Chapter 93 - Breaking Point of Imperfections
One week had passed by so fast it could've been a blur. Over the course of many days and nights following Endeavor, learning from each encounter and failure the group fought to beat the Number One hero to no avail. His reflexes, actions, intuition, everything was at a height none of them had experienced before. Their own past victories seemed so much smaller under Endeavor's towering challenge.
"T-Theif! Someone, call a hero!" A person yelled as Yuki took the first step, the others rushing toward the crook with the same drive and ferocity. Her body squeezed through reality, appearing only a few meters from the target.
Then a waft of flames threw her back, Endeavor had incapacitated the man a second earlier, leaving Yuki to slide face-first across the ground, the metal ringing in her ears. The others stopped behind her, Shoto grunting in protest. "We were the ones that saw him first..."
"He beat us again, dammit!" Katsuki huffed as Izuku helped to lift Yuki off her face, the eyes slit in irritation.
"How, the hell, does this keep happening?" She didn't get it, her power wasn't limited because of SIVA, just her energy output. Everything Endeavor could do she could do so why... was she hesitating?
"Did they hurt you again?" Yuki asked while cleaning the dirt off Hansuke's face, drying his eyes in the process. "You should say something..."
"The a-adults don't c-care, n-no one does..." He hiccuped with a scowl, scratching at his neck. "S-stupid...!"
"Hey," Yuki flicked his forehead, eyeing him carefully. "If stupid adults don't help, I will!" She stood up with a frown. "Where are they?"
"Yu...ki?" He sniffed, rubbing his nose as he lowered his fingers from his neck. "I-it's okay, I-I'm okay."
She shook her head, taking off her mask for a moment to rub her eyes, Izuku saw it, faint, dark rings rested under her eyelids. "Are you sleeping okay?"
"Y-yeah, just exhausted, I guess," Yuki replied with a laugh. "I still think my muscles have bruises," That made his own grin return. "Still though, this guy's a monster... are you sure he's your Dad?"
"..." Shoto blinked slowly, then shrugged.
"He's amazing..." Izuku admired. "He pulls ahead just before we get there, but how?"
Area 23 | Hit and Run | Location Pinned
"Move!" Yuki waved just as Endeavor launched himself ahead of her. Something finally clicked in her head, growling as she rolled onto the rooftop. "That's it!" Leaping into the air, Yuki tore up all her clusters, covering her barding in reinforced steel, coating the right-hand side of her body in black with blue markings becoming prominent across the sleek sheen. "Fifty Percent!"
She released a hot blast of air behind her, breaking the edge of the rooftop behind her as she leapt just above the lampposts, creating small blasts with her palms much like Katsuki would, increasing her velocity to greater heights than prior days. Now, information from electrical systems ran by her feet like streams of code, every sense felt sharper than ever before.
"Faster, even faster than Flashfire!" Yuki was determined to make progress. She can control SIVA, not Kovik, he's gone from her systems now. But-
"T-thank you," Hansuke murmured behind his snood, eyes looking elsewhere. "F-for always he-helping me," His fingers pinched the fabric over his nose.
Jura and Yuki looked to one another before laughing, pulling their frail friend between them, hugging him from the side. "You make it sound so difficult, buddy!"
"We'll always come to help you, just ask, 'kay?" Yuki closed her eyes with a toothy grin.
"Heh... o-okay!" He raised his voice higher.
"Hey, look out!" Katsuki's voice pierced her ears in time to pull herself up, slamming over the top of a white truck before tumbling high into the air, bending a lamppost to break her fall and adjust her movements again, clawing at the brickwork beside her to run and jump down to the pavement. Endeavor had beaten them again. "You where you're going, dumbass!"
"Sorry, I... wow, so that's what getting hit by a truck feels like?" She huffed, hands on her knees while lowering her percentage. "Stop thinking about that, it's not him, it's not him."
