The Okami Hero: Amaterasu

Arc 5: Eight Serpents

Chapter 10: Eri's Resolve

[Tuesday19thApril 2281]

[Shie Hassaikai Compound, Corusantu]

Considering that the Strike Team had been waiting around for three days in anticipation of the raid against the Shie Hassaikai, as well as the new information of the Reaper's involvement, they had expected the raid to be more challenging. Three days of worry had transformed into drive once the team began the raid, and once Nezu had sent along the information Izumi Midoriya had been able to gather, as well as the fact that the Yakuza were torturing her and another little girl, everyone came to the same silent agreement; the Shie Hassaikai were going to be eradicated.

With righteous fury driving them, and All-Might leading the charge, the team of Police Officers and U.A Heroes had stormed through a hole created by Cementoss and taken the Shie Hassaikai completely by surprise.

It was the closest that Law Enforcement got to an outright slaughter.

At the sight of All-Might, or the U.A Heroes, most of the small time crooks threw down their weapons and surrendered, or attempted to flee. A few of the braver ones tried to fight back, and were put down hard, often before they could activate their quirks, courtesy of Eraserhead.

The Demons, which only 10% of the Officers could see, were as much a threat to the Yakuza as they were to the Strike Team, attacking and killing many thugs, then devouring them while still in the midst of the battle. All the Heroes present, with the exception of a couple of Ingenium's Sidekicks, could see the Monsters and upon remembering Hawks' warning that they weren't human, the Heroes had unleashed hell on them. Hawks and All-Might decimated the Demons with almost no effort, unable to permanently kill them but at least able to destroy their bodies and force them to wait a while for them to revive themselves. Eraserhead was vexed that his quirk didn't work on the Demons, but he made up for it by gathering the weaker ones together with his capture weapons, so the combat type Heroes could easily slay them. Izumi had warned of there being 87 Demons, following her slaying one while in captivity, but only around 70 were slain by the Heroes, who had no trouble dealing with them. The missing Demons were believed to have fled, been killed by stronger members of the Yakuza, or according to Hawks, likely ran into Izumi while she was escaping.

There was almost an incident where the Strike Team would have attacked itself, as the Onikawa Brother's intimidating Oni Transformation quirks briefly confused some of the Heroes, who thought they were Demons too. Thankfully, they averted disaster by transforming back to normal and demonstrating to Eraserhead that they simply had transformation quirks.

The Demon presence in the raid was almost completely wiped out shortly thereafter.

It was too bad for the Demons that they were stuck fighting such large numbers. Imps, and the few other species of Demons in Orochi's Horde, weren't War Demons. They were meant to prey on the weak or gang up on their enemies, so they lacked the power to do much against such an overwhelming force of strong opponents.

The Strike Team's first and only real hurdle had been a coordinated attack by Overhaul's Eight Bullets, who had assembled to try and hold of All-Might and Hawks all together… that had been a waste of time, Hawks had just mocked them and allowed All-Might to deal with it alone while he captured a group of lesser thugs.

In addition to Shin Nemoto, Rikiya Katsukame and Hekiji Tengai, all of whom Izumi had warned them off, there was also five other members that did their best to fight together against the unstoppable tide that was All-Might.

It was a valiant effort for criminal scum; Tengai had created barriers to block All-Might's attacks while a bald member of the group created Crystals from his body to add to his defence… All-Might knocked Crystal Guy out in one punch, his crystals reducing to dust with the force, while Eraserhead took one look at Tengai and erased his quirk, allowing Snipe to shoot him in the head with a rubber round, knocking him out. The next to attack were the two muscle-bound members of the Bullets; Katsukame and some other brawler calling himself Kendo Rappa. Rappa's quirk let him deliver strong punches, while Katsukame's allowed him to absorb a person's vitality by contact. Thankfully, since Izumi had given them his name and Katsukame had a criminal record, the team were ready for his quirk and All-Might knocked him out by grabbing Rappa and using him as a cudgel to beat Katsukame unconscious.

Unfortunately, while this knocked out Rappa too, All-Might had let go at the wrong moment and sent Rappa through the ceiling and onto the surface.

