A/N: Thanks for waiting! Here is the next chapter, but before that...
On to reviews:
Ocomhdhain1: Welcome to the story! Thanks for the comment!
CREED6: Sorry about the story deletion. It's up again. And for your question, it's going to be answered in this chapter.
King0fP0wers: Haha…didn't plan this to be some romantic comedy though! You just have to wait and see!
Phelipebr: I'm sorry about the image, but I put a new one so that you can see how Shepherd looks like close up! Enjoy the chapter!
Now, onwards!
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Chapter 10: Unchained Madness.
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=[Flashback]=
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"Hah...hah…you're too fast Midoriya-kun!"
Two boys were playing a game of 'Heroes and Villain' in the park. They had used the playground as the 'Villain's' hiding spot, and the small boy with reddish-brown hair could only pant tiredly while his playmate continued to run around with excess energy to spare. "Moh…it's better if I'm the villain…"
Seeing this, the dark-green haired kid called out, "But you always make it so easy when you play the villain, Hakazuka-kun. You give up too easily!"
"Hehe…I'm not too good at being aggressive after all," The boy laughed in response. "I don't really like pain…sorry, Midoriya-kun. Besides, my mom don't like it when I come home covered in dirt; she knows that I've been playing 'Heroes and Villain' with you."
Izuku fell silent and proceeded to sit next to Hakazuka, a little curious about what the latter just said. "What's so wrong with that? If we are aiming to become heroes in the future, then we have to practice capturing villains and saving citizens! Is your mom afraid of you getting hurt? I promise I won't tackle you to the floor next time."
"N-No…it not that…" Hakazuka trailed off, before sighing. "She doesn't like to talk about heroes so much…I have a feeling that she thinks being a hero is stupid and that I should be dreaming towards something else. Well, it's not like I'm planning to become a hero anyways, I cry over the smallest injuries…I'm slow…and I'm not strong. But I have to be careful not to mention anything hero-related in front of her."
Looking over the boy, Midoriya was sadden when tears started forming around Hakazuka's eyes. "But I'm going to root for you Midoriya! You said you're going to be the best hero like All-Might right? I can't wait to see the world's first quirkless hero!" Quickly recovering, he rubbed his tears away and cheered Izuku on, an encouraging smile formed upon his face.
"Yeah!" Midoriya jumped up excitedly and flashed the brightest grin he could muster. "Have no fear, for I'm here! Let me do a SMASH! on you!"
"I told you I don't like pain!"
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=[A few weeks before internships. All-Might's Office.]=
"Young Midoriya? You okay my boy?"
"O-oh sorry!" Lost in thought, Midoriya had completely missed All-Might's explanation about the plans for his internship with Gran Torino; his face flushed with color as he realized he did not pay attention to his mentor. "A-Anything I should know about Gran Torino?"
"Nevermind that, you seemed distracted," All-Might noted, sitting across Izuku in his skinny form. "You have been like this after the Sports Festival. Are you holding up alright?"
His gaunt eyes flashed with concern and his voice spoke with softness – the successor of OFA couldn't bring himself to lie to him.
"I…things have been hard on my mind lately. Hakazuka is alive. He's a villain. He almost can't recognize me, but…" He paused, shaking his head before gazing with slightly terrified eyes. "I can't forget the USJ incident, he was so different from how I knew him…but when he looked at me…it was like he was pleading towards me…!"
"I understand you feel frustrated," Toshinori sighed. "Believe me, if what we feared is true, then I feel even more frustrated than you do. You are probably thinking back of what you could have done back in your junior high school-"
"Why couldn't I notice it sooner? Why couldn't I have done something?" Midoriya suddenly interrupted. "All the signs…they were there right in front of me, and I didn't do a single thing for him."
"You are feeling guilt." All-Might replied. "We all are. I understand your pain of what your friend may be going through, and how you may have prevented that. But you are a still a hero student; it's optimal for you to concentrate on your studies while we continue to search for evidence that Shepherd is indeed Hakazuka Kotaro-"
"He said my name, he stopped at the last second and recognized me," Izuku looked at his teacher. "Isn't that enough evidence? Are the police so adamant on putting him down as a criminal? He's probably under their control!"
"I believe you young Midoriya…but the police needs conclusive evidence before we take action. I know its hard now...but you have to be patient. I believe your dear friend is fighting hard, so we have to remain hopeful and strong for his sake as well."
"All-Might," Izuku frowned sadly. "Before I met you, I was just a quirkless kid…I can't even save one friend."
"Young Midoriya, you are far from weak." He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Ever since I have taken you in as my prodigy, you have tirelessly trained more than anyone else and surpassed my expectations. You have always convinced me of your worthiness, young Midoriya, like with your actions during the USJ attack. Not only did you properly deduced the nature of Shepherd's quirk, you risked your life to protect your classmates in the face of overwhelming danger. And most importantly, you told me that your friend as somehow regained his memories, even if its only for a moment?"
"Y-Yes." He said, thinking back to the talk he had with All-Might along with Kacchan on a previous occasion.