"Aksis, what was that just now? Are you trying to insult my warnings?" Endeavor demanded after she caught her breath. "A fitting hero does not put others at risk,"
"I know, I didn't mean for that to happen," She answered breathlessly. "I got distracted-"
"There are no excuses, I've made that clear," He warned her. "And not just today, moments your performance has slipped, your movements, actions, mindset, they are all slipping because you allow them to!" Her fists were clenched, partially embarrassed by her work, and for being put on the spot.
"I know... I'm trying-" She heaved, the others seeing her shoulders rise heavily with her breathing.
"Turn that half-attempt excuse into a certainty then," Endeavor instructed the girl that refused to look him in the eye.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" She waved her arms wide, exasperated. "I've not been busting my ass all week trying to improve for the heck of it! Kovik's still out there, I can't stop,"
"You aren't nearly as ready to face him as you are now," Endeavor shot back with that same, neutral sharpness in his voice. But his words made the boys recoil slightly, Yuki's eyes widened under her mask as she pulled it back to her temple. He had the gall to say that to her face like he knew better what a monster Kovik could be. "Your strength must come from all sources, raw power cannot overcome-"
"I know that, and I will do that as I always have!" Yuki stomped, pointing up at him. Her heart was racing, blood boiling at the insult. "But don't you dare say I don't have any right to fight him! You don't know what he's done!"
Endeavor watched her closely, then to the boys. "We will stop here for the day, you should return to your rooms and get some rest,"
"What, and fall further behind?" Yuki dismissed. She never spoke out as much against any of her teachers or mentors, this was all so sudden for the trio.
Katsuki narrowed his eyes. "That Blank saw through her," He grunted, catching Izuku's eyes. "Tch, the Mute's trying to hide it,"
A day before most of Class 1-A would return to their families for New Year's Eve, Akio waved Izuku over, Katsuki standing nearby with a frown. "Hey, um, Midoriya? Have a sec?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" He answered immediately as Akio stared across the room at Yuki who was chatting with the girls, laughing.
"You guys are gonna go to Endeavor's Agency, so... look out for her, right?" His odd request came at a left field. "It's subtle but... I don't think Yuki's fully passed what's happened recently, I might be wrong, but... just a fair warning," He smiled. "I'm not as good as Viral was, but if I'm right I hope you guys can help her out, you always do."
"Hide it?" Izuku thought, looking to Yuki who was growing increasingly frustrated with Endeavor's comments of her abilities. Izuku's chest felt tighter, thinking back to her reveal as the 'traitor', his own mind recalling glimpses of Yuki's own memories when Blackwhip manifested. "Is this what Akio meant? Was she being haunted by guilt still?" Then it landed on him like an anvil, so much so Shoto noticed his friend's sorrowful state. "Yuki... still believes... she's the same as what SIVA once was... but it's something else."
"-look, I'm sorry, okay? And I told you, I don't need any help, I'm fine on my own," Her tone grew jaded, glaring up at the Pro. "I understand working with others, I do, but that... that doesn't matter right now..."
"You're wrong, and you're hesitating," Endeavor blue eyes never once lost sight of her mannerisms, the girl who stood up to him without so much as a word was unlike the girl mouthing off to him now. Her stance was shaky, her eyes refused to meet his, and she fell over her own words, repeating herself out of anger.
"It's nothing, stop..." Her fists were shaking.
"What if you hesitated as you do now when a life was on the line?" Endeavor pressed, motioning toward the people working to clean up the mess the villain made. "Could you live with the consequences of that lack of mental clarity? What about the lives of those you care for, or their loved ones, what will you do if your lack of fortitude results in someone's death, can you live with that-?"
Yuki didn't know what made it all fall apart. Her fatigue, the plague of memories she hadn't thought about in years, maybe it was the daunting news reports of a string of murders across the very city she took her Work-Study in. Whatever the case may be, something made her blood boil.
In the silence, a pin could have been heard striking the ground.
The temperature of the street rising.
Yuki's facade finally snapped.
