Chapter 10/Universe 9 tournament part 2

Hop and I were waiting outside of a medical wing. Tokoyami was currently being given anesthetics to help him recover fast enough for the next match. Luna had decided to stay in the room with him to make sure he remained alright.

When we had finished round one and were waiting for the other fights to finish, a group of professional medics came up to us and demanded that we all get checked for serious injuries. Tokoyami was carried on a stretcher and sent to a quiet place for him to recover. They bandaged me up a bit but it seemed the medicine was working fairly well on me.

Hop came out of the battle unscathed so the only thing she got was another water bottle. Her opponent hadn't been so fortunate, having received dozens of broken bones and a concussion.

I was using my watch to look at the messaging group for 1-A. Iida had decided to make it after the USJ attack so everyone could be informed of each other's condition. The only messages were either hello or a ten paragraph essay on what is appropriate and what is not appropriate for the group chat. You can thank Iida for the second one.

Hop leaned over my shoulder and read my watch. "Is that your class?" I nodded. She grabbed my arm and pulled me over so she could see better. "Are you going to inform them about the tournament?"

"They may lose their minds if they learn that the two of us were in a battle. After the attack they have been all on edge. Stuff like that doesn't happen in their universe too often."

"Send them a message. It can't be that bad." she asked. A slight grin crossed her face. "Heck, worst case scenario you just get grilled out by that class leader of yours."

"Uhg, fine." My other hand hovers over the watch as it types my message. I then click send and Hop lets my arm go. We then sit in silence.

Silence that is soon interrupted by many notification sounds coming from my watch. Hop then grabs my hand and pulls me over again. She looks at the messages and covers her mouth in an attempt to not laugh. I turn it slightly to look at the group chat.

Leo: Me and Tokoyami entered a fighting tournament with a friend. Just got out of round one and currently waiting for fights to conclude. Wish us luck.

Explosion: YOU ARE IN A TOURNAMENT AND DIDN'T INVITE ME. YOU M***********.

Iida:Bakugou watch your language. The chat is designed to censor inappropriate words but that does not make it okay. Leo,Tokoyami, I wish you the best of luck but make sure you make it to class on time. Leo, don't forget to study your art history.

Hard: You guys are in a tournament. That is so manly. Send us some pics when you two finish up.

Pink: Who is your friend? Can you introduce us to them? Pretty please.

AntiGravity: Wait, are you and Tokoyami in another universe. The only thing that comes close to fighting tournaments here is the sports festival.

Grape: Please send a pic of your friend if it is a girl.

Earphone: Wait, how are you getting reception if you are in another universe?

Small Might: Can you give me a video recording of the fight. I would love to see how a different universe fights.

President: The file: History of Art, has been sent by Momo Yaoyorozu. You might need this.

Frog girl: Good luck you two. Try to stay safe.

Explosion: DON'T IGNORE ME QUIRKLESS. YOU SHOULD HAVE BRUNG A REAL FIGHTER LIKE ME TO TAKE YOUR PLACE BECAUSE YOU ARE PATHETIC!

The last comment actually made me flinch. I don't know why but it always came down to the point that he was different. Sure this was Bakugou and anything he says is insulting to somebody but it still hurts to know that he was not like them.

In fact that last message made me realize...who can I relate to.

Back in universe one, I'm known as a powerful fighter that was deemed too cowardly to end a life. The other fighters may hesitate to end a fight but they still did anyway. In Universe 500.9, all fighters were not even human and looked down on me to begin with because I was. And now in Universe 605, he was the only powerful person without a quirk. He couldn't relate to the quirless nor the quirked.

I could only hope that it doesn't come to bite him in the rear.

Hop must have seen my expression because she stopped snickering and looked at the last message. She then furrowed her brow and looked at me.

My mind immediately picked up what she was going to do. "Please don't. It would be embarrassing."

"Hey you started looking at this around me and you know what I'm like." she pressed a call button and my other hand went to cover my eyes. My settings had it so that my face was never revealed but this wasn't going to end well regardless.

Almost immediately, half the class was on the call. Nobody was doing much really so it made sense that they would answer so quickly.

"Before anything happens you guys just know this was not my idea." my voice was the first to be said in the chat. Several mutters of confusion were made.

"Hey, Quirkless! What is someone like you doing in a fighting tournament! The fact you brung along bird brain and not me shows how stupid you are! The least you could have done was give me your spot!" Bakugou's voice quickly rises over everybodies.

"Bakugou, you will treat your classmate with respect! Now Leo what do you mean by this not being your idea?"

"He was referring to me." Hop spoke up. All other conversation stopped as she continued. "And for the record, my friend here has already proven his worth in this competition so you talking all that smack doesn't mean much explosion."

"A girl! Yes!" Mineta was heard screaming. He then switched to his attempt at a seduction voice. "Hey babe, you want to go out some time?"

"First off, hit on me again and I'll kick you so hard in the crotch you WILL be pissing blood for the rest of your life. Second, the name is Hop and I'm a friend of Leo."

Mineta yelped and several over boys could be heard physically cringing from her threat. Mina on the other hand squealed with delight. "Leo, you have a female friend? How long have you known each other? Are you dating? Where did you meet?"

