The Okami Hero: Amaterasu
Arc 5: Eight Serpents
Chapter 12: Temptation of the Serpent Part 2
[Wednesday20thApril 2281]
[Streets above the Shie Hassaikai Compound, Corusantu]
Izumi, Eri, Chisaki, and the Pro Heroes stared at the swirling images being projected onto the Demonic Barrier by Orochi. The images, memories of the past, were disjointed and slowly forming together to make a proper viewable scene, with confusing sounds and syllables slowly stitching themselves together to form words and sentences, adding dialogue to the snap shots of the past.
Izumi couldn't help but stare, transfixed, at the slowly forming memories, even knowing what the Evil Orochi was using them for. He'd said very plainly; the Demon was going to show her memories that would convince her to kill Chisaki; to give her "motivation" to accept his deal.
Kill Kai Chisaki, avenging Eri's suffering, as well as her own, while also punishing Orochi's disobedient and unwieldy ally. An act of murder that, if Orochi was telling the truth, would stop the Demon from committing any evil acts for 8 years, while also saving Izumi's mother and allowing the comatose woman to awaken from her long slumber.
It was a Faustian Bargain, a literal deal with the Devil, and Izumi knew it…
…yet she couldn't look away.
After a few moments, the images and sounds finally synced up, displaying the first of the memories Orochi wanted to show Izumi.
It was a scene taking place within Chisaki's office, though it was different. The Shie Hassaikai Symbol was still on the wall, and Chisaki's desk and chair were present, but there was also a pair of sofas with a coffee table between them, as well as glass cabinets along the walls. It made the room look much more like the office of a powerful man, compared to the state it had been in when Izumi had been there. There were two people present within the room; the first was the former boss of the Shie Hassaikai, and the man that Orochi was currently using as a host. He looked healthier, without the stubble or sunken cheeks, and with a thicker, stronger body. He was sat behind his desk with a sad expression as he looked at the second person present; a younger Kai Chisaki. Chisaki didn't look much different, though he wore a simple black shirt and pants, as well as a plain black surgical mask instead of the elaborate bird-like one Izumi had taken from him not long ago.
The two men began to speak.
"Boss… are you sure they're right? I may not be licensed, but I have medical skill too. Perhaps I could..." Memory Chisaki said, his voice unusually shaky and emotional.
The Memory Boss gave him a sad smile; "I am sorry, Kai, but I was tested and examined by the best doctors in Japan. My condition is terminal. It's genetic, I'm afraid, and apparently hard-wired into my DNA. I confess to not understanding the medical jargon, but it was made clear to me that not even your remarkable quirk can fix me. Taking me apart and reconstructing me can slow the disease's progress, but not stop it. I have a few years left to me, but I have no regrets. I led a good life. I am simply glad that my condition wasn't passed down to my daughter and her child."
Memory Chisaki shook his head in disbelief; "How can you say that?! How can you just give up?! Boss, you're the only thing still holding the Shie Hassaikai together! Without you, the last light of the Yakuza will go out! We can't just surrender and let those diseased Heroes and Villains take over! Those Doctors are a bunch of worthless quacks! I'll find a cure for you myself!" he declared, "I owe you too much to just give up!"
"You are a good man Kai. I know that you will hold the Shie Hassaikai together after I'm gone, but please don't be consumed by it… neither of us like to admit it, but the time of the Yakuza has passed. Against Villains, Heroes, and their quirks, we can simply can't stand up to them. Our family is one of the last to honour the old ways, the rest sold their souls and became Villains." the Memory Boss said, looking at Memory Chisaki fondly.
"I will find a cure for THEM too. Heroes and their self righteousness, Villains and their dishonourable ways… all of them are Diseases! All are born from the plague called Quirks! I'll erase it all Boss, I swear it! I will cure your illness and purge the world of its sickness!" Memory Chisaki swore.
The Memory Boss just sighed sadly; "I will not stop you. Just remember the code of the Shie Hassaikai, and try not to forget to live for yourself as well. Search for your cure as you wish, I'm happy to be your guinea pig for any medication you come up with… it's not like I have to worry about cutting my life short!" the man joked.
Memory Chisaki nodded and turned to leave the room; "You found and raised me, Boss… I will repay your kindness by saving you and putting the organisation you love so much at the top of the world!" he declared, then marched out.
Izumi watched the memory sadly… it seemed Chisaki had always been intense, but now Izumi understood him a little better. In a bizarre way, the man had started out just wanting to save the things he cared about; the only family he'd ever known. It struck Izumi that with a quirk like his, and the determination to save, even if it was only someone he loved, Chisaki could have become a great Hero. She briefly wondered how such a man had fallen to depravity so fast, but she knew she'd soon find out.
The scene within the memory changed slightly. Chisaki was back in the Boss's office, and their clothes had changed slightly, showing this was a different day. The Boss looked a little thinner, but still strong, though his expression was grim. To Izumi's shock, on one of the sofas was a small sleeping child; probably only three years old and with short wavy white hair and a very familiar little horn…
It was Eri, a couple of years ago.
