Chapter Fifteen
Joy in Violence Approach
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Nothing could have prepared Ochako for Izuku's speed and power. If not for the reassuring light and warmth of Izuku's embrace she would be scared out of her mind. The centripetal strain on her limbs from his dime sharp turns threatened to pull her shoulders and hips apart at their sockets. At those times she felt his grip tighten onto her legs and torso with vice like pressure, loosening his hold only when the turn was at an end. She was completely at his mercy.
It was the most exhilarating ride of her life.
From the outside she was sure it was quite a sight. The idea of a French maid being carried this way by a tall shirtless Adonis… She admitted it to herself in the quiet recesses of her heart. As she looked away from the rapidly passing scenery and up into his shining face, past his strong jawline and into those burning eyes, she admitted that his determination and focus was even more attractive than any of his physical features. Now was not the time for these kinds of thoughts though. She had to make herself useful to him, to help him save as many people as possible.
Even though she physically felt like dead weight at the moment, all she needed to remind herself of her own utility was to gaze over his shoulder or to feel the press of the golden chain wrapped around his forearm. It was strange to remind herself that the man carrying her was still trapped in that giant shell. He had never explained how this was all possible. She also wasn't sure she understood how he controlled the inertia of the shell behind them so well, let alone comprehend the light emanating from his every pore.
No one had given him time to explain. All they had done is question his motives and his identity. Ochako seethed internally, feeling vitriol rise in her throat at the memory. Neither of Izuku's main accusers had done a thing to stop her father from throwing his life away, nor did they move to rescue her mother… who thankfully was a doppelganger. Despite that and Izuku saving all of them, they had the nerve to accuse him of being the enemy. Where was that nerve when her family was about to be slaughtered?
Her eyes caught onto a sudden shift of his facial features. His stern focus gave way to an eager hunger unlike anything she had ever seen. His fanged smile promised bloody sport. He spoke to her then, shouting, but she couldn't hear him over the roaring wind of their passage. All that she heard was that things were about to get exciting. Ochako yelped in surprise as the hand that was supporting her back moved lower, taking a firm grab onto her ass while repositioning her to rest all her weight into one of his arms as he held her higher. She leaned into him, holding firmly onto his neck and shoulders even as she felt one of her breasts press firmly into the side of his face.
Part of her expected him to turn and dig into her flesh with his elongated fangs. She whimpered quietly when she realized that part of her wanted him to. What was wrong with her? No! It was just a passing thought, no different than contemplating the fall from a ledge when you get too close. Everyone has flights of fancy like that. There was nothing more to read into about it.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a translucent golden dagger appeared in Izuku's other hand. Where had that come from? What was that for?
Alarmed at the sensation, she felt his fingers dig deeper into her ass as they slowed down. She had little time to think about that as Izuku spun while rounding the next corner, allowing her to descend as he absorbed the inertia of their speed into his spin. Somehow Ochako found herself standing perfectly still as Izuku orbited around her, making her the eye of his storm.
She had no idea how he knew there would be demons here, or how he chose this exact spot to set her down. What she did know was that his spin hurtled that gigantic shell directly into one of the ape creatures. It was smashed to death before it knew that it was under attack.
There were at least twenty more where that one came from, and a full dozen of those gigantic wasps. A small group of civilians huddled in a nearby alley behind two heroes. Human and demon alike were momentarily blinded by Izuku's unrelenting illumination. The demons, while disoriented, did their best to react.
They were doomed.
Ochako's mouth twitched into a smirk as she saw terror on their apelike faces, reminding herself of the atrocities they had inflicted on the entire city, and just now on her own family. Yet even she was shocked by the brutal one-sidedness of this battle.
Ochako had never seen anything like it. She had expected on some level that Izuku would be able to hold his own, but this was far beyond anything she had imagined. He used his own shell like an obscenely sized morning star, flailing it expertly to bludgeon one demon after another, moving at blinding speeds as he practically danced into their ranks. The creatures took this act in stride, the apes putting up their shielded gauntlets into defensive formations while the wasps ascended out of range.
The entire attitude of the demons changed abruptly when Izuku stabbed one in the brain with his golden dagger. The thing screamed horribly before it fell limp to the ground. Shocked panic consumed their ranks, breaking their defenses as they each fled for their lives. The street filled with Izuku's cruel laughter as he chased them, hunting them. None of them could outpace his obscene speed. He even took the time to cut the Achilles tendon of a fleeing ape demon just to move on and kill several others. This was not a battle. This was a massacre.
