A/N: I was… busy! Yeah, that's it! Anyway, I'm back.
Whatever You Want
Chapter 10: The Whims of Fate
In the medical center at U.A. High, Midoriya was helping Momo get back on her feet, and signs of a fast recovery, thanks to Recovery Girl, were starting to show. "Are you sure you're feeling better?" Midoriya asked, his voice carrying a lot of care. It could only make Momo smile.
"Trust me, I am. Though, I am glad that you're here with me, it makes this thing a whole lot easier." Momo's response made Midoriya's cheeks turn bright red, hiding his face so he she wouldn't be able to see his embarrassment. Jeez, this dude can't even take a single compliment correctly.
Of course, Momo would notice Midoriya trying to hide his face, and now it was time for her to check up on him. "Um… Should I be asking if you're alright now?"
"What?! Oh no, no! I'm perfectly fine, nothing to see here! Ahahahaha! Haaaa…." Midoriya trailed off, knowing where this was going. Momo let out a slight giggle, as Midoriya straightened up, shook his head quickly, and snapped himself out of it.
"This is the medical center, not a lovers center…" Recovery Girl thought, sighing deeply to herself at the sight she was witnessing. Just as things seemed to be looking up, there would be a person coming in, barely being able to walk, and was bloody everywhere.
Midoriya and Momo looked to see who it could possibly be, and to their surprise, it was Tsuyu.
"Tsuyu!" They both called out in unison, running towards her and helping her stand. Tsuyu kept coughing up blood, making Midoriya call for Recovery Girl. "Recovery Girl! We need help over here!"
"W-wait… Midoriya…" Tsuyu started, making Midoriya look down and shake his head.
"You don't have time to speak! We gotta get you healed up!"
"No… Listen to me for just one second…" Tsuyu clearly wouldn't be denied, even after all the pain she's gone through and still going through. "Those... Those monsters that keep on murdering everybody… I don't know why… but I think they're after y-you…"
Midoriya's eyes widened, now wanting to ask Tsuyu what the heck happened, but the frog girl lost consciousness after her message. Seeing this, Momo and Midoriya would rush to the bed and place Tsuyu on it. Recovery Girl effectively told the two to get out of the way, getting ready to help out yet another student.
Since that was being handled, Midoriya and Momo left the room, feeling the need to talk about the information Tsuyu just gave them. Midoriya kept staring at the floor, clenching his fists as his face showed frustration.
"They're… They're after me?" He repeated over and over again as each second passed.
"But why? We've never even seen these guys until now! How could they possibly even know you?" Momo's words did make sense, and she usually did make sense, but nothing was adding up.
"I… I… I don't know… None of this is making any sense whatsoever." The boy gritted his teeth, becoming angrier. "But… if what Tsuyu said is right… then I'm responsible for every death that has occurred so far…"
Momo couldn't believe what she was hearing, her face now becoming extremely serious. "What are you talking about?! You're not responsible for any of these deaths!"
"You don't know that." Midoriya looked up, seeing Momo's serious face. "They're all here because of me. For whatever reason, I don't know, but they wouldn't be attacking if I wasn't here."
Momo shook her head, wanting to get her point across. "Midoriya, you are speaking blasphemy right now. As far as I know and everyone else knows, those monsters are crazy and have no business being on our planet. Now, you better stop putting the weight of the world on your shoulders, because this isn't how it works. You have friends to support you along the way."
"But I-"
Momo cut Midoriya off before he could say anything else. "Midoriya, if you ever say that about yourself again, then those monsters won't be the only thing you need to worry about." She then walked up to the boy and hugged him tightly. At first, Midoriya didn't know how to react, once again having to compose himself. Though, the hug assured him that Momo was going to be there for him. His response to the hug would be one of his own, smiling.
"Thank you…"
They soon separated, now discussing what they should do. "Still… I don't think hugging is gonna make the people's situation better… What in the world do we do?"
"First, we gotta find the others. Then we can plan ahead from there." Momo turned around, smirking. "You coming?"
Midoriya had a smirk of his own, giving a nod as the two went off to save their planet.
XXXXXXXXX
On top of one building, the height and mass of it being similar to the Empire State building, there was an amount of chaos going on that not even the streets below could match.
"Uraraka! I don't know if I can hold her off for much longer!" Shoto screamed, creating ice wall after ice wall, but it kept on being shattered. His teammate in this battle, Uraraka, was using her quirk to use the remaining ice pieces from Shoto's ice wall to fire at the threat that was currently giving them the challenge of their lives.
