Chapter Eight
The Lonely Knight
"O-oh, K-Kacchan! H-h-h-how are y-you?"
Katsuki grit his teeth, seething.
"What the hell are you doing here, Deku?" He demanded, not restraining the toxicity in his voice. He watched the smaller boy shake where he stood.
"Oh, a-after the… t-the incident, Mr. Aizawa offered me a pla-place in his class," Izuku managed to stutter out. Katsuki snarled.
"And you accepted it," He finished for the greenette. "That was stupid of you. You think having a quirk now somehow makes you hero material? Don't be an idiot. Give up while you can." Katsuki eyed him, expecting the typical routine from their youth. Either he would break down, or reluctantly agree.
This time, Izuku did neither.
He took in a sharp breath, and Katsuki could see tears threatening to spill. Yet, Izuku did not shrink down, or try to make himself smaller.
"Kacchan," the boy said, softly, sternly. "I'm sorry, but you can't stop me. Not this time."
Katsuki felt his eye twitch. His hand trembled.
"Listen, you shithead," he snarled. "You can turn around, right now. You can do something else, no matter how pointless it is, you'll at least fucking live. But, Deku, you're not stupid. You know they don't want you here. Nobody wants you here. They're all a bunch of idiots that feel like they owe you. No one wants you."
Katsuki turned, walking back down the hall as he added, "You keep treading this path, it'll burn you alive. You couldn't save your mother, you can't save anyone else, at least save yourself, so we don't have to."
With that, Katsuki continued his way down the hall, not turning to see what he presumed to be Deku's face of defeat.
What he missed was a face of stoic determination, not a tear in his eyes any longer.
"I'm sorry, Kacchan," he whispered to himself. "Even if you're right… even if I'm unwanted, I'll keep fighting. No matter the cost."
Ochako chewed her lip, somewhat nervously. She had no reason to be on edge, yet she couldn't help herself. She was going to be showing Izuku around UA, so he'd know where to go for his classes the next day.
She didn't know why she was nervous, Izuku was her friend, after all. It didn't make sense to her. She'd never been nervous around him before, she guessed it was just that it was his first real day here. She just wanted him to feel at home.
The nervousness evaporated the second he descended the stairs, and into the dorm's common area.
"Deku!" She called, smiling at him. Izuku looked over to her, returning her smile.
"Hey, Uraraka," he said, walking up to her. She narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong.
"Everything okay?" Ochako asked. He looked surprised that she'd caught on. Anyone else would have missed it, but she guessed she was just good at reading people. She could tell something was hurting him.
"Oh, uh… just some personal stuff?" He said, following her as she walked out of the building's door.
"I see," she responded, trying to choose her words carefully. "There's no pressure. I won't force you to talk about anything ya don't want to. Still, if you'd like to talk, I'll always listen."
He inhaled slowly, taking in the main campus as they walked. "Thank you, really. But, honestly, it's no big deal. Just a minor run-in with Kacchan. At least it was brief."
She stopped walking, turning and watching him carefully.
"Deku? Did he… did he bully you, when you were younger?" His down-turned face told her everything she needed to know.
"He's not a bad person, really. I just think he had a lot of personal issues, and it was pretty easy for him to take it out on a quirkless kid," Izuku said, not quite meeting her eyes.
"...And those old burns? Did he cause those?"
"Some of them."
Involuntarily, her fists tightened.
"And you saved his life. You saved him too, that day, even after everything he did to you," there was a tremor to her voice, an anger she couldn't quite explain.
"Of course I did," Izuku said, tilting his head to the side. "I didn't even know he was there, though."
"If it was just him, would you have still done what you did? If Bakugo was the only person in danger, would you still act?"
"Yes."
There was no delay, no hesitation in his voice. He spoke earnestly, bluntly, and saw no need to continue. She stood still for a moment, fists clenched, biting her lip, before exhaling.
"Well, screw him," she said, with a slight smile.
"Eh?" He stared at her, eyes wide.
"Screw that guy! He's a big ole' bully! Just a mean, mean guy!" She said, giving Izuku a friendly punch in the arm. "More importantly, he's wrong. I don't know what he said to you, but he's wrong. He always called you weak, but look at ya now! Goes to show you.." She stopped talking for a moment, staring him dead in the eyes. "His words have no bearing on you."
Izuku didn't say anything at first, and to his credit, he didn't cry either. He sniffled a bit, and she could feel rather than see the relief flooding to his face.
"Thank you, Uraraka. Seriously," he said, a bright smile on his face.
"Of course, Deku!" She smiled in return. "Now c'mon, you're gonna get to see more of this great campus!"