Ochako had a decision to make. She could have waited there, watching as Izuku scattered this demonic cluster and sated his bloodlust. That option tasted like ash in her mouth as she considered it, her bitter resolve demanding that she could not be so useless. Instead, she threw herself into the fray, striking out at two passing brutes before they could understand what had hit them. This was not at all like combat with the professional heroes, where she could dart back behind Midnight or Eraserhead for protection after using her Quirk offensively. Here she was completely exposed, justifying her actions on her own as she disrupted the enemy retreat.
Her first attack was closer to a shove than an actual punch, but it got the job done. The demon hurtled away, slowly yet uncontrollably. She pressed the assault, sending another after the first. The two of them were practically gift wrapped for Izuku to finish off. She was grateful to see that he was heading her way.
Her spine went cold as Izuku pushed past the targets she offered up to him. Fear threatened to consume her mind, first at the murderous intent in Izuku's eyes, but then at the dreadful realization that he was staring down something just behind her.
It all happened so quickly.
First, Ochako felt the powerful grip that trapped her torso, the pain as her ribs screamed at her. Her nostrils flared with the creature's carrion stench. Suddenly the gigantic hand went limp, the fingers slacking around her waist like a coat falling to the ground. Hot blood sprayed across her back, drenching her clothes and hair. She never saw the moment Izuku sped past her, nor did she see his blade strike the offending forearm clean from the beast. She did however see the gigantic conch-shell as Izuku swung it in a long overhead arc to smash the monster into red pulp.
Izuku's light and warmth drowned her senses as he loomed over her protectively. Her face was against his chest and his free hand wrapped around her lower back. Somehow this felt more intimate than any of the prior invasions he had launched into her personal space. Ochako inhaled deeply, allowing warm air to fill her nostrils and lungs. He smelled clean, perhaps even as sterile as ozone. That scent or lack thereof somehow overpowered the bloody stench seeping into her pores.
"I have you." he said to her. It was all that Izuku needed to say. He didn't scold her for putting herself at risk or praise her for her help. Staring through him, she could see the demons were fleeing, many of them already dissipating into fine sand. That didn't matter though, not to him. She looked up into his eyes and she knew. She knew without asking that he was, just moments ago, lost in joy as he sated his primal bloodthirst. He stopped his revel the moment he knew that she was in danger.
He stopped for her.
Chastising herself for getting in his way, she buried her face deeper into his chest. Opening her eyes, Ochako found it disconcerting that she could both see his muscles and through him to the heroes beyond. Her hand rested on his side, fingers tracing the grooves of his oblique muscles as though to reassure herself that he was solid, a pillar she could lean on.
Her spine went stiff as she watched the two heroes venture out of the alley's protection, yet the civilians remained behind. Izuku's protective embrace, as welcome as it was a moment ago, was suddenly distressingly embarrassing. Ochako couldn't say why she felt this way, but she followed through with the feeling and pried herself out of Izuku's grip as the two men approached them.
The two wore ostentatious hero costumes. The older of the two was in a grey and black skintight outfit that showed off his muscles and obscured the upper half of his face, while the younger was in a gold and red outfit that left his back wide open for a pair of powerful looking wings.
"You saved our asses just now. Thank you." The older of the two said, bowing his head. "I'm Koumori, the Blind Hero. This is my sidekick Akahige, the Winged Hero. And you two are?" he asked.
"Midoriya Izuku, pleased to meet you." Ochako watched the two of them as Izuku bowed. She didn't like the worried way their eyes ran over him, the judgment in their eyes as they took in the glow about him and the shell resting a short distance away.
Just as she was about to introduce herself, the younger hero spoke up. "You're the boy in the shell, aren't you?"
Ochako's spine turned into ice at the stone cutting edge in Izuku's voice. "I am not a boy and have not been one for some time." The heroes backed away slightly from his tone and bared teeth. Ochako knew that if she saw the surface of their fear, then Izuku had to know how deep the iceberg of emotion sank into their hearts.
Did Izuku see her fear? Her shame? Could he smell it on her over the metal tinged stench of gore that covered her? Her mind hurled back to earlier the day before when she had expressed concern… for the boy trapped in the shell. A heavy pit lodged in her stomach as shame transformed into self-loathing.
