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Fire. There's fire everywhere.

Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire to the podiums, to the walls, the curtains, the books, the shelves, the body on the carpet, everything's on fire.

"P-P-Pretty..." Tsuyu stared at the blaze erupting throughout the trial room, cerulean flames leaping like fiery deer from podium to carpeting to curtains, filling the chamber with smoke and heat. Her ears rang; images were flying through her head, images she didn't want, sensations she wished she could forget but simply couldn't.

"Shush." Yuga's voice was unlike his. A clammy hand was clamped over her mouth, and she found herself shoved into a space far too small for even her liking. She felt like the metal walls might close on her and trap her forever within the school, left to rot alive in musty shadow and muffled sound.

Wordlessly, he led her along until they reached a vent. He flicked open the cover from inside, and a gust of heat billowed into the metal tunnel, as if he'd opened an oven. The scent of smoke made her choke and gag, coughing into her arm. The blaze made her dizzy, made her heart pound heavy against her ribs.

"Look." Yuga backed out and pushed her against the vent. The bars were hot; she pulled back with a jolt, before easing forward slightly to peer about the room.

It was the library. Everything was ablaze, crimson and amber tongues lapping away at the shelves, rug, and books.

And there, between the shelves...

"Wh-What... is that..?"

Her eyes landed on the crumpled figure, blackened and ablaze, lying face-down on the round carpet. Blood pooled around it, boiling in the flames.

"..." Yuga didn't reply. He dragged her out and shoved her along, back the way they came. She heard him close the vent behind them; the stuffy, sickeningly feverish warmth in the cramped space dispersed, and she could do nothing but crawl along.

The image of the corpse, burnt and still, lying in the center of the flames, though, never quite left her mind.

Claustrophobia closed in on Tsuyu, heat and the smell of blood wreathing around her like chains and ensnaring her in its blistering fingers. She was alone. She was lost, and it was just her and the fire closing in. Images swam before her, bright in color and much too loud; Yuga was reaching out to her, his eyes blank and unseeing; Kouji was crawling towards her, his face blackened and coated with blood, one hand ablaze with violet flames reaching towards her, begging for help that she couldn't give.

"Tsu! Tsu!" And suddenly someone was shaking her by the shoulder. She tore her gaze away from the ghosts, from the flames, instead finding them locked with Nejire's wide, cerulean eyes. She wore a small frown. "Are you okay?! We have to run!"

"O-Okay!" As she tried to move, though, she found her feet unfeeling as they grasped for footing, sending her tripping to the fiery ground. N-No! They're... going to catch me..! "N-Nejire! Help me, please!"

Wordlessly, Nejire scooped up Tsuyu -with difficulty- and began to stagger towards where Ryuukyuu was fighting off one of the High End Nomu. Wrapped in her arms, she felt marginally more secure; the ghosts couldn't get Nejire, because she couldn't see them. Tsuyu was safe, for the time being.

She pressed her face into Nejire's chest and merely opted to listen to her and the dragon's exchange.

"I'll fly you two out of here!" Ryuukyuu called. Nejire let go of Tsuyu and hastily helped her atop the hero's back, before hopping on as well and wrapping her arms around her. Ryuukyuu growled and took off, shaking the Nomu off of her tail and flying towards the hole in the ceiling.

They made it into the lobby before a second portal, smaller than the last, appeared in the wall. "Wh-"

Before Tsuyu could even speak, a trio of Nomu leaped out of the void, descending upon Ryuukyuu in a flurry of teeth and brains. Nejire yelped and grabbed Tsuyu, rolling off of the dragon's back as the Nomu attacked, biting and clawing at her scales, drawing hot pink blood almost instantly. The liquid trickled down her peach body, rolling off her talons as she retaliated.

"Run, Nejire, Tsu!" she screeched. Tsuyu couldn't do anything but clutch Nejire's hand and wait for her to move. The bluette was hesitating; she didn't want to leave her alone to fight off the three beasts.

But the ghosts were coming. Yuga and Kouji were crawling out of the rubble-circled hole that led to the trial room- they had to hurry, lest they catch her. She tugged insistently on Nejire's hand; the buzzing in her ears, the senseless garble Yuga and Kouji emitted drowned out everything else. Ryuukyuu was saying something to Nejire; Nejire was yelling back.

"Nejire..." Tsuyu's whimpering went unheard. "Nejire..!"

The viridian-haired girl huddled behind the bluette, waiting for her to make her move. "She's not giving up," she murmured as Ryuukyuu vanished in a writhing mass of the Nomu's black bodies and golden eyes. "Neither should we! Let's go, Tsu!"

