Coco: Hey, guys, I can't apologize enough for the long wait. As you know, I've been dreading writing like any of this. It hurts me in the feels as did the latest chapter of BnHA...but we're not going to talk about that! Nope, I'm going to just ignore all that until I can't anymore. But anyway, I am back with this latest chapter where things are about to get pretty bad as I write the one thing I didn't want to.
So, hope you're ready for it. Also, sorry for the typos. I'm running on 2 hours of sleep and two ghost energy drinks, so my proof reading was terrible for this chapter. But even on my good days, I'm not the best proofreader...so yeah.
Shall we get started?
Ayano froze just behind the others as a sense of dread washed over her like icy water.
'Togata-senpai,' She thought as Izuku broke down the wall between them and where Mirio was fighting Chisaki.
Her moment of hesitation ended in a second, and she soon joined the others by rushing through the opening made by Izuku. Her eyes immediately landed on Mirio as Nighteye reached the older teen and held him in his arms. He had Eri as well, which meant Ayano didn't have to worry about the girl. However, she was concerned with her upperclassman's state, she turned her focus on Chisaki who looked like he was struggling to even stand.
Ayano landed beside Izuku with her eyes narrowing at their target as he touched the ground repeatedly. He was obviously trying to use his quirk, but thanks to Aizawa's erasure, he couldn't.
"Lemillion already has him backed into a corner," Aizawa said as he and Izuku rushed forward. "It's time for us to finish this!"
"Yes, sir!" Izuku replied.
Ayano was going to follow the two, but instead she found herself flinging her arm out behind her instead as Chisaki shouted.
"It's time to get up, Chrono!" Chisaki ordered.
The man he yelled at sent some kind of attack at Aizawa and Izuku. Aizawa shoved Izuku out of the way to protect him, but it was unneeded as a psionic wall appeared between them at the attack. Then before anyone could register what was happening, Chrono was lifted and thrown to the side like a ragdoll. He slammed into the wall crying out in pain before dropping limply to the ground.
"Ayano!" Izuku exclaimed in surprise at the girl's quick reaction time.
The girl seemed a bit surprised as well as she looked down at her hand with wide eyes.
'What made me react like I did?' She wondered. 'Even if I had read their thoughts to know their intentions, it wouldn't have given me enough to react like I just did. It was like I sensed the intent coming?'
She then gasped as she looked forward with her right eye seeing something else than what was in front of her. It was like watching a movie. Images played before her. Izuku and Aizawa fighting Chisaki and fairing poorly once Aizawa couldn't stop himself from blinking. Aizawa disappearing mid battle So much blood…Izuku and Nighteye dying. The battle ending in failure.
"Ayano, what's wrong?!" Nighteye called out as Aizawa and Izuku returned to fighting Chisaki before Aizawa had to blink.
Ayano turned to look at her mentor, and his eyes widened when seeing her right eye had changed. Her sclera was black and her iris a pupil-less purple.
'She's using my foresight,' He realized. 'Though something is off.'
First only one of her eyes seemed to be using foresight. And her iris kept wavering. Focusing in and out as if it was unstable or if something else was happening.
'Could she be seeing multiple futures at once?' He wondered.
A tear ran down her right cheek as her iris shook back and forth even faster. However, despite the pain she seemed to be in, she threw back her arm like she had done before. And just in time. Aizawa ended up blinking before Chisaki could be dealt with, which meant the man activated his quirk. He destroyed the floor and reformed it into spikes, which he sent at Aizawa and Izuku. The only reason why they even survived being thanks to the wall that Ayano formed.
"She's predicting my moves!" Chisaki growled. "How?!"
Aizawa looked back at his student in concern when Ayano seemed to be moving by pure instinct. Nothing seemed conscious of her actions.
'Do I need to take her out of the game now?' He wondered. 'It's thanks to her actions that Midoriya and I haven't been hurt yet. But if her quirk is acting on its own, it could get out of hand and end up hurting us in the end.'
He then grunted when a psionic hand smacked him out of the way. He hit the ground roughly, which had Izuku gasping.