"That's easy for you to say!" She thundered, a small burst of nanites expelled at her feet. "You weren't used like a tool to sell out the people you cared about! You weren't robbed of your free will, hunted day after day, flooded with memories of a life that was never yours!" She threw her arm down.
"And all the while I'm stuck reliving memories I haven't thought of in years, and all I feel is sick to my stomach like something I've done wrong, and I can't stop it! I'm not even human anymore!" Blood seeped out from her palm, her nails had dug through her padding. Yuki's breathing was heavy, trying to catch it after exploding so loud several stared toward the girl flustered before her friends and mentor. "I..."
When she lifted her head, horror filled her void expression. Shoto and Katsuki looked completely speechless, unable to describe what they felt after hearing something so raw and painful. Izuku never let his eyes leave her own, he wasn't upset or angry, he looked... sorry for her, his hand inching toward her past Endeavour who looked stunned by the machinist's outburst.
Sucking in a breath, Yuki turned around with her head. "...same time tomorrow... got it..." She didn't care, walking away as her worst secret came pouring out.
Izuku's head darted between his friends before he jogged past Endeavor. "Yuki... Yuki, wait a second!"
"Izuku, I'm not in the mood right now," She dismissed so callously, it didn't stop him, he wouldn't let her just walk away.
The commotion had stirred the surrounding concrete jungle, however, the darkness reverberated, stretching like elastic peeling from skin as it surfaced before the boy who moved for the girl just beyond his grasp. The moonlight reflected down atop two crescent edges.
Her nose twitched, a strong, acrid stench flooded her nostrils, turning her stomach. It was so sudden that her expression warped painfully in a flash, twisting around to Izuku who moved for her, an alleyway between them. Endeavor grit his teeth with wide, furious eyes as he ran to intercept, brandishing flames against the silver halo sweeping for Izuku's throat.
*Ting-Boosh!*
A foul wind tugged with the halo above the group as it doubled back to be caught by the hand that threw it. A bead of sweat rolled down Endeavor's face at the slow, hoarse breaths that followed, turning to look past his flames at the sight that gave him chills.
"Yuki!" Izuku helped her up as she immediately drew a blade from thin air with her left, the right hand slowly rebuilding. "My Danger Sense didn't even go off, who is this guy? What's that horrible smell?" Sweat rolled down his face. "He nearly took my head off..."
"Huh, not bad, you stopped my attack, didn't you?" His voice drew out like he was lost in thought, hunched as he stared at the girl who took his kana directly. "Regeneration? No, metal and wire, aren't you?" He shuffled forward into the light. "Even though I was going for the kill, good for you both, good for you, lucky you," Every sentence ended like a question.
He stood with a lanky body, his upper half exposed to reveal sickly green tattoos across his skin, shaped like snakes, He wore black, baggy pants, his jacket tied over it with a pair of sandals and nothing else. His body looked malnourished but his attack struck with the force of a bodybuilder.
His eyes were lime green with a black outline. His wavy hair was unkempt and developed into gradients of green until the tips of her hair were black. His face was dotted in freckles and red spots of various sizes that appeared painted on. In both hands, he held two crooked kanas, the blunt portion reinforced to appear like the fangs of a serpent.
Thunder slammed into Yuki's heart, a long-forgotten chain of memories unfolding in her eyes like a terrifying visage or nightmare. "Han...suke?" Her voice was unnaturally frail as the man stopped, staring back into her eyes.
"Huh... What the hell, what are... doing here, Yuki!?" His fingers reached up to scratch at his neck, picking at raw skin from continuous irritation. "No-no-no-no, dead, dead-dead-dead, she's dead!" He paced, panting as he clawed away at his skin in anger then it slowly melted into a strained laugh. "No, it makes sense, alive, you - I saw you alive, behind that mask - at the Festival, that big machine! It was you all this time, where did this power come from? When did you get so strong? Hahaha, hrrr!"
