Chapter 79 - Reperfection of Fire
"-Light Enhance!" Flames expanded in a fiery red hue to combat the murky green. A Warlock's brilliant blade scorching an arc through the earth as the solid blade of flames collided with the cursed cleaver, the bone construct rebounding from the force as a shield of darkness blocked two more strokes of flames, whisking them between Narvoc's legs as it drew the blade tip forward, forcing the winged Guardian to fly back from the attack, his breastplate singed through his own flames. "I won't let you come closer!"
"Please..." Rayla, recovering from her own wounds, clutched a badly injured Hunter in her arms, trying to stop the bleeding around his gut. "Freed!" She begged the Warlock who lunged back with a cry, sword drawn to its hip.
The Swordbearer and Dawnblade refused to relent, striking one another restlessly, green and orange sparks scorching the crypt and illuminating the chamber as neither truly landed a fatal blow, going toe-to-toe. Narvoc used another materialized shield to leap above the flaming wings, drawing its sword down through the earth as Freed leapt back.
Narvoc pursued, slammed its golden fist into the face of the sword, the sheer force was too much for the Warlock to handle as his eye socket was crushed by the knuckle sliding off the blade. "Hyrah!" He swung his sword in a criss-cross, scarring the Knight before delivering a rising slash to ward it away, flames dancing between the two. Then Narvoc dove under a strike, creasing its fist against Freed's ribs, smashing two of them as the Warlock gagged, stumbling back.
The Knight backed away as another wide flaming halo expanded from the blade, its flames smaller, becoming translucent as the chaos of combat stilled. Rayla looked around, was it over? The Hunter, Wash, cracked an eye open to see for himself, the uneasiness in the dark crypt stretching.
Freed was panting heavily, his helmet reduced to pieces by his feet, revealing the pale-blue-skinned man beneath, his glossy white hair stained with his own blood. The flames that covered his body grew quiet, wings folding against his back. Without his Ghost, he could not recover, his Light was starting to fade due to that cursed cleaver.
"Freed... we need to run... I... I can't do this by myself!" Rayla wanted this nightmare to be over with. She wanted to forget about ever coming back here! "Freed!"
"Hah... Hah..." He slowed his breathing.
*BOOSH*
Flames cascaded from every inch of his armour, his wings growing jagged and wide, practically walling off his fireteam as he clasped his blade with both hands, taking a wide stance with the blazing sword close to his cheek, smiling through his blood. "I... will see to my duty as a Guardian! Mark my words, no more shall die because of you!" He glanced back, smiling through his flames. "Go... Rayla," Craning to face the Swordbearer, he steadied his resolve. "I'll inflict all the damage I can, that should stall him..." "Light... Unity."
Finding her courage, Rayla mustered the strength to stand, dragging Wash away as the very essence of a dragon roared across the hellscape toward the silent Knight that raised its blade to confront this foe, sparks of amethyst and sapphire caught in the inferno.
Even as the battle raged, Rayla didn't hear any of it, trying to save her friend, dragging him through the various corridors of the dark citadel. His own Ghost was taken away, his legs left shattered as he breathed hoarsely. "Ray..." She didn't listen and kept moving with a stubborn look on her face. "Rayla, stop..." He tugged at her belt but she refused. "Come on, stop-"
"WHY WON'T YOU JUST LET ME SAVE YOU!?" She screamed, tripping over herself as her arms held her upright, seeing her tears stain the floor. "Why... Why are you two both just giving up!? Don't you want to live!?"
"Heh, make it sound so easy, you're not the one with the gut wound," He chuckled, dragging himself to sit upright against the nearest wall facing a literal chasm of light. "Huh, thought we were deeper?"
Rayla wasn't looking, instead, she kept crying until a pebble struck her crown. She turned with tears in her eyes, seeing Wash smiling with a hazy look. "Come on, hear me out one more time, Ray."
She sniffed and shuffled close, sitting on her knees. "Very soon, I'll be dead so before you start yelling at me, or cry, or grieve, make sure it's in a better place than this," He grunted, taking off his tattered cloak. "Maybe not the City, or the Tower, but somewhere, you'll find your place, so don't look so grim about it, alright?"
"Wash..." Fresh tears fell from her eyes as he wrapped his cloak around her shoulders like a blanket.