"Ayano, what are you doing?!" Izuku asked.
His eyes then widened when a spike appeared right where Aizawa had been a second before. Ayano turned towards Izuku with her right eye still changed.
"I'm sorry," she said with her voice strained. "It's hard to focus right now, and this quirk isn't easy to deal with. I don't see how Sir fights with it like he does."
Izuku looked at his friend in worry when blood started running down Ayano's nose.
"Ayano, you need to stop!" Nighteye said. "You can't use Hive's power like this! You promised you wouldn't use Hive, remember?!"
Ayano didn't reply as she raised her hand high above her head with her eyes focused on Chisaki.
"I'm sorry, Sir," Ayano said. "But I'm not consciously using Hive. Hive is acting as it thinks best for the sake of protecting the people important to me. Hive acts on my desires and for my own safety. Even if it means, forcing my hand."
She then brought down her hand with a wave of psionic energy rushing forward. Chisaki quickly used his quirk to raise the ground around him like a barrier. Her quirk ripped apart his wall though it was enough to lessen the blow of her attack. Only his shoulder, which made a sickening crunching noise was injured. Chisaki cried out in pain before slamming his hand on the ground.
"Why you little!" He growled. "I'll destroy you!"
He ripped apart the ground even more and sent more spikes at Ayano. The girl seemed ready, however, she then winced when a spike of pain traveled through her head. She faltered as the hand she raised to attack with, clutched the right side of her head.
"Ayano!" Izuku and Nighteye shouted.
Their shout brought a bit back to her senses as she managed to form a feeble wall. However, most of it broke away as if made of glass as Chisaki's attack slammed into it. Ayano grunted with her eyes widening as she slowly looked down. Her body was skewered in three places. One spike to her left shoulder, one to her right thigh, and the last in her lower torso. Though thanks to the wall—even if it was poorly made—the one wound to her torso wasn't as deep. It might not be fatal but with the amount of blood that flowed from the wounds, Ayano was sure the blood loss would kill her if she wasn't treated.
Everything seemed to slow down in that moment. She could vaguely comprehend that Izuku was running towards her. A look of pure horror on his face. She could also hear Nighteye and Mirio's shouts coming from behind. Though their voices sounded muffled as if they were holding clothes over their mouths. However, the one thing that was clear was Chisaki's burning gaze and his intentions as he reached to touch the ground once more.
Ayano, despite all the pain she felt, raised her hand. Even has consciousness was leaving her, her quirk bent to her will…forming strong walls around her comrades. Protecting them from Chisaki's next onslaught. Izuku, who reached for her, gasped as he looked on in shock as Chisaki's attack shattered against the walls made by Ayano.
"I…I will protect…everyone," Ayano's voice had Izuku looking back to her.
His eyes watered as he took in her state. Her clothes were being stained by her own blood. Her wounds severe, but despite that she was trying to fight. He hurried to her side. He broke the spikes off the ground, so he could move her to rest in his arms. He frowned wondering if he needed to remove them from her body.
'That'd only make the blood flow faster,' Izuku thought. 'For now, it's best they remain where they are. But still, she needs help as soon as possible.'
He felt fear for his friend's life settle in. However, he shook his head to try and push away those worries.
'I need to focus an assess the situation,' he said as he looked to Chisaki who had used one of his underlings to boost his own power. 'He destroyed himself and his underling and then fused them both together?'
"It was unpleasant but necessary," Chisaki said as if reading Izuku's thoughts. "And I feel so much better now."
Izuku looked sickened by the older man's actions but made himself focus on the task at hand.
'Take stock of the situation,' Izuku told himself then looked for his companions. 'Nighteye's over there. Protecting Eri and Togata. No sign of Aizawa-sensei, or the guy in the white hood.'
This concerned Izuku as he wondered where his teacher could have been taken. However, it wasn't as if he could go looking for Aizawa considering the threat in front of him.
'Then there's Chisaki who seems to have merged with that over guy and seems to have healed himself in the process.' Izuku continued to think.
