Coco: Hey, guys, I'm back like I said I would be, and I hope you're having a wonderful holiday wherever you are. I did get a little behind on some of my work. So, everything but Bright Like a Diamond was finished and I am so sorry about that. I unfortunately got sick and it slowed me down. But I am better, and I promise you that I am still working on that story to all of whom are you reading it.
So, the other two rewrites will be posted tonight. I have them all typed up and ready to go along with the chapters I promised and I hope you're ready for them. Now without further ado, let's get started, shall we?
Ayano landed on her feet below as the others regained their composure. She looked up seeing the hole above them close up.
"Now where are we?" Izuku asked.
"Somewhere even farther from the target." Rock Lock said. "Those guys are really screwing with us."
Ayano frowned as she stretched out through her connection to Eri who indeed felt even farther away. This wasn't good at all. However, Mirio was on the way, so she had no reason to worry for now. He'd reach her, and the rest of them would catch up.
"Well, what do we have here?" A voice cut in.
Ayano turned along with the others to see the three villains they had been delivered to. The one who spoke being blonde of hair. Ayano recognized him from the information the police had given them. Setsuno Toya was his name, and the two companions with him were Hojo Yū and Tabe Soramitsu.
"Looks like some state authorized thugs crashed our party." Setsuno continued. "Isn't that strange?"
"These guys are obviously ready for a fight." Fatgum said as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's see how long petty criminals can last against the strength of a Pro."
However, before he could start fighting, Tamaki stepped forward and held out his arm to stop his mentor.
"The Pros should save their strength for when we reach the target," Tamaki said. "These guys just want to slow us down. Go on. I cand handle them myself."
Konan looked at her usually timid upperclassman in surprise, and she wasn't the only one. Fatgum and Eijiro were shocked as well. However, the girl soon found herself smiling.
'Suneater-senpai is so amazing,' She thought in awe.
'Yeah, he is,' Ayano thought back, which reminded Konan of the mental link.
Konan was slightly embarrassed as she realized the others heard her thoughts. Though she acted cool as now wasn't the time to be embarrassed. Eijiro just gave her an unreadable look before focusing on the problem at hand.
"You don't have to take them on alone." Eijiro said. "We'll work together."
"Please, everyone, stay." Setsuno said as he held up his sword threateningly. "I'll kill you all."
"Setsuno; we can't use our guns on him." Tanaka said. "It's up to the Pros."
Yes, Ayano remembers his quirk being called larceny. He can 'steal' off of people as long as what he wishes to steal is with in his sights. Meaning if the police show their guns, he'll just take them.
"You've done your homework, oh well." Setsuno said then charged forward. "That just means I'm free to let loose!"
"Think again," Aizawa said as he activated his quirk. "Lay down your sword."
Setsuno, who was about to use his quirk, gasped as he looked down at his hand.
"My quirk!" He exclaimed.
Hojo stepped forward and pointed at gun at Aizawa, which had Ayano stiffening. She didn't particularly like having a gun pointed at her teacher.
"Power Erasure." Hojo said. "He's an inferior version of Eri. I'd heard a hero with your abilities existed, but our job is to slow you down. Quirks or no, we still have fists and weapons."
"Fight all you want, but swords and bullets just sink into my body." Fatgum told them. "You have no hope in beating us, so why even bother?"
"Big talk, but you just sound scared to me hero." Setsuno taunted.
The officers went to back up the heroes, but Konan raised her hand, which brought everyone to a pause.
"Your weapons won't be necessary." Konan said as Tamaki sprang into action and wrapped up the villains in tentacles he manifested.
The third year slammed the villains, which he had disarmed into the floor with a look of determination on his face.
"I can take these three on," he assured the group. "I ate plenty of Takoyaki at the Fat Agency, so octopus has become one of my specialties. And I gotta say, I'm pretty down on guns since I got shot in the street."
He manifested a crab's claw as he spoke and snapped the weapons he confiscated into pieces.
"Hold on, Suneater," Eijiro cautioned.