I sputtered. "We are not dating, Ashido! We are just very good friends. Besides, even if I was dating somebody, why would I say that because it would be my personal life."

"Leo, you said Tokoyami was there but I didn't hear him. Is he alright?" Shoji's voice was heard.

"He is resting up after the last match. Tokoyami will be fine, don't you worry about him."

"Hello, Hop. It's nice to meet you. I'm Izuku Midoriya."

Hop looked at me with a raised brow. "Midoriya huh. So you are that kid that has the power that breaks his body apart right?"

"Well, I am still trying to get used to my power. It is new to me. But Leo gave me some advice that will allow me to work on it."

There was the sound of a shutter opening and me and Hop turned left to see Tokoyami and Luna exiting the medical room. "Hey guys, Tokoyami and Luna are here."

Luna walked up to us and spoke loudly "Hello! How are you guys today?"

"Whaa?" Bakugou sounded very confused. He was not expecting a random kid to enter the conversation. "Who is the runt?"

Hop then yanked my arm and suspended me in the air as she yelled into the watch. "Call her runt again and you will know what it is like to lose both of your arms!"

"Hop! You may tear off mine if you keep yanking me like that!" my desperate cries for help landed on deaf ears as she and Bakugou started yelling insults at each other. It only got worse when the blonde on the other end started using curse words. Hop then said if he muttered another curse word in front of Luna she would grab my teleportation device and use it to go to Bakugou's house and beat him with his own detached limbs.

Tokoyami at one point had Dark Shadow cover Luna's ears with how violent the conversation was going. However they both struggled to hold in their laughter while Hop shook me around violently as I did my very best to not lose what was in my stomach.

"That's enough" A calm voice is heard over the chat. Bakugou stops arguing when he recognizes the voice. Hop was taken by surprise when he did and ended up quitting down on her own end.

My ears detect the voice and I freeze. "Mr Aizawa, sir? I had no idea you were in the group chat."

A huff came from the other end. "I wasn't until Asui added me to break these two up." A slurping sound was heard. "So you and Tokoyami have entered a tournament."

"Uhh, yes sir. We joined to get some experience fighting. Don't worry it's not illegal. We are staying out of trouble." Tokoyami and I were sweating bullets. We had no idea how he would take the news.

Aizawa exhaled "When you two get back you will be put up against each other. I would like to see progress so remember that whenever you go into your next fight. Until then, Hop was it? Make sure these two don't get themselves killed."

Before anyone could answer, our teacher hung up and everyone was left in a silence.

That is until a voice went over the intercom.

"The final battle of round one is over! All contestants who won their battles should now return to the competitor's stand! Round 2 will commence shortly!"

"That is our cue. Wish you guys luck with studies. And wish us luck with the next battle, we are fighting the strongest there is! See you guys in school." my last comment earned us some wishes of luck and see you laters and I pressed a button that hung us up.

I then turned to Hop. "You can let go of me now." She gave it some thought before smirking.

"Nah"

"Genders of all races and beyond, we are happy to say that round two will commence in five minutes! It shall be the infamous, the mighty, the Trio of Danger!

The crowd erupted with cheers. In the first round, they witnessed one hit KO's for the Trio's first match. It was a huge letdown and many assumed that it would continue to be. However when they saw their next opponents they immediately got excited again.

"They will be facing off against the group of three who tossed giants like dolls. They may not be the strongest but they know how to put up a spectacle. They are the mighty Tsukoyomi, Blitz Claw, and The Warrior!"

We had taken our spots at our end of the arena. The crowd that was behind us were going crazy. In the distance, you could hear the faint yell of Luna in the competitor's stand. She was trying her best to give motivation from her distance but it appeared to be too far for Tokoyami. Hop and I, however, gave her a thumbs up.

Tokoyami decided to speak up. "Who wants who? I know you guys by now, you'll want to choose an opponent who will give you a shot, right?"

Hop glanced towards the distance. "Our best bet is to take out the weakest first and gang up on the stronger ones. Let me handle Lavender. Leo, you take Basil. Tokoyami, you will try to stall Bergamo until we can back you up. He is the mightiest of the three. Get him talking."

Tokoyami nodded but I immediately jumped in. "Hop, let me handle Lavender. His poison will wear you down and weaken you."

"Lavender has poison?!" Tokoyami yelled.

Hop looked back at us. "One, yes. He releases a poison from his mouth he can attack to his hands and he can use it to blind his opponents even. Two, Leo, he would do the same to you. I can finish the fight with him faster because I'm stronger than you. Take advantage of the fact that Basil solely uses kicks. Predict his moveset."

I was still worried. Hop was indeed the strongest member but even if Lavender was the weakest he was still strong enough to weaken her immensely and the poison wouldn't help. My thoughts went to a technique I had been working on for cases like this. It was still in the works though so her plan made sense.

"Oh yeah, Tokoyami" The teen looked at the feline. "Bergamo can tank your physical attacks and use it to grow his size. He used to just let it go at just that but with his training with Howling Blade he can immediately release his energy to toss you back on the moment of contact. Be careful of that and try to get him to talk to buy us some time to help you."