Things were going south and quickly. And with Ayano in her current state, things were even worse. They needed to get her to a doctor as soon as possible. But they wouldn't be able to do that until Chisaki was dealt with.
'Ayano, please hold on,' Izuku thought desperately.
"This can't be happening right now," Ayano thought as she paced within her mind. "We need to be fighting with the rest of them."
She looked to Hive, who could now be reached, as Hive watched her pace. Hive looked concerned about Ayano as the girl's pacing became even faster.
"Hive…Hive means that Ishida Ayano has taken on too much damage." Hive reminded her. "Also, Ishida Ayano saw the outcome of the battle. Ishida Ayano and her companions lose this battle. However, if Ishida Ayano remains as she is now, she will live."
Ayano turned to frown at Hive as the extension of herself didn't seem to understand the weight behind those words.
"That isn't an option, and you know that." Ayano said. "You're a part of me, right? So, you know we can't just lay unconscious in the midst of battle while the others fight and bleed to save Eri. I promised we would save her, and I will keep that promise! And I won't allow anyone else suffer if I can prevent it."
There was a dark chuckle behind her, which had her stiffening. Ayano whirled around and backed away as Hive moved in front of her while placing a protective arm out in front of her. Ayano's eyes landed on a figure who looked much like herself as well just like Hive did. However, unlike Hive and Ayano, this version was ragged. Hair unkept, clothes tattered, bags under the eyes.
"You want to save them?" This new version told Ayano with an unhinged smile. "I'll help you if that one won't."
This new entity nodded towards Hive who stepped further in front of Ayano to block her from view.
"Anyone who hurts us is the enemy," The entity continued. "I'll help you crush them, so they never hurt us again."
Ayano shook as she realized who this entity was now. The same one that nearly had her kill Royale.
"I will help you fight for a future where no one hurts us ever again," The entity assured in a dark tone.
Ayano's nightmare of that dark future where her loved ones laid dead at her feet, entered her mind. It caused a wave of nausea to hit her like a brick. Her knees shook and she fell to the ground.
"Ishida Ayano!" Hive called out while turning and crouching to reach for the girl.
"You're too weak, One." The entity told Ayano. "Too weak to protect yourself. Too weak protect us. Too weak to do what must be done, so I'll do it for you. All you have to do is allow me to take over."
Ayano looked at this new entity as she wondered just where she came from. No one mentioned a second entity. Only Hive.
"This one was born after Hive was separated from Ishida Ayano." Hive explained. "The more Ishida Ayano grew. Being separated from Ishida Ayano's birth family. Losing those of Ishida Ayano's second family. And all other hardships Ishida Ayano has faced has caused this one to grow. However, this one really started to get out of hand after Hive's reconnection with Ishida Ayano. Soon everyone Ishida Ayano came into contact with who had like powers started to fuel this one's power. Their own pain and suffering adding onto Ishida Ayano's own pain. Hive has tried to suppress this half, but it can no longer be ignored Hive supposes Ishida Ayano could call this one a fragment of Hive."
Ayano frowned when hearing all this. She had no idea that something else has been growing inside of her mind all this time. Never once having felt anything out of the ordinary until today.
"Fragment?" The entity repeated. "Ya know, what? I like the sound of that. Just call me Fragment then. I'm the part of you who can keep us safe, One. Do what you can't. I can even do more than that one, and that one is supposed to be the power behind us."
The newly named Fragment pointed to Hive with a look of disgust as Hive only looked back with an unreadable expression.
"Now, One, why not just let me take over from here?" Fragment asked Ayano. "That Chisaki won't be a problem much longer. With how much stronger we've become since joining that little school, I'm sure ripping his heart out won't be a problem. But if that's too swift a death to give him after all that he's done, we can make it slow and painful. Just like how we were going to do with that Royale."
Ayano shook her head not believing any part of her would want to kill any human being. It made her sick just thinking about it.
"Now, now," Fragment hummed. "Don't you remember? You've felt that kind of hatred before. The kind that you'd happily give into even if it meant killing another. What about that villain who took away Ko?"