His fingers tapped her chest, smiling despite the fact his life was fading. "If you're ever doubting yourself, that your strength isn't enough... set this world on fire," He saw her eyes expand. "Burn brighter than any light, any star, burn bright so others can see what we've followed, heh, it was worth it to us... meeting you, kid,"
In that final moment, he spent his last seconds seeing her bite her lip, hanging her head to let out her tears beside her Ghost. For him, he was content one final time.
The air grew warmer around the construction site. Suddenly, a large whirlwind of flames consumed Rayla as Narvoc raised its cleaver, slamming it down to release a line of cursed flames. Her own split the wall in two, lunging with Crown Splitter above her hand, the sheer pressure behind the swing shattered a perfect circle around the two as the face of Narvoc's cleaver took the brunt of the attack.
Flipping over the Knight, Rayla brought the heavy object wide in one arm, flames cascading from her arm to the sword as the Hive dipped its head back to evade, swinging its own blade to clip her chin, pushing her backward. "How did he even get to this world?"
"You don't think...?" Solaire's assuming tone made her flames hotter.
"Kovik... he brought a damn Hive here!?" Rayla didn't care right now, the thing that killed the only fireteam she ever had, her closest friends, was standing right in front of her. Maybe she should thank Kovik if she met him, this was a golden opportunity to run her sword through the Hive bastard's- "Gah!"
A cleaver sliced across her armour, bending on the I-beams with her back as she glided away, the sword cleaving the beam in two as Narvoc rushed her. She was forced to block the relentless blows with Crown Splitter, metal ringing in her ears as she clasped a silver ball in her hand, tossing it against Narvoc's side as it erupted into a ball of flames.
She gasped, a knuckle cracking her faceplate as it spun her around, forcing her to dive into the air before her back was sliced open. Solaire appeared but was quickly shoved back into Rayla's chest by her hand. "No, he'll take you too! That's how he got the others!"
"But I need to heal you-"
"I'll be fine! I can't feel anything right now!" Her voice growled, the flame's humidity increasing to encompass her body. "Light Enhance!" She melted the beam with her boots, slamming down into the concrete to shove the Swordbearer back behind his shield, leaving a molten trail of flames.
Through the flames discarded by Narvoc's arm, he raised both forearms to block the swinging hammer that hissed and melted through the outer edge of his chitin. The large Knight spun around, drawing his cleaver to disarm the hammer from Rayla's smoldering body, stabbing forward to force her back with a wave of cursed energy.
She summoned another hammer to her hand, the jagged head dripping with molten Light as she struck relentlessly, slamming her mallet down over and over viciously against the cleaver that took the brunt of the attacks. Her scattered particles set the top of the construction site ablaze.
"You're playing into his hands, you need to calm-"
"I AM CALM!" She screamed, bringing the hammer of sol down with both hands, carving a scorching crescent through the concrete and steel beams. Behind a dissolving black shield, Narvoc brought his sword down as she gasped.
*TING*
A wave of cursed light rippled through the earth, propelling the Guardian through the air toward the forest. She spun around, using her glide to steady her velocity though she still met the trees with an unsatisfactory landing, breaking apart several large branches to slow her fall to the mud again, head in the dirt.
"Rayla!" Solaire pleaded as she pulled herself out of the dirt.
"I know, I know, no more fire, too much attention, and the school will not - Gah!" Her head was suddenly yanked from the ground by a large, charred hand. "Oh, that..." She groaned as Narvoc drew his blade close to her neck, an unpleasant and cold sensation coursing through her throat as though she were drowning. "No... m-my Light..."
Narvoc the Drowned, an infamous Knight that stalked the Moon of Rayla's reality; a deadly spawn of the Hive that used dark rituals to enchant its blade to bring the weight of the Darkness with it, suppressing the Light within Guardians. His most notable trend was what he did with the Ghosts that foolishly came out within his sight, fashioning them into decorations for his chitin. No one has survived, those that did were without a way to revive.
Thinking out of desperation, Rayla used Light Enhance to burst into flames, her hands then grooved against the large blade, seeing the tips of her fingers glow bright white as she struggled to hold it away from her body, instead, she focused her Light into a single point. "Little by little you've stolen the Light with your sword, but it doesn't absorb the Light, it just cancels it out..."
Her heat's intensity erupted from her hands, almost setting the bushes on fire as she began to sweat beneath her armour. "What are you doing? He'll drain your Light!" Solaire began to panic, thinking his Guardian was still lost in her anger.
