Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia. I only own my OCs and my story plots.
Lapis Lazuli
Chapter 5:
All is not what it seems (Mom is right)
"Don't break formation he said." I grumbled under my breath, reciting my father's warnings before sending me off, stalking further into the woods, seething. Angry at nothing and everything. "Follow their orders he said. They left me."
All Might is off somewhere very lost and confused, while Endeavour is fuming in another place.
A brief thought crosses my mind and I laments that we should have formed a choo-choo train like kindergarteners do. The mist is fast approaching, thicker now without Endeavour as our safety zone. I could barely see my hands even if I held it in front of my face. The sounds my boots made on the grass and occasional mud made me wince every time, it is too loud. Noise means unwanted attention, I could only hasten my pace in hopes of reaching All Might sooner.
Rounding a fairly large quicksand took several minutes, I squeezed through a thick underbrush as twigs and leaves pulled at my clothes to get to the other side, then everything went downhill. I immediately found myself slipping and sliding down a wet grassy hill with a choked scream. Heart in my throat, my senses are picking up a single living being is down there, managing a quick prayer that it is not hostile and braced for impact.
I collide into a wall of hard muscles and just knew I had found All Might, though I can't say the same goes for him. I let out a panicked yelped when I felt him tense and move on defensive instinct. I saw my life flash oh god please don't before he halts his backhand a mere hairbreadth from my arms, which had raised into a too-late-sad-excuse-for-a-block position when he entered fight or flight mode. Not that it would have been effective at all.
The air pressure was enough to part the fog a little to reveal our faces to the other and I saw a speck of the most intense blue eyes I've ever seen underneath the shadows of his brows. I let out a shaky sigh when he blinked, snapping out of fight mode. Damn.
"Goodness, Ts-Tsukuda?" He immediately retracted his hand that almost took my head off, gigantic hands hovering awkwardly, his demeanour both parts alarmed and sheepish. "Apologies, I didn't know it was you."
"I figured." I croaked out with eyes wide as saucers, having yet to revert to its usual size. I delivered the earth-shattering news. "I lost Endeavour."
There is a significant pause where his ever-present smile seems to freeze, and we shared a look that rightfully conveyed the internal screaming. Without Mr-bunsen-burner, this mission is a bust.
... The number two hero is going to roast us oven-crispy.
It started off as a low rumble, then the ground starts to quake beneath our feet, a loud swoosh and orange-red light ignited the forest towards our left, casting a huge shadow of an insect monster with hundreds of legs upon the sheer face of a cliff.
"I think we found him." I muttered, and quickly make our way over there. In a split second decision, All Might decided to scoop and tuck me under his arm with a "Pardon me.", before taking off into the trees at breakneck speed. I could only cling onto his arm for dear life.
Thankfully, the other hero wasn't as far off as we had initially thought and we located him by the foot of the mountains fending off gigantic centipedes dozens of meters in length. I gagged at the stench of roasted insects and covered my nose on reflex. All Might let out a small cough and inhaled through gritted teeth just as Endeavour shot a hate-filled glare at the two of us. He finished grilling the last of them before stomping over towards us, the veins in his eyes almost popping with how hard he is trying to fry us alive with his glare alone. All Might raised a hand, expression apologetic, apology on the tip of his tongue when the redhead cuts him off with a snap.
"Save it. Where to now?"
A skin-crawling howl resounding through the area caused the two to tense up and I point towards the side of the cave where an underground tunnel is hidden behind some bushes, the mist noticeably wafting from it. "There."
We had no issues getting in, since the mouth of the cave is humongous, highly likely dug by the largest of them all. I gave directions with Endeavour leading the front— All Might bringing up the rear— clearing a path for us when I alerted him to attack via a single word. "Burn!"
I shivered when I heard the scratching of hundreds of thousands of creepy-crawler legs scrapping along the sides of the cave. Like a homing signal, I knew they were slowly congregating towards us, and our path is a mere hairsbreadth from getting cut off for good. I paled. "Run forwards! Now!"
Endeavour didn't need to be told twice. We passed the corridor just when one of the larger insects crashed into the dirt wall behind us. Through a series of twists and turns, confusing layout that in order to go down we need to go up first, we climbed with the centipede right behind, poisonous pincers reaching for us.
Number two had it easy, his fire aiding him to make footholds in the blink of an eye, while All Might could just simply dig in his heels to make one with pure brute strength. Sandwiched in between them respectively, I had to avoid the occasional simmering molten dirt Endeavour leaves behind, grabbing onto loose soil that forces me to slide back every now. The sounds of hundreds of legs getting closer. Sweat accumulates upon our brows, the tunnels stuffy and air stagnant.
It is too late now but I should have had the other hero go first, it would have meant free footholds for the both of us. Poor planning on my part. All Might gives my back a push to hurry me along because it's his arse that is going to pay the price due to my pace. He lashes out a devastating kick in its ugly face and it makes an unholy screech, retreating. That centipede is down for the meantime, then another took its place, faster than the previous.
"Why." That word sounds so emotionally broken even to my own ears and I increased my pace on All Might's starting-to-panic insistence. Eventually, he just opted to bulldoze me all the way up after Endeavour, giving him a shove as well— I heard an indignant sputter— before the three of us tumbled out of the tunnel in record time.