It was all the worse when she realized that she still had not properly introduced herself to him. They had each only heard the others name from context. How could she be so thoughtless, she wondered. How could everyone be so thoughtless?
She had to correct this oversight. She stepped into the conversation, projecting herself into the hostile air between Izuku and the heroes. She bowed first to them and then turned to bow to Izuku as well. "Uraraka Ochako. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. Thank you for taking care of me."
The predatory gaze in Izuku's eyes planted a cold seed of fear deep in her heart. His gaze wandered between her and the heroes as though contemplating which one of them to eat first. Ochako steeled her nerves and stepped into his personal space, finally issuing her own response to his earlier intrusions. She bowed again to him. "I really am very sorry."
She was close enough to him that she could feel the heat radiate from his luminous body. She resisted the urge to shy away or to stiffen when his hand rose to touch her chin, directing her gaze to meet his. "You have nothing to apologize for."
His eyes softened as she watched. Ochako saw winter transform into spring as her sight transfixed with Izuku's gaze. Bloodlust was replaced by gentle restraint. The man in front of her was still a violent predator, but it was clear that he regarded her the way the beast would see a member of its own pride. His gaze traveled beyond her to examine the heroes with cold indifference. "Eraserhead is coordinating the evacuation of civilians in the western quarter. Please guide these civilians per his instructions." He issued the command as though he fully expected to be obeyed.
Ochako looked over her shoulder as the two heroes wordlessly complied. The two of them had every reason to be afraid, she realized. They didn't know Izuku. They didn't know that he had saved her family, that he had a plan to save everyone. She realized that she did not know him either. That thought didn't make her sad but filled her with nervous anticipation. Maybe when this was all over, they could be… friends? She lacked the confidence to hope for more.
Her gaze shifted when Izuku leaned forward aggressively. She instinctively placed a hand on his chest as he roared out harsh sounding words in that awful language the demons used. Turning, she saw what had triggered his response. Hidden among the civilians was an oily black-leather creature, vaguely shaped like a human child, its human visage melting in Izuku's light. The thing screamed as though it was burning before fleeing back into the darkness.
"Just what was that?" asked the older of the two heroes.
"Shadow Eater." Izuku stated flatly. "They disguise themselves to confuse their prey. Human shadows are delicious to them. Once a shadow is eaten, the host becomes forever sleepless; madness and suicide become dread certainties."
"Holy shit…" the younger hero spoke up. "How do we detect them?"
Izuku listed his instructions with the kind of authority one would expect from a drill sergeant. "Shadow Eaters read emotions but not thoughts. They can pantomime the most expected responses to common questions and disguise their limited ability with appearances of emotional distress, childlike immaturity, or forms of inebriation. The best detection available to you is trivia. Ask questions only local humans could answer, like who won a recent sports match… or what street they live on, followed by the route they take to get there. When they get too stressed and confused, their shadows draw into their bodies and they start to chew nervously. After that, subdue them. They aren't any stronger than normal humans but are skilled at assassination."
Ochako could not help being impressed at his encyclopedic knowledge of the enemy, despite how grim the knowledge was or how blunt his recommended application. As the heroes reported in, corralling the other civilians as they did, she remained close to Izuku. His knife vanished before her eyes, misting apart into fine sand that seeped into his luminous skin. As he reached to pick her up again, she once more placed her hand on his chest. "Izuku, can I… talk to you just a moment?"
He smiled at her as he stepped back from her personal space, making it easier to maintain eye contact despite their height difference. "What do you need, Ochako?"
Her cheeks grew hot when she realized that she had never asked his permission to use his given name instead of his family name, and now he was assuming the same liberty with her. It was reasonable that he would after she had left that door open to him. She cleared her throat. "I just… when you said I have nothing to apologize for… that's not true. I… just now, when you were fighting so hard… and when we were talking to those heroes over there… I covered it well, but I was scared of you. When you were charging past me and when you spotted that demon in disguise… Both times I feared you. I'm sorry to have doubted you, even for a moment!"
She did not even realize that she was crying until she felt his thumb brush away her tears. "You have nothing to apologize for. I am scary. I even scare myself. I mean… I'm not fully human anymore."