"Young Midoriya, though we cannot undo what has happened to your friend, but we can still save him and take him back from the League of Villains. Something you did during the USJ has triggered young Hakazuka's memories, meaning to say that your friend has not completely lost himself." All-Might's eyes shone with hope. "Detective Tsukauchi is doing all he can to ensure your friend is taken away from the league's hold, and then we'll have ample time to figure out what the villains did to him. So for now, forget about the internship."
Toshinori's next words dampened the hopeful mood. "I want you to tell me everything that happened in your previous junior high school."
"You have to tell me everything."
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=[A few weeks ago before internships. Class 1-A]=
"Ochako-chan. Wake up Ochako-chan. Class is already over."
A finger poked her cheek, and Uraraka bolted from her thoughts with small beads of sweat over her forehead, breathing hard. The usual nightmares have robbed her of her sleep, and even make-up couldn't completely hide the bags under her eyes. Asui Tsuyu was standing infront of her desk, her expression somewhat concerned.
"Not again," she murmured dejectedly, her eyes falling on the floor, too ashamed to meet Tsuyu's gaze. "I'm so sorry Tsu-chan, I just haven't been sleeping much…"
"You're thinking about the boy from the USJ attack, aren't you?"
"How did you-!" Uraraka's lips quivered a little, and her stomach sunk at her friend's observant comment.
"You're not the only one bumped about losing; I was sure my tongue was going to be permanently impaired after what he did to me, but I guess we're all lucky. But it seems like you're the most affected out of all of us, Ochako-chan." The [Frog] quirk girl had been observing the [Zero Gravity] quirk girl ever since the UA Sports Festival, after she apparently got frozen with shock when Bakugo was about to use his [Explosion] quirk to knock her out of the ring; Midnight even had to forcefully stop Bakugo when Uraraka looked as though she was having a heart attack. Tsuyu had merely pieced together what has happened during the USJ incident and formed his conclusion.
"Was it quite obvious? That must be so embarrassing." Uraraka asked sheepishly, rubbing her neck as she gazed at her classmate.
"It's not something to be ashamed about," Tsuyu protested, taking a seat beside her. "But it would be best if you address this problem and talk to us, or even Hound-dog Sensei for advise. Ochako-chan, I know that you may blame yourself for not being able to help much back then, but no one could have predicted that a crazy S-rank villain would be part of the attack-ribbit."
"It's not that," Ochako protested, her face flushing from her friend's kindness. "But whenever I think back to what happened in USJ, that boy's face just kept coming back. His eyes…what he said…the way he put down Thirteen-sensei…I-Is this what we have to face in the future?"
"You're worrying too much," said Asui, rubbing her back to comfort her. "Remember what All-Might sensei told us? It's natural to feel fear during battle, but the most important thing is to embrace it and move on! You can definitely move on from this, Ochaka-chan. I know you can-ribbit."
"Speaking of All-Might sensei, didn't Deku-kun go along with him after the lesson? I wonder if they're close…?"
"Midoriya-kun?" Tsuyu croaked in surprise from this change of topic. "I'm not so sure…but I did overhear that they are making some plans for his internship. I'm planning to intern with Selkie by the sea."
I see…so Deku-kun has plans to grow stronger…while I still…!
Uraraka examined the internship application form in her hands for a while. Initially she was going to try out rescue mission under Thirteen, but the hero in question has been hospitalized for an unknown duration. But as soon as she thought back to the battle with Shepherd…
This is the result of weaklings trying to fight back when they cannot even gauge the difference between the opponents…What you guys call bravery…I named it mere arrogance.
With a determined look, she scribbled down her choice for the internship, and making Tsuyu widened her eyes at her decision. "Ochako-chan, didn't you say you wanted to be a hero specialising in rescue? Gunhead Martial Arts specializes more on close-combat…"
"Nope, I made my choice! I will become stronger! If all I do is stay in my comfort zone and wallow in my own weakness, I will never truly grow. Hya!" She punched the air for effect, and gazed at Tsuyu gratefully. "Thanks, Tsu-chan! Everyone's doing their best to move forward, so I'll do my best as well!"
"I wonder if she's inspired from Midoriya-kun…" Tsuyu thought as she watched her friend's renewed vigor. "Or perhaps…is it from…?"
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=[Present. Hosu City]=
Shizune took out the metal transverse flute she had stolen from a nearby instrument shop; it felt different, heavier. But despite that, she knew exactly where her fingers went.
She didn't waste a second.
"Psycho Flute: Harrowing Performance!"
Her eyes fluttered shut and for the first time in many years, her emotions poured into her music; a powerful melody born from her heart and soul.
A melody hauntingly soft at first, echoing across the battlefield for a second before it switched the tempo and increased in strength. The music was soon turned into a chaotic melody as her fingers blurred along the flute keys.
Another policeman fell under the pain-inducing effects of her music as the girl instilled more of her quirk's sense-impairing effects into the melody. Each new sound reverberated with the last and caused even more people to clutch their ears in agony.
