Broken Heart Foundation (SYOC)

by And then the sky

Far into the future, for those who have had everything ripped away from them, the Broken Heart Foundation is there to put the pieces of your shattered heart back together again. For one reason, and one reason only, no one is going to fix it for you. (SYOC closed)

5. Chapter 5

Aces and Eights

With the utter carnage that was Joseph and Mei now out of way, most of the new members having to pick their jaws up off the ground, some smacking their cheeks to make sure that they did indeed see what they saw, all eyes went back to the wheel that decided their ultimate fate. Maybe if they hadn't been through so much in their lives, the idea that something like that could happen to them would've played heavy on their heads, however, it was all much of a muchness at this point. To some very particular people, it was almost banal.

As the wheel ticked past every single name, some naturally being removed because even Subaru wasn't as cruel as to make someone fight more than once, the pink haired male in question seemed to be preoccupied by another matter. Humming, he shuffled the deck of cards in his hands, the wheel just continuing to spin with endless momentum.

After what seemed like forever, it felt so much longer than the entire Jurassic age, the ticking ceased and Subaru smirked "Hehehe~, would you look at that? What a turn up for the books! My prescription was a spoiler! Now, I know you two little ladies have been quiet for a bit, but why don't you go up there and deliver us a classic? I'm sure that you don't want to be just a flickering flame of a lit candle, right? Mahoro? Shiki?" Finished with his shuffling, Subaru fanned out five cards within his hand. One was turned backwards, hidden from view at large, however, the rest spelt out a message that would only be known to a select few. Two black aces and two black eights, the clownish man running his fingers up and across them as they glinted under the light like sharp throwing daggers.

"Oh, you needn't worry about anything, Fujinaga-san!" Out of the two girls beckoned to take the floor, only one them decided to speak up. It was the traditional looking girl Subaru had erstwhile pegged just minutes ago. Her voice was gentle and smooth. There was an almost lilting quality to it. A polite quiver to it, it reminded feminine and still soft with girlish youth, but a bit more mature than you'd hear from most girls her age and stature. To say the least, with the more cutesy girlish voice of Yua, it was refreshing to hear the difference for once. "You can count on me certainly, it's the least I can do after all the others poured out their heart and soul."

"Nishishishi~ Well then, why don't you put your words to the test, Mahoro?" Subaru replied, flicking the cards back under his sleeve with a twist of his wrist. He maintained eye contact with Mahoro for just the slightest lingering second, before he turned it to the other girl. It was one look at her, which had kick started Subaru's impromptu plan. Before he saw her turned into a smear in the ground, in some fashion at least, it wouldn't harm him to poke for a bit more out of her. "What say you, Shiki? Or is it Rei-chan? Isshki? Really, reading your file was quite confusing. Sati's got to tell his cretins how to write properly…" He might have devolved into throwing some of his colleagues under the bus, but his point was made.

The girl in question, her small draconic features having all the attention directed at them specifically, seemed a bit conflicted. Her eyes darted about the room, eyeing all of the others with incalculable looks, her hands were clamped down on the end of her clothes, her shoulders edged in tight to her body. Her feet too seemed very pulled back, as if she didn't know whether to move or whether to stay, and that was nothing to say of her head, which was bowed down to the ground in thought.

In the minutes that ticked by, not so helpfully supplied by Arius yelling them from the side, she still didn't reply. Only to, moments later, swivel on her heel and march towards the double doors into the simulation area. To say it was an out of nowhere blow-off was an understatement, it definitely didn't play well with Subaru. The man's black lips curling backwards before he stopped himself from doing anything he may have regretted. "Rude…" He sneered, not bothering to speak anymore to Mahoro as well, dictating her to follow the other girl.

Yua, who had been minding her own business in berating most people she could find with questions, returned to her "Dad's" side and picked up on something she didn't like the feeling of. It had been a good long while since she had felt it, maybe about five years or so, when Daddy finally came back from his long trip. She tugged at his overcoat, playing about with some of the dangling chains in the process "Something happen?" She said, as casted her eyes over to where the two girls were now lining up.

Subaru bent down, pulling at Yua's hazmat suited cheek as he did so. There was a strange kind of half smile caught up on his lips, something enigmatic to all. His eyes didn't do much to tell what his true feelings were either. "Oh, don't worry about lil' old me~! Let's just watch these two wonderful girls go at it, hmm?" Yeah… Unsettling and inexplicable, it summed up the sudden turn very well. A couple with weaker stomachs might have had them churn in that moment.

Flicking the simulation machine into life, the scene around the two girls came into existence. Going from a snowy city in the first match squash between Kagekatsu and Hisumi, a dense jungle for the destructive brawl between Arius and Fukuro, a sprawling lit city for whatever the hell had happened during Mei vs Joseph, to now a very interpersonal and frankly underwhelming comparison.

Going from the grandiose set pieces of before, this one was comparatively minimalist. It looked like a very bog-standard village, almost like Subaru had just given up on descriptors part way through because he got bored or something. In fact, the pink haired male seemed pretty miffed during the whole process to say the least.

On one end, Mahoro stood, a picture of grace and confidence, an easy-going smile tossed in the direction of Shiki at the other end. It was quite the quaint little place, very traditional looking. It struck a kind of chord with her, and in the distance, if she squinted really hard, there was something that looked awfully familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Shaking the thought clear from her head, she got prepared for the ensuing fight to come now. Another cursory glance reassured her, her opponent was definitely "lesser" than the ones pervious, at least physically at least. With a quick flash underneath her Haori, her weapon of choice was unleashed, a swift tap to the ground for a test, the staff was ready to be supplemented by her years of skill with it.

The other girl, meanwhile, stared around the area like she was trapped in quicksand, sinking without a trace in an atmosphere suffocating her. She had no overt weapon on hand, frankly, she hadn't been expecting any of it go down like this. Although, maybe with how her "induction test" had occurred, it was to be expected. With one quick glance to her side, she saw Subaru glaring right at her, waving his hand to keep up some pretence of friendliness. He couldn't have planned this… Could he?

She hadn't really been listening to the first introduction. Not out of meanness or anything of the sort… It was just… Awkward… Yeah, that was the word to describe it. No one was talking to each other, there seemed to be this cloud of total and complete animosity hugging onto everyone. It just made her take a step back and listen to her music… Once more, it wasn't like it was anything personal… Then the fights happened and, kinda ironically, she was getting the slightest bit of cold feet about it.

---

"Start." With the cold declaration of Kyte, having slinked his way back into the observation room, now taking position besides Subaru, the fight had begun. Once the vampiric man had spied the set piece for this fight, he took a side-eyed glare at Subaru. He was doing it again. Really, Kyte didn't quite know why he still elected this duty to Subaru, he didn't quite know why he elected to give it to any of the lunatics that helped him run the asylum. In future, he was going to take over… Right after this lot…

Whilst Kyte was busy in his own mind, the fight, after a prolonged stare-down, began in earnest. Not wanting to waste any time, nor any movement or energy for that matter Mahoro wandered around the place, analytical eyes going up and down the draconic looking girl, scouring for some kind of weakness. Shiki not moving an inch, yet, for the briefest flash in the pan, when their eyes met with each other, there was like a switch that was flipped within Shiki's head.

In that moment, the single moment where shock and surprise could claim dominion over actual preparation and general tactical wherewithal, a tense rope that had been strained in Shiki's brain from the moment she saw this field snapped. Just like that, she was out like a pig escaping a slaughterhouse.

Bone cracked, the stance of Shiki shifting from that of a normal human into a near anthropomorphic shape; the small smattering of scales that coated parts of her face decided now to burst to life. Her hands metamorphosed, fingers shifting from human appendages into death like talons of a powerful dragon. The little chibi horns that couldn't have batted so much as an eyelid were now oozing with an oppressiveness unexpected from them. To drive the transformation further and to its final point, the usually pointy canines extended, becoming those more like that of a sabre tooth tiger in size as they stuck out of her mouth, of course there was no dragon without the customary roar. An icy misty radiating off her manipulated body.

Shiki is paying for the broken windows, that much Kyte decided on the spot.

Isshiki Rei

Quirk: Ice Dragonborn

Dragonborn is a Quirk that has been passed down through many generations of Shiki's family. Like its name suggests, it gives the user the abilities of a dragon while also giving them draconic features to accommodate these abilities! In Shiki's case, it's ice! Thus, Ice Dragonborn!

