Chapter 33: The Eight Precepts of Death

Hey howdy hey hello, welcome to the show!

I'm back with the next chapter, things did go according to plan in the end.

More action this time, though maybe not much of it.

Feel free to review, but don't just rip into me. I'm doing this for fun, not excessive criticism.

Enjoy!

"Tch! If she's even still alive." Rock Lock scoffed, "If all your guesses are correct, this leader of theirs probably sees the girl as the core of his plan and someone worth hiding."

"But she got out! She clearly wants to escape!" Moxie shot back, "Are you just going to ignore a little girl in trouble?"

"If you were him, would you just bring her back to the main hideout? I know I wouldn't. We can charge in, guns blazing, but it's all for nothing if she ain't there. Any way to be sure where he's keeping her?" Rock Lock argued.

"He raises some good questions, Nighteye." Ryukyu pointed out.

"Indeed, that is the issue at hand. Beyond the unclear nature and scope of their plan, should we fail to end this decisively in one strike, they won't give us another chance." Nighteye nodded.

"Th-Then we need to act quickly…" Hiryu mumbled.

"Which brings us to the organizations the Eight Precepts have contacted, as well as the Eight Precepts' verified properties!" Nighteye continued, as a screen behind him came on, revealing a map of Japan, "Through our investigation, we've compiled an extensive list! I'll be asking each of you to check out certain groups and locations on your own. We need to narrow the list down!"

"Gotcha. So that's why us minor Heroes are here too… take a look. There's a connection between each Hero's home territory and the list of locations. We were chosen because of our familiarity with the neighborhoods." One of the smaller Heroes observed.

"You're mighty cautious for a former sidekick of All Might, doing things all roundabout like this!" Fatgum yelled, "While we're twiddling our thumbs, little Eri's probably out there crying somewhere!"

"We can't do things the way All Might would! We must rely on analysis and precaution to raise our odds of saving her as much as possible!" Nighteye shot back.

"It's no good getting worked up. If we go big and mess this up, they'll get away. It'll only stoke their fires even higher. Just like how Stain's arrest was actually good PR for the League of Villains." Gran Torino spoke up, "Distributing Quirk-killing bullets to small-time street punks might even be for that reason."

"Y'all are overthinking this! All talk and no action leaves us dead in the water!" Fatgum insisted.

"Um… can I say something?" Aizawa raised his hand, "I'm not exactly sure how your ability works, Sir Nighteye… but why not use your Foresight to see what sort of fate awaits us? Going forward without that knowledge… seems irrational."

"I… can't do that." Nighteye sighed, "My ability has limitations. Once activated, it has a twenty-four hour cooldown period. In other words, I can only view one hour of a single person's life each day. The images appear in my mind panel by panel, like a flashback. After using it, it's like I can watch recorded footage of that person's entire life… think of it that way. But the entirety of the film plays out from a perspective close to the person in question. What I end up seeing is his or her actions and faint glimpses of the surrounding environment."

"That sounds like more than enough. We could still learn plenty. So why can't you do it?" Aizawa pointed out.

"Well, for one thing… what if, in the near future, what awaited the person… was death? A cruel and merciless death, even. What then?" Nighteye adjusted his glasses, "I've trained my Quirk to maximize the success rate of every action I take, I use it to all but ensure victory in battle. It's not meant to recklessly view situations with so many uncertainties." Nighteye explained.

"Seeing if we're gonna die sounds pretty darn useful! Then we could come up with a plan to stay alive!" Fatgum argued.

"I'm not a fortune-teller. There's no guarantee that the fate I see can be avoided!" Nighteye insisted.

"I don't get it, Nighteye! C'mon. Why don'cha take a look at me? I'll avoid whatever life's got in store for me!" Rock Lock offered.

"I can't!" Nighteye stared down, upset.

"Why don't we get started? There's a child in need out there. That's what matters most." Ryukyu shut her eyes solemnly.

"Confirm the girl's location, and take measures to save her. Once we're as sure as we can be, let's bring this matter to a swift resolution." Nighteye stood up, "I thank you all for your help."

