The Soul of a Hero
Chapter 4
This will be an odd one. There'll be some battle at the start but then it'll get…. Well gag like. And frankly it would kind of fit with some of the gag chapters from Soul Eater. Not quite as bad as say the Excalibur ones but maybe more like when Kid first arrived at the academy. So on with the show.
(No POV)
"Oh come on!" Izuku shouted as he leapt from wall to wall and rooftop to rooftop. He was currently being pursued by a few heroes. He'd just finished off a new mission from Lord Death. A trio of kidnappers and killers had been pointed out to Izuku between Mustafa and Tokyo.
The mission had started off simple enough. Izuku found the villains and got as good of a read as he could with his soul perception. From what he could interpret and analyze, one of the members seemed to have a quirk that gave him a warning or precognition type of ability. Based on the darting around eyes on the soul.
He apparently took pleasure in tormenting some of the captives from what Izuku observed. Saying they could go free if they could hit him. Only to beat them mercilessly. 'But his power only works from very specific ranges. And I can fight beyond that.'
"Jane." "Right." Izuku rested Mary in a comfortable sheath he created while he took aim with Jane's long rifle form. Right as the villain was kicking one of the captives he had knocked around, Izuku reached out with his soul perception through the scope. He took a deep breath before firing his shot.
And cutting the villain in half with the bullet that was sent out. Shocking everyone around. Especially when the body disappeared and turned into just a soul. "You two ready?" Izuku asked before drawing Mary.
Who just gave him a shark toothed smile from her soul space while Jane just smirked from hers while changing to a shotgun. "Damn right. Let's do this." They each said before slightly resonating with Izuku to enhance his physical power. Leaping in and bursting into the building quickly.
"What the Hell!?" the bigger villain says as Izuku lands and his scarf trails behind him. The female member who was leading the trio was shocked as well. "What are you waiting for!? Kill him!" she shouts while backing up towards the captives.
The big villain smacks his fist into his palm while making his way toward Izuku. With the boy taking a stance to intercept the punch he's sure will come from the front. Only for the man to sink into the ground.
While this would throw a normal quirked opponent, Izuku suspected something given the dirt like appearance of his soul. Izuku closed his eyes and focused on his sixth sense solely. He could feel the villain's soul wavelength underneath him. And could sense its movements to get behind him.
The villain thinks he has the drop on Izuku and quickly rises out of the ground to pounce on the boy. Only to be shocked when he's staring down the double barrels of Jane's shotgun form. "Idiot." Izuku says as he pulls the trigger. And decapitates the villain, before he turns into just a soul too.
While this was happening the leader's face morphed from confident to shocked and then terrified. 'What the Hell is going on?! Somehow, he took out my muscle as easily as breathing. He couldn't even see him and yet he knew exactly where he would pop up. And could take off his head with that gun.'
Izuku started towards the woman with an easy gait. "Hey there? You from a different gang? Or maybe you're a bounty hunter of some kind. Couldn't become a hero so you went with hunting down criminals? Well doesn't that make you as bad as us?"
The villain was talking to not only distract Izuku, but so she could also use her quirk. One that let her capture all of these people. One that let her take control of another's mind. Waiting for a moment to let her in.
Izuku has a moment where he freezes for a second. Right as she was saying he was as bad as she was. "There is a difference. I'm not following the urges of something that strips away my humanity." Izuku says with a condescending glare at the woman.
This of course infuriates the woman but his response was enough for her to think she had him. She confidently strode up to Izuku while taunting him as he stood still. She pulled out a knife as she was planning to kill him while he couldn't move.
Only to be shocked when she was looking at the world upside down. "Huh?" she said as the top half of her body floated up in the air. It was then she saw that Izuku had slashed her with his sword. And in the reflection of the sword, she could see a girl's face smirking at her as she died.
And just like the two before, she turned into just a soul. Izuku sighed before looking around. "Jane you can collect those two earlier souls. You were the one who finished them after all." Izuku said before spinning her shotgun form.
He tosses the gun into the air and then it transforms into Jane. Shocking those who were trapped as Izuku walked over the cages. While some of them were terrified he was going to kill them too, others looked like they wanted to make a last stand against him.