Mahoro, much like the rest, raised their eyebrow to say the least. In all honest, with the horns and the scales, they should've expected something like this would be the case. Especially considering the last guy with horns, Joseph, turned out to be some kind of energy sucking monster among men. However, this kind of partial transformation. Not quite dragon, not quite human. It was jarring.

And it was now charging at her like a feral beast. From a girl who had just moments ago looked like she had just seen a ghost, to the charging dragon, it was an about face that sent the danger sense of Mahoro into overdrive.

Shiki possessed almost by the ghost of mythical beasts, snarled and gnashed her canines. There was no grace in her ensuing attack, just full force hatred and power trying to overwhelm Mahoro, something that would have maybe worked on a less "capable" opponent, say someone like Kagekatsu with a body that couldn't handle that level of power, but when pitted against skill and someone with a good head on her shoulders, her attack was meaningless.

There was no denying it. The talons were sharp as all hell. They could butcher just about anything in their path, likely with the power to take steel and some of the world's hardest metals down a peg or two.

It only made what came next as a shock to Shiki, the battle crazed eyes narrowing as her first attempted blow was stimmed by a source she had overlooked. "Lucky. It won't stop me from destroying you, though!" Somehow, and quite illogical from Subaru's point of view, Mahoro had just about manoeuvred her staff in to lock it in between the small space in the talons. The angle, twisted and putting stress on the frozen appendages, looked painful to say the least.

Mahoro gave a light chuckle, something that straddled the line between being somewhat condescending and somewhat impressed, right as she decided to twist out the staff and stab out. Of course, the staff wasn't sharp, it wasn't a shiv at the end of the day, but there was a lot that could be said for the blunt force trauma effect. Naturally, said blow was directed right at Shiki's skull.

Only for another counter to rock the area, Shiki's other hand, the one that hadn't been locked in a freeform submission hold, leapt out and came crashing back into the staff. Unlike last time, where the previous contact from the talons had had little effect on the matter, in part due to the resilient strength of Mahoro, now there was a very marked change that made Mahoro's eyes widen ever so slightly.

As the contact was made, and the bottom end came into contact with the full grip of Shiki's talons, slowly but surely the misty ice that had once radiated off of the draconic girl now decided the coat the point of contact. Ice crystals, beautiful and destructive in nature, coated the bottom half of the staff. The icy prison then shattering the second they were crushed in totality by Shiki's destructive power. A manic smirk crossing her face, the saliva dripping from her mouth and submerging her canines like she had just discovered the tastiest thing in the world. "Ooh~, what did I say? Looks like your fate is sealed!"

It wasn't really like anyone talked to Shiki beforehand, they had all generally taken one look at this girl off in the corner and passed her by, and given with how she was on the spot against Subaru there was little to suggest she would act like this at all. Frankly, it was even catching Subaru a bit off guard, with Kyte side-eyeing him viciously once more.

Still, it would not deter Mahoro on the other side. Her initial shock gave way to a light kind of smirk. You see, her mind was always going at a mile a minute, it was hard for one not to think on their toes when they had just seen what had went down previous, and she wasn't going to be a one-trick pony. Nah, nah, nah, she was the furthest thing from it. Now it was time to show just how adaptable she could be…

It started as a trivial annoyance, something that sounded like a little voice tinkering in the back of Shiki's head. She was still very satisfied by the look of terror she was able to etch onto Mahoro for the briefest moment, in her mind was all the wonderfully destructive things she would be able to do to her.

But then there were more little voices, niggling away at her, twisting and interrupting her thoughts with the chattering of teeth and inhuman sounds that tore her eardrums a new one.

Next up, just to add to the torment further, she could suddenly feel a thousand tiny little teeth pierce her flesh. Of course, her scales had passed down over the vast majority of her body, but even the most perfect armour in history had its holes. It was only around her ankle, but it was more than enough to throw Shiki for a loop.

Especially when an enraged eye was cast down and she spotted the little ankle bitter. It was really only as tall as her ankle, maybe slightly taller, but lord above did that small package pack one hell of a row of razor-sharp teeth. Row after row of them as well. The tiny red body, looking like it was plucked right from a traditional painting, scampered about as it stole Shiki's full attention.

Directing said attention right from the source of all the danger. Ever so careful, Mahoro's plan was now being brought into full effect. Pulling up anything that may have gotten in the way, a soft flow of ink was starting to seep from her right leg. Right from the innermost curve of her thing to the end of her ankle, there was a sprawling tattoo etched into it. Well… it was etched onto the skin. It seemed like the picture it created, a swarming mass of devils, demons, and creatures known as Yokai, was beginning to fade as they suddenly, and without warning, started to amass in real life. Some of them, at least, the definition of the tattoo was fading at the top, but the bottom swarm that hadn't emerged still retained their glorious artistic flair.

Yoshizumi Mahoro

Quirk: Body Art

Mahoro's quirk, Body Art, grants her the ability to manipulate and give physical form/limited sentience to her tattoos. The tattoos' durability, strength, and overall abilities are dependent on the quality of the ink used, the artistic capabilities, and detail used when the tattoo was created. Caution must be exercised, for not everything will last forever…

All in all, there were a mass of about ten of them swarming, a mere third of the monsters tattooed down Mahoro's thigh. The nightmare procession, shifting in size and in strength, going from the little ankle biter that had kickstarted the chain, to a blue skinned beast just ever so slightly taller than the two girls themselves.

Shiki, incensed by the act as if it were some kind of grave insult, lashed out in apoplectic fury. The little ankle biter? Mahoro must've been feeling really happy that the little creatures were not connected to her on a pain reception level, because the obliteration and utter destruction was not a pretty sight to see. It was akin to seeing a human repeatedly and deliberately step on a wounded bird, trying to put it out of its misery by causing even more in the process.

The other assorted miscreants and devils? Well. They had tried to swarm Shiki, and instead found themselves frozen solid to the touch, their heated and rowdy nature being cooled and then shattered within seconds. A sharp talon slashing and eradicating them as a factor in this fight. It was simply the power of her Quirk combined with its Ice Form Talons, anything they touched was basically turned into a tundra in mere moments.

There was one last gasp, this time decidedly more efficient, as one of the larger tattoo monsters, the same one with blue skin, tried to do it best to swarm and dissolve itself onto Shiki. At most, it realised it could only be a nuisance at this point, but it didn't much care, and threw itself in with about as much passion as it could reliably muster.

And even that fell victim to the sheer power. This beast didn't get the chance to even freeze over courtesy of the other beast that took the form of Shiki. The dissolution and decay was instantaneous, here in one second and then gone without a trace. All in all, Shiki's eyes were now glazed over with absolute pride and pleasure. There was just one target left on her list now…

Yet, there was one little blemish on the otherwise perfect portrait of her victory. In her destruction, she had lost sight of the most important target to destroy. Mahoro was nowhere to be seen, and no matter how hard she tried to look, her furious gaze couldn't pick up a single sight of the other girl. No matter how much she snarled and roared, screaming "Fight me!" It was not enough for Mahoro to heed the call to arms.

Instead, after what seemed like an eternity of torture, Shiki whipping her head back and forth to the point she had likely given herself whiplash, there was a gentle tap on her back. It was quickly followed up by the rushing and disorienting gushing of blood that cascaded out of a very staff shaped hole in her chest.

"I noticed something. Now, please do forgive me if I'm wrong, but it would appear that your scales, as lovely as they may be, don't provide you with much defence? Am I right, hmm~?"

Smug. Smug was the best word one could use to describe Mahoro in that very instant. You see, she had never intended for her little Night Parade to deal any sustained damage. She had at least hoped the swarm would be able to do some damage, and while that wasn't really the case, they had at least exposed one big weakness within Shiki's Quirk. She froze everything her talons came into contact with? Well, just don't touch the talons. The little ankle biter had pierced her flesh despite the scales? Well, it must've meant that the scales were simply lacking in defensive capability. Therefore, a staff that had broken off because of the ice now had enough sharp point to pierce the scales, and that led to one thing only.

In a perfect world, Shiki might have been able to have Arius' level of regen, but just like what happens when one has a foreign object wound, the object in question tends to block the blood flow and in turn neuters the ability to remove the dead cells and replace them with new ones.

In other words, the staff through her gut had Shiki royally fucked. To make matters worse, as she tried to squirm her way out, all it did was leave the staff, not having gone right through the front of her chest so as to prevent her talons' effect, to drive in deeper and mix around all of the other blood vessels. Like someone rushing to get out of quicksand, Shiki expending all of her energy only made her sink and succumb even further. "Get off of me! LET ME DESTOY YOU!"