Blood spilled from his neck as he snapped his pupils to her, bending his arms back before threshing both scythes forward to slam against her hardlight shields, the kana spinning through the air as Shoto and Katsuki dodged their trajectory. He caught them, blocking Endeavor's hands with a crossguard behind his neck before Endeavor could grab him.
"Oh, you're smart, taking the advantage, huh?" He mused, forcing Endeavor back with an inhuman twist of his waist, spinning in a corkscrew to kick the Flame Hero across the jaw, landing as he glowered at Yuki. "You look tarnished too, but your skin is still peachy, the muscle under that armor, I still can't gain fat at all; you've gotten prettier since then, right? People like these guys must fawn over you, huh?"
"The green-haired boy, why does he get to look better too? Or that handsome one with mismatched eyes? His scar even looks so cool! And that one with the annoying scowl on his face!" The boys froze under the stench of venom coming from the gnarled man that Yuki called by name. "Surrounded by strong people who can look this good! I envy you, all of you so much!"
"Pah! That's a no-brainer, vomit hair!" Katsuki remarked confidently. "Even the Number One hero feels like teaching us!"
"I was the one who invited them," Shoto thought but didn't feel the need to say.
The man's face twitched, one eye squinting in annoyance as he peeled at his face, carving a gash down his forehead and down by his nose irritably. "Huh, what the hell? Are you kidding me!? Hrah?!" Hansuke yelled, blood dripping down his face before casting a wide smile of sharp teeth. "Do me a favor and die in agony, have your skin peeled or your guts ripped out!"
He angled both his kana into a circle around him, Endeavor moving fast with a fiery blast, Izuku, Katsuki, and Shoto did much the same but Yuki's face lost all color. "I'm going to spin around and around it'll make your head spin!" The tattoos on his body dripped like wet paint, a dark green liquid bubbling around him, caking his kana in their pigment, his torso twisting widely. "Venomous Cutting Cage!"
"Everyone get away now!" Yuki cried, in that instant, Izuku threshed his arms, two Blackwhips extending for Shoto and Katsuki to bounce off of as they retreated. Endeavor propelled himself over the villain as several wide arcs of green liquid swept around Hansuke like a blood storm. His kana struck together to form a green cross of venom, hurdling it at Yuki.
Yuki drew another sword, deflecting the venom in a splash around her as Hansuke lunged after her, swinging frantically with arcs of toxic goo stemming from his tattoos. She had no openings, forced to deflect every crescent less the bystanders in the area were cut by his blades. "Get everyone off this street now!" She demanded, her senses on high alert.
"Come on, Bakugo!" Shoto nudged but the blonde's eye twitched.
"I heard her, shut up!" He turned around, hands behind him. "You better do something, Deku!"
"Right, you too!" Izuku nodded, rushing in as Endeavor flew right by, fist drew back. "He's already ahead of us!"
Yuki spun off her right foot, avoiding a wide arc of venom before bringing her swords down on the kana, the two meeting eye to eye. "Why... what happened? I thought he died? Why is Hansuke... like this?" Her whole world was falling apart, and her heart almost couldn't take it before she shoved him back with a barrier, using an extra arm to fire three small blasts to intercept his venom strikes.
Hansuke swung again, creating a web of venomous strokes wide enough to strike himself, Izuku, and Yuki. "All these fast strokes that clearly Azuru is trying to ward off, I can't handle them all while protecting people still in the area being moved!" He flicked his left hand, casting several small balls of fire that immediately erupted into a wall of flames on impact with the ground.
"Huh, an explosion?" Hansuke craned his head left, dipping away from Yuki's blades, slashing up more crescents for her to constantly deflect, green liquid dripping down from her armor. "He burnt up my poison, huh? This guy's smart."
Izuku doubled back and over the wall, seeing the attacks evaporate, through the radiant flames, Yuki lunged again, blocking more direct attacks from the man's kana. "He's distracted, improvise-" He grabbed a nearby lamppost, slinging himself around. "-take advantage to buy the others time! Delaware Smash!"