"It's not smart for all of us to fight them," Tamaki insisted as he tossed the destroyed weapons to the side. "They want as many stalled heroes here as possible. Let's just give them one. We should save all your quirks—especially Eraserhead's— for later. You'll need to be operating at 100% to get through those moving hallways. Fatgum, I know this is something I can do on my own."
Fatgum stared at his eldest intern a moment before turning his back to Tamaki.
"Let's go." Fatgum said. "Through that door."
Konan went to follow without hesitation as Aizawa gave one last parting gift to Tamaki by incapacitating Tabe and erasing their quirks for a few moments longer. He warned the young hero to be quick as the others went to leave.
"Fatgum, you're going to leave him alone back there?" Eijiro asked in shock. "What are you thinking?"
"He's with your agency, so I left the decision to you." Rock Lock added. "But are you sure he can handle them? Seems kind of risky."
Fatgum was about to reply, but Konan, who was running alongside her mentor, spoke up first.
"Suneater-senpai is going to be just fine," Konan said. "He's an amazing hero. He isn't confident and doesn't believe in himself, so people other look him. But despite that he's recognized as one of the top three student of U.A. But even if he doesn't believe in himself all too often, I believe in him. He will win."
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Crane." Fatgum said with a grin.
Ayano flew alongside the rest of the group as they hurried to make up time to try and catch up to Eri and Mirio who went ahead of them. As she moved, she felt a bit of dread building up in her stomach. As if something was warning her of something bad to come.
'I really hope I'm not developing Sir's foresight,' Ayano thought to herself.
It was always painful whenever she picked up a different psychic ability. Her brain felt like it was on fire and she usually blacked out afterwards. Not to mention, she doesn't want to know the future. Just that nightmare alone had made her fear knowing what could come next. Ayano came out of her thoughts when the wall next to them suddenly shifted and a pillar shot out towards Aizawa.
"Eraser/Aizawa-sensei!" Eijiro and Konan exclaimed.
Aizawa cursed knowing he wouldn't be able to act in time to save himself from this surprise attack. However, someone else came in a rescued the dark-haired male.
'No!' Aizawa mentally shouted as Fatgum shoved him to safety.
'If we don't stop this guy then Tamaki will have stayed behind for nothing,' Fatgum thought. 'Come on, Eraser, time to do your thing!'
Aizawa called out for the BMI hero to be safe as he was forced down the hole that had opened up in the wall adjacent to the moving stone pillar. The hero disappeared leaving the group in a slightly somber mood. However, Ayano soon realized something.
"Where did Red Riot and Paper Crane go?" She asked.
The group turned their heads to the hole, which was being shut before their very eyes.
"Oh dear," Ayano said.
Konan grunted in pain as she hit the ground with Fatgum on top of her and Eijiro squished underneath the two of them. She tried to squirm and get away, but she couldn't move at all. Kirishima had better luck as he tried to shout and get Fatgum's attention. When the hero pushed himself up slightly, the two interns let out breaths of relief.
"Where did you two come from?" He asked as he got completely off of them.
Eijiro didn't reply at first as Konan sat up on his back with her legs on either side of his torso. He wasn't a pervert like Minoru, but he was a teenage by. And Konan's thighs pressed against his body was a bit distracting.
"I was going to send a paper doll to push Aizawa-sensei out of the way." Konan said as she stood up thus freeing Eijiro from his flustering dilemma. "However, I got swept forward when you jumped into action. I should have been more mindful of my surroundings."
Fatgum sweat-dropped because it sounded as if he should have been more aware of his surroundings since he had no idea Konan had been in front of him when he jumped.
"Um, I jumped out in front of Aizawa-sensei." Eijiro told Fatgum. "I figured I wouldn't take any damage but then you jumped. And I kind of got stuck."
"Well, nothing we can do now." Fatgum said as he looked around.
'Hey, are you three okay?' Ayano's voice came through their minds.
Konan looked up to where they left the others. Their group was becoming smaller and smaller at this point.
'We're fine,' Fatgum reported. 'We'll meet up with you all when we can. Just focus on our goal, which is saving that girl.'
'Alright, we'll keep moving,' Nighteye joined the conversation. 'Stay safe.'