"I know... that's what I'm hoping for!" She pressed her boots against the Knight's chest, stretching back as his arms buckled, attempting to control her but by now, cracks began to form on the cleaver. "Melt... burn to ash already! Light Unity!"
A large, sudden flash of orange and blue embroiled the pair, the kinetic force slingshotting the pair away from one another. Rayla gagged on the air, her burnt hands visible from the sudden expulsion of two elements from her body, leaving her gasping for air. "That's... harder than it looks..."
"Roll!" She did as a fist nearly took her head clean off.
Narvoc's blade was a shattered pile of chitin and bone in the grass, his own armour sustaining various cracks and burns from the release of energy. Unfortunately, his forearms bear no such weaknesses. The golden hide split like veins of magma, the claws flexing out the seams that burned with a toxic blue glow.
"Crown Splitter!" Rayla stumbled back as the blade materialized for her to grasp in time to block two tremendous fists with the weapon's face. Returning the attack, she swung left but the forearm blocked it, then down toward the ground and Narvoc deflected the strike again. Rayla brought her sword high, slamming it down onto the Hive's crown only for the blade to jam against the chitin as it slid its head forward to land a right hook that felt similar to a truck hitting her jaw.
Spinning onto her knees she dove under a left cross, charging a heavy rising strike to the Swordbearer's back had it not pivoted and brought a fist across the sword, snapping the blade at the hilt as the left folded around to slam into her chest, sending Rayla flying into a tree, taking her helmet off with the force alone. Shaking her head, eyes filled with dots, she gasped as two forearms braced against her chest, steamrolling her through several trees.
Narvoc clamped her leg, threshing her through another, sending the girl spinning through the foliage, blood staining the trees. Rayla coughed up a glob of blood, pulling herself to stand with two flaming fists, embers encircling her gauntlets. "Come on then! That the best you can do!?"
Narvoc growled, punching his own palm as his towering visage approached her slowly. Rayla brought her arms up, striking the chest a few times to no avail, the flames didn't even tickle him before he curled his right back during her pitiful assault. Her strength was failing her, she was afraid and the Knight could see that.
His punch crackled with the same energy as before, this time, Rayla felt the impact rattle her bones, the blue shockwave used with the sword before tore through her, sending the girl flying into a nearby boulder. She gasped, arms shaking as pieces of her gauntlets fell apart. Breathing heavily, she felt her body sink against the stone a little.
"No... my arms are..." I couldn't believe it, he broke the armour and through her Light? "My arms cracked... I couldn't take it... argh, it hurts!" She hunched over slightly in agony, feeling the muscles twitch. Her Light wasn't strong enough.
The Drowned looked completely unfazed, though it did stop to analyze the Guardian for a second, Rayla went to raise a fist but she nearly screamed when his own left hook slammed into her side. Something inside Rayla broke and she was sent hurtling into the large tree to her left, body tumbling to the ground in agony with the trunks splintered around her.
Panting, Rayla clenched her fists, enhancing them again with furious flames, Narvoc noticed, doing the same with Hive magic again. He took the lead, throwing numerous punches toward her that thundered through her with enough force to break apart the armour again. Rayla's feet barely managed to stand strong as she felt blood flow from points across her body, bones creaked and muscles nearly tore open.
"Look out!" She couldn't react to Solaire at all. Rayla felt her lungs collapse, blood flying out her mouth, eyes revealing how broken the Sunbreaker's spirit was. Narvoc's fist collided with her stomach, hurdling the raven-whitette across the forest and into a collapsed stack of trees, eyes glazed with blood and black spots.
"So you lost your team to Narvoc, that right?" The slight mechanical pitch to the man's voice pulled Rayla's head from the clouds. Before her, standing in the courtyard as she hung her head toward the grass was one of the top commanders of the Vanguard, a blue robot with light blue eyes and a yellow glow to his mouth. "I've seen this plenty of times, experiences like these can shut a Guardian down in many ways, some more permanent than I'd like to admit."
"Sir... with all due respect... leave me alone," She muttered, holding onto the tarnished cape and armband she salvaged once Narvoc had his fill of blood. "Just... let me disappear." She hid her head in shame, the fact she was saying this in front of the Hunter commander was mortifying.