"Down here!" Rolling onto my feet, I head straight for another hole in the ground just a couple meters from us and jumped. It was a sheer drop with barely any angle to even slide, the other two follows quickly. The lilies are close. The fire from Endeavour lights our descent, the large centipede draws closer, relentless. Then, a cold shock hits me in my stomach, bile rising in the back of my throat when I realise where exactly we're headed and I hit rock bottom screaming in horror.
I really should have let Endeavour go first this time.
Bouncing back to the hole like a cat scorned the instant my feet hits something with a resounding crunch, I grab onto the ledge and yelled into it with all the desperation and fear bubbling up in me. "BURN THEM!"
Their nursery is here, along with the pink lilies. No wonder they had been so persistent.
I barely managed to duck to the side when All Might comes barrelling out like a rocket, grin resembling more of a grimace, followed closely by condensed blue fire shooting out. Whatever Endeavor didn't clear in that shot, the blonde did with a controlled punch until we had enough clear space to stand amidst all the translucent babies and gigantic mothers coiled tight around them. I managed to bit back a whimper but couldn't hold in the shudder.
"We're here. Best hurry." I added, eyeing the ceiling. "They're all coming."
Endeavour sets to burning the place and pink flowers down, while I seek shelter behind All Might as he fended off the defensive insects, notifying him I will show him where to secure our escape route. It didn't take long for the smoke to start getting unbearable, the smaller centipedes opting to leave instead, scurrying away into the many tunnels located around the space.
The moment I heard the flame hero said, "I'm done." I unhooked a throwing knife from my belt and send it flying to one specific point of the ceiling.
"All Might." I alerted him and went over to the other hero.
"Texas—" Dropping into a stance, he cocks back his right arm, a barely noticeable hum of energy charging, and directs the punch at the marked point.
"—SMASHHH!"
Slapping both hands over my ears with breath held, the ceiling explodes up and outwards in a shower of debris, wind pressure kicking up and fuelling the flames. All Might quickly scoop me up and jumps into the tunnel he created, heading out while Endeavour picks up the rear. His fire working to keep the hungry flames below at bay.
Once out in the open, I greedily breathed in fresh air to clear out any remnants of the smoke, coughing roughly. The wolves had retreated deep into the forest, keeping clear of the choking smell of ashes.
"Great job! When the mist lets up, we'll comb through the reserve and bring down the villains." All Might turns to direct his trademark smile at me, flashing an encouraging thumbs up. "We're almost there, young Tsukuda!"
"Yeah..." Suddenly, a feeling hits me and I said it aloud before it even registers in my brain. "We're actually done."
A brief silence, before Endeavour snaps. "What do you mean done?"
I blinked, frowning in slight confusion as well. I hadn't specifically checked the villains whereabouts until All Might mentioned capturing them, it was then I realise I hadn't picked up their presence since stepping into the reserve. "As in, there aren't any villains for us to deal with. Not anymore at least."
"What happened to them?" All Might despite his smile, sounded solemn.
"... I'm not so sure. I just know they aren't nearby and neither will they cause anymore trouble. They just... don't exist? Went missing? I think. Perhaps they've been dealt with by the native animals." I deflated, shoulders slumped. "Apologies, it's all very vague."
"That's..."
Endeavour closes his eyes as if in immense pain. "We will decide what happens next once we get in contact with the outside."
"To-do to-do~ To-do to-do~"
A classic melody starts ringing, startling the two pro heroes while I calmly reach into my vest and pulled out my little pink and white striped phone. I hummed thoughtfully, eyeing the signal bar as they lean in over my shoulder to stare. "Reception's back."
A rustle of the underbrush was heard then and all three of us tensed, rightfully wary. Within the alleviating mist, a pink, slender and hazy shape emerges from the side of the bushes, walking across the dirt path in front of us. It halts, round yellow eyes blinking back at us as the pink panther ringtone continues to sound in the background. It raises a curious eyebrow, long tail swishing in interest.
"Holy shit."
It was the first time I've ever heard All Might curse aloud, and also the first time we were so close to having our eyebrows singed right off when Endeavour's hold over his flames faltered, flaring dangerously.
I quickly tapped on the camera icon.
Within an office located in one of the many tall skyscrapers of the city, an unassuming file marked: "Case Closed" in bold red stamp was currently being browsed.
The mission ended once the experimental pink lilies had been removed from the Kasumi Nature Reserve, the three-man team having successfully completed their mission objective and also brought along a surprise package with them.
Tsukuda Rumi has led them to a cave after picking up something with her Hyper Intuition, and found the initially assumed KIA personnels, all in hibernation mode. Everyone has been retrieved, accounted for and admitted to the hospital. Conclusion showed they were in Hyper Intuition's blindspot, hence the initial flawed verdict. Due to unpredictable changes in the reserve's inhabitants, from then onwards, the Kasumi Nature Reserve will be officially declared off limits to everyone.
Flipping to the last page, the browser's hands start to shake.
For at the end of the report is an attached image; a rare selfie of one grinning Tsukuda Rumi and the pink panther flashing a peace sign.
Author's note:
That's all, folks! XD
~kirakira_bluemoon