Ochako sharply inhaled air as she suppressed the urge to cry. Hearing him speak so reassuringly while admitting something that seemed so sad stirred a desire to return some comfort for him, but she did not know any words for this situation. As though he sensed her inner thoughts he continued, "The Yozis… the lords of the demon races… have changed me. They are still changing me. With each change I become more powerful but even less human than I was before." He gestured off to the Chrysalis, and she immediately remembered that somehow, he was still in there even though he was standing here talking to her.
She wanted to ask so many questions, like how he was out here and in there at the same time, or what his powers even were. Were they like Quirks? But more than anything, she wanted to reassure him, and to know him. Not his powers. Him. Ochako took one of his balled fists into hers, using two of her delicate hands to hold onto one of his until she gently pried his fingers and held onto his palm and backhand. "I've known you for less than an hour, Izuku. You're already one of the most human people I've ever met. You've done more for me since meeting you than most have done in a year. I…"
The words caught in her heart. She felt like she was being selfish, like she was making this about her own feelings and not his. She stopped, holding back what she was about to say.
His fingers wrapped around her hand, surrounding it in strength and warmth. "Don't feel indebted to me. You're already helping me so much. As long as there is ever a sliver of humanity in me, I will fight to protect everyone and everything in this world. Help me do that, Ochako, and there will be no need for you to feel any obligation." His smile was one of gratitude, like she had given him the most thoughtful present ever.
Was obligation the emotion she was feeling? Ochako was sure it was more than that. At least that meant that Izuku couldn't investigate her heart, though maybe she wished he could so that he could help her sort out the emotional storm that was brewing inside of her. Guilt. Gratitude. Admiration. Attraction. Awe. Helplessness. Fear. Intimidation… and more, so much more. She was afraid to even name these feelings. She told herself that it was all adrenaline, that these kinds of emotions would pass once the situation was over, and that solid lasting bonds could not form so quickly. "I…"
He interrupted her. "We're running out of time." The words left his lips grimly as his eyes caught on something.
She turned to see a set of floating translucent spheres cast in Izuku's green aura. They were small, no larger than her own fist, but there were many of them. Izuku strode past her, examining the image before kneeling. She crouched next to him and gasped when she finally understood what she was looking at.
Projected onto the sands in front of her was a tiny figure running across the dunes. The miniature version of Izuku was difficult to recognize at first, but Ochako recognized him by his nude state and the bracers on his forearms.
"Be careful, Izuku." She heard the words escape her lips before she knew she was speaking. She didn't understand what trials Izuku was facing inside the Chrysalis, but it was bad enough that the Izuku out here was concerned. That alone was cause enough for her to worry.
The Izuku that knelt next to her turned his head, a smile of gratitude lit his face. It did not diminish the edge of fearful concentration in his eyes. "Let's hurry."
The two stood and once more, Izuku carried her. This time Ochako was prepared to be cradled in his arms. It was no longer the surprising invasion of her personal space. She no longer felt like a burden. Staring up at Izuku's clenched jaw and determined gaze, she felt safe in an unsafe world.
Despite their speed and the air whipping her hair chaotically, she glanced from time to time at the image of a small Izuku running toward an ever-growing constellation of floating orbs. The image was beautiful yet terrifying. Ochako resolved not to let fear or worry bother her.
She chose to have faith in Midoriya Izuku, both the man in the Chrysalis and the one who protected her.
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Iida Tenya did not believe that he could be swayed from his course, that he could not be deterred from his vengeance. He eluded security checkpoints set up by the military, crossed the concrete ravine that legally counted as a river, and even outran a patrol of human-sized wasps. Nothing was going to stop him. Not the phone in his pocket, not his instincts for self-preservation, nor the authorities or even the monsters wandering the streets of Musutafu.
This, however, Tenya could not ignore.
The child was lost, dirty, and bleeding from an injured shoulder. It looked like she had been bitten by a bear or similarly sized beast. By all rights if such a creature had caught her, she should be dead. Tenya had thought it was a little boy at first, but then realized all too quickly that it was a girl dressed for outdoor sports. Her athletic skill was probably the only reason she was even alive.
Tenya's heart froze with cold rage when he saw the girl was being chased by a ravenous ape-monster. The thing chased her haphazardly, destroying parked vehicles, fire hydrants, and any other obstacle that got in its way. The thing likely could move faster. Fresh blood dribbled from its mouth and chin. Tenya's rage created stringing tears of pure salt when he finally understood: this monster was rampaging just to make the girl's last moments even more terrifying than they otherwise would be.