Later

"So that's how it is… you must be hurting, man…" Kirishima scratched his chin, sympathetic for his friend after hearing the whole story.

"Deku…" Ururaka hesitated.

"Holding an all-night vigil, are we?" Aizawa exited the elevator.

"Sensei!" The group exclaimed, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"You can call me Eraserhead outside of school. Anyway… I was planning to talk with you all about ending your work studies today…" Aizawa told them abruptly.

"What?! Now, of all times?!" Kirishima shot up angrily.

"You heard about how the League of Villains might be involved in this. That makes this a whole different ball game." Aizawa explained, "But… Midoriya. You still haven't earned my trust back. But unfortunately, if I were to cut you off now, it's all but guaranteed that you would leap into action anyway. So I'll watch over you. Let's try to do things right this time, Midoriya. Understand, you little troublemaker?"

"How about you, Hiryu? Moxie?" Tsuyu asked.

"I-I want to help…" Hiryu admitted.

"I don't know about all this Quirk bullet stuff." Moxie sighed, "But if a little girl's in that kind of trouble, I have to step in!"

Several Days Later

The group gathered in their pajamas in the hallway.

"Got the message?!" Kirishima asked.

"Yup…" Ururaka nodded.

"It's really happening, huh?" Kuro looked at his phone.

Later That Day

"She's at their HQ?! So this whole stinkin' investigation was for nothing?!" Rock Lock shouted.

"No. We gained plenty of new intel as a result." Nighteye shook his head.

"So, how'd you figure it out?" Ryukyu asked.

"An Eight Precepts member was at a nearby department store the other day." Nighteye placed a toybox on the desk, "He was purchasing this toy for young girls."

"Huh?!"

"What the heck's that?"

"Maybe the guy's just got a few weird hobbies! Takes all kinds to make a world, Nighteye!" Fatgum waved his arms angrily.

"No… if the man had any personal interest in the product… he wouldn't have been speaking the way he was." Nighteye shook his head.

"You used your foresight?" Aizawa realized.

"As I explained the other day, I'll use it once I'm positive about something, just to be doubly sure." Nighteye confirmed.

"So this means we're finally ready to take the fight to them. We'll stake the place out so we can be certain the jerk's at home." Fatgum punched his fist into his hand.

"Just need t'get the warrants, right?" Rock Lock crossed his arms.

"Are you ready, Moxie?" Ms. Joke asked.

"Of course I am." Moxie clenched his fist.

In Front of The Police Station

"Don't give them time to take her away! We're hoping to capture every lowlife there… as quickly as possible!" The police chief told them.

"I was so excited last night; I couldn't sleep at all." Moxie groaned, stretching his arms above his head.

"Here, wake yourself up with some chocolate." Ms. Joke smiled, handing him a chocolate bar, "Make sure you're fully charged. We don't want you running out of juice mid-fight." Ms. Joke instructed.

"Are you okay, Draconia?" Ryukyu asked.

"This is all so stressful…" Hiryu admitted, "B-but I need to do my part."

"They're probably gonna put up a fight, y'know. So if you spot any one of them resisting or trying anything funny, I'm counting on you guys to deal with it! We're up against a mafia group that's somehow survived until now, so don't let your guards down for a second. Get in there and do what you've gotta do!" The police chief warned, "Move out!"

Eight Precepts Compound

"Once I read off the warrant, things are gonna start moving! Let's try to end this quickly." The police chief warned everyone.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. You don't trust us." Rock Lock scoffed.

"Keep focused Rock Lock." Another Hero warned.

"'Snot what he meant. Stop being such a jerk." Fatgum scolded.

The officer approached the intercom next to the gate, reaching towards it, but before he could press the button, a giant Yakuza member busted out of the front gate, sending several officers flying, though Midoriya and Aizawa quickly caught them.

"Get back!" Ryukyu warned, shifting into her dragon form and catching the Villain's fist, "We shouldn't split our forces, the Ryukyu agency will handle this one. Everyone else continue forward."