Mahoro smirked, giving a coy shake of her head. She could see the falling limbs' strength starting to fade. What was once a violent storm was now a gentle breeze in the free-from submission hold. All she had to do was maintain it, and with her own decent physical power to keep it up, the drip-drip of the power balance started to shift.

As Shiki's eyelids started to grow heavier, mainly as of the result of mostly blood loss as well as the suspended position she found herself in with Mahoro raising her up into the air, Subaru, not really caring that the other girl was not yet unconscious, decided to start administering the count. Subaru also didn't care for the all the looks he was getting as he seemed to count in double time, although it wasn't the first time he was acting suspicious in that matter. Kyte beside him had to hold his tongue back, as well as his hands, from doing or saying something he might regret.

However, that didn't exactly stop Shiki from trying her damndest to break it. She would rather die than go down to some lames ass hold that barely painted the area crimson red. With a furious roar, she tried to drag herself off of the end of the staff. Her wiggling spewing out more mini geysers of red, the broken edges of the staff jamming into her more as she effectively tried to solve a fire by creating an even bigger fire. The pressure on her upper body was immense, as Mahoro fought to maintain the control she had ripped from the dragon girl, said dragon girl's ribcage had definitely seen better days. The pressure of someone forcing you up whilst you were trying to force yourself down, it was something that you really shouldn't try if you value living.

Still, Mahoro struggled. It felt like Shiki was getting stronger for some reason, as if that fury was powering her despite nearly being unconscious a moment ago. The staff started to wobble, her muscles starting to constrict as the new burst of power from Shiki nearly had her recoiling. It didn't matter how much training might have had, it depended on if they got the chance to use it, and if Shiki got free there was little chance yeas of training in Bojitsu was going to mean a damn thing.

"10!"

---

Yet, it helped to have luck on your side immensely. Especially if that luck came in the form of a sociopathic clown that masqueraded as a teacher. It was mere milliseconds away from going the opposite way, though. The instant Subaru had counted 10, Shiki's feet had hit the ground and she was absolutely baying for blood. It was nearly simultaneous, but Mahoro had just about managed to squeak out a win as her hold gave way and Shiki ripped the staff out from her back.

But that wasn't the end of things to Shiki. With her talons now covering the rest of the staff, it was soon an icicle that was swiftly broken over her knee with one authoritative move. "You…!" She was apoplectic. Her eyes didn't see another human being. They just saw another bump on the road. Another bug that needed to be crushed. They no longer saw the soul.

"And that's enough out of you." With the dust particles settling on the ground and with a speed that would make Olympic sprinters blush, Kyte unleashed a chop right to the back of Shiki's unprotected neck. Of course, with the amount of energy expended and the dripping hole in her chest, Shiki fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The assaulter in question shaking off any frost or blood that might have covered his gloved hand in the process. "Ugh, fucking sweathogs…" He muttered under his breath, still unsure why he was subjecting him to the vile smell.

Mahoro stared at the scene, right as Shiki's draconic appendages started to fall apart and recede back into her. Within a few seconds, she was back to the small, powerless looking girl that she was prior to the fight. Mahoro, still reeling a bit from her muscles seizing up, and now definitely not looking forward to what she had to do now that she saw the state of the tattoo on her thigh, felt her words die in her throat. Despite the brief scare, she was awfully grateful, if a little miffed, that after seeing what had happened with everyone else, their fight was pitiful in comparison. And the contentious way it ended, well that was just more ammo against her.

But then she eventually smirked, realising how good the chance that had just fallen in her lap was. Kipping up to her feet, a decent show of athleticism all things considered, she gave a coy smile to Kyte as she saw him pick up the other girl. "Oh! Niijima-san! Don't worry about taking her! I'll be more than happy to do it myself! After all, it's only right since I was the one that did it her, and I of course am deeply sorry for all that happened." She said, bowing at the start and the end. Respect was only natural, and of course it was never done with an ulterior motive. Never.

Kyte looked down the dark-haired girl, scanning her up and down before switching his attention to Shiki. After a few more seconds of silence, Kyte replied, making sure to keep his eyes trained on Mahoro "Very well then. The infirmary is where you first entered this area. It's on the right." Without further fanfare, Kyte dropped Shiki in the process of turning away and returning to his position, the callous disregard raising a few eyebrows of the people not in ER yet no words from Mahoro.

"Jesus! This place really is fuckin' hardcore!" Of course, that didn't stop Arius' mouth. Nothing short of death would get Arius to stop talking. Hell, he probably talked in his sleep because relaxation and joy were impossible when around the cocky 6'4 immortal bastard.

All the remaining eyes then turned back to Subaru, the pink haired male stand right next to his trusty wheel. Although this time around, as Mahoro and Shiki walked side by side to the infirmary with Mahoro looping Shiki's arm around her, there was something that Subaru wanted to say. Something that got Yua beside him really excited "Okay! Okay! All eyes on me! So! I have decided, given the unequal numbers we received in this intake, no doubt because of the adorable little ball of fluff attached to my leg, that I'm going to change things up here!"

That got everyone's attention, even the ones that had been debating between filing a child negligence/abuse report and just straight up trying to bolt for the doors. They didn't know much about this place at this point, barely anything other than it was cryptically laid out and run by absolute psychopaths.

Seeing that they were all listening with rapt attention, Subaru continued, deciding now to push Yua away from him as he put a finger to his lips and smirked. No doubt he was going to annoy Kyte with this, but he was more than assured his body wouldn't be used as a test dummy for the vampire's most recent additions to his collection. "You see this wheel?" As soon as he had uttered it, he shoved the wheel into another room that opened up from behind him "Nishishishishi! Now, you don't! You see, from here on out, I'm going to be making the calls now and I already have my first shot in mind!"

Yua, however, couldn't handle the excitement and waiting time anymore. "Dad! I wanna take him now! Please! Please! Please! You promised me!" Now that had certainly raised more than a few eyebrows. The idea that he had "promised" Yua something. As if he had met the girl in hazmat suit before hand and concocted this whole thing with her in mind.

Subaru, bent down, poking through the suit to touch Yua on the cheeks. "Sure, sure, sure, I was going to let you have the main event, my dear, but you know I jut can't say no to you~!"

An explosion of joy approaching, one that had to very quickly be settled down very quickly lest something be let out that maybe would've torpedoed his whole plan, Subaru placed his hand over Yua's mouth and instead directed her to the same room the wheel had been shoved into. The girl in question still couldn't help but be overjoyed, though, she was finally going to get her moment to impress her Dad and Granddad! This was her perfect moment!

However, as soon as she was chaperoned into the room, the question of who her opponent would be stuck onto the air. Give the pronoun, the only one it disqualified was the chimera girl, Ani, who had been watching with a morbid enthusiasm this whole time. Entirely silent, but her body speaking her desire more than words ever could. Quite frankly, none of them were looking forward to meeting her in battle, least of all with that fucking tail just being the tip of the iceberg by the looks of things.

Instead, that left three of them. One of them, the same edgelord that had been sat in the corner of the best part of the whole endeavour, only now looked like he was the slightest bit interested in not brooding. He was wearing a dark purple t-shirt, which just about poked through the whitish-grey jacket, with the hood of the jacket have black fluff on the seams. Although, it was questionable at best given how big and mis-sized the black cable knit turtleneck sweatshirt looked on him. Around his neck, there was black scarf, and compared to the questionable state of the rest, it was the newer looking item on his body. Something that was only driven home further with the state of his black up jeans with a belt loosely holding to the pants. Finally, there was a pair of black boots on his feet. Of course, that made no mention of the eyepatch over his right eye, nor did it mention the black wolf ears and tail that decided they wanted to exist for some unknown reason. At least this hodgepodge of clothing didn't trigger Subaru's fashion alarm, otherwise Haru Hinata would be dead before he even stepped foot in the Foundation.

At the other side of the equation, there was that literal catboy that had first caught Subaru's attention with his shiny gemstones. A smile might have been etched on his face, but with the crinkles that were coming out from it all across his face, there may or may not have been the indication he was really shitting himself. The incessant handwringing and his rapidly swinging tail didn't help his case either for that matter.

However, there was then the character that Kagekatsu had roughly equated to a horror film slasher villain. Wild, spiky, untameable brown hair that cascaded down to around his upper back. Angular light purple eyes with dark purple target shaped pupils, eyes that looked like they were silently judging you the whole time. The rest of his appearance saved to make his general unremarkable skin tone just that bit more unremarkable, really you would've expected more given the rest of his features. With hulking muscles covering the rest of his body, two golden arms that looked like they could fight against mystical creatures and make them whimper under their power, stuck out ready to crush their opponents. However, even at that, the one thing that one would be drawn to next, was the almost skull like bottom part of his face. With no lips, none whatsoever, the rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth that looked more at home stained with blood, were exposed in perpetuity.