With half their team decimated, the remaining four Bullets couldn't rally any real offence or defence. Nemoto tried to anger All-Might by bringing up the torture of the girls to make him sloppy, while an odd long haired man reeking of alcohol released some kind of area of effect quirk that made the Team dizzy. Ironically, those tactics were the most effective, as they made All-Might dizzy, confused and angry… unfortunately for the Yakuza though, an enraged All-Might wasn't something one wanted to face, and his dizziness just made him lose control and hit harder than he intended. The Strike Team didn't even get to see what the last two Bullets could do before All-Might reduced them to whimpering craters in the walls.

Shortly thereafter, the Team was assaulted by the corridors themselves coming to life, which almost posed a threat until All-Might punched a hole through a wall and revealed the person causing it; a known crook named Joi Irinaka, whose quirk allowed him possess solid objects and control them as if they were his body. From there, it only took a glance from Eraserhead and the threat was over.

"Assuming there are no more unknown threats on the level of Irinaka, then only Orochi, Overhaul and Chronostasis remain. The rest are small time thugs." Eraserhead said, approaching All-Might as the man prepared to head deeper in.

"The base has gotten very quiet, but we've seen no sign of their boss. I worry for the girls. I'm going to go on ahead." All-Might declared, marching on.

"Got it. I have to stay here and keep everyone's quirks erased until the police get the cuffs on them. I'll catch up as soon as possible to assist." Eraser said, turning back to the captives being cuffed and escorted to the surface.

Hawks, seeing All-Might about to head deeper into the base, flew over to him; "All-Might, I'm going to go sweep some of the upper floors. Some of the thugs have been talking about an "Old Boss" who's supposed to be here. I'll try and find him while you take out the rest. Find Izumi and the other girl, and bring' em home!"

All-Might raised an eyebrow; "Of course, I'm more than happy to do that, but aren't you close to Young Midoriya? I had thought you'd wanted to save her yourself."

"I do." Hawks said with a smirk, "But tight tunnels make it hard for me to really fight. Need space for these feathers of mine. Besides, as much as Izumi would love seeing her big bro coming to the rescue, she'd be much happier being saved by her idol."

"Alright then. I'll find the girls and bring them back." All-Might said, giving his signature smile and thumbs up.

Hawks grinned; "Great, and be sure to give Izumi your signature "I am here!" line when you find her. She'll get a real kick out of that." the Wing Hero said, before running down another corridor in search of the Yakuza's enigmatic former boss.

All-Might nodded and continued onward, heading down to the very bottom floor, where he assumed the girls were being kept. The place was a maze, so it took a little while for the Number One to find his way, but soon he was on the lowest floor and trying to sneak around. If anyone had seen him, they'd have thought he looked ridiculous; a massive muscled man trying to be sneaky and creeping around corners, but the Hero wanted to be careful in case Overhaul had the girls with him… if Izumi's information was accurate (and so far it had been), then the man could kill them with a single touch. Hell, he could kill All-Might if the Hero was foolish enough to let the man get a hand on him.

So All-Might was cautious, slowly making his way down the empty corridors. Before long, he heard a loud scream of "NO!", followed shortly by "YOU EVIL BRAT!"

Panicking, All-Might picked up the pace until he reached the open door from which the shouts had come. Cautiously, All-Might peeked into the room and was shocked by what he saw.

It was a laboratory; completely destroyed and with broken equipment everywhere. In the middle of the devastation was Kai Chisaki, just as he'd been described and with his hands and ankles bound by leather straps and a Quirk Suppressing Band around his right ankle. Holding the man to the ground was Izumi Midoriya, the very girl All-Might had come to save, though she looked a bit different. Two small white wolf ears were sprouting from the top of her head, her hair was pure white and she had a white wolf tail poking out from the bottom of her dress. Her fingers and toes were tipped with sharp claws, and strange scarlet markings were painted onto her face. She was wearing an off-white dress with a towel wrapped around her waist as a makeshift belt, with what appeared to be a pair of knives and a pistol stowed away on it. Beside Izumi was the other girl; Eri, as Izumi had called her on the phone. She was a tiny thing with long white hair, big round ruby eyes, a little horn on the right side of her forehead and a cute face. She was dressed the same as Izumi, sans the belt of weapons. There was also a strange little yellow light sitting on Eri's horn, which occasionally hopped or moved, and even made human-like noises from time to time.

All-Might found himself spying on the odd encounter with interest. It looked like the girls had taken care of their captor themselves!

"SHE DESTROYED IT! YOU SWORE!" Chisaki roared. All-Might blinked; the man was yelling at Izumi, so did that mean Eri destroyed the lab? Why would Izumi swear she wouldn't?