Two bursts of air pressure blew the flames apart, connecting to a wide arc of green goo as the man's eyes locked to Izuku. "You care about her, huh? That defiant look, I remember it," His toothy smile shined in the light. "Then that makes you important to Yuki, huh!?" In a gut-wrenching scene, he deflected Yuki's swords, twisting his upper half around almost entirely to cross his kana down against Izuku's armored bracer, the metal screaming in their ears.
Endeavor intercepted, forcing Hansuke to pivot and throw Izuku into the Flame Hero's chest as he slashed the ground with a series of poisonous strikes, ripping up the tarmac to give him a chance to escape. "I'll see you again, liar, liar, liar!" He snarled, leaving the heroes behind as his tattoos bent from his shoulders, slapping the ground to propel him up to a roof as he sped off.
"Hansuke!" Yuki didn't care, she just started running, stealing metal from a guard rail to form Blackbird to thrust her up onto the buildings.
"Hold on!" Endeavor yelled after her but she wasn't listening, chasing down the villain. Huffing, he too gave chase with Izuku not far behind.
Hansuke moved much faster than Yuki imagined, when she leapt to a building, he had already cleared two. His speed, reflexes, attitude, it was all a twisted personality that was unlike the timid, and quiet friend she had forgotten. Jura never mentioned him at all, what happened since the accident, where did he go? Why... was he trying to kill them?
"Siva, faster, we have to catch him!" He was getting further ahead, ducking between pipes and small structures to lose his pursuers
I wouldn't | We don't understand his motives | He's dangerous
"He's my childhood friend - I think - I-I don't...!" Yuki argued. Leaping over a water tower into a tumble she leapt between an alley, seeing the waxy green hair fall away two buildings ahead.
|No... that was not|
Desperation fell to panic as Yuki slid to the edge of the rooftop facing a busy street. She scanned the area several times but he all but vanished, the stench of rot and decay had been smothered by fumes and other odd smells. Hansuke got away by the time Endeavor and Izuku arrived, Katsuki and Shoto a few blocks behind.
She leaned over the building before slumping back to punch the concrete. "What happened... what happened to you?" Her lips trembled into a scowl. "Can't I do anything right!?" Her head struck the surface next, denting her mask.
"Who was that guy? You know him?" Izuku approached but she moved away, stumbling toward the other end of the building. "We can find him, right?"
"An elusive villain across Japan, Halimaka," The name rang out for the hero fanboy, gasping as he turned his head back to Yuki. "Notorious for maiming his victims, some of which die to a highly potent venom or blood loss; he is considered a more deranged form of the Hero Killer - he is not to be underestimated-"
"His name is Hansuke Benjiro! Don't call him that!" Yuki snapped bitterly, shaking her head in her hands. "It's all my fault, I never went back after Siva fixed me, I just ran, I abandoned my old life, Jura... I forgot all about Hansuke, he had no one... and I, I..." She wanted to throw up. She was a catalyst that made him like this. "I'm no better than his deadbeat parents were,"
"What happened?" Shoto pressed, but Yuki was starting to panic, stumbling at the edge. "Yuki, calm down-"
"Shut up, everyone shut the hell up!" He recoiled at her hateful eyes. Soon, her orbs quickly became remorseful. "I'm sorry," "I failed him, like I did all of you," With a flash of light, Yuki had warped down to the street below before taking off in the direction of the Agency.
That night, no one had anything left to say but stand and stare at the blue and black blur disappearing into the night.
Once at the steps of the Endeavor Agency, the man himself stared at the three present. "I will continue my patrol, especially for the villain, in the meantime, I suggest you get all the rest you can, do not carry fatigue over into the next day," He turned to leave but Shoto stepped forward.
"What will you do if you find him?" Shoto asked a question that had many answers.
"Then if it comes to that, I will deal with it," He soon left, rocketing through the dark skies like a comet.