In a way, his horrific appearance made his otherwise mundane clothing look like it was the second of coming of Christ. At least there was one thing that when you bumped into him in a dark alley, you wouldn't have an accident on either side. It consisted of a sleeveless blue shirt that left his golden arms bare, a black, flame-like design pattern located on the bottom half of it. Over the shirt, he was wearing a darker blue, somewhat loose-looking, zip-up hoodie, which unlike his shirt this one has sleeves, which were able to fit his metal arms. Thankfully, around his neck and covering the bottom part of his face, including his mouth and nose, was a light blue scarf, although it didn't really stop the razor-sharp teeth from poking through that much. Below all of this he wore a pair of simple black trousers, then finally below those, trousers he wears a pair of simple, grey running shoes. Unlike, Haru, Shizuka Ikariko, or just Ikari, there was no sense of anything looking new, it was all ragged, and he did not care one single bit.

Another person that was in the business of not caring, claiming to have invented the thing when he was younger, Subaru Fujinaga had just pinpointed his fall guy. "You." With a single point, he sent alarm bells ringing. Even Arius, as self-assured and seemingly uncaring as he was, too busy still reliving his triumph in his head, stopped to take in what was just said. "Get in there. Now."

Ikari, who much like Joseph, had taken a position that would keep him as far away from the rest of them as possible. Reasons might vary, but the result remained the same. He cast his eyes up to Subaru, about to say something, right when Yua came rushing back out with a bow, arrows, and an offensively sharp knife in hand. She came right up to him, and he couldn't help but reflexively take a step back "Dad told me a whole lot about you! Let's make sure we have fun! I don't like people who don't like having fun…" She said, something weirdly deadly slipping in at the last moment to her words.

Of course, before Ikari could react, Yua had already hopped and skipped her way to the simulation room, but as he moved, there was just the faintest illusion of smoke billowing up from the ground as it appeared to melt under his feet. Something had ticked him off, and it had ticked him off hard. Even at that, Subaru, didn't care as he complied the next arena for them to fight in.

Now that he had gone full mask off to a certain extent, he could afford to take a few liberties with overtly fucking about with the students' heads. In fact, with what he planned for the next fight, it would be better if he made this one more… representative of their collective background. 2 out of 5 wasn't a bad number to share the same burden, it just made all the torture that much more fun!

---

Hands working away, the scene came into life around a bouncing up and down Yua and a clearly pissed Ikari. Gone was the previous setting, the only one so far that seemed to have no real onus on how things went, and in came something that would definitely trigger memories for a certain someone.

And it looked like Subaru's plan was in full motion as the sound of Ikari's neck snatching over to look at him sounded like the crack of a whip. The golden armed behemoth was staring absolute death at the clown who only smiled and nodded back, a coy smirk on his face that served as proxy for the clear middle finger he was giving Ikari.

Some details might not have been fully correct, Subaru wasn't perfect no matter how much he would extoll his virtues, but the implication was there and Ikari did not like it one single bit. The two of them were encased in a coliseum, the walls seemingly mimicked off of the one in Rome with how heavily battered and beaten they were, the rubble from some of them providing a kind of cover. The ones that were still stand were caked, absolutely caked, in blood and puss and sweat and tears. All of the combining factors, including a not so subtle choice from Subaru, shone a red light on the fight. Under the glow of this crimson coliseum, it was a matter of time before limbs would possibly be separated.

As Ikari gritted his teeth, an act that was even more forceful given their nature, grinding them down to the point one could see practical sparks flying, he hulked his arm upwards. The arms causing literal mini shockwaves as he punched an open palm of his. "You think this is fun, huh?" He asked, a rhetorical question that everyone already knew the answer to.

Yua didn't answer straight away, instead electing to take the first chance she got. The bow she had unleased the arrow from was a Yumi bow, something Mahoro might have recognised if she was still about, the abnormally thin and long bow proving a deadly weapon in her hands. The arrow flew through the air at incredible speed and with a laser precision. Its target? Ram straight through one of Ikari's eyes. With that, his sense of depth perception would be limited, and despite his strength, it would let Yua be able to fight him on her own terms. "Yeah! It's the mot fun in the world! Dad taught me that!"

However, the arrow never got that far. Extending his arm out, Ikari grabbed a hold of the arrow and stopped it right in its tracks. With his grip getting tighter and tighter, with Yua watching on in shock, the arrowhead in question was keyed and obliterated under the immense pressure. His open palm now revealing the crumpled arrow as if it were just a mere annoyance to him. Like it was a fly that had the unfortunate role of buzzing around his head.

Then, step by step, he began the slow march forward, looking eyes directly with the hazmat suited girl. "You annoy me… You know that?" His voice was low, threatening, and lesser people would've certainly already been praying to whatever god they believed in. There was almost a kind of animalistic quality to it, something bestial and visceral that fit well with his inhuman look. "People like you… You make me sick! Fun? FUN?! YOU THINK THIS IS FUN?!"

Not giving Yua any time to think of a second plan, because clearly firing from afar was not going to work with regards to Ikari, said male stormed forward with even more fury than Joseph had exhibited when Mei had dared touch them. One could muse that instead of a physical touch, Yua had touch a massive nerve that could well be her death warrant.

His speed was immense, like he was powered on by some unseen force. One that made him grow more and more demented looking as he strode three paces in just one move. Every piece of rubble that was in his way was obliterated, anything that dared to try and defy his charge was also turned into practical ashes. One piece of the destroyed coliseum happened to befall the most unfortunate fate yet, where even minor contact with Ikari's golden arms had turned into an unrecognisable pile of dust.

Any arrow that might have come his way from Yua was also blown away, not even given the light of day to be the slightest bit effective. To an outside observer, this was borderline assisted homicide. Chucking someone this brutally powerful on a girl that was less than half his size and nowhere near the same level of strength, it was just straight up insanity. The worst part was arguably how Subaru and Kyte just watched it like it was just a normal thing to happen. Subaru was even smiling, not looking even the slightest bit concerned that his "daughter" could be turned into a smear on the ground in mere seconds.

And just to make matters worse, something began to shift within Ikari as he now towered over Yua, who had in turn fallen to her ass and was attempting to scamper away in a futile effort. To those with a clean view of his back, it looked like there was some kind of bubbling cauldron under his skin. To others, it might have looked like something inhuman was clawing and trying to fight its way out of his skin. Whenever they did see the result though, all but Ani and Subaru were totally speechless by the sight.

Just like the two he already had, there was now the addition of four more powerful, golden arms that now made him look more like a herculean monster than ever before. Two of them were directly at the side of his torso, sticking out with claws as sharp as a scimitar's, whilst the other pair were taking position closer to his lower body, allowing him to possibly stop attacks he would've been otherwise unable to stop.

Shizuka Ikariko

Quirk: Frenzied Fists

This quirk gives the user the ability to grow stronger the angrier and more hate-filled they get, when this quirk is activated the user gains six, golden, metallic arms, each of which end in five sharp claws and possesses enough power to knock out a regular human in one swift blow!

Without a single further breath being taken, he grabbed at Yua's hazmat suit and lifted the young girl easily into the air. "You think this is fun now? Huh? Huh? Huh?!" The only thing that could best be described as motivating Ikari was nothing but the purest form of anger and hatred. To further hammer home the effect, the intricate lines that adorned these new arms glowed with what looked like the magma that flowed underneath the earth's crust. Pulling a pair back, the ones at his sides, with the ones at the top being the ones that held Yua, he gritted his teeth again "Let me show you what it's really like!"

With one Sudden Strike, one of the glowing golden arms, powered on by an almost indomitable hatred and anger, launched out. If just a normal piece of rubble was annihilated upon brief contact with the claws, it was a real crap shoot to figure out whether or not Yua was actually going to be able to survive such a blow.

Either way, the blow landed. It landed hard. A physical strength that rivalled Fukuro and a durability far less than that of Arius, the natural result should've been an absolute bloodbath of biblical proportions.

As the metaphorical smoke cleared and the cards were all laid down bare, an interesting sight started to develop. Whilst there was indeed a massive down on Yua's part, no amount of Quirk strength or defence was ever going to soften the blow for her, that was just a fact she had to face, and her hazmat suit was now permanently ripped open from the inside out as a massive hole tore through it. There was also another surprising development that turned this dead man's hand into something borderline playable.