"I did. I swore I wouldn't destroy it, and I kept that promise. I didn't swear I'd protect it, though I admit; I didn't expect Eri to break it..." Izumi looked up at the little girl, who was panting furiously and slowly calming down. "Are you feeling better now, Eri?"

The white haired girl nodded shakily; "S-Sorry..."

Izumi smiled; "It's no bother. I'm sure I threw a fair few tantrums when I was your age too. You have more reason to than most kids. Just remember that in future, you can't break things when you get upset, unless they belong to Villains."

All-Might suppressed a chuckle; Eri seemed a very sweet and innocent girl, and Izumi was handling her like an experienced parent, which was mildly amusing since Izumi was the youngest in her family unit.

Chisaki glared hatefully at the girls; "Filthy creatures! I tell you now, Midoriya, that Eri will be the death of you! You took all her pain, but she deserved it! She's an evil, cursed creature with an evil quirk! Why take the suffering for such a monster!?"

Now All-Might was angry; how could this Villain say such horrible things!? He had allegedly tortured those girls, and now he was calling them evil? In what world could Eri be considered an evil, cursed creature? She looked a like a white furred puppy turned into a human! Izumi clearly had Chisaki's number though.

"The only monster here is you." Izumi frowned as she knelt in front of the bound man, reaching up to pull his mask off. Beneath it, he was completely normal looking; nothing unusual at all. All-Might wondered why he bothered to wear it… "You're asking how I could take Eri's pain? That's a stupid question. You have it backwards; how could I not? Eri was an innocent child being hurt by villains, and I had the power to save her. It's no more complicated than that."

All-Might's heart swelled. He really had been wrong… Izumi may share her quirk with a Villain, but she had the true heart of a Hero!

Chisaki snarled at her; "That's the exact foolishness I sought to cure! Hero Syndrome, a Disease caused by quirks! I thought your case was a chronic one, but it's really terminal! That Heroic foolishness will lead to your demise! One day, you'll find someone you can't save without losing your life, and then that will be the end of you! It may even be another undeserving brat like Eri!"

Eri looked down in shame, but Izumi just snorted; "Undeserving? I've never met someone who deserved help more than her. And besides, if I die to save someone's life…" Izumi smiled; "Then that will be a good death. If I die to save another, then I die happy. If I suffer torture to prevent another from suffering the same, then I'll do it with a smile!"

All-Might's own smile grew wider and he remembered Sakuya's words from earlier:

"Izumi has based her Heroic Philosophy on All-Might. He is what inspired her to become a Hero; she's completely smitten with the idea of a Hero that saves everyone with a smile! I sometimes think he raised her as much as I did, and without even meeting her!"

The Number One Hero felt humbled; to know he'd inspired someone so strongly made him feel a thousand times stronger! Even his rapidly diminishing time in Hero Form felt like it could last all night! He stood and prepared to show himself.

He stepped into view just as Izumi was hugging Eri comfortingly in one arm and holding down Chisaki with the other "To be honest, Chisaki… I'd save you too, and I'd smile just the same."

"A good answer, Young Midoriya!" All-Might declared, making himself known.

All three of the lab's occupants looked up and stared at him. Chisaki looked both resigned and angry, while Eri was confused and a little afraid, not knowing who he was. Izumi however had the most starstruck expression All-Might had ever seen! Her eyes shone like stars as she beamed at him.

All-Might took a step forward and did his signature "fists on hips and chest puffed out" pose and flashed his best smile; "Fear not! It will be alright! And why? Because I am here!"

That seemed to ease Eri's fear, leaving her just confused, but Izumi's beaming smile only grew larger! She looked so excited to see him that it made All-Might think of a puppy whose new owner just got home from work!

"All-Might! It's really you!" she cried happily, "I've always wanted to meet you..."

The Number One blinked as Izumi wobbled where she stood and went to one knee. It was like a sleeping drug had just kicked in. "I'm almost out of time… please… protect… Eri…"

All-Might watched with shock as Izumi's body relaxed completely and she flopped to the floor beside Eri, who stared in horror. Izumi's wolf ears and tail began to recede, and her hair colour returned to the mossy green All-Might had seen in her picture, leaving her completely human again, Incredible exhaustion flashed across Izumi's face, but she still smiled confidently as she passed out, as if knowing everything would be fine.

"IZUMI!"

"'ZUMI!"

"YOUNG MIDORIYA!"