Some tried aiming their sound guns towards her, but her own deadly ultrasonic music caused everyone to stumble as their senses and thoughts were beginning to jumble up.
"You won't get away with this," The Commissioner General hissed as his eyes narrowed out of anger. "You're helping a wanted member of the League of Villains!"
Shizune said nothing as she continued to play on her flute, knocking out the Commissioner General as well. The effects of [Psychosis] will wear off as soon as she stopped playing, and at this point she was unsure of what to do next. After a while, she stopped playing to catch her breath.
"…you idiot…! I told you to escape…!" Shepherd barely got the words out, but it was enough grab Shizune's attention. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to the boy's side.
"Let's get out of here." Shizune ran towards the broken boy, gasping at the boy's ruined state which was slowly healing. She quick held his shoulder and tried to lift him up…
However, her actions were interrupted when a capture cloth wrapped around her hand and yanked her flute way from her grip. Shizune hardly had time to re-position herself before Aizawa came flying towards her with his [Erasure] quirk active. He had nullified her quirk beforehand and played dead and waited for the girl to stop playing.
Shizine tried to reach for her fallen instrument, but Eraserhead was faster and predicted her movements. He caught her wrist effortlessly, impairing her movement, keeping her in one place.
He squinted at her eyes. "I've never seen a villain like you before, you're new at this aren't you?" he stated with a frown. "You don't know what you're doing," The girl didn't respond, but stared daggers as she struggled against Aizawa's hold. A hand threw away Shizune's stolen flute before folding into a fist. Shizune's eyes grew wide for a second and she coughed out bile as a blow hit her in the stomach, then she went limp.
S-Shizune…! His teeth grinded together harshly, looking helplessly with his head on the ground as Eraserhead laid her unconscious body on the floor while the others are slowly recovering their senses. "M-My head…!"
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"Ouch-! My head…who the hell was that girl?"
"Don't know, but she did help a villain…she'll be charged for that no doubt."
"Someone bring the cuffs…get the girl's flute as well."
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"…get away…get away from her goddammit!"
Everything was rushing into this mind and pouring unfamiliar visions in a painful torrent of memories as Shizune was being surrounded by all sides and suppressed. A single memory began to writhe painfully from the depths of his conscious, a scene which was blurred during his previous mission. A scene of three boys beating down on a single crying kid.
The voices soon began to plague him.
Quirkless shits like can never hope to accomplish anything meaningful in this world!
Don't cry okay? Everything will be alright!
LEARN SOME MANNERS YOU QUIRKLESS BASTARD!
My name is Midoriya Izuku! What's yours?
WHY DO I GET TREATED LIKE THIS?!
DON'T STAMMER!
If you don't shape up and get some friends, how are you going to survive in society?!
You're just a useless nobody who has a death-wish!
Don't keep everything to yourself alright? Hakazuka-kun?
WHY AREN'T YOU SAYING ANYTHING?! KOTARO!?
Don't you have a dream?
It's all your fault…YOU SUICIDE BASTARD!
Mom…Dad…I did try my best…? Why won't you believe me?
His mind was breaking…so close…! So painful…!
"Enough…I have e-enough…!"
It was that voice again. That same voice he had been trying to suppress had spoken out again!
"Just how much longer are you going to continue killing?!"
What a stupid question. As long as people are going to hurt him, he will never stop.
"I-I don't want this…I never asked for this!"
He forced himself to look up, his bangs blocking most of his vision. That boy was back; that kid with rust-colored hair that always nagged at the back of his head, that annoying weakling. He forced himself to ignore him and pushed him back to depths of his subconscious. His face was obscured, but he always had this feeling that the kid was part of himself.
"How long do you plan to fight like this…?" the kid asked, crying. Shepherd could hear the faint rattle of chains restraining the kid to the chair. "Why are you so adamant on this?! Why would you fight so hard for the man who tortured us?!"
Shepherd didn't answer. The pain continued to grow, his body quivering. The memories of a small boy being bullied by countless others began to overlap with Shizune as she resisted arrest. He was slowly beginning to recall…that disgusting past of his…
This boy…as long as he can hear his voice…the pain will…!
"Shut up…SHUT UP! I don't want to feel pain…I DON'T WANT YOUR PAIN!"
His hands proceed to grab the kid's neck.
"You don't…understand…!" the kid choked as more chains strangled him against the restraining chair and threatened to pull him into the never-ending darkness. "If this goes on-!" He didn't know who that kid was…nor where he was…but one thing's for sure; he's never getting back in that chair.
"P-Please stop! Anymore and I'll…!" the kid looked at him desperately, like he was on the verge of disappearing, tears streaming down his face.
"Shut up…no one will take my place away…" Shepherd snarled, a hand on the kid's neck. "Don't you dare blame me…this isn't my fault; I'm not the one in the wrong."
"Arck…argh-!"
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"WHAT'S WRONG…IS THIS WORLD!"
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=[Hosu City. Hero Killer Stain's location]=
"Wait! Don't run off by yourself!" A hero shouted towards Midoriya as he darted his away across the burning wreckage and began his search throughout the dark alleyways of Hosu.