Ayano paled as she did remember that day. How that dark thought had crossed her mind until Katsuki and Izuku brought her back to her senses.
"I won't ever feel that way again," Ayano said. "And I will never take someone else's life! We don't do that!"
Fragment frowned at Ayano while looking disappointed in the young aspiring hero.
"Let me get this straight," Fragment began. "You want to protect the Eri girl. You want to protect those you love. You don't want to die…but you also don't want to do what is necessary to protect all those things? You can't be so selfish, One! There has to be some kind of sacrifice. And who better to be sacrificed than those who harmed us?! Who caused us this pain! If you'd allow me, I can make sure we never feel pain again!"
"Feeling pain and going through hardships is what makes us human!" Ayano argued back. "It makes us stronger! We must take those hardships and use them to better ourselves. Not fall into despair and become worse!"
Fragment frowned. It obviously recognized those words from Nighteye's teachings. However, Fragment soon smirked, which didn't sit well with Ayano.
"I wonder if you'll still be thinking that after seeing…this!" Fragment said.
Ayano gasped feeling a sudden pull before she was outside of her mind and back into the physical world and conscious. She blinked rapidly trying to take in everything as quickly as possible. The pain came first, and it caused her to hiss and squirm uncomfortably. Next came hear sense of hearing, which immediately locked onto Mirio's voice.
"SIR, NO!"
Ayano's head whipped around with her eyes finally focusing and what they focused on made her heart stop. Nighteye was across from where she was being carried away by Izuku who she vaguely registered as she took in Nighteye's current state. Like she had been earlier, Nighteye, who seemed to be in midbattle with Chisaki, was skewered by spikes made from Chisaki's quirk.
However, unlike her, he had no way of protecting himself from the attack. The two spikes in deep. One even seemed to separate his arm from the rest of his body. The other went clean through his torso. His wounds far worse than Ayano's.
'…Sir…' Ayano thought in horror as tears started to run down her cheeks. 'This can't be happening!'
Ayano could only remain still in Izuku's hold as she watched Nighteye's body go limp. Though she could still feel his mind, it was weak, and she wasn't sure how much longer he would hold on. The tears started flowing and a pain worse than what was caused by her physical wounds hit her chest like a train.
'Sir, please…don't leave us!' Ayano thought towards him. 'We need you, Sir!'
—FLASHBACK—
Ayano frowned pushing Nighteye's hand away when he tried to lift up her chin to inspect the small scratch on her face.
"I'm fine," She insisted.
Nighteye didn't reply as he reached forward again and made her lift her head up. She narrowed her eyes at him as he narrowed his eyes at the mark coloring her cheek.
"This is what happens when you don't follow instructions," Nighteye said as he released her chin. "You wouldn't have received any wounds if you had followed Mirio's lead."
Said boy was watching silently from the side. Obviously not wanting to interfere in this conversation. He and Ayano had just returned from their street patrol. It had been quite for the most part, but towards the end some idiot kids started a ruckus. Mirio had tried to end things with words since it was just some kids being careless and disrupting.
It looked as if things might calm down. However, one kid decided to be a smartass and try to give Mirio some trouble. Ayano, who was meant to sit back and observe, got involved when hearing the kid's thoughts and intentions. She had grabbed his hand to stop him from using his quirk on Mirio. However, in doing so, she got hit instead. The kid's quirk, which was some kind of slashing quirk wasn't that strong and he hadn't been looking to actually hurt Mirio, so Ayano luckily was only left with a small scratch.
"I did follow his lead," Ayano argued. "However, if I know someone will get hurt or be in danger, I can't ignore that."
"Mirio's quirk would have kept him from harm." Nighteye retorted calmly. "Which if you had taken a moment to think about before acting, would have left everyone unharmed."
Ayano's frown deepened. She didn't know why he was so upset. It wasn't like anyone was hurt except her. And she didn't consider this scratch as being hurt anyway.
"It's just a scratch this time," Nighteye continued. "However, next time it could be something far more serious. Keep that in mind before you act without thinking."