Izuku twisted his sword to the side before slicing all of the cages. Freeing the captives inside. "That last one's soul is yours Mary." Izuku says while holding up the sword.
"Yep. You know you were kinda lucky we were with you. I know you felt it. She could have gotten control of you, but we were there to snap you out of any mind control she tried to pull." Mary said as she was transforming. Shocking the captives once more.
The two girls each took the souls and absorbed them into themselves. "Hey! Who are you?!" one of the people asked Izuku was walking off with the girls. Izuku didn't say anything at first. He sighed before saying, "just someone looking to bring some peace."
"Freeze villains! Lacquer Chain Prison….. Wait what?" The wall was suddenly broken down by a group of heroes. The one who broke the wall was Death Arms. And who jumped in next was Kamui Woods who started to use his finishing move to retrain the villains. Only there were no villains to restrain.
Izuku lets out a little sigh before saying they were late. "Well, whatever. We accomplished what we needed to do. So long." Izuku said with a wave reminiscent of his mentor's. A two-finger salute as he was walking away.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?! Are you the villains who trapped these people!?" Death Arms says while marching over to Izuku. One of the kids speaks up and tells them that the three had saved them.
"They did something to the lady and the bad men. When he slashed them with blonde, big-boobed girl or when he shot them with the tall stick lady." Izuku was just facepalming while Jane and Mary were each annoyed by the child's way of describing them.
But Death Arms puts enough together to see that Izuku had somehow killed the kidnappers and freed these people. "But be that as it may, we can't let this stand. You still committed a crime, and you have to own up to that."
Izuku lets out a groan before he says they need to get going. "Hold it!" Death Arms says before running over and grabbing Izuku's shoulder. But Izuku just grabs his hand and pushes on a pressure point while sending a bit of his soul through it.
"Sorry about this." Izuku says before lifting Death Arm's arm up. And placing his hand on his solar plexus. 'I'm not as strong or as skilled as Star. But this won't hurt for practice.' Izuku thinks before twisting his hand and blasting his soul through the man.
It doesn't send him flying, but it does knock back the large hero and knock him out. Kamui checks and sees that DA is still breathing before shouting to Izuku to stop. Only to be stunned when Mary and Jane transform into weapons.
He snaps out of it enough to shout at Izuku again as the boy leaps up and out of the hole he made earlier. He then tells the police to get these people out of here. "I'm going after him. But I better call in some backup."
After Izuku leapt away, Kamui tried to keep right on him. Only to be shocked at how difficult it was. 'He must have a quirk that enhances his body somehow. I wonder if it has a time limit or a condition to fulfill.' Kamui thinks as he tries to catch up.
But he's shocked again when Izuku turns around and starts firing at him. Slowing the arbor hero more. But luckily some of the backup he called in arrived. Right as Izuku was leaping from another rooftop, Mt Lady was there.
"Gotcha!" she exclaimed as she swiped at Izuku. Only to scream in a bit of pain and pull her hand back. Right as her hand was coming down, Izuku stabbed her with Mary. He then stabbed her into the wall of a building to regain his footing. "Not cool Izuku!" Mary exclaimed.
Izuku rolled his eyes before saying, "we can discus it later!" He then shot Mt Lady a few times with Jane's pistol form. Before leaping off and trying to keep ahead of the heroes. But they weren't letting up and they were getting more backup.
Kamui had called into the hero commission and to a person who seemed interested in the idea of working together. The commission hero sent was none other than Mirko while the one Kamui called in was Edgeshot.
"Are you freaking kidding me!? The number 5 and 6 heroes are after me now! Oh, come on! REALLY!?" Izuku exclaims while trying to keep his distance. He sheaths Mary and has Jane shift to her shotgun form.
He fires backwards to disrupt the pros chasing him before answering the phone call he was getting from Ming. "Ming! Now isn't a good time! No, we killed the targets. Its just that some heroes burst in after we did and now they want to take me in. Oh, come on!"
After both Mirko and Edgeshot get blasted back by shotgun slugs from Jane, they ask how he was reloading so quickly. "Not to mention his physical skills. I've never seen anyone move so fast they can outpace me!" Mirko commented after getting up from the car she fell into.