She couldn't have been more relieved when Nejire squeezed her hand and bolted for the exit across the lobby. Tsuyu ran toe-in-toe with her; will the ghosts leave when I get out of here? Are they trapped here? Or will they follow me forever?

I don't know...

I hope they won't chase me..!

She was running, running, running, eyes alight as she glimpsed the sunshine peeking over the rubble that nearly concealed the exit, and-

BAM.

Oh... they got me.

Pain exploded like a rapidly blossoming flower from Tsuyu's back. It burned like the library fire, but ten times as brightly; flames erupted through her body, eating away her flesh, her veins, her bones, her very being. She cried out and staggered, falling to the ground. No! Kouji's going to catch me..!

She could see Nejire halt and turn around from her place on the floor. Her chest heaved; her heart seemed to throb with pain. No... No, Yuga, please..! Let me go!

I...

I just want... to be normal...

Why... do you haunt me..?

"..." There was no reply. Darkness was spreading into her vision, engulfing her from her peripheral inwards. She thought she could see blood on the floor around her. They... they're killing me...

Nejire was staggering away, running from the ghosts. Finally... she can see them too...

What if it was just a curse... and I've passed it on to her by dying..?

Ah... I'm so sorry, Nejire...

As her vision went black, the buzzing in her ears suddenly stopped.

All was quiet. All was cold. All was still.

The ghosts are gone, at last.

"Run, Nejire, Tsu!" Ryuukyuu screamed, whirling about in a blur of blood and scales and fangs as the Nomu descended upon her dragon form in a horde. Nejire whimpered, hesitating, her heart in her throat. She clutched Tsuyu's hand with all her might.

They'd made it out of the trial room, as Shouto planned, but a horde of Nomu had emerged from a portal in the foyer, and they were halted amidst hills of rock and ruin. There were heroes and villains alike fighting all around them, and countless bodies laid limp on the dusty floor. Nejire didn't want to know if they were dead or not.

The Nomu were back at it, biting and stabbing at her massive, scaly body with fangs and teeth and quirks. "Nngh-!" Ryuukyuu writhed under the massive, black beasts- with every one she threw off with a whip of her tail, another took its place, and the one she'd tossed would return for its vengeance. "Run, Nejire! Run! Get Tsu out of here! Leave me!"

"Ryuukyuu, I can't-!"

"Yes, you can!" The Dragon Hero let out a cry and unfurled her wings, dislodging a few of the mutants. "Remember Eri's rescue party?! We wouldn't give up until we got her out, even if she didn't want to be saved! This is the same! Run, before they catch you!"

And then she vanished under a swarm of the scaly, shadowy Nomu, wailing and writhing. "She's not giving up..! Neither should we! Let's go, Tsu!"

Taking the shorter's hand, Nejire bolted for the exit, a massive hole where the door once sat.

There was light.

Right. What time is it? It must be afternoon... is it spring yet? Have the sakura bloomed? Or have they already fallen? The scattered rays of sunshine that streamed into the broken lobby revived a shrapnel of the curiosity that once filled the blue-haired girl. I want to know... I want to see the sakura with Tsu and Yaomomo and Shouto and Hitoshi..!

"Not so fast."

Everything happened in a blur.

The first thing she registered was the sound of a gunshot.

The second thing was Tsuyu crying out.

The third; the Swimmer crumpled, her hand falling from Nejire's, causing her to stumble. She turned back to see her collapsed on the floor, chest heaving.

There was a massive gunshot wound in her back, gushing magenta, soaking through her clothes and hair and spreading onto the floor.

The fourth was another gunshot.

And a flash of pain in her shoulder.

She whirled around to glimpse her attacker, despite the flaring agony that filled her body to the brim like a cup overfilling with lava, bones of glass melting as molten pain flooded over the edge. The wound blistered against her senses, like a mouth filled with fangs were locked on her flesh.

There was a girl, wearing a purple blazer and white blouse, black hair draping over her shoulders, longer than she'd last seen it, accented with a singular streak of pink, as pink as blood, contrasting her generally dark appearance.

Her crimson eyes gleamed with glee.

That's impossible... I must be dreaming...

"Ahahahahaha! I tricked y'all good, didn't I?!" Tooru was holding a gun, the black implement smoking. She clutched her shoulder with her other hand, the force of the shot likely having sprained it, but there was delight in her expression, in her toothy grin, vampire-like molars gleaming in the shaft of sunlight that glowed against her tan skin. "I tricked you so good! Oh my god, you should see your face right now!"