You see, whilst Yua was absolutely writhing on the ground in pain, the punch Ikariko had given her being akin to being hit by bulldozer, backed over by said bulldozer, strung up by the driver just so he could run you over again, and then finally deciding to drop the load he was carrying on top of you. She was also not the only one that seemed to be having some kind of issue. You know, not withstanding the horrific gash that now coated her torso, having also cut into her clothes. Now that. That was an issue, but to someone like Subaru it was by the by.

"Jesus!"

"Hehehe… Wonderful…"

"The darkness…"

"Uhhhhhh… This is normal?"

The four remaining members left standing at his point were shocked by the complete lack of empathy shown by Kyte and Subaru, particularly the latter. This was his daughter, was it not? Why was he being so callous in his disregard for her?!

However, no further attempt was made after the sound of movement brought their attention back to the arena. Ikari had been downed just as hard by his own blow, it didn't matter if you were the strongest and toughest son of a bitch on the planet, there was no way that your Quirk didn't have consequences that you no sold at every chance you got. Pain was a fact of life and there was a huge difference between resilience and borderline superhuman regeneration and toughness, even in a Quirked society with someone with like Arius kicking about.

Ikari was the picture of resilience in many ways here. It's not everyday that you saw a man with a sharp as hell knife lodged dangerously to his neck, mere inches from piercing vital places like the oesophagus that could arguably have killed him. It's also not everyday that you saw someone with six arms being practically stappled to the ground as if he were armless. The glowing magma like lines looked far, far hotter than they were before. As if that one single powerful barrage had ended his power to squash Yua like a bug.

Still, he didn't stop, he might have sent Yua to the other side of the arena, right where she had thwacked her head hard against the simulated wall, but that didn't mean he was fully out of the woods yet. Having gone too far with his Quirk's strength, something that was still powering up with even more of his loathing and ager coursing through it, he could hear the sound of Subaru beginning to count Yua out of the thing.

By the time he had reached 3, Ikari had set into motion. He might have ben unable to properly bring himself back up to his feet, the precarious placement of the knife and the way it may dig further into his skin further fuelling his only rational decision so far, but that didn't stop him from attempting to make his way to his feet.

With the debris that he hadn't destroyed in rage during his charge, he scrapped his way towards them, digging his heels and his head into the ground, trying to move his body like it was some kind of caterpillar. If he could find some kind of piece of debris, he could theoretically use it to launch himself onto stable ground.

By the count of five, Yua was still completely out of it. Her body a kind of wreck on the ground. He had gotten lucky enough that Ikari wasn't expecting her to tab him right in the throat before his attack hit. Had it hit straight on, it might have been a far different story. She had never felt anyone hit like that before. It was one of the first times she had seen a power so terrible, and when all the Quirks she had seen were considered, Ikari's one was a veritable juggernaut that she felt like she had only seen the surface of.

With the remaining vestige of strength that she had left, awfully lucky that her bow hadn't be destroyed in the process, the black-haired girl reached out a feeble hand and took a shaky aim at Ikari, who had now reached a decent sized piece of debris to work with. Before her eyes closed for the last time, she unleashed the arrow. It wasn't aimed for the arms, she could see that was pointless, instead it was aimed for one of the legs. If she could stop him, even for a second, it was one second closer to this being a draw. If it were a draw, she wouldn't be disappointing her "dad", and whilst she wanted to have fun with Ikari, it was clear that their definitions of "fun" were very much different.

The arrow soared through the air, just about striking at the sound of Subaru calling out seven. Ikari couldn't help but grit his way through the immense pain of the arrow that had likely just ruptured on of his knees. The shot, just like the last one, had been laser accurate, and now there was an arrow that had cut right through the bone and ligaments. Right now, it was like Ikari's right leg was stapled to the ground, and if he wanted to get back up to his feet he was going to have to rip it clean out without the use of his hands.

At the count of eight, a mere second later, he steeled himself and attempted to do the deed. He had been through far worse, he kept telling himself, and he had to remember why he did what he did in the first place. Ripping an arrow straight from his knee would be a drop in the ocean of blood when he really thought about it.

However, as soon as he started to try and do the deed, something within him shifted. He could tell it was foreign, not of his own control, and thus must've been because of a Quirk. However, as soon as he tilted his head back to check to see if Yua had done anything for just the tiniest moment, the full effect hit him like a cement truck to the face.

No longer did he see the girl who annoyed him so much, the one had turned his already simmering anger at the brutality into overdrive. Instead, he saw what Subaru had professed her to be from the start. An adorable little ball of fluff, who despite stabbing him, must've had a good reason for it! In fact, he felt downright horrible now for even daring to touch a hair on her head.

In the observation deck, Subaru smirked, running his tongue up and down a card in his hand. It really was an uncontrollable Quirk, wasn't it? Even when Yua was down, and even if it provided her with no actual combat abilities, there were three inevitabilities in Subaru's world. Death, Tax Evasion, and Yua's Quirk.

Yua

Quirk: Cute!

Cute! Functions as a mutation in Yua's endocrine system that gives her the power to release a special kind of pheromones around her that makes everyone to see Yua as a cute, beautiful and innocent girl at the eyes of the affected parties! Making them drop their defences and be easily disarmed and manipulated!

---

Fixing a black gas mask on the lower half of his face, Kyte had already left by the time Subaru had finished his count of ten. In the end, Ikari had been unable to reach his feet in time, having been too enraptured by the sight of Yua in the last two seconds to achieve grounded status. Still, if one were to execute this fight under normal knockout rules, there was little doubt that Ikari was the victor here. He was the only one conscious and that had to mean something in the grand scheme of things.

Still under the effect of Yua's Quirk, he was not paying attention as Kyte smacked him across the face with an extra gas mask. "Wear this, Sweathog." Came his blunt reply, dropping it on the other male right as he also yanked the arrow right from the skin to large growl, right before he also helped Ikari up to his feet. An act done despite the huge weight and muscle advantage that Ikari had over him. "I don't want you to become her slave and then Subaru's by extension."

Ikari fumbled the mask onto his face with the assistance of Kyte, who now realised the lack of motion with regards to the arms. His eyes were still locked onto Yua even as Kyte tried to secure the mask, however, as soon as the filtration began to kick in, protecting him from the secreting pheromones, the demeanour once more changed on a dime. Without a moment's notice, he shoved Kyte away from him. Not with his arms though, they were still useless in doing anything other than simply existing, the other pairs of arms, meanwhile, gradually faded from his body and just left him with his usual limbs that seemed to have some form of motor ability. Instead, it was a rather tepid headbutt, considering the state of one of his legs, that he used to knock the vampire away from him.

Seeing the clear denial of his assistance, Kyte just decided to let bygones be bygones. If people didn't want it, he wasn't going to do it. It was a fairly simple philosophy. In fact, he was happier if they left under their own power. The fewer sweathogs he had to carry the better. They all made him feel so unclean. "I know you heard me earlier. Take yourself to the Infirmary, Fauser, as annoying as he is, generally knows how to handle stab wounds." He said, still focusing in on the knife jammed in Ikari.

Said male simply grunted in reply, the foreign fit of the gas mask, Austrian in make being one Kyte had received from a mysterious benefactor, didn't help raise his excitement one little bit. Nor did the touch of the vampire, that had struck several nerves and Kyte was lucky that his arms were useless in that instant. He might have done something he would deeply regret had that not been the case.

On the other end of things, Kyte scooped up Yua without a further word, and instead of going the same direction the rest of them had seen him go every other time, he instead took a turn to the left and vanished off into the distance. Of course, the fact they couldn't see what lay beyond the doors from the booth didn't help, but it was the fact he had told Mahoro and the rest that the infirmary was on the right that left the feeling within the rest of them being very nebulous. Evidently, as if this place wasn't cryptic enough, they needed to hide even more shit. Just wonderful…

"And then there were three!" Subaru's voice, still as joy filled and jovial as if he hadn't just seen his "daughter" get grievously injured, called out to the remaining figures bar Arius. "So! As you can clearly see, we simply don't have the numbers to do another one on one battle unless I throw Ari-chan in! And I don't think that's fair on you!" That earned a laugh from Arius on the other end, lazily smirking Subaru's way, but it didn't stop Subaru from speaking "In other words! The following contest will be a triple threat match! Between Hinata Haru! Hoseki Akashi! And Ani! Just Ani because I ain't saying that last name! Also, one further rule, since the three of you are in here, it's still just one fall to the finish! First one to incapacitate someone else wins! Okay? Good! Now get in there!"