"Give it your all, we'll be back later!" Moxie shouted, bouncing on ahead of the group. He rocketed over the heads of several Villains, knocking one out with a kick, and burst through the front door, "Sorry to track in dirt!"

"Hey, wait up!" Ms. Joke yelled, following quickly though the door.

Moxie skidded to a halt, looking around at the empty building.

"There's… no one here!" He realized, "Where is everybody?"

"Right here." Nighteye moved aside a wooden vase and pushed down a few wooden panels, revealing a secret passage.

"What?! With tricks like that, we could be running around here for hours!" Moxie was forced to dodge backwards as Eight Precepts members came running out, one of them slashing at him with a knife.

Centipeder and Bubble Girl were quick to take down all three, with Bubble Girl insisting that the group continue on ahead. They quickly came to another dead end, which Mirio confirmed was a hastily thrown up yet thick wall, with another passage beyond it.

"D#mnit, something like this…" Moxie placed his foot on Kirishima's back.

"…won't slow us down!" Kirishima finished.

"Jade Riot Cannon!"

Kirishima hurtled through the wall, punching a decent hole clean through it, and everyone filed through as the hardened student pulled himself out of the opposing wall.

"Let's move on- ah!" Moxie had begun to Bounce on ahead when the hallway shifted, blocking the path they had taken. He missed his Bounce and crashed to the ground, just before the floor opened beneath them, dropping everyone to a room below, "Ugh… everyone here?"

"Lemillion went on ahead, and we were separated from many of the police." Sir Nighteye helped him up.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? The authority of the government, fallen from the sky!" Masked Villains stepped into the room, "…but stranger things have happened!"

"Looks like you're itching for an all-out war here!" Fatgum smashed his fists together, "All right then!"

Amajiki stepped in the way, holding his arm out.

"I'll show you the strength of a pro, to achieve our goal!" Amajiki insisted, "The only one who's needed to take down these time-eating pawns… is me."

"What are you saying?! Let's cooperate!" Kirishima tried to insist.

"Yeah, you heard him, cooperate, we'll kill the lot of you!" One of the Villains held up his sword.

"That's Setsuno! Any guns we pull on him will be useless!" The police chief warned, "We're counting on you, Heroes!"

"And we're counting on Suneater." Moxie straightened his hood, "These guys are just here to waste our time. This is a race we can't afford to lose!"

"What, you found out my Quirk? Ah, whatever, that just means I can cut loose!" Setsuno tried to activate his Quirk, but found it erased by Aizawa, "What-?!"

"He erased our Quirks!" One of the Villains pulled a gun, prompting Fatgum to step forward.

"I don' care if it's a sword or a hail o' bullets, they'll sink right into this body o' mine!" He declared, "So it'll be easier on ya if you come quiet!"

"Threats like that'll only work on folks who value their own lives!" Setsuno declared.

"We can use our weapons now that Eraser's got you suppressed!" The police chief warned, "Resign yourselves to your fates and surrender!"

Amajiki leapt in, guarded by a clam shell, and disarmed the Villains with octopus tentacles.

"I'll be your opponent!" He crushed their weapons with a crab claw, "Squaring off against these clowns is pointless! This situation, where they're keeping so many Pros in one place, is exactly what they want."

"But senpai…"

"He's right!" Moxie cut Kirishima off, "This is a race, they know that and they're trying to slow us down! Let him take them on and let's get moving!"

"Fatgum!" Amajiki called, "I can shut these three down here!"

"Let's go, the door's over there!" Fatgum hesitated for a moment before leading everyone out. Aizawa erased the Villain's Quirks again, and Moxie knocked one of them out as they left.

"Pin down these three while my Quirk is still in effect!" Aizawa warned.

"Jade Rabbit, you need to hurry on ahead!" Ms. Joke instructed, "You're the fastest of us all, just don't get involved in anything you can't handle!"

Moxie gave her a thumbs up and rocketed down the hallway, bouncing unpredictably from wall to wall, turning a corner and vanishing from view.

And there it is! What'd you think? I just got a new mouse, so editing is easier.

Next chapter will be much more Moxie-centric, so look forward to it!

Enigma, signing off.