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Page 20

When Adolescence Ends

At what looked like a relaxed gathering of teens, rocking out to music from a concert that was being live-streamed, two teenage boys were enjoying their time. They've both come from Yaisei, one was a Laguz and the other a Spacian. This wasn't any ordinary get-together though, they were celebrating because it was a special occasion.

"Bro, I'm going to miss you, bro. Will you remember me when you head off to college bro?"

"Bro, of course, I will bro. What are bros for?"

"Bro."

"Bro!"

"Let's make tonight memorable bro!"

"Cheers to that!"

The bros shared a drink together.

"WHOOO! This has a bit of tang in it!"

"Yeah, I don't really think I like it? What flavor is it?"

"It's all the same cola bro! Don't sweat it! Let's dance the night away!"

After multiple hard-fought battles, the raid on this drug ring that has strained many friendships had concluded. They've dismantled the trade that was about to happen and defeated the core group, the only thing left was to put an end to all of this. But it's not all smooth sailing. Kids will eventually learn the hard truth about adulthood, about the hard decisions that they need to make involving responsibility.

"Oh my goodness," shouted Izuku, walking over to Rumi who had just destroyed their final opponent. He saw as Simba's body slumped over onto the ground and wasn't moving, "Is he alive?"

Taking a split-moment breather, Rumi brushed a strand of her hair back before answering, "He'll… live, just a couple of broken bones."

"I know that part, I felt that through Black Whip. The crunching even made me feel bad despite everything."

"Fuck him."

"Yeah, can't argue with that rhetoric right now."

"How are you holding up?"

"Hanging in there. It's nothing serious, I'm able to walk but not much more."

"Don't worry, Merrie can patch us up. She'll let us stay the night as well, we'll just need to sneak back into the house before pops wake up."

The green fox nodded, before solemnly looking toward the other unconscious battered body, "Will she be able to help him?"

"... I hope so," Rumi softly murmured, her fluffy ears that usually stood tall with her bold presence were now floppily hanging at the sides of her head. There were parts of her face that started twitching for she was restraining herself from visually expressing how heartbroken she was truly feeling. Words couldn't express the stomach-crushing sadness that filled her seeing the condition Rideru was in. It's the worst she has ever seen him throughout all the fights they've had together or against the other, with the vacant looks he had with his half-open eyes striking a dagger in her core. Beyond that, Rumi wasn't sure if it was worse that the lynx had gotten so injured, or the implications that were confirmed from the fact that he was here.

Reading the grim energy radiating from her, Izuku awkwardly rubbed his arm. He popped the big question, "Are we going to turn him in afte-"

"No!" immediately snapped Rumi.

"Ok, I-"

"We're- agh! W-we're not doing-..." the explosive aggression of Rumi's seemed to have fizzled out as quickly as it sparked as she took a few deep breaths. Her expression changed to look a bit guilty for letting her temper flare-up, looking away before saying, "Sorry."

Waving it off the fox replied, "It's fine, we had a long night."

"I was just wondering how we are going to clean all this up. Like, where do we go from here?"

It was a legitimate concern, going beyond just personal investment. Simba's influence obviously stretched out further than they could hope, there's no security in any decision they make. Outside of the group they went in with, they didn't know who they could go to for this, or who to trust.

Ruffling her snow-colored hair, Rumi sighed, "We'll…. deal with that later. Let's just get Rideru to Merrie first, he's getting pale."

"...alright," answered Izuku, he was hopeful for the health of his friend. He rationed, 'I made him spit up the Berserker not long after he consumed it, that should mitigate the damage done before it could spread. He should be fine, right? We just need to get him checked after Merrie patches him up, then he'll be fine.'

"Izuku," Rumi called to him, getting the boy's attention. When the fox turned to her she gave a small smile before stating, "I'm beyond relieved that you're at least ok."

Returning the affectionate smile back, Izuku said, "After all the training you guys put me through, I would be a disgrace if I wasn't."

This slight jab made the bunny giggle, slightly easing her mood as she replied, "Oh screw you. Come on, I'll help you pick him u-"

In a move that occurred in a flash, something big had swiped at Rumi's head. There was a blastic boom sound that exploded in the room from the hit the girl was rocketed straight through the wall. Everything happened so fast that Izuku didn't even have time to process what had happened. He had only just looked in the direction Rumi went flying off to, holding out a hand toward her out of pure reaction before he felt something huge grip his hand and pin his other arm against his body. As he turned to see what was grabbing him, a sudden surge of gruesome pain erupted in his right shoulder as a row of razor-sharp objects stabbed into both sides of it at once.

"Hey, Izuku," growled the voice of Simba, the tone of it was so deep that Izuku barely recognized. Not that he was able to think as the boy was screaming in agony.

As the dust from the wall collapsing cleared up, the now muscular form of Simba could be seen sinking his now large fangs into Izuku. His size was completely different from how it was before, it had grown to where his bite was covering Izuku's entire shoulder, even then it seemed like his muscle mass was increasing by the second.

"The timing of my boldness wasn't a coincidence," Simba told the screaming boy, his eyes were completely bloodshot, redder than the devil. With a cold glare to Izuku, he continued, "I obviously had an ace in the hole ready, it would be stupid of me not to considering what I'm challenging!"

Boasting his jaw strength, Simba sank his teeth deeper into Izuku's flesh, causing blood to splash out and the boy to scream out even louder.

'This pain, I've never felt anything like this. It's more than just the damage it's doing, but the malicious intent behind it, it's horrifying! I-it's like I'm his actual prey in the jungle."

Already on his rope's end, Izuku started to feel his body go limp as his mind was overloaded from the pain. The lion didn't stop digging into the fox's body until it became lifeless like a ragdoll toy, only then did he finally unhinged his jaw from Izuku's, letting his droopy body drop to the ground.

Standing victoriously tall over his victim, Simba wiped the blood from his mouth.

"When you're selling drug enhancements to the leader of a crime family, packing the best one for myself in case things go south was a necessity," he panted, with smoke leaking out of his mouth from the heavy panting. He took a minute to examine his body, 'Seems like I can't shrug off all the damage I took, I'll need to make a mental note of that for next time. Oh well, it's not all bad, this was an amazing improv stress test of Berserker. I had multiple cracked ribs, every finger except for my thumb and pointer finger on my left hands are broken, while my right arm was dislocated at the shoulder, my legs were battered blue in the muscles making them wobbly to properly walk, and the blows to my head left me nearly unconscious. Hehehe, Nezu taught Rumi well. With a single combo, she systematically rendered my entire body incapacitated while avoiding doing severe long-term damage. But, your mercy was your downfall! My Berserker helps me push through them all!'

After his check, he turned back to Izuku's unmoving body before tauntingly declaring, "So how do you like it!? The finished version of my product after all the trials and errors! I hope you like it considering all that went into it!"

The changes in Simba's body have been the most drastic change caused by Berserkers yet. His usual black silk-hair lost all calm and elegance it once had, now fizzling out similar to a scientist who was struck with lightning, coiling around his head like an actual lion mane. The lower part of his face had grown out to form a lion's muzzle, complete with whiskers growing out. Each time Simba opened his mouth, it showed the two rows of long vicious teeth, still stained with the crimson color from his recent attack. His height had gotten just above several feet and his muscular form was only slightly less girthy than Yogi's while flexing.

"Quite the massive difference don't you think? While Rideru was useful as a reusable test subject, his fatal flaw was always his constitution. No matter what doses I gave him, his build would never grow to be anything significant. When it came to actual physical growth, we could only theorize the actual effect it would have, which would be when we'll let some of these Berserkers out in the open," Simba said, walking around as if he was searching for something. After dusting off some debris from the floor, he picked up the all-red Berserker Rideru had swallowed earlier. He wiped off as much of the debris as he could before slipping it back into his pocket, 'I should save it for later, in case I need a boost later.'

"For the most part, the ones we let out were modified to work for other laguz. But the one I took was similar to the one I gave to you, designed to bring out and enhance our latent mythical abilities hidden deep in our DNA!"

Simba Mpole 'The Lion King of the Jungle' - Quirk: Lion? - Mythical Creature: Nemean Lion

Power - 2.5/5 D+ - 8/5 Plus Ultra

Speed - 3/5 C - 4.5 B+

Technique - 3/5 C - 2/5 D

Intelligence - 3/5 C - 3/5 C

Cooperativeness - 3/5 C - 1.5/5 E+

Continuing with his one-sided conversation, Simba slowly walked back toward Izuku's limp body.