Konan just hoped they could catch up with them soon. If the villains keep managing to separate them bit by bit like this, everything will fall in the villain's fabor.
'We'll see you when this is all over, Kirishima, Ko-Toshi.' Izuku added.
'Yeah, Man, see you then,' Eijiro replied.
The connection then cut off and just as Fatgum sensed they weren't the only ones down here.
"Get ready." He told the interns. "We're not alone."
As he said that, a hulk of a man wearing a Hassaikai trademark bird mask and long red hair came charging forward. He reared back his fist, which had Eijiro activating his hardening. The villain swung forward and to Eijiro and Konan's surprise, the redheaded teen was blown backwards.
"Red!" Konan called out in worry as her classmate hit the wall sending dust and chunks of wall flying everywhere.
She then gasped as that man took a swing at her next. As the last second, she dispersed her body into paper to avoid the what-would-have-been-bone-breaking-attack. The man didn't seem to be concerned with her escape as he turned his attention to Fatgum whom he hit with multiple rapid punches. When he wasn't blown away easily like Eijiro, the villain paused in his assault.
"You good?" Fatgum asked as he turned and looked at Eijiro.
The hero's eyes then widened when seeing the damage that villain's punches had down to Eijiro's body. His body was cracked, and chunks of his hardened skin were missing from his arms. The boy looked positively shaken by what happened.
"No…my arms are…" Eijiro hissed out in pain.
Fatgum gritted his teeth together before his eyes moved over to where Konan reformed her body a few feet away. Her eyes watching the opponent closely.
"You know what I think," The villain started speaking. "Knives and guns got no place in a fight. Anyone can win if they have a weapon. That's the coward's way. A real fighter kills his opponent using nothing but his own strength. You a real fighter?"
Konan frowned. This definitely wasn't good. Eijiro was already brutally wounded, and against a brawler like this, her options were limited. However, even if she couldn't deal a lot of damage on her own, she could support her mentor.
"You're not going to take us down that easily!" Fatgum declared as he swung his first forward.
However, the attack was stopped by a barrier, which had Konan looking for the source of the sudden shield. Her eyes landed on a blonde man wearing a kimono and a bird mask of his own. He lowered the barrier as he stepped up beside the taller villain.
"So, we have Fatgum, a boy with a hardening quirk, and a girl with a paper quirk." The man said as he held his hands against the sides of his head. "Hmm, the first two a better suited for defense. As for the girl, paper is a weak defense and an even weaker offense. Disappointing, isn't it, Rappa?"
The first villain Rappa just looked raring to go as he held up his fists in anticipation. Rappa then shot forward to hit Fatgum in the chest and Konan winced when seeing the pain, it caused the BMI hero. He landed a few more punches forcing Fatgum to back up a few feet.
"You call that a good defense?" Rappa scoffed. "They're both looking rough already. I'm mean they're not mincemeat yet, but still. And I'm almost concerned with what might happen if I hit that little princess over there."
Konan frowned at his words as her shaking hands curled into fists. She couldn't let herself be intimidated. Her mentor needed her.
"We are a spear and a shield." The blonde villain said. "While as you simply two shields. The girl probably won't be a help to you at all either."
Konan felt her a burning sensation in her chest rising at how they kept writing her off as if she was nothing. She's had people do that her whole life, and usually she brushed off their words. Or she simply accepted they were right. But now…she was getting angry.
"Wait, hold on, who'd want to fight with two shields?" Rappa asked. "Sounds lame."
"To be fair, I don't know if that boy qualifies as one." The blonde said.
Konan looked at Eijiro worriedly when seeing that he was struggling just to keep on his feet.
"Remember, you're unbreakable, Red!" Fatgum called out. "If you let them break your spirit that means you've lost. When you're against villains, the key is making them lose their will to fight first! You can't lose your drive before they do! Now, let's take these two fatheads down and get out of here! The others are waiting for us."
"Yes, sir!" Konan replied.
Eijiro stared at the two with wide eyes as Konan prepared to fight alongside Fatgum. She had to know what one of those punches could do to her since she saw what they did to him and what they're doing to Fatgum. But she wasn't shying away at all.