Tokoyami gulped. He would be facing this world's version of All Might so that would leave him at a disadvantage. He looked at his hands. Then a thought came to him.

"Leo, Hop" we both looked at him. "Something happened in my fight against Opac. Dark Shadow said that a dark ki had erupted from my body. I haven't been able to use it since but is there a chance that my life energy is connected to darkness."

A small smile appears on my face. "You had a ki experience. That's awesome Tokoyami." I then looked up as my brain started twisting its gears. "It may have been only temporary because it was a life or death situation so that explains that. You should be able to release it at will in due time. As for the dark ki…"

"It may have something to do with your emotions. You said Dark Shadow fed off them right. Your life energy may take the form of darkness to represent your link to Dark Shadow and since it possesses less light it may boost Dark Shadow's power."

The creature of darkness came out. "That would explain how I became so powerful without losing control. Tokoyami was fueling me for once."

Hop stepped in. "If you can boost Dark Shadow's strength with darkness then maybe, just maybe, Bergamo won't be able to absorb it because he was struck by dark energy."

I stepped forward and put my hand in the air. "Looks like we got a plan. Good luck to you two and let's show the Trio what we are made of."

We all high five each other with Dark Shadow getting in on some of the action. Then the clock rang indicating the match had started. We all blitzed to different parts of the arena where we were almost certain each individual would be due to the different colors of light moving in each direction.

I made my way to the right end of the arena and created a ki ball in my hand. The red stream of energy was my best guess on where Basil was heading. Using the energy, I would pulse his body for the anatomy of his species. If my martial arts were to affect him then that would be a need to know.

My feet landed in a clearing as the red light arrived on the other side of a wall of boulders. Shortly after, the fighter had launched himself over it and me. He landed behind me with a thud.

"So, you are the one who wished to challenge me. Got to admit, I was expecting more from a student of the mighty Dratten." Basil stated as I turned to him.

My eyes look on in intense determination. My ki erupts. "One of my best traits is being able to take on opponents who are many times my speed and strength. While there is no denying that you are strong, that does not mean you are strong enough to defeat me."

The red glow around Basil intensifies. "Then let us use our power to talk for us. But just know that you have already lost to the great Basil the Kicker!"

A massive crack was heard as the ground beneath the fox crumbled as he launched himself forward, kicking forward with an attack aimed at my head. He was surprised when he saw that I wasn't there and a knife hand had jabbed him in the ribs.

I had seen his muscles tense before he jumped and using a ki afterimage, a technique that was performed by sparking my ki and keeping it in that place while I moved, had avoided Basil's attack and had hit a vital point between his rib cage.

Basil gacked in pain but proceeded to continue to launch kicks at me. His fighting style was easy to predict but with his speed that far surpassed mine it made things difficult.

We continued to weave around in circles. My mind was solely focused on dodging the attacks because if one connected it was game over. I began using the Fist of Flowing Water to redirect his attacks but there wasn't enough time to redirect them back at the fox.

"You are performing well but can you keep up if I do this?!" Basil yelled. His feet started glowing red and my instincts told me to dodge. My hands shoot downwards and a ki blast propels me upwards. The fox cut through the attack and sent an axe kick to where I was. The arena shook from the impact and the shockwave slammed into me, knocking me off balance.

Before I had time to properly recuperate, Basil flew in front of my path of movement and sent a few cut kicks at me. My body twisted to avoid the attacks but I could feel the wind cut by my body. Even though they weren't touching me, any spot that came relatively close to his foot got a small cut.

My hands come to the front of my face. They spread flat as my ki built up around my head. Then with a yell, a blinding flash crossed the field. "Solar Flare!"

Basil didn't have time to shut his eyes, as he was immediately blinded by the technique. The fox grabbed his face in an attempt to regain his composure but I wasn't done with the energy around my face. It built up in my eyes and a few waves of energy shot out of them. They struck the sockets of Basil's arms, causing him to grit his teeth.

Then a crushing force was felt on my stomach. My body doesn't register the pain yet but my mind tells me to look down. Eyes fell on a shoe having been jabbed into my abdomen. Then the foot started to glow red.

I was fucked.

The strike then shot me back. My eyes were unable to see what was around me. Rock after rock hit me from behind until my body struck the side of the arena. A barrier had been put up to defend the crowd from attacks from the competitors and that is what forced me to a stop in a very gruesome manner.

My teeth clench together in an attempt to not scream. Electricity shoots out of the barrier and shocks me with a level that has never gone through my body before. In a final hit on me, my body falls a solid fifty feet until it hits the ground.

My ears are ringing and my vision is blurry. Not just from the attack but whenever my eyes shoot out ki my vision is reduced for a couple minutes. I struggle to my feet but fall to a kneeling position.

Laughter is heard in front of me. My eyes were unable to make out his exact appearance but Basil's voice was unrecognizable. "That was fun. Too bad it only takes one for you. Maybe you should have gone after my brother, Lavender. He relies on his poison too much. You could have beaten him. Buuuuut, you got me so you lose."

His laughter stops when I get to my feet. My hero costume was designed to take hits that could stop powerful bullets, or reduce physical trauma. That alongside my experience getting hit by people thousands of times stronger than me allowed me to stand.