"You called for me, Boss?" Memory Chisaki said.
Memory Boss nodded; "Yes Kai, I have something important to discuss."
"Is it about this child?" Memory Chisaki asked, looking at Eri.
"Yes. This child is my granddaughter, Eri. We… we have a problem. It seems her quirk manifested the other day." the Memory Boss said sadly. Memory Chisaki's face twisted into a sneer that was so obvious, it was clearly discernible even behind his mask.
"How nice." the man said dryly.
Memory Boss sighed deeply; "Her quirk… it appears to be the power to make people vanish. The very first time it activated… it killed her father; made him disappear, leaving behind only some empty clothes. No one on my side of the family has a quirk even remotely close to it and neither does anyone on her father's side… it appears to be some kind of mutation. My daughter… she believed it meant the child was cursed, so she gave her up to me. She wanted to kill Eri, but I wouldn't allow it; the girl is of my blood, so I won't allow her to be mistreated. My daughter didn't take it well… she couldn't handle the grief of her husband's loss and the guilt of birthing his killer… she took her own life." he said, wiping away tears that had begun to form at the corners of his eyes.
In the memory, Chisaki looked at the slumbering Eri like she was filth, which quickly killed any sympathy Izumi had for him after the first memory.
"What do you need me to do?" Memory Chisaki asked.
"I think her quirk might be somewhat similar to yours, so I would like you to look after Eri, and try to figure out what her powers are. You are the only one I can ask, Kai, now that my daughter is gone, you and Eri are the only ones I have left." the Old Boss said sadly.
Memory Chisaki looked touched by the comment, "Boss..."
"It is true, Kai. You've been like a son to me for many years. Please, take care of Eri and use your skills to determine what her quirk truly is. I don't want to leave this world knowing Eri isn't well taken care of."
Memory Chisaki seemed to pause for a few moments, then bowed his head to his Boss and father figure. "Alright, I'll do as you ask. I'll take Eri to the Lab immediately and begin work."
The Old Boss nodded; "Be gentle with her please. She has suffered enough."
The Memory Chisaki walked over and picked up Memory Eri, holding the sleeping toddler gingerly as he left the room, leaving behind the Old Boss, who began to quietly sob into his hands, mourning his losses. That was were the memory ended.
The Present Day Eri whimpered on Izumi's back. The Bad Man had been telling the truth all along! Eri had killed her father, forcing her mother to abandon her and kill herself rather than live with the guilt of knowing she'd given birth to the one who murdered the love of her life. Eri began to cry silently; Mama Izumi would hate her now… there's no way the girl would want to keep an evil Cursed Child that caused the death of both her original parents.
Of course, Izumi wouldn't tolerate that thought for even a second, and quickly reached back to pet Eri's head; "It wasn't your fault, Eri. Almost all kids cause some sort of accident when their quirks first manifest; it's unpredictable and unavoidable. You didn't choose to use your quirk on your father, so you aren't at fault. The actions of Chisaki, your Grandfather, and the Woman who birthed you are all their own responsibility. You are blameless, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise."
"B-But I-" Eri began, but Izumi gently cut her off.
"But nothing Eri. Trust me; I've spent enough time fighting Demons, Monsters, and Evil People to be able to recognise them, and you're just about the opposite of them!" Izumi declared.
"B-But the Heroes saw! They saw what I did! They'll lock me up, like the Bad Man said!" Eri cried, fearing she'd be arrested for murdering her father.
Izumi shot a furious glare over her shoulder at Chisaki, making him flinch and avert his eyes, then she turned her glare to the Heroes, who were all watching the memories from the other side of the barrier. "If the Heroes try to arrest you… I will fight them all. I will always protect the innocent, no matter who is trying to harm them."
The determination in those words sent shivers up the Heroes' spines. They naturally had no intention of punishing Eri from the start, but now they knew for a fact that it would be a VERY dangerous idea. Izumi had made it very clear; God or Demon, Hero or Villain, if you threaten Eri, she WILL hurt you.
"Now you understand a little more." Orochi said, cutting into the conversation smoothly; "Young Eri was born with an extraordinary power. The ability to rewind time, even if only on Organic Matter, is a Godly Power, and yet a Human possesses it. She was put in the care of my host's most trusted person, Kai Chisaki, whom looked up to my host like a father figure… and yet he betrayed him. Instead of taking care of Eri, he abused and tortured her. But his betrayals and cruelty run deeper than that; I will show you more!" the Snake Monster proclaimed, once again causing memories to begin forming on the barrier.
As the newest set of memories formed, All-Might looked over to the hole Power Loader was digging. "Power Loader, any progress?"
"I'm getting there, but it's slow since I can't use my equipment without drawing the Villain's attention." Power Loader said from his hole, "What's happening up there?"