"So now what, we're supposed to just sit here and do nothing!?" Katsuki had a point, after this ordeal none of them felt tired. Izuku, however, had his eyes on something far more personal. "The Mute knew that freakshow,"
"Was that what caused her to slip up today?" Shoto questioned but he wasn't certain, Yuki had a lot of issues she kept secret.
Stepping toward the building, Izuku didn't say a word, but the two knew what he was thinking. The only way to know is to find her. Their dorm rooms for their Work-Study didn't take long to return to, they'd love nothing more than to sleep off all their aches until tomorrow but one of the doors was ajar. Izuku and Yuki's.
They were allowed to share a room so long as nothing 'happened', which was fine, the room looked messy regardless due to the constant work the pair endured alongside Katsuki and Shoto. Yuki's belongings were thrown about on a desk with her phone. She had left it behind on a news article about an accident that happened seven years ago.
"That date..." Izuku recognized it from Yuki's memories with surprise. "The day Kovik arrived to our world!"
"Why would that be important now?" Katsuki crossed his arms. "Isn't she over that?"
"That's the thing, I'm not sure of," Izuku rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe it ties in with Halimaka somehow?"
"Only one way to know," Shoto stood by the door. "Midoriya, I think I know where she is but let me talk to her."
"Are you sure?" Izuku asked, earning the boy's stern stare.
"It's the least I can do."
"Then where is she then?" Katsuki asked as they watched him point up.
Atop the Agency gave you a massive, breathtaking view of the city below bathed in starlight. It would've been really lovely to watch the stars if Yuki wasn't pacing with her hands on her head, stress overtaking her soft features. "-how, how can that be Hansuke? He hates bullies, I know that much, but... he'd never hurt anyone!"
Perhaps it was mine and Kovik's fault | Our arrival led to your life on the road | He had no one left
Realization hit her like a truck. "And Jura's parents moved to Kyoto not long after... Great Machine..." She sucked in a sharp breath, feeling sick to her stomach. "I completely forgot about him, I made him who he is..."
"The person he is now-" Her head snapped to Shoto strolling up to her calmly, hands in his pockets. "-is of no fault but his own, or is he the exception to that?"
Yuki shook her head, leaning against the small wall. "He only had us, his deadbeat parents left him because of his quirk, you've seen it," She explained, remembering how covered up he was growing up. "He called it Venom Whip, depending on his mood the toxin can be as dull as a numbing agent or as potent as Black Mamba venom, and if he feels stressed or cornered they lash out so wearing clothing over them kept his quirk suppressed slightly."
"He was an orphan?" Shoto leaned against the wall as Yuki slumped, putting her head against her knees. She looked just as scared as when she told him of her quirk killing her, lost and hopeless. "Why did you say you weren't human?" She sat up straight, like she heard a family member was hurt. "Is this about Kovik?"
"..." She chuckled, dry and hoarse. "...I ran away from everything; Hansuke, Jura, my old life, all with Siva to keep me sane, then I met All Might, he taught me to control Siva, not to fear losing control, and it worked, I had a Mom that loves me, friends, a school where I can use my stolen power to ensure nothing like that happens to anyone else," Her smile began to quiver. "I-I don't care if I'm hurt, tortured, or hunted because... I was free, I could choose my life again,"
Her face fell in sorrow and desperation. "It was all a lie..." She punched her own forehead. "...he saw me, Shoto!" Yuki stood up, pointing at her eyes as he stared back remorsefully. "My strongest, my weakest, when I... I was so vaunreble," She shivered at that last one. "'Control' I never left that cage! I was just entertainment for him! Everything in my life has been a lie!"
"That's not true," He stood up, grabbing her shoulders to shake her steady. "Look at me, do I look like I'm lying to you?" Slowly, their eyes met. "What about Midoirya, or Bakugo, all our classmates, are they just fictions in your head?"