He was not going to risk fighting with those monsters with the exposed brains; his new 'Full Cowl' did not provide him with enough power or durability to fight toe-to-toe with those things, he knew that much from the USJ attack.
But…he knew he could still save his classmate; the disciplined and straight-forward class president who had been distraught over the Hero Killer incident. His heart squeezed and panic overloaded his brain as he dashed through the dark corners of the city. He was confident of Iida's ability in a fight, but he could not possibly take down a villain who has killed 17 and maimed 23 heroes. If Stain was as vicious as the rumours say…
Concentrating all his effort to cloaking his body with One for All's power, he sped up and heard the faint sound of clashing metal in the corner, and he entered it in a panic. He gasped loudly. Iida was lying on the ground, a spiked boot belonging to a man wearing a red scarf and black suit upon his back, and a rising sword about to stab into his classmate's shoulder.
He kicked the earth and closed the distance with sonic speed. Stain could only open his mouth in surprise before a powerful uppercut knocked him into the air. Don't waste power…aim carefully first, then HIT!
"Another fake?" Stain asked in a hoarse voice, that made Izuku shiver. But that level of bloodlust was nothing…compared to him…
"Midoriya-kun? Why are you here?!" Iida shouted.
Without looking back and focusing on the enemy, he panted. "I heard from Manual that you disappeared…and I knew you would search for the Hero Killer. I'm sorry for being late."
"Go away! This doesn't concern you!" the [Engine] quirk teen pleaded.
"Butting in to save your friend?" Stain questioned, getting back up and taking up a position to attack. "Can't say I hate that…but as a hero, are you prepared to die here? Alongside him?"
Midoriya flashed a determined look at the killer. "This has nothing to do with being a hero. I will not just stand by while there's someone asking for help in front of me! I've already lost one friend…so…FROM NOW ON,"
Izuku dashed forward with surprising speed that shocked Iida, and readied his fist. "I WILL NOT LOSE SIGHT OF SOMEONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME…ANYMORE!"
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=[Hosu City. Shepherd's location]=
Aizawa sighed as he glanced back at Shepherd's unconscious form, his [Erasure] currently active on the flute-wielding girl who was trapped in his capture cloth beside him. "Talk about a troublesome kid…" he thought, but still tightened his hold on the girl, in case the [Psychosis] quirk girl still had tricks up her sleeve. There was no way a quirk would activate once its owner was unconscious, so the heroes could at least breathe a little.
Shepherd was classified as an S-rank villain for good reason; the killing of many Pro-Heroes single-handedly, and his unstable mentality. Of course, Aizawa was still conflicted on the Commissioner General's way of handling him, but he chose to keep his mouth shut, and do as he was told. This operation was originally devised by Naomasa to capture Shepherd. Regardless of the means of handling, as long as the villain was suppressed, there are ample chances to rehabilitate the boy. As for the girl…she was probably going to be charged for assisting a villain.
Even still…this boy worried him. He had actually managed to kill heroes with powerful quirks, and that alone screamed danger. Personally, he would have felt better if more heroes were here, but that's asking too much.
"Well, let's clear things up." He muttered as he looked towards the Commissioner General. "Sir, let's try to clear the crowd-"
"…R-Ring a-round the r-rosies…!"
Aizawa froze, and a sharp pain sliced across the skin of his forehead as something lashed out at him, and his goggles shattered. "Shit-!" He quickly dived to the left, the ground where he once stood torn apart by sheer force and a dark tentacle stole back Shizune's body and placed it roughly behind the owner of the black appendage.
He then realized it was a mass of hardened sludge, and cursed again as he saw the boy rose unsteadily to his feet, the bisected corpses of the police littering around him, his arms hanging limply by their sides. "You have got to be kidding me…!" The blood began to cloud his vision.
Shepherd began to develop a dark, sadistic grin.
"R-Ring around the r-rosies…" Shepherd growled, his sclera infected black and two purple irises pulsed madly, shaking uncontrollably, and saliva dripping down his chin. "…pocket full of p-posies! Ashes…A-Ashes…I'm falling down…I'm falling down! N-No…I don't want this…! Ah-the pain…!" he rasped, his voice becoming distorted and crazed. Aizawa had been knocked hard on the head; blood kept flowing down his scalp and making his vision a cloudy red, and he wheezed heavily.
What happened next was enough to make Midnight and Present-Mic take a step back, fear beginning to rise up in them as the color drained from their faces. Shepherd's back was hunched over, black tendrils of sludge forming at his arms. They were still formless, waving around the air as they gave off a poisonous miasma. But, this was not what terrified the Pro-heroes so much. It was the huge black scorpion-like tail that which began to lash around wildly, and Shepherd rising to his feet, his body shaking. "…I've no clue…on what you are talking about…USJ? Students? I don't…I don't…"
"…Ah…ah…Don't remember. Can't remember any of that. Don't know what you are talking about…" He growled. "…E-Enough…I don't want to hear anymore…! No more…!" he groaned as he fell back on his knees before rearing his head back and let out an ear-piercing scream.