"A picture show." Eraserhead answered dryly, "Orochi is showing us Overhaul's many sins in an attempt to convince Midoriya to kill him."
"Why!?" the Excavation Hero asked.
Nezu frowned; "He is either tormenting the poor girl or trying to push her to his side."
Before more could be said, the latest memory fully formed and began to play. This memory wasn't in the Shie Hassaikai's Boss's office, but a room that Izumi recognised as Chisaki's Lab, though it looked different. Instead of the torture chamber/lab Izumi was used to, it looked more like a simple nurse's office. There was a bed on one side of the room and various tables and cabinets full of Medical supplies, as well as Chisaki's desk in one corner and a divider between the bed and the rest of the room. The Eri and Chisaki of two years ago were present in the room, with Eri sat on the bed and Chisaki at a sink, sterilizing a syringe.
The Memory Eri was awake now, but she was staring at her hands in a daze, likely in shock from all that had happened. It pained Izumi to see the poor child in such a state… only days before the memory took place, Eri was probably a happy little toddler playing with her parents, blissfully unaware of the horrors waiting around the corner.
Memory Chisaki finished preparing the syringe and approached Memory Eri, who looked up at him with big, sparkly red eyes… eyes that would soon lose their shine. "Where's Mama and Papa?" the little girl asked.
Izumi's heart clenched, and Memory Chisaki sneered; "You killed them, you Cursed Child. Now hold still." he demanded, before roughly grabbing her arm and taking some blood. Memory Eri began to cry, either from the needle or Memory Chisaki's words, but she didn't struggle much as the cruel man took some blood.
As Memory Chisaki took the syringe of blood away, leaving Memory Eri to sob and hold her little arm, the real Izumi turned and glared with full hatred at the real Chisaki, who once again flinched at the intensity of the girl's glare.
"Cursed Child!? The only one cursed here is you!" Izumi said bitterly, before turning back to the memories, unaware her eyes were slowly flashing red again.
Behind her, Orochi grinned; "Good, she is beginning to fall. It won't be long now."
The memory continued, with Memory Chisaki ignoring the crying little girl and observing her blood under a microscope. From there, the memory skipped ahead an unknown amount of time, and when it started again, the room was mostly dark with Memory Eri sleeping fitfully on the bed, while Memory Chisaki stood over a cage of mice, administering a few drops of Eri's blood to each of them. Outside the memory, Principal Nezu narrowed his eyes dangerously.
The effects of Eri's blood on the mice was fairly quick. They began to slowly shrink, growing younger until they were only babies, then they kept shrinking, becoming embryos, before finally vanishing altogether. Izumi was torn between disgust and awe; Eri's power was amazing! The amount of good it could do if used properly was incredible, and the Wolf Girl was sure to say so to Eri (unknowingly easing the little girl's guilt over what happened to the mice).
Memory Chisaki was amazed too… amazed and terrified. "This isn't just vanishing or destroying! Her quirk rewinds genetics! It can literally reverse all biological processes! Such a power..." the man looked at the sleeping child, "What else can it do…?"
After that, a few more memories played. Most of them were just Memory Chisaki taking blood from Memory Eri via a syringe, occasionally saying something cruel to shut her up when she worked up the courage to speak to him. He tried using Eri's Rewind-infused blood on a few different animals, showing the poor child every single one of them and sometimes making her watch as the poor thing slowly rewound out of existence. Birds, hamsters, kittens and other animals were cruelly killed via Rewind by Memory Chisaki's experiments, but before long, the man seemed to notice that larger animals required more of Eri's blood to be rewound, and for whatever reason, Humans wouldn't be rewound at all by exposure to her blood.
Izumi frowned, remembering what Chisaki had told her before; the reason he hurt Eri for her cells was because Rewind needed to be actively working on her body in order for them to be potent enough for his purposes. It seemed that the passive element of Rewind that was always present in her cells was enough for smaller creatures, but large and complex ones like humans were unaffected by the weaker exposure. Izumi hated it, but she let her analytical mind whirl for a moment… there was likely some kind of power threshold that would have to be surpassed before Rewind effected Humans, likely as a protection for Eri herself. After all, if Rewind was always passively active in her blood and it worked on Humans in that state, then Eri would have rewound herself out of existence the moment it manifested… Humanity's immunity to the Passive Rewind must have been a result of Eri's quirk adapting to not kill her.
Unfortunately, Izumi knew what was coming next… Memory Chisaki was already being too rough and hurting Memory Eri for her blood, and now she'd be made to watch as the evil man made the discovery that lead him to torturing Eri.
It started with Memory Chisaki using the syringe on Memory Eri again, though this time he was aiming for more blood, and so used a larger syringe with a wider needle. This needle left a visible puncture mark in Memory Eri's arm, and as Memory Chisaki was about to take the now filled syringe away, he noticed a spark of energy come from Memory Eri's horn, before the puncture mark rapidly healed, or more accurately, rewound to before it had been inflicted.