The three that had been called upon all had different reactions to the announcement. Of course, naturally, Ani was baring her teeth and wondering just how she would be able to rip these foolish fools to shreds, ready to show them what a real fight finally looked like.

Haru, ever the brooder, considering he said nothing much during the entire event, just morbidly plodded his way out of the room. He didn't look bored, he didn't look sad, he didn't look happy, he didn't look angry, he just kind of was at this moment in time. Almost aimlessly drifting in and out of bothering to exist. In fact, one could best describe what was happening to him as a kind of apathy.

At the complete opposite side of the spectrum, the feline boy, Hoseki Akashi, was just silently nodding along with Subaru's head and smiling. He wasn't scared, no Sir. Okay, he may have already ascertained that he had no chance in hell of coming out of this unscathed. Okay, he may have see what had happened to the rest of them and maybe might have imagined himself like that. But he wasn't scared! Mr Vamp and Mr Clown weren't going to let them actually die, right? Right?!

As he left the observation deck, he could help but bristle and feel every hair on his body stand up straight as Ani trailed in behind him. Several calming breaths and gulps later, eyes shut with a smile trying its damn hardest to make him look like he was just a little bit confident.

Arena they were in didn't change, much less did any of the destruction. They were dealing with the atomised rubble, the same blood stains that Ani waded into without a care in the world, and they were likely going to be undertaking the same base level of destruction.

---

Not waiting for any further word from Subaru or Kyte, the latter still not being present for some reason, Ani was the first one to the metaphorical brass ring Subaru had dropped in front of them. Seeing that Haru was not paying attention in the slightest, having sequestered himself in a kind of corner of the coliseum, as much as a round room could have corners, Ani raced over to his position.

Her steps were almost imperceptible. Her speed not befitting her small frame, and whilst she may have been close to legally being classified as a dwarf as the shortest member of the Foundation, she was within Haru's range at a moment's notice.

The grotesque skeletal claw on her arm, its gnashing teeth and the twisted flesh, was smashed directly into the back of Haru's skull. The running forearm smash cracked it in fierce blow, the claw digging into the other with little care for what would happen next. The small girl's tail, swishing about with the guns on the teeth of the abomination firing off small but deadly bullets, wasn't going to be able to hold back without getting some kind of action!

As Haru buckled under the weight of the forearm smash, a move Subaru had already ascribed as South of Heaven, Ani's tail swung around and dove straight into action. It chomped and tore its way into Haru's legs, the guns on the teeth also having an absolute field day as the teeth dug their way in further. With the teeth in deep, the small bullets could unleash utter havoc on Haru's insides, firing up and down the limb and obliterating different kinds of lymph nodes and arteries. One could say that the leg of the male now looked like a kind of Swish cheese, all the small holes now dotting his leg looked like a Horror Manga in action.

"Hehehehe! Is that all you got?! You fight like a fuckin' loser!" Ani's gravelly voice yelled out; she was clearly having far too much fun with this. It was almost border line sociopathic, and it left Akashi on the other end almost clawing at the doors to get out.

Ani Talin Grigoryan

Quirk: Chimera Synthesis

Ani's Quirk allows her to use various materials ranging from metals, stone, flesh, bones, to form deformed, monstrous golems of any shape or form! The abilities and intelligence of these golems depend on what they are made out of. Ani can also attach herself to these golems and vice versa. For example, her arm and her tail!

After another barrage of bullets blasted both of Haru's legs to bits, the eyepatch wearing male had little chance of ever making it to his feet for the foreseeable future of this fight. There was little chance that there was going to be a swerve in the tale, either. Ani, hearing the beginning of Subaru's count, turned her meshed and horrific eyes over to where Akashi was standing and grinned.

Slowly, she stalked towards him with a bloodthirsty grin. Both knew that unless Akashi could find a way to get to Haru, and not fucking die in the process of doing so, then Ani was going to take this fight without even touching him. Of course, the sheer brutality just made the perceived inferiority of Akashi even greater on his end. If his opponent could do that in just mere seconds, that small nugget of opportunity that had been dangled in his face was up in smoke.

He tried to back away, Ani might have been fast, but his own agility and speed was nothing to scoff at either. It was just about the only thing he had any kind of confidence in at this very moment.

Now, of course, nice things couldn't happen in his life, or any of their lives for that matter, no matter how much he tried to run away, Ani would simply close down the distance on Akashi. Not helping Akashi were the mini bullets from the gun teeth that were harassing him from afar.

He was trying his hardest, trying his best to use just about anything to help him gain any sort of advantage. His body was just the right size to cover himself behind the debris, he had just about managed to scavenge some of the reduced rubble and chucked it out in a vein attempt to distract the other girl's aim, but it was really all for naught.

At the count of eight, as the last part of his useable rubble catalogue was done away by Ani with practiced ease, the girl smirked with her target finally in front of her. Her tail snapped silent, and her morphed arm was chomping at the bit to sink its teeth into yet another victim. Akashi broke into a cold sweat, his fur roughing up as the images of all the horrible things that could happen to him flashed through his head.

At the count of nine, Ani struck out. It was a very simple attack, just your run of the mill left hook powered by her Quirk arm. There was ever intention in her mind for this to be a clean haymaker. If she had two opponents to face down, she was going to down two opponents as she fought, there were no ifs and there were no buts about that.

However, much to her surprise, the standard, almost sloppy right hook, was nearly ducked out of the way of. Instead, she now found herself with a new scar breaking across her skin. Right across her torso, there were three very distinctive claw mark that now tore into her flesh. Stunned for the moment, right for her victory to be assured as Subaru counted ten, she looked down and up and down and up and then finally directly at Akashi.

It wasn't a clean dodge; the top of Akashi's head had been grazed and it had ripped clean through the fur that covered it. However, that wasn't the thing her eyes focused on, she was always assured that she was going to strike in success. That's what her prior life was built off of. Instead, her eyes were now locked on Akashi's claws.

Her eyes may have once been drawn to the naturally shiny gemstones on his body, they looked like the most beautiful rubies she had ever seen in her sordid life, but she had never expected to see what she did now.

On Akashi's hand, the three gems that usually sat in a perfectly entrenched fashion were now extended out in into sharp, sharp claws. It was only one hand, but the shift was immense and the power was just as immense. It wasn't on her level, nor was it on someone like Fukuro or Ikari, nor was it as destructive as Shiki's ice powers, but anything that could pierce flesh had a kind of hidden strength to it.

Hoseki Akashi

Quirk: Carbuncle

Akashi's Quirk makes him takes on the form of a lavender-furred humanoid feline with several red gems growing from the end of the tail (spherical shape), forehead, back of the hands and upper part of the feet (the latter three areas being more elliptical). Akash can remove mass from one gem and then can add the same amount of mass of the gem(s) to other gem(s) on himself and alter its shape in a technique he calls Gemshift! The very same move he used on Ani!

Did this power translate to the look on Akashi's face? No. Not exactly. He still looked petrified beyond belief and he reached a near nirvana as soon as his ears had clocked Subaru's declaration, however, at least he was able to stand, and for that, despite the questionable streak of yellow on his back, he was eternally grateful.

Just as Ani was about to say something to him, he ended up going down to his knees, claws retracting in and heaving heavy breaths. To him, everything seemed to be slowed to a snapshot in time as none of the doors were opened to let them out just yet.

Were those effects Quirk related? Subaru didn't know, he didn't care either quite frankly. With all of the fights done, and Arius being the only one left standing, thanks in no part to his Quirk, he guessed now would simply just be the time to start the process in full.

These kids. Their broken hearts. They all needed mending; they needed the tools given to them to overcome their trauma. He would be having a word with Sateriasis later, alongside Niijima-sama's assistants.

It looked like the first step of the induction was complete.

---

Stalking the night fall. It was really the one thing he enjoyed in life. The night was an almost comfort blanket, it gave him the security of fading from sight at any moment. It gave him a life where the only light that was allowed to shine was his own.

There would be some people that would say "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow," from a very logical standpoint they were right. However, he had never really seen it that way from a personal level. The shadow over his life had evaporated the more and more he spread his light, even more so when he had found his Prince. The true light in his life that blew away the shadows like ashes in the wind.