"You ever heard of a Nemean Lion? Legends say their hide's made them invincible. That means with this drug of mine bringing out my Nemean Lion's roots, there isn't a single human on earth who can harm me! My father can buy whatever weapons he wants and try to silence me, I'll break through them all!" Simba declared, roguishly laughing out loud to himself, "The time of the regular human being the dominant species is over, gears are already in motion to set the world to how it should be, with the mythical on top! And they're only going to get their first warning tonight."

The big lion bent down to Izuku with a twisted smile saying, "Do you know what's going on tonight? There's a gathering relatively close to where a concert is being held filled with Laguz and Spacians. I had people spike all the cola stored up for the party with a version of Berserkers that'll dissolve in the carbonation of the drink! It hasn't been properly tested so even I don't know what'll happen afterward, but hey, I wasn't looking for something clean, I just needed a show. Though we often fight one another, species have a natural instinct to usually take out a different species in an area first before turning on the other. When they all go berserk, their targets won't be on each other, but coordinated to all the Spacians and the citizens around them! With all the people that'll be in the area because of the concert, they'll have plenty of prey to attack before turning on each other, the effects should cause them to crash by then."

Just as it seemed like the green fox was recovering his consciousness, it was then that Simba wrapped one of his giant hands around Izuku's neck, closing off his windpipe. He didn't have the energy to waste, his injuries were already making him woozy in this state, so he was going to rely on the good old fashion way. As the green fox weakly struggled in his grip, unable to break free from the lion's sheer strength and all the damage he'd taken that night, the lion continued to speak.

"No doubt the event will make the existence of Berserkers and their capabilities undeniable! Do you know how many underground groups would pay high bucks to get their hands on such a product? With me as the only person who knows the proper formula combined with my undamageable body, it'll be me who'll set the terms. I'll consolidate power like never before, making the underground bow at my will. Only then with my army ready will I turn this twisted society we live in upside down! Wicked people like my father and all those corrupted pieces of filth at the top will fall."

By the second it looked like he was turning more maniac as the wickedness of his smile contorted to increase the intensity. Simba added in his other hand onto Izuku's throat, increasing the amount of force he was exerting, and positioning himself over the boy's exhausted body making it more difficult for him to struggle free.

"Won't it be ironic Izuku," exclaimed Simba, his eyes being unmoving as he watched Izuku helpless struggle, "How all those on an ill-gotten mountain of gold will be toppled by the same people they tossed down as worthless things. Imagine that, and all it took was using the things they saw as garbage for fuel! Such oversight is why humans should no longer be allowed to run things! They're wasteful and don't know how to squeeze the worth out of even the smallest things. I won't make that mistake, the people here didn't have much to their lives anyways because of how fucked everything is, I'll be sure to give them all purpose for my journey to get this world on track."

Izuku felt his body getting weaker and weaker, his mind becoming clouded as if someone filled it with toxic gas. His body stopped resisting, gradually becoming helpless.

"I'm sad you decided not to join me Izuku, I could've really used, not just the powers of a Kitsune, but another mythical by my side. It can be a lonely journey to the top," Simba said, squinting down at his fellow mythical as it started to lose the life in its eye, "We could've made the world great again. But we've both made our decisions, and I can't risk your potential getting my way, so your path has to end here. The others will have to go as well. Rumi is too big of a threat to let grow, Rideru would be in the same case but it's honestly more of a mercy kill for me to end his long-time suffering before he withers away. Might have to add Setsuna on that list as well if I can find her, that girl is too nosey to let roam around, she may spill a secret she's subtly gotten."

As Izuku's consciousness began to slip, he heard one last statement from Simba.

"Not that it's any of your concerns right now. Goodbye little fox, your struggles can end now."

Izuku's mind drifted.

…

…

…

…

'I'm….. going to die…..'

From his dreary eyes, Izuku looked to the side. He saw the still unconscious body of Rideru lay on the ground, his skin continuing to look pale. Though it was hard to see, a bit beyond he could see Rumi's leg sticking out of a pile of rubble, unmoving.

'No one…. Is going to come save me…'

…

'This feels so… familiar.'

The fox's mind wandered back to the time he was being suffocated by the slime villain, it was an ancient trip returning to that memory. Though it's only been about three years since that day, it felt almost foreign to him, like he was looking at another lifetime.

It was a time where one of his biggest worries in life was the fact that his claws were so useless to him, and he was self-conscious about his underdeveloped tail and ears. His dreams of being a hero were more of a delusion to hang onto hope for how far off it was. He still lived at home with his mom and aunt Bakugo. Back then Izuku had never raised a hand back at Katsuki's bullying or even told him off to his face about his cruel nature. He had quite a weak body type since he wasn't exercising. There were so many chores he was unable to do back then, hell he could barely even cook himself any kind of food. His social skills were complete garbage, without anyone he could even consider an acquaintance outside of his family. It was only a few minutes after he first ran into Rumi and a few moments before he had a proper but rigid conversation with a girl his age. His pre-anti-simp training days were certainly a ride. He would still be stuck in the moon of his D.R.E.A.M. World, Lai would be alone since Nana wasn't there because he didn't have One For All, waiting patiently for him to arrive. Oh, and on top of it all, he was still ignorant of him being a Kitsune.

'So much has happened since then, yet after all that, I'm still going to die in the same way. Did… I… change… a single… thing.'

…

'I'm sorry everyone.'

There was a noise, one that was silent to everyone except Izuku. It sounded like someone had dropped something to the ground.

'An apology is unnecessary."

Izuku heard a familiar voice say to him, immediately the tone of it caught the fox's attention.

"I know you're not going to give up are you?'

Phasing into Izuku's sight in a transparent form, he found himself looking at the back of a man. He had black hair, with fluffy ears pointing out at the top, and a big fox tail slowly waving behind this man. Izuku recognized that back, of a black fox tail wagging in the air, remembering seeing that sight many times as a child. This warm feeling flaring up in his heart, this presence, he knew this person.

'Dad?'

'You're my son after all, I would be quite saddened if one of my kin was stopped a step short from victory here of all places.'

'But dad, I don't have anything else. Yet he… he got-'

'He got what? Power that needed to be artificially pulled out. This prideful fuc- sorry, your mom was never a big fan of me cursing around you. I mean this bastard can boast the power he has got but at the end of the day it's all unnatural. He didn't put any nutrients to grow it or worked tirelessly with his body to harvest the crop, just a product made to masquerade as the original thing. It's a truly ill-obtained power and thus it'll always be imperfect."

'Simba's form is… imperfect?'

'What makes mythicals so special isn't our physical genes, they're just the material that soaks up the residue of our true power. We go deeper, Kitsunes especially understand this concept, the use of our spirit and soul! No man-made substance can ever replicate the fruits of one's own willpower being used as fuel!'

Hisashi seemed to have chuckled to himself, 'Besides, you should stop selling yourself short, there's still a lot you can do. Have you forgotten what I told you? You were just a little child when I told it to you so I can understand if you forgot.'

Izuku didn't even have an answer to give back, being choked out made it difficult.

'You are both a kind soul and a powerful person, Izuku Midoriya; never forget that and never be ashamed of your body, especially of those ears of yours!'

Hisashi looked back at Izuku, allowing his son to see the face he hadn't seen in years.

'Now go kick his ass,' the grown man smiled, saying one last thing before fading out, 'By the way, remember to call your mom, you know how she worries.'

…

Continuing to talk to himself, the maniac Simba commented, "Man, it's taking a lot longer to choke someone to death than I last remember-"

He cut his sentence short when he felt something under him vigorously move from under him and slip out. Simba only had enough time to realize that Izuku placed a hand over the left side of his face before it got clawed out.

Simba let out a howl, clutching his face as he stumbled back. When Izuku had enough space to sit up, Simba then felt something extremely powerful smash itself into one of his cracked rib cages, the force taking him by shock, sending him back. With a mix of pain from different areas, the hulking lion continued to stagger from the last blow he got until he crashed into the wall, collapsing the structure behind him.

As Simba recovered from the surprise attack, he could hear the gasping breath of Izuku as the fox finally felt air returning to his lungs. When the lion finally looked up, he watched a struggling Izuku make his way onto his feet.