Memory Chisaki hadn't missed this, and quickly deduced that Eri's quirk only worked on humans if actively used. "I wonder..." he said, picking up a scalpel, "The flesh being effected by Rewind's active state… can it work on humans the way her blood works on the mice?"
And just like that, Poor Eri's fate was set. Memory Chisaki didn't even hesitate to cut her with the scalpel, making the little girl scream and sob, while her tormentor held her arm and watched her quirk activate to rewind the damage.
Outside the memory, Izumi couldn't help but roar; "BASTARD!" at the memory, her eyes now stuck in their crimson form again.
The cut left Memory Eri with her first scar, but Memory Chisaki quickly gave her another, this time using tweezers to rip out a small section of the repairing flesh. The Evil Man left Memory Eri to sob and cower on the bed while he went over to his other instruments, and a poor prisoner who was bound and gagged in the corner of the room. Memory Chisaki mixed some cells from his new tissue sample into the blood sample he'd taken before and injected it into the prisoner. Within moments, the man began to rewind and was left as a teenager.
Memory Chisaki hummed; "10ccs of her blood with only a 5mg of active Rewind Cells produced an Age Regression of 25 years… subject went from 40 to 15."
"W-Who's there? Mama? Help!" the now-teenage prisoner cried. His voice was typical for a 15 year old Japanese Male, but his way of speaking made him sound younger.
Memory Chisaki narrowed his eyes; "How old are you, boy?" he asked coldly.
The prisoner flinched; "F-Five mister. I just turned five! Please, where am I?"
Memory Chisaki ignored the boy and turned back to his instruments and papers; "A physical rewind of 25 years, but a mental rewind of 35. So it's possible to cause different aspects of a person to rewind at different rates."
As Memory Chisaki said those words, the Heroes and Izumi suddenly paled. If it was possible to do such a thing… Eri could potentially provide immortality and eternal youth! By continually rewinding a person's physical state without rewinding their mental one, Eri could keep a person alive for ever! And since the quirk did work on her, Eri could do the same for herself. Combined with the potential to rewind individual evolutionary processes, like the development of a Quirk Factor, Eri had the power to potentially rewrite Humanity in any way she wished.
Principal Nezu looked to the present day Eri, who was still cradled on Izumi's back. "That child will change the world, and whoever controls her or has her loyalty will be the master of that change." he said ominously.
All-Might nodded in agreement, "We should be glad that Young Midoriya seems to be the only one she trusts then. There is no way that the young Hero will allow Young Eri to be used."
"I am glad." Nezu said. "I just hope the Government doesn't do anything foolish."
The Memories of Chisaki's early experiments in the lab continued with him performing numerous human trials on different prisoners (all of whom either died as a result, or were killed by Chisaki when he was done). Memory Chisaki mixed Eri's inactive and active rewind cells together in different ratios to discover exactly how to manipulate the Rewinds, discovering that if only Eri's active cells were used, then the subject would have every aspect of themselves rewound at the same rate, which was based on the number of cells used (a milligram of Eri's active cells could produce a roughly five year rewind). By mixing the active cells with inactive ones, Memory Chisaki could slow the mental rewind and accelerate the physical one and vice versa, leading to the discovery that he could rewind a grown man to a baby without taking more than a few minutes off his mental age, or could rewind a person's mind out of existence, leaving their physical body essentially brain-dead.
The experiments were horrific, but Memory Eri had yet to be tortured in the same way she'd been in the videos Chisaki had first shown Izumi.
Then Chisaki discovered that with the proper combination of inactive blood cells, and active blood and flesh cells, it was possible to produce a rewind effect that only worked on the Quirk Factor. It was difficult and finicky, requiring a LOT of cells to produce even a short Quirk Factor rewind, but it worked.
Memory Chisaki grinned like a demon; he now had a way of "curing" quirks. All he needed was to find a way of refining the cells into a form that could make the rewind permanent. The early Quirk Erasing Drug was temporary because it wasn't potent enough to rewind the Quirk Factor out of existence entirely, only rewinding it to before it had properly manifested in the subject, and to even achieve that required more blood and cells than Eri had in her body, necessitating days of gathering cells and blood from her.
The Past Version of Chisaki needed a way of concentrating the formula into a compact form… he couldn't cure Quirks if every patient had to have a gallon of blood and cells poured down their throats, and he also needed to begin taking Eri's cells on a more frequent basis… a few syringes worth of blood a day and the occasional cut from a scalpel wasn't enough, but to do that, he needed the approval of his boss.
The memory changed from the lab back to the Boss's office. It was the same as before, with only the appearances of the occupants being any different. The Former Boss of the Shie Hassaikai had clearly had another decrease in his health, Memory Chisaki had replaced his black surgical mask with the gold trimmed bird mask that Izumi had taken from him, and an unmasked Chronostasis stood at his side.