Ishiko, Eri and All-Might shouted at the same time, rushing forward to examine the fallen girl. Other than the closed wounds on her side, Izumi didn't appear harmed; she was just completely exhausted. All-Might had seen enough of his fellow heroes collapse in the same way to recognise the situation, but Eri didn't and was beginning to whimper and shake the girl.

"'Zumi? Izumi! Wake up!" Eri begged.

"I-I think she's just sleeping?" Ishiko said, her voice shaky.

All-Might stared at the talking light on Eri's horn, then shook his head; there'd be time to question that later. "Young Eri, it is-" All-Might began, but he was cut off by Chisaki's cruel laugh.

"You've done it again, Eri! Your precious saviour will die now, and it's all your fault!" he laughed, a vicious smile on his face.

"N-No!" Eri cried. The horn on her head began to grow larger, and small sparks of yellow energy were flickering at the tip. Ishiko squeaked and fell off, just barely managing to right herself before hitting the floor. She hopped over to stand beside Izumi's face, but she stared fixedly at Eri's horn.

All-Might blinked, unsure of what he'd just seen, but his moment of distraction let Chisaki keep talking.

"She didn't tell you, but she cut off her own foot to save you! She let herself be cut up and torn apart to save you, and now she's dying on the floor far from her family, all because of you! I told you Eri, you kill everyone who loves you!"

"NO!" Eri shrieked, covering her ears to try and block out the man's evil words. The horn on her head wasn't growing any more, but the energy was now coating the whole thing, and the veins around it on Eri's forehead were beginning to swell and pulse.

Ishiko began slowly edging towards Eri, trying to whisper soothing words to her, while All-Might growled and grabbed Chisaki's arm, twisting it hard; "Silence Villain! Your lies will only hurt you more!" he shouted.

"Lies? Oh, but they aren't lies at all! You'll see it soon; her quirk is already activating! She can't control it, and that cursed power killed her own father the moment it first manifested! It rewound him out of existence! Her own mother abandoned her and called her cursed, and her grandfather; my former boss gave her to me to control! Only my quirk or my Quirk Destroyer Drug can stop her now, and I gave the former to Midoriya to stop her breaking the latter, but Eri destroyed it like the Evil Little Monster she is! Now Eri's doomed her own saviour and the World's Number One Hero!" Chisaki laughed insanely.

"NO! I DIDN'T!" Eri cried, gripping her head and trying desperately to stop her own quirk. The energy was spreading now, arcing through the air like lightning and occasionally striking Izumi, All-Might or Chisaki. Whenever that lightning hit someone, they'd experience a shot of pain as Eri's quirk forced all their biological processes to regress by a few minutes at a time. Only Ishiko was small and agile enough to dodge the sparks of energy, but she was so focused on dodging so she wouldn't be rewound that she couldn't focus on talking to Eri and calming her down. The Poor Poncle ended up having to jump around Izumi's unconscious form, using her tiny katana to block and parry the energy that would hit her.

All-Might cursed and put a finger to his ear, where his communicator was; "Eraserhead, get down to here! We have a quirk going out of control!"

"Dammit, I'm going to be a few minutes! The remaining Yakuza are trying to mount a counter attack and Hawks is nowhere to be seen. Hold out for a bit!" Eraserhead answered, the noise of battle accompanying his voice through the communicator.

"Shit!" All-Might cursed.

Chisaki began laughing even more, his grip on sanity leaving him; "It'll be too late! Eri's power is getting stronger with every passing second! By the time Eraserhead gets here, all he'll find is Eri standing between our empty clothes!"

"Shut up!" All-Might roared, twisting Chisaki's arm more, "You are here too! If you make the situation worse, you'll be wiped out of existence too!"

Chisaki smiled manically; "It doesn't matter! I've lost everything I worked so hard to create because of these two brats! My dream to cure the world and restore the yakuza to repay the Old Boss will never be achieved now! Eri destroyed everything, and now she'll suffer for it!" he looked back at the terrified girl! "They'll lock you away forever, Eri! The world will never forgive you for killing their Number One Hero! Midoriya's family will hate you for murdering their daughter! They'll demand your death! YOU'RE A VILLAIN ERI!"

Eri sobbed, "I-I..."

"YOU'RE OWN MOTHER HATES YOU! YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN!"

"THAT'S A LIE!" Ishiko suddenly roared, "Eri! That woman that called you cursed and abandoned you… she may have given birth to you, but she isn't your True Mother!"

