"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Izuku leaned against the hospital corridor wall and unsuccessfully tried to calm himself. Just a few feet away, behind a closed door, Rumi lay in a hospital bed hooked up to dozens of machines that were barely keeping her alive.
It had only been a few hours since Rumi had suddenly collapsed on the highway, but the situation was dire. Apparently the man who had bitten her in the railyard had some kind of poisonous snake quirk. To make things worse, the poison in Rumi's bloodstream was a combination of some of the deadliest snakes in the world. While the doctors had managed to stave off the effects of the poison temporarily, Izuku had overheard them discussing what should be done when the poison eventually overwhelmed Rumi's body.
Desperate for any kind of useful information, Izuku had bribed an unscrupulous younger doctor into providing a possible solution. Apparently if the doctor managed to obtain a sample directly from the source of the poison, an antivenom could be created.
However, it was not that simple.
The Ministry of Defense seemed to be unwilling to commit resources to a wild goose chase, and had instructed Izuku to simply stand by and wait for the medical professionals to figure out a solution.
Punching the tile wall in frustration, Izuku felt himself beginning to hyperventilate as old memories began to surface.
It seemed the past had a habit of repeating itself, and every time Izuku looked into Rumi's room he could only see his mom as she slowly died from the cancer that ravaged her body. Back then, the teenage Izuku could only sit and watch as his mom slowly died in front of him. Unlike the movies and TV shows, Izuku did not get the luxury of having one final conversation with his mother. One day she was alive and healthy, the next she was put into an induced coma and stuck full of tubes and wires that artificially kept her alive. After several weeks of visiting his unresponsive mom in the hospital, Izuku was forced to make the decision to take her off life support.
That day, a part of Izuku had died along with his mom.
It was then that Izuku finally understood one simple truth.
Life is not fair.
Now it seemed that the cruel mistress called fate was once again mocking him while taking away the one person that made him happy.
Gritting his teeth against the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him, Izuku clenched his hands and squeezed his eyes shut as he forced himself to breathe slower.
At that moment, he knew what he had to do.
He would do whatever it took to keep Rumi alive. If it meant that he had to sell his soul to do it, then that was a small price to pay for the life of the woman he loved.
With cold determination in his eyes, Izuku walked away from Rumi's room and pulled out his phone.
He had a few calls to make.
After making the necessary arrangements, Izuku waited for night to fall. Going back to the abandoned rail yard, Izuku parked his car in a nearby alleyway and made his way back to the warehouse where Rumi had gotten bitten.
The forensics teams had already left, all the necessary evidence taken away for processing and the only remnants being bits of yellow police tape.
But that was not why Izuku had gone back.
With a dark and cloudy sky obscuring the moon, Izuku entered the warehouse and spotted a familiar figure.
"And here I was thinking that you had called me just to hang out." Oscar said with a fiendish grin as he stood in the shadows of the decrepit building. "You got my attention, and I am here. So what do you want Midoriya?"
"I need your help." Izuku said flatly. "I am out of options. I need to find someone. Tonight. Off the books, no trace left behind."
Raising an eyebrow curiously, Oscar slowly walked forward as his grin grew wider. "An unsanctioned op? Here I was thinking that you would rather die than break the rules. Must be an awfully important reason for you to be willing to work with me."
Crossing his arms, Izuku ignored the predatory look in Oscar's eyes. "Cut the bullshit Oscar. I bet you already know my reason for doing this. Just tell me what it will take for you to help me. Name your price."
Tapping his chin in thought, Oscar smiled sinisterly. "Lets just say you will owe me a favor. A favor I will definitely make use of in the future. Plus, what kind of friend would I be if I did not help my buddy in his time of need?"
Resisting the urge to punch Oscar square in the mouth, Izuku nodded and extended his hand to shake. "Fine. But if we are going to work together I want nothing less than perfect results."
Reaching out and giving Izuku's hand a firm shake, Oscar nodded understandingly. "Sounds good Mido. Where do we start?"
Wiping his hand on his pants like he had just touched sewage slime, Izuku nodded at the area around them. "You start right here. The person I want to find is part of the PLF cell that was here this morning. I already looked through the list of captured suspects and the target was not one of them. He must have been one of the rats that slipped through the net when I left this place to the clean up crew. You said you can smell quirks, so now I am putting you to the test. Once you find the target's location you will call me and I will rendezvous with you. Are you able to provide the necessary equipment?"
Nodding eagerly, Oscar rolled up his sleeves. "I am a man of my word Mido. Give me an hour and I will have the target's location. As far as weapons go, on such short notice I can only provide untraceable handguns. Anything larger takes more time to acquire."
Izuku nodded in understanding. "Fine, we will talk more on site." Narrowing his eyes, Izuku pointed a finger at Oscar threateningly. "And if I find out you had anything to with today's incident I will make it my mission to hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands. Got it?"