From the moment the memory began, Izumi was sure this was going to be different. The Memory Boss had a face like thunder, clearly being very displeased with Memory Chisaki, and it didn't take long for their words to reveal why.
"NO! I absolutely forbid this! This is not what I asked you to do, Kai!" the Memory Boss yelled, "You were to take care of the girl and study her quirk, not harm her! I saw those scars on her arms Kai, just what the hell do you think you are doing!?"
Memory Chisaki looked at his Boss with sad eyes, but he didn't back down; "Boss, my work with the girl could be just what we need! My experiments on her have provided a prototype Quirk Destroying Drug, one that could be refined to be permanent! Not only that, but I can produce a cure to the drug itself! Think of it; if we sell the drug to Villains so they can use them on Heroes, then sell the cure to the Heroes, we can make ourselves the most prominent and powerful organisation in Japan! Imagine it Boss, the Shie Hassaikai would become so important that all of Japan would have to show us the proper respect! Neither Heroes nor Villains would dare oppose us when we have the power to rob them of their precious quirks and restore them at our will! The Yakuza will once again be the dominant power on the streets of Japan, and none will dare disrespect us again! Not to mention the profits from selling the drug and cure! So long as we possess the source, we won't have to skulk in the shadows ever again!"
Izumi's eyes widened. THAT was Chisaki's true ultimate goal!? All of Eri's pain… all of Izumi's pain… all the lives sacrificed in his experiments…
All to revive the Yakuza!?
The girl seethed as she watched the continuing memory, sharing her feelings with the watching Heroes and the memory version of Chisaki's Boss.
"That "Source" is a little girl! My Granddaughter! Someone I trusted you with, whom you hurt! Just what are Humans to you, Kai? Are we such "diseased creatures" that you don't mind torturing us and killing us to build your ideal world?" Memory Boss yelled.
Memory Chisaki bowed his head, but Izumi could see in his eyes that his mind had not been changed. He was set on his plan. "Boss, please understand. This is all for you! To repay your kindness for taking me in. I want to restore the Yakuza you worked so hard to build! We ruled the Criminal Underworld for years before the Heroes hunted us down, and the Villains replaced us! Without their flashy quirks, they are powerless against the Yakuza and our guns! Once I refine the drug, I can put it in a bullet and put the fear of guns back into them! Please Boss! I can even use the girl to rewind the genetic problem that is causing your illness!"
Memory Chisaki's words and pleas were impassioned, and while Izumi's eyes hardened, the Memory Boss softened. Still, despite the old man's calmer demeanour, he was no less opposed to his protege's plan.
"No, Kai. The world has changed, and our time has passed, as has mine. The Pride of the Yakuza exists because unlike common criminals and villains, we follow a code. I appreciate your loyalty Kai, and I thank you for trying so hard for my sake, but I will not allow a child, my own grandchild, to be tortured for this. That is not the way of the Yakuza! Thank you for your service, Kai, but if you cannot follow our code, then it is time for you to leave us." the Memory Boss declared sadly, getting to his feet and slowly walking around his desk to stand face to face with Memory Chisaki.
"No." Memory Chisaki said, taking a shaky breath to calm himself; "I am going to return the Yakuza to prominence. I am going to save your life. I am going to destroy this world of quirks. I'm sorry Boss..." the man suddenly produced a syringe and stabbed it into the side of his Boss's neck with lightning speed, "I will take the lead from now on. You'll have to watch from the sidelines… I will repay your kindness Boss, no matter what."
The Memory Boss spluttered and tried to reach for Memory Chisaki's face, but the drug he'd been injected with took effect and he quickly succumbed to unconsciousness. Memory Chisaki easily caught him before he hit the ground and placed him on one of the sofas. He then turned to Memory Chrono; "Send messages to all our men… tell them that Overhaul now commands the Shie Hassaikai."
Memory Chrono nodded; "As you wish Kai. What should I do after that?"
Memory Chisaki's eyes turned cold; "Prepare Eri. It is time we begin our work in earnest."
The Memory ended there, vanishing and leaving Izumi and the Heroes to stare at each other through the barrier, horror in their eyes.
Orochi grinned as Izumi turned to face him and Chisaki, her eyes now stuck in their crimson state. "Do you see now, Amaterasu? This Man betrayed the man he saw as a Father and killed countless humans in pursuit of his goals, and why? Because he wanted to make his criminal group the best in the world. He was going to start a war with himself as the sole arms dealer, causing untold devastation and killing even more people, all for his own pride. All so he can pat himself on the back and say that HIS gang is the best. Poor Eri has many scars, doesn't she? Forty Two if I'm not mistaken, but he hurt her many more times than that, didn't he?"
Suddenly, the entire barrier was covered in memories, playing hundreds of them all at once. Each Memory was virtually identical… and they all drove Izumi to tears of sorrow and rage.