"Simba," Izuku growled, there was a bit of rasp in his voice that gradually went away. His tail looked more lively than ever, every hair on his body was standing on its high end. The shape of his ears sharpened, just as Izuku's fangs and claws bear themself to their full extent, "You're the first person I've personally met I don't think I can never ever forgive!"

The moonlight crept in from the hole Simba created when he collapsed a part of the wall, glistening Izuku's body, and showing off all the injuries he had received through his tattered clothes. The metal on his father's memento, a small black fox tail on a chain necklace designed by people close to him, shined brightly under the moonlight as it dangled over his chest. The calm light from the moon filled the room, lighting brightly the room that had been dim for so long.

"I'm going to put an end to this nightmare!"

As Simba watched Izuku make his declaration, he was taken aback to what he was feeling. He didn't take drastic damage from the attack Izuku hit him with thanks to his hide protecting his vitals. His shock was from the presence he felt from this battered fox dangling on consciousness.

'Why the hell is he still up? He shouldn't even be able to stand with those injuries!' Simba thought, 'This whole thing is a front, he couldn't possibly have the energy to keep going any longer.'

He was right, Izuku lost quite a sum of blood from Simba's bite on top of the long night he experienced.

This kitsune knew that he could only stay standing for at best another minute.

Yet what Simba didn't feel like he was facing a boy running off of adrenaline. Izuku's tail was looking a lot bigger than the lion usually saw it, it moved slowly like it was anticipating the right moment to strike, being quite intimidating to look at. With Izuku bearing everything at its max capacity, Simba felt like he was staring down a beast, a powerful creature you'll hear from legend.

Simba shook his head of these thoughts, 'I've achieved the completion of my project, I won't be stopped here! I'll reform this world!'

While he was distracted assuring himself, Izuku had dashed forward in his final charge. Simba immediately reacted, timing the speed before swinging his huge paws toward the boy right as he got into range. At first, it looked like Izuku was going to get caught in the attack, but before it could make contact Izuku ducked his head under it without stopping. The lion prepared for whatever straight-on attack Izuku would do in reaction.

'I'll tank whatever last bit of strength Izuku got left no matter what! Then I'll finish him off!' Simba thought.

But when Izuku closed in, suddenly the fox vanished from his sight, and Simba found no one in front of him anymore. His moment of confusion was quickly followed by him noticing that once again, he was being restrained by Black Whip. The black tendrils were bulky, wrapping around from his arms down to his body.

"This trick again?" Simba called out, looking back to see Izuku grabbing onto his Black Whip as he tugged on it to make sure it was tight, "You weren't even able to do the coup de grace yourself the last time and Rumi isn't here to save you anymore!"

"So what!?" replied Izuku, taking a deep breath before pulling on his tendril as hard as he could. At first, Izuku couldn't inch the large body with Simba actively resisting against him. Yet he continued to try, as more blood leaked from his shoulder wound, he was pushing his limits, "As a hero, I must go beyond to do my duty!"

As he spoke, Simba suddenly started to feel his body get dragged more and more against Izuku's pull. There was an explosive surge of power going through Izuku's arms, one Simba recognized as something similar to what happened when the boy fought Mezo. The lion dug his toe into the ground to stay his ground, which worked only momentarily before he began getting dragged out.

One with trained eyes would be seeing that Izuku's arms and legs had flashy surges of red color going throughout his arms. As they grew bolder and increased their reach, Simba continued to feel his body being pulled until he finally felt the weightlessness of being in the air.

Using the hole in the wall, Izuku jumped out of it, forcibly taking Simba out with him as they fell from the second story. But only one of them was there on purpose.

"To be Plus Ultra-" Izuku said, with a great heave, he pulled on Black Whip, sending Simba to be hurled overhead in the air.

The lion only had a moment of shock on his face before he was slammed into the concrete down below.

"-I'll be the one doing the saving!"

The streets cracked from the impact, with the rumbling aftermath of the collision echoing throughout the streets before fading out into silence.

Tranquility was just the thing to be greatly appreciated by the fox as his horn of victory.

A few moments passed before Rumi had snapped awake from feeling a shock. Immediately she jumped to her feet, frantically looking around, fearful over what she missed. The bunny checked the room she was in and saw Rideru was still onto the ground where he last was. She immediately investigated the hole in the wall and saw Izuku just sitting on the ground next to Simba's unmoving body. Jumping down she rushed over to him, drowning the boy in questions over his health.

Izuku assured her that he would be fine despite his injuries. Or at least he tried to, it was hard to sound assuring when there's a stream of blood dripping over his body, and the fox looked like he was about to keel over. Rumi quickly used her coat to tie around the wound to help stop the bleeding. They had just about finished when they saw a police car drive up to them.

"So that's what happened," Officer O'inks said, rubbing the back of his chubby neck, feeling guilty that he was so late to help, "Sorry I couldn't be here earlier."

"Considering how we didn't exactly invite you here, it's fine," Rumi said, as she was helping Izuku get to his feet.

Izuku nodded, adding, "It's a good thing even, we needed someone to help us take care of the situation. We were a bit lost on what to do."

O'inks finished making sure Simba was fully restrained, thinking to himself, 'Your days of harming these kids are over. I'll be sure to heal all the damage you've done!'

Once that was done, the officer turned to the teenagers and said, "It'll be for the best if you two go, I'll see what I can do. It'll be a bit difficult justifying Simba's arrest right now but maybe-"

"If you were here out of a call of suspicious activity and just so happen to witness a violent brawl going on where someone in their midst was obviously under the influence of the recent Berserker drug," said a faint voice behind the group. They all looked to see Rideru, his tired body was princess style by Yogi in the bear's human form. This sight brought both shock and relief to the two teens, but he wasn't done talking yet, "Despite your best efforts, being by yourself at the time, you managed to subdue three people before everyone scattered. It was pure luck that you arrested three of the most important people in the Berserker case."

Immediately realizing what that meant, Rumi said, "You're letting yourself get taken in!?"

The lynx nodded.

"B-but-"

"I know what you're thinking right now and I appreciate it," interrupted Rideru, "But, it'll be for the best of everyone if we go."

Yogi added, "If they only take in Simba, while the ring will end, it'll still leave way too many questions and fears of his co-conspirators' location since he obviously couldn't do all this alone. Things can quiet down a lot faster if they have his allies in custody since we can give them all the information they need."

"Are you guys sure about this?" Izuku asked.

"I'm not in the condition to run away," Rideru replied, reminding the fox of how his body was breaking down a few minutes ago.

Stating a less selfish reason, Yogi said, "And we need to take responsibility for our part here."

"It's mostly because I can't run away, even if I tried," Rideru corrected, showing how he still got it, "On the bright side, being taken in means medical attention which I'm sorely in need of. Which reminds me, hurry up and take me away already."

"Don't worry, I made a few calls before coming. Back-up will be here soon to help take everyone in," informed O'inks, "The ambulance might take a bit longer though-"

"Forget it, I'll just ride with you to take me there."

"Really?"

"I'm not the only person here with the rhetoric of being physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted to the point of just wanting to be done with it. I can literally care less if you chuck me in the trunk and drive me over right now."

"...Alright then, let's just wait for my buddies to get here so they can transit Simba and Yogi. It shouldn't take that long now."

"Then I guess we should go?" Rumi asked, rubbing one of her arms.

O'inks turned to Izuku and Rumi before saying, "Go get treated and get some rest. Don't worry, I'll take care of these guys the best I can."

Izuku nodded, patting Rumi's back to keep her spirits up knowing what she was holding back.

Yogi set Rideru down on his good leg by O'inks cars on request so he can enter the backseat himself. Before he left, his two friends came up to him for a quick goodbye.

"I'll come visit you," Rumi told him.

"Please don't," replied Rideru, he turned toward her with a smirk before continuing, "Wherever they put me, I don't need it getting more chaotic by you showing up. If anything, the distance will save me some sanity."

"You jerk!" chuckled Rumi, punching the lynx's arm. There was a momentary pause where no one moved before giving the bunny gave Rideru an embrace, "Take care of yourself."

"Same to you, try not to get yourself killed. I'm not exactly going to be around to keep you in check."

"I'll try," Rumi replied, staying there for a bit before finally, and begrudgingly, pulling away from someone who did so much to help this place feel like a home.

Izuku and Rideru had their one goodbyes as well but a lot simpler. Though they've had their issues with each other, which is a major understatement, there was an air of respect between them.

As they shook hands, Izuku said, "Hope you get better."