The sludge surged through his skin like a torrent, wrapping around his arms like hideous armor; turning them into two dangerous sets of claws like a beast, their fingers twitching like they were itching to shred anyone to pieces. Furthermore, a new mass of sludge formed behind Shepherd's back, creating a second 'tail'. He now resembled some kind of twin-tailed beast. Shepherd continued to scream; the two large spiked appendages continuing to lash behind his back.
"Fire the Sonic Resonance Guns-!" Commissioner General Touma immediately ordered, but…
"no more…I SAID NO MORE!"
BOOM! The two tails of Shepherd coiled like springs and shot the [Toxic Sludge] user high into the air, before a storm of black sludge rained upon them. "SCHWARZ HAGEL! (Black Hail)"
"His speed skyrocketed in an instant?!"
Aizawa and the others immediately threw themselves to the ground, one of the scorpion-like tendrils aiming straight for him and impaling into the ground. Shards of debris and asphalt flew, some of them embedded in his skin and causing the UA Class 1 homeroom teacher to hiss in pain. Already, the regenerative quirk of Shepherd was healing his gunshot wounds, his flesh re-knitting.
"What in the…world…?" Aizawa whispered in shock, looking at the boy responsible through his bloodied vision. Shepherd's back was turned to him, his hands clutching his face. The two large tendrils stopped lashing, but there was an increasing sense of madness and insanity spreading out from him.
"N-No more! D-Don't make me…don't make me remember! DON'T MAKE ME REMEMBER THE PAIN! I DON'T WANT TO THINK – TO REMEMBER! DON'T MAKE IT COME BACK!"
"Commissioner General…is it possible to call for reinforcements?" For the first time, Aizawa felt terrified.
"No…all available personnel are either evacuating the Hosu residents, fighting the Noumus, or capturing the Hero Killer Stain. Asking for help in this short time…" Touma whispered.
"M-My p-pocket full of p-posies…!" Slowly, Shepherd turned to Aizawa and the UA faculty, and the teachers' eyes widened in horror. A black mask now covered the right side of his face, his exposed left eye completely black with a pulsing purple iris and accompanied by a deranged smile, blood leaking from the teeth and dribbling down the chin. The mask had a demonic muzzle like a dog from the pits of hell, and six horns jutting from the side, and the mouth opened in tandem with Shepherd's screaming. "…Ashes…A-Ashes…Ah…Ah…I-I'm falling down…?"
"…is impossible."
"A-Ah…Mother…Father…I'll do better, I promise…Ahhh…I'm so fucked up. I won't let you worry anymore…I will get stronger…so don't use the cane…okay? If I don't get stronger…the pain will come back! I have to continue killing…THE weak dies while the strong lives! THAT'S WHY I'LL KILL YOU ALL! IT CAN'T BE HELPED RIGHT?! ERASERHEAD! YOU'LL LET ME KILL YOU RIGHT~!? BECAUSE I HATE PAIN! I TOLD YOU BEFORE RIGHT? MI~DO~RI~YA-KUN~!?"
Midnight and Present-Mic's hearts took a plunge at that. Wait…what…did this kid…just said…?!
"SING WITH ME! UNTIL WE ARE ALL DYED BLACK! Twist and cut the fingers with pliers. Put a needle in your ear! Ring around the rosies! Feel your flesh and skin melting off! Down they go! Into your stomach. Into your lungs. Into your intestines! Take a plunge off the roof and have your insides gently scrambled! Ashes ashes…! What's next?! Sing with me! What's next?! Melting?! What's next?! I'll turn you black! I want you to be the same as me?! I can feel it rotting inside me! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! Don't make me feel this way! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! It's fallinf down?! Split?! RIP?! HEHEHEHE?! I have to s-sing?! What's next?! What's next?! The pain is so fervent! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! I feel like I'm going to melt! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! Tell me?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! What's next?! P-Please…tell me?!"
"Among all the villains I have dealt with over the years…" Aizawa said in a hushed tone of dread, readying himself regardless.
"A-Ashes a-ashes…what's next?" Shepherd giggled as he looked over at Aizawa, his new black mask looking strangely alive, completely consumed by madness. "what's next~?"
"You are definitely the craziest one yet...!"
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=[]=
"S-Shit…what the hell is going on…?"
"Don't panic! Just support Eraserhead and the others!"
"Someone contact the units near Endeavor!" Commissioner General Touma instructed, a rare bead of cold sweat dripping down his wrinkled forehead. "Tell him that we him here as soon as possible; we got a nasty one here!"
The hellhound of the League moved faster than any of the heroes could perceive. However, he had something within his claws. It was round, bleeding, and pairs of horrified eyes embedded in their sockets. There were two of them.
It wasn't until they heard the heavy thud of bodies falling over did they find out what those things were.
The villain had torn off the head of two unsuspecting policemen.
