Chapter 121 - Strong Bonds In Mind
"Why would she leave... where did she go...?" Those questions would haunt Hansuke for days, scratching his tattoos as they grew irritable. He's been doing what Jura would tell him. Sitting back on the park bench, he took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds... then released. The itching stopped, but it was getting harder to do it. "Jura too, but... he said he'd call," A nervous smile appeared as he looked at his phone. He never had one since he was an orphan but Jura's rich, so with that, the cheery boy gifted him a phone before leaving to move across Japan. It was really nice of him. Yet, Hansuke still frowned. "Yuki... where are you... and Nana... and Mr. and Mrs. Hiroshi?"
For three days, he had no answer, not even Jura knew where they had gone. Their home was just... abandoned, left the same way any family would leave their house for a day out.
Looking around, Hansuke rolled up his right sleeve, displaying his dark green tattoos as they started to glow. With a flick of the wrist, a small blade of venom struck the nearby tree, causing the bark to darken. His venom wasn't potent so he wasn't worried about damaging the tree too much, it was old anyway. But this was the best method for releasing all that pent up stress safely. Despite the breathing exercises, using his quirk felt... liberating.
Hansuke, while lost in his own little world, didn't see the world spin until it was too late.
Flinching, he turned while on the ground, rubbing the back of his head to find... blood, staining his fingers. A rock had struck his head, when he found the culprit his heart was swallowed whole. No... not here... why here? "Did you see that, he used his quirk?" "Ew, it really is like vomit!" "What a freak!"
It was the three that made his life hell outside of the orphanage, the three that Yuki and Jura kept getting into trouble for fighting. He didn't really remember their faces well, just their stupid smiles that made his insides turn. The leader of the trio was a girl, he remember her well. Long platinum hair, the most beautiful shade of blue eyes, and a face framed for perfection. She had looks, and people loved her. Yet, like rotten irony, she had a heart drenched in rot and decay.
She tossed another rock, this one striking Hansuke's chest as he winced, hiding his face to keep from losing an eye or tooth. "P-please... l-leave me a-a-alone..." His plea fell on deaf ears.
"Is there a hero around? Maybe they can lock him up in a cage or something?" One snarked.
"Nah, be a waste of time!" Another chided until the girl stepped forward, squatting down to look at Hansuke dead in the eye.
She had a face full of disgust, everything about him made her look at him with utmost revulsion. She then picked something up off the ground, Hansuke's phone. He gasped, trying to reach for it but she held it back, smirking as she waved it like a toy in the face of a dog. "Wanna fetch?" Her arm flung right, and the phone sank into a nearby pond. "Whoops, butter fingers."
The boys laughed at the greenette's expense, seeing tears well up in his eyes. "Jura... gave me that..." He murmured, shaking as his skin itched more and more until it felt like he was burning up.
"Did I say I cared?" She asked, grabbing Hansuke's right wrist, pulling until he cried in pain. "See this? This is what happens when you rely on some nosy brats that should know their place," She twisted but didn't break his wrist, shoving Hansuke to the ground again. "Even they got tired of you, Hiroshi's gone, so is Nakami," She faked a pout.
"S-she didn't... y-yuki isn't..." Isn't like you, is what he wanted to say but found his throat clam up.
"I heard the rat here has a crush on her too," One of the boy snickered, making Hansuke's face redden more from embarrassment.
Shut up.
"Imagine the face she'd make if she heard that!" The other laughed.
Shut up.
A rough hand shoved Hansuke's face in the mud, pulling back until the girl stood over him. "Get it now, rodent, no one cares about you, even your 'friends' hate you," That's a lie. "They forgot all about you," Stop talking. "You're pathetic," She grabbed his hair, yanking him about as he winced. "Hear me? No one loves you, no one wants you, not a single mom or dad would care about you," Over and over she beat that into his brain.
It was so itchy. So unbearably hot!
"Shut... up..." Hansuke sniffled, nails dug into his palms until they bled.
The girl stopped her pulling to glare down at him like a cockroach. "What did you sa-" She winced, recoiling when she found a small cut on her wrist. But Hansuke didn't move?
"Shut up... shut up. Shut up! Shut Up!" He repeated over and over until his head felt like exploding, pulling at his sleeves until he tore them around the seam.
The two boys moved to kick Hansuke back to the ground, but all they got was a wide arc of green liquid that bubbled and hissed. The blade sliced along their midsection, and the girl stood there, petrified when their two halves collapsed in a bloodied pool of viscera at her feet. She couldn't scream, actually, it felt like her lungs were burning up. She foamed at the mouth, clawing at her throat for air that wouldn't come, falling to her knees as blood stained most of Hansuke's clothes, his sleeves were shredded, leaving the serpent-like tattoos to glow vibrantly in the daylight.
"I envy you so much, you know?" He leaned closer to her, eyes pins to her bloodshot gaze as she gagged. "Does it hurt, huh? Can you feel your insides bursting, filling your body with blood and gore? Well? How does it feel? Painful? Numb? Tell me!" He hissed, shoving her head into the mud in turn. His head was so fuzzy and yet so crystal clear on what he wanted.
He wanted them to shut up.
He wanted to her to suffer.
He wanted her to die.
Hansuke wasn't sure how long he sat there, sobbing among three corpses as blood soaked under his knees. His heart wouldn't stop racing, and venom kept leaking down his arms. But he found himself unable to stop crying, even with a sickening smile stretched over his lips.
Emerald flames hissed against the rain as Halimaka stood over Deku with a manic laughter. "Do you know how long I waited for you to finally lose your strength? And to think, all I had to do was let them beat you... Zarlik, Freksos, Selas, Yarath, all of them, they all wore you down until you couldn't stand it anymore!" He giggled. "It's quite pathetic, you know?"
"Hyrah!" A blast shook the area as Katsuki smacked Halimaka across the face. When the smoke cleared, his skin was burnt only to be healed completely in seconds, chuckling all the same while drawing his sickles toward Katsuki. "Grab him!"
Two stands of tape caught Halimaka's arms, tossing him backward into the middle of a minefield, releasing a mushroom cloud in the process. The smoke cleared with a thresh of his sickles, releasing several streaks of venom to intercept Sero and Yaoyorozu, both hiding behind one of her large shields.
"Sonic Screech!" Kyoka sliced the air in a cross, leaving a wide gash through Halimaka's back as he recoiled from the white noise, swinging wildly to cast off his venom. "Heartbeat Wall!" The barrier of sound disrupted some blades while the others ran and scattered to avoid the homing attacks. "If I knew more than sound spells..." She wouldn't complain now, and quickly vanished with a ring around her body.