Still, this wasn't some ordinary target. She would dodge everything that Uraraka threw at her with ease. It wasn't just ease, but the casualness that she did it with was scary.
Really, really scary.
She looked like any other threat that's attacked the city so far, but she was covered in all black. No semblance of eyes, a mouth, or a nose could be seen. The only thing that could be described was that her figure provided a slim build.
"You can't win, kids. You should give up while you can."
"Like we would ever do that!" Shoto gritted his teeth, not wanting to use his father's side, but he knew that he had to so they could even have a chance at winning. Now deciding to use his left arm, it became engulfed in flames. A look of determination described Shoto's features, staring at the figure who was in their way.
"You're one that should be giving up!" In mere moments, a barrage of fireballs were shot out of Shoto's hand, each one having the intent to end this battle as quickly as possible. Though, once again, the figure effortlessly dodged most of them, but there was one fireball that she wasn't paying attention to.
Well, it seemed like she wasn't paying attention to it, anyway.
Giving the fireball a glare, she used only her right hand to smack it right back at Shoto, like it was nothing but a casual physical object. The shock that was on Shoto's face couldn't be denied, and he looked like a deer caught in headlights.
"What… What the?!"
"Todoroki, look out!" Uraraka yelled, running and tackling him before his own fireball could take him out. Uraraka then helped Shoto up, the boy still not fully fathoming what just happened.
"Who… Who are you?!"
Shoto's glare turned back to the threat. A smirk was on her face, even though the two couldn't see it.
"Who am I? No, the correct question is who are we."
"That is not what I asked!" Shoto's anger was starting to reach its limit, not wanting this figure to play any more games. "Who are YOU?!"
"If you want to go by singular identities, then very well." A black aura appeared around the woman, the whole city starting to shake as she powered up. The people below were running for their lives, not wanting to be a part of another mass murdering sequence.
"I am Art."
Art's aura exploded, almost making Shoto and Uraraka fall off the entire building. This was a display of power that was in a completely different league compared to theirs.
"May cursed be the ground, for our sake."
Art was now coming closer and closer to Shoto and Uraraka, each step sounding earth shattering.
"Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for us."
Shoto tried to stop Art's walking creating a path of fire that she couldn't come across. Still, that proved to be useless because Art made one movement of her hand, wiping the fire away like nothing was even there.
"For out of the ground we were taken, for the dust we are."
Meanwhile, Uraraka tried to come up with a quick plan. Anything was better than doing nothing and accepting imminent death. Using all of the rubble from the ground below from the constant battles, she would control gravity and make the rubble rise into the air. She was clearly straining herself by collecting such a large amount, but this wasn't the time to be holding back.
Creating a giant meteor of rubbles, she threw her arms down and unleashed them upon Art. Art looked up to see that a meteor shower was now coming straight for her, stopping dead in her tracks.
However, it wasn't out of fear, oh no.
She just stood there, actually wanting the attacks to hit her.
"And to the dust we shall return."
The meteor shower hit Art right on target, making a large cloud of smoke surround the entire area. Uraraka was breathing heavily, as it took every amount of willpower she had left to not pass out. Shoto stood there in shock, the silence creating a scenario in which they had actually won.
"Did… Did you…"
"I don't know…" Uraraka replied, falling on one knee, feeling her energy leave her. Shoto noticed this and tried to get Uraraka back on her feet quickly, but the short victory ceremony would be over. When the dust cleared, Art could be seen standing in the same exact spot without a single scratch on her.
She looked at her hands, before looking back at the two.
"That was mildly impressive." She took a few more steps to where she was right in front of the two, the shock on their faces describing a look of helplessness. It's like they couldn't even move.
Art could only shake her head at the fear she was seeing, finding it to be disgusting. She roundhouse kicked Shoto off the building, not caring for his fate. If he survives the fall, he survives.
If he dies, he dies.
Uraraka, emitting a strong yell from her vocals, called out Shoto's name as he fell. Though, her head would turn to Art, feeling her chin being grabbed.
There was a long pause, as Art just stared into Uraraka's eyes.
"You are certainly an interesting one."
Then everything went blank. Uraraka's eyes almost became pure white, Art's fist now going through her stomach. Now she was having trouble breathing, coughing up blood non stop.
"I'll make sure the people here will remember you."
Taking her fist out of Uraraka's stomach, now it was her turn to fall from the building. She naturally fell backwards, looking lifeless.
It was a brutal sight to watch in real time, maybe even traumatizing.