"Eraserhead! You have to stay your ground!" Commissioner General Touma shouted as he ordered his men to open fire. "Keep him busy until Endeavor gets here!"
"Tell me something I can actually do!" Aizawa gritted his teeth in frustration, leaping back from another strike to avoid getting his head ripped off by Shepherd, the sludge appendages destroying the area in front of him entirely, debris flying everywhere and shrapnel slicing his skin. With a quick strike, he kicked him in the chest. Shepherd growled in pain, slicing the area in front of him and forced Aizawa back.
"My vision is being blocked…! The blood from my head is not stopping…!" Aizawa thought in frustration as Shepherd bounced around the area. "Did he try to target my eyes first to prevent my quirk?! Furthermore…his speed-!"
Touma clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes in rage. "How DARE you harmed my men?!" He unleashed the sonic gun upon him, with Present-Mic supporting him by delivering his own sound attack, but he was faster than what they could have believed. It was like a black blur, bouncing everywhere like a chaotic little devil.
"Gargh…HARGH-!" the villain continued to give gurgled screams, madness and rage mixed his eyes as he dodged the police's bullets. His two sludge 'tails' coiled once again like springs and shot him into the air, his sludge claws spread out.
The next thing they knew, black shards rained down like a hail storm.
This was leagues away from the amount he could shoot out since the USJ attack! The number of sludge bullets were in the thousands; so much that the people taking pictures outside the police perimeter were close to danger.
There was no way to dodge this! The heroes and policemen crowded behind Present-Mic as he used his voice as a sound shield. The policemen used their sound guns to enforce the defensive line. But even then, it wasn't nearly enough to defend completely.
Several of the deadly compressed sludge shots had managed to break through them. Several policemen fell from the many poisonous wounds and cuts inflicted upon them, and one hit Present-Mic got hit in the arm.
"We can't do this all night Aizawa!" Present-Mic screamed as he clutched his arm, unable to tear his eyes away from the fight. "We have to retreat and evacuate the people here!"
"No! If we leave that kid to his own devices in that state, every single citizen in Hosu is in danger! We have to keep him here!"
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These heroes…these bastards…They were the ones who attacked first. That was more than enough for him. Enough for him to break loose.
Utter eradication.
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"…Stronger…stronger…EVEN STRONGER!" with that in mind, Shepherd landed back on the ground with a deafening crash right in the middle of the group. He was standing right infront of Present-Mic, his malicious eyes glaring up at the [Voice] quirk Pro-hero. The man's eyes twitched, his eyes shaking behind his glasses. "First…the noisy one." Before the man could say anything, Shepherd swung his clawed arm.
The blonde-haired loudmouth was sent flying…and he didn't get back up.
"YAMADA!" Midnight cried. Aizawa, despite his wounds, rushed to his friend's body and propped him up. He's still breathing, but his pulse was weak. The Commissioner General however, chose this moment to go on the offensive. "Don't falter! Set the Sonic Resonance Guns to the highest output and blast him to the ground!" However, the sludge villain had other plans.
No more of those annoying sound weapons.
Before anyone could pull the trigger, his two tails snatched the nearest police by their ankles, yanking them off the ground and swung them against their own forces like a meatbat. With a few powerful swings, nearly all of them were sent crashing to the pavement.
Aizawa became visibly ticked off alongside Midnight, the two charging straight at him, the former not caring if he can't use his [Erasure] quirk anymore. "That's enough!"
"P-Pocket f-full of posies…!" Shepherd's tails hardened rapidly into spiked appendages before lashing them out. With his speed, Aizawa was able to dodge the fast-striking sludge while moving forward, Midnight trailing behind him. Once the Erasure-hero managed to get close enough, he kicked high and intended to give a blow to the temple strong enough to knock him out.
Shepherd however, deflected such an attack easily with his tail, snarling ferociously. Aizawa just retreated back and used his capture cloth to wrap around the sludge appendage, pulling hard and snap the tail right in half. Midnight ran up from behind, tearing layers of her clothing to release generous volumes of purple smoke towards the boy. He howled with annoyance and anger, turning his attention toward both of them. "ANNOYING!" he screamed, from a mass of gathering sludge he quickly reformed his broken tail and flicked both of his tails. Both Aizawa and Nemuri were knocked back.
"My [Somnambulist] had no effect?! Even though he's a male?!" an alarmed Midnight exclaimed.
"No, it's working! He's more sluggish now! Use this chance to corner him!"
They continued to throw themselves onto him, using their respective weapons to hack away at the sludge. Shepherd growled angrily, his body being encompassed with pain and sluggishness. It hurts…it hurts…the pain was wrecking his mind.
He could feel the voices haunting him as the battle wore on…he had to destroy him fast! NO MORE PAIN!
"Hehehehahaha…I'M GONNA DYE YOU BLACK! LET'S ALL FALL DOWN!" with a bestial roar, the sludge which armoured his body exploded outwards, shooting poisonous shards in every direction, causing the watching crowd to scream in terror.
"Evade! Use the sonic guns to protect the crowd!"