Cayde sat down with her, crossing his legs. "Now see, I'll keep talkin', you just listen, 'kay?" He eyed her then the red sky above. "Now, I'm sure I could spin you a lovely flowery speech about standing strong, moving forward, etc, etc, but let's be real, you'd punch me in my perfectly handsome face if I did,"
His fist bumped to her bicep, seeing her eye meet his metal smile as it faced the sun. "So I won't, you just do what you gotta do to keep your chin above water, Guardian. You don't need to be stubborn like ol' Z or stick your head in a good book like Ikora, heck, you don't need to wander off into the wilds for months on end, though I would recommend it, very therapeutic,"
Cayde cleared his throat, pointing up at the sky. "There's this whole big universe out there, plenty of things to do, and so long as you find something to crack a grin at, if it keeps you above water, then that's enough - well, that's what I think and I'm pretty smart when it comes to these things."
"You really can't help flashing your ego, Cayde." To Rayla's slack-jaw self, standing before her in bright red armour was another Titan with shoulder-length, dandelion hair and gentle green eyes, herself smiling down at the hunter.
"Hey there, C, you know me, passing on the good word to Guardians in need." Cayde flashed an innocent smile.
The woman rolled her eyes. "I'm sure, putting that aside, he's right," Her eyes met with the very person that no one noticed, one of the best took notice of Rayla and smiled as though they were good friends.
"Nothing will bring your friends back, so you have to live for them, the memory of them ends otherwise."
"...I really envy you," Rayla coughed up dirt as she wiped her chin, staring up at the bright blue sky. "I'm not out yet, get up, Titan, get up or they'll be gone forever!" Groaning, she pushed herself off the splintered logs, discharging streaks of blue lightning at her fingertips, tugging her hair upright. "I've always been overlooked, shadowed by other's who were better than me, no getting around that, but..."
"Hey, you're Rayla right?" The downtrodden girl staring toward the great big sphere of white in the sky craned her neck to a hand that was presented to her by a tanned human with jet black, spiked hair and blue eyes, a masked Warlock in purple watching them. "Heard from a little bird you ain't got a fireteam,"
"Who wants to know?" She shrugged, turning away with her arms crossed, though her amber eyes looked back.
"Well, we've been lookin' for someone to fill the gap in ours, wanna tag along, make it work your while?" He clicked his tongue.
"You guys took me in, a nobody like me with nothing or worth to her name," That electrical pulse coursed through her bones, reacting to the air around her the gradient of her armour began to glow, the sheer radiance expanding across the treetops. "You gave me a reason not to feel sorry for myself, imagine that!"
Rayla was in a library with the Warlock, Freed, the pair surrounded by stacks of books with their backs together, chuckling as Rayla looked over his shoulder, hanging a book in front of his eyes alongside his Ghost. Under the pile of books was the slumber Hunter, Wash, the pair attempting to see how many they could read before he woke up.
Without her helmet, her eyes pigment turned neon blue, matching her static-charged body as a gust of wind swept over her, facing Narvoc, more importantly, the two ghost shells around his neck. "I hope you're watching," She clenched her fists, digging her feet through the mud. "Because I'm going to surpass you both!"
Narvoc lunged, his cursed fist fissuring the land as he missed the Guardian that flew back through the treeline, her back close to that of Izuku's, himself beaten and bruised in his attempt to finish off Gentle Criminal. Their eyes met, and the two pivoted their flight pattern, locking their soles together to press the advantage off one another.
Rayla raised her fists, the sound of a literal missile expunged from her aura. "Code of the Missile-" Her fists congregated all her Arc Light toward her fists, propelling herself through the trees at a staggering speed that she toppled several over in her wake toward the barrier between her and Narvoc. "-Thundercrash!"
Narvoc was pushed back, his darkness barrier splitting into thousands of pieces as a streak and crash of thunder disintegrated everything from the neck up with a resounding halo of sky blue light. When Rayla's trail of remnant lightning stalled by her feet a few meters away, her super fizzled away, and a necklace with two Ghosts resided in her clenched fist.
Her cape fluttered in the wind, releasing a small wave of Light like her Titan sash with her armband doing much the same. For an instance, it was as if three Guardians ebbed and flowed with one another seamlessly, holding the monster's guard down for Rayla to finish the job.
As the blue embers and particles discharged in the air, two astral figures pushed past her shoulders, patting each one as Rayla stood up sharply, turning to them with wide eyes. All she saw were the backs of two Guardians for a split second, a Hunter with their fist held up, the Warlock tipping an invisible hat to Rayla before she blinked and they were gone.