In each, Little Eri was strapped down to a chair and sliced apart like a cadaver on an autopsy table. The Present Day Eri hid her face, acting almost embarrassed to be seen like that, screaming and crying for mercy while the numerous memories of Chisaki sliced her up and "reset" her with his quirk. The Heroes looked on in horror at the countless memories of Eri's torture… Chisaki's previous experiments on Eri had been bad, but this was a whole new level of evil! All-Might grit his teeth and clenched his fists so hard that the sounds of his bones clicking could almost be heard over the cacophony of Eri's screams. Nezu was almost going feral at the sight of the memories, remembering his own hellish time as a Lab Experiment. Eri was just a little girl! Not even four years old yet in the earliest experiments, and there was another memory for every day up to the day Izumi was captured.
Eri was five now, which meant that there was almost two years of experiments, making roughly 730 memories of pain and suffering… each Memory showed Eri being sliced at least twenty times between the various resets, meaning Eri was forced to suffer no less than 14600 cuts…
The fact she only had forty two scars was a small miracle.
But it wasn't only the experiments that Orochi showed them all, no, he showed Chisaki's other cruelties too. Orochi showed Izumi how Chisaki would strike Eri from time to time, slapping her across the face or allowing one of his men to beat her harshly under the guise of "spanking" her. Orochi showed Izumi how Chisaki would withhold food if Eri didn't obey, leaving the little girl to starve for days on end. He showed how Chisaki would grab Eri by her hair and drag her places. He showed how Chisaki would murder people in front of her, and blame Eri, saying that if she'd obeyed, they wouldn't have died.
Izumi was shaking with rage and hatred by the time the memories ended, but the memories didn't disappear, instead playing on an endless loop, drowning out Izumi's thoughts with the cries of the child she had sworn to protect. Izumi released a hellish roar and transformed completely, once again taking on the Demonic Demi-God Form she had taken when killing Roku-Ju. She turned on her heel and marched towards Chisaki, who while clearly terrified, seemed to have accepted his fate. The Demonized Izumi grabbed him by his throat and squeezed, just tightly enough to be uncomfortable without actually choking Chisaki.
"You aren't a Yakuza Boss… you aren't even a Villain or a Demon! You are filth! A piece of scum that crawled out of the very dregs of Hell! You tortured Eri so much… You cut her and beat her and starved her and abused her! You treated her like a thing, a tool to be used and discarded! Your sins are beyond any forgiveness! Not even Hell itself is enough to punish your transgressions!" the girl roared, the demonic echo making her feminine voice sound like the tones of Lucifer himself. "Death is what you deserve! Killing you would solve EVERYTHING!"
"M-Mama Izumi?" Eri whispered. The little girl knew Izumi would never hurt her, and was only angry for her sake, but she still didn't like seeing the older girl in so much pain because of her. Eri had experienced enough abuse that she knew the things that hurt the heart could be as bad as the things that hurt the body. She didn't want Mama Izumi's heart to hurt.
Eri's voice seemed to partially snap Izumi out of her rage and she began to shake again, though not out of anger, but out of sorrow. Her grip went slack and she released Chisaki as she lost her Demonized Form and returned to her normal Demi-God Form. One of her eyes was still crimson though, and wisps of Demonic Power still bled from her skin.
"He isn't a threat now. He deserves this. I'm not an Executioner. Orochi will return my Mother! I don't have the right to do this! I am a Goddess, Life and Death is my right to grant! I want to be a Hero! Demons can be Heroes too!" Izumi muttered to herself, clenching her eyes shut tight as the Demonic Echo entered and left her voice. Izumi was terrified, she wanted so badly to hurt Chisaki and avenge Eri's suffering, but she was sure that if she did this, she'd be going down a dark path with no way back.
Her hands shook as she reached for the ripped towel she had turned into a makeshift belt. She struggled against herself as she drew the gun she had stolen from Chronostasis, and placed it shakily against Chisaki's head. Her entire body was rebelling against itself as her thumb pulled back the hammer and her index finger wrapped around the trigger.
Orochi smiled, "That's it Amaterasu. You know you have to do this. Killing this man will make you a hero! You'll have saved Eri and avenged her pain, you'll have saved your mother's soul, and you'd have won peace for eight years! There is no downside to this!"
"The police and Heroes." Chisaki suddenly said, finding his voice. Something about having a gun pressed against his temple had reawakened his will to live. "They'll all see. They'll know, and you'll be arrested for murder!"
Izumi's eyes remained fixed on Chisaki's, but her shaking grew more pronounced. She hadn't even considered the various witnesses around her.
Orochi didn't seem concerned though; "Ah yes, the Police and the Heroes… tell me, oh great and wonderful keepers of the law; would you truly punish this girl for killing this filth? You saw what he did, and what he wanted to do… now I'll show you what he did to Amaterasu, and what he forced HER to do.