"It's not over, Basil" my voice is low but the determination in it is strong enough for a hint of fear to appear in the fox's eyes. "I still have one more trick up my sleeve."

(Four years ago, Time Chamber.)

"You have been training your body for about a year now so you may be ready to learn this technique."

I dropped to the ground after performing a plank that had lasted for about ten hours. My ki usage made my body much more dense and able to strengthen my core. However, it didn't mean that the exercise took little willpower because after five hours of the plank my body had started screaming at me to stop.

Currently, I am leaning over trying to regain my breath. When my brain caught on to what Chris had said, my eyes looked up to meet him. "What technique?"

He simply smiled and crossed his arms. "This technique will multiply your strength, depending on how far you push it and your ki control. Stronger beings than humans have used it before us but your body has adapted to the point that it can contain more power then you have. Also your strength is low enough that you should be able to raise this technique higher than many that came before you."

I jumped to my feet. "That sounds awesome. When do I start learning it?"

Chris chuckled at my enthusiasm. "We can start right now. Just promise me when you start off you won't practice when I'm not around. It is a very dangerous move and it requires medical assistance on your first couple of uses. But you'll get a hold of it eventually."

He then uncrossed his arms. "Now take this stance." He slightly bent over and clenched his fist into a power up stance. I follow his example. "Now this technique is called…"

My body takes the same power up stance that Chris had taken. Basil braces himself for what is to happen next. My ki erupts but begins to flash the color red. I begin to let out a roar as my body starts to push past its usual power limit as if I'm on a performance enhancing drug.

Suddenly my ki expands and the wind starts blowing in all directions. My opponent covers his eyes to keep dust out of them. My body slightly burns but I decide that I would not use the technique to its fullest since there were indeed more opponents after Basil.

My reason for not using this technique during the first day of school was simple. Aizawa had placed everyone on high standards and it was obvious that he would push all powers under his supervision.

Except this wasn't a quirk. If he knew of its existence then he would treat it as such and that could lead to me dying from overuse of it. It took four years for it to get pushed to where it is at now, and only because I had to break my body down to do so.

But for now, ten percent of my max should be enough.

"Kaioken x100!"

Basil's eyes went wide. He recognized this technique. It was used by Son Goku to defeat his brother, Bergamo. But how did this human…

Then he remembered that this was the student of one of the most skilled martial artists throughout the multiverse. Someone who even his current master, Howling Blade, respected. Of course he would have taught this kid it.

Suddenly, I burst forward and struck Basil in his right peck with a direct knife hand. He hadn't expected the attack even though he had actually seen it. Spit flew out of his mouth and he clutched his side in pain. But when he did, an open palmed strike slammed into his jaw.

Blood started to drip out of his mouth. His sharp teeth must have bit down on his tongue and damaged it. Basil had let his guard down due to surprise and now he couldn't let it back up because of the pain he was now in.

That was when I decided it was time to capitalize.

A flurry of strikes were suddenly sent towards every pressure point on his body. My blows didn't stop after every single one was hit once, but my attacks continued until they were all hit five times over.

I jumped back. Basil was staring straight ahead and his eyes showed that he was in fact unconscious from the pain. His body held multiple bleeding wounds and it was at that moment that I knew the fight was over. Basil fell face first into the ground and my Kaioken vanished.

The crowd who had witnessed it were silent. Never had they seen a member of the Trio of Danger so brutally defeated. Slowly a few started clapping, and then more, until that side of the arena was at a roar that shook the place. They loved how this was more of a fight than the last couple of matches.

My hands looked down at my bloody hands. They were shaking at the realization.

I went too far. Why didn't I pay attention to what was happening? Why did I have to hurt him like I did!?

My mind went to all the conversations he overheard when he was a kid. Chris had been arguing with the government he worked for. When they heard that their most lethal soldier had a student, they demanded Dratten turn me into the next lethal soldier. He had refused.

Everywhere I went, people always compared me to Chris. Never in a good way. They always viewed him as a killer, as one who broke his opponents regardless of who they were. Someone who was merciless.

"...that you will try, to the best of your abilities, to not kill."

It wasn't my intention to hurt Basil so badly. There had been plenty of people who he knew who had been villains at one point but turned good. The villain never deserved to be put through that.

To be so close to death.

An explosion snapped me out of my thoughts. The crowd roared in the distance and my first instinct was to close my eyes and discover what was happening.

What I detected scared me. Hop's energy was low and dropping fast. However, judging from how high it still was it was within acceptable reason that she defeated Lavender. He must have poisoned her before he went down.

Before another thought could enter my mind, my feet had already started moving. I started leaping past different rocks and made my way to Hop's current location. A hand reached into my gi pocket and pulled out a senzu bean. Hey, if the giants could have weapons why not we have a bean?

Tokoyami would need to hold off Bergamo a little longer. Once he rescued Hop, they would finish this match. I could only hope that time was on our side.

When Tokoyami had encountered the behemoth of a wolf, he had expected him to be strong.

Did he expect for Bergamo to stand there and stare at him?

No.

Did he expect him to not do anything when he attacked?

No.