"N-No... You're..." Nejire couldn't do much but whimper a few strangled words. Her head was spinning, her vision blurring, ears ringing. Agony pulsed through her body, strangling her muscles with burning, blistering pain, like a hundred needles and more, like red-hot venom flooding her veins.

"Dead? Are you dumb? Or is the poison already kicking in? I'm alive, and I just shot you." She lowered the gun, rubbing her shoulder and arm. "Damn, that thing hurt like a bitch. Whatever."

"Poison..?" Blood flowed down Nejire's arm, soaking her robe with a sickening dark pink. "How..?"

She scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? After the tank filled up, a panel opened up and let me out, a hidden contraption pumped more liquid into the tank to maintain the blood level, yada yada yada. There's many things that could've been done to keep the League's longtime ally alive. It's my machine, after all." She grinned and glanced down at her smoking gun.

"But... you didn't answer my first question..."

"Oh, the poison? No need to worry about that. I expect you and your little friend to be saying bye-bye pretty soon." Tooru offered her a reassuring grin.

Nejire's heart dropped into her stomach.

No...

No, I can't die here, I can't let Tsu die..!

"Sweet dreams! Nice seeing you two again!" Tooru grinned and ran away, leaving Nejire alone with Tsuyu collapsed on the ground.

"..." Nejire's vision was blurring, black spots swimming about her peripheral, threatening to spread like a disease. Her entire body ached; her knees felt like they would give out at any moment. Her shoulder burned like hellfire itself, as if ants were eating out her flesh and bones. "I have to get out of here..."

In a frenzied rush, she staggered for the exit, for the hole in the wall, reaching desperately for the sunshine that beckoned her like a song.

She stumbled through a mess of trenches and pits to emerge onto the brick path.

It's... a beautiful day...

It was indeed already spring; the air was fresh with the tang of new leaves and a hint of summer's approach. The sky was a clear blue, not a cloud in sight. The sun shone, bright and selflessly offering the people with her smile, high in the endless dome of blue, a gorgeous blue bluer than Nejire's hair. As she staggered out onto the path, a perfectly cool breeze gracing her lungs with a breath of life, she found herself smiling, despite the tears slipping down her face and the burning world of pain writhing within her shoulder like a worm, an infectious spawn.

The sky... is still blue... And the sun still shines...

I'm so happy...

Her vision was flickering, her body going numb. The burning of the bullet wound in her shoulder, spreading venom throughout her every limb, was reduced to a consistent throb. Am I getting better?

Maybe I won't die...

...

Tsuyu...

I left her in the lobby...

Why did I leave her..?

No... I should... go back and get her...

But as she tried to turn, she found herself crumpling to the ground, the sun-soothed stone freezing cold against her feverish skin, the spring breeze embracing her in its gentle, welcoming hands, ready to take her away.

No...

...

...

...

Darkness dragged her away, away from the welcoming sun and sky.

I'm sorry I failed you, Tsu...

But at least... I got to see the sky one last time.

Hitoshi could only stare as Dabi encircled Yaomomo in cerulean flame, a blaze hotter than any he'd seen before, one that now trapped the Detective in a living ravine of death. "Yaomomo!" he screamed over the roar of the fire. "Yaomomo!"

God, why?! Why did it have to end up like this?!

Run... I have to run..!

But where? Where was he supposed to run?

The heroes? It was the smartest choice, but he couldn't bear to leave behind Yaomomo in this room of hell. He couldn't possibly make it to her, either; the flames were rising, and they were too high for him to jump.

Why can't I save even one person, one person who was right in front of me?!

Why can't I save anyone..?!

Tears flooded his eyes, and he quickly swiped them away on his sleeve before turning back to the flames, back to the place he'd seen Yaomomo vanish behind a wall of heat. "No... I'm strong..."

Despite his own words, he wasn't sure what to do.

Should I stay or go? Do I run or fight?

What do I do?!

What is a stupid follower like me supposed to do?!

I couldn't save anyone... I couldn't do anything..!

It would be so unfair if- if she died, and I lived running away from her...

He wasn't going to run, he couldn't.

But to fight? No, he likely couldn't do that either. Not when these villains all had quirks and muscles ten times more built than his. He'd lost weight during the Game, too; it wasn't like he was in his prime, and even if he was, he'd still get his ass beat.

"Denki... I wish you were here..."

...

Denki.