"Shotgun? But the girl turned into a pistol when they leapt off earlier." Kamui asked and reported when Edgeshot mentioned getting hit with shotgun slugs. He even notes that was what he got shot with.
The two higher ranked pros look at him like he's nuts, but they push past to catch Izuku. Mirko then looks up to Mt Lady before smirking. "Hey Jumbo! Give us a boost!" She shouts while grabbing Edgeshot's shirt.
He freaks out at first, but he can see the bigger plan. As does Mt Lady as she holds out her hand to catch the pair. Edgeshot folds himself up tightly, while Mirko crouches to get the most out of her leaping when she's thrown.
Izuku senses this but he's already in the middle of his own leap so he can't do much about it. "Shit. This isn't good." Izuku says as he feels Mt Lady wind up and then sense the souls inside her hand.
The resulting duo launched look like a pair of mad demons flying toward Izuku. Who is freaking out quite vocally. "Izuku! Point me downward now!" Jane orders and Izuku follows along. And when she shouts to pull the trigger, the resulting shot bucks Izuku upwards. And away from the outstretched hand of Mirko.
"Come back here you little- gack!" Mirko shouts as she goes flying under Izuku. And then right into a sign for a bunny girl bar. Izuku lands on a different sign before chuckling. First at the fact they dodged that. "And that is just way too fitting. We gotta keep moving."
Edgeshot though quickly unfolds and is right on Izuku's tail. Izuku grunts before trying to blast him again with the shotgun. Only for the man to knock Jane away and up into the air. And then be shocked when she transforms back into a human.
She puts her fist forward and it shapeshifts into a barrel. And she fires off a slug before turning her other arm into a barrel and blasting down to Izuku again. "What is going on!?" Edgeshot shouts after evading the slug.
But he keeps on Izuku's tail and the boy doesn't consider using Jane again. "He's too close, I can't take full advantage of what you can do." "Then let me at him! I'll dull my edge don't worry. It's better than letting him catch us." Mary says inside the scabbard.
Izuku agrees before apologizing to Jane. He was forced to stick her in his pants to keep form losing her. "When this is over you are getting me a holster!" Jane shouts in embarrassment.
He then quickly draws Mary from the scabbard and deflects Edgeshot's Spiral Spear Hand technique. Izuku then backflips while holding his sword with both hands. Deftly landing on a sign before backwards leaping.
"Your skills are truly impressive. And your technique as well! You'd make a capable hero and valued ally if you'd simply attend a hero school. So why are you using your quirk to commit these acts?!" Edgeshot says in between various attacks to catch or disable Izuku.
The boy just smiles before thinking he knows exactly how to throw this hero off. As he was deflecting Edgeshot's attacks. Even the one's the hero was certain were invisible to the eye. "If it was that simple, I might have thought of that. But there's just one problem: I don't have a quirk."
"WAIT WHAT?!" Edgeshot shouts. Letting up his attacks in surprise and dumbfounded disbelief. Which Izuku takes full advantage of. The hero was fairly close to him and focused on the boy. And now that he was sufficiently distracted and running almost on auto, Izuku leapt the man right into a trap.
Edgeshot had noticed the billboard vaguely, but Izuku mentioning that he didn't have a quirk completely threw him off. And he didn't notice that Izuku leapt higher and swung himself over the top of the billboard.
Until he impacted the front of the sign. Which was for a fertilizer business and Edgeshot had his face in the middle of a painted pile of poop. Izuku then swung down and double kicked the hero as hard as he could in the face. Bloodying his nose and sending him sprawling towards the ground. And into a trashcan.
"Phew. Glad that worked. Now to just get a bit farther away." Izuku said before sheathing Mary again. While Jane was demanding that Izuku remove her from his pants. "Don't think you'll get away that easily!"
Izuku hears this and barely has time to try and evade. He rolls to the side and sees something that makes him extra afraid. Standing in front of him with his massive muscles bulging, was All Might.
"I had been planning to leave this be when I heard two other top ten heroes were in pursuit. But it seems you have more skills than we thought. Sorry to say your escape ends now. Why? Because I AM HERE!" All Might says with his trademark smile.
Izuku looks for any opportunity to get away, but he isn't seeing anything. He also doubts him not having a quirk thing would work twice given what he'd read about All Might's super hearing.