Eri's sobs calmed slightly; "S-She's not?"

"No! There's so much more to family than blood! She may have been your biological mother, but she isn't the one who loved you! Who cared for you! Who protected you! Forget her and her cruelty, forget Chisaki and his insanity! Who was it that truly cared?! Who was it that became your mother by choice, not by an accident of birth?!" Ishiko demanded.

"M-My Mama…?" Eri thought about, and only a single image appeared in her mind. Emerald eyes… mossy green hair… a loving heart… "I-Izumi..."

"That's right!" Ishiko screamed, "And what did Izumi say about you and your power!?"

"Trust me Eri, as long as you are the good girl I know you are, that quirk won't hurt anyone! It's a good power."

Eri froze. She had almost forgotten those words… Izumi had said them, right after giving Eri her quirk back. Eri's tears began to flow faster… "But you were wrong, Izumi! I'm not a good girl! I'm bad… a monster! I don't want to, but I'm going to end up killing you!" she thought miserably, despair gripping her heart. "My Evil Quirk is going to kill you!"

"I had it inside me for a while, remember? I can tell a good quirk after I've used it."

Eri's mind replayed those words, and a voice deep within reminded her; "Izumi saved me. She believed in me. I wanted to prove her right, and the bad man wrong!"

Eri shook her head; "But I can't! I'm a Villain!"

Izumi's voice once again echoed through her memories; "You could become an amazing Doctor with that power, healing the damage done by accidents and Villain attacks. Better yet, you could become a Hero! You could save tons of people with Rewind!"

"That's right… she said I could be a Hero." Eri's eyes widened and she felt her heart begin to clear, "I promised Izumi I'd grow up to be a Hero, just like her! Izumi's never broken a promise to me, even when it hurt her, so I need to keep my promise to her too!"

"NO!" Eri suddenly screamed aloud, stepping away from Izumi, All-Might and Chisaki; "I promised! I'm not going to kill anyone!"

Chisaki sneered; "You have no choice; you're a cursed child!"

"Izumi said I wasn't! And she said you were a big fat liar! Rewind is my quirk… It'll do what I want, and I want it to stop!" Eri shouted, stamping her foot and closing her eyes tightly, focusing everything she had on her horn. Electricity pulsed from it faster and faster, but Eri fought hard to keep it under control. If Izumi had the willpower to take Eri's torture, despite having known her for a grand total of an hour at most before the first session, then Eri had the willpower to tame her own quirk.

All-Might cheered her on; "Do your best, Young Eri! It is your power; you command it just like any other part of your body!"

Those words gave Eri an idea; whenever her quirk activated, her horn would feel tense in the same way her hands did when she clenched them into little fists. If tensing the horn started the quirk, then maybe relaxing it would stop it? Putting her idea into practice, Eri tensed every muscle she had and focused everything on the horn, and then when she couldn't tense any more, she relaxed entirely.

Instantly, the power around her horn spluttered to a stop and the little appendage began to shrink until it was barely more than a hard bump on Eri's head. "I-I did it!" Eri cheered. Her quirk turned off! Finally, after all this time, she'd learned how to turn her quirk on and off by herself!

"NO! That's impossible!" Chisaki screamed.

"That's enough out of you!" All-Might snapped, finally losing his patience and grabbing some more leather straps and using them to gag the Yakuza Boss. He'd have liked to simply knock him out, but even as evil as Chisaki was, All-Might would feel bad hitting a defenceless man. All-Might was also angry enough that he couldn't be sure he wouldn't "accidentally" crush Chisaki's skull with his power.

Eri watched her old tormentor fall silent, and as she watched, she felt the last of the shackles on her heart shatter. Four days ago, Eri was a lonely little girl, loving no one and being loved by no one while suffering every day because of a quirk she couldn't control… now, thanks to her saviour Izumi, Eri had someone she cared about, who loved her and showed her what it meant to love someone, who took her pain away and wiped away her tears, and whose words gave Eri the final push she needed to gain some control over her quirk.

Eri had a Mama again.

Eri sat down beside Izumi's unconscious form and hugged her; "Thank you, Mama 'zumi. I love you." she whispered.