Ayano sighed though supposed Nighteye did have a point, which is why she apologized to him and Mirio for her actions. The blonde easily forgave her with a grin. Nighteye on the other hand continued to frown.
"You have a lot of talent, Ayano." Nighteye told her. "You're gifted with strong quirk, and I am going to ensure you use it to your full potential. Which means, I will not hold back on how I teach you to better yourself, understand?"
"Yes, Sir." Ayano replied.
Nighteye stared at her a moment longer before giving a nod and placing his hand on top of her head.
"Good," he said. "Now, there's some food waiting for you and Mirio in the breakroom. Eat up and get some rest. We have more training to get through before your time here is up."
—END OF FLASHBACK—
'There's still so much more you need to teach me,' Ayano thought as she tried to will her body to move. 'I can't face the future without you…not with all that's happening. What if I become that monster, you saw in your vision because I don't have your guidance?'
—FLASHBACK—
"Is that what you saw…," Ayano asked softly. "You had foreseen me becoming some kind of…monster?"
She barely got the word out as her hands clenched tightly into fists to try and control their shaking.
"If so…then why…why did you take me on as one of your protégés?" Ayano continued. "Why have you encouraged me to become stronger? Why bother telling me I can be a hero when I'm destined to be a villain?!"
As she finally let it out, tears ran rapidly down her cheeks. She thought she had it all contained and didn't even realize how much it was truly bothering her until she let it out. Nighteye looked at the young girl with a pained expression as she stared at him desperately for answers. Without a word he moved forward and put his arms around the crying teen.
"To be honest, I only offered you a spot here at the agency to keep an eye on you and look for what weakness could be used against you once the time comes," Nighteye confessed. "However…that all changed during your brief time here during your internship. In such a short span, you changed my mind completely, and I decided then that I would help you become the hero you dream to be."
Ayano's eyes widened at his words as the tears started to slow and her breathing evened.
"I know I said my visions of the future have always come to pass," Nighteye continued. "However, I made the decision that that dark future won't come true for you. I will help you change it, Ayano, I swear it. You will be a shining hero. The one I believe wholeheartedly you can be."
—END OF FLASHBACK—
'I can't become that shining hero you spoke of without you,' Ayano thought. 'I need you, Sir! We need you!'
'He's not going to survive,' Fragment cooed in her ears. 'Not if we don't get him to a hospital fast enough that is. But alas, we cannot…not until he's out of the way.'
Ayano's eyes turned over to Chisaki the man responsible for all of this. Eri's suffering. Ayano's friends' misery and pain. Her own pain. For Nighteye's current state. And if he gets away now, he'll only create more pain for others. He'll be a threat to the society even more so than before. And if he gets away, everything they went through today will be for nothing.
'That's right,' Fragment told her. 'Everyone here is too beat up or to weak to stop him. However, if we do what needs to be done, we can end this without a problem. You know that, don't you?'
Ayano's white irises began to tinge slightly red on the edges as she continued to stare at Chisaki as Izuku, who sat her down, went to deal with him.
'Izuku will be next if we don't intervene.' Fragment continued. 'Then you'll lose someone else precious to you. Aren't you tired of that? Losing who you love? Going through that same pain over and over again? We can stop that. Just let me handle everything, One. All we have to do is borrow a bit of power from a certain someone upstairs. You know the power. You've felt it before, right? The one belonging to Sebone Rina.'
Ayano's eyes turned completely red as she felt herself latch onto Rina's familiar presence. She hadn't been able to feel it before—she only knew Rina was here at all because of Royale telling her—and she didn't know if it was thanks to Fragment or if Rina had suddenly lowered her guard. But she didn't care. She was going to use Rina's power for now.
'Let's end this.' Ayano thought darkly.
Coco: And there you have it! The darkness within Ayano's mind has been revealed and Ayano has given in to it. Will she recover from this? Snap out of it before she crosses a line there's no going back from? I suppose we'll just have to find out next time, won't we?
Now, as always, stay safe out there and keep being your beautiful selves! Tootles~