All Might can see that the person he was pursuing was uneasy and scared. He told who he assumed to be a man to calm down. Only to be shocked when he saw a boy instead.
'A boy who could evade pro heroes and come up with plans on the fly? Not to mention who apparently seeks to save others given he freed those captives. If only he wasn't a killer, he might make a perfect successor for OFA.' All Might thinks
The hero then asks the boy's name while Izuku backs away a bit. He only says his name is Midoriya while backing up. Izuku then senses something important. And slightly dangerous. "As much as I'd like to maybe spar with you All Might, I think you've got a different dance partner tonight." Izuku says with a shaky smirk.
The hero is confused and is about to ask what the boy meant. Only for Jon to answer for him. "Get away from my student!" Jon shouts while divebombing at the hero. Who barely puts his arms up in time to block the strike from Ming. Wincing as the blade impacts on his arms.
Izuku shakes his head as the dust settles and sees both men standing tall. Even if All Might towered over his teacher. "Izuku! Get out of here! I'll handle this!" Jon shouts while pushing All Might back.
The green haired teen nods before leaping off and trying to disappear into the night. "Fighting to protect your student? Admirable and exceptional. Let alone this strength. Why aren't you a hero?" All Might asks while being pushed back towards the edge of the roof.
"The term hero is often subjective pal. Who's to say I'm not a hero? Just because me and my student do things a bit differently!" Jon says while feeling All Might pushing back. And still being unsettled by the extra souls he saw inside the man earlier.
Jon manages to push All Might back far enough that he falls off the roof. But Jon doesn't immediately follow him down. "We could try to get away." Ming mentions from within her soul space. But Jon shakes his head.
"He'll catch up in no time. I have to knock him out or at least exhaust him enough to where we can get away." Ming personally thinks that Jon just wants to fight the strongest hero. But she also knows he has a point.
Jon then leaps down and lands in the middle of the street opposite of All Might. "You're not running?" Jon just snorts before noting that All Might could catch up with little issue. "Even if I take to the skies. Better I fight you for now and hope to buy my student more time."
All Might nods while applauding the man's resolve once again. "You'd make a decent teacher at UA if you weren't teaching people how to kill." All Might says while taking his stance. Jon's only retort is that it is all he knows how to do.
Civilians are watching and some are taking video as the two men face each other down. All Might's fists raised and Jon holding Ming in a ready position. The tension is palpable as the two glare at each other. Daring the other to make the first move.
But they both move at the same time. Charging forward with their preferred openers. Jon doing a side slash while All Might throws a strong right. Both attacks impact and make each other recoil.
But All Might seems to snap out of it first. And starts to lay into Jon with a barrage of blows. The warrior wasn't expecting this so he evades and deflects with Ming as best he could. Before using the pole side of the weapon to catch the number one hero off guard. Smacking him in the knees, then stomach and groin.
It was after this hit that the man seemed to be favoring his left side. And that he was looking around as they were fighting. 'He's more concerned about the civilians…. And something else.' Ming notes while the battle commenced anew.
This is when Jon chose to emulate the style of Professor Stein. He deflected the blows again until he made an opening by deflecting a Texas Smash upward. He then struck All Might's stomach before calling out, "soul force!"
The resulting shock causes massive pain and vents steam everywhere. Though the latter is more due to All Might losing his form. Jon's eye is wide and this and he slams the butt of his weapon down to keep the fog over them.
"So, this was why you seemed uneasy. I've heard about how you are the symbol of peace. And if that symbol is shown to be weak, the peace crumbles, right?" Ming asks in weapon form.
All Might is shocked and even moreso when Jon asks if it had anything to do with the seven souls he saw inside the man. "Souls? What are you talking about?" Toshinori asked while coughing a bit of blood up.
"Your power. The quirk, you call it? Why does your soul look human and normal, while also having seven other souls inside?" Jon asks with a suspicious glare directed at the man. Toshinori though gulps before asking if Jon knew of AFO or OFA.
The meister and weapon share a strange look before asking what the Three Musketeers had to do with this. Toshinori chuckles before saying it was more complicated than that. Jon hums before talking with the hero and telling Toshinori to play along with something.