Halimaka blocked Kirishima's right hook with a blade, his left cutting across the boy's hardened chest as he roared, slamming his full weight against the Baron who scraped the ground, whipping up two wide waves of venom to bash Kirishima through a slanted slab of earth. "Hah, that was funny..." He grinned, catching Sero's tape before tossing a sickle toward his face. Katsuki stepped in, blasting the weapon back toward Halimaka's hand while acid clung at his feet, dissolving the tiles beneath him.
Halimaka swung his arms upright only for more of Sero's tape to web the area, bending Halimaka's arms backward into Sato and Shoji's hold while a large amount of debris was held in the air by Ochaco, releasing it below Katsuki. "Meteor Impact!" He bellowed, blasting the fragments into molten hot projectiles that peppered the ground around Halimaka, leaving a fountain of flames in their wake.
Shoto swept the area with ice, freezing everything under a blanket of ice while compressing heat into his palm. "Flashfire Fist!" He punched the air just as something burst from the ice.
Under the glaring torrent, Halimaka slid back, grinning madly with bloodshot eyes. "Venom Whip - Bind!" He hissed, slapping the ends of his sickles together, forming a hardened shell of poison merged with NARA, creating a deep green chain to swing around, creating a barrier of forest green venom ahead of him. The flames were doused in poison, creating a vacuum for him to come out unscathed, smiling widely. Shoto's eyes widened, diving away when a double helix shredded the land, dispersing after a few seconds, leaving pools of green everywhere. "I'm the most powerful Baron there is! Wanna know why?"
He cracked his neck, scratching at his skin until he drew blow from his collarbone and chest. "There was a very big guy, Gigantomachia... Kovik wanted him gone, he was too loyal to Shigaraki and All For One, if he knew what he was up to, we would've died!" He wheezed, looking around at the desperate looks on the students' faces. "So he saved me after I was bested... and I put him into a deep sleep, then... bit by bit he was sliced and severed and infused again and again until his body popped and snapped!"
Halimaka stretched his arms wide, his wounds fusing shut, ribs hidden by flesh and skin again, broken joints snapping into place. "Those fragments are the Cores, they let us keep our quirks, and we became so much more! Zarlik steel-like bones! Freksos' jet boosts, Selas' perfect memory, Yarath's ice, and my poison..." He cackled in a high-pitch squawk. "WE'RE THE FRAGMENTS OF GIGANTOMACHIA!"
"Hah, didn't anyone tell you-" Katsuki spun around, hand pressed to his palm as it glowed bright orange. "-that you rant too much!" A beam of thermal light burned a solid hole through Halimaka's chest, straight through the core. "AP Shot!"
"Even I saw that coming, are you trying to piss me off?" Katsuki's face paled, seeing the two tips of the sickles close to his throat had Kirishima and Sato not barrelled straight into the Baron with massive slab of concrete, swatting Halimaka into the open space.
"You alright/That was close!" The boys commented but Katsuki just huffed, cocking his gauntlets.
"That guy can create copies like that assassin Fallen, but they aren't entirely fool-proof, the lighting was off, he must've left the copy when he moved," Katsuki surmised, voicing his thoughts.
The ground split itself wide open. "-Iron Dreadnaught!" The pillars of rock and steel converged and slammed into Halimaka, ending in a flurry of green arcs to render the pillars into shreds. When the dust cleared, a new face stepped onto the battlefield, causing Halimaka's grin to fall with a confused grunt. "What's with that face, Hansuke!? Aren't you happy to see me again-" Jura stepped up, smiling down while patting his club hand into his palm. "-your old blood brother?"
"I have no brothers or sisters..." He ground his teeth at the sight of Jura's grin, despite losing a hand, he's still smiling so freely.
Pointing his club forward, Jura kicked the ground, releasing several pillars from the earth. "Ready for round two, buddy?"
"Hahahaha, gladly!" He hissed, spinning his chained sickles around, releasing a flurry of venom blades into the sky. Jura, with his club he smashed the first blades coming close to Class A while directing the pillars with his right, guiding them along invisible paths with his thoughts. "He's retained that control from before, huh...?" A sickly grin split his chalky lips. Twisting right at an irregular angle, his sickles slashed at Dark Shadow before it could encompass him, seeing the creature recoil from the venom while slamming the ground, unleashing a fountain of poison into the air. "Venom Geyser!"
"Everyone, here!" Yaoyorozu dispersed her antidotes, everyone drinking one as the poison struck them, thankfully, her powerful medication seemed to work. "If Yuki didn't bring his escape to my attention back then, well, best not dwell on it now." "We need to immobilize him, Todoroki, Kaminari, Bakugo, don't let him move further!"
While Jura held Halimaka's attention, those called to arms rushed in from all sides. First, Kaminari pointed his right hand forward like a gun, his pads clattering against the ground. "Target Electo!" The yellow streak of lightning webbed, caging Halimaka as his venom strikes were intercepted by the cage. He noticed the pads, aiming to crush them had a sheet of ice now covered them and his feet with a sudden burst of flames across his left side, disarming the Baron. "Give 'em hell, Bakugo!"
"I told you-!" He snarled, pointing one gauntlet down as he pulled the pin just two meters from Halimaka's eyes. "-that's Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight to you!" With a cry, he released the stored sweat into the earth, blasting apart the ground for a small crater of flames, consuming Halimaka, his smile burning through the flames and shattered ice.
Katsuki landed, moving away while Jura watched for movement, his hand taut to the ground again, feeling for movement. Kyoka pressed a hand to her earphones, waiting for a sign something was amiss. Unfortunately, she heard a rapid heartbeat, causing her skin to pale. "You've gotta be kidding me..."
"Hit him again!" Shoto brandished his flames, Katsuki blasting to range with Kaminari pointing his left arm this time while those that couldn't risk a head-on confrontation held back with pensive looks as something emerged from the burning crater with two lime green eyes sweeping their... four arms?
"Venomous Cutting Cage... HURRICANE!" Halimaka's arms banished the embers around him, turning them green as all attacks were sent wayward by a massive tornado of putrid poison that spun into the clouds, turning the area a tint of green while the toxic whirlwind subsided, revealing the horror at the epicenter. "Heheheahaahaha, didn't I say... I'm the strongest Baron there is!?"
He now had four arms, a pair of chain-linked sickles in both upper hands that stopped twirling. His tattoos turned a deep red while the upperhalf of his face was covered by a goat's skull with two backward-facing horns, eyes bleeding green. His hair was longer, like a mane down his back that dripped with toxic goo, his veins bulged while his serrated smile grew. Everyone stared with dread in their eyes. The Venom Sickle had truly awakened.
"Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall!" Shoto erected the biggest wall he could muster in the moment, fending off the barrage of venom sickles that pounded against the wall but in seconds his barrier came down, forcing everyone to evade, Iida aiding Deku in moving alongside Tsui. The fatigued boy could only watch in pain as his classmates were now put on the forefront of what he faced alone. His worst fears came to life, but he grit his teeth.