All-Might smiled gently at the scene and walked over to lift both girls into his arms while dragging Chisaki by his bound legs. He nestled the sleeping Izumi into one arm, allowed Ishiko to hop onto his head and lifted Eri onto his shoulders in a piggyback, where she held on tight by gripping his signature V-style bangs. "You did wonderfully, my girl. I bet Young Midoriya will be very proud." All-Might said, beginning the walk to the surface.

Eri smiled bashfully and nodded. Ishiko gently hopped up and kissed Eri's nose.

"Your real Mama is going to be very proud alright. Just you wait; she'll shower you with praise and kisses and apple treats. Everything is going to be okay now." Ishiko promised.

Eri nodded again, a little too tired to really respond properly. The adrenaline had left her just as it had left Izumi, and while she wasn't passing out, she was definitely not in a position to be talking much.

Instead, All-Might spoke; "I apologise, my tiny friend, but I do not know who you are. I knew of Young Midoriya and Young Eri of course, but not yourself." he said, addressing the Poncle.

"Oh, uh… I'm Ishiko. My existence is kind of a secret to normal people… I'm Izumi's friend and companion, so I'm always with her. I'm not allowed to tell you more. Sorry." Ishiko admitted. She was actually a bit shy, especially since she was riding on the head of All-Might, who she'd ranked as one of the Top Three Heroes she'd most want to date.

All-Might hummed; "Very well! Then might I suggest hiding yourself before we reach the surface? We wouldn't want to expose your secret, especially after such a successful raid!"

Ishiko nodded; "Thanks for understand, All-Might. Eri, I'm going to hide in Izumi's hair. If you need me, just shout my name and I'll come running, okay?"

Eri looked a little wary, not liking the idea of being alone with someone she didn't know very well. But Mama Izumi trusted All-Might and said he was the best Hero (Eri disagreed; Mama Izumi was the best Hero) and Ishiko wasn't going far away, so the little girl simply nodded and waved silently as Ishiko jumped down All-Might's muscles (taking a little too much time to stop and admire each one) before landing on Izumi's chest and running up to hide in her hair.

By the time the small group reached the upper floors of the base, every member of the Yakuza had been captured or successfully slipped past the police and fled. Ojiyama, Seido and Nezu had arrived on the site to help process those that had been caught, and they watched alongside the rest of the U.A Heroes as All-Might appeared carrying the two girls and Chisaki.

"Got it under control yourself I see." Eraserhead said blankly, "Good. Saves me the trouble."

"I did nothing at all." All-Might admitted, "Young Midoriya and Young Eri had defeated Overhaul before I even got there. Then Young Eri managed to get control over her own quirk."

Everyone gave amazed looks at the two girls, making Eri squeak shyly and try to hide herself behind All-Might's head, making the softer members of the strike team coo at the cuteness.

"Midoriya and the other captive girl defeated Overhaul? Incredible! I'll have to speak to them about it later!" Nezu grinned. "Are they unharmed?"

"Relatively speaking… Chisaki-" All-Might glared at the bound and gagged man, who was glaring hatefully at everything around him, "-said that Izumi lost a leg at some point, though she seems to have healed it."

Nezu gasped; "Lost a leg!?"

All-Might grimaced; "She apparently cut it off to escape the Quirk Suppressor Band."

No one knew how to respond to that, so they simply stared in amazement at Izumi, wondering what kind of willpower the girl had.

"Get both girls up to the surface where the Ambulances are waiting. Then drop that Yakuza Scum in the Tartarus Truck; we'll deal with him another time." Ojiyama ordered.

The Number One Hero nodded and headed up to the surface, leaving the police and his fellow heroes to clean up the rest of the chaos. It was pitch black outside, as midnight came and the 19th ended, beginning the 20th April. All-Might shivered as the early spring wind blew through him, chilling him to the bone. Something wasn't right… the Hero felt an overwhelming sense of dread coming from all around him. A police officer saw him dragging the gagged Chisaki and came to grab the villain, taking him off All-Might's hands. On his shoulders, Eri began shivering as the cold got to her too, so All-Might reached up and cradled her in the crook of his free arm, smiling brightly as she instinctively nestled against him to keep herself warm.

"Now, I just need to get you girls to the ambulance to be checked out. You'll be back with your true family in no time, Young Eri." All-Might smiled.

Eri, slightly confused by that statement, opened her mouth to comment only to be suddenly cut off.

"Oh? You'll be returning Eri to her family? How wonderful. I shall take her right now then, if you please."