Did he expect him to not be fazed by Dark Shadow's mightiest attacks?

Kinda.

"How weird. My absorption doesn't appear to work on your shadow. In fact, if I were a betting animal I would say that your beast is only getting stronger." Bergamo looked on with curiosity. Dark Shadow was swiping and punching as hard as he could. This was the middle of the arena so the side lighting in the stands didn't affect him too much and after the previous match the cameras kept their lights off to increase the thrill of the battle.

"Your shadow grows stronger in the dark. Then an opponent like me would prove to be quite troublesome." The wolf's comments were also starting to annoy him and dark shadow was being fueled on his anger. He hadn't gone insane but it still made a noticeable difference.

Tokoyami gritted his teeth as he ran past Dark Shadow and started punching the chest of the canine in anger. Bergamo simply raised an eyebrow at this. This kid was sure getting a little carried away.

Little did he know that Tokoyami and Dark Shadow had formed a plan in their mind to take him down. When Bergamo was looking at Tokoyami, the shadow creature sneaked behind him and prepared to attack.

"Kid…" Bergamo tried to get the bird headed teens attention but after a few more punches he reached out and carefully grabbed the bird head and gently pushed him out of punching range. "...you can clearly see that this is not working. Why keep attacking?"

Still throwing punches that were falling short, Tokoyami replied, "I've been given the task to take you down, Bergamo. I will not let my friends down." He began to elbow the arm holding him.

"You seem new to fighting. Is this your first fight, Tsukoyomi?" Tokoyami grabbed his knees and started panting heavily. The wolf let go and crossed his arms once again. "Your body structure is weak, punches are thrown horribly, and you are terribly young for someone from a different universe to be fighting."

"Does it matter? In my universe, I am to be a hero. If my strength doesn't increase then how is that possible? I'll die during my first match with a real big bad. This tournament will help me with that, as will my new friends. So I will not let them down."

Bergamo felt a slight smile crack his lips. If this world had more people like this kid it wouldn't be in such a bad spot. No offense to its Supreme Kai and Destroyer but there decisions haven't really helped much.

Only when his new mentor, Howling Blade, landed in this universe did things start getting better. His strength that surpassed the gods got their attention, but his kindness and brilliance guided many to live better lives here. The battle bars, the new housing, powerful law enforcement with benefits, all these had begun to turn Universe 9 into a great home.

Heck, the omni kings had even offered John the spot of destroyer god but he refused, saying that his connection to humanity is what allowed him to make the decisions he made. This was when the ten participants of the tournament of power became his disciples.

John had quickly become something that he and his brothers never had before, a father. And that was the same for the others. Even Hop, who was easily the most anti-social with her past, viewed John as a father figure.

This was also how he met the great Dratten. John respected him and was considered a friend, even if they didn't see eye to eye when it came to mercy on opponents. Bergamo didn't realise how strong Dratten was until he aided in the battle against the worst threat to enter Universe 9 since it was brought back by the Dragon Balls.

Rampant

When the super wolf had arrived in his universe, fighters from the entire multiverse had gathered to battle him. Bergamo had even attempted to defeat him but he was easily tossed to the side by the third rage form. He was barely conscious when Goku and Vegeta had both been one shotted by the third form.

But with his own two eyes did he witness Rampant's death when Dratten had arrived and delivered a blow that atomized the wolf. He always wondered what would have happened if his master had battled the beast instead of Chris.

As Bergamo's thoughts were in the past, he was caught by surprise when his vision was covered in darkness. Suddenly he couldn't breath and his hands went to the dark creature in an attempt to tear him off. But just like in the first round, his hands landed on a dark energy which he couldn't get a grip on.

Bergamo fell to his knees and his vision was starting to fade. Even though he was powerful, he lacked the ability to live without oxygen. Very few had this ability and he wished John had taught him the technique that would allow him to do so in this moment.

Then an idea came to his head. The kid's weakness was literally there inside of him. He just had to bring it out.

HIs hand outstretched and an orb of light energy focused on the palm of his hand. The light got brighter as the attack grew and the beast around him grew smaller. The dark energy that blocked his nostrils shrunk down and gave him space to breathe.

When he could see again, his hand not holding the energy swung in a backhand and caught Tokoyami in the beak. The kid flew back and slammed into the wall.

The wolf's eyes went wide when he could finally get enough oxygen in his body. He bent over and tried to control his breathing. Once that was finished, he looked up to see the bird boy was unconscious but only because but only had slight injuries.

"Guess that ends that. You did well kid. Caught me by surprise. Just try to eat a little more." Bergamo complimented. He then turned to make his way to his brothers. Then a large force struck him in the neck.

"Looks like Tokoyami did his job, Hop. Let's finish ours."

When I had arrived at Hop's location, she was on her knees trying to fight off the poisonous gas that she had been hit with. Lavender had been knocked out and his head was buried in the rock beneath them. His chest movements had indicated that he was still alive but his teeth looked like it would take some time to grow back.

"Hop!" I dashed over to her spot and her ears twitched. She had her eyes closed and my guess was that Lavender had shot poison directly into her face but her hearing had made up for her hack of vision.