"They can't win this, Halimaka... is too strong..." Deku lifted a hand but not even a spark appeared. "Using Blackwhip like that... I've used up everything..."
Halimaka slammed the ground, ripping up waves of venom while striking Jura's club with his right foot, twirling to slash at Katsuki and Kirishima, grabbing the latter with a chain wrapped around his arm, slinging him across the courtyard into Yaoyorozu and Ashido. He snapped his neck backward, biting down on Katsuki's gauntlet, chewing into the metal shell, much to the blonde's disgust. "Don't go twisting your whole head around, you freak!" Twisting his hips, he fired several blasts and buried Halimaka into the ground, only to feel his hairs stand on end, a cage of venom nearly shredding him while he flew through the air.
Spinning his sickles side to side, Halimaka ran forward, dropping payloads of venom that exploded on contact, tossing the students around like toys, smashing through all of Jura's pillars to connect two sickles to Jura's club. "I'll chop off your over hand too, then we can be brothers again, you and me, twisted and deformed beyond recognition! I like that, don't you? Come on, ain't it a great idea!?" He leaned forward, even as ice impaled several sections of his body, his sickles deflecting any from his chest while he warped from the ice, healing his wounds in a matter of seconds.
Jura grunted, feeling a blade cut across his hip, two pillars intersecting to crush Halimaka's skull but the mad Baron just slithered out, head reforming from the broken mesh of flesh and bone. The stone guardian stumbled, feeling his vision blacken as he did his best to supress the potent venom. Then his eyes trembled. Katsuki was the same, kneeling as his face dripped with sweat. Shoto was using his ice to try and calm his temperature down. Kirishima looked somewhat stable, but he blocked some of the rouge venom sickles for his classmates, panting also.
The poison was circulating.
A sparkling laser burned across Halimaka's chest, and he turned to Aoyama, warping to tower over the blonde as his body shook with terror. "That hurt," He promptly kicked Aoyama into the dirt, walking over him toward Deku, Iida, Asui and Ochaco. He cocked his head side to side, ignoring the feeble attempts from the close-quarters fighters, holding them back with a few more venom sickles while he swung his kamas slowly, slashing the ground in tempo to his steps. "Hehehehehe... you're so pathetic, the most pathetic guy I've met... "
"Uraraka, Tsu," Iida handed Deku to her and Tsui, with a burst of speed, he moved in to strike, zig-zagging at the last second to confuse his target before going for the nape. Iida gasped, feeling his padding barely withstand the force of the leg that pinned his abdomen and brought him straight into the ground below.
"They used up all they had to stop you, now they can't even defend themselves, all because of a pathetic, useless guy like you!" Halimaka's face brightened considerably. He leaned forward as he walked, eyes sparkling. "That's it! I bet that's what happened then!" His words made them freeze, and Deku's blood boiled. "She left you behind... because you're so weak and pathetic, Yuki I mean. Why would she give a crap about some weak, defenceless, worthless, sobbing brat like you, huh?" He dug his own sickles down his chest and face, spilling blood for only a few seconds. "Well? Am I right or not!? Huh? Huh!? HUH!?"
"Deku, stay back!" Ochaco tapped her hands together. "Yuki is not that kind of person! She'd never abandon anyone-" Ochaco's words fell in her throat, a sickle slicing her shoulder while her eyes burrowed into two toxic orbs.
"Then why did she abandon me? Well, I honestly don't really care what you think of her, since I'm not a fan of anyone who she's befriended anymore." He spoke in a deep, gravelly voice.
"Uraraka!" Deku screamed, her body collapsing from the paralyzing venom, coughing as she tried to fight its effects, her trap crumbling around Halimaka's body.
This had to be a nightmare, Deku thought. His friends, those that risked it all to bring him home were now dropping like flies, the poison was circulating by now, and the sheer speed of Halimaka's regeneration was beyond any Baron Deku had fought up till now. He was a maniac. But what could he do? His strength had left him, the last spark used to save them from Halimaka's ambush. Shuffling his feet, Deku propped himself against Asui, his body manifesting the smallest of sparks, but he grit his teeth and pushed. "Full Cowling... Two... Percent!"
*Blam-Blam-Blam!*
"Get the hell off of her!" Katsuki swung his arms to catch Halimaka's sickles by the chains, palms boiling hot as his murderous gaze dug into those sickly green eyes. "AP Machine Gun!" He released a point-blank volley of blasts that ripped into Halimaka's flesh, the distance created by the bombardment giving him ample room to swing his blades in all four arms, creating a wide barrier of venom slashes. Between Katsuki's lips, he bit down on the vial of blue liquid.
"He's not dead yet, how!?" Halimaka looked around, those he poisoned weren't coughing up blood or breaking out with a fever, nor were they foaming at the mouth. "The poison... I get it!" His pupils snapped to the ravenette behind a large shield. "She must've created an antidote to combat my poison before it could completely circulate around the body!"
To either side of the Baron, a pair of floating gloves and boots suddenly released a blinding flash that burned his retinas. "Cloak and-!" Hagakure began.
"-Dagger!" From the shadows behind Halimaka, Dark Shadow lunged, slashing at the Baron's back while wrapping his arms around the villain tightly. "Dark Shadow, do whatever you must to crush him!" Tokoyami saw it in that man's eyes, he wasn't someone who was sane anymore.
"G-got it boss! But he's really slippery!" He squawked back, flailing in the air while Halimaka dug his sickles into the shadow's arms, biting down on the rubbery substance.
To Dark Shadow's wide eyes, the four sickles managed to dig between his arms, pulling them apart by a few inches as Halimaka grinned. "Hahaha, you think... I'll lose to a bunch of little brats?" He snickered, spurts of venom expelled from his skin. "Venomous Cutting Cage-" Dark Shadow shrieked while Tokoyami tisked as two whirlwinds of toxic slag spun and shredded through Dark Shadow's arms. "-Serration!"
Freed, he landed and dove straight at Deku, hooking on pair of sickles under Katsuki's gauntlet, to swing and slam him into the ground, rushing blinding toward the two weakest fighters in his view point. Deku, with what little strength he mustered, brought his right leg forward, the armoured shin crackling against Halimaka's forearm, the madman still smirked as a pungent stench filled their nostrils. "One For All... will be All For Naught!" He twisted his arm over Deku's leg, throwing him off balance as Asui stumbled with him, her tongue retracting the moment the dripping sickles came close to the tongue.
"How pathetic can you get? It's honestly sad watching you squirm around for more power!" Halimaka giggled, cocking his head. "I don't really hate you, or any of you, just them... those that see me as nothing but a waste of space with nothing left to give to this miserable, rotten world filled with the most obnoxious, self-centred parasites!" He pointed his sickles at Deku's hardened face. "And killing you... atleast I get to take away everything she had too, Jura too, those two... I hate them...!"