"...we did it..." She clutched the retaken shells close as a tear trickled down from her chin to one of them, the body of the great Narvoc fell to its knees, arms sagging by its sides as its cursed embers were snuffed out, crumbling into dust before her misty eyes. "Rest in peace, guys..."
The last memory to appear in her head was of her standing by the railing facing the gargantuan city, Freed with his back leaning against the railing with his arms crossed. And Wash sitting atop said railing, swinging his feet out. Rayla leaned down on her folded arms with a smile on her face.
"...thank you..."
Once those in charge of security arrived, nothing remained of Narvoc, so instead, Izuku and Rayla dealt with handing Gentle Criminal and La Barva over to them while Ectoplasm aided Izuku in retrieving his lost items with some aid on Rayla's part. After running back and forth, the two arrived back at UA where they found Aoyama waiting for them with Izuku's uniform.
"Midoriya, Rayla, you're late!" He called them over with Ectoplasm following them.
Rayla grinned sheepishly, Solaire having already patched her up. "Sorry, ran into a few hiccups but I kept my word," She patted the greenette's dirty head. "One Green Bean for the show, intact!"
Izuku sighed with a small smile. "Please don't call me that too."
"Why are you so beat up, both of you?" He noticed how scruffed up Izuku was and the damage sustained by Rayla's armour.
"Ah, I-I fell, and Rayla had to run through the woods so her armour got damaged!" Izuku thought off the top of his head as Solaire removed Rayla's armour in place for her untarnished clothing beneath, the Guardian breathing our a sigh.
"What are you both doing, clumsy..." He shook his head but handed Izuku his clothes. "Here, change your clothes, everyone's waiting."
"Thank you," "Let's move it." Izuku smiled as Rayla ushered them on.
"Wait, those scratches," Ectoplasm stopped them. "Do you plan to perform covered in dirt? If you do, everyone will be worrying about you and not enjoying the show."
"He's got a point," Rayla tisked then slapped his back. "You get washed up, I'll report back to the rest, 'kay?" She winked.
"Thank you, Rayla."
"Anytime, Green Bean." "It was no trouble at all." The Guardian and Ghost replied, taking off with Aoyama.
"So you got into a fight with a Hive Knight?" Yuki blinked, startled by the news whispered between her and Solaire while Rayla helped Tekres run through a few technical tests before the show, the Fallen working to keep the class's performance in peak condition.
"I wish that were the worst of it, but I fear Kovik may have drawn this Hive here, to eliminate myself and Rayla? I do not know," The ghost spun around, tipping his shell to appear serious. "I did not want to worry you, but I feel you and Siva had a right to know."
"It's fine," She rubbed the top of his shell with her finger, offering a reassuring look. "We'll work this out tomorrow, let's just be grateful we can still have some fun and know you helped her avenge not just your Fireteam but many others."
The Ghost relaxed, bobbing his head. "You are very kind, Yuki, I thank you," With that, he disappeared back to his Guardian.
"Hey, I'm here, I made it!" Izuku suddenly barreled into backstage, throwing his orange blazer on.
"See? I kept my promise!" Rayla waved as she hoisted herself up one of the support ropes. "Good luck, Midoriya, I'll do my part, now show that little girl a good time, ya hear!?"
"Right!" He beamed up at her as Yuki patted his cheek, noting how a small bit of dirt remained on his face. "Huh, Yuki?"
"You never cease to amaze me, you know that?" She laughed a little as everyone got into place. She nuzzled his nose, passing with a wink. "Let's finish off Overhaul's shadow once and for all, together."
"Together," His smile grew as they took their places. Nana stayed back as Kyoka grabbed the mic stand, looking calm and collected to the best of her ability. Nana was still shaking at the knees.
"Hey, you'll be fine," Yuki knelt down and placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "You and Kyoka will blow these guys away."
"I-I know that, but..." Her eyes lowered to her hands still clenching the hem of her shirt. "...but I can't stop thinking about that day... when everyone laughed at me,"
"They're gone," Yuki flicked Nana's forehead. "But right now you're letting their words get to you, tethering you from moving past that, look at you, Nana, this here is your turn," Her eyes widened a bit as Yuki kissed her forehead. "So grip that feeling and scream out for the whole world to hear, I sure will."
With that, Yuki left Nana to digest her turmoil alone, Yuki had done what she could, now, she had a girl that needed saving.