"Son of a Bastard...you beat Basil…(cough)...look who is wrong now, huh." she fell forward but my arms caught her. Her breathing began to slow the more the poison took hold. It wouldn't kill her but it could leave her unable to fight for a while if not treated.

"Here, take this senzu bean." My hand put the bean on her lips which her tongue lapped up quickly. She gagged for a moment on the taste but her eyes soon fluttered open and the poison spots disappeared on her body.

Getting to her feet, Hop clenched her hands and stomped the ground a little. Then turned to me and grinned. "Let's go find Tokoyami, since Bergamo isn't here that would mean that he is doing quite well."

I nodded and we started sprinting towards the only sensable life energy on the battlefield, Tokoyami. Our bodies were both bouncing off every rock surface we could because that was the fastest way for us to travel.

Hop then screamed at me, "Tokoyami's life signature just went low, he may be in trouble!" She was right. The bird headed teen's energy had just taken a spike down. Not low enough that he was close to dying, but low enough to know he went unconscious.

"Screw it." My body erupted with red ki as it was pushed to a Kaioken x10. I started to put more power in my jumps and began to zoom through the arena. Hop, for the first time since I knew her, had a purple ki aura around her as she powered up to her max and bursted ahead of me.

We eventually came to the center of the arena. Tokoyami's body was against a cliffside and he was slumped over. A small Dark Shadow struggled to wake him up. Bergamo was heading in the direction that Basil had been left in.(Which was our right.)

Hop immediately dashed to Bergamo and did a double kick to his neck. The force drove him into the ground as the feline did a backflip and landed on her feet. She snarled at the wolf and extended her claws to the size of her arm.

"Let's see, Bergamo, if you can handle my full strength." Hop then began to yell as the purple aura around her intensified. The ground around her began to act strange as small pebbles began to slowly rise. Purple electricity eluded from her body.

"Looks like Tokoyami did his job, Hop. Let's finish ours." I stated. Then my hands clenched as I roared as my Kaioken x100 was fully released. My body started to ache but since this wasn't the maximum output it can give out I knew it could handle it.

Tokoyami's eyes shot open. Dark Shadow grew in strength as his master regained his. He slowly got to his feet. An odd feeling had hit him so hard that he couldn't stay unconscious. Two feeling actually. One was an incredibly tense feeling while the other, while not as intense, was more familiar in a way he didn't know how.

When his eyes looked at the scene in front of him, they widened in shock. Was Leo glowing red? He thought he could only just glow white. And Hop had a purple aura. Was she showing her true power?

Bergamo got to his feet and rubbed the spot that Hop had struck. He then began to glow red and his height grew by a foot. His eyes landed on the trio in front of him and a smile crossed his snout. "So you are all in one place, hmm?"

Tokoyami realized he was the only one not in a fighting stance and decided to correct that by calling out Dark Shadow. The beast materialized in its max power state with it being angry with his master being hurt. His eyes were red and he was ten times his normal size. The red glare was aimed at Bergamo.

I decided to speak up. "It's over Bergamo. You require time to absorb our physical attacks and you can't repel all three attacks at once with your new repulsion technique. Surrender now."

"Or make this more fun and we kick your ass!" Hop yelled. She was more than ready for a fight.

Tokoyami looked over at the feline. This strong feeling he was getting from her was not going away. It was almost like he could see her with something other than his eyes. He turned to Leo. A similar feeling was felt off the warrior but it felt different somehow.

This feeling was too strange to ignore. Tokoyami felt like that attack was making him delirious. This new sense was strange to him.

Sense

His eyes widened when he recalled that Leo and Hop both said that they could sense other people's ki. He looked down at his hands. Could he be sensing the ki off of his friends. Bergamo wasn't getting this same sense but Leo said that his energy wasn't able to be sensed by us.

He would have to ask later but for now Bergamo was still standing strong in front of him. Dark Shadow prepared for the battle while Tokoyami planted his feet into the ground ready to move at a moment's notice.

Bergamo stared down at the three of us. He removed his hand from his neck then twisted it to the side causing a few pops. Hop's energy shifted and I turned to her to see that her expression had changed to that of concern. He couldn't blame her. Bergamo seemed to be taking this quite well.

"So my brothers have been defeated. I'm impressed. They are no pushovers." He spread his arms. "However, if you didn't think we planned for this then you are sadly mistaken."

Suddenly, a ball of light appeared in each of Bergamo's hands. One was red and the other was yellow. He held them up to us and a grin crossed his face.

"This is the energy my brothers gave me before our match. Each one possesses their full power."

I gritted my teeth. If he could summon their energy at will then that means that he already absorbed it. And this small form was a ruse to let our guard down.

"Hop, you are aware how much John has taught me about my power and you know what comes next." He slammed both energy balls into his chest and a bright light started to shine.

Hop screamed at us."Attack him now, before he could repel the energy!" The three of us launched ourselves at Bergamo. Hop and Tokoyami slashed while I fired a Galick Gun at the wolf.

But it was too late. The energy that would normally be used to grow Bergamo was instead repelled in an instant in a mighty ki explosion. The entire arena shook by the force of the attack and one last thought came to my mind before the ki wave hit me.

We lost

Fire

It was always fire.