As he came upon his location for the night, he adjusted his red-tinted sunglasses. Likely, he would be seen as stupid for wearing them, especially when the sun was nowhere close to coming up and the area in general was as dark as could be. But he had never really been one to care, what was it to him if people thought it was stupid? They wouldn't be laughing for long if they insulted him…

Staring up, he took in the skyscraper before him. Once upon a time, he had looked at it in reverence. It was quite the imposing structure, gilded with riches from a time where it was once an illustrious building with a flawless history. The spire on top nearly tore the sky apart, and the stainless glass was so clear that it allowed him to see his own reflection in minute detail. Taking the moment to fix a few things up, he tucked some of his loose red hair behind his ear. Its wispy, flame like nature, some strands flickering like embers in the wind, was barely held back by the flimsy hair band that kept the deceptively long mop in a loose, low ponytail.

A gust of wind caused his jacket to bellow out with it. It was around knee length, brown and black, with the brown covering the cuffs and shoulders whilst the black constituted the rest of it. The high collar, flipped up and pressed against his neck, had his name in golden Kanji across the back. Underneath, he wore a simple enough red shirt, there was the slightest indication of holes and parts of the fabric being cut, but they were hidden by his jacket. The rest of his clothes consisted of black leather trousers and a pair of grey combat boots.

Flexing his hands, he raised them up to the building. Was he really going to do this? This was the place he had met his Prince. Still, it wasn't as if it was the first place he had worked in, oh no, he had done away with that place long ago. So, was he really doing anything wrong here? Was he really stopping to count one of the ants he squashed on the road to his destination?

He looked back up at the building.

Such an extravagant place, it made such wonderful headlines when all that was left of it was ashes.

His left hand pressed up against the cool glass, a few words muttered under his breath on pure compulsion, the reflective side of the building erupted in intense light. Wickedly hot, violent orange and blue flames devoured everything in their path. Glass and its connecting pieces were melted, the steel beams being incinerated with a hellish heat. Frankly, it took a trained hand, just like his own one, to make sure that the building burned evenly. He had run into too many "villains" with fire Quirks who thought they were hot shit, only for them to be incapable of preventing their arson locations from collapsing on top of them.

As the flames began to fan out, the building going up in smoke too quickly and sucking all the oxygen out of the fire, he pulled his hand back. Seeing the now disintegrated corpse of a building he had once given someone his loyalty in, it may have affected him long ago, but now he was just indifferent to the matter. The whole event had not seen on slight quirk in his appearance. "You gave us the keys to your kingdom; you were the one that allowed this to happen. Don't blame us for your own failings, you're just lucky you weren't in the crossfire as it all was reduced to ashes."

He wondered just what was going through the owner's head at that moment, what egged him on despite knowing the risks full well. Was it just arrogance? Did he think that just because his little group had managed some midcard heists, it meant that they were at all relevant? On top of that, did they think that just because they could pull some equally midcard, B-Rank villains that they were suddenly king shit?

Honestly, he didn't know what he might do to the person if he ever laid eyes upon them again. Kaze Okada, the wannabe S-Rank villain who thought the villains that had tore this nation and city apart, bringing it to its knees, were a joke. The man whose head was somehow too big for even the open air to contain it. There had been murmurings, around the Inner Circle, that it would be better to extinguish the candle before it ignited the TNT it was preciously perched next to.

However, the first pick was "busy", so the onus was cast upon him, and he wasn't going to do it without his Prince by his side.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Minoru! Catch me!" Unfortunately, it looked like he was going to be forced into action either way. Why? Well, it was because the object of his ire, a one Kaze Okada, had just coming screaming out of nowhere. Not on his feet, oh no, but more so flying through the air as if he had just been tossed by a monster among men.

"Minoru" reacted accordingly, being 6'4 in height and with muscles that would put a professional athlete to shame, the redhead plucked him out of the air. Taking care to use only four fingers on either hand, he hooked his grip around Kaze's waist and left leg, making it look like he was halfway in between deciding whether or not to drop him, or even if he wanted to parade around with the other on his shoulders.

Kaze Okada was a slimy, slimy man. It was actually rather unfortunate, then, that "Minoru" couldn't make any literal cracks at him because of the other's Quirk. Information was always a very powerful thing, and Kaze's Quirk, Consigliere, allowed the slippery bastard to see people's dirty little secrets once a day so long as he too could give a "secret" to the person he was targeting. All of these saucy secrets were the perfect blackmail material, you see, and they were all compiled in a black book. A black book that was now likely one of millions of ashes now dancing amongst the wind.

A snivelling mess of 5'6, not much muscle, dirty blond hair that just about touched his shoulders, and a tacky business suit that made him look like he was trying to be a professional, as opposed to actually looking like one. "Minoru's" grip wanned ever so slightly, fingers flexing in closer, his head turning back as those disgusting orange eyes of Kaze's tried to plead to him.

Kaze, dazed by the fact he had just been thrown like a javelin, panicked as he looked up at his temporary saviour. "Minoru! Minoru! Minoru! You gotta help me! There's someone out there! He attacked me! I… I know you're barely around anymore! But help me for old time's sake!" It seemed like he hadn't noticed the scorched remains of his building as well, especially when his eyes bulged upon the sight "Wha… What?!"

Having heard enough of the claptrap right from the moment Kaze had opened his filthy mouth, "Minoru" sneered and changed his grip. Powering the much smaller man on top of his shoulders, still with the other's left leg hooked, he executed a move that some people might know as the Fisherman's Buster, or the very simple Annihilator as he liked to call it. The resounding crack of Kaze's skull, neck, and back were like music to his ears. Despite the growing elation at the noise, there was still no change in the indifferent, almost psychotic detachment the redhead showed on his face.

Needless to say, Kaze howled in pain. He clutched at any part of his body that felt even the slightest bit out of place. Trembling hands touched at his neck as he struggled up to his feet, his entire top half now bleeding through from the inside, his shirt was stained crimson from underneath. Even the most basic of actions was now a war struggle to the blond, that impact, straight to his spine, had left him with severe motor issues to say the least.

However, before Kaze could take yet another step forward, two chains, each with fishhooks attached at the end, shot out of the darkness, and pierced his flesh. They were lodged deep into both of his hands, an invisible force pulling them further and further apart until it felt like his arms were going to snap if there was even the slightest pull further. Two more then struck him, one in the right leg, one in his left leg. The pain was immense as each chain felt like they were going to tear his flesh asunder. The bells of death pounded in his ears as his assaulter moved into sight with two more chains slinking out and sinking themselves into either side of his head.

"What a sorry sight this is, it is truly a disgraceful end to this story." The newcomer's voice was deep and held a powerful kind of gravitas about it as he took his position right next to "Minoru". His body was entirely covered by a grotesque, bloody, leather, black robe/bodysuit that vaguely resembled something he remembered seeing from a particular book and move series he had read once upon a time. That wasn't what caught his eye, though, instead it was the set of six chains that were emanating from his back that were clearly the source of the hooks currently embedded in Kaze's skin.

The new assaulter's build was lithe looking more like it was built for agility and flexibility as opposed to power, contrasting the hulking frame and power of his partner who looked like he could break your arm with minimal effort. His hair was wild, long, black and purple. Most of it at the front appeared to be black while it bled into a lighter purple at the end of it. Said hair was fastened back by a spiked hairband at the end of the black and was up in a semi-long high ponytail that took up the majority of the purple, which fell down to the nape of his neck and slightly further down to his shoulder blades. His shiny blue eyes were locked directly into Kaze's as he pulled up a white book into a view. "Haizaki, you bastard!" Kaze shouted, although it sounded more akin to a pained wail of an angry bull as it was being slaughtered.

"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" The named "Haizaki" started, flipping through a few pages of the book as his chains continued to twist and contort Kaze's body like a sickening stretch action figure. "Chapter one: The Rise. Kaze Okada, a feared man by all that knew him. While not a big time Villain, and nowhere near having the capabilities to achieve S-Rank Status, he could comfortably consider himself in the mid card of a very top-heavy villain league. No doubt, Kaze Okada dreamed for the eternal summit despite his lacking ability. Soon he started his own group, one that would bring chaos and create himself as the New Face of Fear, one that he just knew was going to bring him to that golden mountain top. However, we all know how the old adage goes. Pride comes before the fall."

Directing his chains as if it were a grand orchestra, "Haizaki" turned a few more pages and continued on "Chapter two: The Malaise. Kaze Okada, once overjoyed with his growing power base, soon grew bored with his perceived lack of pleasure. He felt hollow. He felt empty. He wanted more and more from this cruel world that had prevented him from going anywhere, and yet he was stuck in a rut without the ability to progress even further. That is when two men approached him, offering him their services, promising him that with the three of their powers combined that he and his gang would achieve pleasure like never before. However, what Kaze Okada failed to recognise, be it through ignorance, stupidity, or both, is that true pleasure can only ever come from the experience of true pain."