"Come on, One For All, anything, please!" But Deku's arms and legs were shaking too much, his last strike had used up everything down the lingering sparks. "Protect them until your last breath!" He shifted his body to stand in front of Asui but another had already thought ahead, and Deku's voice caught in his throat.
"Eh?" Halimaka lowered his blades, staring straight ahead at the one that stood in his way.
"You villain..." Raised his hands to shield his students. All Might stared back into Halimaka's eyes. "...will not lay another hand on my students."
"All... Might..." Deku coughed up. Staring at his hero's back.
That made Halimaka snicker, jolting forward a little. "All Might... you look like me, so sickly, I like that about you, you know?" He motioned to All Might's frail body. "You can't gain muscle like me, and your body is a misshaped mess on the inside too, but people still look up to you, even when the world crumbled some still praise you, how do you do it? What gives you the right to be loved and not me?"
"...don't misunderstand, I have no right to have such praise in times like these," All Might answered sharply, his fists closing in the air. "I failed the one person who looked to me as their mentor, who listened to everything I had to offer in experience... and I failed to teach him... that he can never be like me," The words made Deku's eyes tremble. "He must be nurtured to be better than I ever could become, to trust others, to lean on others, to know when it's time to rest, and I as his teacher have failed to prevent that," The dark clouds made his vibrant blue eyes even brighter. "Which is why I will apologize time and again for those mistakes, and I will endure the same hardships as he has!"
Halimaka raised his arms but found that they were buckling... no, his whole body was starting to shake. He recoiled, staring back into the eyes marred by darkness, those pinprick lights dug into his soul with a festering loyalty and need to protect that it made his body quake in fear. This frail man was hundreds of times taller than Halimaka was, his presence overwhelming down to the bone.
"If any harm comes to this young man or my students, it will be when I die!" He vowed, and gravity seemed to weigh so much more on Halimaka that he couldn't bear to look away.
No one moved an inch.
Seconds passed and no one could bring themselves to move.
Not even All Might, who stood with his eyes shadowed in the rainfall.
*Shiiing!*
Blood flew from two gashes across All Might's shoulders, forcing his arms down as he fell backward but refused to fall, catching himself in time to stand despite the sudden sickly feeling flooding from his arms down to his fingertips. and into his chest. Halimaka cackled, stepping closer. "Who gives a crap about your worthless apology!? This is the end of the line for you, Symbol of Peace!"
Streaks of pink struck Halimaka's left side before that happened, causing him to croak as dozens of levitated needles pelted his skin. He snapped his neck to the side as he stumbled away from All Might, yanking out one of the needles. "What's this?" He sniffed but it was far too late, whatever dripped from the end of the needle had been pumped into his bloodstream. His vision curved and his skin felt cold and numb, dropping to a knee. "Something's wrong, something wrong with my body...! What did they put in those... how did they fly like that!?"
"Jura!" Atop one of the smaller buildings overlooking the courtyard. Her hero costume consists of a pale purple, knee-length kimono with a white, furred collar, three dark straps around her waist, black knee-high socks, and a black mask that covers her face from the bridge of her nose down. The grey-haired teen from Class B, Reiko Yanagi. "I've supplied Yaoyorozu's antivenom!"
"Huh!?" He blinked before grinning, swatting another venom blade away. "Nice work, regroup with them now, we don't know how long the antivenom will last!" He spun around to Deku and All Might. "Get All Might to Yaoyorozu, she's handing out the antidotes, hurry!"
"We're on it!" Asui replied, helping Deku to stand properly, All Might struggled but he managed a weak smile at his successor to let him know he would be okay for the moment.
Jura brought his fingers high to guide a pillar toward Yanagi as she continued to orchestrate what remaining needles she had into stabbing Halimaka while he remained immobilized. But he gasped, drawing it back to arc and tank several strikes. Now, the venom blades that remained all seemed to converge on him alone. "What, already!?" He couldn't believe it, Halimaka was standing again, shaking off the needles with a hiss.
"That was really impressive... using antivenom against me, you know?" But his eyes portrayed no such kindness, he was furious. The idea came from years back, it was used to help Hansuke supress his quirk when it was a bad day, by consuming antivenom it had the same effect on his body as though he were stricken with poison. It was a solid plan, but NARA had clearly altered his body to expunge the elixir. Striking his sickles together, more crescents entered the battle, holding off any would-be attackers but primarily Jura.
Yanagi kept her head low, using some nearby debris to take a few hits for her instead while she prepared herself to float down on a piece of sheet metal. "Jura, don't worry about me, just-"
There was a flash of red particles, and a hand clamped around her throat. "Funny you say that..." He brought her paled, terrified expression closer to his fury. "'Cause I'm worried!"
"Reiko!" Jura tried to brute-force his way through the flurry of blades, but the venom lashes were everywhere, keeping him locked in place. Some of Class A mobilized to intercept themselves, but Jura was closer, they couldn't make it in time. But... what could he do? What can he do now!? "No-no-no... not again!" A cold sweat poured down his face, his heart beating wildly.
"You're going with them to find Midoriya?" The one to speak with Jura prior to the operation to bring Deku back to UA was the one person he couldn't exactly hide anything from. Yanagi stood with a frown stuck to her features, a contrast to Jura's easy-going smile.
"I got word from the guys, and I asked to pitch in," He replied honestly, adjusting the prosthetic hand on his wrist stump. "I'm not like, trying to redeem myself or anything, just... guess I wanna help him out?" She raised a brow, and clearly Jura felt the same, scratching his nape. "Yeah, I'm not sure that's it either."
Her visible blue eye stared for a while longer, then she stepped closer to his desk, using the vacant classroom to sort through his stone club from his hero costume, Forger, he called it. "It's about Azuru, right?" He blinked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Because they were close?"
"Ah, I think you might be right there," He waved his good hand to her, staring at the desk. "Honestly... I dunno anything about 'other realms', 'magic', or 'SIVA' as a whole, just the basics, but that aside, Midoriya's done alot for her, when she reunited with me, she couldn't stop apologizing," He still held the notes in his room. "Over and over she apologized profusely, sobbing the whole time, but now... now she's the same Yuki I've known from way back, but stronger, confident, and I want to repay Midoriya for that, and maybe... we'll find a way to bring her home too," He slapped the desk, giving Yanagi a winning grin. "I just... might only be good for breaking things, hahaha..."
Yanagi then surprised Jura by showing him a tiny smile, her face a little redder. "Then I guess I can't stop you, that is why they sent me here," She admitted, her hand patting his own. "I may not know Midoriya as well as the rest, but, he is still a classmate, and your friend. So I'll watch your back so you can focus on breaking things," She spun his words against him.
He sat there, caught in her gaze before chuckling, looking away with his own pink cheeks. "Great, now how can I say no to that?" She giggled quietly too.