When the fog dissipates, All Might is still standing in his buff form. But some notice that he had blood around his mouth and looked strained. Jon though had his weapon behind him and was holding his hand straight in front of his face.
The villain by most people's perspective was backing away from the number one. But said hero wasn't moving. Noted and questioned by Mirko when she caught up with the fighters. "Well, whatever, we can still catch this gu-hey what the Hell?!"
Mirko was shouting as All Might suddenly reached over and grabbed her. Stopping the rabbit from chasing Jon. "This requires insane concentration, but it works to keep you in place. As well as your allies. We'll finish this another time All Might. There are too many people around and I don't want to get them caught up in our fight."
Jon then drops Ming's guandao form and steps on it. Taking to the air and quickly getting away. After a few minutes pass, All Might lets go of Mirko and collapses to the ground. "What was with that?! I could have caught them! Actually, so could you now that I'm saying it."
"His last blow before you arrived did more than I thought. Somehow the attack hit my internal organs. And while it did that, he was able to take control of me for a time. But because of how powerful I am it took a lot of concentration." All Might explained to Mirko and at a press conference the next day.
He then noted that he wasn't sure who or what the man was, but he was exceptionally dangerous. "I advise all heroes to not engage the man if they see him. Call it in to the commission. Aside from it requiring possibly my strength, we may also need more from the top five to take this man down."
"So that's the story you went with?" Izuku asked while watching the press conference on his phone. Jon shrugged while Ming just mentioned it was the best way to keep peace and keep people from needlessly panicking. While the pair quietly thought about the incident from last night.
Flashback
"I take it you're not like this for no good reason." Jon said with a raised eyebrow. Toshinori looked at the man with a bit of trepidation but relented in saying he'd been badly injured by a villain. "This is what I look like after all the surgeries."
Jon nodded before asking if the man could stand and retake his form. Toshinori was surprised but quickly mumbled out that he could. "Then I've got a deal for you. I don't want to fight you. I was just looking to save my student. Ming's got an idea on a way to bluff that I've stopped or froze you."
"Ming?" Toshinori question before seeing the blade of the guandao transform into a woman. "That would be me. Everyone already saw that hit of soul force you got to the stomach. Given how stupid and obsessed with quirks everyone is, we can pretend that is what froze you in place."
While Toshinori was confused and a little insulted by Ming's words. But he did agree to keep the peace and to let the pair go for their silence. Thus, he buffed up and stood still while Jon took his stance.
Flashback End
"It seemed like the best way to avoid extra issues going forward." Jon said while cooking a bit of food. Izuku just let out a huh while watching. As well as seeing the news that All Might was teaching at UA. "I wonder if those injuries are why he's teaching at UA? Maybe he's looking for something special."
Jon just shrugs before mentioning to Izuku that there would be new people showing up later. "A few other weapons and meisters. Though apparently a lot of things have changed."
"You have no idea Mr. Star." A voice says at the door of the hidden house. The first to arrive was Johari and Muwali. Ming and Jon are surprised by the two, especially considering Lord Death mentioned that Adofo would be the one arriving.
So Ming questions where Kpinga was. "My dad can't transform anymore. But I can, and we've already taken out a dangerous target." Muwali says with a cocked eyebrow. Shocking all of the people from the world of souls. "Explain please." Jon says with an uneasy expression.
The two take a seat and explain the story involved with Kpinga and how long ago he was dropped in this world. This story just unsettles most everyone there. With the oldest meister among them questioning how many others were scattered across the world.
"And how the Hell are we gonna get back or find them all?" Jon says while leaning back over his chair. Ming agrees and has a blue shade over her eyes. Especially considering she was the one who suggested that the attack the magic rather than go after the witches.
Ming sighs before saying they still needed to receive and train another new meister. "And we may have less time to train her up." Jon shared that thought and hoped that he wouldn't be meeting All Might again anytime soon.
While they were all dealing with that matter, in another part of Japan a hero was conflicted on what or who was coming. His old friend and former sidekick Dave had first asked for a workout plan for a friend. But now he was asking for him to let his daughter stay with her uncle.
"There's no way I can keep up this charade if she's going to be living with me….. Damn. I just can't say no to my old friend. Maybe it would be better to just tell her and Dave. You know what I'll do just that after we get back to my apartment." Toshinori thinks aloud before buffing up to head for the airport.