He altered his course before mentally processing the situation. Tenya had always been proud of his own speed and the training he'd endured at the hands of his brother Tensei. There was no time for such pride now, even as he broke every record he had ever set for himself. Soon, a screaming, crying girl was wrapped up in his arms as he ran quickly from the monster. As he suspected, the beast picked up speed and became significantly less destructive, focusing hard on keeping up with the lightning fast teen.
He was confident that he could outpace the creature. However, Tenya did not expect to be cut off by more monsters. They appeared out of thin air, moving rapidly towards him as though they could run and teleport at the same time. Tenya and the girl were surrounded. Despite his speed they would soon be caught.
As she clung to him with adrenaline-fueled strength, her tears and blood soaked into his shirt. He could not let these things have her.
"Cannonball!" he heard the shout before a whirling mass impacted into the side of one of the apelike monsters. That mass turned out to be another young man with spiky red hair. His clothing was ruined by combat, but at one point that jacket and shirt must have been expensive. Holes in his attire revealed a hardened carapace where normal skin should have been.
Before Tenya could coherently reply to the situation the area was engulfed in harsh winds. He and the girl in his arms were picked up by tornadic forces along with the red-haired teen. Wasps nearby were torn to shred by gale force winds, yet Tenya and his two traveling companions were set down unharmed on a nearby rooftop.
Upon landing, Tenya was relieved when a shapely blonde woman ran to him to take the small child from his arms. Another young man with intense expressiveness continued to guide the winds around them… as the unmistakable hero Kamui Woods prepared an overgrowth of plant life.
The beasts below roared, frustrated that their prey was out of reach. The building shook with harsh impacts as many of them impaled the exterior walls in their climb to the top. With secure handholds, the winds could not extract them from the structure. Once the new tree on the roof was ready, though, the hero and his deputies were ready to face a siege.
Tenya could not just sit by and be rescued. He joined in, instinctively working alongside the red-headed teen to act as the group's mobile front line. Together, they worked to provide time for Kamui Woods and the wind-user to conjure up the long-range defenses that their group needed. The blonde exhaled a strange gas which was soon swept up in the winds. Tenya was amazed when some of the monsters started attacking each other after inhaling the wind-born vapors.
This made it easier for Tenya and the red head to physically dislodge some of the creatures from the rooftop, but it was still difficult. These things each weighed half a metric ton. Teamwork against them was an absolute requirement. The rock-hard teen used himself as a tripping hazard, making it easier for Tenya to leverage his speed into hard hitting power against them.
No matter how hard the group fought, more and more of the creatures emerges from nowhere to assault them. A long tree limb grabbed several of the monsters just before they could make it to the core of the group. They thrashed helplessly as they were squeezed to death. However, it was not enough. They were no longer merely climbing the side of the building but appearing out of thin air among them.
The creatures were throwing themselves into the fray, uncaring about their own casualties. They clearly were aiming to take out the wind user as quickly as possible. Gigantic wasps hovered at the periphery of the battle, ready to strike the moment control of the air was wrested from mortal hands. They were faring well against the enemy for now, but they were fighting a long battle of attrition.
A miracle passed by just then.
Powerful green radiance flooded their eyesight from the street below. The source moved in quickly, pausing long enough to stop amid the horde of beasts below them. Tenya tried to look over the edge of the rooftop but his eyes had acclimated to the dark night. He couldn't make out the source of the light. All he understood was that somewhere down there the beasts were screaming. Above it all, he could hear maniacal laughter. Whatever was down there, it fought like a demon as it hunted these monsters with cruel irony.
"No time to gawk! Let's go!" the red-head called out to him.
Turning, Tenya saw that the group was about to cross a makeshift tree-branch bridge that Kamui Woods had constructed between buildings. Running at a brisk pace, he resolved not to leave his newfound companion alone in the rear. Keeping pace with the other teen was slow for Tenya, slow enough that he had time to think.
The epicenter of radiant laughter ascended to one of the rooftops, slaughtering any monster unfortunate enough to get caught in the light. A series of loud impacts caused the light to flicker and dance uncontrollably. Tenya did not pause to look back, knowing that this was exactly the distraction that they needed for their escape.
The group was heading deeper into the city. As they moved east and south, Tenya had just enough time to observe more and more of the monsters move after the emerald light that even now was rocketing off to the west. "Where are we going?" he mused out loud.