"No-"
"No, they're not," He cut in, glaring passionately at her, the others in view now. "My life has been laid out for me by my Father for years until I entered UA, even then he held a faint control over my actions denied until you saw through it, you pushed back against him with me,"
"Midoriya destroyed his body with his quirk so you helped him control it, even to this day you do that of your own free will, not someone else's," He let her shoulders go, emotions swelling in her face. "You have done more than live, you improved the lives of everyone around you, that isn't something a willless person could do, but you did, with your two hands you took back your life."
Shoto smiled at her. "You never gave up on anyone, so neither will I - you'd punch me for it,"
Yuki found a slight laugh, rubbing one of her eyes clear of tears. "That was really sweet of you... thank you, I... I'm sorry, for... for everything I said, a-and did," She ruffled her hair. "I must've looked like an idiot," Her tears kept falling, even as her hands wiped them away. "Ahh, I can't stop crying~!"
"Dumbass Mute," Katsuki smirked.
"Yuki, I... need to show you something," Izuku held out his hand, the same with Tekres's bracer attached. "Please," He needed her to know, this was the only way how.
Her hand pulled back slightly, she had been reluctant to merge since the Blackwhip incident, for fear she'd lose control of SIVA or worse. But those big eyes were so trusting... "...okay," Her hand carefully curled against his, her own bracer resonating with his. "Just for a moment,"
"Just for a moment," He repeated, bringing his forehead against hers gently as their thoughts were silent for a blip. To the others, it was only a small flash between their arms, a single, solid event before their hands fell away, and Yuki's eyes opened with fresh tears, her face rosy to mirror Izuku's as he scratched the back of his head. "W-well - Ah!"
Her arms curled around his back tightly, bear-hugging him with a big smile plastered over her once downtrodden face. Never before had she felt so elated before, her head felt like a massive weight had been shifted, a missing piece to a puzzle filling in so many dark spots in her head.
"What did you show her, exactly?" Shoto asked the embracing couple, to which Yuki giggled at Izuku's steaming face.
"Just... what I was missing," She replied.
Yuki wandered down a voice filled with a hall of memories in panes of broken glass. They retraced the steps of Izuku's life through his lens, some older than when they first met, a few... she decided not to stare to much on. Something led her through Izuku's mind, a presence or invisible force driving her down the world of memory to a specific pane of glass.
"What did he want to show me?" Touching the surface, she watched the scene unfold from his eyes, hearing his thoughts echo.
"-Azuru, please stop! It's okay, you don't have to do this!" Izuku panicked, still relatively skinny though his arms were starting to build out from their scrawny state. He pushed against her shoulders but all that did was dig two rows in the sand as Yuki kept walking, her eyes slit venomously. "Azuru~!"
'I'm just gonna talk to him... after I break his arm... or both' Her note appeared, spinning Izuku around as she hopped up the steps with a murderous aura.
"Please, wait, it's okay, I'm fine I swear!" He grabbed her bicep only for her to turn sharply, frightening him with her stare. "Azuru... it's okay," Despite the fear of upsetting her further, he managed a timid smile. "Kacchan's complicated, and I know, it's wrong what he said-"
'He told you to kill yourself, I'm not just going to back down from that, not to mention the shit he's put you through!' She swung her free arm wide, appalled by how... calm Izuku was, it made no sense to her in the slightest. 'I'll kick his door down and beat him black and blue until he apologizes!'
"Yuki!" She stopped, Izuku didn't even realize what he just said, breathing loudly. "I know, but you doing that won't make things better!" He kept his hand around her arm, it was pointless, if she activated her quirk he'd be thrown off immediately. "I hated it to, I just wanted to forget everything, Kacchan, my stupid dream, but... but then I met you and All Might!"
Her tense arm relaxed again, looking back with surprise in her mask. "Both of you... believed in me, I want to run toward my dream, tripping and falling all the way, but I don't want my hatred for Kacchan to ruin that or your dreams!" He refused to let go, trembling. "So please, let's just go back to training," He offered a small smile, exhausted from yelling so much.