The people that were seeing Uraraka's body fall from the building screamed in horror, and soon afterwards, her body crashed right onto the street. The army of creatures, seeing her body, surrounded her.
Art looked down at the city, cracking her neck while seeing the terror on the people's faces below.
She jumped from the building, landing on the street softly and gracefully. The people continued to run, making her sigh. Though, in mere moments, Art was now being shot at, bullets going through each part of her body.
She turned around to see who this person could be.
It was Momo, carrying two AK-47's in her hands, firing everything she had at Art. That creation quirk sure comes in handy, it seems.
Letting the bullets go through each part of her body, Art could only laugh, now wanting to show how pointless it was for bullets to come at her. Once she became somewhat serious, she grabbed each and every bullet, crushing them and letting the remains fall onto the street.
Momo gritted her teeth, throwing her guns down and this time made her signature staff. Midoriya wasn't too far behind her, being right by her side and got into a fighting stance. Art looked over to see the curly haired boy, then back at Momo. Once she realized who she was dealing with, she started clapping.
"Bravo, bravo. You found me. Though, I hope you guys are more entertaining than that Todoroki kid and that girl that could control gravity. They were fun for a minute, but I had to make short work of them."
This quote made Midoriya's and Momo's hearts drop, feeling like the whole world around them becoming slow, realizing the two people that Art was talking about immediately.
"You… You did what?" Midoriya's tone was slowly starting to rise in anger, feeling like he was about to lose any sanity he had left at any second.
"No… no, it can't be... You're lying! Todoroki would never fall so easily!" Momo shouted, her blood now boiling, tears starting to form in her eyes.
Art shook her head, crossing her arms. "I have no reason to lie. Why can't you accept that your friends are burning in hell right now?"
"Shut up…" Midoriya replied, a few drops of tears falling from his face. This couldn't be true. Did he really lose Shoto… and Uraraka?
He had helped Shoto become more accepting of who he was. Uraraka was the first person to happily accept him into U.A. High with open arms. That happy personality of hers, always caring for others... they were extremely, extremely close.
"Hm?" Art looked over at Midoriya, a smile forming under her features. "Don't worry, Midoriya. You'll be home in a moment after we're through with everything here. Art won't allow you to suffer any longer."
"I SAID SHUT UUUUUP!"
Midoriya took off at blazing speeds towards Art, pulling his fist back as he was now out for blood. "DETROOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIT SMAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHH!"
The impact of the Detroit Smash connected right on its target, multiple shockwaves being created around the area as it literally blew everyone away. Only Momo could hold her balance through the attack, closing her eyes so the wind would seem less intense.
However, all of this would mean nothing.
Art had grabbed Midoriya's Detroit Smash, sighing in disappointment. "Seems like you still don't know how to summon the gift that was given to you. Oh well, we can only hope you'll learn eventually." Afterwards, Art spun Midoriya around and threw him into a nearby car.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Momo couldn't let this stand any longer. She started running towards Art, and Art started running towards her. They would ensue with an absolutely stunning display of martial arts. Momo hit Art's face with her staff, but then Art would counter with a punch right to Momo's jaw.
Each movement, each attack, each dodge, every counter was made with precision and a strategic mind. Dodging another punch, Momo used her staff to strike Art right in her gut. It would cause Art to lose her balance for the slightest second, but she would recover by sending a powerful kick right into Momo's right leg, making her fall and roll on the street for a moment.
Still, she wouldn't have time to catch her breath. Art had jumped into the air, preparing another kick right into Momo's chest. Luckily, Momo was quick enough to dodge, getting back up on her feet and jumped over Art, unleashing a barrage of kicks of her own. They would be blocked by Art's elbow, but once Momo landed on the streets, she would unknowingly smack Art right in the mouth.
Catching her off guard once more, Art felt like she was actually being challenged. Regaining her balance, Art elbowed Momo right in the face, sending her flying back and crashing into a pole. Momo spit out some blood, wiping her mouth. Most of her attacks, while being strategic, were also running on pure adrenaline from the news she just heard. How long that adrenaline will last is the true question.
Going at each other once more, the two would try to use the momentum of their bodies to their advantage, both pushing off each other and would try to follow up with an attack. The speed of both Momo and Art during this fight couldn't be denied as well, quick decision after quick decision had to be made to come up with counters on the fly. Grabbing Momo's shoulders, Art would slam her to the ground and tried to follow up with a punch right in her gut, but Momo avoided the punch at the last second, getting back up and struck Art in her left side.