"Master, who is this guy?" Tomura demanded. "He's annoying."
The atmosphere was stifling, the barroom air still and unmoving. Kurogiri watched, silently on edge. This could go wrong. He knew it could go very, very wrong.
"Tomura, this is my lieutenant. His name is Ikarusu, and I believe a great deal could be learned by you working closely with him."
Tomura scoffed. His master had never been wrong before, but he couldn't believe this. This Ikarusu guy didn't look too impressive. He was a bit taller than Tomura, though he was bulkier. His hair was a dark brown, nearly black, and he wore a long, black coat. His face had hard edges, his eyes sharp and intelligent.
"I'm annoying, am I?" Ikarusu said, his voice gruff. "Boss, do I really have to deal with this shit?"
"Come now, Ikarusu. Tomura has limitless potential, my hope is that someone with your experience can shape him into a true leader," the voice on the television responded. Ikarusu grunted.
"Limitless potential my ass. Kid doesn't know what he's doing. He had the Nomu, one capable of going toe-to-toe with All Might himself, and what happened?" He let the question hang in the air, lighting a cigarette and sucking in a breath before answering. "He lost it. Some random kid destroyed it. So much for a leader."
Tomura started scratching at his throat, the hand he wore as a mask not concealing the seething hatred in his eyes.
"Master," he said, his voice eerily calm. "I'm gonna kill him."
Ikarusu laughed, and walked slowly toward Tomura, breathing in deep on his cigarette, only stopping once he was a few feet away.
"You wanna kill me? C'mon, kid. Give me what you've got…"
He breathed out, puffing smoke in Tomura's face.
"...Tenko."
Ochako walked with her new friend, headed back for Height's Alliance. It'd been a few hours, and the sun had started to set, casting the world in a golden shade. She turned to Izuku to see him smiling contently, lost in thought.
"So, you like everything?" She asked. He blinked a few times before answering.
"I do. This school really is just as amazing as I've heard!" He exclaimed, boyish enthusiasm showing through.
"Glad to hear it! Everyone seemed to like ya today, Deku… I really hope you feel at home with us," he looked down a bit, though the smile remained.
"I… I think I'll get there, in time. I think… being with you the past weeks has helped me so much, and even today… the things Kacchan said earlier, they've left my mind, and I think you're the reason for that," he looked up, meeting her gaze and smiling even more brightly. "So thank you, Uraraka. For everything."
Ochako stopped walking, her face beginning to turn red before she managed to regain composure. "O-of course, Deku! We're friends, after all. Friends help each other, however they can, right?" Her smile was able to rival his own.
"Right!" He cheered, as the two friends walked forward together, basking in the fading sunlight…
...Blissfully unaware of the darkness that would soon follow.
Tomura sagged forward, coughing and spitting up blood. He was sitting halfway through a brick wall, several yards from where he'd stood moments prior. His ribs were cracked, his back screamed in his pain, and his head throbbed.
Ikarusu lit another cigarette, the cancer stick probably closer to killing him than Tomura had ever been. It had happened so damned fast. Tomura had lunged forward, his hands reaching for his opponent's throat, and Ikarusu had simply leaned back, and punched.
One punch had sent Tomura flying, hitting the wall with enough force to cave in a part of it.
"Y'know, despite what I'd said, your speed is pretty impressive," Ikarusu said, absently. "It's probably a derivative, huh? A lesser quirk, more or less. I'm guessing you rely on that to get in, and then your 'real' quirk takes care of the rest. Not usually a bad strategy, but it falls apart if your opponent is quick minded. You rely on your quirk too much. It's strong, definitely an A-rank, but it alone isn't enough to carry you. Anyone who is more experienced, more powerful, or both, as I am, will turn you into a laughing stock."
Tomura seethed, but tried to stay calm. Whoever this guy was… he was obviously far more powerful than he seemed. That, along with his skill, meant that Ikarusu was truly not a threat to be taken likely.
Tomura could play along… bide his time…
"Okay, okay… you win," he said, coughing a bit more. "Are you in charge of our little… gang, now?"
Ikarusu scoffed. "I just do what the boss man says."
"Ikarusu here will be taking over as head, though this is only temporary. He has a new directive for you all to pursue, a… personal matter?"
Ikarusu nodded once, reaching into his coat pocket and producing a photo, showing it to Tomura. "You recognize this person?"
The photo was from the Nomu attack… the green-haired brat…
Tomura began to scratch at his neck, remembering the humiliation he'd felt.
"I'm taking that as a yes," Ikarusu said. "Well, kid's name is Izuku Midoriya. Orphan. After his actions, he was more or less adopted by UA, he's a student there now."