The Memories of Eri's torture were replaced by a string of memories featuring Izumi's time as a prisoner of the Shie Hassaikai. They showed Chisaki allowing Chronostasis to strike her (though the memory noticeably ended before he did, which would have shown the Heroes that Chrono had only acted like he was going to strike her). They showed Izumi being struck by Katsukame for trying to stop Eri from being taken away and experimented on. They showed Izumi begging to take Eri's place. They showed the experiments being done on her, over and over, just like Eri. They showed Izumi's encounter with Roku-Ju, and Chisaki's decision to punish her (again cutting out before revealing that no punishment was given).
The next memory showed Chisaki's final experiment on Izumi, specifically the one in which he cruelly tortured her to death, forcing her to use her Astral Resurrection, before torturing her some more. The Heroes and Police were enraged by the sight, especially the Police as many hadn't known about Izumi's fake quirk. The Onikawa Brothers went absolutely ballistic, and began producing weapons from their elements and attacking the barrier in a frenzy, each looking at Chisaki with murder in their eyes. If they got through the barrier, it would be a moot point for Izumi to kill Chisaki; they'd do it for her.
The penultimate memory was one Izumi didn't want anyone to see, and one that made the girl wonder just how Orochi had been able to witness it. It was the memory of Izumi and Ishiko in the bathroom, discussing their escape plan… right before Izumi used the stolen scalpel to cut off her own leg. Izumi barely had time to reach up and cover Eri's eyes, stopping the little girl from being forced to witness the gore, but she couldn't block out the sound, so Eri was treated to the awful sound of Izumi screaming into her makeshift gag as she carved off her own leg. The sight was enough to make the Onikawas briefly stop their attack on the barrier, and Izumi looked back at them and the other watchers with something akin to guilt in her eyes, as if silently apologising for making them view such a scene. The Onikawas had grim expressions, not being surprised by the lengths Izumi was willing to go through, but the Heroes and Police Officers were another story.
Everyone was stunned to silence, with only the usually stone faced Eraserhead being able to gasp out a comment; "What the hell is this child made of?!"
Izumi felt a little proud that she'd apparently impressed the man, though she wished it had been less gruesome.
Then Orochi played the final memory; this one was new to Izumi, as it had happened after she passed out in the lab, following All-Might's arrival. Izumi watched with growing anger as the Chisaki of less than an hour ago began screaming at and mocking Eri, causing her quirk to go haywire. Izumi struggled to keep the darkness within her at bay (she was getting tired of flicking back and forth between Demonic and Divine forms), especially when Chisaki boasted that Eri would be locked away for murdering her and All-Might. But then, with some encouraging words from All-Might and Ishiko, Eri managed to wrestle her power back under control.
Izumi beamed with undisguised pride as she pet Eri's head; "You did it! You got control of your quirk all by yourself! See Eri, you aren't cursed or evil at all! You're a little girl with an amazing power, and you learned how to turn it off all by yourself! I'm so proud of you!"
Eri blushed brightly, and smiled slightly, a sight that wiped away any remaining darkness within Izumi's heart.
"I-I 'membered what you said… that it was a good power and that I could be a Hero. I promised I'd try my best, and I had to keep it. You never broke your promises to me, even though the Bad People hurt you… they hurt you so much, but you never gave up! I had to be brave and strong like you!" Eri declared, more confidence in her voice than Izumi had ever heard.
Izumi grinned and turned back to Orochi and Chisaki, mindful that she was still holding her gun to Chisaki's temple, she briefly made eye contact with them, one after the other. Orochi was watching her expectantly, while Chisaki looked terrified.
"You understand now, don't you Amaterasu? The Police and Heroes would never touch you for killing this filth. Announce yourselves, Humans of Justice, who among you would punish this girl for killing this man? Who among you would not condemn him for his crimes? Who would not sacrifice one evil man, for the soul of a benevolent woman and eight years of peace?" Orochi smiled triumphantly, looking into the crowd of Heroes and Police Officers.
Izumi tentatively turned and looked at the crowd, while Chisaki did so too, as if looking for a lifeline. What he saw horrified him; none of the Heroes or Police Officers would look at Orochi or him. In that instant, Chisaki knew it was over; the Heroes wouldn't act to stop Izumi from killing him. The Police wouldn't act to stop her, or punish her afterwards. They had judged him irredeemable and decided that he wasn't worth ruining Izumi's life over, especially after what he'd done. Chisaki felt the last bit of hope die within him as he made eye contact with a few of his fellow Yakuza, who'd been arrested and were now being held captive in the crowd. They were looking at him with disgust, only now knowing exactly what depraved acts he'd committed; only Chrono, Mimic and his Eight Bullets had been privy to his experiments before.