Midnight and Eraserhead were forced to evade. The former used her whip to throw a broken signboard to block some of the shards aimed towards the spectating crowd. "Get away from here!" Nemuri shouted. "It's not safe here!"
"Those who are still alive, guard the perimeter and block those shards with the sonic guns!" The Commissioner General hollered to his men. "So this is Shepherd…What a monster…!"
Shepherd slammed his hands on the pavement, continuing to pant and snarl and scream in agony. Dammit, why won't they die?! Why do they keep bothering him?! The pain was not going away…He was going crazy.
'You have power…' the voice of Stain echoed in his mind. 'but what you seek is nothing more than a childish dream."
Power…? Yes…I need more power…to go beyond…to end my pain…!
'Power is meaningless without a proper cause. In the end…you will be purged by those fakes.'
The voices…they just won't stop…!
"If you keep giving into your impulses…you are nothing more than a howling beast."
"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Shepherd screamed with pain, clutching his head tightly. The sludge being produced within his body increased at a dangerous pace. His scorpion-like tails lashed about wildly due to the pain; their barbed tips tearing everything apart while they expanded in size. His sharp nails clawed at his mask which was beginning to grow more bestial, purple eyes blazing with unhinged madness, and more sludge oozed like a waterfall.
He had to go more…more power…EVEN STRONGER!
"…back…" The Commissioner General whispered out. "Stay back…you vil-!"
*CRASH!*
The Commissioner General was cut off as Shepherd's clawed fist made contact with his face. The police officer was hurled into the air and crashed through the window of a department stall. Inside, his face was heavily bruised and bleeding, his arm bent at an odd angle. After a painful hiss, his eyes rolled back.
"…weak." Shepherd said with a dark chuckle before finding himself bombarded with gunfire. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" the police screamed with rage as they pelted him with bullets, the loss of the highest commanding officer had thrown all their reasoning into disarray. However, their eyes widened in shock when they saw the boy being guarding by his sludge tendrils. He gave them a bored look. "…Is that all?" He took their despaired silence as a yes. "…My turn."
His tails pounded the pavement, acting as a boost to his acceleration as he launched himself forward. Aizawa and Midnight grimaced as they prepared themselves…but the hellhound had other targets; the cowards shooting from the back.
The police couldn't react quickly to his movements and without a hero; they were dead. Their blighted corpses were scattered across the place, blood blossoming like dark flowers, their faces locked in pure terror.
"You-!" Midnight rushed in, her costume ripped to the point where her sleeping gas was released in overwhelming amounts, making its way to Shepherd.
Without even looking, Shepherd back-flipped into the air with his tails, before slamming them back down to create a massive shockwave which blew everything away and knocked Midnight off her feet. He turned slightly so that only one eye was glaring at her.
Midnight froze. Her body trembled. She instinctively feared this child. In a mere second, the villain appeared in front of the curvaceous woman. Driven by fear and adrenaline, she aimed to kick him away with her strength.
But the sludge claw caught her leg, and used the other to grab her throat. He slowly applied pressure to her neck, driving the toxins of his sludge through her skin.
He forced her knees to the ground, watching her squirm in pain. When she was eye-leveled with him, he drove his sludge clawed fist into her stomach. He could hear several bones breaking from that impact alone. Not relinquishing the grip on her neck, he swung her aside, throwing her where he had felled Present-Mic. "…only one hero left."
"That's enough…!" Aizawa shouted, bursting through the smoke, his goggles completely broken, and angry eyes obstructed with blood, and a broken piece of a telephone pole in his right hand. He swung the capture cloth and tied both of his two sludge tails together. With a swift twist, Aizawa yelled and wedged them apart from Shepherd at the base.
The black tentacles broke apart, and Aizawa pressed on in a silent frenzy. Before Shepherd could react, Aizawa was already upon him, swinging his leg towards Shepherd's sternum with all his might. The impact resounded across the street, and something cracked. Shepherd howled in pain, oozing out more sludge for defense. Aizawa readied his fist as he brushed against Shepherd's sludge claws, lowering his body and delivered a secondary strike to where he hit the boy previously.
Internal bleeding could be felt, forcing Shepherd down on one knee. Aizawa wasted no time in dealing out more damage, and grabbed the villain by the hair, slamming his knee into his face. He inwardly scowled in annoyance, dully noting how painfully hard the sludge mask formed around Shepherd's face was. Shepherd was reeling back in agony, leaning back as Aizawa swung the metal pole into his shoulder, tearing through the boy's flesh at his shoulder and driving it down with so much force it embedded itself on the concrete, pinning down Shepherd.
"G-GARGHHHH!"
Aizawa cursed at himself for doing this to a child…but with this…he can be…
"N-No more pain...no more...!"
But with his broken body shaken over, Shepherd forced himself back up with his face still diluted with madness and insanity as a shaky arm reached for the metallic rod , grabbing the end with one hand. Crimson red flesh began to sew together like a spider's web, already working on the damage. Bone was mending, flesh recovering, and torn muscles were re-knitting. "N-No more pain…" Shepherd gurgled, hissing with pain as he pulled Aizawa's makeshift wedge out from his shoulder. "No m-more…!"
