The Loyal Servants of Hassaikai
Hello everyone, first thing I'd like to do is give a quick apology for this chapter coming out a day late. I went into overdrive on the season finale of my other fic, Armory of the Forgotten Hero (Which is out right now but FFN is being weird about notifications so here's the official announcement). Anyway, you've all come for a story so let's dive in!
Main Residence of Kai Chisaki
"We have a warrant to search this premises," said the Head Sergeant as he, a force of police officers with riot shields, most of the gathered pros and 1-A students charged in through the main gate.
"What, get out of here!" Yelled one of the Yakuza thugs as a large collection of them moved out of the door to the compound to intercept the police. Many charged forward swinging their fists or other assorted blunt weapons while some actually resorted to using their quirks. Slade had to up his density to block a swarm of needles aimed at him before Clay leapt over his head and knocked the Yakuza out with a hard kick from his cloud greaves. The density shifter then continued to barrel through thug after thug, his enhanced weight making it impossible for them to slow down his momentum. The other pros broke out their assorted quirks or skills along the way, bringing down the majority of the Yakuza trying to stop them and clearing a path for Nighteye and Fat Gum's groups to barge into the main entrance.
"Sorry we can't take our shoes off," said Fat Gum, "but we're kind of in a hurry here!" The hallways were less crowded as the pros and students rushed down them, following Nighteye's lead.
"They seemed to be somewhat prepared for us," noted Amajiki as they ran, "our plans weren't leaked were they?"
"I think they just managed to catch wind of our plan," stated the Police Sergeant, "their response was faster than expected but it's not cohesive. Groups like these can usually coordinate fairly well, so the fact that they're simply swarming means they didn't have time to plan a trap."
"It's a staple of groups like these," continued Aizawa, "they all have a strong bond with their boss and those they see as brothers. Loyalty is all the more sacred because they're part of the underworld."
"But where are the bosses then?!" Questioned Kirishima angrily, "these guys are out there fighting for them while they hide or run away, how can that be considered manly or loyal?" No one had time to answer his question as Nighteye brought them to a halt at one of the walls which had a flower vase and a picture with Japanese writing.
"The entrance to their underground headquarters is here," said Nighteye as he moved the vase aside. "It's activated by hidden switches which need to be pressed in a specific order, once that's done." He didn't need to finish the rest of his sentence as the section of wall they were standing in front of moved back and slid aside to reveal a hidden staircase.
"Wow, they went all ninja-hideout with this place," said Bubble Girl. And much like ninjas, a trio of Yakuza thugs ran out from the shadows, attempting to stab the heroes with an assortment of knives. Centipeder reacted quickly and shot out a pair of centipede-shaped tendrils to restrain two of the thugs while Bubble Girl made use of her own quirk, popping a soap bubble in her attacker's face to blind him before grabbing his arm and twisting him to the floor with a takedown maneuver. "We'll hold these guys here, you keep going!"
"You heard Bubble Girl," said Nighteye to the remaining raiders, "Let's move!" The group hesitated only a moment before they proceeded down the stairs and turned into a long hallway. But before they got very far, the collective heroes ran into a large wall in the middle of the hallway.
"I thought your quirk could see the future Nighteye," complained Rock Lock, "how did you miss something like this?"
"His quirk sees future decisions by the people he's watching," Clay reminded him, "if the one he was watching didn't see this wall put up then neither did he."
"I'll take a quick look then," said Mirio as he stepped forward and examined the wall.
"But won't you be naked if you use your quirk right now?" Questioned Kirishima, remembering all too well the sight 1-A had seen fighting him.
"Don't worry," said Amajiki, "Mirio's costume is made of a special fiber which uses his hair. It'll become permeable along with him whenever he uses his quirk." Which was proving very useful right now as the big three member stuck his head through the wall for a moment before pulling it back out.
"The hallway continues past this point," reported Mirio, "this wall was specially constructed just to block our way so breaking through it probably won't be easy."
"So that Chisaki guy's quirk can tear apart and reform matter to this extent," Rock Lock thought aloud.
"It has to mean we're getting close," said Midoriya as he and Kirishima activated their quirks.
"Nice trick or not," said Kirishima, "this guy's an idiot if he thinks we'll be stopped by some wall!" The two 1-A students hit the obstacle at the same time, shattering the stone completely to create a hole big enough for even Fat Gum to fit through easily.
"Good work you two," said Mirio, "now let's get moving!" The group complied as they continued their run through the hallways. 'This is weird,' thought Clay as his eyes darted around the area, 'they sent out a whole host of their goons upstairs to slow us down, but where's the rest of Chisaki's personal guard?' He got his answer soon enough as the room began to shake around them. Or, to be more accurate, the room was twisting and contorting like it was made of liquid.
"What's going on," asked Midoriya as everyone tried to keep their footing.
"It must be Mimic's quirk," said the Police Sergeant as he stumbled around along with them, "He can enter objects and control them as if they were his own body. But he usually can't control something this large!"