When even Drug Dealers, Pimps, Rapists and Murderers look at you like you're scum, you know you've hit a new low…
As for Izumi, she was looking at the Heroes with a contemplative expression. All the Heroes currently employed at U.A were present (excluding Power Loader, who was digging under the barrier, and Lunch Rush), as well as All-Might and Ingenium. Izumi briefly wondered where Hawks was, as she'd been told he was present, but she shrugged that thought off for now, sure that the Wing Hero can take care of himself. Izumi watched the expressions of the Heroes carefully; Thirteen, Snipe, Ectoplasm, and Ingenium were masked, and so their expressions were hidden, but their body language appeared nervous. Nezu and Hound Dog stood resolute and with grim expressions, but Izumi could see in their eyes that they were fully on her side and would not condemn her (Izumi's Divine Powers allowed her to understand animals and those with animal quirks on a deeper level than most people). Cementoss was watching her cautiously, Vlad King was glaring hatefully at Orochi and Chisaki, Present Mic kept opening and closing his mouth while trying to think of something to shout, Recovery Girl was critically eyeing Izumi's and Eri's bodies for signs of injury, and Eraserhead was standing as stiff as a statue, though Izumi wondered what his eyes were doing beneath his goggles.
Then there was All-Might… the man Izumi respected more than anyone else in the world. The one that inspired her, and made her try so hard. The Number One Hero wasn't smiling, instead having an oddly soft and neutral expression on his chiselled features, his burning blue eyes staring into Izumi's emerald ones as they made eye contact.
"All-Might… Can I still be a hero if I kill someone?" she asked quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard.
All-Might's expression didn't change as he contemplated his answer, while Orochi scoffed behind Izumi.
"Of course Heroes kill! I'd be willing to wager every soul within me that ALL of those Heroes present have taken a life! Even All-Might has killed before, haven't you Number One?" the Possessed Elder asked mockingly.
All-Might frowned, but did not deny it; "Yes, Young Midoriya. Heroes sometimes kill… sometimes we can't defeat a Villain without killing them. Sometimes accidents occur… sometimes we are simply too late. I hate to admit it, but Orochi is right about this; I have taken a life before."
Izumi nodded sadly, not surprised but still saddened by it. "I thought so… But what if… what if I become a Monster? A Demon? A voice in my head keeps whispering… it keeps telling me "Demons can be Heroes too" but is it true? Can a Demon or a Monster be a Hero, All-Might?"
There was a moment of silence before All-Might answered.
"Young Midoriya, I cannot answer your question honestly, because I don't know. But I do know this; you have a pure, innocent, and gentle heart. You have gladly suffered for the sake of others, and worked tirelessly to improve their lives. I believe that if you follow your kind and loving heart, doing what comes naturally to you, then you will become a Wonderful Hero."
All-Might spoke with such confidence that Izumi couldn't help but smile. Her heart clenched, and she wanted to cry with happiness; her idol believed in her! All-Might thought she was a worthy Hero! He cared!
And his words had decided Chisaki's fate.
Taking a deep breath, Izumi turned back to face Chisaki, and moved the gun from his temple to the centre of his forehead. Chisaki looked up at her with terror on his face, but Izumi looked back with no emotion whatsoever.
"Are you going to kill me?" he choked out.
Izumi looked him in the eye; "Before today ends, I am going to save my mother's soul and win us peace from Orochi."
Orochi's grin grew massive, while the Heroes and Police Officers held their breath, waiting for the inevitable gunshot.
"I told you back in the Lab, Kai Chisaki, that I was going to be a Hero who saves everyone with a smile."
Chisaki's life flashed before his eyes as Izumi's lips quirked upward into an adorable, gentle smile. Even Chisaki couldn't deny it was somewhat poetic… he'd tortured Izumi and Eri, and planned to use the product of their pain to make quirks useless, and bring back the prominence and threat of guns… and now he was on his knees, quirkless in front of his two victims, with a gun against his head. Izumi maintained her gentle smile, while Eri peered nervously over her shoulder, wondering if she was about to watch her abuser die.
Izumi's smile remained as she said what Chisaki was sure would be the last words he ever heard; "A Hero, who saves everyone with a smile…" she leaned in close to his face, "...even you."
Chisaki's eyes widened as Izumi grabbed the front of his shirt with her free hand and tossed him behind her, shielding him with her body, before pointing her stolen gun at Orochi.
"I am the Okami Hero: Amaterasu, and I am going to defeat you, Yamata No Orochi!"
Next Chapter: Yamata No Orochi Part 1
To be Released: July 14th 2021
It seems negotiations have broken down and the battle is about to begin for real! But does Orochi have any more tricks up his sleeve? This was kind of a dark chapter, and obviously we got to see how things ended up the way they did with Eri, Chisaki, and the Yakuza!
We even got a very brief re-appearance of Dark Izumi. Now that she's fallen to that state once, it is a lot easier for her to fall again, but it's also a bit easier for her to escape, hence why she managed to keep her morals and not bloodily torture Chisaki to death.
And of course, the reactions of some of the other characters, which is fun to write. The Onikawas got to have a real rage moment, and All-Might got to see more of his biggest fan's devotion! Now we'll have to wait and see how Orochi handles his rejection!
Also, 50 chapters reached in only three or four months!
I hope you enjoyed! Please Comment and Review; it really encourages me!