"They believe they can defeat us." The blonde said as he raised another barrier. "You must be thrilled."
"I like the way that fat guy thinks. Alright, this is starting to get good," Rappa said then tapped the barrier in front of him. "Get rid of this damn thing, Tengai. I don't need a stupid bubble to keep me safe."
"Rise above your own desires," Tengai told Rappa. "Remember what Master Overhaul said. He paired us for a reason. Our skills complement each other. Ensuring victory."
Rappa just heaved a sigh in frustration as his shouldered sagged. Teamwork didn't seem to be something Rappa enjoyed, which was proven when Rappa turned on Tengai and tried to attack. Tengai made a barrier around himself to protect himself from Rappa's aggravated attacks.
"What do you hope to accomplish with such violence?" Tengai asked.
"Overhaul didn't ask if I wanted to team up with you." Rappa growled in frustration.
"Master Overhaul," Tengai corrected. "Show some respect."
As the two argued, Konan watched and formulated a strategy on how she might help in this fight. What would best ensure victory. What would help Fatgum land the blows he needed and hopefully keep his injuries to a minimum.
"Who cares?" Rappa retorted. "All I want is a good death match."
"Very well," Tengai gave in as he started dropping the barrier. "If you think you can take them by yourself, by all means."
"That's more like it." Rappa said. "You're not so bad after all!"
He launched himself at Fatgum who gasped since he wasn't braced for another onslaught of attacks. Konan moved forward without even having to think as she broke her body up into paper. Rappa gasped as the paper came between him and his target. The paper tightened in rotation before clinging to his body. He grunted as his arms were restrained as the paper tightened around his limbs.
"What the hell?!" Rappa growled in frustration. "Let go of me, Princess! I don't have an interest in you!"
He managed to shake off some of the paper then used his free hand to ripped away the paper on his other arm. The action caused Konan to back off and reform in front of Fatgum.
"I don't care if you have an interest in me," Konan told the large man. "I won't be ignored."
She then got into a fighting stance. She's been working on improving her quirk and gaining muscle mass for a while now. But she can't forget her origins, which started in the local dojo near her home. The one she and Mashirao trained in. Her quirk wasn't the only weapon in her arsenal.
"You want me out of your way?" Konan asked Rappa. "Then you'll have to force me out of the way."
Eijiro's eyes widened at her resolve as she stared at her opponent without any fear in her eyes.
"Heh, maybe you're not so bad after all, Princess." Rappa said. "I like your resolve. Alright, let's see what you've got!"
He ran forward at Konan who was ready for him. He threw his fist forward and she dodged to the side. She jumped forward as he was off balance by his swing. She spun up and over and looked as if she was going to deliver a kick to the back of Rappa's head. However, she still instead used Rappa as a springboard to jump quickly at Tengai. The man wasn't expecting it and tried to put up a barrier, but Konan was faster as she pulled back her leg and twirled around to kick him as hard as she could in the head.
"ARH!" He cried out in pain.
He stumbled off balance and looked disorientated. Before he could react or Rappa come to his aid, Konan gave a flurry of punches to his torso and chest.
"Rappa!" Tengai shouted.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Rappa said.
He jumped at Konan but was stopped when Fatgum put himself between her and Rappa.
"I don't think so," Fatgum said. "Your fight is with me."
"Fine by me, Fatso!" Rappa said. "I'll deal with her as soon as I'm done with you!"
As Rappa went back to repeatedly punching Fatgum like he was a punching bag, Konan continued her assault on Tengai. He was forced back and unable to form his barrier to protect himself from the rapid attacks.
'This is good,' Fatgum thought despite the fact he was in so much pain. 'It's true that I'm not doing so well. When I get in close, I can't dodge Rappa's hits and there's so much strength behind them that not even I can absorb all the damage. He'll wear me down until they're nothing left. However, if Crane can take down the barrier guy, we can win this. Which is why I have to keep Rappa's attention on me.'
Fatgum kept his footing as Rappa went in for another flurry of attacks. Fatgum grunted in pain but refused to budge. As he and Konan faced off against their opponents, Eijiro watched them frozen.