"Same to you, sorry for kicking your ass," joked Rideru.

"I did win in the end."

"Only when I was fighting at my weakest."

"Well, maybe one day we can fight for real."

"... we'll see."

"See ya."

"Goodbye, Izuku. Thank you.… oh, and one more thing."

Rideru leaned into Izuku and whispered something into his ear.

When he finished, he pulled away and hopped back over to the car saying, "And don't ever forget it or else I'll be coming for your life at my peak."

Though he looked a bit surprised, Izuku nodded before he went back to Rumi to get support so they could leave. There were still things Izuku wanted to say but he thought tonight wasn't the best time for it. As the tired pair walked away, they gave one last wave to the people behind them, as they returned to the regular streets of society.

"Quite a night huh," Rumi said, trying to keep the mood light with small chat, "I'm ready to just collapse on the first bed I see, maybe you can joi-"

Before the bunny could finish her teasing comment, Izuku suddenly collapsed, prompting Rumi to catch him before he hit the ground. Panicked immediately filled Rumi as she thought something bad must've been affecting him, it wasn't after a quick check she found out the fox was peacefully resting.

She giggled, this was an expected result considering what happened. Rideru was right, they were all planted a kiss on Izuku's cheek, a thank you for everything he did for her tonight and beyond. The least she could do back was carrying Izuku's weary body somewhere to rest.

Walking to Merrie's place, Rumi let the worries leave her for a night. There was a lot that needed to be sad considering what came out, if it weren't for everyone wanting for the night to end Rumi would've chewed the lynx insides out for being so stupid. Whatever was pushing the greenet who has helped her out in so many ways like an older brother would to this extreme, he could've talked to her about it so she could help. That question, why? It was something she was definitely going to drill into him when she gets the chance to see him and she won't be stopping until she gets something satisfying.

But all that could wait.

Whatever that's left to talk about, it can be saved for another time. Preferably a week so they all have time to cool down and get themself in the right mindset. But if it was truly bothering everyone, they'll get their chance tomorrow.

That's the benefit of being close with people, the ability to see them again.

Izuku snapped awake and was looking at the dark ceiling of his room at Nezu's.

How did he get here?

"Are you awake?"

Izuku heard a voice say to him. He only had to look down to see Rumi's face resting on his chest. He would've screamed if Rumi didn't put a hand over his mouth.

"Don't, you'll wake up my dad."

Izuku had a chance to look around and noticed how the cast on his arms. He could move it but he couldn't feel it.

"The plan failed," Rumi explained, looking a bit pouty cause she was sure it would work, "I decided to take us back early just in case but the bastard was waiting for us. He was pissed and I got grounded for a few months, don't even get me started on what he said to have in store for you."

"Haven't I suffered enough?" Izuku softly asked.

"Not to him at least. Don't worry, some sweet-daughter talk and he should be willing to reduce our sentence."

"Oh thank god."

…

"So... what brings you here?" Izuku awkwardly asks.

"After grounding me, pops sent me straight to my room," Rumi smirked to herself, remembering how furious her adopted dad was, "Couldn't sleep so I decided to sneak over here. It helped being here with you…. having someone around after tonight helped I mean."

Izuku was stunned seeing Rumi blush after quickly correcting herself. He wanted to speak but he still felt lightheaded.

"Since you're awake I'll say this now, thanks for tonight," said Rumi, "You really pulled through for me."

It was a bit straining but Izuku was able to return a calm smile, "With everyone fighting so hard, I had to step up."

Giggling, Rumi said, "Alright, that's enough talk before we go for too long. Let's sleep while we can before my dad finds out."

"He's going to be so mad."

"I know, don't worry, you're injured so he won't actually do anything to you."

"That's one weight off my mind... night."

"Good night."

It wasn't a few minutes after the fox and rabbit left before O'inks comrades came to help take in everyone. While Yogi and Simba were both riding in separate cars, Rideru was riding in the back of O'inks cop car that was picking up the rear of the pack, about to head to the hospital. Though for the moment three cars were traveling together, having left Yasei Alley quite a while ago, they traveled through the mostly quiet and barely inhabited streets.

Silent in the back, Rideru simply sat there, looking at his cuffed wrists.

"The new generations never cease to amaze me," Officer O'inks call out to the greenet, hoping to break the ice a bit, "Back in my day when we wanted to rebel against something we skateboarded in zones you weren't supposed to trespass, skip school, underage drank, wore black, and dated people they told us not to. Somehow y'all turned that up exponentially it's both insane and impressive. Not saying that I approve of them all but I kinda wish you kids would slow down with the whole 'screw the world' mindset, tune it back a bit."

The blue eyes of Rideru looked up at the people trying to spark a conversation at him, he cracked a smile before replying, "Well… you'll be happy to know I tried out three of those things before this. I somewhat tried the last one as well."

"Oh? Who's the roughouser in here that managed to catch your eye?"

"She's not exactly someone who'll want to spend all her free time here. She's the moderately soft but smart mouth, good girl kind. Honestly, no matter how much she says she wanted to be here, it felt like she only visited here because of me?"

"...ugghhhh…"

"What?"

"Sorry, you just triggered my biggest worry about having a daughter. The thought that she might go to someplace she shouldn't over some bad boy, it's haunting as a father! No offense."

"It's fine, I wouldn't blame anyone with that worry if it's me. Besides, looking after a younger girl is hard beyond all belief."

"For my sanity it might've been a blessing that I had a son instead. But enough about me, I'm sure you didn't attempt to corrupt that girl in any way. I've seen how long you and Rumi have been friends, she actually got less bitey at everyone when you two started hanging out. It won't be hard to believe you were also a positive influence on this other girl you were planning to date."

"I say we were equally influencing each other, we were childhood friends after all. It's a long story, involving meeting than not seeing each other for a few years before reuniting, that crap. Though I blew my chance immensely, this will only put the nail in the coffin."

"Hold some hope. You can't assume so easily what they'll think until you talk to them and they tell you yourself. Besides, young love is crazy, you all have an insane threshold for things. She might give a second chance. She was willing to come to a place that wasn't her scene multiple times just to see you, maybe it's that young bond you two had, but I say she might've accepted a while ago that you're a person of flaws. If you work on fixing them, maybe with her, new roads could open up."

"...fa, it's annoying thinking about how things can change when something is said earlier. I really could've used something like that."

"If only I was a teenager, maybe Rumi and other people in Yasei Alley would listen to me more, haha!"

"Maybe for them but I wouldn't mind. Having an older male say some more positive advice to me might've done some good. Could've stopped me from fucking up the few relationships I had."

"We all regret the relationship we fumbled, but we shouldn't let it keep us down forever, or else we'll forget what we still have. Even if things with your childhood girlfriend don't work out, it would seem that you still have two more little crittles willing to be friends along with Yogi, and they know nearly all your dark dealings. It's because of them that I'm already doing my best to help you guys have some opportunity of redemption, making a few calls and calling in favors, the usual. The friends who are willing to stay and work with you on your aired dirty laundry are the ones you should never give up."

"...yeah," Rideru slowly says, his breathing sounded heavier. He dug into his pocket looking for something before saying, "I wish I didn't leave them on a lie."

…

"What?" O'inks asked, confused by his words.

Pulling something out from his pocket, Rideru continued, "It's completely selfish of me, I know. After all, they did for me while knowing about my skeletons, there should've been no more secrets."

"But I couldn't help myself. The guilt was overwhelming, even for my frigid heart. When a child puts everything they have to win a marathon, how could you have the heart to tell them it was in vain. No, not to them,"

"Hey, what are you talking about?" O'inks asked again, he looks up to his rear-view mirror. The lynx was simply looking down at his hand, staring at the object he pulled out with half-opened eyes, looking somber.

"Once more…. just one more time," Rideru continued, not answering O'inks question. His voice started getting quieter, "So they'll have a desirable image to think back on, I put on a final facade."

In the palm of his hand was a yo-yo, the one Tsuyu gave him the day she moved away all those years ago. The initials BN of the now-famous music hero were still on one side, but on the other side was something else. It was the last surprise from Tsuyu's goodbye gift. She had taken the liberty to carve in the initials RT in green over it. Slowly the lynx rubbed his thumbs over the carving, with watery eyes he said.

"So we can separate on a high note."

The Officer concerned called out, "Kid!"

"Hey… Mr Officer?" the boy called out, he didn't pick his head up, "Don't you find it a bit funny how people always seem to take things for granted no matter how important it is?"