Smashing the ground, Everwyrm jutted sharply to banish the venom, giving Jura a clear look at Yanagi caught in Halimaka's grasp as she gasped for a breath. "HANSUKE, LET HER GO!" He begged but the Baron wasn't listening, digging one of his sickles into her stomach, watching her flinch and gag on a cry.
"Poisoned to death? Bled to death? Or gutted for your friends to see, what do you think, huh?" Halimaka smirked, his fingers digging into her neck, drawing blood. She struck his chest with another needle in her hands, but he cackled darkly, shrugging it off. "Already useless, too bad, I think I'll let you writhe in pain as you bleed out!"
Deku saw this, raising his hand to flick his fingers but nothing came out. "Come on, Work! Work! Work!" He panicked, he needed something - anything! "Blackwhip, Fa Jin, Float, Air Force - someone's about to taken away in front of you again, do something useful already!" He tried to force One For All into action but his chest spiked in pain. "Grah, I can't use it, my body's too fatigued! What can I do!? Move, do something, anything!"
The others were closer now, Katsuki was the first to be in range as he blasted his way through the venom blades but Halimaka only needed two arms to hold Yanagi, the left side swinging the chained sickles in a wild flurry, leaving no room to close the gap. Katsuki stared through angrily, he had to blast through, screw the poison! He bent his arms back, preparing to burst forward at an alarming speed. A cold air brushed through his hair, "Todoroki!? That's it!"
Shoto raised his hand but that same arctic chill swept through his clothes. He paused, foolish as it may be, but he found his ice expanding without his command. "What?" He exhaled, even the mist he created was drawn with the wind.
...10...
The gap was closed, the toxic slashes frozen mid-air as an ice-cold pressure swept between Yanagi and Halimaka, severing all four of his arms in a single streak, flowing like a river of ice and snow, as he stumbled away in shock, staring at his frost-bitten wrists. Yanagi coughed and hacked up spit now that she could breathe again, sitting on her knees next to her saviour.
A blade of ice wrapped in cloth billowed in the wind, lowered close to the ground. The person suited in a black skin-tight suit with white armour in the form of scales, obsidian tipped gloves and boots, and a smooth breastplate. Their face revealed with a white scarf around their neck, tinted light-blue at the edge. Their bangs blown back to reveal two ocean-blue eyes and a white diamond tattoo around her left eye. "Your soul is so warped, I can't imagine it would be pleasant for a Nightmare to devour," She stated in a deathly calm voice, eyes portraying no empathy.
"Yu..." Sero was the one to notice first, a stupid grin crossing his face.
"YUKINO!?" The Class exclaimed, seeing the Host of Velk staring down Halimaka.
Halimaka had already lunged for her, his hands and sickles reformed. "Butt out of this, you bitch!"
Hana blew a soft white mist from her lips, "I'm not the one you should be glaring at," She said this as another blade of ice punctured his stomach, tossing him away from the girl's face to the sky.
...20...
Fanning out wings of ice, Velk gouged out Halimaka's side, snatching his shoulders in her talons to perform a swan dive, slamming him down onto Shoto's ice pillar, tearing out his right shoulder and arm as he slid down the pillar of rime. The red swarm worked to repair the damage against the frostbite but Velk was upon him, shrugging off his venom as she swung her body wide, slashing the air with her tail, leaving a small row of ice in her wake that exploded into two more rows, showering them both in ice.
"You will pay for the lives you've taken," Velk growled, closing the gap only for her arm to be caught in the chains and amputated with a crisscross. Halimaka dove under her sharp wing thresh, kicking the small of her back and carving a large cross of venom down her back, shattering parts of her membrane. Velk hissed, twirling on ice to slash the ground, erecting a jagged line of ice to puncture his arms and legs, but the Baron cackled, enjoying the new threat as NARA simply rewound the damage.
...30...
"Venomous Cutting Cage-!" Those nearby stumbled away on reflex, the green whirlwind wrapping around his body. "-Hurricane!"
"Look out!" Velk felt someone pull her tail, that of Kirishima, he knew she would be unharmed by the poison, but her regeneration wasn't nearly as vicious as Halimaka's. He accidently stood out in front of her, right into the circumference of the whirlwind. He hardened his body again and against to battle the ferocity of the venom storm, but his shell was cracking under the pressure. "Grit and bear it!"
"Kirishima!" Velk gasped, reaching for his shoulders to yank him back before the storm sucked him in.
"Grah, why the heck are these slashes so heavy!?" He grit his teeth, Unbreakable was about the only thing keeping his limbs together but he couldn't budge! "I need to deflect them, come on!" His arms were buckling, if he could swing his arms the slashes would throw him back!
*Blam-Blam-Blam-Blam-*
Halimaka's conjuration was interrupted by a series of powerful buckshot to the back of his head, blood leaking out from his goat mask's eye sockets while he spat up spit and blood to spot the gunner. Kirishima fell back against Velk's hands, his red eyes wider than ever before. His eyes followed the neon blue bolts of lightning across a dark blue sash to the one who wore it, and a smile to eclipse his own, his eyes becoming misty.
...40...
"You've really outdone yourself, Guardian-" She commended, loading a new moon clip into her handcannon. Her armour was silver with black barding beneath, neon blue light emanating from her chestplate's core, the same glow embroiled on her pauldron, streaked down her legs with the right thigh decorated with an ornate lion. The Age of Triumph armour basked in the storm. Streaks of green reflecting off the suit. "-now, let us tag in, 'kay?" Rayla, with her helmet off, winked at her student.
Hidden in plain sight, a wire rifle flashed, burst into three bolts to dispel the gathering cluster of poison, his cloak shimmered, revealing the Wolf Splicer beneath before he vanished with a grunt. "This heresy of flesh and technology sickens me..." Tekres snarled, appearing again as more bolts of electricity struck the venom blades, raising his lower right arm to fire on a few behind him with a shock pistol.
...50...
"Heh, vomit hair?" Halimaka raised his sickles into another wide barrier of toxins, the green liquid evaporating at the scorching flames spilling from a molten hammer between Rayla's fingers. She swung in a diagonal streak, cutting through the venom, dropping her fingers to hook around the burning strap of her Hammer of Sol, spinning it much like the chained kama, striking in relentless succession to the poison-soaked blades.
Orange and green elements collided in a series of explosions, the Titan's mastery over her Solar Light astounding as she dipped back from two pincer strikes, tossing two CLGs between them, the silver orbs exploding on contact with Halimaka's feet, burning his skin and obliterating his legs, his chest caved in by a returning strike of a hammer tossed across the distance.
...60...
Halimaka's veins tensed, and his feet burst from the charred stumps, locking his blade around the hammer, the chains twisting to sink their fangs into Rayla's sides, but the girl didn't even flinch, her body was set ablaze by a roaring flame, much to Halimaka's astonishment. "She's burning away my poison!?"