"It's more than likely their performance enhancing drug," surmised Fat Gum as he tried not to bump into anyone in the swaying room.
"Any chance you can stop this guy from using his quirk?" Slade Asked Eraser Head as he increased his density to get better footing.
"I can't do much of anything without seeing his real body," replied Eraser Head, "But that's not our only option. Clay, get us a platform above the floor!"
"On it," replied the cloud wielder as he floated off the floor and produced a thin but dense layer of clouds which everyone hopped onto.
"That's quite a useful quirk you got there," complimented Fat Gum, "the floor can thrash all it wants now but it won't slow us down anymore!"
"Don't be so sure," said Clay as he tried to move them forward, only for a wall to raise up and block their way.
"We won't get anywhere at this rate," said Mirio as he jumped off and raced towards the wall.
"Mirio, what are you doing?" Called Amajiki, unable to follow after his friend.
"Time is of the essence right now," said Mirio, "the Hassaikai know it so they're trying to stall us. I'm going on ahead to try and slow them down. Catch up to me when you can!" Amajiki tried protesting more, but his words weren't heard as the permeation quirk user slipped through the wall.
"We need to bust through that wall now!" exclaimed Kirishima as he urged Clay to move his cloud platform closer. But the room closed in around them as a hole opened in the floor.
"Crap," said Clay as he quickly dropped the platform downward, already knowing he was playing into the enemy's hands by doing so. The good news, at least, was that this new room wasn't being controlled by Mimic. It meant he could withdraw his cloud platform to further strengthen his gauntlets and greaves while also forming a long cloud scarf around his shoulders.
"Now where in the world are we?" Asked Midoriya as they looked around the new room.
"Further from our target is where," answered Rock Lock, "we need to find a way out."
"I'm afraid that's a bit out of the question for you government authorized thugs," said a man in a type of scarecrow mask. He was joined by another man in a green button-up shirt and a bird beak mask who was wielding a sword, as well as a much larger bald man wearing a type of medical mask. 'Setsuno, Hojo, and Tabe,' Clay surmised as he recalled the info sheets he'd read on the Shie Hassaikai, 'all of them are members of the Eight Expendables.'
"Guess we've got a fight on our hands," said Fat Gum as he brought his fist into his open palm, "I just hope you petty criminals are ready for the strength of a pro-." The hero was suddenly silenced as Amajiki raised his hand up to stop him.
"The pros should save their strength for rescuing our target," said Amajiki with a surprising amount of determination, "these guys are only meant to slow us down, so I'll handle them myself."
"You don't have to do that," said Kirishima, "we can take them on together!"
"I'd like you all to say," said the blond expendable as he tilted his sword, "I'll be able to you're your whole group then."
"We'll have to leave them up to you pros," said the Police Sergeant, "our guns won't work on him."
"Very good, you've all done your homework," sneered the expendable, "which means I can really cut loose!" The man shot forward with his hand outstretched, attempting to use his quirk to steal something. But Eraser Head was faster and used his eyes to prevent that. "What, my quirk isn't working!"
His tall accomplice attempted to step in by pulling out a gun and aiming it at Aizawa, only to be quickly disarmed by a speeding cloud blade from Clay. "Their quirks are off, now's your chance Amajiki!" He said while withdrawing his cloud. The big three member didn't hesitate on that signal as he produced several large octopus tentacles from his hand and wrapped up the villains, simultaneously seizing their weapons while slamming them all on the ground.
"Like I said before I can handle these guys," said Amajiki as he crushed the gathered weapons in a crab claw, "It isn't the best move right now for all of us to fight them because they're trying to stall us. But if they're just stalling me then the rest of you can head on. You'll need everyone's quirk for this including Eraser Head's. I know this is something I can do Fat Gum so please, get going!" His word were obviously met with a bit of hesitation by the round pro before he turned and headed for what they hoped was an exit.
"Let's get going," said Fat Gum, clearly surprising Kirishima as the rest of the pros started to move in that direction.
"Hey why are you all leaving," said the blond expendable as he attempted to use his quirk again, before being quickly shut down by Aizawa who also moved in and knocked out the expendable with the scarecrow mask.
"Beat them before they can fight back Amajiki," said Aizawa as he also moved towards the exit.
"I will," said the big three member as he slammed them all into the nearby wall, "and take care of Mirio. I know he'll try way too hard and get in over his head so please, keep him safe." The 1-A students nodded in understanding before heading out the door, continuing their race down the maze of hallways.
"Are you crazy just leaving him back there Fat Gum," asked a worried Kirishima.
"His attitude may make it seem otherwise," replied the Pro, "but he's stronger than most of us here, so I have faith in him. Truth of the matter is, his weakness is self-confidence. He feels pressured to be perfect and it often causes him to mess up. Despite that he still became one of U.A.'s big three, so if he says he can do it I've got no reason not to trust him and believe in him."
"Are you sure?" Asked Kirishima, "I can't help but worry about the guy."
"Look if you've left a comrade to guard your back then you have to be a man about it and trust him!" exclaimed Fat Gum.