Hitoshi whirled around and broke into a sprint around the podium circle, weaving through villains and heroes alike, ignoring the battles waging around him in a warscape. He didn't care about this anymore, didn't care about escaping. If Yaomomo wasn't escaping with them, then there was no way he could, too.

And suddenly he found himself standing over Denki's body, lying in a dark crater filled with his own blood. He gently scooped up the collar lying on the ground as he kneeled before him.

"Denki. I'm back."

He curled up next to the blonde, clutching the collar in one hand and stroking Denki's hair with the other. "I won't leave you again, I promise."

...

In the end, Hitoshi's marred corpse lay side by side with his friend's, his pale, blood-splattered hand still clutching the collar.

"Sweet dreams, Yaomomo."

Yaomomo staggered to her feet as the villain advanced, stumbling back from Shouto's body. "No... no..!"

"It's over." Dabi hefted a handful of flames in his marred hand. "Shouto is dead. And you are still trapped." He glanced around their fiery arena. In the sapphire light of the ocean-tinted tongues, lapping hungrily at all scraps of oxygen in the room, Yaomomo found herself trapped in a world of blue, blue, blue. "Just let me make this quick. Your use in this experiment is over."

She could only stand still as he raised his palm and gently blew on it, casting a plume of cerulean blaze over her body.

The fire swallowed her whole in a second, causing her to stumble down, her arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Yaomomo didn't have the energy to cry out; she allowed the inferno of sapphires to surround her, cocoon her in its hands so blisteringly hot that it felt like the cold brush of ice. Her eyes were shut- if she were to try and see, she was pretty sure her corneas would be burned away in a blink.

Ah. I'm really dying, aren't I..? She was starting to lose feeling, the blistering cold turning to nothingness. It was all gray. Everything was disappearing into a void of silver, of shadows. I'm... really dying...

I'll see you on the other side... Shouto.

Just as you promised.

That's when it all disappeared.

Every memory she'd made, every tear she'd shed, every time she'd laughed or played or fought or simply lived was gone. It didn't matter now; nothing did. Death took everything from its victims, stripped them of all they once held dear and dropped it down the drain, leaving only their pitiful soul.

A soul. What is a soul? A body did things, a brain thought and experienced things, a heart felt things. What did the soul do? Nothing, it seemed. Nothing but hold the very existence of the person it clutched within its astral bubble, a delicately woven, teardrop jewel.

Do you drop it, allowing a person's existence to vanish forever, forgotten by all, a legacy untold and lost in the folds of history, or do you idolize it and place it in a museum for all to admire?

The soul would never know.

Only those who still existed would know.

The trial room was a wreck.

Tsukauchi stepped gingerly through the ruins, the entire room cast in a heavenly sort of light by one of the police officers' quirks. The lights upstairs were on, but they had cast only a stunted, white glow over the rocks and dozens of bodies lying in the mess. Behind him, Tsurugamae and his force fanned out throughout the chamber.

"I hate to say it, but this place only reeks of death," Kyouko Kirigiri murmured, her lilac-hair swaying as she strolled on light feet at Tsukauchi's side. Her violet eyes darted from side to side; she clutched a gun in her gloved hand, in case of another ambush. "Looking for two kids amidst all this..." she gestured vaguely at the dozens of villain and hero corpses that decorated the rocks. "It's like looking for a baby in the woods, except a baby cries. Bodies don't."

"Try to be a little more hopeful, Kyouko," Tsukauchi chided with no emotion behind his words. "Maybe they're unconscious. You really never know."

She had a good point, though. The other subjects, Hadou and Asui and Shinsou and Kaminari- they were all found earlier, their bodies lying in the open. Hadou and Asui were discovered alive, but they died in the ambulance, before they even reached the hospital. Poisoning and blood loss, the doctors reported. Shinsou and Kaminari were found dead together. Amidst all the chaos that was Dabi's pyromaniacal fire-setting to everything that was flammable in the room, two students weren't found.

Could he really imagine those two kids alive in this mess, especially with their friends already sleeping in a morgue and the through-the-roof number of professional hero casualties?

"Kirigiri, Tsukauchi! I think I found one of them!" Shuichi Saihara called from the center of the room, snapping him out of his train of thought. Tsukauchi and Kyouko looked over to see him and Chihiro Fujisaki hovering in the trial circle, among a heap of wreckage. A few meters away from them, Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Oowada examined something on the ground, but nothing large enough to be a conceivable body was there.