"Switch!" Rayla caught a sickle, allowing it to impale her palm as she tugged the Baron forward into a frigid knuckle. Velk said nothing, keeping in rotation with Rayla who swung her hammers at the earth, blasting hot fragments in Halimaka's face while those same heated shards were super-freezed, digging into his flesh and dispelling his venom. "Burning-"
"Zero-" Velk chimed in, hers and Rayla's foot extended to blast a double halo of ice and fire through his torso and behind his back, feeling many things burst and crack within his NARA-infested body.
...70...
"-Eruzerion!" They sent him tumbling, unfortunately, NARA hadn't displayed signs of slowing down, picking the ragged corpse back up as flesh and bone were coated in sickly pale skin again, the tattoos practically radiating with his every breath.
Halimaka heaved for a breath, the veins on his face and in his eyes pulsating while his wounds closed up, bringing his eyes toward Deku and All Might, the latter feeling his wounds starting to close under a soft hand that glided past his bicep, stepping between the pair to confront Halimaka, each footstep a stomp. They were the only person no one could recognized, wearing pure black armour with a camo pattern textured to the material. Two swords strapped to their back, a black frame with a slight curve to the tip, the edge itself bright blue.
...80...
Deku's heart stopped... his hand pressed to the mask he took greater care of than his own body.
It wasn't possible... this had to just be his mind playing tricks. Lack of sleep creating this awful hallucination to mess with him. Then why did his eyes find their focus again? Why did he feel his dried throat clench harder than before? Why did he not wish to wake up at all? Day after day he couldn't stop himself from having nightmares of that day, when all of them, when Yuki was pulled away. So he stopped sleeping to avoid it, so did that mean... this wasn't...
...90...
The person stopped, facing Halimaka who slit his eyes back at them. "Who the hell are... you?... You...!" They shot wide, and his fangs were bear with a laugh that arched his back. Then it dissolved to a frustrated grunt, picking away at his skin, digging his fingers down his forehead and through his right eye. "How... there's no way you're here, you're gone, you should've died back then! No one survives wounds like that!? You were powerless! HOW HUH!?" He screamed back at the silent person, his other hands leaving similar large gashes down his skeletal torso, NARA bleeding out to repair him while his lips pinched painfully upright. "I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART!"
"100%."
Flames and rain battled one another around them, and, with a long inhale, the person stomped forward with their right foot. A web of blue cracks surfaced, drawing metal, and other materials from the courtyard to dissolve and cling to their frame, peeling back the bland armour under thin fissures of light that crawled up their whole frame.
Millions of sapphire stars glistened across their body. Her knee-high boots black with a pointed cap, blue wires connected between the joints, black, rectangular triangles formed to shins and across the outside of their thighs with a blue edge. A spike jutting from the knees, a waist belt buckle depicting SIVA's symbol, blue outlining the waist with a cloth strapped to their right side, finely woven with the House of Devils banner.
Their torso was layered in thin plating around the abdomen, segmented into six plates that led to an angular breastplate bearing SIVA, wires feeding to the collarbone and neck, some hooked under their sides. Their vertebrae lined with blue, arms akin to the legs with black gloves sharing a thin blue seam down the fingers.
A thick gauntlet from the forearms to the shoulders, a small point to the elbows, The shoulders were small triangular pyramids. A bright blue scarf wrapped around their neck, woven into a triangular between the shoulder blades, dividing into twin tails with SIVA in black, spreading down with hair that reached down the middle of their back, the bluish-white locks turning onyx.
The helmet was last to peel away. Straight, backward-facing horns on either temple. The two sides symmetric, reinforced with onyx metal, a single, rectangular eye forever narrowed in a shade of snow-white on either side. Two mandibles jutted to guard the chins and cheek. Drawing forth their twin swords, they released a purple halo at their feet.
Tears welled up in Izuku's eyes, staring at the magnificent radiance cascading from her body.
Kirishima grinned toothily, himself still misty-eyed. The boys with the same level of shock that shook their bodies.
Yaoyorozu's and Kyoka's mouths were agape, tears welled up as well, mirroring the rest of the girls.
All Might's smile couldn't possibly get any wider. His face rocked with emotion.
Inching forward slightly, Yuki lunged in a blur of fragments. Halimaka swung his sickles, various waves of venom streaking through the earth. She clasped her blades, swinging in a silent flurry of slashes, cutting through every strike before they even came within range. Halimaka seized up, warping back in time to receive only a horizontal gash across his chest. "How did she predict how my venom slashes would move!? And deflected them no less! No freakin' way that's possible!" "I've had it with your crap, YUKI!"
He leapt off the podium the statue of All Might resided, drawing two sickles down while Yuki bent her left arm from below to counter, unleashing a blast of heat and poison into the air. Their bodies left the smoke behind, striking in an unrelenting series of attacks that spun plasma and venom through the air, cutting each other but never quite landing the finishing blow, every slash was clotted and healed. It was a vicious battle of attrition, SIVA vs. NARA.
Yuki glided back when Halimaka spun his duel sickle-chains around, battering down on her barriers with ease, she brought her twin swords to her left, "Whirlwind Blade," Her voice was cold and apathic, striking in a wide cyclone of amethyst energy, tearing through Halimaka's chains, leaving him with only his original two sickles. Her left leg snapped horizontally, folding his side around her shin when she warped, seeing the two slashes across her leg fade away.
Crossing her swords to erect another shield, Halimaka tore down vertically, bashing Yuki in the chest with his left while the right tore into the right socket, peeling the mask off her face. He screamed, tattoos unleashing a blinding cage of venom to throw her away, leaving many gashes through her barding and the earth. "Hehehehe, that face... those eyes of yours... are you really Yuki?" He taunted.
Yuki rose up without complaint, and everyone saw it, her eyes were reddish-blue as they had always been, but the pupils were that of a predator, her brow creased in constant concentration. The sheer intensity was unlike the bluette turned ravenette. Halimaka persisted, cracking his neck. "You're like me now, the person you were before is dead and gone, right? You're not even human anymore!" His laughter punctured the acrid air.
"Not... human?" Izuku's eyes never left Yuki, but that stare she sent back at her enemy. It held no emotion, no remorse, she wasn't even blinking. Was she... really still Yuki after all this time?
She leaned forward only for two pillars of stone to block Halimaka's venom blades, to her left, Jura offered a tight smirk. "Hey, ready to knock some sense into him!?" He called out, redirecting the serpents of the earth.
"Right," She murmured, sheathing her left sword. "Clear the way."
"On it, Yuyu!" Jura ran forward, bringing forth the very essence of the earth by cutting his palm, bleeding into the dirt before four more columns emerged from the soil.