Putting a hand on his chest, feeling the faintness of activity going on in there, "Like a... heartbeat... or the truly good people in the world. People can't help ignoring their value until they feel it slipping through their hands….."

His smile grew as he chuckled, "Hehehe… even me, the guy who boasts about seeing things better than all my peers fell victim to this trap… Thinking I've…. seen the bottom and that there was nowhere left to go fall,... until I actually tripped off the platform….. and saw only a glimpse of how far it can go…... Ironic, should've appreciated the chance I did have while it was there."

"Kid hold on, we're going to depart from the ground! There's help you can take!" O'inks told him, the boy's voice was getting so silent the grown man could barely hear him and he had yet to pick his head up.

"It is what it is. Thanks for listening to this fool's ramble and giving him some comforting words about a brighter tomorrow to think about. Unfortunately, I'm unable to detach myself from my nihilist realism mindset," Rideru replied, despite the comment, he wasn't frowning, "But… maybe once, I can get these eyes of mine….-"

Through Rideru's mostly shut eyes, his blue eyes were gradually flashing yellow as they did once before, they started to lose its hue.

"-to see what could've been."

Officer O'inks snapped his head back, just in time to see Rideru's body start to slack down, similar to a robot when it finally runs out of energy and will need to shut down.

"Kid, KID!" O'inks shouted back to get Rideru's attention.

But there was no answer coming from the back, just an unmoving body with a smile plastered on its face, and a teardrop sliding down along it.

"HEY!" a panicked officer screamed, 'No, not another one, not while I'm here!'

The porky man gripped his steering wheel as if he was preparing to drag race through the entire city, shouting, "I promised Rumi I'll take care of you and I intend to keep it! I- I'll never let-"

BOOM!

"What the!?" exclaimed O'inks.

Suddenly the car in front of them was toppled when some strange force struck and the same force hit the second car in the line causing it to steer out of control. The gallant officer tried his best to move out of whatever was causing this sudden destruction, but it was for naught, his car as well was sent spiraling out of control. These tons of metal went flying down the streets they were driving down, one tipped onto its side and sliding to a stop, the others kept going until they hit the sidewalk, with one taking out the innocent pedestrians that were unfortunately in its path.

Screams that were quickly silenced, the sound of metal crunching and breaking, and splats of blood hitting concrete, all combining to cause a maddening cacophony.

Then, it was all quiet.

…

The eyes of Simba opened.

He found himself lying on the streets, his restraints all broken and undone giving him free movement. As the lion stumbled to his feet, he was befuddled by what had happened. Then he heard a voice.

"The key worked, thank you for your unwilling cooperation. A reward as promised."

A chilling scream rang out before it too went quiet.

From the smoke, Simba looked up only to see the silhouette of someone holding up the unmoving body of the officer who was driving him.

After tossing the officer aside like a doll, the person turned toward Simba before walking toward him.

"Hey, you're finally awake?" the voice called out to him. He tossed something along the ground that rolled toward Simba.

It took the lion only a moment for him to realize it was the Berserker he gave Rideru before, this person must've taken it back from the officer after it was confiscated from him. Was he just going to give him this? No, there had to be something more.

"I don't have all day," the voice told him, there was an arrogant snarl dipped in his voice, "I've heard that drug of yours can make you pretty strong. I want to see it myself."

'A strength check? Here and now? Well… it seems like he already took care of any potential witnesses,' Simba thought, picking up the all red berserker and getting to his feet.

He tried to get a better view of this challenger but the cloud was blocking the moon leaving the streets dark. The best he could confirm was his bright orange-red eyes. Outside of that, he did notice this person had features similar to that of a canine. The fangs, the ears, and the tail. Simba noted that they were as unhinged as Izuku's own during the final bit of their battle when the boy had that sudden surge of power with that intimidating aura.

Simba let out a low growl before popping the berserker into his mouth like he did the last one, crushing it with his strongjaws before swallowing to make sure there was no way for anyone to make him spit it up, 'No matter, I'll kill whoever this is and escape! I'll get another chance for my goal! My family suffered way too much because of my father to let it go unpunished. No one else besides me can bring it!'

Drastic changes occurred just like before. Simba's body has already been changed from his first Berserker intake but the second drive it even further. While the second one didn't improve his mythical aspects one bit, it did give his physical body the much boost it needed from his injuries, though the aftereffects it would cause will be cataclysmic. But in a system like this, for a man who thinks he has nothing to lose but a stubborn dream, he was willing to take that chance.

As he hulked out more than before, he unleashed a mighty roar before charging at the challenger, "You don't know what you're challenging!"

SLIT!

"I can say the same to you," the cold voice of this canine said, casually landing behind the big lion.

Shocked, Simba's shaking eyes only looked down to see four destructively long claw marks, running horizontally across his neck. Blood leaked out like a waterfall before the body of Simba dropped flat to the floor.

Wiping away the blood from his claws with a shake, this mysterious but murderous canine sighs to himself.

'That's it? Disappointing. I guess that's what happens to half-breeds,' he thought to himself, stretching his limbs. He then turns to look down at Simba's unmoving body with disgust for how unsightly he was after so many mutations. But then something interesting caught his attention when this canine took a closer look at this lion's back, 'No way, this guy isn't a tiger, he's a freaking Liger! No wonder this guy sucked as a mythical, I hate when my race has fakers crawl in. Weird, I was sure a strong presence was flaring up a few times. These cops were coming from the area where I sensed it, did I overestimate? For another time. There are two upsides to this. I took care of a poser and this should impress them.'

The canine turned to two unique figures that were standing on the side, one barely had a form being a dark misty body in clothes, while the other was a lanky man strangely covered in hands. The canine opened his arms up, bowing to show off his display of destruction he left on the ground.

"Tada! So what do you think, impress me enough for me to pass?"

The misty person was the one to speak, "Very, the master will be pleased to have you in our service when it's needed. For now, we'll keep you on standby. Don't cause trouble for yourself and get caught till then."

Shrugging, the canine replied, "Fine by me, I was planning for some relaxing traveling anyways."

"Can we go now?" the young hand-covered man moaned.

"Right away," the young man's misty servant replied, preparing to leave before anyone catches them here.

"Wait," the canine called out to the two of them.

Sounding annoyed, the hand-covered man groaned, "What?"

"Clean up," answered the canine, walking over to the dead officer he killed recently, "It'll only take a moment."

He looted the officer's gun before tossing the body by the cop car. Taking aim, the canine fired off a few rounds into the right spot on the car, causing the car's gas source to ignite and explode. Unfazed, the canine then casually waltzed around the burning vehicle and from a distance did the same thing to the other cop cars.

After wiping the gun and tossing it into the fire of the first car, the canine walked back to his acquaintances with a satisfied smirk.

"Done."

As he clapped his hands together and rubbed them he asked, "Alright let's go, I'm starving. What we got to eat."

Weird enough, the canine and the hand-covered man bickered over whatever to get chinese food or barbeque. As the three of them prepare to leave, the canine let out an excited howl.

"AWOOO!"

The echoes rang out as the clouds that were once blocking the moon drifted away, allowing the bright rock to shine its ray over the burning scene below.

Somewhere else, a certain photograph a frog girl kept in a photo framed tipped over. The glass of the frame fractured, with the cracks running along the person accompanying the girl. It went unnoticed at first by the greenette as her mind was too focused on something else, she was expecting a text about someone she cares about.

Surrounded by the flames from chaos, lay the engraved yoyo on the ground. The side of the hand-crafted initials sparkled brightly from the moonlight above.

BREAKING NEWS

…

CRASH!

No one could believe what they were hearing or the scene the news was unfolding, that morning in the kitchen.

What started out as a trio setting up the table to consume their breakfast quickly turned into a nightmare scenario. Everyone was frozen in place, the atmosphere was tense and palpable. The perfect setting for their uninvited guest, the grim reaper who wants to give them a status report, and how its chilly presence immediately infected the room.

Nezu's attention was so drawn away from what was in front of him that he completely overpour his coffee, spilling the brown liquid onto the table and dripping to the floor that was recently cleaned. Izuku's jaw dropped so hard that if he wasn't being held up by his medical-needed crutches he would've cracked the tiles from the impact.

But both of the men cut their reactions short, slowly turning their heads toward the person whose backlash from this news eclipses their own.