"What kind of insane recovery is this?!"
Without saying anything else, Shepherd's sludge reformed into their twin barbed tails, their ends crystallizing into shards of poisonous ooze. He fired a volley, a good amount of them finding their mark on Aizawa.
The Erasure-hero did not have the energy to set up a proper defense, now with his arms and legs riddled with toxic bullets, he collapsed on one knee, taking deep heavy breaths as a searing pain assaulted his being.
.
With this…with this…no one can hurt him anymore…
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*Belch-!*
Crimson liquid suddenly vomited out of his mouth.
Suddenly his world was spinning and he nearly fell over. His hands made contact with the concrete, a feeling of pain and agony shot up through her body. He could feel his body forcing him to cough his lungs out, a metallic taste left on his mouth. Blood? With shaky hands, he brought it to his mouth – only to confirm as he saw the liquid. The sludge surrounding him was also beginning to fall into puddles as he lost power.
Too much…produced too much sludge…t-the poison…!
Not now...not when he was this close...!
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Aizawa grew confused when Shepherd suddenly fell down painfully and clutched his forehead; screaming out incoherent ramblings as his quirk was beginning to weaken. "What happened?"
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A black and purple portal suddenly appeared behind him; yellow eyes shimmering from within. "Quickly!"
A pair of slender arms helped Shepherd stabilized his position from the ground, and a pair of concerned eyes met his.
"...S-Shizune...? Y-You woke up...?"
"Hang on…we're almost there!" Shizune looked worse for wear; bruises on her face and a bullet wound through her thigh. She slowly supported Shepherd with surprising strength. "Almost…!"
.
"DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!"
Aizawa was very close, just a small distance away before he could grab at either of the two young villains – close enough to see the expression of slight panic on the purple-haired girl's face as she dragged Shepherd into the black and purple portal. This boy is too dangerous! The black and purple portal opened wider just behind them, and Aizawa swung the remains of his capture cloth as the [Psychosis] quirk girl jumped through the portal, pulling her companion along with her.
He stopped for some reason-! WE CAN'T AFFORD TO LET HIM ESCAPE AND RECOVER!
His trusty alloy cloth and years of experience rewarded him; the tattered capture weapon of Aizawa streaked towards Shepherd and wrapped around his arm before he receded into the portal himself. With a grunt, Aizawa yanked the cloth hard like a fishing line, and Shepherd's right arm popped back out of the warp gate. Aizawa's eyes hardened with pure rage, and he continued to reel him in.
I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY!
But before he could drag her any further though, the portal quickly closed and amputated Shepherd's arm at the elbow in a fountain of blood. Aizawa fell back on his rear in shock, the remains of Shepherd's arm lying on the ground in a pool of blood as the villains vanished entirely into the portal.
They…they sacrificed his arm?!
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=[League of Villains Hideout]=
"N-Not again…!" Shepherd screamed violently once Shizune released her hold on him, holding his bleeding stump of an arm, and poisonous black splotches plagued his entire body. "It hurts…the voices…v-voices won't…stop…!"
Shizune was confused by this abnormal condition. Was his current condition related to some kind of mental trauma? "Shepherd…please…you're okay now…I can't believe you," She glared at Kurogiri. "You cut off his arm?!"
"A lost limb is better than having him captured," Kurogiri intoned solemnly, like this was a daily occurrence; his cold tone making the girl shudder. "Restoring his arm is possible with his [Regeneration], so there is no need for worry. We will send him to the Doctor and patch him up."
"But-!" she whispered, her eyes flashed with concern.
"I-I must be stronger…stronger...!" His body shivered uncontrollably, the drawbacks of the fight kicking in and making his body spasm in pain. "W-Want...don't want the p-pain to return…!"
The girl visibly winced. There must be something she could do…wait, mental trauma? She immediately picked up the flute she recovered earlier, and quickly played a smoothing tune as she held him tightly, his body shaking like a leaf. "Hold on…there's something I can do."
Shizune continued to caressed Shepherd's bloodied white hair as a gentle melody resounded across the room. "It's going to be alright now. No one here will hurt us anymore, Shepherd-san…"
A calmness rushed over everyone like a cool breeze. All of Shepherd's screaming was soon drowned in Shizune's emotion-manipulating quirk, making the boy slowly regain his focus thanks to the calm melody.
"S-Shizune…!" Tears continued to spill from his eyes, but his breathing has calmed down significantly, the madness dwindling from his eyes. "Sorry…I'm so s-sorry…! I was weak…you got h-hurt…!"
"If it wasn't for you, I would have been captured by the heroes; you're not weak." Shizune assured him, holding the crying boy tight to let him know she was still there. "Please rest easy now…just rest..."
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=[To be Continued]=
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A/N: The thirst for strength has unlocked a whole new threshold for Shepherd, but at what cost? Write a comment on what you think! The next chapter will be the Training Camp Arc. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
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