The lack of conversation from the two described the whole battle, both not feeling the need to chat and get straight down to business. After awhile, they were matching blow for blow, the fight looking to be completely even on both sides. Seeing an opening, Art kicked Momo's staff out of her hands, leaving her without her weapon. Their hands would soon meet in a struggle of strength, both having a long stare with one another.
"You're wide open!"
Momo's eyes widened, not having the proper amount of time to react because Art had just sent a knee to her chin, knocking her back so the two could have some separation. Yelling at the top of her lungs, Art slammed her fist into the ground, creating a massive earthquake which wasn't helping Momo in this fight whatsoever. Using this moment to her advantage, Art ran, appeared right beside Momo, and performed a spinning kick right to her eyes, wanting to blind her.
That wouldn't be enough to stop Momo, though. Not refusing to back down anytime soon, or ever for that matter, Momo recovered by grabbing Art by the throat, letting out all of her frustration and emotions by slamming her into the street, tears showing and all.
Art grunted, wanting to get back up, Momo had created another staff and pointed it at her, warning her that she would be struck again if she moved a single muscle. In a way, even Momo surprised herself. She didn't know that she had that type of strength in her. Nonetheless, she had to focus on more important matters.
"You've lost."
Momo's comment made Art slowly laugh. It was unsettling, really. "On the contrary, my dear, I've only just begun."
It would only be seconds before Art grabbed Momo's staff and sent a heavy blow right to the head, making her fall to her knees from the pain. Art would proceed to kick her right in the neck, causing her to fall on her back.
Art looked down at the girl, cracking her knuckles and neck.
"Oh my, how the tables have turned." Her aura appeared, signaling that she was about to go for the final blow. "I will give you credit, though. I was thoroughly entertained. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end."
When all hope seemed lost for Momo, Art's body suddenly felt a powerful force grab her, as it was everything but ordinary. Art, looking to see who grabbed her, was none other than Izuku Midoriya, both people now flying into an abandoned building, the crash making the impact feel a lot worse than it should have.
"Get off me!" Art yelled, throwing Midoriya into an old, dirty brick wall. "You know, I was this close to finishing off your little girlfriend. You need to learn how to not interfere!"
With Art saying those words, Midoriya got up and wiped some blood off his mouth. "Sorry… Kinda horrible at not interferi-"
He wouldn't even get to finish his sentence, because Art would strike Midoriya multiple times in his jaw, blood flying everywhere. Art would then follow up with an absolute beat down, bringing out every combo you could imagine and unleashed it on the already weak Midoriya. That detroit smash he did took a lot out of him, which means he's already running on fumes.
Obviously, that would be advantage Art.
Running towards Midoriya, Art sent a flying kick right into his chest, sending him flying all across the abandoned building and crash through another brick wall. He was breathing heavily, and now every part on his body was now bloody. He tried to make himself get up, but before he knew it, Art's foot struck Midoriya's spine, making him unable to move.
"You're really starting to piss me off. Why don't you just accept defeat?"
Midoriya struggled to get his words out, since he was going through some major pain. "If you think I'll just let myself roll over and die, then you truly know nothing about me…"
"It's only causing more pain for yourself and the friends you have left. Come now, I'll make you a deal. Come with us and we might give everyone a nice, slow death instead of a quick one."
Midoriya's eyes widened, feeling a fire form in his body. "So, you guys are after me… But why…?"
"All of it will make sense in due time. However, the only way for you to find out is if you give in. Let it take you over. Let it rule you."
Suddenly, Midoriya's clothes started to become black, feeling all of his power and then some return all over his body. Art was noticing this development as well, and it's exactly what she wanted.
"Yes, that's it! Keep it going!"
Midoriya wasn't even listening to Art at this point, though. Instead, he let out an explosive wave of energy, blowing Art away.
"You're going to pay, Art… Do you hear me?!"
The words that Midoriya shouted were weird. He wasn't able to notice it, but it was like a second voice was speaking with him. Art looked over to see Midoriya's huge, surging aura come around his body. Honestly, it was a lot bigger than what she expected it to be.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Midoriya made an otherworldly leap to meet with Art again, this time striking her chest, and kicked her again to make her roll all over the floor. Once she got over the pain, she saw a relentless Midoriya coming for her again, but this time she counted by punching his right jaw, making him hit the floor as well. However, it could be debated if the hit even fazed him, as he shot right back up with the kind of eyes that nobody wanted to see from him.
He was going to kill her.
"YOU SLAUGHTERED TODOROKI AND URARAKA! FOR THAT, YOUR SENTENCE IS DEATH! BURN IN HELLLLLLLLL!"