Her legs began quivering in front of the fragmented plate that hit the ground in front of it. Rumi slapped herself holding nothing back, hoping the shock might be able to trigger whatever was required to wake up from the dream. It had to be a dream, the anxiety she was bottling up when she went to sleep last night must've manifested in a cognitive sequence meant to explore the worst possible outcome she was thinking about.

All she had to do was wake up.

But nothing happened.

The pain in her cheek was as real as it could be.

Anguish shivered in every aspect of her body as the revelation hit her.

This was no dream, it was reality.

Never before have Izuku seen her express such despair, when he placed a hand on her back to give some comfort, the fox could feel how badly she was shaking. One would believe she was left out all night in the rain.

"No…" Rumi softly mumbled under her breath, "Oh No… no!"

Sensing a panic coming, Izuku tried to calm her but he couldn't find words to say. He paused, paralyzed from having not recovered from the shock either. How could one give comfort to someone if they haven't come to terms with the events either?

"Rumi, Izuku," Nezu called out to them, putting down his cup.

"No! No! No! No! No!" screamed Rumi, clutching her head. Her breathing quickly became frantic.

"Sweetheart, it's ok," informed Nezu, trying to cap her stress, "It just started, they should be mentioning survivors soon."

The next few moments were tense for everyone in the room, with Izuku and Nezu trying to get Rumi to at least sit down as they waited but she would have none of it. Finally, the moment of truth came.

A dozen casualties. Nine deaths, the identity of four of the deaths confirmed, the other five are unidentifiable due to the excessive burns the bodies suffered before help could arrive. Three survivors, two officers, and someone who was detained. Two are in critical condition, all were taken to XXX medical center for treatment.

Without a moment to lose Rumi immediately dash off, asking about where he was heading to was worthless.

"Rumi wait!" Izuku called out, trying to follow her but he still wasn't used to crutches and his cast wasn't making it any better.

All his injuries were already a bother as they were, being wrapped up and stitched all over the place, last night did an unbelievable number on him. Now that the adrenaline has all left him, the receipt for his actions needed to be paid, and the price was his body. Minor torn muscles, two moderate puncture wounds, multiple slashes and cut marks all over his body, his face needed to be patched up for the gash on his cheek, extra care was given to the cut up his eye that Rideru kept striking at, turns out if it got any worst there could've caused some serious long-term damage to his eye socket, some of his fingers needed to be cast, his throat was immensely sore as well as other things after being choked by a roided out lion, bruises all over some of which were turning blue from how many times they were hit, and he have been tasting blood in his mouth since last night.

That was only his lighter injuries.

His shoulder was heavily patched up from Simba's bite, and that sudden surge of power he had that night horribly over-strained his arms and legs to near destruction. Izuku can't even put weight on the leg Rideru kept hitting last night so he needed crutches to walk around.

No matter Rideru alter ego was called The Ripper. Even on a victory, most of this was from him and that was the lynx on a huge disadvantage, Izuku could only feel pity toward the people he actually held nothing back on. He was a trainwreck, mostly because he looked like he was hit by a train and barely survived. It was a good thing Merrie lived by a medical center, the sheep knew the people there well so they had more medical supplies to treat their injuries.

He was going to take a while for recovery. It was only from the painkillers that Izuku wasn't in complete agony. Probably going to need physical therapy as well as he lost some feeling in his limbs, though he wasn't sure if that was from the painkillers or just exhaustion.

Either way, he was in no condition to chase after the energy Rumi. He was stumbling to even make it out of the room.

"Gah, how do people use these so often!?" Izuku grumbled, this was the first time he had ever been this hurt before so crutches weren't his thing, "I really wish someone can make these injuries go away."

Conspicuous looking away as he drank from his mostly empty coffee cup, Nezu muttered, "Yeah, if only."

Still not speaking, Rumi rushed back into the room, putting Izuku on her back, and rushing off. Though she was significantly less hurt from the night before, she wasn't going to let the injuries she does have slow her down at all.

"Hey wait!" screamed Nezu, grunting to himself about the hot-blooded youth. He'll just catch up to him in a car, after cleaning up and getting on a new non-stained shirt.

'He has to be one of them,' Rumi thought, 'He's a fighter! He wouldn't leave like that! He had to have survived! Please, be ok?'

…

"No more hospital food, please some sweets," whined Yogi, his body top to bottom was wrapped in bandages. Some of his fur that they didn't cover, they could see they were cindered blacked.

A nurse was trying to convince the big bear to eat his food but the big log was being stubborn.

In a wheelchair, with recovering burn marks, O'inks filled them in, "Yogi saved his driver by protecting him with his body. He suffered the worst from the fire with third-degree burns all over his body but I guess his bulk saved him."

Knowing a question needed to be asked, Izuku brought it up, "Was he… among the ones identified."

The officer shook his head, "With the exception of the officer who died, the rest were civilians caught up in the accident. All the other bodies were burnt smoldering to a crisp. We managed to do a DNA test on the unburnt remains of one of the bodies to confirm Simba was among them. We're still trying to find whatever we could about the rest so we can at least inform their family, as long as they have a medical record we can find them."

"You two were riding together in the same car. Maybe-"

"I blacked out when the car flipped over multiple times. When help found me, they said my door must've broken off during the roll, allowing my unconscious body to roll out when it finally came to a stop. It left me a safe distance away from the explosion. I'm not going to be walking around for a while due to the burns and shrapnel that lodged into my leg but luckily I'm alive. Sadly, the car and everyone else around it didn't come out of it as well. I'm sorry."

Izuku still wanted to investigate to see if maybe there was something to grab onto.

Instead, Rumi interrupted with her own statement.

"I'm glad you're ok."

The bunny girl then went into the room where Yogi was.

"Hey big guy, got a present for you," Rumi told him, handing the bear some cookies she brought on the way to the hospital, "Don't eat them all at once."

Yogi barely got a chance to thank her before she exited the room. Rumi quickly turned to O'inks before saying, "Get well soon."

Then walk off.

It was almost robotic how she was moving, Izuku was beyond staggered by this, only able to give the kind officer a quick wave before hobbling after Rumi.

"Rumi wait," Izuku called out to her.

The bunny didn't slow down a bit, she wasn't responding either.

"Come on Rumi, at least slowdown, I can barely move."

It could seem like Izuku's wishes were granted as he suddenly bumped into her back. She had stopped moving as in front of her adopted father.

"Apologies for being late, the taxi got stuck in traffic so I had to run the rest of the way here," Nezu explained, seemingly out of breath, "What happened?"

So Rumi doesn't have to say it, Izuku hobbled in front to give Nezu the quick run of what they discovered and the fate of their friends.

"I see," Nezu sighed, "Tragic, but we must keep going forward. Come on, we're going home, remember you two are grounded."

"What?" replied Rumi, one of her eyes had twitched hearing Nezu's quick dismissal of the subject, "Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

"That's it!? After what you heard, that's all you have to say!?"

"Look, I'm sorry you lost your friend but you're asking a lot from ME of all people to be expressing great sadness for the guy. On top of assaulting and brutalizing so many people in Yasei Alley to earn him the nickname The Ripper, and being a part of the group that sold harmful drugs to many people, one of which caused Izuku here to attack you. He then beats the stuffing out of Izuku, and you two almost died from all the threats you ran into because of him."

Taken aback, Rumi growled, "Stop."

"No I will not," Nezu scolded her, she needed to hear this. For a while now Nezu has been tolerant of Rumi's rash actions but now it has officially taken a new high, "I don't think you know how worrisome this is for a father."

"Stop!"

"You're already the embodiment of troublemaker! Every day I go through a mini-panic session where I worry if I'm going to wake up or come home to find out you've almost gotten yourself killed again doing something I didn't train you for. Now you somehow got deeply connected in this!? It's literally a parent's worst nightmare times thirty!"

"STOP!"

"Then I ask the one thing of you just stay home for the night and you didn't do that, you go directly to the last place I wanted you to be at! Then you both get banged up, this could've easily been you two that are smoked corpses in body bags if you had gone along with them on the drive!"

Rumi's ear contorted, pure anger was in her voice as she looked at her dad with her red eyes and said, "I swear to Bird Jesus!"

Nezu kept going, he had to get it out there, "Honestly, knowing him and that bastard Simba are gone and away from here is almost assuring as a parent!"

WHAM!

