cheering, but the only real voice in that room was his own steady breath and the voice of Father.
"I hate hurting you like this, but would it be right of me to let your misbehaviour go unchecked? You're supposed to stay away from that 'hero' - all of you were. So, Giran, do you want to tell us what you told him?"
The information broker was surely watching this - it was his punishment too.
Eraserhead dropped down to all-fours again as he evaded the Flying Nomu and gritted his teeth. There was still a small fire inside him, the residue of something he didn't quite comprehend. Those flames wanted Giran to remain quiet, even though it would only result in more pain for Eraser.
Even so, those flames no longer burned in the information broker. "Told him not to be sorry," Giran said. "We all made the decision to save him, and to give ourselves to your service."
...Save? Eraserhead couldn't remember something like that…
Father laughed as Eraser kept dodging claws and sawblades. "Yes, you sacrificed everything for him, didn't you? And how has he repaid you three? Just look at poor Eraserhead - that Voice Hero sent the Hero Killer after him."
His Home… He'd sacrificed everything for his Home? And his Home had-...
Eraserhead's ankle was snared by number 1, and it groaned victoriously. He didn't let himself panic as he slammed his remaining boot into the creature's eye, and the victory sound turned into a wail. It released him, and he was able to limp away.
Giran was silent, but Father continued. "It's all just an act. That hero doesn't care about any of you. If he did, you wouldn't be here."
I still love you.
His Home's words buzzed through his mind, yet they were so contradictory to what Father said. Were they really a lie…? There was no way Father would be lying to him, after all, so that meant-
He dodged a sawblade, but it managed to nick his am, sending hot blood running through his tattered sleeve. Eraserhead was able to sweep 4's legs out from under it, sending it toppling back, just as 3 approached. The villain grabbed one of the saw arms and swiped it at the creature, earning a shrill cry as he cut off one of its arms. Red, red blood roiled to the white floor, but in his mind, Eraser heard no cheers: now he heard jeers of disgust.
He was caught off-guard by the imagined sound, until pain roared through him.
4 had managed to drive one of its chainsaws partway through the back of Eraser's leg. He scrambled away like a wounded animal, leg wobbling. It was a deep wound - not deep enough to sever the limb, but the hot blood wasted no time in gushing down his skin, making his footing slippery.
"What else did you tell him?" Father asked Giran.
"I told him Kurogiri and I were okay, but Eraser was another matter. Told him you do this - punish him for what we do."
"I don't like your tone," Father said simply, and it was the only warning Eraser got.
Electricity shot through the floor, and his body instantly collapsed with involuntary convulsions. The Nomu were unharmed, thanks to their absorption Quirks, and Eraserhead was completely helpless as the Flying Nomu grabbed him and carried his body high up.
"Stop!" called Giran in a panic. "I didn't tell him about Shouta's left eye! I didn't even tell them what he is! I promise! They don't know he's a No-"
The sound cut out.
The flying Nomu released him, and his body plummeted to the concrete below. He got lucky with the landing: his arm managed to cushion his head from the fall, but he felt a bone snap in the limb, and several ribs were surely broken as well. A normal human would've undoubtably been knocked out by the fall, if not killed, but Eraserhead was no longer a normal human.
At least the floor wasn't electrified any more.
The contents of his belt spewed across the ground, and his eyes landed on his Charm, with its broken star and rusted chain, and a memory returned.
You better keep that keyring, cause it's now a symbol of our love~!
His body trembled, but he forced his limbs to work as he reached out and took his Charm, planning to protect it with everything he had. His mind was filled with blond hair and emerald eyes and an overly eager smile, and he found the strength to continue fighting.
-x- *gore warning – entrails mentioned*
Eraserhead didn't know how long he'd been fighting, but it felt like days. His body was collapsing, worlds beyond any normal human limit, while the mindless Nomu knew nothing of exhaustion. The voices of Giran and Father hadn't returned, although he didn't doubt that the former was watching him.
The Nomu were all minorly damaged, especially their legs, and he'd managed to render the flying beast incapable of flight with the number of holes he'd torn in its wings.
However, Eraser's luck couldn't last forever. He tried to grab hold of 4's arm again, to use the chainsaw as a weapon against 2, but his foot slipped on a puddle of blood. The weapon he'd been trying to grab burrowed into his front and tore up his flesh like it was no thicker than fabric. He nearly blacked out from the pain alone, but he forced himself away.
His hand immediately moved to the mortal wound, and he felt hot entrails against his skin. It took him several moments longer to realise they were his.
At last, his body collapsed. As he hit the floor, his Charm escaped his measly grip and bounced across the ground. Although his consciousness was slipping, he reached out to take it, to die with the last thing he had to remember his Love, Love, Love, but-
The Nomu with the chainsaws approached. Its foot stomped down on his Charm, crushing it to dust before his eyes.
You better keep that keyring, cause it's now a symbol of our love~!
His hair floated. The encroaching darkness turned as scarlet as blood.
Eraser's body was up in seconds as he leapt for the Nomu, a cry tearing from his throat. He landed on its shoulders, his own entrails slipping from his open wound without notice.
He didn't feel any more pain: only blinding rage.
His badly beaten arms wrapped around the wailing Nomu's head. A rotating blade bit into one of his legs - he didn't have the mental capacity to discern which one - but he didn't let go.
Eraser started to twist the beast's head, overcome by a hysterical strength as images of blond hair and emerald eyes slipped from his world.
Soon, the only colour was red.
The Nomu's head was ripped off completely by his bare hands.
Together, they collapsed to the bloodied floor, the Nomu dead and Eraser's own diminishing light not too far behind.
He tried to pull himself up, but his body no longer listened to him. One of his legs was completely gone. Eraserhead looked to the shattered pieces of his star, and found himself dizzily wondering why he cared so much for something so … cheap and tacky.
His red, red world was slipping into black, black, black.
The remaining Nomu backed off, and he heard footsteps approach, but he couldn't see anything anymore.
"Anything special you want me to add this time?" Father's Doctor.
"No, just repair him as usual. The others too. A shame our little Eraserhead had to get so broken, but I suppose he's been in worse condition before. I want you to add a neck protector to the Tool Arms Nomu when you fix it though."
"Don't worry, Nomu can be easily repaired, especially when the limbs are still here. What about that weird keychain? Want it fixed?"
"No… In fact, I think it's time we get rid of that hero for good. He's only a thorn in my side now. Let's send a Nomu after him."
"Which one?"
Eraserhead felt something press against his head: Father's shoe. "This one."
He finally blacked out.