"Got it, he'll handle those guys no problem!" exclaimed Kirishima. 'Didn't take much to change your mind did it,' thought Slade as they continued to run.
"We've got our own concerns to worry about at the moment," said Aizawa as he looked down the hallway, "I'm not sure if any of you noticed, but the hallways and floors aren't twisting like they were before."
"Is it possible we've gone beyond the point he's able to control with his quirk," suggested Clay, "there were a bunch of police officers behind us when we went through the floor. There's a chance he's too preoccupied to come after us."
"You really think there's a limit to how much of this building he can control," asked Rock Lock.
"We're only talking in theory at the moment," said Aizawa, "his quirk allows him to move into objects to control them. It's possible his real body is actually moving around in the building and isn't far from the sections he's manipulating."
"But doesn't that beg the question of how quickly he can move through the building," Slade pointed out, "Once he's determined the officers back there aren't a main priority, won't he come after us?" The density shifter's question was answered fairly quickly as a large stone hand shot out of the wall right at Eraser Head.
"Sensei!" Exclaimed Clay as he, Fat Gum, and Kirishima all reached for the erasure hero, trying to prevent him from being pushed into a newly-formed hole in the wall. Fat Gum reached him first, managing to push his colleague out of the way. But he himself was pushed down the hole in the process.
"Fat, be careful down there," said Eraser Head as he got back to his feet.
"Oh no," said Midoriya as he noticed another absence, "Kirishima's gone too!"
"Ah he must've gotten trapped in-between Fat Gum and the wall," said Slade with a face palm.
"Whatever the case," said Nighteye, "we have to keep moving. Fat Gum is a seasoned pro so he should be able to handle whatever's thrown at him. We need to catch up to Mirio." The group collectively agreed as they again ran down the pathway towards their goal. But it didn't take long for the floors, ceiling and walls to start contorting again.
"Not this time," said Clay as he spread his clouds out into multiple small platforms this time for the collective pros and students to jump on.
"Rock Lock, your quirk," Ordered Aizawa as he tried and failed to find the main body of their foe.
"Yeah yeah," he said, "quit acting like the de facto leader. DEAD BOLT!" The pro put his hand on the wall and turned it like one would turn a door knob. A red wave of energy spread throughout the area and stopped the movement of the room. This was his quirk Lock Down in action: anything he used it on would be locked in place. It might not work on living things or excessively large areas, but the area he did cover was more than enough for them to keep on moving.
"Incoming," said Slade as he noticed some movement from behind them. The wall itself was racing towards them now from the area Rock Lock's quirk hadn't reached.
"Full Cowling Shoot Style!" Said Midoriya as he leapt forward and smashed the oncoming stone again and again, breaking through it. Slade moved in as well, tackling any sections his friend missed and smashed through them with a high density body.
"We need to pinpoint his location," said Aizawa, "otherwise he's just gonna keep aiming for us and funneling us into traps." 'And I've already got my hands full pulling people away from a charging wall,' thought Clay as he gathered those on his clouds to a location behind him and the other pros. Slade and Midoriya were continuing to smash through the charging wall columns until suddenly, it all pulled away.
"Oh that can't be good," said Clay, "Midoriya, you and Slade best get back here before-shit!" Mimic had already made his next move as a collection of walls came down around them, splitting the group up. "Well this is just great," said Clay as he noted that he'd somehow wound up with Rock Lock as the other occupant in the newly formed prison.
"Hey, can anyone hear us out there?" Called Rock Lock.
"We're fine," said Nighteye, "but be on the lookout for their next move!"
"Yeah no kidding," Said Rock Lock as he and Clay glanced around the confined space, "You got any good tricks for busting through walls cloud kid?"
"My quirk's uses lie in versatility not brute power, and this wall is definitely tougher than the basic armor on U.A.'s smaller robots," explained Clay, "but if we just wait a moment we might-." His explanation was interrupted by a roar as a massive shape dropped from the ceiling. The pro and student rolled in opposite directions to avoid the impact as Clay formed a pair of spike balls for combat against, Rikiya Katsukame? 'But he was out front so how can he be here, unless.' "Rock Lock heads up!"
His warning came just in time as a familiar, knife-wielding blonde leapt up from seemingly nowhere and tried to stab him in the back. Rock Lock managed to turn in time to block the stab with his hand and, despite the pain of having a blade driven through it, managed to lock her weapon in place before striking back with a punch of his own. But the one he struck turned into grey goo from the attack, confirming Clay's fears as he moved out of the way of 'Rikiya's' fist. It seems that altercation or not, the worst case scenario had come to pass. The Hassaikai was getting some help in their current operation, from the League of Villains.
And the obstacles just keep getting tougher as our heroes now contend not only with the Shie Hassaikai, but members of their recurring enemy, the League of Villains. Oh, and an early Happy New Year to everyone as well. Hopefully this latest chapter was an enjoyable early present for 2020 and as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes contend with the combined might of two evil organizations! 'Til then.