All-Might, Eri, and Chisaki (as well as the officer dragging him off) froze and turned to face the newcomer. They were all possessed by an overwhelming wave of fear as they glanced at someone who, by any reasonable standards, shouldn't have even registered as an annoyance to someone of All-Might's calibre.

It was an elderly man dressed in a dark grey kimono with a black robe over the top. His hair was silver and slicked back, and he had a fair amount of stubble on his square jaw. His eyes were sharp and a venomous yellow in colour, with slits for pupils, and his body appeared gaunt and undernourished, making him appear to be a sickly old man. Despite that appearance, he stood strong and carried an enormous amount of confidence on his shoulders, and his voice had been unnaturally deep and dripping with evil.

Eri squeaked and nestled further into All-Might's side; "That's the same voice… the one that talked to Mama 'Zumi in the kitchen earlier..." she whispered fearfully. All-Might had no idea what she was talking about, but Ishiko did and immediately began to panic.

Chisaki looked like he was desperately chewing through the leather strap gagging him in an attempt to call out to this man, which seemed to amuse the elderly newcomer.

"Quiet the sticky situation you've gotten yourself into, Kai. I'm disappointed… but I still have a use for you at least." the Elder said, beginning to walk forward.

All-Might frowned; "Sir! This is an active Hero and Police Operation! Please do not interfere! If you have some relation to Young Eri, then you'll need to provide proof to the Police if you want to gain custody."

The Elder chuckled darkly; "One moment, Mr Hero, I must reclaim my asset."

Then, with movements too fast for any of them to track, the Elder darted forward and launched his hand at the Police Officer holding Chisaki. With the speed and precision of a cobra, the Elder struck the hapless Cop and knocked him unconscious with a single blow, then tossed him towards a nearby ambulance. The other officers nearby drew their guns and pointed it at the Elder and began shouting for him to get on the ground while All-Might took a step back to protect the girls, but the Old Man didn't spare any of them a single glance as he pulled Chisaki's gag away.

As soon as the leather was out of his mouth, Chisaki shouted at his would-be rescuer; "What are you doing!? How dare you use the Boss's body like that! You don't need to possess a body, you foul serpent!"

The Elder smiled mockingly; "Do be quiet, Kai. If I wasn't using this meat sack as a container, he'd die within a few days. Now, it's time I make use of you."

All-Might's eyes widened. So the old man was the former Boss of the Shie Hassaikai? The one Hawks had mentioned earlier? Based on what Chisaki was screaming, it seemed like someone else was puppeting the old man… regardless, All-Might needed to act and get the girls out of the danger zone.

"Surrender sir, or I will be forced to fight you. You've assaulted an officer of the law and are attempting to free a criminal from Police Custody. Give up and we shall arrest you peacefully." All-Might commanded.

The Old Man smirked, looking All-Might in the eyes. Another burst of fear shot through him, making him shudder and step back, but it would take more than that to make the Number One Hero turn tail.

"You are a strong human, All-Might, but you are of no interest or consequence to me. I need only Eri, Amaterasu, and Kai Chisaki. The rest of you can take your Yakuza prisoners and leave." the Old Man said, making a dismissive motion with one hand.

All-Might grit his teeth; "Identify yourself!"

The Elder grinned widely, the edges of his mouth stretching back unnaturally so as to show every single one of his teeth as he smiled.

"I am the soon-to-be ruler of this world and all you humans… I am the Eight Headed Demon Serpent: Yamata No Orochi!"

Next Chapter: Temptation of the Serpent Part 1

To be Released: July 10th 2021

Two thirds of the arc are done now! 5 chapters remain and the final foe makes his debut on the battlefield! For those who were hoping for a big, climactic battle against the Shie Hassaikai, Mimic, and the Eight Bullets, I apologise for essentially making them into Fodder. I'm not a fan of them and didn't want to further bloat the arc with filler fights, plus I honestly couldn't see the likes of All-Might having any trouble with them, especially with Eraserhead and the other UA Teachers backing him up. But hey, Rappa seems to have been tossed into the horizon, so we might see him again in the future ;)

We also got to see the end of the last chapter from All-Might's perspective, so we see a little more of his inner thoughts and how he reacts to Izumi. Of course we also get to see Chisaki being an abusive piece of sh*t again, but that leads to Eri finally learning to turn her own quirk off with some encouragement from Ishiko and the memories of Izumi's words.

And yes, Mama Izumi is confirmed!

I hope you enjoyed! Please Comment and Review; it really encourages me!