A wind gusted in the hallway as Izuku had gotten in the way of a kick Rumi threw at Nezu. Despite his injuries, Izuku still managed to block the kick but almost fell overdoing it. Shock filled Nezu's eye seeing what Rumi just attempted, while they've had their bad argument and fights, never have mal-intent violence taken place.

"Don't, do it," Izuku told Rumi, giving a stern face.

They saw how watery Rumi's eyes would before she pulled back her leg and ran off.

Izuku immediately turned to Nezu before shouting, "Ok, what the fuck is your deal!"

"I admit, I may have said too much," confessed Nezu, sighing as he rubbed his forehead. He hardly got any sleep last night, it was a slim margin that he's about to get in the right mood to properly deal with Rumi and her regular antics, this was killing a bear with your bare hands after pushing a boulder up a hill.

"Too much!? More like horrible timing, you couldn't have waited at least a day before scolding us for our actions. Do you have an ounce of care for your own daughter's mental health or does your insanity run so deep that you can't give two shits!?"

"Hey, watch your mouth!" threatened Nezu, looking aggravated at Izuku's insult, "Don't you dare try to just inject yourself in our relationship as if you know a smidgen of what it is. You only lived with us for a few months as an apprentice for training, don't get it in your head that you know the integrals of our household."

"I may not know everything, but I've seen enough to understand how big you just screwed up," Izuku replied, stepping close to Nezu, "You can not care about my emotional response to this but at least have some consideration for Rumi's. Our friends are beaten up, one of her friends literally just died. Like… he's gone! Vanished!"

Noticing how frantic Izuku started to speak, Nezu held up a hand to try to calm him, "Izuku, I'm going to need you to settle down. I understand you're upset-"

"Upset!? I'm devastated!" Izuku shouted, clutching his head as his breathing became heavier, "So hard, I tried so hard to make sure Rideru could be alive. Threw everything, LITERALLY EVERYTHING my body could do beyond my limit to save him! I promised it on my vow to be a hero to him, did it for Rumi's sake since I knew how much he meant to him."

Dropping his crutches, Izuku crouched down to the ground. His voice began to crack as a few liquid droplets dropped from his eyes and landed on the floor.

"Because he meant a lot to us, she-... I wanted him to live! I felt how much pain he was in and wanted to help, there was hope he could get the help needed. Me and Rumi both wanted that for him! But after putting our bodies through the grinder, risking our lives against threats way beyond our imagination, all the promises, and everyone we brought in... he still died," Izuku said, his head hanging low. His hands finally dropped his head, laying lifeless at his sides, "He vanished from our lives like he never existed. We can't see his face again. I don't even think he can get a proper funeral or have any relative pick him up. He told me once before that he wasn't even sure he had any official medical record because he wasn't born in a hospital and his parents never took him to one for a check-up. They always use other shady centers for anything and often use fake names."

Coming over, Nezu patted the boy's back, letting him get it all out. He told the fox, "I know this is hard for you, losing someone can never be easy."

"It just feels… awful to have someone you know life flicker out like a candlelight. I had so much to say but now I can never say them and there was no warning. It's just like…." Izuku lowered his head further, "It's just like when my dad disappeared."

…

"Come, we need to chat," Nezu told Izuku, leading him out of the public area.

The two settled themself on a calming and private spot outside of the hospital on a bench. Nezu had taken the liberty of buying snacks and drinks for them.

Once they had a few moments to get settled, Nezu began.

"Loss in general is painful no matter what age you are, but it's even more traumatic when it occurs at a young age. For adults, we had decades of knowing how grim the world can be and have suffered our own scars from it, so we're able to reinforce our hearts to it. Unfortunately, that's a skill you children have yet to obtain for better or for worse."

While listening, Izuku just quietly drank from his can, letting Nezu speak.

"I'm glad you two are getting your emotions out there," continued the manimal, "Healthy release of stress and anxiety is necessary at times when you can't handle it. I'm sure you've seen the results of what happens when you bottle up all your pains far past your limit. They crack."

A few images from last night flashed into Izuku's mind. He couldn't help but wish something could've come way before to prevent what happened.

"Unfortunately, that's an area I struggled with empathy the most in. I am an animal after all, a lot of this stuff for you guys is common for us. On top of that I spent my starting years in a lab, I barely remember having parents outside of a few snippets. It's why raising Rumi can be so difficult, though I guess that's the strange reason why I kept on trying with her instead of giving her up, we came from similar boats."

That sparked Izuku to look at Nezu before questioning, "Rumi was raised in a lab?"

"No! I meant more of both experiencing social engineering."

"She what!? How?"

"You ever wondered why Rumi was adopted?"

"Of course."

Nezu sighed, rubbing the back of his head before stating, "Guess it's time for you to hear this, just don't mention it to her before you trigger something. I swear if you do, there's no hole in hell you can escape to I won't crawl to."

"I promise, what happened!?"

"I'm still investigating the details myself but I can tell you what I know now. When Rumi was nothing but a preschooler, her father wanted to sell her off to a family through an arranged marriage, so he started a teaching program to gear Rumi toward being acceptable to it."

"He what!?"

"I know."

"How can a father do that!?"

"Your guess is as good as mine right now," Nezu brought out a photo of her and showed it to Izuku, the fox couldn't believe the resemblance, it was like Rumi but softer like a pillow, "Her mother was a friend of mine, a good one, so I actually met him once and let's say I can never predict what he's going to do next. He was a living contradiction but they seemed happy."

"Did her mom know of her dad's plan?"

"No, and she didn't like it when she found it. But when Rumi's mother confronted her father about it after catching him during one of his learning sessions, he killed her right then and there."

A frozen chill filled the air as the two exchanged stern looks.

Elsewhere in the city, running down the streets was Rumi. For as fast as she could run, there was no escaping one's own mind. Those shadows are the ones that haunt us endlessly.

Seeing the bloodied body of the woman who gave birth to her on the ground, right in front of the man who had been raising her so kindly. Just a moment before an unbelievable sight occurred, where the life of one of them was snuffed. As the red pool spread, the child could only wonder when was her mom going to get back up. Yet it never came.

Then there was her father, and his smile. He turned toward his child with this expression and spoke to her as if nothing was wrong.

"Ah sorry about that pumpkin, you shouldn't need to see that," through all the darkness, blood, and blurred vision, the thing she could always recognize was his smile. "Daddy got a bit careless."

That damn smile, an image that'll never expire.

"Mom I'm fine, I just fell down some stairs," Izuku told his mom, this was his fourth phone call with her, "Yes, it was a lot of stairs. Like a hundred. It cracked my screen, it took up till now for the person Mr. Nezu called to get it fixed. Sorry about that….. ok I gotta go… yeah, love you too…. I'll accept your calls next time, love you too….. I promise, love you too….. Ah, mom! Alright, I'm going to need to hang up now. I'm going to need to hang up now, love you too!"

Click

Now that was out of the way, Izuku had one last thing he needed to do.

One last time, Izuku hobbled his way through Yasei Alley. The streets were nearly empty now, after last night with the attack on the convoy, officials decided they could no longer turn such a blind eye to the place anymore after the connection to the Berserker was linked. They want to know who attacked the officers and theorized that it must've been a resident of Yasei Alley. They've been investigating and interrogating people like crazy, it scared many of the residents off from coming back. Hearing about the news of how Simba took advantage of power to abuse everyone and lost trust in being there. With so many people leaving, their connections and friends left as well. The only people still around now were mostly the people who truly needed to live here as they didn't have a home, even then they stayed hidden to avoid being interrogated by police.

A once vibrant area that was the gathering center of many that felt like society couldn't give them a place to feel accepted was now barren.

Empty, gone within a morning.

It seems like a lot of things disappeared overnight.

Rideru is gone.

Simba was dead, he was a horrible person but that doesn't erase that they've spent months together as a relative chill friend.

Yogi is going to be doing some time for his involvement.

No one can get in contact with Setsuna, her phone number seems to have been deactivated.

Cassidy was thankfully found to have been admitted to a hospital last night. The strange part was that she was admitted with no injuries except for the bruised skin on the skin of her forehead where she was hit. She hasn't woken up yet but they said she should make a full recovery. Her caretaker said her family was making arrangements for Cassidy to go back to America while she recovered.

Merrie informed them last night that she was going to be moving further away for her school referral program.

Tsuyu, she hung up on Izuku after he informed her of the news. He would visit her but he doesn't know where she lives, no one they can currently get in contact with could.

The little group they had, Izuku's first group of friends were fractured. All destroyed in a single night.