Jura's pillars crashed into Halimaka's large crescents, splitting apart the earth near the base where they surfaced, rendering his strikes mute. Yet more continued to surface, crashing into the area around and in front of Halimaka. He blocked to with his sickles crossed, glowering over the chaos at the veins bulging from Jura's face, his unwavering green and brown heterochromia eyes, "Damn you! This flailing around like an idiot!" His teeth were born at them all. "You couldn't defeat me as a group what gives you any reason you can now!?"
"All of them came and pathed the way, we will see our mission through to the end! They will return to UA!" Jura vowed, clenching his fist to sustain the last two pillars that tore off Halimaka's lower arms. "Hold the line, do it for Yuki's sake!"
Halimaka glanced over his shoulder only to find a wall of ice and frost spanning dozens of meters high, the combined might of Shoto, Velk, and Hana freezing any opportunity to escape. "No, this is fine, so long as the NARA core remains intact-!" His stumps started to rebuild. "-this struggle will be wasted!"
Yuki sucked in a long breath, drawing her sword back with the tip guided across her left palm, she narrowed her eyes, squeezing SIVA into her arms and legs, the blue accents taking on a vibrant streak. "Striking Exile and Stone Slash!" The world splintered behind her, piercing the crumbling columns and droplets of venom to strike at the center of Halimaka, his kama crossed to intercept her blade-tip, the wind suctioned and exploding around , the strength of her attack would plummet before she'd pierce the core if she made contact with anything but his chest...
"Heh," Kyoka's body was pushed forward, her irises enlarged when she saw that stupid grin and a ethereal bow plucked between his fingers. "Wish Ender!" The arrow whizzed by them all, striking through Halimaka's sickles, flying past Yuki's cheek by an inch.
Halimaka blinked, flabbergasted as the whole in his side refused to close. The traces of amethyst whisked into the air behind him, dispelling his venom. "Why isn't... NARA healing it...?" He wheezed, time slowed to a crawl under the glint of moonlight.
Yuki slid forward, leaving a large hole through Halimaka's chest, in her left hand, the last NARA core dripped with blood.
The battle died just shortly after, with Halimaka collapsing onto his back in a pool of his own blood, his augments crumbling from his body, coughing up blood in the process of his defeat. He stared up at the rain clouds, what happened? When did Yuki get so strong again? Why could she see his attacks coming effortlessly? Why... why didn't he win? Was this it? Was this the end of the line?
He forced his elbows against the wet ground, struggling to lift himself with a bitterness to his expression. Everyone tensed, Velk stared on in bewilderment at the man's refusal to give up despite the horrendous injuries. But, a firm, warm hand pressed just above the hole in his chest, another cupping his crown. Halimaka's eyes shook wide, peering up at the dark clouds... to Jura's compassionate eyes.
"You can rest now, Hansuke, you don't need to keep fighting," Jura spoke, rain dripping down his face. "It must've hurt being alone for so long, I'm sorry I never did more to find you, I don't know what happened that day, to Yuki or to you, and since then I've always been fumbling around in the dark for answers, all while you both suffered as you did," He shook his head once, "Not this time, I wasn't going to let you suffer anymore,"
Halimaka sucked in a breath, his shoulders heaved as it picked up traction, his expression twisting into a scowl. "Would you cut that crap out already!?" He screamed in his face. "If it wasn't for you both abandoning me I'd have been fine! But then again, all you did was say everything would be okay, that shit didn't solve anything! Medication, good words, pity, all of that made my skin crawl and I never realized it," He slit one of his eyes up at Jura. "You were just another liar that filled my head with hopeless words that disappeared the moment you were gone!"
"I crawled my way forward with my own power, if anyone was useless back then it was you two! You were weak, completely clueless to other's suffering even if it was slapped in your face, my life wouldn't have been so twisted if you two were never in it to begin with!" He howled back at Jura's neutral face, taking all the hatred like a punch to his chest. "I WISH YOU BOTH WERE NEVER BOR-"
A gentle hand cupped his lips, another holding his limp left hand tightly, rubbing the back of his palm with their thumb. Those remorseful eyes that abandoned their primal sheen stared back. "I know you don't believe that, not a single thing you said was true," Yuki spoke up between them. "No one will forgive you for what you've done, and dozens will revile you even in death, you won't find any hand offered to you... which is why we're friends, remember?" She prompted his mind to recall those better days he resented so much.
"'If one of us falls, the others will catch them'," Jura recited, holding Hansuke's head tightly.
"'If the others fail, one of us will win for them'," Yuki continued.
"'If one of us becomes a villain, the others will bring them back to the light'."
"Even if the whole world hates you, we'll always be friends," Yuki added, much to Halimaka's shaken glare as the rest of his body disintegrated in their arms. She closed her eyes momentarily, brow quivering. "So please, don't curse Jura... Hansuke,"
"That's right... my name wasn't Halimaka at all..." He stared at himself, his head starting to fall apart under their eyes. "What kinda crap name is that anyhow?"
...
...
...
...
...
"What's this place?" Halimaka looked around at the void he found himself in. This wasn't some trip down memory lane, but it wasn't the land of the living either. "I get it... the end of the line," He looked back, there was a light in the distance, he could easily walk it in under a minute, but the rest of this world? Darkness, but something lurked beyond it, something worse than the void.
He stared at his body, he was a healthy teen, a little skinny and his tattoos remained but they weren't itchy this time. In fact, he barely felt the urge to release his venom, nor the desire to maim. This eerily tranquil place quelled that demon. He ran a hand through his soft, clean hair, no crust or sweaty feeling at all. But his kama? They sat in their leather straps at his hips, cleaned and brand new.
Looking back at the light, he considered it for a moment, then, his eyes travelled down to the three children standing there. His younger self all wrapped up in clothing with a timid stare. A young Yuki flanked his left, and a younger Jura to the right, all of them watched Halimaka for sometime, with the young Jura speaking up. "Aren't we going this way?" He pointed to the light behind him.
"You..." His eyes fell to the void he stepped on, then, walked toward the void.
"Is that the way out?" The younger Yuki asked. "It doesn't look like it..."
"Would you two shut up already!?" Halimaka snarled, his voice echoing in the void, seeing her recoil back to Jura's side. He stayed there, the light encompassed the duo but the darkness overtook Halimaka. "I'm going this way, stop trying to change my mind... whatever you two are," He snapped back. "I haven't earned it, not yet, and I won't ever take pity from someone ever again."
"We'll still be friends!" The young Yuki yelled back, making him pause again with a forlorn expression. "Even if you try and shove us away, we'll still see you as our best friend, Hansuke!"
"That promise is a promise, you can't just break it now," The young Jura joined in.
"..." Halimaka slowly grinned, drawing his sickles before approaching the void again, only he didn't slow down, in fact, he relished the idea the further he stepped into the dark. "If one of us falls, the others will catch them," The young Jura perked up at this. "If the others fail, one of us will win for them," The young Yuki smiled proudly with her arms crossed. "If one of us becomes a villain, the others will bring them back to the light," Halimaka nodded back to them.