Rolling his eyes, Oscar waved away Izuku's threat. "Yeah sure, whatever you say Mido. If I was going after you I would have done it myself. It sounds like you have bigger problems to worry about than me right now."
Deciding not to antagonize the cannibal any further, Izuku turned around and walked out of the building as Oscar began sniffing the air like a bloodhound.
Getting back to his car, Izuku quickly drove to a self-storage facility downtown. It had been awhile since he had last visited the generic looking storage unit, but then again the contents of the unit were not exactly the type of things he wanted people to see.
Checking to make sure nobody was watching, Izuku unlocked the metal shutter door and stepped inside. Letting the metal rolling shutter slam close behind him, Izuku turned on the harsh white fluorescent light and examined the stash in front of him.
When you were part of the special forces, paranoia became a daily part of life. Like any proper special forces veteran, Izuku had his own stash of supplies tucked away in case a disaster of some kind happened. There was the usual stuff, gallons of clean water, medical supplies, canned food, and other basic survival supplies. However, alongside the innocuous boxes of survival supplies were boxes containing a more deadly variety of supplies. Ammo boxes with thousands of rounds of ammunition sat next to crates containing weapons ranging from small handguns to heavy caliber sniper rifles. While the majority of the weapons were registered to Izuku properly, a few of them were definitely in the category that would get you arrested if the police found them in your possession.
Moving aside a crate full of fragmentation grenades, Izuku pulled out a box containing several types of bulletproof vests. Grabbing a lightweight vest that could be worn under regular clothes, Izuku also retrieved a pair of tactical shooting gloves and a generic black ski mask. Changing out of his work clothes and into an outfit made of casual clothes, Izuku put on his gear and made sure no identifying features were visible.
An hour later, Izuku's cell phone buzzed with a text message alert. Opening the text, Izuku quickly read the address attached and then deleted the message. Making sure his jeans, boots, and black jacket were properly fitted over his body armor, Izuku stuffed his ski mask in his pocket and left the storage facility.
Wanting to be discreet as possible, Izuku left his car at the storage facility and took a cab to the address Oscar had sent him. After a short ride to the dirty and crime-ridden ghetto district of the city, Izuku stepped out of the taxi and looked around for where Oscar could be hiding.
Spotting an old van with tinted windows parked in a nearby alley, Izuku walked over and quietly knocked on the window. Immediately there was the sound of the doors unlocking and Izuku quickly got into the front passenger seat.
Sitting in the driver's seat dressed in a similar outfit to Izuku's, Oscar smiled evilly and handed the green-haired agent a generic nine-millimeter pistol.
"One untraceable handgun as requested." The creepy American said proudly as he handed Izuku several fully loaded magazines. "And a few mags on the house. Can't have my buddy running out of ammo in the middle of his own personal black op."
Quickly inspecting the pistol and making sure it would function properly, Izuku nodded towards the street in front of them. "So where is the target located?"
Oscar leaned forward and pointed to a dilapidated three-story apartment building. "That apartment building. Target is on the top floor. The whole building is full of PLF shitstains, it must be the home base of the cell you busted."
Nodding in understanding, Izuku slipped the pistol into his jacket pocket. "Any exits besides the ground floor?"
Oscar pointed to a rickety fire escape that was barely visible on the side of the building. "Only that fire escape. How do you want to tackle this?"
Izuku pointed at the ground floor lobby. "You start in the lobby, I will climb the fire escape and cut off anyone trying to escape."
Grinning like a jackal that was looking at a fresh carcass, Oscar nodded in understanding. "Sounds fun." Glancing over at Izuku, Oscar gave him a sinister smile. "Rules of engagement?"
Izuku was quiet for a few seconds before responding in a cold voice. "Make it messy. This needs to look like turf war. Collateral damage is acceptable."
Licking his lips, Oscar patted Izuku's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Perfect, it's always good to get your hands dirty. Keeps things in perspective."
Shrugging off Oscar's hand, Izuku unlocked his door and prepared to get out of the car. "Wait for me to get to the top floor, then you can begin. The target has a tattoo of a laughing skull on his neck and two piercings on his right eyebrow. If you spot him, keep him alive."
Oscar grunted in acknowledgement as he reached into the backseat and then handed Izuku something. "Here, take this as a backup, I also left a bag of clothes in this alley behind the dumpster.
Taking the offered hatchet, Izuku checked to make sure it was sharp before stuffing it into one of the belt loops on his pants. With thunder rumbling in the dark sky, Izuku quickly crossed the street and walked towards the apartment building. Making sure to stay out of sight of any cameras, Izuku snuck over to the fire escape and put on his ski mask.
Jumping up to grab the hanging ladder, Izuku quickly pulled himself up onto the rusty metal stairs and ascended to the third floor. The window connecting the fire escape and the hallway was already unlocked, so Izuku opened it and silently climbed inside.