"Your name is Rappa, right?" Fatgum asked the redhead. "It's been a while since I've been hit that hard, and I've gone a decent amount of fighting over the years too. In the end, it's all going to come down to what happens first. Your arms get tired, or my body gives out. Which is stronger? Spear or shield? I guess we're about to find out, aren't we?"
Rappa looked positively gleeful—or at least that's what his body language suggested, as he started feeling ramped up for the fight.
"Alright, you totally get me, Fatso!" Rappa shouted happily. "Tengai, you're on your own!"
Tengai couldn't even reply as he stumbled backwards after receiving a punch to the sternum courtesy of Konan.
"You wrote me off earlier," Konan said. "And you're right to say I'm not as strong as my mentor or even my classmate when it comes to my quirk. However, doesn't seem you're much without your quirk at all. I trained my body to make up for my quirk's lack of strength. Maybe you should have done the same."
She then kicked out to nail him in the throat. He gagged and started falling backwards as his vision was going dark. He hit the ground just as Konan wrapped him up tightly in paper. It was just a theory, but Tengai seemed to need to use his hands and touch his forehead to make his barriers. Which was unlike Ayano who didn't need to use her hands at all to make her constructions. So, even if he does wake up, he shouldn't be able to help his partner.
Speaking of which, Konan turned her head and frowned in concern when seeing the damage Fatgum was taking. She had to think of a way to help him. Even if it was only for a brief moment. She knew what he had to be banking on, but such a tactic was reckless. It could get him killed.
—FLASHBACK—
"You can store the energy from the attacks that hit your body?" Konan asked after another one of her punches sunk into the man's body.
It was a rare moment during her internship where instead of being on the streets, Fatgum had them training on some combat. Mostly as a way to assess Konan's skills and see what could improve on and try.
"That's right," Fatgum said as Konan jumped back from him. "Every time you hit me, the force behind your attack is being stored in my body. It's not a lot, but if I was fighting someone like All Might, the power of his attacks would store up power much faster. And after storing up power like that for so long, I can release it in one large attack. But it's a reckless move because it means I'd have to stand there and take all his punches."
Konan frowned because that did sound reckless. Fatgum's body could give out before he even had the chance to counter. She then blinked when Fatgum patted her on top the head.
"Don't look so worried, Crane." Fatgum told her. "The odds of me having to use such a move against an opponent is highly unlikely. But I hope if it does ever happen that I can trust that you have my back."
"Yes, sir!" Konan said with a firm nod.
—END OF FLASHBACK—
And Konan would have his back. She might have picked a fight with Rappa before just to distract Tengai, but this time, she'd really engage in the brawl if that's what Fatgum needed of her.
"Wide Load, hang in there," Rappa told Fatgum, who seemed wobbly on his feet, as Rappa started another series of punches. "You can't pass out on me yet. We've still got a long way to go and I'm just warming up!"
He then gasped in surprise as his footing was forced off balance when paper wrapped around his right leg and tilted him off kilter.
"What the hell?!" Rappa cried out as he hit the ground. "Princess, butt out already!"
"No," Konan said simply before dodging backwards when Rappa swung at her.
She kept doing this. Coming in to bait him and then fleeting away before he could touch her.
'Crane…she's helping me…' Fatgum thought while worried for the girl.
"You're really starting to get on my nerves, Princess!" Rappa said. "Either fight me for real or get out of the way!"
He swung out his fist once more, and this time Konan wasn't able to dodge. She gasped as she took the hit right to the face. She sent flying and crashed into the wall right beside Eijiro.
"Konan!" Eijiro called in worry as the girl fell to the ground.
She didn't respond as she laid there limply. Some blood pooled out onto the floor and Eijiro's heart stopped.
'What am I doing?' He thought to himself. 'I need to move, dammit. Or they're both going to die all because of me! Useless bastard!'
He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't stand here frozen like the last time when those girls from his middle school were in trouble. He had stood by and done nothing, but he swore he'd never do such a thing again. He didn't do all that training and swear to be like Crimson Riot for nothing.