Those words sent shivers down Art's spine. Not even she could have predicted that Midoriya had this much hidden power within him. Midoriya had grabbed Art by the head, starting to slam her face into the ground over and over again. Once he decided he was done doing that, he sent a bone shattering punch right into Art's gut, letting her fall once more.
Even then, he was not done.
Grabbing Art by the throat, Midoriya started to beat her senseless with punch after punch, slamming her once more. Art looked to be in major pain, and Midoriya could only look down.
"Before I kill you, I at least want to know what you actually look like, so I can see your eyes as you die." Midoriya bent down and pulled off the black mask that was covering the face of his opponent.
When the face revealed, the look on Midoriya's face made it seem like he was questioning his entire life, stepping backwards and falling from this revelation. His whole life was crashing right before his very eyes. This couldn't be happening to him, this shouldn't be happening to him, why is this happening to him?
"N-n-no… I-It… It can't be…!"
With the face being revealed, the features can now be described. The hair of the woman was in a wild, ash-blonde color along with having red eyes. Her face was still very youthful looking as well, as this was quite clearly the spitting image of another person he knew.
It was Mitsuki Bakugo. Specifically… Bakugo's mom.
"But… but why?! This doesn't make any sense!"
Midoriya's screams started to get into Mitsuki's head, making her look around and wonder where she was. She tried to fathom what was happening, and it just wasn't coming to her.
However, once her memories started to come back, the realization of remembering what happened to her shocked her entire body. She looked up to see Midoriya, or, Izuku as she would call him.
"Izuku… we don't have much time."
"What do you even mean?!" Izuku shouted at Mitsuki, a bevy of emotions coming to him right now. Confusion, anger, sadness, all of it was hitting him like a truck. "You killed my friends! You caused destruction in the city! You almost killed Momo! None of this is making any sense! Why are you doing this?!"
"Izuku, just shut up and listen to me for one second!" She shouted back, getting up. "I was ambushed at my home by whatever is currently attacking here! Before I knew it, I was infected and was under their control. All I was able to hear was a voice in my head telling me to get you!"
"That doesn't bring back my friends!"
"No, your friends are alive! At least, there's a good possibility that they're alive, but you have to find them before time runs out!" Just as Mitsuki was about to tell more to Midoriya, she grabbed her head, her eyes becoming a more darker color compared to her natural red eyes. She was crying out in pain, making Midoriya instantly get up and try to see what's wrong.
"Come on, stay with me! We can get you through this!"
"I- I CAN'T… FIGHT IT… RUN… IZUKU!"
Mitsuki sent one massive punch at Izuku, but as a natural reaction, he grabbed the hit and punched Mitsuki right in the gut, making her spit out an abnormal amount of blood. She fell to her knees, her vision becoming blurry. Izuku realized what he did, but that wasn't his intention. His punches were never that strong, but now he was panicking.
"Izuku…"
"That wasn't supposed to happen! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't die, please!"
"Izuku…" There was a pause for a moment, her dying breath being able to say these last few words.
"Don't tell Katsuki…"
This is when everything left her, the fall on her back signaling that the deed was done.
Izuku started to cry, bending down on his knees as he was right next to Mitsuki's lifeless body. He felt like his whole world was starting to fall apart by the second. Mitsuki and his mother were good friends. She was one of the only people he had left that was connected to his mom, but now… she was dead too.
And her blood was on his hands.
Letting out the loudest yell his vocals could achieve, all it did was describe the mood, the pain, everything that Izuku was going through all in this one very moment.
XXXXXXXX
Izuku had carried Mitsuki outside, setting her body on the street. He would have liked to give her a proper burial… but circumstances simply won't allow that right now. With one final look at the body, his head was done as he closed his eyes, before running away.
It would only be about ten minutes after Izuku left, that Bakugo had came into the area. He was still searching for Iida in just about every corner he could imagine. Though, who he would find would be who he least expected.
His dead mother.
Once he saw the familiar figure, he came closer and closer to it, only to make himself run.
He got on his knees, trying to wake his mom up. He tried yelling, screaming at the top his lungs, anything that came to his mind, but nothing was working.
"NO! THIS CAN'T BE REAL! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"
As hard as he tried, there was no answer.
All that was left was tears, and a son holding his dead mother, embracing her for the last time.
END OF CHAPTER 10: The Whims of Fate
A/N: Well… it's certainly the darkest chapter. Still, hope you guys enjoyed. Wanted to make something memorable since it took a bit for this to update. Read and Review, and as always… Go beyond Plus Ultra!