The dirty hallway was clearly not maintained properly. The wallpaper was peeling and roaches could be seen scurrying around the holes in the ceiling. The carpet looked like it used to be a burgundy red color, but now it was more of a reddish brown. The hallway was lit by the occasional bare bulb, most of them flickering erratically or burned out completely. For now the hallway was empty, the only signs of life being loud music emanating from several apartment doors.
Crouching near the window, Izuku mentally prepared himself for what he had to do. Tonight, he would have to put his morals aside and become the very thing he used to fight against.
A merciless and bloodthirsty killer.
Every soldier has their own way of handling the terrible things they see. In Izuku's case he could compartmentalize the various parts of his consciousness and suppress his thoughts and emotions. Letting him focus solely on the task at hand and not be distracted by unnecessary emotions or thoughts.
Of course the drawback of this method was that afterwards Izuku had to deal with the cascade of traumatic flashbacks and emotional turmoil.
But right now, none of that mattered.
In Izuku's mind, the people in this building were no longer people, they were the enemy.
And if someone was your enemy, you killed them before they could kill you.
Readying his pistol in his left hand and the camping hatchet in his right, Izuku waited for Oscar to begin the distraction.
He did not have to wait long.
Suddenly there was the muted sound of gunshots and terrified screams. It only took a few seconds for armed PLF goons to emerge from their apartments. Some of them had clearly been interrupted in the middle of their recreational activities, be that sleeping or abusing hard drugs.
As the nearest PLF member turned towards Izuku, the green-haired agent struck.
Since the PLF member in front of him was within arms reach, Izuku decided to save his bullets and struck with the hatchet. Slamming the bladed edge of the hatchet into the gut of the bedraggled man in front of him, Izuku could not help but feel some satisfaction as his prey screamed in pain and fear.
As the other PLF members turned to look, Izuku quickly dragged the head of the hatchet horizontally across the enemy's belly and violently disemboweled him.
Before any of the enemies could bring their weapons up to shoot, Izuku was already in motion.
Surging forward towards a pair of young women armed with handguns, Izuku used the hatchet and viciously struck with an overhand blow, embedding the head of the hatchet in one girl's neck as he fired a point blank shot into the other girl's eye.
With adrenaline flooding his system, Izuku felt like everything was moving in slow motion, allowing him to make split-second decisions that would normally be impossible to react to.
Using his momentum, Izuku leaped forwards at a man armed with a sawn-off shotgun. Shooting the man in the shoulder to throw off his aim, Izuku swung his bloody hatchet upwards directly into the man's crotch. As the burly man screamed in agony, Izuku fired three quick shots into his chest.
By now the remaining goons had realized that someone was carving a bloody swath through their comrades, and began to wildly fire down the hallway at Izuku. The problem was that in their panic the PLF thugs had forgotten how narrow the hallway was, and most of the bullets hit their own members.
With bullets flying through the air, Izuku continued his rampage. Diving into a forward roll, Izuku sprang up directly into the face of a heavily tattooed woman armed with a large pistol. Slamming his shoulder into the woman's nose, Izuku used his hatchet to cleave the woman's gun arm in half as he fired over her shoulder at a pair of young men frozen in fear. Killing the two men in the span of mere seconds with bullets through their skulls, Izuku finished off the screaming woman in his arms with two point blank shots to the heart.
With Izuku rapidly closing the distance between them, several of the thugs put away their guns and charged forward with knives and brass knuckles. One especially large thug seemed to have bulletproof skin, as several stray bullets simply bounced off him like they were plastic.
With the bodies of the dead and dying behind him, Izuku continued his ruthless rampage. Quickly calculating the needed trajectory, Izuku caught one of the thugs off guard by throwing the hatchet directly at him. As the hatchet buried itself in the skull of the one thug, Izuku nimbly dodged several frenzied swipes from a serrated knife wielded by a thug wearing flashy sunglasses. Shooting the knife wielding thug in the knee, Izuku knocked the knife out of his hands and leapt onto him. Hooking his legs around the man's chest, Izuku rode the man as he fell to the floor, shooting another thug in the skull before finishing off the thug underneath him with two quick shots to the throat.
Seeing their masked enemy slaughter almost a dozen people in the span of seconds, the remaining PLF members fled, leaving Izuku alone in the hallway with the large man that looked like a bulletproof rhino.
As the naturally armored thug charged him, Izuku quickly reloaded then engaged. Ducking under a wild haymaker that probably would have taken his head clean off, Izuku slid between the brute's legs and delivered a hard punch right into the man's testicles. Feeling one of the sensitive organs pop under his fist, Izuku got to his feet as the rhino man doubled over and howled in agony. Knocking the incapacitated thug to the floor, Izuku wrenched the man's mouth open, stuck the barrel of his pistol in the thug's mouth, and pulled the trigger several times. Izuku could hear muted thumps as the bullets ricocheted around inside the man's body, bouncing off his bulletproof skin until they had traveled through enough muscle and tissue to come to a stop.