"They fit the description perfectly, sir," Chihiro reported as they approached; around them, the floating orbs of light that ringed the walls flickered as he opened his glowing eyes to greet his superiors with a slight bow. "A girl wearing a dress, albeit severely burnt, and a boy with red and white hair."

Tsukauchi peered over Shuichi's shoulder to see him prying aside fallen rocks from around the limp, burnt form of a boy on the ground. The dark-haired young man stepped aside and allowed his mentors to identify the body. His arms were crossed and he wore a anxious expression. "This is Endeavor's son, I think."

Sure enough, it was. Leaning over him, Tsukauchi made out his singed, red and white hair. He wore attire fit for a prince, a blue tunic with gold trim. The clothes were ruined, though, scraps of it burned away and the rest ashen. Bright red blisters covered his skin; even looking at them, caked in dry blood, made Tsukauchi feel sick. He could only imagine how much it hurt, or how hot Dabi's flames were.

"Kyouko. Go examine Taka and Mondo's find." The lilac-haired woman uttered a small "Yes" and could be heard hurrying away. Tsukauchi returned his full attention to the boy on the ground. Shouto Todoroki, that was his name. Endeavor's son. A victim of the Killing Game.

Dead.

Well, probably dead, if the burns suggested anything. Gingerly, Tsukauchi reached out and pressed his fingers against Shouto's pale, reddened neck. He'd be darned if he could even find the artery, much less find a-

A pulse.

"He has a pulse," the detective murmured, awestruck for a moment. But there was no mistaking it; the artery on the boy's burnt neck was twitching, just slightly, just enough to tell him he was alive. His head snapped up to a wide-eyed Shuichi and Chihiro. "He has a pulse! Get a medic!"

"Wh- That's- I mean, um, yes! I-I'll call them in!" Chihiro fumbled to grab his walkie-talkie from his belt. "U-Um, Officer Fujisaki reporting! Missing Persons B has a pulse! Get a medic to site two, now! Hurry! O-Over!" He clutched the device with a shaking hand. The light in the room flickered.

"He's... alive?" Shuichi asked Tsukauchi, incredulous. He was kneeling by Shouto's body now, staring at him as if he might open his eyes at any second.

"Yeah. The pulse is weak, but he's definitely alive. Unconscious and in serious condition, but still there." As Tsukauchi pulled his hand back from Shouto's neck and slipped his glove back on, Kyouko came rushing back from Taka and Mondo, who were still hovering over the second body a short distance away.

"Missing Persons A, Momo Yaoyorozu, has not had her body found. However, Taka and Mondo discovered a large heap of ash, and within it, bone and scraps of cloth. I suspect she was burned to cinders." Kyouko reeled off the details. Her voice was monotonous; a perfect poker face. "I heard Shuichi say the Todoroki is alive. Is that so?"

"Yeah. He's in tough shape, but I think he'll live. I've seen worse survive." Tsukauchi got up and backed off as medics hurried down with a stretcher. They gently moved the burned body onto the cloth, before rushing away just as quickly.

Tsukauchi let his gaze linger on the medics, disappearing with Shouto overhead. He could hear the sirens and people shouting, and he could tell Kyouko was watching them take the boy away, too, with the cold stare she always wore. Maybe there is some emotion behind that mask of hers. "Even when all is lost, someone always breaks through the dark with a light. If there's anything I've learned, it's that."

Two girls, shot dead with poisonous bullets, one with a foot out the door, one collapsed in the lobby.

Two boys, one dead from trauma and burn wounds inflicted by a bomb, the other mutilated by a villain, crumpled side by side.

A girl, a Detective, cremated alive.

What was the price paid for the one survivor of the fight, one so marred he would likely never truly recover, never escape the game? What was the price paid for the first boy, the poor blonde who had escaped the game so long ago and uttered words of murder and sin, the one who was now silent and unspeaking?

Was it too much?

Tsukauchi didn't know. The weight of lives against each other was always a difficult thing.

Was this a success, or a loss?

Was one supposed to grieve the twenty-two who had been massacred, or celebrate the two that now lived, both ruined beyond recognition?

Maybe they both meant the same.

Maybe it never mattered anyway.

Life is a game, and the soul is a measure of the points you earned.

Get a high score, and you'll be immortalized in a glass case atop a velvet cushion.

Make a single mistake, and you're shattered on the stone-cold floor, fated to lie among a sea of the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of shards of gemstones that were dropped as well.

You've reached the end of the road.

Chapter 9 : The Beginning of the End : The End | Surviving Students : 3

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