'I think you have an amazing quirk, Kirishima,' Konan's words came to his mind. 'It might not be flashy, but it's strong and dependable. A reflection of who you are, which is why I know I don't have to worry when it's you who has my back.'
Eijiro looked down as his hands curled tightly into fists. Konan believed in him. Someone as amazing as her, believes in someone useless like him. She doesn't think much of herself. He's learned that recently, and it had been such a shock.
—FLASHBACK—
"Hey, Ko-Toshi," Eijiro called out to the girl as they were heading back to the school after work studies.
The girl, who was temporarily on crutches, looked back at Eijiro was he was carrying their things.
"Um, those things you said before," Eijiro began. "About your quirk's weaknesses and how you felt about yourself, were they true?"
At first Konan didn't reply as she looked up at the sky with a thoughtful look on her face. She then let out a breath.
"All my life, I've struggled to meet the expectations of those around me," Konan said. "My peers, my parents, and my own. And I always seem to fall short, which is why I settled for at least acting like I'm strong…like I know what I'm doing. It was the best I could muster."
Eijiro's eyes widened at her words as Konan's hands gripped the handles in her crutches tightly.
"I fooled my peers well enough," Konan continued. "All of them have always held me up to such high standards and never saw through my mask. But I could never fool my parents or myself. I'm weak in both body and spirit. However, I've gotten better. I'm trying not to be so hard on myself and have more confidence. I still have my bad days. They just don't come as often now, and part of that is thanks to you."
She gave Eijiro a small smile as she spoke, which left Eijiro completely speechless.
"Seeing you try so hard and being around your spirited nature has helped me grow," Konan said. "It makes me want to try harder too. You told Fatgum that you wanted to be more than just someone with spirit, and I understand that. However, you shouldn't look down on it because your chivalrous spirit and kind-heartedness have helped out more than just me. So, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Kirishima. I believe wholeheartedly that you'll become an amazing hero who saves and protects people. I just hope someone like me can keep up with you, so I can witness it person."
—END OF FLASHBACK—
She thinks she's not that good compared to him, which he thinks is absolutely crazy. She believes in him, but right now he's basically stomping all over that belief by standing here and doing nothing. Eijiro gritted his teeth together before looking forward in determination.
'No,' He thought definitely. 'I'm not going to stay here frozen. Fatgum needs me!'
Eijiro rushed forward and surprised both Rappa and Fatgum both when he slid between them.
'Red!' Fatgum cried out mentally.
Rappa started raining down the punches on Eijiro, but the boy kept his ground. Refusing to fail again.
'I won't regret anything!' Eijiro declared with conviction. 'Now or ever again! I'll do it. I'll become a hero. I'll protect people.'
Rappa grunted in surprise as Eijiro didn't budge an inch despite how he was blown away earlier.
'If I crack, I'll harden again!' Eijiro thought. 'Stay strong, protect others even if it means your life!'
"Alright, kid, let's go!" Rappa shouted.
Eijiro let out a roar of attack as he reared his fist back. He and Rappa swung forward simultaneously with their attacks connecting. Both of their heads snapped to the side and while Rappa was dazed for a moment, Eijiro started falling backwards.
"Looks like the boy is finished," Tengai, who had woken up mid fight, croaked out. "His attack was in vain."
"It wasn't in vain," Fatgum, who finally managed to store and shift all the power he had absorbed, said as he caught Eijiro in one of his arms. "Thank you, Red and you too, Crane. You bought me the time I needed."
Konan, who managed to lift her head despite she felt like it was spinning, watched as Fatgum got ready for the final attack.
"Rappa, you need to dodge!" Tengai ordered.
"It's too late," Fatgum said. "The two of you are going to lose! Do you know why? You made a mistake and so did I. We underestimated the hero named Red Riot and his chivalrous spirit! Not to mention your second mistake, which was writing off Paper Crane!"
He then gave a shout as he shot his hand, which had all the power was collected, forward. It was a blast of energy that sent Rappa and Tengai sailing backwards. They hit the hall and fell to the floor as a small smile pulled across Eijiro's lips.
"The victory is ours," Fatgum declared.