When the curtains peeled back, the crowd roared with various words of encouragement, though you could pick out those that weren't here to have fun, they wanted to see the true intention behind 1-A's performance, and some merely stood by with a mixture of anticipation. And others cheered for Yaoyorozu, there was a diverse crowd.
When the crowd settled in the dark, Tekres pressed his fingers to the various keys and dials at his disposal. "Bear your fangs, one of explosion." He clicked.
Katsuki raised his drumsticks. "LET'S GO, DAMMIT!"
Up above, Kirishima pumped his fist. "Let's make this entrance showy!"
"I hear ya, Red Riot!" Rayla concurred beside Akio, Viral's shadow pressed to his back with magic seals around his forearms and legs.
"All of UA... WE'LL KILL THEM WITH OUR SOUND!" Katsuki howled like a demon, releasing a controlled explosion in time with Tekres setting off the lights, merging with the brief mushroom cloud of fire.
The band began with the dancers immediately setting off as the blast from the explosive gave off the desired, 'wow' effect on the crowd.
With the crowd in awe, Kyoka raised her head proudly. "THANKS FOR COMING TODAY!" Here goes everything for her, she took a breath. "What am I to be? What is my calling? I gave up on giving up, I'm ready to go~!" As the class danced in unity that not even SIVA could replicate, they raised their hands with Kyoka, the girl keeping her heart on her music, ignoring how her face flushed slightly as she poured it into her vocals.
She kept smiling, "The futures left unseen, It all depends on me. Putting on the line, To follow my dreams, yeah! Tried all my life, I tried to find; Something that makes me hold on and never let go~"
Nana flinched a bit as her sister passed while dancing herself to get into position, giving Nana a slap on the back to step forward with the mic as Yuki joined Izuku's side. With her heart racing, the young rocker stood by Kyoka's side for her verse. "Oooooh~!" Her Quirk released a radiant blue light as the class leapt high.
"Hero Too, I am a hero too; My heart is set, And I won't back down. Hero too, Strength doesn't make a hero. True heroes-" As she sang at the top of her lungs, Togata pointed out Yuki and Izuku to Eri as the pair flipped, bringing their feet up for Aoyama to catch himself on, launching him high above the crowd as the pair landed with a synchronized bow of their head, arm across their chest. "-Stand up for what they believe-"
"So wait and see, So wait and see~!" Kyoka and Nana sang before Aoyama was caught after dazzling the roaring crowd by Ojiro, the pair slipping back into the groove with ease.
"What do they think of me, What do they think I'll be, I could not care less, I don't want to know. Am I doing right, Am I satisfied, I want to live my life like it's meant to be, yeah. Tried all my life, I tried to find; something that makes me hold on and never let go-"
"Here it comes, ready!?" Kirishima declared to Rayla from across the rafters, her right arm covered in flames and her left in lightning.
"Ready!"
"OOOOH!" The pair sang, their vocals mingled together as the snowfall by Shoto and Kirishima, streamers from both Yaoyorozu and Sero and small fireworks of orange and blue Light expanded over the dark ceiling, practically forming the stars in the night sky. And with Akio and Viral flying through the shadows, they used a spell to turn the darkness into a literal cluster of stars, forming a Milkyway to fuse with the class's effects, himself fist-bumping Viral's tail.
Kyoka continued with the rest while Nana worked on backup vocals for her upperclassman, feeling the sheer volume in the concert fill her ears. The jubilation was higher than it had ever been, people followed the beat or danced along, others were enthralled by the practical side of things. It flooded into her quirk, into her vocals in an endless cycle. This... was everything she could've imagined and more!
"Hero too, I am a hero too; My heart is set, And I won't back down. Hero too; Strength doesn't make a hero. True heroes stand up for what they believe - So wait and see~!" Her voice suddenly got lower, the pair singing together softly.
People will judge for no reason at all~
"Hey, Mama, Papa, it's... been a while," Nana stood before two gravestones with the names Fuyuki and Mira Hiroshi etched into them. The graves were tended to regularly by Yuki standing behind Nana to give her time to herself with Mr Aizawa waiting by the car on the road. Her hands squeezed the collection of flowers by her chest tightly. "I'm okay now, and... and I'm doing a lot better, I can do normal things again without suffering from fatigue, and I have some really amazing friends!"