The city was covered in it. Towering buildings crumbled from the intense heat. The cement on the roads melted and cars sunk into the liquid. In the distance, the beach turned to glass as the ocean evaporated.

There I was, hovering over the city, watching helplessly as millions died. My advanced senses made it so that everything that happened was picked up by me. Burning flesh, screams of horror, the taste of ash in the air.

These dreams always found ways to make me terrified. There were never two dreams the same.

I clenched my fist as I watched but something felt wrong about them. My eyes looked down to see that they were charcoal black and looked like they were made of obsidian. The fingers had a sharper appearance and were covered in blood. Continuing up my arm, it came to my realization that my whole body had changed.

The pants I wore were tattered and had been fused into my flesh. No shirt was on but all my scars all glowed red with the burnt flesh. The biggest scar glowed the brightest and small veins reached out from it and spread across my whole body.

Then my chest glowed brighter and pain spread from it. I screamed as it grew and the veins started to expand. It eventually overtook my eyes and started to burn them. My vision wasn't diminished but rather it was enhanced, as were my other senses. The screams and smell grew stronger and my sense of touch increased which resulted in more pain.

"Let the darkness consume you, Leo." My eyes drop to a figure in front of me. My mind went into full panic seeing him even though I knew he would always be there.

Daemon snickered. "It would be so much easier for the both of us if you stop holding back your rage."

I'm speechless as I am consumed by fear like all the other times. He raises his paw, energy forming at the end.

"You will give in eventually, and when you do…" His face twisted into a sneer and his eyes glowed with lust for his dream. "You will be the most powerful being in that world. Until then...goodbye."

The light shot out and pierced my chest and everything went black as I'm consumed in pain.

My body wakes in an instant. I scream and start grabbing my chest to try to deal with the onslaught of pain. Before I know it, two arms wrap around me and keep me in place. Who they were was a mystery to me because the pain was the only thing that registered. They started patting my back and a voice slowly started to reveal itself.

"Breath, Leo, Breath." The voice belonged to Hop. My eyesight started to return and they registered that we were in one of the bars sleeping areas. Both Hop and Tokoyami were around the white bed that I had been sleeping in a moment earlier. Tokoyami was sleeping with his head wrapped in bandages. The noise of me waking up didn't seem to affect him.

Once my breathing returned to normal, Hop let go of me and returned to her seat. She also possessed bandages across her body but they didn't seem that extreme. They mainly covered her right arm and hips. She had a knife that she was using to sharpen her claws, which seemed to be broken. Since she can extend them great distances there was no harm done.

"What happened?" I asked. The last thing he had remembered was getting blasted back by Bergamo before everything went black. Hop leaned back in her chair and placed her feet on the white bed.

"We got our asses handed to us by Bergamo. The last attack he did damaged all three of us but Tokoyami got spared by most of it since you jumped in front of him. Probably a good thing since Dark Shadow immediately got taken out of action so the attack would have done some serious damage to him. But instead you are in an infirmary bed while he is out like a light."

"I jumped in front of him?" My memory did not contain that information.

Hop raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember. That attack must have hit you quite hard. Let's see what the medic says." She grabbed a piece of paper off the desk next to us and began reading it. "Two cracked ribs, seven lacerations, and one concussion."

I fell back in the bed and took a deep breath. Great more battle damage, can't seem to avoid it nowadays.

"Tokoyami was out when the bar's medics patched you up so he didn't see the scars. I, however, did."

When Hop mentioned the scars, I froze. Slowly, my eyes turn to see her glaring at me with daggers. She said that we would be having the conversation on why I am experiencing panic attacks but I didn't think it would be this soon.

Hop leaned over towards Tokoyami and nudged him. Instead of the teen waking up, Dark Shadow jumped out and looked at Hop. "Take Tokoyami outside, me and Leo need to have an extended chat." Dark Shadow gave a salute and grabbed Tokoyami and carried his snoring body outside. Hop walked behind them and closed the door when they were out.

She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. "Talk"

My hand grabbed my chest. Once the conversation started the pain would begin. He would have to dig through it to finish this conversation once and for all.

And so I told her everything that I told my classmates. This time however I didn't hide the identity of who shot me. She knew the existence of Daemon, the only problem was whenever I mentioned his name my body had another panic attack and we had to take a five minute break.

After the five minute break she then asked. "Is that all?" Her tone showed she suspected there was more. I swallowed and nodded.

"I know that isn't everything. You keep missing something that I have yet to understand." The pain in my chest began to rise again. She must have figured it out. "You see, I understand the panic attacks. I've seen Da...that bastard and his presence still gives me nightmares and he actually attacked you. However, I don't understand why that would be considered a curse. And also, why is it that your ki shows you are in actual pain and not just mental pain."

She leaned towards me. Her eyes showed fury. "Unless there is something you ain't telling me and if you don't I will make sure you feel that pain again until you do…"

"I already feel the pain." I cut her off. Her face then twisted to confusion.

"Meaning."

I leaned forward and looked at my hands. I could practically see the blood on them from that day. A shaky breath is taken and I reveal what should have been. My voice is quiet as my body shakes.