"I really want to know the kind of expression she's making," He thought as she nodded, allowing him to tug her back to the beach. "What else she was hiding to act out like this, maybe a friend of hers was bullied too? Is that why she got so emotional?"
He let her arm go, and she fell into step with him. "Azuru's really kind, she got mad for someone else's problems, I don't think I could do that around Kacchan, not yet I don't think," Izuku blushed as they walked, smiling to himself dumbly. "She's really sweet..."
All this time, that was why he did so much for her, why he put up with her problems constantly. He was doing what she would've done and still would do for others in a heartbeat, deep down, she was still trying to act as if Hansuke was hurting before her. She may have forgotten, but her body never did.
"I've been trying to make up for it all this time, Izuku saw right through it," Yuki slowly let him go, holding his hand tightly while drying her eyes. "I really would've done it too,"
"I know, but that might've made your relationship worse," Izuku chuckled as Katsuki's brow creased.
"Why does it feel like I'm involved in their stupid moment?" Shaking his head, he glowered at the bluette. "Leave it for when people can't see you, dumbasses! Now, what the hell is up with that poison spitting bastard?"
"Right, Hansuke," Yuki sniffed, shaking her head. "I don't know, he's nothing like that sweet little guy we knew, us leaving when we did had to have been the catalyst - sorry, but it's true," She put her hand out to Shoto to stop him. "I went back on my word, so I need to make it up to him, even if he's too far gone, I'm not letting him suffer anymore,"
"What can we do?" Shoto stepped up.
"I... I have to do this," She looked around at the people she loved. "But I can't do it alone, please," Placing a hand at her heart, she begged them. "Help me reach him."
"How do we find him then?" Shoto replied first, the three looking to the girl who knew the villain best. She clicked her fingers, blue sparks flying.
"I think I can give him the message," She quipped. "But first, I need to make a call, so get ready, because we'll be jumping straight into a snake pit."
"Hmph! I'll incinerate him before that happens!" Katsuki boasted, sparks crackling on his gloves.
"We should resupply, take every precaution," Izuku suggested, staring up at the sky in thought.
Tonight, the villain Halimaka would reunite with his old friend one last time.
Over the city streets, as wounds sown shut under a red glare, Halimaka's sickly eyes traced the outline of city buildings, locking on the bold, bright blue firework that ignited the sky in its cool radiance. His frown curled upright, chuckling like a hyena. "I found you, Yuyu!" He left the rooftop with a spiral of venom at his back.
Across the unsuspecting city, Yuki lowered her hand, slipping her mask over her steady eyes. She waited, alone, two swords clasped in her hands. Behind her, the twin tails of her scarf billowed in the wind, a faint, pungent smell in the air.
To Be Continued...
This was a big chapter in terms of development for Yuki. Her last demon was settled with the help of her best friend and Izuku, with Katsuki being Katsuki. Hansuke won't be going down without a fight, however. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Heroes!
Next Chapter: Perfecters of Promises
Halimaka grinned ear to ear at Yuki across from him, "I'll bring out your ugliness for all to see!"
Yuki blinked several times, then looked at herself, pulled up her shirt to reveal her stomach scars, then motioned at her face dumbly. "Dude, I'm literally lacerated like some poor beef blade in a butcher's what do you mean?"
Izuku then pulled her shirt down before she could lift it any higher, "Please don't, w-we get your point," He said meekly, earning a sly look from the bluette.
"Are you jealous others will see my skin~?" She cooed, enjoying how his freckled face went from peach to tomato red in seconds. Rolling her eyes at his constant nervousness, she smirked daringly at Halimaka. "See that? He likes my scars, so hah!"
"We'll see about that, Yuki," He growled, sharpening his kamas against one another. "Up next, Perfecters of Promises..." Then the mad villain grinned, charging the hero couple who quickly readied themselves for a fight, bodies surging with emerald and sapphire streaks of lightning.
"Go Beyond-!" Yuki tugged her mask over her steely glare.
"-Plus Ultra!" Izuku raised his fists, the trio going head-to-head