He arrives and is happy to see and meet Melissa again. "Uncle Might!" Melissa shouts as she wraps All Might in a hug. One that the big hero happily reciprocates. Though the other person with her isn't sure on what to think of the huge man. Especially with what she can see inside him.
"I take it you are Eldora, right? It's good to meet you. I'm All Might, the number one hero of Japan. But to Melissa and Dave… I'm Yagi Toshinori." All Might says with a smile. El still looks at him suspiciously but she shakes his outstretched hand.
She then signs her name and that it was nice to meet him. All Might returns this before signing back that it was nice to meet her, and he hopes she'll like Japan. Surprising the mute girl, but also making her smile.
He asks the airport staff to deliver the girl's luggage to his address. He then picks the girls and their carry-ons up and leaps into the air. El is freaking out a bit, but Melissa seems to be enjoying this. They shake a bit as All Might lands at his penthouse apartment.
"Sorry if that scared you a bit El. I just thought this might be a bit faster. Besides…. There's something I need to show you and Melissa. Dave should know too." All Might says with a grim look.
El hms before asking, "does it have something to do with the extra souls I see inside of you?" All Might is shocked by this and asks how she could see that. As well as what their real reason for coming to Japan.
Melissa and El share a look before nodding. El starts to glow similar to what he saw Ming do. The girl then disappears and when the light dissipates, El's shield form appears on Melissa's arm.
All Might gulps and asks to put a pin in the insane number of questions he has. "Can you call Dave. You and he need to see something." All Might says while rubbing his face. Melissa shakily nods and gets out her computer.
When it connects, Dave is happy to see both of his girls and his old friend together. "It's good to see you too Dave. I know I sent you an email about the injuries I had received from a villain, right? Well, I think you and the girls need to see this."
The hero lets out a breath and slowly deflates down to his true form. And while Melissa freaks out and rapidly questioned what happened to her uncle. El though grabs her meister's shoulder and signs that she needs to calm down.
"This is a side effect of your fight with All For One right?" Dave asks with a severe look on his face. Toshinori sighs before agreeing with what his friend said. When both girls question who AFO is, Toshinori gives them a jaundiced version of their history.
"So, about five years ago we had one last fight. I destroyed his head to finish him. But he left me with this." Toshinori unbuttoned his shirt and showed all of them his scar. Shocking and worrying Melissa.
Dave nods before asking how long he could be a hero. "About three or four hours before I start to feel strained. I've been looking for a successor to eventually take over my role as a symbol of peace. Because I know I'll have to retire sooner or later."
His old friend nods before accepting that would happen sooner or later. "It just comes with age, I guess. But please Toshi. Take care of yourself and the girls." Toshinori gives Dave a smile before saying he would with all he had.
Melissa and El talk with Dave for a bit before telling him to be careful. And to keep Melissa updated on his next research plans. After they had hung up though, the girls knew that Toshinori had many questions.
"So what are you actually here for?" was the main one Toshinori asked. Melissa mentioned that there was someone in this country who could help her improve and could give her the training to wield El more effectively.
Toshinori sighed before asking where the man was and that he'd like to meet whoever it was. "And I'm hoping he can give me more answers." The next day, both men meet face to face again. With Jon's right eye twitching at what he wished for being denied. While Toshinori was slightly unsettled at seeing the man again.
Both let out sighs before Jon stepped aside to let them all in. With Izuku and Johari happily greeting Melissa. And El signed hello to the other weapons who also greeted her warmly. "So, where do we begin?" Toshinori asks while taking a seat in the run-down house.
Hopefully some of this was funny to you guys. And I'll admit the main reason I had two of the top ten looking like fools was for two reasons. First; they didn't have a clue on what they were facing and underestimated Izuku. Second; they've never fought or dealt with anyone who could fight like a meister can. And thanks to All Might most 'villains' are little more than street thugs, pickpockets, or rampaging animals.
As an extra reason though, it was just funny for some of those set ups and sequences. Especially making Mirko faceplant into a bunny girl sign. Next chapter won't have really any more exposition since I've been doing that over the first three chapters. I'll have Toshinori getting the explanation and meeting with Lord Death off screen. Please review.