Yeah they might try to say your dream's dumb, don't listen~
Her eyes fell, "I... I wish you were here... and-and I can see you one more time," She sniffed, trying not to shake, "W-we're doing a concert at the Cultural Festival at UA, a-and I'm going to sing,"
They may look down on me, and count me out. I'm going my own way~
"I want to be a real singer and a hero, so I can sing for as many people as I can. I... I don't really know how I'll do it but..." Her lips trembled, tears streaming down her face. "...I'll do it because so many people are hurt like me, they're alone, a-a-and might not have people to be happy with, I-I don't want that I-"
They may look down on me, and count me out~
Nana placed the flowers down, all various shades of blue for them both with her hands curled into fists. "I'll be the greatest singer in the world, with this-" She held out the guitar in her hands, smiling despite the flood of tears blurring her vision, Yuki rubbing Nana's back with her mask obscuring her expression. "-Mama, Papa..."
I'm a hero, I've got music~!
"I love you, I hope you'll watch me play in a month with my friends."
"Hero too... I am a hero too, my heart is set...~" Kyoka flung her head back while Nana brought hers low, a few tears caught at the corners of her eyes. "And I won't back down... Hero too, strength doesn't make a hero. True heroes... stand up for what they believe...~-"
The pair threw their heads forward with the biggest smiles possible, their driven convictions setting their hearts ablaze. "YEAH, WE'LL BE! Heroes too, We are heroes too-!" They changed the lyrics and never once stepped out of beat, voices higher and stronger as they sang their hearts out. "Our hearts are seeeeeet~!"
With Asui's aid, Ochaco was swung low at the crowd, levitating several of them to join the special effects with Akio using Gloom Grip to do much the same, his eyes enraptured by the beautiful purplette on stage. "Knew you'd do it, Kyo," He grinned, doing his part too.
"And we won't back down! Heroes too; Strength doesn't make a hero - True herooooes~! Stand up for what they believe, so wait and see~-" As the pair sang, Yuki was alerted by SIVA to glance over at Eri, and her heart skipped a few beats, her own eyes glossy as that dark, twisted visage of Overhaul swelled and dispersed around a radiant smile plastered on Eri's face.
"We have met~-"
Yuki fought without her powers against Dren alongside her mother, best friend, and a Guardian.
"-so many heroes in our lives~-"
Izuku climbed the debris, screaming out Eri's name with his hand out.
Togata stared up at the sight of the smiling child in his arms, her own high to the sky as tears caught in his eyes. "Can you see this Midoriya, Azuru, Sir?" He smiled happily, more than ever before. "She's smiling! She's finally smiling!"
"-Give us strength-"
Eri was wrapped in the newly transforming Yuzuku's arms, their hand resting on her trembling back with Togata's cape.
"-and courage to survive~-"
Nighteye smiled up at those that were with him for his final seconds, certain of the future.
"-Gave us the power to smile every day. Now it's our turn, to be the ones, to make you smiiiiile~!" Nana and Kyoka shared the same mic, smiling at one another as Nana took the lead as the band played the final melody to end the song.
"So wait and see~!"
Kyoka joined in just before the drum solo. "So wait and see~!"
Katsuki finished off the song with a few strong beats as the streamers flew amongst the fading stars. Across bridges of ice, the dancers spread themselves out from the stage to the rafters as doves flew between the gaps. Down below, Tekres monitored it all with a solid nod of his head.
The first song came to a resounding conclusion. And any negativity simply ceased to be.
To Be Continued...
Sweet merciful God that was a real tough one. Between Rayla's big battle against her past to the interpretation of Hero Too I had a lot of work to plot this out correctly. I hope the cuts were okay, especially at the last verse as I wanted to capture what the official MHA video for Hero Too did where it showed clips of Izuku, Mirio, and Nighteye saving Eri. Not to mention seeing the turmoil that clung to Nana.
In the end, I am very well pleased with the result, and we've got more of the festival to come with some fluff here and there. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Heroes!
Next Chapter: Perfect
Nana: That. Was. AWESOME~!
Kyoka: I think my heart's gonna explode...
Akio: And there's still more to come, right bestie!?
Yuki: Oh hoho, don't you know it!
Izuku: What are you two plann-
Akio/Yuki: Don't worry about it!
Nana: Coming up - Perfect - huh, that's short?
Kyoka: Go Beyond.
Everyone: PLUS ULTRA!