"So what?" Tomura asked. "Why do I care about him?"
"You don't. I do. Our new directive, our only directive, is putting him in the ground," Ikarusu said, punctuating it by putting his cigarette out on the photo.
"Tomura, are you familiar with the Pro Hero called Vulcan?"
"Sounds familiar… didn't he go missing?"
"He was investigating the boss," Ikarusu interjected. "He got too close, so I killed him. Burned him to ash, to be more specific. Made sure no one ever found the bastard's body."
"Vulcan's real name was Hisashi. Hisashi Midoriya." The voice from the TV added.
"I see…" Tomura said, "And Hisashi was this Izuku's father?"
"Yeah. Shoulda killed the little shit years ago. Tried to, even," Ikarusu let his words hang for a moment before continuing. "After killing Vulcan, I was able to locate his family. Just had the wife and son. Burned their house to the ground, was able to kill the mom, lady named Inko. Izuku survived, the mom shielded him from the flames. I was fine letting him live when he didn't pose an issue, but now… my graciousness only goes so far."
"So, we kill this Midoriya brat, simple enough. Do you really need us for that?"
"He's at UA, one of the most secure facilities on earth. We could have our… inside man do it, but I would hate to expose our spy just for that. Truth be told, isolating, capturing, and killing Midoriya is going to take a lot of manpower, and will probably mean fighting several people who are on the level of pros," Ikarusu grunted. "Once he's dead, though, we'll be going back to normal. You can have your… League, and I'll be back at the boss's side."
"Fine…" Tomura said. "I accept. I'll follow you for now, Ikarusu."
The man in question simply nodded, making for the door before stopping for a moment.
"Oh, and by the way, while I'm in charge… we won't be calling ourselves the League."
"Oh? And just what will we call ourselves?"
The room was silent for a moment, before the answer came, gruff and blunt.
"The Fallen… The Taoreta."
Ochako knew a dream when she was in one. She'd always been a lucid dreamer, after all.
Never had she had a dream quite this… real, though.
She trudged through the woods, the air frigid and cold. Snowy winds battered her harshly, howling in her ears. The midday sky was grey, cloudy, and she stumbled through the snow.
Heavy plate armor weighed her down, the metal icy cold, her clothes beneath the armor not preventing the metal from chilling her to the bone. She did not know where she was going, only that she could not stop. To stop would be to surrender. To surrender would be to die.
She did not know that which she was running from, though she knew she could not turn to face it. Something within told her that were she to slow, she would certainly die. Something was closing in on her. And it was closing fast.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth. Up ahead, she could see it. A campfire, small, but burning so brightly in the snow. She hurried her pace, her armored boots trudging heavily, clumsily through the deep snow.
Soon, she arrived at the fire, sitting as close to the flames as she could, the leather hood on her head not doing much to hide the relief on her face. The flames were warm, welcoming, and kind.
It wasn't until she looked across the fire that she realized she wasn't alone.
A lone knight sat a few feet away from the fire, all his features obscure by his armor, his face hidden behind an iron helm. Yet, there was something oddly familiar about him. He seemed to stare at the ground, clutching a sword, leaning on it as he sat there.
The fire beckoned, yet the knight did not sit close enough to bask in its warmth. He kept a good distance at all times, close enough to use the light of the flames, but never close enough to escape the bitter cold.
"You can come closer," Ochako called out, though she could not control her words. "The fire, it could preserve you."
The lonely knight glanced up, his helm masking any emotions he may have felt.
"The fire will destroy me, as soon as it is able. Just as it has done to everyone else."
Ochako pondered his meaning, before looking around the site of the fire…
Corpses, charred to cinders and ash, burned to husks that only vaguely resemble human beings. The flames had devoured them, every last one. The lonely knight was all that remained.
"There is nothing left. My death will come soon, whether the cold takes me, or the flames devour me. I suppose it's of little consequence, at this point. I guess… I've just taken to preferring the cold."
Ochako opened her mouth to rebuttal, but the image of all those people, destroyed by fire… it held her tongue steadfastly.
"And besides," the knight continued, "You forget that which you run from."
Ochako gasped, and turned, finally seeing that which had pursued her.
Darkness. An encroaching darkness, not created by the absence of light, no…
A darkness that seemed to swallow light itself, as it drew closer and closer to the fire, slowly, very slowly, but it was coming all the same.
The darkness would snuff out the flames and take her.
And the lonely knight would be lonely once more.
Ochako shot up out of bed, gasping for breath. The clock on her wall read two-thirty in the morning.
She began to sob, absolutely heartbroken from that strange, surreal dream.
She didn't even know why.