"We're heading to ground zero!" the red head responded. "Kamui is on a mission from Eraserhead! The enemy might have left some equipment behind! We're heading back there to get it!" he smiled a shark toothed grin.
Tenya did not let his emotions touch his face. Tears of rage and sorrow would have ruined everything. They were moving towards the start of this whole mess… towards his brother Ingenium. He resolved to think up an alias when it was time for introductions. For now, the group was in too much of a hurry, and there were too many enemies nearby to stop and exchange pleasantries.
"I'm coming, Tensei." He dared to breathe the words as he wrapped his heart in bands of steel, suppressing his feelings and focusing on the mission at hand.
Up ahead, the group had paused for a breather, providing the two rear-guard teens enough time to catch up. Kamui Woods wasted no time with introductions, instead just pointing out who everyone was to the newcomer. That was how Tenya met the red-haired Kirishima Eijiro, the shapely blonde Utsushimi Camie, and the intense Yoarishi Inasa.
The child in Camie's embrace did not give out her name. She seemed too emotionally distraught to answer their questions.
When asked, Iida Tenya lied about his identity. "Kimishima Tenya," was what he provided, using the maiden name of his brother's widow in place of his family name.
The introduction caused the red-headed Eijiro to laugh as he struck the taller Tenya on the back. "Our family names sound pretty similar. We might be distant cousins! Too bad we don't look alike! C'mon, smile bro! You lucked out! This is a great group."
And just like that, Tenya was latched onto a group of former strangers, bonded by trial and circumstance. The group moved to follow Kamui Woods, pausing only when… they could not believe what they were seeing.
"What the hell…" it was the first time Inasa had spoken since Tenya had joined the group.
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Far above, the sky was illuminated with the green fire everyone knew of as the Aurora Borealis. No one in Musutafu had ever seen it before, at least not so far south as Musutafu. Alien stars continued to show through the great light, stars far brighter than anyone could recall. For the first time in recorded history, soft subdued warmth emanated from the aurora. Darkness was peeled away by emerald light.
Only one pair failed to notice all of this, surrounded by the emerald glow of Izuku's anima. Izuku and Ochako continued their trek to Mt Takao, blissfully unaware of the fiery sky above them as Izuku detoured now and then for occasions of slaughter.
Far away, the inhabitants of Europe and Africa still waited for a sunrise that was already several hours late, instead finding themselves inundated with ambient light from the twin auroras. Reports flooded in from around the world. The sun, still in the sky for some, had failed to rise for others. The auroras were flooding the planet with light in the sun's absence, giving off heat unlike any previous event in history.
Observatories around the world, including those with orbital observation access and the International Space Station, corroborated the findings of the stars beyond the aurora. The stars and planets familiar to mankind for all human history were gone, replaced by constellations completely foreign to human experience. Yet the sun was still in the sky for a fraction of the planet, and the moon remained in orbit as well. No one could predict what would happen when the sun set in Central Asia, the last place on Earth with any solar light.
None of it made any scientific sense. A zealous feeling of religious dread filled human hearts across the globe. Supplicants flooded holy sights of various creeds and traditions, regardless of how religious or secular they were before. Surely this was The End.
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Shigaraki and Kurogiri stepped from a dark portal, flanked by four inhuman guardians. The park that surrounded them was now nothing more than the debris of a battlefield. Abandoned vehicles crowded the periphery. Camp supplies and rations littered the grassy knoll in the park's center, as did deep grooved tracks and craters from the combat itself.
The four creatures flanking them appeared vacant of thought, their exposed brains the only evidence that the things were once human. Their darkened skin and powerful muscles though more than compensated for their demihuman capacity for thought. They would serve well as meatshields, Shigaraki thought.
He felt an uncomfortable itch on his neck as Kurogiri's dark form got just a bit too close. His companion spoke up. "Remember, Shigaraki. Our master's orders were very clear…"
"Yes yes, Kurogiri." Shigaraki lamented, double checking the hand shaped mask on his face was secure. "Get the artifact. Avoid combat with the demons. I was the one talking to him while you just listened, remember?"
His shadow shaped companion reared back, flustered. "I was only trying to remind you…"
"It's ok, Kurogiri. You're probably the only one I like enough to take that from… but hear me out." Palpable excitement showed through his bloodshot eyes. His excitement was almost infectious.
"Imagine how exciting it would be, Kurorgiri… if we stirred up just enough trouble for those demons to execute All Might, the Symbol of Peace!"