Alone in the blood-soaked hallway, Izuku reloaded his pistol then retrieved the hatchet that was buried in one of the goon's forehead. With his empathy and compassion sufficiently dulled, Izuku began searching the apartments with a single objective in mind.
Find the motherfucker that bit Rumi.
Most of the apartments were empty, but not all. In one apartment, Izuku found a PLF member reclining on a couch in a blissful haze as used needles littered the floor around her. Putting a bullet in the defenseless woman's skull, Izuku continued his search. A few apartments over, Izuku stumbled upon a boy no older than eighteen cowering alone in the small apartment bathroom. Taking pity on the boy, Izuku ended the teen's life with a quick bullet through the brain before leaving.
Finally, Izuku found the man he was looking for.
Breaking down one of the hallways doors, Izuku was met with the sight of his target backed into a corner with a hostage.
The man with the snake quirk was shirtless, and Izuku could see the cold sweat dripping down his body as he held a gun to the head of the woman in his arms.
"Stop right there motherfucker!" The snake man yelled with panic in his voice. "One more step and the bitch gets it!"
The woman, dressed in skimpy clothes clearly meant to entice, was crying as desperately pleaded with Izuku.
"Please help me!" She begged tearfully. "I am not with him! I am just here for work."
With no hesitation, Izuku shot the woman in the gut, making the snake thug drop her in shock and put his hands up in surrender.
"Please don't ki-!"
The snake man was cut off as Izuku emptied the rest of his bullets into the man's chest.
Stepping over the woman who was bleeding out on the floor, Izuku yanked the dead body of the snake man over to an open spot on the floor and laid him on his back.
With careful aim, Izuku swung his hatchet down onto the man's neck, completely decapitating him.
Grabbing a nearby plastic grocery bag, Izuku wrapped up the leaking head and left the apartment.
Walking over to the main stairwell, Izuku quickly descended to the ground floor and stepped out into the building lobby.
It looked like he had stepped into a slaughterhouse.
Blood painted the walls, floor, and ceiling. Mutilated body parts littered the floor, and the stench of blood and gore was so oppressive it almost made Izuku gag.
In the middle of the blood-drenched lobby, surrounded by mutilated and dismembered corpses, Oscar stood with a satisfied smile on his face.
As Izuku got closer, he realized Oscar was chewing on something.
"Took ya long enough Mido." Oscar said as he chewed on something that crunched and popped. "Here I was thinking you might be in trouble or something. Got what ya wanted?"
Nodding, Izuku watched in disgust as Oscar spit a wedding ring out onto the ground then swallowed his meal.
"Burn this place to the ground." Izuku commanded coldly. "The less evidence the better."
Nodding in understanding, Oscar leaned down and ripped the leg off one of the corpses at his feet. "Will do boss. Just remember, you owe me one."
Maintaining eye contact with Izuku the entire time, Oscar bit down on the severed leg like he was chowing down on some fried chicken.
Not reacting in the slightest, Izuku was glad to see the look of disappointment flash across Oscar's face.
Good riddance, don't give the bastard the satisfaction of getting a reaction.
Walking out of the apartment building lobby, Izuku quickly fled the scene. Ditching his blood-soaked clothes in a dumpster and changing into fresh ones, Izuku kept out of sight as he made his way back to the storage unit where his car was parked.
After making sure that he had not been followed, Izuku got into his car and sped back to the hospital with the severed head sitting on the floor of his car.
Parking out in the back of the hospital in a secluded area, Izuku went into the main building and searched for the unscrupulous young doctor he had talked to earlier that day. Eventually, Izuku found him and told him what he wanted. A wad of cash and the promise of praise and fame quickly swayed the young doctor, and a few minutes later Izuku snuck the severed head into one of the medical labs and left the doctor to his work.
Now all that was left was to wait, and hope that Rumi could hold on just a little longer.
- A/N-
- Hello, just wanted to clarify that there will be plenty more fluff after this all this angst.
- Secondly, I wanted to ask whether you all think a quote to start each chapter is a good idea. I have plenty of quotes I could use, but I don't want to include something that people think detracts from the story itself. So please let me know whether you think the quote idea is a good one or not.
- A side note, someone asked where I get my ideas from. For me personally, most of my stories and ideas come from music. Whether that be the lyrics of the song itself, or the mood I feel when listening to it. In my head, every chapter of this story has its own song or playlist that I got inspiration from. I don't really feel like I am qualified to give any advice about writing, but if any of you readers are thinking of writing I am more than happy to share ideas.
- Anyways, I hope you all are doing well. Thanks for supporting this story!