"Every time...I talk about what happened...Every Time...I go to sleep...My body experiences the pain all over again from that day. I am cursed because the pain never leaves and that I could never get used to it."

"Everyone thinks of these panic attacks as just something you get used to but everytime they happen...I am scared that he will come for me...for just mentioning his name. And there would be nothing that could be done as he pins me down and rips me to shreds."

"Whoever that...fiend...kills, they go straight to hell. I'm reminded of that everytime he appears in my dreams and shoots me in my chest. A mirror isn't in my apartment because it just shows the scar on my body."

"The pain is real to me and everyone just throws it off like it's something I should just get used to but I can't. My curse is edged into my body so it won't go away."

My eyes move to Hop and see that she is looking at the ground. For the first time since I have known her, she was speechless. Who can blame her. She now knows that the conversation she forced on me had just reignited a horrible pain for me. And it was something she couldn't solve.

There was one more thing I wanted to tell her. Something no one else knows about but something told me to at least tell her.

"My body created an alternative version of him." She looked up. "He appeared in front of me one day and gave me a panic attack but the weird thing is how different he is from the real one. I would say he is haunting me but is nice instead of making me afraid he is more like someone to talk to."

She looked shocked. "You are being haunted by a nice demon."

"Well he isn't a demon. He was there since the incident but didn't actually appear to me until a few weeks ago. The thing is he sorta...changed. He says that it was because he grew up right beside me for eight years."

Hop was struggling to understand what I was saying. "So he just lives in your head."

"Not for free. He apparently keeps others from entering my mind. Like a weird mind control thing that some people do. He can't touch anything except me but he did say that when you were beating the crap out of me that he blew air on your neck."

"That was him!" She grabbed the back of her neck. Then she thought of something. "Is he in here right now?"

"Weeeeellll" I look at the front of the bed and see Neo listening to our conversation. Hop followed my gaze. Then an idea comes to my mind. "Hey Neo"

Neo lifts his head and looks at me along with Hop, who commented. "Wait, you named him Neo."

"What is wrong with Neo?"

"Uh, Leo, Neo."

"Anyway, make some noise or something. Prove your existence."

Neo got up and walked up to me. He then swiped his paw next to my face and flung around my hair. Hop jumped in her seat.

"What the fuck!"

"Yep" Neo returned to the front of the bed and planted himself down."That is everything."

Hop took a few breaths to take everything in. When finished, she spoke. "Were you in pain when we were talking?"

I looked down. "Yes"

"I'm sorry. I've been kinda a bitch to you for the scars. Never knew it was this bad." She put a hand to her mouth. "Guess I owe you mine."

"You don't have too." I say but she raises her hand.

"I think you deserve to know more about me if you told me so much about you. Like you should know why I act like a bitch."

"You don't act like a B, you act like someone who doesn't want to be played with."

"Anyways," it was her turn to take a shaky breath. She had never been so unsettled as she began her story. "When I was born it was by c section. My mother died during the process. My father blamed me for what happened and hit me everyday because of it. Always called me a mistake that cost him everything."

"Didn't really affect him much though. He was a ladies man. Always came home with a different girl. A real kick in the dirt was he had every single one of them hit me before their night of passion. He would be living life nicely while I struggled not to bleed to death."

"Getting food was hard because with me being so young and so weak. The bastard didn't want to get me any food and hoped I would starve so I had to dig around the trash for something."

"One night, I snapped and ran away. Eventually, the authorities found me and brought me to an orphanage. There they treated me like an inferior race. However, I wasn't going to grow up weak. Training everyday was hard but it was the only thing that could be done in that place."

"Eventually when I became old enough, they moved me from the orphanage to the mental hospital because I kept threatening to tear off any pretty face I saw. Reminded me too much of my father. There I was recruited for the Tournament of Power."

"After we lost the tournament, the other members all were down about how pathetic our universe was, including me. Spent my whole life getting stronger only to be eliminated within a minute."

"Then we met someone who changed all our lives." She smiled slightly at the memory. "John landed in our universe and immediately started changing things for the better. Our planets started getting more organized, the authorities gained more power. And also, he took in all ten of us as his students. But in reality it was almost like he adopted us."

"When he heard about my past, he sat me down and had me talk to him for hours. At first it was boring but eventually he got past my hard exterior. I told him why I was the way I was. Instead of putting me back in the mental hospital he continued to talk to me and work with me for weeks and eventually he showed me what it was to have an actual father."

She actually giggled. "A friend told me that he actually met my father during his adventures. Was told he body slammed him through a building."

"John told me to join this tournament that he heard about because he wanted me to meet new people. And there I met you."

"My best friend."

It was my turn to be speechless. Hop had a hard life that she kept hidden from everyone. Only John knew of her past and now so did he.

I reached out and put a hand on her knee. She looked up at me with small tears at the edge of her eyes. "Don't kill me for asking this, but do you need a hug."

She looked at me for a second before nodding. I shifted in the bed a little bit before embracing her. One thing I couldn't deny was that my heart leaped a little when we did.

Whatever the future, Hop and I would always be close. That was for certain.

Shit! That was long as crap! The universe tournament arc is over and we will return to UA in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed these bonus chapters..