"Haizaki, yo-" Kaze didn't get the opportunity to say anything more, the chains were pulled to dangerous far apart levels. He could just feel the tearing of flesh as the hooks travelled up and down his arms like they were taking a boat ride on the sea of blood that was pouring out of the almost bifurcated mess that used to be his hands.

His situation didn't get any better as he felt those five hideous fingers of "Minoru" wrap around his neck, knowing exactly how the mechanics of that bastard's Quirk worked. His index finger was precariously perched with intent to land it directly on his neck and bring his suffering to an end, however, no matter how much Kaze was calling out to be plunged into the fiery abyss in his mind, "Minoru" refused to do the deed as he shared a look with "Haizaki" before turning back to Kaze, speaking for the first time. "He wasn't finished."

With his victim's ability to talk now crippled by "Minoru's" crushing grip, "Haizaki" let his eyes drift back to the book with a dark look on his face. In his body, Kaze could already feel the hooks slinking their way down further as they tore away anything in their path. Whether it was organs, cell walls, veins, arteries, and even the blood cells themselves, none of it stood a chance as they were slowly shredded as the hooks began to lodge themselves into Kaze's rapidly beating heart. If he wasn't already bleeding out of every hole in his body, he was certainly going to be doing it soon. The hooks had now mutilated his arms beyond recognition, both halves from the split limbs flailing hopelessly in the wind "Chapter three: The Fall. Kaze Okada was a stupid man. A man who thought he belonged at the top of a mountain he hadn't even started to climb. He was deluded, he was a man who thought he sat on a throne made of gold, yet all he sat on was a throne of thorns. He thought the ultimate pleasure would be derived from seeing his face as the new symbol of terror, yet he was never satisfied with the reactions he received. He yearned for more, he asked those two men who had just joined him to help him even further. He wanted to supplant the group known as the Inner Circle, only then could he begin his long climb to the top. Unfortunately, there is no pleasure derived from something that doesn't exist for him anymore. The only thing that remains for him now is pain."

With an authoritative slam of the book cover, "Haizaki" wandered in closer and bent down to stare the shorter man right in the eye. It made Kaze so incredibly angry to see that goddamn smug ass look on "Haizaki's" face, he knew that the pair of assholes had a superiority complex the size of Jupiter, he would ignore the jeers of "ironic", and there was little doubt as to how deep their respective sadistic streaks ran in their DNA, but this was a whole different horror story. His anger, while white hot, was nothing compared to the electrifying pain of the hooked chains currently fishing for his organs like they were lambs for the slaughter.

"I do believe I warned you when we first arrived at your little clique that there would come a time when we would meet like this, especially when you dared to assume you could supplant the Inner Circle." "Haizaki" began, releasing the chain in the top of Kaze's head and causing it to yank off the flesh that it had been hooked into with a painful tear. The chain in question slowly retreating before it jammed itself into its former place in its owner's back "You now have two ways your deluded fairy tale can end. One, I could tear your soul apart in one fell swoop and make your suffering legendary even in Hell. Two, I could release the chains bit by bit, slowly tearing out small chunks of your body, letting the rivers run red with your blood for decades and decades. I could watch you bleed out before me, your arms mutilated, your body ripped with your different organs plastered on the end of my chains dangling like meat in a butchery, I could watch you heave your final breaths as you try to figure out where it all went wrong. Your next reply shall be your decision."

"Haizaki! Minoru! I don't understand!" Despite the pain, despite the threat of his imminent immolation, and literally everything that had just happened, a deluded Kaze called out to the people he had once thought to be his allies. This all just had to be some kind of test, there was no way he was going to actually die here, right? He was their leader! He'd have them done in for insubordination once they had played out their little fantasy on him.

"Ah, the eternal refrain of humanity. Pleading for forgiveness, begging for mercy "Please, help me! I don't understand." It's a such a typical response to the pleasures I give." Pulling out another chain, one that had turned his victim's leg practically inside out with the bones jutting through the tortured flesh and the veins and nerves mutilated to the point where the tanned appendage was now the deepest shade of crimson possible. "Let me tell you something, Kaze Okada, when you've spent decades suffering in the fiery darkness of Hell, these seven minutes are going to seem like Heaven."

Motioning "Minoru's" hand away, "Haizaki" directed him back over to his side and whispered something into his ear. Kaze was naturally too busy with his suffering to hear and take into effect what they were saying, however, the smirk that crossed "Minoru's" lips, the first sign of any emotion, was no doubt the emissary of his death knell.

Just moments later, the chains were suddenly now being ripped from his body with wanton destructive recklessness. Well, all but one. Bar that one, each of the remaining hooks took untold pleasure in maiming and dismembering everything that they came into contact with, even the parts they had previously turned into the best reference to the horror films of antiquity. One of the remaining ones in his hand had managed to lop off a couple of his fingers in the process of coming out, the same story could be said for the one remaining in his leg as it chopped off any toes it had laid its claws on. Naturally, if the fact his limbs were practically split in half wasn't enough to keep him floor bound, the present lack of digits would keep him down forever on top of that. The smell exuded from the already decaying limbs could only ever be rightly called the stench of death.

That was when "Minoru" decided to return to Kaze's swiftly failing body, stomping his foot on Kaze's chest to check if the destroyed man was still breathing and could feel pain. Slowly, but surely, he took one of the obliterated halves of his victim's right hand and painfully crushed his full five fingered group around it.

Within a blink of an eye, the half was ablaze in a sea of destructive orange flames that burned away any chance that he was going to be left alone for the few short moments he would remain alive. Not a single word was spoken as the limb was torched into cinders and ash with callous efficiency in mere moments. Soon it was the other half, the ashes mixed seamlessly with the wind as some of it sprayed onto his assaulter's face, "Minoru's" tongue darting out and taking great pleasure in licking up the few that were close enough for the tongue to touch. "Do it." Once more, his words were brief and to the point, he didn't much spare a glance towards the deliriously dying Kaze as he flung a look over to the one chain that hadn't retreated to his Prince's back.

"As you wish, My Dancing Flame." With a simple flick of two fingers, the chain erupted out, bringing with it, in all of its bloody glory, Kaze's heart, still beating, as the decimated corpse of what he once was now became ample feeding for the buzzards. Directing the chain back into his skin, "Haizaki" plucked the heart off with about as much casual ease as one would pick an apple off a tree with, regarding it with an almost surgical precision as he examined it in every way the human eye deemed possible.

"What an ugly man." "Minoru" said, regarding the beating heart with contempt as the blood vessels continued to spurt out the remaining splashes of blood on "Haizaki's" clothes. "I'll get that cleaned for you." The redhead said, his top lip curling into a snarl as he threw a disgusted glance back at Kaze's mutilated corpse, something that was already being picked at by several of the birds around the area.

Reading the anger, "Haizaki" placed his hand on "Minoru" and tilted his head upwards "Don't worry about it. If I were concerned about blood, I wouldn't have been here in the first place, Yoshi~."

"Minoru", real name Yoshihito Kimura, took a deep breath. It had been quite the cathartic trip, even if he was unaware that his Prince, Akira Hiiragi, had been following him the whole time. He knew Akira could handle himself, and that the two of them made for the best team the Inner Circle could put out, but something didn't really sit right about it. Akira couldn't have been the one that threw Kaze on him like that, could he? No, as much as he would sing his praises, Akira wasn't nearly that strong…

However, this was not the time to be thinking about the specifics. They had a job to do now.

Nodding his head, Yoshihito watched one of Akira's chains float out of his back. Colouring itself in the blood of its most recent victim, it began to etch a phrase on the nearest wall they could find. Much like what had been left days prior with the death of the pro hero Unbreakable, it would be phrase that would come to haunt the streets.

"FOLLOW THE BUZZARDS"

The Exalted One would be pleased with their work.

It was just one less challenge to the throne now.

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A/N: I am sorry. I am sorry that I could only get this chapter out now. I usually try to work to a monthly schedule and I feel really bad for having the chapter out this late. Once I post this, I will be working straight away on the next chapter, and I will hopefully get that out in April. Of course, that's right before I do my usual shit and end up posting it in May or something.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It is the conclusion of the introductory fights! Next chapter? How they all are getting along in ER! WOO! But beyond me joking, I do hope you enjoyed this conclusion to the mini arc and found it satisfying, the next chapter will finally start to get into the personal details of the characters and the actual plot of the story which isn't just "Beat the shit out of each other."

I'll see you then.

Tick Tock.