Halimaka stepped into the abyss, brandishing his sickles in potent venom, his tattoos dripping through the dark. "I'll see you all again, That's a promise!" He laughed, embracing the darkness that gave way to hellfire.
The last of Halimaka crumbled in Jura's and Yuki's arms, but their right hands remained close, Halimaka's clenched one final time before it too dissolved into dust at their knees. The last Baron of Kovik's was gone. Hansuke's spirit could finally rest.
Everyone could relax again, the threat passing as Jura smiled back at Yuki, drying his eyes. "Well... you look like you've had fun?" Jura joked, seeing her hair return to its typical pigment, her own arm lowering from her eyes.
"You could say that," She then wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. "Sorry I took so long."
"Hey, worth the wait," Jura chuckled, hugging her back just as tightly. They squeezed a little then let go with him nodding his head to the left. "But there's someone else I think who's waited long enough, you know?" He winked.
Yuki stood up as the rain kept dribbling, a breeze catching her long hair while it tussled through Izuku's. They stared at one another from a distance. Neither knew what to say, watching each other. Compared to the beautiful girl just out of his reach, Izuku was battered and beaten to his absolute limits, his face covered in grime while Yuki retained only the distinct scars he loved about her face.
It was hard to tell what compelled his body to start moving again, but frankly, Izuku didn't care. He stumbled across the space between him and her arms with a desperate look on his face while fresh tears rolled down his face. Yuki ran to meet in the middle, her body colliding with his as she, with more energy than he had left, spun once until they fell to their knees in each other's arms.
"Yu...ki... Yuki... Yuki...!" He muttered her name over and over into her shoulder, his damaged arms pulled tightly around her back while hers held themselves in the same way, refusing to let go while tears dripped down her face.
"I'm right here... I'm not going anywhere," She brought his head back to rest her forehead against his, feeling his right hand cup her cheek while she gingerly placed hers atop it, enjoying the feeling despite the grime. That made her eyes flutter open, bringing her hands forward to feel down his face and his shoulders. "What happened to you? Izuku, what have you done since we left?" She chuckled slightly, tears streaking down her face to mirror his.
"I... had alot to do..." He made a noise akin to a laugh, his hand ghosting through her hair. "Your hair's longer... and your scales," He noticed the ones on her cheeks were a little bigger now, visible without much difficulty.
"I've grown alot too..." She whispered, leaning closer. "I..."
"YUKI/AZURU!" From all sides, the pair were assaulted by their friends barrelling into them. Asking questions upon questions on what had happened since the Jaku City Incident.
"Yuki..." Shoto couldn't find the strength to move his legs, staring at the girl smiling with a giggle at all the questions, trying to find a way to answer them all. He smiled to himself, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders.
Katsuki wore the same straight face but it was noticeably lighter, having been pulled along by Ochaco to see to her friend's well-being. The two clocked eyes for a time, Yuki winking to him while Katsuki did nothing but give a curt nod. They'd have alot to talk about later. Off to the side, Ashido was sobbing loudly, hugging Rayla's side.
"W-w-we missed you so muuuuch~!" She wailed, the Guardian petting her bouncy hair with a soft smile.
"Ditto," Rayla winked, looking to Kirishima whose knuckles turned white, trying to hold it together. She also noticed that the Titan Mark she gifted looked pristine. "You've worn it well, knew you'd do good by it."
Kirishima stared up at her, only to be brought close with her arms wrapped around him and Ashido, Solaire appeared to bob above their heads. The damp broke for the two teens, while Rayla bowed her head between them, tears cutting the corners of her eyes. "You goofballs..."
"We are happy to see you again," Solaire spun his shell. "All of you." Solaire then saw that Tekres wasn't spared the same loving embrace as Hagakure pulled him over to Rayla, the cocky Guardian holding him by his cape.
"You... have been missed..." The Wolf murmured.
"He totally loves you guys," Rayla grinned, but instead, earned no smack to the head from the Splicer who was content to see the humans he allied with safe and sound.
"Ow! Okay, deserved that!" Akio recoiled from the jack that struck his bicep, rubbing the spot gingerly. Kyoka was pissed to put it kindly. "Hehehe, good to know you're still lively as ever, Kyo!"
"You asshole..." She growled between her teeth, tears rolling down her reddened cheeks. "Three. Months."
"Ah, right, yeah, uh... I'm sor-"
She cut him off when she dragged him by the collar, smashing her lips into his, savouring the feeling despite onlookers nearby. Akio closed his eyes, holding her close again with a sigh between their lips. They parted with a smack. "...don't ever do that again..." Kyoka sniffed, tapping her head against his collarbone while her jacks coiled around his wrists. "...don't go away again..."
"I give you my vow," He whispered into her ear, burying his face in her damp hair.
"Hey, let's give them some space, please?" Velk brushed the air with her wings, smiling when she spotted Hana standing next to Sero, their hands interlocked. Then she stared at the two, Yuki stroking Izuku's hair with a gentle look on her face, his head sat against her chest, having passed out after the events of today taking their toll. "We can discuss our situation once we're safe, right?"
All Might, who, thankfully, was no longer harmed, nodded, adjusting his torn coat against his frame. "Yes, for now, let's see to your return to UA, and Young Azuru?" Her eyes lifted to meet her teacher's, seeing the worry they held. "Please, bear with what comes next."
"All Might, everyone?" She looked around, and gave them a fanged grin. "I think I can take whatever's next, right, Siva?" She nudged her shoulder, and the blue sprite appeared on her shoulder.
We refuse to let the world bend us | We have come too far | Lead us home, Class 1-A
To Be Continued...
What a mental gymnastics this chapter was! Halimaka's defeat, and the return of our main lady and her friends! I've been dying to make Yuki and Izuku's reunion since Izuku's vigilante act. But we've got one more chapter before we turn the tables to see what Yuki's side of the story is. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the arc finale, Heroes!
Next Chapter Intermission - The Perfect Hero's Heart
"We made it back alive!" Akio waved with a jump. "Feels good to be back... oh, wow, this world is really messed up..." He blinked at the screens of destruction behind him.
"It is only natural, Kovik's plot deceived us all," Velk shook her head.
"Which makes our mission even more imperative, however..." Hana looked to a new screen, of what was to come. "...we still have a hurdle to overcome."
"We'll break through regardless," Yuki affirmed, fist to her heart. "It's time things changed in our favour, right?"
"Agreed," Siva and Tekres chimed. "Coming Soon/The Perfect Hero's Heart."
"Let's Go Beyond!" Akio snapped his fingers with a small discharge of magic.
"Plus Ultra!" The girls resounded. "And Have a Happy New Year!"