There was a single light side was that Simba's rage concern plan was foiled by another hero stopping everyone.

The night before, the police force was amazed at the sight they were seeing. They came here because there was a tip of a massive brawl that was going to happen and they were prepared with riot gear. Yet when they got there, they saw the extra preparations were all for naught.

Everyone at that party was fast asleep on the floor, all mostly uninjured.

Among them sat a single hero, whistling to himself as he looked up to the sky.

"Oh hey, you're here," the blue-haired hero greeted them with a wave, "I was just giving these kids an exclusive performance to keep them company, courtesy of The Autotune Hero: Blue-Note."

What was Izuku's mind the most was Nezu told him afterward his little talk.

'Her father is currently imprisoned in a special prison for villain criminals. After the events, since I was the only contact number her mother wrote down, I was able to get custody of her after a bit of fighting. I tried to help heal whatever damage that bastard but it was never enough. Rumi always had trouble fitting into school once she got to grade school, her abrasive attitude would scare off most of the normal kids so she never had friends. The most she would hang out with was other hooligans. I hoped teaching her how to fight could help her get out whatever she was pent up, which did work but that barely counters the amount of trouble she gets into because she's so ready for violence. You have no idea how many calls I got involving her sneaking into some underground fight clubs, you don't even want to know my heart condition when I heard she finally got caught. Yasei Alley to her must've felt like the one place all sides of her could be out and she'll feel free. I'm almost jealous I wasn't able to provide that environment for that.'

The fox knew what he needed to do.

He was going to follow the last piece of advice given to him by Rideru.

"See ya."

"Goodbye, Izuku. Thank you.… oh, and one more thing."

Rideru leaned into Izuku and whispered something into his ear.

"Rumi feels comfortable enough being vulnerable to you, use the fact that you haven't shut yourself off emotionally to connect with her in a way others can't."

Izuku entered the warehouse where Rumi had taken him to get Rideru to train him. As expected Izuku found Rumi there. She was weeping on the bed, the first time Izuku saw her cry tears. Rumi noticed him when he came in, turning away and wiping away her tears.

"What?" mumbled Rumi, she was trying to play it off as if nothing happened. It was a poor performance since she could never act and her face was all the evidence needed.

"I was just worried about you," Izuku answered, sitting next to her on the bed.

"Because I attacked my dad?"

"Yeah."

"That was fucking stupid of me. Agh, I could die of embarrassment thinking back on it. I should return one of his calls."

"How many has he done?"

"Forty-three calls and twenty-six texts."

"Oh my god."

"Yeah, I know! For a psychopathic animal, he's pretty daunting."

"You're telling me."

"What?"

"I-i was just saying that he's trying his best."

"I know… I feel like an asshole at times when I cause him trouble."

"Honestly it's hard not to cause someone who's looking after you trouble. A lot of it is unintentional, we just need to work on it with the people around us."

"...Not that there's anyone else," Rumi curled up her legs, hugging them with her arms, "Everyone is gone."

"I wouldn't say that. While we may be apart, that doesn't mean we can't still be connected. We all have our own ways to stay close to the people we know," Izuku said, taking out his father's memento, "and can keep things to remember them by, so we can never forget."

"That's cheesy."

"I'm infatuated by superheroes media, give me a break."

"Dork."

"Hey!"

Rumi broke into a burst of tiny laughter before quieting down. She turtles into her own body before stating, "I miss them. Everyone."

Scooting close till their shoulder touches, Izuku said, "I know, I miss them too."

"I want to go back, things are too messy now. At least to punch whatever I could to stop the bad stuff from happening."

"There are a thousand things I wish I can go back to prevent or change. Had to learn the hard way that I should be spending more time thinking about how to prevent it from happening again than wishing it never happened. If we don't, we end up living in the past and will be unable to move on."

"That's… something I'm going to struggle to do."

"I know."

"... I'm so alone."

Izuku wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, "I know."

Rumi shudders, "I miss everyone."

"I know."

"I don't like it when people close to me leave."

"Neither do I, which is why I want to change that for at least you."

"Huh?"

Izuku turned Rumi's head toward him so she can see his face, "I won't ever leave you."

Wide-eyed Rumi paused for a moment, before saying, "Really?"

"Yes," Izuku answered, wiping her face with his thumbs.

The bunny sniffed before asking "You promise?"

"I promise."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"No takebacks?"

"It's getting concerning why you're making me confirm so hard, are you going to bring out some handcuffs or something?"

"N-no."

"You sound uncertain, are you scared of the commitment?"

"Just wanted to make sure. Because if you break it, I'm going to kick your ass thirty times over. You already know my threats aren't to be taken lightly."

Izuku chuckled, "Considering all the other threats I've received, I wouldn't be making it if I wasn't committed to it."

"Wait… other threats? Who's been threatening yo-"

Before Rumi couldn't finish, Izuku had pulled her in so he could plant a kiss on her lips. Months a pent-up passion and emotions flooded both of their bodies, creating a blissful euphoria that engulfs the teens. During the occasion, Izuku's fox tail wagged happily like a dog, and Rumi's fluffy ears jumped up, curving to form a heart above her.

When the newly made couple pulled from the kiss, it would seem that Rumi's consciousness was absent for a few seconds before it snapped back into her.

"Y-you jerk, give me a warning next time," stammered Rumi, looking away bashfully and covering her lips. She was expecting some reply but looking back found something else.

Rumi's new boyfriend seemed even more out of it than she was, with the fox's face bloody red. The steam exhausting from his ears was the least worrisome thing happening when the heat eroding from his face was enough to cook a hotdog.

"Why are you most stunned, you're the one who did it!" exclaimed Rumi, blushing as her boyfriend stole the spotlight on exaggerated reactions.

"I-i know, I just never thought I would actually do it! It's like growing up to kiss that supermodel or heroine you admired in middle school," Izuku mumbled, clutching his hands over his mouth, 'What just compelled me to actually do it, I didn't expect it to happen this early.'

Clutching onto Izuku's chest was Rumi, she looked up to him with a pouty face before saying, "But kissing me was better than what you imagine kissing a supermodel was right."

Surprised at first, Izuku realized what she was getting at and why. Returning the embrace, he chuckled, "Of course, it went beyond my imagination."

"Good answer, would've kissed your ass if you had said no."

"I'm already on my last legs, I wouldn't dare push it."

"That reminds me, sorry you had to hobble over me while you're injured."

"It's fine, you were worth it. I already sprinted through so much to get closer to you, this was basically the victory lap."

"Well, I want to be there as well. I want to help you when you're struggling and dealing with issues."

"You already have in ways you don't know."

"Then I want to do it more actively and intentionally. I don't ever want to be ignorant of your struggles, I want you to trust me enough to open up when you need it. Promise it."

"It's a lot of promises to make in a day, but I promise."

"Can you blame me after last night!?"

"No."

"Good. Then I'll start helping out by taking care of that urge of yours."

…

Izuku's face lit up pink, "What?"

With a coy smirk, Rumi moved so they were on eye level before saying, "Don't try to hide it."

"Uhhhh! It just feels early."

"Ridiculous, everything is set already."

Izuku looked down and realized where they were before saying, "I just think we should hold off on that for a bit."

The bunny's smirk grew, "You sure about that, big guy. You don't want to take the chance of kissing me again."

"Not saying I wouldn't but-... Wait kissing?"

"Uh, yeah. What else would I be talking about?"

"A- well-... I-... uhhhh-... let's just kiss."

Rumi giggled to her boyfriend's awkward, "Ha, knew it."

The two expressed their passion for one another again.

They don't know what lies ahead, have a ton of baggage that weighs literally tons, and can still work to improve themselves. But as long as they had each other, they felt like they could face it. Because that was the beauty of this tale about a fortunate encounter.

And before they knew it, two years have passed since that day!

Chapter 3: Jungle Book

END

Next Time Teaser: With their adolescent days behind them, the new couple is ready to attend UA.

((I cried(almost, I felt like crying. Getting choked up counts!) writing this chapter. That's all that needs to be said honestly.

Hope you enjoyed the story, follow it if it interests you, and leave a review on what you thought of the chapter.

For those curious, on my discord. I do post additional information and concept material for many of the elements I introduce in this story. So check out my discord for that stuff and chat with other fans, /XunT8bu

I also got a youtube[where I do post parody summarizes of manga chapters and other stuff] and twitter you can check out: Hero DarkyDark ))